Saturday Morning Covfefe: 5 Stories That Made Me Reach for Stronger Coffee

A revealing week across politics, technology, and power.

Some weeks, the headlines feel chaotic.

This week felt…revealing.

Let’s get into it.

1. When DOGE Let ChatGPT Judge the Humanities

This week, the internet learned something remarkable about Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE): ChatGPT helped decide which humanities grants lived or died.

Yes, really.

In depositions tied to a lawsuit over sweeping cuts at the National Endowment for the Humanities, two former DOGE employees testified they used ChatGPT to identify projects that supposedly violated Trump’s executive order banning "radical and wasteful DEI programs."

Their backgrounds? Technology and finance.
Their experience in the humanities? None.

Nearly 25 hours of deposition video were posted online by scholarly groups challenging the cuts. Once clips hit social media, they quickly went viral.

One moment summed up the problem. A DOGE staffer explained why ChatGPT flagged a documentary about Jewish women forced into slave labor during the Holocaust. His reasoning: the film amplified "marginalized voices of females in Jewish culture," making it related to DEI.

Holocaust history…flagged as DEI.

The backlash was swift. Historians and academics questioned how decisions about scholarship were being made. Then came the legal twist. A federal judge ordered the videos taken down after the government said one witness received harassment and threats. The groups suing say removing the footage hides crucial evidence.

When algorithms start deciding what history matters, the public deserves to see how those decisions are made.

🤖 DOGE Uses ChatGPT Cut Humanities Grants: NY Times

2. War Abroad, Warnings Delayed at Home

While the U.S. escalates military operations against Iran, something troubling happened quietly inside the national security system.

The White House halted the release of a federal security bulletin warning of elevated threats tied to the conflict. The alert, prepared by the FBI, DHS, and the National Counterterrorism Center, was intended for state and local law enforcement partners nationwide. The bulletin was paused for White House review because officials said it needed more vetting and "was not well written."

Here’s why that matters.

In the same week the warning was delayed, the United States saw three acts of ideologically motivated violence:

• Two men inspired by ISIS brought homemade bombs to a protest in New York City.

• A man rammed his vehicle into a synagogue in Michigan.

• A previously convicted terrorist opened fire in a Virginia university classroom before being stopped by students.

Officials say none of the attacks were directly tied to the Iran conflict, but global crises often act as accelerants for lone-actor violence at home.

At the same time, the country’s counterterrorism bench has been thinning. Experienced agents and prosecutors have been pushed out of the FBI and Justice Department, leaving fewer seasoned professionals working these threats.

I saw this dynamic firsthand while serving at DHS during Trump 1.0. Intelligence warnings like this sometimes became politically inconvenient. But these bulletins aren’t about politics. They’re about getting threat information quickly to police chiefs, sheriffs, and state fusion centers.

When global tensions rise, awareness across the system matters. And delays, even bureaucratic ones, carry consequences.

🚨 Rising Terror Threats at Home: AP

3. A Camera Misread One Plate, His Life Unraveled

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know two things about me: I love advances in technology. And I care deeply about keeping Americans safe.

But I’m also vocal about something else: your privacy rights and civil liberties matter.

Which brings us to a troubling story about a rapidly expanding surveillance tool called Flock.

Flock installs AI-powered license plate cameras across neighborhoods and cities, alerting police when a vehicle linked to a crime appears on the network. When it works, it can help locate suspects and recover stolen cars. But when it gets it wrong, the consequences can be devastating.

In Ohio, Brandon Upchurch was pulled over after a Flock camera misread the number “7” on his license plate as a “2” and flagged his truck as stolen. As he questioned why he was being stopped, an officer warned he would release a police dog if he didn’t get on the ground. As Upchurch began complying, the dog was released. It grabbed his dreadlocks, slammed his head into the pavement, and bit into his arm.

His plate wasn’t stolen.
The camera misread it.

He lost his truck, his job, and eventually his home.

Technology can help policing. But surveillance systems require accuracy, transparency, and oversight. When an algorithm makes a mistake, it isn’t just a software bug. It’s someone’s life being upended.

📷 When AI Surveillance Gets It Wrong: Business Insider (Apologies–even though I’m a subscriber, this publication doesn’t allow me to share this as a gift article. Sigh.)

4. Chile’s Hard Right Turn

Chile just made a political shift sending ripples across Latin America.

José Antonio Kast, a far-right leader who has praised the legacy of dictator Augusto Pinochet, was sworn in this week as Chile’s new president after a landslide victory.

But this isn’t just about Chile.

Kast’s inauguration drew conservative leaders and activists from across the hemisphere celebrating what some describe as an "ascendant movement." Across Latin America, voters frustrated with rising crime, economic anxiety, and political instability have increasingly turned to hard-line leaders promising tougher immigration policies and aggressive crackdowns on crime. Argentina’s Javier Milei and El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele are part of the same shift.

Chile has long been viewed as one of Latin America’s most stable democracies since its return to civilian rule in 1990. Now it’s becoming part of a broader ideological realignment that could reshape politics across the region, and Washington’s influence in the Western Hemisphere.

The question now isn’t just how Kast governs. It’s whether this rightward wave across Latin America continues to build momentum.

🇨🇱 Chile Swings Hard Right: PBS

5. DOJ Gives Guns Back to Felons

The Trump Justice Department quietly restored federal gun rights to 22 people, many with felony convictions. The move revives a controversial program that had been effectively dormant for more than three decades.

The idea behind it: people convicted of certain nonviolent crimes can regain their Second Amendment rights if the government determines they’re no longer a threat.

But one name on the list stood out.

Arizona State Senator Jake Hoffman, who was indicted in 2024 for his role in the fake elector scheme tied to the effort to overturn the 2020 election, also had his gun rights restored. Hoffman hasn’t been convicted and still faces state felony charges. He was also among those pardoned by Donald Trump last year.

The Justice Department says everyone on the list was vetted and determined to be “law-abiding citizens.” Critics say the lack of transparency raises serious questions.

As Kris Brown, president of the gun violence prevention group Brady United, put it, Hoffman’s inclusion raises hard questions about "whether the evaluation (to get gun rights restored) is how much you’ve given to Trump, or how much you’re planning to curry favor with him."

There’s also a reason Congress shut this program down in the early 1990s: some people who had their gun rights restored later committed serious crimes.

Now the program is back, and the vetting process remains largely opaque.

🔫 Trump DOJ Gives Guns Back to Felons: NPR

🌿 One Thing for Your Soul

The same year actress Lupita Nyong’o won an Academy Award, she was quietly living with debilitating pelvic pain.

Doctors eventually discovered she had dozens of uterine fibroids–a condition that affects up to 80% of women by age 50. After surgery years ago to remove them, the fibroids have returned. She says she’s now living with more than 50. This one is personal for me. I’ve dealt with fibroids too, including while serving overseas during some of the most demanding moments of my national security career. And like many women, I learned how often that kind of pain is something you’re simply expected to endure. That’s why Lupita speaking up matters. She’s raising money for research and pushing for better treatments.

Sometimes saying out loud what millions quietly live with helps people feel seen. ¡Gracias Lupita!

💛 Lupita Nyong’o Reveals Her Fibroids Have Returned: NBC TODAY

P.S. I met one of my heroes this week: José Andrés. When crisis hits, he shows up and feeds the people living through it. That’s humanity.

Thinking of all of you across the miles. And a special thank you to my paid subscribers who help make this work possible.

Until next time,

Olivia