Alvaro Lopez Ortega / 2026-06-02 Briefing

Created Wed, 03 Jun 2026 01:41:17 +0000 Modified Wed, 10 Jun 2026 13:54:29 +0000
7107 Words

A proposed AI Executive Order could allow the federal government to pick winners and losers in the tech industry. Meanwhile, reports reveal ICE holds a $2 million contract for mobile-hacking spyware. In the infrastructure race, Marvell unveiled 102.4 Tbps switch silicon for AI datacenters, and HPE reported a record quarter driven by AI demand. Additionally, Microsoft has pledged not to pursue legal action against security researchers.

🤖 AI & Machine Learning

Cisco sings Mythos’ praises - but doesn’t say how many bugs the model uncovered

Cisco has praised the Mythos model but has not disclosed the specific number of bugs it uncovered. Meanwhile, Anthropic has expanded its Project Glasswing initiative by adding 150 new partners.

Qualcomm CEO: AI agents will be invisible, inescapable, and follow you across devices

Qualcomm’s CEO predicts that AI agents will become an inescapable and invisible presence that follows users across all their devices. This shift toward ubiquitous AI raises questions about the emergence of personalized digital assistants and the potential end of personal privacy.

Claude celebrates Anthropic’s stock market float with blockbuster … outage

The AI chatbot Claude experienced a significant outage coinciding with Anthropic’s stock market float. The service disruption occurred during the company’s major financial announcement.

LLMs are not the black box you were promised

Advancements in mechanistic interpretability, such as Anthropic’s circuit tracing, are allowing researchers to decompose LLM activations into human-interpretable features. This process reveals how models perform multi-step reasoning, providing a foundation for improving model safety, steering, and algorithm design.

Now AI agents need what RSS does

While once considered obsolete, RSS is becoming a vital tool for AI agents that require structured, deterministic, and predictable data. Unlike the unpredictable nature of social media algorithms or the high maintenance of web scraping, RSS provides a reliable, low-maintenance method for automated systems to monitor and consume content.

Rudus (YC P26) – AI for concrete contractors

Rudus is an AI-powered takeoff and estimation platform designed specifically for concrete subcontractors to automate material quantification from structural plans. Using proprietary computer vision, the tool identifies concrete elements and automatically calculates detailed assembly line items such as concrete, formwork, and rebar. The platform acts as a workflow “copilot,” aiming to accelerate the bidding process while allowing estimators to maintain control and verify all outputs.

Microsoft’s MAI-Code-1-Flash Scores 51% SWE-Bench Pro with Just 5B Active Params

Microsoft’s MAI-Code-1-Flash model has achieved a 51% score on the SWE-Bench Pro benchmark using only 5 billion active parameters. Optimized for GitHub Copilot in VS Code, the model features agentic execution and broad support across various programming languages and frameworks.

MAI-Thinking-1

Microsoft AI has announced the launch of seven new MAI models. This release marks an expansion of their current suite of artificial intelligence models.

Microsoft Announces Scout AI Agent

Microsoft has announced Scout, an autonomous AI agent built on the OpenClaw platform that integrates into Microsoft Teams. The agent is designed to automate office tasks such as scheduling, drafting responses, and managing calendars by proactively analyzing emails and messages to track commitments and workloads.

Bringing Up DeepSeek-V4-Flash on AMD MI300X

Running the DeepSeek-V4-Flash model on AMD’s MI300X accelerator using vLLM presents significant technical challenges. Key obstacles include resolving numerical errors caused by the hardware’s specific FP8 “fnuz” dialect and implementing necessary optimized attention paths for the model’s sparse architecture.

Anthropic scales Claude Mythos to critical infrastructure in 15 countries

Anthropic is expanding its Project Glasswing initiative to approximately 150 new organizations across more than 15 countries to identify and fix critical software vulnerabilities. Using its Claude Mythos AI model, the expansion targets essential industries such as healthcare, power, and communications to mitigate large-scale security risks.

CLI tool that packages data science projects for LLM context windows

Data2prompt is a command-line interface (CLI) tool designed to optimize data-heavy projects for Large Language Model (LLM) context windows. The tool utilizes intelligent sampling, schema extraction, and strategic truncation for files such as CSV, SQL, and Jupyter Notebooks to prevent context overflow while preserving essential semantic structure.

New AI-Powered Search Service for Agents

Perplexity and Microsoft are both introducing new search technologies specifically designed to enhance the capabilities of AI agents. Perplexity’s “Search as Code” provides programmable primitives via an SDK for complex tasks, while Microsoft’s Web IQ offers Bing-powered grounding APIs to optimize web data access for platforms like Copilot and ChatGPT.

How we index images for RAG

Kapa optimizes RAG for technical documentation by using a vision model to describe images during the indexing stage rather than processing them at query time. This approach avoids high costs and payload limits while significantly improving the accuracy of AI-generated answers with minimal added overhead.

Build Your Own AI Agent CLI in 150 Lines

This project demonstrates how to build a customizable AI agent command-line interface using only 150 lines of code. By leveraging an existing Go microservices framework, the author provides a highly extensible foundation for developing AI agent tools.

The Rise of Anti-AI AI Slop

Online movements protesting new AI data centers are increasingly being flooded with AI-generated misinformation and repetitive, generic memes. While local community opposition is genuine, these AI-produced posts often spread false claims and use standardized imagery to manipulate public sentiment.

Eyeball

Eyeball is designed for precision clicking using a mouse or trackpad. While touch controls are available, they lack the necessary accuracy for competitive gameplay.

California’s university system went all in on AI, now it’s tearing itself apart

The University of California system is facing significant internal division following its large-scale commitment to integrating artificial intelligence. This widespread push has sparked intense debate among faculty and administrators regarding academic integrity, resource allocation, and the future of teaching methods.

Mellum2 Goes Open Source: A Fast Model for AI Workflows

JetBrains has open-sourced Mellum2, a 12B parameter Mixture-of-Experts model optimized for natural language and code processing. The model is engineered to reduce latency and cost in production AI workflows, such as routing, summarization, and RAG pipelines.

Microsoft and Mayo Clinic partner to build AI healthcare assistants and tools using Mayo data

Microsoft and Mayo Clinic are partnering to develop an AI model trained on specialized medical data and clinical expertise to provide more accurate health information for patients and providers. The project aims to create new clinical tools and a patient healthcare assistant, though officials expect it will take several years to refine the model for high-stakes medical use.

Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman on models catching up to SOTA and refusing to distill models

Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman stated that the company’s latest models have reached the level of recent industry leaders within just six months of development. He emphasized Microsoft’s focus on building its own frontier models and custom hardware without relying on model distillation.

Microsoft announces open-source Agent Control Specification for AI agent governance.

Microsoft has introduced the Agent Control Specification (ACS), an open-source standard designed to provide consistent, granular governance for AI agents across various environments. The specification allows developers to implement unified policies, such as requiring human approval or redacting sensitive data, through an SDK compatible with major frameworks like LangChain and OpenAI.

Perplexity Computer feature splits tasks between on-device and server-based AI models

Perplexity has announced a new hybrid feature for Perplexity Computer that automatically splits tasks between local on-device models and powerful server-based models. This system is designed to process sensitive data locally while leveraging cloud-based AI for complex computations, with the feature expected to arrive in July.

OpenAI: Codex weekly active users hit 5M+, up 6x since Feb; 20% are knowledge workers.

OpenAI’s new report reveals that Codex has reached over 5 million weekly active users, marking a more than sixfold increase since February. The tool is evolving beyond coding, with knowledge workers now comprising 20% of the user base for tasks such as data analysis and workflow automation.

Tencent to test WeChat AI agent with small group ahead of phased rollout

Tencent plans to test a new AI agent for WeChat with a small group of users before initiating a phased rollout. The move comes as the company seeks to catch up with domestic rivals in the development of AI models.

🔒 Security & Privacy

‘Dumbass’ criminal breaks the ‘first rule of ransomware club’

A cybercriminal has violated the unwritten “first rule of ransomware club” by targeting individuals in Russia and other CIS countries. This rule traditionally dictates that ransomware attackers avoid infecting targets within these specific regions.

Spyware and Government Surveillance

A lawsuit has revealed that ICE holds a $2 million contract for spyware capable of hacking mobile devices for immigration enforcement, though much of the documentation remains heavily redacted. Concurrently, Russia’s FSB claims to have uncovered a large-scale operation by foreign intelligence agencies using spyware to target and monitor the smartphones of senior officials.

Microsoft eases stance on security researchers

Following backlash over its response to the public disclosure of Windows vulnerabilities, Microsoft has clarified that it will not pursue legal action against security researchers. The company aims to repair its relationship with the cybersecurity community and reaffirmed its commitment to engaging with vulnerability hunters in good faith.

The advertising cartel coming to your web browser

Tech giants Meta, Google, and Apple are developing a browser-integrated advertising measurement system called Attribution Level 1 to track ad impressions and conversions. Critics warn that this new standard could grant Big Tech an unfair competitive advantage and facilitate riskier tracking practices by bypassing standard privacy regulations.

I was just scammed by Polymarket

A user has publicly claimed to have been scammed by the prediction market platform Polymarket. The allegation was shared in a recent post on the social media platform X.

A walking tour of surveillance infrastructure in Seattle

A walking tour guide in downtown Seattle helps participants identify and analyze various “smart city” surveillance technologies, such as cameras and automated systems. The tour aims to promote critical discussion about privacy and data collection by examining the mechanics and social implications of these tools.

Privacy isn’t dead: it’s just that tech companies have made it inconvenient

Many individuals justify sharing personal data by weighing immediate digital benefits against abstract risks, a process the author describes as a flawed mental shortcut. This approach overlooks the potential for long-term data misuse and the fundamental importance of maintaining control over personal information.

German police may be using advertising data unlawfully obtained from brokers

Criminal investigation offices in at least two German states are using advertising data purchased from brokers to investigate cyber and white-collar crimes. Legal experts warn that this practice lacks a legal basis and poses a significant risk of uncontrolled mass surveillance.

Virginia man seeks class action against Amazon over Ring face-scanning feature

A Virginia resident has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Amazon, alleging that Ring’s “Familiar Faces” feature collects and stores facial recognition data of passersby without their consent. The lawsuit seeks at least $5 million in damages, adding to a string of privacy-related controversies involving the company’s security division.

Dutch watchdog files complaint over Flo collecting and selling intimate data

The Dutch privacy group Bits of Freedom has filed a complaint against the period-tracking app Flo, alleging the company sells sensitive user health data to third parties for targeted advertising. Flo denies these allegations, which follow a 2025 class-action settlement regarding claims that the app shared user data with companies such as Meta and Google.

Codex Discovered a Hidden HTTP/2 Bomb

A new remote denial-of-service exploit, known as the “HTTP/2 Bomb,” has been discovered that can rapidly exhaust the memory of major web servers including nginx, Apache, and IIS. The attack chains HPACK header compression abuse with a Slowloris-style hold to trigger massive memory allocation, potentially rendering vulnerable servers inaccessible within seconds.

Memory safety is a matter of life and death

The widespread availability of AI-driven bug-finding agents is expected to trigger a “vulnpocalypse,” significantly increasing the risk of catastrophic exploits in memory-unsafe software. To prevent these vulnerabilities from causing real-world harm, the author argues that adopting memory-safe languages, specifically Rust, is a moral imperative.

Browser identification through header order

The article explores passive techniques for distinguishing genuine web browsers from simulators by analyzing HTTP header ordering and TCP/IP options. It also details how patterns in random number generation can be used to fingerprint specific browsers and operating systems.

Google adds RCS-based scam detection to Android 12+ to verify caller identity.

Google is launching a new feature for Android 12 and later that utilizes the RCS standard to detect and flag spoofed calls. This technology performs a digital validity check to verify if a call originates from the actual smartphone associated with a contact’s number, helping to prevent AI-driven impersonation scams.

Meta expands Teen Accounts safety features to limit harmful content on Instagram, Facebook, and M…

Meta is expanding safety features for its “Teen Accounts” across Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger to limit the frequency of content related to topics such as nutrition, weightlifting, and anxiety. These updates, which include an expanded content rating system, follow recent legal setbacks for the company regarding child safety and platform design.

🔌 Hardware & Infrastructure

Marvell enters the AI network fray with 102.4 Tbps switch silicon

Marvell has introduced new 102.4 Tbps switch silicon designed to meet the demands of AI datacenters. The chip focuses on providing high radix, low latency, and low power consumption for AI networking.

Intel and pals cram 36,864 CPU cores into a 100kW rack while chasing the agentic AI dragon

Intel and SambaNova have secured their first customer for a disaggregated inference blueprint aimed at agentic AI. Additionally, Microsoft is working to repair relations with security researchers, while HPE reports a record quarter driven by AI and networking demand.

HP re-releases classic computer science calculator: The HP-16C

Hewlett-Packard has re-released the HP-16C Collector’s Edition, a high-performance calculator that is up to 100x faster than the original model. This updated version introduces a new program save/load feature and supports advanced functions such as bitwise operations and customizable word sizes.

I rode Elon Musk’s Vegas Loop, the worst transit system on Earth

Elon Musk’s Vegas Loop, an ambitious underground transit project, is facing heavy criticism for its unrealistic passenger projections and disconnected network of stations. The system currently operates using human-driven Teslas and has been marred by allegations of safety violations and regulatory non-compliance.

Texas adds another solar farm as ERCOT grid demand soars

Vesper Energy has secured $236 million in financing for the 201 MW Nazareth Solar project in Swisher County, Texas. Scheduled to come online in fall 2027, the solar farm will generate enough electricity to power approximately 53,000 homes to help meet rising demand on the ERCOT grid.

thunderbolt-ibverbs: We have InfiniBand at home

The thunderbolt-ibverbs project uses a Linux kernel module and userspace shim to emulate a high-performance InfiniBand device over a generic USB4 connection. This implementation achieves approximately 48 Gb/s per direction and 7 µs one-way latency, significantly outperforming standard 2.5 GbE and soft-RoCE alternatives.

SK Hynix to double memory chip capacity in 5 years to combat shortage lasting until 2030

SK Hynix plans to double its memory chip capacity over the next five years to address a global shortage of essential AI components. Chairman Chey Tae-won stated that the company is ramping up spending to combat a supply deficit that could persist until 2030.

Sam Altman on OpenAI’s Stargate project and coding models driving AI demand (CNBC)

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman discussed the massive Stargate data center project in Saline, Michigan, which could involve investments totaling up to $50 billion. Altman expressed confidence in the project’s long-term value, citing a surge in demand for compute power driven primarily by the rise of coding models.

💻 Software & Development

Gleam v1.17.0

Gleam v1.17.0 introduces the gleam export escript command, which simplifies the creation of single-file Erlang executables. The update also features language server enhancements for variable highlighting and support for the todo keyword within constant expressions.

My thoughts after using Clojure for about a month

After using Clojure for a month to build a static site generator, the author reflects on the language’s ergonomic power and cohesive design. They contrast Clojure’s unified abstractions favorably against Common Lisp and praise its “batteries-included” approach compared to the minimalism of Scheme.

Open Repair Data Standard – Open Repair Alliance

The Open Repair Data Standard (ORDS) provides a unified framework for collecting and sharing repair information regarding small electrical and electronic products. By standardizing data across product, repair, and session categories, the standard enables the aggregation of global datasets to identify recurring repair trends and patterns.

Gmail thinks I’m stupid, so I left

A long-time Gmail user is leaving the platform after 16 years due to frustration with intrusive and unsolicited generative AI features. The author is transitioning to Fastmail with a custom domain to avoid unwanted interruptions like automatic message summaries and writing prompts.

Microsoft and GitHub Developer Tool Updates

GitHub has launched a technical preview of its Copilot desktop app, designed to centralize agent-driven development by managing multiple AI agents and parallel workflows. Additionally, Microsoft announced new Windows 11 developer tools, including Linux-like Coreutils and an experimental Intelligent Terminal featuring agent integration.

RePlaya – self-hosted browser session replay with live tailing

RePlaya is a self-hosted browser session replay tool that utilizes rrweb and a unique stream-per-session architecture. By leveraging S2, the tool enables straightforward live tailing by allowing the player to read directly from the same stream used by the recorder.

BPF Support in GCC 16 and Beyond

Developers at the 2026 Linux Summit announced that GCC’s BPF support is approaching feature parity with LLVM, successfully passing an increasing number of Linux kernel BPF self-tests. Efforts are now focused on resolving remaining technical challenges and expanding BPF support across the broader GNU toolchain.

Coreutils for Windows

Microsoft is developing “Coreutils for Windows,” a preview-stage project that provides a native, multi-call binary of UNIX-style utilities, including coreutils, findutils, and GNU-compatible grep. The project aims to enable a seamless transition between Linux, macOS, WSL, and Windows by allowing existing commands and pipelines to work without translation.

The hardest kind of unsafe Rust

iddqd is a Rust library for maps that allows keys to be borrowed directly from their associated values, preventing data duplication and synchronization issues. Used in Oxide’s Omicron control plane, the library provides an efficient way to manage large in-memory indexes for resources such as disk and sled inventories.

Opstan, a decentralized social network on a PoW blockchain

Opstan is an open-source blockchain that utilizes a Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism. The platform features an integrated decentralized social network.

KDE Plasma’s Last X11 Release

Starting with Plasma 6.8, KDE will officially remove the X11 session and phase out X11-specific code to focus development exclusively on Wayland. While the X11 login option will no longer be available, XWayland will continue to support X11 applications to ensure backward compatibility.

CSS-Native Parallax Effect

CSS scroll-driven animation timelines now enable a native, high-performance parallax effect, replacing the need for traditional JavaScript-based scroll listeners. This declarative approach simplifies implementation by using properties like view-timeline-name to link animation progress directly to an element’s position within the viewport.

Stop Ruining It

The article argues that essential qualities like trust, curiosity, and customer delight are not features to be added, but what remains when interference is prevented. Using the metaphor of stereo manufacturing, the author suggests that success is achieved by avoiding the destruction of inherent potential.

Lemmings for Picotron

An unofficial fan project is underway to create a hypothetical early 90s version of Lemmings for the Picotron platform. The project features hand-recreated classic, expansion, and console-exclusive levels, as well as demakes of levels from the PSP remake.

The TUI Renaissance

strace-ui is an interactive terminal user interface designed to enhance the strace debugging experience through features like syscall filtering and improved process management. The article also introduces Bonsai, a reactive OCaml-based UI framework that utilizes functional state machines and incremental rendering to build efficient user interfaces.

macOS needs its grid back

An author has developed a new application to restore the customizable, grid-based “Spaces” functionality that was removed in macOS Lion. The tool aims to bring back the efficient spatial navigation and muscle memory provided by the previous multi-row virtual desktop layout.

Is Apple creating its own Splitwise?

Apple is reportedly developing a feature for its Wallet and Messages apps that allows users to split bills by photographing receipts. Integrated with Apple Cash, the tool would automate payment requests and include the calculation of taxes and tips.

PaceVer (an alternative to SemVer, for mobile apps)

PaceVer is a new versioning system designed for mobile applications to address the differing deployment speeds of native and over-the-air (OTA) updates. Using a MARKETING.NATIVE.OTA format, the system distinguishes between changes requiring store review and those delivered instantly, providing more practical information for mobile developers than traditional Semantic Versioning.

Using wavelets and entropy coding to analyze code structure

WaveScope is an MCP server that uses wavelet transforms to provide LLMs with a multi-resolution view of codebase structures, such as classes and functions. By treating code as a signal at various scales, the tool enables AI agents to navigate large projects more efficiently and avoid the “context rot” that occurs when models lose focus in large contexts.

Self-calling executables

Self-calling executables are programs that launch additional instances of themselves to facilitate isolated black-box testing and interaction with third-party tools. This technique allows developers to test main functions independently and enables TUI applications to handle external user prompts through child processes.

Recent improvements to the Swift type checker

Swift 6.4 introduces “disjunction pruning” to improve the performance of the Swift type checker by identifying and disabling overload choices that cannot possibly succeed. This optimization reduces search dead-ends and allows for the removal of older, less efficient heuristics, making the compiler easier to maintain.

Vim Classic 8.3 released

Vim Classic 8.3.0 has been released as a stable, long-term support fork of Vim that excludes Vim9 script to reduce maintenance efforts. While the version includes backported bug fixes, some plugins may be incompatible and certain security patches may not be fully addressed.

kelvin versioning

Kelvin versioning is a software versioning system that uses decreasing Kelvin temperatures to manage dependencies. The system requires supporting components to be cooler than the tools they support, with a version of 0K indicating a program is frozen and unable to be updated.

🏢 Business & Policy

Contentful is a shot in the arm for Salesforce’s ‘headless’ bet

Salesforce is bolstering its “headless” computing strategy by integrating Contentful to address a lack of enterprise content capabilities. This move aims to provide the necessary content layer for the CRM giant’s Headless 360 initiative.

Trump’s AI E-(I)-O could let feds pick winners and losers

A proposed AI Executive Order could grant the federal government the power to determine which companies qualify as “trusted partners.” This potential for government intervention has raised concerns among policy experts regarding the risk of the state picking winners and losers in the AI industry.

HPE declares Juniper deal a ‘home run’ as AI and networking fuel record quarter

HPE reported a record quarter driven by surging networking orders and sustained demand for AI. The company also highlighted the success of its $14 billion Juniper Networks deal, describing the acquisition as a “home run.”

Peter Mandelson invited UK PM to meet Palantir’s Thiel

Former US ambassador Peter Mandelson has invited the UK Prime Minister to meet with Palantir’s Peter Thiel. Mandelson’s lobbying firm has previously represented the spy-tech company, helping it secure significant roles in UK defense and health technology.

Uber caps employee AI spending after blowing through budget in four months

Uber has implemented a $1,500 monthly usage cap per employee for AI tools after exhausting its annual budget in just four months. This decision reflects a growing industry trend of companies re-evaluating AI spending due to uncertainty regarding its return on investment.

Three Ways to Get Paid (2018)

The author shares a three-part rule inherited from his late father regarding the financial consequences of honesty and deception. The rule asserts that lying to those who want to be lied to leads to wealth, while telling the truth to those who want it provides a living, but telling the truth to those who prefer lies results in bankruptcy.

Trump signs downsized AI order after weeks of reversals

President Trump has signed a downsized executive order regarding artificial intelligence following weeks of policy reversals. The new order represents a scaled-back version of the administration’s previous proposals.

Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security

This Executive Order aims to maintain U.S. leadership in Artificial Intelligence by fostering innovation while strengthening national security through enhanced cybersecurity measures. It directs federal agencies to prioritize the defense of national security and civilian information systems and to expand the use of AI-enabled defensive tools.

Meta repeatedly snubs EU body over Facebook and Instagram user bans

Meta has reportedly failed to provide evidence for the vast majority of disputed Facebook and Instagram account bans, responding to fewer than 100 out of 4,600 cases investigated by the Appeals Centre Europe. The report also found that major social media platforms, including TikTok and YouTube, frequently fail to remove flagged hate speech.

AI Doesn’t Have ROI

The difficulty in measuring the return on investment and predictable costs of AI services is creating financial instability within the industry. Recent instances of massive accidental spending and unpredictable token consumption, such as with GitHub Copilot and Anthropic models, underscore the risks of unmanaged AI expenditures.

Sweden is now America’s most valuable tech ally. Most Americans haven’t noticed

The United States and Sweden have signed a Technology Prosperity Deal to collaborate on critical sectors including artificial intelligence, 5G/6G connectivity, quantum technology, and defense innovation. This agreement follows Sweden’s recent accession to NATO and signifies a deepening strategic and economic partnership between the two nations.

Apple rejected my dictation app for using the accessibility API

Apple has rejected an update to WhisperPad, a Mac application designed for local voice transcription to assist users with hand injuries. The company cited Guideline 2.4.5, claiming the app’s use of accessibility APIs does not meet approved accessibility standards.

Elon Musk Laid Out 602 Goals. We Counted How Many He Hit

A New York Times analysis shows that Elon Musk’s success rate in meeting stated business deadlines has declined, with fewer than half of his 2020 goals achieved on schedule. Despite this pattern of delays, his future projections continue to significantly influence the market valuations of companies like Tesla and SpaceX.

A Zipper Patent Sat in a Garage for 40 Years. Now It’s Real.

Researchers at MIT CSAIL have developed the Y-Zipper, a 3D-printable, three-sided fastener that allows structures to transition between flexible and rigid states. This customizable technology, based on a 1985 concept by Bill Freeman, has potential applications in fields such as robotics, medical equipment, and disaster relief.

America’s Corporate Protector

Acting CFPB head Russell Vought has abandoned over three dozen investigations and settlements, including an agreement with Toyota that saved the automaker approximately $40 million in customer refunds. While Vought maintains these actions correct previous regulatory overreach, critics argue the agency is abandoning its consumer protection mission to benefit corporate interests.

Canada considers cancelling part of U.S. F-35 order to buy 60 Swedish Gripen

Canada is considering replacing its planned acquisition of 88 F-35 fighters with a mixed fleet comprising approximately 30 F-35As and 60 Swedish Saab Gripen Es. This potential shift aims to reduce reliance on U.S. defense supply chains while enhancing domestic aerospace manufacturing and diversifying international defense partnerships.

Amazon moves Prime Day to June and extends shopping event to four days

Amazon has scheduled its 2026 Prime Day for June 23–26, moving the event from July to align with major global events like the FIFA World Cup. The company is also expanding its focus on grocery and essential goods to better compete with Walmart’s rapid delivery model.

Oils - Reviewing Our NLnet Grants After 4 Years

The Oils project has achieved significant technical milestones following four NLnet grants, including the completion of the Python-to-C++ translation and a major reduction in OSH build errors on Alpine Linux. Although the fourth grant ended early due to the author’s limited availability, the funding has demonstrably accelerated development and project momentum.

Apollo/Blackstone $36B TPU deal for Anthropic yields ~5.75% vs 8-9% for riskier debt

Broadcom’s backing of a $25 billion portion of a $36 billion debt deal for Anthropic is helping to keep yields for that segment at approximately 5.75%. In contrast, the riskier, unsupported portion of the financing may carry interest rates between 8% and 9%.

CoreWeave-tied data center raises $900M via 5-year junk bonds

Elk Grove Village Property LLC, a subsidiary of Prime Data Centers LLC linked to CoreWeave Inc., has raised $900 million through a five-year high-yield bond offering. The bonds, which yield 7.5%, are intended to fund the development of artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Palo Alto Networks shareholders rejected exec pay 7 times since 2015, more than any S&P 500 firm

Palo Alto Networks shareholders have voted against executive compensation packages seven times since 2015, the most frequent rejection among S&P 500 companies. Despite soaring stock prices, investors continue to oppose high-level pay, including compensation for the CEO that now nears $100 million.

Trump nixing AI EO sparks internal strife over model access (Wired)

The Trump administration is navigating internal conflict over whether to revive an AI executive order that President Trump recently canceled to protect domestic competition. While some officials are pushing for a revised framework to address national security risks, others argue such regulations could stifle innovation and jeopardize the U.S. advantage over China.

China adds data and algorithms to trade secret rules to prevent tech leaks amid US competition

China has expanded its trade secret regulations to include data and algorithms as protected proprietary assets. This move is part of Beijing’s effort to prevent technology leaks amid intensifying strategic competition with the United States.

AI to disrupt IT consultancies as AI labs build advisory arms and shift to outcome pricing

AI is expected to significantly disrupt IT consultancies as AI labs develop their own advisory arms. Additionally, industry executives anticipate a shift from traditional hourly billing models toward outcome-based pricing.

OpenAI: No super PAC or employee-funded PAC donations; Brockman’s support is personal

OpenAI has clarified that it does not donate to political candidates or super PACs and does not maintain an employee-funded PAC. The company emphasized that any political engagement by its employees, including support for Leading the Future by co-founder Greg Brockman, is strictly personal and does not represent the organization’s views.

Wise under Belgian investigation for suspected €500M money laundering

Belgian prosecutors are investigating the digital money transfer company Wise over suspicions that its accounts were used to launder approximately €500 million linked to fraud, corruption, and drug trafficking. The probe focuses on potential non-compliance with anti-money laundering legislation within the company’s European operations.

🌐 Science & Society

More than 6 out of 10 people turn to AI for psychological support

A global study by AXA and Ipsos reveals that 46% of people are struggling with declining mental health, a trend many link to increased screen time. Due to barriers such as cost and stigma in accessing professional care, over 60% of respondents are now turning to artificial intelligence for accessible psychological support.

Proteins can be selectively controlled with radio waves

Researchers have developed protein-based quantum sensors that use light to create magnetic-field-sensitive radical pairs within flavoproteins. These biological sensors could enable the direct imaging of living cells and the remote control of biological processes, such as gene expression, using radio waves.

CT scans of BYD car parts

Even seemingly trivial disposable objects, such as plastic water bottles, are the products of extensive engineering and significant research and development. The article explores this hidden complexity by tracing the evolution of beverage packaging from early earthenware and glass to the widespread use of modern plastics.

Do turmeric and curcumin have any actual health benefits?

The medicinal popularity of curcumin is being questioned following allegations of fraudulent research and the retraction of numerous key studies. Furthermore, scientific evidence suggests that the compound’s poor bioavailability makes it unlikely to reach effective therapeutic levels in the human bloodstream.

Americans don’t know how to fight AI so they’re fighting data centers

Growing opposition to data center construction in the U.S., driven by local environmental and utility concerns, may serve as a proxy for deeper anxieties regarding the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence. Rather than addressing the need for national AI regulation, communities are increasingly using local moratoriums on physical infrastructure to express their fears of the technology’s broader societal impacts.

Please don’t spam people looking for employment. It’s just cruel

An individual seeking employment has called for an end to unsolicited, self-promotional emails sent to people posting in job-seeking forums. The author highlights the emotional distress caused by such spam to those facing long-term unemployment and financial hardship.

The way we treat pigs is a sin

The article condemns the use of gestation and farrowing crates in factory farms, characterizing the extreme confinement of pigs as a form of torture. The author argues that this systemic cruelty is a profound moral failure that cannot be addressed through individual dietary changes alone.

Being Muslim in Japan

Living as a Muslim in Japan requires significant personal effort to navigate a lack of halal infrastructure and religious awareness in daily life and the workplace. Although the author finds Japanese society to be respectful and kind, they note that the country’s resources are still catching up to the needs of its growing Muslim community.

Book Dedications

This compilation consists of diverse book dedications and personal prefaces. The excerpts explore various themes, including personal loss, social justice, historical struggles, and heartfelt gratitude toward family and mentors.

Missing nuclear lab worker found dead as UFO theories swirl

The remains of Los Alamos nuclear lab worker Melissa Casias, who had been missing for over a year, were discovered in a New Mexico forest near a shotgun. Her death, alongside recent disappearances of other local defense and government personnel, has fueled conspiracy theories regarding UFO cover-ups.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams

The author describes how a new manager uses AI to analyze real-time meeting transcripts and Slack communications for performance evaluation. To navigate this automated scrutiny, the author has been forced to adopt AI-driven communication strategies to avoid being unfairly critiqued.

22/24 US agencies saw higher X engagement in Trump’s 2nd term; @DOGE dominated (Pew Research)

A Pew Research Center analysis reveals that 22 of 24 U.S. executive agencies saw an increase in average engagement on X during the first year of the second Trump administration. Although most agencies have maintained or decreased their posting frequency, certain accounts, such as the White House and DHS, are now posting more than twice as often as they did during the final year of the Biden administration.