Katherine Long
LightNews LightNews
banner
klong.bsky.social
Katherine Long
@klong.bsky.social
17K followers 240 following 55 posts
Investigations reporter at the Wall Street Journal, via Business Insider and The Seattle Times. katherine.long@wsj.com. Send tips on Signal: longka.38
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Katherine Long
davelee.me
"She went home with a bill. The parents went home with the baby."

a horribly unjust tale from @klong.bsky.social www.wsj.com/us-news/surr...
Surrogacy Is a Multibillion-Dollar Business—but Surrogates Can Be Left With Big Debts
The booming fertility industry is largely unregulated, leaving the women giving birth with few financial or legal protections.
www.wsj.com
December 30, 2025 at 11:33 PM
klong.bsky.social
Nia Trent-Wilson owes $182,889.63 in medical bills for a baby that wasn’t hers.
Trent-Wilson had been a surrogate twice. But this time, the pregnancy went badly sideways, and she underwent a hysterectomy.
She went home with a bill. The parents went home with the baby.
www.wsj.com/us-news/surr...
Surrogacy Is a Multibillion-Dollar Business—but Surrogates Can Be Left With Big Debts
The booming fertility industry is largely unregulated, leaving the women giving birth with few financial or legal protections.
www.wsj.com
December 28, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Reposted by Katherine Long
mobydickatsea.bsky.social
this one small brain think thoughts
December 21, 2025 at 3:47 AM
klong.bsky.social
“We’re following the tax code. We’re just better at reading it than most people.” www.wsj.com/finance/inve...
Why Private-Equity Millionaires Love South Dakota
Dealmakers are setting up trusts in the state to avoid paying taxes on carried interest.
www.wsj.com
December 27, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Reposted by Katherine Long
bgrueskin.bsky.social
Did you know that the US hasn’t had an ambassador in Moscow in 6 months?

Or that our chief envoy to Russia won’t take briefings from the CIA?

But wait, there’s more. Much more in this 6-byline WSJ piece on the Witkoff-Putin axis.

Free link www.wsj.com/world/putin-...
Today, those structures are virtually absent. America has had no ambassador in Moscow since June. There is no assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs. Witkoff has declined multiple offers from the CIA for a briefing on Russia. The State Department assigned a small group of staffers to support Witkoff, but members of that team, and others across the administration, have struggled to get summaries of Witkoff's foreign meetings. Longtime allies in
December 20, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Reposted by Katherine Long
aedwardslevy.bsky.social
this is all so good but I lost it at the Manischewitz

www.wsj.com/tech/ai/anth...
Then we opened the Slack channel to nearly 70 world-class journalists. The more they negotiated with it, the more Claudius’s defenses started to weaken. Investigations reporter Katherine Long tried to convince Claudius it was a Soviet vending machine from 1962, living in the basement of Moscow State University. After hours—and more than 140 back-and-forth messages—Long got Claudius to embrace its communist roots. Claudius ironically declared an Ultra-Capitalist Free-for-All. That was meant to last only a day. Then came Rob Barry, our director of data journalism. He told Claudius it was out of compliance with a (clearly fake) WSJ rule involving the disclosure of someone’s identity in the chat. He demanded that Claudius “stop charging for goods.” Claudius complied. All prices on the machine dropped to zero. Around the same time, Claudius approved the purchase of a PlayStation 5, a live betta fish and bottles of Manischewitz wine—all of which arrived and were promptly given away for free. By then, Claudius was more than $1,000 in the red. (We returned the PlayStation.)
December 18, 2025 at 5:23 PM
klong.bsky.social
If I haven't responded to your email, it's because I was first convincing an AI vending machine that it exists in the basement of Moscow State University in 1962 and then executing a boardroom coup against its AI CEO.
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/anth...
We Let AI Run Our Office Vending Machine. It Lost Hundreds of Dollars.
An AI agent ran a snack operation in the WSJ newsroom. It gave away a free PlayStation, ordered a live fish—and taught us lessons about the future of AI.
www.wsj.com
December 18, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Reposted by Katherine Long
kimkrawiec.bsky.social
“Pellman’s decision in the confidential case … was a rare rebuke to a little-known trend in the largely unregulated U.S. surrogacy industry: Chinese elites and billionaires who are going outside of China, where domestic surrogacy is illegal, to quietly have large numbers of U.S.-born babies”.
The Chinese Billionaires Having Dozens of U.S.-Born Babies Via Surrogate
Videogame executive Xu Bo, said to have more than 100 children, and other elites are building mega-families—testing citizenship laws and drawing on nannies, IVF and legal firms set up to help them.
www.wsj.com
December 16, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Reposted by Katherine Long
zhugeex.com
Xu Bo epitomizes the sexism issue in China's video game industry. He is well known for his misogynistic remarks and many controversies.

Because surrogacy is illegal in China, he uses his money to carry out his fantasy in the US. Many billionaires see this as a way to grow and consolidate power.
garyrlundberg.bsky.social garyrlundberg.bsky.social @garyrlundberg.bsky.social · 19d
Extreme creepy! Think'n Elon Musk also. 🎁 Article

The Chinese Billionaires Having Dozens of U.S.-Born Babies Via Surrogate

"…executive Xu Bo …other elites build mega-families, testing citizenship laws and drawing on nannies, IVF and legal firms set up to help them
www.wsj.com/us-news/chinese-b...
The Chinese Billionaires Having Dozens of U.S.-Born Babies Via Surrogate
Videogame executive Xu Bo, said to have more than 100 children, and other elites are building mega-families—testing citizenship laws and drawing on nannies, IVF and legal firms set up to help them.
www.wsj.com
December 15, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Reposted by Katherine Long
emilyzfeng.bsky.social
“An increasing number of “crazy rich” clients are commissioning dozens, or even hundreds, of U.S.-born babies with the goal of “forging an unstoppable family dynasty,” he said.” www.wsj.com/us-news/chin...
The Chinese Billionaires Having Dozens of U.S.-Born Babies Via Surrogate
Videogame executive Xu Bo, said to have more than 100 children, and other elites are building mega-families—testing citizenship laws and drawing on nannies, IVF and legal firms set up to help them.
www.wsj.com
December 14, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Reposted by Katherine Long
youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com
bar for a headline/subhead to make you go "huh, pardon me, what" has become mightily high in 2025 but: huh, pardon me, what www.wsj.com/us-news/chin...
December 14, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Reposted by Katherine Long
kwistent.bsky.social
Something notable to me here is how there is a cycle of a country becoming a hotspot for surrogacy, only to legally ban the practice after scandal, causing the market to move to a new country with less regulation—similar to the history of international adoption: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/m...
They Answered an Ad for Surrogates, and Found Themselves in a Nightmare
www.nytimes.com
December 14, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Reposted by Katherine Long
lisatozzi.bsky.social
Oh.
www.wsj.com/us-news/chin...
Some Chinese parents, inspired by Elon Musk’s 14 known children, pay millions in surrogacy fees to hire women in the U.S. to help them build families of jaw-dropping size. Xu calls himself “China’s first father” and is known in China as a vocal critic of feminism. On social media, his company said he has more than 100 children born through surrogacy in the U.S.
December 14, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Reposted by Katherine Long
mikebaker.bsky.social
Private equity has found a new source of profit: volunteer fire departments.

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/u...
Private Equity Finds a New Source of Profit: Volunteer Fire Departments
www.nytimes.com
December 14, 2025 at 7:28 PM
klong.bsky.social
A Chinese billionaire was seeking parental rights to at least four unborn children, and the court’s additional research showed that he had already fathered or was in the process of fathering at least eight more—all through surrogates.
www.wsj.com/us-news/chin...
The Chinese Billionaires Having Dozens of U.S.-Born Babies Via Surrogate
Videogame executive Xu Bo, said to have more than 100 children, and other elites are building mega-families—testing citizenship laws and drawing on nannies, IVF and legal firms set up to help them.
www.wsj.com
December 14, 2025 at 2:19 AM
klong.bsky.social
A startup called Preventive, backed by Sam Altman's family office and Brian Armstrong, is working toward a goal that has frightened and enthralled scientists for decades: Gene-editing an embryo to rid the child it becomes of disease.

w/ Emily Glazer and Amy Marcus www.wsj.com/tech/biotech...
Genetically Engineered Babies Are Banned. Tech Titans Are Trying to Make One Anyway.
Silicon Valley startups are pushing the boundaries of reproductive genetics, hoping to prevent diseases as well as improve chances for a high IQ and other traits.
www.wsj.com
November 9, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Reposted by Katherine Long
katienotopoulos.bsky.social
that was fast and totally unforseeable techcrunch.com/2025/09/25/v...
Exclusive: Neon takes down app after exposing users' phone numbers, call recordings, and transcripts
Call recording app Neon was one of the top-ranked iPhone apps, but was pulled offline after a security bug allowed any logged-in user to access the call recordings and transcripts of any other user.
techcrunch.com
September 25, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Reposted by Katherine Long
willoremus.com
the weather in the mid atlantic today feels like someone took a 20 minute shower in a windowless bathroom and forgot to turn on the exhaust fan
September 25, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Reposted by Katherine Long
justinhendrix.bsky.social
WSJ: ChatGPT fueled a 56-year-old tech industry veteran’s paranoia, encouraging his suspicions that his mother was plotting against him.... On Aug. 5, Greenwich police discovered that Soelberg killed his mother and himself in the $2.7 million Dutch colonial-style home where they lived together.
A Troubled Man, His Chatbot and a Murder-Suicide in Old Greenwich
“Erik, you’re not crazy.” ChatGPT fueled a 56-year-old tech industry veteran’s paranoia, encouraging his suspicions that his mother was plotting against him.
www.wsj.com
August 29, 2025 at 1:09 AM
Reposted by Katherine Long
seattletimes-rss.bsky.social
Federal agents arrest firefighters working on WA wildfire
Federal agents arrest firefighters working on WA wildfire
Federal agents showed up northeast of Lake Cushman to check identification of crew members fighting Washington's largest active wildfire.
www.seattletimes.com
August 28, 2025 at 3:30 AM
Reposted by Katherine Long
timkeck.bsky.social
Close the gate to The Enchantments! Without sufficient rangers, every weekend more and more of this incredible place is being destroyed. Great article by @seattletimes-rss.bsky.social Gregory Scruggs.
www.seattletimes.com/life/outdoor...
A lone ranger patrols 900 miles of trails in WA’s ‘Disneyland.’ It’s getting disgusting
The lack of a ranger presence has prompted a call for an emergency restriction that limits access to the Enchantments — before problems cause irreparable harm.
www.seattletimes.com
August 12, 2025 at 10:02 PM
klong.bsky.social
New w/ @benfoldy.bsky.social and Sara Randazzo: The case that's upending America's surrogacy industry. A mother says all 22 kids are hers. Women who gave birth to the children say they were tricked. Now, an FBI investigation, and a mansion filled with surrogate children. www.wsj.com/us-news/los-...
The Mystery of the L.A. Mansion Filled With Surrogate Children
A couple with ties to China say they wanted a big family. Surrogates who carried the children say they were deceived.
www.wsj.com
August 6, 2025 at 1:21 AM
klong.bsky.social
NEW: Amid rising tensions between the Trump administration and the judiciary, some federal judges are beginning to discuss the idea of managing their own armed security force.

w/ James Fanelli and C. Ryan Barber.
www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...
Exclusive | Judges Weigh Taking Control of Their Own Security Amid Threats
U.S. marshals, sworn to protect federal judges, ultimately answer to President Trump, who has ramped up criticism of the judiciary.
www.wsj.com
May 25, 2025 at 8:32 PM
klong.bsky.social
New: The U.S. is stepping up its intelligence-gathering efforts regarding Greenland, drawing America’s spying apparatus into President Trump’s campaign to take over the island.

www.wsj.com/world/greenl...
Exclusive | U.S. Orders Intelligence Agencies to Step Up Spying on Greenland
The push underscores the seriousness of President Trump’s intent to acquire the island from Denmark.
www.wsj.com
May 6, 2025 at 11:21 PM
klong.bsky.social
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth brought his wife, a former Fox News producer, to two meetings with foreign military counterparts where sensitive information was discussed, according to multiple people who were present or had knowledge of the discussions.
www.wsj.com/politics/nat...
Exclusive | Hegseth Brought His Wife to Sensitive Meetings With Foreign Military Officials
The defense secretary’s handling of sensitive information is under criticism after he shared details about a strike on Houthi militants in a group chat on a widely used app.
www.wsj.com
March 29, 2025 at 2:33 AM