Graham Starr

JD Vance’s team had water level of Ohio river raised for family’s boating trip Exclusive: Incident raises questions of exploitation of public services, but Secret Service says it was requested for ‘safe navigation’

JD Vance had the army corps of engineers change the outflow of a lake to create “ideal kayaking conditions” for his family vacation. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

That Was the Wit That Was Decades after he left the stage to teach math in Santa Cruz, the voice of legendary satirist Tom Lehrer still echoes

Archived article here: web.archive.org/web/20211025...

Tom Lehrer invented the Jell-O shot (from a 2000 profile of Lehrer in SF Weekly)

$17 Million Is Lost in A.T.M. Scam That Spread on Social Media, Officials Say

This story is so wild! www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/n...

“Two individuals listed by the campaign as making donations eligible for matching funds told THE CITY they are unemployed and did not give to Adams or any other candidate. Another contribution for which Adams sought a match was paid for by a credit card linked to the donor’s employer.”

Spotify Has an AI Music Problem—but Bots Love It Fake listeners are flocking to AI-made songs on streaming platforms, taking much needed money away from human artists.

Great story here for supporters of the theory that a vast majority of the internet — activity, content, and the financial systems built atop them — is fake www.wired.com/story/spotif...

Those "rogue judges" were acting under an express grant of authority provided by Congress—one explicitly permitted by Article II of the Constitution, which says Congress can give the judiciary power to appoint inferior officers.

“Ms. Farmer said she could hear Mr. Trump commenting that he thought Ms. Farmer was 16 years old.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/20/u...

This is a former Trump Administration staffer and this communications firm does ads for GOP initiatives and campaigns, but you wouldn't know that from the casting call!

hm what does this mean for the television academy

seriously, this is the DeVos and Van Andel families getting their way after 50 years, paid for out of the pockets of untold millions of Americans (and beyond)

Since April 4, #SCOTUS has issued 15 rulings on 17 emergency applications filed by Trump (three birthright citizenship apps were consolidated).

It has granted relief to Trump ... in all 15 rulings.

It has written majority opinions in only 3.

Today's order is the 7th with no explanation *at all.*

So, What Did I Miss? “How much can possibly happen when I’m on parental leave?” I said five months ago.

Thinking of this line from @petridishes.bsky.social's essay, in light of today's SCOTUS ruling: “Five months is no time at all to make something. But to destroy something—a minute is enough.” www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

OK that's pretty cute. Nathan's hot dogs is cutting a promo with the MTA to highlight the company's original Coney Island shop. The N, F, and Q lines form a hot-dog-shaped nexus on the new subway map

Behold! Another “Lord of the Rings”-inspired company is revealed Venture capitalist Peter Thiel’s affection for Tolkien-inspired names is legendary....

incredible thing here is just how many companies Peter Thiel has been involved with that he named after something from "Lord of the Rings" sherwood.news/tech/behold-...

Arizona patient dies in emergency room from plague The patient was recently treated at an emergency department in Flagstaff and died the same day, Northern Arizona Healthcare said.

Arizona patient dies of plague www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

About 200 arrested in chaotic immigration raid at cannabis farm, one worker gravely injured in fall Protesters blocked the roads in and out of one of the farms, and at one point federal agents drove their vehicles through the fields.

Jesus Christ. An ICE raid at a California farm led to one worker falling several stories off a greenhouse. They are not expected to survive. www.latimes.com/california/s...

www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/...

Business titans privately urged NYC mayor to use police on Columbia protesters, chats show A WhatsApp chat started by some wealthy Americans after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack reveals their focus on New York Mayor Eric Adams and their work to shape U.S. opinion of the Gaza war.

These billionaires were previously part of a private group chat with Eric Adams that urged him to use police on Columbia protestors, according to internal chat logs obtained by the Washington Post last year www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/...

Eric Adams Asked Bill Ackman to Vet Campaign Manager Before Hiring Him

Eric Adams asked billionaires to vet his campaign manager before hiring him www.nytimes.com/2025/07/09/n...

McDonald’s AI Hiring Bot Exposed Millions of Applicants’ Data to Hackers Who Tried the Password ‘123456’ Basic security flaws left the personal info of tens of millions of McDonald’s job-seekers vulnerable on the “McHire” site built by AI software firm Paradox.ai.

McDonald's uses an AI bot called "Olivia" for hiring. A pair of hackers found they could access every conversation job applicants had with it—including all the personal info they shared—by exploiting security vulnerabilities as basic as using the password "123456". www.wired.com/story/mcdona...

YouTube prepares crackdown on 'mass-produced' and 'repetitive' videos, as concern over AI slop grows | TechCrunch YouTube's creator liaison said the change is a "minor" update to YouTube's longstanding policies.

Huge — YouTube limiting monetization of repetitive and "inauthentic" videos in an attempt to crack down on AI slop and other auto-generated videos techcrunch.com/2025/07/09/y...

this is a great story

Leaders in the Democratic Party continue to seek anti-democratic tools to overturn an election by their own voters

Wow this story

Trump uses antisemitic slur in remarks promoting his 'big, beautiful bill' Speaking in Iowa, the president used the word "shylocks" when talking about bankers lending money to family farms. He later said he didn't know about the antisemitic connotations.

Trump uses antisemitic slur to refer to bankers www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...

nymag.com/intelligence...

How the tax-cut bill that's headed to Trump's desk would upend health care Trump's tax cut bill makes major changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.

How the bill affects health care
1. Bars funds to clinics that provide abortions, even if they provide other services. This'll make abortions harder even in states they're not restricted
2. Reduces funding for ER care that treats undocu immigrants
3. Exempts rare-disease drugs from Medicare coverage

How the tax-cut bill that's headed to Trump's desk would upend health care Trump's tax cut bill makes major changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.

More on the health care effects www.statnews.com/2025/07/03/t...

The bill:
1. Bars funding to clinics that provide abortions, even if they provide other services. This will make abortions harder even in states where they're not restricted.
2. Reduces funding for emergency care to undocumented immigrants.
3. More drugs for rare diseases now exempt from Medicare.