Tootfinder

House GOP fiscal hawks demand big changes to megabill
Members of the House Freedom Caucus were expected to meet with the president this morning.
Earlier, caucus chairman Andy Harris earlier told CNN:
"I’m still voting no on the rule. We have to get this thing right."
And Texas representative Chip Roy, among the most vocal critics of the Senate’s version of the bill,
said that he and many other conservatives remain opposed to the bill and still want maj…

It should be bedtime for me, but as I had a nap earlier, I am now 100% alert 😅
The only reason I had to nap earlier was because of the anti-histamines I had yesterday messing with my sleeping patterns.

Google says it will preserve "actively used" goo.gl URLs, after announcing earlier that all existing goo.gl links would stop working in August 2025 (Abner Li/9to5Google)
https://9to5google.com/2025/08/01/google-goo-gl-links-shortener/

Google now keeping ‘actively used’ goo․gl links, others will stop in August
After originally planning to have all goo.gl links stop working later this month, Google will now “preserve actively used links.”

I refer the honourable poppers to my earlier statement. #TOTP
RE: https://social.chatty.monster/@losttourist/114955528107873466

"the new review of the earlier assessment does not dispute the conclusion that Russia favored the election of Donald J. Trump." #GiftLink
C.I.A. Says Its Leaders Rushed Report on Russia Interference in 2016 Vote - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/us/politics/russia-trump-2016-election.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Tk8.1oh0.obRdrVnArZxp&smid=url-share

Source: GPT-5 improvements won't be comparable to the leaps in performance of earlier models, such as between GPT-3 in 2020 and GPT-4 in 2023 (The Information)
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/inside-openais-rocky-path-gpt-5

Inside OpenAI’s Rocky Path to GPT-5
OpenAI made waves across the industry in December when it published the results from its tests of artificial intelligence that performs better on tasks when it gets more time and computing power to process them. The results implied ChatGPT customers were about to be blown away by what the new AI ...

A single paragraph buried deep in a spending bill that passed the GOP-controlled House of Representatives earlier this month is causing growing concern among democracy watchdogs
-- who warn the provision will make it so only the well-to-do would be in a good position to launch legal challenges against a Trump administration that has shown over and over again its disdain and disregard for oversight or judicial restraint of any kind.
Coming just about half-way through what Presiden…

'This Is What Autocrats Do': Concern Grows Over Single Paragraph Buried Deep in GOP Bill | Common Dreams
The provision would force those challenging Trump "to pay up in the form of a posted bond—something many people can't afford to do. That means only the wealthy will be able to even attempt to challenge the most powerful man in the country."

The Trump administration may have just axed the IRS Direct File program.
During a summit earlier this week, IRS Commissioner Billy Long said the free tax filing service is “gone,”
adding that “big beautiful Billy wiped that out
https://news.bloombe…

IRS Chief Says Direct File Is ‘Gone,’ Other Audit Tech Is Coming
The Biden-era IRS free filing tool, Direct File, is “gone,” IRS Commissioner Billy Long said.

Powell confirmed Fed would have cut interest rates by now were it not for Trump's tariffs
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said earlier this morning that the central bank would likely have already cut interest rates this year had it not been for the economic shock caused by Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
When asked if Trump’s tariffs on imported goods held up the Fed’s plan to cut interest rates, Powell replied:
"I think that’s right."
Speaking at a c…

Solar storm has reached Earth, could bring auroras to U.S. South
A severe” solar storm
— rated a level 4 out of 5
— arrived on Earth earlier than NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center had forecast on Saturday.
Northern lights were visible as far south as New Mexico, and vivid displays were photographed in Wyoming, Utah and Washington state.

Before dawn, the aurora could even be detected in the Mid-Atlantic with a camera
— which is more sensitive to ligh…

Solar storm has reached Earth, could bring auroras to U.S. South
A “severe” solar storm is expected to reach Earth any time from late morning to Sunday evening Eastern time, according to NOAA.