In an era when government information can disappear with a click, the Internet Archive is racing to preserve a digital paper trail.

Why it matters: The San Francisco-based Internet Archive is celebrating its 30th birthday as a digital library that gained newfound prominence last year when the Trump administration began taking down and changing federal websites en masse.

State of play: Government webpages on USAID, DEI and gender, among others, simply "got wiped out," Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle told visitors during a recent tour of their headquarters in the Richmond District.

• Information lost ranged from HIV prevention and transgender care to climate change and civil rights pioneers (like the Navajo Code Talkers).

What they're saying: "Never before have we had large numbers of entire U.S. government websites just go offline," said Mark Graham, director of the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, which creates digital archives of webpages.

• "This time around, the scale of material that has been removed — and/or just changed — dwarfs all of the other deletions and changes since, well, the beginning of the web," he told Axios.

How it works: Every day, hundreds of the group's automated web crawlers capture snapshots of public webpages — over a billion URLs a day — and store the timestamped versions in the Wayback Machine, allowing users to see how they're revised.

• Users can paste a public URL into the Wayback Machine and then see what was on that page at various dates in the past.
• Because there's no "version control system" or list of every published government webpage, Graham and his team have to be proactive about tracking changes or deletions.
• "We work hard to archive as much of the public web as we can," Graham said.

The big picture: Though the rise of AI has brought new challenges, the work remains as important as ever, according to Graham.

• "What's changed ... is this heightened sense of responsibility and new understanding that we really can't take anything for granted," he told Axios.

Go deeper

The 33rd Noise Pop Festival kicks off today, with this year's showcase also serving as a farewell to Bottom of the Hill — the beloved venue where the event first began that is set to close at the end of this year.

State of play: About 150 bands will perform at 15 or so venues across the city starting today through March 1.

• This year's headliners include the experimental rock band Tortoise, Stephen Malkmus of the seminal '90s indie band Pavement and the shoegazer Wisp.
• The Bottom of the Hill concert series features seven shows, including Hudson Freeman (tomorrow), Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage (Saturday) and Carpool Tunnel (Feb. 26).

💭 My thought bubble: Noise Pop is still one of the surest ways for discovering your next favorite band. Think of it as our own homegrown, smaller version of South by Southwest.

👀 What we're watching: Shannon Shaw, best known as the frontwoman of the garage rock band Shannon and the Clams, will perform at The Commons at KQED next Thursday.

If you go: Consider buying a badge for access to parties and happy hours — plus entry to all shows, even ones already sold out.

Tell a friend

🏈 The 49ers will serve as the home team for the NFL's game in Mexico City this year, marking their second international appearance as the league continues expanding its global footprint. (CBS News)

Eight people are dead, six were rescued and one remains missing following an avalanche that hit a group of backcountry skiers earlier this week in Tahoe. (SF Standard)

🍻 Muni is hosting a beer crawl tomorrow to celebrate SF Beer Week and support local businesses. (Secret SF)

The San Francisco Zoo has named Cassandra Costello as its new CEO, ending a six-month interim period following the retirement of its embattled longtime director.

Why it matters: Costello inherits an institution still working to repair its reputation and operations.

• The zoo has faced years of public scrutiny over its management, making her appointment a pivotal moment for the nearly 100-year-old institution.

Between the lines: Costello formerly held roles at City Hall and in the public and nonprofit sectors, including at the San Francisco Travel Association and the city's Recreation and Park Department.

Catch up quick: The zoo's previous leader, Tanya Peterson, retired in August after nearly two decades as CEO.

• She faced mounting criticism and pressure from Mayor Daniel Lurie and other city officials after an audit raised concerns over worker safety, animal care and financial management.

What's next: The zoo plans to improve its animal care and conservation programs and continue expanding discounted access for low-income families.

Share this story

Table for one? Turns out, you're not alone. Solo dining is on the rise.

By the numbers: Single orders now make up 47% of fast-food trips — compared to 31% in 2021, per Yum Brands, the parent company of Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut.

• At full-service restaurants, reservations for one jumped 22% in the third quarter of 2025 from the same time a year earlier, Toast data shows.

Reality check: Single diners still represented less than 1% of total booked reservations in Q3, Toast researchers found.

📣 Tell us: What are your best tips for eating alone and why do you love it? Also, what are your favorite local spots that cater well to solo diners or places to avoid?

• We may include your response in a future guide to solo dining.

💭 Nadia's thought bubble: I love eating a meal on my own. You can order what you want without having to make compromises and sit, read or scroll in silence if that's the mood.