No free pickles, SantaCON & RIP cocaine hippos👀🍿🧃

Hi Wrecklings!

It’s been a while since we’ve had an edition as long as this one, enjoy!

• “Struggling shoe retailer Allbirds makes bizarre pivot to AI, adds $127 million in value”

• “Prego Pivots From Budget-Tier Pasta Sauce to Small Microphones That Listen to Your Family’s Intimate Conversations”

• “‘Rich and Unemployed’ podcaster sentenced for $3.8M scheme”

• “Plot twist: Rare books worth $3 million stolen decades ago resurface in Manhattan”

• “Popular NYC SantaCon charity fundraiser was more con than Claus, authorities say”

• “Man accused of stealing LEGO figures from sets, replacing them with dried pasta”

• “Xbox Game Pass ‘has become too expensive,’ says Microsoft’s new gaming chief in leaked memo”

• “A Prominent PR Firm Is Running a Fake News Site That’s Plagiarizing Original Journalism at Incredible Scale”

• “Timmy, the whale stranded off Germany’s coast, swims off and gets stuck...again”

• “Rogue sperm donor who says he’s fathered 180 children won’t be on child’s birth certificate”

• “Meta builds AI version of Zuckerberg to interact with employees- FT”

• “Jury Finds Live Nation Illegally Monopolized Live Events Market”

• “Bus driver sacked after driving with woman on lap”

• “A novelist was accused of using AI. Why the literary world is still grappling with guardrails”

• “From ‘BuddhaBot’ to $1.99 chats with AI Jesus, the faith-based tech boom is here”

• “P3nis costume protester prevails in court”

• “B.C. Woman Discovers Husband Was Married To Multiple Women At The Same Time”

• “Man who won $167M Powerball prize in 2025 accused of stealing $12,000 in burglary”

• “China invents game-changing process that turns desert sand into fertile soil in just 10 months”

• “‘Meow, meow’: Pilots scolded after animal noises heard on air traffic control frequency”

• “‘Nobody gets free pickles on BC Ferries’: Family’s White Spot experience goes viral”

• “Nintendo sued by players who say they should get any tariff refunds received by the US government”

• “Ubisoft Cancels Animal Crossing-Inspired Game - Report”

• “Meta Is Sued Over Scam Ads on Facebook and Instagram”

• “‘Looksmaxxing’ Influencer Clavicular Walks Out of ‘60 Minutes’ Interview After Being Asked if He’s an Incel: ‘The Worst Sequence of Questions’”

• “Jill Biden Bids $35,000 For Chance to Win ‘Heated Rivalry’ Walk-On Role During LGBTQ Benefit Auction”

• “Chinese Workers Horrified as Bosses Direct Them to Train Their AI Replacements”

• “Quince Sued Over “Brazen” Use of Music in Social Media Posts”

• “Italian man sold ‘fake’ Rolex that turned out to be real in ‘impossible’ crime against Singapore watch shop”

• “Jack in The Box Sues Major Washington Franchisee Over 38 Closures”

• “Connecticut AG Requires Warning Labels on Skincare at Sephora”

• “Philz Coffee CEO restores Pride flags in stores after intense backlash: ‘I made a mistake’”

• “Kalshi suspends, fines 3 congressional candidates in ‘insider trading’ enforcement actions”

• “Former tobacco executive joins CDC senior leadership, raising concerns over industry influence”

• “Principal crowned prom king for tackling gunman in high school’s lobby”

• “JetBlue sued over claims it uses customers’ personal data to set ticket prices”

• “Parenting influencer slammed for accidentally running over toddler and making content about it”

• “Emails detail Fairfield’s 4-hour scramble before canceling Linda McMahon’s school visit”

• “Steak ‘n Shake hires first ‘Chief MAHA Officer’”

• “DoorDash PR Boss Melts Down After Trump Stunt Backfires”

• “3 Southern California residents sentenced in bear suit insurance fraud scheme”

• “Titanic exhibit at Volo Museum floods on anniversary of famous ship’s sinking”

• “23 Major News Sites Have Blocked the Wayback Machine – Digital History In Danger”

• “Roadkill found in freezer at Chinese restaurant, police say”

• “Starbucks teams up with ChatGPT for personalized drink suggestions”

• “Home shopping network pioneer QVC files for bankruptcy protection”

• Cocaine Animals:

  • “Colombia will euthanize Pablo Escobar’s invasive ‘cocaine hippos’”

  • “Here’s what happens when you give salmon cocaine”

• “Ashley St Clair is ‘spilling MAGA secrets’ on TikTok”

• 🔏“The Wellness Guru Jay Shetty Has Raised Some Doubts. Including His Own.”

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More Serious Stories

We realize some of these can be triggering for some readers, so feel free to skip! Also, sometimes we use weird letter subs so we’re not flagged as gross spam email.

• “Injured passenger awarded $300,000 after a Miami federal jury finds Carnival overserved her alcohol”

• “Alex Jones is so mad about InfoWars becoming a satire site he loses his shirt and exclaims ‘they’re bodysnatchers’”

• “UMass Amherst ‘Chef of the Year’ Jeffrey MacDonald accused of murdering wife inside campus hotel room”

• “Wisconsin man stole coworker’s identity for 30 years, sent victim to mental hospital before DNA exonerated him: court ruling”

• “Palantir inks $300 million deal with USDA to safeguard food supply”

• “Altman apologizes after OpenAI failed to alert police before Tumbler Ridge killings”

• “Anthony Kiedis’ Girlfriend Pens Vogue Column About Dating Someone More Than Twice Her Age”

• “Wisconsin man stole coworker’s identity for 30 years, sent victim to mental hospital before DNA exonerated him: court ruling”

• “MrBeast employee alleges she was harassed for years and fired after maternity leave in a new lawsuit”

• “The Onion launches new effort to turn Infowars into parody website”

• “Vegan meat mogul charged with strangling social media star ex in ritzy NYC hotel — where he was allegedly ‘hiding’ from crypto fraud suit”

• “Brazilian fitness influencer drowns during Ironman triathlon in Texas”

• ““Condé Nast Shutters Self Magazine, Folds Wellness Coverage Into Allure and Glamour””

• “Why are Harvard’s slavery researchers quitting or being fired?”

• “South Korea jails American YouTuber for public nuisance”

• “Hospital at centre of child HIV outbreak caught reusing syringes in undercover filming”

• “Exposing a global ‘r@pe academy’”

• “Google Cloud customer wakes up to $18,000+ bill despite $7 budget, thanks to forgotten API key in published project — attacker put in 60,000+ requests and blasted through $1,400 spending cap”

• “Biological parents of baby in IVF embryo mix-up have been identified, Florida couple says”

• “Alex Cooper’s Media Company Unwell Is Under Scrutiny After Allegations of a Toxic Work Culture”

• “Fired Staffer Accuses MrBeast of Sexism, Leave Violations”

• “Texas school sent waiver for parents to allow kids to be coached by sex offender”

• “Clavicular’s Rep Drops Him Days After Suspected Overdose, Says Influencer ‘Will Not Take His Health Seriously’”

• “Florida doctor indicted and accused of removing patient’s liver instead of spleen in fatal surgery”

• “String of missing or dead scientists ‘too coincidental’ not to be major concern, congressman says — as 11th mystery emerges”

• “Michigan gas station clerk saves teen from alleged kidnapper after she mouths ‘help’”

• “Man arrested at Disney World tied to fireworks explosion that killed 7 in California”

• “Rebel Wilson accused of hacking fellow actor’s Snapchat, leading to nude photo leak”

• “Millionaire big game hunter killed by elephant ambush in Africa”

• “Amazon worker dies on warehouse floor; colleagues continue working around his body – ‘Let’s get back to work’”

• “Woman develops 3 cancers after husband cheated — and learning she had a cancer-causing STI”

• “US and Mexican officials assigned to cartel case killed in car accident”

• “31 sloths died at Sloth World Orlando-owned warehouse: FWC reports”

• “YouTube Terminates Clavicular’s Channels for “Severe or Repeated Violations””

• “Palantir published a mini manifesto calling some cultures ‘harmful’ and ‘middling’ and said Silicon Valley has ‘a moral debt’ to the U.S.”

• 🔏“Losing My Friend Over Wegovy”

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P.S. While we’re obsessed with these stories, we don’t endorse any of these insane behaviors. 💋