SCOTUS rules Trump’s tariffs are illegal — but the fight is far from over
SCOTUS rules Trump’s tariffs are illegal — but the fight is far from over

The US Supreme Court struck down some of Donald Trump’s tariffs on foreign imports, which have become a hallmark of the chaos of the second Trump administration. The court’s ruling deals specifically with duties levied using a law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), something no other president has done – the 1977 […]

Trump is making coal plants even dirtier as AI demands more energy
Trump is making coal plants even dirtier as AI demands more energy

The Trump administration just tossed out Biden-era restrictions on mercury and other toxic pollutants from power plants. It’s repealing Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) just as electricity demand in the US ticks up with the buildout of new AI data centers. Those standards are particularly impactful when it comes to pollution from coal plants […]

Web scraper sued by Google claims Google is the one scraping the web
Web scraper sued by Google claims Google is the one scraping the web

SerpApi, a company that offers tools to scrape content on the web, is fighting back against Google’s copyright lawsuit that accuses it of vacuuming up search results “at an astonishing scale.” In a motion to dismiss filed on Friday, SerpApi argues that Google doesn’t hold a copyright on its search results, alleging that the engine […]

America is at risk of becoming an automotive backwater
America is at risk of becoming an automotive backwater

For decades, America’s auto industry was the envy of the world, driven by mass production, the rise of Detroit’s Big Three automakers, and the iconic stylings of the 1950s and ’60s. Then, through a series of blunders and missteps, things started to unravel. There was the fuel crisis of the 1970s, which led to an […]

FCC calls on broadcasters to air ‘pro-America content’ for the country’s 250th anniversary
FCC calls on broadcasters to air ‘pro-America content’ for the country’s 250th anniversary

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr is urging broadcasters to air “patriotic, pro-America content” in celebration of the US’s 250th anniversary. The initiative, called the “Pledge America Campaign,” encourages broadcasters to run public service announcements, short segments, or specials to promote “civic education, inspiring local stories, and American history.” Carr says broadcasters can “voluntarily choose […]

Trump Mobile is just Liberty Mobile in gold foil
Trump Mobile is just Liberty Mobile in gold foil

Where’s the Trump phone? We’re going to keep talking about it every week. This week, we explain how the presidential phone company connects to an older company that’s really running the show. We’ve long known that Trump Mobile was linked to Liberty Mobile, a carrier that’s traded for years using freedom-themed branding to sell cheap […]

Smart glasses in court are a privacy nightmare
Smart glasses in court are a privacy nightmare

When Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrived at a Los Angeles courthouse on Wednesday, he did so with a team that appeared to be wearing Meta’s camera-equipped Ray-Ban smart glasses. Judge Carolyn Kuhl was concerned. According to CNBC, Kuhl warned anyone recording with the glasses, “If you have done that, you must delete that, or you […]

Prop bet
Prop bet

Substack has updated its partnership with betting platform Polymarket, “introducing native tools that make it easier to share, discuss, and debate prediction market data directly on Substack.” Additionally, Polymarket will effectively pay “a cohort of creators,” including Matt Yglesias, to use its data though the newsletter platform’s pilot sponsorships program. This is just the latest […]

Taxpayers Face Harder To Detect Scams This Season. Blame AI.

FBI data show a rise in government impersonation fraud. From deepfake video calls to IRS impersonation schemes, AI is reshaping how criminals target everyday taxpayers.

Will Stancil, man of the people or just an annoying guy?
Will Stancil, man of the people or just an annoying guy?

I met Will Stancil two days before he got booted from his neighborhood Signal chat. We were at the Uptown Minneapolis VFW at an event hosted by Rep. Ilhan Omar, a thank-you party for Minnesotans who fought ICE in ways big and small. There were tacos and drinks, and dancing, though I never saw Stancil […]