Uwa Ede-Osifo, reporting for The Guardian:

On any given day, Los Angeles’s Hollywood Boulevard teems with tourists and street performers clustered near the area’s many landmarks. But in recent months, the strip has been set abuzz for a new reason.

Throngs of mostly adolescent boys and young men have been rushing the Church of Scientology’s international headquarters on the famed street.

The so-called “speed runs” appear to be bids for social media valor — clips of the raids have amassed millions of views on TikTok — as much as they are an outgrowth of public intrigue surrounding the church, which has previously drawn accusations of being a cult. Some users have developed blueprints for the building based on information gathered from videos of the raids.

I’m not condoning it, of course, but this video of one guy doing it sure was fun to watch.

Update: Now the kids are speed running Palantir too.

Jason Beeferman / Politico:
US Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Dave McCormick introduce a bill banning members of the legislative and executive branches from trading on prediction markets  —  The bill comes two days after a U.S. soldier was arraigned in federal court on charges he used insider knowledge of the military's plans …

This article was originally published by Healthbeat, a nonprofit newsroom covering public health published by Civic News Company and KFF Health News. The New York City Council on Thursday passed a package of bills seeking to do more to educate parents about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines as immunization rates show signs of starting […]

The post Vaccine Education Plan Approved by NYC Council appeared first on THE CITY - NYC News.

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Apple forecasts Q3 revenue above estimates, with sales expected to rise between 14% and 17%, and says memory expenses will climb “significantly higher” in Q3  —  Apple Inc. delivered a surprisingly strong revenue forecast for the third quarter, even as it warned that memory-chip costs …

Apple Newsroom:

“Today Apple is proud to report our best March quarter ever, with revenue of $111.2 billion and double-digit growth across every geographic segment,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “iPhone achieved a March quarter revenue record, fueled by such extraordinary demand for the iPhone 17 lineup. During the quarter, Services achieved yet another all-time record, and we were excited to introduce remarkable new products to our strongest lineup ever. That included the addition of the iPhone 17e and the M4-powered iPad Air, along with the launch of MacBook Neo, which is captivating customers all around the world.”

Record results for the January–March quarter for revenue, profit, and iPhone revenue in particular. And iPhones were constrained by supply. Tim Cook led the analyst conference call because he’s still CEO, but John Ternus joined for the first time. Worth a listen to just their opening remarks.

Over at Six Colors, Jason Snell has the usual assortment of graphs charting Apple’s numbers. Spoiler: up, up, up. And he has his usual transcript of the analyst call. From that transcript, this bit from Ternus’s prepared statement made me smile:

I want to echo Tim’s sentiment about our shareholders, especially those who have been with us for many years. Thank you so much for your confidence in our company. As you know, one of the hallmarks of Tim’s tenure has been a deep thoughtfulness, deliberateness, and discipline when it comes to the financial decision-making of the company, and I want you to know that is something Kevan and I intend to continue when I transition into the role in September.

Translation: “In case you were worried, we intend to keep making money hand over fist when I become CEO. I’m not coming into the job to spend the company’s money like a drunken sailor.”