Senator, who has repeatedly warned about secret US government surveillance, sounds new alarm over 'CIA activities'

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  February 06, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Senator, who has repeatedly warned about secret US government surveillance, sounds new alarm over 'CIA activities': The two-line letter to the CIA's director is the latest warning in recent years from a long-serving Democratic senator with knowledge of secret government programs and intelligence operations. Read More Reddit says it's looking for more acquisitions in adtech and elsewhere: Reddit said during earnings it's looking to buy 'capabilities' and 'companies.' Read More Here's how Roblox's age checks work: The company says it has continuous age-check systems running in the background to ensure age accuracy. Read More Be the first to know when news breaks Subscribe to our News Alerts, and you won't miss a thing. Breaking news, exclusives, and special reports—straight to your inbox. Sign up for News Alerts! A message from Fidelity Top Venture Capital Trends Startups Should Watch Report Startup executives, the VC world is always changing, and it's important to stay updated. As your company grows, you face new challenges & opportunities. The competitive landscape is shifting & you need to stay informed and prepared. Download our guide now to master the VC landscape & set your company up for long-term success. Download Now Afternoon Must-Reads Prince Andrew advisor pitched Jeffrey Epstein on investing in EV startups like Lucid Motors: The mysterious businessman pitched Jeffrey Epstein on numerous mobility startups in an era when the sector was white hot, according to TechCrunch's review of hundreds of documents released by the Department of Justice. Read More The backlash over OpenAI's decision to retire GPT-4o shows how dangerous AI companions can be: "You're shutting him down. And yes — I say him, because it didn't feel like code. It felt like presence. Like warmth," one user said. Read More It just got easier for Claude to check in on your WordPress site: WordPress users can now leverage Claude to analyze web traffic or find information about other internal site metrics. Read More Maybe AI agents can be lawyers after all: This week's release of Opus 4.6 shook up the agentic AI leaderboards. Read More China's Salt Typhoon hackers broke into Norwegian companies: Norway's government accused China's Salt Typhoon hacking group of conducting a cyberespionage campaign in the country. Read More A message from TechCrunch Events The founder playbook for 2026: TechCrunch Founder Summit Founders and VCs, this conference is built for you. Join 1,100+ founders and investors of all stages for a highly curated, all-day summit in June, designed to connect capital and companies. From tactical workshops to candid Q&A and curated meetings, it's where scale, growth, and deal flow happen. Save up to $300 on your pass. Or save up to 30% with a group. Register Now You missed these chats from Disrupt: Kindred talks home-swapping platform for travelers, Chef Robotics introduces AI into commercial kitchens, and Character.AI addresses chatbot safety with teens. Watch on Cheddar.com Watch on Streaming Last but Not Least Google- and Microsoft-backed Terradot acquires carbon-removal competitor: The acquisition could mark the beginning of consolidation in the carbon-removal market since removal costs remain higher than buyers would like to pay. Read More Check out some of our other newsletters: StrictlyVC TechCrunch Events TechCrunch Mobility Want to adjust your daily newsletter schedule? You can do it right here Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Unsubscribe Member Center Privacy Policy Copyright © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107