🌎 AI Slop

This woman could transform CBS News

The newsletter founder-to-editor-in-chief pipeline is alive and well. Journalist Bari Weiss will take over as editor in chief at CBS News as part of a reported $150 million bid to acquire her digital media company, The Free Press.

Who is Bari Weiss?

Weiss began writing for the New York Times as an opinion editor in 2017 and made a high-profile exit in 2020, arguing the publication’s “illiberal environment” created a hostile atmosphere for those with centrist viewpoints.

• The year after, Weiss co-founded The Free Press—which focuses on newsletters, original reporting, and podcasts—describing it as a counter to “legacy press.”

Now, Weiss will join the exact establishment she sought to shake up, and The Free Press will operate under CBS’s parent company, Paramount.

It’s a daring move for mainstream media

In her new position, Weiss will report directly to Paramount’s leadership and help steer CBS’s editorial direction, which could shift how the network approaches editorial decisions, coverage strategies, and tone.

Her new job comes at a sensitive time:

• Some analysts believe CBS settled a $16 million lawsuit with President Trump over an edited Kamala Harris interview to get regulatory approval for its parent company’s pending merger.

• Shortly after the merger closed in August, new CEO David Ellison emphasized, “I do not want to politicize our company in any way, shape, or form.”

Critics argue that Weiss’s appointment to the position will put politics at the forefront and say she lacks experience in broadcast journalism. Supporters, however, claim that Weiss will emphasize the spread of “balanced and fact-based” news at the outlet.

Regardless, it’s not a quiet hire: With Weiss now in control of the historic network’s editorial reins, many eyes will be on how CBS evolves and how Weiss will shape the future of the network.

This AI video app is extremely popular… for better or worse

Behold, the AI-slop generation has arrived. OpenAI recently launched Sora 2, a TikTok-style AI video app that’s already taking the internet by storm. Critics, however, warn its viral success could come with serious risks.

What is Sora?

The app’s simple premise, which lets users type a short prompt and receive a 10-second AI-generated video, has fueled explosive interest, snagging the number one spot on Apple’s App Store despite being invite-only.

The surge in demand has even spawned an online resale market, with invitation codes fetching up to $50 on eBay. But what makes Sora so special?

• Users can upload images of themselves (or other people, with its “cameos” feature) to create uncanny, hyperrealistic videos of their avatars, placing them in bizarre situations.

• Of course, it didn’t take long for people to start generating fake videos of celebrities and brands, including one that shows OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stealing GPUs from Target (watch here).

One viral video shows AI Michael Jackson singing and dancing while stealing chicken from KFC, while another turned MLK’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech into a brainrot discussion.

Is Sora just AI slop?

Predictably, the flood of clips sparked immediate concerns about the implications of deepfakes, copyright issues, potential bullying, and the proliferation of low-value, AI-generated content, or “AI slop.”

• OpenAI says it’s put guardrails in place to block explicit content, but users still report seeing disturbing videos with violent scenes, racist imagery, and problematic depictions.

• When it comes to copyright, the company made the app opt-out for IP owners, leading at least one Hollywood agency to threaten a lawsuit.

Looking forward: OpenAI says it plans to give copyright holders more control over how their characters are used in Sora’s generated content, but hasn’t commented on other issues raised by critics.

Blood type may no longer be a barrier for organ transplants

The breakthrough could eventually eliminate wait times for transplants. Researchers at the University of British Columbia successfully “switched” a kidney’s blood type and transplanted it into a brain-dead recipient, paving the way for universal donor organs.

How does it work?

UBC scientists developed a set of enzymes that remove sugar molecules that mark an organ as type A or B, allowing the donor kidney to essentially “switch” blood types.

Most impressive of all, the enzymes trick the recipient’s immune system into accepting the organ, so the body showed few signs of rejection:

• During the first two days, the kidney functioned without signs of hyperacute rejection (the body’s response to incompatible organs).

• On the third day, a mild reaction was observed, but the damage was much less than in a typical mismatch case.

The experiment’s success is a crucial first step toward making organs less dependent on matching blood types. If the technique is refined, it could allow for faster transplants, more flexible donor pools, and fewer complications.

It’s a game changer: Patients with type O blood usually have to wait 2-4 years longer for compatible kidneys, since the demand for transplants with matching A or B types is so high.

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Rite Aid is closing its doors for good

Who’s hanging the white coat up in the rafters? Rite Aid has closed all of its remaining stores, it announced last week, officially ending operations after more than 60 years in business.

End of an era

Rite Aid’s story began in 1962, when distributor Alexander Grass opened a single drugstore in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The chain (then called Thrif D Discount Center) expanded rapidly and rebranded as Rite Aid a few years later.

There were ups and downs:

• At its peak, Rite Aid had more than 5,000 stores and tens of thousands of employees, becoming the third-largest pharmacy chain in the US.

• The chain was also accused of perpetuating the opioid crisis and faced more than 1,000 lawsuits over filing illegal painkiller prescriptions.

That, along with persistent financial struggles and increased competition from stores like CVS and Walgreens, caused the chain to file for bankruptcy twice in the past two years.

What happens now? Most Rite Aid stores were bought out by competitors, including CVS, Walgreens, Albertsons, and Kroger. Those who got their meds from the chain can visit Rite Aid’s website to locate a new pharmacy and transfer prescriptions.

It’s not just Rite Aid that’s going down: A study published in Health Affairs found that nearly one-third of US drugstores shut down between 2010 and 2021.

This windowless plane might be the future of flight

Because what says luxury more than not being able to see outside? Otto Aerospace is developing a transformative new business jet, dubbed the Phantom 3500, that literally doesn’t have any windows.

The company has already booked more than $5.85 billion in preorders.

Windowless wingman

Futuristic design overhauls are typically cool at first, and then met with sighs and finger points later (looking at you, Cybertruck). However, Otto Aerospace’s windowless jet is more than just a gimmick; it’s a “bold step into the future,” according to CEO Mike Silvestro.

• The Phantom 3500 is fitted with digital displays fed by external high-resolution cameras, giving passengers a panoramic, “virtual window” view.

It’s not cool for the sake of being cool: Silvestro says the teardrop-shaped design is optimized for aerodynamics, and by removing physical windows, Otto claims the airplane will have reduced drag and weight, helping it burn more than 60% less fuel than your typical luxury jet (not that you have one).

Will it be the future of flight?

The windowless jet has already garnered some attention, seeing as Otto has raised over $250 million from investors and is currently working to complete development and certification.

Despite the Phantom not being fly-ready, customers are starting to line up anyway:

• Flexjet, a private aviation company, bought over 300 Phantom 3500 jets in a deal valued at about $5.85 billion.

It should be in the air soon(ish): Many “futuristic” aircraft concepts run into delays, budget overruns, or technical surprises, but Silvestro says the Phantom’s first flight is slated for 2027, with deliveries expected by 2030.

Catch up on this week’s weird news

 > Scientists are exploring whether we should deflect an asteroid by hitting it with a nuclear bomb. It has a ~4% chance of colliding with the Moon by 2032.

 > Ants can ferment milk to make yogurt, according to a recent study. Give it a year and you’ll find it at your local Whole Foods.

 > Italian police raided a Salvador Dalí exhibition and confiscated 21 suspected forgeries by the famous painter. I guess you could say it was a surreal experience.

 > A new study found the number of severe wildfires has climbed more than fourfold since 1980. Nearly half of the most destructive fires happened between 2013 and 2023, including 43 that each caused at least $1 billion in damage.

 > Divers have recovered more than 1,000 gold and silver coins, worth an estimated $1 million, from a 1715 Spanish shipwreck off Florida’s “Treasure Coast.”