curated news excerpts & citations
… trying to ‘unbury the lede’
Mainichi:
Osaka Metro tests AI-powered ‘humanoid station attendant’ in 60 languages
An AI-powered “humanoid station attendant” appeared at Umeda Station on Osaka Metro’s Midosuji Line on Aug. 31, undertaking tasks such as providing transfer routes and nearby sightseeing information in response to users’ questions. It can handle about 60 languages, including English and Chinese.
The pilot project aims to improve services for passengers while easing labor shortages. …
When users ask questions such as, “I want to go to Osaka Castle,” the robot answers with route suggestions by voice. Depending on the question, it can also display a QR code on a nearby panel so users can view information on their smartphones.
(Mainichi more…)
Mark Chen, Doug, Dylan Patel @ SemiAnalysis:
Beijing Will Not Pace the Frontier: China’s Speed-First AI Safety Regime
Randi Bryant @ Root:
They Want Our Rhythm and Our Blues: AI and the New Digital Blackface
Joseph Cox @ 404 Media:
Watch an Unconstitutional Flock Search
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Rook T. Winchester:
Audio recording reveals disturbing details about Edwin’s death and medical care at Delaney HallEdwin Jovanny López-Cornejo was sick. He knew it. His mother knew it. And the people responsible for his medical care inside Delaney Hall should have known it.
He had diabetes, hypertension, and epilepsy. He needed medication. His mother says he wasn’t receiving it consistently. During approximately six weeks in federal immigration custody, he reportedly lost 30 pounds. On July 31, 2026, he called his mother, María Cornejo, complaining that he felt terrible. Part of his face and one of his hands had gone numb. He was waiting for medical tests.
The following day, Edwin collapsed inside Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey.
Now, according to a newly published eyewitness account, other detainees may have spent precious minutes desperately trying to summon help while Edwin lay on the floor.
(Rook T. Winchester more…)Jim Acosta:
Leaked DOD Memo Reveals Controversial “Heat Ray” Weapon Approved for Use in Trump Border CrackdownDavid Gilbert @ Wired:
ICE Emails Discuss Using Palantir-Supported Tool to Investigate Voter FraudJasmine Fernández @ Independent:
Electric shock gloves deemed too painful by US Army are being rolled out by ICE
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Chris Geidner:
The Trump administration wants to livestream a firing squad execution for this holiday season
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Dean Blundell:
RFK Spent Years Screaming About Wuhan. Now His NIH Is Funding Russia’s Plague Network.
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Mitch Jackson:
The FBI Admitted Under Oath It Buys Your Data Without a Warrant
When access to the president carries a price tag
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Heather Cox Richardson:
Letters from an American – October 8, 2026…
When Chicago went up in flames in October 1871, some Americans blamed the Great Fire on “communists” or “socialists” eager to take over the country. Even those unconvinced a deadly fire in a wooden city was part of a deliberate plot blamed the fire on stupid immigrant workers careless about fire. They blamed “Mrs. O’Leary and her cow,” claiming the animal had kicked over a lantern near straw, and even children knew not to put fire near straw.The Great Chicago Fire spoke to politics as the rural Peshtigo Fire did not. It fanned the flames of fear that workers were trying to destroy America. Famous reformer Charles Loring Brace wrote, “In the judgment of one who has been familiar with our ‘dangerous classes’ for twenty years, there are just the same explosive social elements beneath the surface of New York as of Paris.”
And for those determined to make sure workers didn’t have a powerful voice in American society, the Great Chicago Fire could be framed as an illustration of precisely that.
(Heather Cox Richardson more…)
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Decoding Fox News:
A condensed overview of 20 hours of Fox News for the week ending 10/4/26
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James Eagle:
Battery storage costs plummet
(James Eagle more…)
ICE Detention Expansion Tracker
A field guide to claims
Last Days in Two Nations
Climate.us
formerly Climate.gov
Climate Solutions Explorer
Have I Been Flocked?
Brockovich AI Data Center Reporting
resources tracking the “Andes” hantavirus outbreak
Apocalypse Early Warning System
Al Jazeera Death toll and injuries live tracker
Mike Ludwig @ truthout: ICE Says 51 People Died in Custody Under Trump. Experts Say That’s an Undercount.
ICE Accountability Project
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, Ximena Bustillo, Jasmine Garsd @ NPR: Deaths of migrants in ICE custody hit record high under Trump
- September 18: Carlos Josue Marchena Marchena
- August 31: Pierre Damas Bel
- August 1: Edwin Lopez-Cornejo
- July 19: Jose Chajon-Raxon
- July 14: Juan Jairo Coronilla Duran
- July 13: Joan Sebastian Guerrero
- July 7: Lorenzo Salgado Araujo
- June 4: Mamuka Artmeladze
- April 16: Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt
- March 25: Jose Guadalupe Ramos-Solano
- March 16: Royer Perez-Jimenez
- March 14: Naseer Paktiawil
- February 25: Nurul Amin Shah Alam
April 1 – Jennifer Peltz and Jake Offenhartz @ AP: Death of a refugee left at a Buffalo doughnut shop by Border Patrol is ruled a homicide - January 24: Alex Pretti
- January 14: Heber Sanchaz Dominguez
- January 14: Victor Manuel Diaz
- January 9: Parady La
- January 7: Renée Good
- January 6: Luis Beltran Yanez-Cruz
- January 5: Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres
- January 3: Geraldo Lunas Campos
- December 31, 2025: Keith Porter
Suffering Under President Obama
NACDL Criminal Case Tracker
Texas Tribune: A Walk for Peace: photos of Fort Worth monks’ journey to Washington
Walk for Peace – Dhammacetiya – The Ancient Sacred Buddhist Scripture Stupas
Margaret Chase Smith: Declaration of Conscience
NPR: January 6, 2021: A visual archive
Accountability Initiative ICE List
GriftMatrix
Trump Action Tracker
Timeline: Tracking the Trump Justice Department’s Anti-Voting Shift
Tracking the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Agenda
Trump Pardons Database
Project 2025 Tracker
DOGE Tracker
ProPublica: Elon Musk’s Demolition Crew
Wired: 6 Tools for Tracking the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Civil Liberties
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