🌎 Tourist Trap

Details emerge on Idaho sniper shooting that left two firefighters dead

The story is still developing. On Sunday, a man deliberately started a brush fire in northern Idaho to lure firefighters into his sniper’s line of fire, killing two. The suspect has been pronounced dead.

Unexpected ambush

At around 1 pm on Sunday, dispatchers received a call about an uncontrolled wildfire on Canfield Mountain, which lies on the northeastern outskirts of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Less than an hour later, firefighters were being shot at:

• As crews arrived around 2 pm, they were met with continuous sniper fire, with one firefighter critically injured and two others tragically killed.

• The firefighting effort was halted as the blaze spread to about 15–20 acres, with responders pinned down behind fire trucks.

• While gunfire erupted, firefighters radioed desperate calls for help, according to a recording posted on Broadcastify (listen to audio here).

Over 300 law enforcement officers, supported by FBI agents and helicopters with sharpshooters, swarmed the area in an hours-long manhunt. Authorities were then able to pinpoint the suspect’s location using cellphone data.

Planned assault

The suspect, 20-year-old Wess Roley, was later found dead with a firearm near his body. As of writing, it’s still unclear if he was shot by police or died by suicide, and police have identified no motive.

• Initial information indicates he acted alone, according to Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris.

• Norris also stated that authorities do not believe the suspect was the same person who reported the wildfire.

As of 3 pm Monday, the fire that drew emergency response has consumed roughly 26 acres, with no structural damage reported. Police advised residents to remain prepared for further action. See live updates here.

China hosted the world’s first robot soccer match

We’re one step closer to Real Steel. On Saturday, China hosted the world’s first soccer match played by fully autonomous humanoid robots, highlighting the nation’s push toward next-gen robotics.

Innovation through play

The fully autonomous 3-on-3 soccer match featured teams of child-sized robots, which were supplied by Booster Robotics, a Chinese tech company founded in 2023:

• The teams, comprised of three “players” and one substitute, were sent to four universities to manage and train.

• Each university was in charge of developing its own AI playbooks, handling everything from passing strategies to player positioning. Even celebrations were programmed in.

How do they play? The robots used onboard cameras, sensors, and deep reinforcement learning to detect the ball, make decisions, and even stand up after falling, though several stumbled so badly they needed to be taken off the field in stretchers (watch video).

A promising preview

The championship ended with Tsinghua University's THU Robotics beating Mountain Sea (China Agricultural University) 5–3 in a hard-fought, hands-free victory.

However, this is just the beginning for Chinese robogames:

• The soccer games were just a lead-up to the World Humanoid Robot Games, set to take place in Beijing this August.

• With over 10 competitions scheduled, the upcoming games will feature a variety of different sports, from track to gymnastics.

CEO Cheng Hao of Booster Robotics noted that sports-like scenarios help boost the development of safe and agile AI robots, paving the way for future human–robot coexistence in sports, service, and rescue roles.

China’s robotics industry is booming… it’s expected to reach $108 billion by 2028. By 2050, the country could have over 300 million humanoid robots in use, dwarfing the US’s projected 77.7 million.

“Pharaoh’s curse” fungus from Egyptian tomb may help cure cancer

Surely a primordial curse won’t plague humanity after this one. In a remarkable twist of science, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania successfully transformed a toxic fungus found in ancient Egyptian tombs into a potentially life-saving medicine.

Cancer crusher

Long known as the “pharaoh’s curse,” the fungus was linked to a series of mysterious deaths between 1920 and 1970, killing archaeologists who excavated King Tut’s tomb and scientists who entered the tomb of Casimir IV.

They didn’t know it then, but they had stumbled onto Aspergillus flavus, a toxic fungus known to cause lung infections. Now, researchers think it can help fight cancer:

• During testing, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania discovered the fungus produces a new, rare class of molecules called asperigimycins, which are part of a peptide family called RiPPs.

After mixing the asperigimycins with human cancer cells, the team found that some variants could halt the spread of cancer. But there was one problem… the fungus had to be purified first.

From curse to cure

Purifying fungal RiPPs requires a mix of biological profiling, genetic engineering, and organic chemistry, a complex process that has only been completed a handful of times.

However, researchers didn’t falter; after all, penicillin came from a fungus, too:

• The key to success was adding a fatty tail that helped it enter cancer cells more easily.

• The modification made the molecule just as effective as FDA-approved chemotherapy drugs, showing a preference for leukemia over other cancers.

Researchers hope the innovative fusion of biology, chemistry, and engineering could open the door to more fungal-based medicines in the future, and possibly create new classes of medicines.

Looking forward: The next steps involve animal testing and eventually, human clinical trials. If successful, the discovery could dramatically shift how we find and develop future treatments for cancer and beyond.

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Crypto can now help you get a mortgage

Ahh, the perfect mix of Silicon Valley and suburban dreams. The Trump Administration urged mortgage companies to let people use their crypto as part of their financial profile when applying for a mortgage, but will it be a blessing or a curse?

Counting crypto

Earlier this week, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) directed mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to consider counting crypto as part of borrowers’ financial profiles when applying for a loan.

• The government-controlled companies (see explanation) don’t lend money directly, but guarantee more than half of all US mortgages.

Currently, no amount of crypto can help you get a mortgage; only assets like cash and stocks count. Under the new policy, the digital currency could help show lenders that you're financially stable, even if you don’t have a ton of cash in the bank.

So, could crypto actually help you?

It certainly could, but there are a couple of red flags. Industry experts warn that, while the move could open up homeownership to those heavily invested in crypto, it isn’t without two key risks:

1. Volatility: Cryptocurrencies can swing 40–50% in a single day, making any asset-based assessment unreliable at best.

2. Security: Even though only crypto “stored on US-centralized exchanges” (like Coinbase) will be considered for home loans, risks like bankruptcy and crypto hacks remain real threats.

Looking forward: The policy certainly gives more credibility to crypto as a conventional financial asset, but since companies like Fannie Mae are government-supported, critics caution that a wave of bad crypto-based loans could end up costing taxpayers.

Inside North Korea’s brand new beach resort

Yes, that is the Supreme Leader himself in the picture. North Korean leader Kim Jong‑un officially opened the Wonsan-Kalma coastal resort zone last week, calling it one of the country’s “greatest feats.”

Tourist trap

Accompanied by his wife (with a costly handbag) and daughter (the rumored future leader), Kim Jong-un held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new complex located on the east coast in Wonsan, North Korea.

Surprisingly, it’s quite the spectacle:

• The vast area includes a roughly 2.5-mile sandy beach, waterparks, hotels, restaurants, shops, and sports facilities.

• Since Kim is expecting everyone to cancel their Disney World plans, the park is designed to accommodate up to 20,000 guests every year.

Though built to resemble a world-class tourism destination, initial access is restricted to North Koreans starting July 1, with only limited tours planned for Russians in early July.

When can you get in?

Probably never, unfortunately. Foreign tourists remain mostly banned under Covid-era policies and strict political regulations, even as a few Chinese and Russian tourist groups are granted access, per CNN.

• Experts say the regime will have to loosen a broad range of restrictions (and be a bit more diplomatic) if it truly wants to reshape its image as a tourist destination and bolster its economy.

It’s not expected to be a hit: Analysts warn the resort is more of a showpiece for propaganda than a functional tourism asset, and it likely won’t turn a profit without a ton of international guests, especially from China .

FAST FACTS
Catch up on this week’s weird news

Fast & Furious: The final “Fast & Furious” film is set to feature the return of late Paul Walker’s character and is scheduled for an April 2027 release.

Bespoke Baby: In an era where naming your baby entails hiring a branding agency, Close Circle offers a $150 naming service promising three bespoke options based on your answers.

Done Delivery: Tesla made its first fully autonomous delivery when a Model Y drove itself from the factory to a customer’s home in Texas at speeds up to 72 mph… and no one was in the car or operating it remotely.

Creature Cleaning: Researchers observed orcas in the Salish Sea using bull kelp stalks to groom each other, a behavior dubbed “allokelping.” It marks the first known case of marine mammals using tools for mutual use.

Matri-Money: Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez spent ~$55 million on their lavish three-day wedding in Venice. According to Italy’s tourism minister, the celebration boosted the local economy by over $1.1 billion.