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Cloudflare Outage Causes Some Big Platforms To Go Dark; Mystery Traffic Spike Eyed (Maria)

The author writes, “A Cloudflare outage caused large chunks of the Internet to go dark Tuesday morning, temporarily impacting big platforms like X and ChatGPT. ‘A fix has been implemented and we believe the incident is now resolved. We are continuing to monitor,’ a Cloudflare spokesperson said. … After the company investigated a ‘spike in unusual traffic,’ the spokesperson provided a more detailed update.”

These Reagan-Appointed Judges Have Had It With Trump (Al)

From Politico: “When Donald Trump moved on his first day back in office to strip birthright citizenship from children born in the U.S. to some immigrant parents, U.S. District Judge John Coughenour called the newly inaugurated president a threat to the rule of law. Days after Trump mass-pardoned Jan. 6 defendants who attacked the Capitol, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth warned that for the first time in his career, ‘meritless justifications of criminal activity have gone mainstream.’ … In a year full of judicial rebukes for the president — often followed by vindication for Trump at the Supreme Court — these judges’ fierce and direct assessments of the president have stood out. But there’s more than lofty rhetoric that binds them. All were appointed to the bench decades ago by the same president: Ronald Reagan.”

The Cheap Health Insurance Promoted by Trump Officials Has This Catch (Russ)

The author writes, “Robert Hays, an industrial electronics salesman in Arkansas, thought he’d purchased conventional medical insurance. So did Essie Nath, 67, a retired cafeteria worker in Wyoming. So did Martin Liz, 47, a Key West chef. Each enrolled in the kind of private health insurance that Trump administration officials have promoted as an alternative to plans sold under Obamacare. The difference between the two options became all too clear after Hays, Nath and Liz required surgery: Their cheaper policies left them facing bills of tens of thousands of dollars. Hays is facing bills of $116,000 for neck surgery required after tweaking his neck while lifting weights; Nath had heart failure and got bills of $82,000; Liz is stuck with bills of more than $100,000 for a knee replacement.”

Home Depot Can’t Ignore Its ICE Problem Forever (Dana)

From Bloomberg: “There is no company in the US that has become more closely associated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids than Home Depot Inc. In and around the retailer’s parking lots, masked and armed ICE agents chase and tackle and detain the day laborers who gather there to look for work. Store employees who are upset by witnessing the grim scenes are allowed to go home for the day with pay — a tacit acknowledgement by Home Depot that the raids are violent and traumatic to watch. You won’t find the company saying as much publicly. Instead, it’s consistently offered the same answer after each episode, attempting to distance itself from not only the raids but also the workers who are getting hauled off in unmarked vans from its property.” 

AI Is Pushing Climate Goals Out of Reach, New Reports Say (Laura)

From Inside Climate News: “Without a big increase in investment in renewable energy globally, humanity will not limit global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius, but much of the data center boom is powered by fossil fuels.”

Seal Escapes Orca Hunt by Jumping Onto Photographer’s Boat (Reader Steve)

The author writes, “A wildlife photographer out on a whale watching trip in waters off Seattle captured dramatic video and photos of a pod of killer whales hunting a seal that survived only by clambering onto the stern of her boat.”