Bridesmaid revisited
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 capabilities. / NBC News
Iran says it won’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the United States meets its conditions. Meanwhile, Donald Trump says “we are low-keying it.” / The Associated Press, Axios
Author Davy Rothbart pens an update about a friend held by ICE in Michigan. “I’ve learned that sometimes it’s okay not to have the answers, as long as you keep asking questions.” / Google Docs
Today in tax avoidance: Crocs claims all its profits are thanks to two employees in Malta. / The New York Times [$]
As search traffic plummets, USA Today plans to work with Palantir to “take a lot of the anonymous interactions we have today and turn those into known relationships.” / Nieman Lab
TIME magazine is serving special ads just for AI bots. / The Register
See also: A list chronicles the growing number of literary awards given to works where artificial intelligence was used (or was suspected) as part of the writing process. / James Yu
If you enjoy these headlines, please join us as a Sustaining Member to support what we do and unlock access to paywalled links.
Mark Zuckerberg’s $300 million yacht fails to assist a 21-foot skiff after it runs out of fuel. / Alaska Beacon
Americans took a record 24 million trips to Europe in 2025, and the number is expected to increase this year by five percent. / The Wall Street Journal [$]
The Perseid summer meteor shower is expected to peak this week on Wednesday evening. / The Guardian
A day in the life of an Oakland bar that opens at eight in the morning. / The Oaklandside
What it’s like to lose $1.6 million in Bitcoin in eight minutes. / TLDR
Things learned from being a bridesmaid 40 times. “I should own an apartment in New York by this point.” / Vogue