Federal Cops ‘Instigating’ Confrontations With Protesters Outside ICE Building, Portland Police Official Says Police say "federal agents’ firing on protesters without warning 'enraged' the crowd, which began 'pulling out makeshift shields and throwing things at the agents who fired on them.'”

and our final story (for this week) @telliotter.bsky.social digs into the world of network states (and other like-minded projects) -- when you are so beyond politics you want to make your own country www.wired.com/story/tech-b...

From Montenegro to northern California, the tech elite dream of building “network states”—cities where they make the rules. “This is a colonial project, aimed at tech empire ... Colonization 2.0,“ I told @telliotter.bsky.social via @wired.com www.wired.com/story/tech-b...

NEW from me for @wired.com's politics issue: I have spent SO much time fascinated by the "network state"--privatized cities in special economic zones (SEZs) where the normal rules and regulations don't apply. www.wired.com/story/tech-b...

From Montenegro to northern California, the tech elite dream of building “network states”—cities where they make the rules. Is this, finally, their moment?

New! We spoke to workers across the federal government about what the months of the DOGE blitz looked like for them, as Elon Musk did a full court press to try and dismantle the US government. @wired.com www.wired.com/story/oral-h...

Huge DOGE oral history from @leahfeiger.bsky.social, @zoeschiffer.bsky.social, @telliotter.bsky.social, @knibbs.bsky.social, @makenakelly.bsky.social, @davidgilbert.bsky.social, @mollytaft.com, @aarianmarshall.bsky.social, @peard33.bsky.social, + @jakelahut.writes.news www.wired.com/story/oral-h...

Maybe settle in a bit and sip some coffee before reading this @makenakelly.bsky.social & @telliotter.bsky.social joint. “Intermittent sleeping.” Muscle milk. Celsius. Blacked out trash bag windows. What more could you need? www.wired.com/story/armed-...

NEW: A Senate report has shocking new detail on how DOGE—which is very much still active, even as government agencies deny it even exists—put Social Security at up to 65% risk of a catastrophic data breach, per agency estimates, as well as viscerally disgusting detail on its sleeping arrangements.

NEW! A Senate report claims that DOGE has put *every* American’s social security number at risk; that staff at GSA, OPM, and SSA wouldn’t or couldn’t say what DOGE was doing; and that agencies claimed that DOGE actually doesn’t exist at all. For @wired.com www.wired.com/story/armed-...

NEW WIRED led the way in reporting on Elon Musk's efforts to dismantle the US government. My colleagues and I spoke to 100s of employees at dozens of agencies to understand what happened. This is the definitive story of DOGE as told by those who experienced it www.wired.com/story/oral-h...

Big Tech's embrace of President Trump has left many of us wondering: What the hell happened to Silicon Valley? In our new politics issue, we're getting into it. Also, we're taking this cover across the US in billboards, posters and a mural. Clues to find us in the 🧵: www.wired.com/politics-iss...

TOMORROW! Join me and my @wired.com colleagues @stevenlevy.bsky.social and @supson.bsky.social for a discussion about the increasing entanglements between Trump and the tech industry. 11 AM ET! www.wired.com/story/livest...

“Trey’s death evoked the collective memory of a community that has suffered a historic wound over many, many years and many, many deaths." Colin Kaerpernick is paying for an independent autopsy for Demartravion “Trey” Reed, a Mississippi college student who was found hanging from a tree.

One person familiar with the federal investigation said that “thus far, there is no evidence connecting the suspect with any left-wing groups.” www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...

Freelance illustration gigs drying up. Ad agencies using Midjourney instead of hiring human artists. Costume design turned over to AI wholesale. Good work vanishing. These are the stories of working visual artists, who describe losing jobs, wages, and hope as their clients and bosses embrace AI.

Far-right influencers and violent extremists are posting identifying details about people they view as celebrating or glorifying the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. www.wired.com/story/right-...

When Russia began bombarding farmers in Kherson with FPV drones, Oleksandr Hordienko fought back, shooting down over 80 with his rifle. Russians took notice. “They’re hunting me,” he said. Our story on what Ukraine's farmers in Kherson face: www.wsj.com/world/a-ukra...

If you missed the writings of @brbarrett.bsky.social, never fear! He breaks down Trump's dinner with some of the most powerful tech CEOs last night. www.wired.com/story/tech-c...

NEW: State Department agents are now working with ICE on immigration -- an area solidly outside its usual duties. One source compares it to IRS agents investigating espionage at NASA. read @telliotter.bsky.social:

The State Department’s law enforcement arm, DSS, usually works on things like visa and passport fraud. Now? DSS agents are being asked to work with ICE on immigration enforcement across the country. Scoop from @telliotter.bsky.social

New from me! Emails shared with WIRED reveal that the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service is participating in immigration enforcement, something they've never done before, at least not like this. www.wired.com/story/state-...

'A postwar plan for Gaza circulating within the Trump admin, modeled on Trump’s vow to “take over” the enclave, would turn it into a trusteeship administered by the S for at least 10 years while it is transformed into a gleaming tourism resort and high-tech manufacturing and technology hub.'

“agencies where minorities and women were the majority of the work force, such as the Department of Education and U.S.A.I.D., were targeted for the largest work force reductions or complete elimination.“

Literally so thrilled that @wired.com's reporting on DOGE has been shortlisted for an Online Journalism Award! This year has been one of the hardest of my career, but I am so grateful to have done it with this team. awards.journalists.org/entries/insi...

"'That’s the equivalent of basically taking out a credit card with a $20,000 credit limit, canceling it and then saying, 'I’ve just saved $20,000.' Anything that’s been said publicly about [DOGE’s] savings is meaningless.'”

Finally looks like the AI bubble is reaching its limit. Most AI companies are not profitable, and according to a new MIT report, 95% of companies investing in generative AI are getting zero returns on all that money. www.ft.com/content/3391...

I will only accept bribes in dill pickle flavored chips fyi

Before DOGE, there was “blitzscaling:” Silicon Valley’s practice of rapidly growing a business to skirt existing regulations by moving too fast for the law to respond. From @henryburke.bsky.social‬ and @dylangyauchl.bsky.social‬ with @revolvingdoordc.bsky.social‬:

New @telliotter.bsky.social DOGE joint: “It’s like having a crazy uncle who decides to be the cops." www.wired.com/story/how-do...

this piece is Very Good and makes me think about a lot of convos ive been having w people in my personal life who say AI's environmental impact is relatively minor so its use is ok: the thing that worries me is having conversations about AI on the terms of the people who stand to profit from it

SCOOP: FEMA is now requiring disaster survivors to sign up to receive aid using an email address - a move that is already putting some of the country’s most vulnerable people at risk of missing out on federal help, employees told me:

Scoop from me! As part of its incursion into federal agencies, DOGE set up alternative X accounts and solicited whistleblower complaints. “It’s like having a crazy uncle who decides to be the cops,” a government auditor tells WIRED. @wired.com www.wired.com/story/how-do...

ICYMI last week, my brilliant colleague at @wired.com @davidgilbert.bsky.social looked into a "whites only" community in Arkansas that includes members who have repeatedly praised Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. www.wired.com/story/whites...

USAID funded roughly half the world’s supply of ready-to-use therapeutic food. The dismantling of the agency has disrupted the global supply chain that provides the packets, leaving thousands of malnourished children at risk of dying.

The official voice of the U.S. government draws from 4chan trolls, explicitly white nationalist phrases and talking points, and radicalizing, dehumanizing, desensitizing language for its targets. I talked to propaganda experts about what it’s doing to us: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Boost and for everyone in DC. Know your rights. (Gift link)

It’s gone completely under the radar but Trump is set to start kicking out Ukrainians who came here legally under Biden as part of a program for people fleeing the war.

The Incredible Disappearing Human Rights Reports The State Department’s new reports whitewash the records of some of the world’s most notorious nations and targets Trump’s enemies. theintercept.com/2025/08/14/s...

If you're a government worker or tech company employee and you want to talk, you can reach me on Signal at Vittoria89.82. We can speak anonymously.

Scoop from @makenakelly.bsky.social and @zoeschiffer.bsky.social (plus a little help from me!): How Grok's Mechahitler moment blew its chances with the government www.wired.com/story/xai-gr...

A bunch of big AI companies have landed major contracts with the US government this month. xAI was in position to join the list ... until MechaHitler. from @zoeschiffer.bsky.social @makenakelly.bsky.social and @telliotter.bsky.social

Some excellent reporting from @zoeschiffer.bsky.social, @makenakelly.bsky.social, and @telliotter.bsky.social here. Also, this headline... www.wired.com/story/xai-gr...

DOGE cut less than 5% of claimed savings in contracts www.politico.com/news/2025/08...

If the shooter at Emory/CDC did in fact believe he was sick from a Covid vaccine, this violence has been stoked and incited for a very long time. www.cnn.com/us/live-news...

The number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for at least a week rose to the highest level since late 2021, according to Labor Department data.

It used to be a conspiracy theory: Trump will cancel the 2026 midterms. But the Texas remapping outrage is a plan to do exactly that, as extreme gerrymandering spreads to multiple states The next election will be decided by a computer, not a campaign. My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/texa...

Trump will sign an executive order today that allows your 401K money to be invested in private equity. Aside from what that means for your retirement fund, it will also roughly DOUBLE the amount of money P.E. firms have at their disposal to take over companies/hospitals/housing/etc.