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This Bird Was Extinct. Now It’s Back, and Humans Must Help It Migrate for Winter (Maria)

The authors write, “The distinctive Northern Bald Ibis, hunted essentially to extinction by the 17th century, was revived by breeding and rewilding efforts over the last two decades. But the birds — known for their distinctive black-and-iridescent green plumage, bald red head and long, curved beak — don’t instinctively know which direction to fly to migrate without the guidance of wild-born elders. So a team of scientists and conservationists stepped in as foster parents and flight instructors. ‘We have to teach them the migration route,’ said biologist Johannes Fritz.”

RFK Jr. Was My Drug Dealer (Russ)

The author writes, “As a teenager in Nebraska, I’d smoked cannabis and dropped acid before I got to Harvard in 1972. Sometime during my freshman year, I tried cocaine, enjoyed it, and later decided to procure a gram for myself. A friend told me about a kid in our class who was selling coke. The dealer was Bobby Kennedy.”

Trump-Backed Alaska Republican Withdraws From US House Race After Third-Place Finish in Primary (DonkeyHotey)

The author writes, “Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, a Republican backed by former President Donald Trump, withdrew from the race for the state’s lone seat in the U.S. House on Friday after finishing third in this week’s primary. Her decision left second-place finisher Republican Nick Begich as the main challenger to Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, who is the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress. … The general election is expected to be hotly contested. The GOP is hoping to reclaim the seat that Republican U.S. Rep. Don Young held for 49 years before his death in 2022. Peltola won the seat with victories in special and regular elections that year.”

Keeping the Homeless Hydrated in America’s Hottest Big City (Laura)

From Context: “A Context photographer rode along with medics bringing vital heat relief to people living on the streets of Phoenix, Arizona.”

Boeing 737 MAX Whistleblower Releases Documents of Electrical Faults on Ethiopian Airlines Plane Involved in Deadly Crash (Reader Steve)

The author writes, “A new set of documents released by the Foundation for Aviation Safety (an advocacy group formed by former Boeing employee-turned-whistleblower Ed Pierson) suggests that an electrical malfunction could have caused the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash. The documents released on Thursday outlined a ‘slew of electrical issues’ that were discovered as Boeing assembled the Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed in 2019.”

An ‘AI Scientist’ Is Inventing and Running Its Own Experiments (Gerry)

From Wired: “At first glance, a recent batch of research papers produced by a prominent artificial intelligence lab at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver might not seem that notable. Featuring incremental improvements on existing algorithms and ideas, they read like the contents of a middling AI conference or journal. But the research is, in fact, remarkable. That’s because it’s entirely the work of an ‘AI scientist’ developed at the UBC lab together with researchers from the University of Oxford and a startup called Sakana AI.”

Lost Letters of Mary, Queen of Scots, Give up Their Secrets After 450 Years, Thanks To Northeastern Historian (Al)

From Northeastern Global News: “Despite 450 years having elapsed, the Tudor era is still releasing its secrets. For decades, it has been thought that there must be missing letters written by Mary, Queen of Scots, that explain what happened in the years leading up to her execution in 1587. And now, thanks to a team of computer scientists and historians, including Northeastern University associate professor Estelle Paranque, 50 letters have been uncovered, decoded and are being translated from medieval French into English.”

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