Links 7/10/2026

Leap Seconds Were a Headache. Now Timekeepers Are Considering a Leap Hour Gizmodo

Adolf Hitler baby photo in New Jersey middle school yearbook sparks investigation ABC6

Roadway to the Brain? Alzheimer’s Linked to Notorious Tire Chemical StudyFinds

How to lie about radiation Works in Progress

Climate/Environment

The 2026-27 El Niño is simply astonishing.

Tropical Pacific waters are running nearly 7 weeks ahead of where they’ve ever been at this point in an El Niño cycle in modern history.

Models now put the peak strength at 3.6°C on the Relative Oceanic Niño Index (RONI), the new… pic.twitter.com/bsMmj0C0qs

— Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch) July 9, 2026

June 2026 is Western Europe’s warmest June on record Copernicus Climate Change Service

11 dead, 19 missing as Spain wildfire roars through village AFP

France’s Heatwave Cuts Wine Harvest as Growers Brace for Smaller Vintage Vino Joy

Saharan Dust Unloads on the Atlantic Eye on the Tropics

Cities In Dust: The Technosphere Trap Endgame George Tsakraklides

Ebola

Ebola outbreak is ‘fastest growing ever’ as 600 die AFP

Water

Pakistan Ups the Ante on Indus Water Dispute With India The Diplomat

China?

China factory fire kills at least 28 people Channel News Asia

HELIUM -China banned helium exports today (MOFCOM/GACC Announcement No. 29, HS 2804290010), effective immediately. It’s lawful under GATT XI:2(a) , a temporary prohibition to relieve a critical shortage, with all three limbs plausibly met given Ras Laffan’s outage took out a…

— 🇦🇺Craig Tindale (@ctindale) July 10, 2026

Southeast Asia

Should Southeast Asia Fear the Second China Shock? FULCRUM

India

Google to plant its AI flag in India: What it means for the country Economic Times

India’s Persian Gulf diplomacy is churlish Indian Punchline

Syraqistan

Israel Continues to Shoot Children in the Head During the Gaza Ceasefire Truthout

Amid the complete denial of treatment and the absence of even the most basic medical care here, the children of Gaza are facing severe skin diseases that are unbearable, with pain beyond description—no human being could endure at all. https://t.co/BXQyaXl5Jb pic.twitter.com/nOzotLfbBL

— Haitham in Gaza 🇵🇸🍉 (@HaithamElmasri1) July 8, 2026

IDF Chief Tells Pilots To Expect ‘Major’ Israeli Operations Against Iran Antiwar

Israel shared intelligence with US of Iranian plot to assassinate Trump, sources say CNN

What did Jolani and Trump agree at the Ankara NATO summit and was Erdogan sweet-talked into alliance? Vanessa Beeley

Türkiye’s S-400s headed to third country, sale to be finalized July 10: Report Turkiye Today

Russia plans July launch for commercial hub at Syrian port Cyprus Mail

Old Blighty

Received a letter from Natwest threatening to close my 42 year personal account because “some transactions look like business transactions”.
I spent an hour on the phone unsuccessfully asking them to tell me which transactions.

— Craig Murray (@CraigMurrayOrg) July 9, 2026

European Disunion

Germany records highest corporate bankruptcies in over 20 years with nearly 5,000 filings in Q2 2026 Europe Says

New Not-So-Cold War

EU countries rush to avoid disastrous revision of Russian oil price cap Euronews

Capitals gut next EU sanctions package against Russia Euractiv

Shooting Starlink: The “no limits” partnership between Russia and China is taking aim at Elon Musk The Insider, Der Spiegel, and Le Monde

The Botched Oligarch Assassination In Monaco Turned Into A Reputational Disaster For Ukraine Andrew Korybko

Russia no longer trusts West’s declared readiness to negotiate — Lavrov TASS

South of the Border

Venezuela Seeks Access to Its IMF Reserve Assets for Earthquake Recovery TeleSur

L’affaire Epstein

DIRTY FORTY: EPSTEIN’S BILLIONAIRE FRIENDS & ASSOCIATES ARE SULLYING AMERICAN ELECTIONS Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund

Charlie Kirk

Suspect in Charlie Kirk’s killing ‘said he wishes he hadn’t done it,’ roommate told Utah prosecutors CNN

This is so wild. This entire prosecution hinges on statements & evidence provided by twiggs, whose DNA is on the gun/towel/screwdriver. Beyond that we have a bunch of iffy footage of people who may or may not be Tyler Robinson acting suspiciously but not murderously in… https://t.co/A00S6nueY3

— moe tkacik (@moetkacik) July 8, 2026

Trump 2.0

Trump acquired at least $10 million in defense stocks last year Responsible Statecraft

Trump clears out independent election commission in sweeping shake-up The Independent

WHAT CONNECTS CONVENTIONAL WISDOM PROCESSORS, AI AND THE SECOND TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS? PART THREE Notes on the Crises

Trump Pardons Another Toxic Chemical Confined Space

Bipartisan housing affordability bill set to become law on Friday — unless Trump vetoes it Yahoo! Fiannce

The administration has a new climate change office. It’s headed by a climate critic. Politico

Trump promotes ‘Freedom Fuel’ stations that sell cheap gas. How they’re able to do so is unclear CNN

Democrats Suck

Maine Democrats approve 600-person convention to pick Graham Platner’s replacement Bangor Daily News. Commentary:

Maine held a hard fought Democratic Senate primary but unfortunately the voters chose wrong and now the DC party bosses need to select a new candidate. Sorry, but that’s how democracy works

— Stop the Forever Wars (@DoctorFishbones) July 8, 2026

They are openly announcing a purge of the left. Maybe they will get El-Sayed, maybe they won’t. They didn’t get Mamdani, at least not yet.

But understanding the Platner scandal as insufficient vetting or personal tawdry behavior is missing the broader political architecture. pic.twitter.com/RV0O2U6Ugn

— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) July 9, 2026

Eying 2028, Rahm Emanuel test drives tough love message in Israel Responsible Statecraft

DMFI and the Pro-Genocide lobby are endorsing Rahm Emanuel’s speech because once they pass Section 219 of the NDAA as planned and Israel gains direct access to the $1 trillion+ Pentagon budget, any political opposition to funding Israel will be meaningless. https://t.co/W4uDAfL562

— Harrison Berger (@BergerPosts) July 9, 2026

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

Flock Cameras Screw Up, Swarm Innocent Man With Armed Police Futurism

The purpose of Flock cameras is to destroy a legal concept known as “the reasonable expectation of privacy.”

This “reasonable expectation” protects you in places such as a store dressing room, toilet stall, or standing alone in a field.

Flocks are being installed to negate…

— Retro Coast (@RetroCoast) July 9, 2026

Groves of Academe

Against the New Weapons of Mass Destruction Ziggurat

‘We will never use them’: the California universities stockpiling AR-15s, grenades and submachine guns The Guardian

AI

OpenAI and Google sell AI models to blacklisted China groups FT

AI Is Turbocharging Bosses’ Efforts to Spy on Their Workers Truthout

One ChatGPT User Generated Nearly 28,000 Pregnancy Fanfic Stories and It Gets Even Worse From There ZME Science

Meta Patents AI Device That Tracks Your Emotions, Watches You Take Your Meds 404 Media

This permit, common for dry cleaners, is now being used to build AI power plants Floodlight

Healthcare?

Why American ambulance rides are so expensive David Oks

Your next nurse may monitor you from the Philippines Rest of World

A new proposal for organ donation sparks concern NPR

Immigration

Mexico to file criminal complaints in US over deaths of Mexicans in immigration enforcement Reuters

Guillotine Watch

Flight of fancy: San Francisco moves to build private luxury airport terminal The Guardian

Antidote du jour (via):

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.