The Information reports Lilian Wen, co‑founder of Thinking Machines Lab, will return to OpenAI.

Politico reports Republicans are weighing a preemptive increase in the US debt ceiling to avoid a fiscal cliff during a possible Trump term. Republicans raised the ceiling by $5 trillion last year; White House officials have privately floated lifting the limit to $41.1 trillion within party-line spending bills many GOP members want passed before the November midterms. An independent forecaster projects the X-day—the final deadline to avoid US default—between next summer and early 2028, which would overlap the start of the presidential primary season. The proposal could limit near-term default risk for Trump if Republicans lose control of either chamber, though Democrats would still press for concessions in any bipartisan deal; total public debt is about $39.7 trillion.

China's National Intellectual Property Administration said it has established 83 national-level IP protection centers and 54 rapid rights-protection centers nationwide, forming a balanced, tiered rapid collaborative protection network. The centers offer one-stop IP services to innovation entities in locally advantaged industries, including rapid pre-examination, expedited rights confirmation and swift enforcement.