A water recycling plant Elon Musk promised to build in Memphis to offset the huge amount of local drinking water Grok's data centre devours has been postponed indefinitely.

Apparently, Musk considers drinking water for local people less of a priority than increasing computing power for Grok👇🏾

Free plug-in solar panels to be rolled out to some households The technology is designed to be a simpler and more affordable way of benefiting from renewable energy

To shield people from spiralling energy costs in the wake of the Iran war, UK government pledges:

- Free plug-in solar + up to £12,000 worth of rooftop solar + battery for lower-income households
- breaking the link between gas prices + energy bills

share.google/GPhzrUeMcM2E...

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The yes campaign in VA was refreshingly transparent and free from the usual manipulative messaging. TV ads acknowledged the ballot measure wasn’t ideal, but argued (correctly) that Trump started it and a yes vote was necessary to prevent a MAGA power grab. It’s good when voters are treated as adults

Hundreds of Fake Pro-Trump Avatars Emerge on Social Media

This strategy—using fake AI profiles to boost political causes—was tested during the 2022 recalls in San Francisco.
We called them the "Wencils" and they disappeared after being mapped and exposed. And now:

Hundreds of Fake Pro-Trump Avatars Emerge on Social Media

www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/b...

Amazonian royal flycatcher: #AGoodPlace

Source: www.reddit.com/r/NatureIsFu...

The Mandelson Affair Was Survivable. Starmer’s Explanation Was Not. The Limits of Process Politics

The Mandelson affair was survivable. Keir Starmer’s explanation for it may not be. It is a parable of his premiership and its wider problems- that the explanation is always process, not politics.

Piece from me on the limits of process politics

open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...

@SecWar: The War Department is once again restoring freedom to our Joint Force. We are discarding the mandatory flu vaccine requirement, effective immediately. 21 Apr 26

Washington ordered smallpox inoculations for the Continental Army beginning in 1777.

Hegseth, therefore, is taking a mid-18th century, pre-Industrial Age approach to medicine and warfare.

Is a brave new world possible? With John Kampfner Journalist and author John Kampfner joins the Matts to discuss his stunning new book Braver New World - a global travelogue of bold solutions to some of the world’s thorniest problems

NEW EPISODE 💡 Journalist and author @johnkampfner.bsky.social joins the Matts to discuss his stunning new book Braver New World - a global travelogue of bold solutions to some of the world’s thorniest problems

Listen now 🎧

Screenshot of a tweet by Senate Judiciary Democrats showing Sen. Blumenthal pressing Trump nominee Justin D. Smith on who won the 2020 election and popular vote, with Smith deflecting by saying only "the person who became president." Blumenthal concludes: "This makes you look ridiculous, if not pathetic." The embedded video shows Smith looking down at a witness table with a nameplate reading "Mr. Justin D. Smith."

If they can't speak truths under oath at their confirmation hearings, how can they be trusted to administer them in court?

Anti-Islam influencer Valentina Gomez blocked from entering UK for far-right rally Exclusive: Home secretary understood to have withdrawn authorisation for speaker at Unite the Kingdom rally in May

Good www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Is the United States Worth Saving? Every generation has faced a moment when quitting seemed reasonable — and every generation refused. We have no right to be the first.

open.substack.com/pub/adamkinz...
The question goes something like this: Is it still worth it? Is the project, after 250 years, still worth the effort? The frustration, the division, the daily assault of bad news — is this country still worth saving?….

Fine astronaut; inept videographer (for the reason given by another commenter).

Kash Patel’s Erratic Behavior Could Cost Him His Job The FBI director has alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.

This is a big one. Stellar reporting from Sarah Fitzpatrick. To call it a must-read is an understatement: www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

NEW: Downing Street is attempting to demolish the argument from Olly Robbins’ allies that he was prevented by law from telling ministers that Mandelson had failed vetting, ahead of key Commons statement on Monday.

Day 508 of uninterrupted protests in 8+ cities in Georgia.

NPR announced $113 million from two charitable donors, including billionaire philanthropist Connie Ballmer, months after Congress voted to strip federal dollars for public media.

Ballmer gave $80 million, the largest gift by a living donor in the organization’s history. https://wapo.st/4cvzfOa

Ukraine war briefing: Russia seeking to bring Belarus back into the war, says Zelenskyy Building of artillery positions and roads suggest fresh military efforts likely from the north, says Ukrainian president. What we know on day 1,514 Infrastructure preparations suggest Russia is again trying to involve its ally Belarus in the war, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday. The Ukrainian president made his remarks, posted on Telegram, in response to what he said was an intelligence report issued by Ukraine’s top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi. “According to intelligence, road construction in areas leading to Ukraine and the establishment of artillery positions are going on in the Belarusian border area,” Zelenskyy wrote. “We believe that Russia will once again try to involve Belarus in its war.” He said Ukraine had issued instructions to warn the Belarusian leadership of “Ukraine’s readiness to defend its land and independence”. Zelenskyy also said intelligence showed that Russia was “attempting ... to carry out a regrouping of forces - most likely to compensate for a shortage of personnel”. “In this regard, it becomes more evident why the armed forces increased their activity on the territory of Belarus.” He did not provide further evidence. Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, one of Vladimir Putin’s closest allies, allowed his territory to be used for part of Russia’s February 2022 invasion. Zelenskyy said Kyiv’s wartime experience in the Black Sea could help to ensure freedom of navigation in the strait of Hormuz. “Decisions made regarding Hormuz now will determine how other aggressive actors perceive the possibility of creating problems in other straits and on other fronts,” he said in remarks to a video conference attended by 50 countries and chaired by France and Britain. “We need to be as specific and clear as possible so that in six months we don’t find ourselves in the same situation as in Gaza, where much still needs to be done.” Zelenskyy, whose remarks appeared on the Telegram messaging app, said that in the course of four years of war with Russia, Ukraine had “already carried out a very similar mission in the Black Sea”. He said: “Russia also attempted to blockade our sea and we have experience in escorting merchant vessels, demining, defending against air attacks and the overall coordination of such operations.” Ukraine, he said, had sent specialists throughout the Middle East to help countries benefit from its experience in defending against Russian drones, many designed in Iran. “We can also contribute to maritime security,” Zelenskyy said. Ukraine has clinched security cooperation agreements with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and says it is in talks with Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. A fire broke out at an oil terminal in southern Russia’s Krasnodar region, prompting a large firefighting operation, the region’s emergency operational headquarters said early on Saturday. Officials said 224 firefighters and 56 vehicles were battling the blaze at the terminal in Tikhoretsk, north-east of the region’s main town, Krasnodar. No casualties were reported and there was no indication as to what may have caused the fire. Syskyi said this week that Ukrainian forces were seeking to reduce Russia’s offensive capabilities by keeping up a high pace of strikes on military, defence-industrial and other facilities. In March, Ukraine struck 76 such targets including 15 facilities in the oil-refining industry, the top commander said. Serbia’s Russian-owned NIS oil company has secured a 60-day sanctions waiver from the US. The waiver will allow NIS, which operates Serbia’s only oil refinery, to continue importing crude oil until the sale of the Russian majority stake to Hungary’s MOL. The previous one-month waiver expired on Friday. The US imposed sanctions on NIS in October last year as part of wider measures targeting Russia’s energy sector over the war in Ukraine, and demanded divestment of Gazprom Neft and Gazprom, its Russian majority owners. Serbian energy minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic called the latest move a sign of progress in the negotiations on the change of ownership between the Hungarian MOL and the Russian Gazprom Neft. Continue reading...

Ukraine war briefing: Russia seeking to bring Belarus back into the war, says Zelenskyy

Sky-high ticket prices won’t be the only thing emptying the wallets of soccer fans attending World Cup games at some US venues this spring.

Fans trying to get to MetLife Stadium from NYC can expect to spend $150 for a round-trip train fare for each match, officials confirmed. https://cnn.it/4tjaTOX

POLITICO: "California judge restricts offshore oil company despite Trump administration intervention"

Donald Trump and Big Oil's illegal ploy to restart the Sable oil pipeline in Santa Barbara County was just REJECTED.

Launching a reckless war with Iran and creating a global oil crisis doesn't suddenly allow these guys to break the law.

It will never stop pissing me off how much trump is going to walk away from this presidency as a “real” billionaire in a way he never was before, and it is going to be solely because of the public office

JUST IN: Two days after saying the U.S. would NOT renew sanctions waivers on Russian or Iranian oil, Bessent’s Treasury quietly extended a license allowing Russian oil transactions for another month.

Here’s Trump bragging about making the U.S. a country that no one wants to come to and many want to leave.

If Hillary Clinton had to testify under oath to Congress about Epstein, why the hell hasn't Melania been brought in? Certainly far more connections to Jeffrey.

Just an idea, but maybe don't believe everything Trump says

The port of Sevastopol is receiving drone sanctions at this hour.

This video shows something large and flammable lighting up the night sky, reportedly the oil depot on Kazachya Bay.

I look forward to hearing how drone debris caused a small fire with no damage done.🔥

Kash Patel’s colleagues are alarmed by what they say is erratic behavior and excessive drinking, Sarah Fitzpatrick reports. More than two dozen people she spoke with described his management failures and conduct that could harm national security. theatln.tc/SS6krazR

Trump’s “healthcare plan” is to proclaim himself the Messiah and charge $1 million per healing. No refunds.

Screenshot of a tweet by Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) showing a congressional exchange where Rep. Doggett challenges RFK Jr. on the administration's approach to healthcare fraud, cutting him off to note that Trump has pardoned more fraudsters than any president in American history. The embedded video shows RFK Jr. reacting at a witness table with a nameplate reading "Hon. Kennedy Jr."

Nailed his brain-worm-addled self with this.

I put out a montage of him a while ago sniffling in nearly every podcast interview he did for two years, but maybe that wasn’t the only thing he had going on.