Life, uh, finds a way
A troubling sign for the American economy: Hiring is falling, indicating the job market is essentially “frozen.” / The New Republic
See also: The government shutdown means the economic data that fuels the jobs reports—and that businesses rely on—is now on hold. / Quartz
Ahead of last night’s funding deadline, the White House ordered multiple federal agencies to email workers a message blaming Democrats for the shutdown. / The Handbasket
National parks will remain open during the shutdown—however, parks were overrun with garbage and human waste in the last shutdown, and some closed because of damage from visitors. / NBC News
Unrelated: A New Jersey theme park is closing and selling off its animatronic dinosaurs. / Gizmodo
Netflix is eager to become a Disney-like brand with legions of diehard fans, except those people don’t exist. / The Atlantic [$]
OpenAI announces Sora 2, which is capable of producing disturbingly realistic footage, and a Sora social app for users to scan their faces and appear in their own videos. / YouTube, Axios
Related: Someone already used Sora 2 to make a video of Sam Altman trying to steal GPUs from a Target. / Bluesky
Kash Patel gifted 3D-printed guns to officials in New Zealand, where the weapons are illegal and had to be destroyed. / Associated Press
See also: Trump wants to give at least 20 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium to the private sector. / Gizmodo
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This is how free speech ends: Veep creator Armando Iannucci says investors are reluctant to fund his new project based on Trump. / Deadline
Counterpoint: “You might as well do commercials for Lockheed Martin or Zyklon B.” David Cross on the Riyadh Comedy Festival. / David Cross
“He was consciously trying to manipulate his headspace in the face of crushing uncertainty.” A medical oncologist reflects on one patient’s unflinching optimism. / Aeon
The “reconnect movement” offers phone-free hours for chronically online college students. / The New York Times [$]
Young people are said to be replacing older dating language—e.g., going around the bases—with terms like “sneaky links,” “zombies,” and “cushioning.” / The Atlantic [$]
“Getting a contentious divorce from a billionaire is easier than breaking a standard lease.” What to expect when you’re renting. / The Paris Review
What we lose when we lose restaurant menus, which serve as “a broader reflection of the tastes, prejudices, and requirements of the society of the day.” / Literary Review of Canada
A scientific analysis of how long you should cook pasta at home. / Jeff Kaufman
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