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In mid-November, we talked about yet more chaos occurring under RFK Jr., this time at the FDA. At issue was George Tidmarsh, who joined the FDA in July as the agency’s chief drug regulator. Tidmarsh had been accused of using his position to exact a vendetta campaign against a former business partner, Kevin Tang, and companies related to him. Tang had pushed Tidmarsh to resign from three companies...
This story was originally published by the Texas Tribune and the Texas Newsroom and co-published with ProPublica. Republished under the Texas Tribune’s republish feature.
Months after fighting to keep secret the emails exchanged between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office and tech billionaire Elon Musk’s companies, state officials released nearly 1,400 pages to The Texas Newsroom.
The records,...
Last week Netflix announced a $82.7 billion acquisition of Warner Brothers, elbowing out rival acquisition bids (for now) by Comcast/NBC and Paramount/CBS. But the deal still needs regulatory approval from Trump, who has already stated several times that he’d prefer it if his bestie new owner of CBS, right wing billionaire Larry Ellison, comes away victorious.
Even before the deal was finalized...
You want to see actual government censorship in action? And have it done by people claiming they’re doing it to stop censorship? Check out last week’s revelation (originally reported by Reuters) that the US State Department will now start denying H-1B visas for anyone who has anything to do with trust...
Now that congressional members on both sides of the aisle have decided it might be worth taking a look at the Defense Department’s “murder people in boats” program, we’re finally learning more than the Trump administration has been willing to share about these extrajudicial killings.
The administration’s lawyers have cobbled together justifications for these actions — OLC (Office of Legal Counsel...
Looking for a holiday gift? Bring the luxuriously soft touch of cashmere to their wardrobe with Lavisha Cashmere-Blend Shawl. Made cashmere wool, this shawl will feel superbly comfortable draped over their shoulders and will serve as the perfect accessory for any winter outing. Its soft fringe enhances any outfit, and with an impressive six feet of length, they can bundle up and stay warm no...
Elon Musk is now calling for the dissolution of the European Union because it fined him $140 million for violating a law he once said was “exactly aligned” with his vision for (what was then called) Twitter.
And he’s doing it by lying about what the fine is actually for.
The EU hit X with a $140 million fine last week for violating the Digital Services Act (DSA). But (despite what you may have...
All out of original ideas and facing market growth saturation, we’ve noted repeatedly how streaming companies are increasingly looking like the stodgy old traditional cable TV giants they once disrupted. That means a lot of pointless mergers, endless price hikes, a steady erosion of quality, and the slow paring back of useful features (like going easy on password sharing).
The latest case in...
This week, our first place winner on the insightful side is rkhalloran with a comment about keeping kids safe online:
The correct answer is ACTUALLY PARENT YOUR KIDS.
This is the digital version of finding “nudie mags” under your kid’s bed then trying to sue Playboy/Penthouse/… for the kid getting ahold of them (yes I know they’ve stopped publishing in print).
In second place, it’s MrWilson...
Five Years Ago
This week in 2020, Donald Trump got angry about a trend on Twitter and went full force calling for a repeal of Section 230, renewing the effort to slip this into the must-pass military spending bill. Trump promised he was willing to defund the entire military if Congress didn’t agree, but Congress decided to ignore his threats and even Republicans threatened to override his veto as...