The Guardian (U.K.)
Cloudflare experienced a global outage on Tuesday, causing widespread website errors. The company said the root cause of the outage “was a configuration file that is automatically generated to manage threat traffic," which grew beyond its expected size and triggered a crash. Cloudflare added, “To be clear, there is no evidence that this was the result of an attack or caused by malicious activity.”
From "Cloudflare Outage Causes Error Messages Across Internet"
The Guardian (U.K.) (11/18/25) Robert Booth
View Full Article
The New York Times
A 2020 study from the Paulson Institute estimated that Chinese AI researchers accounted for nearly one-third of the world’s top AI talent. A new study from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace shows that of the 100 top-tier Chinese researchers in the original study who were at U.S. universities or companies in 2019, 87 are still doing research at U.S. universities or companies. A separate study from alphaXiv shows that since 2018, joint research projects between the U.S. and China were conducted more often than between any other two nations.
From "In the AI Race, Chinese Talent Still Drives U.S. Research"
The New York Times (11/19/25) Cade Metz; Eli Tan
View Full Article - May Require Paid Subscription
The Washington Post
The Trump administration has awarded a $1-billion federal loan guarantee to Constellation Energy to help restart its Three Mile Island nuclear plant. Constellation plans to restart the plant by 2028 to generate 835 megawatts of electricity, all of which Microsoft has agreed to purchase at a premium for its datacenters. Supporters say the restart will boost clean, reliable power, while critics argue taxpayers should not subsidize risky nuclear projects serving wealthy tech companies.
From "U.S. Guarantees $1-Billion Loan to Restart Three Mile Island"
The Washington Post (11/18/25) Evan Halper
View Full Article - May Require Paid Subscription
Cybersecurity Dive
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) plans a major hiring push next year to recover from recent workforce cuts. In a Nov. 5 memo to staff, Acting Director Madhu Gottumukkala said current manpower shortages hinder national security efforts. The agency will prioritize hiring state cybersecurity coordinators, regional advisers, and technical specialists. CISA also aims to improve retention by offering limited remote-work flexibility and rebuilding university partnerships, internships, and Scholarship for Service pipelines.
From "CISA Plans Hiring Spree to Rebuild Ranks"
Cybersecurity Dive (11/17/25) Eric Geller
View Full Article
GeekWire
Scientists from Japan and Seattle’s Allen Institute created a supercomputer-powered simulation of the entire mouse cortex, modeling nearly 10 million neurons and 26 billion synapses. Built using data from the Allen Cell Types Database and run on Japan’s Fugaku supercomputer, the model uses detailed multi-compartment virtual neurons to mimic real brain activity. Fugaku simulated one second of brain activity in 32 seconds, demonstrating that large-scale, biologically detailed brain simulations are feasible.
From "Supercomputer Simulation Reveals Neuron-Level Brain Activity"
GeekWire (11/17/25) Alan Boyle
View Full Article
Bloomberg
Multiple subsea Internet cable projects through the Red Sea, including Meta’s 2Africa and Google’s Blue-Raman, face delays due to security risks, regulatory hurdles, and regional conflicts. Missile attacks by Iran-backed Houthis disrupted shipping and prevented specialized cable-laying vessels from operating safely, leaving key segments unbuilt. With the Red Sea now viewed as a high-risk chokepoint, tech firms are exploring overland routes through Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Iraq.
From "Google, Meta Delay Red Sea Cables amid Security Risks"
Bloomberg (11/17/25) Loni Prinsloo; Riley Griffin; Jillian Deutsch; et al.
View Full Article - May Require Paid Subscription
