Bad Bunny is in the news, which was exactly as planned, having performed at the halftime of Superbowl LX. I would urge you not to view the English language translation of the lyrics of Bad Bunny’s most popular songs. They are most definitely NSFW.
A Florida congressman, no doubt responding to infuriated constituents who are fluent Spanish — and whose kids are fluent in Spanish — and knew what Mr. Bunny was singing about last Sunday night, has promised to initiate legal action. Republican Randy Fine will push for sanctions against both the NFL and NBC for violations of broadcast regulations.
Congressman Fine will begin with a letter of complaint to the Federal Communications Commission.
Bad Bunny, nee Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, has a lyrical repertoire that includes references to very specific activities and body parts in reference to... human relationships. Mr. Ocasio did not perform the most offensive selections of his music on the Superbowl stage, (although much of what he DID say was pretty spicy) but apparently a lot of people think that does not excuse him from accusations of indecency. Nor do many believe that it justifies the NFL decision to engage him for a show watched by some 135 million Americans.
It’s pretty clear that the NFL, like every other major brand, is seeking to expand its audience. Latin Americans, more noted for their love of futbol rather than football, are a growing U.S. demographic that has caught the eye of the sports association. Add to this the current furor over the Trump administration’s border control efforts, and you have perfect storm of publicity that raises the National Football League to the level of common water-cooler gossip.
Free publicity is what every for-profit enterprise hopes for.
I didn’t watch the halftime show. I would not have understood it anyway, but the same could be said for most other popular musicians that perform in English. If it’s not Bach or Vivaldi or Jim Croce or Gordon Lightfoot or the Canadian Brass or Chet Atkins, I’m really not that much into it. (Listen to Chet Atkins’ impressive rendition of the Stars and Stripes Forever on a six string guitar, including the piccolo part.)
To reiterate my screed from last week’s ANR, what would be so wrong with a halftime marching band?
Number 3. Business Insider. Ring doorbells help find lost pets. Neighborhood cooperation urged.
Joseph, the coat-of-many-colors boy in Genesis, was sold into slavery by his own siblings. This was not exactly a picture of brotherly love. Later, he told them, “You meant it for evil, but God used it for good.”
True enough, and an instructive Bible story.
But Joseph could just as well have posed the corollary, applicable to our modern web-connected society: “You meant it for good, but the government is using it for evil.”
Amazon, through its Ring doorbell product, has introduced a feature called Search Party. You may have seen the Superbowl ad. Search Party engages all those Ring cameras on a neighborhood basis to find your lost pet.
When Fido wanders past a participating camera, the homeowner can opt to release the photo to the distraught pet master.
Having tracked an aggravating beagle through neighborhood streets and backyards before, I can see the benefits. (Although, in my case, I knew where the miserable creature was. But the purebred mutt wouldn’t stay put long enough for me to grab his collar.)
Parts of the web have blown up over privacy concerns surrounding Search Party. The AI machinery behind the feature is said to have been trained on “tens of thousands of dog videos” in order to distinguish breeds, sizes, fur patterns, etc.
Tracking humans is probably easier, because of facial recognition.
Ring has a relationship with Flock, the commercial surveillance network that recognizes vehicle types and license tags to assist law enforcement. Flock, it seems, has a relationship with ICE. This does nothing to quell fears of Big Brother at work on your street.
In an exclusive interview with the ANR, a spokesperson for Search Party, Gerheardt von Ghestapponzie, made a public statement that immediately calmed objections: “Vee haf no interest in findting peoplez. Vee cuoudt if vee vanted to, ov course, but vee only vant to zee Fluffy safe back mit her fahmblee. Vee vill neffer uze our highly adfanced technologeez for enny odder purpoze! Zeig Hile!”
Number 2. Techradar dot com. 150 million hacker records exposed for all to see.
Well, this is rich.
A collection of some 149 million usernames and passwords for banking and social media was discovered in a completely open and unprotected database last month. Records also included many “dot gov” accounts, used by federal and state employees across the country.
As interesting as anything in this story is that the records were not exposed by a hacker who hacked another hacker’s database. The 149 million pirated credentials were simply listed in a file open to anyone.
You rat! If you steal my password, at least have the decency to keep it private!
Detailed tracing revealed the database account was buried behind third party relationships, making it difficult if not impossible to determine who had compiled the list, who owned it, and what it was being used for.
Well… we KNOW what it was being used for. It is a phisher’s dream. Accessing personally identifiable information such as cryptocurrency wallets, trading accounts, bank account numbers, social media logons and dating app credentials are the tools of the trade for an IT geek hoping to separate you from your money.
Such a list is invaluable for both spear-fishing and whaling. I know you probably know all this, but indulge me. Spear-fishing is an email scam that targets a specific individual, usually in a large corporation, using information about the target’s peers that make the email seem legitimate.
Whaling is the same thing, but generally targeted at CEO-level individuals.
Both spear-fishing and whaling tempt the target to click on a link to something that seems legitimate. Once clicked, hidden software is planted in the victim’s computer that allows access to what he thought were protected files.
The dot gov email addresses in this newly discovered database are as troubling as anything because of the implications for threats to national security.
Who compiled this database remains a mystery. It was organized in such a way as to be easily searchable, suggesting that it was likely the work of a skilled hacker.
But not skilled enough to keep his own site from being hacked.
Your personal data is all over the web… count on it. Basically, when you get a text or email or telephone call suggesting that your security is compromised, just hang up. If you are concerned, call the organization (bank, credit card issuer, whomever) and ask them if you have been compromised.
Number 1. RedState dot com. Hybrid super pigs headed for the U.S.
The latest cross-border invasion comes not from the south, but from the north. Feral hogs have long been a problem in Canada. Now, their numbers have reached a tipping point as wild boars have bred with domesticated pigs to produce omnivorous and aggressive hogs.
They are coming south from Canada, probably to escape the winters to which they are not well acclimated.
The USDA has put their destructive price tag in the lower 48 at $2.5 billion each year. That number will only get bigger as more and more show up here without paperwork or green cards.
Feral hogs are already a problem in states further south, as evidenced by the growth of helicopter hunting excursions from enterprises like Pork Choppers in Haskell, Texas. That actually looks like fun.
Feral swine, also known as wild boar, are not native to North America and are not to be confused with their cousin the domesticated pig. Wild boar are smaller, more energetic and much more aggressive. There are probably 6 million in the continental United States now, and the numbers are growing.
They are legal for year-round hunting in about half of the states. From what I have read, you should not assume they can be taken down safely with anything less than a .308. And maybe a tree stand that the wounded critter cannot reach would be a good idea, too.
Bacon, anyone?
And thanks for joining The Alligator News Roundup for Friday, February 13, 2026. Valentine’s Day is apparently upon us once again. You could reward your sweetheart with a new Savage .30-’06 and a surprise helicopter hog hunt in the Texas hill country. What a romantic outing that would be!
Have a good weekend!
