T.C. is a Senior Editor at The Verge, where he has obsessed over headlines and internet speeds since 2011. Prior to The Verge, he worked in the nation’s capital as an advocate for the National Park System, which continues to be America’s best idea. (The internet is a close second.) Ethics statement: T.C. is the creator of Quest, a tabletop roleplaying game. As such, he is not involved in any kind of coverage of tabletop games for The Verge.
People have opinions about the new Instagram logo. Zion Wuxinyi posted a simple fix on Threads which is the best I’ve seen so far. There’s no question in this edit that the “r” is real and not a sneaky “z”. If Instagram is reading this, please take notes.
Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro, speaking today with CNBC, reinforced the company’s allegation that the FCC has violated its First Amendment rights by attacking ABC’s broadcast license. “We’re very principled on this,” D’Amaro said. “We’re going to stand up to what we believe is journalistic integrity. And we’re not going to be told how to run that side of our business.”
Verge staff in the UK received the alerts warning of a “high risk of wildfires” nationally — the first actual mass notice aside from tests. PM Andy Burnham confirmed the alert, advising people to “take extra care” and not to light fires in open spaces. My friend, who is currently on a train from Amsterdam to England, notes that the train has been lit up with the alerts as they roll in for people separately.
As Flock reckons with a scandal over cops misusing data, Wired reports separately today that CBP personnel have “allegedly used government databases to spy on exes, crushes, and colleagues.” We’ve apparently learned nothing since we found out NSA agents were eavesdropping on love interests in 2013. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next Edward Snowden is being incubated somewhere in the government.
Possibly not since ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn escaped Japanese authorities by hiding inside a music equipment box have we seen a powerful executive smuggle himself out of a country. The New York Times reports that our own chief executive Donald Trump hid in an airport catering container to travel surreptitiously from Turkey to Britain in July. Of course he left journalists on Air Force One unaware, perhaps as bait for “threats” from Iran.
[The New York Times]
I can’t get enough of Momota, a polar bear cub living at an aquarium in Japan who simply can’t stop stuffing his head inside traffic cones. Mom tries to take them off but she can’t keep up with this little monster. Jimothy finally has some real competition.
Gilmore Girls turned 25 last year and that makes me feel very old. But there’s still more to come. The Wrap reports a documentary on the series is in the works at Warner Bros. and will include creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and star Lauren Graham, among others. It will either be an extremely short documentary featuring Lorelai’s signature fast-talking, or a regular-length documentary with far more words than we’re used to.
This leafy officer in New Jersey dressed up as a shrub to catch distracted drivers. The Dunellen Borough PD claims this plant caught 74 people using devices while driving in just 6 hours. Who needs a Flock camera when you have a mock camera?
As BoingBoing notes, a Tennessee candidate for Congress was charged for four counts of felony vandalism for allegedly shooting up Flock cameras. The Blount County sheriff’s office says the suspect admitted to shooting the “ALPR systems” over about a week in July. To say these systems are unpopular is becoming an understatement.
