News gathered 2024-01-26

(date: 2024-01-26 08:34:31)

The Cauchy–Dirichlet problem for the fast diffusion equation on bounded domains

date: 2024-02-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added

Bonforte, Matteo; Figalli, Alessio

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/640081 Save to Pocket

Biohybrid nanointerfaces for neuromodulation

date: 2024-02-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added

Filippi, Miriam; Balciunaite, Aiste; Katzschmann, Robert K.

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/647572 Save to Pocket

Reactivity of kaolinitic clays calcined in the 650 °C–1050 °C temperature range: Towards a robust assessment of overcalcination

date: 2024-02-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added

Zunino, Franco; Scrivener, Karen

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/647263 Save to Pocket

Consumers’ perceptions and acceptance of genome editing in agriculture: Insights from the United States of America and Switzerland

date: 2024-02-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added

Bearth, Angela; Otten, Caitlin Drummond; Cohen, Alex Segrè

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/653049 Save to Pocket

Why Americans Don’t Give Biden Credit for Strong Economy

date: 2024-01-26, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/why-americans-don-t-give-biden-credit-for-strong-economy-/7457319.html Save to Pocket

Is Tesla a tech company or just another automaker?

date: 2024-01-26, from: Marketplace Morning Report

Tesla had a rough 2023. On Wednesday, CEO Elon Musk warned Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD could overtake global competition without trade barriers, and investors weren’t so impressed. The company’s stock closed down 12% yesterday. Plus, we’ll dig into the most recent PCE data and hear about Japan’s deflation problem.

https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/is-tesla-a-tech-company-or-just-another-automaker Save to Pocket

90,000 NATO Troops Participate in Biggest Exercise Since Cold War

date: 2024-01-26, from: VOA News USA

London — NATO began its biggest military exercises since the Cold War this week, with tens of thousands of troops set to move across Europe in a show of force meant as a warning to Russia, following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Operation Steadfast Defender 24 will see some 90,000 NATO military personnel take part in a range of drills across Europe in coming months. Fifty naval vessels, 80 aircraft and over 1,000 combat vehicles are involved.

The exercises “will show that NATO can conduct and sustain complex multi-domain operations over several months, across thousands of kilometers, from the high north to central and eastern Europe, and in any condition,” the 31-nation alliance said.

Logistics

“We do all of this to show we have the readiness, preparedness and the forces in place to remove any room for miscalculation or misunderstanding in Moscow about our readiness to protect every inch of NATO territory. And as long as we do that there will be no attack against NATO territory,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels Tuesday.

The logistical challenge of moving soldiers and equipment is a vital part of the exercise, said Liana Fix, fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.

“How do they get there? And how do they get there quick? Because the war in Ukraine has shown that being too slow means that a part of your territory can be occupied and has to be re-conquered, rather than defending that territory the moment the attack happens,” Fix told VOA.

Sweden, which hopes to join NATO in coming months, will also take part in the operation, the biggest NATO drill since the Reforger exercises of the 1980s. Hungary is the only NATO member yet to ratify Sweden’s application.

Ukraine

The exercises come ahead of the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, on February 24. The conflict has descended into a war of attrition, with neither side seemingly able to make significant territorial gains.

While NATO flexes its muscles in Europe, Kyiv is running low on ammunition, as military aid packages in both the United States and the European Union remain blocked by political infighting.

“The narrative from Ukraine is that Ukraine is defending NATO. And that is a valid narrative if one follows the logic that Ukraine is actually diminishing Russia’s army, has diminished Russia’s army, and has diminished the military threat that Russia poses to the NATO alliance. So from Ukraine’s perspective, it must be a lonely moment to watch this NATO exercise,” analyst Liana Fix told VOA.

Artillery

NATO this week signed a $1.2 billion contract to buy some 220,000 rounds of artillery ammunition. The alliance says it will pass on the shells to Ukraine, which has complained of ammunition shortages, or to member states that want to replenish stockpiles that have been depleted through supplying Ukrainian forces.

“This is important to defend our own territory, to build up our own stocks, but also to continue to support Ukraine,” said NATO chief Stoltenberg.

“We will support Ukraine with the systems and the weapons and ammunitions they need to prevail as a sovereign independent country, because we cannot allow (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin to win in Ukraine. That would be a tragedy for the Ukrainians and dangerous for all of us,” he added.

https://www.voanews.com/a/nato-troops-in-biggest-exercise-since-cold-war/7458609.html Save to Pocket

Swedish National Security Adviser Reflects on Challenges Facing Europe

date: 2024-01-26, from: VOA News USA

Washington — Sweden, which dropped its position of military nonalignment and sought NATO membership in the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, is now one vote away from joining the alliance as its 32nd member.

On Thursday, Henrik Landerholm, Sweden’s national security adviser, met with VOA in Washington to discuss his country’s imminent membership and his perspectives on security challenges facing the alliance in 2024.

In Landerholm’s view, if Russia prevails in its war against Ukraine, its appetite will only increase, resulting in greater security threats for a much wider region.

Landerholm said he was grateful for America’s strong support for Swedish NATO membership and is pleased the process now seems to be coming to a close. Hungary is the sole remaining NATO ally yet to ratify Swedish membership, and its National Assembly has indicated it intends to vote soon.

According to Landerholm, there is nothing left to negotiate; it is just a matter of waiting for Hungary’s ratification.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

VOA: The Turkish parliament voted yesterday to approve Sweden’s NATO membership. How does it feel and what does this mean for Sweden?

Henrik Landerholm, Swedish national security adviser: It definitely feels good. It’s a confirmation that we have been on the right path and that Turkey is fulfilling its obligations — what they promised in the agreement between President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan and Prime Minister [Ulf] Kristersson in Vilnius [Lithuania] last year. We haven’t doubted that this would happen, but of course it’s a good day when it happens.

VOA: And now the next step is for the president to sign the decision. Do you anticipate any complications?

Landerholm: We don’t anticipate [complications] other than that it’s a formality. It has to be published in the official Gazette, and then President Erdogan has to [deposit] the instruments in the State Department, as is stated in the Washington Treaty. Then, of course, the next step is Hungarian ratification. We will see what will happen.

VOA: Prime Minister [Viktor] Orban said he is inviting Prime Minister Kristersson to Budapest to negotiate. Do we know what he wants to negotiate?

Landerholm: Well, to quote my foreign minister, there is not much to negotiate. In the very kind and open letter he sent to my prime minister, [Orban] suggests a visit to Budapest, and I foresee that this will happen sooner or later. We should remember that Hungary invited Sweden [to join] NATO without any preconditions, which is a very different situation [from] Turkey, which had security concerns linked mainly to Swedish and Finnish approaches toward terrorism. We’ve been working with … Turkish authorities on that for about a year. With Hungary, I believe it’s more of a general need to have a dialogue. We are open to such a dialogue but have noticed no preconditions or need for negotiation.

VOA: The U.S. has been very supportive of Sweden throughout this process. How was the news received here?

Landerholm: Very positive — even relief — from the U.S. side. Sweden has had strong support from the U.S. from the beginning. Sweden and Finland are more welcomed as NATO members than we ever perceived before. Speaking for Sweden, our understanding was that when Russia … showed itself to be a predator without limits with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we needed to safeguard our own security. The general feeling was that we were on the demanding side, needing support from NATO.

[But the U.S.] was very clear that we were not only welcome due to the general Open Door policy, but that we would create an important addition to NATO. Over the last year, we have understood that our contributions are appreciated. We have assets that are pretty unique in the Baltics. We have military assets that few others have. Our force may not be overwhelming in size, but in quality it is second to few. We have an impressive defense industry. We have space assets, and our territory is of utmost importance for the defense of Finland and the Baltic States.

VOA: There was a perception about Turkey’s position on Swedish NATO membership that it was never about Sweden or the PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party, considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and European Union] but about F-16s. Turkey wanted the U.S. to agree on the sale of F-16s in exchange for its consent to admit Sweden as a NATO member. What can you share with us about this debate?

Landerholm: We have not been involved in any of the discussions in that regard. From our perspective, we’ve done our homework in relation to Turkey. We made an agreement with Turkey in Vilnius, and since then we have just waited. They have put no extra demands on us. We take Turkish security concerns seriously. We now have good cooperation between Swedish and Turkish police, intelligence, and security services, which fulfills the expectations that Turkey has had to a large extent about PKK.

VOA: What does Swedish and Finnish membership in NATO change for Russia?

Landerholm: Well, if you listen to Russian interlocutors in general and President [Vladimir] Putin in particular, it doesn’t change much. I think that’s something Putin has to say, because otherwise it would be obvious to the Russian population that the invasion of Ukraine was a miscalculation.

In the long term, perhaps not in my lifetime, I’m hopeful that Russia will develop in a democratic direction. We had high hopes during the [1990s]. Those are now shattered.  We cannot trust Russian goodwill anymore, and we need to seek our security in a wider context together with others.

If Russia would be successful in Ukraine, its appetite would increase further. We need to be cautious. We need to prepare. We need to rearm to prepare for, perhaps unlikely, but fully possible events. That has been the actual discussion in Sweden over the last few weeks.

VOA: More than 90% of Swedes support Ukraine in this war. What is your government doing to continue this support and now, with NATO membership, what is Sweden’s position on Ukraine as it comes to enlargement?

Landerholm: The issue of Ukraine’s NATO membership has not been an issue for us thus far, as we are not NATO members. I would not anticipate what our position would be. Ukraine eventually has a natural place in Euro-Atlantic security structures. So, it’s not an issue about if, but rather about when and how.

VOA: Would it be more on the faster track side, or would it be more like the French position that says that it will take decades?

Landerholm: We haven’t, as I said, taken any final decision in that regard. But we are strong supporters of Ukraine. Sweden has militarily supported Ukraine very strongly. We spent 3 billion euros over the past two years, and the majority of this in military support. If Ukraine loses the current war against Russia, it would be devastating not only for Europe in general, but also for Sweden and our adjacent area. That would give Russia an increased appetite of meddling in our affairs and trying to divide and rule among EU as well as NATO countries. Weakness is an invitation to Russia in this regard.

https://www.voanews.com/a/swedish-national-security-adviser-reflects-on-challenges-facing-europe/7458580.html Save to Pocket

Textcasting

date: 2024-01-26, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog

Textcasting: Applying the philosophy of podcasting to text.

https://textcasting.org/ Save to Pocket

Fisker Built Over 10,000 Ocean EVs In 2023. It Delivered Less Than Half

date: 2024-01-26, from: Inside EVs News

The company expects to deliver the unsold cars in the first quarter of this year with help from dealers.

https://insideevs.com/news/706200/fisker-built-10000-ocean-suv-delivered-half/ Save to Pocket

High school basketball primer: Contenders, dark horses and more as regular season enters home stretch

date: 2024-01-26, from: San Jose Mercury News

NCS, CCS Open and NorCal boys, girls basketball playoff possibilities and player of the year candidates.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/26/high-school-basketball-primer-contenders-dark-horses-and-more-as-regular-season-enters-home-stretch/ Save to Pocket

Guess the company: Takes your DNA, blames you when criminals steal it, can’t spot a cyberattack for 5 months

date: 2024-01-26, updated: 2024-01-26, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Breach filings show Reddit post led to the discovery rather than any sophisticated cyber defenses

Biotech and DNA-collection biz 23andMe, the one that blamed its own customers for the October mega-breach, just admitted it failed to detect any malicious activity for the entire five months attackers were breaking into user accounts.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/26/23_and_me_breach_filing/ Save to Pocket

NHL trade deadline: What’s the Sharks’ strategy, and when might the rebuild end?

date: 2024-01-26, from: San Jose Mercury News

San Jose Sharks GM Mike Grier figures to be active ahead of the NHL trade deadline on March 8

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/26/nhl-trade-deadline-whats-the-sharks-strategy-and-when-might-the-rebuild-end/ Save to Pocket

New California ruling targets pension ‘spiking’ as retirees appeal for relief

date: 2024-01-26, from: San Jose Mercury News

Some California retirees are losing income as their pension funds make adjustments to comply with a 2013 law that attempted to curtail “spiking.”

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/26/new-california-ruling-targets-pension-spiking-as-retirees-appeal-for-relief/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-26, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

Alienware’s Gorgeous 32-Inch Curved QD-OLED Is Like a Massage for My Eyeballs.

https://gizmodo.com/alienware-32-inch-curved-qd-oled-hands-on-gaming-1851198391 Save to Pocket

NASA: The Ingenuity Helicopter’s Mission Comes to an End

date: 2024-01-26, updated: 2024-01-26, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/01/nasa-ingenuity-helicopters-mission-ends Save to Pocket

Polestar (PSNY) to cut 15 percent of global jobs amid slowing EV sales, weak market share

date: 2024-01-26, from: Electrek Feed

EV-centric brand Polestar just announced it will cut hundreds of jobs in its global workforce in order to lean down and reduce spending, as it looks to bolster sales of its upcoming Polestar 3 and 4 models without relying on additional funding from parents Geely and Volvo Cars.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/26/polestar-psny-to-cut-15-percent-of-global-jobs-amid-slowing-ev-sales-weak-market-share/ Save to Pocket

No recall in Norway after Tesla investigation, because it just wasn’t a big enough deal

date: 2024-01-26, from: Electrek Feed

Norway won’t be issuing a recall of Tesla Model S and X vehicles in the country after a government investigation into suspension safety issues – the same one Reuters wrote about in its investigation, targeting Tesla for blaming customers for faulty parts, which Tesla then fired back at on X.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/26/no-recall-in-norway-after-tesla-investigation-because-it-just-wasnt-a-big-enough-deal/ Save to Pocket

Smoking Is Indeed Uncivil Behavior

date: 2024-01-26, updated: 2024-01-26, from: One Foot Tsunami

https://onefoottsunami.com/2024/01/26/smoking-is-indeed-uncivil-behavior/ Save to Pocket

Man shot during Oakland attempted robbery

date: 2024-01-26, from: San Jose Mercury News

A man told police he was shot in Oakland Thursday night after he refused to give a robber his wallet.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/26/man-shot-during-oakland-attempted-robbery-4/ Save to Pocket

Wow, Jurgen Klopp announces that he’s leaving Liverpool at the end of…

date: 2024-01-26, updated: 2024-01-26, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/01/0043856-wow-jurgen-klopp-announce Save to Pocket

90,000 NATO Troops Participate in Biggest Military Exercises Since Cold War

date: 2024-01-26, from: VOA News USA

NATO has begun its biggest military exercises since the Cold War — with tens of thousands of troops set to move across Europe in the coming months in a show of force amid the threat from Russia. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.

https://www.voanews.com/a/nato-troops-in-biggest-military-exercises-since-cold-war/7458500.html Save to Pocket

Median EV range hits 270 miles in 2023 – that’s plenty for an average weekly commute

date: 2024-01-26, from: Electrek Feed

EVs are advancing at a record pace. The median EV range reached 270 miles for 2023 models. That’s 13 miles more than 2022MY vehicles and more than enough to cover the average weekly commute for US drivers.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/26/median-ev-range-270-miles-weekly-commute/ Save to Pocket

Marin Catholic’s Jared Goff aims to end his childhood team’s Super Bowl run

date: 2024-01-26, from: San Jose Mercury News

Jared Goff, a Novato native and Marin Catholic High School star, will have a “caravan” of fans at the NFC Championship Game in Levi’s Stadium.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/26/marin-catholics-jared-goff-aims-to-end-his-childhood-teams-super-bowl-run/ Save to Pocket

What’s happened since California cut home solar payments? Demand has plunged 80%

date: 2024-01-26, from: San Jose Mercury News

As rooftop solar projects have plummeted, about 17,000 workers could lose their jobs. Will this derail the state’s climate and clean energy goals?

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/26/whats-happened-since-california-cut-home-solar-payments-demand-has-plunged-80/ Save to Pocket

Libre Computer Solitude is a single-board PC with and Amlogic S905D3 processor and a Raspberry Pi 3-style design

date: 2024-01-26, from: Liliputing

The Libre Computer Solitude is a Raspberry Pi lookalike that’s powered by an Amlogic S905XD3 quad-core ARM Cortex-A55 processor with Mali-G31 MP2 graphics and a 1.2 TOPS AI accelerator. It’s available for purchase from LoverPi, which is selling a model with 4GB of LPDDR4 memory for $45. There’s also a slightly cheaper 2GB model, but […]

The post Libre Computer Solitude is a single-board PC with and Amlogic S905D3 processor and a Raspberry Pi 3-style design appeared first on Liliputing.

https://liliputing.com/libre-computer-solitude-is-a-single-board-pc-with-and-amlogic-s905d3-processor-and-a-raspberry-pi-3-style-design/ Save to Pocket

Stuck in a fog? It’s not just you, it’s been record foggy in the US

date: 2024-01-26, from: San Jose Mercury News

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were three of the foggiest days in terms of forecast zones covered since in nearly two decades.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/26/stuck-in-a-fog-its-not-just-you-its-been-record-foggy-in-the-us/ Save to Pocket

What You Need to Know about NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 Mission

date: 2024-01-26, from: NASA breaking news

Four new crew members are preparing to launch to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission. NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to perform research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance […]

https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/commercial-crew/what-you-need-to-know-about-nasas-spacex-crew-8-mission/ Save to Pocket

The Tesla Model Y Was The Best-Selling Car In The World In 2023

date: 2024-01-26, from: Inside EVs News

It’s the first time an all-electric car topped the yearly global car sales charts.

https://insideevs.com/news/706169/tesla-model-y-best-selling-car-2023/ Save to Pocket

FTC Tech Summit highlights GPU shortages, concentrations of power

date: 2024-01-26, updated: 2024-01-26, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Startups hoping to compete in the industry face an uphill battle

Panel  The dominance of big tech in cloud computing, coupled with a shortage of chips, is preventing smaller AI software and hardware startups from competing fairly, according to panelists at the FTC Tech Summit this week.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/26/gpu_shortage_is_fuelling_ai/ Save to Pocket

Dixie Fire: PG&E agrees to $45 million settlement related to California’s second-largest wildfire

date: 2024-01-26, from: San Jose Mercury News

The massive inferno ignited on July 13, 2021, when power lines owned by PG&E came in contact with a tree, according to Cal Fire.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/26/dixie-fire-pge-agrees-to-45-million-settlement-related-to-californias-second-largest-wildfire/ Save to Pocket

We Need Your Email Address

date: 2024-01-26, from: 404 Media Group

AI stealing our work. The collapse of social networks. The need to pay journalists to produce impactful journalism. Here is why we are asking for your email address to read 404 Media.

https://www.404media.co/why-404-media-needs-your-email-address/ Save to Pocket

Seattle’s famous Piroshky Piroshky bakery is doing Bay Area pop-ups in February

date: 2024-01-26, from: San Jose Mercury News

Piroshky Piroshky, a popular Eastern European-inspired bakery that started in Seattle’s Pike’s Place Market over 30 years ago, is popping up at a series of locations in the Bay Area in late February. 

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/26/seattles-famous-piroshky-piroshky-is-visiting-the-bay-in-february/ Save to Pocket

Astronaut Bob Hines

date: 2024-01-26, from: NASA breaking news

“I have been interested in aviation for as long as I can remember. There are pictures of me at two years old and younger with my face pinned against the window, watching airplanes taxi around the airport. I had never not known that I wanted to be a pilot. The amazing engineering that goes into […]

https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/astronaut-bob-hines-2/ Save to Pocket

Hubble Studies a Sparkling Galaxy Pair

date: 2024-01-26, from: NASA breaking news

A pair of small, interacting galaxies shine in this new NASA Hubble Space Telescope image. The larger of the two galaxies is named NGC 5410 and was discovered in 1787 by British astronomer William Herschel. It spans 80,000 light-years across and has a bright white bar of stars at its center. It is also a […]

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-studies-a-sparkling-galaxy-pair/ Save to Pocket

Officials address ‘chaos’ at Bixby Bridge

date: 2024-01-26, from: San Jose Mercury News

The long-running effort seeks to get unruly drivers and pedestrians to stop dangerous practices such as illegally darting in front of cars and tourists stopping cars in the middle of a lane so passengers and drivers can jump out to snap photos of the iconic bridge.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/26/officials-address-chaos-at-bixby-bridge/ Save to Pocket

Fully-Loaded Porsche Macan Electric Can Cost Over $160,000

date: 2024-01-26, from: Inside EVs News

The options alone can cost more than a Tesla Model Y Performance.

https://insideevs.com/news/706145/porsche-macan-electric-options-can-cost-over-160000-dollars/ Save to Pocket

Technology truly is the gift that keeps on giving … SNAFUs to highlight

date: 2024-01-26, updated: 2024-01-26, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Until we can hook schadenfreude directly into our veins, this will have to do

Kettle  What was your favorite tech failure this week? You may well agree with our vultures who for this latest Kettle episode selected theirs to talk about.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/26/kettle_tech_failures/ Save to Pocket

Man accused of molesting teen prior to Typhoon Mawar’s arrival

date: 2024-01-26, from: Guam Daily Post

A 38-year-old man was accused of groping a 14-year-old girl “prior to the arrival of Typhoon Mawar,” a magistrate’s complaint filed in the Superior Court of Guam stated.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/man-accused-of-molesting-teen-prior-to-typhoon-mawars-arrival/article_1a97748c-bb33-11ee-9e1a-dba1a49aae8d.html Save to Pocket

Special Education revisits aide program

date: 2024-01-26, from: Guam Daily Post

One of the concerns brought up by stakeholders who attended the Guam Department of Education Engagement Forum on Wednesday evening is the inconsistency of one-to-one aides within the Special Education Division. It’s a challenge the division’s head is trying to…

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/special-education-revisits-aide-program/article_1e86b87e-bb37-11ee-8fbd-5f1a616bbb66.html Save to Pocket

Missing woman returns home

date: 2024-01-26, from: Guam Daily Post

A 24-year-old woman returned home after last being seen in late December 2023.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/missing-woman-returns-home/article_0f9ffd9e-bbd6-11ee-be61-37012b841683.html Save to Pocket

PUC approves rate increase

date: 2024-01-26, from: Guam Daily Post

The Public Utilities Commission has decided to increase the Levelized Energy Adjustment Clause, the portion of the power bill that pays for fuel. Beginning in February and lasting through July, unless changed earlier, the LEAC will go up to about…

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/puc-approves-rate-increase/article_f9edd16c-bbe7-11ee-87ae-7fe3975584c1.html Save to Pocket

MiFi for public school students back online, GDOE assessing instructional loss

date: 2024-01-26, from: Guam Daily Post

Free MiFi service for public school students is back online after a brief lapse in the contract. Now, the Guam Department of Education is working to calculate how many makeup days students will be subjected to in order to meet…

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/mifi-for-public-school-students-back-online-gdoe-assessing-instructional-loss/article_20311264-bb0f-11ee-b1a6-4badbbb9225c.html Save to Pocket

CCU doubles max loan amount for proposed sewer hookup fund rules

date: 2024-01-26, from: Guam Daily Post

The Consolidated Commission on Utilities approved an amendment to proposed rule changes for the water utility’s Sewer Hookup Revolving Loan Fund, doubling the maximum loan amount approved for the program last year.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/ccu-doubles-max-loan-amount-for-proposed-sewer-hookup-fund-rules/article_3b449b18-bb58-11ee-bf29-4f4e413e4c6d.html Save to Pocket

4th suspect denies charges in Susuico homicide

date: 2024-01-26, from: Guam Daily Post

The fourth suspect accused of being involved in the death of Jason Susuico pleaded not guilty to murder charges.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/4th-suspect-denies-charges-in-susuico-homicide/article_1f696a52-bbd7-11ee-9933-93fdbcd3e374.html Save to Pocket

Man arrested on suspicion of armed robbery

date: 2024-01-26, from: Guam Daily Post

A man was arrested on suspicion of robbing a Dededo store of $700 while brandishing a knife.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/man-arrested-on-suspicion-of-armed-robbery/article_14a3cde4-bbda-11ee-8e4a-2757ada5aaf4.html Save to Pocket

US Agencies Warn of Security Risks from Chinese Drones

date: 2024-01-26, from: VOA News USA

Chinese-made drones dominate the global market and are used widely by government agencies inside the United States. As Matt Dibble reports, US cybersecurity watchdogs warn that using those drones come with risks.

https://www.voanews.com/a/us-agencies-warn-of-security-risks-from-chinese-drones/7458382.html Save to Pocket

Wheel-E Podcast: Rad drops all prices, Propella’s new e-bike & more

date: 2024-01-26, from: Electrek Feed

This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes new e-bike launches from Segway, a new e-motorcycle launch from Horwin, swappable batteries from Yamaha, snow-bike tips, and more.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Upway, a leading online e-bike provider carrying the broadest selection of brand-new and certified pre-owned models.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/26/wheel-e-podcast-rad-price-drop-snakes-on-bikes-more/ Save to Pocket

Record federal contract dollars for Native nation-owned firms

date: 2024-01-26, from: Marketplace Morning Report

In 2023, $23 billion in federal contracts went to companies run by tribal nations, Alaska Native corporations and Native Hawaiian organizations. That’s 3% of the total federal contracting pool. We’ll get into why that money — and jobs that come with it — matter. Plus, the indie film market at Sundance and a ten-year high for IBM stock.

https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/record-federal-contract-dollars-for-native-nation-owned-firms Save to Pocket

@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-01-26, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

Someone needs to take a bullet on behalf of us and move to Cupertino or London.

From: @annazaks
https://mastodon.social/@annazaks/111819316764578264

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111822500959490192 Save to Pocket

Lucid CEO: $50,000 Model 3, Model Y Competitor Coming Sooner Than You Think

date: 2024-01-26, from: Inside EVs News

 “This isn’t some theoretical… we’ve been working on midsize for quite a while,” CEO Peter Rawlinson told InsideEVs this week.

https://insideevs.com/news/706160/lucid-midsize-project-development/ Save to Pocket

@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-01-26, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

Apple’s fee calculator should help you make an informed decision of what is best for your business.

For some, it is not worth changing, for others, a nice boost.

https://developer.apple.com/support/fee-calculator-for-apps-in-the-eu/

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111822489748700830 Save to Pocket

DC’s Building Museum Exhibition Immerses Children in the World of Books

date: 2024-01-26, from: VOA News USA

Washington, DC has turned the National Building Museum into a wonderland of children’s literature. Using children’s books, it’s an immersive journey into architecture, engineering and design. Maxim Adams has the story. Camera and edit: Andrey Degtyarev, Andrey Degtyarev, Anna Rice

https://www.voanews.com/a/dc-s-building-museum-exhibition-immerses-children-in-the-world-of-books/7458358.html Save to Pocket

@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-01-26, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

I love all those “… was a Zero Interest Rate Phenomenon” jokes.

But the reason is that high-interest rates move money from being used to stagnant.

The phenomenon was “we were being productive and delivering value to the world.”

Now, we print money for people with money.

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111822448273673610 Save to Pocket

@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-01-26, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

International Court of Justice orders Israel to stop their genocide.

The most depressing part was watching way too many people and ex-friends defend the genocide and split hairs over human suffering.

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111822412925066201 Save to Pocket

Intel warns of Q1 nosedive… and its shares follow suit

date: 2024-01-26, updated: 2024-01-26, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Pat’s gonna need to sell a lotta AI PCs if he wants to make a profit this quarter

Intel execs this week painted a grim picture of early 2024, forecasting steep declines ahead for the company’s core businesses.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/26/intel_q1_nosedive/ Save to Pocket

Volkswagen Confirms $7,500 Federal Tax Credit For ID.4 In 2024

date: 2024-01-26, from: Inside EVs News

The incentive will be available for the existing 2023 and upcoming 2024 model year versions.

https://insideevs.com/news/706135/volkswagen-7500-federal-tax-credit-id4-2024/ Save to Pocket

UK merger of Vodafone and Three in competition watchdog’s crosshairs

date: 2024-01-26, updated: 2024-01-26, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Union claims corporate greed behind alliance, firms claim it is about helping customers

The UK’s competition watchdog is today kicking off Phase 1 of its probe into proposed merger between Vodafone and Three’s UK businesses to determine any repercussions the tie-up could have for rivals or customers.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/26/vodafone_and_three_merger_cma/ Save to Pocket

Major Closures Planned for 110 Freeway This Weekend

date: 2024-01-26, updated: 2024-01-26, from: The LAist

The closures begin Friday night and run through Sunday, with the most significant traffic impacts expected overnight Saturday.

https://laist.com/news/transportation/major-closures-planned-for-110-freeway-this-weekend Save to Pocket

Unlock Your Phone Without Using Your Face or Fingerprint

date: 2024-01-26, from: The Markup blog

Authenticating with a passcode or pattern protects your data legally as well as physically

https://themarkup.org/gentle-january/2024/01/26/unlock-your-phone-without-using-your-face-or-fingerprint Save to Pocket

How Abortion Ruling Spurred Federal Action Against the Location Data Industry

date: 2024-01-26, from: The Markup blog

Nearly a quarter of the 47 location data companies we identified in 2021 have faced Congressional scrutiny or regulatory enforcement actions

https://themarkup.org/impact/2024/01/26/how-abortion-ruling-spurred-federal-action-against-the-location-data-industry Save to Pocket

John Boston | Make Me the Next City Czar of Parks & Rec

date: 2024-01-26, from: The Signal

DEAREST CAMERON SMYTH, MOST HIGH HOLY & EXALTED MUCKY MUCK MAYOR OF THE CITY OF SCLARITA — Once again, I place digits to keyboard in a humble effort to lighten your municipal load. Heard you were short a city parks commissioner.  I’ve found your man. It’s me.  I’m sure you’ll be awash in managerial talent […]

The post John Boston | Make Me the Next City Czar of Parks & Rec appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/john-boston-make-me-the-next-city-czar-of-parks-rec/ Save to Pocket

Hubble Views a Galaxy Settling into Old Age

date: 2024-01-26, from: NASA breaking news

NGC 3384, visible in this image, has many of the characteristic features of so-called elliptical galaxies. Such galaxies glow diffusely, are rounded in shape, display few visible features, and rarely show signs of recent star formation. Instead, they are dominated by old, aging, and red-hued stars. This stands in contrast to the liveliness of spiral galaxies such as our […]

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-views-a-galaxy-settling-into-old-age/ Save to Pocket

Akira ransomware gang says it stole passport scans from Lush in 110 GB data heist

date: 2024-01-26, updated: 2024-01-26, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Cosmetics brand goes from Jackson Pollocking your bathwater to cleaning up serious a digital mess

The Akira ransomware gang is claiming responsiblity for the “cybersecurity incident” at British bath bomb merchant.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/26/akira_lush_ransomware/ Save to Pocket

Biden Presses Pause on LNG Export Approvals

date: 2024-01-26, from: Heatmap News

Current conditions: Spain experienced its warmest January day ever recorded • Huge parts of the U.S. are blanketed in dense fog • California is bracing for another atmospheric river that could bring heavy rain.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Biden confirms delay on LNG export approvals

The Biden administration confirmed this morning that it is pausing approvals of contentious liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminals until the climate impacts of such projects can be better understood. The New York Times broke the news earlier this week but the White House didn’t comment until today. Any review by the Department of Energy of LNG environmental impacts would take time, and likely delay the approvals for the new terminals until after the 2024 election.

2. Largest US solar and battery storage system up and running

The largest solar power and battery storage project in the U.S. officially came online this week. The Edwards & Sanborn facility has 2 million solar panels and 120,720 storage batteries, and stretches across 4,600 acres of California’s Mojave Desert. It can generate 875 megawatts from solar, and has 3,287 megawatt-hours of energy storage. Canary Media’s Eric Wesoff called projects like these “bright spots in the U.S. renewable energy landscape,” and explained that “as solar makes up a bigger and bigger share of grid power, battery storage is needed to soak up surplus daytime energy and make it available for use later in the day.”

Mortenson

3. Scorched Colombia calls for help

Colombia is asking for help from the international community as it battles wildfires that have scorched more than 16,300 acres of land. Hot and dry conditions mean more than 87% of the country is at “maximum risk” for fires, according to AFP. Some towns have seen temperatures upwards of 105 degrees Fahrenheit this week, and at least 62 municipalities are facing water shortages. In the nation’s capital of Bogota, residents are choking on smoke. President Gustavo Petro declared a “situation of disaster and calamity” and pleaded for assistance from countries that have “enormous experience” fighting fires, including the U.S. The conditions fueling the fires have been linked to the El Niño weather pattern, but Petro noted the role of climate change, as well, and called on “every mayor, every governor and the national government” to prioritize water supplies.

Get Heatmap AM directly in your inbox every morning:

4. UK power giant Drax eyes US expansion into carbon capture

Americans are likely to start hearing a lot more about a company called Drax. The British power plant operator is “beefing up its presence” in the U.S., reported the Times of London, starting with a new Houston-based subsidiary and plan to build out two biomass power plants that can capture and store carbon. Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, or BECCS, is when biomass like wood is burned to generate electricity, and the resulting emissions are captured and stored. It’s “the only carbon dioxide removal technique that can also provide energy,” the International Energy Agency explained, and “plays an important role in decarbonising sectors such as heavy industry, aviation and trucking.” But critics worry the practice encourages deforestation and that the capturing and storing part of the equation is unproven. Drax, it seems, wants a taste of those sweet, sweet, U.S. green tax credits: The company aims to remove at least 6 million tons of carbon dioxide every year, and would reportedly be eligible for tax breaks of $85 per ton of carbon captured.

5. Renewables heavyweight NextEra says IRA is here to stay

Donald Trump has threatened to gut President Biden’s Inflation Reduction (IRA) Act should he win back the White House in November, but the CEO of the biggest renewable energy developer in the U.S. isn’t worried. NextEra boss John Ketchum told analysts this week that it’s “really hard to overturn existing law … no matter what the political winds are.” The company saw record orders for renewables and battery storage for the second year in a row in 2023, the Financial Times reported, and raked in annual net profits of $7.3 billion, up from $4.2 billion in 2022. It expects to have 63 megawatts of renewable energy projects in operation by 2026, which is “more than all but nine countries in the world,” the FT added.

Ketchum said: “In the 21 years I’ve been at the company, as we’ve changed administrations and as we’ve seen changes in Congress, we’ve never seen a change or repeal of tax credits – no matter what form they’ve taken.”

THE KICKER

“I think with this achievement, we are very confident that we will be able to create northern white rhinos in the same manner and that we will be able to save the species.” –Scientist Susanne Holtze, commenting on the world’s first IVF rhino pregnancy

https://heatmap.news/politics/biden-lng-pause-confirmed Save to Pocket

Charles Yacoobian | More Biden ‘Accomplishments’

date: 2024-01-26, from: The Signal

Re: Lois Eisenberg, letters, Jan. 20. Lois, Lois, Lois … your letter to the editor had me laughing so hard, tears were running down my cheeks. In Larry Moore’s rebuttal (Jan. 23) he pointed out that the liberal news networks you cite as sources for Biden Administration accomplishments is like getting the information directly from […]

The post Charles Yacoobian | More Biden ‘Accomplishments’ appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/charles-yacoobian-more-biden-accomplishments/ Save to Pocket

Chatbots and Human Conversation

date: 2024-01-26, updated: 2024-01-26, from: Bruce Schneier blog

For most of history, communicating with a computer has not been like communicating with a person. In their earliest years, computers required carefully constructed instructions, delivered through punch cards; then came a command-line interface, followed by menus and options and text boxes. If you wanted results, you needed to learn the computer’s language.

This is beginning to change. Large language models—the technology undergirding modern chatbots—allow users to interact with computers through natural conversation, an innovation that introduces some baggage from human-to-human exchanges. Early on in our respective explorations of ChatGPT, the two of us found ourselves typing a word that we’d never said to a computer before: “Please.” The syntax of civility has crept into nearly every aspect of our encounters; we speak to this algebraic assemblage as if it were a person—even when we know that …

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/01/chatbots-and-human-conversation.html Save to Pocket

UK walks away from trade negotiations with Canada

date: 2024-01-26, from: Marketplace Morning Report

From the BBC World Service: British negotiators have walked away from talks with Canada, after it refused to continue a short-term deal that suspended tariffs on cheese; previously, the U.K. had been part of the EU’s agreement for tariff-free imports. Then: There’s been a major u-turn from Apple — it will now allow users in the EU to download apps from rival providers. A federal judge in Brazil has ordered three mining giants to pay almost $10 billion in damages over a deadly dam burst in 2015. And a business-minded Tanzanian teenager on a mission to help other kids learn about money and entrepreneurship.

https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/uk-walks-away-from-trade-negotiations-with-canada Save to Pocket

Quietly Fixing the Mess

date: 2024-01-26, from: Dan Rather’s Steady

Hello to the Steady community. First, I want to thank you for your passionate engagement. Comments on our last post, “One Man,” were prolific — some of the most ever for a Steady post. Naturally, I encourage more. While most comments were positive, a few of you asked why we chose to give so much copy to former President Trump’s failures rather than highlight President Biden’s accomplishments.

https://steady.substack.com/p/quietly-fixing-the-mess Save to Pocket

Facial Hair Friday: From Baseball to War

date: 2024-01-26, from: National Archives, Pieces of History blog

This Facial Hair Friday photo shows baseball-player-turned-Coast Guardsman Frank L. Lailer sporting a respectable amount of facial hair, albeit not quite as much as some of his bushier-bearded Coast Guard colleagues. His is just one of the many beards and mustaches featured in a series of Coast Guardsmen at Work in the Records of the … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: From Baseball to War

https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2024/01/26/facial-hair-friday-from-baseball-to-war/ Save to Pocket

P&B: Ran Prieur

date: 2024-01-26, from: Manu - I write blog

This is the 22nd edition of People and Blogs, the series where I ask interesting people to talk about themselves and their blogs. Today we have Ran Prieur and his blog, ranprieur.com

Ran’s an interesting character to say the least and his site reflects that. I especially love the very old school vibe.

To follow this series subscribe to the newsletter. A new interview will land in your inbox every Friday. Not a fan of newsletters? No problem! You can read the interviews here on the blog or you can subscribe to the RSS feed.

This was the 22nd edition of People and Blogs. Hope you enjoyed this interview with Ran. Make sure to follow his blog (RSS) and get in touch with him if you have any questions.

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https://manuelmoreale.com/@/page/2qrMUznkZVSEUXBg Save to Pocket

Mars Helicopter Ingenuity will fly no more, but is still standing upright

date: 2024-01-26, updated: 2024-01-26, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

In Memoriam for plucky robot that brushed off dead sensors and dust like they were nothing

After 72 flights and three years, NASA has retired Ingenuity, the Mars helicopter that became the first aircraft operated outside the Earth’s atmosphere.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/26/mars_helicopter_ingenuity_grounded/ Save to Pocket

Zero And India’s Hero MotoCorp Collaborating On New Electric Platform

date: 2024-01-26, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

A total of four new electric motorcycles are speculated to be under development, with an initial launch expected for 2025.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/706023/zero-hero-codeveloping-electric-platform/ Save to Pocket

Porsche CFO says Europe may delay its ICE ban

date: 2024-01-26, from: Electrek Feed

On the heels of unveiling the long-awaited all-electric Porsche Macan SUV, the company’s chief financial officer Lutz Meschke delivered what could be some dreary news, if it happens: He said that Europe’s plan to ban ICE vehicles by 2035 may get pushed back due to a slowing EV demand, reports Automotive News Europe. 

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/26/porsche-cfo-says-europe-may-delay-its-ice-ban/ Save to Pocket

Worldcon in the news

date: 2024-01-26, updated: 2024-01-26, from: Charlie’s Diary

You’ve probably seen news reports that the Hugo awards handed out last year at the world science fiction convention in Chengdu were rigged. For example: Science fiction awards held in China under fire for excluding authors. The Guardian got bits…

http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2024/01/worldcon-in-the-news.html Save to Pocket

Virgin Media comes top of the flops for customer complaints

date: 2024-01-26, updated: 2024-01-26, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Clean sweep across broadband, landline, and pay TV

It may be only a few years since the two were combined, but Virgin Media O2 is topping UK comms regulator Ofcom’s customer complaints chart.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/26/ofcom_virgin_media_complaints/ Save to Pocket

Fliteboard unveils new electric hydrofoil surfboard to help surfers catch a wave

date: 2024-01-26, from: Electrek Feed

Fliteboard, a leading manufacturer of electric hydrofoil surfboards, announced the launch of its new sub-brand FLITElab* (there’s no more info below, that asterisk is frustratingly part of the name). The announcement coincides with the launch of FLITElab*’s first product, the AMP board, which can help surfers catch a wave, both assisted and electricity-free.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/26/fliteboard-unveils-new-electric-hydrofoil-surfboard-to-help-surfers-catch-a-wave/ Save to Pocket

Soccer: girls’ state championship, boys BIIF championship slated

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Brackets were released for the HHSAA girls soccer state playoffs and the Central Pacific Bank/BIIF boys soccer playoffs on Wednesday evening.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/sports/soccer-girls-state-championship-boys-biif-championship-slated/ Save to Pocket

Vulcan boosters dinner on tap for next week

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>University of Hawai&#8217;i at Hilo Athletics and the Vulcan Booster Club will be honoring two Hilo families at the Vulcans Legacy Dinner set for Friday, Feb. 2 at the Hilo Yacht Club.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/sports/vulcan-boosters-dinner-on-tap-for-next-week/ Save to Pocket

Obituaries for Jan. 26

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Noli Dela Merced Acol, 59, of Keaau, died Dec. 19 in Hilo. Born in the Philippines, he worked as a Department of Transportation bus driver. Celebration of life to be held 1 p.m. Jan. 27 at Zion&#8217;s House of Praise Holiness Church. Survived by wife Sandra M. Talbert-Acol, son Isaiah A. J. Acol, fiance Robin A. Travis, daughter Sharay (Edward Patton) Acol, and numerous grandchildren, aunties, uncles and cousins. Arrangements by Homelani Memorial Park.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/obituaries/obituaries-for-jan-26/ Save to Pocket

Israel vows to fight Hamas all the way to Gaza’s southern border. That’s fueling tension with Egypt

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>CAIRO (AP) &#8212; Israel faces a growing risk of damaging its peace with neighboring Egypt as its military pushes the offensive against Hamas further south in the Gaza Strip. Already, the two sides are in a dispute over a narrow strip of land between Egypt and Gaza.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/nation-world-news/israel-vows-to-fight-hamas-all-the-way-to-gazas-southern-border-thats-fueling-tension-with-egypt/ Save to Pocket

Donald Trump testifies for less than 3 minutes in defamation trial and is rebuked by judge

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>NEW YORK &#8212; He testified for under three minutes. But former President Donald Trump still broke a judge&#8217;s rules on what he could tell a jury about writer E. Jean Carroll&#8217;s sexual assault and defamation allegations, and he left the courtroom Thursday bristling to the spectators: &#8220;This is not America.&#8221;</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/nation-world-news/donald-trump-testifies-for-less-than-3-minutes-in-defamation-trial-and-is-rebuked-by-judge/ Save to Pocket

Wiliwili Festival set for Feb. 10

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>The 13th Annual Wiliwili Festival is set to take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10, at the Waikoloa Dry Forest Preserve.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/community/wiliwili-festival-set-for-feb-10/ Save to Pocket

With Trump’s win, the die is cast

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Perhaps you&#8217;ve been avoiding the whole thing, and no one could blame you. But with Donald Trump&#8217;s victory in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, and the Republican nominating contest all but sewn up, the 2024 presidential campaign looks set to be among the bleakest in memory. Alea iacta est.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/opinion/with-trumps-win-the-die-is-cast/ Save to Pocket

Pundits: Central to democracy, or partisan spewers of opinion who destroy trust

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Walter Lippmann, who lived from 1889 to 1974, was an early and prime example of the public intellectual as pundit commenting on news of the day.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/opinion/pundits-central-to-democracy-or-partisan-spewers-of-opinion-who-destroy-trust/ Save to Pocket

Puna Strong grant recipients announced

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Hawaii County and the Hawaii Community Foundation have announced a third round of Puna Strong grant recipients.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/community/puna-strong-grant-recipients-announced/ Save to Pocket

Hawaii Wood Guild show underway in Waimea

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>The Hawaii Wood Guild&#8217;s 38th Invitational Masters Show is being held now through Thursday, Feb. 29.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/community/hawaii-wood-guild-show-underway-in-waimea/ Save to Pocket

BIIF girls hoops: Pahoa collects impressive road win, Kona crushes Hilo

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>KAILUA-KONA &#8212; With a few days remaining in the regular season, schools from across the island continued a strong push in Wednesday&#8217;s Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) girls basketball games. As of Thursday afternoon, Konawaena girls basketball clinched Division I&#8217;s best record at 11-1, while KS-Hawai&#8216;i leads DII at 11-0.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/sports/biif-girls-hoops-pahoa-collects-impressive-road-win-kona-crushes-hilo/ Save to Pocket

Haley looks to fight on home turf, which her rival claims as Trump country

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>CHARLESTON, S.C. &#8212; A combative Nikki Haley brought her presidential campaign back to South Carolina on Wednesday after a disappointing defeat the night before in New Hampshire, and told a boisterous crowd in a cavernous ballroom in North Charleston that she would fight Donald Trump for the Republican nomination.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/nation-world-news/haley-looks-to-fight-on-home-turf-which-her-rival-claims-as-trump-country/ Save to Pocket

Alaska holds Boeing accountable, wants to be made whole for $150M in losses

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Alaska Airlines executives said Thursday they will push Boeing to improve its quality control and expect the jetmaker to reimburse the airline for at least $150 million in losses from the grounding of its 737 Max 9 fleet after the blowout of a door-sized fuselage panel on Flight 1282 earlier this month.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/nation-world-news/alaska-holds-boeing-accountable-wants-to-be-made-whole-for-150m-in-losses/ Save to Pocket

Pro Picks: Chiefs and 49ers will win to set up a Super Bowl rematch

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>The underdog role has worked out for the Kansas City Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes. The San Francisco 49ers have odds in their favor. </p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/sports/pro-picks-chiefs-and-49ers-will-win-to-set-up-a-super-bowl-rematch/ Save to Pocket

Fire blanketed Lahaina in toxic debris. Where can they put it?

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>OLOWALU, Maui &#8212; When a firestorm consumed the Hawaii town of Lahaina last year, killing 100 people, it left behind a toxic wasteland of melted batteries, charred propane tanks, and miles of debris tainted by arsenic and lead.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/hawaii-news/fire-blanketed-lahaina-in-toxic-debris-where-can-they-put-it/ Save to Pocket

Trump ally withdraws plan for a GOP resolution to move past Haley

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>One of Donald Trump&#8217;s key allies inside the Republican National Committee withdrew a planned resolution to try to force the party&#8217;s official body to say that the GOP presidential nominating contest is effectively over, even though only two states have voted and Nikki Haley has vowed to continue her campaign against the dominant front-runner.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/nation-world-news/trump-ally-withdraws-plan-for-a-gop-resolution-to-move-past-haley/ Save to Pocket

Jackson, McCaffrey and Prescott are finalists for the AP 2023 NFL MVP and offensive player awards

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Lamar Jackson, Christian McCaffrey and Dak Prescott are finalists for The Associated Press 2023 NFL Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year awards. </p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/sports/jackson-mccaffrey-and-prescott-are-finalists-for-the-ap-2023-nfl-mvp-and-offensive-player-awards/ Save to Pocket

Alabama sophomore Nick Dunlap joining PGA Tour after breakthrough win

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Alabama sophomore Nick Dunlap is turning pro after becoming the first amateur in 33 years to win on the PGA Tour. </p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/sports/alabama-sophomore-nick-dunlap-joining-pga-tour-after-breakthrough-win/ Save to Pocket

Alabama executes a man with nitrogen gas, the first time the new method has been used

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>(AP) &#8212; Alabama executed a convicted murderer with nitrogen gas Thursday, putting him to death with a first-of-its-kind method that once again placed the U.S. at the forefront of the debate over capital punishment. The state said the method would be humane, but critics called it cruel and experimental.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/nation-world-news/alabama-executes-a-man-with-nitrogen-gas-the-first-time-the-new-method-has-been-used/ Save to Pocket

Full public financing of political campaigns gets weighty support

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>House Speaker Scott Saiki has thrown his support behind an effort for full public financing for political candidates starting in 2028, which proponents say would reduce the temptation for political corruption and perhaps lead to a new generation of younger elected officials who aren&#8217;t beholden to special interests and corporations.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/hawaii-news/full-public-financing-of-political-campaigns-gets-weighty-support/ Save to Pocket

Testimony shifts to alleged kidnapping in Miske trial

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>A former employee of Michael J. Miske&#8217;s businesses testified Wednesday that his boss used violence to get his way and helped him coordinate the kidnapping of an accountant.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/hawaii-news/testimony-shifts-to-alleged-kidnapping-in-miske-trial/ Save to Pocket

LeBron James makes NBA All-Star team for record 20th time, Kevin Durant for 14th time

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>LeBron James joined yet another exclusive club, and he&#8217;ll have plenty of familiar faces alongside him at this season&#8217;s NBA All-Star Game. </p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/sports/lebron-james-makes-nba-all-star-team-for-record-20th-time-kevin-durant-for-14th-time/ Save to Pocket

A rhino got pregnant from embryo transfer, in a success that may help nearly extinct subspecies

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>NAIROBI, Kenya &#8212; Researchers say a rhinoceros was impregnated through embryo transfer in the first successful use of a method that they say might later make it possible to save the nearly extinct northern white rhino subspecies.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/nation-world-news/a-rhino-got-pregnant-from-embryo-transfer-in-a-success-that-may-help-nearly-extinct-subspecies/ Save to Pocket

Man sentenced to death for arson attack at Japanese anime studio that killed 36

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>TOKYO &#8212; A Japanese court sentenced a man to death after finding him guilty of murder and other crimes Thursday for carrying out an arson attack on an anime studio in Kyoto that killed 36 people.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/nation-world-news/man-sentenced-to-death-for-arson-attack-at-japanese-anime-studio-that-killed-36/ Save to Pocket

FTC opens inquiry into Big Tech’s partnerships with leading AI startups

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>U.S. antitrust enforcers are opening an inquiry into the relationships between leading artificial intelligence startups such as ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and the tech giants that have invested billions of dollars into them.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/nation-world-news/ftc-opens-inquiry-into-big-techs-partnerships-with-leading-ai-startups/ Save to Pocket

An Alaska judge will preside over an upcoming Hawaii bribery trial after an unexpected recusal

date: 2024-01-26, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>HONOLULU (AP) &#8212; A U.S. judge in Alaska will preside over an upcoming bribery trial in Hawaii against Honolulu&#8217;s former top prosecutor after a judge suddenly recused himself.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/26/hawaii-news/an-alaska-judge-will-preside-over-an-upcoming-hawaii-bribery-trial-after-an-unexpected-recusal/ Save to Pocket

What Is Winter Anymore?

date: 2024-01-26, from: Heatmap News

If you’ve had the uneasy sense that winter weather isn’t what it used to be, you’re not alone — and you’re probably right. The everyday effects of climate change on the year’s coldest months are quickly becoming too blatant to dismiss.

As annual heat records continue to topple year after year — 2023, now officially the hottest year on record, came terrifyingly close to averaging 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial temperatures — winter weather is responding. In some places, it’s turning snowy days into rainy ones. In others, it’s turning cold days bitterly so.

So — what, exactly, is going on? Let’s start with the basics.

What does climate change have to do with winter?

The main thing is that climate change is pushing winter temperatures higher. In fact, the average winter temperature is rising faster than that of any other season. Average temperatures in the lower 48 U.S. states from December through February rose by almost 3 degrees Fahrenheit between 1896 and 2021, compared to 2 degrees in spring and 1.5 degrees in summer and fall, federal data show.

The number of days below freezing each year is also on the decline across the country and across the planet. A decade ago, the U.S. was already seeing two weeks less snow cover, on average, than it did in 1972, according to federal data. And parts of the country, including cities in the Northeast and Northwest, are on track to lose over a month of freezing days by midcentury.

But in many places, daily highs and lows aren’t shifting at the same rate. Winter nights, for instance, are warming even faster than winter days — the total number of freezing nights has been dropping in the U.S. since the 1970s. Colder places are also warming more quickly, with the northern U.S. and especially the Northeast experiencing the most significant rise in average winter temperatures.

That dreary, muddy weather that most of the U.S. saw this past Christmas does, admittedly, happen sometimes for natural reasons. Same with the incessant rain that fell (and then turned to ice) across the Midwest and Northeast in mid-January. With every fraction of a degree the planet warms, however, events like these become more likely — or, at least, that’s what hundreds of the world’s leading climate scientists concluded in the United Nations’ latest synthesis report on the state of the global climate.

And just to be clear, these rising temperatures are the result of human activities, most significantly the burning of fossil fuels?

Bingo.

If winter is getting warmer, what’s with these bouts of extreme cold the U.S. has been getting?

Some evidence suggests that climate change is actually making cold shocks more likely by destabilizing the polar jet stream, which keeps the frigid air in the far northern hemisphere from moving too far southward (and keeps warm air in the tropics from moving too far northward). As a result, the polar vortex that’s normally confined to the Arctic is liable to stretch south and blast bitterly cold air into the contiguous U.S. That’s what happened in mid-January, when temperatures in Montana and the Dakotas dropped as low as -30 degrees Fahrenheit and the wind chill bottomed out at -60 degrees. Cold air from the same weather system blew all the way to Texas.

That said, this evidence is not rock solid. Whether or not it bears out in the long term, it’s important to remember that a warmer world doesn’t mean it will never be cold.

Recent experience notwithstanding, cold snaps — short periods of abnormally cold weather — are going away, too. Their average duration dropped by six days between 1970 and 2021, a Climate Central analysis found.

A month ago I thought it would never snow again. Now I’m shoveling my driveway for the third time this week. Why are some places suddenly getting even worse snowstorms than usual?

One of the most predictable consequences of climate change is that, as year-round temperatures soar, an increasing share of annual precipitation will fall as rain rather than snow. That’s just what you get when it’s too warm for water vapor to freeze.

One of the less obvious consequences, it turns out, is that a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, enabling it to dump more precipitation — whether that comes as rain, snow, or wintry mix — during a single storm. As a result, even though climate change is making certain places drier, the biggest winter snowstorms are becoming, well, bigger.

This apparent contradiction had a major impact on the parched West in 2023. Drought is expected to become the norm there as the planet warms, fueling epic wildfires and straining already limited water supplies.

But a string of record snowstorms across the West last winter replenished the region’s dwindling snowpack, feeding mountain streams and helping keep drought conditions at bay (and creating a really good year for ski towns). In California, meanwhile, a barrage of atmospheric rivers drenched lower elevations and broke snowfall records in parts of the Sierra Nevada mountains.

California and its neighbors got off to another rainy (and snowy) start in 2024 — though the recent reprieve from years of severe drought isn’t expected to last.

I’m raising kids in a place that used to get at least a few inches of snow each winter, but lately has hardly been getting any. Will my children know what snow is?

The best answer we can give you today is to say that yes, snow will most likely still exist. But rising generations probably won’t be able to count on snow falling — and sticking — with the regularity it did when you were their age.

Climate scientists don’t have a perfect picture of how quickly the winters we grew up with will give way to a string of months that are rainy, slushy, and unpredictable, but that’s the direction the evidence is pointing. As global temperatures continue to rise, the trends we’ve seen in winter weather over the past couple of decades aren’t expected to reverse course anytime soon.

Are these shifting winter weather patterns impacting other seasons, too?

Many of the ways climate change affects winter are hard to miss. Snow falls later and less often, and when it does come, it doesn’t last as long. That comes with a few perks for the average American — such as fewer frigid winter days — and huge downsides for the communities, ecosystems, and industries that depend on winter being snowy and cold.

The ramifications of warming winters across the U.S. also extend far beyond the end of the season. Accelerated snowmelt causes plants to green and bloom earlier, which can have cascading effects on soil moisture and drought, as well as on the wildlife that depend on these plants for food and habitat. If snowpack fails to accumulate or melts too early, streams will run dry during the hottest months of the year, when animals, plants, and people need them most.

Traditional strains of some fruit crops — like blueberries, cherries and peaches, for example — don’t grow properly in the spring and summer if the preceding winter was too warm. The increasing volatility of winter weather is also affecting the success rate of wintertime crops, especially in the South. By some estimates, the agriculture sector’s biggest companies could lose tens of billions of dollars in value by 2030 because of climate change.

And pests like ticks and mosquitoes are not only expanding northward, they’re also surviving the winter more easily in their historical range, causing their populations to grow and rates of disease transmission to climb.

It’s super warm where I am right now. Is that climate change?

Unfortunately, that’s one question we can’t answer — not for every instance of unseasonably warm temperatures everywhere in the world. What we do know for sure is that warmer average temperatures make unseasonable and extreme weather more likely. So in that sense, yes, odds are very good that climate change is playing a role in that thermometer reading.

But also, events rarely have just one cause. Climate change could be exacerbating a natural weather phenomenon, or you might just have gotten a brief winter reprieve. Whether one sultry February day is “because of climate change” isn’t really the point. The point is that, unless and until we stop emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and start pulling them out, the weather will just keep getting weirder. There is no new normal.

https://heatmap.news/guides/winter-climate-change-faq Save to Pocket

Our third (ish) birthday is coming up!

date: 2024-01-26, from: Raspberry Pi News (.com)

In February and March, Raspberry Pi community events all over the world will be celebrating our upcoming twelfth birthday, which is also our very special third leap birthday.

The post Our third (ish) birthday is coming up! appeared first on Raspberry Pi.

https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/our-third-ish-birthday-is-coming-up/ Save to Pocket

Men’s volleyball tamed by Matadors in five sets

date: 2024-01-26, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

A bullfight of a matchup ended in a crushing upset loss for the No. 11 Trojans.

The post Men’s volleyball tamed by Matadors in five sets appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/26/mens-volleyball-tamed-by-matadors-in-five-sets/ Save to Pocket

Russian Court Extends Detention of US Journalist

date: 2024-01-26, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/russian-court-extends-detention-of-us-journalist-/7458184.html Save to Pocket

The Trojans’ “Hoop Hype”

date: 2024-01-26, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

USC men’s basketball can’t walk the walk.

The post The Trojans’ “Hoop Hype” appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/26/the-trojans-hoop-hype/ Save to Pocket

Men’s basketball aims to end four-game skid against rival UCLA

date: 2024-01-26, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

The stakes at Galen Center are huge, even with both teams struggling this year.

The post Men’s basketball aims to end four-game skid against rival UCLA appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/26/mens-basketball-aims-to-end-four-game-skid-against-rival-ucla/ Save to Pocket

The Final Battle (The last installment of Why American capitalism is so rotten, Part 10)

date: 2024-01-26, from: Robert Reich on Substack

Where we’re heading, and what we need to do

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-final-battle-why-american-capitalism Save to Pocket

Royal Enfield Rolls Out New Military Silver Colorways For Bullet 350

date: 2024-01-26, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

Military SilverBlack and Military SilverRed give the Bullet 350 an even more elegant sheen.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/706174/royal-enfield-bullet-350-military-silver-edition/ Save to Pocket

Classifieds – January 26, 2024

date: 2024-01-26, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

The Daily Trojan features Classified advertising in each day’s edition. Here you can read, search, and even print out each day’s edition of the Classifieds.

The post Classifieds – January 26, 2024 appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/26/classifieds-january-26-2024/ Save to Pocket

Standards-obsessed boss ignored one, and suffered all night for his sin

date: 2024-01-26, updated: 2024-01-26, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

When a rack sits on a metal plate, that’s so not an invitation to move it

On Call  The Register loves standards – we have our very own Standards Bureau. Another standard we observe rigorously is that each Friday morning brings a new instalment of On Call, the weekly reader-contributed tale of tech support incidents that ripped up the rule book.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/26/on_call/ Save to Pocket

Both hospital location bills fail to pass

date: 2024-01-26, from: Guam Daily Post

The two measures competing to determine the location of a new public hospital or medical campus on Guam failed to pass the Legislature on Friday. The governor’s Bill 184-37 and Sen. Chris Barnett’s Bill 185-37 both fell one vote short…

https://www.postguam.com/news/both-hospital-location-bills-fail-to-pass/article_7fdc7998-bc0d-11ee-b7b8-1fc178c1b779.html Save to Pocket

Today in SCV History (Jan. 26)

date: 2024-01-26, from: SCV New (TV Station)

1990 – “Duplicates” premieres at L.A. Phil; concerto by CalArts Music School dean Mel Powell wins Pulitzer Prize. [story

https://scvnews.com/today-in-scv-history-17/ Save to Pocket

Moving out by 18 is a distinctly American concept

date: 2024-01-26, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

In many cultures, leaving home can feel like a sin — despite American norms.

The post Moving out by 18 is a distinctly American concept appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/26/moving-out-by-18-is-a-distinctly-american-concept/ Save to Pocket

Students advertise, network, mingle and learn about campus clubs at spring Involvement Fair

date: 2024-01-26, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

Tables lined Trousdale and Alumni Park over the course of the three-day-long event.

The post Students advertise, network, mingle and learn about campus clubs at spring Involvement Fair appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/26/students-advertise-network-mingle-and-learn-about-campus-clubs-at-spring-involvement-fair/ Save to Pocket

Embrace change this ‘Age of Aquarius’

date: 2024-01-26, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

Pluto’s move into the fixed air sign signals an important generational shift.

The post Embrace change this ‘Age of Aquarius’ appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/26/embrace-change-this-age-of-aquarius/ Save to Pocket

Latines deserve to thrive in movies and TV shows

date: 2024-01-26, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

Hollywood consistently refuses to give Latines their due time in the spotlight.

The post Latines deserve to thrive in movies and TV shows appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/26/latines-deserve-to-thrive-in-movies-and-tv-shows/ Save to Pocket

The music taste behind the masthead

date: 2024-01-26, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

The Daily Trojan’s editors share their current favorite songs this spring semester.

The post The music taste behind the masthead appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/26/the-music-taste-behind-the-masthead/ Save to Pocket

USC awarding more STEM degrees, data shows

date: 2024-01-26, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

Stigmas and financial woes may drive students away from the arts, some say.

The post USC awarding more STEM degrees, data shows appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/26/198743/ Save to Pocket

E-Moto Specialist Trevor Motorcycles Eyeing Expansion Across Europe, US

date: 2024-01-26, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

It hopes to put up 280 sales points in Europe, the UK, the US, and Canada.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/706161/trevor-motorcycles-global-expansion-2024/ Save to Pocket

US Scientist Offers Britain Advice on Making Tea; Brits Aren’t Having It

date: 2024-01-26, from: VOA News USA

LONDON — An American scientist has sparked a trans-Atlantic tempest in a teapot by offering Britain advice on its favorite hot beverage.

Bryn Mawr College chemistry professor Michelle Francl says one of the keys to a perfect cup of tea is a pinch of salt. The tip is included in Francl’s book Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea, published Wednesday by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Not since the Boston Tea Party has mixing tea with salt water roiled the Anglo-American relationship so much.

The salt suggestion drew howls of outrage from tea lovers in Britain, where popular stereotype sees Americans as coffee-swilling boors who make tea, if at all, in the microwave.

“Don’t even say the word ‘salt’ to us,” the etiquette guide Debrett’s wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The U.S. Embassy in London intervened in the brewing storm with a social media post reassuring “the good people of the U.K. that the unthinkable notion of adding salt to Britain’s national drink is not official United States policy.”

“Let us unite in our steeped solidarity and show the world that when it comes to tea, we stand as one,” said the tongue-in-cheek post. “The U.S. Embassy will continue to make tea in the proper way — by microwaving it.”

The embassy later clarified that its statement was “a lighthearted play on our shared cultural connections” rather than an official press release.

Steeped, in contrast, is no joke. The product of three years’ research and experimentation, the book explores the more than 100 chemical compounds found in tea and “puts the chemistry to use with advice on how to brew a better cup,” its publisher says.

Francl said adding a small amount of salt — not enough to taste — makes tea seem less bitter because “the sodium ions in salt block the bitter receptors in our mouths.”

She also advocates making tea in a pre-warmed pot, agitating the bag briefly but vigorously and serving it in a short, stout mug to preserve the heat. And she says milk should be added to the cup after the tea, not before — another issue that often divides tea lovers.

Francl has been surprised by the level of reaction to her book in Britain.

“I kind of understood that there would hopefully be a lot of interest,” she told The Associated Press. “I didn’t know we’d wade into a diplomatic conversation with the U.S. Embassy.”

It has made her ponder the ocean-wide coffee-tea divide that separates the U.S. and Britain.

“I wonder if we’re just a more caffeinated society — coffee is higher in caffeine,” she said. “Or maybe we’re just trying to rebel against our parent country.”

https://www.voanews.com/a/us-scientist-offers-britain-advice-on-making-tea-brits-aren-t-having-it-/7458133.html Save to Pocket

HJC Goes For Lightweight Comfort With RPHA 91 Carbon Modular Helmet

date: 2024-01-26, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

The RPHA 91 Carbon is 100 grams lighter than its standard counterpart, but comes with quite a hefty price tag.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/706012/hjc-rpha-91-carbon-helmet/ Save to Pocket

Dos Pueblos Girls Basketball Comes Through in the Clutch to Defeat Rival San Marcos 46-44

date: 2024-01-26, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Only three games remain in the regular season.

The post Dos Pueblos Girls Basketball Comes Through in the Clutch to Defeat Rival San Marcos 46-44 appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/25/dos-pueblos-girls-basketball-comes-through-in-the-clutch-to-defeat-rival-san-marcos-46-44/ Save to Pocket

Webcurios 26/01/24

date: 2024-01-26, from: Web Curios blog

Continue reading →

https://webcurios.co.uk/webcurios-26-01-24/ Save to Pocket

January 25, 2024

date: 2024-01-26, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog

Today a report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed strong economic growth of 3.3% in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2023, setting growth for the year at 3.1% (by comparison, in the first three years of Trump’s term, before the pandemic, growth was 2.5%). A year ago, economists projected that the U.S. would have a recession in 2023, and forecast growth of 0.2%.

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/january-25-2024 Save to Pocket

Landing On Mars: A Tricky Feat!

date: 2024-01-26, from: NASA breaking news

Why is landing on Mars so difficult? Learn more about the challenges with a special late-month edition of Night Sky Notes!

https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/skywatching/night-sky-network/landing-on-mars-a-tricky-feat/ Save to Pocket

Laguna Seca Being Sued For Increased Activity, Excessive Noise

date: 2024-01-26, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

When you build your house near a racetrack, it’s understood that you’ll be hearing a bit of noise.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/706007/laguna-seca-sued-noise-activities/ Save to Pocket

Lost and found: Renaissance-era painting recovered after being stolen by Nazis 

date: 2024-01-26, from: The Signal

It’s a story more than 80 years in the making.  Cheryl Bernstein is the great-granddaughter of Holocaust refugees who were forced to flee Czechoslovakia in 1938 when the Nazis arrived. Her grandmother, mother and grandfather fled the city of Brno — located in the modern-day Czech Republic — and ultimately ended up in the United […]

The post <strong>Lost and found: Renaissance-era painting recovered after being stolen by Nazis</strong>  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/lost-and-found-renaissance-era-painting-recovered-after-being-stolen-by-nazis/ Save to Pocket

Chinese Student Convicted of Stalking, Threatening Pro-Democracy Activist in US

date: 2024-01-26, from: VOA News USA

boston, Massachusetts — A federal jury in Boston has convicted a Chinese music student on charges of stalking and harassing one of his Chinese classmates after she posted flyers in support of democracy in China around the campus of the Berklee College of Music in the fall of 2022.

According to evidence presented at the trial and court documents, Xiaolei Wu, 25, sent his classmate online messages in late October of that year after she posted flyers that read: “We want democracy,” “We want freedom” and “Stand with the Chinese people.”

Wu threatened to chop off her hands and demanded she tear down the “reactionary posters.”

Wu also told the individual, who was referred to in court as Zooey, that he had informed public security authorities in China about her actions and that they would go to “greet” her family.

During the four-day trial, Wu’s lawyers argued that his comments were not threats but just an “immature” online dispute between two young people who knew each other and had different political views. His lawyers also said he was trying to remind his classmate of the consequences her actions could have back in China.

However, the federal jury Thursday found Wu guilty on charges of cyberstalking and threats. Both charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Wu will face sentencing on April 24.

After the guilty verdict was announced, prosecutors requested that Wu be immediately detained, citing concerns that he is a flight risk and that Chinese authorities have repeatedly expressed concern about the case. However, after listening to the opinions of the defense and prosecutors, Wu was granted bail. The judge said that Wu had not previously violated the conditions of his bail and that those requirements would remain in place.

Wu is barred from changing his address, entering the Berklee campus, or contacting those involved in the case. He has surrendered his passport and cannot leave the state of Massachusetts.

Case spotlights efforts to quiet critics

Wu’s trial highlights a growing problem that U.S. and other Western authorities have been working to counter — China’s efforts to silence its critics abroad.

In a U.S. Department of Justice statement following the announcement of Wu’s conviction, Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy for the District of Massachusetts noted the Justice Department’s commitment to free speech for all.

“No one in this country should ever be subjected to threats of violence or a cyberstalking harassment campaign for expressing their political views,” Levy said.

Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI Boston Division added: “What Xiaolei Wu did in attempting to silence and intimidate an activist who expressed dissension with the ruling Communist Party of China is not only criminal, but completely against our country’s democratic values.”

VOA reached out to the Chinese Embassy for comment on the case but has yet to receive a response.

Flyers echo protest banner

Wu’s classmate Zooey posted the flyers around Berklee’s campus at a time when many Chinese around the world were inspired by the courage of a lone man in Beijing. The man, Peng Lifa, hung a large protest banner on a bridge on a busy street in the country’s capital in October 2022 with similar slogans.

Some of the slogans on the large banner, such as “We don’t want [dictatorial] leaders, we want elections” and “We don’t want Cultural Revolution, we want reform,” were protests against Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Other slogans, such as “We don’t want nucleic acid testing, we want food to eat” and “We don’t want lockdowns, we want freedom,” highlighted the frustration that many felt at the time with China’s draconian COVID-19 controls.

Peng was quickly arrested after hanging the banner and remains in custody at an undisclosed location. Sources told VOA’s Mandarin Service in October of last year that authorities have yet to deliver any legal documents related to his case, and his relatives and friends have been unable to hire a lawyer to provide him with legal assistance.

According to Weiquanwang, a Chinese blog that posts updates on rights abuses and cases in China, Peng marked his 50th birthday earlier this month in secret detention. His whereabouts and health condition are unknown, the site said, quoting an anonymous source.

https://www.voanews.com/a/chinese-student-convicted-of-stalking-threatening-pro-democracy-activist-in-us-/7458072.html Save to Pocket

@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-01-26, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

I went to the orange site. Figured “maybe they have some good observations about Apple’s announcement today”.

I broke my cardinal rule: only feed your mind good information. Don’t pollute it with garbage.

And friends, I scrolled for 15 minutes, and it is a waste-yard of incoherence.

I think I became significantly dumber from reading it.

Never again.

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111820053320673027 Save to Pocket

A Brief Review of the Star Labs StarBook Mk VI Ryzen Ultrabook

date: 2024-01-26, from: mrusme blog

As announced back in the update of Q4/2023, I went ahead and ordered a Star Labs StarBook Mk VI with an AMD Ryzen processor to finally replace my previous laptop and eventually my workstation. This is a brief review of the device itself, without going too much into software details.

https://xn–gckvb8fzb.com/a-brief-review-of-the-star-labs-starbook-mk-vi-ryzen-ultrabook/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-01-26, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)

Haley should stay in and make Trump crazier and crazier till El Orange blows his top.

http://scripting.com/2024/01/25.html#a025750 Save to Pocket

Stop using Opera Browser and Opera GX

date: 2024-01-26, from: OS News

Hindenburg alleged that when the Opera browser continued losing users (due to competition from Google and Apple), the company shifted gears to building mobile apps that provided predatory short-term loans. The interest rates on those loans ranged from 365-876% per year, and loan terms from 7-29 days. Opera also falsely advertised longer loan terms and lower interest rates in the app descriptions, because the Google Play Store had rules against predatory loan services. The loan apps specifically targeted customers in Kenya, India, and Nigeria. Hindenburg also confirmed through user reports and a former employee that two of the apps, OKash and OPesa, asked for permission to the phone contacts during the setup process. The service would then start sending threatening messages to the user’s contacts when a borrower was late on their payments. The issue was also covered by local media prior to Hindenburg’s report. The money from these loan apps amounted to 42.5% of Opera’s revenue by mid-2019. Yes, almost half of Opera’s revenue came from extracting money from people in developing countries with false advertising and direct harassment. ↫ Corbin Davenport As if this wasn’t horrible enough, Opera also pushed the usual crypto and NFT scams, and is now chasing that “AI” high by adding spicy autocomplete to its Chromium skin. Much like Brave – good people don’t let friends use Brave – Opera is just a veneer around shady business practices, and you just shouldn’t use this garbage. Just use Firefox.

https://www.osnews.com/story/138455/stop-using-opera-browser-and-opera-gx/ Save to Pocket

@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-01-26, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

This is more affordable that installing wires to hang up two 75" monitors in my living room.

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111819976499318718 Save to Pocket

City declines to add more rules for firearm sales 

date: 2024-01-26, from: The Signal

The Santa Clarita City Council declined to approve additional regulations for gun and ammunition dealers Tuesday during its discussion of new business.  The City Council unanimously voted not to adopt new regulations that the L.A. County Board of Supervisors approved in November, which Mayor Cameron Smyth called “duplicative” and “onerous.”  The rules, which would have applied […]

The post <strong>City declines to add more rules for firearm sales</strong>  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/city-declines-to-add-more-rules-for-firearm-sales/ Save to Pocket

The Itanic Saga

date: 2024-01-26, from: OS News

After three years of delays, Merced shipped as Itanium on the 29th of May in 2001. The first OEM systems from HP, IBM, and Dell were shipped in June. Itanium, whose architecture was now referred to as IA-64, was a 6-wide VLIW chip running at either 733 to 800 MHz with a 266 MT/s front side bus. It had 16K of L1 cache, 96K of L2 cache, 2 or 4 MB of L3 cache, and it was a single core chip on socket PAC418 built on a 180nm process. That this chip under performed is an understatement. Given the long development time, multi-billion-dollar development cost, significant hype, and claims that it would out-compete everything on the market… Itanium was a massive failure. The 32 bit x86 chips of the time were able to best it in most workloads. Embarrassingly, the Pentium 4 (whose own performance wasn’t that good) beat Itanium on integer performance and memory bandwidth. Those areas where the chip was strong were in transaction processing and scientific applications. John Crawford, Merced project leader at Intel, reflects: “Everything was crazy. We were taking risks everywhere. Everything was new. When you do that, you’re going to stumble.” The five hundred person team working on the chip was also relatively inexperienced, and disagreements between HP and Intel led to many compromises in design. ↫ Bradford Morgan White Itanium is the future. This entire article is anti-Itanium propaganda and misinformation. Do your own research.

https://www.osnews.com/story/138453/the-itanic-saga/ Save to Pocket

What Do You Think Of Segway-Ninebot’s New Xyber Moto-Inspired E-Bike?

date: 2024-01-26, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

You can pedal if you want to, but where’s the fun in that?

https://www.rideapart.com/news/706006/segway-ninebot-xyber-ebike/ Save to Pocket

Windows NT synchronization primitives driver for the Linux kernel proposed

date: 2024-01-26, from: OS News

The Wine project emulates the Windows API in user space. One particular part of that API, namely the NT synchronization primitives, have historically been implemented via RPC to a dedicated “kernel” process. However, more recent applications use these APIs more strenuously, and the overhead of RPC has become a bottleneck. The NT synchronization APIs are too complex to implement on top of existing primitives without sacrificing correctness. Certain operations, such as NtPulseEvent() or the “wait-for-all” mode of NtWaitForMultipleObjects(), require direct control over the underlying wait queue, and implementing a wait queue sufficiently robust for Wine in user space is not possible. This proposed driver, therefore, implements the problematic interfaces directly in the Linux kernel. ↫ Elizabeth Figura on the lkml This proposed driver would yield some serious performance results.

https://www.osnews.com/story/138451/windows-nt-synchronization-primitives-driver-for-the-linux-kernel-proposed/ Save to Pocket

City seeks balance in Town Center plan 

date: 2024-01-26, from: The Signal

Months of planning and outreach led to a set of guidelines the city of Santa Clarita created for one of its most significant economic drivers: the Valencia mall.  Santa Clarita began working on the vision for the future of the previously named Westfield Valencia Town Center months before it knew who would own the property.  […]

The post City seeks balance in Town Center plan  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/city-seeks-balance-in-town-center-plan/ Save to Pocket

JAXA releases photo of SLIM lander in lunar faceplant

date: 2024-01-26, updated: 2024-01-26, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Mission a ‘minimum’ success because rovers deployed successfully

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has transmitted images of the Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon (SLIM) to Earth.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/26/jaxa_slim_photo/ Save to Pocket

US Renews Calls for Israel to Protect Civilians in Gaza

date: 2024-01-26, from: VOA News USA

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday renewed his calls to protect civilians following a deadly strike on a U.N. shelter in Gaza that the world body attributes to Israeli tank shelling. Blinken’s call came amid reports that Israeli fire struck a crowd of Palestinians waiting for aid.  White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report.

https://www.voanews.com/a/us-renews-calls-for-israel-to-protect-civilians-in-gaza-/7458030.html Save to Pocket

Citizen Musk

date: 2024-01-26, from: Robert Reich on Substack

His lies are just like Trump’s — and almost as dangerous

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/citizen-musk Save to Pocket

Lights, Camera, Victory! Public Domain Day 2024 Remix Contest Winners Revealed

date: 2024-01-26, from: Internet Archive Blog

After sifting through a sea of talent and creativity, we are thrilled to present the cinematic achievements of three winners and two honorable mentions in our Public Domain Day 2024 […]

https://blog.archive.org/2024/01/26/lights-camera-victory-public-domain-day-2024-remix-contest-winners-revealed/ Save to Pocket

Tom Frew, ex-Historical Society Leader, Dies at 94

date: 2024-01-26, from: SCV New (TV Station)

Beloved Newhall community leader Thomas McNaughton Frew IV, 94, died Jan. 12 in Camarillo

https://scvnews.com/tom-frew-ex-historical-society-leader-dies-at-94/ Save to Pocket

Liebherr converted this massive mining excavator to electric power

date: 2024-01-26, from: Electrek Feed

For the first time in the company’s 40-year history, Liebherr have converted one of their R 9400 excavators from a conventional diesel to an electric powertrain.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/25/liebherr-converted-this-massive-mining-excavator-to-electric-power/ Save to Pocket

Joan Hartmann for County Supervisor

date: 2024-01-26, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

As a long-time resident of Goleta, I was so pleased when Joan Hartmann became county supervisor for nearly 80 percent of our city.

The post Joan Hartmann for County Supervisor appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/25/joan-hartmann-for-county-supervisor/ Save to Pocket

Google’s AI-fueled IDE Project IDX tries to show you how your app runs on Android, iOS

date: 2024-01-26, updated: 2024-01-26, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Work in progress, approach with caution

Google has added a fresh round of features to Project IDX, its cloud-based development environment.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/26/google_project_idx_cloud/ Save to Pocket

Blinken Touts US as Reliable Partner in Africa

date: 2024-01-26, from: VOA News USA

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has wrapped up a four-country tour of democracy-supporting countries in Africa, meeting with Angolan leaders to highlight increasing cooperation on a railway infrastructure project. VOA Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.

https://www.voanews.com/a/blinken-touts-us-as-reliable-partner-in-africa-/7458016.html Save to Pocket

NASA Helicopter Ends Mars Mission After Three Years

date: 2024-01-26, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/nasa-helicopter-ends-mars-mission-after-three-years/7458013.html Save to Pocket

TMU Announces Renaming of English Department

date: 2024-01-26, from: SCV New (TV Station)

The Department of English at The Master’s University has been renamed to the Department of Arts & Letters

https://scvnews.com/tmu-announces-renaming-of-english-department/ Save to Pocket

Human Rights Groups Condemn Execution of US Man With Nitrogen Gas

date: 2024-01-26, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/human-rights-groups-condemn-execution-of-us-man-with-nitrogen-gas/7458002.html Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-26, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

ProPublica Hires First Senior Director for Technology.

https://www.propublica.org/atpropublica/propublica-hires-first-senior-director-for-technology Save to Pocket

@Jessica Smith’s blog (date: 2024-01-26, from: Jessica Smith’s blog)

Somehow Viv found that there’s a whole song behind that soundbite best known for KFC’s “I don’t care, I love it” ads and is playing it AD NAUSEUM today 😤 Lord, give me strength.

https://www.jayeless.net/2024/01/i-dont-care-i-love-it.html Save to Pocket

Samuel Dixon’s Diabetes Prevention Program Recognized Nationally

date: 2024-01-26, from: SCV New (TV Station)

Samuel Dixon Family Health Center, Inc. is once again proud to announce that its diabetes prevention program (DPP) has received CDC Full Plus Recognition for their National Diabetes Prevention lifestyle change program

https://scvnews.com/samuel-dixons-diabetes-prevention-program-recognized-nationally/ Save to Pocket

New Jersey resuscitates offshore wind with two new projects

date: 2024-01-26, from: Electrek Feed

Ørsted dealt New Jersey a massive blow by canceling 2.2 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind last year, but the state just added 3.7 GW of new projects to its pipeline.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/25/new-jersey-resuscitates-offshore-wind-with-two-new-projects/ Save to Pocket

@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-01-26, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

I never have the time or environment to listen to podcasts, so this is glorious https://mastodon.macstories.net/@johnvoorhees/111819441626892814

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111819474528803885 Save to Pocket

Friday 26 January, 2024

date: 2024-01-26, from: John Naughton’s online diary

Beached? The Law Faculty building at Cambridge. Always reminds me of a beached cruise liner. It’s named after my late friend and mentor, David Williams and was designed by — yes, you guessed it! — Norman Foster. Quote of the … Continue reading →

https://memex.naughtons.org/friday-26-january-2024/39071/ Save to Pocket

Artists Association kicks off 2024 with locally focused exhibit

date: 2024-01-26, from: The Signal

The Santa Clarita Artists Association kickstarted its series of exhibits for the year with an homage to the 661 local area and its surroundings on Saturday night at the SCAA’s 6th Street Gallery in Old Town Newhall.   Fifteen local artists and their paintings, ranging from scenic views of the Placerita Canyon State Park, to California […]

The post <strong>Artists Association kicks off 2024 with locally focused exhibit</strong>  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/artists-association-kicks-off-2024-with-locally-focused-exhibit/ Save to Pocket

The Exiles Who Shaped the Contours of Modern Dance

date: 2024-01-26, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

New exhibit at UC Santa Barbara’s AD&A Museum spotlights the connection of immigrants and modern dance.

The post The Exiles Who Shaped the Contours of Modern Dance appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/25/the-exiles-who-shaped-the-contours-of-modern-dance/ Save to Pocket

DMA Compliance: Alternative App Stores But No Sideloading

date: 2024-01-26, from: Michael Tsai

Hartley Charlton (Slashdot): Developers who offer the ability to sideload their apps in the European Union will still face restrictions and fees imposed by Apple, The Wall Street Journal reports.App sideloading capabilities will allow users to download apps from outside the App Store for the first time, but only in the EU. The change is […]

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/01/25/dma-compliance-alternative-app-stores-but-no-sideloading/ Save to Pocket

Not Owning Ubisoft+ Games

date: 2024-01-26, from: Michael Tsai

John Walker: Ubisoft has chosen this week to rebrand its Ubisoft+ subscription services, and introduce a PC version of the “Classics” tier at a lower price. […] You can subscribe to Game Pass, or PlayStation Plus, and get a broad range of hundreds of games from dozens of publishers, or you can pay significantly more […]

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/01/25/not-owning-ubisoft-games/ Save to Pocket

Child and Family Center hosts Viva Las Vegas fundraiser

date: 2024-01-26, from: The Signal

The Child and Family Center hosted its “Viva Las Vegas” themed fundraiser at the Sand Canyon Country Club on Saturday with proceeds benefiting the services the center offers to continue helping vulnerable communities.   The Child and Family Center’s services include domestic violence shelter programs, mental health services and substance use programs for vulnerable community members […]

The post Child and Family Center hosts Viva Las Vegas fundraiser  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/child-and-family-center-hosts-viva-las-vegas-fundraiser/ Save to Pocket

@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-01-26, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

I am a
⚪️ woman
⚪️ man
🔘 passenger

looking for
⚪️ women
⚪️ men
🔘 any flights on airplanes not produced by Boeing

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/boeing-passenger-jet-nose-wheel-fell-off-takeoff-rcna135410

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111819349488633717 Save to Pocket

Santa Barbara Man Lived with Father’s Body for Days Before Arrest

date: 2024-01-25, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Casey Tolivar, 31, pleaded guilty to the 2021 murder and will be sentenced next month.

The post Santa Barbara Man Lived with Father’s Body for Days Before Arrest appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/25/santa-barbara-man-lived-with-fathers-body-for-days-before-arrest/ Save to Pocket

Trickbot malware scumbag gets five years for infecting hospitals, businesses

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-26, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Most of the crew still at large

A former Trickbot developer has been sent down for five years and four months for his role in infecting American hospitals and businesses with ransomware and other malware, costing victims tens of millions of dollars in losses.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/trickbot_malware_dev_sentenced/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-25, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

John Ellis: “Trump’s graceless and weirdly angry ‘victory speech’ in New Hampshire was incredibly stupid, politically speaking.”

https://politicalwire.com/2024/01/25/trump-digs-himself-a-deeper-hole-with-suburban-women/ Save to Pocket

The Fall Of José Huízar: How An Eastside Hero Rose To The Top And How It All Came Crashing Down

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-26, from: The LAist

A years-long City Council corruption scandal involving hundreds of thousands of dollars stashed in liquor boxes, shadowy businessmen, and unrelenting developers comes to an end with a sentencing hearing this week.

https://laist.com/news/politics/rise-and-fall-of-jose-huizar Save to Pocket

Europe forces Apple to give its citizens some choice over iOS browser engine, app store

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-26, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

That’s the way the Cook, he crumbles

Apple has given up its fight against being designated a gatekeeper under Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), meaning the iMaker will give people in the European Union greater choice over their browser engines and application store on iOS.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/apple_eu_dma/ Save to Pocket

Sexual Harassment on Women’s US Biathlon Team Leads to Sanctions

date: 2024-01-25, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/sexual-harassment-on-women-s-us-biathlon-team-leads-to-sanctions-/7457618.html Save to Pocket

Annual St. Francis Dam Tour set for March 23

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Signal

News release  Tickets are now on sale for the popular tour of the ruins of the St. Francis Dam, presented by the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society, and scheduled for Saturday, March 23.   Participants will join four SCVHS historians as they tell the story of the quest to bring water to the arid land of […]

The post Annual St. Francis Dam Tour set for March 23 appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/annual-st-francis-dam-tour-set-for-march-23/ Save to Pocket

Train Disruptions In San Clemente Raise Questions Of The Future Of Coastal Rail

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-26, from: The LAist

The rail track sits on a hillside prone to landslides in recent years.

https://laist.com/news/transportation/train-disruptions-san-clemente-coastal-rail-future Save to Pocket

Cultural Showcase set for Feb. 3 at Newhall Family Theatre

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Signal

News release  Raising the Curtain Foundation, in partnership with the city of Santa Clarita Public Library, is presenting the second annual Cultural Community Showcase on Saturday, Feb. 3, at the Newhall Family Theatre for the Performing Arts.   “This family-friendly, vibrant event celebrates the rich diversity of the Santa Clarita Valley, featuring an array of […]

The post Cultural Showcase set for Feb. 3 at Newhall Family Theatre appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/cultural-showcase-set-for-feb-3-at-newhall-family-theatre/ Save to Pocket

After A Not-So-Big Quake This Week, We Got This Question: Can One Big Quake Trigger Another?

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-26, from: The LAist

It is possible, though not likely.

https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/can-one-big-quake-trigger-another Save to Pocket

Dodger Stadium Gondola In Limbo Amid Growing Concerns Over Traffic and Access

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-26, from: The LAist

Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, whose district includes Dodger Stadium, is calling on the city to pause the project until more research is done.

https://laist.com/news/transportation/dodger-stadium-gondola-traffic-concerns Save to Pocket

Club 507 celebrates one-year anniversary with returning band

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Signal

House band Flattop Tom and His Jump Cats performed at Club 507 on Sunday to commemorate the venue’s one-year anniversary. “He’s been part of the dance community for a long, long time,” said Club 507 volunteer Nancy Crawford. “So, you know, we know where the dance bands are gonna be. And we go there, and […]

The post Club 507 celebrates one-year anniversary with returning band appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/club-507-celebrates-one-year-anniversary-with-returning-band/ Save to Pocket

NASA’s Day of Remembrance: Honoring Fallen Heroes

date: 2024-01-25, from: NASA breaking news

In honor of the members of the NASA family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery for the benefit all, the agency hosted its annual Day of Remembrance Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. Traditionally held on the fourth Thursday in January each year, NASA Day of Remembrance commemorates the crews of […]

https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/nasas-day-of-remembrance-honoring-fallen-heroes/ Save to Pocket

Central Asia Seen as Key to Breaking China’s Rare Earth Monopoly

date: 2024-01-25, from: VOA News USA

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials hoping to break China’s near monopoly on the production of rare earth elements needed for many cutting-edge technologies should engage the governments of Central Asia to develop high concentrations of REEs found in the region, says a new report. 

The study by the U.S.-based International Tax and Investment Center warns that a failure to act could leave China with a “decisive advantage” in the sector, which is crucial to green energy, many new weapons systems and other advanced technologies. 

“As the uses for these minerals has expanded, so too has global competition for them in a time of sharply increasing geostrategic and geo-economic tension,” the report says. 

“Advanced economies with secure, reliable access to REEs enjoy economic advantages in manufacturing, and corresponding economic disadvantages accrue for those without this access.” 

China, which accounts for most of the world’s rare earth mining within its own borders, has not yet had to seek additional supplies from Central Asia, which enjoys plentiful reserves of minerals ranging from iron and nonferrous metals to uranium. 

But, the report says, “the massive size of the Chinese economy and the Chinese Communist Party’s conscious efforts to dominate the REE sector globally mean such increases are a matter of time.”  

Oil-rich Kazakhstan, the region’s economic giant, holds the world’s largest chromium reserves and the second-largest stocks of uranium, while also possessing other critical elements.  

Report co-author Ariel Cohen says it is up to the governments of Central Asia to create the investment climate for development of these resources.   

“They may be the next big thing in Central Asia as the engine of economic growth,” Cohen said this week during a panel discussion at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank.  

Across Central Asia, experts note, REEs are found in substantial volumes in the Kazakh steppe and uplands as well as in the Tien Shan mountains across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, and in the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan.  

Monazite, zircon, apatite, xenotime, pyrochlore, allanite and columbite are among Central Asia’s most abundant rare metals and minerals.  

In 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey listed 384 REE occurrences in the region: 160 in Kazakhstan, 87 in Uzbekistan, 75 in Kyrgyzstan, 60 in Tajikistan, and two in Turkmenistan.

Wesley Hill, another expert on Central Asia’s mineral reserves, says production of rare earths at present “is almost wholly monopolized by China.”  

“Depending on how you count, between 80 to 90% of REE refining is controlled by China and done directly inside of China,” Hill said.   

But, he argued, despite China’s heavy involvement in Central Asia, it has yet to fully take over the region’s rare earth sector. “So, this means that Central Asia is very much at a crossroads,” he said. “Central Asia has the opportunity to expand its REE production without being wholly dependent on China.” 

Central Asia is currently in a position where it can develop its REE refining capacities both for its national development strategies and to break the Chinese monopoly, Hill said.  

“But this is only going to happen with good policy, both from the American side and the Central Asian side.”  

Ambassador John Herbst, Washington’s former top diplomat in Uzbekistan and Ukraine, says the region’s REE assets are “simply another reason for enhanced engagement by the West.” 

He said he is not sure that Central Asian governments appreciate how important rare earths can be to their development. “But I do know that the countries of Central Asia want a closer relationship with the United States, and that is one important part of their maintaining their hard-won independence.” 

Herbst added that the United States and Central Asia have a common interest in working together to develop the region’s rare earths “for the economy of the future.” 

“We have an ability to innovate that far exceeds [China’s]. Their innovation is based largely on taking our technology.”

Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti, who serves as energy transition counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce, says the region is eager for investment. 

“It is a development opportunity. Particularly with the geostrategic energy realignment after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but also, because of the energy transition. Lithium and other REE are necessary for different parts of that transition. So that’s primarily an economic incentive,” she said. 

She pointed to the Mineral Strategic Partnership Initiative run by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau on Energy Resources, which is able to promote foreign direct investment in the region while providing technical assistance in the mining sector. 

Cohen said the Central Asian countries cannot wait long to develop their rare earths. “There is a competition, and the African countries, Latin American countries and others will compete increasingly.”  

Wilder Alejandro Sanchez, who heads a consultancy called Second Floor Strategies, says Central Asia needs a rare earth research center that can provide timely information to prospective customers and investors.  

Transportation is key, Sanchez said. “It’s not just about finding and mining them. You have to get them to the international market.”  

Access from the landlocked region at present is limited to China’s Belt and Road infrastructure or routes through Russia. Sanchez and others recommend using the Middle Corridor, also called the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, which can carry goods to Europe across the Caspian and Black seas.  

These experts also say progress will depend on regional governments overcoming their traditional secretiveness regarding natural resources. They emphasize the importance of transparency, the rule of law, adherence to best practices and compliance with international norms if they hope to attract Western investment.

https://www.voanews.com/a/central-asia-seen-as-key-to-breaking-china-s-rare-earth-monopoly/7457583.html Save to Pocket

Los Angeles, a city of broken dreams

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)

From sandy beaches to the iconic Hollywood Sign, Los Angeles presents itself as a vibrant city full of wonder and mystique. Selling dreams of luxury and grandeur, it sits atop the long forgotten broken spirits of those who once came in search of that same illusion.   While neon signs light up Hollywood Boulevard, poverty and…

https://sundial.csun.edu/178004/opinions/los-angeles-a-city-of-broken-dreams/ Save to Pocket

Biden to Host Japan PM Kishida for Official Visit in April

date: 2024-01-25, from: VOA News USA

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — U.S. President Joe Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for an official visit to the United States on April 10, the White House said  Thursday. 

The formal event, which will include a state dinner and a policy meeting, follows a promise by Biden to host the closely allied nation key to the United States’ strategy toward China, North Korea and other Asian security issues. 

Biden and Kishida will discuss “efforts to strengthen our political, security, economic and people-to-people ties” to improve Indo-Pacific security, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said. 

The visit comes at a challenging time for both leaders, who have low public approval ratings at home. Biden is likely facing a close-fought November election against Republican Donald Trump, and Kishida is managing the fallout from a fundraising scandal, economic difficulty and a major earthquake this month. 

“2024 will be a pivotal year for Japan-U.S. relations,” Japan’s ambassador to Washington, Shigeo Yamada, said in prerecorded remarks to an event hosted by the Wilson Center think tank on Thursday. 

“The Japan alliance is indispensable to the peace, stability and prosperity not only of our two countries, but also of the international community,” he said.  

Mieko Nakabayashi, a professor at Japan’s Waseda University, told Washington’s Wilson Center there was growing concern in Japan about the prospect of a second presidency for Trump, who has questioned the value of alliances and complained about cost of U.S troop deployments in Japan and South Korea. 

“We are very, very worried, and we are thinking about a variety of scenarios of whoever becomes the president of the United States,” she said.

Nakabayashi also said factional rivalries inside Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party raised questions about whether Kishida could hold on to power long enough to make the visit. 

Frank Jannuzi, president and chief executive officer of Washington’s Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, told the think tank the U.S.-Japan alliance was long-standing but not unbreakable. 

“The easiest way to break it … would be for the United States to in the future somehow compromise the extent of our commitment to the security of our allies in Northeast Asia,” he said. 

U.S. deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said the Biden administration took a “very different” view from that of Trump. 

“America’s network of alliances … are a force multiplier for U.S. interests,” he told an Asia Society event. “They are a unique advantage that the United States has among our nearest peer competitors, not a burden on the country.” 

While the security relationship between the U.S. and Japan has been growing ever stronger and they are looking to make a deal for Japanese shipyards to overhaul and maintain U.S. Navy warships, Nippon Steel’s proposed purchase of U.S. Steel is a source of controversy. 

Democratic and Republican U.S. senators have criticized the deal, citing national security concerns or raising questions about why the companies did not consult U.S. Steel’s main union ahead of the announcement. 

Brian Deese, a key player in Biden’s reelection bid, said last month that the proposed purchase was concerning and that the administration should look closely at it.

https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-to-host-japan-pm-kishida-for-official-visit-in-april-/7457601.html Save to Pocket

Overview for NASA’s Northrop Grumman 20th Commercial Resupply Mission

date: 2024-01-25, from: NASA breaking news

NASA, Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX are targeting 12:29 p.m. EST on Monday, Jan. 29, for the next launch to deliver science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station. Filled with more than 7,800 pounds of supplies, the Cygnus cargo spacecraft, carried atop the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, will launch from Space Launch Complex […]

https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/overview-for-nasas-northrop-grumman-20th-commercial-resupply-mission/ Save to Pocket

Kia EV6 GT spotted with aggressive design update and new Active Air Skirt

date: 2024-01-25, from: Electrek Feed

Kia’s sporty EV6 GT is getting a facelift. The new EV6 GT was spotted for the first time, boasting an aggressive design update and new Active Air Skirt technology.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/25/kia-ev6-gt-design-update-active-air-skirt/ Save to Pocket

COC Names Vanessa Zavala, Joshua Barnett Athletes of the Week

date: 2024-01-25, from: SCV New (TV Station)

College of the Canyons student-athletes Vanessa Zavala (women’s basketball) and Joshua Barnett (men’s basketball) have been named the COC Athletic Department’s Women’s & Men’s Student-Athletes of the Week for the period running Jan. 15-

https://scvnews.com/coc-names-vanessa-zavala-joshua-barnett-athletes-of-the-week/ Save to Pocket

CalArts Alum Earns Oscar Nod for Best Animated Feature

date: 2024-01-25, from: SCV New (TV Station)

Actors Zazie Beetz and Jack Quaid announced the nominees Tuesday for the 96th annual Academy Awards, recognizing excellence in the film industry across 23 categories

https://scvnews.com/calarts-alum-earns-oscar-nod-for-best-animated-feature/ Save to Pocket

Trump Defends Himself in Sexual Assault Defamation Case

date: 2024-01-25, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/trump-defends-himself-in-sexual-assault-defamation-case-/7457528.html Save to Pocket

How Wall Street Is Making Sense of Energy’s Weird In-Between Period

date: 2024-01-25, from: Heatmap News

Every few months, corporate earnings announcements give us the chance to (pretty literally) take stock of how the energy transition is going. After a rocky end-of-year for many renewables companies, this earnings season was, perhaps, more warily anticipated than most.

A bunch of energy companies reported this week, ranging from fossil fuel stalwarts to the bleeding edge of decarbonization and in between. The results indicate an industry that’s a bit unsure of itself — showing promising signs overall, but with lots still to figure out, especially in how to make offshore wind a real business. Everyone expects growth, but turning that growth in consistent profits can be tricky.

Here are four takeaways from a mixed bag:

1. TL;DR: Look at GE.

GE’s renewable energy business is a kind of snapshot for utility scale investment: it’s doing a lot, but at least for now struggling to make money and taking a bath on offshore wind. The business reported both a fourth quarter loss and a full-year loss for 2023, but its onshore wind turbine business was profitable, as was its business servicing the electric grid. Offshore wind, meanwhile, remained something of a money suck.

So while one large offshore wind order was cancelled (likely a New Jersey project), GE’s renewables head Scott Strazik said the massive SunZia wind project in the Southwest was still full steam ahead with an order for 2.4 gigawatts worth of wind capacity.

2. Transmission is hot right now.

The rush to build out new power lines to deliver new electricity also buoyed GE’s business, with “a number of large [high voltage direct current] orders” — infrastructure for sending power over long distances — and a 40% jump in orders for power transformers, equipment necessary to help move electricity. “There’s a lot of healthy demand across renewables that we expect to continue into 2024,” Strazik said.

That demand is coming from companies like NextEra, which combines a regulated utility in Florida with a wind, solar, and storage development business. The company told investors in a presentation on Thursday that it “continues to see strong demand for new renewables and storage,” and had added 9,000 megawatts of combined renewables and storage in 2023. The company said it would spend almost $2 billion to build out transmission through 2027, creating a virtuous cycle with manufacturers like GE.

3. Storage is taking off.

If NextEra is on one end of the storage business, then Tesla is on the other. The former builds out utility-scale battery operations, often on the same sites as solar projects, and could “operate up to 53 gigawatts of generation with the potential to co-locate battery storage,” its chief executive John Ketchum told investors.

In Tesla’s earnings call on Wednesday, meanwhile, CEO Elon Musk spotlighted the company’s Tesla Energy business, which sells the Powerwall battery and solar system, as an area of high growth while its core auto business goes through a period of transition. A new model code-named “Redwood” coming, Musk said, in 2025.

Musk said the company’s energy storage business “delivered nearly 15 GW-hours of batteries in 2023, compared to 6.5 GW-hours the year before,” growth he described as “tremendous.” And while investors were miffed that Tesla didn’t provide a forecast for growth in car sales — which implied it wouldn’t hit its traditional 50% target — Musk was happy to say that he thought the company’s storage business “would grow much faster than the car business.”

4. Don’t count out fossil fuels.

While the oil majors have yet to release their fourth quarter earnings, the market got a hint at how things were going from the results released by Halliburton, the oil services firm that’s also a major player in fracking.

The company hiked up its dividend and reported both revenue and profit growth in 2023. Overall, the business was the most profitable it had been “in over a decade,” the company’s chief financial officer, Eric Carre, told analysts.

It did, however, note that the footprint of its North American business was shrinking as the number of active oil rigs had declined, and that it expected “flattish revenue and margin environment,” the company’s chief executive, Jeff Miller, added. Meanwhile, overseas, Miller said he expected industry spending to “grow at a low double-digit pace,” with “multiple years of sustained activity growth.”

He did not, however, expect an end to oil any time soon. “[The] long-term expansion of the global economy will continue to create enormous demands on all forms of energy,” Miller said. “I expect oil and gas remains a critical component of the global energy mix with demand growth well into the future.”

https://heatmap.news/economy/energy-earnings-ge-nextera-tesla Save to Pocket

US Warned Iran of ISIS-K Threat Ahead of Deadly Blasts, US Official Says

date: 2024-01-25, from: VOA News USA

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government privately warned Iran that the Islamic State group’s affiliate in Afghanistan was preparing to carry out a terrorist attack before bombings in Kerman earlier this month that killed 95 people, a U.S. official said Thursday. 

The official, who was not authorized to comment and insisted on anonymity to discuss the intelligence, said the U.S. was following its long-standing policy of a “duty to warn” other governments against potential lethal threats. 

The official did not detail how the United States, which does not have diplomatic relations with Iran, conveyed the warning about its intelligence on ISIS-Khorasan, known as ISIS-K, but noted that government officials “provide these warnings in part because we do not want to see innocent lives lost in terror attacks.” 

Iranian state media did not acknowledge the U.S. giving Tehran the information, and Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East program at the CSIS think tank in Washington, said the warning may reflect a wider U.S. desire to seek dialogue with Iran despite recent attacks by Iranian-backed proxies on U.S., Israeli and other Western interests and the advances of Tehran’s nuclear program. 

“This is an olive branch,” Alterman said, adding that U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration came into office believing dialogue between Washington and Tehran could benefit both sides.  

Aaron David Miller of Washington’s Wilson Center think tank largely concurred, noting the failed efforts on the nuclear deal and the improbability of transforming relations that have been largely antagonistic since the Islamic Republic’s birth. 

“You can’t transform the U.S.-Iranian relationship. All you can do is to look for opportunities … to transact, to de-escalate and avoid an escalatory ladder that would lead to war,” he said.  

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the January 3 attack on Kerman, about 820 kilometers (510 miles) southeast of Iran’s capital, Tehran. The dual suicide bombing killed at least 95 people and wounded dozens of others attending a commemoration for the late General Qassem Soleimani, the leader of the Revolutionary Guard’s expeditionary Quds Force, who was killed in a 2020 U.S. drone strike in Baghdad. 

In the time since, Iran has been trying to blame the U.S. and Israel for the attack amid Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It has launched missile attacks on Iraq and Syria. It then launched strikes on nuclear-armed Pakistan, which responded with its own strikes on Iran, further raising tensions in a region inflamed by the Israel-Hamas war. 

The Wall Street Journal was first to report that the U.S. had provided the warning to Iran. 

ISIS-K was behind the August 2021 suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that killed 13 U.S. troops and about 170 Afghans during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. 

ISIS-K has thousands of members and is the Taliban’s most bitter enemy and top military threat. The group has continued to carry out attacks in Afghanistan and beyond since the Taliban takeover.

https://www.voanews.com/a/us-warned-iran-of-isis-k-threat-ahead-of-deadly-blasts-us-official-says/7457546.html Save to Pocket

Kathleen Nicely Appointed CalArts’ Senior VP for Advancement

date: 2024-01-25, from: SCV New (TV Station)

California Institute of the Arts announced the appointment of Kathleen (Katie) Nicely as its new Senior Vice President for Advancement

https://scvnews.com/kathleen-nicely-appointed-calarts-senior-vp-for-advancement/ Save to Pocket

Maserati reiterates all-electric ‘Made in Italy’ strategy in wake of delays, rifts with local gov’t

date: 2024-01-25, from: Electrek Feed

Italian automaker Maserati is doubling down on its roots and letting the world know that its vehicles will continue to be 100% designed, developed, and manufactured in Italy. That said, some of those Maserati vehicles in the pipeline, particularly the 100% electric ones, continue to face development hurdles. Meanwhile, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares is in a battle with the Italian government over EV sales support.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/25/maserati-reiterates-all-electric-made-in-italy-strategy-in-wake-of-delays-rifts-with-local-govt/ Save to Pocket

All Water, No Fire: Santa Barbara City Fire Responds to Alarms at Granada Theatre

date: 2024-01-25, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Thursday night’s performance by Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo was canceled after sprinklers soaked the stage.

The post All Water, No Fire: Santa Barbara City Fire Responds to Alarms at Granada Theatre appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/25/all-water-no-fire-santa-barbara-city-fire-responds-to-alarms-at-granada-theatre/ Save to Pocket

After LA Times layoffs, questions about diversity and seniority swirl

date: 2024-01-25, from: Nieman Journalism Lab

Two days after the Los Angeles Times laid off 115 newsroom employees (a number that appeared to grow to 120 overnight), staffers feel no closer to having answers about the paper’s direction — and are raising questions about who’s kept their job and who hasn’t. The LA Times Guild had a total of 400 members,…

https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/01/questions-about-diversity-and-seniority-swirl-after-la-times-layoffs/ Save to Pocket

I had no idea you could custom install your own fonts on…

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/01/0043849-i-had-no-idea-you Save to Pocket

NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel Releases 2023 Annual Report

date: 2024-01-25, from: NASA breaking news

The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), an advisory committee that reports to NASA and Congress, issued its 2023 annual report Thursday examining the agency’s safety performance, accomplishments, and challenges over the past year.  The report highlights 2023 activities and observations on NASA’s: In 2023, NASA continued to make meaningful progress toward meeting the intent of […]

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasas-aerospace-safety-advisory-panel-releases-2023-annual-report/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-25, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

Only 90s Web Developers Remember This.

https://zachholman.com/posts/only-90s-developers/ Save to Pocket

Discovering San Antonio

date: 2024-01-25, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

The exuberant South Texan city is a hub of compelling art, culture, and cuisine.

The post Discovering San Antonio appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/25/discovering-san-antonio/ Save to Pocket

Kennedy Honors Fallen During Day of Remembrance

date: 2024-01-25, from: NASA breaking news

Family members of fallen astronauts Kathie Scobee Fulgham, Lowell Grissom, Sheryl Chaffee, and Karen Bassett Stevenson place a wreath at the Space Mirror Memorial at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, during the agency’s Day of Remembrance. The annual tradition pays tribute to fallen astronauts and astronaut candidates […]

https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/kennedy-honors-fallen-during-day-of-remembrance/ Save to Pocket

FTC drills into Amazon, Microsoft, Google over billions pledged to OpenAI, Anthropic

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Khaaaaaaan! Khaaaaaaaaaaan!

Updated  The FTC today stuck a probe into five Big Tech players about their generative AI investments and partnerships.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/ftc_ai_inquiry/ Save to Pocket

Winners of the 12th Annual Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/01/winners-underwater-photo-contest Save to Pocket

Apple Macintosh 128k 1984 Brochure digitally restored

date: 2024-01-25, from: Tilde.news

Comments

https://archive.org/details/apple-macintosh-128k-1984-brochure-8x-11in Save to Pocket

Summer Is Still Worse Than Winter For EV Chargers, Experts Say

date: 2024-01-25, from: Inside EVs News

The recent winter storms were rough for DC fast chargers. But the worst may be yet to come.

https://insideevs.com/news/706137/summer-worse-than-winters-ev-charging/ Save to Pocket

TMU Music Grad Wins Big in Composition Competitions

date: 2024-01-25, from: SCV New (TV Station)

It’s been a big year for Christopher Enloe (’18). He has won three prizes in composition competitions, received a commission to compose an organ piece and been invited to advise the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

https://scvnews.com/tmu-music-grad-wins-big-in-composition-competitions/ Save to Pocket

A tuition-free J-school? CUNY aims to be one by 2027

date: 2024-01-25, from: Nieman Journalism Lab

Is J-school worth $50,000+ in debt to break into an industry where, if you’re lucky enough to get a job, you’re unlikely to get paid enough to break even on your debt? With the disappearance of journalism jobs accelerating, critics of J-school’s fundamental cost-benefit problem are imagining and offering alternatives. The staggering inaccessibility of a…

https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/01/a-tuition-free-j-school-cuny-aims-to-be-one-by-2027/ Save to Pocket

Full Belly Files | The Many Paradises of Paso Robles

date: 2024-01-25, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

This wine country’s steady maturation is creating all sorts of diverse experiences; plus, stories you may have missed.

The post Full Belly Files | The Many Paradises of Paso Robles appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/25/full-belly-files-the-many-paradises-of-paso-robles/ Save to Pocket

Jan. 29: City Council to Discuss Fiscal Year 2024-25 Budget

date: 2024-01-25, from: SCV New (TV Station)

The Santa Clarita City Council Budget Committee will be meeting Monday, Jan. 29, at 2 p.m. in the Carl Boyer Room at City Hall

https://scvnews.com/jan-29-city-council-to-discuss-fiscal-year-2024-25-budget/ Save to Pocket

@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-01-25, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

Almost done with a rewrite of the Godot inspector in SwiftUI:

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111818525083340507 Save to Pocket

@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-01-25, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

I thought it would be ok to keep the eye in black, but I think it is too distracting.

Going for the secondary color too:

But I am tempted to also turn the disclosure indicator into the secondary color.

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111818514123740837 Save to Pocket

2024 Subaru Solterra gets faster charging and new upgrades for the same price

date: 2024-01-25, from: Electrek Feed

The 2024 Subaru Solterra is an upgrade over last year’s model with faster charging and more for the same starting price.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/25/2024-subaru-solterra-faster-charging-same-price/ Save to Pocket

Antonym of ‘do the needful and stop thinking of returns’

date: 2024-01-25, from: Care

            <p>A poem by Purbasha Roy.</p>

https://logicmag.io/policy/antonym-of-do-the-needful-and-stop-thinking-of-returns Save to Pocket

US 101 FULL CLOSURES NEXT WEEK FOR BRIDGE REPAIR AT CLARK AVENUE

date: 2024-01-25, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY – Caltrans will implement full overnight closures in both directions of US 101 at Clark Avenue next

The post US 101 FULL CLOSURES NEXT WEEK FOR BRIDGE REPAIR AT CLARK AVENUE appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/25/us-101-full-closures-next-week-for-bridge-repair-at-clark-avenue/ Save to Pocket

Enrollment Surge Continues as Covered California Approaches Jan. 31 Deadline for Open Enrollment

date: 2024-01-25, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Heading into the final week of open enrollment, Covered California has continued to see signups surge. As

The post Enrollment Surge Continues as Covered California Approaches Jan. 31 Deadline for Open Enrollment appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/25/enrollment-surge-continues-as-covered-california-approaches-jan-31-deadline-for-open-enrollment/ Save to Pocket

Positive Internalization

date: 2024-01-25, from: Manu - I write blog

This is my entry for January’s IndieWeb Carnival, hosted by foreverliketh.is on the topic of positive internalisation, hence the title of this post.

When I first read the topic for this month I thought it was going to be an easy write:

Your entry for this month’s carnival will have you intentionally seek out positive memories. Memories that remind you of the good parts of yourself; the facets of your being that you want to see more of, that you wish to nurture and grow.

I was wrong. Extracting memories that remind me about the good parts of myself is hard. Painfully hard. And that’s because each good memory is covered by a veil of self-criticism and self-doubt. And the older I grow the more that vision of myself solidifies: I’m convinced I’m not good enough, I’m not smart enough, but also don’t have enough willpower to change any of that. Was I always like this? I honestly can’t tell you.

The only genuinely happy memories I have are not tied to me but to others. Doing something—no matter how big or small—for someone else is one of the few things in life that can consistently make me happy. This is especially great when that someone else is a stranger. We live in such a sad world that people are genuinely surprised when you go out of your way to help them just because you want to be kind.

Actually, now that I think about it, there is something I used to do that I want back. Years ago, when I was still in high school, I used to walk around the city, listening to music, and having a great time smiling at people. It was such a great way to live my life. Rather than looking down and marching towards my destination I was taking my time, walking slowly, smiling at random people on the sidewalk.

I kinda loved that version of me and I’m sure it’s still there somewhere. I only need to figure out how to bring it out again.

Eden, I’m not sure this nonsense I just wrote fits with the topic you set up for January’s carnival but since I know you read my blog you know I’m all over the place with my thinking and so this is what you gonna get.

As for everyone else, the carnival needs hosts for the months of July, August, September, October, and November. If you have a blog and—like me—love the IndieWeb you should consider becoming a host for one of those months. You can do it by calming your spot on the wiki page of the carnival

https://manuelmoreale.com/@/page/XinvebSLSEQUX1sj Save to Pocket

Veterans, PTSD, and Psychedelics Cross Paths at Santa Barbara’s Psychedelic Social Club

date: 2024-01-25, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

District216 hosted a panel of veterans turned healers to promote new psychedelic therapies last weekend.

The post Veterans, PTSD, and Psychedelics Cross Paths at Santa Barbara’s Psychedelic Social Club appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/25/veterans-ptsd-and-psychedelics-cross-paths-at-santa-barbaras-psychedelic-social-club/ Save to Pocket

2024 Kawasaki KLX230 SM And S Get Light But Important Updates

date: 2024-01-25, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

Suspension and rear subframe adjustments are now a part of the package.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/706140/kawasaki-klx230-sm-2024-update/ Save to Pocket

Use Virtual Machines to Contain Dodgy Stuff

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Markup blog

They’re like secure containers for dangerous files and software

https://themarkup.org/gentle-january/2024/01/25/use-virtual-machines-to-contain-dodgy-stuff Save to Pocket

Feb. 19: Artist Alex Schaefer Oil Demo at Barnes & Noble

date: 2024-01-25, from: SCV New (TV Station)

Join the Santa Clarita Artists Association as it hosts an oil demonstration by Alex Schaefer Monday, Feb. 19, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at Barnes and Noble, located at 23630 Valencia Blvd in Valencia

https://scvnews.com/feb-19-artist-alex-schaefer-oil-demo-at-barnes-noble/ Save to Pocket

Top Linux distros drop fresh beats

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

PC unsupported in Windows 11? Start 2024 with a new OS

Three of the most highly regarded Linux distros around have put out new releases.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/linux_mint_mx_updates/ Save to Pocket

Tesla Battery Energy Storage Deployment More Than Doubled In 2023

date: 2024-01-25, from: Inside EVs News

The solar deployment continued to fade.

https://insideevs.com/news/706099/tesla-battery-energy-storage-deployment-2023q4/ Save to Pocket

Privacy is Social

date: 2024-01-25, from: Doc Searls (at Harvard), New Old Blog

Eight years ago I was asked on Quora to answer the question “What is the social justification for privacy?” This was my answer.  Society is comprised of individuals, thick with practices and customs that respect individual needs. Privacy is one of those. Only people who live naked outdoors without clothing and shelter can do without […]

https://doc.searls.com/2024/01/25/privacy-is-social/ Save to Pocket

CFA Strike at CSUN

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)

https://sundial.csun.edu/177998/multimedia/watch/cfa-strike-at-csun/ Save to Pocket

Engravings on 2,000-Year-Old Knife Might Be the Oldest Runes Ever Found in Denmark

date: 2024-01-25, from: Smithsonian Magazine

The letters on the blade read “hirila,” which experts say may translate to “small sword”

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-find-denmarks-oldest-written-word-on-a-2000-year-old-knife-180983650/ Save to Pocket

LG WashCombo vs. GE Profile heat pump washer-dryers compared, 10 reasons to get either

date: 2024-01-25, from: Electrek Feed

Over the past few months, a new type of washer-dryer combo has emerged on the scene in North America (Yes, Europe and Asia have had great, tiny heat pump tech for decades). These new big combo units from GE Profile UltraFast PFQ97HSPVDS and now LG WashCombo WM6998HBA (introduced at CES) are now on the market.

I’ve had the GE Profile for 2 weeks, and the LG is on the way for testing head-to-head, but for now, I want to tell you about all of the ways both of these things are amazing, and energy savings is just the tip of the iceberg…

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/25/lg-vs-ge-profile-heat-pump-washer-dryers-compared/ Save to Pocket

Caterpillar shows off its first-ever underground electric mining truck

date: 2024-01-25, from: Electrek Feed

This week, Caterpillar successfully demonstrated a prototype of an all-new battery electric underground mining truck at its Australian proving grounds, making it the latest addition to a rapidly-growing portfolio of battery electric and semi-autonomous mining machines.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/25/caterpillar-shows-off-its-first-ever-underground-electric-mining-truck/ Save to Pocket

MINISFORUM Neptune HX100G mini PC pairs a Ryzen 7 7840HS processor with Radeon RX 6650M graphics

date: 2024-01-25, from: Liliputing

The MINISFORUM Neptune HX100G is a small desktop computer with an AMD Ryzen 7840HS processor featuring 8 Zen 4 CPU cores Radeon 780M integrated graphics with 12 RDNA 3 compute units. But what sets this little computer apart is that it also has an AMD Radeon RX 6650M discrete GPU inside, along with dual fans, 7 heat […]

The post MINISFORUM Neptune HX100G mini PC pairs a Ryzen 7 7840HS processor with Radeon RX 6650M graphics appeared first on Liliputing.

https://liliputing.com/minisforum-neptune-hx100g-mini-pc-pairs-a-ryzen-7-7840hs-processor-with-radeon-rx-6650m-graphics/ Save to Pocket

Pluralistic: Tabs give me superpowers (25 Jan 2024)

date: 2024-01-25, from: Cory Doctorow’s blog

Today’s links Tabs give me superpowers: Lifehacks are good, actually. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. This day in history: 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019 Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading Tabs give me superpowers (permalink) “Lifehacking” is in pretty bad odor these days, and with good reason: a once-useful catch-all for describing how to make things easier has become a pit of productivity porn, grifter hustling, and anodyne advice wreathed in superlatives and transformed into SEO-compliant listicles. But I was there when lifehacking was born, and I’m here to tell you, it wasn’t always thus. Lifehacking attained liftoff exactly 19 years and 348 days ago, on Feb 11, 2004, when Danny O’Brien presented “Life Hacks: Tech Secrets of Overprolific Alpha Geeks” at the 0’Reilly Emerging Technology Conference (aka ETCON). I was there, and I took notes: https://craphound.com/lifehacksetcon04.txt O’Brien’s inspiration was his social circle, in which people he knew to be no smarter or better or motivated than anyone else in that group were somehow able to do much more than their peers, in some specific domain. O’Brien delved deeply into these peoples’ lives and discovered that each of them had merely (“merely!”) gotten very good at using one or two tools to automate things that would otherwise take up a lot of their time. These “hacks” freed up their practitioners to focus on things that mattered more to them. They accomplished the goal set out in David Allen’s Getting Things Done: to make a conscious choice about which things you are going to fail to do today, rather than defaulting to doing the things that are easy and trivial, at the expense of the things that matter, but are more complicated: https://gettingthingsdone.com/what-is-gtd/ One trait all those lifehacks shared: everyone who created a little hack was faintly embarrassed by it, and assumed that others who learned about their tricks would find them trivial or foolish. O’Brien changed the world by showing that other people were, in fact, delighted and excited to learn about their peers’ cool little tricks. (Unfortunately, this eventually opened the floodgates of overheated posts about some miraculous hack that turned out to indeed be silly and trivial or even actively bad, but that wasn’t O’Brien’s fault!) I’m one of those people whom others perceive as very “productive.” There are some objective metrics on which this is true: I wrote nine books during lockdown, for example. Like the lifehackers O’Brien documented in 2004, I have lots of little hacks that aren’t merely a way of getting more done – they’re a way to make sure that I get the stuff that matters to me (taking care of my family and my health, and writing books) done. A lot of these lifehacks boil down to making your life easier. There’s a spot on our kitchen counter where I put e-waste. Whenever I go out to the car, I carry any e-waste out and put it in a bag in the trunk. Any time I’m near our city dump, I stop and throw the bag into their e-waste bin. This is now a habit, and habits are things you get for free: I spend zero time thinking about e-waste, which means I have more time to think about things that matter (and our e-waste still ends up in the right place). There’s other ways I use habits to make my life easier: after many years, I learned how to write every day: https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/22/walking-the-plank/ For longer-form works like novels, I “leave myself a rough edge,” finishing the day’s work in the middle of a sentence. That way I get a few words for free the next day, meaning I never start the day’s work wondering which words I’ll type: https://locusmag.com/2014/01/cory-doctorow-cheap-writing-tricks/ One of the most powerful habits I’ve cultivated is to have a group of daily tabs that I open in a new browser every morning. The meat of this tab group is websites I want to check in with every day, either because they don’t have RSS feeds, or because I want to make sure I never miss an update. This tab-group habit started before RSS was widespread, when most of the websites I wanted to check in on every day didn’t have feeds yet, and for many years, this group was just a set of daily reads. But over the years, I started throwing things in the tab-group that I needed to stay on top of. My daily tabs are in a folder called “unfucked rota” (they were originally in a folder called “rota,” which got corrupted and had to be reconstructed in a folder I called “fucked rota,” until I finally took a couple hours off and got it in good running order, hence “unfucked rota”). As I type this, “unfucked rota” contains more than a hundred websites I visit every morning, but it also contains: The edit-history pages for four Wikipedia entries I’m watching; Chronological feeds of my books on Amazon and Audible, to catch counterfeits as they are posted; The parent notification portal for my kid’s school; The mileage history for the airline I flew on yesterday (I’ll delete this once the flight is posted); The credit card history for a card I reported a fraudulent charge on (I’ll delete this once the refund is posted); The sell-pages for three products that are out of stock (I’ll delete these once the products are in stock and ordered); A bookmarked newest-first Ebay search for a shirt I like that has been discontinued by the manufacturer; The new-survey-completed pages for my last two Kickstarters; The courier tracking page for an item being shipped sea-freight to me from Asia. The tail end of this unfucked rota changes all the time, but as you can tell, it’s got a lot of stuff that would be time-consuming to build a whole new system to track, but which has a web-page that can be easily added to a daily, habitual check-in and then removed when it’s not relevant anymore. Some of these things have email notifiers or RSS feeds, but those are too easy to lose in the noise. I generally delete email from ecommerce sites unread, since 99.99% of the messages they send me are unsolicited marketing nonsense, not the “notify me when this is back in stock” message I do want to see (same goes for my kid’s school, which sends me fifty unimportant messages for every message that I must reply to). Most of the internet is still on the web, which means it can be bookmarked, which means that it takes me one second to add it to the group of things I’m staying on top of, and one second to remove from that group. I get up in the morning, middle-click the “unfucked rota” item in my bookmarks pane, make a cup of coffee, and then sit down and race through those tabs, close-close-close. It takes less than a second to scan a tab to see if it’s changed (and if I close a tab too quickly, the ctrl-shift-T “unclose” shortcut is there in muscle-memory, another habit). The whole process takes between one and 15 minutes (depending on whether there’s anything useful and new in one of those tabs). Tabs, like lifehacks, are also in bad odor. Everyone stresses about how many tabs they have open. It’s even inspired Rusty Foster’s excellent newsletter, Today In Tabs: https://www.todayintabs.com/ But this is a very different way to think about tabs. Rather than opening a window full of tabs that need your detailed, once-off attention later, this method is about using groups of tabs so that you can pay cursory, frequent attention to them. In a world full of administrative burdens, where firms and institutions play the “sure, we’ll do that, but you’re going to have to track our progress” game to get out of living up to their obligations, this method is a powerful countermeasure: https://memex.craphound.com/2015/02/02/david-graebers-the-utopia-of-rules-on-technology-stupidity-and-the-secret-joys-of-bureaucracy/ My little tab habit is so incredibly useful, such a powerful way to seize back time and power from powerful actors who impose burdens on me, that I sometimes forget how, for other people, tabs are a symptom of a life that’s spiraling out of control. For me, a couple hundred tabs are a symbol of a couple hundred tasks that I’m totally on top of, a symbol of control wrestled back from others who are hostile to my interests. This isn’t how tabs were “meant” to be used, of course. It’s an example of the kind of “innovation” that comes from users repurposing things in ways their designers didn’t necessarily anticipate or intend. This is what Jonathan Zittrain meant by “generative” technology back in 2008, when he published his incredibly prescient The Future of the Internet: And How To Stop It: https://memex.craphound.com/2008/07/22/zittrains-the-future-of-the-internet-how-to-save-the-internet-from-the-internet/ For Zittrain, “generativity” was the property of some technologies that let its users generate new, useful tools and solutions for themselves (this is very different from “generative AI!”) Zittrain described how “curated” computing systems, like mobile devices that relied on apps that couldn’t be adapted by their users, were dead ends for generativity. 15 years later, the dismal world of apps has proven him right: https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/24/everything-not-mandatory/#is-prohibited To the extent that “lifehacking” is about doing more, rather than being more deliberate about what you accomplish, it can be harmful. I am not immune to the failure modes of lifehacking: https://locusmag.com/2017/11/cory-doctorow-how-to-do-everything-lifehacking-considered-harmful/ But overall, using tabs as something I close, rather than something I open, is a source of comfort and calm for me. For one thing, ripping through a group of tabs every morning means that I don’t have to worry about missing something if I go too fast. I’ll get another chance tomorrow: https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/27/probably/ Decades ago, Dori Smith dubbed her pioneering blog her “#Backup Brain”: https://web.archive.org/web/20020120231027/http://www.backupbrain.com/ At their best, our systems – be they physical, like a spot on the counter where the e-waste goes, or digital, like a tab-group – are “congitive prostheses.” They allow us to move important things from the highly contested, busy and precious space between our ears and out there into the world: https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/09/the-memex-method/ Like those lifehackers that O’Brien studied for his presentation in 2004, I confess to feeling a little silly about telling you all about this. For me, this habit of decades is so ingrained that it feels trivial and obvious. And yet, when I look at people in my life struggling to stay on top of a million nagging administrative tasks that could be easily watched through a morning’s flick through a tab-group, I can’t help but think that maybe some of you will find a useful idea or two in my unfucked rota. Hey look at this (permalink) Am I My Colleagues’ Keeper When It Comes to Disclosing Connections? https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4700214 (h/t Credit Slips) Authors Are Fighting Amazon’s Audible https://blog.libro.fm/authors-are-fighting-amazons-audible/ BREAKING: Union Membership Edges Up, Density Down in 2023 https://radishresearch.substack.com/p/breaking-union-membership-edges-up (h/t Hamilton Nolan) This day in history (permalink) #20yrsago Towards a non-evil social networking service https://foe.typepad.com/blog/2004/01/my_social_netwo.html #20yrsago What kind of people are companies? https://kottke.org/04/01/the-corporation #15yrsago Disagree with a flight attendant? You’re a terrorist https://web.archive.org/web/20090130091134/http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/1/26/95937/9820/454/689074 #10yrsago Korean plastic surgeon removes towering jars of excised jawbones after fine https://web.archive.org/web/20140123162257/https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/plastic-surgeon-builds-glass-jawbone-tower-filled-with-patients-removed-jaws/story-fneuz9ev-1226809081700 #10yrsago #Euromaidan: Must-see photos and stories from the front lines https://web.archive.org/web/20140131083503/http://zyalt.livejournal.com/984735.html #10yrsago Why the hyper-rich turn into crybabies when “one percent” is invoked https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-brittle-grip-part-2 #5yrsago Predatory lender found to have swindled veterans’ pensions for eight years, so Trump’s CFPB fined him $1 https://theintercept.com/2019/01/26/cfpb-mulvaney-discount/ #5yrsago Spies tried to infiltrate Citizen Lab and trick them into talking about their research on Israeli spytech company NSO Group https://www.seattletimes.com/business/apnewsbreak-undercover-agents-target-cybersecurity-watchdog-2/ #5yrsago The Curse of Bigness: Tim Wu channels Brandeis on Big Tech (and Big Everything Else) https://memex.craphound.com/2019/01/26/the-curse-of-bigness-tim-wu-channels-brandeis-on-big-tech-and-big-everything-else/ Colophon (permalink) Today’s top sources: Currently writing: A Little Brother short story about DIY insulin PLANNING Picks and Shovels, a Martin Hench noir thriller about the heroic era of the PC. FORTHCOMING TOR BOOKS JAN 2025 The Bezzle, a Martin Hench noir thriller novel about the prison-tech industry. FORTHCOMING TOR BOOKS FEB 2024 Vigilant, Little Brother short story about remote invigilation. FORTHCOMING ON TOR.COM Spill, a Little Brother short story about pipeline protests. FORTHCOMING ON TOR.COM Latest podcast: What kind of bubble is AI? https://craphound.com/news/2024/01/21/what-kind-of-bubble-is-ai/ Upcoming appearances: The Lost Cause at Otherland (Berlin), Jan 28 https://www.otherland-berlin.de/de/event-details/zusaetzlicher-autor-innenabend-mit-cory-doctorow.html?day=20240128&times=1706466600,1706466600 Marshall McLuhan Lecture 2024 (Berlin), Jan 29 https://transmediale.de/en/2024/event/mcluhan-2024 The Lost Cause at Otherland (Berlin), Jan 30 https://www.otherland-berlin.de/de/event-details/autor-innenabend-mit-cory-doctorow.html The Bezzle at Third Place Books (Seattle), Feb 26 https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/event/cory-doctorow Tuscon Festival of Books, Mar 9/10 https://tucsonfestivalofbooks.org/?id=676 Recent appearances: Enshittification: The Rise and Fall of Big Tech (Crash Course Economics) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7AxrFQ7jIM Generation of Lost Causes with Vass Bednar (Toronto Public Library) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rGj5VaJSDQ Low-Key Clippy (This Week In Tech) https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech/episodes/963 Latest books: “The Lost Cause:” a solarpunk novel of hope in the climate emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org). Signed, personalized copies at Dark Delicacies (https://www.darkdel.com/store/p3007/Pre-Order_Signed_Copies%3A_The_Lost_Cause_HB.html#/) “The Internet Con”: A nonfiction book about interoperability and Big Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Book Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/book/9781804291245). “Red Team Blues”: “A grabby, compulsive thriller that will leave you knowing more about how the world works than you did before.” Tor Books http://redteamblues.com. Signed copies at Dark Delicacies (US): and Forbidden Planet (UK): https://forbiddenplanet.com/385004-red-team-blues-signed-edition-hardcover/. “Chokepoint Capitalism: How to Beat Big Tech, Tame Big Content, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin”, on how to unrig the markets for creative labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com “Attack Surface”: The third Little Brother novel, a standalone technothriller for adults. The Washington Post called it “a political cyberthriller, vigorous, bold and savvy about the limits of revolution and resistance.” Order signed, personalized copies from Dark Delicacies https://www.darkdel.com/store/p1840/Available_Now%3A_Attack_Surface.html “How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism”: an anti-monopoly pamphlet analyzing the true harms of surveillance capitalism and proposing a solution. https://onezero.medium.com/how-to-destroy-surveillance-capitalism-8135e6744d59?sk=f6cd10e54e20a07d4c6d0f3ac011af6b) (signed copies: https://www.darkdel.com/store/p2024/Available_Now%3A__How_to_Destroy_Surveillance_Capitalism.html) “Little Brother/Homeland”: A reissue omnibus edition with a new introduction by Edward Snowden: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250774583; personalized/signed copies here: https://www.darkdel.com/store/p1750/July%3A__Little_Brother_%26_Homeland.html “Poesy the Monster Slayer” a picture book about monsters, bedtime, gender, and kicking ass. Order here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626723627. Get a personalized, signed copy here: https://www.darkdel.com/store/p2682/Corey_Doctorow%3A_Poesy_the_Monster_Slayer_HB.html#/. Upcoming books: The Bezzle: a sequel to “Red Team Blues,” about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books, February 2024 Picks and Shovels: a sequel to “Red Team Blues,” about the heroic era of the PC, Tor Books, February 2025 Unauthorized Bread: a graphic novel adapted from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, 2025 This work – excluding any serialized fiction – is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. That means you can use it any way you like, including commercially, provided that you attribute it to me, Cory Doctorow, and include a link to pluralistic.net. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Quotations and images are not included in this license; they are included either under a limitation or exception to copyright, or on the basis of a separate license. Please exercise caution. How to get Pluralistic: Blog (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): Pluralistic.net Newsletter (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://pluralistic.net/plura-list Mastodon (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic Medium (no ads, paywalled): https://doctorow.medium.com/ Twitter (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://twitter.com/doctorow Tumblr (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://mostlysignssomeportents.tumblr.com/tagged/pluralistic “When life gives you SARS, you make sarsaparilla” -Joey “Accordion Guy” DeVilla

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/25/today-in-tabs/ Save to Pocket

Scientists Discover Four New Emperor Penguin Colonies From Satellite Images of Antarctica

date: 2024-01-25, from: Smithsonian Magazine

The findings are a rare bright spot for the birds, which scientists predict will be mostly extinct by 2100

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-discover-four-new-emperor-penguin-colonies-from-satellite-images-in-antarctica-180983660/ Save to Pocket

After Three Years on Mars, NASA’s Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends

date: 2024-01-25, from: NASA breaking news

NASA’s history-making Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has ended its mission at the Red Planet after surpassing expectations and making dozens more flights than planned. While the helicopter remains upright and in communication with ground controllers, imagery of its Jan. 18 flight sent to Earth this week indicates one or more of its rotor blades sustained damage […]

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/after-three-years-on-mars-nasas-ingenuity-helicopter-mission-ends/ Save to Pocket

2024 Honda Prologue Will Start At $47,000

date: 2024-01-25, from: Inside EVs News

The model will begin arriving at Honda dealerships in March.

https://insideevs.com/news/706124/2024-honda-prologue-pricing-epa-range/ Save to Pocket

Polar explorer Ben Saunders has started a new podcast called New Frontiers,…

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/01/0043852-my-pal-ben-saunders-the Save to Pocket

The EU-US Trade and Tech Council sounds fancy but, really, what’s the point?

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Nothing like an informal talking shop dressed up as formal transatlantic cooperation

The next meeting of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) will take place in Washington DC next week to discuss mutual approaches to trade issues and tech challenges, such as climate change and China.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/trade_and_technology_council/ Save to Pocket

Former Trump Aide Navarro Gets 4-Month Sentence for Defying January 6 Subpoena

date: 2024-01-25, from: VOA News USA

WASHINGTON — Trump White House official Peter Navarro, who was convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, was sentenced on Thursday to four months behind bars. 

He was the second Trump aide convicted of contempt of Congress charges, after former White House adviser Steve Bannon, who also got a four-month sentence but is free pending appeal. 

Navarro was found guilty of defying a subpoena for documents and a deposition from the House January 6 committee. He served as a White House trade adviser under then-President Donald Trump and later promoted the Republican’s baseless claims of mass voter fraud in the 2020 election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. 

He has vowed to appeal the verdict, saying he couldn’t cooperate with the committee because Trump had invoked executive privilege. A judge barred him from making that argument at trial, however, finding that he didn’t show Trump had actually invoked it. 

Navarro said in court before his sentencing Thursday that the House committee investigating the January 6 attack had led him to believe that it accepted his invocation of executive privilege. “Nobody in my position should be put in conflict between the legislative branch and the executive branch,” he told the judge. 

The judge told Navarro that it took “chutzpah” for him to assert that he accepted responsibility for his actions while also suggesting that his prosecution was politically motivated. “You are not a victim. You are not the object of a political prosecution,” the judge said. “These are circumstances of your own making.” 

Navarro’s lawyers had advised him not to address the judge, but he said he wanted to speak after hearing the judge express disappointment in him. Responding to a question about why he didn’t initially seek a lawyer’s counsel, he told the judge, “I didn’t know what to do, sir.” 

The judge is allowing Navarro’s defense to submit a written brief on the question of allowing him to remain free pending appeal. 

Justice Department prosecutors said Navarro tried to “hide behind claims of privilege” even before he knew what the committee wanted, showing a “disdain” for the committee that should warrant a longer sentence. Prosecutors had asked a judge to sentence him to six months behind bars and impose a $200,000 fine. 

Defense attorneys said Trump did claim executive privilege, putting Navarro in an “untenable position,” and they asked for a sentence of probation and a $100 fine. 

Bannon, who also made executive-privilege arguments, was convicted of two counts.

Navarro’s sentencing comes after a judge rejected his bid for a new trial. His attorneys had argued that jurors may have been improperly influenced by political protesters outside the courthouse when they took a break from deliberations. Shortly after their break, the jurors found Navarro guilty of two misdemeanor counts of contempt of Congress.

But U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta found that Navarro didn’t show that the eight-minute break had any effect on the September verdict. He found no protest was underway and no one approached the jurors — they interacted only with each other and the court officer assigned to accompany them.

https://www.voanews.com/a/former-trump-aide-navarro-gets-4-month-sentence-for-defying-january-6-subpoena/7457293.html Save to Pocket

This Is Why You Should Only Use Credit Cards

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)

I am sure someone has asked you, ‘Debit or credit?’ I say credit every time, and you should, too. You were likely brought up in a society denouncing credit cards as some financial weapon of mass destruction. This is not true. If used properly, I am here to convince you that your credit card can…

https://sundial.csun.edu/177983/opinions/this-is-why-you-should-only-use-credit-cards/ Save to Pocket

iOS 17.4 will support 3rd-party app stores and browser engines, app sideloading and game streaming… in the EU only

date: 2024-01-25, from: Liliputing

Apple is cracking open the walled garden that is its iPhone ecosystem… but only in Europe. Up until recently, the only official way to install apps on an iPhone was through the App Store (or with a developer account). But now, in order to comply with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple is […]

The post iOS 17.4 will support 3rd-party app stores and browser engines, app sideloading and game streaming… in the EU only appeared first on Liliputing.

https://liliputing.com/ios-17-4-will-support-3rd-party-app-stores-and-browser-engines-app-sideloading-and-game-streaming-in-the-eu-only/ Save to Pocket

Save 50% on EcoFlow power stations from $499, Worx Landroid robotic mowers at $700, tons of e-bikes, and more

date: 2024-01-25, from: Electrek Feed

Headlining today’s best deals is a 15-day home backup sale for disaster preparedness from EF EcoFlow that is taking up to 50% off three select power stations as well as some solar panels, smart extra batteries, and a dual fuel smart generator. Its joined by Worx’s three Landroid robotic lawn mowers that can cover 1/8 acre, 1/4 acre, and 1/2 acre yards starting from $700. Several models of Hover-1 EVs are still seeing discounts as well, with the Night Owl Electric Folding Scooter leading the charge this time at $780. Plus, all of today’s other best new Green Deals.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/25/ecoflow-power-stations-worx-robotic-mowers-more/ Save to Pocket

Apple to allow sideloading, alternative application stores, alternative browser engines, lower costs, and more on iOS, but only in the EU

date: 2024-01-25, from: OS News

In order to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act, Apple has announced a set of sweeping changes to iOS and the App Store in the European Union. First and foremost, starting with iOS 17.4, users in the European Union will be able to download and install applications from outside of the App Store. On top of that, alternative application stores will become possible as well. When a developer submits an application to Apple, the developer can choose to distribute the application through the App Store, alternative application stores, or both. Apple will not charge a commission on installations from outside the App Store, and it will also allow alternative payment processors, over which Apple will also not charge any additional fees. Apple will, however, charge something called a “Core Technology Fee”. Under the new terms, apps distributed through the App Store which choose to use an alternative payment system will pay a 17 percent commission (rather than 30 percent) on digital goods and services. This commission rate falls to 10 percent for any apps that currently qualify for Apple’s reduced “small business” rate. The additional 3 percent fee then applies for developers who choose to use Apple’s payment processing system. The company is also introducing a new type of fee for particularly popular apps. The new Core Technology Fee will charge developers €0.50 (around 54 cents) per annual app install; however, this fee only kicks in after a million annual installs in the EU. Apple estimates that over 99 percent of developers will either “reduce or maintain the fees they owe to Apple” under the new business terms and that “less that 1 percent” of developers would pay a core technology fee. ↫ Jon Porter at The Verge Overall, developers in the EU will be paying a lot less to Apple than developers in the US and elsewhere, while also gaining more options of distributing their applications outside of the App Store. I’m already seeing some serious rumblings in Apple developer circles over on Mastodon, where US-based developers are not happy these serious cost reductions will only apply to EU developers. The only kink in the cable is this “Core Technology Fee”, though, as the total bill for that nebulous cost can balloon quickly. Apple will still check applications outside of the App Store for safety, security, and privacy, though, with a system very similar to how macOS handles applications outside of the Mac App Store right now through a new – to iOS – notarisation system. This notarisation will not check applications for quality (because as we all know, the App Store is a beacon of quality) or content (hello emulators!). Another major change coming to iOS is the availability of browsers other than Safari. Right now, even if you think you’re using an alternative, non-Safari browser on iOS, you’re really just using a skin on top of a hobbled version of Safari. In the EU, starting with iOS 17.4, non-WebKit browser engines like Firefox’ Gecko or Chrome’s Blink can come to iOS, and live as equal citizens on your iOS device. Furthermore, NFS on iOS will be opening up in Europe, giving European users the ability to use services other than Apple Pay and Wallet with NFC, and even set them as default. Apple is also allowing game streaming services to come to iOS, and this change happens to be available worldwide instead of being restricted to just the EU. These are sweeping changes to how iOS and the App Store works, but much to the chagrin of US-based users and developers in my Mastodon timeline and elsewhere, they’re exclusive to the European Union. It’s unclear if Americans can import EU devices to gain access to these new features, or if they need EU-based Apple IDs. Let the grey market provide.

https://www.osnews.com/story/138447/apple-to-allow-sideloading-alternative-application-stores-alternative-browser-engines-lower-costs-and-more-on-ios-but-only-in-the-eu/ Save to Pocket

Directed Energy: The Focus on Laser Weapons Intensifies

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: RAND blog

Directed energy weapons offer a more cost-efficient means of dealing with fast-proliferating threats. If the technology can be matured, such systems could tip both the military and economic calculus of modern warfare in their users’ favor.

https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2024/01/directed-energy-the-focus-on-laser-weapons-intensifies.html Save to Pocket

How the Unicorn Became an Enduring Symbol—and Scotland’s National Animal

date: 2024-01-25, from: Smithsonian Magazine

The Perth Museum’s inaugural exhibition examines the mythical creature’s long history

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-an-artistic-history-of-the-unicorn-scotlands-odd-national-animal-180983652/ Save to Pocket

See the World Through the Eyes of Animals With These Stunning New Videos

date: 2024-01-25, from: Smithsonian Magazine

By making ultraviolet light accessible to our eyes, a novel camera system reveals how insects, birds and other creatures experience color

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-the-world-through-the-eyes-of-animals-with-these-stunning-new-videos-180983647/ Save to Pocket

Hyundai sold nearly 269,000 electric vehicles last year as IONIQ 5 and 6 spark growth

date: 2024-01-25, from: Electrek Feed

Hyundai sold 268,785 EVs last year as demand for the IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6 picked up. The South Korean automaker plans to strengthen its leadership in the EV market, with new models gaining momentum.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/25/hyundai-sold-269k-evs-last-year-ioniq-5-6-growth/ Save to Pocket

We got an up-close look at Gravity with Lucid Motors’ SVP of Design and Brand, Derek Jenkins

date: 2024-01-25, from: Electrek Feed

This week, Lucid Motors invited Electrek to an exclusive ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the opening of Phase 2 of its AMP-1 facility in Casa Grande, Arizona. Part of the festivities included a factory tour, an interview with CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson, and our best look at Lucid’s upcoming Gravity SUV to date. Senior Vice President of Design and Brand Derek Jenkins walked me around Gravity and shared some insights into what went into this unique electric SUV.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/25/up-close-look-gravity-suv-lucid-motors-svp-design-brand-derek-jenkins/ Save to Pocket

Turn On Stolen Device Protection in iOS 17.3

date: 2024-01-25, from: TidBITS blog

https://tidbits.com/2024/01/25/turn-on-stolen-device-protection-in-ios-17-3/ Save to Pocket

Industry first: Kenworth class-6 electric trucks get OEM-approved wireless charging

date: 2024-01-25, from: Electrek Feed

After 6 months of intensive engineering work and evaluations, a pioneering collaboration between Kenworth, Dana Incorporated, and WAVE Charging has resulted in the first OEM-approved high-power wireless charging integration of its kind.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/25/industry-first-kenworth-class-6-electric-trucks-get-oem-approved-wireless-charging/ Save to Pocket

Missed expectations, zero guidance: Tesla’s ‘great year’ was anything but

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

‘This was a 101 how not to do a conference call,’ says Wall St expert

When Elon Musk says Tesla had a “great year,” it’s best to read between the lines – especially after such a disastrous quarterly earnings call.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/tesla_conference_call/ Save to Pocket

Honda’s first electric SUV, the 2024 Prologue, boasts nearly 300 miles range for under $49K

date: 2024-01-25, from: Electrek Feed

Honda’s first all-electric SUV, the 2024 Prologue, will begin hitting US dealerships in March. The electric SUV features best-in-class EPA range with up to nearly 300 miles on a single charge.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/25/2024-honda-prologue-300-mi-range-under-49k/ Save to Pocket

2024 Subaru Solterra Will DC Charge Faster, Brings New Features

date: 2024-01-25, from: Inside EVs News

Prices remain the same as before.

https://insideevs.com/news/705969/2024-subaru-solterra-faster-charging-features-pricing/ Save to Pocket

From Culture magazine, the best cheeses of 2023. Lots of cheeses on…

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/01/0043851-from-culture-magazine-the Save to Pocket

That temperature sensor on Google’s Pixel 8 Pro finally has a use

date: 2024-01-25, from: Liliputing

The Pixel 8 Pro is the first phone from Google to include a infrared temperature sensor embedded in the camera bar on the back of the phone. But when Google launched the phone in October the company didn’t really provide much of an explanation of what you were supposed to use it for. Now we […]

The post That temperature sensor on Google’s Pixel 8 Pro finally has a use appeared first on Liliputing.

https://liliputing.com/that-temperature-sensor-on-googles-pixel-8-pro-finally-has-a-use/ Save to Pocket

Extremely Limited Edition Royal Enfield Bullet 350 Is Headed To Canada In 2024

date: 2024-01-25, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

Only 100 will be available on a preorder-only basis in the fabled maple leaf land.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/706129/royal-enfield-bullet-350-canada/ Save to Pocket

Fit in research data management – workshop series in Spring Semester 2024

date: 2024-01-25, from: ETH Zurich Research Archives

Get yourself and your research project in shape with our research data management workshop programme. You can now register for the Spring Semester 2024 workshops. Read more

https://rc-blog.ethz.ch/en/fit-in-research-data-management-workshop-series-in-spring-semester-2024/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-01-25, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)

Since when does JSON.parse and JSON.stringify not preserve the order of object properties?

http://scripting.com/2024/01/25.html#a174525 Save to Pocket

AI-driven booze bouncers can ID you with face scan

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Cheerio to cheeky Chardonnay chancers

Good news for older boozehounds – the UK government plans to inject age estimation AI into supermarket alcohol sales.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/ai_alcohol_age_verification/ Save to Pocket

Trump’s biggest economic lie of the campaign (so far)

date: 2024-01-25, from: Robert Reich on Substack

Another reason why the public remains grumpy even though the economic numbers get better and better

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/trumps-biggest-economic-lie-of-the Save to Pocket

AI-Generated Taylor Swift Porn Went Viral on Twitter. Here’s How It Got There

date: 2024-01-25, from: 404 Media Group

404 Media traced back the viral and abusive images of Taylor Swift to a specific Telegram community. That group sometimes uses Microsoft’s AI tools.

https://www.404media.co/ai-generated-taylor-swift-porn-twitter/ Save to Pocket

The US’s largest solar + battery storage project just came online

date: 2024-01-25, from: Electrek Feed

The US’s largest solar + battery storage project, Edwards & Sanborn, has come online in Kern County, California.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/25/us-largest-solar-battery-storage-project/ Save to Pocket

Happy 40th Birthday, Macintosh. This site “showcases every Macintosh desktop and portable…

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/01/0043854-happy-40th-birthday-macin Save to Pocket

Blinken Wraps Up Four-Nation Africa Tour, Commits to Ongoing Security, Economic Partnership

date: 2024-01-25, from: VOA News USA

State Department — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday the United States will continue intensive engagement with African partners in hopes of resolving the ongoing conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Blinken held talks Thursday with Angolan President Joao Lourenco in which they discussed “concrete ways” to achieve “a durable peace” in the DRC’s conflict-ridden eastern region.

These discussions come against a backdrop of escalating tensions between Rwanda and the DRC, marked by several alleged cross-border attacks by Congolese and Rwandan forces.

“The United States very much appreciates President Lourenco’s continued efforts to de-escalate tensions between Rwanda and the DRC. We believe that the Luanda process, in tandem with the Nairobi process, is the best hope for enduring peace. Angola is trusted by all sides. President Lourenco’s leadership is vital for breakthrough,” said Blinken during a press conference before wrapping up the visit, which was part of a four-nation tour of Africa.

The chronic and escalating conflicts in eastern Congo have led regional countries to initiate two peace processes. The Nairobi Process is aimed at the disarmament of rebel groups within the DRC, while the Luanda Process focuses on resolving tensions between the DRC and its neighbor, Rwanda, which the DRC accuses of supporting the M23 rebel group. Rwanda denies the accusation.

In his meeting with Angolan Foreign Minister Tete Antonio, Blinken discussed the U.S.-Angola bilateral relationship, emphasizing the growing cooperation with Luanda in major railway infrastructure projects and outer space exploration.

“The United States has committed funding to refurbish the existing 1,300-kilometer Lobito Atlantic Railway. And we’ve taken the first steps to build out 800 kilometers a new rail reaching Zambia, including through a consortium with Angola and other partners,” said Blinken during a joint press conference.

Blinken said these projects are the biggest investment the United States has made in railways on the African continent in over a generation and are central to the partnership for global infrastructure investment work in Angola.

In November 2023, the U.S. and Angola signed the Artemis Accords, a set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations.

Over the past four years, the U.S. has significantly increased its military assistance to Angola, providing more than $18 million from 2020 to 2023. In the coming year, the U.S. will explore new opportunities to expand capacity-building efforts in cybersecurity and for Angola’s Navy, according to the State Department.

Blinken began his four-nation tour of Africa on Monday. Besides Angola, the trip included stops in Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria.

In Cape Verde’s capital Praia, Blinken met with Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva and toured Porto da Praia, modernized with U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation funding. Blinken praised Cape Verde for being the first country to complete two Millennium Challenge Corporation compacts and starting a third. He also acknowledged Cape Verde’s WHO certification as malaria-free.

In Ivory Coast, Blinken met with President Alassane Ouattara and announced $45 million in new funding to help the West African country and its neighbors prevent conflict and promote stability amid regional threats. This contribution brings the total U.S. stability-focused assistance in coastal West Africa to nearly $300 million since 2022.

Ivory Coast borders three countries that have experienced coups in recent years: Guinea in September 2021; Mali in August 2020 and May 2021; and Burkina Faso in January and September 2022.

In Nigeria, Blinken held talks focused on regional security with President Bola Tinubu and Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar.

Nigeria shares a border with Niger, where the military ousted its elected leader, Mohamed Bazoum, in July 2023.

Highlighting Nigeria’s role in the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, Blinken commended its efforts toward restoring constitutional order and democracy in Niger.

During a press conference in Abuja, Blinken said the United States is determined to remain a strong security partner for Nigeria, a key partner in the U.S. fight against Islamist insurgents in West Africa.

The chief U.S. diplomat’s trip to three countries in West Africa, and one in southern Africa, Angola, comes as Washington seeks to deepen its economic and security partnerships in regions where China and Russia have made significant inroads.

https://www.voanews.com/a/blinken-wraps-up-four-nation-africa-tour-commits-to-ongoing-security-economic-partnership/7457018.html Save to Pocket

How To Avoid AI Voice Impersonation and Similar Scams

date: 2024-01-25, from: TidBITS blog

https://tidbits.com/2024/01/25/how-to-avoid-ai-voice-impersonation-and-similar-scams/ Save to Pocket

FreeWire Partners With GM Energy To Offer Its Battery-Powered Fast Chargers To Fleet Operators

date: 2024-01-25, from: Inside EVs News

The chargers can provide up to 200 kW of power but only need 240V or 400V sources to operate, lowering the installation cost.

https://insideevs.com/news/706011/freewire-gm-energy-battery-powered-dc-fast-charger/ Save to Pocket

ServiceNow banks double digit sales gains amid push into enterprise workflow

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Beats analyst estimates, talks up genAI and yet share price wobbles briefly

ServiceNow booked a 20 percent leap in subscriptions for the final three months of 2023, causing it to hike financial forecasts for this year - but Wall Street seemingly wasn’t as impressed the company maybe expected.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/servicenow_maintains_20pc_revenue_growth/ Save to Pocket

The Coolest Thing in Climate Tech is a Super Hot Rock

date: 2024-01-25, from: Heatmap News

One of the oldest ways to store up energy is in hot rocks. Egyptians built adobe homes millennia ago that absorbed heat during the day and released it at night, and wood-fired ovens with bricks that radiate residual heat have been around since the Middle Ages.

Now, this ancient form of heating is poised for a breakout year as one of the hottest things in climate tech: thermal batteries. These aren’t the kinds of batteries you’d find in a laptop or electric vehicle. Instead, these stationary, shipping container-sized units can provide the high temperatures necessary to power hard-to-decarbonize industrial processes like smelting or chemical manufacturing. And thanks to the changing economics of clean energy and a generous tax credit in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, investors are increasingly bullish about the technology, helping Silicon Valley startups Antora Energy and Rondo Energy dramatically scale up production with new gigafactories.

The underlying technology is fairly basic. Using essentially the same technology as a toaster, electricity from renewable energy is converted into heat and then stored in thermally conductive rocks or bricks. That heat is then delivered directly as hot air or steam to the industrial facilities that the stationary batteries are sited on. Rondo says it can supply continuous heat at full capacity — that’s over 1,000° Celsius — for 16 to 18 hours, and Antora’s system is rated at 25 hours, helping fill the gaps when sun and wind resources are scarce.

Rondo’s thermal battery at an ethanol plant in California.Courtesy of Rondo Energy.

The climate benefits of this process are clear — and potentially huge. Heat alone comprises half of the world’s total energy consumption, and about 10% of global CO2 emissions come from burning fossil fuels to generate the high temperatures necessary for industrial processes like steel and cement production, chemicals manufacturing, and minerals smelting and refining. These industries are notoriously hard to decarbonize because burning gas or coal has been much cheaper than using electricity to generate high heat.

That’s also why we haven’t traditionally heard a lot about thermal batteries. Before renewables became ubiquitous, the tech just wouldn’t have been very clean or very cheap.

But thanks to the rapidly falling cost of wind and solar, its economics are looking increasingly promising. “There’s this glut of cheap, clean power that is just waiting to be used,” Justin Briggs, Antora’s co-founder and COO, told me. “It’s just going to waste in a lot of cases already.”

John O’Donnell, the co-founder and CEO of Rondo, concurred.“This industrial decarbonization is going to start out absolutely absorbing those negative and zero prices,” he told me. “But it is also going to drive massive new construction of new renewables specifically for its own purpose.”

Of course thermal batteries aren’t the only technology trying to solve industrial heat emissions. Concentrating solar thermal power systems can store the sun’s heat in molten salts, carbon capture and storage systems can pull the emissions from natural gas combustion at the source, and green hydrogen can be combusted for heat delivery.

Indeed, the same forces making thermal energy more attractive are also benefiting green hydrogen in particular. Cheap renewables and lucrative hydrogen subsidies in the IRA mean green hydrogen is also poised to rapidly fall in price. But proponents of thermal batteries argue their technology is much more efficient.

Electrical resistance heating (i.e. turning electricity into heat like a toaster) is already a 100% efficient process. And after storing that heat in rocks for hours or days, you still can get over 90% of it back out. But producing green hydrogen through electrolysis and subsequently combusting it for heat is only about 50-66% efficient overall, says Nathan Iyer, a senior associate at the think tank RMI. That means green hydrogen could require around 1.5 to two times the amount of renewable electricity as thermal batteries to generate the same amount of heat.

“Pretty much all of the major models are saying thermal batteries are winning when they run all of their optimizations,” Iyer said. “They’re finding a huge chunk of industrial heat is unlocked by these thermal batteries.”

However, when it comes to the most heat-intensive industries, such as steel and cement production, combusting green hydrogen directly where it’s needed could prove much easier than generating and transporting the heat from thermal batteries. As Iyer told me, “At a certain level of heat, the materials that can actually handle the heat and move the heat around the facility are very, very rare.”

Iyer says these challenges begin around 600° or 700° Celsius. But the lion’s share of industrial processes take place below this temperature range, for use cases that thermal batteries appear well-equipped to handle.

And now, the gigafactories are on their way. Rondo has partnered with one of its investors, Thailand-based Siam Cement Group, to scale production of its heat battery from 2.4 gigawatt-hours per year to 90 GWh per year, which will equal about 200-300 battery units. This expanded facility would be the largest battery manufacturing plant in the world today — about 2.5 times the size of Tesla’s Gigafactory in Nevada.

Rondo, which has raised $82 million to date, says it can scale rapidly because its tech is already so well understood. It relies on the same type of refractory brick that’s found in Cowper stoves, a centuries old technology used to recycle heat from blast furnaces.

In Rondo’s case, renewable electricity is used to heat the bricks instead. Then, air is blown through the bricks and superheated to over 1,000° Celsius before being delivered to the end customer as either heat through a short high-temperature duct or as steam through a standard boiler tube.

“We’re using exactly the same heating element material that’s in your toaster, exactly the same brick material that’s in all those steel mills, exactly the same boiler design and boiler materials so that we have as little to prove as possible,” O’Donnell says.

Currently, Rondo operates one small, 2 megawatt-hour commercial facility at a Calgren ethanol plant in California. The company hopes to expand its U.S. footprint, something the IRA will help catalyze. Last month’s guidelines from the IRS clarify that thermal batteries are eligible for a $45 per kilowatt-hour tax credit, which will help them compete with cheap natural gas in the U.S.

Antora is already planning to produce batteries domestically, recently launching its new manufacturing facility in San Jose, California. The company has raised $80 million to date, and operates a pilot plant in Fresno, California. Similar to Rondo, Antora’s tech relies on common materials, in this case low-grade carbon blocks. “It’s an extremely low-cost material. It’s produced at vast scales already,” says Briggs.

Antora’s carbon blocks.Courtesy of Antora Energy

When heated with renewable electricity, these blocks emit an intense glow. Much like the sun, that thermal glow can then be released as a beam of 1,500° Celsius heat and light through a shutter on the box.

“And you can do one of two things with that beam of light. One, you can let that deliver thermal energy to an industrial process,” says Briggs. Or Antora’s specialized thermophotovoltaic panels can convert that hot light back into electricity for a variety of end uses.

It’s all very promising, but ultimately unproven at scale, and the companies wouldn’t disclose early customers or projects. But they have some big names behind them. Both Antora and Rondo are backed by the Bill Gates-funded Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Antora also receives funding from Lowercarbon Capital, Shell Ventures, and BHP Ventures, indicating that the oil, gas, petrochemical, and mining industries are taking note.

Along with funding from Energy Impact Partners, Rondo has a plethora of industry backers too, including Siam Cement Group, TITAN Cement Group, mining giant Rio Tinto, Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund, Saudi chemicals company SABIC, and oil company Saudi Aramco.

“The investors that just joined us have giant needs,” O’Donnell says of the company’s decision to massively ramp up manufacturing. “Rio Tinto has announced 50% decarbonization by 2030. Microsoft is buying 24-hour time-matched energy in all kinds of places. SABIC and Aramco have enormous steam needs that they want to decarbonize.”

Primary uses of this tech will likely include chemical manufacturing, mineral refining, food processing and paper and biofuel production. Industries like these, which require heat below 1,000° Celsius (and often much less), account for 68% of all industrial emissions. While steel and cement production are two of industry’s biggest emitters, their heat needs can exceed 1,500° Celsius, temperatures that Rondo and Antora admit are more technically challenging to achieve.

In any case, 2024 is the year when hot rocks could start making a dent in decarbonization. The IRA’s tax credits mean this emergent tech could become competitive in more markets, beyond areas with excess renewable power or substantial carbon taxes. This is the year that Antora says they’ll begin mass production, and Rondo’s first commercial projects are expected to come online.

As O’Donnell says, “This is not 10 years away. It’s not five years away. It’s right now.”

https://heatmap.news/technology/antora-rondo-energy-thermal-batteries Save to Pocket

Freight train heists are on the rise in the age of Amazon….

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/01/0043853-freight-train-heists-are- Save to Pocket

Elon Musk tries to explain his ask for more control over Tesla, but TSLA not buying it

date: 2024-01-25, from: Electrek Feed

Elon Musk tried to explain his strange ask for more control over Tesla, which seemingly came with a threat to divert AI products from the automaker to his new startup, during his earnings conference call.

It doesn’t look like Tesla shareholders are buying it as the stock crashed by as much as 10% this morning.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/25/elon-musk-tries-explain-ask-more-control-over-tesla-tsla/ Save to Pocket

VW, China’s Long-Time Top-Selling Car Brand, Was Dethroned By BYD In 2023

date: 2024-01-25, from: Inside EVs News

After edging past Tesla in the all-electric game in Q4 2023, BYD overtook VW as China’s best-selling car marque last year.

https://insideevs.com/news/706026/vw-dethroned-byd-china-car-sales/ Save to Pocket

The Surprisingly Simple Math Behind Puzzling Matchups

date: 2024-01-25, from: Quanta Magazine

The post The Surprisingly Simple Math Behind Puzzling Matchups first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-surprisingly-simple-math-behind-puzzling-matchups-20240125/ Save to Pocket

AYANEO Next Lite handheld to ship with Windows instead of Linux, will still start at $299 during crowdfunding

date: 2024-01-25, from: Liliputing

AYANEO has released a lot of handheld gaming PCs over the last few years, but most have prioritized performance over affordability. The new AYANEO Next Lite takes a different approach: it’s expected to sell for $299 and up during crowdfunding, making it one of the most affordable options available. When the company first announced the AYANEO Next […]

The post AYANEO Next Lite handheld to ship with Windows instead of Linux, will still start at $299 during crowdfunding appeared first on Liliputing.

https://liliputing.com/ayaneo-next-lite-handheld-to-ship-with-windows-instead-of-linux-will-still-start-at-299-during-crowdfunding/ Save to Pocket

Tiny asteroid’s earthly fireworks predicted with pinpoint accuracy by NASA

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Last year it was over France. This year it was over Germany. Where will the rocks strike next?

A NASA system has accurately predicted where and when an asteroid entered the Earth’s atmosphere.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/nasa_scout_asteroid_prediction/ Save to Pocket

Deno 1.40: Temporal API

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: Deno blog

Deno 1.40 introduces the Temporal API, TC39 decorators, and a range of deprecations and stabilizations, along with improvements in Node.js compatibility, LSP, diagnostics, and handling of unstable features, paving the way for a seamless upgrade to Deno 2.

https://deno.com/blog/v1.40 Save to Pocket

Homebuilder confidence climbs

date: 2024-01-25, from: Marketplace Morning Report

Mortgage rates have fallen since early last fall, when they hit 8% for the first time since 2000. Now, buyers who were biding their time are finally making moves. And if rates continue to drop, demand is likely to rise. All this is good news to homebuilders. Plus, the latest on the Boeing debacle and an analysis of last quarter’s economic growth.

https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/homebuilder-confidence-climbs Save to Pocket

Massive Ancient Network of Cities Found in the Amazon

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/01/massive-ancient-network-of-cities-found-in-the-amazon Save to Pocket

China’s Automakers Would ‘Demolish’ Manufacturers If Not For Trade Barriers: Musk

date: 2024-01-25, from: Inside EVs News

Plus, Tesla shares tank after news of 2024 slowdown, and 4680 cells not to blame for Cybertruck’s slow growth.

https://insideevs.com/news/706087/tesla-china-demolish-us-automakers/ Save to Pocket

Ten young journalists open up about their struggles to break into the news industry

date: 2024-01-25, from: Nieman Journalism Lab

Every year seems to be the worst year for journalism lately, and 2023 was no exception. Layoffs reached a new record, artificial intelligence may have begun to displace journalists, and the Israel-Hamas war claimed the lives of a record number of reporters. All this was compounded by long hours, chronic underpayment, and a declining number of journalism jobs. Despite this daunting landscape, young journalists…

https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/01/ten-young-journalists-open-up-about-their-struggles-to-break-into-the-news-industry/ Save to Pocket

Please, For The Love Of Dog, Don’t Post Your Speeding Videos On YouTube

date: 2024-01-25, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

We shouldn’t even have to say this, but apparently, we do.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/706116/speeding-video-arrest-warrant-youtube/ Save to Pocket

People Drink Less Wine When Bars Remove the Largest Glass, Study Finds

date: 2024-01-25, from: Smithsonian Magazine

The simple change could help reduce alcohol consumption and improve health at the population level, U.K. researchers say

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/people-drink-less-wine-when-bars-remove-the-largest-glass-study-finds-180983643/ Save to Pocket

Porsche finally unveils the sporty all-electric Macan EV with up to 381 miles range

date: 2024-01-25, from: Electrek Feed

The all-electric Porsche Macan EV is finally here. Porsche unveiled the sporty electric SUV Thursday with up to 381 miles (613 km) WLTP range, sports car performance, and more interior space.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/25/porsche-unveils-sporty-macan-ev-381-miles-range/ Save to Pocket

YouTube Deletes 1,000 Videos of Celebrity AI Scam Ads

date: 2024-01-25, from: 404 Media Group

But plenty of deepfake scam videos are still on the platform.

https://www.404media.co/youtube-deletes-1-000-videos-of-celebrity-ai-scam-ads/ Save to Pocket

Podcast: Why Google Is Shit Now

date: 2024-01-25, from: 404 Media Group

This week we go long on Google News and AI, and why Google Search is worse now. We also discuss a phone spy tool that can monitor billions.

https://www.404media.co/podcast-why-google-is-shit-now-404-media-week-22/ Save to Pocket

Microsoft hits $3 trillion as investors drink AI Kool-Aid

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-26, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

That’s not to say Redmond hasn’t had significant Windows of misfortune

Microsoft has crossed the $3 trillion valuation threshold thanks in no small part to investors buying into the mega-corp’s AI vision.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/microsoft_valuation_3_trillion/ Save to Pocket

Rivian, Kia, and Mercedes see huge jump in new car registrations – a sign of what’s to come?

date: 2024-01-25, from: Electrek Feed

S&P Global Mobility released its latest round of US data on new EV registrations for November 2023, and some surprising new trends are popping up – with very modest gains by Tesla and Ford, compared to bigger moves from smaller EV players Rivian and Kia, as well as luxury EVs from Mercedes and BMW.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/25/rivian-kia-and-mercedes-see-huge-jump-in-new-car-registrations-a-sign-of-whats-to-come/ Save to Pocket

Signed commits

date: 2024-01-25, from: Alex Schroeder’s Blog

Signed commits

The post on commit signing by @glyph reminds me of my reluctance to electronically sign private emails. To me, signing documents is a tool society uses against the people doing the signing. It’s a liability I take upon myself in order to get something: a wedding, a house – the other party is binding me to something. Conversely, when I’m not getting something of value I’m not signing anything. I prefer the liberty to repudiate everything. “I didn’t write this.” I’m not promising anything.

Let’s go back to signed commits, however. When looking at it from the point of view of a corporation, I feel that cryptographically signed commits don’t help against bugs, malware, spies, or anything like that.

No, signed commits provide a different kind of security, if you can call it that. The only leverage signed commits provide is that the corporation can blame the person who signed the commit and inflict consequences on them because it’s hard to deny that they did sign the commit. Even if the corporation didn’t want to inflict consequences on developers, it might have to abide by some certification process or insurance-related policies that enables other corporations to go after the developers.

It’s a bit like the security provided by cameras. They don’t help the victim being filmed. They might help punish a perpetuator, maybe. There’s no guarantee that this increases overall security.

In all cases, as a developer, these signed commits are against my personal interest. Signing commits is a liability. It’s in the interest of the employer, never in the interest of the employee.

As a user interested in code quality, I don’t really care who committed the code. I’m interested in access control to the repository so that only the people I trust merge code they deem to be correct. If this kind of verification isn’t possible, then I’m starting to see a use case for signed commits.

Assume that somebody sends me commits from a remote repository and I can’t look at them for lack of time or lack of expertise. They claim to be somebody I trust, like a contributor I know, or a co-worker, and I need to decide whether to merge the commit. Now a signature for the commit they’re trying to get me to add (and therefore all its ancestors) might make sense.

#Programming #Cryptography

https://alexschroeder.ch/view/2024-01-25-signed-commits Save to Pocket

A study in Scotland has found that no cases of cervical cancer…

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/01/0043850-a-study-in-scotland-has Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-01-25, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)

ChatGPT is the best librarian I’ve ever had.

http://scripting.com/2024/01/25.html#a150346 Save to Pocket

Tesla Cybertruck Owner Says $20,000 Foundation Series Premium Isn’t Worth It (Updated)

date: 2024-01-25, from: Inside EVs News

It’s sort of a good deal if you get the so-called Cyberbeast. For the more down-to-earth all-wheel drive version, not so much.

https://insideevs.com/news/706088/tesla-cybertruck-foundation-series-premium-worth-it-video/ Save to Pocket

Elon Musk: automakers don’t believe Tesla Full Self-Driving is real

date: 2024-01-25, from: Electrek Feed

Elon Musk says that other automakers don’t believe Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) is “real” as Tesla tries to sell FSD licenses.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/25/elon-musk-automakers-dont-believe-tesla-full-self-driving-real/ Save to Pocket

Big housing development could sprout at San Jose office property

date: 2024-01-25, from: San Jose Mercury News

A big housing development could sprout on the site of a San Jose office building.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/25/san-jose-house-home-housing-office-real-estate-build-tech-economy/ Save to Pocket

College basketball: Mark Madsen comes full circle in Stanford-Cal rivalry

date: 2024-01-25, from: San Jose Mercury News

Cal coach Mark Madsen played at Stanford for Mike Montgomery, who later closed his coaching career with a stint at Cal. Madsen lost to the Bears the first time he faced them as a player, then won seven in a row.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/25/college-basketball-mark-madsen-comes-full-circle-in-stanford-cal-rivalry/ Save to Pocket

Telco giants show it’s tough selling 5G kit right now

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Ericsson straps in for rough year, while Nokia bets on recovery in second half

Telecom giants Nokia and Ericsson both saw sales drop for the final quarter of 2023, blaming tough economic conditions for weak network operator spending. While Ericsson expects another tough year ahead, Nokia is banking on things picking up later this year.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/ericsson_nokia_results/ Save to Pocket

Where’s Waldo? The Elephant in the Room

date: 2024-01-25, from: Gary Marcus blog

And how things could quickly get ugly in the real world

https://garymarcus.substack.com/p/wheres-waldo-the-elephant-in-the Save to Pocket

Why Locusts Swarm, Humans Do Good and Time Marches On

date: 2024-01-25, from: Quanta Magazine

The post Why Locusts Swarm, Humans Do Good and Time Marches On first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/janna-levin-why-im-co-hosting-the-joy-of-why-podcast-20240125/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-01-25, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)

BTW, I co-wrote a Busy Developer’s Guide to SOAP in 2001, because it was so desperately needed. SOAP was a tangle of specs, which must have made sense to someone, not sure who, but was incomprehensible to app developers, the same ways ActivityPub is today. I have no idea if the BDG helped, but it was the only way I felt I could be supportive of the protocol, without saying it was a complete failure. I was unusual in that among the developers of the protocol, I was the only one who didn’t work at a big company, so if I wanted to do something badly enough, I could just do it. The basic message was: “If you want to implement SOAP in your app, this is one way to do it. And if you do, your software will interop with mine.”

http://scripting.com/2024/01/25.html#a143824 Save to Pocket

BMW’s First Neue Klasse EVs Will Be X3-Sized Crossover, 3 Series-Sized Sedan

date: 2024-01-25, from: Inside EVs News

Between 2025 and 2030, BMW wants to launch six new EVs based on its new 800-volt architecture.

https://insideevs.com/news/706074/bmw-neue-klasse-ev-lineup-2025/ Save to Pocket

Surveillance Capitalism Is Vile

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: One Foot Tsunami

https://onefoottsunami.com/2024/01/25/surveillance-capitalism-is-vile/ Save to Pocket

Famed astronomer Natalie Batalha searches for life on other planets — and so much more

date: 2024-01-25, from: San Jose Mercury News

The scientific lead for NASA’s Kepler mission has long been inspired by the possibility of science to help us ’know everything” and to understand the mysteries and beauty of the universe.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/25/famed-astronomer-natalie-batalha-searches-for-life-on-other-planets-and-so-much-more/ Save to Pocket

New Yadea Cocoa Is A Vibrant E-Bike With Surprising Capabilities

date: 2024-01-25, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

This versatile e-bike lets you commute in style, all while hauling cargo and keeping track of your fitness goals.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/705990/yadea-cocoa-urban-ebike/ Save to Pocket

7 terrific Bay Area things to do this weekend, Jan. 26-28

date: 2024-01-25, from: San Jose Mercury News

Got your weekend plans? We have some nifty ideas, from AI-themed shows to a killer new World War II drama to heavenly raspberry streusel.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/25/7-terrific-bay-area-things-to-do-this-weekend-jan-26-28/ Save to Pocket

I Miscarried in Texas. My Doctors Put Abortion Law First. “No one…

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/01/0043848-i-miscarried-in-texas-my Save to Pocket

@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-01-25, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

Very interesting technique used to fingerprint users: https://mastodon.online/@9to5Mac/111816988235576038

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111817029348582790 Save to Pocket

Community Benefit?

date: 2024-01-25, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

I am flummoxed, dumbfounded, and appalled by what is happening at La Cumbre.

The post Community Benefit? appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/25/community-benefit/ Save to Pocket

Rooted SB Hosts Plantsgiving Event

date: 2024-01-25, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Nonprofit is providing plant-based nutrition education to the most needy.

The post Rooted SB Hosts Plantsgiving Event appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/25/rooted-sb-hosts-plantsgiving-event/ Save to Pocket

Code Club at Number Ten Downing Street

date: 2024-01-25, from: Raspberry Pi (.org)

With the rapid advances in digital technologies like artificial intelligence, it’s more important than ever that every young person has the opportunity to learn how computers are being used to change the world and to develop the skills and confidence to get creative with technology.  There’s no better way to develop those abilities (super powers…

The post Code Club at Number Ten Downing Street appeared first on Raspberry Pi Foundation.

https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/code-club-number-ten-downing-street/ Save to Pocket

Photos: Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price sponsors march and rally for National Human Trafficking Awareness Month

date: 2024-01-25, from: San Jose Mercury News

Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price marched with dozens of people to raise awareness of human trafficking in Oakland.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/25/photos-alameda-county-district-attorney-pamela-price-sponsors-march-and-rally-for-national-human-trafficking-awareness-month/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-01-25, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)

Johannes Ernst, host of FediForum, proposes a session that looks at how a product like Ghost might support ActivityPub. A nicely pragmatic way to look at it. I wrote a thread in response saying what’s called for is a Busy Developer’s Guide To ActivityPub, with a matching open source client and server to test against.

http://scripting.com/2024/01/25.html#a140613 Save to Pocket

Founder of Neo-Nazi Group the Base Instructs Followers to Use ‘Uncensored’ AI

date: 2024-01-25, from: 404 Media Group

A large language model by the same company previously produced instructions on how to kill someone or carry out ethnic cleansing.

https://www.404media.co/founder-of-new-nazi-group-the-base-instructs-followers-to-use-uncensored-ai/ Save to Pocket

With The Electric Macan, Porsche Embraces EVs In A Whole New Way

date: 2024-01-25, from: Inside EVs News

Electrification is the new normal.

https://insideevs.com/news/705993/porsche-macan-electric-interview/ Save to Pocket

How Cupertino basketball went from “rock bottom” to one of the Bay Area’s biggest surprises

date: 2024-01-25, from: San Jose Mercury News

Cupertino’s turnaround from last year’s 3-21 mark, which began in the summer, has led to an 18-1 start to this season.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/25/how-cupertino-basketball-went-from-rock-bottom-to-one-of-the-bay-areas-biggest-surprises/ Save to Pocket

Kurtenbach: Niners’ Nick Bosa vs. Lions’ Penei Sewell —  a matchup for the ages that will determine the NFC Championship Game

date: 2024-01-25, from: San Jose Mercury News

The best matchup in the best game of the year will happen away from the ball. Niners defensive end Nick Bosa vs. Lions right tackle Penei Sewell will likely determine who will advance to Super Bowl LVIII

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/25/kurtenbach-niners-nick-bosa-vs-lions-penei-sewell-is-a-matchup-for-the-ages-it-will-determine-the-nfc-championship-game/ Save to Pocket

EquiLend drags systems offline after admitting attacker broke in

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Securities lender processes trillions of dollars worth of Wall Street transactions every day

US securities lender EquiLend has pulled a number of its systems offline after a security “incident” in which an attacker gained “unauthorized access”.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/cybersecurity_incident_forces_equilend_to/ Save to Pocket

Murder suspect’s trial next week

date: 2024-01-25, from: Guam Daily Post

A man accused in the homicide of Adam Messier in 2017 is set to go to trial next week.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/murder-suspect-s-trial-next-week/article_78266424-bb23-11ee-9685-ef0be65664e9.html Save to Pocket

30 years for leader of drug organization

date: 2024-01-25, from: Guam Daily Post

A leader of a drug organization was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/30-years-for-leader-of-drug-organization/article_6cac7f74-bb10-11ee-8bb4-2f6cf070355a.html Save to Pocket

Camacho pleads not guilty

date: 2024-01-25, from: Guam Daily Post

The man suspected of being the getaway driver in the robbery and fatal shooting of a Korean tourist pleaded not guilty to charges in the case.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/camacho-pleads-not-guilty/article_4041ef6e-bb38-11ee-9981-4b8c0bc9cf03.html Save to Pocket

Man faces 32 years for theft by deception while on felony release

date: 2024-01-25, from: Guam Daily Post

A man was found guilty of stealing $1,400 from an 83-year-old man.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/man-faces-32-years-for-theft-by-deception-while-on-felony-release/article_bb519394-ba5c-11ee-b7ee-8b96559e9d63.html Save to Pocket

GFD responds to auto parts and debris fire in Harmon junkyard

date: 2024-01-25, from: Guam Daily Post

The Guam Fire Department responded Wednesday to a report of burning auto parts and debris.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/gfd-responds-to-auto-parts-and-debris-fire-in-harmon-junkyard/article_23f8766c-bb19-11ee-a2d4-9b4aeed84dd1.html Save to Pocket

Project Pele officials on Guam

date: 2024-01-25, from: Guam Daily Post

Project Pele officials are on Guam as part of a research tour to learn about different power situations and needs at various locations, as well as local concerns and issues, to help the Department of Defense determine whether mobile nuclear…

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/project-pele-officials-on-guam/article_52aadd7a-bb36-11ee-b551-7bfd9b181570.html Save to Pocket

GPA procurement bill fails to move forward, Legislature to vote Friday

date: 2024-01-25, from: Guam Daily Post

Bill 201-37, the measure that would waive certain procurement requirements to facilitate the maintenance and operation of specific Guam Power Authority diesel units, failed to make the voting file on Wednesday.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/gpa-procurement-bill-fails-to-move-forward-legislature-to-vote-friday/article_7ec877ec-bb1c-11ee-a2cd-3f9ae508d40a.html Save to Pocket

Shrinking Moon Causing Moonquakes and Faults Near Lunar South Pole

date: 2024-01-25, from: NASA breaking news

As NASA continues to make progress toward sending astronauts to the lunar South Pole region with its Artemis campaign, data from a NASA-funded study is helping scientists better understand this strategic part of the Moon. The study presents evidence that moonquakes and faults generated as the Moon’s interior gradually cools and shrinks are also found […]

https://www.nasa.gov/earth/moon/shrinking-moon-causing-moonquakes-and-faults-near-lunar-south-pole/ Save to Pocket

Dragging Bay Area home sales sink to 15-year low in 2023

date: 2024-01-25, from: San Jose Mercury News

The pandemic-era housing market frenzy came to a definitive halt in the face of increasing mortgage rates and tight supply.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/25/dragging-bay-area-home-sales-sink-to-15-year-low-in-2023/ Save to Pocket

The Biden Administration Just Made One of Its Most Important Climate Decisions

date: 2024-01-25, from: Distilled Earth blog

Biden is planning to announce a moratorium on new LNG projects. Here’s why that’s such a big deal.

https://www.distilled.earth/p/the-biden-administration-just-made Save to Pocket

US economy grew at a surprisingly strong 3.3% pace last quarter, pointing to continued resilience

date: 2024-01-25, from: San Jose Mercury News

The state of the economy is sure to weigh on people’s minds ahead of the November elections. After an extended period of gloom, Americans are starting to feel somewhat better about inflation and the economy.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/25/us-economy-grew-at-a-surprisingly-strong-3-3-pace-last-quarter-pointing-to-continued-resilience/ Save to Pocket

Peninsula man sentenced to life in prison for 2018 murder

date: 2024-01-25, from: San Jose Mercury News

Luis Alberto Diazlopez was shot to death and robbed at a turnout on Highway 1.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/25/peninsula-man-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-2018-murder/ Save to Pocket

A safe place to park

date: 2024-01-25, from: Marketplace Morning Report

On Thursday, House lawmakers will unveil a bipartisan bill that will fund safe places to park for people who are living in their vehicles. New Beginnings, a California nonprofit that pioneered the program, says in addition to an influx of families with young children, senior citizens make up half of their safe parking enrollees. We’ll also hear about researchers using satellite radar data to assess the scale of damage done by Israeli forces in Gaza.

https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/a-safe-place-to-park Save to Pocket

Fucare Scorpio review: A fun fat tire electric bike with moto-style suspension

date: 2024-01-25, from: Electrek Feed

As electric fat tire e-bikes become increasingly popular, more designers are getting creative with their suspension setups to differentiate themselves from the sea of other e-bikes out there. Now, the Fucare Scorpio takes a classic dual rear suspension design and applies it in a unique way to electric bicycles.

And it raises the question: Can you have too much suspension?

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/25/fucare-scorpio-review-a-fun-fat-tire-electric-bike-with-moto-style-suspension/ Save to Pocket

40 Years Ago: President Reagan Directs NASA to Build a Space Station

date: 2024-01-25, from: NASA breaking news

On Jan. 25, 1984, President Ronald W. Reagan directed NASA to build a permanently inhabited Earth orbiting space station within a decade. The President’s announcement turned years of NASA studies into a real program. As originally envisioned, the modular space station would use the space shuttle for assembly and serve as a microgravity research laboratory […]

https://www.nasa.gov/history/40-years-ago-president-reagan-directs-nasa-to-build-a-space-station/ Save to Pocket

The Rising Threat of Really Big Waves

date: 2024-01-25, from: Heatmap News

Current conditions: Colombia declared a natural disaster after unrelenting wildfires • Tropical Cyclone Kirrily poses a unique risk to Australia due to the storm’s “irregular shape” • Washington, D.C., could hit 70 degrees Fahrenheit in January for the first time in four years.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Report: Biden delaying approval of major LNG export terminal

The Biden administration has delayed approval of 17 new facilities for the export of liquified natural gas (LNG), according to a New York Times report. Officials are instead asking the Department of Energy to widen its review of the first of these 17 — known as Calcasieu Pass 2, or CP2 — to include effects on the global climate. Heatmap reached out to the White House and got a “no comment” in response. Such a decision, if confirmed, would be seen as a win for climate advocates who oppose the terminals due to their potential environmental toll: At least one analysis shows that, if all 17 export terminals were to be approved, the emissions related to the fuel that would flow through them would exceed the annual greenhouse gas emissions of the entire European Union. “Um, I think we all just won,” wrote Bill McKibben, who is perhaps the project’s staunchest foe.

Republicans would likely oppose the decision, and some already accuse President Biden of waging a war on affordable domestic energy. “What was never in question is that this would be a major campaign issue, no matter what Biden did,” wrote Heatmap’s Jillian Goodman. “It looks like he has cast his bet in favor of the climate crowd.”

2. Tesla reports underwhelming Q4 results

Tesla reported fourth quarter results yesterday, with earnings and revenue that missed expectations. Earnings per share came in at $0.71, slightly below Wall Street’s estimates. Revenue hit $25.17 billion, which was up 3% from a year earlier, but marked the slowest growth rate in more than three years. And CEO Elon Musk tempered expectations about the year ahead, saying sales growth would be “notably lower.” He confirmed plans to start production of a next-generation “Redwood” EV – likely to be cheaper than existing models – in 2025, but indicated this wouldn’t happen until late in the year.

The update likely did little to ease investors’ concerns about the company’s footing in the shifting EV landscape: Demand for EVs is still growing but at a slower pace than before, and competition is heating up at home and abroad. China’s BYD overtook Tesla at the end of last year as the world’s top-selling EV maker. During the earnings call, Musk took the opportunity to call for trade barriers, warning that without them, Chinese rivals “will pretty much demolish most other car companies in the world.”

3. Extreme waves bring chaos and flooding to Marshall Islands

A terrifying weather video has been making the rounds this week. Perhaps you’ve seen it? Freak waves burst through the glass doors of a restaurant on a U.S. military base in the Marshall Islands, flooding the building and sweeping people away. Here’s a quick still from the video, but it’s worth watching the whole thing to get a sense of the sheer force of the water as it slams into bodies.

storyful/worldmaverick

The Marshall Islands are “at the very front lines of climate change,” reported ABC News, and one expert told the outlet that so-called extreme waves like these could become more common as sea levels rise. A separate study earlier this month found that storm waves hitting the Americas today are 80% bigger than they were 40 years ago. “Coastal towns and vessels urgently need to prepare better defenses – especially in the Americas – to avoid damage from these extreme waves,” said tropical storm expert Dr. Xiangbo Feng, who co-authored the study.

4. Dengue cases soar in South America

In October of last year, scientists from the World Health Organization warned that cases of dengue fever would “take off” in the next decade as climate change accelerates. That timeline may have been far too conservative. Already cases of the mosquito-borne illness are rising dramatically in South America, Reuters reported. Argentina recorded more than 12,500 cases last month and stores are running out of bug spray. In Brazil, cases more than doubled in the first week of January compared to last year. Hospitals in Paraguay have set up night clinics to deal with a surge in patients. Dengue is often asymptomatic but can cause terrible joint pain in some patients and more than 35,000 people die from infections each year. “Climate change has expanded the range for mosquitoes to breed,” explained Thais dos Santos from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). A mass vaccination program is underway in Brazil.

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5. New Jersey approves 2 new offshore wind projects

New Jersey approved two offshore wind projects yesterday, just three months after Orsted delivered a major blow to the state’s clean power ambitions by canceling two major contracts. The new projects would produce about 3,470 megawatts of electricity, power about 1.8 million homes, and bring $6.8 billion in economic benefits. But the clean energy would come at a cost for customers: The average residential bill would go up by about $7 per month, according to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. The operators of one of the projects promised to provide direct assistance to some low-income households to offset the increase. The wind farms are expected to start providing power to the grid by 2032.

THE KICKER

IKEA has updated its emissions-cutting targets for 2030. The previous goal was to reduce emissions by 15% from 2016 levels. The new goal is to cut emissions in half.

https://heatmap.news/climate/marshall-islands-extreme-wave Save to Pocket

a note on plagiarism

date: 2024-01-25, from: Ayjay blog

The Claudine Gay plagiarism scandal — or, depending on your point of view, “plagiarism” scandal — has me thinking about How We Write Today. John McWhorter has recently written that there really is a meaningful distinction between plagiarism and “duplicative language,” and I suppose there often is, but it’s all because of technology, innit?  That […]

https://blog.ayjay.org/a-note-on-plagiarism/ Save to Pocket

IBM talks up cost savings, including ‘workforce rebalancing’

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Real estate consolidation, ‘productivity initiatives’ mean Big Blue is upping annual savings target to $3B

IBM is recasting its ambitions for annual run rate cost savings by upping the target by another $1 billion, and will pull multiple levers to get there – including a completion of the Weather Company’s asset and job cuts.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/ibm_q4/ Save to Pocket

Biden vetoes Republican block on $7.5 billion EV infrastructure plan

date: 2024-01-25, from: Electrek Feed

Republicans, and a couple of Democrats, have been pushing back on President Biden’s $7.5 billion plan to extensively build out EV infrastructure in the US by focusing on a short-term waiver that allows federally subsidized EV chargers to include materials from China. Republicans aiming to block the waiver don’t like this – but Biden exercised his veto power, for now at least.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/25/biden-vetoes-republican-block-on-7-5-billion-ev-infrastructure-plan/ Save to Pocket

PUC approves rate increase

date: 2024-01-25, from: Guam Daily Post

The Public Utilities Commission has decided to increase the Levelized Energy Adjustment Clause, the portion of the power bill that pays for fuel. Beginning in February and lasting through July, unless changed earlier, the LEAC will go up to about…

https://www.postguam.com/news/puc-approves-rate-increase/article_9058e522-bb36-11ee-9cf6-f3220f4f5554.html Save to Pocket

CSU Faculty Say Students Need More Counselors. Will The New Bargaining Agreement Help?

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The LAist

While mental health counselors will see an increase in pay, their demands for increased hiring of tenure-track faculty was not included in the agreement.

https://laist.com/news/education/csu-strike-cal-state-counselors-faculty-want-more-support Save to Pocket

LA County Leaders Advance Proposal That Could Require AC In Rental Housing

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The LAist

A final vote on requiring air conditioning in L.A. apartments is still months away. But local landlord groups have begun fighting the idea.

https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/los-angeles-cooling-air-conditioning-extreme-heat-renter-landlord-tenant-requirement-climate-change-housing Save to Pocket

How Can California Get Everyone Online? Final Call To Add Your Voice

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The LAist

As the state finalizes its multi-billion dollar Digital Equity Plan, Thursday is the last day for public comment

https://laist.com/news/how-can-california-get-everyone-online-final-call-to-add-your-voice Save to Pocket

Top-tier IT talent doesn’t stick around in ‘mid-market’ organizations

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Though that might be the least of their worries, according to this report

Despite the specter of IT layoffs, top talent has no difficulty switching employers, according to new research by integrator Advania.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/report_midmarket_organizations/ Save to Pocket

2024 Porsche Macan: A Daring Electric Redesign With 630 HP, More Range Than Taycan

date: 2024-01-25, from: Inside EVs News

With rear-axle steering, new-generation software, and more power and range, the second-gen Macan brings plenty to the table.

https://insideevs.com/news/705983/2024-porsche-macan-electric-features-prices/ Save to Pocket

The shipping industry tallies the cost of Red Sea tensions

date: 2024-01-25, from: Marketplace Morning Report

From the BBC World Service: Major shipping companies including Maersk and DP World are having to re-route vessels and are predicting extended delays in shipments — the European market and the East Coast are worst affected. Plus, millions of people around the world will be celebrating the birthday today of one of Scotland’s most iconic cultural icons: the poet Robert Burns. This year, the Scottish government aims to use the celebrations to open up economic opportunities.

https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/shipping-counts-the-costs-of-red-sea-tensions Save to Pocket

See 11 Winning Images From the Close-Up Photographer of the Year Awards

date: 2024-01-25, from: Smithsonian Magazine

Focused on little details of animals and plants, these stunning shots spotlight the world’s tiny wonders

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-11-winning-images-from-the-close-up-photographer-of-the-year-awards-180983630/ Save to Pocket

Quantum Computing Skeptics

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-19, from: Bruce Schneier blog

Interesting article. I am also skeptical that we are going to see useful quantum computers anytime soon. Since at least 2019, I have been saying that this is hard. And that we don’t know if it’s “land a person on the surface of the moon” hard, or “land a person on the surface of the sun” hard. They’re both hard, but very different.

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/01/quantum-computing-skeptics.html Save to Pocket

Jim de Bree | How Presidents Can Impact the Economy

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Signal

Part 2 of 3. Part 1 appeared Jan. 18. This is the second column in a three-part series discussing the factors that control the economy and the role that the president plays in steering the economy. There are several principles at play that must be understood — monetary policy, fiscal policy, fiscal lag and the […]

The post Jim de Bree | How Presidents Can Impact the Economy appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/jim-de-bree-how-presidents-can-impact-the-economy/ Save to Pocket

Arthur Saginian | Miracle on the Opinion Page

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Signal

Every now and then I witness or experience what I consider to be a miracle — something that I either cannot explain or never thought could happen. Well, I experienced a miracle while reading the letter submitted by Christopher Lucero, “Hyperbole Reigns Supreme,” Dec. 5. I not only understood everything Mr. Lucero wrote, I actually […]

The post Arthur Saginian | Miracle on the Opinion Page appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/arthur-saginian-miracle-on-the-opinion-page/ Save to Pocket

Richard Castallo | Heated Up Over Fire Inspection Fees

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Signal

Re: Fire inspection fees. Has anyone noticed the increase in the price of food over the past couple of years? How about gas? Have you received a notice from your insurance company, like I did, letting me know my homeowners insurance is going up 150%? How about something as simple as drinking water? I used […]

The post Richard Castallo | Heated Up Over Fire Inspection Fees appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/richard-castallo-heated-up-over-fire-inspection-fees/ Save to Pocket

UK Civil Aviation Authority ponders vertiports for flying taxis

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

eVTOL to use existing aerodrome infrastructure

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is looking at design proposals for vertiports at existing aerodromes as the UK begins deliberation over the potential arrival of air taxis.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/uk_civil_aviation_authority_ponders/ Save to Pocket

Trump Becoming Biggest Obstacle to Border Deal to Fund Ukraine, Israel

date: 2024-01-25, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/trump-becoming-biggest-obstacle-to-border-deal-to-fund-ukraine-israel/7455908.html Save to Pocket

Psst … wanna jailbreak ChatGPT? Thousands of malicious prompts for sale

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Turns out it’s pretty easy to make the model jump its own guardrails

Criminals are getting increasingly adept at crafting malicious AI prompts to get data out of ChatGPT, according to Kaspersky, which spotted 249 of these being offered for sale online during 2023.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/dark_web_chatgpt/ Save to Pocket

Trump Becoming Biggest Obstacle to Border Deal to Fund Ukraine, Israel

date: 2024-01-25, from: VOA News USA

Former President Donald Trump, the likely Republican presidential nominee, is threatening to torpedo a deal that would free up $106 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and tighten immigration rules that the White House and senators from both parties have worked on for months. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports.

https://www.voanews.com/a/trump-becoming-biggest-obstacle-to-border-deal-to-fund-ukraine-israel-/7456407.html Save to Pocket

Cadillac Celestiq will buy you a whole lot of opulence for $340K – take a look

date: 2024-01-25, from: Electrek Feed

Lovers of sleek, luxurious, and insanely expensive cars, you’ve now got an American-made EV equivalent in the form of Cadillac Celestiq. General Motors just announced that it has finally started production at its factory in Michigan, but only in very limited numbers, of course. Here’s what that eye-watering starting price of $340,000 will buy you.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/25/cadillac-celestiq-will-buy-you-a-whole-lot-of-opulence-for-340k-take-a-look/ Save to Pocket

Apple’s Vision Pro costs big bucks to buy and repair … just don’t mention the box design

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Still, up to 180,000 units sold under pre-order and China gray market prepping locals

The old joke among less experienced tech product reviewers is that writing the review starts with opening the box. In the case of Apple’s Vision Pro, critics are finding that the, er, box lacks the aestethics that a buyer might expect given the hefty price tag.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/apple_vision_pro_china/ Save to Pocket

Solar photography with OneInchEye | The MagPi #138

date: 2024-01-25, from: Raspberry Pi News (.com)

Will Whang designed his own lens for his Raspberry Pi solar photography endeavours. In the latest issue of The MagPi, Rosie Hattersley eyes it up.

The post Solar photography with OneInchEye | The MagPi #138 appeared first on Raspberry Pi.

https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/solar-photography-with-oneincheye-the-magpi-138/ Save to Pocket

Hilo, KS-Hawai‘i win girls BIIF soccer titles

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>The BIIF girls soccer postseason came to an explosive end, as Hilo High defeated Waiakea High 3-1 and Kamehameha Schools - Hawai&#8216;i beat Hawaii Prep 3-1 in the Central Pacific Bank BIIF championship on Wednesday afternoon at Ken Yamase Memorial Stadium.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/sports/hilo-ks-hawaii-win-girls-biif-soccer-titles/ Save to Pocket

Harbaugh returning to NFL to coach Chargers after leading Michigan to national title

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Jim Harbaugh was hired as head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers on Wednesday, leaving Michigan after capping his ninth season as coach of college football&#8217;s winningest program with the school&#8217;s first national championship since 1997.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/sports/harbaugh-returning-to-nfl-to-coach-chargers-after-leading-michigan-to-national-title/ Save to Pocket

Grant Hill explains the decision surrounding Draymond Green’s omission from the Olympic pool

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>(AP) &#8212; USA Basketball says it wants the best for Draymond Green, which is why the federation does not have him in its plans for the Paris Olympics. </p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/sports/grant-hill-explains-the-decision-surrounding-draymond-greens-omission-from-the-olympic-pool/ Save to Pocket

Joe Barry is out as Packers defensive coordinator after 3 seasons

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Joe Barry is out as the Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator after a turbulent third season on the job that ended with a loss in the NFC divisional round of the playoffs. </p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/sports/joe-barry-is-out-as-packers-defensive-coordinator-after-3-seasons/ Save to Pocket

Vulcan split home doubleheader against PLNU

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>UH-Hilo&#8217;s men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s basketball teams split a home doubleheader against Point Loma on Tuesday at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/sports/vulcan-split-home-doubleheader-against-plnu/ Save to Pocket

Boys sports late seasons continue as girls enter playoffs

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>With a week remaining in the regular season, schools from across the island continued a strong push in Tuesday&#8217;s Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) boys basketball and soccer games. As of Wednesday afternoon, Hilo basketball leads Division I at 9-1, while Kohala remains in DII&#8217;s driver&#8217;s seat at 8-0. Over in soccer, Kealakehe boys lead DI at 7-1-0 (21 points) while KS-Hawai&#8216;i is in first in DII at 9-0-0 (27 points).</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/sports/boys-sports-late-seasons-continue-as-girls-enter-playoffs/ Save to Pocket

Dave Reardon: San Jose State building a case as UH’s new football rival

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>It wasn&#8217;t mutual, but until a year or two after the turn of the millennium the University of Hawaii&#8217;s rival in football was clear.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/sports/dave-reardon-san-jose-state-building-a-case-as-uhs-new-football-rival/ Save to Pocket

HKRA holds penultimate rodeo for 2023-24 season

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>The Hawai&#8216;i Keiki Rodeo Association held its second-to-last rodeo of the 2023-24 season on Saturday at the Pana&#8216;ewa rodeo grounds.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/sports/hkra-holds-penultimate-rodeo-for-2023-24-season/ Save to Pocket

The primaries have just begun. But Trump and Biden are already shifting to a November mindset

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>NEW YORK &#8212; Barely 400,000 votes have been cast in two rural Republican primaries over the span of eight days. But both Donald Trump and Joe Biden are behaving like their parties&#8217; nominees already.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/nation-world-news/the-primaries-have-just-begun-but-trump-and-biden-are-already-shifting-to-a-november-mindset/ Save to Pocket

Americans’ economic outlook brightens as inflation slows and wages outpace prices

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>WASHINGTON &#8212; After an extended period of gloom, Americans are starting to feel better about inflation and the economy &#8212; a trend that could sustain consumer spending, fuel economic growth and potentially affect President Joe Biden&#8217;s political fortunes.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/nation-world-news/americans-economic-outlook-brightens-as-inflation-slows-and-wages-outpace-prices/ Save to Pocket

Dozens express strong opposition to County Council’s short-term rental measure

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>A proposal to rewrite how Hawaii County regulates short-term vacation rentals led to hours of backlash from residents accusing the County Council of overreach.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/hawaii-news/dozens-express-strong-opposition-to-county-councils-short-term-rental-measure/ Save to Pocket

DHHL ramps up homestead development

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>A Native Hawaiian homestead development pipeline has swelled to about 6,000 lots costing $1.2 billion midway into a three-year effort to use a historic $600 million appropriation from the state Legislature in 2022.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/hawaii-news/dhhl-ramps-up-homestead-development/ Save to Pocket

Lily Gladstone’s path from Seattle theater to an Oscar nomination

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Success takes years, sometimes decades.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/nation-world-news/lily-gladstones-path-from-seattle-theater-to-an-oscar-nomination/ Save to Pocket

Celebration of life Saturday for former Mayor Kenoi

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>The Billy Kenoi &#8216;ohana will be hosting a celebration of life in honor of the late former Hawaii County mayor.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/hawaii-news/celebration-of-life-saturday-for-former-mayor-kenoi/ Save to Pocket

State to get $74.6M to fix Nanue, Hakalau bridges

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Hawaii will receive $74.6 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the rehabilitation of the Nanue and Hakalau bridges on Hawaii Island.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/hawaii-news/state-to-get-74-6m-to-fix-nanue-hakalau-bridges/ Save to Pocket

Obituaries for Jan. 25

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Richard Scott Gribbin, 77, of Hilo, died Jan. 15 at Hilo Medical Center. Born in Trenton, N.J., he was a quality control manager with Jas. W. Glover, Ltd. Prayer service to be held at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 29 at the Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in Honomu, with funeral service at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 30 at the same location. Final internment to take place at a later date. Casual attire, no flowers. Survived by wife Barbara of the Big Island, daughters Mary and Melanie of California, brother Jon of New Jersey, and three grandsons. Arrangements by Dodo Mortuary.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/obituaries/obituaries-for-jan-25/ Save to Pocket

North Korea appears to demolish ‘reunification arch’ as Kim Jong Un turns against ties with South

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>SEOUL, South Korea &#8212; North Korea appears to have torn down a huge arch in its capital that symbolized reconciliation with South Korea, a week after leader Kim Jong Un dismissed decades of hopes for peaceful reunification with the war-divided peninsula&#8217;s south, according to satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press on Wednesday.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/nation-world-news/north-korea-appears-to-demolish-reunification-arch-as-kim-jong-un-turns-against-ties-with-south/ Save to Pocket

Russia says a plane with Ukrainian POWs crashes, killing all aboard, and accuses Kyiv of downing it

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>A Russian military transport plane crashed Wednesday in a border region near Ukraine, and Moscow accused Kyiv of shooting it down, saying all 74 people aboard were killed, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war headed for a swap. Russia offered no evidence and Ukraine didn&#8217;t immediately confirm or deny it.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/nation-world-news/russia-says-a-plane-with-ukrainian-pows-crashes-killing-all-aboard-and-accuses-kyiv-of-downing-it/ Save to Pocket

Thousands still shelter in freezing weather after 7.1 quake in western China killed key livestock

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>UCHTURPAN, China &#8212; Aftershocks from a magnitude 7.1 earthquake continued to rock western China on Wednesday, while more than 12,000 displaced people relying on tents and shelters lit bonfires to fend off freezing weather.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/nation-world-news/thousands-still-shelter-in-freezing-weather-after-7-1-quake-in-western-china-killed-key-livestock/ Save to Pocket

Washington state reaches a nearly $150 million settlement with Johnson & Johnson over opioid crisis

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>OLYMPIA, Wash. &#8212; The Washington state attorney general announced a $149.5 million settlement Wednesday with drugmaker Johnson &#38;Johnson, more than four years after the state sued the company over its role fueling the opioid addiction crisis.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/nation-world-news/washington-state-reaches-a-nearly-150-million-settlement-with-johnson-johnson-over-opioid-crisis/ Save to Pocket

Trump could testify Thursday in Carroll NYC defamation trial after COVID scares

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>E. Jean Carroll&#8217;s defamation case against Donald Trump was off again Wednesday after the court canceled another&#8217;s days proceedings following a set of COVID scares, opening up the possibility of Trump taking the stand Thursday.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/nation-world-news/trump-could-testify-thursday-in-carroll-nyc-defamation-trial-after-covid-scares/ Save to Pocket

Boeing, not Spirit, mis-installed piece that blew off Alaska Max 9 jet, industry source says

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>The fuselage panel that blew off an Alaska Airlines jet earlier this month was removed for repair then reinstalled improperly by Boeing mechanics on the Renton, Washington, final assembly line, a person familiar with the details of the work told The Seattle Times.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/nation-world-news/boeing-not-spirit-mis-installed-piece-that-blew-off-alaska-max-9-jet-industry-source-says/ Save to Pocket

Your Views for January 25

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Calling attention to&#0010;Kona traffic hazard</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/opinion/your-views-for-january-25-3/ Save to Pocket

Texas can’t make border rules: Gov. Greg Abbott must obey federal law

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>In a short order issued Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to overturn an injunction that had prevented Customs and Border Protection from removing concertina wire set by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as part of his long-running effort to build a parallel border enforcement infrastructure. That&#8217;s good news.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/opinion/texas-cant-make-border-rules-gov-greg-abbott-must-obey-federal-law/ Save to Pocket

Hawaii charter schools get new leader

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>The state Public Charter School Commission, which oversees Hawaii&#8217;s 37 public charter schools, finally has a permanent executive director after having been without one since 2020.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/hawaii-news/hawaii-charter-schools-get-new-leader/ Save to Pocket

Judge in a bribery case against Honolulu’s former top prosecutor is suddenly recusing himself

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>HONOLULU &#8212; A month before the start of a bribery trial against Honolulu&#8217;s former top prosecutor, the judge who has been presiding over the case since 2022 unexpectedly recused himself.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/hawaii-news/judge-in-a-bribery-case-against-honolulus-former-top-prosecutor-is-suddenly-recusing-himself/ Save to Pocket

Crowds in India’s northeast cheer bird and buffalo fights, back after 9-year ban

date: 2024-01-25, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>GUWAHATI, India (AP) &#8212; The tiny birds entered the ring as nearly 3,000 spectators applauded, some standing on trucks for a better view, while others clung to branches in trees.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/25/nation-world-news/crowds-in-indias-northeast-cheer-bird-and-buffalo-fights-back-after-9-year-ban/ Save to Pocket

Wanna know Trump’s running mate?

date: 2024-01-25, from: Robert Reich on Substack

She checks all the awful boxes

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/wanna-know-trumps-running-mate Save to Pocket

Marsha McLean | The Importance of Emergency Preparedness in the New Year

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Signal

As someone who experienced the 1994 earthquake at our home in Santa Clarita, and as someone who participated in the city’s inaugural Emergency Preparedness Program (SECURE) as a trainer, I can attest to how valuable it was to be prepared for a disaster.  We are embarking on a new year filled with hope and aspirations, […]

The post Marsha McLean | The Importance of Emergency Preparedness in the New Year appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/marsha-mclean-the-importance-of-emergency-preparedness-in-the-new-year/ Save to Pocket

Firefox 122 gets even more competitive with Chrome on translation

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Plus a big change for Linux folks – native .deb packages

The latest Firefox has a raft of modest but desirable improvements for everyone, and a more significant change, external to the app itself, that will be helpful for most Linux users.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/firefox_122_is_out/ Save to Pocket

Coming: a curl distros meeting

date: 2024-01-25, from: Daniel Stenberg Blog

The curl project arranges a two hour video conference meeting on March 21, 2024, with the aim of getting together people from curl and persons packaging curl for distributions. Linux distros and others. If you distribute curl to your users, consider yourself invited! The main purpose is to improve curl and how curl is shipped … Continue reading Coming: a curl distros meeting →

https://daniel.haxx.se/blog/2024/01/25/coming-a-curl-distros-meeting/ Save to Pocket

US Delegation Affirms Bipartisan Support for Taiwan During Visit

date: 2024-01-25, from: VOA News USA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A bipartisan delegation from the U.S. Congress reaffirmed support for Taiwan during a visit Thursday, following the election of its new president. The delegation’s visit is the first from U.S. lawmakers to the island since the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party won a third-straight term in the January 13 presidential election.

China, America’s chief competitor for global influence, claims Taiwan as its own territory and threatens to use force to bring the self-ruling island under its control. Beijing strongly condemned Lai Ching-te’s election and appears set to continue its policy of refusing to engage with the island’s government — a practice that’s been in place since Tsai Ing-wen’s election in 2016.

“The support of the United States for Taiwan is firm. It’s real, and it is 100% bipartisan,” U.S. Representative Mario Díaz Balart said.

Balart, a Florida Republican, was joined by California Democrat Ami Bera.

“In the 21st century, there’s no place for aggressive action. We have to learn to live together, to trade together, to work together, to solve problems together,” Bera said.

“Just know that we are proud of the people of Taiwan. We are proud of the relationship and as strong as that relationship has always been. That is assured. It will even be stronger,” Balart said.

“So, we look forward to working together to continue to protect the peace, prosperity (and) the future of Taiwan. It’s up to people of Taiwan,” Bera said.

President-elect Lai thanked the visiting co-chairs of the U.S. Congressional Taiwan Caucus for their visit, saying that “today’s Taiwan is a Taiwan of the world.”

“Moving forward, I will work with Vice President-elect Hsiao Bi-khim to build upon the foundation laid by President Tsai to unite the people of Taiwan, strengthen social resilience and continue to defend the cross-strait status quo of peace and stability.”

The president-elect also touched on continued military assistance from the U.S. and a proposed agreement to avoid mutual taxation of companies.

Beijing objects to any form of official contact between the U.S. and Taiwan. In 2022, it responded to a visit by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with some of its largest military maneuvers in years, including missile launches and a simulated blockade of the island. It views visits by foreign government officials as a recognition of the island’s sovereignty.

President Joe Biden, seeking to calm that complaint, insists there’s no change in America’s longstanding “One-China” policy, which recognizes Beijing as representing China but allows informal relations and defense ties with Taipei.

Washington cut formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979 in order to recognize China, but U.S. law requires it to ensure the island has the ability to defend itself. That has translated into a heavy reliance on U.S. military hardware and a law saying that Washington must treat threats against the island as a matter of “grave concern.”

China regularly sends warplanes and navy ships to intimidate and harass Taiwan, with 18 planes and six ships operating near the island in the 24 hours before 6 a.m. Thursday. Another three Chinese balloons were recorded as crossing the island, although it remains unclear if they have a military or intelligence gathering purpose.

https://www.voanews.com/a/us-delegation-affirms-bipartisan-support-for-taiwan-during-visit-/7456529.html Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-25, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

Melanie, ‘Brand New Key’ Singer Who Played Woodstock, Dies at 76.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/24/arts/music/melanie-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.QU0.r86u.bspqub4uAPsz&smid=url-share Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-25, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

Melanie, who performed at Woodstock in 1969 and was sampled by the Hilltop Hoods, has died.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-25/melanie-dead-woodstock-hilltop-hoods/103389396 Save to Pocket

Classifieds – January 25, 2024

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

The Daily Trojan features Classified advertising in each day’s edition. Here you can read, search, and even print out each day’s edition of the Classifieds.

The post Classifieds – January 25, 2024 appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/25/classifieds-january-25-2024/ Save to Pocket

Amazon Ring sounds death knell for surveillance as a service

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Tough luck non-Americans, the cops can still see your footage

Surveillance doorbell maker Amazon Ring on Wednesday announced it is discontinuing an option that allowed law enforcement agencies to request video footage without a warrant.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/amazon_ring_sounds_death_knell/ Save to Pocket

Today in SCV History (Jan. 25)

date: 2024-01-25, from: SCV New (TV Station)

1915 – Death of pre-Mentry oilman and San Francisquito vintner Ramon Perea [story

https://scvnews.com/today-in-scv-history-16/ Save to Pocket

An Overview of 2023’s Local Real Estate Market

date: 2024-01-25, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

A detailed look at the factors affecting our local residential real estate market.

The post An Overview of 2023’s Local Real Estate Market appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/25/an-overview-of-2023s-local-real-estate-market/ Save to Pocket

Dreaming of Oil in Cuyama, Next to Harvard’s Grapes

date: 2024-01-25, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

A Michigan-based company wants to drill an exploratory well two miles deep.

The post Dreaming of Oil in Cuyama, Next to Harvard’s Grapes appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/25/dreaming-of-oil-in-cuyama-next-to-harvards-grapes/ Save to Pocket

Live Free or Die: Primary survival

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

Trump won Iowa and New Hampshire, and everyone else lost (their minds).

The post Live Free or Die: Primary survival appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/25/live-free-or-die-primary-survival/ Save to Pocket

The Cleveland Summit blueprinted athlete activism

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar set the precedent for athletes making a change off the fields and courts.

The post The Cleveland Summit blueprinted athlete activism appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/25/198711/ Save to Pocket

Anticipated video games launching in February

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

Kick off the new year with these upcoming impressive interactive blockbusters.

The post Anticipated video games launching in February appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/25/anticipated-video-games-launching-in-february/ Save to Pocket

110 Freeway closures to disrupt weekend travel

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

Various ramp and roadway closures will likely affect traffic around weekend events at USC and the surrounding area.

The post 110 Freeway closures to disrupt weekend travel appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/25/110-closures-to-disrupt-weekend-travel/ Save to Pocket

The power of a comfort show

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

BBC’s “Ghosts” has helped keep me sane with lighthearted and lovable fun.

The post The power of a comfort show appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/25/the-power-of-a-comfort-show/ Save to Pocket

Months of layoffs and controversy unearth old concerns, anxieties in some journalism students

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

The Israel-Hamas war has drawn students’ attention to the challenges of the journalism industry.

The post Months of layoffs and controversy unearth old concerns, anxieties in some journalism students appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/25/months-of-layoffs-and-controversy-unearth-old-concerns-anxieties-in-some-journalism-students/ Save to Pocket

USC women’s basketball welcomes Washington schools

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

After a rough 0-2 trip to the Rockies, the Trojans prepare for a lighter homestand.

The post USC women’s basketball welcomes Washington schools appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/25/198681/ Save to Pocket

USC must spread awareness about the opioid epidemic

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

The opioid epidemic can only be effectively addressed by awareness and education.

The post USC must spread awareness about the opioid epidemic appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/25/usc-must-spread-awareness-about-the-opioid-epidemic/ Save to Pocket

Wait, hold on, everyone – Mozilla thinks Apple, Google, Microsoft should play fair

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Firefox maker about five years too late

Mozilla has decided to be more vocal about the ways in which Apple, Google, and Microsoft set technical requirements that have hindered development of its Firefox web browser, and therefore harmed competition.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/mozilla_apple_google_browser_wars/ Save to Pocket

Suzuki’s GSX-8R And GSX-8S Homologated For MotoAmerica Twins Cup

date: 2024-01-25, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

Suzuki’s parallel-twin-powered middleweight platform joins the likes of the Aprilia RS 660 and Yamaha YZF-R7.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/705994/suzuki-gsx8r-gsx8s-motoamerica-twins-cup/ Save to Pocket

Gates Foundation Chief Calls on Billionaires to Give More and Soon

date: 2024-01-25, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/gates-foundation-chief-calls-on-billionaires-to-give-more-and-soon/7456492.html Save to Pocket

Boys Basketball Roundup: San Marcos Holds Off Rival Dos Pueblos

date: 2024-01-25, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

San Marcos completes the season sweep of Dos Pueblos.

The post Boys Basketball Roundup: San Marcos Holds Off Rival Dos Pueblos appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/24/boys-basketball-roundup-san-marcos-holds-off-rival-dos-pueblos/ Save to Pocket

IBM Cloud is upgrading a datacenter and users will have to halt their Power VMs

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Big Blue will move two VMs in each five-hour window offered to those willing to stay

IBM Cloud has advised customers who run Power Systems Virtual Servers in its Toronto Canada (TOR01) datacenter of an upgrade to the facility, and outlined a not-so-cloudy process for tenants who make the move.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/ibm_cloud_toronto_migration/ Save to Pocket

January 24, 2024

date: 2024-01-25, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog

The dust is beginning to settle after last night’s New Hampshire primary. Former president Donald Trump won the Republican primary with 54.3% of the vote, netting him 12 delegates to the Republican National Convention. Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley came in second with 43.3% of the vote, garnering her 9 delegates. Other candidates together took 2.3%, but none of them won any delegates.

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/january-24-2024 Save to Pocket

Concerns Over US Support of Israel Hang Over 2024 Poll

date: 2024-01-25, from: VOA News USA

washington/nashua, new hampshire — The burning conflict in Gaza has lit a spark under untold numbers of American voters, and put extra heat on U.S. President Joe Biden’s reelection bid. Protesters have interrupted his recent campaign appearances to express their anger over his support of Israel’s military campaign.

On Wednesday, protesters briefly disrupted a labor union event where Biden was speaking. During a Tuesday rally focused on abortion access, 14 protesters shouted through most of Biden’s speech in Manassas, Virginia. The interruptions clearly frustrated the president.

“This is going to go on for a while,” Biden said. “They have got this planned.”

That protest was organized by Die-In For Humanity, a 700-member strong protest group that has made nearly 100 appearances at Biden events, the U.S. Capitol, outside administration members’ homes, outside the Israeli Embassy, and at January’s protest in Washington.

“I think the majority of people are not OK with American tax dollars being used to commit atrocities overseas,” Hazami Barmada, the group’s lead organizer, told VOA. She was among the protesters escorted out of Tuesday’s event.

“We’re seeing a shift in the tide in the United States with complete rejection — in essence — of Biden,” said Barmada. “…what we’re saying is that you’re not going to get the vote of the American community when you constantly continue to disregard the voices of the Arab American community that are saying stop the injustice and the atrocities in Gaza.”

The White House said Wednesday the president supports Americans’ right to peacefully protest.

“He also believes it’s really important that Israel have the right and the ability to continue to defend themselves against — which is … what is clearly still a viable threat from Hamas,” said John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council.

“But that doesn’t mean we’re going to stop, again, urging a stronger focus by our Israeli counterparts on minimizing civilian casualties and on getting aid in,” Kirby said.

Foreign policy, political analysts say, rarely drives elections but can make a difference when the competition is tight. Like for undecided New Hampshire voter Isaac Geer, who participated Tuesday in a primary vote that Biden and Republican contender Donald Trump won for their respective parties.

“The biggest thing I’m voting for this election season is foreign policy,” he told VOA, speaking in Nashua, New Hampshire. “It’s really important to me that we stay out of any foreign wars and keep our military spending down, and bring our troops back home or keep them home.”

Trump’s plan to resolve the Gaza crisis is unclear, and his previous actions as president included a much-criticized “ban” of Muslim immigrants. VOA reached out several times to the Trump campaign, but they did not respond.

For Muslim activists, it’s a stark choice. Hassan Abdel Salam is a Minneapolis-based professor who co-founded the Abandon Biden movement of Muslim voters, which focuses on swing states. He is a Canadian citizen.

“Mr. Trump prevented our friends and colleagues and family from entering the country,” he told VOA. “But Mr. Biden killed them. And that four years under any Republican is incomparable to one day in Gaza, that an argument has emerged within our communities, that we have to sacrifice.”

Political analysts say Biden is in a difficult position.

“There’s no doubt that the situation in Gaza is a political problem for Biden,” Norm Ornstein, a senior fellow emeritus at the American Enterprise Institute, told VOA. “If you step back and look objectively, Biden has handled this issue adroitly about as well as any president could. He understood early on that by hugging [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu close, he could keep some of the worst things from happening in Gaza. But he’s now getting very close to pushing Bibi aside. And that means that the initial move — which alienated a lot of voters, not just Arab American voters, but young progressives — may in fact end up being worse for him, because if he pushes or spurns Bibi Netanyahu aside, then some of his strongest supporters, pro-Israel supporters, may be unhappy as well.”

Carolyn Presutti contributed to this report from Nashua, New Hampshire. Patsy Widakuswara contributed from Washington.

https://www.voanews.com/a/concerns-over-us-support-of-israel-hang-over-2024-poll/7456376.html Save to Pocket

Suzuki V-Strom 800DE Djebel Edition Pays Tribute To Brand’s Dakar Heritage

date: 2024-01-25, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

Retro-inspired colors and off-road-ready goodies elevate the bike’s appeal to ADV enthusiasts.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/705992/suzuki-vstrom-800de-djebel-edition-launched/ Save to Pocket

SK hynix posts surprise profit after AI boosts memory prices

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

This may be the best bad news we’ve had all year

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but South Korean memory-maker SK hynix has posted a surprise profit.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/sk_hynix_q4_23/ Save to Pocket

Concerns Over US Support of Israel Hang Over 2024 Poll

date: 2024-01-25, from: VOA News USA

Protesters angered over the Israel-Hamas conflict have taken to the streets in the United States, and some have disrupted President Joe Biden’s campaign appearances. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell looks at how the issue is playing out on the campaign trail. Carolyn Presutti contributed to this report from Nashua, New Hampshire. Patsy Widakuswara contributed from Washington. Camera: Adam Greenbaum

https://www.voanews.com/a/concerns-over-us-support-of-israel-hang-over-2024-poll-/7456452.html Save to Pocket

Activists protest Project Pele

date: 2024-01-25, from: Guam Daily Post

Monaeka Flores and other members of the activist group Prutehi Litekyan: Save Ritidian stood in protest of Project Pele, the Department of Defense’s mobile nuclear reactor program, as officials with the project spoke with local lawmakers in the public hearing…

https://www.postguam.com/news/activists-protest-project-pele/article_bca72136-bb34-11ee-8964-37691b226018.html Save to Pocket

The Brasscals Bring Honk to Santa Barbara

date: 2024-01-25, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

The band is a raucous, joy-infused, syncopated musical chain reaction.

The post The Brasscals Bring Honk to Santa Barbara appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/24/the-brasscals-bring-honk-to-santa-barbara/ Save to Pocket

The AMA Is Raffling Off A 2024 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-4RR Anniversary Edition

date: 2024-01-25, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

2024 marks the AMA’s 100th anniversary, as well as the 40th birthday of the iconic Kawasaki Ninja.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/705991/ama-kawasaki-zx4rr-raffle-2024/ Save to Pocket

@Jessica Smith’s blog (date: 2024-01-25, from: Jessica Smith’s blog)

I noticed today how close GoToSocial  is to entering beta! It looks like they just need to add a way to create an account through the web interface (rather than the server admin having to create accounts manually), and add support for the ActivityPub Move activity (so you can migrate your account from, say, Mastodon). There’s other stuff they want to add after that, but nothing that would hold back “beta” status.

I can’t really see myself migrating my main Fedi account to GoToSocial in the near future, but I could see myself trying it out for my auxlangs or “political toots” accounts. Hopefully some more parties will get on board with offering managed GoToSocial hosting once it’s in beta, though, because working out how to deploy it and put it behind a reverse-proxy and whatnot might be a liiiiiittle beyond me 🙃

https://www.jayeless.net/2024/01/gotosocial-nearing-beta.html Save to Pocket

Experimental Gene Therapy Allows Kids With Inherited Deafness to Hear

date: 2024-01-25, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/experimental-gene-therapy-allows-kids-with-inherited-deafness-to-hear-/7456410.html Save to Pocket

‘Insanely Great: The Apple Mac at 40’ Panel Discussion

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: Daring Fireball

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl__10euTRo Save to Pocket

FAA Has Plan to Let Grounded Boeing Planes Fly Again

date: 2024-01-25, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/faa-has-plan-to-let-grounded-boeing-planes-fly-again-/7456421.html Save to Pocket

SCV historian, member of longtime local family, dies at 94 

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Signal

Thomas McNaughton Frew IV, a former local historian and member of a family with more than 100 years of history in the Santa Clarita Valley, died Jan. 12. He was 94.  Frew’s family was long entwined with the SCV, according to the archives of The Signal and the SCV Historical Society that tell the story […]

The post <strong>SCV historian, member of longtime local family, dies at 94</strong>  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/scv-historian-member-of-longtime-local-family-dies-at-94/ Save to Pocket

LAPD searching for suspect after reported shooting near campus injures three

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

LAPD confirmed the victims include a 50-year-old man with a gunshot wound but conscious and breathing. Another victim is unconscious and not breathing, and the third’s status remains unknown.

The post LAPD searching for suspect after reported shooting near campus injures three appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/24/lapd-searching-for-suspect-after-reported-shooting/ Save to Pocket

Holocaust survivor to speak at Hart High on Feb. 4 

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Signal

A Holocaust survivor is scheduled Feb. 4 to tell local residents his story of how he went through 12 concentration camps during World War II.  Joe Alexander is set to speak on Feb. 4 at the Hart High School auditorium as part of an event hosted by Chabad of SCV. The event is scheduled to […]

The post <strong>Holocaust survivor to speak at Hart High on Feb. 4</strong>  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/holocaust-survivor-to-speak-at-hart-high-on-feb-4/ Save to Pocket

A point in time: Santa Clarita participates in homeless count  

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Signal

Lester Medina said he is tired of seeing the homeless population rising.  It’s why he volunteered to take part in the 2024 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, with the Santa Clarita portion of the count taking place on Tuesday.  “I have a lot of friends that have been experiencing homelessness,” Medina said, “so I just […]

The post A point in time: Santa Clarita participates in homeless count   appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/a-point-in-time-santa-clarita-participates-in-homeless-count/ Save to Pocket

St. Clare gears up for 46th Annual Lenten Fish Fries 

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Signal

St. Clare Catholic Church is holding its 46th Annual Lenten Fish Fries on Fridays throughout the months of February and March.   The fundraisers are to be held 4:30 to 8 p.m. Feb. 16 and 23, and March 1, 8, 15 and 22, at the church, 19606 Calla Way in Canyon Country.  Proceeds will benefit local […]

The post <strong>St. Clare gears up for 46th Annual Lenten Fish Fries</strong>  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/st-clare-gears-up-for-46th-annual-lenten-fish-fries/ Save to Pocket

China’s Foreign Visitor Numbers Slow to Recover

date: 2024-01-25, from: VOA News USA

Austin, Texas — As China tries to show itself as welcoming foreign trade and tourism, its border authorities announced last week that the country had more than 35 million entries and exits by foreign nationals in 2023.

That was nearly seven times more than 2022, when Beijing’s draconian Zero-COVID policy was still in effect and visitors stayed away.  

Still, the 2023 figure is around a third of the 97 million foreigner border crossings that were recorded in 2019 before the pandemic.  

Experts and visa applicants say concerns about personal freedom are discouraging visitors, despite Beijing’s loosening visa requirements.  

China’s embassy in the United States announced in late December that from January it would relax visa applications for U.S. citizens, no longer requiring them to submit detailed materials such as round-trip flight tickets, hotel reservations, itineraries, or invitation letters.  

That is a welcome change for some Americans, like one recent graduate who tells VOA he has a long, complicated trip that he hopes to start in China and end in Southeast Asia. 

“I want to stay in Beijing for a while first, visit China’s ancient sites, and then go all the way south to Yunnan (Province), and then continue south to visit Laos and other Southeast Asian countries,” said the graduate, who asked to be called Michael to avoid the attention of Chinese authorities.

But Michael said he’s reluctant to go through with the China leg, despite it being the country he wants to visit most, because he fears his personal freedom could be at risk – even as a tourist. 

“I saw the State Department updated their travel advisory to ‘reconsider travel.’ I am not sure if I should plan to visit China, or maybe I can go but should take a few precautions.”  

In June of last year, the U.S. State Department re-issued its level 3 travel alert on China with an update to reconsider travel there due to the “risk of wrongful detentions.”  It also contained language on previous alerts to reconsider travel based on the risk of “arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including in relation to exit bans.” 

Such concern is part of the challenge Beijing faces as it tries to present a positive image of the country as welcoming to traders and visitors.

The relaxed rules for Americans came just a month after China announced a visa-free policy from December for ordinary passport holders from six countries — France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Malaysia, and Spain.

China’s National Immigration Administration says the number of visitors from those countries was 28.5% higher in December than in the previous month. Beijing last week added Switzerland and Ireland to the visa-free policy.  

China’s Civil Aviation Administration this month said it aims to boost direct flights between China and the U.S. from the current 63 flights per week.  It had in November set a goal of reaching 70 flights per week to boost tourism and trade. 

While it’s not yet clear whether the increased flights and loosened visa restrictions have boosted the number of Americans visiting China, those VOA spoke to who plan or regularly visit China expressed concerns about the worsening risks.  

A Chinese-American from Houston, Texas, who works in international trade and travels to China five to six times per year, told VOA that while the requirements for tourist visa applications have been relaxed, since last year he noticed Chinese customs officers ask arriving visitors more questions than in the past.  He asked to use the pseudonym “Mr. Li” in order to speak more freely with VOA about the issue.  

“One difference is that China now [tacitly implies] that every foreigner, including every foreign Chinese, is a spy,” he said.

Last July, a revised version of China’s counter-espionage law went into effect raising fears of more arbitrary arrests. That has made Americans more concerned about traveling to China and Chinese citizens more wary of foreigners. 

Zev Faintuch, a senior intelligence analyst with Global Guardian - a risk assessment firm that works with multinational companies - says there is still plenty of interest in going to China. 

But, he adds, “because of that law, it’s legally much easier to detain foreigners as a result.” 

Faintuch says he’s seen an increase in businesses wanting to assess the overall situation in China but is not optimistic conditions will improve.

“At least from where we are sitting, what we’re telling our clients, our message here is, we believe that the window for doing business in China is closing for Western companies,” he said.

Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, told VOA that visitors should take that into consideration before planning to go to China.  

“The release of the counter-espionage law encourages Chinese citizens to report to the government the people who they consider are like the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation),” Huang said, adding that the approach treats “potential visitors like they are not that welcome.”

Adrianna Zhang  contributed to this report.

https://www.voanews.com/a/china-s-foreign-visitor-numbers-slow-to-recover/7456402.html Save to Pocket

Steven Levy: ‘Apple Shares the Secret of Why the 40-Year-Old Mac Still Rules’

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: Daring Fireball

https://www.wired.com/story/plaintext-apple-secret-40-year-old-mac-still-rules/ Save to Pocket

HPE joins the ‘our executive email was hacked by Russia’ club

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Moscow-backed Cozy Bear may have had access to the green rectangular email cloud for six months

HPE has become the latest tech giant to admit it has been compromised by Russian operatives.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/hpe_russia_email_attack/ Save to Pocket

Move fast with broken things

date: 2024-01-25, from: Matt Haughey blog

Continue reading “Move fast with broken things”

https://a.wholelottanothing.org/2024/01/24/move-fast-with-broken-things/ Save to Pocket

‘Show Me More Macs’: Every Macintosh Ever Made

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: Daring Fireball

https://mac40th.com/ Save to Pocket

LASD numbers indicate rise in crime 

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Signal

The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department has released its official crime numbers for 2023 on its Transparency Promise website, which reflects the increases in crime that law enforcement officials have been discussing publicly for months.  Robberies within city limits rose by nearly 40% last year, with 89 reports in 2022, and 124 — an average of […]

The post LASD numbers indicate rise in crime  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/lasd-numbers-indicate-rise-in-crime/ Save to Pocket

Nevada Judge Approves Signature-Gathering Stage for Petition to Put Abortion Rights on 2024 Ballot

date: 2024-01-25, from: VOA News USA

RENO, Nevada — A Nevada judge has approved a petition by abortion access advocates as eligible for signature gathering in their long-standing attempt to get abortion rights on the 2024 ballot.

Carson City District Judge James T. Russell made the ruling Tuesday, about two months after he struck down a similar yet broader version that, if passed, would have enshrined additional reproductive rights into the state’s constitution.

If the Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom political action committee gets enough signatures, a question would appear on the November ballot that would enshrine abortion access for up to 24 weeks, or as needed to protect the health of the pregnant patient, into the Nevada Constitution.  Then, voters would need to approve it again on the 2026 ballot to amend the constitution.

Abortion rights up to 24 weeks are already codified into Nevada law through a 1990 referendum, where two-thirds of voters were in favor. That could be changed with another referendum.

The standards are higher for amending the constitution, which requires either approval from two legislative sessions and an election, or two consecutive elections with a simple majority of votes.

The petition that was cleared for signatures is one of two efforts from the Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom committee to get the right to abortion on the 2024 ballot.

Russell rejected an earlier petition in a November ruling, saying the proposed ballot initiative was too broad, contained a “misleading description of effect” and had an unfunded mandate.

The petition would have included protections for “matters relating to their pregnancies” including prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, vasectomies, tubal ligations, abortion and abortion care, as well as care for miscarriages and infertility. Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom appealed that rejection to the Nevada Supreme Court and are waiting for a new ruling.

The petition approved for signatures Tuesday had narrower language — “establishing a fundamental, individual right to abortion,” which applies to “decisions about matters relating to abortion” without government interference.

In a statement following the ruling, Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom spokesperson Lindsey Harmon celebrated the ruling but said she remained confident that the committee’s initial petition would be recognized as eligible by the Nevada Supreme Court.

“Abortion rights are not the only form of reproductive freedom under attack across the country,” Harmon said. “Protecting miscarriage management, birth control, prenatal and postpartum care, and other vital reproductive health care services are inextricably linked pieces of a singular right to reproductive freedom.”

Abortion rights have become a mobilizing issue for Democrats since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 court decision establishing a nationwide right to abortion.

Constitutional amendments protecting abortion access are already set to appear on the 2024 ballot in New York and Maryland and could also show up in a host of states, including Missouri and Arizona.

Lawmakers in Nevada’s Democratic-controlled Legislature are also attempting to get reproductive rights including abortion access in front of voters on the 2026 ballot. The initiative, which would enshrine those rights in the state constitution, passed the state Senate and Assembly in May 2023 and now must be approved with a simple majority again in 2025 before being eligible for the 2026 ballot.

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Body found in vehicle near Canyon Country Target 

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Signal

A dead body was found in a vehicle near the Target in Canyon Country on Wednesday, Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station officials confirmed.  According to Deputy Adolfo Gonzalez with the SCV Sheriff’s Station, a deputy was flagged down by a passerby just after 2 p.m. on Wednesday to alert the deputy of a seemingly unresponsive […]

The post <strong>Body found in vehicle near Canyon Country Target</strong>  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

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Jason Snell: ‘The Mac Turns 40’

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: Daring Fireball

https://www.theverge.com/24048479/apple-mac-40-anniversary Save to Pocket

Apple’s on-device gen AI for the iPhone should surprise no-one. The way it does it might

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

They have the hardware, now they just need models that don’t, ah… suck?

Comment  Apple’s efforts to add generative AI to its iDevices should surprise no one, but Cupertino’s existing uses of of the tech, and the constraints of mobile hardware, suggest it won’t be a big feature of iOS in the near future.…

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Will Biden Rescind Trump’s Boeing Immunity Deal?

date: 2024-01-25, from: The Lever News

If proven true, claims of safety problems and falsified records could breach a deal that shielded Boeing from prosecution after two deadly crashes.

https://www.levernews.com/will-biden-rescind-trumps-boeing-immunity-deal/ Save to Pocket

New Propella Mini Max E-Bike Is A No-Frills Urban Commuter

date: 2024-01-25, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

Lightweight, simple, and affordable, Propella lowers the barriers to entry into the e-bike scene.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/705989/propella-mini-max-ebike/ Save to Pocket

Quick Charge Podcast: January 24, 2024

date: 2024-01-25, from: Electrek Feed

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from Electrek. Quick Charge is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/24/quick-charge-podcast-january-24-2024/ Save to Pocket

The Housing Canard Exposed

date: 2024-01-25, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

The real housing crisis in California is that there is too much housing.

The post The Housing Canard Exposed appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

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County Launches Incubation Academy Cohort 5

date: 2024-01-25, from: SCV New (TV Station)

The L.A. County Justice, Care, and Opportunities Department launched the fifth cohort of its transformational Incubation Academy on Tuesday, Jan. 

https://scvnews.com/l-a-county-justice-care-and-opportunities-department-launches-incubation-academy-cohort-5/ Save to Pocket

@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-25, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

The time for denial is over: Republicans are really nominating Donald Trump.

https://www.salon.com/2024/01/24/the-time-for-denial-is-over-really-will-pick-donald-as-their-nominee/ Save to Pocket

Times Change

date: 2024-01-25, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

When I was a kid, I could walk to La Cumbra Plaza in the early ’70s from my house in Hidden Valley.

The post Times Change appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

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May 31: Cougar Stadium to Host Eriona Grabocka Ministries

date: 2024-01-25, from: SCV New (TV Station)

Eriona Grabocka Ministries is excited to announce that College of the Canyons’ Cougar Stadium will be hosting a citywide Night of Prayer and Worship

https://scvnews.com/may-31-cougar-stadium-hosts-night-of-prayer-and-worship-with-eriona-grabocka-ministries/ Save to Pocket

Analysts: US, South Korea Should Be Ready for Russia-North Korea Alliance

date: 2024-01-25, from: VOA News USA

washington — Depending on what kinds of weapons technology Moscow transfers to Pyongyang, the United States and South Korea may need to update their measures for dealing with North Korean threats, said analysts.  

John Kirby, White House National Security Council spokesman, said the U.S. is watching “very closely” as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pursues advanced military capabilities from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kirby said at a press briefing on Tuesday that Kim’s ability to benefit from this relationship is concerning, but the U.S. and South Korean defensive posture on the Korean Peninsula “is appropriate to the risk.”

Since July, when Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited North Korea, Pyongyang has been deepening its military ties with Moscow while escalating threats on the peninsula and calling for preparations to occupy South Korea if war breaks out.

North Korea fired cruise missiles into the waters off its western coast on Wednesday, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. It also began taking down a monument in Pyongyang symbolizing reunification with South Korea.

Putin and North Korean Ambassador Choe Son Hui discussed bilateral relations in Moscow on January 16, according to Tass, the Russian state-owned news agency. It quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov the next day saying Moscow and Pyongyang “intend to boost relations in all areas, including sensitive ones.”

The most worrisome technology North Korea could seek from Russia would enable Pyongyang to miniaturize nuclear warheads to fit into a ballistic missile cone, survive reentry and hit targets in South Korea, Japan and North America, said Robert Peters, a fellow for nuclear deterrence and missile defense at the Heritage Foundation.

“This technology is the last and the most critical step in North Korea fielding a credible nuclear strike capability and is well within Russia’s ability to share,” Peters told VOA via email.

He continued, “South Korea and the United States should prepare to face a North Korea that is technically more capable than it has been before.”

At an event in Washington hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies on January 18, Pranay Vaddi, the National Security Council’s senior director for arms control and nonproliferation, warned that the North Korean threat “could drastically change over the coming decade” as a result of military cooperation with Moscow.

“What we are seeing between Russia and North Korea is an unprecedented level of cooperation in the military sphere,” Vaddi said.

Last year, Putin turned to North Korea to replenish Russia’s weapons stockpile, which has been drawn down severely since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He met with Kim in Russia in September to discuss possible arms dealings.

In October, Washington released satellite photos showing North Korea shipping more than 1,000 containers of weapons to Russia in violation of sanctions.

Artillery and missiles North Korea provided to Russia have been turning up in Ukraine, The New York Times reported on Monday.

John Erath, senior policy director for the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, said Russian technology transfers “would not so much change the threat as add to the atmosphere of tension on the peninsula.”

But he told VOA via email, “It will be important to keep defense and deterrence arrangements updated.”

In November, the U.S. and South Korea held an annual Security Consultative Meeting in Seoul, where they announced the revision of the 2013 Tailored Deterrence Strategy “in recognition of the changing security environment.

Their meeting followed a summit that U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held in April in Washington, where they announced the Washington Declaration aimed at strengthening nuclear deterrence on the Korean Peninsula.

Gary Samore, White House coordinator for arms control and weapons of mass destruction during the Obama administration, said in a telephone interview that weapons technology Pyongyang could obtain from Moscow could embolden it to raise threats but would not be a game changer requiring the revision of “fundamental deterrence” on the Korean Peninsula.

Samore, a professor at Brandeis University, thinks Pyongyang could seek enhanced technology to include surface-to-air missiles, spy satellite collection capabilities and advanced military fighter aircraft.

He told VOA that although Moscow would be “happy whenever there is trouble for the U.S.,” it would not encourage Pyongyang to cause conflict on the Korean Peninsula that would “jeopardize the flow of weapons to Russia” for its war in Ukraine.

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It Happened Last Night

date: 2024-01-25, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Despite losing the New Hampshire vote by over 10 points, Haley declared she would stay in the presidential race — that Trump was upset is an understatement.

The post It Happened Last Night appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

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Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara Welcomes Six Dynamic Leaders to Board of Directors

date: 2024-01-25, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara is thrilled to announce the appointment of six individuals to its Board of Directors.

The post Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara Welcomes Six Dynamic Leaders to Board of Directors appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/24/girls-inc-of-greater-santa-barbara-welcomes-six-dynamic-leaders-to-board-of-directors/ Save to Pocket

‘You Know Nothing of My Work…’

date: 2024-01-25, from: James Fallows, Substack

Where is Marshall McLuhan when I need him? Or: What Jimmy Carter could have taught Jacques Barzun.

https://fallows.substack.com/p/you-know-nothing-of-my-work Save to Pocket

County Opens Summer Internships for Law Students

date: 2024-01-25, from: SCV New (TV Station)

Each summer, the Office of the County Counsel for the County of Los Angeles hosts a summer internship program where law students from across the country learn firsthand about the myriad of legal issues the County faces and how to effectively represent a governmental entity.ternship program

https://scvnews.com/county-general-counsel-opens-summer-internships-for-law-students/ Save to Pocket

Rivian May Reveal Its Next EV In March

date: 2024-01-25, from: Inside EVs News

Rivian could reveal its R2 vehicles on March 7, documents from a Laguna Beach City Council meeting show.

https://insideevs.com/news/705987/rivian-r2-reveal-march-launch/ Save to Pocket

Google settles with Singular Computing over claims of stolen AI chip tech

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Search giant faced potential damages of over $5B but terms haven’t been disclosed

Singular Computing’s multi-billion dollar patent infringement lawsuit against Google was cut short on Wednesday after the search giant agreed to settle the case for an undisclosed sum.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/google_settles_singular_lawsuit/ Save to Pocket

Celebrating the Mac’s 40th Anniversary across the Web

date: 2024-01-25, from: TidBITS blog

Read original article

https://tidbits.com/2024/01/24/celebrating-macs-40th-anniversary-across-the-web/ Save to Pocket

Los Angeles Faces Possible Budget Shortfall Of $400 Million

date: 2024-01-25, updated: 2024-01-25, from: The LAist

The shortfall could prompt the city to cut vacant positions.

https://laist.com/news/politics/los-angeles-faces-budget-shortfall Save to Pocket

Texas Woman Who Lost Lawsuit to Get Abortion to Attend Biden’s State of the Union

date: 2024-01-25, from: VOA News USA

washington — U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden have extended an invitation to attend the president’s State of the Union address to a Texas woman who sued her state and lost over the ability to get an abortion.

The Texas Supreme Court denied Kate Cox’s request. But by then, her lawyers said, she had already traveled out of state for an abortion.

The Bidens spoke with Cox on Sunday and invited her to the annual address set for March 7 at the U.S. Capitol. Cox will sit with the first lady, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday. Cox accepted the invite, she said.

“They thanked her for her courage in sharing her story and speaking out against the impact of the extreme abortion ban in Texas,” Jean-Pierre said.

Cox, 31, was pregnant with her third child when she learned the fetus had a rare genetic disorder. The couple was informed by doctors that their baby would live at best a week. She sued over the right to have an abortion to end the pregnancy but lost because the judges said she hadn’t shown her life was in danger enough to be granted the procedure.

The White House invitation reflects how strongly the administration is leaning into reproductive rights as a galvanizing force for voters in the upcoming presidential election after the Supreme Court in 2022 overturned abortion protections. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and their spouses on Tuesday centered their first major campaign rally of the election year on abortion rights.

In his speech, Biden spoke about the increased medical challenges women are facing since the fall of Roe v. Wade, particularly for women who never intended to end their pregnancies. He laid the blame on Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, who as president appointed three conservative justices to the Supreme Court.

This will be the first State of the Union under Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who will sit behind the president and to his left during the address to Congress. This year’s speech will offer an opportunity for Biden to detail his broader vision and policy priorities as he campaigns for reelection in November.

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