The Daily Populous

Saturday May 16th, 2026 evening edition

image for Videogame pirates tell other pirates to shut up about it after Subnautica 2 developers are taunted with illicit copies

"Thanks for pirating a game that I've spent years working on," game design lead Anthony Gallegos replied to one such self-reported pirate.

"I'm disappointed that you'd do that when it's kind of how we make our living.

A subset of users on the r/piracy subreddit responded harshly to the designer's expression of disappointment, with some claiming that he must be fabulously wealthy.

"This is like a man in a solid gold suit spitting at a homeless person," decided one poster.

It's obviously no surprise that the denizens of r/piracy approve of piracy, but the hostility was surprising.

Gallegos is rather far removed from a music industry exec suing Napster kids in the 2000s.

Subnautica 2 launched on Thursday for $30 in early access, which feels like a sensible price to me based on my experience so far. »

Google DeepMind Workers Vote to Unionize Over Military AI Deals

Authored by wired.com
image for

Employees at Google DeepMind in London have voted to unionize as part of a bid to block the AI lab from providing its technology to the US and Israeli militaries.

“A lot of people here bought into the Google DeepMind tagline ‘to build AI responsibly to benefit humanity,’” the DeepMind employee told WIRED.

In a statement, Google spokesperson Kristen Morea said: “Google UK recently received a letter from Unite and the Communications Workers Union requesting recognition for Google DeepMind UK employees. »

Once dismissed as weeds, native plants are now flying off the shelves

Authored by grist.org
image for

For a long time, native plants were seen as little more than weeds, but their value has grown significantly in recent years.

Over 110,000 native plants were sold last year through the organization’s 107 plant sales, according to Josh Nelson, development director with the Wild Ones.

He added that another 40,000 native plants were distributed as part of the group’s various programs. »

Iran parliament working on bill that proposes €50m reward for killing Trump

Authored by iranintl.com
image for

Western media reports indicate Trump plans to press Xi over China’s economic and strategic ties with Iran, particularly oil purchases and alleged military assistance.

In a CNBC interview, Trump criticized what he described as China’s “unexpected support for Iran,” saying he had anticipated greater understanding from Beijing.

The US Treasury Department also sanctioned several companies in mainland China and Hong Kong accused of helping supply weapons-related materials to Iran. »

Trump doubles down on his remark about not thinking about Americans’ financial situation: ‘That’s a perfect statement’

Authored by the-independent.com

“I’d make it again,” the president replied, when asked about the comments by Fox News’ Bret Baier, in an interview that aired Friday evening following his two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Shortly before his departure for Beijing, Trump was asked to what extent “Americans’ financial situations” motivated him to strike a deal with Iran and open the Strait of Hormuz.

“Not even a little bit, I don’t think about the Americans’ financial situation, I don’t think about anybody,” he replied. »