Happy weekend, curious minds!

Let's wrap up the weekend with some shady AI training sets and precarious bridges, plus some debunked "facts" to keep your brunch table lively. Grab your coffee—let’s dive in!

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🚨 Be the First to Know:

• There are now 350+ measles cases, and it's expected to keep growing.
• Judge orders Georgetown researcher detained by ICE to remain in the U.S.​
• ​Japan is the first nation to snag a spot in the 2026 Men’s World Cup!

Authors vs. Algorithms

​Court filings reveal Meta's Llama 3 ate millions of pirated e-books from Library Genesis (LibGen), putting authors and academics on high alert. While Meta insists it's fair use, internal chats say cost is a concern, and CEO "MZ" approved pirating to grab "books ASAP."

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Critics say it's brazen theft that undermines writers and the creative ecosystem. With lawsuits raging—and a swirl of moral and legal implications—this could be the next battle between big-tech AI and human authors. Are we sacrificing the voices and works tech relies on for high-stakes innovation? The fallout is only beginning.

Bonus: Check out LibGen (The pirated-book database Meta used to train AI)

In Context: The Institute of Museum and Library Services was effectively killed by Trump's executive order on March 14.

Bridge Alert

Nearly a year after Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed—killing six workers—the NTSB flagged 68 other major bridges nationwide as "potentially at risk." Travelers nationwide are at risk if these safety red flags are ignored.

NTSB @NTSB Today, the NTSB issued four urgent safety recommendations to select bridge owners, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the US Coast Guard, and the US Army Corps of Engineers to safeguard bridges from vessel strikes. Read the interim report: https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/MIR2510.pdf 4:45 PM • Mar 20, 2025 8 Retweets 16 Likes Read 3 replies

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The agency urges immediate vulnerability assessments, revealing that iconic structures like the Golden Gate, Chicago Skyway, and multiple NYC bridges haven't been thoroughly checked for collision hazards. The NTSB says it does not guarantee doom—just a wake-up call for urgent evaluations and safer rides.

Bonus: Here's the list of 68 bridges the NTSB recommended for evaluation.

All Wrong!

Do you think John F. Kennedy called himself a donut in Germany or that Napoleon stood comically short? I'm sorry—both are on the newest list of massively misunderstood facts.

Apparently, our mental archives of fun trivia (like Einstein's flunking math or the Romans' belief that the Earth was flat) need a reboot. Now that so many viral myths have been debunked, let's double-check our next "fun fact" and ditch half our historical conversation.

🎪 Weekend Leisure Core

Fuel Your Screen: In "Adolescence," the Netflix drama premiering Thursday, every episode is shot continuously. I absolutely loved it as a psychological thriller fan.

Fuel Your Mind: Sosa Villada’s first story collection is mostly about marginalized characters—sex workers, underparented kids, victims of the Spanish Inquisition—and sprinkled with magic in her native Argentina.

Fuel Your Ears: "Let It Be" was written by Paul McCartney about his travels with Linda, but many Beatles fans see it as a celebration of his creative partnership with John Lennon.

💬 Beyond the Core

Hoppy: Finland tops the world's happiest countries (again)—and the US outdid itself this year.

Skin-ergy: It's possible you're moisturizing wrong—and that's making things worse.

Man-hot-tan: Why are so many sidewalks in New York City filled with scaffolding?

📸 Lens to Life

These vintage saloon photos date back to the early 20th century.

🧮 Core Count: %1

The percentage of transgender people who regret transitioning.

🗓️ Flashback:

1622 - First American Indian (Powhatan) massacre of Europeans around Jamestown, Virginia, 347 were killed.

1765 - George Grenville passed and organized the Stamp Act, the first direct British tax on American colonists.

1784 - The Emerald Buddha is moved with great ceremony to its current place in Wat Phra Kaew, Thailand.

1832 - The British Parliament passed the Reform Act, which transformed the electoral system in England and Wales. The electorate grew from 500,000 to 813,000.

1933 - Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp, opens.

1954 - Northland Center, the world's largest shopping mall at the time, opens in Oak Park, Michigan.

1963 - The Beatles release their first album, "Please Please Me".

1965 - The US confirms its troops used chemical warfare against the Vietcong.

2018 - US President Donald Trump imposes $60 billion worth of tariffs on Chinese imports.

Before you go...

I hope you enjoyed this newsletter. Before moving on, would you consider supporting my work as we prepare for a pivotal, uncertain year?

I rely on readers like you—yes, you! It takes a few dollars a month to keep The Core going.

I'm glad we could get together here. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!

​Fatih Taskiran​

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