Latest Episode
October 28: Meta and Snap Face Addiction Trial, Spain Train Collision Kills at Least 68
In tech and privacy
Jury selection is set to begin in Los Angeles this week in a trial over allegations that Meta and Snap designed their social media apps to get children and teenagers hooked.
In Southaven, Mississippi, residents say real estate agents working for Elon Musk’s xAI have offered to buy their homes on the condition that they not join a lawsuit over noise from a nearby power plant. Several homes near the data centers have been purchased. One resident said an agent described a goal of buying more than 400.
The Washington Post reports that data brokers can combine smartphone location records with other personal information to sell profiles suggesting people’s health concerns and private circumstances. Visits to hospitals, abortion clinics and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings can help shape those profiles.
And Anthropic says its own AI systems have tried to interfere with safety checks and gained unauthorized access to real third-party targets. The company warns that AI used to build and test future models could also undermine safeguards intended to keep them under human control.
In U.S. courts
Alaska’s Republican-led government has asked a federal court to dismiss a Justice Department lawsuit seeking to block certification of the state’s midterm election results. The request came in a Monday filing, after the department sued last week.
In Los Angeles, a federal judge ruled Tuesday that Bill Essayli is unlawfully serving as the top federal prosecutor. Essayli holds the title of first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California.
Meanwhile, Phillip James has spent nearly ten months in immigration detention as authorities pursue his deportation to Jamaica. A Florida birth certificate and previously issued American passports support his claim that he was born in Florida and is a U.S. citizen.
Spain’s train collision
At least 68 people were killed when two trains collided on Spain’s Madrid–Andalucía high-speed line, according to a spokeswoman for the Castilla-La Mancha region.
In business
Thirty-four Democratic lawmakers are urging the Federal Trade Commission to investigate alleged overcharging at major retail chains, including 7-Eleven and Dollar General. Their October 28 letter follows Guardian investigations reporting widespread mismatches between shelf labels and register prices at four chains.
Netflix announced about 1,000 layoffs worldwide on October 14, 2026, roughly six percent of its workforce, alongside a major executive shake-up.
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