Honest Chocolates

Wouldn’t it be great if all of 2026‘s huge problems could just… cancel each other out?

“Exposure to algorithmic content leads users to follow conservative political activist accounts, which they continue to follow even after switching off the algorithm.”

I hacked ChatGPT and Google's AI - and it only took 20 minutes I found a way to make AI tell you lies – and I'm not the only one.

Turns out it’s remarkably easy to manipulate AI chatbot responses. And since AI is almost everywhere these days, that seems like a yet another huge problem.

www.bbc.com/future/artic...

The Final USDA Household Food Security Report Shows Hunger Rising Across America In December 2025, the USDA released what is likely its final Household Food Security report, calling the 30-year survey “redundant” and “costly.” The report — long the federal government’s clearest me...

www.foodandwine.com/hunger-risin...

Hershey blasted by Reese’s family over core ingredient changes Reese’s founder’s grandson accuses Hershey of lowering ingredient quality, sparking debate over brand integrity, authenticity and the future of the iconic confectionery.

🍫*🥜=🔥

www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2026...

The future of chocolate is bittersweet Soaring cocoa prices are reshaping chocolate formulations, accelerating alternatives and testing consumer trust as manufacturers adapt to tighter global supply.

Challenging times ahead for chocolate lovers as well as producers.

www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2026...

So AI may not be the real reason for all those job losses, at least for now.

Also, check out reasons #1 & 9.

sherwood.news/markets/ai-i...

TWIN CITIES

Armed Citizens Against Tyranny is a HONEYPOT action.

No one in the Twin Cities, including the MN Gun Owners association, knows anyone supposedly in this group.

Local orgs are STRONGLY urging folks to STAY AWAY from their planned "protest."

acatusa.com

How embarrassing 😳

Super Bowl LX: How to avoid foodborne illness at your watch party As Super Bowl LX approaches on Feb. 8, fans are filling shopping carts in preparation for the New England Patriots – Seattle Seahawks rematch. But the thrill of the game shouldn’t sideline food safet...

Turns out food safety experts also like pro football. Via the Seahawks fans at Seattle-based @foodsafetynews.com.web.brid.gy.

www.foodsafetynews.com/2026/02/supe...

‘They Couldn’t Break Me’: A Protester, the White House and a Doctored Photo

It’s unfortunate, but with this incident, the White House has purposely and unapologetically misled the American people.

Which begs the question: why should we take ANYTHING they say at face value?

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/u...

“To the administration and the perpetrators responsible, you have awakened the most overworked, abused, under-appreciated, and organized workforce…”

-San Diego vigil for Alex Pretti organized by VA nurses

The powerful tools in ICE’s arsenal to track suspects — and protesters Biometric trackers, cellphone location databases and drones are among the surveillance technologies agents are using in their immigration enforcement campaign.

GIFT LINK!

The Powerful Tools in ICE’s Arsenal to Track Suspects — and Protesters

By Eva Dou, Artur Galocha and Kevin Schaul

Biometric trackers, cellphone location databases and drones are among the surveillance technologies that federal agents are tapping in their deportation campaign.

Five moments in the Alex Pretti shooting that raise red flags for policing experts Policing experts were unanimous in saying that the situation probably could have been avoided by employing basic policing tactics that prioritize public safety and communication.

wapo.st/49ZqtqC

Gift link, free to read and share.

Former cop talks about what went wrong leading up to fatal Minneapolis shooting NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Peter Moskos, a John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor and former cop, about what went wrong when a federal agent killed a nurse in Minneapolis.

Former cop now at John Jay College of Criminal Justice walks through video of Pretti killing to offer a professional assessment of tactics used by federal agents on the streets of Minneapolis. Audio and transcript.

www.npr.org/transcripts/...

Any prospective government shutdown should not end until and unless this ghoul is removed from public life

Thousands of workers flee Cambodia scam centres, officials say Amnesty International deeply concerned for scores of people ‘walking around in search of assistance’

Reports from Cambodia indicate that thousands of workers have fled or been released from online scam centers, many of them suspected survivors of trafficking. Their protection should be highest priority. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Bloomberg Business on TikTok Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said the company doesn’t plan to invest in new late-stage vaccine trials because of growing opposition to immunizations from US officials. #health #business #medicine #US #government

Moderna CEO says Trump’s policies have so curtailed vaccine market they won’t be investing in new research. So that’s awesome. Good luck when the next pandemic hits. www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8fWErMy/

Every social theory undergirding Trumpism has been broken on the steel of Minnesotan resolve. The multiracial community in Minneapolis was supposed to shatter. It did not. It held until Bovino was forced out of the Twin Cities with his long coat between his legs. The secret fear of the morally depraved is that virtue is actually common, and that they’re the ones who are alone. In Minnesota, all of the ideological cornerstones of MAGA have been proved false at once. Minnesotans, not the armed thugs of ICE and the Border Patrol, are brave. Minnesotans have shown that their community is socially cohesive—because of its diversity and not in spite of it. Minnesotans have found and loved one another in a world atomized by social media, where empty men have tried to fill their lonely soul with lies about their own inherent superiority. Minnesotans have preserved everything worthwhile about “Western civilization,” while armed brutes try to tear it down by force.

Last week in Minnesota, I watched ordinary people risk their lives to protect their neighbors. In the process, they not only won a significant—though not final—victory against authoritarianism, they proved virtually every MAGA social theory wrong. (gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Of all the departures this past year at NOAA—via the fork offer, retirements, etc.— the one that stung the most was the firing of people in their probationary first year. They have more modern skills than those of us who received their PhDs in the 90s and 00s. My whole department is in its 50s now.

www.newyorker.com/culture/on-t...

Photos of Alex Pretti with Sara’s caption: On August 16th at approximately 10:00 pm I received a call from the ICU at the VA saying my Dad had sepsis and needed to be intubated to stay alive so Josh and I headed in. We were greeted by the kindest, most calming and warm soul who helped us understand what was happening and showed deep care for us and my Dad. He continued to show utmost patience and kindness over the next few days as my Dad remained in the ICU and we were there continually. It was Alex Pretti, the man shot today by ICE. If you see this video and don't think it's murder, I don't understand your thinking and ask you to question your heart. He was out there trying to help and protect and from the little we knew of him, it doesn't surprise me he was not afraid to be on the front lines of this horrible scene in our Minneapolis. Weeping for his family and all those at the VA who no longer get to work with him or receive his care.

My friend Sara posted this about the superb care her father received from with Alex Pretti

Absolutely heartbreaking

This Is Officially the No. 1 Grocery Chain in America, According to a New Report As grocery bills continue to strain household budgets, Americans are shopping with extra intention. That helps explain why H-E-B once again topped Dunnhumby’s Retailer Preference Index as the nation’s...

Current consumer economic challenges—inflation, stagnant job market, depleted savings—drive a revision in ranking the top grocery chains. www.foodandwine.com/heb-top-groc...

Cocoa crunch: How shortages are rewriting chocolate’s future Cocoa supply shocks, soaring prices and new regulations are pushing food manufacturers toward reduced‑cocoa and cocoa‑free formulations. Explore the innovations reshaping chocolate’s future and the im...

Less chocolate in your chocolate: major manufacturers explore ways to cope with cocoa shortages due to upheaval and climate change. www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2026...

(Note that one approach, alkalinizing the cocoa, undermines the antioxidant health benefits of chocolate.)

Pew Research Institute (2023):

• Red State Texas has about 2.1 million undocumented immigrants

• Red State Florida has 1.6 M undocumented immigrants

• Blue State Minnesota has 130,000.

And yet only Minnesota is being occupied by masked thugs over "immigration."

It's *not* about immigration.

We Found More Than 40 Cases of Immigration Agents Using Banned Chokeholds and Other Moves That Can Cut Off Breathing Civilians have had apparent seizures. One had his eyes roll back. Another had ribs broken. “I felt like I was going to pass out and die,” said a 16-year-old citizen put in a chokehold. The government ...

“Even milliseconds or seconds of interrupted blood flow to the brain can have serious consequences,” one Harvard neurologist told us. There is no “method of applying pressure on the neck that is foolproof in terms of avoiding neurologic damage.”

By @nicolefoy.bsky.social and @mckenziefunk.com

I can’t speak for her, of course, but for context she is responding as a food writer, not a public health commentator. (Note the screenshot’s from the New Yorker’s weekly food newsletter.)

Of course she’s free to call a scam a scam on her personal social media accounts if she chooses.

Where Was My Generic Prescription Drug Made? - Rx Inspector - ProPublica The FDA won’t tell Americans where their generic drugs are made, so ProPublica did it instead. Use information on your prescription label to locate the factory and see inspection reports.

The FDA won’t tell Americans where their generic drugs are made, so ProPublica did it instead.

Use information from your prescription label to locate the factory and see if the plant has a history of inspection violations ⤵️

Well, it’s the @newyorker.com. Beautifully written. Never terse.

These Are the 12 States Vying to Kick Off Democrats’ 2028 Contest

My humble idea:

The state with the highest % of registered Dems who vote in the 2026 midterm election gets to kick of the 2028 primary contest.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/17/u...