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NASA Unveils Close-Up Photos of Comet Zipping by From Another Star (Maria)

The author writes, “NASA unveiled close-up pictures on Wednesday of the interstellar comet that’s making a quick one-and-done tour of the solar system. Discovered over the summer, the comet known as 3I/Atlas is only the third confirmed object to visit our corner of the cosmos from another star. It zipped harmlessly past Mars last month. … It is visible from Earth in the predawn sky with binoculars or a telescope.”

How Trump Has Exploited Pardons and Clemency to Reward Allies and Supporters (Dana)

The author writes, “The beneficiaries of President Donald Trump’s mercy in his second term have mostly been people with access to the president or his inner circle. Those who have followed the rules set out by the Department of Justice, meanwhile, are still waiting. Trump has granted clemency to allies, donors, and culture-war figures — as well as felons who, like him, were convicted of financial wrongdoing. [Earlier this month], he granted pardons to 77 people, including Rudy Giuliani and other allies tied to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, though they are mostly symbolic because federal pardons do not apply to ongoing or possible state prosecutions. … For those who followed the standard protocol set out by the Department of Justice, the sense is growing that the process no longer matters.”

Florida Grandfather, Born in Refugee Camp, Nabbed by ICE After 70 Years in US (Laura)

From the Orlando Sentinel: “Paul John Bojerski was born to Polish parents in a German refugee camp a year after World War II ended. His family legally emigrated to the United States in 1952 when he was five. More than seven decades later, the 79-year-old Sanford grandfather — still a man without a country — found himself in legal limbo in the Alligator Alcatraz detention camp in the Everglades, picked up on a decades-old deportation order authorities had previously chosen not to enforce. Bojerski’s case is complex and unusual — the most bizarre one his immigration attorney says he has handled in 30 years — but also part of the Trump administration’s widespread effort to deport millions of immigrants who it claims lack legal standing to be in the U.S, even those who lived here for decades with full knowledge of immigration officials.”

The Surveillance Empire That Tracked World Leaders, a Vatican Enemy, and Maybe You (Russ)

From Mother Jones: “Inside the hidden world of First Wap, whose untraceable tech has targeted politicians, journalists, celebrities, and activists around the globe.”

The AI Bubble Is Bigger Than You Think (Sean)

From The American Prospect: “Last month, the big focus was ‘round-tripping,’ the way that sundry AI and tech companies were investing in their own customers — with Nvidia giving AI companies the investment necessary to buy their graphics processing units, and so on. But there’s a lot more to this story, tangled up with yet another rebrand by the former masters of the universe, from ‘shadow banks’ without proper regulation into something boring and neutral-sounding: private credit. … The speculative financing of the artificial intelligence buildout is happening mostly in private credit, where assets under management hit $1.6 trillion in February and are likely higher today. The deals being made are perverse and irrational; there are huge mismatches between the life cycle of the assets being funded and the amount of time it will take to pay them off.”

The Hidden Group That Loses COVID Protection Fast (Mili)

The author writes, “Why do some people stay protected after vaccination while others quickly lose immunity? Researchers in Japan tracked over 2,500 people for 18 months and found four distinct immune response patterns. The so-called ‘rapid-decliners’ looked strong at first but lost antibodies quickly, leaving them more vulnerable to infection.”

Owl Partially Covered in Concrete Is Cleaned Up and Recovering After Rescue in Utah (Reader Steve)

The author writes, “When workers began pouring concrete at a resort construction site in southwestern Utah, they were met with a surprise: A great horned owl appeared in the slurry as it emptied from the truck, its body coated with the mixture. Workers came to the bird’s aid, hosing it down before the environmental affairs director at the Black Desert Resort wrapped it in a towel and made a call to state wildlife officials. It took days for workers at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab to painstakingly remove the concrete from the bird’s face, chest, and right wing. They called the bird a ‘fighter,’ and it is expected to fly free again.”