On 25 February 2026, the European Commission is expected to formally present the Industrial Accelerator Act, a comprehensive proposal designed to accelerate the decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries, secure strategic supply chains, and rebuild manufacturing competitiveness amid mounting external challenges.

Behind the familiar language of climate transition and industrial resilience, however, lies something far more unsettling.

The Industrial Accelerator Act is not simply another technocratic adjustment within the routine choreography of Brussels policymaking, nor merely a regulatory attempt to smooth the frictions of a volatile global market.

Rather, it embodies the emerging ideological and geopolitical rupture within the European project itself, signalling that the continent has, albeit belatedly, that the post-Cold War settlement, which subordinated production to finance, economic planning to the whims of the free market, and sovereignty to supranational institutions dictated by the whims of Washington, is no longer sustainable under conditions of intensifying fissures.

For three decades, the European Union has determined its economic constellation on a fragile architecture of external guarantees provided by the rules-based order, with the US at its helm. Cheap energy flowed from Russia's abundant gas reserves, manufacturing networks extended into China, and the wider Eurasian periphery and security concerns were largely outsourced to the US.

This model, often celebrated as the triumph of liberal internationalism and popularised by figures such as Francis Fukuyama as the "End of History," was framed as the final stabilisation of the global order following the collapse of socialism in Eastern Europe.

The European Union presented itself as the laboratory of a post-political future: a space in which conflicts would be neutralised through procedure, and the market would quietly perform the task once reserved for political struggle. The violence of history, we were told, had been domesticated.

This apparent stability concealed profound contradictions. Europe's eventual transition toward a post-industrial economy was less a transcendence of its industrial preponderance than its externalisation. Manufacturing did not disappear; it was offshored.

The era of financialisation masked a structural fragility, substituting speculative expansion and asset inflation for productive renewal. Economic integration concealed asymmetries of power, while global value chains obscured the geopolitical dependencies within them. Europe increasingly occupied the position of the consumer within a system whose productive core and strategic leverage were located elsewhere.

The crises of the 21st century have progressively exposed this settlement as contingent and unstable.

The financial crash of 2008 revealed the systemic risks of an economy oriented solely toward financial accumulation rather than industrial resilience.

The pandemic exposed the brittleness of global supply chains, as shortages of essential goods demonstrated the strategic costs of outsourcing critical production.

The war in Ukraine shattered longstanding assumptions about energy security and forced Europe into a rapid and costly restructuring of its economic model at the behest of US imperatives.

Simultaneously, the US returned to large-scale industrial policy, crystallised in the Inflation Reduction Act, made clear that even proponents of neoliberalism had abandoned their own orthodoxy. China's ascent in renewable energy, battery production, advanced manufacturing, and critical mineral processing further underscores that control and guidance over production remain the decisive axis of power in the current world-system.

In this context, the Industrial Accelerator Act can be understood as the first attempt to reconstruct the material basis of European autonomy in global affairs.

Pushed forward by French Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné and supported by a broad coalition of industry leaders, the proposal deploys a suite of mechanisms: European preference in public procurement, low-carbon labelling for steel and cement, fast-track permitting for decarbonisation projects, and caps on foreign direct investment in emerging strategic sectors (notably a 49% limit on non-EU ownership in key greenfield investments) to foster a durable industrial ecosystem capable of sustaining a necessary ecological transition and geopolitical power.

While recent drafts have introduced flexibility, allowing "trusted partners" (such as the UK or Japan) to qualify under delegated acts and softening rigid origin thresholds to avoid immediate supply-chain ruptures, the core intent remains unmistakable: to create lead markets for cleaner, more resilient EU-made products and to prevent the hollowing-out of strategic industries by external actors.

If implemented with sufficient ambition, the Industrial Accelerator Act could underpin a genuine reindustrialisation: millions of skilled jobs in retrofitted steel mills, battery gigafactories, and hydrogen infrastructure; reduced exposure to geopolitical coercion; and a decarbonisation pathway that strengthens rather than undermines social models.

Yet the path is fraught. Internal divisions persist, between free-trade-oriented member states wary of Single Market fragmentation, industries concerned about cost increases, and those demanding bolder action. Compatibility with WTO rules remains contested, and the success of delegated acts that define thresholds and "trusted partners" will determine whether the policy is inclusive or exclusionary.

Above all, the Industrial Accelerator Act signals a deeper ideological shift.

Europe is moving, however unevenly, from a post-historical illusion of triumphant liberalism, marked by an era of uncontested American hegemony, to an increasingly multipolar arrangement, though not in the way we expected. it.

The Industrial Accelerator Act reflects Europe's attempt to navigate this contradiction. It seeks to preserve openness while constructing resilience, to maintain integration while rebuilding production. But this effort is haunted by internal tensions. The European Union is not a unified state but a heterogeneous formation. Some member states fear protectionism; others demand more radical intervention. The result is a policy that oscillates between ambition and hesitation.

This hesitation is itself revealing. Europe does not yet know what it wants to become. It oscillates between the desire to remain within the Atlanticist world-system and the necessity of sovereignty. It fears both dependency and conflict. The Act therefore embodies a form of strategic ambiguity, an attempt to act without fully acknowledging the implications of one's actions.

The presentation on 25 February will mark not the conclusion of a legislative process, but the opening of a larger contest: whether Europe can summon the political will to reclaim the material basis of its independence, or whether it will once again defer to external forces the question of who controls its destiny. The Industrial Accelerator Act is the first gesture in that uncertain process.

Featured image via the Canary

By Rares Cocilnau

The #19 will make history with his next win, as he looks to pass Max Biaggi for the honour of being WorldSBK's oldest race winner

The WorldSBK Predictor game is back once again in 2026 for every round offering a variety of exclusive prizes won by correctly guessing that Round's pole-setting time!

Indian think tank the Council for Research on International Economic Relations has found AI is not an immediate threat to the nation's IT services sector.…

Apple employees have a nickname for the company's latest gadget: the "eyes and ears" of the iPhone. It's a disc packed with two cameras and three microphones — you clip it to your collar or wear it around your neck, and it watches and listens to the world around you all day long, feeding everything to Siri. — Read the rest

The post Apple's building a wearable panopticon and calling it Siri appeared first on Boing Boing.

Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff wants to "zero out crime in neighborhoods," and the lost-dog finder was just the first step.

In a leaked internal email from October, Siminoff told employees that Search Party — Ring's on-by-default feature that networks nearby cameras to locate lost dogs using AI — was built as a foundation for something much bigger. — Read the rest

The post Ring's CEO said lost-dog finder was always meant to be a human surveillance platform, says leaked email appeared first on Boing Boing.

As reported earlier today, the MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group issued the following press release today, announcing that MotoGP will leave Phillip Island in Australia and switch to a street circuit in Adelaide from 2027 through 2032:

MotoGP to roar into the city streets of Adelaide from 2027

MotoGP has confirmed that the Australian Grand Prix will move to the Adelaide Street Circuit from 2027, marking a first-of-its-kind event for the sport

• Read more about Press Release: MotoGP Drops Phillip Island, Moves To Adelaide Street Circuit
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Internal Discord messages filed as exhibits in the Steve Bannon crypto lawsuit show the people running the operation knew it was a mess. Administrator Sarah Abdul told programmer Chase Bailey that management was "worse than I ever imagined." Bailey's reply: "This looks sooooo neglegent [sic]," reports The Bulwark. — Read the rest

The post Discord messages in Bannon crypto lawsuit: "This looks sooooo neglegent" appeared first on Boing Boing.

This is one of three monster pumps whose purpose is to maintain the water level in the West India Dock at Canary Wharf. Coiled up like giant sea serpents, these mysterious green creatures inhabit an impounding station built where the dock meets the Thames at Limehouse. From the exterior, this old brick shed reveals nothing of its function, yet once you step inside you enter another realm where the pumps line up dutifully to serve their purpose, like cows in a milking shed or horses in a stable. It is quite an adventure to climb down the stairs into the vast industrial space that houses the mighty pumps and discover that the building is much larger than it looks on the outside.

Built in the twenties and opened in 1930, the West India Docks Impounding Station is a shining marvel of engineering that is maintained in constant good working order today by the Canal & River Trust. Gauges measure the water in the dock and, if it drops below the desired level, the electric pumps automatically whirr into action to top it up, drawing water from the Thames. Usually only one of the pumps is required, with another as a back-up and a spare in case one of the others breaks down. All eventualities are covered.

When the to-and-fro of the ships from the docks into the tidal Thames caused the water level in the docks to fall, the impounding station became necessary to ensure that the water was kept at sufficient level to prevent grounding of vessels in the dock. On the day I visited, our guide took us first to gaze in wonder upon the great expanse of water in the dock hemmed on all sides by tall towers and explained - to my alarm - that if all the water drained out of the dock then the buildings might fall down. I was marginally relieved when it was explained to me later that, when the docks were constructed two centuries ago, they were built with bevelled brick walls which make them exceptionally robust structurally.

I do wonder if the guide had been pulling my leg about the towers at Canary Wharf collapsing if the water drained out, but I take reassurance in the continued existence of the impounding station to ensure that I will never find out the truth, or otherwise, of this apocalyptic supposition.

The anonymous exterior of the West India Docks Impounding Station

'You climb down the stairs into an industrial space and discover that the building is much larger than it looks on the outside'

'The pumps line up dutifully to serve their purpose, like cows in a milking shed or horses in a stable'

'Coiled up like giant sea serpents'

These contains blades that may be lowered or raised to control the ingress of water into the dock

Maintenance tools from 1930

Entrance to West India Docks, originally built as the City Canal in 1805 and then sold to West India Dock Company in 1829 to construct the dock.

Carved numerals indicate the water level at the entrance to the dock

Looking west up the Thames from the dock entrance at Limehouse

West India Docks is surrounded by tall towers today

Contact the Canal & River Trust to find out when the Impounding Station my be visited

The American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association's (AHRMA) 2026 Vintage Cup kicked off with ideal racing conditions.

The first race of the AHRMA season took place Feb 14th and 15th at Roebling Road Raceway in Bloomingdale, GA, as the kick-off to the 2026 AHRMA National Roadracing Series, presented by VIB-ISO. 

Sponsored by Roadracingworld.com, and NYC Norton (nycnorton.com), this year AHRMA's 2026 Vintage Cup features the 250 Grand Prix class, which includes any fully GP-kitted 250cc OHV/OHC four-stroke; 250cc air-cooled single cylinder two stroke; 175cc liquid cooled single cylinder two-stroke; or 175cc air-cooled twin-cylinder two-stroke built before December 31, 1968.  It's a showdown of classic small displacement racing that relies heavily on corner-speed, momentum, and precise engineering, and certain to leave fans on the edge of their seats.

Typical AHRMA 250GP grids include a wide variety of motorcycles such as Aermacchi, Bultaco, Greeves, Montesa, Ducati, NSU, Ossa, and more.

The start of Saturday's race saw Craig Light riding his 1973 Bultaco get the hole shot with Rob Hall aboard 1967 BSA C17 hot on his heels. Light held the lead through the first lap with Hall overtaking him at the beginning of lap 2, where he then created a good gap and held a comfortable lead to the checkered flag.  Also putting in fast laps and good passes was Craig Hirko on his 1967 Bridgestone 175, who crossed the finish in 2nd, with Jonas Stein on his 1972 Honda CB175 half a second behind and coming in 3rd.  The battle for 4th place was the race to watch, with several riders changing places throughout the race.  The race ended with Tim Terrell riding his 1966 Honda CB160, Holly Varey on David Rhodes' 1976 Honda MT125, Eric Watts on his 1966 Ducati 250, Jim Jowers riding a 1965 Ducati 250, and Light all swapping places.  

Sunday's race first looked to be a replay of Saturday's race, although Rob Hall had switched to his (very fast) CB 160.  Varey pulled a textbook hole shot, leading the pack through turn one.  Hall pulled out in front but had a mechanical on lap 4. Hirko took full advantage and was able to secure the lead riding his Bridgestone to the checkered flag, with Colton Roberts putting in some good laps to come around in 2nd, and Stein rounding out the podium in 3rd.  Again, the 4-8th place racing was some of the best on track, with Varey, Jowers, Watts, Terrell, and Light all coming in within a second and a half of each other as they crossed the line. 

"I was so happy to see so many entries for the 250GP class going into this weekend for the 2026 Vintage Cup season opener at our old favorite Roebling Road Raceway. These bikes and riders did not disappoint!  Wow, what an amazing couple of races to watch. As an added bonus we had AHRMA stalwart Eric Watts' onboard camera catching all the intense 4th to 8th place race action and seeing it from this perspective gave great insight into how much the draft, corner entry speed, and the proper race line is imperative to stay up front. What these bikes may lack in displacement is made up by rider talent and judicious use of the throttle hand. What a successful launch to the 2026 Vintage Cup! It's our first time featuring the 250GP class, and I'm a proud papa!", said series sponsor Kenny Cummings of NYC Norton.

AHRMA first launched the Vintage Cup series during 2019 by spotlighting the 350 GP class.  The series resumed during 2021 and highlighted the 500 Premier class.  It was followed by Vintage Superbike Heavyweight in 2022, and Formula 750 in 2023.  In 2024, the second rotation of featured classes was initiated with 350GP, followed by 500 Premier in 2025.  250GP was added to the series in 2026 - the first year it has been featured.

"On behalf of all of us at American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association, I couldn't be more thrilled with how the opening round of our 2026 Road Race season unfolded—especially the electrifying 250GP class competing for the 2026 Vintage Cup," said Greg "GT" Tomlinson, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. The level of competitiveness across the entire field was nothing short of phenomenal. Every rider brought intensity, precision, and heart to the grid, and it showed in every lap. I found myself shoulder to shoulder with fans at the track wall, sharing in their excitement as we watched those incredible cornering speeds. We were cheering at the top of our lungs, but our voices were happily drowned out by the lovely, unmistakable sound of those 250GP bikes trumpeting down the straight. If this first round is any indication of what the rest of the 2026 Vintage Cup season has in store, then we are in for one hell of a year!" 

Rounds three and four of the AHRMA National Road Race Series Presented by VIB-ISO will be March 14-15 at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, SC.

The annual Vintage Cup spotlights one of AHRMA's road racing classes with extra attention on competitors in the selected class during each race event. Enhanced awards for the Vintage Cup competitors are presented separately from other class trophies during the Saturday awards ceremony at each AHRMA National Road Race event. Highlights from each Vintage Cup race will be reported in RoadRacingWorld.com's online edition. At the conclusion of each season, the perpetual Vintage Cup trophy will be engraved with the national champion winner's name and presented to the winner at the National Awards Banquet to keep for one year.

2026 AHRMA Roadracing Series Presented by VIB-ISO, 250GP - Vintage Cup Results

• Saturday, February 14, 2026

1 - 270 Rob Hall, 1967 BSA C15, Charlotte, NC

2 - 641 Craig Hirko, 1967 Bridgestone TA 1, Newark Valley, NY

3 - 123 Jonas Stein, 1972 Honda CB175, Nashville, TN

4 - 220 Tim Terrell, 1966 Honda CB160, Burlington, NC

5 - 50H Holly Varey, 1976 Honda MT125, Bradford, ON

6 - 87 Eric Watts, 1966 Ducati 250, Blacklick, OH

7 - 37 Jim Jowers, 1965 Ducati 250, East Hampton, NY

8 - 79A Craig Light, 1973 Bultaco, Peachtree City, GA

9 - 805 Greyson Rogers, 1972 Yamaha CT1, Claremont, NC

10 - 9 Colton Roberts, 1968 Harley-Davidson Aermacchi, Pawnee, IL

11 - 350 Doug Bowie, 1968 Ducati Mach 1, Lilburn, GA

12 - 500 Stuart Wray, 1965 Ducati 250, St. Petersburg, FL

13 - 903 Robert Brangaccio, 1971 Ducati 250, Basking Ridge, NJ

14 - 521 Kevin Nixon, 1965 Honda CB160, Naugatuck, CT

15 - 842 Tom Sanders, 1973 Honda CB175, Winter Springs, FL

16 - 455 Thomas Pillsbury, 1970 Yamaha DT1, Westminster, SC

• Sunday, February 15, 2026

1 - 641 Craig Hirko, 1967 Bridgestone TA 1, Newark Valley, NY

2 - 9 Colton Roberts, 1968 Harley-Davidson Aermacchi, Pawnee, IL

3 - 123 Jonas Stein, 1972 Honda CB175, Nashville, TN

4 - 50H Holly Varey, 1976 Honda MT125, Bradford, ON

5 - 37 Jim Jowers, 1965 Ducati 250, East Hampton, NY

6 - 87 Eric Watts, 1966 Ducati 250, Blacklick, OH

7 - 220 Tim Terrell, 1966 Honda CB160, Burlington, NC

8 - 79A Craig Light, 1973 Bultaco, Peachtree City, GA

9 - 903 Robert Brangaccio, 1971 Ducati 250, Basking Ridge, NJ

10 - 521 Kevin Nixon, 1965 Honda CB160, Naugatuck, CT

11 - 270 Rob Hall, 1965 Honda CB160, Charlotte, NC

About AHRMA:

The American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to competing on fantastic classic and true vintage along with a wide range of modern motorcycles.  With over 3,000 members, AHRMA is the largest vintage racing group in North America and one of the biggest in the world. The association has grown steadily over the years, reflecting the increasing interest in classic bikes.

The post AHRMA: Hall & Hirko Split Wins at Roebling Road Raceway appeared first on Roadracing World Magazine | Motorcycle Riding, Racing & Tech News.

Microsoft this week detailed new research aimed at preserving data in borosilicate glass plates for thousands of years longer than conventional media like hard drives or magnetic tape, without needing to worry about bit rot.…

Surveillance technology vendors, federal agencies, and wealthy private donors have long helped provide local law enforcement "free" access to surveillance equipment that bypasses local oversight. The result is predictable: serious accountability gaps and data pipelines to other entities, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), that expose millions of people to harm.

The cost of "free" surveillance tools — like automated license plate readers (ALPRs), networked cameras, face recognition, drones, and data aggregation and analysis platforms — is measured not in tax dollars, but in the erosion of civil liberties. 

The collection and sharing of our data quietly generates detailed records of people's movements and associations that can be exposed, hacked, or repurposed without their knowledge or consent. Those records weaken sanctuary and First Amendment protections while facilitating the targeting of vulnerable people.   

Cities can and should use their power to reject federal grants, vendor trials, donations from wealthy individuals, or participation in partnerships that facilitate surveillance and experimentation with spy tech. 

If these projects are greenlit, oversight is imperative. Mechanisms like public hearings, competitive bidding, public records transparency, and city council supervision aid to ensure these acquisitions include basic safeguards — like use policies, audits, and consequences for misuse — to protect the public from abuse and from creeping contracts that grow into whole suites of products. 

Clear policies and oversight mechanisms must be in place before using any surveillance tools, free or not, and communities and their elected officials must be at the center of every decision about whether to bring these tools in at all.

Here are some of the most common methods "free" surveillance tech makes its way into communities.

Police departments are regularly offered free access to surveillance tools and software through trials and pilot programs that often aren't accompanied by appropriate use policies. In many jurisdictions, trials do not trigger the same requirements to go before decision-makers outside the police department. This means the public may have no idea that a pilot program for surveillance technology is happening in their city. 

In Denver, Colorado, the police department is running trials of possible unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for a drone-as-first-responder (DFR) program from two competing drone vendors: Flock Safety Aerodome drones (through August 2026) and drones from the company Skydio, partnering with Axon, the multi-billion dollar police technology company behind tools like Tasers and AI-generated police reports. Drones create unique issues given their vantage for capturing private property and unsuspecting civilians, as well as their capacity to make other technologies, like ALPRs, airborne. 

We've seen cities decide not to fund a tool, or run out of funding for it, only to have a company continue providing it in the hope that money will turn up. This happened in Fall River, Massachusetts, where the police department decided not to fund ShotSpotter's $90,000 annual cost and its frequent false alarms, but continued using the system when the company provided free access. 

In May 2025, Denver's city council unanimously rejected a $666,000 contract extension for Flock Safety ALPR cameras after weeks of public outcry over mass surveillance data sharing with federal immigration enforcement. But Mayor Mike Johnston's office allowed the cameras to keep running through a "task force" review, effectively extending the program even after the contract was voted down. In response, the Denver Taskforce to Reimagine Policing and Public Safety and Transforming Our Communities Alliance launched a grassroots campaign demanding the city "turn Flock cameras off now," a reminder that when surveillance starts as a pilot or time‑limited contract, communities often have to fight not just to block renewals but to shut the systems off.

 Importantly, police technology companies are developing more features and subscription-based models, so what's "free" today frequently results in taxpayers footing the bill later. 

Police foundations and the wealthy have pushed surveillance-driven agendas in their local communities by donating equipment and making large monetary gifts, another means of acquiring these tools without public oversight or buy-in.

In Atlanta, the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF) attempted to use its position as a private entity to circumvent transparency. Following a court challenge from the Atlanta Community Press Collective and Lucy Parsons Labs, a Georgia court determined that the APF must comply with public records laws related to some of its actions and purchases on behalf of law enforcement.
In San Francisco, billionaire Chris Larsen has financially supported a supercharging of the city's surveillance infrastructure, donating $9.4 million to fund the San Francisco Police Department's (SFPD) Real-Time Investigation Center, where a menu of surveillance technologies and data come together to surveil the city's residents. This move comes after the billionaire backed a ballot measure, which passed in March 2025, eroding the city's surveillance technology law and allowing the SFPD free rein to use new surveillance technologies for a full year without oversight.

Federal grants and Department of Homeland Security funding are another way surveillance technology appears free to, only to lock municipalities into long‑term data‑sharing and recurring costs. 

Through the Homeland Security Grant Program, which includes the State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) and the Urban Areas Security (UASI) Initiative, and Department of Justice programs like Byrne JAG, the federal government reimburses states and cities for "homeland security" equipment and software, including including law‑enforcement surveillance tools, analytics platforms, and real‑time crime centers. Grant guidance and vendor marketing materials make clear that these funds can be used for automated license plate readers, integrated video surveillance and analytics systems, and centralized command‑center software—in other words, purchases framed as counterterrorism investments but deployed in everyday policing.

Vendors have learned to design products around this federal money, pitching ALPR networks, camera systems, and analytic platforms as "grant-ready" solutions that can be acquired with little or no upfront local cost. Motorola Solutions, for example, advertises how SHSP and UASI dollars can be used for "law enforcement surveillance equipment" and "video surveillance, warning, and access control" systems. Flock Safety, partnering with Lexipol, a company that writes use policies for law enforcement, offers a "License Plate Readers Grant Assistance Program" that helps police departments identify federal and state grants and tailor their applications to fund ALPR projects. 

Grant assistance programs let police chiefs fast‑track new surveillance: the paperwork is outsourced, the grant eats the upfront cost, and even when there is a formal paper trail, the practical checks from residents, councils, and procurement rules often get watered down or bypassed.

On paper, these systems arrive "for free" through a federal grant; in practice, they lock cities into recurring software, subscription, and data‑hosting fees that quietly turn into permanent budget lines—and a lasting surveillance infrastructure—as soon as police and prosecutors start to rely on them. In Santa Cruz, California, the police department explicitly sought to use a DHS-funded SHSP grant to pay for a new citywide network of Flock ALPR cameras at the city's entrances and exits, with local funds covering additional cameras. In Sumner, Washington, a $50,000 grant was used to cover the entire first year of a Flock system — including installation and maintenance — after which the city is on the hook for roughly $39,000 every year in ongoing fees. The free grant money opens the door, but local governments are left with years of financial, political, and permanent surveillance entanglements they never fully vetted.

The most dangerous cost of this "free" funding is not just budgetary; it is the way it ties local systems into federal data pipelines. Since 9/11, DHS has used these grant streams to build a nationwide network of at least 79-80 state and regional fusion centers that integrate and share data from federal, state, local, tribal, and private partners. Research shows that state fusion centers rely heavily on the DHS Homeland Security Grant Program (especially SHSP and UASI) to "mature their capabilities," with some centers reporting that 100 percent of their annual expenditures are covered by these grants. 

Civil rights investigations have documented how this funding architecture creates a backdoor channel for ICE and other federal agencies to access local surveillance data for their own purposes. A recent report by the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.) describes ICE agents using a Philadelphia‑area fusion center to query the city's ALPR network to track undocumented drivers in a self‑described sanctuary city.

Ultimately, federal grants follow the same script as trials and foundation gifts: what looks "free" ends up costing communities their data, their sanctuary protections, and their power over how local surveillance is used.

The most important protection against "free" surveillance technology is to reject it outright. Cities do not have to accept federal grants, vendor trials, or philanthropic donations. Saying no to "free" tech is not just a policy choice; it is a political power that local governments possess and can exercise. Communities and their elected officials can and should refuse surveillance systems that arrive through federal grants, vendor pilots, or private donations, regardless of how attractive the initial price tag appears. 

For those cities that have already accepted surveillance technology, the imperative is equally clear: shut it down. When a community has rejected use of a spying tool, the capabilities, equipment, and data collected from that tool should be shut off immediately. Full stop.

And for any surveillance technology that remains in operation, even temporarily, there must be clear rules: when and how equipment is used, how that data is retained and shared, who owns data and how companies can access and use it, transparency requirements, and consequences for any misuse and abuse. 

"Free" surveillance technology is never free. Someone profits or gains power from it. Police technology vendors, federal agencies, and wealthy donors do not offer these systems out of generosity; they offer them because surveillance serves their interests, not ours. That is the real cost of "free" surveillance.

Originally posted to EFF's Deeplinks blog.

I've talked on Techdirt about just a few of my AI-related experiments over the past few years, including how I use it to help me edit pieces, which I still write myself. I still have no intention of letting AI write for me, but as the underlying technology has continued to level up, every so often I'll run a test to see if it could write a better Techdirt post than I can. I don't think it's there (and I'm still not convinced it will ever get there), but I figured I can share the process with you, and let you be the judge.

I wanted to pick a fairly straightforward article, rather than a more complex one, just to see how well it works. In this case, I figured I'd try it with the story I published last week about Judge Boasberg ruling against the Trump administration and calling out how the DOJ barely participated in the case, and effectively told him to "pound sand" (a quote directly from the judge).

I know that just telling it to write a Techdirt article by itself will lead to pretty bland "meh" content. So before I even get to the prompt, there are some steps I need to include. First, over time I continue to adjust the underlying "system prompt" I use for editing my pieces. I won't post the entire system prompt here as it's not that interesting, but I do use it to make it clear its job is to help me be a better writer, not to be a sycophant, not to try to change things just for the sake of change, and to suggest things that will most help the reader.

I also have a few notes in it about avoiding recommending certain "AI-style" cliches like "it's not this, it's that." Also, a specific one for me: "don't suggest changing 'fucked up' to 'messed up.'" It does that a lot for my writing.

But that's not all. I also feed in Techdirt samples, which are a collection of ten of my favorite articles, so it gets a sense of what a "Techdirt article" looks like. On top of that, I give it a "Masnick Style Guide" that I had created after feeding a bunch of Techdirt articles into three different LLMs, asking for each to produce a style guide, and then having NotebookLLM combine them all into a giant "Masnick style-guide."

Then, I feed it any links, including earlier stories on Techdirt, that are relevant, before finally writing out a prompt that can be pretty long. In this test case, I fed it the PDF file of the decision. I also gave it Techdirt's previous stories about Judge Boasberg.

Finally, I gave it a starting prompt with a fair bit of explanation of what angle I was hoping to see a Techdirt post on this topic. So here's my full prompt:

Can you write a Techdirt style first draft of a post (see the attached Techdirt post samples, as well as the even more important Masnick style guide, which you should follow) about the attached ruling in the JGG v. Trump case by Judge James Boasberg. I have also attached a page of previous articles about Judge Boasberg which you should consider, especially as some reference this same case.

You may also want to highlight that Judge Boasberg just was vindicated after the DOJ filed a vexatious complaint against him because of earlier rulings in this case, but that complaint has been easily dismissed. The crux of this article, though, should be on the very strong language Boasberg uses, including the astoundingly candid statement that he felt the government "apparently was no interested in participating in this process" and how he read their response as telling "the Court to pound sand." There are other parts of the ruling that are useful as well. It should also call out the specific remedy here, and how weak it feels, given the situation explained in the ruling and the DOJ's actions. Yes, they lost the case, but this still feels like a slap on the wrist with no real consequences for the DOJ.

As always with Techdirt posts, instead of doing in-line quotes, we usually do blockquotes, often of one or even multiple paragraphs from the original sources, so please adhere to that style. Take all of this info and draft the best Techdirt post you can regarding the topic.

And… you can see the results embedded below. I've also embedded my original article (though you can just go read it on the site directly). I'm amused that it added a "from the such and such dept" line as well as tags, both of which are core parts of Techdirt posts, but not things I asked it for.

I'm extremely biased, as this is a question of who writes better, me or the machine, and I still think I'm better than the machine. But, I also have to admit it's not bad. It's decent. If I had that submitted by another writer, there are definitely changes and edits I'd make, especially to the crappy cliche'd ending. But it's way better than what most people think of as traditional ChatGPT output, in part because of all the context and detailed instructions I fed it.

Just for fun, I then also asked my editing tool to do its own edit on its own writing (usually not a good idea to let it grade its own homework), but here's what it had to say:

solid draft. the "pound sand" framing works well and the frustration comes through. few things:

the tension setup: you flag "frustratingly toothless" in graf 3 then say "on one level this is a win" much later. that's the right editorial instinct—there IS genuine tension here—but you're burying the lede on your own argument. consider setting up that complexity earlier so readers know they're getting nuance, not whiplash.

missing a key detail from the ruling: Boasberg notes that "even Plaintiffs' counsel could not represent how many of the 137 are still in Venezuela and how many wish to proceed with habeas." that's devastating. the chaos is so complete that the lawyers literally don't know where everyone is. worth including.

the numbered remedies block: you cut it off mid-list. the 5th point actually matters—there's a March 13 deadline for the government to file a Status Report explaining how/when they'll transport people back. that's your next milestone. either include it or acknowledge you're excerpting.

the Venezuela carve-out: you mention it but undersell it. the ruling specifically says it's "mindful" of the "situation in Venezuela remains in flux" given "the United States's recent law-enforcement action there." that's pretty ominous language from a federal judge about whatever the hell the administration is doing in Venezuela right now. might be worth a parenthetical noting this deserves its own article.

the closer: "I wouldn't hold my breath" is fine but feels like boilerplate. you've got stronger material to end on—maybe the March 13 deadline, or something that points forward rather than just shrugging.

one small thing: "a complaint that was summarily dismissed" in graf 2—might want "recently dismissed" or similar since it was just last week. "summarily" suggests procedure when really the story is how embarrassing the dismissal was.

overall structure is good. the piece does what Techdirt does well: walks through the actual document, quotes liberally, and doesn't pretend the "win" is bigger than it is.

You'll note that it also calls out its own weak ending, just like I did. It is kind of wild to see the AI call out its own weaknesses, while making you wonder—if that's the case—why did it not catch those earlier and fix them? And that then makes you wonder if it's just coming up with a critique for the sake of giving one (though, that ending really is weak).

The other thing I'll note is, again, this actually was still a fair bit of work. It was less than writing the whole thing myself, but even just writing out the prompt itself took time, and this piece would still need a fair bit of editing anyway for publication which would probably take away any time benefit.

Overall, though, you can see how the technology is certainly getting better. I still don't think it can write as well as I do, but there are some pretty good bits in there.

Once again, this tech remains quite useful as a tool to assist people with their work. But it's not really good at replacing your work. Indeed, if I asked the AI to write articles for Techdirt, I'd probably spend just as much time rewriting/fixing it as I would just writing the original in the first place. It still provides me very good feedback (on this article that you're reading now, for example, the AI editor warned me that my original ending was pretty weak, and suggested I add a paragraph talking more about the conclusions which, uh, is what I'm now doing here).

I honestly think the biggest struggle with AI over the next year or so is going to be between the people who insist it can totally replace humans, leading to shoddy and problematic work, and the smaller group of people who use it as a tool to assist them in doing their own work better. The problems come in when people overestimate its ability to do the former, while underestimating its ability to do the latter.

If you lose every football match because your goalkeeper keeps booting the ball into their own net, shouting at the other team is pointless. Inventing new tactics to get past the other keeper is pointless, because the ball will always go past yours. That was true about Jeremy Corbyn. It is true about Keir Starmer. And it's time for progressive voters to accept that it's true about the Labour Party in general. Removing Keir Starmer as leader won't change Labour enough to prevent Nigel Farage from becoming Reform prime minister.

Don't get me wrong. I was still holding out hope that Labour might save us - until last month.

I even got major egg on my face, suggesting that the Greens should stand aside in the Gorton and Denton by-election. I wanted a clear path for Andy Burnham to become an MP and then replace Keir Starmer as prime minister.

Burnham has always campaigned to ensure that all votes count equally. So, if he became prime minister and gave us a proportional voting system, the UK would genuinely be saved from fascism. Reform, who are polling around 30%, therefore wouldn't be able to gain a majority in parliament. Furthermore, parties to the left of the Tories (Labour, Lib Dems, SNP, Greens) have received more than 50% of the vote in almost every election since WW2.

So, if all votes counted equally, the future of the UK would be almost permanently progressive. But Labour blocking Andy Burnham didn't just make me look foolish; it killed the Labour Party.

Why? Because Keir Starmer was already on borrowed time, even before he knowingly hired a child rape-trafficker's fan as our US ambassador. He already had the lowest popularity rating of any prime minister in UK history. So the Labour machine knew that Starmer was on his way out. So the decision to rule out Andy Burnham as a potential challenger was about the politics he would bring to the table.

This is a long-standing problem.

In 2020, Labour kicked me out of the party for saying that I joined the Labour Party to get them to support proportional representation. Labour members have supported proportional voting for several years and made it the party's official conference policy, yet the leadership has rejected it. Labour just published its Representation of the People Bill.

This is their flagship law to reform our democracy, yet it makes no mention of proportional representation. So Labour is committed to ensuring that most British votes don't count, because a minority-voted party always get a majority of seats in Parliament.

Wes Streeting, Starmer's most likely successor, even explicitly confirmed this when I interviewed him at the party conference. When I accused Labour of supporting a system where most votes don't count, he said, "In the grand scheme of things, I'm more worried about the NHS".

To which I replied: "So democracy doesn't matter?".

Streeting: "Democracy does matter"

Me: "So you want the majority of votes to count, then?"

Streeting "No. We're focusing on our manifesto."

So, we are dealing with a Labour Party that is institutionally committed to a voting system that has consistently given us governments that are more right-wing than what the majority of people voted for. Logically, our voting system is the most right-wing policy the UK has ever invented, and yet it is being supported by the party some people still call "the Left".

If you can't tell, I have no allegiance to any politician or any party. I backed Corbyn when he campaigned for Remain, opposed him for the three years where he backed Brexit, then campaigned for his Labour Party when he backed a 2nd referendum in late 2019.

I backed Starmer when he called for a referendum on the Brexit deal in early 2019, then opposed him once he became a genocidal Thatcher tribute act, so I voted Green in 2024.

So, having entered politics in 2016, I've only ever really seen Labour copy the biggest right-wing policies of the day. Whether that's Brexit under Corbyn, or austerity, bigotry and genocide under Starmer. As I said, if your keeper keeps booting the ball into your own net, complaining about the opposing team is pointless. And if you care about protecting people from what happens next (see America), then your allegiance shouldn't be to any player, whether that player is in green, red or yellow. Besides, this isn't a game.

I joined the Green Party in October because they actually want to stop this car from driving to the far right, not simply say slightly nicer things from the passenger seat. Labour has become part of the problem and can't beat Nigel Farage.

What's tragic is… on balance, even Reform voters believe Brexit has made us poorer, and they don't like the Tories. But the Brexit Party changed their name to Reform UK and has populated itself almost exclusively with former Tories.

Yet somehow that's enough to convince them that they're not voting for the same Tories who already made them poorer… If simply changing Labour's leader is enough to convince you that it's become a whole new party, then stop pretending you're smarter than a Reform voter.

Featured image via the Canary

By Femi Oluwole

Southwark councillor James McAsh has defected to the Green Party from Labour with a blast at Starmer's factionalism and red-Tory austerity politics. McAsh was elected as council leader in July 2025, but the central party moved to quash the result and installed a tame Starmeroid.

In his resignation from Labour, McAsh said that he can no longer ask Southwark residents to vote for Starmer's party because the Labour-run council is:

planning for funding gaps larger than those faced in almost every year of Conservative and Liberal Democrat austerity, this time imposed by a Labour government.

Unless something changes, Labour cuts will devastate the local services that as residents of this fantastic borough, we all rely on.

McAsh added:

I grew up in a Labour household and I've devoted much of my adult life to the party. I'm proud of the work I've done in Southwark - but Labour is no longer the vehicle for social justice I once thought it was.

He is the fourth Southwark Labour councillor to join the Greens since last year's scandal and the seventh to resign from Labour. Southwark is part of a London-wide phenomenon of Labour councillors flooding to the Greens since Zack Polanski won that party's leadership — including at least one deputy mayor.

Featured image via SouthworkNews

By Skwawkbox

Murky think tanks lurking at Tufton Street and Westminster have begun the New Year with a shameful bang. That is to say, the usual way: by scapegoating benefit claimants.

Here are all the (largely) opaquely-funded organisations helping the corporate media manufacture consent for cruel welfare cuts. This is what they've been up to so far in their bid to ram forward further callous benefit 'reforms' and pit the public against people seeking state support.

Shady benefit-slashing machinations abound across the mainstream media. Throughout January, the hate-mongers traded in a reprehensible assortment of stories maligning claimants. By our count, think tanks spawned these pieces in at least 56 instances:

The award for the most despicable attempts to vilify go to…The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) for puerile attempts to pit the public against migrants.

Notably, it tag-teamed with shadow Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) sec Helen Whately in an article for shitrag the Daily Mail. It made up more lies about the numbers claiming welfare to scapegoat refugees and asylum seekers.

So, the usual racist, xenophobic bullshit? We're not linking to it here.

Other dishonourable mentions included:

• A Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) report triggered no fewer than 21 stories. The analysis attempted to drive a wedge between pensioners and welfare recipients on one end, and workers on the other. Multiple outlets framed it that Labour's taxes are "hammering" working people, while pensioners and welfare claimants would be "better off". This would be thanks to inflation-linked increases due to the triple-lock and the increase in Universal Credit's standard allowance. Of course, every piece failed to mention that new disabled UC claimants will be thousands of pounds worse off after Labour cut the health element almost in half.
• The corporate media churned out no less than 13 articles for the Centre for Social Justice's (CSJ) Rewiring Education report. Headlines blurted every variation under the sun on '700,000 graduates claiming benefits'. Put simply, the report essentially set about discouraging poor kids from going to go to uni — go figure.

And it wasn't just the print press. Think tank spokespeople and research appeared in a number of TV and radio shows throughout January as well:

An announcement from Iain Duncan-Smith's diabolical brainchild drew multiple puff pieces for its latest project to smear claimants. These made the decidedly dubious (more like: utter bullshit) claim that six million Britons would be better off on benefits.

Notably, at the end of January, the think tank decided now's a good time to amp up the antagonism on disabled welfare claimants. You know, right after a round of vicious benefit cuts that's set to make some disabled people destitute. Not enough, says blatant misnomer the CSJ.

Now, the think tank has launched its so-called Welfare 2030 enquiry to:

diagnose the causes of escalating worklessness, its harms to struggling families and the cost to the taxpayer.

It says this will involve a "Big Listen" series with its 900+ strong "CSJ Alliance of small charities" throughout spring. Then it plans to take these ideas to the major party conferences. At them, it says it will host 'debate' about the so-called "welfare crisis".

For the project, the CSJ has of course put together a dedicated webpage. There, an animated reel of right-wing foghorns screech out frontpage headlines bleating that "5 million paid not to work" and "Get a grip on welfare… or tax bomb will go off this Autumn". Foregone conclusion much?

Introducing the enquiry, the ever-ghoulish former grim reaper of the DWP, IDS, was bandying about the establishment's favourite trope. In particular, he was wanging on that:

The system must stop writing off thousands of people every day, and incentives to work must be restored to end this ruinous waste of human potential.

Think tanks rarely miss the opportunity to boast their role seeding regressive policy. Case in point:

The Canary's formidable chief DWP botherer Rachel Charlton-Dailey recently did a scathing and on-point take-down of the government's wilfully misleading PR about the farcical scheme. Contrary to its name, there's actually no real evidence it's actually 'working well'.

Funnily enough, that's precisely the title of its predecessor scheme, which the DWP based it on, and the Canary previously showed to be a sham. Needless to say, the CSJ has long been plugging the glorified work programme to coerce chronically ill and disabled people into work.

Of course then, this nebulous back-scratching ecosystem would not be complete without Westminster. MPs and peers will regularly lean on think tank talking points that the mainstream media has propagated.

In this way, think tanks and the press are collaborators in manufacturing consent for benefit cuts and other punitive welfare policies. For instance, in January, Conservative MP Harriet Baldwin paraded the CSJ's latest rotten report on graduates claiming benefits (mentioned above).

However, it's not only think tank talking points getting around the Palace's hallowed halls. It's also the former think tank brains themselves.

As the Canary's brilliant HG reported, the DWP has set the fox among the henhouse with the appointment of Policy Exchange senior fellow Jean Andre-Prager to the Timms Review steering group.

Meanwhile, former Labour Together bigwigs have also been sneaking their way into the department too.

Ultimately, the point is: from Westminster to the media, think tank ideologues are moving in all the right circles to spread vicious benefit claimant propaganda. The deluge of demonising stories across the pages of the mainstream rumour mill is no accident.

These elitist and covertly-funded capitalist front organisations are driving the attacks on the working class and disabled people from the shadows. All the while, the Labour Party has continued to flirt with ever-more alarming policy ideas these very shady groups have been cooking up.

It's more than time to shine a searing spotlight on the hidden forces colluding with the billionaire press to dismantle the welfare state.

Featured image via the author

By Hannah Sharland

Adidas has confirmed it is investigating a third-party breach at one of its partner companies after digital thieves claimed they stole information and technical data from the German sportswear giant.…

Mark Zuckerberg took the stand Wednesday in a high-profile jury trial over social media addiction. In an appearance that was described by NBC News as "combative," the Facebook founder reportedly said that Meta's goal was to make Instagram "useful" not increase the time users are spending in the app. 

On the stand, Zuckerberg was questioned about a company document that said improving engagement was among "company goals," according to CNBC. But Zuckerberg claimed that the company had "made the conscious decision to move away from those goals, focusing instead on utility," according to The Associated Press. "If something is valuable, people will use it more because it's useful to them," he said. 

The trial stems from a lawsuit brought by a California woman identified as "KGM" in court documents. The now 20-year-old alleges that she was harmed as a child by addictive features in Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok. TikTok and Snap opted to settle before the case went to trial. 

Zuckerberg was also asked about previous public statements, including his remarks on Joe Rogan's podcast last year that he can't be fired by Meta's board because he controls a majority of the voting power. According to The New York Times, Zuckerberg accused the plaintiffs' lawyer of "mischaracterizing" his past comments more than a dozen times.  

Zuckerberg's appearance in court also apparently prompted the judge to warn people in the courtroom not to record the proceedings using AI glasses. As CNBC notes, members of Zuckerberg's entourage were spotted wearing Meta's smart glasses as the CEO was escorted into the courthouse. It's unclear if anyone was actually using the glasses in court, but legal affairs journalist Meghann Cuniff reported that the judge was particularly concerned about the possibility of jurors being recorded or subjected to facial recognition. (Meta's smart glasses do not currently have native facial recognition abilities, but recent reports suggest the company is considering adding such features.)

The Los Angeles trial has been closely watched not just because it marked a rare in-court appearance for Zuckerberg. It's among the first of several cases where Meta will face allegations that its platforms have harmed children. In this case and in a separate proceeding in New Mexico, Meta's lawyers have cast doubt on the idea that social media should be considered a real addiction. Instagram chief Adam Mosseri previously testified in the same Los Angeles trial that Instagram isn't "clinically addictive."

If you like the price of that server, PC, or storage array, you'd better act fast.…

Last year Dyson introduced the PencilVac, which it immediately declared the "world's slimmest vacuum cleaner." Presumably, then, the title of world's slimmest wet floor cleaner goes to the newly unveiled PencilWash.

Promising a "lighter, slimmer and smaller solution to wet cleaning without compromising on hygiene," the PencilWash is designed to let you clean everywhere you need to with minimal hassle. Like the vacuum cleaner with which it shares the first part of its name, the handle measures just 1.5 inches in diameter from top to bottom, and the whole thing weighs little more than 2kg.

The ultra-thin design allows the cleaner to lie almost completely flat, allowing you to get into tight corners or under low furniture, where more traditionally bulky devices might struggle. Its slender proportions also make it easier to store if your home is on the smaller side.

Dyson says the PencilWash only applies fresh water to floors, and after swiftly eliminating spills and stains it should dry up pretty quickly. Its high-density microfiber roller is designed to tackle both wet and dry debris in one pass, and because it doesn't have a traditional filter, you won't have to worry about trapped dirt or lingering smells.

Above the power buttons there's a screen displaying remaining battery level, and the handle can be slotted into a charging dock when not in use.

The Dyson PencilVac will cost $349, with a release date yet to be announced.

TL;DR: Get lifetime access to 1min.AI's Advanced Business Plan and skip out on paying for multiple AI subscriptions, for just $74.97 (reg. $540). 

In order to be considered someone who uses AI to its full potential, you've got to understand that each platform has its own strengths and weaknesses. — Read the rest

The post 1.minAI: Lifetime convenience for just $75 appeared first on Boing Boing.

Joseph Schumpeter wrote that creative destruction is the essential fact about capitalism. He was not describing a gentle process. He was describing waves of innovation that dismantle capital stock, reprice assets, and reorganize entire industries. In the Chinese zodiac, the Year of the Fire Horse we have just entered symbolizes ... [continued]

The post The Fire Horse Energy Transition & Creative Destruction appeared first on CleanTechnica.

When Tesla showed off its Cybercab concept vehicle in October 2024 at its "We, Robot" event, the question was when this would actually get produced. Another question was whether it would really be sold for $30,000 or less. After all, the Cybertruck was revealed at much lower pricing per range ... [continued]

The post Elon Musk Says Tesla Will Sell Cybercab to Customers for $30,000 or Less This Year appeared first on CleanTechnica.

More from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing:

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Eli Tomac back on top in Seattle.

Eli Tomac and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing returned to the top step of the AMA Supercross podium at Round 6 in Seattle tonight, as the two-time 450SX Champion raced to a convincing third win of 2026 in technical conditions at Lumen Field.

Equipped with the KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION, Tomac set the second-fastest qualifying time behind Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Jorge Prado at the conclusion of the afternoon sessions.

The 33-year-old then powered to a measured third-place finish in the opening 450SX Heat Race, earning a strong gate selection for the upcoming Main Event as track conditions continued to break down throughout the night.

In launching out of the gates well for the Main Event, Tomac positioned himself in second position early on, then trailed the race leader during the opening stages of the race as he looked for opportunities to make a move. A decisive pass at the halfway point saw him take control of the lead, going on to deliver victory by 9.265 seconds.

Tomac recorded his third win of the 2026 SMX World Championship season in Seattle - which was also the 56th of his career in 450SX - and now is one point outside of the 450SX lead entering Arlington next weekend.

Eli Tomac: "Seattle was the usual conditions today, a tough track to really get ahold of and get comfortable on, but I saved the best for last - I got the best start and had my best ride in the Main Event. I cleaned up some lines, did some different jump combinations, and this was just typical Seattle, and one of the toughest rounds that we have on the schedule. I am glad to come here and get back on top, as the last couple of weekends have been a little tough, so we're back at it!"

Also onboard the KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION, Aaron Plessinger qualified ninth overall during the afternoon, later taking a direct transfer to the 450SX Main Event with a convincing third-place finish in his Heat Race.

'The Cowboy' then powered to a good start in the Main Event, battling within the top-five throughout the opening stages of the race, before eventually crossing the finish in seventh position and continuing to improve into the middle stages of the Supercross series.

Aaron Plessinger: "Wrapping up Round 6 in Seattle, it was an alright night for me. I struggled a little in practice, but then got a pretty good start in the Heat Race and finished third, and then made another good start in the Main Event. Half of that one was solid, but it just kind of fell apart after that, so I've just got to be better. We're getting back towards consistent riding and not making so many mistakes, and I think heading back to Florida this week will do me good - we'll get some riding done and work on some things. The positives are that we got two good starts tonight and had some good laps, so we'll build on that in Arlington!" 

Four-time world champion Jorge Prado continued his impressive pace in Seattle, setting the fastest overall qualifying time for the second-consecutive week with a 50.600-second lap — nearly half a second clear of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Eli Tomac.

An incident late in the second 450SX qualifying session, however, ultimately sidelined the 25-year-old for the remainder of the night program. After attempting to line up for Heat 2, Prado withdrew from Round 6 and will undergo further medical evaluation this week.

Next Race: February 21 - Arlington, Texas

More from a press release issued by Yamaha:

Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Cooper Webb closes the gap in the 450SX title fight with a runner-up finish, while teammate Justin Cooper joins him on the podium in third.

One thing about Cooper Webb — he never stops fighting. It's that mentality that has earned three premier-class titles in Monster Energy AMA Supercross. And while Saturday night wasn't the third-straight win in Seattle, Washington, that he was aiming for, the runner-up finish may prove important in his pursuit of a fourth 450SX crown.

"You always want to win, but second place, we've got to just keep taking these and cutting the points down," said Rich Simmons, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's 450 Team Manager. Two races ago, Coop was 24 points down, and now he's 11. We've just got to keep working at it."

A 13-point swing in the class as stacked as the 450SX Championship is no easy feat, but Webb and his team kept working, kept improving, and it showed at Round 6 of the championship at Lumen Field. In addition to his best qualifying of the season in third, the North Carolina rider grabbed the holeshot in his heat race. It was a great battle with Hunter Lawrence, with Webb ultimately finishing runner-up after an error had him on the ground.

In the main event, it was another great start from the reigning champ as he grabbed his second holeshot of the evening. Webb also clocked the fastest lap on Lap 2 and had a decent gap up front, leading for over half the race, but on Lap 14 Eli Tomac made his move and rode on to remain unchallenged.

"Eli got around me and had some good laps," Webb said. "I just tightened up for sure and got a bit of arm pump. At the end of the day, I can't keep hitting whoops like that and expect to win. We'll get back to work. I want to give it up to the team. We did a great job all day. We worked on our starts this week, and it showed tonight. I got my first holeshot, which was awesome. Led a bunch of laps, which was the first time this year, so that was nice."

Webb's second-place finish moved him closer to the points leader as he heads to his favorite event on the calendar - Arlington Supercross.

"We'll take the positives and keep plugging away, Webb said. "We're crawling back into the championship, so I'm stoked on that. We'll keep digging. This is a long championship, and we'll keep fighting through and hopefully click off some better results next weekend."

Although he didn't have as good a qualifying as he had hoped in eighth, Cooper got a good start to his heat race in third and made his way through to the runner-up spot, where he would finish to earn his best heat race result this season. With a good gate pick for the main event, he got another good start in fourth, and although he was shuffled back to seventh soon after, he kept pushing and rode some strong laps to make his way into the top five. A late-race incident between Hunter Lawrence and Ken Roczen opened the door — and Cooper was right there. He capitalized, moved into third, and never looked back, earning his first podium of the season.

"It was a good night, all around," Cooper said. "Not the best qualifying, but then the heat race was one of my best of the year. I got a third-place start and then made it to second. I had a good gate pick for the main, and I started around seventh or sixth. I made a few passes and was kind of hovering around fourth and fifth for most of the race. Then I was able to capitalize on some mistakes by other riders, get together with them, and get into the podium spot, and just hit my marks. It feels good to take a podium this early in the season. Fourth last weekend and third this weekend - we're trending in the right direction and looking forward to more racing."

Seattle Supercross is known for having some of the toughest conditions on the calendar, and this year was no exception.

"It's just Seattle, the track was absolutely gnarly," Cooper said. "Twenty minutes plus one out there with all the 450s, it gets really demanding. A lot of focus is involved, and I just put together solid laps and got a little gift from those two, but you've got to stay in it."

For both riders, the momentum continues to build. Next weekend, they head indoors for Round 7 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the Monster Energy SMX World Championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

"It was a pretty good day and a step in the right direction with everything," Simmons said. "Qualifying was good for Webb, and even though Justin was eighth, he was right there in the first one. Starts were a lot better. Webb got a good start in every single one, and Justin's starts were more consistent. So, that's the biggest thing for us. We've really been working on that, and we've made some headway. We'll move on to next week and just keep trying to make forward strides and take that win."

Haiden Deegan Extends Win Streak in Epic 250SX Battle in Seattle.

Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Haiden Deegan heads into the break with a commanding 250SX West lead, while Max Anstie made key championship gains with a third-place finish.

There are races that people remember for a season, and others that get replayed for years. Only time will tell where the Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250SX Main Event in Seattle lands, but one thing is certain: it was a good one.

After pure domination from Monster Energy Star Racing's Haiden Deegan at the last four rounds, Round 6 looked like more of the same. The reigning champ topped qualifying, grabbed holeshots, and won his heat race at Lumen Field. It was shaping up to be another runaway. Then Levi Kitchen, the home state hero, changed the script.

Deegan was fourth on the opening lap but wasted little time charging to the front. Around the halfway mark, Kitchen made the pass, and what followed was a cat-and-mouse game that had the Washington State crowd on its feet.

"Around halfway or so, when he got around me because there was a red cross flag and he kind of caught me, I wasn't going to risk it," Deegan explained. "I figured if he got around me, I'd just try and push it at the end."

With three laps remaining, Deegan struck back. He reclaimed the lead and rode it in for his fifth consecutive victory, stretching his points advantage to 35 as the Western Divisional 250 class heads into its break.

"That was gnarly," Deegan said. "Before this race, I told my dad and Brad (Hoffman), 'I want to battle.' I haven't battled in a long time, and as much as it is nice to get to the lead and take off, this isn't good for me. Battles like this, learning how to have race craft like that, just teach me to be a better rider when I go to the 450. Having cake-walk races is nice, but a battle like that, that was fun."

After a tough few rounds, Max Anstie rebounded in Seattle with a return to the podium. The British rider grabbed the holeshot in his heat race, and although he got shuffled back to fourth, he fought his way back to third. In the main event, he grabbed the holeshot again and settled into third after a few laps, maintaining a strong, steady pace on one of the most demanding tracks on the schedule. His second podium finish of the season moved him back into the runner-up spot in the 250SX West standings.

"It was a solid night, P3, and back on the box where I belong," Anstie said. "We've got five weeks now to improve and come out swinging at the East/West Showdown rounds."

Michael Mosiman showed speed early, earning his best qualifying result of the season in third. Although he did not get the start he was hoping for in his heat race, the Californian fought his way through from fourth and made the pass for second in the whoops with three laps to go. Unfortunately on the following lap, Hunter Yoder made contact with Mosiman, putting them both on the ground. The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider finished sixth, and despite the gate pick, he had a decent start to the main event inside the top 10. Mosiman did what he could, finishing sixth to salvage points. He heads into the break third in the standings, just one point behind Anstie.

"It was a challenging night," Mosiman said. "I had my best qualifying of the year and felt good going into the night program. A less-than-ideal start in the heat, but I worked my way to second before getting cleaned out. I was thankful to make the main without having to go to the LCQ, and in the main, I put myself in a decent position early, making some good moves the first few turns. I passed (Cameron) MacAdoo into fifth at the 12-minute mark, but I made a mistake, and he got me back. I'm disappointed with a sixth place on the night, but I'm proud of the effort and the fight. The team and I see what needs to be worked on, and we will be putting in the hours during the break to be even stronger during the latter half of the Supercross season."

With six wins in six rounds and all three riders occupying the top three spots in the 250SX West Championship, it's been a stellar start to the year for the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing squad.

"It was another great points night," said Wil Hahn, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's 250 Team General Manager. "A great race from Haiden and a double podium with getting Max back up on the box. Mosi (Michael Mosiman) rode solid to salvage the night. I'm proud of the whole crew."

Next weekend, the 250SX East Championship kicks off at AT&T Stadium, also Round 7 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the Monster Energy SMX World Championship on February 21 in Arlington, Texas.

More from a press release issued by Honda HRC:

Hunter Lawrence minimizes damage on a difficult night in Seattle, retains points leads.

• Australian finishes a respectable fourth despite poor start and a crash
• Series heads to Arlington, where Jo Shimoda will campaign the first 250SX East round

While round 6 of AMA Supercross in Seattle didn't go the way Hunter Lawrence had planned, the Honda HRC Progressive rider mitigated the impact from what could have been a more detrimental day, as he ultimately finished in fourth place—good enough for him to hold a one-point lead in the title chase as the series travels to Arlington, Texas.

The 450SX main event saw Lawrence spin his rear tire off the start and exit turn 1 in an uncharacteristic seventh place. He quickly made a pass before making a mistake on the tricky track and losing a spot on lap 3. Ten laps in, the Australian found his rhythm and mounted a charge. He sat in fifth at the race's midway point and moved up to fourth with eight laps remaining. From there, Lawrence quickly closed the gap to Ken Roczen and made an aggressive move for a podium position in the sand section, an area of the track where he had made some great passes in the previous laps. Unfortunately, the lines came together and he made contact with Roczen, sending both riders to the ground. Lawrence remounted, with only Justin Cooper getting by. With limited time remaining, Lawrence had to settle for fourth. Quad Lock Honda's Joey Savatgy finished a respectable eighth.

NOTES

• The Seattle race took place less than three days after the Seattle Seahawks held a Super Bowl victory celebration party and parade at Lumen Field. As a result, the supercross track-building schedule was delayed, and the riding portion of Friday's media activities was canceled. Honda HRC Progressive team manager Lars Lindstrom participated in a media scrum organized by Feld.

• South Bound Honda activated a pop-up booth in Honda HRC Progressive's pits, featuring a Chance Hymas No. 29 replica CRF110F equipped with team-sponsor parts, and a CRF450R wearing red-on-red SKDA graphics. Both bikes were appropriate for the weekend, as Chance Hymas was attending the race and Hunter Lawrence was wearing the red plate. Dealership staff used the opportunity to connect directly with fans and customers.

• Idaho native Hymas took advantage of the series' visit to the Pacific Southwest to support his team and spend time with fans. He joined Lawrence for the autograph session and made an appearance on Race Day Live, and he was also interviewed for the main broadcast after the heat races.

• Lawrence placed fifth in 450SX combined qualifying. Quad Lock Honda riders Joey Savatgy, Christian Craig, and Shane McElrath qualified 13th, 14th and 15th, respectively. The other premier-class Red Rider for this weekend was McGinley Clinic's Zack Williams, who qualified 27th.

• In 250SX combined qualifying, participating Red Riders included SLR Honda racers Justin Rodbell and Matti Jorgensen, who qualified 22nd and 32nd, respectively; Next Level riders Hunter Schlosser and Colby Copp in 19th and 23rd; and Lasting Impressions' Ronnie Orres in 31st.

• Rodbell and Schlosser both advanced directly to the 250SX main through their respective heat races, each finishing eighth. Jorgensen advanced through the LCQ, finishing fourth. In the 250SX West main event, Jorgensen and Schlosser were 16th and 18th, while Rodbell didn't finish and was credited with 22nd. 

• Quad Lock Honda rider Christian Craig got tangled up with Jason Anderson in the first 450SX heat race and unfortunately sustained multiple fractured fingers. Craig said on his Instagram account that he will rest during the week and attempt to return this coming weekend in Arlington.

• The second 450SX heat race saw Lawrence battle Cooper Webb for the lead before Webb tipped over, leaving Lawrence out front. The win marked Hunter's first heat-race victory of the season and the second of his career. Quad Lock Honda's Joey Savatgy finished fourth, with teammate Shane McElrath eighth.

• Lawrence remains the 450SX championship leader, holding a one-point advantage over Eli Tomac. The Australian will carry the red plate into the next round. 

• Up next for Honda HRC Progressive is AMA Supercross round 7 this Saturday in Arlington, Texas, which is a military-appreciation race. The event marks the first round of the 250SX East Region series, and Jo Shimoda is planning to compete. The Japanese racer suffered a neck injury during the off-season but has made a relatively speedy recovery from surgery. Everyone at Honda is happy to welcome the 2025 SMX 250 Champion back to racing.

Hunter Lawrence: "It was a bittersweet main event. I feel like my riding was really good, but I spun off the gate. I'm not sure 100% why that happened, but after that I was making my way through the pack. At the 10-minute mark, I figured the track out and really got going; I was able to do a lot of the rhythms deep into the main. Then I made my attempted pass on Kenny [Roczen] for third, and we got together. I certainly didn't intend on taking him out—it was just a crappy racing incident, but not how I wanted the night to go, especially after how I felt. In my perfect world, I would've jumped to the inside, got that lane, and then tried to catch Cooper Webb. Obviously, it's cool to still have the red plate—we definitely salvaged some points. With a good start, I feel like it could've been a completely different night; I had what it takes to get the win."

More from a press release issued by Suzuki Motor USA:

Suzuki Riders Battle Back at Round Six of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship.

Round 6 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross season presented a rutted and technical track inside Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington. The racing conditions in the open stadium were a stark departure from the previous round's hardpacked dirt under a domed stadium. The soft, wet soil rutted up and deteriorated quickly throughout the event, which paid championship points for both the Supercross season and the SMX World Championship.

Race Highlights:

• Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear ECSTAR Suzuki
  • 450 Class
    • Ken Roczen earned his third heat race win of the season and ran in a podium position for 19 out of 24 laps in the main event.
• Twisted Tea Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance
  • 450 Class
    • Jason Anderson bounced back brilliantly from a heat race crash to notch an LCQ victory.
    • Colt Nichols delivered his season-best heat race result and a fastest-sector time in the main event.

Ken Roczen (94) demonstrated the breadth of his talent in Seattle. After delivering a runaway main event win the weekend before on the hardpack of Glendale, Arizona, Roczen and his Suzuki RM-Z450 earned an uncontested victory in his heat race at the Seattle Supercross. In the Seattle main event, Roczen crossed the holeshot stripe in sixth place then launched a drive to the front; by lap three he had secured third place. As the top three riders pulled clear of the field, Roczen put in surges to get into position to attempt another pass. Late in the race, another rider jumped into Roczen in the sand section and both racers went down. It was the end of Roczen's hope of a Seattle podium; he crossed the line inside the top ten and remains inside the top 3 in the championship standings. 

"Overall, we had a pretty dang good day, honestly," said Roczen. "This is always a crazy venue to go to just because the track gets so gnarly. But we had a really good heat race going, won that one, and had first gate pick [for the main]. I got off to a decent start and honestly was putting on a strong charge in the middle of the race and [among the top three riders] we were all bunched up and riding really well. But the track did deteriorate really, really quickly. I had a couple of bad laps there towards the end, and I made a mistake [and I] couldn't double before the whoops section. That just really cost me and allowed [another rider] to get way too close to me and he pulled a move [that put us both on the ground]. He came over and apologized, and I have no hard feelings towards it at all; I think it was a little bit of a [brief mental lapse]. It's just unfortunate with situations like that. We pulled the shorter end of the stick until I got going again, and then the main was over. We ended up not with the greatest result, but we're only 11 points down. Overall, we rode well all day and had a really good main going, so I really can't be too mad."

Jason Anderson (21) held a consecutive string of heat race podiums in 2026, but his streak was ended with a tough crash in his Seattle heat. In the first-turn crash, Anderson tangled with other racers including his teammate, Nichols. Anderson remounted but did not continue beyond the first lap of the heat. Forced to race the LCQ, Anderson was patient on the opening lap before finding the flow of the track and working his way confidently into the lead. On the podium, Anderson told the fans inside Lumen Field that the additional track time was welcomed. The poor gate pick resulted in a poor start in the main for Anderson. After crossing the holeshot stripe in 12th, Anderson battled into the top ten. Anderson fought hard as the track got rougher and earned enough points to take over sole possession of seventh place in the standings. 

"My weekend was pretty tough," admitted Anderson. "But we ended up 11th. It was just a little bit of a struggle. Maybe next weekend, hopefully, we can be better. But I think tonight I was pretty much hovering in that tenth, 11th, 12th place area." 

Colt Nichols (45) was stopped in the first turn of his heat race when his teammate Anderson tumbled and wound up right in front of Nichol's front tire. From there, Nichols put on an incredible charge on a track that was unforgiving of rider mistakes. Nichols gained nine spots to card his best heat race result of the season. In the main, a poor start put the odds against Nichols again. The Oklahoman put his head down; Nichols used his Suzuki's nimble handling to gain four positions and set the main event's fastest time through the section before the whoops (Sector 3). Nichols brought home a top-15 result, which moved him up in the championship standings by one position. 

"Seattle was an interesting day, to say the least," said Nichols. "Practice was terrible, to be honest, and then we turned it around a little for the night show. I got into a [tangle] on the first start with Jason and [another rider], then I had to fight my way back and got into sixth in the heat. I feel like I rode really well. In the main event I got off to a little bit of a better start, it still wasn't great, and then just fought trying to get around some guys and ended up P-13. That's a little bit better, I didn't get 16th [again], so I'm happy about that. But there's a lot of work to do still. We'll go back home, go to work, and then it's my hometown race next weekend, so I'm excited."

"It was a tough weekend in Seattle after fighting for the win early in the main event," stated Dustin Pipes, Principal for the Twisted Tea/H.E.P. Motorsports/Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance team. "Even with everything that transpired, we are still only 11 points out of the championship lead. It's time to get back to work and regroup in Arlington next weekend." 

The next Supercross race takes place this Saturday inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Suzuki riders, mechanics, and team members are ready for the challenges of the season and eager to deliver more wins and podium rides with their Suzuki RM-Z450s. 

For the latest team updates, news, and race insights, visit SuzukiCycles.com/Racing/Motocross or pipesmotorsportsgroup.com.

More from a press release issued by Monster Energy Kawasaki:

Levi Kitchen impresses the hometown crowd with a podium finish at Seattle Supercross.

Monster Energy® Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Levi Kitchen had the hometown crowd on their feet as he delivered a standout performance to take second place in the 250SX Main Event at Round 6 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship in Seattle. Teammate Cameron McAdoo powered through adversity to secure a solid fifth-place finish. Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Chase Sexton put in a solid effort on the day to take home fifth place in the 450SX Main Event. Garrett Marchbanks rebounded from a late race incident, but without enough time left in the race, the No. 36 Kawasaki would ultimately finish 22nd.

Following a day of non-stop rain on Friday, riders were met with challenging track conditions on race day. The sticky mud tested the bikes and riders throughout the day. In 250SX Qualifying, Kitchen laid down fast laps in both sessions, narrowly missing the top spot to earn second overall. McAdoo continued to adapt to the changing track conditions, putting down a fast lap in the second session to take sixth overall.

The two Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki riders were lined up nearly side by side for the first heat race. As the gate dropped, both Kawasaki riders bolted out of the gate on their KX250 machines, with McAdoo rounding the first turn in second and Kitchen close behind in fourth. Kitchen quickly went to work, making decisive passes into third and then second before taking the lead just two minutes into the race. Riding off the energy of the hometown crowd, he continued to charge forward, gapping the field by over seven seconds and clocking the fastest lap time by over a second. After slipping back a couple of positions, McAdoo regrouped and started his push back towards the front. While on the move, McAdoo suffered a mid-race crash that dropped him back to eighth. The No. 142 Kawasaki quickly regrouped and climbed his way back up to fifth to finish the heat race.

In the 250SX Main Event, both riders came out of the gate in favorable Top 5 positions. McAdoo entered the first lap in second, finding his speed and rhythm in the opening moments, while Kitchen charged his way from fifth to second by Lap 3, passing his teammate along the way. Riding the momentum, Kitchen set the fastest lap of the race on the following lap. Determined to get the lead in front of the home crowd, Kitchen made a clean pass for first at the halfway point. A back-and-forth battle with the series points leader ensued with Kitchen using his inside line in the sand and triple-triple through the Sector 7 rhythm lane to hold a gap. Through the closing laps, lapped riders and rutted conditions caused the leaders' lap times to be upwards of five seconds slower than their best. The two riders exchanged positions until the checkered flag, with Kitchen finishing a hard-fought second place. Despite lingering soreness from his earlier crash, McAdoo maintained a Top 5 pace all night to secure fifth place.

Levi Kitchen: "I definitely built more confidence after the race tonight, and we will keep building each week. Tonight we delivered a show for the fans and I had fun racing out there. I think the fans had fun watching it, and this is what they have been waiting for. I do feel like we're close right now. I feel like we're pretty close in speed and just need to work on a few more things, but I know the team and I can do it. My goal now is to go into every weekend, knowing that I can break away from the field and push my ability and speed. I want to have more races like that and put it on the top step of the box for Mitch and the team."

Cameron McAdoo: "I had a few struggles today. I struggled a little bit in qualifying with comfort, but it wasn't terrible. In the heat race, I had an unfortunate crash and banged myself up pretty good. Ending up fifth on the night was definitely the best that I had. I'm proud I was able to stay up there and get a solid result. I was glad that I was able to limit the damage as much as possible with how I was feeling after the heat race."

In 450SX Qualifying, Sexton steadily learned the evolving track conditions and made key adjustments to dial in his KX450SR. The No. 4 Kawasaki wrapped up the second session to take seventh overall on the tricky track. Marchbanks also used the second session to post his fastest lap time, matching his best qualifying finish from last week with a 12th overall.

In Heat 1, Marchbanks pulled a strong start, placing himself inside the Top 10 and quickly passing riders on the opening laps. Before the race ended, the No. 36 Kawasaki was able to move himself into fifth place, marking his best heat race result of the season. In Heat 2, Sexton pulled an optimal start aboard his KX machine, putting himself in the Top 3 out of the gate. As the No. 4 Kawasaki navigated the deteriorating track, he suffered a tipover in the corner before the finish line. Sexton quickly remounted his bike and pushed back towards the front, moving from 10th to fifth by the end of the race. Sexton was right on pace with the rest of the field as he wrapped up the race, recording his fastest time at only three-tenths of a second behind the leader and setting multiple fastest sector times.

In the 450SX Main Event, Sexton pulled a prime start, rounding the first turn in the Top 5, while Marchbanks sat just outside the Top 10. Sexton rode a consistent race through the night, maintaining his position to take home fifth place. Marchbanks displayed consistent speed as he moved through the field on his way to crack a Top 10 finish, until a crash in the rhythm section sidelined him for a moment. The No. 36 pulled into the mechanics area to make adjustments to his bike, before riding back out determined to finish the race. Already three laps down due to his time off the track, Marchbanks pushed to make up time but would settle for 22nd on the night.

Chase Sexton: "Today was a bit frustrating for me. I expect to be at the front right now, but we're not there yet. This week we worked on starts a lot and it paid off, as we saw today. Right now, I'm headed back to Florida and the team is going to come out and test more with me this week. We're hopeful to make some positive changes and come into Arlington ready to fight."

Garrett Marchbanks: "I love Seattle. The track was fun, but gnarly all day long. I felt like I started to get my flow and the bike together after second qualifying. We made a slight adjustment going into the heat race and had a good heat race from it. I started to feel better around Lap 4, we were able to put some good laps together and felt good going into the main event, with a good gate pick. I got off to a decent start and made some good passes in the main event. I was finally able to run up there in that Top 10 area and was able to battle the guys I knew I could always be around. I felt like I finally had that flow I'd been searching for, but I hit a weird spot in the rhythm and had a big crash. I knocked the wind out of myself pretty bad and couldn't breathe for about two minutes. I got up and was just trying to catch my breath. I had to pull into the mechanics area to make some adjustments to my bike, and gave myself a minute to regroup because I was struggling to feel my hands. I wanted to go back out and finish this one out for the team, but I just had to roll this one out through the finish. Besides that, I thought it was really good improvement. I was having a lot of fun out here and looking forward to the rest of the season."

More from a press release issued by Ducati Factory Racing:

Fight and Determination on Display for Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati Factory Racing Team.

Round 6 of the AMA Supercross Championship marked the final stop of the West Coast swing as the series rolled into the Pacific Northwest. Challenging early tacky and sticky track conditions tested the field from the outset, but it was a night that highlighted the grit and determination of Dylan Ferrandis aboard the Ducati Desmo450 MX.

The day began with promise as Ferrandis put together a strong opening qualifying session, clocking the ninth-fastest time. He improved his pace in Qualifying 2 and secured 11th overall heading into the night show, setting the stage for solid gate selection and competitive racing under the lights.

In Heat Race 2, Ferrandis powered off the line and crossed the opening lap in sixth. Wasting no time, he made quick moves to advance into fifth on lap two. After battling intensely throughout the race, he ultimately secured a sixth-place finish, relinquishing just one position on the final lap.

The Main Event saw Ferrandis continue to push forward. He crossed the line in 10th position and recorded his fastest lap of the race, and of the entire day, on lap four with an impressive 53.283. Running consistently inside the top 10, his lap times demonstrated the potential to move further up the order. On lap six, he advanced into ninth and engaged in a fierce back-and-forth battle for position deep into the race.

A small tip-over in the turn just after the mechanics' area briefly stalled his momentum, but Ferrandis refused to back down. Showing resilience and determination, he remounted and fought hard to secure a top-10 finish, knocking on the door of ninth by the checkered flag.

Seattle proved to be a testament to Ferrandis' fighting spirit in a stacked and competitive field. Progress continues to be made as the team fine-tunes the package. The rhythm sections and whoops showed positive gains, while corner speed remains an area for refinement as the team works to bring the full package together.

"It was a very challenging track with the rain coming into the weekend. So far one of the nastiest and gnarly tracks," said Dylan Ferrandis. "I started off feeling good in 1st practice, tried some things in practice and it didn't walk that great. The heat race was fine, I was a little timid. In the main, I was feeling really good… my body and my mind was all in a good place. I was in a good spot fighting with the boys and was pushing, pushing, pushing and pushed the limit, a little too much. I lost the front and crashed. Came back to fight again and gave it everything I had. I was very disappointed with myself. I feel like tonight we could have improved on overall position. I think everybody in the team saw some good fight and saw some improvement on the bike. So next weekend we will have another to improve."

With the West Coast swing complete, Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati Factory Racing leaves Seattle encouraged by the progress shown and motivated to continue building momentum as the championship heads east.

More from a press release issued by Husqvarna Factory Racing:

Consistent results for Ryder DiFrancesco and Malcolm Stewart at Seattle Supercross.

DiFrancesco qualified eighth in the 250SX category, continuing to build comfort with the technical Lumen Field track conditions onboard his Husqvarna FC 250 Factory Edition over the course of the two sessions.

The 20-year-old charged to a convincing second-place finish in his Heat Race, before a composed ride in the Main Event saw DiFrancesco claim a P4 result, which now has him tied for third position in the Western Division standings after six rounds.

Ryder D will return to action on March 21 at Protective Stadium for the first 250SX East/West Showdown of the year, while the Eastern division commences next weekend in Arlington, Texas, with team riders Daxton Bennick and Casey Cochran making their first appearances of the 2026 season.

Stewart posted the sixth-fastest time overall in 450SX qualifying aboard his Husqvarna FC 450 Factory Edition, finding a strong rhythm early on during the afternoon and looking to maintain that form into the night show.

A crash in his Heat Race marked the lone major setback of what was an otherwise solid night for the 33-year-old Stewart, advancing directly to the 450SX Main Event with a seventh-place result.

Launching inside the t

Imagine Max, a well-trained border collie, manages to ignore a squirrel in the park when his owner tells him to sit. His owner says, "Max, stop chasing that squirrel and sit down," and Max obeys. Can dogs learn and understand words the way humans do?

A new study found dogs like Max may have learnt the names of objects (like a squirrel) from overhearing their owners talking. The study is the latest to try and understand whether intelligent dogs and humans can have real conversations.

A widely reported case in 2004 brought this question into the spotlight. Rico, an eight-year-old border collie, was the first dog who demonstrated under experimental conditions that he knew the names of over 200 different toys.

Dogs like Rico seem different to other ones. Scientists have a name for them: label-learner dogs. They seem so exceptional, it's easy to wonder if they're learning words in a similar way to humans. Research is starting to give us some answers. But first, it's important to understand how these dogs have been studied.

In 2004, researchers, including myself, wanted to make sure Rico wasn't simply reacting to subtle, unconscious signals from people. So Rico was tested in a room where he couldn't see anyone. He still fetched the correct toys upon hearing the command "Fetch, xy". That meant he was not using visual cues from his owner.

The next big question was whether Rico could learn new name-object combinations the way young children do. Children often learn new words through a process called fast mapping. They hear a new word, look at the options and figure out what it must refer to. For example, if a child knows what "blue" means but not "olive," and you show them a blue object and an olive-green one, they'll probably choose the olive-green one when you ask for "olive".

Rico showed something similar in his behaviour. When researchers placed a brand-new toy among familiar ones and asked for a name he had never heard before, he picked the new toy. He even remembered some of these new name-object pairs weeks later. That means Rico could pick up new names for things without seeing people point at them or look at them or give any other obvious hints.

He just heard a new name and figured out what it referred to.

It seems that there is a group of gifted dogs that have realised that objects have names. These dogs appear to have an exceptional ability to learn the names of many objects. Like Rico's ability to learn names through a process of elimination, these dogs can also learn independently, without needing additional cues to identify the object being named.

But what is it that makes these dogs gifted in this way? To explore this question, my colleagues and I recently studied a group of these unusually talented dogs, of various breeds (border collies, mixed breeds, a Spanish water dog and a pug). Many label-learner dogs are border collies but lots of other breeds seem to have this ability too.

My colleagues and I gave them a set of cognitive puzzles to solve. Each dog completed eight tasks designed to measure curiosity, problem solving, memory, learning ability and their ability to follow human communicative cues like pointing or gazing. A second group of dogs - matched by age, sex and breed - (and without any special name-learning skills) took the same tests so we could compare the two groups.

The label-learner dogs consistently showed three key traits. They were obsessed with new objects. They showed strong, selective interest in particular items. And they were better at controlling their impulses when interacting with objects. However, more research will need to investigate whether these traits appear naturally in some puppies or whether they can be shaped through training as a dog grows.

The findings may eventually lead to something like a puppy "IQ test" that identifies young dogs with the potential to learn many object names. This could help trainers select dogs well suited for important roles such as assisting people with sight or hearing impairments or supporting police work.

But does this all now mean dogs learn words like children do? After all the new paper about overhearing used a approach designed to study understanding in human toddlers.

The answer is: not quite. Children learn thousands of words, and they do it rapidly and flexibly. Even at 18 months, children don't just match a word to whatever they see at the moment.

They can understand what an adult intends to talk about by realising when a person is referring to something that isn't there. For example, if a parent says, "Where's the teddy we played with this morning?" even though the teddy is not in the room, the child may still understand what the parent means and go look for it. Children use shared context to understand others.

Even the highly skilled label-learner dogs seem to struggle to understand object-name links this way.

Although there is ample evidence that dogs seem specifically adapted to human use human given gestural communicative cues, like pointing and gazing, when it comes to "word-learning" the evidence we have is just that dogs can form object-name associations. We also know that some dogs can acquire hundreds of these associations or might have understood a rule that objects have names.

This is not comparable to word learning in children. By around age two, typical English-speaking children learn approximately ten new words each day, reaching an average vocabulary of about 60,000 words by the age of 17.

When they learn words, children apply rules and principles. Their language acquisition is based on the understanding of others as "intentional beings", that other people have goals and intentions. They recognise that when someone talks, points or gestures, they are trying to share an idea, ask for something, or draw attention to something. For example, when a parent says "Look at the dog!" the child typically understands that the parent wants them to notice the dog, not that the words are just random sounds.

However, there is currently no conclusive evidence to suggest that this core principle underpins dogs' interactions with humans.

Dogs are amazing learners, but their abilities are not the same as human language learning. They learn names for objects, not language.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

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Arms Trade Corruption Tracker (ATCT) have exposed reported Elbit contract suspensions at the behest of NATO's Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA). In a decision taken last year, the NSPA took action to suspend over a dozen contracts linked to the Israeli arms company after anti-corruption investigations involving former NSPA staff.

They add that:

not all investigations appear to link directly to Elbit but details are still emerging.

ATCT further added, in a 'spicy detail', that the US had coincidentally dropped its investigation into some of those implicated. This came two weeks after a meeting between US President Trump and Turkish President Erdogan. Funnily enough, one of the investigations dropped refers to a Turkish officer formerly employed by NSPA.

Once again, the right-wing US President appears to be choosing to cover up corruption, as opposed to trying to tackle it.

#UnravellingTuesday: Israeli arms giant Elbit Systems faced reported contract suspensions from NATO's Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) in relation to several anti corruption investigations involving former NSPA staff. New case link below. pic.twitter.com/W67cfTcTJt

— Corruption Tracker (@ArmsTradeCT) February 17, 2026

ATCT reported that the contracts were suspended by NATO in July 2025 following four investigations into possible corruption. These investigations involved eleven suspects and stated that 'not all cases appear to directly involve Elbit'. They further stated that the evidence of corruption gathered represents:

the highest-profile corruption scandal the Alliance [NATO] had faced since its founding.

The Corruption Tracker website has published a detailed timeline outlining the countries, weapons, and equipment linked to the suspended contracts. The investigations implicate arms sellers, naming Israel's Elbit Systems and its subsidiary Orion Advanced Systems, as well as Global Defence Logistics (GDL) and an unnamed Italian company. The contracts reportedly involve officials in Israel, Italy, Turkey, Romania, and Luxembourg, who appear positioned to benefit financially.

ATCT stated:

Authorities from the US, Romania, Belgium and the Netherlands had been investigating eleven suspects accused of bribery, accepting bribes, money laundering and illegal kickbacks, tied to military procurement contracts awarded between 2015 to 2024.

A wave of arrests followed across Spain, Romania, Belgium and the Netherlands. Yet despite the scale of the investigation and the seriousness of the charges, the consequences proved remarkably limited. None of the detainees served more than six months in prison. Most were released under conditional liberty, while others ultimately saw the charges against them dropped altogether.

Referring to the meeting between Trump and Erdogan, and subsequent shady actions taken, ATCT added:

The case took a dramatic turn in early July 2025. Just two weeks after the US and Turkish presidents met on 25 June 2025 at the Hague NATO Summit - and only two days before the extradition of suspects was due to take place - the US abruptly withdrew all charges. Those cleared included Manousos Bailakis and Ioannis Gelasakis, accused of bribing a NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) official, as well as Scott Everett Willason alleged to have paid bribes, and Ismaïl Terlemez, accused of accepting them in order to steer NATO procurement decisions in favour of Willason's client portfolio.

Suggesting internal whistleblowers are facing typical abuse and negative consequences as a result of raising concerns about internal corruption, they added:

The fallout did not stop with the suspects. Inside the alliance, senior officials began raising alarms of their own. The NSPA's Director of Human Resources and its Chief Audit Executive and Head of Investigations flagged internal corruption and wrongdoing within NATO's structures. Their interventions came at a cost: both saw their positions either suspended or left unrenewed.

The US and its "diplomatic might" sit under the control of a shameless, unrestrained leader who has made clear he will pursue financial gain at any cost. However, the ATCT point out that the US shows precious little concern for corruption. Instead, Trump seems happy for it to continue, leaving smaller countries in the alliance with the huge responsibility of exposing such a sinister web of corruption.

They added:

With Washington stepping away from the case, responsibility for its resolution now rests with Dutch, Belgian and Romanian authorities, who continue to handle the remaining proceedings. Questions remain about accountability at the highest levels of the alliance.

Since the deliverables under these contracts lead to the mutilation, trauma, and deaths of innocent civilians, conducting this investigation is essential in the interest of humanity.

Arms trade corruption investigator Andrew Feinstein spoke to the Canary about the clear corruption within the report from ATCT, stating emphatically:

Elbit is one of the deadliest company's on the planet. It is central to Israel's genocide in Gaza.

Israel is both a materially & morally corrupt country.

This is seen most explicitly in its defence sector of which Elbit is a leading part. The company is the corrupt fulcrum at the heart of this murderous country.

We have to face it: the US has abandoned justice and fully descended into a dog-eat-dog mentality where the richest and strongest are always right. Even though they're so evidently and deplorably wrong.

These findings support yet another call for the UK to disentangle itself from US-led foreign policy rather than risk being dragged into its consequences. The powerful may delay justice, but they cannot prevent it indefinitely. After all, history books will not look kindly on those who permit corruption. Particularly when its consequences include civilian deaths in Gaza and throughout the Global South and Middle East.

We must demand that our government suspend all contracts with Elbit Systems now. Citizens must insist on a thorough and independent investigation into the relationship between Elbit and government officials. There are already serious concerns already raised about transparency and political conduct under the government of Keir Starmer, specifically in relation to Israel.

Therefore, there is ample reason to insist on scrutiny here at home as well.

You can read the Corruption Tracker's full investigation and findings here.

Featured image via Twitter

By Maddison Wheeldon