ICE’s Smart Glasses Are a Worst-Case Scenario The DHS is reportedly developing its own smart glasses that it plans to couple with biometric databases and facial recognition.

“There are a lot of privacy pitfalls that come along with smart glasses, but the potential for their use as a tool for mass surveillance is easily one of the most harrowing.”

Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh vows not to be Trump’s ‘sock puppet’ | CNN Business Follow for live updates: President Donald Trump’s pick to run the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, is testifying before lawmakers in a Senate confirmation hearing.

Exactly what a sock puppet would say

www.cnn.com/2026/04/21/b...

Windows 98 Plus

Analyzing the President’s Executive Order on Mail Voting This bid to seize control of mail voting would wreak havoc on elections and harm American voters.

Trump’s executive order on mail voting would give the USPS, an independent agency, power over who can vote by mail. ​​The Brennan Center and other groups are challenging the order in court.

👀

“'If that bot were a person they’d be charged with a principal in first degree murder,' Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) said...

The shooter sought advice from ChatGPT on what weapon to use, what ammo to fire, and where he could find the most people to kill on campus, Uthmeier said."

Meta Is Sued Over Scam Ads on Facebook and Instagram A lawsuit from the Consumer Federation of America accuses Meta of misleading consumers about its efforts to combat scams advertisements on its platforms.

NEW: The Consumer Federation of America sued Meta this morning over scam ads on Facebook and Instagram. @regret.bsky.social has the scoop: www.wired.com/story/meta-i...

DHS Creating Smart Glasses for ICE to ID People in Real-Time The Department of Homeland Security is developing smart glasses for ICE, according to budget documents.

"The glasses would be only one more addition to the rapidly expanding surveillance state under the Trump administration, which is collecting massive amounts of data on people and organizations in the U.S.”

newrepublic.com/post/209309/...

the foundational belief of Trump, Miller, Vought and Vance (and Chief Justice Roberts) is that anti-discrimination rules are an unacceptable denial of the freedom of people and institutions that exercise discrimination, while *experiencing discrimination* is probably not even real, but fine anyway

App-clutter achievement unlocked: I now need to have three different workplace-collaboration chat apps open to keep up with various clients and colleagues. (Which is another way of saying that whatever Salesforce has been doing with Slack doesn't seem to be working to retain customers for that app.)

Meta is installing tracking software on US staffers' computers to capture mouse movements, clicks, and keystrokes in work-related apps for use in AI training (Reuters)

Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

Yeah... "much" is probably a pipedream overstatement here.

Meta just paid the lowest effective federal tax rate in its history.

Thanks to tax breaks and loopholes, it avoided $13.7B in 2025 federal income taxes.

But now it's planning to lay off 10% of its global workforce (8,000 people) by May 20 — with more job cuts later this year.

Trickle down hoax.

Palantir's CEO published a manifesto arguing Western tech firms have a "moral debt" to US military dominance, that AI weapons are inevitable, and that "some cultures are dysfunctional." This isn't just a regularly evil tech or defence contractor, it’s a fascist political project.

Solar Rises to 10% of Japan Power Generation in 2025, Ember Says Solar power accounted for 10% of Japan’s electricity generation for the first time last year, exceeding the global average of 9%, according to a report from energy think tank Ember.

Solar power accounted for 10% of Japan’s electricity generation for the first time last year, exceeding the global average of 9%, according to a report from energy think tank Ember

The Shocking Secrets of Madison Square Garden's Surveillance Machine Famously vengeful Knicks owner Jim Dolan has long spied on people at his iconic arenas. WIRED goes deep inside the operation that allegedly tracked a trans woman, lawyers, protesters, and more.

Using facial recognition tech, the Knicks surveilled a trans woman, tracking her every move out of fear she'd show up on MSG's tv broadcast

And they can do it to any "enemy" of Jim Dolan, who's built his own deep state. From @noahshachtman.bsky.social & me @wired.com www.wired.com/story/madiso...

Palantir posts mini-manifesto denouncing inclusivity and ‘regressive’ cultures | TechCrunch Palantir's ideological bent has come under more scrutiny as it's worked with ICE and positioned itself as a defender of "the West."

Any candidate that takes money from Palantir should not receive your vote.

Co-founder Joe Lonsdale is pouring millions into a PAC to buy off Democrats, especially in California.

techcrunch.com/2026/04/19/p...

I just got fed the CBS Evening News feed on Twitter, and here are four of the stories they’re featuring tonight.

(In case you were wondering why their ratings are tanking amid a historic news cycle.)

Taxes or pitchforks. Your move.

Brazil taps legal loophole to issue bids for Amazon ‘tipping point’ road A strategic shift in law clears the way for a highway that scientists warn will push the Amazon to a tipping point.

The Lula administration is bypassing environmental laws to renew a highway.

Scientists warn paving this road through the Amazon could push it to a tipping point. The move has already triggered the resignation of top Brazilian environmental officials.

@nandawenzel.bsky.social report for #Mongabay.

How the American oligarchy went hyperscale The AI boom is fueling a literal and metaphorical power grab by tech billionaires—and forcing a reckoning.

The AI boom is fueling a literal and metaphorical power grab by tech billionaires—and forcing a reckoning.

I hope this saves millions of lives AND infuriates his dipshit base enough to crater his favorables even more. Win/win.

Your regular reminder that cops don't actually justify their existence or enormous budgets by solving much crime.

Approximately 11% of all serious crimes result in an arrest, and about 2% end in a conviction.

And then there's this...

Data Work Is Too Secretive. Big Tech Should be Held Accountable. The data work industry, which collects information to train AI systems for tech companies, is often shrouded in secrecy, Tatiana Dias writes.

The data work industry, which monetizes the collection of information used to train AI systems, is often shrouded in secrecy. But a new report maps out how at least 30 data platforms are quietly connected to Big Tech companies, Tech Policy Press fellow Tatiana Dias writes.

Section 230 doesn’t just protect platforms—it protects the people who use them. We spoke with Reddit’s top lawyer about how volunteer moderators, everyday users, and online communities need 230 to function. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

Yikes, Encryption’s Y2K Moment is Coming Years Early Google moved up its estimated deadline for quantum preparedness in cryptography to 2029—only 33 months from now. That’s earlier than previous deadlines, and they proposed the new post-quantum

Quantum computers are coming sooner than expected. Now's a good time to check if your encrypted messenger has moved to post-quantum cryptography. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

Connecticut Pauses AI Use to Create ‘Criminal Reports’ The chief state’s attorney, with support from the State Police and the Connecticut Police Chief’s Association, is pausing deployment of AI-powered tools to deepen understanding and set rules around th...

Skeptics “point to highly publicized AI failures, including one involving a Utah traffic stop during which a police body cam recorded the movie ‘The Princess and the Frog’ playing in the background and generated a report stating, among other things, that an officer ‘turned into a frog.’”

WSJ laying the groundwork for the US to interfere in Brazil's presidential elections.

on.wsj.com/4tZWpn2

There’s so much AI junk on the internet.

Amazing piece.

Southern Border as a Proving Ground: TLS Manpack Leads to Illegal Alien Apprehensions Joint Task Force-Southern Border (JTF-SB) continues to embrace the southern border as an “innovation laboratory” and proving ground for new technologies. Service members employ advanced systems to tes...

This is happening inside the United States