Extra, Extra
Roll the Calls: “The Federal Communications Commission is considering a request by a conservative group to loosen rules on political robocalls, including those with artificial intelligence-generated voices, before November’s midterm elections.” (On the plus side, the robocalls might take my mind off all the unsolicited texts.) We could be talking about a lot of calls. Can $1 billion power Republicans to victory in the midterms?
+ Run It Off? “The program is part of a growing effort around the country to help cancer patients exercise, as the benefits of doing so become increasingly clear.” It Can Keep Cancer in Remission. Why Is No One Talking About It? (The more we learn about exercise, the more we learn how beneficial it is. Don’t tell my pilates teacher I admitted that.)
+ The Republika Srpska Midterms: “The engagement is the latest example of Trump advisers profiting from far-right politicians abroad who have sought favor from the U.S. president while bucking the international community.” Amid Midterm Crunch, Trump Advisers Took Time to Help Russia-Aligned Government. (At this point, many GOP candidates probably wish Trump would campaign in some remote country.)
+ Ad Nauseam: Trump will not reimburse federal government for taxpayer-funded advertisements. “Following bipartisan backlash to the more than $10 million spent on what the White House dubbed ‘Patriotic Ads,’ Trump announced Monday on Truth Social that his super PAC would cover the cost of the ads. But White House officials clarified on Tuesday to POLITICO that the president’s post did not mean the PAC would pay for the spots that had already aired.” (Seems like a long way of saying taxpayers paid for the initial ad buys, but the ads weren’t effective, so there won’t be any new ads. Those are ones Trump will pay for…)
+ The Apprentice’s Sorcerer: “Surgeons have long trained on an apprenticeship model: they observe others at work before operating themselves, and eventually master the techniques well enough to instruct a peer. The American surgical pioneer Dr. William Stewart Halsted called it ‘see one, do one, teach one.'” Can AI be the next apprentice that gets trained? Can Artificial Intelligence Learn the Art of Surgery? Plus, Utah will become first state to let AI examine patients and prescribe medication without direct human oversight. (At this point, I just need occasional help choosing between Sativa and Indica…)
+ Do it With Mirrors: “Scientists Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for untangling mysterious mirror images in molecules, a discovery that has been used to develop countless drugs and transformed modern medicine.” (Dammit, I just had that exact same idea this morning!)
+ You Are Here: “On Monday night, it was our understanding that Christa was brain dead and that life support would be removed the next day … But on Tuesday, to the shock of everyone … Christa woke up and began talking.” Christa Pike’s first words after surviving execution: ‘Where am I?’
