The process of selection and training – which spans nearly two years from inception to completion – encompasses parachuting and diving instruction, fundamental underwater demolition, survival tactics, evasion techniques, and a comprehensive civilian paramedic program.
This notion isn’t new. Following this week’s successful Artemis II launch, NASA plans to operate the SLS rocket a few more times—possibly through Artemis V—as required by Congress. Friday’s budget proposal backs that approach. Isaacman has said he wants NASA to move away from the expendable SLS in favor of a commercial option, like SpaceX’s Starship or Blue Origin’s New Glenn, for crewed flights once those systems are available—but that transition is still several years away.
“To execute missions beyond Artemis V, NASA will initiate a new procurement to obtain commercial transportation services to launch astronauts to rendezvous with the lunar landers,” the agency said in a budget summary published on Friday. NASA said this procurement is expected to begin in fiscal year 2027.
Portions of the vision Isaacman and other NASA officials outlined last week—such as deep-space nuclear propulsion, lunar nuclear reactors, and prospecting for resources on the Moon—will demand substantial investment in new space technologies. Under this budget, one new initiative would fund a commercial effort to produce, store, transfer, and test rocket propellant made from materials on the lunar surface.
But the overall outlook for NASA’s space-technology portfolio is bleak. The White House proposes cutting $297 million from NASA’s space technology directorate compared with this year—and $476 million less than 2025—targeting what the Trump administration describes as “frivolous technology projects with no applications.”
The White House budget office also seeks to cut $1.1 billion from International Space Station funding, keeping the retirement and de-orbit of the ISS scheduled for 2030. That stance conflicts with a congressional bill backed by key lawmakers, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), that would extend the ISS to 2032.
Last week NASA announced a new strategy to help commercial companies build crewed outposts to replace the ISS in low Earth orbit. Despite delays and concerns about whether a commercial station will be ready when NASA retires the ISS, the White House requested only a modest funding increase for that program in 2027.
The administration’s spending plan would continue the Trump-era effort to eliminate funding for NASA’s education programs.
A slender individual in well-fitted shirts and blazers, Magyar appeared too polished and sophisticated to connect with the rural voters, yet he has established himself as a formidable contender. Orban, 62, hails from a village and communicates in rustic Hungarian, whereas Magyar is a Budapest-based attorney by profession. Aware that his identity as a member of the urban elite might hinder his appeal to rural constituents, Magyar has tirelessly traveled through the countryside over the last two years, attracting significant audiences. In contrast to Orban, who eloquently discusses international affairs, Magyar concentrates on local matters like healthcare, education, transportation, and rural population decline in his addresses.
Madden definitively identified 565 Native American dice from 45 sites and classified another 94 artifacts as “probable” dice. Items with a drilled or pierced hole were left out of his survey because they could just as well be beads or other ornaments rather than dice. He also excluded pieces whose two faces could only be told apart by shape, without distinct markings, for the same reasons. The oldest examples, from Folsom deposits in Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, date to the end of the last Ice Age, about 12,000 years ago.
According to Madden, dice and gaming in these cultures were not like modern gambling, where the house has an advantage; instead, they likely played a social role.
“These games are one-on-one; there’s no house,” said Madden. “They were fair contests, with everyone having equal opportunity and equal conditions, and they functioned as a means of exchange, particularly between groups that did not interact frequently and thus didn’t really know one another. It’s essentially a form of gifting over time that builds lasting reciprocal relationships. It’s not a commercial transaction where you and I swap something and then go our separate ways.”
The results also illuminate early Native American notions of probability. “When we see the origins of dice, we’re literally seeing the origins of probabilistic thinking,” said Madden. “That origin has typically been placed in the Old World during the Bronze Age, about 6,000 years ago. This study indicates that Native Americans were making dice, producing random outcomes and applying those streams of chance in games of luck 6,000 years earlier. So, to understand the history of probabilistic thought, we now need to investigate the Old World at the end of the last Ice Age.”
That said, “These findings don’t claim that Ice Age hunter-gatherers were doing formal probability theory,” Madden added. “But they were deliberately creating, observing, and relying on random outcomes in repeatable, rule-based ways that exploited probabilistic regularities, such as the law of large numbers. That matters for how we interpret the global history of probabilistic thinking.”
American Antiquity, 2026. DOI: 10.1017/aaq.2025.10158 (About DOIs).
Welcome to Open Tab, our weekly compilation of news, gossip, and stories that have lingered in my tabs all week. Last week, we discussed allegations of cat killings along with other scandals at Horses.
In the past, when adventurers embarked on voyages to discover establish new territories, they packed their ships with hardtack, preserved meats, and legumes. They battled scurvy and illness, and their meals were far from luxurious. Modern space voyagers have it considerably better, even though the challenges of preserving food have become more complex. This week saw the commencement of the Artemis II mission. It marks the first manned mission to orbit the moon since 1972. Accompanying them are five unique hot sauces, tortillas, a suspiciously titled “vanilla breakfast drink,” and numerous other food items.
This week, we will also discuss the lawsuit (or absence of one) against David Protein, the implications of Sysco’s significant new purchase for restaurants, and Burlap & Barrel’s legal action against the Trump administration. But prior to that: It is important to note that Reese’s has pledged to reverting its recipe back to the original following significant public backlash—including in this very column. Do you believe this is a direct outcome of my targeted public complaints? Difficult to determine!
On the night of April 1, Artemis II took off from Florida. This launch followed extensive preparations, including detailed planning regarding the crew’s meal options. According to NASA, the crew had considerable input into the menu for the 10-day expedition. “Crew members sample, evaluate, and rate all foods on the standard menu during preflight testing, and their preferences are balanced with nutritional needs and what [the spacecraft] can accommodate,” as stated on the NASA website.
Aboard are five varieties of hot sauce, along with “spicy green beans,” “smoked beef brisket,” and something referred to as “pineapple drink.” In total, there are 189 distinct menu items, all crafted and packaged to be suitable for space travel. Best of luck to the astronauts, and may they relish their 58 tortillas, neither more nor less.
This acquisition is significant. Sysco, the largest supplier of food and various goods to restaurants and other food service entities in the U.S., has acquired Restaurant Depot, another giant supplier that primarily caters to independent eateries, for $29.1 billion. This represents more than just a merger—it’s a colossal conjoining of two restaurant suppliers that will likely face scrutiny regarding antitrust concerns.
In simple terms, if this agreement is finalized in 2027, it could have dire consequences for the small, independent restaurants we cherish. Specifically, the prices of their food will likely rise, squeezing their margins further or compelling them to pass those costs on to customers. Personally, I can’t bear a $55 roast chicken, and I want my cherished venues to remain open—should we all contact our representatives or something?
A few weeks back, a class action lawsuit was filed against David Protein—you know, the one behind the bars? And the cod?—alleging that we were all deceived by the company. The lawsuit claimed David egregiously misrepresented the calorie and fat values of each bar, which supposedly had 400% more fat and 80% more calories than disclosed.
The internet was buzzing, the indignation was escalating, and founder Peter Rahal took to X to address the rumors—which only fueled more curiosity. Apparently, Rahal was honest. This week, the class action was quietly dismissed without any clarification. Was there a covert settlement? Did both parties meet at a comfortable café for a heart-to-heart? It’s uncertain (but I prefer to think it’s the latter).
.jpg)
The journey from Berkeley, California, to Daly City takes roughly an hour, a conservative estimate given the infamous traffic in the state. While it isn’t a regular commute for Kaithleen Apostol, it has turned into a biweekly event for her.
For the Late Night Madness events at Filipino supergrocer Seafood City, she believes the trip is worthwhile.
Apostol, 28, first attended to kick off October’s Filipino American History Month and has since gone three additional times with her boyfriend and friends. She even brought her mother, who thought a DJ in a Filipino grocery store wasn’t entirely unexpected. “Any gathering can turn into a party,” Apostol says about her cultural roots. “There’s any and no excuse necessary.”
Cash registers make way for turntables, yet the store’s layout otherwise remains unchanged. The atmosphere is energetic and vibrant, featuring a street food-inspired menu in the grocery’s grab-and-go areas. Shoppers can be seen dancing—even while buying items.
However, this isn’t akin to Whole Foods increasing the volume of its music after a specific hour on weekends. (Admit it or not, we suspect it is true.) The scene at Seafood City is a real, music-focused community utilizing its social appeal to celebrate culture wherever it flourishes. This illustrates a burgeoning trend that transforms neighborhood groceries, corner markets, and cafes into the city’s hottest clubs, regardless of the time.
The rising allure of these events is powered by a generational change in social interaction, an acceptance of sober nightlife options, and community engagement through cultural exchange.
Apostol can’t recall the last instance she heard budots, a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Davao City, Philippines, in a public setting.
“It feels like a huge family gathering from back home,” Apostol describes Seafood City’s Late Night Madness, in contrast to conventional nightclubs or dingy bars. “There would be times where you’re munching on a tray of lechon, then glance over and notice people line-dancing together. I bumped into my second cousin, whom I hadn’t seen in a decade, and my high school economics teacher. It’s wild.”
For featured DJ JP Breganza, that’s exactly the aim. He has been making a name for himself with performances in unusual venues such as the Bay Area Cliffs or at a driving range when an Instagram user suggested he should “do this at Seafood City.” Fortunately, he mentions that his concept coincided with the introduction of the grocer’s first night markets. Breganza was specifically invited by its marketing team to perform in Daly City. Subsequent markets for Filipino American History Month and beyond have been jointly organized with the local nonprofit, SF Kollective.
During an emergency, making a U-turn is the quickest method to return home within the initial 36 hours following the TLI. Beyond that timeframe, it can often be equally fast, and frequently easier, to continue the trajectory around the Moon and descend back to Earth, Orion programme manager Howard Hu stated prior to the launch.
During the initial year, the administration experienced the exit of acting Attorney General Sally Yates, National Security Adviser Mike Flynn, FBI Director James Comey, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, chief strategist Steve Bannon, and two press secretaries, among other officials.
The fanfiction site will keep introducing new functionalities even after removing the ‘beta’ designation.
The fanfiction site will keep introducing new functionalities even after removing the ‘beta’ designation.
Archive of Our Own (AO3) is formally leaving the beta phase. The Organization for Transformative Works — the nonprofit behind the fanfiction platform — made the announcement on Thursday, marking 17 years since AO3’s inception in 2009.
“Since 2009, AO3 has evolved significantly,” the statement reveals. “We’ve rolled out numerous features over the years through the hard work of our volunteers and coding contributors, as well as the contractors we’ve been able to hire due to the generous support from our users.”
The announcement showcases several features introduced on AO3 since its inception, including a tagging system, downloads for fanworks, privacy settings that enable creators to restrict access to their content, and more. Just because AO3 is leaving beta doesn’t imply that updates are ceasing;
Since the AO3 software has maintained stability for an extended period, this transition is primarily aesthetic and does not suggest that everything is finalized or functioning flawlessly. Exiting beta will not halt our ongoing efforts to enhance AO3—our community of volunteer coders and contributors will persist in their work to enrich and refine AO3 daily.
A notable alteration on the site is the removal of the small “beta” label from the AO3 logo shown at the top of the platform. (AO3 temporarily replaced the beta designation with “omega” for April Fools’ Day this year).
You can monitor the latest updates for AO3 by checking its projects on Jira.
The note-taking application also allows AI training by default for non-enterprise users.
The note-taking application also allows AI training by default for non-enterprise users.
If you utilize the AI-assisted note-taking service Granola, it may be wise to revisit your privacy configurations. While Granola states that your notes are “private by default,” it renders them accessible to anyone possessing a link and also incorporates them for internal AI training unless you opt out.
Granola characterizes itself as an “AI notepad for individuals in back-to-back meetings.” It syncs with your calendar to capture audio from meetings, subsequently employing AI to create a bulleted summary of what was discussed, which it refers to as a “note.” You have the option to modify the AI-generated notes, invite other participants to view them, and engage with Granola’s AI assistant to inquire about your notes and review the meeting transcripts they originate from.
However, within the app’s settings menu, Granola notes, “By default, your notes are accessible to anyone with the link.” This implies that anyone online can view your notes if you inadvertently share a link — a significant concern if you’re documenting sensitive meetings. After personally testing this, I discovered that I could retrieve my own note from a private browser window, all without logging into my Granola account. The site even displays the ownership of the note and its creation date.
While I was unable to view the complete transcript associated with the note, I could still access portions of it. Clicking on one of the bullet points produced by Granola reveals a quote from the transcript that the note references, accompanied by an AI-generated summary providing additional context about the discussion.
On its site, Granola mentions that “full transcript access is granted to colleagues who open the same folder or note inside the Granola desktop app.” It remains unclear whether all Granola account holders can view your transcript, or if only those you’ve shared your workspace with can do so. Granola did not provide a response to a request for additional details by the publication time.
You can modify who is able to view your links by opening Granola, clicking on your profile at the bottom-left of the screen, and then selecting “Settings.” From there, go to the “Default link sharing” setting, and adjust “Anyone with the link” to either “Only my company” or “Private.” If you delete your note, those with the link will no longer have access to it.
One user on LinkedIn highlighted the public notes feature last year, stating, “these links aren’t indexed, but if you share or leak one – even accidentally – it’s public to anyone who finds it.” Furthermore, at least one prominent company has prohibited a senior executive from using the tool due to security worries, a source informed The Verge.
In addition, Granola “might utilize anonymized data” to enhance its AI models, as stated on the app’s support page. Enterprise users are excluded from AI training by default, whereas individuals on all other plans are included. You can disable AI training by navigating to the settings menu and turning off the “Use my data to improve models for everyone” option. The company asserts it does not permit third-party entities, like OpenAI or Anthropic, to use your data for AI training if the setting is active.
Granola’s security page states that your notes are stored in a US-based Amazon Web Services private cloud and asserts they are “encrypted both at rest and in transit.” The company also does not retain audio from meetings. It solely keeps meeting notes and transcripts, both of which it processes within the cloud.
