— Science Girl (@ScienceThing5) July 18, 2026
Are Prediction Markets Doomed to Fail? Contrary Research
Loitering towards war: While Vienna’s coffeehouses bred modernism, in Belgrade’s kafanas grew conspiracy and rage. Their clash consumed Europe Aeon
Humanoid Robots in 2026: What Is Actually Deployed Technology.org
Archaeologists Identify the First Classic Maya Astronomer Credited by Name ZME Science
Scientists Detect First Atmosphere on Rocky Habitable-Zone Planet, Boosting Hopes for Alien Life Gizmodo
COVID-19/Pandemics
COVID Nimbus Variant Now Leads the U.S. as Cases Grow in 27 States and Emergency Visits Rise Medical Daily
CDC warns of global measles threat after 22 million babies missed their vaccines during the pandemic CTV News
Climate/Environment
What to know about the Canadian and US wildfires and their impact BBC
Over 100 wildfires prompt Algeria to urgently recall civil protection personnel Andolu Agency
Wildfires, drought and storms hound Europe even as heatwave recedes Reuters
Interactive map predicts climate-driven farm decline by end of century Euronews
South of the Border
Senior defense officials looking at Cuba military options CBS News
Venezuela quake death toll tops 5,000 as IMF releases recovery funds France 24
Colombia: A Fractured Society Under U.S. Influence Counterpunch
China?
Fun fact.
BYD new factory in Zhengzhou will cover 50 square miles, which is larger than San Francisco’s surface at 46.9 square miles. pic.twitter.com/dXWwJ3xxiT
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) July 17, 2026
China’s AI models are shrinking US lead Yahoo Finance
China Planted Billions of Trees and Scientists Just Found an Unexpected Advantage 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 Iran’s War with the US Larry Johnson substack
India
India successfully launches first private orbital rocket Phys.org
New Delhi Air Pollution Index Further Pushes for EV Adoption in India Clean Technica
India’s monsoon rain depends on where air gets cleaner Phys.org
Africa
The New Malaria Vaccine Helps in Africa but Faces a Test: Completing All 4 Doses Medpage Today
As migrants await repatriation, South Africa faces persistent anti-immigration tensions Xinhua
Women are dying in Africa as US ramps up its global battle against abortion AP
European Disunion
Why the EU’s so-called Chat Control law has privacy experts up in arms Euronews
EU proposes slowing down cuts to carbon emissions for businesses BBC
EU targets 46% electrification to save $296B a year by 2040 Turkiye Today
Old Blighty
Reverse Brexit? Political winds in Britain are blowing toward Europe. The Christian Science Monitor
Dark day for the UK as Andy Burnham doubles down on disaster NY Post
Israel v. Gaza, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iran
This is Houla, South Lebanon — before and after Israel’s genocide.
An ancient village that stood for more than 2,000 years.
Israel wiped it off the map.
A war crime. A crime against history. pic.twitter.com/3BCCvztIaO
— sarah (@sahouraxo) July 16, 2026
Israeli army destroys three schools in southern Lebanon, minister says Al Jazeera
Israeli army kills 8 Palestinians, expands occupied area in Gaza despite ceasefire Andolu Agency
U.S. Surges Aerial Refuelling Fleet in Israel to Prepare for Expanded Offensive Against Iran Military Watch Magazine
Israeli ministers announce plans for new illegal settlements in Gaza and West Bank The Guardian
New Not-So-Cold War
The European Right is turning on Ukraine UnHerd
Ukraine’s defense minister walked into Zelensky corruption buzzsaw Responsible Statecraft
Ten killed in Russia-Ukraine as protests continue over Kyiv defence revamp Al Jazeera
Big Brother Is Watching You Watch
Susan Shelley: From license-plate readers to phone taps, privacy rights are vanishing OC Register
‘The company failed to implement basic defenses’: 23andMe data breach victims are finally getting paid, but bankruptcy could shrink their payouts moneywise
Imperial Collapse Watch
BEEFED UP SECURITY: Walmart shopper fumes over ‘anti-theft beef’ as supermarket CHAINS UP steaks The U.S. Sun
SEE IT: Massive NYC homeless encampment fuels backlash against Mamdani NY Post
Trump 2.0
Can We Lose the Same War Twice? With Trump, Anything’s Possible The New Republic
Trump, not Iran, is the world’s greatest danger. He’s a one-man weapon of mass destruction The Guardian
Trump administration lifts ban on killing, trapping threatened species Andolu Agency
Trump’s rhetoric is more dangerous than voting machine flaws, experts say Politico
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 slumping after Musk cancelled its first rocket launch after its IPO moneywise
Elon Musk says your Tesla will start to learn your individual preferences Teslarati
Democrat Death Watch
Rahm Emmanuel’s Israel-Endorsed ‘Opposition’ to Israel The American Conservative
‘It’s scary’: Scandal sends Wisconsin Dems into freakout mode over governor’s race Politico
Immigration
Stephen Miller says Trump administration is pursuing policy to debank illegal immigrants Fox News
‘Treating them like animals’: Migrant detainees face grim conditions in Miami federal jail Miami Herald
Fox News
Our No Longer Free Press
Trump administration drastically cuts length of foreign journalist visas The Guardian
6abc is warning viewers about the FCC taking away its TV license. Here’s what’s going on. Philadelphia Inquirer
Mr. Market Is Moody
Citi Raises Brent Forecast for 2026; Sees $150 Oil if Hormuz Disruption Persists EnergyNow
The Unanswered Questions Driving the Stock Market Drop Barron’s
Climate’s Compounding Financial Toll Is Becoming Harder to Ignore Time
AI
AI is changing what we can do. Who we become is still our choice Humanist Review
MARC ANDREESSEN WENT ON ROGAN FOR OVER 3 HOURS. HERE ARE THE 17 THINGS WORTH YOUR ATTENTION.
1. AGI is already here, in his view. He says the line got crossed about 3 months ago with GPT-5.5, Claude 4.6, Gemini 3, and Grok 4.3, and nobody noticed because the field moves too fast… https://t.co/kNcZEYmH0t pic.twitter.com/yddmZnJ6Wr
— CyrilXBT (@cyrilXBT) July 18, 2026
Google just dropped a 1-hour course on agentic engineering from scratch:
00:00 – How to build your first AI agent
08:24 – Build agent memory (short, persistent, long)
28:34 – Agentic loops, long-running AI agents
40:04 – How to build MCP (MCP vs API)
1:00:22 – Multi-agentic… https://t.co/P5jrVeQvaO pic.twitter.com/uVbN2z1EHs— Rahul (@sairahul1) July 11, 2026
I let an AI take over my Google TV for a week — and it solved streaming’s biggest problem Android Authority
AI accelerates pace of scientific discovery: Nobel laureate Bastille Post Global
The Bezzle
Fraud expert warns AI is helping criminals outpace the government: ‘Don’t have the right tools’ Fox News
The data to find Medicaid fraud already exists, but no one is using it The Hill
Guillotine Watch
Most expensive sneakers
Which of these brands have you used? pic.twitter.com/g8mTtjQZzU— Darcie (@Darcie1387) April 10, 2026
Abstract socks is on its way to flip the world’s most expensive socks.
Already flipping most luxury brands.
Second only to Burberry. pic.twitter.com/8GplUaOoxJ
— Nezuron (@nezuron_) February 1, 2025
Antidote du jour (via)
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here
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