How actual ‘fake news’ caused a market whiplash

CNN: “An errant post on X may have just shaken the stock market, showing how influential — and unreliable — the social media platform can be. Unsourced “headlines” about a potential “90-day pause in tariffs” sent markets into a state of turbulence Monday morning as investors sought any indication of a reprieve from the Trump …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System, Internet, Social Media

Digital hygiene

karpathy – “Every now and then I get reminded about the vast fraud apparatus of the internet, re-invigorating my pursuit of basic digital hygiene around privacy/security of day to day computing. The sketchiness starts with major tech companies who are incentivized to build comprehensive profiles of you, to monetize it directly for advertising, or sell …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Records, ID Theft, Internet, Privacy

Social Security website keeps crashing as DOGE demands cuts to IT staff

Washington Post via MSN: “Retirees and disabled people are facing chronic website outages and other access problems as they attempt to log in to their online Social Security accounts, even as they are being directed to do more of their business with the agency online. The website has crashed repeatedly in recent weeks, with outages …

Subjects: AI, Cybercrime, E-Government, Economy, Financial System, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media

Musk’s DOGE using AI to surveil US federal workers

Reuters – “Trump administration officials have told some U.S. government employees that Elon Musk’s DOGE team of technologists is using artificial intelligence to surveil at least one federal agency’s communications for hostility to President Donald Trump and his agenda, said two people with knowledge of the matter. While much of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency …

Subjects: AI, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Government, E-Mail, E-Records, Government Documents, Legal Research, Privacy

Troubled Waters – The multiple devastating impact of floods across Europe

Via the European Data Journalism Network: “Floods are the most common natural disaster. Their frequency has more than doubled since 2004 due to an accelerating hydrological cycle driven by human-induced climate change. Over the past 30 years, floods in Europe have affected 5,5 million people, caused nearly 3,000 deaths, and led to economic losses exceeding …

Subjects: Climate Change, Environmental Law

The A.P. Saunders Peonies

Hamilton College: “These stunning peonies bloom each spring in Hamilton’s Grant Garden thanks to the hybridization talents of Arthur Percy Saunders, dean and professor of chemistry in the decades prior to World War II. According to Ernest Williams, the William R. Kenan Professor of Biology Emeritus (who provided the following photographs), Saunders initially crossed the …

Subjects: Education

Scientists present new Machine Learning tool for improved fire prediction

ECMWF: “Our scientists have developed a new tool for improved wildfire prediction using machine learning (ML), as set out in a paper published on 1 April 2025 in Nature Communications. The paper describes how the collection and integration of higher-quality data can significantly improve the accuracy and reliability of wildfire predictions. It evaluates how our …

Subjects: Climate Change, Environmental Law