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Grandpa Pudding Brains collected $166 billion in tariffs under a law the Supreme Court says does not authorize tariffs. The government has now returned $100 billion of it, but the refund doesn't reach the folks who paid higher prices.The Orange Menace claimed tariffs are a machine for restoring factories, winning trade wars and shrinking the federal deficit. - Read the rest The post Trump's $100 billion tariff refund skips the people who paid higher prices appeared first on Boing Boing.

A State Department slide that mislabeled every country on a map of Africa - Nigeria landlocked in the Sahara, Mozambique moved to the Horn - has drawn an apology, the Guardian reports. The department said it takes "full responsibility for the confusion and misrepresentation it caused for attendees, including our African partners." - Read the rest The post Every country was wrong on the State Department's map of Africa appeared first on Boing Boing.

While Los Angeles burned, betting site Polymarket offered nearly 20 ways to bet on what the flames would do next, including whether the Palisades fire would reach Santa Monica. The potential for a bettor to help their wager along is horrifying. - Read the rest The post Polymarket let gamblers bet on whether wildfire would reach Santa Monica appeared first on Boing Boing.

If you were moving diamonds across the Deccan Plateau in the 1830s, there were rules about when to set out. Leave on a Tuesday or a Thursday, on the 5th, 13th, or 28th day of the lunar month. Eat coriander seeds before a Tuesday departure and jaggery before a Thursday one. - Read the rest The post An 1832 book explains how to pick a lucky day to travel appeared first on Boing Boing.

The ad campaign for Lee Cronin's The Mummy, a gritty new take on the public domain monster, has been partially unraveled by advertising regulators in the U.K. In upholding a complaint about the movie's posters, the Advertising Standards Authority determined that those showing a "realistic impression of a dead child" were too horrid for public display. - Read the rest The post The Mummy poster banned from London Underground appeared first on Boing Boing.

The Orange Menace claims his administration restored the Endangered Species Act to the meaning Antonin Scalia "explained." Scalia explained it in a dissent. The Supreme Court's 6-3 majority upheld the definition Trump's administration just erased.For 50 years, the definition of "harm" included any significant habitat modification that killed or injured wildlife by disrupting their breeding, feeding, or sheltering grounds. - Read the rest The post Trump cites a Supreme Court dissent that lost 6-3 to gut endangered-species protections appeared first on Boing Boing.

Dietitian Josie Porter, author of How Not to Take Supplements, sized up ten popular supplements for the Guardian. One of the largest multivitamin trials found a memory improvement in older adults, but it came to "roughly a quarter of a word in a 20-word recall test." - Read the rest The post A dietitian's verdict: multivitamins are useless appeared first on Boing Boing.

Polyphonic music has two or more melodic lines running at the same time, and the earliest known written example is a short piece in praise of Saint Boniface, composed around the year 900. Giovanni Varelli found it in 2014, when he was a PhD student at St John's College, Cambridge. - Read the rest The post The oldest known two-part music was written around the year 900 appeared first on Boing Boing.

TL;DR:GetMicrosoft Office 2024 Professional Plus for one Windows PCfor $54.99 instead of $249.99. It includes six familiar productivity apps with no recurring Microsoft 365 fee.It's true, software subscriptions have quietly become another household utility. Sad. But, hey. - Read the rest The post This $54.99 Microsoft Office deal makes your app subscriptions look needy appeared first on Boing Boing.

A cop in suburban New Jersey stood in a ghillie suit against foliage to catch unwary drivers fooling around on their phones. They found a perfectly leafy tree on the main street in Dunellen and caught 74 in just 6 hours. - Read the rest The post Cop dressed as shrub catches 74 texting drivers in 6 hours appeared first on Boing Boing.

Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate running in Michigan's Democratic Primary, has defeated centrist Congresswoman Haley Stevens and will face Republican Mike Rogers this fall. Stevens, supported by the party's establishment, was beaten despite outspending El-Sayed by 11 to 1.

British writer Henry Oliver had his first slice of pecan pie in a Bethesda, Maryland diner, and came away amazed that Americans eat this well every day. In The Common Reader, he calls the pie part of "the ordinary sublime of American life," and says it "knocks English apple crumble into a cocked hat." - Read the rest The post An Englishman ate his first pecan pie and fell for American diners appeared first on Boing Boing.

Three Idaho National Guard troops entered Purple Heart veteran Anna King's Washington, D.C., front yard, wrestled her to the ground, and zip-tied her hands. She was later charged with assaulting them.King's lawyers believe the troops targeted her because she had spent months criticizing their deployment with signs reading "Occupation: Troops Out" and "National Guard Stop Being So Embarrassing." - Read the rest The post National Guard troops entered a Purple Heart veteran's yard, zip-tied her, then charged her with assaulting them appeared first on Boing Boing.

You'd think someone involved in The Rocky Horror Show couldn't get enough drama. But the musical director of a production in Vermont got so fed up with cast theatrics that he sent a series of threats to himself in a successful effort to shut the show down. - Read the rest The post Rocky Horror Show musical director sent threats to self to end production and avoid cast drama appeared first on Boing Boing.

The DOJ dropped its case against former Olympian David Hearn, citing the terrible work of Trump's handpicked contractor.Pirro's office said a Park Service engineer had documented peeling eight days before the accused vandal visited the pool, and a government witness could not connect him to the damage. - Read the rest The post "It was vandalism!" cried Grandpa Pudding Brains after his DOJ blamed his contractor's shoddy installation appeared first on Boing Boing.

A congressional candidate in Tennessee shot at four Flock cameras there, say authorities, and got four charges of felony vandalism in return.Adam Lee Heimerman, 37, of Lenoir City, shot out the cameras between in July and June while campaigning as an Independent in Tennessee's 2nd Congressional District. - Read the rest The post Congressional candidate arrested after Flock surveillance cameras shot at appeared first on Boing Boing.

TL;DR:Get a1-year Autodesk AutoCAD subscriptionfor $399 instead of $2,095, with professional 2D drafting, 3D modeling, automation tools, and access across desktop, web, and mobile.Precision typically comes with a precise and mildly terrifying price. AutoCAD, the professional design software used to draft everything from floor plans to mechanical components, normally costs $2,095 for a one-year subscription. - Read the rest The post This $399 AutoCAD deal is suspiciously well drafted appeared first on Boing Boing.

Lokesh Dhakar's ASCII Today renders your text as big block letters made out of slashes, pipes, and underscores - the kind that head old README files and source-code comments. When you type a word at ascii.today, all 50 fonts appear at once in a grid, redrawing character by character. - Read the rest The post Type a word, get it back in 50 ASCII art fonts appeared first on Boing Boing.

Conspiracy theorist and roadkill enthusiast RFK Jr. told CNN's Dana Bash she probably could not understand his argument because she was not a scientist. "Well, you're not either," she replied.Kennedy had already accused Bash of talking nonsense, being fooled and repeating information "like a parrot." - Read the rest The post America's health secretary borrows scientific credentials he does not have appeared first on Boing Boing.

United States Senator for the state of Ohio Bernie Moreno says he lived in fear for his granddaughter's safety whenever Rep. Max Miller had custody of her. Moreno spent those same two years not telling the public that Miller was unfit for Congress. - Read the rest The post Bernie Moreno "held his breath" for two years before warning Congress about Max Miller appeared first on Boing Boing.

If you have functioning eyes and you've been on the Internet lately, you've no doubt stumbled across Jimothy, the pride of Seattle. It is a truth universally acknowledged that raccoons are cute as hell, but Jimothy - or so this feral Seattle raccoon has been dubbed - has managed to take a step beyond and go ultra-mega-viral thanks to his short spine syndrome, which is basically exactly what it sounds like. - Read the rest The post Infamous raccoon Jimothy can now accompany you in Skyrim appeared first on Boing Boing.

A former National Park Service ranger is touring visitor centers with flyers containing the history the Trump administration removed from the walls.Melissa Dalley quit the National Park Service in April. Now she visits Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Glacier as a civilian, telling strangers about exhibits, signs and brochures that have disappeared while the Trump administration reviews park history for material that "inappropriately disparage[s] Americans." - Read the rest The post Former NPS ranger shares the history Trump removed appeared first on Boing Boing.

Carved into the Hathor temple at Dendera in Egypt is a relief that looks a great deal like a lightbulb: an oval bubble with a snake curling inside it, held up by a pillar. A fringe theory holds that this is evidence of ancient Egyptian electric lighting, based on the resemblance to incandescent bulbs, cathode-ray tubes, and Crookes tubes. - Read the rest The post The Egyptian temple carving that looks like a giant lightbulb appeared first on Boing Boing.

TL;DR: Thisrefurbished 13-inch MacBook Air (2018)is now just $199.97 (reg. $1,199).If you're looking for everyday battery life, portability, and the ability to retain your membership in the Apple ecosystem, thisrefurbished MacBook Air may be just what you're looking for-grab your 128GB one in Goldfor just $199.97 (reg. - Read the rest The post Pick up a refurbished 2018 MacBook Air for just $200 appeared first on Boing Boing.

Republican support for President Trump's war with Iran remained steady at 71% in June, but has fallen to 61% in July, according to a survey by the Associated Press's NORC Center for Public Affairs. Everyone else overwhelmingly disapproves of the conflict, with support among "independents" falling to 17% and support among Democrats falling from 8% to 4% in the last few weeks. - Read the rest The post At $4 a gallon again, even Republicans souring on Iran war appeared first on Boing Boing.

TSA staff found five Civil War-era cannonballs in a passenger's checked suitcase at Gulf Shores International Airport in Alabama. Investigators found that the munitions were missing from nearby Fort Morgan; a child supposedly pilfered them and sneaked them into grandma's luggage. - Read the rest The post Stolen Civil War cannonballs found in luggage appeared first on Boing Boing.

A Vermont pharmacy chain's new AI assistant led not to the efficiency improvements promised but to "delays, incorrect information and privacy concerns." The AI, named "Burt" after the chain's long-dead founder, is said to call excessively, get dosages wrong and suggest inappropriate refills, among other alarming problems. - Read the rest The post AI assistant named for long-dead pharmacy founder mutters incomprehensibly and "demands that you talk to him" appeared first on Boing Boing.

Picture a vast field of honeycombed polygonal rocks stretching to the horizon in an otherworldly valley. NASA's Curiosity rover did, and the Valle Grande, as NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is calling it, is the latest fascinating spot to be imaged by the rover, now in its 13th year of trundling across the Martian landscape. - Read the rest The post Curiosity rover finds field of honeycomb-textured "polygons" appeared first on Boing Boing.

A man accused of spray-painting "Nazi" and "Fascist" on 13 Teslas was apparently undone by the feature he neglected to vandalize: their cameras. The cars became stooges for the cops; his takeout order supplied the mailing address.

Half the sea lion pups born this season at La Jolla Cove have died, according to the Sierra Club Seal Society, compared with 10% in the nearby area closed to visitors. The group wants cones marking a 20-foot buffer. A local beach organization considers that essentially a closure. - Read the rest The post Half the sea lion pups died at La Jolla Cove. People are arguing about cones appeared first on Boing Boing.

Book Corners maps more than 37,000 neighborhood libraries, mostly of the little free kind but also indoor book exchanges at cafes and the like: "The goal is simple: help people discover nearby places where they can leave a book or pick one up." - Read the rest The post Book Corners is a growing map of places to leave or grab a free book appeared first on Boing Boing.

The confused old man was honoring the Dodgers when his script handed him a number: 229 days. Donnie Two-Pencils read it, called it a strange fact, disclaimed responsibility for it, and conceded that he did not understand what he was actually speaking about. - Read the rest The post Grandpa Pudding Brains encounters the concept of elapsed time appeared first on Boing Boing.

Cop City protester Samuel Tunick was forced to turn over his password during a warrantless search. Tunick gave them his duress password, and Federal agents unknowingly wiped his phone. Prosecutors are going to try to persuade a court that deleting data to prevent a warrantless seizure is a crime. - Read the rest The post Border agents entered his password. His phone erased itself. Now he faces a felony appeared first on Boing Boing.

TL;DR: Save $760 on a Grade Arefurbished 2022 HP ProBook 640 G9with a 12th Gen Intel Core i5, Windows 11 Pro, 8GB RAM, and a 256GB SSD for $439.99 (reg. $1,199).You don't have to spend four figures to get a laptop that feels built for work. - Read the rest The post This refurbished HP ProBook with a 12th Gen Core i5 is down to $439.99 appeared first on Boing Boing.

TL;DR: Stream seamlessly and surf securely withiProVPN's advanced encryption ad-blockerfor just $19.99 (Reg. $360).They're called cookies for a reason - they make you crave something you never wanted in the first place. Thanks to cookies, ads, AI crawlers, and surveillance technology, your browser probably serves you up advertisement after advertisement based on your browser history or conversations. - Read the rest The post No more ads? Get speedy, secure, and seamless connectivity with this VPN for 94% off appeared first on Boing Boing.

European police targeted thousands of websites hosting "nihilistic" material this summer, part of an international crackdown on violent content by investigators from nine countries. The Com, a decentralized network of such sites, was the key target, according to a press release from Europol. - Read the rest The post Online nihilist networks targeted in international crackdown appeared first on Boing Boing.

In my acrylic case were maybe a hundred Amiga floppies, the contents of each neatly inscribed on the 3.3mm label edge with a Pilot V5. Now I have the rest of 'em: the Amiga Freeware Archive is a searchable catalog of free software for Commodore's Amiga, the world's first psychedelic computer. - Read the rest The post Amiga Freeware Archive appeared first on Boing Boing.

Astronomers using the Very Large Telescope in Chile have found evidence of a moon-sized companion far beyond our own solar system, which might be the first exomoon to be detected (though it wouldn't be the first time we've been here). - Read the rest The post Astronomers may have detected an exomoon appeared first on Boing Boing.

The European Central Bank is preparing to issue cash with a "new look" and has published its Future euro banknote design proposals: "Designers from all over Europe have reimagined how they may look like, and one of their proposals is to become the next design of the euro banknotes." - Read the rest The post Design proposals for European banknotes appeared first on Boing Boing.

For centuries, people have reported glowing balls of light during thunderstorms - spheres from pea-sized to several meters across that drift through the air for seconds at a time, far longer than a lightning flash, before vanishing or bursting with a bang and a whiff of sulfur. - Read the rest The post For centuries people have watched glowing orbs drift through storms appeared first on Boing Boing.

I wish there was a better name for weirdly paternalistic "white guy goes to Africa" pop than, well, all that. You know what I mean, though, surely: it was the stuff Paul Simon trafficked in, painting an entire diverse continent as a mystical spiritual wonderland and its inhabitants as enlightened monks. - Read the rest The post Kyle Gordon returns with pitch-perfect satire of "white guy goes to Africa" pop appeared first on Boing Boing.

You will have to work very hard to find a wireless speaker that sounds as good, no matter what sort of music you dig, as the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro. Ringing in at just under $800, you'll also have to work hard to afford one. - Read the rest The post The Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Pro is a near-perfect speaker appeared first on Boing Boing.

Honest Trailers tackles Backrooms, the horror franchise where the monster is fear and the production designer apparently died in a 1990s office park.The creepiest place in America is not a haunted house or even the supermarket. Fear is a corporate office building devoid of cubicles. - Read the rest The post Honest Trailers gets lost in the beige hell of Backrooms appeared first on Boing Boing.

TL;DR: Snag alifetime family license to VideoProc Converter AI for Windowsfor only $29.97 (MSRP $119.90) through tonight at midnight.It happens to the best of us -you capture something incredible on video, only to watch it back and realize your hands were shaky. - Read the rest The post This $30 AI tool can transform old, blurry videos in just a few clicks (MSRP $120) appeared first on Boing Boing.

Most invented languages try to say everything. Toki Pona tries to say just enough - with about 120 words and 14 sounds. The Canadian translator Sonja Lang built it in 2001, while she was struggling with depression, as a way to simplify her own thoughts. - Read the rest The post A whole language built from about 120 words appeared first on Boing Boing.

About a decade ago, Jia Tolentino argues in a New Yorker essay, famous faces on Instagram began converging on one look - plumper lips, catlike eyes, sharper cheekbones. People edited their faces in selfies, then had surgeons reshape the real thing to match. - Read the rest The post The new invisible facelift moves the face like a Halloween mask appeared first on Boing Boing.

There's hot, and then there's so-hot-you-have-to-stand-in-a-public-fountain-while-yodeling hot. According to the Associated Press, the heat in Basel, Switzerland, was so intense recently that contestants and performers at the nation's annual yodeling festival,Eidgenossisches Jodlerfest, had to take to public fountainsto make singing their lungs out tolerable. - Read the rest The post Swiss Yodelers retreat to fountains to beat brutal heat appeared first on Boing Boing.

Back in the Era of Twitter, comedian/improvisor/actor/writer/pop culture expert Connor Ratliff would do these GIANT threads, hundreds of tweets long, exhaustively covering a topic, like Elvis Costello or Goofy cartoons. He'd go through an entire oeuvre, offering his insightful written commentary, but also presenting videos of the music/film in each tweet so you could see the content as he explained it. - Read the rest The post Watch every Road Runner cartoon with pop culture expert (and comedian) Connor Ratliff appeared first on Boing Boing.

Another week, another Saul4Democracy video. For the uninitiated, this is a web series run by Better Call Saul co-creator Peter Gould, featuring actors Bob Odenkirk and Jonathan Banks back in their iconic characters. Rather than a continuation of BCS (which was itself kind of a continuation of Breaking Bad), Saul4Democracy is more of a disconnected series of PSAs covering various aspects of American politics, for better or worse. - Read the rest The post Mike Ehrmantraut gets his moment in the newest Saul4Democracy PSA appeared first on Boing Boing.

Most mountain documentaries build toward the summit. This one builds toward the last few meters climbers refuse to touch, out of respect for Mount Kangchenjunga, the third-tallest peak on Earth.This video follows the southwest Yalung Face route from base camp across the Yalung Glacier, through camps, seracs, and crevasses, over the Great Shelf, the Gangway, and along the exposed summit ridge. - Read the rest The post The mountain where climbers stop short of the summit on purpose appeared first on Boing Boing.