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Google Says It’s Developing Tools to Help Journalists Write (Maria)
The authors write, “Google says it is in the early stages of developing artificial intelligence tools to help journalists write stories and headlines, and has discussed its ideas with leaders in the news industry. The rapidly-evolving technology is already raising concerns about whether it can be trusted to provide accurate reports, and whether it would eventually lead to human journalists losing their jobs in an industry that is already suffering financially. Leaders at The New York Times, The Washington Post and News Corp., owners of The Wall Street Journal, have been briefed on what Google is working on, the Times reported Thursday.”
The Supreme Court Will Be the Final Bulwark (Al)
From The Bulwark: “It is unforgivably naïve to expect a GOP Congress to act as a check on Trump 2.0. And there is scant evidence that Republicans would break with him if he tried to steal another election. The only thing that may stop him is the U.S. Supreme Court, which has been going through some things recently. Like it or not, in our constitutional system, the Court may be the last bulwark of liberal constitutional democracy.”
Patrol Dogs Are Terrorizing and Mauling Prisoners Inside the United States (Mili)
From Insider: “Two decades after the human-rights abuses unfolded at Abu Ghraib, almost … state prison systems continue to use unmuzzled attack-trained dogs. Insider has identified 12 states that authorize their use against people in state custody. At least 23 prisons in eight states have deployed attack-trained dogs on prisoners in recent years — Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Virginia. Over the past six years, hundreds of incarcerated people have been bitten or mauled.”
House Republicans Propose Planting a Trillion Trees as They Move Away From Climate Change Denial (Reader Jim)
The author writes, “As Speaker Kevin McCarthy visited a natural gas drilling site in northeast Ohio to promote House Republicans’ plan to sharply increase domestic production of energy from fossil fuels last month, the signs of rising global temperatures could not be ignored. Smoke from Canadian wildfires hung in the air. When the speaker was asked about climate change and forest fires, he was ready with a response: Plant a trillion trees. The idea — simple yet massively ambitious — revealed recent Republican thinking on how to address climate change. The party is no longer denying that global warming exists, yet is searching for a response to sweltering summers, weather disasters and rising sea levels that doesn’t involve abandoning their enthusiastic support for American-produced energy from burning oil, coal and gas.”
Rich Lode of EV Metals Could Boost Taliban and Its New Chinese Partners (Gerry)
From The Washington Post: “A decade [ago], the U.S. Defense Department, guided by the surveys of American government geologists, concluded that the vast wealth of lithium and other minerals buried in Afghanistan might be worth $1 trillion, more than enough to prop up the country’s fragile government. … But now, in a great twist of modern Afghan history, it is the Taliban — which overthrew the U.S.-backed government two years ago — that is finally looking to exploit those vast lithium reserves, at a time when the soaring global popularity of electric vehicles is spurring an urgent need for the mineral, a vital ingredient in their batteries.”
A River Runs Above Us (Laura)
From Hakai Magazine: “Atmospheric rivers can cause catastrophic flooding and landslides but are crucial for water supply. In an era of increasing weather whiplash between flood and drought, can we learn to embrace the rains?”
British Man Who Stole 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs Jailed for 18 Months (Sean)
The author writes, “A man referred to as the ‘Easter bunny’ by police has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing almost 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs. Joby Pool, 32, stole more than £31,000 (~$40,000) worth of the chocolate eggs when he broke into an industrial unit in Telford on 11 February and made off with the haul in a stolen lorry cab.”
