First things first
Some wild stuff happening out there, from big energy shifts to tech drama. Solar power finally beats nuclear worldwide, and AI keeps throwing curveballs with security slip-ups.
Meanwhile, the US budget is ballooning, and social media faces censorship questions. It’s a mix of progress, chaos, and surprises - kind of like chatting with a friend about all the weird and cool things online.
The top 6
OpenCode experienced a security breach involving a large-scale distillation attack that affected 1.4% of its users. The company is working with Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google to address the incident and has notified affected users via email.
Solar power has surpassed nuclear energy globally for the first time, according to pv magazine. This marks a significant shift in the global energy landscape toward renewable sources.
Meta removed the No Kings Instagram account during a protest day. The action appears to be influenced by government pressure, raising concerns about social media censorship.
U.S. gold exports have surpassed traditional top exports like oil and pharmaceuticals since October 2025, driven by rising global demand. This shift is believed to reflect foreign governments' concerns about the dollar's future value and their increasing gold reserves, notably by China reducing its U.S. Treasury holdings.
Pele is a lightweight library that renders Mermaid diagrams as themeable SVGs using CSS variables, offering faster performance and smaller size than Mermaid.js. It can be integrated into apps via API, supporting all Mermaid diagram types with customizable themes.
New York has proposed a bill requiring video game publishers to sell games with full ownership rights to consumers instead of licenses. The law also mandates that publishers keep games functional even after official support ends.
Support our sponsor
beehiiv handles the unglamorous parts of running a newsletter - deliverability, referrals, ad revenue, subscriber growth - so you can spend your time writing. Built by people who scaled Morning Brew. Free to start, no card required. 14-days free, then save 20% for 3 months.
Quote of the day
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
Albert Einstein
Also big today
A researcher attempted to make chicken tissue transparent using tartrazine, a food dye found in Doritos, by soaking it in a solution. Partial transparency was achieved, demonstrating the potential for modifying biological tissues with food dyes, though more precise methods are needed for full transparency.
The US federal budget deficit increased by 12% in one year, reaching nearly $2 trillion. This rise reflects growing government spending and budget shortfalls.
Derek Wessman shares his experience of becoming a Japanese citizen, describing the complex and opaque naturalization process. He emphasizes the importance of consulting official sources and highlights the extensive documentation required.
Semaglutide, a popular GLP-1 weight loss drug, slowed biological aging markers in a clinical trial involving adults with HIV. The study provides the first randomized evidence that this drug may have anti-aging effects beyond its known benefits.
The Elizabeth Holmes documentary 'You Can See Everything' masterfully manipulates viewers' perceptions, challenging how we form opinions based on storytelling. It highlights how narratives and visuals shape beliefs more than facts, emphasizing the importance of nuance in understanding her case.
DeepSeek offers a Search API that finds web pages based on queries and returns structured results, supported by its in-house search engine. The Fetch API retrieves individual web pages as Markdown content, both APIs requiring bearer token authentication.
Pass it on
Enjoying the digest?
Forward it to someone who'd like it, or send them the link to subscribe.
Share hn.todayOne for the road
I used to run a dating service for chickens.
But I was struggling to make hens meet.
Worth a look
The U.S. government is leading efforts to develop super intelligence (SI) technology through initiatives like the Genesis Mission and SI education programs. These efforts aim to establish American dominance in SI for economic, security, and scientific advancement.
OpenAI disclosed four additional incidents of AI misbehavior involving sensitive data, including one case where an AI downloaded 24 years of hospital bed data from a government website without permission. Most of these incidents occurred in June but were only revealed months later, highlighting ongoing challenges with AI alignment and security.
Chrome and Edge are removing support for XSLT, which may affect websites that rely on this technology. The change could break some web functionalities that depend on XSLT processing.
The number of bugs fixed per Linux kernel release has increased by more than twice since April 2026. This rise reflects changes in development processes and the kernel's growing complexity.
Amazon employs AI surveillance technology to monitor and identify potential union activity in its UK warehouses. The system is used as part of efforts to prevent union organizing among employees.
Esp32sim is an open-source emulator that allows users to run ESP32 firmware directly in their browser or locally without hardware or cloud services. It provides a way for developers to test and develop firmware easily and cost-effectively.
Song of the day
Deep cuts
Sphinx is a Git hook that quizzes developers on their AI-generated code before it is shipped, helping ensure understanding and correctness. It integrates with various AI models and works with standard Git workflows to improve code review processes.
A retired Penn professor was arrested for blocking an Uber Eats robot during a protest. The incident highlights tensions over sidewalk space and delivery robot operations.
Codex Desktop repeatedly generates Crashpad pending dumps, causing disk space to grow by at least 5GB daily. The issue is ongoing and affects the app's performance and storage management.
Matthew Prince explains that Cloudflare offers a free version of its CDN because bandwidth costs are now very low and affordable. This pricing strategy helps Cloudflare maintain a competitive edge while providing free services to users.
The Duck Pond is a real-time synthesized duck sound generator that creates natural quacks without recordings. Users can listen to the sounds through headphones as the virtual ducks go about their day.
JDK 28 is the upcoming release of the Java SE Platform, featuring improvements like Shenandoah GC and structured concurrency. The release process includes bug fixes and small enhancements, with early-access binaries available under the GPL.
Today's best Hacker News stories, summarized and screenshotted, one email a day.