Look at the crumbling support among Virginians (America's first data center hot spot) for data centers:

Q: Would you be comfortable or uncomfortable if a new data center were built in your community?

2023: 69% comfortable
2026: 35% comfortable

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Anthropic researchers met with Christian leaders to discuss AI's "spiritual value" and how it should respond to its own demise.

"They are creating a creature to whom they owe some kind of moral duty"

www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2... @nitasha.bsky.social @gerritd.bsky.social

Post reporters called the White House. Some saw ‘Epstein Island’ on the screen. Washington Post journalists who called the White House switchboard using Google Pixel Android phones saw “Epstein Island” on their screens Thursday.

@shaneisland.bsky.social & I figured out what happened! wapo.st/40Yjlqs

So this happened when we called the White House switchboard yesterday.

Pentagon press policy ruled unconstitutional in case brought by N.Y. Times A federal judge struck down the Defense Department’s new press policy that triggered an exodus of reporters from the Pentagon, calling it unconstitutional.

BREAKING:

Pentagon press policy ruled unconstitutional in case brought by N.Y. Times

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

The NIH’s budget is less than $50b

Wired’s New Editor Doesn’t Care if the Tech Bros Are Mad

Huge thank you to all *checks notes* 200,000 of you who subscribed in the last year! Extremely proud of my colleagues and to be part of Team @wired.com www.nytimes.com/2026/03/17/b...

A journalist reported a missile strike. Then came the death threats. An Israeli war reporter says online gamblers demanded he change a published story so they could win a payout on prediction market Polymarket.

A journalist filed a brief live blog entry on an apparent Iranian missile strike that hit no one and caused no serious damage.

Next thing he knew, angry Polymarket users were demanding he change the story—and threatening his life and family if he refused.

My story: wapo.st/4lI6Pon (gift link)

New: AI job exposure is important, but there’s more to the picture. Here’s what the research says on adaptability.

Find your job here 🎁 wapo.st/4cP2ZHM

Come say hi and grab a signed copy of the newly updated book! #RSAC

Teens allege Musk’s Grok chatbot made sexual images of them as minors Three teenaged plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed Monday accuse xAI of distribution, possession and production with intent to distribute child pornography.

NEW: Three teens allege xAI and Grok were used to generate nude underage images. Photos from homecoming, yearbook, beach outings were turned into CSAM and distributed on Discord and Telegram + some were bartered for other child abuse imagery, a lawsuit alleges. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Teens allege Musk’s Grok chatbot made sexual images of them as minors Three teenaged plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed Monday accuse xAI of distribution, possession and production with intent to distribute child pornography.

Three Tennessee teens sue Elon Musk's xAI, alleging its chatbot Grok made sexual images of them as minors -- appears to be first major legal consequence of Grok's sexualised image spree via @faizsays.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Pentagon bars press photographers over ‘unflattering’ Hegseth photos Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s staff took issue with photos taken in a rare briefing last week and decided to shut out press photographers from two subsequent news conferences.

Thank you to everyone who read and commented on our story about the Pentagon shutting out photographers for publishing “unflattering” photos of Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth.

As always, I’m reachable on Signal at scottnover.99 if there’s anything you think I should know.

Whistleblower claims ex-DOGE member says he took Social Security data to new job The Social Security inspector general’s office is investigating allegations that the former DOGE engineer took sensitive data on a thumb drive in a major potential security breach, said people familia...

Whistleblower alleges that a DOGE employee told people he took a copy of the Social Security Adminstration's "Master Death File" with him when he left the government www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Judge rules Kari Lake unlawfully ran U.S. media agency, voiding layoffs Sweeping layoffs at Voice of America made by Trump appointee Kari Lake were declared void by a federal judge, who said she served unlawfully.

It's been nearly one year since Trump issued an order to dismantle USAGM and Kari Lake placed employees on leave and fired contractors.

Today, a judge found she's been running the agency illegally and found her decisions, including a RIF, null and void.

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Musk asked Epstein for ‘the wildest party.’ Now he claims to stand up for victims. The billionaire Tesla CEO has called for accountability for figures named in the Epstein files — despite appearing in them himself.

Elon Musk emailed Jeffrey Epstein on consecutive Christmases

2012: "Do you have any parties planned? ... I really want to ... let loose."

2013: "When should we head to your island on the 2nd?"

My piece looking at his fraught effort to position himself as a voice for victims now wapo.st/4b9kYWV

The White House is transforming the Iran strikes into a meme war The White House is using memes that make light of violent combat in Iran, mixing footage of real missile strikes with clips from action films and video games.

New: The White House is transforming the Iran strikes into a meme war. An "aesthetic of bloodlust" that gives Americans the empathy-free, Hollywood, video-game version of deadly combat www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

China lowers growth forecast, boosts military, citing ‘grave’ environment Beijing kicked off its top annual political gathering, pledging to further insulate its economy from Trump’s tariffs and accelerate efforts to supercharge its military.

No one told Xi Jinping about the AI productivity bump?

"Beijing set an economic growth target of 4.5 percent to 5 percent for 2026 — down from 5 percent last year and its lowest in almost 35 years"

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Anthropic’s AI tool Claude central to U.S. campaign in Iran, amid a bitter feud Anthropic’s AI tool Claude is playing a key role in the U.S. military’s campaign in Iran, amid a bitter fight with the Pentagon over the terms of its use in war.

Less than 24 hours after the Pentagon declared Claude a threat to national security, Anthropic's chatbot was helping identify targets as the U.S. launched strikes on Iran www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Surprising to see OpenAI claim: "We don’t know why Anthropic could not reach this deal."

Dario Amodei said last week that surveillance law "has not yet caught up with the rapidly growing capabilities of AI."

OpenAI's deal says it will work on domestic surveillance as permitted under current law.

Trump allies claim victory as the Ellisons expand their media empire Paramount’s Warner Bros. deal is seen by many as a win for conservatives seeking greater sway over the media — and raises new scrutiny over President Trump’s role in it.

New: Trump allies claim “VICTORY” as the Ellisons expand their empire to include CNN, HBO and much more. Laura Loomer told me she’s taking credit after the president picked up on her campaign to paint Netflix as Obama-coded.

Our story today w/ fresh details on how it all went down: wapo.st/4qVDnMx

The Righteous EV Owners Who Won’t Let Their Broken Cars Die Fisker went out of business in 2024, but its biggest fans want to bring the “right to repair” to the masses.

On the plight of Fisker Ocean owners, who discovered when the EV manufacturer that made their software-stuffed cars went bankrupt that they maybe never owned them at all

Now a group of very dedicated owners are fighting to take their EVs back

www.wired.com/story/the-ri...

7 in 10 Americans believe that “less than half” or “hardly any” of the immigrants deported since January 2025 were violent criminals
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

A national treasure of a journalist & especially fine human just posted some of his work for free ⬇️

A fake ICE tip line reveals neighbors reporting neighbors A Nashville comedian’s deportation hotline, set up as a joke, has gone viral among viewers who say it shows the “banality of evil personified” in the U.S. immigration crackdown.

New: A comedian set up a fake ICE tip line as a joke. Then 100 calls flooded in: neighbors ratting on neighbors, a teacher reporting a kindergartener. Fans say the viral TikToks revealed deportation's "banality of evil." Conservatives say he should be in prison wapo.st/4kM4qbF

Hey Bluesky! I'm a senior writer at WIRED and I'm shifting beats to cover the tech I'm most obsessed with right now—PREDICTION MARKETS.

Eager to hear tips on the industry at kate_knibbs@wired.com

After almost four years at The Washington Post, my role was eliminated this week along with hundreds of other talented journalists. It’s a cliche to say but this job was a dream come true. Thanks to my brilliant reporter friends and talented editors who made the stories stronger and banter funnier.

Tatum is way ahead of the curve on internet culture and has been for years.

cover of The Washington Post on Wednesday Feb 4, 2026. Headline on bottom, right: Musk wanted to hook users; his chatbot got more sexual

My story on Elon Musk cutting safeguards at xAI is on the front page of today's @washingtonpost.com. I’m also among 100’s of reporters laid off. I absolutely loved my job my brilliant coworkers & the thrill of reporting @ the center of forces upending the world: AI & Silicon Valley’s political power

I cannot count the number of insanely talented colleagues that were ousted today, but Heather is a brilliant writer on tech and absolutely hilarious as a bonus.