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You Knew It Was Coming: Google Begins Testing AI-Only Search Results (Maria)
The author writes, “Google has become so integral to online navigation that its name became a verb, meaning ‘to find things on the Internet.’ Soon, Google might just tell you what’s on the Internet instead of showing you. The company has announced an expansion of its AI search features, powered by Gemini 2.0. … Google is testing a more substantial change in the form of AI Mode. This version of Google won’t show you the 10 blue links at all.”
Judges Face Rise in Threats as Musk Blasts Them Over Rulings (Dana)
The authors write, “US Marshals have warned federal judges of unusually high threat levels as tech billionaire Elon Musk and other Trump administration allies ramp up efforts to discredit judges who stand in the way of White House efforts to slash federal jobs and programs, said several judges with knowledge of the warnings. In recent weeks, Musk, congressional Republicans, and other top allies of U.S. President Donald Trump have called for the impeachment of some federal judges or attacked their integrity in response to court rulings that have slowed the Trump administration’s moves to dismantle entire government agencies and fire tens of thousands of workers.”
Inside Ukraine’s Secretive Hacker Group Helping Track Down Children Abducted by Russia in Putin’s War (Siobhán)
From The Independent: “In the three years of Putin’s bloody war against Ukraine, one of the most shocking statistics to emerge is that as many as 150,000 children may have been abducted by Russia. … Attempts to retrieve the children by family members have, overwhelmingly, proved fruitless. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has labeled the deportations as a war crime and issued an arrest warrant for Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, his ‘commissioner for children’s rights,’ in March 2023. But there are those trying to help rescue the children and return them to their homeland, including hacker groups using Ukraine’s technological expertise to do it.”
People Are Paying Millions to Dine With Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago (Sean)
From Wired: “Guests are paying millions of dollars to dine and meet with President Donald Trump at special events held at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Business leaders can secure a one-on-one meeting with the president at Mar-a-Lago for $5,000,000, according to sources with direct knowledge of the meetings. At a so-called Candlelight Dinner held as recently as this past Saturday, prospective Mar-a-Lago guests were asked to spend $1,000,000 to reserve a seat, according to an invitation obtained by WIRED.”
A Study of Mint Plants. A Device to Stop Bleeding. This Is the Scientific Research Ted Cruz Calls ‘Woke.’ (Laura)
From ProPublica: “The senator flagged thousands of National Science Foundation grants for using words like ‘female’ and ‘diversify.’ A ProPublica analysis found numerous examples of projects caught up in his crude method for identifying research he calls ‘woke.’”
The 10 Most Charitable People in America (Reader Jim)
The author writes, “Michael Bloomberg topped the list of the United States’ biggest charitable donors, for the second year in a row, the Chronicle of Philanthropy announced Tuesday. … While Bloomberg continues to give away much of his vast fortune, many of the most prominent billionaires in the U.S. failed to do the same. Just 19 of the richest Americans on the Forbes 400 made the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s list of the country’s 50 biggest donors. Bill Gates came in 18th place, while his ex-wife Melinda came in seventh place. Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, and Larry Page all failed to make the rankings, despite being among the 10 wealthiest people in the country.”
