beSpacific

GREAT THINNING of the skies is underway. There are 3 billion fewer #birds in #NorthAmerica than half a century ago. Five hundred million fewer in #Europe. Seventy-three million fewer in #Britain. Worldwide, almost 50 percent of# bird #species are in decline. What was once called “common” is becoming rare: the “common eider” is now in the same global conservation category as the jaguar. #environment #climatechange #windows #buildings #lights #habitat https://thewalrus.ca/billions-of-birds-have-vanished-in-a-generation/

White House quickly embraced new records-preservation policy his #DOJ deemed a #presidential records #law #unconstitutional, dismissing decades-old requirements in favor of discretionary guidelines. DOJ opinion April 1 declared Presidential Records Act exceeded #Congress powers. All of Executive Office of the President received an email from #WH counsel instructing them to follow a new No records preservation policy = do not secure and archive each/every email, letter, report, meeting, document.

Oh, 1 Billion! Really - not...."Anonymous sources told the Wall Street Journal that #OpenAI fell short of meaningful internal company #goals, including its ambition for #ChatGPT to hit 1 billion users by the end of 2025. It also missed key #revenue targets and saw high user “defection” (presumably as more people jumped ship to competitors like #Anthropic). #SamAltman via TechBrew

Inside #Trump Effort 2 “Take Over” #MidtermElections People we identified as resisting attempts 2 overturn #2020 results replaced by roughly 2 doz people Trump has installed in positions that could affect #elections. 10 of them actively worked 2 reverse 2020 #vote the rest are associates of such people. In some cases, officials have been hired from activist groups that R pillars of #election #denial movement. Experts warn movement has merged with the #federalgovernment. https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-midterm-elections-takeover

U.S. Court of Appeals for 5th Circuit temporarily reinstated a requirement that #abortion pills be picked up in person. The move, which #abortionrights advocates argue will make it harder 4 women 2 access commonly used abortion pill, stems from Louisiana’s lawsuit against #FDA that allowed #patients 2 access #medicine through #telehealth and mail. #civilliberties #publichealth #rights #privacy #choice #rape #women #girls #healthcare #privacy #healthcare #humanrights #Mifepristone #law #courts

Federal judge March 31 ordered construction be halted on #Trump proposed #WhiteHouse #ballroom, to be built in place of demolished #EastWing, saying work must come to stop until project receives go-ahead from #Congress.The decision came after months of litigation in front of Judge Richard J. Leon, an appointee of President George W. Bush, who had previously declined to step in. #ruleoflaw #democracy #authoritarian.Trump: "we know that congressional approval is not necessary to put up a ballroom"

#Iranian #drone attack in #Kuwait that killed 6 US service members in early hrs of #war w #Iran was more severe than has previously been revealed. More than 30 #military members remained in hospitals Tue night w #life #threatening battle injuries, #burns from Kuwait attack / 1@ Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, 12 @walter@newsie.social Reed Medical Center in Betheda MD., and about 25 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, sources said. #maga #trump #russia #democracy https://www.cbsnews.com/news/strike-in-kuwait-that-killed-6-us-service-member-more-severe/

"Since retaking office, #Trump net worth has nearly tripled to $6.5B. Almost all of that has come from his #crypto #ventures an industry he's #deregulated at our collective #risk to line his own pockets. We must not become numb 2 his #corruption. Chart Shows How Trump 2.0 Is ‘Most Brazenly Self-Enriching’ Administration in US History
Buying Trump’s #meme #coin is like investing in “a pet rock, except you don’t even get a rock” out of the deal - #economist Steve Rattner. https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-self-enrichment-crypto

Kwanzan Cherry blossom - they bloom magnificently after the Yoshino Cherry trees which are more well known but you can see these trees throughout MD, DC and VA.

#censorship #lies #CBS Deranged #Trump Rants Edited Out of #60Minutes Interview After #securitybreach. Large portions of interview with #Trump in which he rambled about his #ballroom, how hot his #SecretService agents are, how #NoKings protests are just like #KuKluxKlan. https://decodingfoxnews.substack.com/p/trumps-cbs-60-minutes-interview-what?r=1nd17&triedRedirect=true #media #journlaism #MMM #CBS #truth #politics #mentalhealth

Via #LLRX - 1 way attack drones: Low‑cost, high‑tech weapons ‘democratize’ precision warfare. Commercial manufacturing, precision guidance & advances in #artificialintelligence & autonomy have democratized ability of militaries, militant groups 2 accurately strike their adversaries. This includes 1st person-view, or #FPV, #drones, type of 1 way #attack #drone w interfaces like #videogames that groups aligned w Iran are already using to target #American forces #MiddleEast https://www.llrx.com/2026/04/one-way-attack-drones-low-cost-high-tech-weapons-democratize-precision-warfare/

This never stops - #ICE agents will be stationed outside #MarineCorps #graduation events in #SouthCarolina. As the U.S. continues to fight the war in #Iran, the Marine Corps has boosted protection measures on bases, requiring everyone to present REAL IDs, #passports or #birthcertificates to access any sites. #civilliberties #democracy #military https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/ice-agents-will-stationed-marine-corps-graduation-events-south-carolin-rcna265941 #democracy #government #politics

#Trump counterterrorism strategy names “Violent Left-Wing Extremists, including #Anarchists #antifascists as 1 of 3 “major types of # terror groups” facing US, placing them in same category list as #narcoterrorists, transnational #gangs, legacy #IIslamist #terrorist groups. #US counterterrorism activity will prioritize “rapid identification neutralization” of "violent secular" #political groups whose ideology is “anti-American,” “radically pro #transgender,” anarchist. https://www.bespacific.com/trump-strategy-names-antifa-among-major-types-of-terror-groups/

#Google Plans to Invest Up to $40 Billion in #Anthropic #AI - no money for anything but AI - every high tech, #BigTech #siliconvalley shedding thousands of workers while the private sector and the federal government have pushed AI into the enterprise by requirement.

Too late - he will ignore per usual. Judge rules #Trump order eliminating #NPR, #PBS funding is #unconstitutional. #Trump order violated the #FirstAmendment #rights of the #publicmedia giants, a federal judge in Washington found. #democracy #ruleoflaw #government #journalism #media #freespeech https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/03/31/trump-npr-pbs-funding-unconstitutional/?location=alert

Via #LLRX @psuPete@newsie.social Recommends Weekly highlights on cybersecurity issues, 4/18/26. How the #Internet Broke Everyone’s Bullshit Detectors; They See Your Photos; Agencies fall short on documenting AI acquisition best practices, GAO says; US Govt Fails to Unmask #Reddit User: #Privacy #Legal Battle; A new #cybercrime platform called #ATHR can harvest credentials via fully automated voice #phishing attacks that use both human operators & #AI agents 4 social engineering phase. https://www.llrx.com/2026/04/pete-recommends-weekly-highlights-on-cyber-security-issues-april-18-2026/

What internet? #Bots are taking over the web, according to #Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince. In an interview at the SXSW conference in Austin this week, he said that w the speed at which artificial intelligence is growing, #AI #bot traffic will exceed amount of human traffic that’s online by 2027. Prince explained that bots’ web usage has been increasing alongside the growth of #generativeAI #technology because bots are capable of visiting far more sites to get answers for users’ #chatbot queries.

This War's #Economic Crisis Could Get Much Worse—For the U.S. and the Whole World. This isn't just about the price of #oil. It's about everything oil becomes #fertilizer, #AI #chips, #plastic and the cost of snapping the achilles heel of the global #shipping #economy https://www.derekthompson.org/p/the-global-economic-crisis-of-the #OPEC #USSR #StraitofHormuz #middleeast

#Judiciary as Engine of #Republican Electoral Strategy. #SupremeCourt is not just arbiter of #policy it is active instrument of 1 party power consolidation. #voting ruling, Texas gerrymandering gift from last week, administration appeal of #vaccine recommendation ruling all point to coordinated use of courts to entrench #MAGA #power before #elections can correct it. Watch for more state-level "emergency" #redistricting sessions in coming days #trump #government #politics https://apnews.com/article/vaccines-lawsuit-kennedy-children-immunizations-19bc1c9c13b56d6607efb2bdfcf7dfc7

via #LLRX Hallucinations” by West & Lexis AI? 24 Apr 2026. Michael Berman addresses #benchmarks used for #AI #legalresearch platforms in the context of the #risk of #hallucinations in retrieval-augmented generation #RAG AI #outputs. As Berman states, #verification, of course, is not only good advice, but also an #ethicalBusiness mandate. https://www.llrx.com/2026/04/hallucinations-by-west-lexis-ai/

via #LLRX - Book Review – How To #AI: Cut Through The Hype. Master The Basics. Transform Your Work. 28 Apr 2026. In the current publishing cycle, books about AI are being produced at a rate that suggests at least some were written with hyperspeed AI. How To AI swims against the tide of fast, disposable books. Jerry Lawson recommends this book as a keeper. #bookreviews #lawyers #law #books #km https://www.llrx.com/2026/04/book-review-how-to-ai-cut-through-the-hype-master-the-basics-transform-your-work/

Via @aaronparnas.substack.com "Donald Trump revealed that large military complex is being built beneath planned White House ballroom, a project he said was originally meant to remain secret. He described ballroom as essentially covering a bunker-like facility, w added security features, bulletproof windows, drone-resistant roof. Details about purpose of the underground complex remain unclear. He will not leave White House. He also claims private donors are paying for construction.

deanblundell@substack.com #Trump Commits Thousands Of #Troops 2 #MiddleEast Iran Has Been Waiting 4 "US Boots On The Ground" For 47 Yrs #Trump is gearing up 2 seize #KhargIsland. #IRGC built their entire military doctrine around day America tried #military #war #democracy USS Boxer Amphibious Ready Group. Also Trump Wants $200B 4 #Bombs. Here’s What That Could Buy Instead. 7 yrs of free school lunches. 3 yrs of #Medicare dental coverage. 2,000 Trump heads on Mt. Rushmore. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/03/pentagon-200-billion-iran-war-what-else-could-that-pay-for/

US #ForestService will relocate its headquarters from #DC to #SaltLakeCity #Utah moving hundreds of positions as part of broader agency reorg #Trump administration says would move officials closer to #forest communities - hollow out current staff of service’s DC headquarters. Trump similarly moved #BLM headquarters to Colorado in 1st term, leading 90 percent of the staff to leave the agency — only for it to return to Washington. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2026/03/31/forest-service-headquarters-move-utah-trump/ #government #wildfires #environment

“They built it. They're scared of it. They're selling it anyway. tech company says it's built new #AI that's so powerful it's scary. it's too dangerous 2 release iin2 world consequences would be catastrophic. Luckily for us they R keeping it locked up 4 now AI company #Anthropic says Mythos' ability 2 find #cybersecurity bugs could have world-altering consequences if similar tech lands in wrong hands. ‘fallout 4 economies, public safety, national security could b severe https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260428-ai-companies-want-you-to-be-afraid-of-them

Via #LLRX Claude Legal Is Here, and It’s Worth a Closer Look 23 Apr 2026 With the recently launched #Claude #Legal #plugin, Nicole L. Black recommends to lawyers and legal professionals Claude’s #AI for tasks like document review and contract drafting. The Claude Legal plugin runs within Claude Cowork, a desktop app that you can download, and no specialized #legal #software subscription is required. #lawyers #law #attorneys https://www.llrx.com/2026/04/claude-legal-is-here-and-its-worth-a-closer-look/

We May Be Living Through the Most Consequential Hundred Days in #Cyber History. An archive of this year’s insane timeline of #hacks few people are talking about. #cybercrime The first four months of 2026 have produced a sequence of cyber incidents that, if any one of them had landed in 2014 or 2017, would have dominated a news cycle for a week. https://substack.com/home/post/p-194031733

Via #LLRX @psuPete@newsie.social Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, April 11, 2026. Five highlights from this week: As the Federal #Government Rushes Toward #AI, Here Are Three Cautionary Tales; Combating #cybercrime and #fraud: A unified approach; #Signal messages on an iPhone have been harvested despite app security; #Anthropic Says Its Latest AI Model Is Too Powerful to Be Released; and #Cybersecurity Alert: #Criminals Are Now Using #Emojis to Avoid Detection. https://www.llrx.com/2026/04/pete-recommends-weekly-highlights-on-cyber-security-issues-april-11-2026/

Via #LLRX - @psuPete@newsie.social Recommends Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, 4/4/26. 5 highlights from this week: This Company Is Secretly Turning Your Zoom Meetings into #AI Podcasts; Beware Dr. Chatbot: Privacy laws don’t protect health care data from AI; This new scam could trick you into downloading #malware; Wireless Router Ratings & Reviews; & Report: Voice-Based Phishing Surges to New Heights. #zoom #cybersecurity #cybercrime #podcast #chatbot #phishing #healthcare https://www.llrx.com/2026/04/pete-recommends-weekly-highlights-on-cyber-security-issues-april-4-2026/

LLRX March 2026 Issue - https://www.llrx.com.
Continued War Against Science, Research, Public Health, and the Rule of Law; AI in Discovery: Some Tools Are Ready. Others Are Not; How to Spot AI Hallucinations; Prompt Catalog for Artificial Intelligence; When Your Biggest Client Starts Eating Your Firm; Weekly highlights on cyber security issues; AI in Finance and Banking https://www.llrx.com#law #legalresearch #AI #lawyers #librarians #research #publichealth #ruleoflaw #lawlibrarians

An Aural Companion for Decades, CBS News Radio Crackles to a Close. Stalwart of mass media century, the longstanding network that launched careers of journalists like Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite will air final broadcast in May - after 100 years! #trump #maga #CBSNews #Radio represented a century-old pact that #broadcasters made with the #government to provide responsible #journalism free of charge when radio was still an emerging technology.#broadcasting #politics https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/21/business/media/cbs-news-radio-appraisal.html

Via #LLRX - AI in #Finance & #Banking, 3/15/26 - 6 highlights How does #AI Distribute the pie? #LargeLanguageModels and the Ultimatum Game; AI Meets Fiscal Policy: Mapping Government Spending Actions Across 64 Countries; #Anthropic suggests AI might be worse for #hedgeFunds fund employees than bankers; Chaining Tasks, Redefining Work: A Theory of AI #Automation; Where global #economies sit in the AI stack; and #Labor market impacts of AI: A new measure and early evidence. https://www.llrx.com/2026/03/ai-in-finance-and-banking-march-15-2026/

April 2026 Issue of #LLRX - 8 new articles; 6 new columns. Bluebook’s Generative AI Is Flawed; AI in Discovery: Some Tools Are Ready. Others Are Not; How To AI: Cut Through The Hype. Master The Basics. Transform Your Work; I Tested Claude for Word on Some Classic Litigator Tasks; Hallucinations” by West & Lexis AI?; Claude Legal Is Here, and It’s Worth a Closer Look; Seeing Is Believing: Visualizing Legal Research https://www.llrx.com #law #research #AI #generativeAI #cybersecurity #finance

$200 #oil — and two other scenarios — could tip the world into #recession, says this global #bank #war #iran #middleeast #trump #putin #china #straitofhormuz #IRGC #military #economy #energy https://www.marketwatch.com/story/200-oil-and-two-other-scenarios-could-tip-the-world-into-a-recession-says-this-global-bank-23a66a46

via #LLRX - I Tested #Claude for #Word on Some Classic #Litigator Tasks. Over the past several days Rebecca Fordon has been digging into the Claude for Word add-in, and the headline finding surprised her. On document-intensive #legal work #citechecking, consistency review, Table of Authorities assembly it seems to need less supervision than either Claude on the web or #ClaudeCode. 4 tests bear that out with limits worth knowing. #lawyers #law #legalresearch #AI #microsoft https://www.llrx.com/2026/04/i-tested-claude-for-word-on-some-classic-litigator-tasks/

Under Detention Reengineering Initiative #ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations will fully implement new detention model by end of Fiscal Yr 2026. To meet growing demand 4 bedspace, streamline #detention removal process, focusing on non-traditional facilities built specifically to support ICE’s needs. Model includes acquisition & renovation of 8 large-scale detention centers, 16 processing sites, as well as acquisition of 10 existing “turnkey” facilities for $38.3B https://www.bespacific.com/ice-detention-reengineering-initiative/

Via #LLRX - AI in Finance and Banking, March 29, 2026. Five highlights from this post: #ArtificiaIntelligence, Productivity, and the Workforce: Evidence from Corporate Executives; Should you trust #AI to manage your money? The #finance industry is betting you will; UK Gov – Research and analysis #AgenticAI and consumers; #AIAgent Goes Rogue, Starts Mining Crypto to Amass Funds; and Watchdog Issues Grim Warning About Letting #AI Run Your Life. https://www.llrx.com/2026/03/ai-in-finance-and-banking-march-29-2026/ #banking #economy #finance

Via #LLRX @psuPete@newsie.social Recommends – Weekly highlights on #cybersecurity issues, 3/14/26 - Five highlights from this week: #Scammers Stole Their #Retirement #Savings. Then the #Tax Bill Arrived; #Meta #AI #Deepfake D#etection System Fails the Test; Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response releases #cybersecurity module; #Tech giants break silence on #Anthropic; and #Pentagon Reportedly Used #Microsoft Workaround to Test #OpenAI Models, Despite Ban. #cybercrime https://www.llrx.com/2026/03/pete-recommends-weekly-highlights-on-cyber-security-issues-march-14-2026/

#Strait that Shook the World. From #fertilisers 2 #helium, 3rd #GulfWar is redrawing map of who pays, who profits. Consider #food. #Urea is most widely used nitrogen-based fertiliser in #agriculture. Its industrial production is ntensely energy-hungry process, wholly dependent on natural gas. Gulf region produces approximately 40% of world’s exported urea Roughly 30% of global fertiliser exports, 20% of liquefied #naturalgas past thru #StraitofHormuz https://www.bespacific.com/the-strait-that-shook-the-world/ #hunger #war