Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is directly asking Sen. Mitch McConnell, the state’s most powerful figure in Congress, to disclose more about his condition after three weeks of silence from the 84-year-old since he was hospitalized in Washington.

The letter released Wednesday from Beshear, a Democrat who is considered a potential presidential candidate in 2028, to the former Senate Republican leader says “Kentuckians have grown increasingly concerned about the current state of your health and well-being, and ability to hold office.”

McConnell, whose physical condition has visibly declined in recent years, was hospitalized June 14. He has not released a public statement, photos or videos since. Aides have disclosed nothing specific about his condition, other than to say last week that McConnell “continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”

That lack of detail has fueled rampant speculation about his prognosis and whether he will return to the Senate when it reconvenes next week. The firestorm was enough that Republican Senate leaders on Tuesday made public statements saying they had talked to McConnell and that he was alert and discussing current events.

McConnell is retiring at the end of his term in January, and the campaign to elect his successor already is underway. Kentucky’s Senate succession law, which Republican legislators have twice changed during Beshear’s tenure, does not give the governor a role in picking a temporary successor should McConnell’s seat become vacant before his term ends.

Under the latest change in 2024, if the seat becomes vacant before Aug. 3, there would be a special election to pick a replacement, perhaps held concurrently with the general election in November. The special election winner could take office nearly immediately. The general election winner would be sworn in as part of the new Congress in January.

Happened just this afternoon in my city

Meta has filed a patent for a system that records your voice and surroundings all day, then uses an AI to analyse your mood. The patent’s stated, theoretical goal is for Meta, a company that makes billions of dollars targeting ads at its users based on their data, is to sell users a wearable that tailors workouts for them based on whether they’re happy or sad.

Patentlyze first noticed the patent which was published on July 2 after Meta filed it back in December of 2025. The filing described an “apparatus” that surveilled a user and their surroundings constantly to craft a better workout. “The audible communications may be associated with contextual factors such as time of day, location, user activity, or digital interaction,” the patent said. “The audible communications may be transcribed, and an emotional-state machine learning model may interpret verbal and nonverbal cues to determine emotional indicators.”

According to the filing, Meta needs to know when a user laughs or sighs, where they are physically, and what objects they’re surrounded by. It would even like to know when you’ve taken your meds. “The AI assistant may listen to a user(s) at predefined times to hear various types of communication, such as sighs, laughter, and/or the tone(s) of a voice(s),” the patent said. “The AI assistant may use these inputs to quantify the user's emotional state or generate other insights about the user [...] in another example, the AI assistant may take multiple inputs in in addition to audio inputs (e.g., of a user's voice) to provide a summary of emotional trends based on various inputs (e.g., a happier emotional state associated with a particular time of day or at a time when medication is taken, etc.).”

A three-judge panel on Wednesday denied a request from the Kennedy Center’s board to restore President Donald Trump’s name to the institution while the board appeals an earlier ruling that dubbed the name change illegal and had it rescinded.

It’s another setback for the board of trustees, of which Trump is chairman, in a saga that began earlier this year when the Kennedy Center became: “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.”

The conspicuous addition, and ensuing legal battle, became symbolic of Trump’s broader push to imprint his legacy — and, in this case, his actual name — on the nation’s capitol in his final term.

The panel of judges wrote Wednesday that the request “failed to show how they will be irreparably injured” if Trump’s name remains off the building through the appeal process.

The board had argued that the the removal “threatens to impede” fundraising efforts, but the judges found that claim came without the support of “specific facts or evidence.”

The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

A federal judge earlier this year ruled that the name change was illegal, and Trump’s name was removed from the building’s white marble facade in June. A large tarp still obscures the place on the building where Trump’s name had been.

this was nail polish which i found at home, hehehhe, ewwwwphoria, colorless sparks

cross-posted from: https://altgag.net/post/21794

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Nato leaders have informally agreed not to mention the football World Cup to Donald Trump for fear of irritating the US president at a crucial time for the military alliance.

Further below...

In the first open acknowledgment of the strategy, the Belgian prime minister, Bart De Wever, told reporters in Ankara he would not be discussing his country’s 4-1 win over the US earlier this week.

Look, can everyone please do their best not to annoy the bumbling pedophile? Thank you - your cooperation is appreciated.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani touted progress on fulfilling one of his top campaign promises on Wednesday by highlighting a new plan to speed up the city's bus service.

During a press event, Mamdani talked about the improvements that commuters are projected to see from the new "Faster Buses, Better Service" plan, a joint initiative created by the mayor and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The plan's goal is to speed up buses by an average of six minutes per ride on priority routes, which Mamdani said would make a major long-term difference in New Yorkers' lives.

"Now if you take the bus to work, that adds up fast," he said. "But in six months, you will have spent 24 fewer hours on the bus. By the time a year rolls around, you will have saved more than two days of commuting time."

Mamdani: By the time a year rolls around, you will have saved more than two days of commuting time. That means breakfast with your family. That means getting home in time for bedtime. It means agreeing with your friends that Egypt was robbed yesterday. pic.twitter.com/DQtn5PqNwx
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 8, 2026

The mayor put this into perspective by listing other activities that New Yorkers can do when they don't have to spend as much time on the bus.

"That means breakfast with your family," he said. "It means having the time to argue balls and strikes at your kids' little league game. It means getting home for bedtime... Above all, it means time returned to New Yorkers who don't have nearly enough of it."

The 51-page Mamdani-Hochul plan envisions a number of changes to the bus system to speed up service.

Among other things, the plan includes building five "rapid bus corridors" in Brooklyn and Queens by 2030; adding 28 more priority bus lanes throughout the city by the end of the year; allowing "all-door boarding" on all buses to ease passenger bottlenecks by the end of 2027; and establishing dozens of "queue jump" traffic signals that give buses a head start over other vehicles.

"New York City sets a global standard for culture, innovation, and excellence," Mamdani said in a statement accompanying the plan. "Let us set the same standard for bus service—and prove that government can deliver real results for the people who call this city home."

The bus plan earned a thumbs up from Tahra Hoops, director of economic analysis at Chamber of Progress, who wrote in a Wednesday social media post that it could have a real positive impact on city life.

"A focus on faster, more reliable service is of more use to New Yorkers," Hoops wrote. "Nothing is more frustrating than after a long day at work to wait 30 minutes plus for the Q55 to come and then all of a sudden four show up at once."

In addition to speeding up buses, Mamdani vowed during his mayoral campaign to make them free to ride, which could be more difficult to deliver. The Metropolitan Transit Authority has estimated that delivering free bus service in the city would cost roughly $1 billion per year.

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Teams painstakingly combed endangered Atlantic habitat over several years, helping to grow 8m native trees

European lawmakers are rallying to investigate FIFA boss Gianni Infantino. They are concerned about his involvement in allowing U.S. striker Folarin Balogun to play despite a red card.

The layoffs at one of your studios most able to ship games is a bonkers, stupid decision; but pivoting Obsidian to making a new Fallout game is a good business decision if you don't care about what your creatives feel led to create.

cross-posted from: https://infosec.pub/post/49163022

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The cyberattack targeting a U.S. insurance giant is the largest known breach of driver's license numbers so far in 2026.