The White House praises data centers while announcing a self-policing accord for artificial intelligence companies. / Semafor President Trump says government employees should refer to AI as “super intelligence,” because “the word super is the best word of all.” / The V…

Anticipating Israel’s October elections, a deeply reported primer on Benjamin Netanyahu’s Qatargate scandal. / The New Yorker Netanyahu reportedly traveled to the UAE this weekend to ask it...

American taxpayers are footing the bill for Trump’s pro-Republican midterm TV ads that the White House claims are “public service announcements.” / CNBC To deal with rising food costs, Golden Corral reorganized its buffets to pair more and less pricey foods into “modul…

Even after OpenAI banned her account, a school shooter continued planning her attack by asking ChatGPT how to evade moderation: “You can still be twisted. Just be clever about it.” (Content warning) /...

Living near an Amazon distribution center piloting the company’s new drone deliveries is not unlike listening to an 83-pound mosquito buzz past your house all day long. / The New York Times [$] Living near an Amazon distribution center piloting the c…

To garner approval for his projects, Trump consistently cites “national security,” which is apparently why his triumphal arch now has snipers. / The New York Times [$] See also: In...

The White House is scheduled to pay 28 countries some $410 million to accept around 25,000 deportees. / AFP “The whole point was to circumvent [congressional] notification that money was bei...

It’s a big week for global diplomacy as international leaders meet in New York City. / Semafor A shipment of secret stealth fighter tech was recently sent to Hong Kong by accident. Meanwhile, an AI-b...

Over-touristed destinations “and overheated summers” have pushed many travelers into seeking out fall vacations. / The New York Times [$] This past summer was the hottest on record for the ...

The death toll from the Bhote Koshi river flood in Nepal has surpassed 1,400, with more than 6,000 people reported missing. / Nepal News Some details on a secret dam project high in Tibet, likely to ...

The European Union invites Canada to be its first “associate member” because they’re “united by shared values.” / The Guardian American oil executives say President Trump’s war on Iran has f...

Today the Senate is scheduled for a cloture vote on a cryptocurrency bill advertised as ethics legislation, yet it’s “riddled with loopholes to protect Trump’s grift.” / NPR, Citation Needed Likewise...

Kennedy Center officials installed by Trump say the only way they can think of to save the institution is to put the president’s name back on the building. / The Washington Post [$] In gove...

The United States commemorates the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. / Associated Press According to the CDC, following 9/11, some 400,000 people were exposed to “toxic contaminants, risk of ...

An investigation finds Facebook is hosting AI-generated videos depicting violence against children, and Meta doesn’t seem especially concerned about removing them. / Futurism As part of the AI-centri...

Britain, France, and nine other countries announce sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. / Al Jazeera Israel’s destruction of Gaza has generated some 61 million tons of wreckage—and clea...

Newly released documents appear to show New York officials misleading the public on air quality dangers in the months following the Sept. 11 attacks. / The New York Times [$] Ameri...

We’ll be off on Monday for Labor Day, and will see you again on Tuesday! Lake America, the Dept. of War, nicknames for political enemies: President Trump’s renaming obsession would be outright dumb i...

Defense Secretary Hegseth quietly extends troop deployments in Iran into 2027. / The Wall Street Journal [$] Among war basics being ignored by the White House—make sure you have enough weap...

An analysis of fossilized Galápagos corals shows the current Super El Niño is the strongest in 1,000 years. / Ars Technica “When power is mobilized by an appliance to do work, heat will be shed somew...

Sweden orders warships from France, Greece orders air defense from Israel, China pledges stronger ties to Russia. / DefenseNews, Reuters Meanwhile, President Trump is “sending a message” to Iran by p...

More than a dozen people remain missing, and at least one person is dead, from flash floods that hit a remote area of the Grand Canyon yesterday. / NBC News Over the past year, the Trump administrati...

How the US-Israel war on Iran has weaponized the global economy, turning the world’s shipping routes into theaters of conflict. / The Wall Street Journal [$] Scientists say Australia is the...

ICE is arresting a record number of people by hiring more agents, deputizing cops, and targeting immigrants without criminal records. / The New York Times [$] During this month’s IndyCar ev...

The one and only Dolly Parton dies at 80. / The New York Times [$] According to Jane Fonda, she was the voluptuous embodiment of empathy, ”and then she’d stick her butt out the car window a...

Internal documents show Kennedy Center ticket sales and fundraising fell after the Trump takeover, then cratered after his name was added to the center. / The Washington Post [$] World Bank...

Entering this year’s Super El Niño, it’s worth remembering we live on a water planet, and “the ocean is the atmosphere, but upside down and wet.” / Our Blue Frontier Ninety percent of energy building...

The USS Abraham Lincoln is headed home following its nine-month deployment—the same ship where sailors reportedly attempted to jump overboard. / NBC News, Navy Times A new aircraft carrier scheduled ...

Because of their high win rate, 152 Polymarket wallets are suspected of trading in US military intelligence—and likewise providing an open book to foreign adversaries. / Reuters La...

The regional order that has prevailed in the Middle East since 1991 is said to be crumbling, if not finished. / Foreign Affairs Israel bombs an airbase in Syria to stop Turkey from rebuilding it. Tur...

You may rock the karaoke, you may even have impressed the judges on American Idol, but you don’t know lyrics until you’ve seen them in alphabetical order.

Maps from satellite imagery show how record heat and drought are depleting Europe’s rivers, threatening regional economies and energy production. / The Wall Street Journal [$] “Wit...

An awfully different young man graduates from high school and quickly learns more than he bargained about snack foods, ducks, and a secret family history.

President Trump orders a reduction in joint military exercises with South Korea, citing its unwillingness to help in the Iran war and his “very good relationship” with Kim Jong Un. / The Associated Pr...

Since the start of the summer, nearly 500 people have been arrested in France on suspicion of starting wildfires. / The Guardian Drought is declared in three-quarters of England and all of Wales. / N...

A New York Times veteran considers the art of the obituary and how words give shape to legacies.

ICE plans to equip officers with shock gloves that can incapacitate people, and it’s obvious from the manual that some of those people will be badly injured or worse. / 404 Media At least two Florida...

Nearly two and a half million girls have been denied access to secondary education since the Taliban returned to power five years ago. / DW UNESCO says over 90% of 10-year-olds in Afghanistan can’t r...

Brands are already paying to influence what chatbots say about them

Construction on President Trump’s wall in Texas will bulldoze the site of the Porvenir massacre, “a hundred-year-old crime scene” and a sacred place for the victims’ descendents. / Texas Monthly ...

Turkey says its new pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is basically the same as NATO’s mutual defense agreement. / Reuters Worth noting, the accord doesn’t appear to include Pakistan’s nuclear capab...

There are eight million stories in a city. How many are there at Walmart? Random telephone calls made to hear about life inside.

Israel approves a plan to seize some 70 historic sites in the West Bank, looking to sever Palestinians from any historic connection to the land. / Al Jazeera Iran-linked hackers are attackin...

My paternal grandmother hailed from the north country. That made her a descendent of the Lanna Kingdom, and in photographs from her younger years, you can see hints of that bloodline in her pale skin...

The US oil embargo causes another blackout in Cuba, with people sleeping by the sea for relief from the heat. / Associated Press Unrelated: “The expansion would make Stargate one of the largest fossi...

Europe is having a low wildfire year at the same time that some parts of the continent are battling huge outbreaks. Meanwhile, its rivers are drying up. / By the Numbers, The Week Ice areas on Mount ...