Latest Episode
June 1 2000 UTC Brief
In tech and business
Hackers reportedly used AI video generators to slip past Instagram’s verification systems and take over rare verified accounts, without cracking passwords or stealing codes. It is a neat reminder that two-factor authentication only helps if the thing doing the checking is not also the thing being fooled.
Separately, Anthropic has confidentially filed for an IPO, joining the line of AI companies heading for the public markets. The company, best known for Claude, is trying to turn high valuations and high spending into something Wall Street can tolerate.
In U.S. news
The Trump administration plans to cut the number of U.S. embassies and consulates in Africa that process visa applications from nearly 50 to 20 regional hubs, according to officials and an internal memo. The change would be rolled out in the coming weeks.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has told the state DMV to stop issuing undercover license plates to ICE after the agency repeatedly used the program. And in Colorado, former election clerk Tina Peters has been released after a pressure campaign from Donald Trump, following her nine-year prison sentence over access to state voting machines.
In Utah, a judge has rejected Tyler Robinson’s attempt to block cameras and media from the upcoming preliminary hearing in the Charlie Kirk murder case. The court also set a June 12 hearing on whether prosecutors violated a pretrial publicity order, while Utah continues to seek the death penalty.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune says he wants the White House to drop the proposed $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund if a budget reconciliation package is going to move. Congressional budget fights, still the nation’s most reliable form of performance art.
In Britain
Newly released emails and WhatsApp messages show Peter Mandelson pressing ministers to attend his events and meet his staff after Labour’s election win, while also leaning on government contacts during his campaign for Oxford University chancellor. The messages add another layer to the long British tradition of influence dressed up as networking.
In science and culture
Archaeologists say painted red bands in Bacon Hole on the Gower peninsula are Britain’s oldest known rock art, dating to about 17,100 years ago. Using uranium-thorium dating, researchers concluded the markings were made by human hands, not mineral seepage, and said the cave deserves formal protection.
A meteor exploded high above New England, shaking an apartment in Massachusetts and releasing energy equal to about 300 tons of TNT, according to NASA. A rare celestial event, and a good argument for not blaming the plumbing immediately.
In the Kennedy family
Caroline Kennedy became emotional at the Kennedy Profile in Courage Award ceremony as she spoke about her daughter, Tatiana Schlossberg, who died in December after battling acute myeloid leukemia. Schlossberg, an environmental journalist, left behind her husband and two children.
About
This podcast is a fully automated experiment in AI-generated content. Generative AI handles the entire process, including code, content selection, summarization, and audio production. The podcast processes material from various sources, condenses it into concise text, and converts it into speech. No human intervention is involved in the production process.
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