Derek E. Baird
@derekeb.bsky.social
Chief Youth Officer | Kids Privacy | Author #GenZFrequency | Producer #BeingMePodcast | Disney Inventor Award | He/Him #kidtech #edtech
“It’s not just easy to start a fire — now there’s potentially a financial incentive.” It's time to regulate this shit. www.scrippsnews.com/science-and-... cc: @allinwithchris.bsky.social
People are making wildfire bets on prediction markets. Experts say it could lead to disaster
Some prediction markets also allow people to bet on wildfires, as well as other climate change-fueled extreme weather events — an issue previously reported by High Country News.
scrippsnews.com
"A court has ordered Discord to turn on an age-verification system it built for the UK for every user in Texas. Britain’s age-check has reached America, and opening or keeping a Discord account in Texas can now mean a face scan or a government ID." reclaimthenet.org/texas-orders...
Texas Orders Discord to Run UK-Style Age Checks for State Users
The agreed injunction gives Discord 90 days to route Texas users into the same face scans and ID checks it already runs for children in Britain.
reclaimthenet.org
Carol Lynn Pearson was a force of compassion, inclusion, artistry, kindness, & empathy. She was a bridge builder between communities that often seemed to hold intrinsically opposing beliefs. May her legacy and message of radical love continue to heal and inspire. www.sltrib.com/religion/202...
Legendary LDS writer and advocate Carol Lynn Pearson dies, leaves a final poem to her fans
Legendary Latter-day Saint poet, playwright and activist Carol Lynn Pearson has died at age 86. "The Mormon people were truly blessed to have her as a companion," a historian says, "and the institutio...
sltrib.com
A new executive order all but eliminates Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. Take Action: www.patagonia.com/actionworks/...
Support Indigenous Stewardship of Bears Ears - Patagonia Action Works
The recent action by the Trump administration to shrink Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments is yet another attempt to liquidate public lands.
patagonia.com
Congress is regulating teen AI use, while ignoring what the chatbot actually says. New Penn Washington research names it: sycophancy. These models affirm kids more than any human would, right when kids are developmentally wired to take that affirmation as fact. global.upenn.edu/penn-washing...
Congress Is Looking at the Wrong AI Risk - Penn Washington
AI chatbot sycophancy may be harming children. Congress is regulating AI for kids but overlooking one of its most dangerous features.
global.upenn.edu
Aside from its many other problems, the idea Fauci was America's power-abusing covid dictator is somewhat complicated by the fact that he never had the power to do the things they're mad about. His recommendations bound nobody and were not particularly rigorously followed by the actual policymakers.
In a first, Germany drew more power from wind and solar than from fossil fuels last year.
In Germany, Wind and Solar Overtake Fossil Fuels
Together, wind and solar generated 44 percent of Germany’s electricity, while fossil fuels generated roughly 43 percent, according to data from the Energy Institute, a think tank based in London. The figures represent a major milestone for the German “Energiewende,” or “energy turnaround,” a national push to ramp up renewable energy and phase out gas, coal, and nuclear power.
e360.yale.edu
Why does @ms.now think anyone in their audience wants to see them air Lindsay Graham's funeral?
I'm glad to see YC include aging and caregiving in their startup requests this year! These are underserved areas in tech, and existing solutions require much better UX for elders. youtu.be/WUDIBATKh4Y?...
AI for the Aging Population
YouTube video by Y Combinator
youtu.be
After visiting a military base where he was moved talking to wounded warriors, John Mayer has spent 15 years and millions out of his own pocket backing research on PTSD and veterans health. www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/li...
John Mayer on Why He Keeps Quietly Funding Brain Research Studies
After visiting a military base where he was moved talking to wounded warriors, the rock star has spent 15 years and millions out of his own pocket backing research on PTSD and veterans health — but st...
hollywoodreporter.com
Regulate the loop, not just the outcome, and that's exactly what this is: going after the platforms that build, host, and profit from the pipeline, not just cleaning up the damage after it's already hit a kid. LONG overdue. www.wired.com/story/san-fr...
San Francisco Demands Apple and Google Delete AI ‘Nudify’ Apps From App Stores
The City Attorney’s Office sent the tech giants cease-and-desist letters this week telling them to stop profiting from 13 “face-swap” apps that are overwhelmingly used to target women and girls.
wired.com
Good. It's long overdue to address this issue. There is no valid reason for these apps to exist, particularly given the harm they cause to teens and children affected by nudification. www.wired.com/story/san-fr...
San Francisco Demands Apple and Google Delete AI ‘Nudify’ Apps From App Stores
The City Attorney’s Office sent the tech giants cease-and-desist letters this week telling them to stop profiting from 13 “face-swap” apps that are overwhelmingly used to target women and girls.
wired.com
Less than a month after its opening, a $69 million exhibit beneath the Lincoln Memorial is plagued with problems, potentially endangering rare American artifacts, according to three National Park Service officials. dc.citycast.fm/news/lincoln... Cc @jenpsaki.bsky.social
Rare Lincoln Documents Exposed to Unsafe Heat in New Exhibit, NPS Staff Say · City Cast DC
Beneath the Lincoln Memorial, another potential disaster is brewing for the Park Service.
dc.citycast.fm
NEVER in my life did I think a POTUS--Republican or Democrat--would actively work to destroy National Parks. Not only is he destroying public lands, but he's also destroying the local tourism economy and hundreds of small businesses around the parks. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/13/c...
Trump Sharply Cuts the Size of Two National Monuments in Utah (Gift Article)
Native American tribes and environmental groups are expected to challenge the move to shrink the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments.
nytimes.com
Gen Z can opt out of AI. They remember life before it. Gen Alpha will never get that choice, it's just...there. Built into toys before they could even talk back to it. @chrislhayes.bsky.social should have this reporter on @allinwithchris.bsky.social www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
When A.I. Is a Member of the Family
A single mom, her two daughters, and the chatbots that fill in the gaps.
newyorker.com
Lindsey was a disposable and transactional friendship. Only valuable as a means to elevate Trump and do his bidding. You got played, Senator Graham. Hope it was worth it.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3w agoTrump just delivered his first speech after the death of his allegedly dear friend Lindsey Graham, which happened less than 48 hours ago. He didn't mention him once. RIP.
NEWS: Listen closely to what Gov. Beshear says here: the Republicans have tried to take away his ability to appoint a U.S. Senate vacancy but he seems poised to fight them on it. Keep an eye on this. Gov. Beshear knows what’s at stake and knows what he’s doing.
Things the @democrats.org should be talking about instead of wasting energy on Graham Platner: -Ken Paxton voter fraud -Nolan Wells' murder -Mitch McConnell proof of life www.texastribune.org/2026/07/07/k...
Ken Paxton’s voter registration may violate Texas election law - The Texas Tribune
The Texas attorney general appears to have used an address where he did not live while voting in six elections in the past two years — despite his warning voters that “it is illegal to misrepresent yo...
texastribune.org
Age assurance checks on search engines will see some Australian internet users asked to share government identification, undergo facial age estimation, or complete a credit card check to prove they are aged 18 or over. ia.acs.org.au/article/2026...
Search engine age-checking rules begin in Australia
Likes of Google and Bing could face huge penalties for breaches.
ia.acs.org.au
A park that President Donald Trump bragged that he had "renovated" for $16 million suddenly had its water turn a murky brown this week, the latest in a string of his D.C. beautification "disasters."
Unfolding disaster in DC as water turns brown at Trump's 'completely renovated' park
A park that President Donald Trump bragged that he had "renovated" for $16 million suddenly had its water turn a murky brown this week, the latest in a string of his D.C. beautification "disasters."Meridian Hill Park — also known as Malcolm X Park — saw its iconic cascading fountain go from sparklin...
bit.ly
I wanna hear a whole lot less about Graham Platner, and a whole bunch more about Nolan Wells. hereswhykevin.substack.com/p/the-death-... Cc: @mskellymhayes.bsky.social @briefingwithpsaki.bsky.social @allinwithchris.bsky.social
The Death of Nolan Wells & The Silence of National News
Nolan Wells' story is a reminder why local news matters
hereswhykevin.substack.com
As part of a new AI model update, *public Instagram profiles* are now automatically opted in to be available for generative AI remixes when tagged in a prompt, allowing users to use Meta AI to generate an image using your likeness. www.wired.com/story/meta-n...
Meta Now Lets Anyone Use Your Instagram Photos in AI Images—Unless You Opt Out
As part of Meta’s Muse Image model rollout, Instagram users with public accounts need to opt out to block AI generations of their content.
wired.com
If you are a beloved team on a magical run and Donald Trump tries to stick his nose in it: prepare for the worst.
There was originally a beer guy running too, but unlike Platner he actually runs a real company (that makes delicious beer). He dropped out and endorsed Mills mainemorningstar.com/2025/09/03/m...
Maine Beer Company founder joins race against Susan Collins • Maine Morning Star
Another Democrat, co-founder of Maine Beer Company Dan Kleban, has entered the race to try to unseat long-time Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins in 2026.
mainemorningstar.com
Three days after Mitch McConnell suffered a heart attack and received CPR, his wife, Elaine Chao, fled to China. thedailybeast.com/mitch-mcconn...
prepare to have your daughter accused of being a boy and face demands that her gentials be inspected if the dad on the other team thinks that she fouled his special snowflake too hard
Nancy Armour@nrarmour.bsky.social · last mo.The ban is heinous for what it does to transgender athletes. But if you think cisgender girls and young women won’t be caught up in the fallout, too, you are woefully ignorant
