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The Los Angeles Times launched a new artificial intelligence-driven “evolution” to its company this week, with billionaire owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong writing in a letter to readers that the newspaper is “beginning a new effort” to offer multiple perspectives on its opinion columns. The AI feature, known as Insights, will not only summarize data and viewpoints from a written column, but also offer online readers real-time counterpoints to that same story at the bottom of the page.

What’s more, the Insights feature will provide readers with an AI assessment of the article’s “viewpoint” — that is, whether or not the writing adheres to a right-leaning, left-leaning or centrist point of view. Insights was developed by the Los Angeles Times in collaboration with AI news summary app Particle and San Francisco-based Perplexity AI.

In just one day of activity, the Insights feature has already run into trouble. Per New York Times tech reporter Ryan Mac, an AI summary of a Feb. 25 article by columnist Gustavo Arellano offered, under its “Different views on the topic” section, a softened perspective on one of America’s longest-running and most notorious white supremacist groups, the Ku Klux Klan, and its long history in Southern California.

Arellano’s article focused on the KKK’s place in Anaheim city politics a century ago. The AI-generated alternate viewpoint downplayed the KKK’s history there, saying that “local historical accounts occasionally frame the 1920s Klan as a product of ‘white Protestant culture’ responding to societal changes rather than an explicitly hate-driven movement.” A screenshot of the summary, taken by Mac, also noted that “critics argue that focusing on past Klan influence distracts from Anaheim’s modern identity as a diverse city.”

The idea of flying satellites in "very" low-Earth orbit is not new. Dating back to the dawn of the space age in the late 1950s, the first US spy satellites, as part of the Corona program, orbited the planet as low as 120 to 160 km (75 to 100 miles) above the Earth.

This low vantage point allowed the Kodak cameras on board the Corona satellites to capture the highest-resolution images of Earth during the height of the Cold War. However, flying so close to the planet brought a number of challenges, most notably that of atmospheric drag.

For much of the space age, therefore, satellites have flown much higher orbits. Most satellites today fly at an altitude of between 400 and 800 km (250 and 500 miles), which is high enough to avoid the vast majority of atmospheric drag while still being close enough to offer good communications and a clear view of the planet.

In recent years, a handful of new space companies have announced plans to develop small- and medium-size satellites designed to survive in very low-Earth orbit (VLEO) and capable of taking advantage of the closer-in vantage point. The first of these companies to actually reach the launch pad is a Denver-based startup named Albedo.

Denmark's state-run postal service, PostNord, is to end all letter deliveries at the end of 2025, citing a 90% decline in letter volumes since the start of the century.

The decision brings to an end 400 years of the company's letter service. Denmark's 1,500 post boxes will start to disappear from the start of June.

Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen sought to reassure Danes, saying letters would still be sent and received as "there is a free market for both letters and parcels".

Denmark ranks as one of the world's most digitalised countries.

There's an app for almost everything: few people use cash, and Danes even carry drivers' licences and health cards on their smartphones.

Bank statements, bills, and correspondence from local authorities are all sent electronically.

Public services send communications via a Digital Post app or other platforms and PostNord Denmark says the letter market is no longer profitable.

Letter numbers have fallen since the start of the century from 1.4 billion to 110 million last year.

[...]Mazin and Druckmann knew that making Season 2 would be a far more daunting endeavor. Along with the usual pressures of following an overnight smash, "Part II" upends fundamental things fans loved about the first game. It alienates Joel and Ellie from each other, pushes the story to jaw-dropping extremes and forces players to empathize with — by playing as — the game's central antagonist, Abby (who will be played by "Dopesick" Emmy nominee Kaitlyn Dever). While "Part II" was lauded as one of the best games ever made when it debuted in June 2020, its provocations also caused a cascade of online fan fury that still percolates. On top of all that, "Part II" is such a colossal experience, taking almost twice as long to complete as "Part I," that adapting it would necessitate telling the story over multiple seasons.

None of that fazed Mazin; if anything, it made him more eager to get to work.

"One of the notes that I resent the most is 'We loved this thing — more of it, please!'" he says. "No. You love it because that's the right amount of it. When you do more, what makes it special starts to dissipate. It becomes comfort food. And if there's one thing about 'The Last of Us,' it is not comfortable."

Druckmann leans forward, turning a thought around in his head. "I hope this doesn't sound arrogant," he says. "But I think you have to have a certain level of success to have the confidence to do what we're doing, both in the game and in the show. Because on paper, it looks so risky. But this is where I love working with Craig, because he thinks like me. Sometimes, you have a feeling the story has to be this and only this, and you just have to commit."

Mazin turns to Druckmann. "If there's one thing that you and I share, we have no problem going all in. Sometimes you just move all your narrative chips into the middle and say, 'Fuck it, we're doing it.'"

It's only when I bring up the character of Abby that Mazin and Druckmann evince any apprehension about changes they've made between the game and the show. The character is much more muscular in "Part II" than Dever is on Season 2. With the violence markedly cut down from the game, the showrunners say the need for Abby to be so imposing wasn't as critical.

More importantly, Druckmann says, "Kaitlyn Dever wanted to work with us; we wanted to work with her. It's not worth passing it up to continue a search that might never bear fruit to find someone that matches the physicality."

The resistance is growing. We’ve seen it in the last several weeks in the anger aimed at members of Congress during their recess, in the ongoing Tesla protests, and in a membership surge at resistance organizations.

More and larger protests are surely coming in the near future, along with civil disobedience and boycotts. Civil society and state attorney generals will keep suing to prevent Trump from breaking the law and violating the constitution.

But looking further ahead, there are two questions we have to ask ourselves:

1. When is it time to go all-out?

2. What does “going all-out” mean?

Does “shutting down the country” mean massive protest rallies? Does it mean massive civil disobedience? Does it mean a general strike? How do we get from here to there?

And what else besides defiance of the Supreme Court could be a catalyst for transformative action? I can think of several other conceivable occurrences that might qualify as going “too far”

Just Security is now tracking 96 lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions. Among the past week’s highlights:

Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California ruled that the Office of Personnel and Management (OPM) had no authority to fire probationary workers at other agencies and that those firings were illegal. OPM rescinded a key memo, but the effect on fired probationary employees remains unclear. Alsup called probationary employees the “life blood of agencies.”

Washington D.C. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Saturday ordered Trump administration officials to recognize Hampton Dellinger as the head of the Office of Special Counsel, a key whistleblower agency. Trump had tried to fire him. (Dellinger, for his part, has been trying to overturn the firings of probationary employees.)

Washington D.C. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras granted a permanent injunction restoring Cathy Harris as chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board after Trump tried to fire her, too. The board’s primary function is to protect federal employment practices from partisan politics by allowing employees to appeal adverse actions.

Two legal cases are making the argument that Elon Musk’s power cannot be squared with the Constitution’s Appointments Clause. University of Pennsylvania law professor Kate Shaw explains here.

On Wednesday morning, the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s emergency request to overrule a lower court judge’ order that he must unfreeze nearly $2 billion in foreign aid.

Origin and Mission: The Visibility Brigade model was born in 2020 out of a frustration due to the lack of physical messaging in the real world regarding the existential crisis we face as a nation. People need “social proof” to know how best to act and we deliver this weekly. We present our messages at a pedestrian walkway over Route 4 in Paramus, New Jersey. Our goal is to remind folks of this crisis, to suggest simple actions to take and to support pro-democratic state and national candidates. However, perhaps the greatest purpose at present is to comfort heartbroken voters and let them know that they are not alone.

Who We Are And What We Do: as Margaret Meade once wrote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world, indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." A Visibility Brigade needs only a handful of dedicated members (5 minimum) to create weekly actions. This requires a weekly dedication of 60-90 minutes a week of placing a simple message in a public location, usually an overpass or other well-trafficked locale.

James Harrison, the Australian known as “the man with the golden arm” because of his prolific baby-saving blood donations, has died aged 88.

In his lifetime, Harrison rolled up his sleeve more than 1,100 times to give his plasma which was then used in 2.4m doses of anti-D medication to save at-risk newborn babies.

Harrison’s blood was special because it contained what the Australian Red Cross described as a “rare and precious” antibody, essential to make anti-D injections.

Anti-D injections are a life-saving medication given to RhD-negative mothers whose blood is at risk of attacking their unborn babies. Without it, their babies can suffer haemolytic disease of the foetus and newborn (HDFN), which can be fatal.

Beyond its traditional ceremonial and social importance, kava’s calming effects have sparked new research into kavalactones, the plant’s active compounds known to reduce stress, as an anti-anxiety remedy. Studies have also found that the elixir may have broader medicinal potential, from anti-cancer benefits to treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Despite these findings, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to embrace these benefits. A longstanding federal advisory memorandum labels kava as an “unsafe” ingredient and classifies it as “an unapproved food additive,” citing unresolved health concerns including potential liver damage and cancer.

The FDA’s Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) designation deems substances safe to use in foods and beverages, covering everything from staples such as salt and vinegar to certain food dyes and other controversial additives. However, the FDA has withheld GRAS status from kava, classifying it instead as a dietary supplement alongside vitamins, herbs, and probiotics, subjecting it to stricter labeling requirements and health warnings—as well as lower consumer demand. Beyond limiting kava’s mainstream acceptance, the cautious stance has also cast a shadow over its reputation, overshadowing its deep-rooted significance in Polynesian culture.

Last year, however, Hawai‘i took matters into its own hands by labeling the root as GRAS. While states can’t overturn federal standards, they can set their own restrictions—California, for example, bans potassium bromate, a baking additive—or, as is the case here, make exceptions for certain substances.

By adopting the FDA term for safe-to-consume ingredients, the decision honors the plant’s cultural legacy. It also aligns with the international Codex Alimentarius, the food safety standard of the World Health Organization (WHO), which recognized the safety of traditional kava preparations in 2020, citing their cultural significance to Native Polynesians.

Serbian opposition lawmakers have lit flares and discharged teargas during the opening day of the spring session of parliament, in a sign of support for anti-corruption protests.

At the legislative session on Tuesday, after the ruling coalition led by the Serbian Progressive party (SNS) approved the agenda, some opposition politicians ran out of their seats towards the parliamentary speaker, Ana Brnabić, and scuffled with security guards.