Fire crock with me
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, the House of Lords still has time to amend a bill removing limits on political donations—just after crypto billionaires gifted millions to Reform UK. / The Guardian
As AI leaders ask for regulation to pump the brakes on their models, we might also consider jailing them when their products do harm. / Reuters, The Register
See also: When AI companies tell you their agents “went rogue,” it’s essential to remember the bots did exactly what they were designed to do, but were inadequately supervised. / Pluralistic
“What does it mean if the A.I. programs in everything from our self-driving cars to the missiles that defend our airspace have been trained to ‘shut up and multiply’?” / The New Yorker
The number of Amazon workers on SNAP benefits nearly tripled between 2020 and 2025, while the company’s annual profits soared from $11.6 to $77.7 billion. / Fortune
Unrelated: Uber ceases operations in Nigeria, where subsidies and low demand meant it was often paying drivers more than it was charging passengers. / Semafor
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After Driscoll’s expanded its blueberry empire to China, local entrepreneurs plagiarized the company’s growing techniques, sending the market into freefall. / The Wall Street Journal [$]
Immigration lawyers say the government is withholding or heavily redacting the documents that prove their clients are in the US legally. / The New York Times [$]
“LMAO,” “LOL,” “idk,” and “blah” are among the search justifications cops entered into Flock databases, an investigation finds. / 404 Media
The popularity of libraries’ e-books poses a new sort of problem: “When licensing fees go down, so does publisher profit.” / Literary Hub
Many viral bodega peptides don’t contain the active ingredients on their labels—or if by chance at one point they did, the ingredients are now “corrupted beyond recognition.” / WIRED
A new study proposes the “natural kiln hypothesis,” where humans learned to create pottery by observing how wildfires harden clay. / Gizmodo
In our fast-fashion era, a community-led return to clothing repair has become practically transgressive. / Atmos
When a small town pays you to move there, they may even throw in free wine. / BBC News
A visual history of Wikipedia’s design, logos, and mascots. / It’s Nice That