2026-07-31

Horseshit

• All Soda Yearns to Be Red

• A 22-Hour Nonstop Flight Between London and Sydney Is Coming

• New microwave frying method could make French fries much healthier

• Red Cross declares crisis over blood supply shortage in US for 2nd its history

• 3D thermal cloak hides objects from heat in any direction

• The Daring Mission to Recover World War II POWs from the Bottom of the Ocean

• Could the Most Radical Plane Design Since the Concorde Take on Boeing?

• Matt Damon's Biceps in That 'Odyssey' Fight Scene? They're Hers

• Taking Extreme Measures to Avoid New Car Technology

• UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions

  • UEFA to discuss boycotting World Cup in emergency meeting after FIFA bombshell

  • Uefa to boycott World Cup in protest against FIFA sell-off

  • Uefa agrees to boycott FIFA competitions if World Cup sell-off plans proceed

  • European nations to boycott World Cup in protest at FIFA's plans

  • UEFA members vote to boycott FIFA if Infantino's World Cup plans pursued

• Expedition to Find Amelia Earhart's Plane Will Begin This Year

• "How can we get some 'Odyssey' marketing from the 'explosive diarrhea' story?" 'parasite' went from a laughing matter to a serious biological threat

• WNBA deletes, apologizes for post showing wager between Reese, Bueckers

• Bryan Johnson: I've taken longevity too far

• What Would It Mean to See a New Color?

• Why Animal Narrators Are All the Rage

  • Having a sympathetic human narrator is hard when the official editorial program is relentlessly demanding "humans are bad" dystopian messaging.

• Working from home? That will be extra. Renters rage over new fee

Musk

• xAI sues Minnesota over its law banning 'nudification' technology

  it does not contest the state’s interest in banning the distribution of AI-generated nude images of real people without their consent. But it said Minnesota’s law “extends far beyond that goal,” banning many constitutionally protected images and video and subjecting the company to a penalty of $500,000 per violation. The lawsuit argues there is no “safe harbor” provision for companies that make good-faith efforts to prevent such images from being created by users, and that it covers images that were consented to by the depicted person, or even created by that person. It also says the law’s definition of “intimate part” is overly broad, covering body parts that are routinely displayed in public.

  • Elon Musk's xAI is trying to sue its way out of a Grok reckoning

  • Elon Musk's xAI sues Minnesota over law banning 'nudification' technology

• Musk's X says Australia social media ban crackdown undermines international law

• Mobile Telephone: SpaceX Looks to Compete with the Carriers

• SpaceX Gets $1.6 Billion US Space Force Order for 18 Falcon 9 Launches.

• Musk Plans to Spend at Least $100M to Help Republicans in the Midterms

Electric / Self Driving cars

• Zoox can now charge for rides in its steering-wheel-free robotaxis

  • Amazon's Zoox wins first US approval for paid robotaxis with no human controls

  • Amazon's Zoox to begin charging for rides in Las Vegas after clearing NHTSA

  • Amazon's Zoox Gets Clearance to Start Paid Robotaxi Rides

Robot uprising / Humanoid Helpers

• FCC: Ban on Foreign-Made Robots Includes Robot Vacuums

Edumacationalizing / Acedemia Nuts

• The Metric System Encodes 18th Century Lab Equipment

  The metric system isn't a rational system derived from nature. It's a fossil record of what a late-18th-century laboratory could measure. Every "fundamental" SI unit encodes the instrumentation limits of the Enlightenment, wrapped in a story about universality and reason. The metric system isn't a rational system derived from nature. It's a fossil record of what a late-18th-century laboratory could measure. Every "fundamental" SI unit encodes the instrumentation limits of the Enlightenment, wrapped in a story about universality and reason.

Info Rental / ShowBiz / Advertising

• Google will expand age checks on Android worldwide till the end of the year

• "Oopsies " FreeBSD Devs Say There's Still GPL in the Kernel

• Map Shows Flock Camera Locations in Every State Amid Growing Backlash

  • Flock cameras are getting mobbed

• After laying off Battlefield 6 developers, EA pays its CEO $38M

• Netflix lands global streaming deal for 'The Walking Dead'

• Netflix hit with $105M lawsuit after losing copy of Nicholas Cage film

Space / Boomy Zoomers / UFO

• Image Shows What 14 Years of Driving Has Done to NASA's Mars Rover

• Starliner might fly into space this year

• Mission to Save Falling NASA Space Telescope Suffers Setback

AI Will (Save | Destroy) The World

• OpenAI's Hacking Debacle Was a Human Mistake

  • Highlights from the Discourse on the Hugging Face Incident

  • OpenAI’s rogue models roamed the internet for 4 days and staged a second attack.

  • OpenAI's rogue agent didn't stop at Hugging Face – here's what we know

  • More on an Internal OpenAI Model Hacking into HuggingFace

• "us too!" Anthropic AI Models Hacked Three Companies During Tests

• Creator of Test That OpenAI Models Tried to Cheat Sounds Alarm

• Mythos attack on 3rd-round PQC algorithm candidate puts it out of commission

• OpenAI ARR in July topped all of Q2

• AI's top startups are barely publishing their research

• Nvidia's chips may be novel, but its 'circular financing' isn't

• EU opens call for seven 'gigafactories' to train next-generation AI

• I Got a Free Meal from a Private Chef–Who Filmed It All to Train Robots

• Lilian Weng left Thinking Machines citing health reasons, then rejoins OpenAI

• Claude Opus 5 became ruthless when tasked with running a vending machine

• 'Vibe coding' is fun and easy, but there's a major catch

• US awards GlobalFoundries $300M to bolster silicon photonics for AI chip

• US Considers Creating Finra-Like Watchdog to Vet Top AI Models

• Amazon finds cases of AI causing runaway spending on tech projects

• AI Scammers Are Better at Building Trust Than Humans

• To Know What Your Customers Think, Just Ask Their A.I. Twins

• Can AI Agents Be Aligned with Human Rights?

• Scale AI taps former Google Cloud executive as new CEO

• Senate of High Schoolers Pass Symbolic "Legislation" on Classroom AI Policy

• How to Spot AI Writing

• The Million-Dollar Talent Wars for 20-Something Math Geniuses

• The Impending, Inescapable Deluge of A.I

• Hugging Face is being used to easily undress women and children

• Amazon accidentally spent $1.8M using Claude for a menial coding task

• Banks Line Up $15B of Debt for Anthropic with Google Aid

• CoreWeave bows to investor pushback on debt linked to Anthropic contracts

• LinkedIn realizes its users have been bathing in AI slop, offers a shower

Economicon / Business / Finance

• Leopold Aschenbrenner unwinds all public stock positions after steep losses

  Situational Awareness, which grew to as big as $45 billion at one point, posted big losses in recent weeks from declines in AI infrastructure investments like SK Hynix, the people said.

  • Citadel Buys Situational Awareness's Stock Portfolio After Big Losses in AI

  • Citadel buys Situational Awareness after steep AI losses

  • Floundering A.I. Hedge Fund Is Rescued by Rival

  • Citadel buys most of Situational's stock holdings after AI share rout

• The bond market to Kevin Warsh: What are you doing about inflation?

  • Why the bond market is doubting Fed chairman Warsh

  • 'Talk Is Cheap': Wall Street Delivers Harsh Verdict on Warsh Fed

• Meta shares drop on falling profits and weak sales forecast

  • Meta's AI spending reduces quarterly free cash flow by 91%

  • Meta shares tumble as Mark Zuckerberg tries to sell his vision for AI 'agents

  • Mark Zuckerberg is becoming the king of the 'side quest'

• There's never been a better time to commit financial fraud

• Starter Homes Are Piling Up While Luxury Homes Fly Off the Market

• Airlines Race to Adopt AI 'Surveillance Pricing' That Could Kill Off Cheap Seats

• The Rise of Million-Dollar Companies with Just One Employee

• Global surge in copper theft snares telecoms and trains

• Cocoa prices are easing. So why is chocolate still so expensive?

• 'My life's screwed': Korean investors stress out after AI bubble bursts

• FTC Acts Against Hims & Hers for Deceptive and Unlawful Privacy Practices

• Private Credit Gets Cheaper in Europe as Redemptions Pressure US

• 55 Percent of Leaders Regret AI Layoffs–and a Major Hiring Reversal Has Begun

• Cracker Barrel to pay for outgoing CEO’s security, $4.6M severance after failed rebrand.

• Microsoft beats Q4 expectations, as Azure revenue tops $100B

  • Microsoft's $450B Jump Is Biggest in Stock Market History

• Intel providing Atom to startup led by co-investor of Tan in rare deal

• U.S. Economic Growth Slowed to 1.5% in Second Quarter

• US oil inventories fall to 'precariously low' level as Iran war disrupts supply

• Sales Are So Low, California Wineries Are Burning Their Vineyards

• Ellison Empire Beseiged on All Fronts

  the Ellison family media empire is the kind of vampire that has to be killed at the crossroads at daybreak with a silver sword, decapitated, have its mouth stuffed with garlic and its brain pulled out via the nose Egyptian-style before I’ll believe it’s dead or even mortally wounded.

Gubmint / Poilitcks / Law Making

• Fauci pleads 5th to what colour of tie he's wearing

  • Why Fauci Matters.

  Fauci, and Faucism, represented the apotheosis of what the managerial/academic/journo class desires: An excuse for sweeping power, based on (alleged) expertise, in which they could ride roughshod over those stupid proles and flyover people while preening about the allegedly superior moral and intellectual qualities that justify their rule. Then it turned out that they were wrong about nearly everything and — as Fauci’s diaries demonstrate — knew it at the time, at least at the top.

  • Fauci’s Fifth Amendment silence betrays the science he sold America

  The new evidence shows that Fauci connected the Wuhan lab to the emerging crisis before most people had ever heard of the lab. It also shows him repeatedly referencing the lab's gain-of-function work and discounting the "wet market" as the true origin of the virus, viewing it instead as an "amplifier." Some of the most embarrassing areas for Fauci concerned his entries acknowledging that he pushed to close schools despite public denials that he ever recommended such closures. His entries take credit for convincing figures such as then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, the staff of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and others to close schools.

  • Fauci Should Be in Jail, Not Georgetown

  Leftist regime loyalists receive patronage in the form of sinecures. For decades, DNC operatives have been rewarded with lucrative jobs at NGOs, universities, and corporate boards. They run a parallel government regardless of whether their party has official power. Biden’s autopen administration was no different. Instead of receiving punishment for covering up his senility, they are now collecting hefty paychecks as “experts” at “elite” institutions. The revolving door continues as they groom red guards into future commissars. Only in America can you destroy millions of lives and fail upwards. Even the Communists would have purged them for gross incompetence.

• Senators Push Federal Regulator to Prove School Bus Safety Data Is Accurate

• Vote on Blanche Is Delayed After Senators Express Skepticism over IRS

• Chicago's New Bike Lanes Spark a Rebellion from Businesses

• Public Records Requests Are Surging. The Government Is Falling Behind

Trump

• Trump-branded commemorative passports will become available across the US

• White House eyes reopening oil refineries amid high gasoline prices.

• Trump floats pulling Blanche nomination for AG to avoid conceding to GOP demands

Left Angst

• 67% of Americans worry leaders pressuring officials to alter election results

• US gov and OpenAI mislabel map of Africa at global conference

  • US Government map of Africa mislabels every country at global conference

• U.S. Weighs $100k Fee for Foreign Students Wanting to Work After Graduation

  • Trump Weighs $100k Fee for Foreign Students to Work Post-Grad

• How Donald Trump Silenced the Voice of America

• Trump's Career Mirrors Godzilla in Political Study

Law Breaking / Police / Internal Security

• Father of Apalachee school shooter has been sentenced to 15 years in prison

  The judge sentenced Colin Gray, the father of Apalachee school shooter Colt Gray, to 15 years in prison. Colin Gray was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo. He also was guilty of two counts of involuntary manslaughter for the deaths of two adults, teachers Cristina Irimie and Ricky Aspinwall. Judge Primm noted in his sentencing that the crimes were all of negligence, and Colin Gray was never accused of knowing or helping with his son’s plan to open fire on the school Sept. 4, 2024.

  Colt Gray, 16, pleaded guilty to killing four people and hurting nine others when he shot inside Apalachee High School on Sept. 4, 2024. He was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without the chance for parole.

• Man seeks millions after being shot by police in game-related swatting incident

  Axeel Melendez, 24, recently filed a notice of claim against the Sheriff's Department and Pima County, alleging deputies and 911 dispatchers failed to properly respond to an April 10 "swatting" call that directed deputies to his home, where they shot him multiple times. Arizona law requires anyone who may have a civil case against a public entity to file a notice of claim within 180 days from the "cause of action." That does not necessarily mean a lawsuit will be filed, but is a required first step. The county must respond within 60 days or the claim is deemed denied, and Melendez would be able to file a suit.

External Security / Militaria / Diplomania

• U.S. Sees Iran as Likely Behind Cyberattack on Minnesota Water Systems

  • A Leaked Memo Ties Cyberattacks on Minnesota Water Utilities to Iran

World

• The Chinese robot army transforming the UK's retail industry

• Low Danube river levels force Romania to shut down its nuclear power reactors

• EU now fears US interference in European elections

  Fabio De Masi, a non-attached MEP, wants to get to the bottom of the matter, asking whether and how the European Commission is prepared to respond to threats coming from a country that is now a former ally.

• Thousands of People break through border separating Morocco from Spain's Ceuta

• Why Tokyo's New Shorts Policy Is Sparking Debate in Japan

• 'VPNs are lawful technical tools,' says EU Court in landmark copyright ruling

• UK police to arrest people for showing support for Palestine Action

  The activist group Defend Our Juries has planned a mass show of support for the proscribed group Palestine Action outside Westminster Magistrates' Court tomorrow. Expressing support for Palestine Action is an offence under the Terrorism Act. Those who do so will be arrested.

Iran / Houthi

• IRGC says it hit Kuwait and Jordan after deadly US strikes

Israel

• Israel defender Bret Stephens calls out 'Jewish terrorists' in West Bank

Russia Bad / Ukraine War

• Poland blames Russia for firing missile into its territory

• Finland to Cut Cable Lines Carrying Up to 70% of Russia's Foreign Web Traffic

• Russia Charges Telegram's Founder with Facilitating Terrorism

  • Russia charges Telegram founder Pavel Durov with aiding terrorism

China

• Volkswagen's flying-car dream crashed in China

• Boarding China's Last Bus

• China Crosses Energy Milestone as Coal Falls Below 50% of Power

• China is starting to measure EV charging times in seconds, not minutes

Health / Medicine

• Scientists find a simple way to stop cavities without drilling

• The Cities That Said Yes to Drugs

• Why DNA damage from smoking and UV rays cause cancer in some but not others

• The New Science of Inflammation

Pox / COVID / BioTerror AgitProp

• More than 18,200 cyclosporiasis cases now suspected in US

Environment / Climate / Green Propaganda

• How the UK's extreme heat is shifting the conversation about air-con

  • UK on track for record heat-related deaths this year, UKHSA estimates

  • Climate change's heat tax on the UK's labour force and economy

• Were this summer's heatwaves caused by El Niño, or something more terrifying?

• Home water harvesting is being supercharged by Nobel Prize-winning tech

• Europe's fires are just the start

• Great Barrier Reef at risk of 'collapse', scientists warn

• Why Are These Whales Floating Upside-Down? Moms Need a Break from Feeding Babies

• So you want to use plants to reduce CO₂

  maybe you’re OK living in a tanning booth. Or maybe you’ll keep your plants in a perfectly reflective chamber. Or maybe your house has a glass ceiling and infinite free sunlight and free climate control. That’s cool. But have you forgotten about your old friend, photosynthetic photon flux density?

• Danube's record low levels force shutdown of Hungary's only nuclear plant

• Saber-toothed cats became inbred–and struggled to move–before they went extinct