Snippet of my Bluesky bio
Hi! This is another edition of Link Roundup here at Forney’s Findings. If you follow me on Bluesky or Instagram (or happen to be in a Discord server with me), you’ll know I love me some links. Pullquotes will cite the author of the article above, not necessarily the quote's speaker. Here are a handful—all read in their entirety by me before adding—that I wanted to share:
Education:
Following a difficult budget process, Montgomery County votes to cut 415 public school positions (Bethesda Magazine)
This country is using its children as test subjects for what happens if kids are given unlimited access to ChatGPT (Wall Street Journal gift link)
Community college enrollments rise as more people pursue cheaper associates degrees (CNBC)
Government:
Grasping at straws: Trump’s DOJ demands large American banks are “debanking” or closing bank accounts of conservatives (Wall Street Journal gift link)
A Federal appeals court rules Trump’s ban on transgender military service members is discriminatory (Advocate)
Benjamin Netanyahu directed Israeli military to take over 70 percent of Gaza. Ceasefire was unavailable for comment (CNN)
[Video] Don’t worry y’all. After 2 years of investigations, prediction markets have prosecuted five whole insider trading violations (ABC News via YouTube)
Civil Rights elders are watching their efforts erased in real-time (Intelligencer)
Ken Paxton defeats John Cornyn in Texas’ Senate GOP runoff (Texas Tribune)
[Video] As US-Iran negotiations stumble, Pete Hegseth says we’ll negotiate with bombs (CNN via YouTube)
Related: the House voted to limit Trump’s war powers (Wall Street Journal gift link)
Ahead of America’s 250th, DC locals are not having a good time (Axios)
Texas oil CEO arrested on organized crime charges (Houston Chronicle)
May encounter paywall
Hunter Biden rebrands as a shitposter (USA Today)
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani launches a trans rights campaign to kick off Pride (Them)
To the shock of no one, the presence of the National Guard is not making a difference on DC crime. It is costing a lot of taxpayer dollars though (Axios)
Despite several states with laws prohibiting police arrest quotas, many do it anyway (USA Today)
After the Voting Rights Act was gutted, the Supreme Court opens the door to more racial gerrymandering in Alabama (Democracy Docket)
This is after a federal court blocked the map (The Guardian)
George Santos is being investigated for placing prediction market bets on his own behavior (NPR)
A judge blocks Trump’s attempt to subpoena the medical records of transgender minors (Advocate)
An Asian store owner was found not guilty of murdering a Black teenager that he claimed stole some water bottles (which was disproven in court) in 2023, renewing discussions of anti-black racism in Asian communities (NBC News)
Pete Hegseth embarrasses himself on D-day (The Guardian)
The remarks were swiftly condemned on social media. The English historian, author and television presenter Simon Schama described them as a “special kind of loathsomeness: a blend of historical deafness, grotesque stupidity and comically ludicrous self-importance”.
Schama added: “As if the little people’s rage against immigration somehow is superior to the war against the 3rd Reich and entitles this comic book nobody to lecture the actual heroes.”
Influencers paid by Kalshi are being asked to remove their posts questioning election integrity (Semafor)
The House rejects a proposal for a Smithsonian’s Women’s History Museum because Republicans didn’t want trans women in it (NBC4 Washington)
Montgomery County signs four anti-ICE bills into law (Montgomery Community Media)
After opening the door wide open for tech companies, Greg Abbott recommends regulation (Texas Tribune)
DOJ says Trump’s “anti-weaponization” legal slush fund is done with (NPR)
Ahead of Trump’s UFC showcase, the White House wants biggest fireworks display in history (Axios)
The Pentagon is having trouble getting people to attend, so they’re body-shaming troops into going (Washington Post gift link)
They’re also not going to foot the bill to get them there
Women tend to oppose data center construction more than men (19th News)
Sports:
Inside the Caitlin Clark reality distortion field (The IX Sports)
May encounter paywall
Meet the NBA Finals’ unexpected photographer, Ben Stiller (The Athletic gift link)
The World Cup for no one is finally here (Defector)
How the new WNBA collective bargaining agreement have brought an infusion of European talent (ESPN)
"My favorite players were in EuroLeague, and of course I could watch them live at home. Then with more media coverage and attention to the W, at some point I was like, 'Damn, maybe, I do want to try the W.' But it was never rewarding enough to make us come. We always had better contracts in Europe. Until this point it was like, there's no point of going [financially]. Now, it just makes sense."
Josh Hart speaks out against the absurd ticket prices at Madison Square Gardens, some have reached into five-figures (Sports Illustrated)
[Video] more on this from Bloomberg
Olivia Miles, the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Month is showing what she’s learned under hall-of-famer, Lindsay Whalen (The IX Sports)
May encounter paywall
The Portland Fire have put an open call for a new mascot (KPTV Fox 12 Portland)
Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has sent a cease and desist letter to a board game company where they used his likeness in an Operation-like game related to his flopping (The Athletic gift link)
TikTok launches an app for “cultural events” coverage, such as the World Cup (TechCrunch)
[Video] NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks about the league’s new anti-tanking rules then mentions AI referees for some reason (ESPN)
Rockets’ former coach and hall-of-famer, Rick Adelman, has died at age 79 (Houston Chronicle)
May encounter paywall
A Washington Nationals executive was fired after saying the quiet part out loud (The Athletic gift link)
“If we piss off Trump too much, he could slash the sports and entertainment budget for D.C.,” he continued. “And then maybe there’s a critical safety enhancement that we want to make to the ballpark — using facial recognition to detect people who are on the no-fly list — maybe those are people we want to avoid coming to the ballpark, and we won’t have the money to do it, and something bad happens.”
Stephen Curry, long-time Under Armour athlete, has signed with Li-Ning (CNBC)
Terry Rozier has been charged with accepting a $100,000 bribe to alter his own in-game performance (The Athletic gift link)
A Spurs’ fan who ran onto the court in San Antonio’s first finals game has been banned for life (The Guardian)
[Podcast] How WNBA offseason moves are paying off (The Athletic | No Offseason Podcast)
Check out photos of the dystopian sight around Madison Square Garden ahead of Trump’s game 3 Finals attendance (USA Today)
Prior to Donald Trump’s attendance, Knicks’ watch parties were something special (Curbed)
May encounter paywall
All of these scenes are a reminder that the city hasn’t experienced a collective sports viewership like this in a long time, because the Knicks just haven’t been this good in … forever. Another cause for the spike in crowds: The Knicks are bringing together disparate fandoms with otherwise split allegiances, a single point of commonality between Yankees/Mets, Giants/Jets, and Rangers/Islanders fans. (Sorry, the Nets were never New York’s team.)Jeremy Rellosa
Attend a Knicks finals game or send your kid to college? Decisions, decisions (Intelligencer)
May encounter paywall
How modern NBA post players evolved into shooters (The Athletic Gift link)
The Indiana Fever revoked a reporter’s access for trying to get answers about an unexplained injury absence for Caitlin Clark (Front Office Sports)
The Athletic will offer free access to its World Cup coverage (The Athletic)
Science, Critters, Healthcare and the Environment:
On micropenises and male beauty standards (Intelligencer)
Data centers are hoping they can use oilfield wastewater to cool their GPUs as Texas faces extreme water shortages—exacerbated by their water usage (Houston Chronicle)
May encounter paywall
NPR has started a package about how changes to foreign funding have impacted AIDS treatment in Africa (NPR)
Hospitals see a surge in diseases as vaccinations decline (New York Times gift link)
“It just feels like you’re a tiny little boat with a giant tidal wave coming at you,” said Dr. Erin Charles, a regional pediatric hospitalist at Seattle Children’s Hospital. “And you might convince one family here and there.”
Many parents continue to refuse vaccines even after their child has been hospitalized with a vaccine-preventable illness, doctors said. Dr. Kirk said she had never had a parent in that situation tell her they had changed their mind and would have their child vaccinated on the standard schedule. Dr. Hofto said she could sometimes persuade families, but often not.
Scientists explain what is at stake if Trump continues to defund ocean monitoring systems (The Guardian)
NPR lays off its chief climate editor (Climate Colored Goggles)
Black bird watchers celebrated Black Birders Week (Baltimore Banner)
May encounter paywall
A lawsuit alleges that Black infants were unknowingly involved in a vaccine trial, that led to their deaths (New York Times)
May encounter paywall
Texas energy regulator want to streamline the process for data centers to join power grids (Houston Public Media)
A journal retracts its study linking a vaccine to autism that was cited by current HHS staff (Retraction Watch)
[Video] Take a look inside DC’s abandoned St. Elizabeths campus (NBC4 Washington)
After the Potomac sewage disaster, the CEO of DC Water has been voted out (NBC4 Washington)
Art, Entertainment, Culture and Food:
Love Island’s resident police officer, Sean, has dealt with public backlash from his hometown and former employer (BBC)
Also on Love Island, Vanessa was removed from the show prior to filming after old posts of her using racial slurs surfaced (The Cut)
May encounter paywall
Can Gen Z save the in-theater experience? (CNBC)
Houston’s only lesbian bar moves to a new, larger location (Houston Chronicle)
May encounter paywall
Could TikTok keep regional accents alive? (The Washington Post)
May encounter paywall
Ozzie Osbourne’s son promises the AI ghost of his father won’t be “fucking lame” (Paste Magazine)
People who make AI music are afraid to admit what that offers them that having taste does not (The Verge)
May encounter paywall
That leaves me with two leading theories: narcissism or laziness.
YouTuber and bassist Adam Neely seems to firmly believe this pattern is driven largely by narcissism and that it’s potentially a byproduct of hyper-personalization. While I think there is an element of narcissism at play, personally, I’m more inclined to believe it’s laziness. People are inherently drawn to instant gratification. Why spend years mastering the bass when you can simply type a prompt? Suno gives people who want to see themselves as musicians — and don’t want to spend time learning an instrument — a shortcut.
Hard seltzers walked so canned cocktails could run (The Atlantic gift link)
After its season 3 finale, Euphoria has come to an end (Deadline)
A study concluded that UK films are four times more likely to feature a talking animal or a man named Chris than have an older woman in the lead role (The Guardian)
Tech companies are squeamish when it comes to filtering out AI-generated content (The Verge)
May encounter paywall
But if you want to actually avoid seeing anything tagged with such labels — which is justifiable, given the brain rot it induces on top of the ethical and environmental concerns around generative AI — it’s actually incredibly difficult to do so. A filter would easily solve this. All we need is an “AI” checkbox to toggle.
I reached out to Meta, Google, TikTok, and Spotify to ask if they have plans to let users filter the various content they’ve been authenticating with AI labeling systems. TikTok and Spotify never responded, and Google said it had nothing to share. Meta didn’t provide an attributable comment. But to summarize, none of these companies said “yes.”
The Odyssey IMAX tickets invented new error messages for some (Gizmodo)
News Media:
A handful of freelance finance writers declined to prove if they were fictional or not (Press Gazette)
Personally relevant content for me: POC journalists face an industry that does not love them back (The Objective)
60 Minutes’ Scott Pelley accuses CBS News and new leadership of murdering his show in an exchange that led to his firing (New York Times)
The week prior, Nick Bilton was appointed by Bari Weiss (New York Times)
[Video] He recently sat down with The Interview to talk about the situation (New York Times | write-up with some more information)
A handful of remaining correspondents will stay on (USA Today)
Defector had some words about Pelley’s firing (Defector)
This is a paragraph that really captures a specific indignity of having a job. You can spend 37 years in your field, building a résumé and level of expertise that rivals anyone else's in the industry, and then one day you can get shitcanned by some unqualified idiot just because you dared to point out that his credentials don't inspire a lot of confidence in his ability to lead.
[Podcast] Washington Association of Black Journalists president Phil Lewis joined WTOP to discuss the need for POC journalism advocacy groups (WTOP)
UK media sites are given the ability to block Google AI overviews from citing their articles (The Guardian)
ESPN prepares for another round of layoffs (Front Office Sports)
People and Relationships:
The New York Times asked a bunch of boomers what kind of world they’re leaving for the next generation (New York Times)
May encounter paywall
Let’s go lesbians! Pornhub announces a sapphic site for lesbian content focused around women’s pleasure (Out Magazine)
Meet the 4-year-old piano prodigy playing at Carnegie Hall (Baltimore Banner)
May encounter paywall
After Trump’s unlawful firings, many federal workers are feeling “PTSD-like” symptoms (The Guardian)
National Abortion Hotline went dark following a dispute between management and workers about AI (Autonomy News)
Houston community wants answers after the body of a trans woman was found, police unhelpful (Chron)
Loneliness influencers are something (The Atlantic gift link)
More on this (The Cut)
May encounter paywall
Legitimacy aside, I'm torn between feeling sympathy for the people who say their lives are like this because they ve been hurt and wanting them to demand more for themselves, even it that feels hard. I'm a 37-year-old woman living alone in New York, and I spend a lot of time thinking about solitude. I have a satisfying social life, but it's not unusual that I’ll spend a Friday night, or even an entire weekend, with no firm plans. Though I cherish my independence, it doesn't look anything like what I see in these videos. There's nothing wrong with being a homebody or attempting to jazz up boring evenings with a decanted can of soda. But the centering of actual friendlessness worried me, like I was watching tiny documentaries about the loneliness epidemic.
Finally. Someone dared to ask if expensive gyms are replacing bars (Bloomberg gift link)
Video Games:
GOG apologizes for accidentally including Nazi symbolism in its newsletter (Rock Paper Shotgun)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 will be set in Korea, leading to concerns and excitement (BBC)
Did Nintendo kill the multi-studio game showcase? (Polygon)
Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game has been delayed to July (IGN)
Every game announced at Summer Game Fest (Polygon)
Uh oh. Pokemon Go might have used user scans to train military AI (Game Develper)
Mina the Hollower official soundtrack is available on streaming platforms (RPG Site)
Rayman Legends Retold, announced at PlayStation State of Play, will offer a fully 3D remake of the acclaimed platformer (Game Informer)
Also announced:
Kemuri, an action multiplayer game about hunting monsters (VGC)
A new batch of playable characters in Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls (Game Informer)
PlayStation is struggling to sell first-party titles (Game File)
Both Sony and Microsoft need to prove their consoles are worth their newly-hiked prices (The Verge)
May encounter paywall
Mina the Hollower sells 300,000 copies in three days (Bloomberg gift link)
The case for turning on every modifier in Mina the Hollower (Kotaku)
How a former Assassin’s Creed director held onto to upcoming 1666: Amsterdam after a tenous development cycle (Rock Player Shotgun)
The demo is available now. Learn more about it here (Polygon)
Learn about the upcoming rhythm-based visual novel, Puppergeist (MonsterVine)
SEGA issued DMCAs to leakers prior to their official Persona 6 announcement (IGN)
[Video] you can watch their official teaser here
Final Fantasy’s Tifa Lockhart will join Street Fighter 6 as a season 4 guest character (Polygon)
Books:
Libraries are very cool, in fact (The Verge gift link)
Check out The Root’s Black summer reading list (The Root)
Queer authors and their stories are at their limits (Book Riot)
Nonfiction publishers are not ready for AI (Intelligencer)
Economics:
Another normal decision from a billionaire: Elon Musk confirms that he bought Twitter to spite his trans daughter (Erin in the Morning)
Relatable: One in four white-collar workers are hitting a mid-career wall; no promotions, no raises no reason to try harder (Wall Street Journal gift link)
A year later, federal job cuts have hit Black women particularly hard (Capital & Main)
Recession whomst? Shoppers are treating themselves to Victoria’s Secret and its stock reflects that (CNBC)
More Americans report feeling financial precarity (NPR)
People are using AI Black people to pity consumers into buying garbage (The Verge)
May encounter paywall
Anthropic passes OpenAI to become the biggest AI company in the world (Quartz)
Visa connects its payment network to ChatGPT in a move that certainly won’t cause problems (Associated Press)
Thanks to mainstream adoption by professional sports leagues, DraftKings stock is rising (Sherwood News)
[Video] “Dynamic pricing” frustrates online shoppers (CBS LA via YouTube)
Nothing to see here. OpenAI confidentially files for IPO to keep its financials from public knowledge (CNBC)
Technology:
Google Health’s focus on AI is upsetting users (The Verge)
May encounter paywall
Uber caps AI tool usage after burning through its annual budget in months (Bloomberg)
May encounter paywall
Wal-Mart did the same thing (Bloomberg)
OpenAI, after announcing its trillion-dollar IPO, asks the industry to pause development (Wall Street Journal gift link)
AI is sucking up all of the startup money for companies that launched before ChatGPT (CNBC)
Platforms don’t seem interested in limiting the expanding pool of AI-generated “influencers” (The Verge)
May encounter paywall
[Podcast] Hackers realized they can prompt Meta’s AI chatbots to gain access to people’s accounts (404 Media via YouTube)
Why Google Gemini can’t spell “Google” (TechCrunch)
Despite publicly stating otherwise, Grok is still hosting sexualized deepfakes of women (Wired)
A German court has ruled that Google may be liable for misinformation in its AI search overviews, the first ruling of its kind (Ars Technica)
Bluesky launches group chats as it shifts focus to smaller communities (TechCrunch)
Every new Apple update announced at WWDC2026 (The Verge)
May encounter paywall
New AI photo editing will allow Apple Photos to alter image perspectives (TechCrunch)
[Video] Utah man denied refund after overcharging after AI says no (KSL Utah)
Point and laugh: As AI usage costs skyrocket, companies are rethinking their widespread adoption (Fast Company)
A developer snuck self-destructing code into some code to dissuade vibe coders (Ars Technica)
Meta is testing a desktop version of Edits. Please ignore the AI assistant part (TechCrunch)
Instagram users can finally manually arrange their profile grids (The Verge)
[Podcast] Rural Texas counties are seeing data centers pop up faster than they can regulate them (Texas Standard)
