I’ve been playing around with DeepDreamGenerator’s newish “text prompt” artificial intelligence image creator. This image was generated from the prompt “Klingons on vacation, wearing Hawaiian shirts.”

Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, and Debt:

What Comes Next for the Most Empty Downtown in America

Binance was once FTX’s rival and possible savior. Now it’s trying not to be its sequel

Developer platforms are all about trust, and Twitter lost it

Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:

In COVID-hit Beijing, funeral homes and crematoriums are busy

DeSantis Reverses Himself on Coronavirus Vaccines

Early in the pandemic, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis repeatedly praised President Donald Trump for the expedited development and rollout of a coronavirus vaccine. The governor’s office pushed for $480 million in pandemic resources, including media campaigns promoting the shots, according to state budget documents. And DeSantis, a Republican, even lauded the Biden administration for helping to expand access to vaccines.
But this past week, DeSantis threw himself into misleadingly disparaging the vaccines, convening skeptics to buck guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and seeking to investigate vaccine makers for fraud.

Thank you, Memory Hole!

Politics:

The Inside Story of a Catastrophe

How could one of the world’s most powerful militaries, led by a celebrated tactician like Mr. Putin, have faltered so badly against its much smaller, weaker rival? To piece together the answer, we drew from hundreds of Russian government emails, documents, invasion plans, military ledgers and propaganda directives. We listened to Russian phone calls from the battlefield and spoke with dozens of soldiers, senior officials and Putin confidants who have known him for decades.
The Times investigation found a stunning cascade of mistakes that started with Mr. Putin — profoundly isolated in the pandemic, obsessed with his legacy, convinced of his own brilliance — and continued long after drafted soldiers like Mikhail were sent to the slaughter.

Russia to deploy musicians to front to boost morale

If you’d been sent to the front with little training and shoddy equipment, a few songs on a balalaika would really cheer things up.

Capitol Rioter Charged in Assassination Plot

A Tennessee man already facing charges of assaulting a police officer during the storming of the Capitol last year was charged on Friday with plotting to assassinate several of the federal agents who had investigated him and to attack the F.B.I.’s field office in Knoxville…

QAnon’s Undying Hate for Tom Hanks Grows Stronger Every Day

Russian Official Allegedly Opened Mail Bomb Thinking Son’s Head Was Inside

Why the issue of crime didn’t deliver for Republicans in the midterms

Father of July 4 shooting suspect charged with 7 felonies

Serendipity:

Disaster scenarios raise the stakes for Colorado River negotiations

AI’s Jurassic Park moment

The Long Tail of America’s Racist Medical System

Organ thieves, the Tuskegee Experiment and why so many Black people distrust the health care system.

^{Badge thanks to @arcange}

^{Join Hive using my referral link}