Do you remember the last time you were carded at a bar or restaurant? It was probably such a quick and normal experience, that you barely remember it. But have you ever been carded to use the internet? Being required to present your ID to access content online is becoming a growing reality for many. We're explaining the dangers of age verification laws, and the latest in the fight for privacy and free speech online, with our EFFector newsletter. For over 35 years, EFFector has been your guide to understanding the intersection of technology, civil liberties, and the law. This issue covers Discord's controversial rollout of mandatory age verification, a leaked Meta memo on face-scanning smart glasses, and a Super Bowl surveillance ad that said the quiet part out loud. Prefer to listen in? In our audio companion, EFF Associate Director of State Affairs Rin Alajaji explains how online age verification hurts free expression for all users. Find the conversation on YouTube or the Internet Archive. LISTEN TO EFFECTOR EFFECTOR 38.4 - ☺️ Trust Us With Your Face Want to stay in the fight for privacy and free speech online? Sign up for EFF's EFFector newsletter for updates, ways to take action, and new merch drops. You can also fuel the fight against mandatory age verification laws when you support EFF today!

Waymo this week will begin mapping and collecting data in Chicago and Charlotte. The move comes as Waymo announces it is currently operating its robotaxis fully autonomously in 10 US cities.

Public backlash over the data center boom is leading to a variety of draconian policies—including bans on new construction.

Kalshi fined the MrBeast editor, Artem Kaptur, for over $20,000.

The wearable incentivizes healthy behavior with points that can be redeemed for health products.

“Donald Trump took an oath to serve the American people. Instead, he has focused on using the presidency to enrich himself… President Trump has never been a man to ask what he can do for his country. In his second term, as in his first, he is instead testing the limits of what his country can …

There’s no doubt that Luke Combs has been a pillar of country music for the better part of a decade at this point. Being the second-highest-selling artist in the genre of all time, receiving not one but four certified diamond singles throughout his career and scoring crossover hits like his Grammy-nominated cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” the North Carolina native has continued to be one of the biggest stars to come out of the genre in recent memory. From the get-go, however, Combs never really fit the mold of a true country star during the era. Debuting in 2017 with This One’s For You, the genre was still in the throes of both bro and boyfriend-country. In turn, you had a plethora of pop country stars that both looked and acted like male models, highlighted by the likes of Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett, Brett Young, Dustin Lynch, Jake Owen and many more. It was so bad at the time that the “Hurricane” singer was actually told by record executives that he was destined to be a songwriter, not an artist, because he “didn’t look the part” at the time (which still makes absolutely zero sense til this day). With all that being said, body image has always been a thing that the 9x CMA winner has struggled with. And in a recent interview with the New York Times’ Popcast, he got incredibly candid about how it’s affected him throughout his career. Late in the interview, co-host Jon Caramanica would ask Combs what form of self-doubt has he struggled with on his way to stardom. Not missing a beat, Combs would say his appearance, recalling how many times he felt he wouldn’t get a shot for being a “bigger dude.” “Definitely my appearance… It was like, ‘Am I really not going to get a shot because I’m a bigger dude?’ There’s a lot of self-doubt in that department. You know what I mean? I knew I could perform as good as anybody, I felt like. Put on a good show and write songs that I felt like people could enjoy… That was a hard pill to swallow because you can’t really change the way you look.” Joe Coscarelli, Popcast’s other host, would then ask Combs if there had ever been conversations with his management/label to change his appearance. In turn, he’d say no. Coscarelli then joked and asked him if he ever thought he needed to look like the aforementioned stars, such as Sam Hunt. Immediately, Combs would say yes and that he thinks about it til this day. “Bro, every day. I think about that every day still. I do the fasting thing and the gluten-free thing. The gluten-free thing started for mental health stuff… That’s where the gluten-free stuff came from, because I was trying to get to the bottom of why am I having this [OCD]? Obviously, there’s some genetic things that can’t be overcome, and I’m very good at dealing with it now after years and years of struggling with it.” The 35-year-old singer/songwriter would then get extremely honest about his struggles with his weight, noting how hard he’s tried to lose it over the years. “I’ve always struggled with my weight. It bugs me a lot that I can’t figure it out… It’s this puzzle I can’t figure out. People are gonna say, ‘Well, you just don’t eat as much.’ Well, yeah, I f****** tried that. But it’s a constant battle with two kids and the job that I have. I try to work out as much as I can. I’d say most weeks, I’d get three days in.” After touching on the balance between trying to maintain his mental and physical health, on top of being a husband, father and musician, Combs would admit that it’s hard. With that being said, he’d note how he embraces it and doesn’t like it when things come easily. Additionally, he’d note how he’s avoiding any medical weight-loss supplements such as Ozempic. “It’s hard. I don’t want my life to be this life of ease and everything’s easy. I like when things are hard… That stuff [Ozempic] scares me more than I think I would enjoy the benefits… This is going to sound so mental-illnessy when I say this to you guys, but I feel like I’ve never done anything hard in my life, as weird as that sounds. There’s maybe some guilt associated with I really enjoy my job. I really enjoy what I do. And I’ve been really blessed to make a really great living and reach a high level, and that never felt difficult. It was difficult, but I enjoyed the process so much that never once did I feel like, ‘God, I’m in this grind, and it’s awful. I hate it.’ Sure, there’s days that were tough. Sure, there’s times I was tired. But I’m not out digging ditches. It’s not that hard of a job. Anybody that does the music business and gives the whole “woe is me” thing has lost a little bit of perspective.” The “Beautiful Crazy” singer would wrap up the candid section by admitting that his struggles with body image are something that he still hasn’t beaten yet before promising that he will eventually. “It’s like this thing that I can’t conquer no matter how hard I try. It’s just been this impossible nut to crack for me. I will do it, but I’m not going to do it the short way… For me, I need to win the thing. I need to beat myself.” Watch the full podcast here: My Kinda Saturday Night Tour Dates March 21 Allegiant Stadium – Las Vegas, NV April 4 Scott Stadium – Charlottesville, VA April 11 Jack Trice Stadium – Ames, IA April 18 Notre Dame Stadium – South Bend, IN April 25 Ohio Stadium – Columbus, OH May 2 Neyland Stadium – Knoxville, TN May 9 Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium – Norman, OK May 15 Lambeau Field – Green Bay, WI May 16 Lambeau Field – Green Bay, WI May 30 Parc Jean-Drapeau – Montreal, QC June 5 Rogers Stadium – Toronto, ON June 6 Rogers Stadium – Toronto, ON July 4 Ullevi – Gothenburg, Sweden July 7 Accor Arena – Paris, France July 11 Johan Cruijff ArenA – Amsterdam, Netherlands July 18 Slane Castle – Slane, Ireland July 19 Slane Castle – Slane, Ireland July 25 Scottish Gas Murrayfield – Edinburgh, UK July 31 Wembley Stadium – London, UK August 1 Wembley Stadium – London, UKThe post “I Don’t Want This Life Of Ease”: Luke Combs Opens Up About Body Image & Why He Refuses To Take Any Weight-Loss Drugs first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Before they became bona fide legends. It’s hard to even put into words just how important both Sturgill Simpson and Tyler Childers are to the flourishing independent/alt. country scene today. Influencing the likes of Zach Bryan, Flatland Cavalry, Colter Wall, Colby Acuff, The Red Clay Strays and pretty much every other key name in the subgenre today, the pair have cemented themselves as a cornerstone of the genre in a time where the historically underappreciated alt. country scene has finally risen to national prominence. Of course, you can thank Bryan for proverbially blowing the hinges off the door in terms of overall popularity for independent acts across the genre, but as it stands, Simpson and Childers remain the forefathers of today’s alternative country movement. In many ways, the pair share a similar overall career trajectory. For Simpson, he burst on the scene in 2013 with the release of High Top Mountain before cementing himself with the all-time classic, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music in 2014. For Childers, it took a bit more time, but the results were just the same. After putting the then-smaller indie scene on notice in 2011 with Bottles and Bibles, he’d then release his classic, Purgatory, six years later in 2017. What truly defines the pair, in the years following, specifically, is just how diverse their discography has gotten with each subsequent release. The “Long White Line” singer, for lack of a better term, has nearly gone in every direction possible. Delivering an atmospheric journey on the Grammy-winning A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, a full-blown rock adventure in SOUND & FURY, a bluegrass double album on Cuttin’ Grass, the narrative-driven The Ballad of Dood & Jaunita and finally being rebirthed as Johnny Blue Skies on Passage Du Desir and the upcoming Mutiny After Midnight. Childers, while not being quite as genre-fluid as Simpson, has continually pushed the envelope over the past decade. After establishing his sound with Purgatory and Country Squire, he’s delivered an eclectic gospel album on Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?, a full-blown bluegrass instrumental project with Long Violent History and a short but sweet bluegrass and traditional-centric offering on Rustin’ In The Rain. Most recently, he delivered his most boundary-pushing and diverse record yet with the Grammy-nominated Snipe Hunter, which also netted him his first-ever Grammy win for Best Country Song (“Bitin’ List”). Simply put, today’s country music scene would not be the same without Childers and Simpson, and with the two being more popular than ever, especially with Childers coming off a Grammy win and Simpson readying his second Johnny Blue Skies album, I thought now was the best time to highlight one of their rare appearances together. That appearance, of course, is none other than Simpson joining his fellow Kentucky native for a killer performance of “Whitehouse Road” at the Ryman Auditorium back in 2018. Though the “You Can Have the Crown” singer doesn’t sing throughout the performance, he provides some killer licks and fills throughout “Whitehouse Road,” highlighting his severely underrated ability as a guitarist that has been showcased more often over the years at his sprawling sets. It’s a bit hard to imagine, but this “Whitehouse Road” performance at the Ryman is one of the only videos online today of the two performing together, save for some collaborations with the likes of Wheeler Walker Jr. With that being said, if you’re a fan of Simpson and Childers (which you should be if you’re a country music fan), this performance is nothing short of a must-watch. Watch here: Snipe Hunt Tour Dates April 23 – Dallas, Texas – Dos Equis Pavilion – with Scott T. Smith June 4 – Birmingham, Alabama – The Coca-Cola Amphitheater – with Evan Honer & Scott. T Smith June 7 – Lexington, Kentucky – Railbird Music Festival June 10 – Darien Center, New York – Darien Lake Amphitheater – with Evan Honer June 11 – Hershey, Pennsylvania – Hersheypark Stadium – with Evan Honer June 13 – Columbus, Ohio – Buckeye Country Superfest July 9 – St. Louis, Missouri – Hollywood Casino Amphitheater – with Wednesday & Scott T. Smith July 12 – Chicago, Illinois – Wrigley Field – with Jon Batiste & Wednesday July 14 – Kansas City, Missouri – Morton Amphitheater  – with Wednesday July 15 – Des Moines, Iowa – Casey’s Center – with Wednesday July 18 – Boulder, Colorado – Folsom Field – with Jon Batiste & Wednesday September 30 – Sacramento, California – Golden 1 Center – with Wednesday October 2 – Seattle, Washington – Climate Pledge Arena – with Wednesday October 3 – Portland, Oregon – Moda Center – with Wednesday and Scott T. Smith The post Throwback To Sturgill Simpson Joining Tyler Childers For A Killer Performance Of “Whitehouse Road” Back In 2018 first appeared on Whiskey Riff.