# Morning Briefing

Wednesday, April 30, 2025
📰 Top Stories

## Supreme Court Limits Use of Race in Redistricting in a Win for Republicans

Ground News · 419 sources · Left: 35%, Center: 41%, Right: 23%
SCOTUS ruled Louisiana's 2024 election map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, effectively narrowing the Voting Rights Act. NPR notes this paves the way for the largest-ever drop in Black representation in Congress.
SCOTUS voting rights

## Fed Holds Rates Steady With Highest Dissent Since 1992

Ground News · 157 sources · Left: 24%, Center: 49%, Right: 25%
The Federal Reserve held rates steady but saw unusual internal disagreement, with the highest number of dissenting votes in over three decades—signaling deep division on inflation vs. recession risks amid the Iran war's economic impact.
economy Fed

## Pentagon Estimates Iran War Cost at $25B; US Economy Shows Resilience Despite Energy Spike

NPR · also covered by Reuters, AP
The Pentagon says the Iran war has cost $25 billion so far. Jet fuel price spikes from the conflict could add tens of millions to wildfire fighting costs this summer. Meanwhile, US GDP growth remained positive in Q1 despite energy disruptions.
Iran war economy defense

## OpenAI's "Goblin" Problem: Models Hallucinate Creatures When They Shouldn't

OpenAI · Ars Technica · Hacker News · Techmeme
OpenAI published a detailed explanation of why GPT-5.1 and later models started "increasingly mentioning goblins, gremlins, and other creatures," leading to system prompt directives to suppress it. The Codex system prompt now explicitly says "never talk about goblins." A fascinating look at alignment whack-a-mole.
AI OpenAI alignment
💻 Tech

## Zed 1.0 Released

Hacker News · 1986 points · 637 comments · Original article
The high-performance Rust-based code editor hits 1.0. After years of development, Zed is positioning itself as a serious competitor to VS Code with native speed and collaborative editing. The HN discussion is worth reading for real-world developer reactions.
editors Rust open source

## Copy.fail: Clipboard Security Vulnerability

Hacker News · 1185 points · 423 comments · Original article
A new site documents how clipboard managers and copy/paste mechanisms leak sensitive data across application boundaries. High engagement on HN suggests this resonates with anyone handling secrets, tokens, or credentials.
security privacy

## Bug of the Year (So Far): Critical cPanel Auth Bypass Likely Exploited as 0-Day

The Register
Emergency patches are out for a critical cPanel/WHM vulnerability that allows attackers to bypass authentication and gain root access. If you manage web servers, patch immediately.
security cPanel 0-day

## Anthropic Tops OpenAI in LLM Revenue Despite Fraction of the Users

The Register
Anthropic is pulling in more LLM revenue than OpenAI, despite having far fewer users. The split: companies charging for their product vs. those hoarding eyeballs for free. Meanwhile, Microsoft is raising its 2026 AI capex to $190 billion—$25 billion more than previously planned.
AI business Anthropic

## Linux Cryptographic Code Flaw Offers Fast Route to Root

The Register
A local privilege escalation vulnerability from a logic flaw in Linux cryptographic code is being patched across major distributions. Another reminder to keep your kernels updated.
Linux security
🌍 Wider Lens

## The Quiet Layoffs Sweeping China's Tech Giants

Rest of World
Alibaba cut its headcount by a third in 2025, Baidu's workforce shrank nearly 7%. As Chinese tech giants pivot hard to AI, the human cost is being absorbed quietly—"there's constant churn," says one worker.
China AI labor

## An Old Railroad Is Key to the US-China Race for Critical Metals in Africa

Rest of World
Washington is betting on the Lobito Railway in Congo to break China's grip on critical minerals. A long read on infrastructure geopolitics that will shape the battery and chip supply chains.
geopolitics supply chain Africa

## Iran's Internet Blackout Is Dividing Its Military and Civilian Government

Bloomberg via Techmeme · estimated $80M/day in economic damage
Iran's internet blackout, costing an estimated $80 million per day in economic damage, is creating a rift between the military—which supports the shutdown—and the civilian government, which opposes it. Cloudflare's Q1 report also documented two major Iranian internet disruptions.
Iran internet freedom
🔥 HN Deep Reads

## Zig Project's Rationale for Their Anti-AI Contribution Policy

Hacker News · 455 points · 238 comments · Simon Willison's summary
The Zig language project has explicitly banned AI-generated contributions. Simon Willison (himself an AI tool builder) summarizes the rationale. The HN thread is a genuine debate about craft, quality, and what "contribution" means when an LLM wrote the diff.
open source AI policy Zig

## Alignment Whack-a-Mole: Finetuning Recalls Copyrighted Books in LLMs

Hacker News · 174 points · 139 comments · Original paper/repo
New research shows that finetuning an LLM can reactivate its ability to reproduce copyrighted training data that alignment was supposed to suppress. The "whack-a-mole" metaphor is apt—suppress one leak and another appears. High comment count means the discussion is worth reading.
AI copyright alignment

## Mozilla Opposes Chrome's Prompt API for Browser-Integrated AI

Hacker News · 312 points · 122 comments · Mozilla standards position
Mozilla formally objects to Chrome's Prompt API, which would embed AI model access directly into the browser. The debate touches on web standards governance, browser monoculture, and whether the web platform should include AI inference.
web standards Mozilla browsers
🎮 Gaming

## Sony Confirms "One-Time" Online DRM Check for PlayStation Digital Games

Eurogamer · also Kotaku
After days of community panic, Sony confirmed that newly purchased digital PS games require a one-time online authentication. The CBOMB fears persist—players worry about losing access to purchased games if Sony's servers ever go dark.
PlayStation DRM digital ownership

## Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era Hits Early Access

Rock Paper Shotgun
The beloved strategy franchise returns with six factions, a map editor, and multiplayer. If you have opinions about which HoMM game is best, this is your moment.
strategy early access

## Valve Eyeing Steam Controller Hardware Upgrades for Future Handhelds

Rock Paper Shotgun
Valve says the new Steam Controller's hardware improvements are designed to be reused in future Steam Deck iterations. Good news for anyone hoping the Deck's successor keeps getting better.
Steam Deck Valve hardware
⚖️ Bias Check

## SCOTUS Redistricting Ruling — Coverage Diverges Sharply

Ground News · 419 sources · Left: 35%, Center: 41%, Right: 23%
Left outlets frame the ruling as gutting the Voting Rights Act and enabling the largest drop in Black congressional representation ever. Right outlets emphasize "race-neutral redistricting" and "constitutional colorblindness." Center coverage splits between legal analysis and impact forecasting. The gap between "landmark civil rights rollback" and "return to race-neutral maps" is the entire story.
SCOTUS bias check

## Fed Rate Decision — Dissent Framing Varies by Outlet

Ground News · 157 sources · Left: 24%, Center: 49%, Right: 25%
Left coverage emphasizes the dissent as a warning sign about economic instability and the war's toll. Right coverage highlights the Fed "holding the line" against political pressure. Center coverage focuses on the unusual split itself as the news, rather than which side is right.
Fed economy bias check