— Science Girl (@ScienceThing5) July 18, 2026
Will Prediction Markets Fail? A Cross-sectional Study
Detour to war: While Vienna’s coffeehouses breed modernity, Belgrade’s kafana thrive on intrigue and fury. Their conflict consumed Europe Aeon
Humanoid Robots in 2026: What’s Really Done Technology.org
Archaeologists Identify First Maya Astronomer Credited With Name ZME Science
Scientists Find First Atmosphere on Rocky Habitable-Zone Planet, Raise Hopes for Alien Life Gizmodo
COVID-19/Pandemics
The COVID Nimbus Variant Now Leads the US as Cases Grow in 27 Countries and Emergency Medical Visits Increase Daily
CDC warns of global measles threat after 22 million children miss vaccinations during pandemic CTV News
Climate/Environment
What you need to know about the Canadian and US wildfires and their impact BBC
More than 100 wildfires prompt Algeria to recall emergency workers Andolu Agency
Wildfires, drought and storms lash Europe as heatwave recedes Reuters
Interactive map predicts climate-driven farm decline by end of century Euronews
South of the Border
Top defense officials consider options for Cuban military CBS News
Venezuela earthquake death toll hits 5,000 as IMF releases bailout money for France 24
Colombia: A Society Fractured Under the Influence of the US Counterpunch
China?
Fun fact.
BYD’s new factory in Zhengzhou will cover 50 square miles, larger than the San Francisco area at 46.9 square miles. pic.twitter.com/dXWwJ3xxiT
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) July 17, 2026
China’s AI models undercut US leader Yahoo Finance
China Planted Billions of Trees and Scientists Just Discovered Unexpected Benefits of These New Forests ZME Science
Did China steal 2020 US election data, as Trump claims? Al Jazeera
China’s Beidou Satellite System is a game changer in the Iran War with the US Larry Johnson substack.
India
India successfully launches first private orbital rocket Phys.org
New Delhi Air Pollution Index Further Drives EV Adoption in India Clean Technica
Heavy rains in India depend on how clean the air is Phys.org
Africa
New Malaria Vaccine Helps in Africa But Faces Trials: Ending All 4 Doses Medpage Today
As migrants await repatriation, South Africa faces ongoing anti-immigration conflicts Xinhua
Women are dying in Africa as the US steps up its global war on abortion AP
The breakup of Europe
Why the EU’s so-called Chat Control law has the top privacy experts at Euronews
The EU proposes to reduce the carbon emissions of businesses BBC
EU targets 46% electrification to save $296B per year by 2040 Turkiye Today
Old Blighty
Reverse Brexit? The political winds in Britain are blowing towards Europe. Christian Science Monitor
A dark day for the UK as Andy Burnham doubles down on the NY Post disaster
Israel v. Gaza, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iran
This is Houla, South Lebanon – before and after the Israeli genocide.
It is an ancient village that has been inhabited for more than 2,000 years.
Israel was wiped off the map.
War crimes. A crime against history. pic.twitter.com/3BCCvztIaO
— sarah (@sahoraxo) July 16, 2026
Israeli forces destroyed three schools in southern Lebanon, the minister told Al Jazeera
Israeli army kills 8 Palestinians, expands occupied territory in Gaza despite ceasefire Andolu Agency
US Expands Aerial Refueling Ship to Israel to Prepare for Expanded Strike Against Iran’s Military Watch Magazine
Israeli ministers announce plans for new illegal settlements in Gaza and West Bank The Guardian
The New Cold War
The European right opens Ukraine UnHerd
Ukraine’s Defense Minister stepped into the Zelensky corruption buzzsaw Responsible Statecraft
Ten killed in Russia-Ukraine as protests continue over Al Jazeera’s relaunch of Kyiv
Big Brother is Watching You
Susan Shelley: From license plate readers to phone taps, privacy rights are disappearing The OC Register
‘Company failed to implement basic safeguards’: Victims of 23andMe data breach are finally being paid, but bankruptcy could reduce their payouts
Imperial Collapse Watch
ENHANCED SECURITY: Walmart shopper furious over ‘anti-theft beef’ as supermarket CHAINS UP steaks The Sun
WATCH: Large NYC homeless camp fuels controversy against Mamdani NY Post
Trump 2.0
Can We Lose the Same War Twice? With Trump, Anything Can Happen to the New Republic
Trump, not Iran, is the biggest threat to the world. He is a one-man weapon to destroy the Guardian
The Trump administration is lifting the ban on the killing, trapping of threatened animals by the Andolu Agency
Trump’s rhetoric is more dangerous than voting machine errors, Politico experts say
Musk Matters
Elon Musk’s AI Startup Is a Complete Disaster Behind the Scenes Futurism
SpaceX has lost $1T in market value since mid-June – the stock is falling after Musk canceled its first rocket launch after its IPO.
Elon Musk says your Tesla will start learning the preferences of each Teslarati
Watching Death of a Democrat
Rahm Emmanuel’s Israeli-sanctioned ‘Protest’ to Israel The American Conservative
‘Scary’: Scandal sends Wisconsin Dems into freakout mode over governor’s race Politico
Immigration to another country
Stephen Miller says the Trump administration is pursuing a policy to defund illegal immigrants Fox News
‘Treating them like animals’: Migrant inmates face harsh conditions in Miami jail Miami Herald
Fox News
Ours is No Longer Free
The Trump administration has significantly reduced the length of visas for foreign journalists The Guardian
6abc is warning viewers about the FCC revoking its TV license. Here’s what’s going on. Philadelphia Enquirer
Mr. Market Is Moody
Citi Raises Brent Forecast to 2026; Oil Sees $150 if Hormuz Disruption Continues EnergyNow
Unanswered Questions Driving the Stock Market Drop Barron’s
Financial Charges That Include Weather Are Harder To Ignore Over Time
The AI
AI is changing what we can do. Who we become is still our Humanist review decision
MARC ANDREESSEN WENT ON ROGAN FOR OVER 3 HOURS. HERE ARE 17 THINGS YOU MUST TRY.
1. AGI already exists, in his opinion. He says the line was crossed about 3 months ago with GPT-5.5, Claude 4.6, Gemini 3, and Grok 4.3, and no one noticed because the field is moving so fast… pic.twitter.com/yddmZnJ6Wr
— CyrilXBT (@cyrilXBT) July 18, 2026
Google recently released a 1-hour course on performance engineering from scratch:
00:00 – How to build your first AI agent
08:24 – Build an agent’s memory (short, persistent, long)
28:34 – Agent loops, long-running AIs
40:04 – How to build MCP (MCP vs API)
1:00:22 – Many products… pic.twitter.com/uVbN2z1EHs— Rahul (@sairahul1) July 11, 2026
I let AI take control of my Google TV for a week — and it solved a major streaming problem on Android Authority
AI accelerates the pace of scientific discovery: Bastille Post Global who received the Nobel prize
Bezzle
Fraud expert warns AI is helping criminals bypass government: ‘You don’t have the right tools’ Fox News
Data to detect Medicaid fraud already exists, but no one is using The Hill
Guillotine Watch
Sneakers are very expensive
Which of these brands have you used? pic.twitter.com/g8mTtjQZzU— Darcie (@Darcie1387) April 10, 2026
Invisible socks are on their way to replace the most expensive socks in the world.
You are already flipping through many luxury brands.
Second only to Burberry. pic.twitter.com/8GplUaOoxJ
— Nezuron (@nezuron_) February 1, 2025
Antidote du jour (via)
See yesterday’s links and the Antidote du Jour here
