Sam Alito has an oil money problem 30 percent of Alito’s individual stock portfolio is directly tied to fossil fuels.

The Supreme Court has decided to hear a major climate case against fossil fuel companies

Alito has not recused himself, despite owning nearly $200,000 in fossil fuel stocks—including in Phillips 66 and ConocoPhillips, which are being sued in cases that would be directly affected by a SCOTUS ruling

Birds Aren’t Just Declining. They’re Declining Faster, a New Study Finds.

“The American dream turns into the American nightmare as we start to look at what we’re doing to biodiversity and systems that we depend on as humans."

That first sentence!

AIs can’t stop recommending nuclear strikes in war game simulations Leading AIs from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google opted to use nuclear weapons in simulated war games in 95 per cent of cases

AIs can’t stop recommending nuclear strikes in war game simulations

Leading AIs from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google opted to use nuclear weapons in simulated war games in 95 per cent of cases

www.newscientist.com/article/2516...

great

Genetically Engineered Babies Are Banned. Tech Titans Are Trying to Make One Anyway. Silicon Valley startups are pushing the boundaries of reproductive genetics, hoping to prevent diseases as well as improve chances for a high IQ and other traits.

www.wsj.com/tech/biotech...

"For months, a small company in San Francisco has been pursuing a secretive project: the birth of a genetically engineered baby.

Backed by OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and his husband, along with Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong..."

Jane Goodall in Africa as a young woman.

"When making decisions most people ask, 'Will it help me or my family now or the next shareholders meeting or my next election campaign?'

The hallmark of wisdom is asking, 'What effects will the decision I make today have on future generations? On the health of the planet?'"
~Dr Jane Goodall
.

A photo of a young Jane Goodall with one of her dogs. "You cannot share your life with a dog and not know perfectly well that animals have personalities, minds, and feelings." ~Jane Goodall

I couldn't agree more
.

LIVE: Jane Goodall funeral YouTube video by Reuters

LIVE: Jane Goodall funeral youtube.com/live/2ahbwvZ...

good stuff

Excess US Deaths Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic This cohort study examines trends in excess deaths in the US before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here's the link

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

How Trump Leans on Emergency Declarations to Bypass Congress and Skirt Regulations (Gift Article) The president has declared 10 emergencies since returning to office, far outpacing what is typical. He has used them to justify hundreds of actions.

10 emergency declarations
↓
33 executive orders
↓
Hundreds of actions
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Actually, Slavery Was Very Bad The president’s latest criticism of museums is a thinly veiled attempt to erase Black history.

a thought i have reading @clintsmithiii.bsky.social’s wonderful piece is that one reason the administration wants to erase any mention of the worst of our past is because it is intent on recapitulating those atrocities www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

The sagebrush rebel revival Dustin Mulvaney traces the current deregulatory bonanza that the Trump administration has unleashed on public lands and waters to the Wise Use movement of the 1980s and the Sagebrush Rebellion that pr...

The sagebrush rebel revival, my latest in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. thebulletin.org/2025/07/the-...

Blue sky thinking: why we need positive climate novels Environmental fiction is booming – but can it move beyond dystopia to a brighter vision of the future?

If I hadn't already been impatient to get to Helm, this would have sealed it: "I had begun wondering if I should imagine ways up and out of doom scenarios instead of just describing the conflict within them. The answer was yes." www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...

Stoked to see Cory Doctorow’s forthcoming ENSHITTIFICATION has made the longlist for the 2025 FT Business Book of the Year—go, Cory!: businessbook.live.ft.com/page/4834239...

Monkeys falling from trees and baking barnacles: how heat is driving animals to extinction With the number of very hot days rising as well as average temperatures, more and more animals are vulnerable. But while some species can adapt, others are seeing huge population declines

"The residents of Tecolutilla, Mexico, knew the heatwave was bad when they heard the thuds. One by one, the town’s howler monkeys, overcome with dehydration and exhaustion, were falling from the trees like apples."

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Just lovely...

Alaska’s Kivalina, Endangered by Climate Change, Explores Retreat– Again The small island community has long contemplated relocation, but how to pay for the move remains in question.

"Melting permafrost turns fields into lumpy mush."
This is Kivalina.
By @pollymosendz.bsky.social
🎁🔗 www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Photo of a building with Entergy logo.

🚨 Breaking: Louisiana regulators rushed approval of Entergy & Meta’s massive gas-powered data center plan, without protections for ratepayers. “This decision follows a pattern of fast-tracking utility proposals with very little public notice and transparency...”

Statement: act.ucsusa.org/4mqkQXe

Anything forced upon you...

For oncologists who incorporated AI into their practice, their ability to spot tumors fell by around 20% within just a few months of adopting it--Bloomberg

Good people, don't outsource anything you're not willing to lose....

China turns against Nvidia’s AI chip after ‘insulting’ Howard Lutnick remarks Comments by US commerce secretary trigger Chinese regulatory effort to stop tech groups buying H20 processors

Nothing the US does better than being unable to contain its hubris, resulting in China (and increasingly many other countries) realizing it’s better if they do their own thing than depend further on the US.

Former invertebrate neuroscientist who now covers AI more or less full time, here:

No.

Computational capacity of ANs are not even in the same galaxy as conventional neurons; differing network characteristics further make it not an apples to apples comparison.

Lightning strikes

Five years ago this morning, lightning strikes from remnants of Tropical Storm Fausto ignited fires in the Santa Cruz Mountains that became CZU Lightning Complex wildfire, which destroyed 1,490 buildings and burned 86,500 acres including Big Basin State Park. Photo by @jadenschaul.com #MitchellsCove

NWS to rehire workers after deep DOGE cuts NOAA and the NWS weren't immune to the DOGE cuts of the second Trump administration's early months, which included the firing, rehiring and refiring of some workers.

Trump admin plans to rehire 450 employees of National Weather Service fired by DOGE because they’re now recognized as critical to public safety — but NOAA source says this will take months

In other words, hurricane season could be over before this damage is undone

www.nbcnews.com/science/scie...

$50,000 Signing Bonus, No Age Caps: The Blitz to Hire ICE Officers Uncle Sam is using social media and financial incentives to entice new recruits.

$50,000 signing bonuses; $60,000 in student loan forgiveness

ICE has launched an all-out recruiting blitz across social media to staff up as quickly as possible

Agency website declares: “America has been invaded by criminals and predators. We need YOU to get them out.”

www.wsj.com/us-news/ice-...

Rep. Jeffries wanted to throw stones but forgot he lived in a glass house.

Jeffries is working to elect Andrew Cuomo, a sexual abuser who plans to rule on behalf of that other sexual abuser, donald trump. 1