Tootfinder

I haven’t tuned into CBS since its morning news promoted that interview (and Weiss) last week. This latest announcement validates my decision.
“CBS News launches town hall series featuring JD Vance following Bari Weiss’ ratings flop”
https://www.indep…

CBS News launches town hall series featuring JD Vance following Bari Weiss’ ratings flop
Following the Bari Weiss-moderated sitdown with Erika Kirk that was a massive ratings flop, CBS News has doubled down on the format and is launching a new town hall series in partnership with Weiss’ “anti-woke” digital media outlet that the network’s parent company recently purchased.

UCLA cancels Bari Weiss' Daniel Pearl Memorial Lecture on "the future of journalism", following student protests; a source says it will be rescheduled (The Wrap)
https://www.thewrap.com/media-platforms/journalism/bari-weiss-ucla-lecture-canc…

Bari Weiss' UCLA Daniel Pearl Memorial Lecture Has Been Rescheduled
The CBS News editor-in-chief was set to appear at the university for a discussion centered on the "future of journalism."

Ankar, which develops LLM-powered AI tools to streamline the process of drafting patent applications for patent attorneys, raised a $20M Series A led by Atomico (Jeremy Kahn/Fortune)
https://fortune.com/2025/12/17/exclusi

Exclusive: Palantir alums using AI to streamline patent filing secure $20 million in Series A venture funding
Palantir alumni Tamar Gomez and Wiem Gharbi founded Ankar which counts L'Oreal and Vorys among early customers

I woke up angry today.
ICE spokesperson Lindsay Williams is a liar, who is bad at lying.
“Asked if the ICE officers chased Lopez, Williams said: ‘Chased? I wouldn’t say that. They followed him until he crashed.’”
Wouldn’t say that? How about: ICE was committing crime (their standard procedure), someone died, they’re the killers. Your people killed a school teacher, Williams.
Have the day you deserve, you apologist scum.

Driver fleeing ICE traffic stop crashes, kills teacher near Georgia school
Authorities in Georgia say a Guatemalan driver fleeing a Georgia traffic stop by federal immigration officers crashed into another vehicle, killing a teacher who was headed to work. Oscar Vasquez Lopez, the 38-year-old driver accused of causing the Monday crash just outside Savannah, remained jailed Tuesday on vehicular homicide and other charges. Court records don't list an attorney for him. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson says officers were looking to enforce a 2024 deport…

Two Ukrainian films shortlisted for 98th Academy Awards nominations: https://benborges.xyz/2025/12/17/two-ukrainian-films-shortlisted-for.html

My favorite video game company is currently making news because they admitted to falling to AI hype and pushing it on employees even though they’ve (predictably) seen no actual benefits.
I am sad about it but, in good news, writing with a fountain pen continues to be an extreme delight.
I developed carpal tunnel nine years ago, and handwriting would always be a stolen joy in the brief moments before pain would start again. I have been feeling nearly 0 pain in the last two weeks despite filling 50 pages. I feel like I’ve been given a new lease on life in a small way.

SEC filing: Liftoff withdraws its IPO filing without specifying a reason, less than two weeks after the mobile ad platform postponed plans to price its IPO (Anthony Hughes/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-0…

Venice, which develops identity security software, emerges from stealth after raising a $25M Series A led by IVP, following an $8M seed round (Meir Orbach/CTech)
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/sk5qcux00we

Rotem Lurie raises $25 million Series A for Venice, an identity security startup backed by Wiz founders
The Israeli company replaces static enterprise permissions with dynamic access control. 

Filing: Sony and Tencent reach a "confidential settlement" over Tencent's Light of Motiram, a game that Sony alleged was a "slavish clone" of its Horizon series (Jay Peters/The Verge)
https://www.theverge.com/news/847080/sony-

Sony’s legal battle against Tencent’s Horizon ‘clone’ is already over
Sony has reached a settlement with Tencent in its lawsuit over Light of Motiram, a game Sony alleged was a “clone” of its Horizon series.

Filing: Gemini says its COO, CFO, and chief legal officer are leaving; Cameron Winklevoss will take on many of the COO's duties; GEMI falls 10% (Olivier Acuna/CoinDesk)
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/02/

Gemini ousts COO, CFO and Chief Legal Officer after international exit and 25% staff cuts
Newly public crypto exchange Gemini Space Station Inc. said Marshall Beard, Dan Chen and Tyler Meade are departing effective immediately, days after the company announced plans to shut down U.K., EU and Australia operations and refocus on the U.S. and prediction markets.