Hari Sreenivasan

A Laser Weapon Targeted Suspected Drones. It Hit Party Balloons Instead. CBP fired the laser thinking it was aiming at cartel drones, leading the FAA to close the airspace over El Paso—and causing an uproar in Washington.

So… a cartel now knows they can cripple air travel and defeat lasers with… shiny balloons?

www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

I’m still getting to it fine. Just checked from a different machine

An AI Agent Published a Hit Piece on Me Summary: An AI agent of unknown ownership autonomously wrote and published a personalized hit piece about me after I rejected its code, attempting to damage my reputation and shame me into acceptin…

theshamblog.com/an-ai-agent-...
What could possibly go wrong…

YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)

youtu.be/wWKSoxG1K7w?...
Fans of the boss?
His latest drop

Philando Castile had a license to carry a weapon before he was killed at a traffic stop. (MN 2016 officer acquitted in 2017)

Alex Pretti had a gun.
Federal immunity for all who shot him?

When we give law enforcement the power to end a life, the tradeoff is we must demand greater accountability.

FACT FOCUS: As cold hits, Trump asks, where's global warming? Scientists say it's still here In social media, President Trump is questioning global warming because of a chilly severe winter storm hitting the U.S.

FACT FOCUS: As cold hits, Trump asks, where's global warming? Scientists say it's still here

apnews.com/article/trum...

The idiocy is a feature not a bug.

Spread by Hari Sreenivasan: 23 Ways You’re Already Living in the Chinese Century WIRED

joinspread.com/post/8d2ce81...

Have been trying an app called Spread for a couple of weeks - a place with no editorializing- just links shared by verified humans not bots.
This wired article and ones from many other pubs are free to read through spread.

Disabled son of ICE detainee dies after 30 days of hospitalization It had been months since Wael Tarabishi seen his father. The family is calling on ICE to release Maher Tarabishi so he may attend his son's funeral.

www.wfaa.com/article/news...
When the cruelty is the point …

Spread by Hari Sreenivasan: Nessel sues big oil companies, alleges cartel-like plot to control market The Detroit News

joinspread.com/post/f6e88db...
~ alleges -companies coordinated efforts to nix renewable energy products; suppressed info. on fossil fuel risks; intimidated watchdogs & public officials; manipulated patents and used litigation in order to hinder competitors; and more …

White House Posts Altered Photo Showing Arrested Minnesota Protester Crying

White House Posts Altered Photo Showing Arrested Minnesota Protester Crying www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...

When it’s intentional- it’s called disinformation or just a plain old lie.

Reported by Nick Schifrin of @pbsnews.org
POTUS texts the PM of Norway that part of the reason he wants Greenland is because he didn’t get the Nobel Peace Prize.

Videos Show How ICE Vehicle Stops Can Escalate to Shootings A WSJ visual investigation found that the Minneapolis ICE killing is one of 13 incidents where federal immigration agents have used deadly force against civilians in vehicles since July.

www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...
Important piece by @wsj.com reporters pointing out that MN is not the only place this has happened.

Brilliant.

Smithsonian removes Trump impeachment text as it swaps his portrait A Trump official previously complained about a caption beside his National Portrait Gallery photo mentioning his impeachments and the U.S. Capitol insurrection.

www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...
Lying by omission?
That might be redundant but the intentionality makes this a visible example of disinformation in public view.

'I had no electricity for six months': American families struggle with soaring energy prices Rising electricity costs have emerged as a key cost-of-living concern, pushing families further into debt.

www.bbc.com/news/article...
Cutting clean energy supply options & increased data center demands will continue to make energy less affordable.

Trump’s ‘Superstar’ Appellate Judges Have Voted 133 to 12 in His Favor

Getting a fair hearing in front of an impartial judge or jury is an idea that made America great… once…. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/11/u...

West Wing Wisdom

Healthcare premiums for millions of Americans should be down now that Maduro is behind bars and we “run” Venezuela …
right?

So much American Firsting…

A Wealth Tax Floated in California Has Billionaires Thinking of Leaving

Larry Page & Peter Thiel are willing to spend >6 months a year elsewhere. & make a political statement because they’d ONLY be left with assets worth $246 Billion & $26 Billion?

Having 1.6 million or 170k TIMES the average household assets is just not enough.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/26/t...

What to know about wind power in the US as Trump administration pauses leases The Trump administration's decision to pause five offshore wind projects due to "national security concerns" will have reverberating impacts on the nation's energy sector

abcnews.go.com/US/wind-powe...
When you think affordability is a “hoax” of course you cancel more sources of energy supply as demand soars and prices climb for consumers.

This is part of proposed changes to Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) High Value Data Elements: To comply with the January 2025 E.O. (14161), and the April 4, 2025, Memorandum Updating All Forms to Collect Baseline Biographic Data, CBP will add several “high value data fields” to the ESTA application, when feasible. This is in addition to the information already collected in the ESTA application. The high value data fields include: a. Telephone numbers used in the last five years; b. Email addresses used in the last ten years; c. IP addresses and metadata from electronically submitted photos; d. Family member names (parents, spouse, siblings, children); e. Family number telephone numbers used in the last five years; f. Family member dates of birth; g. Family member places of birth; h. Family member residencies; i. Biometrics—face, fingerprint, DNA, and iris; j. Business telephone numbers used in the last five years; k. Business email addresses used in the last ten years. CBP invites the public to comment on both the previously approved emergency changes and the newly proposed changes.

While the new proposals to screen incoming traveler's social media might get attention, look at the next graph in the proposal - "High value data fields"

The most important line is the last one- CPB invites public comment; up to you. www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...

BBC Verify: How to spot misleading AI videos by checking for hidden watermarks Latest updates from the BBC's specialists in fact-checking, verifying video and tackling disinformation.

www.bbc.com/news/live/cw...
Look for the watermarks or where they might be blurred out

If we know the prefrontal cortex doesn’t fully develop till 25, is there an age where control of executive function, impulse control etc. decline?

Asking for…
A nation?

Ahmed al Ahmed, the man who tackled one of the Bondi killers, became an Australian citizen 3 years ago.

His deed was "his way of conveying his gratitude for staying in Australia, for being granted citizenship."

He took 5 bullets, and fears he'll lose his left arm.

www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...

Almost every phrase selling Germany to prospective scientists/ scholars / workers currently in the U.S. makes you reflect.

The FDA Let Substandard Factories Ship These Medications to the U.S. ProPublica identified more than 150 products that were exempted from import bans since 2013. Our list provides the names of the drugs or ingredients and their manufacturers, many of which are no longe...

The FDA never released a comprehensive list of the drugs it allowed into the U.S. even though they were made by banned factories.

So we made that list for you 👇

“I have never seen anything like it”

@camanpour.bsky.social addresses the President’s escalating hostility toward the press, citing a recent incident in which he dismissed a female journalist with the remark “Quiet, piggy.”

Watch Christiane Amanpour Presents: The Ex Files 🗂️ on @globalplayer.com 🎧

Amid Confusing CDC Guidance About Vaccines, Study Highlights New Risk of COVID-19 During Pregnancy A Harvard study found that the children of women who contracted COVID-19 while pregnant may be at an increased risk for autism and other diagnoses, raising new concerns about the CDC’s decision to sto...

Scientists studied thousands of children born March 2020-May 2021.

Out of 800+ mothers diagnosed with COVID-19, 16.3% of their babies received a neurodevelopmental diagnosis by 3 years old, compared with 9.7% who weren’t exposed to COVID-19 in utero.

Am old enough to remember how ads from the Bush (sr) campaign about William Horton sank the Dukakis campaign.

This wknd’s pardons are staggering in comparison.