“Companies have long fought off attacks from hackers hoping to exploit vulnerabilities in their software, employees or vendors. Now, another threat has emerged: Job candidates who aren’t who they say they are, wielding AI tools to fabricate photo IDs, generate employment histories and provide answers during interviews.”
“Kennedy’s comments are an excellent demonstration of how, in the Trump era, public statements by administration figures and their congressional backers are heavily influenced by the far-right and conspiratorial internet—sometimes in addled, confused, or strangely remixed forms.”
“Energy Star has saved American families and businesses more than half a trillion dollars in energy costs. By eliminating this program, [Trump] will force Americans to buy appliances that cost more to run and waste more energy.”
“What’s happening here is more than just routine network adjustments; it’s a strategy shift that suggests CBS is no longer hedging its bets on longevity and loyalty. Instead, it’s opting for the cheaper, faster turnover of reboots and spin-offs. If Friends were airing today, NBC wouldn’t be shelling out millions to keep the cast together. They’d be pitching David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston a spin-off where Ross and Rachel move to L.A. after their wedding.”
“Fur might be just what we needed in 2025. It’s the ultimate expression of the mob-wife aesthetic: a braggadocious affect, riding the line of classiness and trashiness while taking up considerable physical and psychic space. The style is ripe for this aesthetic moment, with its maximalist textures, layers, and silhouettes—and for the sociopolitical one, which prizes fleeting dopamine hits and rolls its eyes at moral inquiry.”
“What I think we’re looking at here is an absolute distillation of the ideology of this administration, which is a thoroughgoing hostility to anything that the government does that helps people. If you want to destroy the relationship between the public and government, you’re going to target the Energy Star program.”
“But being “desirable” in the Grid does not feel like being a rare jewel or a vintage wine. It is not about growing in value over time. It is about slowly slipping into obscurity. I cannot name the extra outfielder on the 1953 Detroit Tigers or where else he might have played in the ‘60s. One day, that will be me.”
“But the selection of dolls, in particular, as Trump’s stand-in for consumer prices reflects the gendered ideas about work, money and purchasing that animate Trump’s chaotic economic policy. After all, Trump did not talk about the impact of his trade regime on toy trucks or GI Joe action figures – and he certainly didn’t mention its likely impact on things like video games, basketballs, squat racks or protein powders.”
“A Novel Concept: Will Judges Start Enforcing the Law With DOGE?”
“Amazon is rolling out new ad formats on Prime Video, including contextually relevant pause ads and shoppable inventory.”
“The Congressional Budget Office Still Works”.
“Do you realize how many thousands of balloons it takes to predict the weather?”
“A possible Alvin Scott sighting surely outweighs racing off to fabricate a handful of sham-charges against good neighbors for pseudo-misdemeanors.”
“This “gift” is wildly corrupt, even by Trumpian standards. The idea that a foreign government could “gift” a half-billion-dollar plane to the Pentagon through some sleight of hand that then becomes the personal toy of an ex-president when he leaves office is absolutely absurd from an ethics standpoint and clearly unconstitutional vis-à-vis the so-called “emoluments clause,” which Trump has already severely bent in his first term.”
“A Paris court has found Gérard Depardieu guilty of sexual assault and given him a 18-month suspended sentence.”
“I would say my opinions about vaccines are irrelevant… I don’t want to seem like I am being evasive, but I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me.”
“With one third of the U.S. economy—from farming to trucking to tourism—being sensitive to weather and climate, the NWS provides an overall benefit of $100 billion to the economy. This is roughly 10 times what the service costs to run, according to an American Meteorological Society white paper.”
“But if Trump seemed somewhat restrained by the appearance of ethical conflicts during his first term, he no longer has any qualms about mixing the country’s business with his own.” Josh Marshall goes a lot deeper on the same topic.
“But in Trump’s America, a run-of-the-mill report from an independent, nonpartisan agency feels momentous, like some tiny part of the government remains untouched by the rampages of Elon Musk’s ostensible Department of Government Efficiency.”
RIP, Joe Don Baker, Texas-born actor known for Walking Tall, various Bond films, and a lot more.
“Russell Vought, acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has canceled plans to more tightly regulate the sale of Americans’ sensitive personal data.”
“Congratulations to Amazon on Its Partnership With the Saudi Prince Who Murdered Jeff Bezos’ Employee and Hacked His Phone”.
“Thursday brought an avalanche of data that all point to one outcome: Prices are going up. Just ask Walmart.”
RIP, Charles Strause, three-time Tony Award-winning composer whose musicals included Annie and Bye Bye Birduie, and also wrote “Those Were The Days”, the theme song to All In The Family. If you’ve never heard the latter, enjoy. Mark Evanier has more.