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Daily News Update

Thursday, May 28, 2026

Daily News Update — May 28, 2026

Date: 2026-05-28 Cadence: Daily Scope: Stillwater MN 55082 weather & environment, regional/global news (Politics & Tech), tech industry coverage

🌤️ Local Weather & Environment — Stillwater, MN 55082

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📰 Regional & Global News

🏘️ Stillwater / 55082

No significant new political or tech stories from Stillwater proper today. The Project Skyway Google data center in nearby Pine Island (Goodhue County) remains under a temporary restraining order halting construction — that story continues to develop from yesterday's judge-issued TRO. [KROC-AM, Construction Review Online]

🏛️ Minnesota

  • Walz signs election address shield bill (H.F. 4239): Gov. Walz signed bipartisan legislation redacting home addresses of candidates and political donors from public campaign finance and lobbying records. Passed Senate 46-21, House 118-15. Takes effect immediately. The bill was accelerated after the 2025 killing of former House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, and the targeting of Sen. John Hoffman. [The Center Square, United for Privacy]
  • Minnesota Republicans look for a new formula: Amid a statewide race losing streak, the MN GOP is reassessing strategy heading into the 2026 midterms. The state Republican convention is headed for Duluth. [Albert Lea Tribune, West Central Tribune]
  • Minneapolis immigration crackdown trauma lingers: AP reports that months after ICE enforcement actions ended in Minneapolis, young children in affected families continue to show significant trauma symptoms. [AP News]
  • Screwworm threat approaching U.S. livestock: A New World screwworm outbreak is advancing toward the United States from Central America, raising alarm for American agriculture and livestock industries. [Stateline]

🇺🇸 United States

  • White House divided on AI policy: Politico reports deep internal fractures between "AI hawks" like Sec. Hegseth, who fear AI exploitation for nefarious purposes and want to slow certain developments, and "AI accelerationists" who want to push forward. The debate is shaping upcoming executive orders and regulatory frameworks. [Politico]
  • Trump says US 'not satisfied' with Iran peace deal proposals: At a cabinet meeting, Trump warned he's prepared to "finish the job" if a deal isn't struck. The White House denied Iranian state media reports of a draft agreement, calling details "a complete fabrication." Sec. Rubio says the coming hours and days could be crucial. Oil prices remain elevated. [ABC Australia, CNBC]
  • Biden sues DOJ to block release of interview recordings: Former President Biden filed suit to prevent the Justice Department from releasing audio/video of his special counsel interview. [CNN]
  • Google $135M Android settlement: Google settled a class action over Android cellular data collection for $135M; ~100M users may qualify for payouts. [Time, Top Class Actions]
  • FEMA & NOAA: Below-average 2026 hurricane season forecast: NOAA predicts 8-14 named storms, 3-6 hurricanes, 1-3 major — driven by expected El Niño. Officials warn against complacency: "It just takes one." [Ars Technica, NOAA]

🌍 World

  • Israel orders full evacuation of southern Lebanon: The Israeli military declared all of southern Lebanon a "combat zone" and told all residents to leave — the first such sweeping demand since the US-brokered ceasefire. Israel has intensified strikes on Hezbollah in recent days. [ABC Australia]
  • GCHQ chief: West is "between peace and war": UK spy chief warns AI is being weaponized for hybrid warfare just short of traditional conflict. UK intelligence estimates 500,000 Russians killed in the Ukraine war so far. UK and Poland agreed to deepen military and cyber cooperation. [ABC Australia, GCHQ]
  • Ukraine downs 138 of 147 drones in overnight Russian attack: Russian forces launched a combined Kinzhal missile and drone barrage; Ukrainian air defenses neutralized the vast majority. [Euromaidan Press]
  • Europe faces 900% cyberattack surge: Former top EU cyber diplomat Casper Klynge reports some sectors seeing 500-900% year-on-year increases in attacks, largely Russian-sourced. AI is making attacks both more sophisticated and higher volume. Europe is racing to build tech sovereignty but Klynge warns sovereignty means little without stronger cybersecurity. [UNITED24 Media, GLOBSEC 2026]

💻 Tech Industry Coverage

AI Advancements

  • RSI is the new AGI: TechCrunch explores how a new crop of AI labs are focused on Recursive Self-Improvement (RSI) — AI that improves its own code. The concept is proving as hard to pin down as AGI. Recursive Superintelligence, founded by ex-Meta/DeepMind/OpenAI leaders, emerged from stealth with $650M at $4.65B valuation to build self-improving AI. ICLR 2026 held what may be the first workshop dedicated to RSI. [TechCrunch, TNW, GV, IEEE Spectrum]
  • Databricks co-founder on what kills enterprise AI deals: At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, the message is that enterprises are no longer evaluating whether AI is exciting — they're evaluating whether it's safe to deploy broadly. [TechCrunch]
  • YouTube adds AI podcast features: New AI recommendation tool and "Auto speed" feature for podcasts. [TechCrunch]
  • New moms returning to AI-reshaped coding jobs: Wired reports on women returning from parental leave to software development roles radically transformed by AI tooling. [Wired]

AI & Copyright / Regulation

  • CNN sues Perplexity over 'verbatim' copycat articles: CNN filed suit in New York, alleging Perplexity's AI tools generate verbatim copies of CNN content and provide users with subscription-gated information. Perplexity is also accused of ignoring CNN's efforts to block unidentified crawlers. This adds to existing lawsuits from Dow Jones/NYP. [The Verge, CNN, The Wrap]
  • Illinois passes potentially strongest state AI safety law: Would require third-party safety audits for AI systems. Flagged by MIT Technology Review as a must-read. [Wired, MIT Tech Review]

Semiconductors

  • Intel Arc G3 chips launch for gaming handhelds: Intel officially announced Arc G3 Extreme and Arc G3 chips (Panther Lake-based) to compete with AMD's Ryzen Z2 in the handheld gaming PC market. Acer's Predator Atlas 8 is among the first announced devices. [CNET, XDA Developers, Android Authority, Notebookcheck]
  • Has the hunt for AI compute uncovered the next Cerebras? General Compute is betting SambaNova will be the next breakout chipmaker. [TechCrunch]

Big Tech / Infrastructure

  • Amazon data center networking breakthrough: AWS claims a breakthrough in data center networking using random graph topology that dramatically accelerates information flow through cloud infrastructure. Published as research paper on arXiv. Wired covers the implications for the future of data centers. [Wired, arXiv, The Register, InfoWorld]
  • Visa invests in Replit for agentic payments: Visa said 1,000+ employees have been using Replit for prototyping and development. The investment powers agentic payment capabilities for developers. [TechCrunch]

Product Launches

  • Oura Ring 5 launches: Thinner, lighter, more durable design starting at $349. The big upgrade is an AI health coach and proactive health monitoring — Oura is going all-in on preventive health and pushing deeper into healthcare services. [Wired, AthleteTech News, Endpoints News]
  • Xiaomi 17T Pro: Stylish and affordable phone getting positive early impressions. [CNET]
  • HoverAir Aqua: Waterproof drone for water sports filming. [CNET]
  • Sennheiser Momentum 5 Wireless: Improved noise cancellation is the crucial upgrade. [CNET]
  • Canon EOS R6 Mark III: Serious full-frame mirrorless upgrade with sharper resolution and faster performance. [Wired]

Cybersecurity

  • Hotel spear-phishing campaign: Customer data from 350+ hotels worldwide may have been accessed for realistic reservation-hijacking scams. [Wired]
  • Ebola researchers stuck in US due to Trump funding cuts: Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases lost funding; researchers who would be fighting Ebola in Africa are grounded. [Wired]

Climate Tech

  • Climate tech IPO wave: Solv Energy ($6B), X-energy ($11.5B), and Fervo Energy ($12.4B) all went public successfully in 2026, driven partly by data center electricity demand. MIT Tech Review asks: what does this reveal about the future of the grid? [MIT Technology Review, Axios]

Biotech / Health Tech

  • VERVE-102 gene editing drug slashes bad cholesterol 62%: Eli Lilly's single-dose CRISPR base editor reduced LDL cholesterol by up to 62% in Phase 1b Heart-2 trial (35 patients). PCSK9 reduced by up to 88%. No serious adverse events. Results published in NEJM. Lilly is prepping for Phase 2. [Ars Technica, NEJM, PR Newswire, FierceBiotech]
  • Google Fitbit Air AI health coach: CNET's Scott Stein reviews the AI health guidance feature — helpful but he misses the old Fitbit app. [CNET]

🔍 Analysis

The AI governance gap is widening. Three stories today crystallize the tension: the White House is internally divided between AI hawks and accelerationists, Illinois is passing its own safety law in the absence of federal action, and CNN is suing Perplexity because existing copyright frameworks can't handle AI's relationship to source material. The U.S. currently has no coherent national AI regulatory framework — states and courts are filling the vacuum.

Cyber warfare is escalating faster than cyber defense. The GCHQ chief's warning that the West is "between peace and war" combined with 500-900% attack surges in Europe suggests that Russian cyber operations are running at levels that blur the line between espionage and warfare. AI is making this worse on both sophistication and volume axes.

Climate tech has found its market signal. Three major clean-energy IPOs in 2026 — solar, nuclear, and geothermal — all priced successfully, and the throughline is data center power demand. The AI boom is indirectly funding the energy transition. That's a feedback loop worth watching.

RSI is the new buzzword replacing AGI. With Recursive Superintelligence raising $650M at $4.65B and an ICLR workshop dedicated to the topic, the AI industry is shifting its ambition narrative from "artificial general intelligence" to "recursive self-improvement." Whether this is a genuine paradigm shift or rebranded hype remains to be seen.

⚠️ Flagged Items

  • Iran peace deal status unclear: Iranian state media reports a draft deal; the White House calls it "a complete fabrication." Truth is likely somewhere in between — this is a high-stakes information environment and claims from both sides should be treated with caution.
  • White House AI divisions: Politico piece is based on anonymous sourcing. The existence of internal debate is plausible but the specific framing may reflect leakers' agendas.
  • VERVE-102 cholesterol data: Only 35 patients in Phase 1. The 62% LDL reduction is impressive but preliminary. Long-term durability and safety in larger populations remains unproven.

Sources

  1. The Center Square — "Walz signs bipartisan bill shielding election-related addresses in Minnesota" — https://www.thecentersquare.com/minnesota/article_a2b630fb-e256-44ff-aabf-d11ff7b692fe.html
  2. Albert Lea Tribune — "Minnesota Republicans look for a new formula for success" — https://www.albertleatribune.com/news/amid-statewide-race-losing-streak-minnesota-republicans-look-for-a-new-formula-for-success-38fd34bb/
  3. AP News — "The Minneapolis immigration crackdown ended months ago. For these little kids, trauma remains" — https://uat.apnews.com/article/immigration-ice-kids-mental-health-schools-3842a271f4ec16e571caff8f0b0051e2
  4. Stateline — "Flesh-eating screwworms head for American livestock" — https://stateline.org/2026/05/28/flesh-eating-screwworms-head-for-american-livestock/
  5. KROC-AM — "Judge Halts Google Data Center Construction In Pine Island" — https://krocnews.com/google-data-center-pine-island-mn/
  6. Politico — "'It isn't canceled': Inside the White House divisions on AI" — https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/28/it-isnt-canceled-inside-the-white-house-divisions-on-ai-00938557
  7. ABC Australia — "Trump says US 'not satisfied' with Iran peace deal proposals" — https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-28/iran-war-us-draft-peace-deal-memorandum-hormuz-blockade/106730174
  8. CNN — "Biden sues to stop Justice Department from releasing interview recordings" — https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/27/politics/biden-sues-to-stop-justice-department-from-releasing-interview-recordings
  9. Time — "What Android Users Should Know About Google's $135 Million Settlement" — https://time.com/article/2026/05/27/google-android-settlement-payment/
  10. ABC Australia — "Israel warns all residents in southern Lebanon to leave" — https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-28/israel-issues-evacuation-warning-southern-lebanon/106730356
  11. ABC Australia — "UK spy chief says West between peace and war" — https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-28/spy-chief-ai-russia-cyberattacks/106730302
  12. Euromaidan Press — "Ukraine downs 138 of 147 drones in overnight Russian attack" — https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/05/28/ukraine-downs-138-of-147-drones-in-overnight-russian-kinzhal-and-drone-attack/
  13. UNITED24 Media — "How a 900% Surge in Cyberattacks Is Forcing Europe to Rethink Its Tech Sovereignty" — https://united24media.com/world/how-a-900-surge-in-cyberattacks-is-forcing-europe-to-rethink-its-tech-sovereignty-19178
  14. TechCrunch — "RSI is the new AGI" — https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/28/rsi-is-the-new-agi-and-its-just-as-hard-to-pin-down/
  15. TNW — "Recursive Superintelligence raises $650m at $4.65bn valuation" — https://thenextweb.com/news/recursive-superintelligence-self-improving-ai-funding
  16. The Verge — "CNN sues Perplexity over 'verbatim' copycat articles" — https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/938893/cnn-perplexity-ai-copyright-lawsuit
  17. CNN — "CNN sues Perplexity over alleged AI copyright theft" — https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/28/media/cnn-sues-perplexity-ai-copyright
  18. TechCrunch — "Visa invests in Replit to power agentic payments" — https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/28/visa-invests-in-replit-to-power-agentic-payments-for-developers/
  19. TechCrunch — "Has the hunt for AI compute uncovered the next Cerebras?" — https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/28/has-the-hunt-for-ai-compute-uncovered-the-next-cerebras/
  20. Wired — "Amazon Thinks the Future of Data Centers Depends on a Technical Problem It Just Solved" — https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-thinks-the-future-of-data-centers-depends-on-a-technical-problem-it-just-solved/
  21. Wired — "New Moms Are Returning to Coding Jobs Radically Reshaped by AI" — https://www.wired.com/story/women-parental-leave-return-office-ai/
  22. Wired — "Scammers Are Using Your Real Hotel Reservations to Trick You" — https://www.wired.com/story/hundreds-of-hotels-caught-up-in-vacation-booking-scams/
  23. Wired — "These Ebola Researchers Are Stuck in US Due to Trump's Funding Cuts" — https://www.wired.com/story/us-researchers-ebola-trump-cut-their-funding/
  24. Wired — "Oura's New Ring 5 Is Smaller and Lighter—and Adds an AI Health Coach" — https://www.wired.com/story/oura-ring-5/
  25. MIT Technology Review — "Climate tech companies are going public. What's next?" — https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/05/28/1138067/climate-tech-ipos/
  26. MIT Technology Review — "The AI Hype Index" — https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/05/28/1138053/the-ai-hype-index-ai-gets-booed-in-graduation-season/
  27. Ars Technica — "Bad cholesterol slashed 62% by single dose of gene-editing drug" — https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/05/one-dose-of-gene-editing-drug-cut-bad-cholesterol-62-for-months-in-small-trial/
  28. NEJM — "In Vivo Base Editing of PCSK9 with VERVE-102" — https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2601283
  29. CNET — "Intel Arc G3 Chips for Windows Gaming Handhelds" — https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/intel-arc-g3-chips-for-windows-gaming-handhelds/
  30. XDA Developers — "Intel Arc G3-Series chips" — https://www.xda-developers.com/intel-arc-g3-series-chip-here-to-power-next-generation-handheld-gaming-pcs/
  31. NOAA — "Below-normal 2026 Atlantic hurricane season" — https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/noaa-predicts-below-normal-2026-atlantic-hurricane-season