The world's largest fusion reactor fires up in Japan and produces plasma. / Science 

China's first domestic gene-therapy breakthrough restores natural hearing pathways for deaf children. / MIT Technology Review

Unrelated: The British Navy ends its tradition of "Chinese laundrymen on warships," and will now hire Nepalese Gurkhas? / The Telegraph

The EPA's annual pollution report lists last year's top 10 greenhouse gas emitters in the United States. / Inside Climate News

The House of Representatives' GOP proposal for aid to Israel would be paid by taking money from the IRS. / Politico

Btw: "For months, the online chattering classes have been speculating that Ron DeSantis is wearing inserts in his shoes to boost his height." / Intelligencer

A new study finds abortions increasing in the year following the Supreme Court's repeal of Roe v. Wade. / The Wall Street Journal [+] 

Some $50 billion in opioid settlement cash is on the way, but only 12 states have committed to detailed public reporting of their spending. / KFF Health News

Solitary confinement was developed from Quaker ideas about the redemptive power of silence—progressive desires that have "come to ruin." / The Public Domain Review

Remember the AI-generated Seinfeld show? It's still popular, though stuck in a short, repeating loop. / 404 Media

Regarding yesterday's links about "paintfluencer" Devon Rodriguez and controlism: "AI models are the latest and most desperate attempt to heal the division between ourselves and the world." / Empire of the Senseless 

Unsurprising headline of the week: "Students Outrunning Faculty in AI Use." / Inside Higher Ed


According to the CDC, 50 countries worldwide have drinkable tap water. / Big Think

A comprehensive map of more than 1,000 classic Los Angeles restaurants. (The creator explains why.) / Google Maps, Jake's Substack