hey everyone. 👋 if you have followed me over the last few weeks, welcome. if you have been here for years, welcome back. after a long break away (3-4 years) — i am having a lot of fun being back on twitter. lately we have been diving into sports, aviation, technology, ai, media, internet culture, and whatever random question sends me researching for the next couple of hours. sometimes it turns into a rabbit hole. sometimes it turns into a good conversation. every once in a while it turns into a story i never expected to write. i have always thought of twitter a little like being the overnight dj at a little AM radio station. you spin a great record. the phone lines light up. somebody calls in with a story. somebody else requests another song. before long, you are introducing people to something they did not even know they were looking for. then you cue up the next record and keep the night moving. i think that is probably why i have always approached this place a little differently. so if you are new, check in. where are you calling in from? what made you hit follow? and if there is something interesting happening where you are, or something you think more people should know about, i would love to hear about it. i read a lot more replies than people probably realize, and some of my favorite stories over the years started because somebody else noticed something first. do not be a stranger. same station. different conversation.

404 media found that a chinese organized crime ring hacked a staples customer service system and generated more than $5 million in gift cards. in just two days, 3,850 cards worth $141,000 were used at 85 target stores across 18 states. 404media.co/how-a-massive-ch…

i really enjoy reese peanut butter cups. so i was looking forward to trying the new limited edition shake shack version while wandering around powells books this afternoon. stopped by @shakeshack, opened the app to order and saw 1,900 calories. closed the app.

i do not think i have ever seen a single tweet generate this many competing proposed community notes. the community notes section has basically become its own comment section.

we are getting dangerously close to a point where the only reason anyone will need to leave the house is a fire alarm.

happy saturday, everybody. what is making news in your part of the world?

five days as white house press secretary. at least katie zacharia will always have this photo from marine one. 📷: @dougmillsnyt

trump picked katie zacharia without consulting susie wiles. wiles reportedly helped arrange her hannity interview. hannity grilled her on national television. the next day, she was out after five days. quite a sequence.

took most of the week off twitter. looks like it was a pretty slow news week. glad i picked a friday to check back in.

trump seems less interested in winning an argument than turning it back on whoever made it. leavitt understood that instinct. zacharia seemed more comfortable explaining herself than taking control of the exchange.

i made this same observation about scott jennings back in august. defending trump is not the same as speaking trump. the white house wants someone who can defend, counterattack and escalate. zacharia seemed more comfortable litigating the argument. that was never going to work.

i keep seeing parents complaining about commercials airing during live sports that they would rather their kids not see. i watch a lot of sports and now i’m curious how widespread this actually is. are you noticing it too? what ads are bothering you? send me examples or clips.

a federal judge has again blocked trump from barring cnn, ms now and politico from the white house. judge timothy kelly found strong arguments that the ban violated their first amendment and due process rights. the three outlets retain access as the case continues. nytimes.com/2026/10/13/busin…