Keeping It Local

Recently, I knocked my iPhone off of a chair onto the rug below. It wasn’t a great distance but it hit the floor with enough force that when I picked it up, it started making an odd squeaking sound whenever I pressed the home button.

Alarmed (but not panicked), I Googled why an iPhone8 would make such a sound and quickly learned from a YouTube video that it was because one or more of the device’s internal screws were loose.

“Well,” I thought to myself, ”better that the phone has screw loose than I do.”

According to YouTube, the problem was easily fixed by opening up the phone and tightening the screws.

When we tried this at home, however, we couldn’t do it because we didn’t have the proper equipment in the form of very small screwdrivers.

One option was to go to an Apple Store, but my daughter had a better idea — find a local repair shop.

Her reasoning was based on an incident several years ago when she dropped her iPhone in the water. Conventional wisdom at the time was to wrap the device in a bag of rice, which would soak up the water and save the phone.

She did this but one grain of rice got sucked up into the phone’s port and it stopped working altogether.

She went to an Apple Store, where she was told that her best option was to buy a new phone.

Reluctant to do that, she stumbled upon a local repair shop in a mall, where a repairman removed the grain of rice and Presto! Her phone was as good as new.

So this was the context in which my daughter and I ventured out during a break in the rainstorms yesterday to a tiny hole-in-the-wall repair shop nestled into a nook next to a bright Mexican restaurant.

It really was just a window in a closet-sized space with an “Open” sign hung outside.

The young man at the window took my phone, opened it, tightened the screws, closed it back up and handed it back to me.

“No charge,” he said.

HEADLINES:

• A deal to end the Iran war seemed close. Then Trump started posting on social media (CNN)

• Trump Extends Cease-Fire With Iran (NYT)

• Trump’s statements on Iran increasingly contradict each other (WP)

• What was the Iran nuclear deal Trump dumped in search of ‘better’ terms? (Al Jazeera)

• What are the chances for peace between Israel and Lebanon? (NPR)

• Virginia Passes Gerrymandered House Map, Lifting Democrats’ Midterm Chances (NYT)

• Trump’s approval rating held at the lowest of his term in recent days as many Americans questioned his temperament, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found. (Reuters)

• Trump and other top Republicans will read passages in a marathon Bible event (AP)

• Justice Dept. Charges Prominent Civil Rights Group With Financial Crimes (NYT)

• Kevin Warsh says he will not be Trump’s ‘sock puppet’ if confirmed as Fed chairman (BBC)

• Flu vaccine no longer mandatory for soldiers, says US military chief (Al Jazeera)

• The Pentagon could be about to make a $55 billion mistake (The Hill)

• White House ‘discussing’ FBI chief Patel’s future after bombshell report (Independent)

• A New Supreme Court Leak Shows John Roberts at His Worst (Slate)

• How the California Governor’s Race Is Changing Post-Swalwell (NYT)

• China’s vast nuclear power sector now able to build 50 reactors at a time (SCMP)

• Fired former UK official says he felt political pressure to approve Mandelson as US ambassador (AP)

• Two CIA officers die in Mexico accident after counternarcotics operation (WP)

• Canadian killed, six Americans among injured as gunman shoots tourists at Mexico’s Teotihuacan pyramids (CNN)

• Japan to Sell More Weapons Abroad, Breaking With Postwar Pacifism (NYT)

• Trump has renamed federal buildings and the Gulf of Mexico. Here’s how the old names can be restored when he’s out of office. [HuffPost]

• The Onion launches new bid to take over Alex Jones’ Infowars and turn it into a parody platform (AP)

• A new fault line has emerged inside Google: The Claude haves and have-nots (BI)

• What Happens When A.I. Runs a Store in San Francisco? (NYT)

• CISA lacks access to Anthropic’s Mythos (Axios)

• Uber Driver Casually Mentions This His First Time Driving (Onion)

Need Help Writing?

According to numerous new reports, (several are listed below), using AI to help you write will cause long-term cognitive decline, which was also the topic of the essay, “Don’t Stop Writing” last week.

Now, I want to go into much more detail. Author Nicolas Hulscher gives us the specifics.

“A new MIT study titled, Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task, has found that using ChatGPT to help write essays leads to long-term cognitive harm—measurable through EEG brain scans. Students who repeatedly relied on ChatGPT showed weakened neural connectivity, impaired memory recall, and diminished sense of ownership over their own writing. While the AI-generated content often scored well, the brains behind it were shutting down.”

The findings indicate that although Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Grok may help students write, they also train the brain to disengage. Here’s what the researchers found:

* Brain Connectivity Declines with AI Use

* LLM Users Forget What They Just Wrote

* AI Use Disrupts Memory and Learning Pathways

* LLM Users Felt Detached From Their Work

* Switching from LLM to Brain Use Doesn’t Fully Restore Function

* Search Engine Users Showed Healthier Brain Engagement

* AI Dependency Leads to “Cognitive Offloading”

* Short-Term Gains, Long-Term Cognitive Debt

Over time, the test group showed a consistent decline in engagement, performance, and self-reported satisfaction.

Read the entire article here. I think this study is significant enough that teachers and parents should explain the risks of using AI in writing to their children.

Here are more reports: 

• Effects of generative artificial intelligence on cognitive effort and task performance: study protocol for a randomized controlled experiment among college students (NIH)

• Does Using AI Affect Your Brain Performance? (Healthline)

• Experts warn AI is making your brain work less (BBC)

• Is AI dulling our minds? (Harvard Gazette)

• Over-Reliance on AI May Harm Your Cognitive Ability, Experts Warn (ScienceAlert)

• Is Generative AI Rewiring Our Brains? Here’s How It Happens (Psychology Today)

• AI use causing ‘boiling frog’ effect on human brain, study warns (Independent)

(Thanks to Leslie.)

DAILY NEWS HEADLINES:

• Oil and Gas Rise As Hormuz Tensions Flare Ahead of Iran Deadline (Bloomberg)

• Trump threatens Iran again as ceasefire deadline looms, U.S. gears up for peace talks (CNBC)

• Concerns have grown that the ceasefire between the US and Iran might not hold after the US said it had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to ‌run its blockade and Iran vowed to retaliate. (Reuters)

• Trump tells PBS News that ‘lots of bombs start going off’ if Iran ceasefire expires (PBS)

• The Forces of Scarcity Hitting Asia May Soon Spread Across the World (NYT)

• Trump’s Spider-Ridden Brain Is Cracking Under the Pressures of War (Esquire)

• Palantir Wants to Bring Back the Draft (Mother Jones)

• Labor Secretary Steps Down Amid Misconduct Investigation (NYT)

• Kash Patel files defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic (Politico)

• Businesses race to apply for tariff refunds (NPR)

• Kenyan women defy fishing taboos as climate change threatens Lake Victoria (Al Jazeera)

• Justices to Hear Case on Catholic Preschools That Reject Children of Gay Parents (NYT)

• Dad brains: How fatherhood rewires the male mind (BBC)

• Tim Cook Will Step Down as Apple C.E.O. (NYT)

• Weapons-grade chemical carfentanil surges as dangerous substitute for fentanyl (AP)

• MIT Study Finds Artificial Intelligence Use Reprograms the Brain, Leading to Cognitive Decline (Science, Public Health Policy & the Law)

• The Killer Robots Are Coming. The Battlefield Will Never Look the Same. (NYT)

• Chinese tech workers are starting to train their AI doubles–and pushing back (TR)

• Man Finally Good Enough At New Hobby To Understand How Bad He Is At It (Onion)

Monday Mix

HEADLINES:

• US seizure of Iranian ship near Strait of Hormuz casts doubt on fresh ceasefire talks (AP)

• Iran says no talks with US for now, casting doubt over Pakistan efforts (Al Jazeera)

• Uncertainty Hangs Over U.S.-Iran Talks in Wake of Ship Seizure (WSJ)

• Poll: Trump’s approval rating hits second-term low as Americans sour on the economy and Iran war (NBC)

• Trump kept out of the room during operation to find downed pilots in Iran after ‘screaming’ at aides for hours, report says (Independent)

• Behind Trump’s Public Bravado on the War, He Grapples With His Own Fears (WSJ)

• For Iran, Flexing Control Over Waterway Is New Deterrent (NYT)

• Resignations and firings have depleted the FBI and Justice Department. They’re scrambling to rebuild (AP)

• For U.S. medical researchers, shrinking labs and bare budgets are the new reality (WP)

• 8 children killed in Louisiana mass shooting (NBC)

• Google in Talks With Marvell to Build New AI Chips for Inference (The Information)

• The therapist in your pocket: Chatty, leaky — and AI-powered (WP)

• Coachella Cancels Weekend 2 After Drugs Found On Festival Grounds (Onion)

The Wee Ones

I've long been curious about the beliefs that there are beings among us too small, fast or otherwise elusive to qualify as real. 

Recently, exploring a collection of ancient English folktales, I happened upon an extensive list of supernatural beings that have come down to us through the centuries:

Boggles, bloddy-bones, ignis fatui, brownies, bugbears, shelycoats, scrags, breaknecks, fantasms, boggy-boes, dobbies, hobthrusts, fetches, kelpies, warlocks, mock-beggars, mum-pokers, urchins, satyrs, pans, fauns, and on and on, ten times as many names as these.

People have often claimed that these tiny creatures explain the odd twists of fate that otherwise defy explanation.

Many modern classics, including Tolkien's "Hobbit" and J.K. Rowling’s "Harry Potter," have tapped into the ancient British superstitions to create new fictional worlds.

When it comes to journalists, all we have are mysterious shadows and unanswered questions. But somewhere deep in our soul, we may hope that magic exists, and that angels watch over us as we fall, urging us to rise again, and tell our stories in a more hopeful vein, one that just might inspire yet another generation to find its own magical voice.

HEADLINES:

• Iran exposes Donald Trump’s pressure point (Reuters)

• Iran, US still ‘far’ from breakthrough amid Strait of Hormuz impasse (Al Jazeera)

• Trump accuses Iran of violating ceasefire with Strait of Hormuz ship attacks (NBC)

• Iran closes Strait of Hormuz again over US blockade and fires on ships (AP)

• Lebanon president says country is no longer a pawn amid Israel ceasefire (Al Jazeera)

• The FBI Director Is MIA (Atlantic)

• The birth of the Supreme Court’s shadow docket has long been a mystery. (NYT)

• Exposing a Global Surveillance Empire (Reveal)

• Meta plans to lay off 10% of its workforce in May, according to report (NBC)

• Ukraine Has Finally Given Up on Trump (Atlantic)

• Food crisis worsens as Sudan war drags on (Reuters)

• ‘We should absolutely be concerned about non-college-educated men today’: higher rents, living at home, falling out of the labor market (Fortune)

• Saving a Lost Generation of Young Men—with Chop Saws (New Yorker)

• Stanford scientists discover “natural Ozempic” without side effects (ScienceAlert)

• Make America Sober Again (BI)

• The AI Doomers Who Are Playing With Fire (Gizmodo)

• Language models transmit behavioural traits through hidden signals in data (Nature)

• There’s an ‘art’ to writing AI prompts for personal finance, MIT professor says (CNBC)

• Inside a growing movement warning AI could turn on humanity (WP)

• Amazon uses AI to aid early-stage drug discovery (Reuters)

• How Do You Measure an A.I. Boom? (NYT)

• Sabrina Carpenter Turns Body Fully Inside Out In Horrific New ‘Juno’ Position (Onion)

The Next Episode

One of the features of a President who conducts his business like it’s a reality TV show is we are always left guessing about the next episode of his stories without ends.

Take Trump’s war on Iran.

It bounces back and forth. Is it on? Is it off? 

Who knows? Certainly not Trump.

He has already declared victory more times than he’s denounced the Pope. But in actuality, it appears that the way this sordid affair will probably end is more or less back where we were before the bombing began. 

But with thousands of people dead and millions displaced.

If reports prove true, Trump is considering releasing up to $20 billion in frozen Iranian assets in exchange for some or all of the enriched uranium, which may sound to inattentive ears like a reasonable enough deal on its face.

But mind you, this is strikingly similar to the deal Obama negotiated when he freed up $1.7 billion in frozen Iranian assets in exchange for a halt in that country’s uranium enrichment efforts years ago.

Trump tore up Obama’s deal, denouncing it in the most salacious of terms. He said Obama withdrew lovely green dollars from this country’s banks and flew them over in 747s to hand over to the greedy Anatollahs.

Now Trump is offering to do essentially the same thing but at a much higher cost in blood and money. Tellingly, he now calls his whole Iranian adventure a “transaction.” 

Stay tuned, if you can stomach it. He will no doubt eventually hail himself as having “ended” yet another war. 

Hypocrisy never goes out of style in reality TV.

HEADLINES:

• Iran’s Military Says It Has Reimposed ‘Strict Control’ of Strait of Hormuz (NYT)

• Oil plunges 13%, Dow soars 1,000 points on Friday after Iran says Strait of Hormuz is ‘completely open’ during ceasefire (CNN)

• France and Britain will chair a meeting of around 40 countries aimed at signaling to the US that some of its closest allies are ready to ‌play a role in restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz once conditions allow. (Reuters)

• Acting ICE director says he’s resigning amid record-breaking shutdown (NPR)

• The latest Democratic special election win adds to GOP leaders’ headaches (MS.NOW)

• Supreme Court gives oil and gas companies win in Louisiana environmental lawsuit (PBS)

• Trump administration deepens quest to stamp out the events of Jan. 6 (WP)

• Three things to know about FISA Section 702: Congress passes short-term extension of controversial surveillance program (CNBC)

• Georgia Republican says ouster of Gen. George will have ‘chilling effect’ on military (The Hill)

• Drone wars: The strategic convergence between Ukraine and Iran (CNN)

• Ukraine’s army evolves under fire, with new units challenging Soviet legacy (AP)

• Zuckerberg Is Dangerously Close To Cracking Google’s Money Machine (Benzinga)

• A vital system of Atlantic Ocean currents is weakening and closer to collapse than thought, new studies find (CNN)

• The A.I. Writing Panic Is Completely Missing the Point (Slate)

• AI Drafting My Stories? Over My Dead Body (Wired)

• It’s Getting Harder to Spot AI in Contemporary Publishing. And That’s Very, Very Bad. (Literary Hub)

• Anthropic CEO heads to White House amid hacking fears over new AI model (WP)

• Amazon’s AI boom is creating a mess of duplicate tools and data (BI)

• What most predictions miss about AI job loss (WP)

• Man Torn Over Which Shirt Worthy Of Wooden Hanger (Onion)

 

Don't Stop Writing

In the Age of AI, it may sound quaint, but when I used to teach writing courses, I recommended that students write every single day, 365 days of the year.

For those who find writing to be a challenge, that sounds like a pretty harsh assignment. Even for those to whom writing comes more easily, it may sound extreme.

But my reasoning (and my experience) is that making writing part of your daily exercise routine will pay dividends over time. And only over time can you expect to improve; with writing there are no instant fixes.

Enter artificial intelligence. Now, students can and are taking advantage of this technology to replace the work of learning the craft or writing with robot-generated texts.

It would appear that old writing teachers like me have lost the battle — definitively.

But wait! There is new evidence that living the more friction-less life AI offers is bad for your cognitive function. This is one of those “use it or lose it” situations.

According to neurologists interviewed by the Washington Post, “Making life harder sounds deeply unfun, but it might be good for your cognitive function.” Also:

“The brain’s No. 1 job is to help you survive.”. 

The article continues: “Throughout your daily routines, the brain conducts a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether a choice is worthwhile. Challenges require more energy, so, whenever possible, the brain prefers ease to difficulty. The brain also responds to rewards, such as the dopamine hit that comes with instant gratification (whether easy entertainment during a social media scroll or a perfectly written text message courtesy of Claude, the artificial intelligence chatbot).”

Also: “In a 2025 study, researchers looked at 580 university students, 57 percent of whom used AI on a daily basis while the rest used it several times a week. They found greater AI use was linked to a reduction in critical thinking skills, possibly because of an association with cognitive fatigue — a depletion of mental resources essential for complex thinking. In another 2025 study, which looked at 666 people of diverse ages and educational backgrounds, a researcher found that AI was linked to a reduction in critical thinking skills. Cognitive off-loading, which is essentially using tools to reduce the cognitive load on your working memory, might impair the ability to engage in deep reflection.”

The good news is that by adding friction to your daily routines, this cognitive decline can probably be reversed. Here are five ways listed by the Post:

1. Try puzzles and games you’re not good at.

2. Learn something new.

3. Cook a recipe.

4. See a friend in person.

5. Don’t look up the answer.

***

To these five, I would add a sixth: 

Write something, perhaps just a page per day.

It will work wonders over time.

(Thanks to Leslie for pointing me to this excellent article.)

HEADLINES:

• Trump announces ceasefire in Lebanon and voices confidence an Iran deal will follow (CNN)

• Iran declares Strait of Hormuz open to shipping; Trump says U.S. blockade still active (CNBC)

• Why a U.S. blockade on Iran seems to be working (PBS)

• Pope criticises ‘tyrants’ who spend billions on wars after Trump spat (BBC)

• Trump tests loyalty of Christian supporters as erratic behavior escalates (WP)

• It’s Not Just Iran. Trump Is Flailing on Multiple Fronts. (Atlantic)

• ICE agent charged with assault and accused of pointing a gun at civilians in Minnesota (NBC)

• The Clever New Lawsuit That Could Finally End ICE’s Reign of Terror in Blue States (Slate)

• Largely secret donors pour millions into election that could tip Congress (WP)

• Pentagon approaches automakers, manufacturers to boost weapons production, (WSJ)

• Federal judge sets new limits on Trump ballroom construction (WP)

• History is Running Backwards (Atlantic)

• Dumped by Trump (Bulwark)

• More than a quarter of private colleges are at risk of closing, a new projection shows (NPR)

• Google’s New Model Makes Robotic Brains Slightly Smarter (The Information)

• Claude Mythos Isn’t Just A PR Stunt, It’s The New Face Of Offensive AI (Forbes)

• That Meeting You Hate May Keep A.I. From Stealing Your Job (NYT)

• As people increasingly turn to artificial intelligence for advice, some US lawyers are telling their clients not to treat AI chatbots like trusted confidants when their freedom or legal liability is on the line. (Reuters)

• Increased Work Commitments Causing Man To Neglect Alcohol (Onion)

Unknown Hero

While growing up, none of us learned about Elizebeth Smith Friedman, the Quaker girl from the Midwest who was in fact one of our greatest national heroes. We didn’t know that she had cracked German codes during World War I, helping the Allies to win that terrible conflict, then returned to her role as codebreaker to play a key role in defeating the Nazis in World War II.

In between the wars, she briefly received some press attention for helping authorities bust major gangsters, including Al Capone, but I don’t recall ever hearing about that in my childhood either.

One reason her work was ignored is that an egomaniacal publicity seeker named J. Edgar Hoover had claimed all the credit in the high-profile mobster arrests. We all learned Hoover’s version of the mobster wars and how his G-men had brought the criminals to justice.

Another reason was sexism. Women almost never got the credit they deserved for heroic deeds in the first 70 years of the 20th century; the men holding power in every sector of public life, including the press, made sure of that.

Not that Elizebeth worried too much about such matters herself. A modest person, self-contained, she didn’t much like the limelight.

But her crowning achievement — cracking ever more sophisticated German codes during World War II — remained completely hidden, secret from my generation when we were growing up largely because all of those involved, including Friedman, had to sign pledges that they would never speak of their work as long as they lived.

Friedman kept that pledge. She died in 1980.

Meanwhile, the insufferable Hoover was not required to sign any such pledge so he again took all the credit for busting the German spy rings during the war, embellishing his legend as well as that of his beloved FBI and ignoring the true heroes.

Only when long-classified records of the war-time code-breaking work done by Elizebeth and the small unit she created were declassified in 2000 did her role finally begin to come out into the open.

Even then, it took a sustained effort by a few scholars and activists, mostly women, to begin to get Elizebeth Smith Friedman a modicum of the posthumous credit she so richly deserves.

Ultimately, though, history has a way of evening out the playing field, doesn’t it? Engulfed by scandal at his death, today J. Edgar Hoover is widely remembered as a monumental jerk, although he does have a building named after him. Meanwhile, Elizebeth’s legacy has only recently started emerging but she already has a couple of reading rooms named in her honor.

For some revisionist history that is very much worth knowing, I recommend Jason Fagone’s The Woman Who Smashed Codes for those who wish to know more.

HEADLINES:

• Commercial Ships Transit Strait of Hormuz as U.S. Blockades Iran’s Ports (WSJ)

• U.S. says Hormuz blockade ‘fully implemented,’ while signaling diplomatic off-ramp for Iran (CNBC)

• Israel and Hezbollah continue attacks after Israel-Lebanon talks in US (BBC)

• GOP senators grow uncomfortable with Trump rhetoric, endgame for Iran (The Hill)

• After Trump’s latest broadside, pope says ‘world needs to hear’ message of peace (CNN)

• Labor Dept. Investigates Texts Among Secretary’s Family and Staff (NYT)

• How Eric Swalwell rose to the top of Democratic politics as rumors followed him (WP)

• Swalwell’s Exit Injects ‘Chaos’ Into California Governor’s Race (NYT)

• The Nationalist Right Isn’t Taking Orbán’s Loss Well (Bulwark)

• Trump threats cause dilemma for US officers: disobey orders or commit war crimes (Guardian)

• Trump threatens to fire Powell, won’t halt probe of Fed renovations (WP)

• Here’s exactly how I spot a liar, says ex-CIA officer: It can be very ‘revealing’ (CNBC)

• America’s Insane Tax-Filing Process (Atlantic)

• Drop in immigrant tax filings may cost government billions as IRS shares data with ICE (WP)

• Teens’ Experiences on TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat (Pew)

• New technique makes AI models leaner and faster while they’re still learning (MIT)

• Why Anthropic and OpenAI are locking up their latest models (Economist)

• Can you spot a fake political ad? AI is making it harder. (WP)

• NFL Announces Multiple Games Next Season To Be Played Across Ancient History (Onion)