The Latest

LINKS:

• House passes defense bill after adopting controversial amendments targeting abortion policy and other issues (CNN)

• Discovery of chemical means to reverse aging and restore cellular function (Phys.org)

• ‘As Long as It Takes’: Biden Adds to Talk of a New Cold War (NYT)

• Russian lawmakers pass bill outlawing gender reassignment (Al Jazeera)

• WHO cancer arm deems aspartame 'possible carcinogen'; consumption limits unchanged (Reuters)

• Lawyers with supreme court business paid Clarence Thomas aide via Venmo (Guardian)

• SAG-AFTRA is on strike. What to know about the impact on Hollywood. (WP)

• Peak TV Has Peaked: From Exhausted Talent to Massive Losses, the Writers Strike Magnifies an Industry in Freefall (Variety)

• Actors Emily Blunt and Cillian Murphy were among others to leave the premiere of Christopher Nolan's film "Oppenheimer" as the strike was announced. Nolan told the audience the stars had left to "write their picket signs." [HuffPost]

• Chinese Scientists Are Leaving the United States (Foreign Policy)

• Prosecutors Ask Witnesses Whether Trump Acknowledged He Lost 2020 Race (NYT)

• Target letter to Trump Organization staffer signals new push in classified docs probe (ABC)

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. repeatedly suggested that chemicals in water are impacting sexuality of children (CNN)

• The federal deficit nearly tripled, raising concern about the country's finances (NPR)

• Far right Twitter influencers first on Elon Musk’s monetization scheme (NYT)

• Colombia deforestation plummets as peace efforts focus on rainforest (Guardian)

• Heat records and other extreme weather making global impacts (AP)

• The brain drain at tech companies is already bad and as Elon Musk's poaching of AI experts shows, it's only going to get worse‘Human Beings Are Soon Going to Be Eclipsed’ (Insider)

• ‘Human Beings Are Soon Going to Be Eclipsed’ (NYT)

• Expert calls generative AI a ‘stochastic parrot’ that won’t surpass humans (anytime soon) (Venture Beat)

• Lina Khan’s Artificial Intelligence (WSJ)

• Why Don't We Celebrate Rose Byrne More? (Pajiba)

• Transportation Department Begins Issuing Dementia Placards Allowing Cars To Drive On Wrong Side Of Highway (The Onion)