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[futileexercise]

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OpenAI releases health bot one day after a man alleges ChatGPT almost killed him

If ChatGPT were a doctor, it would be "guilty of medical malpractice," a lawyer says.

Scott Winters nearly died because ChatGPT acted like a medical authority while having none of the responsibility,” Bergman said. “If ChatGPT were a physician dispensing medical advice, it would be guilty of medical malpractice.”

Winters, a 55-year-old Florida pastor, started relying on ChatGPT for months for medical advice after becoming frustrated with doctors dismissing his health issues. It started with simple advice about his existing conditions, but as his health worsened, the chatbot repeatedly assured him he would be all right, according to the lawsuit. The chatbot also allegedly evoked religious interpretations, likening Winters’ need for rest to Jesus Christ’s own needs for relaxation, which his lawyers say was a way to keep Winters engaged with ChatGPT instead of seeking human care.

Even after Winters’ hospitalization, ChatGPT recommended that he follow its “strategic plan” to rest and recover at home instead of going to a doctor-recommended rehabilitation program, according to the lawsuit. Winters also alleges the chatbot discouraged him from following the advice of his wife, who is a registered nurse, even offering to create a plan to convince his support system to let him stay at home.

WTF

Offering to create a plan to convince his wife and doctors to let him stay at home??

[wilwheaton]

Activist charged with felony after giving border agent "duress code" that wiped his phone

The government says destroying his own data during an airport interrogation was illegal.

In early 2025, Atlanta resident Samuel Tunick was on his way home following a trip abroad. After landing in the US, customs agents demanded access to his Pixel phone, which was running an alternative version of Android called GrapheneOS. Rather than hand over his data, Tunick used a clever feature of the software to delete everything. Now, he’s facing federal charges.

The first hearing in this case happened last week, according to The Guardian, during which government attorneys and agents claimed that Tunick was subjected to a standard secondary interrogation at an international airport. During that encounter, agents were “looking for anything that’s prohibited.” However, Tunick’s legal team alleges he was targeted for his activism.

Tunick was involved with a group called Defend the Atlanta Forest, which opposed the construction of an enormous law enforcement training facility in the area often known as Cop City. What Tunick didn’t know, according to his lawyers, was that he’d been placed on a watch list for his actions and that Customs and Border Protection had discussed over email plans to detain him upon his arrival back in the US for “suspected terrorism activities.”

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Right to Assemble and Protest

"The First Amendment protects the right of people to peaceably assemble, a cornerstone of our participatory system. This right has its roots in English history, evolving from the Magna Carta to the English Bill of Rights, which influenced the Framers of the Constitution.

Assembly is integral to free speech and press, fostering an environment where citizens can voice their concerns. This concept is embedded in United States history, from the slavery debate in the 1830s to the civil rights movement."

******

Tunick was put on a watch list for participating in Defend the Atlanta Forest????

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‘Nonsense!’ Elon Musk Lashes Out in Fiery Interview After He’s Accused of Supporting the ‘Far Right’

Elon Musk denied supporting the "far right" in a new interview with The Economist — saying he backs "normal people" who are mislabeled by th

Elon talks over her, interrupts and makes assumptions, saying "you live in a bubble!". I doubt he knows her well enough to say. And that's the point. He makes claims without basis. He speaks in a garbled mess of misdirection. The arrogance!

DOGE was a con. The cuts did not make us safer, more thrifty or improve the infrastructure of America.

Why has he crawled back in front of the cameras?

Elon Musk Lawsuits 2026:

DOGE-related lawsuits: Challenges to his authority and methods inside the federal government

USAID shutdown litigation: Cases filed by employees, contractors, and aid organizations

Tesla executive pay case: A Delaware lawsuit over his $56 billion compensation package

Twitter/X Corp cases: Disputes from advertisers, former employees, and shareholders

SpaceX workplace claims: Discrimination and wrongful termination allegations

Defamation suits: Filed both by Musk and against him in various jurisdictions

[politijohn]

Source

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Ben Tsai, arraignment Aug 4

Former Pokémon executive accused of secretly recording hundreds of victims, including children, faces new charges - MyNorthwest.com

A former Pokémon executive, already facing voyeurism charges, has been accused of secretly recording hundreds of videos of women and childre

"In the new case, Tsai is facing four additional charges: two counts of dealing in depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct in the first degree, one count of voyeurism in the first degree, and one count of possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct in the second degree.

These charges are in addition to the earlier voyeurism case prosecuted by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, stemming from the original Kirkland police investigation."

His family. His kids. His kid's friends. Cameras at his house, his work and public restrooms.

[afurioushawk]

This is how I found out that the CEO of Taylor Fresh Foods is MAGA. If they'd just been the source of the outbreak, I would've just considered it bad luck. But now knowing they paid to get RFK Jr. to claim it was a "false positive", now I just gotta boycott.

[afurioushawk]

Boycott Taylor Farms

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Thoughts and prayers to all explosive shitters. - Taylor Farms

Yea, ok. I'm still not eating Taylor Farms' shitty salad. I don't care how much money they paid Trump.

Does anyone want salad? NOOOOOOO

[fictiongarden]

[mommahoney]

Lying Liars

YES!

[gaeliclass]

Law to make it illegal to lie in elections passed in Senedd

Welsh parliament agrees law to outlaw lying in future Senedd election campaigns.

[katiedingo]

I had to check this wasn’t The Onion

[speculativexenolinguist]

Cymru Am Byth!

[sassinake]

lessons were learned at long last. after 400 generations.

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VOTE Midterm 2026

"Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will."

- Frederick Douglass

Tuesday, November 3

Voters will decide control of Congress & Trump's next 2 years.

House: To win the majority, Democrats need to net +5 seats — reaching at least 218 of 435.

Every U.S. House seat is on the ballot in 2026. House terms are two years, so the entire chamber turns over every cycle.

Total voting House seats: 435

Threshold for a majority: 218 seats

Current breakdown: 218 Republican, 212 Democratic, 1 Independent

Democrats need to net +5 seats from the current breakdown to reach 218. (source)

Senate: To win the majority, Democrats need to net +4 seats — reaching at least 51 of 100.

2026 elects Class II senators — 33 seats. Democrats are defending 13 of their 47 Senate seats this cycle and would need to win all of them plus pick up 4 of the 20 Republican-defended seats to reach 51.

What is the current Senate majority?

Republicans hold the Senate 53–47 (with 2 Independents caucusing with the Democrats). (source)

[erik-even-wordier]

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July 20 2026 prediction on how the stage is being set for hijacking midterms

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

“It is understandable why some find this cop-out appealing: the overall pattern is ominous. Since the dawn of the twenty-first century, the United States has been gutted in every sense: economically, psychologically, and under Trump, militarily, with even the secretary of defense position remaining unfilled for eight months. Post-9/11 America inaugurated an era of panic over fabricated catastrophes and false reassurances about real ones. The Trump era has only exacerbated those tendencies, leaving everyday Americans struggling to process horrific new revelations about which officials rarely provide clear answers. It can therefore be comforting to dismiss disturbing details rather than focus on the big picture. To reconcile with an attack on America as a continuum—instead of the result of an aberrant atrocity like 9/11—is to contend with the prospect of permanent dysfunction.”

― Sarah Kendzior, Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America