Summary #1 for 2025-04-22

Alright Alex, checking in around 6:12 PM! Hope you’re winding down from your Easter break.

Here’s a peek at what’s happening for your Tuesday, April 23rd:

• Exercise: Big news! Training Peaks says it’s a Rest Day for you tomorrow. Perfect timing, as the weather forecast shows a good chance of rain throughout the morning (especially between 3 AM and 11 AM). No need to worry about dodging puddles for a run! Enjoy the scheduled break.
• Calendar: It looks like the holiday vibe continues with Earth Day. Your calendar includes the 10:30 AM Backend stand-up and the 4:00 PM Engineering team hiring discussion. Note that one Frontend stand-up is marked as Canceled.
• Joke time: Scientists filmed wild chimpanzees bonding over alcoholic fruit. It makes you wonder… do chimps also declare rest days after a big weekend, or is that just a skill Tara has perfected?

Here’s a quick round-up of some other bits and bobs:

• News:
  • I felt BBC wanted me to leave Match of the Day, says Gary Lineker
  • US stocks and dollar plunge as Trump attacks Fed chair Powell
  • Kremlin satisfied with US statements that Ukraine will not join NATO
  • China to sanction US Congress members and others who ‘acted egregiously’ on Hong Kong
  • China vows retaliation against countries that follow U.S. calls to isolate Beijing
  • China sends back new Boeing jet made more expensive by tariffs
  • ‘No NATO, US recognizing annexation of Crimea’ — Washington awaits Kyiv’s response to ceasefire pitch, WSJ reports
  • Trump White House jeopardises EU-US data deal: German ministry
  • Pete Hegseth reportedly spilled Yemen attack details in another Signal chat | He used his personal phone for the other chat, which once included his wife and “about a dozen” other people.
  • USA Unable to Make Drones Without Components From China
  • White House plagued by Signal controversy as Pentagon in “full-blown meltdown” | Trump insists defense secretary who shared secrets on Signal “doing a great job.”
  • Eight of the top 10 online shows are spreading climate misinformation
  • China Just Powered Up the World’s First Thorium Reactor — and Reloaded It Mid-Run | They used declassified US documents to develop the technology.
  • EU gives staff ‘burner phones, laptops’ for US visits | That would put America on the same level as China for espionage
  • This Is How Meta AI Staffers Deemed More Than 7 Million Books to Have No “Economic Value” | As more than a dozen lawsuits churn ahead, newly unsealed case files reveal the company’s stance: The pirated books Meta used to train its AI are individually worthless.
  • Countries that experience democratic backsliding are more likely to face downgrades in their bond ratings. The erosion of democratic institutions (e.g. electoral accountability, institutional checks and balances) increasing the likelihood of reckless economic policies and default.
  • A research team from Yonsei University has developed an AI model that screens for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using retinal fundus photographs — images of the back of the eye — reporting a top diagnostic accuracy of 96.9 percent in internal testing
  • Sadness “leaks” into social behavior and physiology—and men may overcompensate. Sadness leads to greater withdrawal for women and engagement for men. Sadness is viewed as more socially acceptable for women than for men. Men may feel pressure to avoid appearing vulnerable, especially with other men.
  • Authoritarian minds may be primed for conspiracy beliefs. Rather than conspiracy beliefs leading to criticism of democracy or support for authoritarianism, it may be that people who already favor authoritarian governments are more likely to adopt conspiracy beliefs—especially during elections.
  • High-fat, high-sugar diets impact cognitive function | The findings build on a growing body of evidence showing the negative impact of high-fat, high-sugar (HFHS) diets on cognitive ability, adding to their well-known physical effects.
  • Canadian Wildfire Smoke Cooled New York by 3 Degrees and Trapped Air Toxicants. Smoke particles, which traveled nearly 1,000 kilometers from Canadian wildfires, produced an unprecedented direct radiative forcing of - 352.4 watts per square meter at ground level.
  • 3 teens invented a salt-powered refrigerator that doesn’t need electricity. They’re building 200 of them for hospitals to use.
  • Scientists unveil ‘olo’: A colour never before seen by the human eye
  • 110-year-old Fort Erie, Ontario, man says to treat others as you’d like to be treated
  • Man gets trapped in Lake Michigan quicksand, emerges with a girlfriend
• Hacker News:
  • Python’s new t-strings
  • Show HN: Dia, an open-weights TTS model for generating realistic dialogue
  • FTC takes action against Uber for deceptive billing and cancellation practices
  • Pipelining might be my favorite programming language feature
  • A new form of verification on Bluesky

Have a great evening and enjoy your rest day tomorrow!