Cowboy Who?

5-Day Uncertainty Track last updated Tue, 12 Aug 2025 14:50:03 GMT


Wind Speed Probabilities last updated Tue, 12 Aug 2025 15:22:07 GMT

“This and That” is an occasional series of paired observations. See past “This and That” posts here. – Ed.

Today: Colorful, irregular shapes

 

 

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No matter how original, innovative or crazy your idea, someone else is also working on that idea. Furthermore, they are using notation very similar to yours. – Bruce J. MacLennan

The post This and That: Candida Alvarez and Texas’ Redistricting Map appeared first on Glasstire.

Purple is one of the most unruly colors in painting, and it might be the most elusive. Shapeshifters, a show of works by Payton McGowen and Greg Piwonka at Martha’s Westside Market space in Austin, pulses with lavenders, plums, and red-tinged indigos. Unified by a deep palette of irreverent compositions, these projects are, at first glance, so oddly similar that they feel as though they were ripped out of a B-movie: twins separated at birth. 

McGowen creates drawings in which colored pencils bleed across the page so convincingly that they appear to be watercolor. She has a confounding ability to transform the hard material — each pencil distinct in color — into soft, flowing structures, imitating the striking illusion of fluidity. A subtle sleight of hand that reveals itself only up close — where the waxy markings intermingle.

In Kiss (2025), a poppy-colored bloom fills most of the paper, while an arching form slinks in from the right. The two meet at the top of the petals, and McGowen has rendered the distinct blush of concentrated pigment as it pools into water, echoing the flow of liquid. There is a corporeal exchange at this point — a slow, organic seepage. A violet blossom sits squarely at the center of Champ (2025), its leaves flexing in confidence, and its step-stone corolla glistening against the yellow and blue background, as if still damp from its creation. These are steeped in wonderfully unnecessary labor and material invention, both celebrating and subverting the act of drawing at once. 

While McGowen holds a coy distance from her material, Piwonka is a painter’s painter — his large, thickly brushed creations resonate with their making. His paintings exist within a closed system of color relationships. In T.P.B.O.T.W.C. #24 (2025), one enters directly, landing on a clumsy bolt of iris blue that rests in a charged expanse of coarse but polite shapes. These forms interlock and adapt, leaving just enough space to activate perceptual interplay. Upon closer inspection, figures begin to emerge from the composition — forms evolve into an alert dog, a child’s rendering of a brontosaurus, and a playful boot stepping into the corner. 

His canvases evoke contemporaries like Stanley Whitney or Jason Stopa, whose work hinges on careful orchestration — where color is both structure and subject. While Whitney and Stopa work with established motifs, Piwonka’s contours slither and push each other’s boundaries. His paintings are both static and responsive, a microworld of configurations perfectly out of sync. In T.P.B.O.T.W.C. #2 (2025), broad red lines tether the elements together — an arterial framework that unites the eccentric components as they flow up and out of the picture. 

The two artists share an affinity for soft, bloated forms: Piwonka’s response to external pressure keeps them distinct, while McGowen’s intermingle and diffuse into one another. Both previously made quasi-autobiographical works that explored the tensions of human relations — to one another and nature. This dynamic continues in their new bodies of work, though now the exchange is confined to abstraction. In this friction, there is a distinct, clumpy harmony, building a deeper unity that shapes those who engage with it. 

 

Shapeshifters is on view through August 23, 2025, at Martha’s Westside Market location.

The post Clumpy Harmony: “Shapeshifters” at Martha’s, Austin appeared first on Glasstire.

#Runa #Rowen #Cye #RoninWarriors

#Rowen #RoninWarriors

5-Day Uncertainty Track last updated Tue, 12 Aug 2025 08:50:47 GMT


Wind Speed Probabilities last updated Tue, 12 Aug 2025 09:21:32 GMT

Historic levels of rainfall in Wisconsin over the weekend led to power outages and the annual state fair's last day being cancelled.

In brief: Tropical Storm Erin is struggling this morning due to dry air, which may impact its track some over the next 3 to 4 days. While Erin should still eventually turn out to sea, folks in the northeast Caribbean will want to monitor the storm’s progress closely this week, and those on the East Coast should continue to just keep tabs on any further changes for the time being.

Tropical Storm Erin

This morning, Erin has pressed pause on intensification as a lot of the deeper thunderstorms surrounding the storm seem to have faded away. We figured Erin would struggle a little in the first couple days, but this is a fairly substantial drop off in storm activity.

One reason for the diminished look of Erin this morning is likely a healthy amount of dry air that sits in the mid-levels of the atmosphere around the northern and western flank of the storm.

Hurricanes and tropical storms need warm water, low wind shear, and moisture to thrive. Absent one of those ingredients and you probably get a sloppy outcome. Indeed, this is where we are right now.

So, what does this mean going forward? Well, if you look at Erin’s forecast track from the NHC today, it has indeed shifted a bit farther south.

It hasn’t shifted dramatically so, but it has shifted enough to be noticeable. This is likely because Erin’s intensification timeline has slowed down a little. Less intense storms will track a little farther south and be less apt to turn poleward (north) quickly. One of the challenges in determining the forecast track of Erin over the next several days will end up being how much dry air it has to fight off. If you look at the envelope of track possibilities through Friday evening, at least based on the European and GFS ensembles, you do see a somewhat healthy spread in possibilities opening up. Since yesterday, this has shifted a couple hundred miles south

This is not a dramatic change, but when you do the virtual math here, there has definitely been a trend toward a slightly weaker system, slightly farther south. Also notice a slight bend to the west-southwest that shows up on those maps as Erin tracks west of about 55°W longitude. It’s a minor difference, but for the islands, it could have some implications.

So what does this mean going forward? Well, in the near-term it doesn’t mean much of anything. Erin will probably continue to struggle a bit until it can insulate itself from the dry air that surrounds it or shake it off entirely. This could mean that we see an additional trend to the south of Erin’s track today, perhaps getting a bit closer than some would like to the islands. On the flip side, if Erin struggles more, it would be less likely to approach the islands as a hurricane. So you have to balance the bad with the good.

Still, once it nears the islands, the overall environment is expected to improve, allowing for Erin to intensify, turn north, and scoot out to sea, though Bermuda bears close watching of course in that scenario. All that said, I think there’s at least some evidence today that while the environment around Erin is expected to improve and allow for strengthening, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will. So folks in the northeast Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico should continue to monitor Erin’s progress closely over the coming days.

For folks on the East Coast? Generally speaking, nothing has changed with respect to the risk profile there. Erin is still expected to turn out to sea, as the break in ridging over the Atlantic persists. As soon as Erin begins to intensify, it should begin to gain latitude and eventually turn back northeast. That turn looks a little more like a J-turn today than a U-turn, but the end result would be the same. All that said, the subtle changes we’ve seen since yesterday are a good reminder to never take a hurricane forecast as a given 7 to 10 days out. Continue to monitor Erin’s progress in the coming days.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 3.1%, up from 2.9% in June.

The records also shed light on previous concerns about the shooter's classroom behavior. The release follows a yearslong lawsuit from news agencies.

In brief: Tropical Storm Erin formed this morning from Invest 97L. It’s expected to make its way north of the islands by the weekend. From there, it’s likely heading out to sea, but we explain why the chance isn’t quite 100 percent. Plus, a quick update on the Gulf, which won’t see development but could see locally heavy rain this week.

Tropical Storm Erin

With our first real significant Atlantic storm of the season now likely getting underway, we’re doing a quick evening post here to just set the landscape up, as I know some people may be a little confused or wondering if things have changed since this morning’s update. In short, they haven’t changed a whole lot.

Erin has been identified with 45 mph maximum sustained winds just west of the Cabo Verde Islands. It’s hauling westward at over 20 mph. This quick forward speed probably won’t do it many favors over the next day or two, allowing for only gradual intensification, but it should be a slow, steady intensification over the next several days with probably a burst of rapid intensification at some point later this week or weekend. In fact, the intensity forecast for Erin is pretty dang aggressive over the next several days, showing the storm becoming a category 2 to 4 hurricane by the time we get to Friday or Saturday.

The track forecast is in equally decent model agreement, showing a good, tight track consensus through Sunday or Monday, bringing the storm north of the Caribbean islands.

Thus, the confidence in the NHC forecast shown above should be moderate to higher than usual.

For the Caribbean islands, this is unlikely to impact directly, but folks in Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands through Anguilla or Barbuda should probably keep tabs on the size of Erin in case fringe impacts are felt in those areas.

After the weekend, Erin’s forecast confidence drops off significantly, as you’d expect from any tropical system in the day 8 to 10 timeframe. But here are a couple thoughts. First, Erin’s quick intensification will likely help it turn more northerly in time. In fact, you can see on the model track forecast spread above a very sharp northwest or even due north turn showing up on days 6 or 7. A stronger Erin would be more apt to feel the weakness in ridging that develops over the western Atlantic late this weekend and early next week. This will more than likely allow it to begin gaining latitude.

The second thing we can say is that history favors an out to sea track, though not at 100 percent. Of the 56 known named storms track within 120 nautical miles of Erin’s forecast position in 24 hours, 51 of them have gone out to sea, a U.S. hit rate of about 9 percent. Of course, Bermuda is on the way out to sea, and that was at least threatened by 7 of these storms as well.

So currently modeling, history, and the overall setup we see favors Erin turning out to sea eventually. That said, anytime the storm is 7 to 10 days away from somewhere, you keep an eye on things. But hopefully this allows some folks to breathe a little easier in the meantime.

Gulf blob

Alright, I neglected to really touch on this earlier today, but the Gulf is looking pretty revved up right now. Usually, when you see this, you worry a bit in August. But!

There’s a mountain of wind shear in the western Gulf right now, and the eastern Gulf isn’t exactly hospitable right now either. This is just your basic, run of the mill surface trough interacting with warm water and hot, humid Gulf weather, producing lots of thunderstorms, mostly over open water right now.

We could see 1 to 3 inches of rain in spots, with isolated higher amounts in excess of 5 inches possible through Wednesday or Thursday as this system lifts into and across the Southeast. More tomorrow!

WASHINGTON—Claiming the luminous potion would make the nation strong and vigorous, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued an order Friday directing all Americans to drink a mysterious glowing liquid. “In order to end the chronic disease epidemic in this country, it is imperative that every man, woman, and child take a large swig of this wondrous concoction,” said Kennedy, who held up a corked bottle emitting a bright, almost neon, green glow and explained that the eerie liquid would be added to municipal water sources to ensure the entire populace had access to it. “In the past, corrupt medical researchers have doubted the curative powers of my extraordinary and stimulating elixir, and government regulators have done everything in their power to stop people from ingesting it. But that ends now. Soon, every American will swallow this unique medical preparation, feel its intense burn upon the lining of their esophagus, and know its restorative properties are taking effect.” An independent chemical analysis later confirmed the mysterious glowing liquid was just ivermectin with a lot of green food coloring added. 

The post RFK Jr. Mandates All Americans Drink Mysterious Glowing Liquid appeared first on The Onion.

REDWOOD CITY, CA—Arguing that this was, in fact, the most responsible thing he could do given how expensive poultry products had become, your dumbest friend, 43-year-old Jared Welty, told reporters Friday he’d just bought 20 chickens. “Okay, so I read up on it, and I realized it would be completely crazy for me not to go online and buy a whole bunch of baby chicks,” said Welty, who despite having zero experience in animal husbandry, agriculture, or even raising basic house pets like cats or dogs, decided to dive headfirst into an idiotic plan to construct a chicken coop in his 300-square-foot backyard and fill it with an entire flock of hens. “Hear me out. One dozen eggs costs $12. But one chick costs $3. So for the cost of one dozen eggs, I get [a physically, mentally, and financially draining project that will ultimately ruin my life and make me wish I had never started it in the first place]. It’s a no-brainer!” Welty, who will reportedly contract bird flu from his chickens and die a slow, painful death, added that he was excited to be able to give eggs to all his friends.

The post Dumbest Friend Just Bought 20 Chickens appeared first on The Onion.

Fusco married Demers in a beautiful ceremony Sunday, so the state kicked her off the medical assistance program that made her cancer treatments affordable.

The post Andrea Fusco And Glenn Demers appeared first on The Onion.

The post Stepchild Asked To Take Family Picture appeared first on The Onion.

The National Park Service will restore the toppled statue of Confederate General Albert Pike in Washington, D.C., despite local leaders calling for its permanent removal. What do you think?

The post Confederate Statue Toppled During Black Lives Matter Protest Reinstalled appeared first on The Onion.

WASHINGTON—Warning that America could not afford to fall behind in gourd-based innovation, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins issued a statement Tuesday demanding that U.S. farmers invent five new melons by Friday. “Our nation cannot keep coasting along on the same old watermelons and cantaloupes forever without losing its standing on the world stage,” said Rollins, adding that any farmer who did not send her a list of workable concept melons by the end of the week would permanently lose eligibility for government subsidies. “We need a new killer melon to stay on top in the trade wars to come, and we need it to blow the sweet, round melons of other countries out of the water. The Japanese already have cube melons, for God’s sake. What’s next for us? A savory melon you can steam meat inside? Or some kind of triangle melon? Or how about a lot of tiny little melons you eat by the handfuls, like grapes? Farmers, you’ve got three days to lock in and figure out what’s in the fruit salad of the future. And don’t just pitch us muskmelons again. We already know about those.” At press time, Rollins added that if Chinese farmers developed some sort of talking melon before the U.S. did, it would be “game over” for American cultural hegemony.

The post Agriculture Secretary Demands U.S. Farmers Invent 5 New Melons By Friday appeared first on The Onion.

By: Peggy-Anne MacInnis The Nova Scotia government’s ban on any human activity in the woods is outrageous and likely unconstitutional. It infringes on our god given right to enjoy the beauty of Canada’s majestic scenery. And worst of all, it has totally ruined my little Timmy’s favourite pastime: setting small fires in the woods and […]

The post How dare Tim Houston ruin my child’s favourite summer activity: burning down the province of Nova Scotia appeared first on The Beaverton.

“President Trump announced that he’s placing the DC Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and deploying National Guard troops to the nation’s capital.” —CNN

The family and I visited Colonial Williamsburg just last summer. We had a great time. My wife and son loved the basket-weaving workshop, and my daughter was so excited by the reenactors that she barely let them answer a question before peppering them with another one.

It made me appreciate our history again, you know? Got me feeling thankful for this country’s founders, and how their struggles ultimately laid the foundation for a nation so prosperous that their descendants thought nothing would ever impinge on the American Dream—not even granting the Outer God Nyarlathotep unfettered access to the levers of institutional power. And instead of ultimately banishing the Crawling Chaos and His Writhing Retinue from this plane of existence, we went ahead and resummoned Him to the Blood Throne again. That’s American exceptionalism for you.

In any case, Colonial Williamsburg was a blast. It’s hard to believe anyone could ever feel unsafe among a bunch of community theater actors in itchy wool coats wielding replica single-shot muskets. We were even planning on going again this fall.

Nonetheless, I guess things must have taken a pretty steep nosedive over there. I mean, why else would the Dread Lord Nyarlathotep direct Pam Bondi to reanimate one thousand Carcass Battalion reservists to descend upon the period-accurate butter maids, mule attendants, and shoe buckle artisans? He knows a thing or two about desperate acts of anarchic, primordial violence. If it’s as bad as He says it is over there, then maybe a legion of carrion troops is in order for “The Town Where History Lives.”

I understand the Museum of Williamsburg curator assured the president last night that He didn’t need to dispatch a minion horde to the inn’s pickleball courts. And yeah, I saw Defense Imp Hegseth’s “evidence” of unsanctioned cruelty was only some security camera footage of a teen lifting a Twix from the gift shop. That’s not the point. The point is, the president—in all his disturbed, labyrinthine anti-logic—has deemed Colonial Williamsburg a threat to His Dominion, and that makes it dangerous enough for the rest of us. Case closed.

I’m already seeing my Facebook feed blow up with people whining about how this sets a dangerous and dark precedent for Nyarlathotep. I even saw some old high school buddy of mine describe the whole thing as “crossing the Rubicon on our descent into an Authoritarian Necrostate.” Um, newsflash, Ted from Scottsdale High Class of 2006: I’m pretty sure Nyarlathotep undulated across that river a long damn time ago. Or if He didn’t already cross it, He’s spent the first eight months of His returning reign wallowing in the river’s (now undoubtedly) septic waters.

With the promise of more Carcass Battalion reanimation rites to come, it’s clear He has crossed that Rubicon with the intention of continuing our unfathomable sojourn into Cosmic Decrepitude. Today it’s Colonial Williamsburg. Tomorrow it’ll be Six Flags over St. Louis or Knott’s Berry Farm. Maybe enough of his cultists will snap out once His rebuke reaches Dollywood.

In an unprecedented move, President Trump has taken over Washington, D.C.'s police department and activated its National Guard. The federal takeover invokes rare, but legal, presidential authorities, but local officials say he’s wrong to say that crime has spiraled out of control. Amna Nawaz discussed the legality behind this action and what this means with Georgetown law professor Steve Vladeck.

An oldie but a goodie (ended circa 2012), one of my favorite feel-good pieces of media. "America's funniest auto mechanics take calls from weary car owners all over the country, and crack wise while they diagnose Dodges and dismiss Diahatsus. You don't have to know anything about cars to love this one hour weekly laugh fest."

Added by @exile in Podcasts › Comedy.

A wonderfully simple website with a list of basically all those annoying special characters (trademark, copyright, superscript numbers, etc.). Click to copy to clipboard.

Added by @exile in Internet › Utilities.

"An interactive story about anxiety, where you are the anxiety." A public domain game made by Nicky Case that provides a unique and compassionate look at the fearful creature inside of you that I found really insightful.

Added by @exile in Health › Mental Health.

Author Theodore Gray's photographic catalog of examples of nearly ever element you can illegally get (and even a few you can't). Full of beautiful photos, most of which are accompanied by fascinating captions about the object's origins or quirks.

Added by @exile in Math & Science › Science.

Not a trick, just a bouncing DVD logo. I have no idea where to put this.

Added by @exile in Internet › Utilities.

"A high-resolution photo archive of gaming hardware... all pictures here were taken by me and are public domain. The purpose of this project is to preserve gaming history, provide educational media for discussing video games, and to offer artists source material for creative endeavors." Hosted on Wikimedia Commons.

Added by @exile in Internet › History & Culture.

Politico has become a testing ground for how AI clauses in union contracts could shape adoption in newsrooms across the U.S.

The PEN Guild represents over 250 workers at Politico and its sister publication, energy and environment site E&E News. Earlier this year, the Guild alleged management had violated AI adoption guidelines negotiated into its contract.

On July 11, the Guild and Politico held an arbitration hearing to determine whether the publication had broken its collective bargaining agreement through these alleged violations. Nieman Lab obtained access to the arbitration hearing transcript, including over 300 pages of testimony from Guild members and senior editors at Politico.

The allegations revolve around two generative AI-powered tools. One tool, called LETO, generates live summaries of speeches and was used on Politico.com’s homepage during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) and the vice presidential debate last fall. The other tool, Report Builder, lets Politico Pro subscribers create AI-generated write-ups of niche policy subjects using Politico’s archive.

The Guild found that both tools generated statements that were false, violated Politico’s style guide, or were taken down without formal corrections or retractions.

The arbitration transcript offers new insight into how Politico management is defending itself against the Guild’s case. In particular, management argues that the experimental AI tools in question are not subject to Politico’s normal journalistic editorial standards.

In his testimony supporting Politico management, deputy editor-in-chief Joe Schatz was asked if he would publish some of the error-filled output by Report Builder as articles on Politico.com.

Schatz replied that “the information in here and the way it’s organized and the way it says it does not reflect reality, so in that sense, no.”

He went on to argue that Report Builder sits “outside the newsroom,” since Politico’s product and engineering teams built the tool and editorial workers don’t review its outputs. As a result, he said, the AI-generated reports should not be held to the newsroom’s editorial standards.

“I would not publish this as an article, because it’s not an article,” Schatz testified.

One of a few points of contention during the hearing was whether LETO summaries and Report Builder outputs qualify as journalism — or, more specifically, as “newsgathering.” That’s critical because PEN Guild’s collective bargaining agreement, which went into effect in January 2024, states:

If AI technology is used by Politico or its employees to supplement or assist in their newsgathering, such as the collection, organization, recording or maintenance of information, it must be done in compliance with Politico’s standards of journalistic ethics and involve human oversight

Politico editors testified that “newsgathering” here means “reporters going out and reporting,” including talking to sources and reviewing documents. The Guild argued that both AI tools collect and organize information, and shouldn’t be exempt from Politico’s normal editorial standards.

“It was very upsetting to be sitting there in the room as a journalist and hear one of the leaders of my newsroom, that I’m very proud to be a part of, say it’s okay if our content doesn’t adhere to facts,” Ariel Wittenberg, unit chair of the PEN Guild and a witness in the arbitration hearing, told me. “If it doesn’t align with reality, why are we putting Politico’s name on it?”

“Politico has always been at the forefront of adopting new technology to better serve our audience. This is no different,” Politico spokesperson Heather Riley told me in a statement. “AI allows us to be more nimble, deploy advanced technology and adapt to a rapidly changing landscape. It also allows our great journalism to be seen and engaged with more frequently and in different ways.”

The arbitrator’s decision in the case will be binding. A ruling in the Guild’s favor could require that Politico cease operating the tools until they’re in line with the union contract, and after management enters a 60-day bargaining period over their use. A decision from the arbitrator is expected sometime after September 12, when both parties will submit additional post-hearing briefs.

“Our Super Bowl”

One of the Guild’s grievances centers around the AI-generated live summaries that ran on Politico’s homepage during the 2024 DNC and vice presidential debate. The tool, known internally as LETO, created a transcript of each event, then generated summaries of key statements and grouped them by policy category.

A handful of editors were tasked with monitoring the tool. They had the opportunity to greenlight initial policy summaries, but the tool automatically updated the published copy every five to ten minutes. Editors couldn’t review those updates before publication or make line edits to the AI-generated copy.

Politico argued in arbitration that LETO “did not transform anybody’s jobs” and so was not subject to the 60-day bargaining rule. Editors stated that LETO was a form of transcription, and minimized similarities between its summarizing and the work of staff reporters covering the events.

David Cohen, who was homepage editor the first night of the DNC, testified that the first time he saw LETO was when its summaries had already appeared at the top of Politico’s homepage. Cohen’s boss told him that night “it was something that was being done outside of the CMS [and] that I would have no access to either edit or update.”

Normally, Cohen decides headlines and the position of editorial content on the homepage. Despite objections about LETO’s quality, in this case, “I was told it was going to stay there.”

Please fact-check for accuracy

Another tool under scrutiny during the hearing was an AI feature on Politico Pro, the publication’s policy intelligence service, which has over 30,000 subscribers in lobbying and public affairs. The tool, called Report Builder, was developed with the startup Capitol AI. Launched in late February, it allows Politico Pro users to create AI-generated reports on niche policy subjects, using LLMs that comb through Politico’s article archive and other legislative data sets.

Jeremy Bowers, Politico’s global chief technology officer, testified that a report generation feature was one of the most highly requested updates by Politico Pro subscribers last year. “Politico was in danger of losing customers when we didn’t have this functionality,” he testified. (In 2021, the Financial Times reported that Politico Pro is responsible for more than half of Politico’s annual revenue.)

After the tool launched in beta, Guild members documented several major factual errors output by the Report Builder. One report filed into evidence was supposed to be about the Biden administration’s oil and gas policies; the AI-generated report instead listed actions taken by the Trump administration months after Biden left office.

Another report about the Farm Bill, a legislative package that covers nationwide agricultural and food programs, said the bill was criticized for “not protecting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.” Those programs have never been part of the Farm Bill.

Semafor previously reported on similar problems with Report Builder in the lead-up to arbitration. For instance, it produced a report about two fictional lobbying organizations, the “Basket Weavers Guild” and “the League of Left-Handed Plumbers.”

Axel Springer, Politico’s parent company, has been one of the industry’s most vocal advocates for newsroom AI adoption. At a global town hall in mid-July, days after the arbitration hearing, CEO Matthias Döepfner said no employee at Axel Springer should have to explain why they are using AI, Status reported.

“You only have to explain if you didn’t use AI. That’s really something you have to explain because that shouldn’t happen,” Döepfner said. He went on to clarify, “Of course, every mistake should be avoided and the credibility and truthfulness of our reporting is the most important thing.”

Concerns about credibility, the Guild testified, was one reason for seeking out arbitration. “For our trusted, verified news source Politico to say, here’s what I’ve got, but you have to fact-check it — that’s not the reader’s job. That’s why they come to us,” Wittenberg told me, echoing her testimony, which questioned whether these AI experiments could erode trust with readers and sources. “The transparency is just saying, you guys figure out if this is right.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he’ll extend the standoff over redistricting for as long as necessary. The Republican effort is being pushed by President Trump and Abbott, who called a special session. Democrats have called foul, and they’re trying to run out the clock by staying out of state. Stephanie Sy discussed more with the GOP lawmaker central to the debate, state Rep. Carl Tepper.

Some of the heaviest Israeli bombardment in weeks was reported overnight in Gaza. Health authorities said at least 34 people were killed, including five Al Jazeera staffers. It comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued to defend his plan to occupy Gaza’s largest city and an area that Israel has defined as a humanitarian zone for displaced Gazans. Nick Schifrin reports.