Better Left Alone

Human Connection, The Green President

Meta’s Twitter-clone Threads just reached 500 million monthly users, which is further proof that humans are starved for community interaction, even when that interaction is only virtual and often unpleasant. Of course, we’re constantly reminded by endless expert-led studies that real-life human relationships are the key to health, happiness, and longevity. But, you may have wondered while considering this research whether these near-universal findings apply to all relationships. There are, it turns out, exceptions. And you probably know a few of them. “Relationships with people who are draining, critical, or otherwise difficult can compromise our mental and physical health. Shira Offer, a sociologist at Bar-Ilan University, in Israel, who has studied these so-called negative social ties, told me, ‘For a long time, social scientists have focused on the positive aspects of relationships. And finally, we’re also seriously dealing with the negative aspects.’” Olga Khazan in The Atlantic (Gift Article): There’s a Name for the People Who Drain You. (I must be an introvert, a misanthrope, or both, because I always thought that name was people.)

2

Need Some Cyber Space?

You might imagine that the best place to train to be a cybercrime fighter would be right here in front of your laptop. But, there may be a better place. The FBI built its own replica small town to simulate real-world cyberattacks. “Dubbed the Kinetic Cyber Range, the FBI’s small purpose-built town opened in February 2025 and features fully furnished houses, a hotel, a gas station and grocery mart, a courthouse, a hospital, and a power company — complete with roads and traffic lights — designed to mimic a real U.S. community.”

3

Orange is the New Green

“The profound vulnerability of countries throughout Asia, Europe and elsewhere that depend on imported energy is supercharging the hunt for alternatives. In some places, like South Korea and Japan, that has led to an increased use of dirtier fuels like coal. But over the longer term, this energy shock — the second in just four years — is likely to accelerate a transition to renewables like solar and wind as well as nuclear power.” Could Trump have inadvertently become the leader on renewables? NYT (Gift Article): The Iran War Permanently Altered the Global Economy. Or as Ian Bremmer explains: “We could look back on this in 10 years and see that orange is the new green. Trump will have done more for renewable energy unintentionally than any other president in U.S. history.” Maybe Bremmer is right: Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool turns green after surface painted.

+ “The United States, for its part, looks weaker in the eyes of the world. The American military has shown itself unable to quash a much smaller opponent even as it burned through many of its long-range precision missiles and interceptors. The outcome damages this country’s ability to deter other potential adversaries. To begin to repair the damage, the United States would be wise to mend alliances in Europe, the Middle East and Asia that have been frayed by the war’s military and economic effects. The Pentagon will also need to modernize and prepare for the wars of the future. Neither is likely to happen under President Trump.” NYT Editorial Board (Gift Article): President Trump Lost This War. (This provides a pretty good summary of what just about every expert is saying. Even GOP officials aren’t getting on boardwith the memorandum of understanding - and no one has even been able to see it yet.)

+ Aside from the Iranian people who were promised that “help is on the way,” the person most concerned about this deal is probably Bibi Netanyahu. For years, he looked like one of the few Trump partners who wouldn’t end up under the bus. Maybe there are no exceptions. From saying Netanyahu has no f-cking judgment, to freezing him out of negotiations, to complaining about him at this week’s G7, Bibi seems to be getting run over by the wagon he hitched himself to.

+ Trump insists that the relationship with Bibi is still good, adding, “Without me there would be no Israel, because no other president was willing to do what I did.” Here’s the latest from The Guardian.

+ A headline for the ages from Politico: Trump is turning his attention back to Ukraine — and Kyiv’s allies are worried. (Somehow, Ukraine has managed to overcome both Putin and Trump over the past year and a half. It’s an incredible story.)

4

In Convenience

“The town that hosts the world’s largest convenience store smells like ass. For many decades, Luling, Texas, was regionally famous for its excellent barbecue, locally grown supersized watermelons, and the unpleasant rotten-egg smell of hydrogen sulfide, the toxic and highly flammable byproduct of its abundant oil wells. Some locals swear they can’t detect the odor; others profess to love the smell of their own farts, bragging that it’s the ‘smell of money.’ But today, Luling might be best known for a very, very large gas station. Four miles southeast of the town of about six thousand, rising out of the brush alongside Interstate 10, is the mother of all convenience stores—the flagship of Buc-ee’s, a Texas-based chain of ‘travel centers’ that has become a cult phenomenon and one of the state’s most eminent brand ambassadors. The 75,593-square-foot travel center—with its 120 gas pumps, more than two hundred employees, fifty-one bathroom stalls, nineteen urinals attended 24/7 by workers who flit in and out of an ‘employees only’ janitor’s closet, food court of cowboy-hat-wearing staff chopping brisket, clerks chirping ‘Welcome in” to every visitor, stacks of deer corn, $1,499 deer blinds, and racks of in-house gummy bears and jerky—has the distinct odor of caramel-coated Beaver Nuggets. But really, it smells like money.” In The Baffler, Forrest Wilder takes us on a unique summer road trip: Leave it to Beaver.

5

Extra, Extra

There’s No Gravity Up Here: “We can say with certainty that this valuation makes absolutely no sense today. People are buying SpaceX ​in ​the expectation that others will buy too and push the price ​higher - that’s speculation.” Whatever you call it, the stock is going up. SpaceX vaults past Microsoft and Amazon’s market value as post IPO momentum builds.

+ In Fact It’s a Gas: “For years, federal health officials have warned about the risks associated with a supplement derived from the leaves of kratom trees that adherents say can kill pain or boost energy. Sold in gas stations across America, kratom has been linked to liver toxicity, seizures and thousands of deaths.” So this won’t surprise you. How an Addictive Gas Station Drug Found Allies in Trump’s Cabinet.

+ Death Notes: “The picture drawn most clearly by this new information is not the elaborate conspiracy that his murder would have required; rather, it is an unfortunate though not improbable convergence of longstanding institutional failures, human errors and chance events, which created an opportunity for Epstein to act on what was by then a well-established desire that he had already tried and failed to realize.” NYT Mag (Gift Article): The Untold Story of Jeffrey Epstein’s Death. (Now, let’s release the untold stories from his life.)

+ If There Are No Objections... “The Justice Department’s senior leadership closed an investigation of Paramount’s bid for Warner Bros. Discovery before career staffers who were concerned about the acquisition had an opportunity to object, according to people familiar with the matter.” (I’m beginning to think there’s some corruption going on at the Justice Dept.)

+ Tarped: “President Donald Trump’s name came off the Kennedy Center in the dead of night Saturday. More than 60 hours later, almost no one has seen it gone.” Trump’s name is off the Kennedy Center, but a tarp is hiding the proof.

+ News Re-Cap: Giants baseball has hit a real low point. And it’s not because the team has been terrible. In a controversy that only seems to be building, “several Giants players responded to Pride Night on Friday by writing Bible verses on their caps.” Grant Brisbee: Giants pitchers’ Bible verses on Pride Night caps show how they’ve missed the point. A lot of fans are furious. So is just about every beat writer. Giants pitchers didn’t just deface Pride uniforms. They alienated their fans and city. Mike Krukow, our beloved broadcaster: “I would just hope they would understand the demographic of San Francisco and respect people for who they are. What you do to your uniform, that has weight to it. You can offend people. And why would you do that?” (A question for the era.)

+ Winning Tie: “It took Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha all of his 40 years on Earth to make his World Cup debut. The long, long wait was worth every fleeting second. Vozinha recorded seven saves Monday, holding Spain’s star-studded lineup to a shocking 0-0 draw.” In the shock of the World Cup so far, 40-year-old Cape Verde goalkeeper keeps favorite Spain to 0 goals at World Cup. (He also managed to pick up about 7 millionInstagram followers.) And from The Guardian: How Algeria won over a Kansas town – and became the World Cup’s unlikeliest love affair.

6

Bottom of the News

A company once ahead of its time is trying to turn back the clock. “Although the phone has Internet connectivity, it blocks web browsers and social media.” Commodore’s newest gadget is a flip phone that blocks social media and browsers.

+ In 1992, “McDonald’s replaced the fried apple pie with a baked version in most of the U.S., responding to growing consumer awareness of fat and cholesterol consumption.” McDonald’s is serving fried apple pie again for America’s 250th birthday. (Sounds pretty good, but I’m still celebrating with a Safeway Cake.)

+ Self-pleasure before bed is linked to falling asleep faster and sleeping better. (OK! OK! ... I’ll try it.)