director of politics and science @wired.com, co-host of Uncanny Valley (available wherever you get your podcasts!) -- signal leahfeiger.86 with tips
NEW: DHS’s top data-cruncher has resigned after getting worn down by the Trump admin’s “war on immigrants” and “war on feds,” per his LinkedIn. @noahshachtman.bsky.social has the scoop: www.wired.com/story/dhs-of...
DHS Official Resigns, Citing ‘War on Immigrants’The outgoing executive director of the Office of Homeland Security Statistics is one of very few federal officials to speak out against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.www.wired.comI want to spend all day reading about the rescue of these beluga whales from an abandoned marine park in canada (truly devastating videos, humans don't deserve the sea) -- @knibbs.bsky.social has all the details on their transfer to Chicago's Shedd Aquarium:
Inside the Wild Rescue Mission That Took 4 Beluga Whales to ChicagoBeluga whales were in danger of getting euthanized after a Canadian theme park went bust. WIRED spoke with some of the scientists behind the groundbreaking rescue mission.www.wired.comeverything @annamerlan.bsky.social does is a must read:
Anna MerlanNEW: I dug into the court documents in the case of Andrea Shaw, the Idaho mother charged with killing her toddlers. Shaw insists they died following a set of vaccinations. I looked at how the anti-vaccine movement insinuated itself into this case and her life. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
“It’s not an argument with two sides, it’s an argument with 10 sides.” these are the people making the Trump administration's decisions on AI policy -- a really good read from @hugolowell.bsky.social:
This Is Donald Trump’s AI Brain Trust“It’s not an argument with two sides, it’s an argument with 10 sides,” one senior administration official tells WIRED about how US AI policy is being shaped.www.wired.com
NEW Mike Lindell spent years pushing wild conspiracy theories about the 2020 election being stolen Trump rewarded him by endorsing his run for governor of Minnesota The Minnesota GOP is pissed, believing Lindell has zero chance of defeating Amy Klobuchar in November www.wired.com/story/trump-...
Trump Endorsed the MyPillow Guy as Minnesota Governor. The State GOP Isn’t Buying ItAfter Trump publicly backed pillow salesman turned election denier Mike Lindell for governor of Minnesota, the local GOP pushed back strongly.www.wired.com
NEW: Trump admin is split on what to do about Chinese open AI models — WH focused on preventing Chinese labs like Moonshot distilling frontier US models — But an executive order to ban Chinese labs is not currently on the table — Commerce instead wants to help US companies to develop open models
Taylor Farms, the lettuce supplier at the center of our explosive diarrhea outbreak, has spent millions to oppose food regulation and elect Donald Trump and other MAGA Republicans:
Taylor Farms Spent Big on MAGA and Anti-Regulatory Lobbying Before Diarrhea OutbreakThe company donated more than $3.6 million to conservative groups between 2020 and 2025, including $1 million to the MAGA Inc. super PAC.www.wired.com
SCOOP: A little over a month ago, the Pentagon was bragging that half its workforce was using AI. Now the army is saying they’re burning through tokens and need to limit use. For @wired.com www.wired.com/story/the-ar...
The Army Is Burning Through Its AI TokensMembers of the Army received an email informing them that they were rapidly depleting their AI tokens, and needed to limit use.www.wired.com
DOGE axed the CDC team that tracks cyclospora. Now 1000s are sick, restaurants & hospitals scrambling. What's next? “Cyclospora is just one piece. It's making the news right now, but there are other, more dangerous pathogens.” By @emilymullin.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/cdc-cy...
The CDC Has a Cyclospora Lab. DOGE Downsized It Last Year“Based on simple math, these outbreak responses—which require rapid, timely responses—are going to be greatly diminished,” the former CDC lab director tells WIRED.www.wired.com
This month, we published another article revealing that MSG kept a database of VIP event attendees, labeling some of them as LGBTQIA and assigning a “risk score” to others. This is also now free to read:
Madison Square Garden Kept a List of Gay CelebritiesAn MSG database tracked and categorized hundreds of celebs, famous Knicks superfans, and even some of Taylor Swift’s wedding guests. Labels included “LGBTQIA,” “DO NOT HOST,” and low to high “risk.”www.wired.comIn April, we reported on the MSG surveillance machine–an operation that allegedly tracked a trans woman, lawyers, protesters, and more. You can now read it for free.
The Shocking Secrets of Madison Square Garden’s Surveillance MachineFamously vengeful Knicks owner Jim Dolan has long spied on people at his iconic arenas. WIRED goes deep inside the operation that allegedly tracked a trans woman, lawyers, protesters, and more.www.wired.comNEW with @carolinehaskins.bsky.social: ICE is renewing its contract with Thomson Reuters for accessing some their suite of proprietary databases. In the description, ICE says the tools will be used to ID "unaccompanied minors" and identify fraud. www.wired.com/story/ice-un...
ICE Is Using Data Broker Tools to ‘Identify Unaccompanied Minors’ and ‘Fraud’A newly renewed, $25 million-per-year contract with a subsidiary of Thompson Reuters further expands the power of ICE under the Trump administration.www.wired.comNEW "The deep state is shitting a brick right now" - Alex Jones Election deniers are ignoring the lack of proof released during Trump's speech last night and claiming instead it paves the way for him to declare the Insurrection Act www.wired.com/story/conspi...
Conspiracy Theorists Think Trump’s Speech Paves the Path to the Insurrection ActElection deniers have spent years promoting the idea that the 2020 election was stolen. They believe Donald Trump’s speech finally proves them right.www.wired.comSCOOP True the Vote, the election denial group behind the debunked 2000 Mules "documentary"—that questioned the 2020 election results—are coming out with a new documentary next month called Trap that will make more baseless allegations about voter fraud www.wired.com/story/the-gr...
The Group Behind ‘2000 Mules’ Is Back With Another Election Conspiracy FilmTrue the Vote is working with a Detroit pastor to produce a new documentary called Trap, based on claims that have already been thrown out in court.www.wired.comNEW: Conspiracy Theorists Think Trump’s Speech Paves the Path to the Insurrection Act "He will invoke the Insurrection Act and save the Republic." read @davidgilbert.bsky.social:
Conspiracy Theorists Think Trump’s Speech Paves the Path to the Insurrection ActElection deniers have spent years promoting the idea that the 2020 election was stolen. They believe Donald Trump’s speech finally proves them right.www.wired.comThere is no way that "278,000 noncitizens" are voting in US elections, as Trump claims in his speech. Its just not physically possible, as WIRED and other outlets have consistently reported. This is a scare tactic, and it's working. And the repercussions are endless:
Election Officials Are Getting Ready for ICE to Show Up at the PollsThe Trump administration keeps threatening to send federal agents to oversee elections. State and local officials are preparing, and even gaming out what happens if they're arrested.www.wired.com