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Peter Schrank’s Times cartoon: August 3, 2026 (thetimes.com)

thetimes.com/article/1e0d1afd-a458-45eb-8900-31e1ce569d88?shareToken=c9cb60498a87d471e4bd78594dc6192f

Gift Articles
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Analysis | Amid a democratic socialist surge, the DSA asks itself: What’s next? (wapo.st)

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Gift Articles
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Schools are adding pepper-spraying drones to help combat active shooters (wapo.st)

wapo.st/4fSVDmx

Ars Technica
Text • Matthew MacConnell

How headlights got brighter, whiter, and more blinding after dark

How headlights got brighter, whiter, and more blinding after dark

Automotive lights are better than they've ever been, but there's a trade-off.

Political Wire
Text • Taegan Goddard

Kamala Harris Keeps Democrats Guessing About 2028

“Kamala Harris is studying artificial intelligence and strategizing with civil rights leaders on voting rights. She’s recasting her political operation. And she’s been exploring philanthropic work to cement her legacy — if she doesn’t run for president,” Politico reports. ”For the second consecutive summer, political insiders are parsing her every move for clues about the […]

Schneier on Security
Text • Bruce Schneier

The OpenAI Hack Shows the Genie Is Out of the Bottle

This essay originally appeared in Foreign Policy.

Earlier this month, two of OpenAI’s models broke out of their containment sandbox and attacked another AI company. The story is kind of wild. OpenAI was running security tests on two of its models: GPT-5.6 Sol and an unreleased model that is almost certainly GPT-6. In particular, it was running the ExploitGym benchmark, which measures how good a model is at turning security vulnerabilities into working exploits: basically, offensive cyberattacks.

Since these were internal tests, OpenAI locked those models in a secure sandbox that denied them access to the internet. But it was running the models without any safety filters that would prevent them from offensive cyber-actions. That meant that there was nothing to prevent the models from trying to ...

WIRED
Text • Matthew S. Smith

Alienware 27 QD-OLED (AW2726DM) Review: A $350 Winner

We’ve come a long way since exclusively $1,000+ OLED gaming monitors. Alienware’s latest display brings the price down to a shocking $350, though it comes with some important compromises.

WIRED
Text • Jason Parham

People Are Ghosting Long-Term Partners. Some Don’t Regret It

The communication-free form of breaking up has become ubiquitous. “I no longer had to bear her energy,” a man who ghosted his partner of four years tells WIRED.

WIRED
Text • Nicole Kinning

The Best Audio Players for Kids: Yoto, Toniebox, and More

Whether you want an audio player that’ll grow with your kid or one that your toddler can operate independently, I have a recommendation for you.

WIRED
Text • Jordan Michelman

The Delicate Art of Making a 1907 House Smarter

I tested modern locks, lights, climate controls, and more in a historic home that I very much wanted to keep historic.

WIRED
Text • Kate Taylor

AI Conquered Coding. Fast Food Is Next

Your next drive-thru order might be taken by a bot. And you might not even notice.

WIRED
Text • Dhruv Mehrotra

ICE Collected Nearly 1 Million People’s DNA Last Year—Including Young Children

Internal documents show ICE's DNA collection has skyrocketed in the second Trump administration. Now hundreds of thousands of people never convicted of a crime are in an FBI criminal database forever.

WIRED
Text • Chris Haslam

Nothing Ear (3a) Wireless Earbuds Review: Style Meets Value

The $100 earbuds look and sound better than earbuds nearly twice the price—as long as you can stomach just average noise canceling.

WIRED
Text • Caroline Haskins

The ‘Guardrail Guy’ Went Viral for Posting About Flock Cameras. Then Someone Destroyed Them

Steve Elmers, also known as the “Guardrail Guy,” is done calling out license plate readers after two that appeared in his videos were vandalized.

EV Grieve
Text • Unknown

Flamingos Vintage Pound to open another East Village shop

Flamingos Vintage Pound is returning to First Avenue, according to its Instagram account.  The retailer's latest location will be 199 First Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street, a former smoke shop-convenience store. An opening date has not been announced.  ...

EV Grieve
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NY Copy Print & Ship Center has closed after 34 years on 7th Street

The lights are out at NY Copy Print & Ship Center, marking the end of a 34-year run at 13 E. Seventh St. near Cooper Square.

As we reported in June, owner Mousume Sarker said the family-owned business was preparing to close after unsuccessful lease renewal negotiations with the landlord. The shop had originally planned to close last summer but stayed open for one more year before ultimately deciding to call it a day. 

The business, which opened in 1992, served generations of neighborhood residents with copying, printing, shipping, passport photos and other office services. 

At the time, Sarker told us, "Thirty-four years in business — it's a milestone for me."

It was one of those neighborhood businesses that quietly helped people get things done for decades.

WBUR News
Audio • WBUR

Thousands of cyclists pedal across Massachusetts for the Pan-Mass Challenge

Organizers of the Pan-Mass Challenge held this weekend hoped to raise 79 million dollars for cancer research and care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Nearly 65-hundred cyclists took part. Rachel Marshall rode to honor her late father.

WBUR News
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August to the maximus

August really is grand, writes Cog senior editor Cloe Axelson. It's 31 days of peak summer -- tomatoes, beach days, novels, baseball games, shooting stars, road trips, as much corn on the cob as a belly can fit.

Longreads
Text • Seyward Darby

Days Disrupted

"Across the world, the Iran war is reshaping everyday life."

Longreads
Text • Carolyn Wells

Who Ya Gonna Call? Scam Busters!

"How a team of sleuths reportedly tracked down the Brad Pitt impersonators who cyber-scammed a middle-aged Frenchwoman out of her life’s savings."