27 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Terrence O'Brien

Terrence O'Brien

Weekend Editor

Weekend Editor

    More From Terrence O'Brien

    Google says Polymarket bets showing up in News was an ‘error’Google says Polymarket bets showing up in News was an ‘error’
    Terrence O'Brien
    Terrence O'Brien
    Arizona’s criminal charges against Kalshi are put on hold.

    Federal Judge Michael Liburdi issued a temporary restraining order halting the state’s case against the prediction market. The CFTC has stepped in to stop Arizona and other states from attempting to supersede federal efforts to regulate prediction markets, but the Trump Administration has largely avoided actually regulating them. Perhaps unsurprisingly, according to Business Insider:

    Since Donald Trump returned to office, Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., has become a paid advisor to Kalshi, and an investment firm he works for invested in Polymarket.

    Terrence O'Brien
    Terrence O'Brien
    The far side of the Moon peeks out to say hi.

    NASA shared this photo taken by the Artemis II crew today, showing the Orientale basin in its entirety for the first time. The far side is also becoming visible as the mission approaches its destination.

    The Artemis II crew took this photo on day 4 of their journey to the Moon. In it, the Moon is oriented with the South Pole at the top and are beginning to see parts of the lunar far side. Orientale basin is on the right edge of the lunar disk in this image. Artemis II marks the first time that humans have seen the entire basin. The Artemis II crew will continue to observe Orientale from multiple angles as they approach the Moon and throughout the lunar flyby. Orientale is the textbook multi-ring impact basin used as a baseline to compare other impact craters on rocky worlds from Mercury to Pluto.
    Image: NASA
    Terrence O'Brien
    Terrence O'Brien
    Polymarket pulls Iran rescue bets following political backlash.

    There are few things that Polymarket seems to think are too controversial to allow betting on. But apparently, the potential capture or death of an American service member is one of them. The prediction market is already facing pressure from several states and Democrats in Congress. According to CoinDesk:

    A Polymarket spokesperson said the listing did not meet its integrity standards [and it was] removed shortly after it appeared. The company added that it is reviewing how the market passed internal safeguards.

    Terrence O'Brien
    Terrence O'Brien
    A musician’s post about battling a copyright troll has been removed for copyright infringement.

    Murphy Campbell’s nightmare isn’t over yet. Distributor Vydia has rescinded its claims to her YouTube videos. But her Facebook and Instagram posts about the incident have been removed for copyright infringement. Neither Meta nor Vydia have responded to a request for comment, but it’s unclear what could possibly have been infringing in this video (reposted by United Musicians & Allied Workers).

    A folk musician became a target for AI fakes and a copyright troll

    Terrence O'Brien
    Los Thuthanaka’s Wak’a is a mellower follow-up to last year’s surprise Pitchfork favoriteLos Thuthanaka’s Wak’a is a mellower follow-up to last year’s surprise Pitchfork favorite
    Suno is a music copyright nightmare

    It makes it easy to flood streaming with AI Beyoncé ripoffs.

    Terrence O'Brien
    Terrence O'Brien
    Terrence O'Brien
    Teens are torturing AI chatbots, confiding in them, and sometimes dating them.

    We’re still grappling with the impact chatbots are having on younger people. But most of the attention is on higher-profile models like ChatGPT, Claude, and good ol’ MechaHitler. But there’s a whole world of role-playing chatbots like Character.ai that have quietly exploded in popularity. According to the New York Times:

    He [Quentin] enjoyed harassing the bots with “funny violence,” he said, like running them over with a lawn mower, inflicting harm in an environment with no actual victims. He also created elaborate story lines in which he fought or flirted with his favorite characters. Occasionally, he would indulge in what he called “devious acts” on a platform now called PolyBuzz that offered more sexually explicit chatbots.

    Terrence O'Brien
    Terrence O'Brien
    Ruin: Chapter 0 is surrealist art posing as a retro video game.

    Glitchy lo-fi art. Inscrutable plot. Fake backstory about a 35th anniversary release. Kings. Swords in stones. Spaceships. Oh, and an absolutely killer soundtrack. You owe it to yourself to go spend a few minutes exploring the strangely beautiful (in an ugly sort of way) world of Ruin.

    RUIN: Chapter 0 by OFFICIAL ⚡ ELECTRIC

    [itch.io]

    Terrence O'Brien
    Terrence O'Brien
    You can’t doomscroll 230,000 miles from Earth.

    Artemis II’s astronauts are carrying iPhones, but it’s not to post on Instagram or check email. They can’t even connect to the internet. They’re mostly there for taking photos and videos. According to the New York Times:

    The mission is one of the first times that NASA has allowed astronauts to fly with smartphones. NASA gave each astronaut an iPhone during the crew’s quarantine, which started in March, the agency said. But there was no sneaking in a video call on FaceTime or a round of Candy Crush before entering orbit. The phones can’t connect to the internet or use Bluetooth, NASA said. They are primarily for taking photos and videos.

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