News gathered 2024-04-16
(date: 2024-04-16 14:49:55)
Ubuntu 24.04 supports easy installation of OpenZFS root file-system with encryption
date: 2024-04-16, from: OS News
So with Ubuntu 24.04 LTS is the ability to continue with a standard EXT4 file-system install, an encrypted file-system using LVM, or using OpenZFS with/without encryption. Ubuntu 24.04 LTS also has the ability to enjoy hardware-backed full-disk encryption with TPM as another new experimental option. Or, of course, the Ubuntu desktop installer continues supporting manual (custom) partitioning as well. ↫ Michael Larabel I just use whatever Btrfs setup Fedora automatically recommends when I let it take over a disk – file systems for desktops seems a bit like a solved problem to me personally – but I’m still curious what benefits, for instance, an OpenZFS setup could bring to a desktop user compared to Btrfs or a basic Ext4 setup. Why should a desktop user use OpenZFS?
CSUN to Confer Honorary Degrees on Business & Education Leaders, All Alumni
date: 2024-04-16, from: SCV New (TV Station)
California State University, Northridge will confer honorary doctorates on four alumni, all respected leaders in their fields, at the university’s commencement ceremonies next month
https://scvnews.com/csun-to-confer-honorary-degrees-on-business-education-leaders-all-alumni/
Single family residence in Los Gatos sells for $5.3 million
date: 2024-04-16, from: San Jose Mercury News
A spacious house located in the 100 block of Twin Oaks Drive in Los Gatos has new owners. The 3,084-square-foot property, built in 1963, was sold on April 2, 2024, for $5,300,000, or $1,719 per square foot.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/04/16/single-family-residence-in-los-gatos-sells-for-5-3-million/
Trump goes from court to campaign at a bodega in his heavily Democratic hometown
date: 2024-04-16, from: San Jose Mercury News
Trump will be confined to the courtroom on most days, dramatically limiting his movements and his ability to campaign, fundraise and make calls.
BioNutrients-3 Experiment Completed During Analog Astronaut Mission
date: 2024-04-16, from: NASA breaking news
BioNutrients-3 Kefir Growth Experiment Completed During Analog Astronaut Mission From March 4 to 9 at the Hawaiian Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) located on Mauna Loa volcano on the Big Island, NASA Ames Scientist Katie Fisher participated as Mission Commander for the 6-day lunar analog. During the mission, she collaborated with the Synthetic Biology […]
49ers bring back Trent Taylor to reprise his role as punt returner, receiver
date: 2024-04-16, from: San Jose Mercury News
Trent Taylor, a return specialist and slot receiver, returned with the 49ers on Tuesday after spending the past three seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals and Chicago Bears.
It’s official: Kate Paye named successor to Tara VanDerveer as Stanford’s women’s basketball coach
date: 2024-04-16, from: San Jose Mercury News
“It’s an incredible honor to lead my alma mater and I will stop at nothing to see that the program’s championship pedigree and its legacy of developing strong female leaders continues,” Paye said in a release announcing her as Stanford’s head women’s basketball coach.
NASA to Host a Pair of Briefings for Starliner Crew Flight
date: 2024-04-16, from: NASA breaking news
NASA will host two media opportunities on Thursday, April 25, in preparation for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station. The mission is targeting launch at 10:34 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 6, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni […]
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-to-host-a-pair-of-briefings-for-starliner-crew-flight/
Jaguar-Land Rover To Sign EV Platform Sharing Deal With China’s Chery
date: 2024-04-16, from: Inside EVs News
JLR is a subsidiary of India’s Tata Motors without an EV platform of its own, so it’s going to get one from China’s Chery.
https://insideevs.com/news/716318/jaguar-land-rover-chery-platform/
This EV Charging Station Stuck Me In An App Loop and Wouldn’t Let Me Charge
date: 2024-04-16, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
EV charging accessibility is far from perfect in the US in 2024, but it also doesn’t have to be this big of a mess.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/716185/volta-shell-recharge-station-problems/
NASA Observations Find What Helps Heat Roots of ‘Moss’ on Sun
date: 2024-04-16, from: NASA breaking news
Did you know the Sun has moss? Due to its resemblance to the earthly plants, scientists have named a small-scale, bright, patchy structure made of plasma in the solar atmosphere “moss.” This moss, which was first identified in 1999 by NASA’s TRACE mission, blossoms around the center of a sunspot group, where magnetic conditions are […]
Kia has the ‘secret sauce’ for affordable EVs in the US
date: 2024-04-16, from: Electrek Feed
Cheaper electric vehicles are on the way, and Kia believes it has an advantage. With its own “secret sauce,” Kia is moving to launch a series of affordable EVs in the US.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/16/kia-secret-sauce-affordable-evs-us/
Family Accidentally Ends Up With 50 Baby Octopuses After Their Pet—Thought to Be Male—Laid Dozens of Eggs
date: 2024-04-16, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Now, the Oklahoma residents are working with aquariums and researchers that might take the babies
Don’t expect Camino Brewing space to be empty for very long
date: 2024-04-16, from: San Jose Mercury News
The owner of the downtown San Jose building hopes to have a “reinvention” of the location open by this summer.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/04/16/dont-expect-camino-brewing-space-to-be-empty-for-very-long/
‘I don’t let that seep in at all’: Klay Thompson on uncertain future ahead of Warriors-Kings play-in game
date: 2024-04-16, from: San Jose Mercury News
At season’s end, Thompson will hit free agency, meaning he might never wear a Warriors uniform again.
Domestic Violence Cases Increase in Santa Barbara County
date: 2024-04-16, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Santa Maria sees spike in cases between 2013 and 2022.
The post Domestic Violence Cases Increase in Santa Barbara County appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/04/16/domestic-violence-cases-increase-in-santa-barbara-county/
MGM says FTC can’t possibly probe its ransomware downfall – watchdog chief Lina Khan was a guest at the time
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
What a twist!
MGM Resorts wants the FTC to halt a probe into last year’s ransomware infection at the mega casino chain – because the watchdog’s boss Lina Khan was a guest at one of its hotels during the cyberattack, apparently.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/16/mgm_ftc_lawsuit/
House forces Senate to hold trial on Mayorkas impeachment
date: 2024-04-16, from: San Jose Mercury News
Exactly how Democrats will proceed on Wednesday is still unclear. Impeachment rules generally allow the Senate majority to decide how to manage the trial, and Schumer has not said exactly what he will do.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/04/16/house-forces-senate-to-hold-trial-on-mayorkas-impeachment/
April 20: 104th DTASC Shakespeare Festival at Valencia High School
date: 2024-04-16, from: SCV New (TV Station)
On Saturday, April 20, 2024 Valencia High School Theatre will host the 104th DTASC (Drama Teachers’ Association of Southern California) Shakespeare Festival
https://scvnews.com/april-20-104th-dtasc-shakespeare-festival-at-valencia-high-school/
The choice between safety and free speech is a false one
date: 2024-04-16, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
If USC was able to protect Ben Shapiro in 2018, they can protect Asna Tabassum — not doing so is a choice.
The post The choice between safety and free speech is a false one appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/04/16/the-choice-between-safety-and-free-speech-is-a-false-one/
The Short List
date: 2024-04-16, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
This is only a short list of ex-Trump officials who have refused to endorse him in 2024:
The post The Short List appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/04/16/the-short-list/
Space Biosciences Tri-Valley Innovation Fair 2024
date: 2024-04-16, from: NASA breaking news
Space Biosciences Division at the 6th Tri-Valley Innovation Fair For the third consecutive year, six Ames Space Biosciences Division and one member from Space Sciences proudly participated in the 6th Tri-Valley Innovation Fair on Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Pleasanton, CA. The fair was a resounding success, providing an excellent platform for showcasing NASA’s contributions to innovation […]
https://www.nasa.gov/general/space-biosciences-tri-valley-innovation-fair-2024/
Harassment and Retaliation Claims Filed Against High-Ranking Santa Barbara County Public Health Officials
date: 2024-04-16, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Ex-employee and two former colleagues sue the county, Public Health Officer Henning Ansorg, and Public Health Director Mouhanad Hammami.
The post Harassment and Retaliation Claims Filed Against High-Ranking Santa Barbara County Public Health Officials appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
County Launches Commercial Acquisition Fund To Help Non-Profits Revitalize Commercial Spaces in Local Communities
date: 2024-04-16, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity, in partnership with Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, launched the Commercial Acquisition Fund to provide capital to countywide non-profit organizations, helping acquire and revitalize commercial spaces within local communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Nepali Army Is Removing Trash and Bodies From Mount Everest
date: 2024-04-16, from: Smithsonian Magazine
They expect to haul off ten metric tons of garbage and up to five bodies from the world’s tallest peak
Dirigentes de la NASA visitarán México, se fortalecerá cooperación espacial
date: 2024-04-16, from: NASA breaking news
Read this release in English here. Como parte de una serie de reuniones con funcionarios gubernamentales clave alrededor del mundo, el titular de la agencia espacial estadounidense (NASA, por sus siglas en inglés), Bill Nelson, y su segunda al mando, Pam Melroy, visitarán la Ciudad de México, los días 22 y 23 de abril. Nelson se […]
Review | Sublime Schubertian Refractions, à la the Danish
date: 2024-04-16, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Renowned Danish String Quartet’s latest Santa Barbara appearance features striking U.S. premiere of new Thomas Adès work, “Wreath for Franz Schubert.”
The post Review | Sublime Schubertian Refractions, à la the Danish appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/04/16/review-sublime-schubertian-refractions-ala-the-danish/
YouTube now sabotages ad-blocking apps that stream its vids
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
EFF lambastes latest ‘lazy and deliberately malicious move’
YouTube says it will intentionally cripple the playback of its videos in third-party apps that block its ads.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/16/youtube_ad_blocking/
How did Gaza protesters stay on Bay Area freeways for so long, and how did CHP remove them?
date: 2024-04-16, from: San Jose Mercury News
“It was a very lengthy and complex process,” a CHP spokesperson said. “It took a long time with each protester we were trying to get loose.”
Barger Issues Statement on Newly Approved Rental Housing Habitability Program
date: 2024-04-16, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Supervisor Barger issued the following statement today, after the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to implement the Rental Housing Habitability Program
https://scvnews.com/barger-issues-statement-on-newly-approved-rental-housing-habitability-program/
California Coastal Commission Hesitant to Support Increase on SpaceX Launches
date: 2024-04-16, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
The Commission delayed a motion to approve federal consistency for a 30-launch increase from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
The post California Coastal Commission Hesitant to Support Increase on SpaceX Launches appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
April 16: Free Household Hazardous Waste Event At COC
date: 2024-04-16, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts will be holding a free Household Hazardous Waste and E-Waste Recycling event for Santa Clarita residents.
https://scvnews.com/april-16-free-household-hazardous-waste-event-at-coc/
Apple to Allow Used Parts in Some iPhone Repairs Later This Year
date: 2024-04-16, from: TidBITS blog
Apple has announced that, later this year, it will become possible to repair select iPhones with used parts harvested from other devices. But the changes don’t go far enough for many in the Right to Repair movement.
https://tidbits.com/2024/04/16/apple-to-allow-used-parts-in-some-iphone-repairs-later-this-year/
They’re looting the internet
date: 2024-04-16, from: OS News
This is the state of the modern internet — ultra-profitable platforms outright abdicating any responsibility toward the customer, offering not a “service” or a “portal,” but cramming as many ways to interrupt the user and push them into doing things that make the company money. The greatest lie in tech is that Facebook and Instagram are for “catching up with your friends,” because that’s no longer what they do. These platforms are now pathways for the nebulous concept of “content discovery,” a barely-personalized entertainment network that occasionally drizzles people or things you choose to see on top of sponsored content and groups that a relational database has decided are “good for you.” ↫ Edward Zitron Corporate social media has gotten so bad, they’re basically unusable. The rare times I open Facebook to like a picture my mother posted or whatever, I’m just gobsmacked by how utterly unusable it has become. I’ve never used Instagram, but whenever I accidentally end up there, I have no idea how to navigate that place. YouTube is more ads than video if you don’t pay for Premium (which I do, because I use YouTube a lot so I get enough value out of it). Twitter is barely worth a mention – it’s no surprise that a social network bought and run by a nazi is now even fuller of nazis than it already was. It’s not just social networks, either. The web as a whole feels like it’s been looted and plundered, and turned into a flyover state strip mall. Browsing the web is, for me at least, virtually impossible without autoplay blockers, my Pi-Hole, Consent-O-Matic, and settings to permanently block requests for location and notification access. The rise of “AI” has only made everything even worse, especially now that the big, wealthy content networks that, yes, own all your favourite technology news websites are also looking into it. Luckily, there’s also a countermovement brewing. I’ve focused OSNews’ entire “social” strategy on Mastodon (and the various other ActivityPub tools), as it’s the only social medium that’s usable and enjoyable. With the nazis remaining on Twitter, and all the brands and influencers on Facebook (or Threads or whatever), everyone else interested in technology coalesced around the Fediverse, and it’s been a massive boon for a small website like OSNews trying to steer clear from all the SEO enshittification. There’s no spam, only relatively small, approachable brands, no influencers, no algorithms – just real, ordinary people, who also care about a usable, fair, and equitable web. I hope that OSNews can eventually be run without any ads at all, but that’s going to take a lot more consistent work from me to convince more and more people to support us through Patreon or Ko-Fi, or for companies to become sponsors. However, I am convinced it’s a better route to take than trying to chase the SEO dragon, because we all know where that leads to.
https://www.osnews.com/story/139310/theyre-looting-the-internet/
Girl Scout revitalizes The Gentle Barn garden
date: 2024-04-16, from: The Signal
Spring — the season of warmer weather, flowers blooming and butterflies emerging. In the spirit of spring, through The Gentle Barn, Canyon High School senior Alexis Reeves, 17, is working on her Girl Scouts Gold Award Project by creating a food and butterfly garden. According to the Girl Scouts website, the award is designed to […]
The post <strong>Girl Scout revitalizes The Gentle Barn garden</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/04/girl-scout-revitalizes-the-gentle-barn-garden/
China scientists talk of powering hypersonic weapon with cheap Nvidia chip
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Jetson module can efficiently process computational fluid dynamics models
Analysis Researchers in China have reportedly demonstrated how a low-cost Nvidia Jetson module could theoretically be used to direct a hypersonic weapon.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/16/china_nvidia_hypersonic_weapon/
Elon Musk Is Self-Driving Tesla Into the Ground
date: 2024-04-16, from: Heatmap News
Five years ago, the world met the Model Y. Tesla officially unveiled its smaller crossover in March 2019 and, the next year, began to sell the car in staggering numbers. The Model Y helped Tesla tighten its grip on the electric vehicle market. By 2023 it had displaced the Toyota Corolla as the world’s best-selling car of any kind.
It’s not easy to follow up a massive success. What’s worse is having no plan at all — or being chronically unable to stick to one. That’s where Tesla seems to be amid yet another shakeup at the company.
This week, Tesla announced it would lay off 10% of its worldwide staff, while some influential leaders are leaving of their own accord. The news comes as Tesla has just announced a sales dip and prognosticators wonder whether we’re entering an “EV winter” where more buyers choose hybrids instead. Now, this is neither the first time Tesla has run into difficulty nor the first time the EV maker has commenced mass layoffs to cut costs. Somehow, though, this time feels different.
During the Model’s Y’s ascendance over the past half-decade, Tesla’s path forward to the next thing has turned into a mess of distractions and left turns. Musk became obsessed with and then purchased Twitter, a boondoggle of a deal that clearly distracted him from his car company. The oft-touted Roadster supercar has yet to materialize.
More importantly, the long-promised $25,000 car appears to be dead (or at least tabled indefinitely). Musk had initially indicated the affordable Tesla would finally arrive next year, leaving the company to endure a single gap year without a new vehicle. But Reuters reported that Tesla has killed the idea in part because of competition overseas from ultra-cheap Chinese EVs, and while Musk responded to the report by saying Reuters was “lying,” he’s done nothing to indicate the “Model 2” is anything but dead.
Meanwhile, the only new-ish vehicle in the Tesla lineup, the Cybertruck, is stuck. Tesla stopped deliveries of the steel beast for an unknown issue, rumored to be related to sticky accelerator problems, and shortened production shifts at the factory. And while it’s possible to squint and see a case for the Cybertruck, I’ve written here numerous times that Tesla’s big mistake wasn’t putting that eyesore on the road. Instead, it was focusing the company’s attention on something so adolescent and absurd at a moment when it could have tightened its grip on the EV market, and given American EV drivers some interesting new options, by rolling out new cars that look more like something the average American would want to buy.
So what is Tesla up to? In a follow-up tweet after he attacked Reuters, Musk suddenly announced that he would reveal the company’s “robotaxi” on August 8. This would be Tesla’s completely self-driven vehicle. Musk’s favorite claim about the car is that it would earn its owners passive income by driving itself around, picking up and dropping off passengers as a kind of dystopian Uber.
The dream certainly fits in with Musk’s oeuvre. The CEO clearly still sees Tesla as a lean startup that moves fast and breaks things, not an established car company that would do something so expected and bland as building a perfectly acceptable three-row family crossover to compete with the Kia EV9. Compare that to the way other companies born of Silicon Valley began to act once they got big. Apple may have engaged in a long, fruitless dalliance with the self-driving car, but ultimately, it knows its bread is buttered by iterating on everything in the iPhone ecosystem. Facebook may have changed its name to Meta to highlight its mission to create the metaverse, but it still leaned into the revenue engines it built or acquired, like Instagram or Whatsapp.
It’s fine to tell yourself a story about who you want to be. And to give Tesla the benefit of the doubt for a moment: sure, maybe it will be the one to crack full autonomous driving. But in practical terms, that tech is not close to reality, and Tesla’s version of it has encountered its fair share of bugs and been sued over crashes.
(In the spirit of “robotaxi,” the company just offered a month-long free trial of Full Self Driving to Tesla drivers. I will certainly not be using it with a young child in the car. The brand has also mandated that potential drivers be given a demo of FSD during test-drives, seemingly to hammer home the idea that Tesla is just a few steps away from having the car drive you home while you take a nap.)
In the meantime, you have to wonder just what Tesla is going to sell to humans who want a plain old electric car. It recently completed a refresh for the Model 3, and while the new one looks a little like next year’s iPhone — the same product with a facelift and a couple new features — you’d expect to see a similar update coming to the Model Y.
It’s important to remember: Despite the ill wishes from his online haters, Musk isn’t exactly dead in the water. Tesla sold 220,000 Model 3s in America last year and nearly 400,000 Model Ys, a huge lead over competitor EV from legacy car brands. Those companies are hitting the same EV headwinds as Tesla this year, while golden child Rivian is still at least a couple of years away from selling its exciting smaller SUVs. Tesla is the established giant in electric cars, even as it looks in the mirror and sees an upstart.
Yet with Cybertruck landing with a thud, and no obvious follow-up in the works, Tesla is in danger of blowing that huge lead. It may want to transform into a software company, and to earn back some of Musk’s Iron Man sci-fi cred by realizing the self-driving car. But at this moment, it feels a little like an electric car company that forgot it makes cars.
https://heatmap.news/electric-vehicles/tesla-elon-musk-self-driving-robotaxi
Santa Clarita Symphony Orchestra starts youth program
date: 2024-04-16, from: The Signal
The Santa Clarita Symphony Orchestra is encouraging young musicians in the city and surrounding areas to participate in the Youth Concerto Competition, which, according to the Orchestra’s website, “Was developed to inspire young musicians and encourage growth for young musicians in the Santa Clarita Valley.” The application to be a part of the first cohort […]
The post Santa Clarita Symphony Orchestra starts youth program appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/04/santa-clarita-symphony-orchestra-starts-youth-program/
UC Santa Barbara’s Ajay Mitchell Declares for NBA Draft
date: 2024-04-16, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
The star point guard is projected to be selected in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft by numerous analysts and publications.
The post UC Santa Barbara’s Ajay Mitchell Declares for NBA Draft appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/04/16/uc-santa-barbaras-ajay-mitchell-declares-for-nba-draft/
Daily Deals (4-16-2024)
date: 2024-04-16, from: Liliputing
The GEEKOM A7 is a mini PC with support for up to an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS processor and strong performance for such a compact PC. Ian recently reviewed a model with 32GB of RAM and 2TB of storage that has a list price of $849. But GEEKOM is running a sale that lets you […]
The post Daily Deals (4-16-2024) appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/daily-deals-4-16-2024/
We took the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N on the track at Laguna Seca and it’s something special [Video]
date: 2024-04-16, from: Electrek Feed
As Hyundai’s N performance arm approaches the launch of its first-ever track-friendly EV, we got the chance to visit the world-famous Laguna Seca raceway in California to test drive the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N. Be sure to check out the full video review below.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/16/hyundai-ioniq-5-n-laguna-seca-its-something-special-video-ev/
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-04-16, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
NPR: The public broadcaster’s problems are deeper than “wokeness.”
https://slate.com/business/2024/04/npr-diversity-public-broadcasting-radio.html
House Republicans send Mayorkas impeachment articles to Senate, forcing trial
date: 2024-04-16, from: VOA News USA
Washington — House impeachment managers walked two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas across the Capitol to the Senate on Tuesday, forcing senators to convene a trial on the allegations that he has “willfully and systematically” refused to enforce immigration laws.
While the Senate is obligated to hold a trial under the rules of impeachment once the charges are walked across the Capitol, the proceedings may not last long. Democrats are expected to try to dismiss or table the charges later this week before the full arguments get underway.
Republicans have argued there should be a full trial. As Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, signed the articles Monday in preparation for sending them across the Capitol, he said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, should convene a trial to “hold those who engineered this crisis to full account.”
Schumer “is the only impediment to delivering accountability for the American people,” Johnson said. “Pursuant to the Constitution, the House demands a trial.”
Majority Democrats have said the Republicans’ case against Mayorkas doesn’t rise to the “high crimes and misdemeanors” laid out as a bar for impeachment in the Constitution, and Schumer likely has enough votes to end the trial immediately if he decides to do so. The proceedings will not begin until Wednesday.
Schumer has said he wants to “address this issue as expeditiously as possible.”
“Impeachment should never be used to settle a policy disagreement,” Schumer said. “That would set a horrible precedent for the Congress.”
Senators will be sworn in Wednesday as jurors, turning the chamber into the court of impeachment. The Senate will then issue a summons to Mayorkas to inform him of the charges and ask for a written answer. He will not have to appear in the Senate at any point.
What happens after that is unclear. Impeachment rules generally allow the Senate to decide how to proceed.
The House narrowly voted in February to impeach Mayorkas for his handling of the border. House Republicans charged in two articles of impeachment that Mayorkas has not only refused to enforce existing law but also breached the public trust by lying to Congress and saying the border was secure. It was the first time in nearly 150 years a Cabinet secretary was impeached.
Since then, Johnson has delayed sending the articles to the Senate for weeks while both chambers finished work on government funding legislation and took a two-week recess. Johnson had said he would send them to the Senate last week, but punted again after Senate Republicans said they wanted more time to prepare.
South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, has said the Senate needs to hold a full trial where it can examine the evidence against Mayorkas and come to a final conclusion.
“This is an absolute debacle at the southern border,” Thune said. “It is a national security crisis. There needs to be accountability.”
House impeachment managers — members who act as prosecutors and are appointed by the speaker — previewed some of their arguments at a hearing with Mayorkas on Tuesday morning on President Joe Biden’s budget request for the department.
House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, a Tennessee Republican who is one of the managers, told the secretary that he has a duty under the law to control and guard U.S. borders, and “during your three years as secretary, you have failed to fulfill this oath. You have refused to comply with the laws passed by Congress and you have breached the public trust.”
Mayorkas defended the department’s efforts but said the nation’s immigration system is “fundamentally broken, and only Congress can fix it.”
Other impeachment managers are Michael McCaul of Texas, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ben Cline of Virginia, Andrew Garbarino of New York, Michael Guest of Mississippi, Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Laurel Lee of Florida, August Pfluger of Texas and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
After the jurors are sworn in, Senate Republicans are likely to try to raise a series of objections if Schumer calls a vote to dismiss or table, an effort to both protest and delay the move. But ultimately they cannot block a dismissal if majority Democrats have the votes.
Some Republicans have said they would like time to debate whether Mayorkas should be impeached, even though debate time is usually not included in impeachment proceedings. Negotiations were underway between the two parties over whether Schumer may allow that time and give senators in both parties a chance to discuss the impeachment before it is dismissed.
While most Republicans oppose quick dismissal, some have hinted they could vote with Democrats
Sen. Mitt Romney, a Republican representing Utah, said last week he wasn’t sure what he would do if there were a move to dismiss the trial. “I think it’s virtually certain that there will not be the conviction of someone when the constitutional test has not been met,” he said.
At the same time, Romney said he wants to at least express his view that “Mayorkas has done a terrible job, but he’s following the direction of the president and has not met the constitutional test of a high crime or misdemeanor.”
In any case, Republicans would not be able to win the support of the two-thirds of the Senate that is needed to convict and remove Mayorkas from office. Democrats control the Senate, 51-49, and they appear to be united against the impeachment effort. Not a single House Democrat supported it, either.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat who is facing a tough reelection bid in Ohio, called the impeachment trial a “distraction,” arguing that Republicans should instead support a bipartisan border compromise they scuttled earlier this year.
“Instead of doing this impeachment — the first one in 100 years — why are we not doing a bipartisan border deal?” he said.
If Democrats are not able to dismiss or table the articles, they could follow the precedent of several impeachment trials for federal judges over the last century and hold a vote to create a trial committee that would investigate the charges. While there is sufficient precedent for this approach, Democrats may prefer to end the process completely, especially in a presidential election year when immigration and border security are top issues.
If the Senate were to proceed to an impeachment trial, it would be the third in five years. Democrats impeached former President Donald Trump twice, once over his dealings with Ukraine and a second time in the days after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The Senate acquitted Trump both times.
At a trial, senators would be forced to sit in their seats for the duration, maybe weeks, while the House impeachment managers and lawyers representing Mayorkas make their cases. The Senate is allowed to call witnesses, as well, if it so decides, and can ask questions of both sides after the opening arguments are finished.
‘Indy’ Feature Film
date: 2024-04-16, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Here at the Independent, our staff is made up of many creative people who help make our paper great each
The post ‘Indy’ Feature Film appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/04/16/indy-feature-film/
U.S. Hydrogen Car Sales Plummet By 70% In Q1 2024
date: 2024-04-16, from: Inside EVs News
It was the worst start of the year for hydrogen car sales since 2016.
https://insideevs.com/news/716100/us-hydrogen-car-sales-2024q1/
Peek Inside a California Condor Egg Just Before It Hatched, With This CT Scan of the Baby Bird
date: 2024-04-16, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Last month, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance welcomed its 250th California condor chick in its breeding program, and the CT scan helped determine the bird was well-positioned for hatching
Hundreds of affordable homes are proposed near East Bay BART stop
date: 2024-04-16, from: San Jose Mercury News
An affordable housing project that could produce hundreds of homes is being eyed near an East Bay BART station.
Give Yourself A Gundam Moto Makeover With Kushitani’s New Gear
date: 2024-04-16, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
If you’re a motorcycle-loving Mobile Suit Gundam fan, this is the collection for you.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/715527/kushitani-gundam-motorcycle-gear-collection/
April 27: Valencia High Theatre Proudly Presents “The Outsiders”
date: 2024-04-16, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The award-winning Valencia High School Theatre Arts proudly presents “The Outsiders” directed by Stephen Whelan
https://scvnews.com/april-27-valencia-high-theatre-proudly-presents-the-outsiders/
Kate A. McGinnis: Ready to “Go” with PACE Testing
date: 2024-04-16, from: NASA breaking news
PACE Systems Engineer Kate A. McGinnis spent years planning the vibration, acoustic, and shock tests for the PACE spacecraft before saying “Systems is ‘go’” to start each test. Name: Kate A. McGinnisTitle: Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, and Ocean Ecosystem Mission (PACE) Systems EngineerFormal Job Classification: Systems engineerOrganization: Mission Systems Engineering Branch, Engineering and Technology Directorate (Code […]
https://www.nasa.gov/people-of-nasa/goddard-people/kate-a-mcginnis-ready-to-go-with-pace-testing/
Space Biosciences Events
date: 2024-04-16, from: NASA breaking news
Upcoming Events and Activities Analysis Working Group Symposium 2024 To explore deeper into space, it is crucial that we learn how our bodies change and adapt to the unique environment of space. The Open Science Data Repository (a combination of GeneLab and Ames Life Sciences Data Archive – ALSDA – datasets) helps scientists understand how […]
A California man allegedly posted threats to shoot up Indiana State University on social media. Police say they seized six guns during raid of his home
date: 2024-04-16, from: San Jose Mercury News
Nicholas Wheeler, 27, is in Santa Rita Jail pending extradition to Indiana where he faces federal charges of threatening to kidnap or injure university officials.
NASA Leadership to Visit Mexico, Strengthen Cooperation
date: 2024-04-16, from: NASA breaking news
Lee esta nota de prensa en español aquí. Continuing their significant engagement with key government officials around the world to deepen ties and strengthen space collaboration, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy will visit Mexico City on Monday, April 22 and Tuesday, April 23. Nelson and Melroy will meet with senior Mexican government […]
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-leadership-to-visit-mexico-strengthen-cooperation/
Should Tesla focus on Robotaxi or Model 2?
date: 2024-04-16, from: Electrek Feed
https://electrek.co/poll-post/359043/
Healing Haven for Cancer Patients
date: 2024-04-16, from: The Signal
The bright blue skies, warm sun, and faint sound of birds chirping on a private property that spans 25 acres with a panoramic view looking over the Agua Dulce hills can have almost anyone find tranquility and practice “living in the moment.” “Living in the moment” is Robin Lee’s motto and something she emphasizes to […]
The post Healing Haven for Cancer Patients appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/04/healing-haven-for-cancer-patients/
BYD unveils new low-cost ‘interstellar chariot’ electric SUV complete with a drone landing
date: 2024-04-16, from: Electrek Feed
If you ever wanted an electric SUV that looked straight out of a Star Wars movie (other than Tesla’s Cybertruck), BYD has just the vehicle for you. BYD’s Fang Cheng Bao brand unveiled its new Super 3 electric SUV concept Tuesday, which has a rugged “interstellar chariot” design. Complete with a landing pad for your drone, the new EV is expected to cost less than $28,000 (200,000 yuan).
https://electrek.co/2024/04/16/byd-unveils-new-interstellar-chariot-electric-suv-with-drone-pad/
OJ, a Tragedy
date: 2024-04-16, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
I was OJ’s neighbor in Brentwood for many years.
The post OJ, a Tragedy appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/04/16/oj-a-tragedy/
Honda’s Ye Series Sub Brand Aims To Take On China, Maybe The World
date: 2024-04-16, from: Inside EVs News
Honda plans to launch six of the Ye series of vehicles by 2027.
https://insideevs.com/news/716315/honda-ye-china-ev-brand/
Gentoo Linux tells AI-generated code contributions to fork off
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
A good PR move opines community member
AI-generated and assisted code contributions are no longer allowed in the Gentoo Linux distribution.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/16/gentoo_linux_ai_ban/
Some Voters Do the Research
date: 2024-04-16, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
What politicians who skew the facts never seem to understand is that there are many a voter who actually do real research.
The post Some Voters Do the Research appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/04/16/some-voters-do-the-research/
NASA’s VIPER Gets Its Head and Neck
date: 2024-04-16, from: NASA breaking news
In this image from Feb. 12, 2024, engineers lift a mast into place on NASA’s VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) robotic Moon rover. VIPER’s mast and the suite of instruments affixed to it look a lot like the rover’s “neck” and “head.” The mast instruments are designed to help the team of rover drivers […]
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/nasas-viper-gets-its-head-and-neck/
Latest AMD Ryzen Pro chips are similar silicon, more smarts
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
That other processor company really wants you to use AI at work
AMD has brought its 4 nm Hawk Point and Phoenix APUs to business users in the form of the Ryzen Pro 8040 series for laptops and Ryzen Pro 8000 series for desktops.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/16/amd_ryzen_pro_8040_8000/
Schwinn’s regularly $1,500 e-bikes now start from $700, deals on portable power stations, and more
date: 2024-04-16, from: Electrek Feed
If spring weather has you thinking it’s time to get an e-bike, then today’s all-time low prices on these Schwinn models should certainly help, too. Right now, the company’s Ingersoll e-bike lands at $700 from its usual $1,500 price tag. It comes joined by tons of other e-bike deals, portable power stations from ALLPOWERS, and all of the other day’s other best Green Deals below.
Plus, you’ll find all of the other day’s other best Green Deals below.
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.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/16/allpowers-power-stations-schwinn-e-bikes-and-more/
Yellen warns of new sanctions against Iran following attack on Israel
date: 2024-04-16, from: VOA News USA
Goleta Preservationists ‘Thrilled’ by Plans to Restore Barnsdall-Rio Grande Gas Station as Café
date: 2024-04-16, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
The potential over-popularity of the restored site was about the only downside expressed at a meeting to take the public pulse on the project.
The post Goleta Preservationists ‘Thrilled’ by Plans to Restore Barnsdall-Rio Grande Gas Station as Café appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
NASA Goddard to Build Quake Detector for Artemis III Moon Landing
date: 2024-04-16, from: NASA breaking news
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will build a moonquake detector for astronauts to deploy on the Moon in 2026 during the Artemis III mission, which will return astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time in more than 50 years. NASA selected the instrument, the Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS) […]
‘We Don’t Want A Horsepower War’: Hyundai N Boss On Performance EVs
date: 2024-04-16, from: Inside EVs News
Hyundai’s performance chief knows that many consumers can’t handle a 600-hp EV like the Ioniq 5 N. He wants to build something more accessible.
https://insideevs.com/news/716030/hyundai-ev-horsepower-war/
Torvalds intentionally complicates his use of indentation in Linux Kconfig
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Paramount penguin forces more robust whitespace handling
Linux kernel supremo Linus Torvalds has made the use of indentation in kernel config files more ambiguous – intentionally to weed out inferior parsers.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/16/torvalds_complicates_his_indents/
Lotus opens Eletre Hyper SUV orders in North America, shares pricing and delivery timelines
date: 2024-04-16, from: Electrek Feed
Beginning today, customers in North America can customize and order the Eletre, a new hyper SUV from Lotus long promised as part of the sports car developer’s journey to go 100% electric. We’ve also learned when those initial Eletre customers can expect to take delivery and how much Lotus is charging in pricing the SUV’s two variants.
BYD Yuan UP Is Good And Cheap: Video
date: 2024-04-16, from: Inside EVs News
China-based YouTube channel Wheelsboy is super impressed with the $14,000 EV crossover.
https://insideevs.com/news/716321/byd-yuan-up-video-review/
Handing Taxpayers The Climate Cleanup Bill
date: 2024-04-16, from: The Lever News
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Democratic legislative leaders nix a landmark proposal that would have made Hochul’s fossil fuel donors pay for their pollution.
https://www.levernews.com/handing-taxpayers-the-climate-cleanup-bill/
A Book Bound With Human Skin Spent 90 Years in Harvard’s Library. Now, the Binding Has Been Removed
date: 2024-04-16, from: Smithsonian Magazine
In the late 19th century, a French physician took the skin, without consent, from a female psychiatric patient who had died
Chechnya Bans Music That Isn’t Between 80 and 116 Beats Per Minute
date: 2024-04-16, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Officials have given artists until June 1 to rewrite material that does not fall within the accepted range
Facing Republican revolt, House Speaker Johnson pushes ahead on US aid for Ukraine, Israel
date: 2024-04-16, from: VOA News USA
Washington — Defiant and determined, House Speaker Mike Johnson pushed back Tuesday against mounting Republican anger over his proposed U.S. aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other allies, and rejected a call to step aside or risk a vote to oust him from office.
“I am not resigning,” Johnson said after a testy morning meeting of fellow House Republicans at the Capitol
Johnson referred to himself as a “wartime speaker” of the House and indicated in his strongest self-defense yet he would press forward with a U.S. national security aid package, a situation that would force him to rely on Democrats to help pass it, over objections from his weakened majority.
“We are simply here trying to do our jobs,” Johnson said, calling the motion to oust him “absurd … not helpful.”
Tuesday brought a definitive shift in tone from both the House Republicans and the speaker himself at a pivotal moment as the embattled leader tries, against the wishes of his majority, to marshal the votes needed to send the stalled national security aid for Israel, Ukraine and other overseas allies to passage.
Johnson appeared emboldened by his meeting late last week with Donald Trump when the Republican former president threw him a political lifeline with a nod of support after their private talk at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida. At his own press conference Tuesday, Johnson spoke of the importance of ensuring Trump, who is now at his criminal trial in New York, is re-elected to the White House.
Johnson also spoke over the weekend with President Joe Biden as well as other congressional leaders about the emerging U.S. aid package, which the speaker plans to move in separate votes for each section — with bills for Ukraine, Israel, the Indo-Pacific region. He spoke about it with Biden again late Monday.
It’s a complicated approach that breaks apart the Senate’s $95 billion aid package for separate votes, and then stitches it back together for the president’s signature.
The approach will require the speaker to cobble together bipartisan majorities with different factions of House Republicans and Democrats on each measure. Additionally, Johnson is preparing a fourth measure that would include various Republican-preferred national security priorities, such as a plan to seize some Russian assets in U.S. banks to help fund Ukraine and another to turn the economic aid for Ukraine into loans.
The plan is not an automatic deal-braker for Democrats in the House and Senate, with leaders refraining from comment until they see the actual text of the measure, due out later Tuesday.
House Republicans, however, were livid that Johnson will be leaving their top priority — efforts to impose more security at the U.S.-Mexico border — on the sidelines. Some predicted Johnson will not be able to push ahead with voting on the package this week, as planned..
Rep. Debbie Lesko, a Republican representing Arizona, called the morning meeting an “argument fest.”
She said Johnson was “most definitely’’ losing support for the plan, but he seemed undeterred in trying to move forward despite”what the majority of the Conference” of Republicans wanted.
When the speaker said the House Republicans’ priority border security bill H.R. 2 would not be considered germane to the package, Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican representing Texas and a chief sponsor, said it’s for the House to determine which provisions and amendments are relevant.
“Things are very unresolved,” Roy said.
Roy said said Republicans want “to be united. They just have to be able to figure out how to do it.”
The speaker faces a threat of ouster from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican representing Georgia and the top Trump ally who has filed a motion to vacate the speaker from office in a snap vote — much the way Republicans ousted their former speaker, Kevin McCarthy, last fall.
While Greene has not said if or when she will force the issue, and has not found much support for her plan after last year’s turmoil over McCarthy’s exit, she drew at least one key supporter Tuesday.
Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican representing Kentucky, rose in the meeting and suggested Johnson should step aside, pointing to the example of John Boehner, an even earlier House speaker who announced an early resignation in 2015 rather than risk a vote to oust him, according to Republicans in the room.
Johnson did not respond, according to Republicans in the room, but told the lawmakers they have a “binary” choice” before them.
The speaker explained they either try to pass the package as he is proposing or risk facing a discharge petition from Democrats that would force a vote on their preferred package — the Senate approved measure. But that would leave behind the extra Republican priorities.
Judge refuses to Ctrl-Z divorce order made by a misclick
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Computer says you’re single
A simple misclick at a London law firm led to a surprise divorce for an unsuspecting couple.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/16/accidental_divorce_computer_error/
Cars With Level 3 Driving Assist Banned In British Columbia
date: 2024-04-16, from: Inside EVs News
Even if you don’t use the automated driving features, you’re looking at a fine of up to $1,500 and six months in prison.
https://insideevs.com/news/716265/level-3-cars-ban-british-columbia-canada/
Tesla reveals big update with new UI, auto shift, Audible, new Spotify, and more
date: 2024-04-16, from: Electrek Feed
Tesla reveals an upcoming big new in-car software update with new and updated user interface, ‘Auto Shift Beta’, native Audible, updated Spotify app, and more.
MV Agusta Offers New Service Promo On Previous-Gen Bikes
date: 2024-04-16, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
Bikes from 2018 onwards get free checkups and 20-percent off on certain spare parts.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/715392/mv-agusta-service-promo-2018-onwards/
Ford opens 2024 F-150 Lightning online orders with new tech and lower prices
date: 2024-04-16, from: Electrek Feed
America’s top-selling electric pickup is on its way to dealers. Ford opened online orders for the 2024 F-150 Lightning at lower prices with the electric pickup now shipping from its Rouge EV plant.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/16/ford-opens-2024-f-150-lightning-orders-lower-prices/
VinFast launches fast new e-bike in the US to combine American and Vietnamese culture
date: 2024-04-16, from: Electrek Feed
VinFast, the Vietnamese automaker known for its portfolio of electric vehicles, has officially introduced its VF DrgnFly electric bike to the U.S. market. It’s a move that the company says further solidifies its presence in the global push toward sustainable mobility.
April 15, 2024
date: 2024-04-16, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-15-2024-286
Elon Musk is putting Tesla all-in on Robotaxi
date: 2024-04-16, from: Electrek Feed
Riding the AI wave, Elon Musk is betting Tesla’s business on its self-driving effort, including Robotaxi, at the cost of other programs critical to its core business.
At the same time, the CEO is threatening not to build AI products at Tesla.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/16/elon-musk-tesla-all-in-self-driving-robotaxi/
Alleged cryptojacker accused of stealing $3.5M from cloud to mine under $1M in crypto
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
No prizes for guessing the victims
A Nebraska man will appear in court today to face charges related to allegations that he defrauded cloud service providers of more than $3.5 million in a long-running cryptojacking scheme.…
Audi’s New High-Tech Lights ‘Talk’ To Other Drivers
date: 2024-04-16, from: Inside EVs News
The company envisions a future where cars have a lot more to say. And that could make roads safer.
https://insideevs.com/news/716190/audi-q6-communication-taillights/
GMC’s 2024 Sierra EV Denali Edition 1 is finally here – with a 440-mile range
date: 2024-04-16, from: Electrek Feed
GMC’s premium, limited-edition 2024 Sierra EV Denali Edition 1 will launch with a GM-estimated 440-mile range this summer.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/16/gmc-2024-sierra-ev-denali-edition-1-440-mile-range/
Average EV Prices Up Slightly Last Month But Still 10% Lower Than Last Year
date: 2024-04-16, from: Inside EVs News
Despite a growth slump in Q1, Kelley Blue Book predicts 2024 to be the best year ever for EV sales.
https://insideevs.com/news/716222/average-ev-price-march-2024/
Microsoft to tackle spam by restricting Exchange Online bulk email
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Need to send to more than 2,000 external recipients in 24 hours? Time to start looking for an alternative
For the first time, Microsoft will apply daily restrictions to Exchange Online in an effort to staunch the flow of spam from the service.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/16/microsoft_external_recipient_limit/
How Not to Make History
date: 2024-04-16, from: National Archives, Text Message blog
The wrong way to make a mark on history
https://text-message.blogs.archives.gov/2024/04/16/how-not-to-make-history/
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-04-16, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
UWS' Absolute Bagels Line Changes Direction.
https://www.westsiderag.com/2024/04/16/uws-absolute-bagels-line-changes-direction
ODROID-H4 is a mini PC board with Intel Alder Lake-N that sells for $99 and up
date: 2024-04-16, from: Liliputing
Most of Hardkernel’s single board computers, development boards, and handhelds are powered by ARM-based processors. But the company has been selling x86 models with Intel processors under the ODROID-H brand since 2018. And now Hardkernel has launched its highest-performance ODROID-H series computers to date. the new ODROID-H4, H4+, and H4 Ultra are 120 x 120mm (4.7″ […]
The post ODROID-H4 is a mini PC board with Intel Alder Lake-N that sells for $99 and up appeared first on Liliputing.
Honda launches next-gen EV brand in China to take on BYD, first two SUVs due out in 2024
date: 2024-04-16, from: Electrek Feed
Can Honda turn things around in China? Domestic automakers like BYD are dominating the market. Meanwhile, Honda unveiled its next-gen EV brand “Ye” with the debut of the first set of models, including a pair of electric SUVs and a sporty GT model.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/16/honda-launches-next-gen-ev-brand-china-take-on-byd/
Day 2: Judge dismisses more prospective jurors in Trump hush money case
date: 2024-04-16, from: VOA News USA
Intrinsic Motivation
date: 2024-04-16, from: John August blog
John and Craig can’t help but look at intrinsic motivations — those specific internal drives that guide characters behavior. They discuss how to structure and expose that internal drive, the importance of an innate irritability, how it can stop your characters from becoming flat, and rewarding that intrinsic motivation with choice. But first, we follow […] The post Intrinsic Motivation first appeared on John August.
https://johnaugust.com/2024/intrinsic-motivation
SIM swap crooks solicit T-Mobile US, Verizon staff via text to do their dirty work
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
No breach responsible for employee contact info getting out, says T-Mo
T-Mobile US employees say they are being sent text messages that offer them cash to perform illegal SIM swaps for supposed criminals.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/16/sim_swap_scam_tmobile/
Tesla Wants To Pivot To Robotaxis. It Still Won’t Answer One Key Question
date: 2024-04-16, from: Inside EVs News
Plus, Nissan’s manufacturing and battery tech gets a big overhaul, and Tesla strikes a deal with Tata.
https://insideevs.com/news/716287/tesla-robotaxi-liability-unknown-criticalmaterials/
Fisker Now Has Six Dealers In The U.S.
date: 2024-04-16, from: Inside EVs News
However, production of the company’s sole EV, the Ocean crossover, is still on pause.
https://insideevs.com/news/716229/fisker-dealerships-us-update/
US Equal Employment agency says Workday AI hiring bias case should continue
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Judge to hear software vendor’s effort to dismiss discrimination case next month
The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) says a claim against Workday should be allowed to continue, arguing the HR and finance software vendor may qualify as an employment agency because of the way its AI tool screens applicants.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/16/us_commission_allows_workday_ai/
US, China defense chiefs hold first call since 2022
date: 2024-04-16, from: VOA News USA
Pentagon — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Chinese counterpart on Tuesday, the first dialogue between the two countries’ defense chiefs in nearly 17 months.
The Pentagon said Austin and Chinese Admiral Dong Jun discussed “defense relations” and global security issues from Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine to recent provocations from North Korea. A press release said Austin stressed the importance of “respect for high seas freedom of navigation as guaranteed under international law, especially in the South China Sea.”
Beijing has asserted its desire to control access to the South China Sea and bring Taiwan under its control, by force if necessary. President Joe Biden has said U.S. troops would defend the democratically-run island from attack.
Tensions have risen between China and U.S. ally the Philippines in the South China Sea as well, with China’s coast guard using water cannons this month to threaten Filipino fishing ships. China has also used collision and ramming tactics, undersea barriers and a military-grade laser to stop Philippine resupply and patrol missions.
A senior defense official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity ahead of the talks, said the call between Austin and Dong was an “important step” in keeping lines of communication open between the two military powers.
“These engagements provide us with opportunities to prevent competition from veering into conflict by speaking candidly about our concerns. That includes the PRC’s behavior in the South China Sea, as well as the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” said the senior defense official. PRC is the acronym for the People’s Republic of China, the country’s official name.
The call marked the first time Austin has ever spoken to Dong, who has served as China’s minister of national defense since December. It also marked the first time that Austin has spoken at length with a PRC counterpart since November 2022, when he met with then-Minister of National Defense General Wei Fenghe in Cambodia.
China’s previous defense minister, General Li Shangfu, was subjected to U.S. sanctions that China deemed an obstacle to having him communicate directly with Austin. The only engagement Austin had with General Li was a handshake at the Shangri-la dialogue in Singapore last year.
The senior defense official said conversations between U.S. and Chinese defense leaders “ensure that the PRC has a clear understanding of our positions on all of the regional and global security issues.”
The talks come as the Pentagon said it had indications that a Chinese surge of weapons technology sales to Russia is helping ramp up Moscow’s defense production as it continues to attack its neighbor, Ukraine.
Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters in response to a question from VOA Monday that China had sold “significant quantities” of machine tools, microelectronics, optics, drones and cruise missile technology to Russia, which Moscow is using to make propellants for weapons.
“So this support is actively enabling Russia’s war in Ukraine and poses a significant threat to security — international security,” Ryder added.
The Associated Press reported on Friday that two senior Biden administration officials said that about 90% of Russia’s microelectronics in 2023 and nearly 70% of Russia’s machine tool imports in the last quarter of 2023 came from China. Russia used that technology to make missiles, tanks and aircraft.
Chinese and Russian entities have jointly produced drones inside Russia, and China-based companies are providing optical components for use in Russian tanks and armored vehicles, the officials also told AP.
The call between Austin and Dong is the latest in a series of recent conversations between U.S. and Chinese defense leaders. The top U.S. general, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown, spoke with his Chinese military counterpart in December.
Earlier this month, the U.S. and Chinese militaries held working-level Military Maritime Consultative Agreement talks in Hawaii for the first time since 2021.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-china-defense-chiefs-hold-first-call-since-2022-/7572098.html
Why Yes, You Can Fit a Full-Size Dirt Bike Into the Back of a Tesla Cybertruck
date: 2024-04-16, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
You can actually fit three if you’re good at Tetris.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/716163/tesla-cybertruck-dirt-bike-video/
Why do we see the online ads we see? Hard to say.
date: 2024-04-16, from: Marketplace Morning Report
The European Union’s Digital Services Act requires big internet platforms to create searchable public libraries of their ads, allowing researchers to see who an ad is targeting and reaching and what it’s urging its audience to do. But a new assessment finds that those libraries are lacking. We dig in. Plus, China’s economy grew faster than expected, but Chinese consumers are still struggling. We’ll also hear how to find reasonably high interest rates on savings.
This Man Wants to ‘Save the World’ By Letting You Jerk Off Into a Computer
date: 2024-04-16, from: 404 Media Group
The creator of the gimmicky DIY sex sleeve says any criticism against the Orifice is “gene warfare.”
https://www.404media.co/orifice-ai-sex-toy/
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-04-16, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Jon Stewart on Iran, Israel, and Trump’s Hush Money Trial.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgeLRtpC2WI
Under Biden, US reimagines Asian alliances as ‘lattice’ fence
date: 2024-04-16, from: VOA News USA
Seoul, South Korea — For decades, U.S. policy in Asia has relied on what was informally known as the “hub and spokes” system of bilateral alliances. But lately, U.S. officials have used another analogy to describe their vision for the region: a lattice fence.
It may sound like only a metaphorical tweak, but officials in the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden say it could have big implications, as they try to create a durable plan to respond to China’s growing power.
Under the old framework, the United States, the global military superpower, acted as the hub and its Asian allies, such as Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines, served as spokes.
Spokes are not linked to each other. But that dynamic is changing, as several major U.S. allies and partners coalesce around what they have come to call a “free and open Indo-Pacific.”
What U.S. officials envision is not a multilateral treaty alliance like NATO. Analysts have long said such a security framework is impossible in Asia, given competing interests and deep historical animosities, even among U.S. allies.
Instead, the goal is to help create an expanding number of mutually reinforcing links between like-minded countries, which together form a barrier – or in other words, a lattice.
Trilateral summit
The lattice strategy was on display last week, when Biden hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for their countries’ first ever trilateral summit.
The meeting had important symbolic value. A joint statement expressed “serious concerns” about China’s behavior in the East and South China Seas, where China is trying to push its territorial claims over those of Japan and the Philippines.
The United States and Japan also pledged further assistance for the Philippines’ military modernization efforts and vowed to continue expanding joint military drills in the region, which have involved a growing number of partners in recent years.
At a separate meeting between Biden and Kishida, the United States and Japan announced dozens of bilateral deals related to defense cooperation, including plans to allow U.S. and Japanese forces to work more closely during a potential conflict.
According to a U.S. administration official who spoke to reporters during a background briefing, the meetings are evidence that Biden’s Asia plan is working.
“(Biden’s) theory of case was that if the United States reinvested in its alliances and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific … those allies and partners would step up alongside in ways that made us much better equipped to accomplish our objectives,” the U.S. official said.
Nowhere is this theory better proven, the official added, than in the U.S. alliance with Japan, where Kishida “has stepped up and stepped out into the world more than anyone really could have imagined.”
Japan a key player
As Japan loosens its self-imposed pacifist restraints, the country has become a major player in regional security. Japan has dramatically increased defense spending, moved to acquire missiles that can hit other countries, and enacted legal changes allowing it to more easily export weapons.
Japan is now heavily involved in many U.S.-led forums, including the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, an informal coalition that also includes Australia and India, and the Group of Seven advanced economies, which has increasingly focused on China.
Last week, Britain, the United States, and Australia announced they are considering cooperation with Japan through their AUKUS security pact. NATO, the European military alliance, has also expanded cooperation with Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.
“Today’s Japan is no longer the timid and inward-looking nation that counted on its embrace of pacifism and on American muscle to insulate it from external threats,” said Daniel Russel, a vice president at the Asia Society and a former top Asia official at the State Department.
One of the most crucial regional developments is the improvement of Japan-South Korea relations, which have long been strained because of issues related to Japan’s colonial occupation of Korea. Under South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, the two countries now regularly participate in military drills with the United States. Last year, the three countries unveiled a new system for sharing North Korean missile warning data in real-time.
But will it work?
Few observers deny that big changes are occurring, as countries respond to a more powerful China. But the strategic shift toward the United States is far from unanimous.
“Most governments in the region are hedging, recognizing the reality that China is a permanent and central feature of (the) Asian political economy,” said Van Jackson, who teaches at New Zealand’s Victoria University of Wellington.
According to a survey released this month by the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Southeast Asian perceptions of the United States have worsened over the past year.
The State of Southeast Asia survey asks the same questions every year to a group of experts and government officials.
More than half, 51%, of Southeast Asian respondents said they would side with China over the United States if they were forced to choose. It is the first time that the survey has shown a preference for China.
One of the key complaints, according to the poll, is skepticism about U.S. economic engagement. Following then-President Donald Trump’s 2017 withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement, many in Asia have questioned whether the United States is as committed as it once was to free trade.
Biden officials dispute that notion, touting the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework or IPEF, as a counterweight to China’s economic clout. But IPEF differs from traditional free trade deals in that it does not provide greater market access or reduce tariffs — areas no longer seen as safe in a U.S. domestic political context. Regardless, Trump has vowed to kill IPEF if he defeats Biden in November’s presidential election.
In the opinion of Philip Turner, a former New Zealand diplomat, IPEF appears to have largely failed.
“Many Asian countries and regional players like Australia and New Zealand have pointed out that the U.S. failure to commit economically to the region undercuts its claims to regional leadership,” said Turner, who most recently served as New Zealand’s ambassador to South Korea.
While there are increasing regional worries about China’s rise and behavior, few if any Asian countries support efforts to contain China’s growth, Turner added.
“They would prefer the U.S. climb down from its high horse of economic coercion against China and find ways of getting on with each other short of conflict,” he said.
https://www.voanews.com/a/under-biden-us-reimagines-asian-alliances-as-lattice-fence/7572053.html
From Titanic travelers to textile tycoons, Arab Americans have long been part of the American story
date: 2024-04-16, from: VOA News USA
Dearborn, Michigan — All About America explores American culture, politics, trends, history, ideals and places of interest.
The term slacks, meaning pants worn during relaxation activities, was coined by an Arab American. Joseph Haggar, a Lebanese immigrant, founded the iconic Haggar men’s clothing brand in 1926.
“He settled in Texas, and he started this pant company that was extremely successful in the 20th century,” says Diana Abouali, director of the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. “He also revolutionized the way that pants and clothing were mass produced.”
An exhibit at the museum is dedicated to Haggar, whose pants were worn by U.S. President Lyndon Johnson. Stories like Haggar’s are integral to the museum’s mission to demonstrate how Arab Americans have been part of the American fabric since the late 19th century.
“We communicate the American narrative in the voices of Arab Americans. They express their experiences in their own words,” Abouali says. “This provides people with a more authentic and real representation of what it means to be Arab American.”
The museum attempts to share the full range of the Arab American experience, including the journey to America, home and work life, and service in the U.S. Armed Forces.
The diverse offerings include an exhibit about the hundreds of Syrian and Lebanese immigrants who owned homesteads in North Dakota between 1890 and World War I. Thousands of descendants of those pioneers still live in North Dakota. Another exhibit includes lists of Arab American passengers on the doomed Titanic, which sank in 1912.
The museum also challenges religious misconceptions.
“Half of the Arab American community is Christian,” Abouali says. “And in fact, the earlier immigrants, who came in the late 19th century, early 20th century, were predominantly Christian.”
A wall of fame highlights prominent Arab Americans like journalist Helen Thomas, actress Kathy Najimy, politicians like former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, and Candace Lightner, who founded Mothers Against Drunk Driving in 1980.
Arab immigrant stories aren’t well-known among mainstream America. And what little Americans do know about Arabs is often informed by negative stereotypes.
“The obvious one would be the angry Arab, the terrorist Arab, the being afraid of the Arab that comes from abroad. I think that’s the very obvious one, but it’s a bit overplayed,” says Jasmine Hawamdeh, director of arts and culture at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, a civil rights advocacy group. “And I think one of the more harmful stereotypes that currently exists in American media is the oppressed Arab woman.”
The museum tries to correct false narratives about Arab Americans.
“We’re not always responding to misconceptions and narrative, although that’s a major part of our work and a major sort of impetus for creating a museum like this,” Abouali says, “but also we’re sort of presenting ourselves, as we are, unapologetically.”
Arab Americans are a diverse community that come from 22 Arab countries stretching from northern Africa to western Asia. But once they settle in the U.S., the museum director says, they become as American as they are Arab.
From Titanic travelers to textile tycoons: Arab Americans have long been part of US history
date: 2024-04-16, from: VOA News USA
April is Arab American Heritage Month in the United States. This month highlights a community that often has to battle negative stereotypes. One institution that helps to do that is the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, which VOA’s Dora Mekouar recently visited. Camera: Adam Greenbaum.
Tesla Engineers, Technicians, Sales Staff, Recruiters Hit By Layoffs In U.S. And China
date: 2024-04-16, from: Inside EVs News
Hundreds of job cuts have already taken place in the San Francisco Bay Area and Austin, Texas.
https://insideevs.com/news/716270/tesla-engineers-sales-staff-laid-off/
NASA confirms Florida house hit by a piece of ISS battery pack
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Who needs aircon when you have NASA to punch holes through your home?
NASA has confirmed that a piece of space junk that crashed through a Florida home in March was a fragment of a discarded ISS battery pallet.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/16/nasa_debris_florida_house/
Charges against Trump and January 6 rioters at stake as Supreme Court hears debate over obstruction law
date: 2024-04-16, from: VOA News USA
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday is taking up the first of two cases that could affect the criminal prosecution of former President Donald Trump for his efforts to overturn his election loss in 2020. Hundreds of charges stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot are also at stake.
The justices are hearing arguments over the charge of obstruction of an official proceeding. That charge, stemming from a law passed in the aftermath of the Enron financial scandal more than two decades ago, has been brought against 330 people, according to the Justice Department. The court will consider whether it can be used against those who disrupted Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory over Trump.
The former president and presumptive nominee for the 2024 Republican nomination is facing two charges in the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith in Washington that could be knocked out with a favorable ruling from the nation’s highest court. Next week, the justices will hear arguments over whether Trump has “absolute immunity” from prosecution in the case, a proposition that has so far been rejected by two lower courts.
The first former U.S. president under indictment, Trump is on trial on hush money charges in New York and also has been charged with election interference in Georgia and with mishandling classified documents in Florida.
In Tuesday’s case, the court is hearing an appeal from Joseph Fischer, a former Pennsylvania police officer who has been indicted on seven counts, including obstruction, for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a bid to keep Biden, a Democrat, from taking the White House. Lawyers for Fischer argue that the charge doesn’t cover his conduct.
The obstruction charge, which carries up to 20 years behind bars, is among the most widely used felony charges brought in the massive federal prosecution following the deadly insurrection.
Roughly 170 January 6 defendants have been convicted of obstructing or conspiring to obstruct the January 6 joint session of Congress, including the leaders of two far-right extremist groups, the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. A number of defendants have had their sentencings delayed until after the justices rule on the matter.
Some rioters have even won early release from prison while the appeal is pending over concerns that they might end up serving longer than they should have if the Supreme Court rules against the Justice Department. That includes Kevin Seefried, a Delaware man who threatened a Black police officer with a pole attached to a Confederate battle flag as he stormed the Capitol. Seefried was sentenced last year to three years behind bars, but a judge recently ordered that he be released one year into his prison term while awaiting the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The high court case focuses on whether the anti-obstruction provision of a law that was enacted in 2002 in response to the financial scandal that brought down Enron Corp. can be used against January 6 defendants.
Fischer’s lawyers argue that the provision was meant to close a loophole in criminal law and discourage the destruction of records in response to an investigation. Until the Capitol riot, they told the court, every criminal case using the provision had involved allegations of destroying or otherwise manipulating records.
But the administration says the other side is reading the law too narrowly, arguing it serves “as a catchall offense designed to ensure complete coverage of all forms of corrupt obstruction of an official proceeding,” including Fischer’s “alleged conduct in joining a violent riot to disrupt the joint session of Congress certifying the presidential election results.”
Smith has argued separately in the immunity case that the obstruction charges against Trump are valid, no matter the outcome of Fischer’s case.
Most lower court judges who have weighed in have allowed the charge to stand. Among them, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, a Trump appointee, wrote that “statutes often reach beyond the principal evil that animated them.”
But U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, another Trump appointee, dismissed the charge against Fischer and two other defendants, writing that prosecutors went too far. A divided panel of the federal appeals court in Washington reinstated the charge before the Supreme Court agreed to take up the case.
While it’s not important to the Supreme Court case, the two sides present starkly differing accounts of Fischer’s actions on January 6. Fischer’s lawyers say he “was not part of the mob” that forced lawmakers to flee the House and Senate chambers, noting that he entered the Capitol after Congress had recessed. The weight of the crowd pushed Fischer into a line of police inside, they said in a court filing.
Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Representatives Jim Jordan of Ohio, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Matt Gaetz of Florida and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia are among 23 Republican members of Congress who say the administration’s use of the obstruction charge “presents an intolerable risk of politicized prosecutions. Only a clear rebuke from this Court will stop the madness.”
The Justice Department says Fischer can be heard on a video yelling “Charge!” before he pushed through a crowd and “crashed into the police line.” Prosecutors also cite text messages Fischer sent before January 6 saying things might turn violent and social media posts after the riot in which he wrote, “we pushed police back about 25 feet.”
More than 1,350 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Approximately 1,000 of them have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a jury or judge after a trial.
Open sourcerers say suspected xz-style attacks continue to target maintainers
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Social engineering patterns spotted across range of popular projects
Open source groups are warning the community about a wave of ongoing attacks targeting project maintainers similar to those that led to the recent attempted backdooring of a core Linux library.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/16/xz_style_attacks_continue/
Tesla Model Y electrifies Anaheim Police’s patrol fleet
date: 2024-04-16, from: Electrek Feed
Tesla Model Y vehicles upfitted into police patrol cars by Unplugged Performance are electrifying Anaheim Police’s patrol fleet.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/16/tesla-model-y-electrifies-anaheim-polices-patrol-fleet/
Nissan steps up all-solid-state EV battery plans as pilot line construction kicks off
date: 2024-04-16, from: Electrek Feed
Will all-solid-state batteries be a “game-changer for EVs?” Nissan believes so. The automaker is accelerating all-solid-state EV battery development, hoping to make its electric models more competitive. Nissan kicked off construction on its all-solid-state EV battery pilot line this week with plans to introduce them in a wide range of models, including pickups.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/16/nissan-steps-up-all-solid-state-ev-battery-plans/
Amazon Installed Over 17,000 Chargers For Its Rivian Electric Van Fleet
date: 2024-04-16, from: Inside EVs News
The retail giant is now the largest operator of private EV charging infrastructure in the U.S.
https://insideevs.com/news/716230/amazon-installed-over-17000-chargers-for-rivian-edvs/
A comment on comments
date: 2024-04-16, from: Manu - I write blog
<p>Someone asked me about my stance on not having comments on my blog. I’m not a fan of comments in general and I think commenting on something should be done in one of two ways:</p>- Privately via email or via direct messaging
- Publicly by posting a reply on your own website
Setting up your server to send a webmention is an extra bonus point but I don’t consider that to be necessary. That’s the ideal commenting setup in my opinion but I’m sure some of you out there disagree.
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https://manuelmoreale.com/@/page/M8FpFOXmWXyCmMMk
Pleasure or Pain? He Maps the Neural Circuits That Decide.
date: 2024-04-16, from: Quanta Magazine
The work of the neuroscientist Ishmail Abdus-Saboor has opened up a world of insights into precisely how much pleasure and pain animals experience during different forms of touch.The post Pleasure or Pain? He Maps the Neural Circuits That Decide. first appeared on Quanta Magazine
https://www.quantamagazine.org/pleasure-or-pain-he-maps-the-neural-circuits-that-decide-20240416/
AI gold rush continues as Microsoft invests $1.5B in UAE’s G42
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Can regulators keep up?
Microsoft has confirmed a $1.5 billion investment in G42, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) AI biz.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/16/microsoft_g42_investment/
The Dystopian Future of TV Is AI-Generated ‘FAST’ Garbage
date: 2024-04-16, from: 404 Media Group
TCL’s new AI-generated movie “Next Stop Paris” is the next evolution in the algorithmification of TV.
https://www.404media.co/the-dystopian-future-of-tv-is-ai-generated-fast-garbage/
Micron says it’s first to QLC NAND with over 200 layers
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Enhanced data density and speed upgrades, though challenges in endurance remain
Micron is now mass producing 232-layer QLC NAND, claiming it’s the first memory manufacturer to break the 200-layer mark in QLC chips.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/16/micron_232_layer_qlc/
AMD launches Ryzen PRO 8040 mobile and Ryzen PRO 8000 desktop chips with Ryzen AI
date: 2024-04-16, from: Liliputing
AMD is bringing its Ryzen PRO chips for laptop and desktop computers into the AI age. The company’s new Ryzen PRO 8040 Series processors are basically business-class versions of the Ryzen 8040 Mobile chips that launched last year, meaning they have the same Zen 4 CPU cores, RDNA 3 integrated graphics, and Ryzen AI NPUs. But […]
The post AMD launches Ryzen PRO 8040 mobile and Ryzen PRO 8000 desktop chips with Ryzen AI appeared first on Liliputing.
2024 GMC Sierra EV Denali Edition 1 Gets 440 Miles Of Range, Higher Towing Capacity, Lower Price
date: 2024-04-16, from: Inside EVs News
The top-spec Sierra EV pickup’s range is now on par with its Chevy Silverado EV RST cousin.
https://insideevs.com/news/716215/2024-gmc-sierra-ev-denali-edition-1-updated-range-towing-price/
The Insta360 X4 Brings 8K 360-Degree Video To The Party
date: 2024-04-16, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
The action camera maker’s latest flagship 360 cam wants to take your shots to the next level.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/716198/insta360-x4-360-camera-specs/
How King’s College Added 438 Solar Panels to a 500-Year-Old Chapel
date: 2024-04-16, from: Smithsonian Magazine
The project sparked debate over how to decrease carbon emissions while preserving the historic structure’s architectural beauty
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-04-16, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Protest shuts down Golden Gate Bridge.
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/san-francisco/protest-golden-gate-bridge/3510362/
Reproducing the printer hack of Windows 95
date: 2024-04-16, from: OS News
During my daily web crawl I encountered a very interesting gif that I haven’t seen in a long time. It was a hack of an unspecified version of Windows 95, which showed how to bypass the login screen with the help of the menu and printing dialog. However, after a brief check, I found a fair amount of people stating that “just hitting the cancel” button would do the same. Sharp-eyed viewers would notice that it was the very first action taken in the picture. In order to find out if the hack is real at all, I decided to reproduce it and document it for the good of the internet. ↫ David Polakovic So this hack is actually a lot more involved than I thought it was going to be, and yet, it still feels utterly insane that operating systems were this easy to get into, passwords were this easy to decrypt, and security settings were this trivial to disable. Anyway, the gif is sort-of real, in that yes, you can ‘hack’ Windows 95’s login security through the printing and help subsystems. Things were different back then, man. I vaguely remember that my high school used to lock us out of the desktop, File Explorer, the Control Panel, and so on, making it impossible for us to access DOS or the games built into Windows 9x. I don’t remember the exact things we used to do, but most of us were aware and used several different methods of bypassing the school lockdowns just to mess around. We never did anything malicious – this is pre-internet, and we just wanted to play some Solitaire or Pinball – but anybody with malicious intent surely could’ve.
https://www.osnews.com/story/139308/reproducing-the-printer-hack-of-windows-95/
Change Healthcare’s ransomware attack costs edge toward $1B so far
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
First glimpse at attack financials reveals huge pain
UnitedHealth, parent company of ransomware-besieged Change Healthcare, says the total costs of tending to the February cyberattack for the first calendar quarter of 2024 currently stands at $872 million.…
Google’s Generic Kernel Image now required on all Android form factors
date: 2024-04-16, from: OS News
New TVs that launch with Android TV 14 or later on Linux kernel 5.15 or higher will be required to meet Google’s Generic Kernel Image (GKI) requirements in order to pass certification! This means that GKI is now enforced on all major Android form factors with AArch64 chipsets: handhelds, watches, automotive, & televisions. ↫ Mishaal Rahman What this means is that all the major Android form factors will be running kernels that adhere to the GKI requirements, which means SoC and board support is not part of the core kernel, but instead achieved through loadable modules. This should, in theory, make it easier to provide long-term support.
What a Vote in Tennessee Would Mean for the UAW
date: 2024-04-16, from: Heatmap News
Current conditions: Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes are possible from Nebraska to Baltimore • It’s 109 degrees Fahrenheit in Vadodara, India, currently the hottest city in the world • Heavy rain is forecast for Indianapolis, but won’t dampen celebrations of #1 WNBA draft pick Caitlin Clark to the Indiana Fever.
THE TOP FIVE
- Tennessee Volkswagen factory poised for historic unionization
The Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, will vote this week on whether to join the United Auto Workers, a decision that labor activists say could give the union the momentum it needs for a “legitimate comeback” after its successes last fall — or, if the vote fails, take the wind out of its sails.
If successful, VW would become the only foreign commercial automaker to be unionized in the United States, and it would be the first Southern plant to unionize through an election since the 1940s, Bloomberg and The Washington Post report. While prior efforts to unionize the Tennessee plant in 2014 and 2019 failed, the current organizing committee claims to have a supermajority heading into the vote. Local Republicans have nevertheless painted the unionization effort as “inconsistent with the people of southeast Tennessee” and as a de facto vote for President Biden, especially as former President Donald Trump has continued to bash electric vehicle manufacturing as a job killer and the UAW as a “hopeless case” on the campaign trail.
- Life cycle analysis will ‘jeopardize global climate goals,’
researcher warns
Life cycle analysis — the process of measuring all emissions related to a given product or service throughout every phase of its life — has long been the foundation of the climate economy. But in a new paper, Arizona State University climate scientist Stephanie Arcusa claims we’re “kid[ding] ourselves thinking that we’re going to have numbers that we can hang our hats on.”
Speaking with Heatmap’s Emily Pontecorvo, Arcusa elaborated that the impossibility of collecting all the data necessary for life cycle analysis leads us to get “so far away from reality that we can’t actually tell if something is positive or negative in the end.” As she explains:
[…It’s] almost entirely subjective, which makes one LCA incomparable to another LCA depending on the context, depending on the technology. And yes, there are some standardization efforts that have been going on for decades. But if you have a ruler, no matter how much you try, it’s not going to become a screwdriver. We’re trying to use this tool to quantify things and make them the same for comparison, and we can’t because of that subjectivity.
- Frontrunner in Mexico’s presidential election plans nearly $14
billion in energy projects
Former Mexico City mayor and leading Mexican presidential nominee Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday outlined a plan to invest $13.57 billion in new energy infrastructure and modernization through 2030, Reuters reports. The proposal focuses largely on increasing wind and solar generation, updating hydroelectric plants, and adding miles of new transmission lines, and notably sets her apart from current President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has been criticized for pouring billions into propping up the state oil and gas company, Petroleos Mexicanos.
Sheinbaum’s proposal would not completely abandon fossil fuels, calling for new gas-burning plants as well. But she described it as “the possibility and potential to develop Mexico in a way that generates investment with well-being” and “at the same time … does not have to negatively impact the environment.” Sheinbaum said the proposal would add 13.7 gigawatts of electricity to the grid by 2030.
Mexico’s general election is June 2, and marks one of many national elections this year that put climate front and center on the ballot.
- California hits major renewable benchmark
Monday marked the 31st time in 39 days that wind, solar, geothermal, and hydropower topped 100% of demand on California’s grid, an event that Electrek described as a “major clean energy benchmark.”
Stanford University civil and environmental engineering professor Mark Z. Jacobson, who first shared the finding on Twitter, described it as “unprecedented in California’s history” to The Independent. Though supply did not exceed demand for the length of a full day — Jacobson looked at instances where it topped 100% from a quarter of an hour to six hours per day — it was the consistency that he described as noteworthy, pointing out that until recently, supply did not exceed demand more than a few days in a row. “This is getting so easy, it’s almost boring,” he added. “Just need offshore wind and more solar and batteries to get to 100% 24/7.”
- Climate change is causing cold water ‘killer events’
You’ve probably already heard about the ocean’s crazy heat. However, cold water “killer events” are causing mass mortality for marine life, too, a new study published Monday in Nature has found.
The researchers report that “climate-change-driven shifts in ocean currents and pressure systems” are increasing and intensifying instances of “upwelling,” when deep, frigid water is pushed to the surface. Such events imperil migratory species like bull sharks, which attempt to avoid colder areas by swimming outside their normal routes or closer to the ocean’s surface. “You’d think they would have swum away but they got squeezed” by the upwellings, Ryan Daly, one of the authors, told The Guardian. “They couldn’t escape.”
iStock
/ Getty Images
THE KICKER
150,000 years. That’s the combined amount of time New York drivers, bus passengers, and subway riders could have saved if the MTA had adopted congestion pricing back in 2008, when it was first proposed.
https://heatmap.news/electric-vehicles/what-a-vote-in-tennessee-would-mean-for-the-uaw
Blackstone wants to plug hyperscale datacenter into former Britishvolt battery site
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Plans to plant $12B bitbarn where homegrown renewables hope once lived
US private equity investor Blackstone has plans for a £10 billion ($12.45 billion) hyperscale datacenter in northern England on a site formerly owned by battery startup Britishvolt.…
Is a system telling landlords how much to charge for rent illegal?
date: 2024-04-16, from: Marketplace Morning Report
Big corporate landlords provide the company RealPage with data you can’t just see on Zillow, like the rent a tenant actually pays versus what’s advertised publicly. In return, the company recommends a rent price to set. Now, lawsuits are alleging that RealPage uses the data for wide scale rent-fixing. Also: the latest news on shares of Trump Media and a frank conversation about the shame that comes with debt.
China show more signs of recovery
date: 2024-04-16, from: Marketplace Morning Report
From the BBC World Service: Economic growth in China, the world’s second biggest economy, beat expectations in the first quarter. Official data shows it’s being led by the manufacturing sector, but domestic demand is still weak. Plus, the Panama Canal will permit more ships from next month, easing congestion. And Colombia has become a top destination for so-called digital nomad; we take a look at how this is affecting the economy.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/china-show-more-signs-of-recovery
Global Impact: Empowering young people in Kenya and South Africa
date: 2024-04-16, from: Raspberry Pi (.org)
We work with mission-aligned educational organisations all over the world to support young people’s computing education. In 2023 we established four partnerships in Kenya and South Africa with organisations Coder:LevelUp, Blue Roof, Oasis Mathare, and Tech Kidz Africa, which support young people in underserved communities. Our shared goal is to support educators to establish and…
The post Global Impact: Empowering young people in Kenya and South Africa appeared first on Raspberry Pi Foundation.
https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/global-impact-empowering-young-people-in-kenya-and-south-africa/
Take A Good Look At Dirt Freak’s Custom Honda GB350 S
date: 2024-04-16, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
The Japanese motorcycle accessories specialist trained its sights on the Honda GB350 S, and here’s what happened.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/715513/dirt-freak-honda-gb350-s/
Google location tracking deal could be derailed by politics
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
$62 million settlement plan challenged over payments to progressive nonprofits
Google’s plan to pay $62 million to settle allegations that it tracked people even when their Location History setting was switched off may have to be renegotiated based on several objections.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/16/google_location_tracking_deal_could/
KPMG bags £8.5M NHS gig as cheerleader for Federated Data Platform rollout
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Consultancy tasked with helping local services get on board
The UK’s health department has awarded global consultancy KPMG an £8.5 million ($10.5 million) contract to help implement the controversial Federated Data Platform (FDP) at a local level.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/16/nhs_england_kpmg_fdp/
Sexier Heat Pumps Are Hitting the Market
date: 2024-04-16, from: Heatmap News
Quilt, a climate tech startup banking on the appeal of sleeker, smarter
electric heat pumps, announced today that its products will be available
to order in the Bay Area starting May 15.
I first wrote about Quilt a year ago after the company raised a $9 million seed round. Its founders told me they wanted to create the Tesla of heat pumps — a climate-friendly product that prevails because of its superior design and performance, with sustainability as a bonus.
“That’s the only way you win, right?” Paul Lambert, Quilt’s CEO said when I visited the company’s office in Redwood City, California, last summer. “You almost need, like, this Trojan horse. You need to be able to convince people who are skeptical. It needs to be better on its own merits.”
Conventional heaters generate warmth by burning fuel, whereas heat pumps transfer it using electricity. They come in two main form factors: a central system, which conditions the air throughout a building via ducts and vents, with machinery that can be hidden away in the attic or basement; and a mini-split, a room-by-room solution that typically looks like a white, oblong, plastic box mounted on the wall. Quilt is redesigning the latter.
The company won’t release full product images until the launch in May, but a new teaser released today shows a mini-split peeking from the edge of the frame with blonde wood paneling to match the wood of other furniture in the room.
Courtesy
of Quilt
The company also revamped the outdoor component of the mini-split, which typically looks like an industrial metal fan.
Courtesy
of Quilt
Quilt just closed a $33 million series A funding round led by climate
venture heavyweights Energy Impact Partners and Galvanize Climate
Solutions, which will help get it through its launch and initial
expansion.
The company is promising a lot — not just a more customizable and aesthetically pleasing product, but also improvements on efficiency and comfort, smarter software, and a better customer experience beginning with the point of purchase. Quilt is limiting its launch to the Bay Area because that’s “where the bulk of our team is on the ground to support homeowners through the purchase, install, and rebate process,” Lambert told me in an email this week. “Los Angeles will follow soon after and then we’ll use our waitlist to guide our expansion.” He said there were already thousands of interested homeowners on the waitlist.
Though there’s certainly evidence that homeowners want a nicer looking product and an easier installation experience, the biggest hurdle to heat pump adoption is that they are far more expensive than natural gas heating systems. Lambert wasn’t ready to share how much the system would cost, but promised it would be “priced competitively and transparently.”
At such a small scale, it’s likely that Quilt will join the ranks of other luxury decarb products, like the Impulse Labs induction stove — at least to start. But the company has high hopes. “Our goal is to get Quilt into as many homes as possible to supercharge the clean energy transition and to meet rising demand for a smart, intuitive, design-forward heat pump,” Lambert said.
https://heatmap.news/sparks/quilt-heat-pump-on-sale-date
AI cloud startup TensorWave bets AMD can beat Nvidia
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Starts racking MI300X systems - because you can actually buy them and they beat the H100 on many specs
Specialist cloud operators skilled at running hot and power-hungry GPUs and other AI infrastructure are emerging, and while some of these players like CoreWeave, Lambda, or Voltage Park — have built their clusters using tens of thousands of Nvidia GPUs, others are turning to AMD instead.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/16/amd_tensorwave_mi300x/
RP2040 controls 60 LEDs to tell the time on this wristwatch
date: 2024-04-16, from: Raspberry Pi News (.com)
Redditor littlespleen made their own RP2040-powered wristwatch. It features tons of LEDs to tell the time in three different colours.
The post RP2040 controls 60 LEDs to tell the time on this wristwatch appeared first on Raspberry Pi.
https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/rp2040-controls-60-leds-to-tell-the-time-on-this-wristwatch/
OpenCitations supports the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information for a fundamental transformation in the research information landscape
date: 2024-04-16, from: Open Citation blog at Hypotheses.org
Research Information can be defined as an information (sometimes referred to as metadata) relating to the conduct and communication of research. This includes, but is not limited to, (1) bibliographic metadata such as titles, abstracts, references, author data, affiliation data, and data on publication venues, (2) metadata on research software, research data, samples, and instruments, (3) information on funding and grants, and (4) information on organizations and research contributors. Research information is located in systems such as bibliographic databases, software archives, data repositories, and … Continue reading OpenCitations supports the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information for a fundamental transformation in the research information landscape
https://opencitations.hypotheses.org/3557
Intel’s effort to build a foundry biz is costing far more – and taking longer – than expected
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
If you wanna make money you’ve gotta spend money. And against Samsung it’s gonna cost a lot
Analysis Three years after CEO Pat Gelsinger announced Intel would create a foundry business that took on contract manufacturing gigs, Chipzilla has committed to more than $185 billion in spending across new and existing fab, packaging, and test sites.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/16/intel_foundry_vision/
The Big Picture: Trump’s ongoing attempted coup
date: 2024-04-16, from: Robert Reich on Substack
His presidential campaign is treasonous
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/trumps-attempted-coup-is-ongoing
Classifieds – April 16, 2024
date: 2024-04-16, 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 – April 16, 2024 appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/04/16/classifieds-april-16-2024/
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators shut down highways and bridges in major US cities
date: 2024-04-16, from: VOA News USA
CHICAGO — Pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked roadways in Illinois, California, New York and the Pacific Northwest on Monday, temporarily shutting down travel into some of the nation’s most heavily used airports, onto the Golden Gate and Brooklyn bridges and on a busy West Coast highway.
In Chicago, protesters linked arms and blocked lanes of Interstate 190 leading into O’Hare International Airport around 7 a.m. in a demonstration they said was part of a global “economic blockade to free Palestine,” according to Rifqa Falaneh, one of the organizers.
Traffic in the San Francisco Bay Area was snarled for hours as demonstrators shut down all vehicle, pedestrian and bike traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge and chained themselves to 55-gallon drums filled with cement across Interstate 880 in Oakland. Protesters marching into Brooklyn blocked Manhattan-bound traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge. In Eugene, Oregon, protesters blocked Interstate 5, shutting down traffic on the major highway for about 45 minutes.
Protesters say they chose O’Hare in part because it is one of the largest airports. Among other things, they’ve called for an immediate cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas.
Anti- war protesters have demonstrated in Chicago near daily since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people. Israeli warplanes and ground troops have since conducted a scorched-earth campaign on the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli offensive has killed more than 33,700 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.
O’Hare warned travelers on the social platform X to take alternative forms of transportation with car travel “substantially delayed this morning due to protest activity.”
Some travelers stuck in standstill traffic left their cars and walked the final leg to the airport along the freeway, trailing their luggage behind them.
Among them was Madeline Hannan from suburban Chicago. She was headed to O’Hare for a work trip to Florida when her and her husband’s car ended up stalled for 20 minutes. She got out and “both ran and speed walked” more than 1.6 kilometers (1 mile). She said she made it to the gate on time, but barely.
“This was an inconvenience,” she said in a telephone interview from Florida. “But in the grand scheme of things going on overseas, it’s a minor inconvenience.”
While individual travelers may have been affected, operations at the airport appeared near normal with delays of under 15 minutes, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.
Inbound traffic toward O’Hare resumed around 9 a.m.
Near Seattle, the Washington State Department of Transportation said a demonstration closed the main road to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Social media posts showed people holding a banner and waving Palestinian flags while standing on the highway, which reopened about three hours later.
About 20 protesters were arrested at the Golden Gate Bridge demonstration and traffic resumed shortly after noon, according to the California Highway Patrol. The agency said officers were making arrests at two points on the interstate, including one spot where roughly 300 protesters refused orders to disperse,
“Attempting to block or shut down a freeway or state highway to protest is unlawful, dangerous, and prevents motorists from safely reaching their destinations,” the agency said in a statement.
Oregon State Police said 52 protestors were were arrested for disorderly conduct following the Interstate 5 protest in Eugene, Oregon, about 177 kilometers (110 miles) south of Portland. Six vehicles were towed from the scene.
New York Police made numerous arrests, saying 150 protesters were initially involved in the march around 3:15 p.m., but that number quickly grew. The bridge was fully reopened by 5 p.m.
In Chicago, dozens of protesters were arrested, according to Falaneh. Chicago police said Monday that “multiple people” were taken into custody after a protest where people obstructed traffic, but they did not have a detailed count.
Lectric XPress e-bike launched as $999 torque sensor commuter electric bike
date: 2024-04-16, from: Electrek Feed
In what should no longer come as a surprise to anyone, Phoenix-based Lectric Ebikes has done it again. With today’s launch of the Lectric XPress, the maker of North America’s #1 best-selling electric bike just entered yet another e-bike category with a new model designed to crush the competition.
Today in SCV History (April 16)
date: 2024-04-16, from: SCV New (TV Station)
1962 – Walt Disney donates bison herd to Hart Park. [story
https://scvnews.com/today-in-scv-history-april-16/
‘Born this way’ falls short of the LGBTQIA+ experience
date: 2024-04-16, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
You might have gotten this one wrong, Lady Gaga: A lot of queer people don’t realize their identity until later in life.
The post ‘Born this way’ falls short of the LGBTQIA+ experience appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/04/16/born-this-way-falls-short-of-the-lgbtqia-experience/
How sports movies shape our identities
date: 2024-04-16, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Athletic films are more than just entertainment: They inspire us and mold our understanding of sports.
The post How sports movies shape our identities appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/04/16/how-sports-movies-shape-our-identities/
Fear the digital rapture
date: 2024-04-16, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
As more game companies and retailers transition to entirely digital sales models, our ownership of the games we play is called into question.
The post Fear the digital rapture appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/04/16/fear-the-digital-rapture/
Banning legacy admissions is only the first step
date: 2024-04-16, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Removing this preferential treatment won’t solve a broken admissions system.
The post Banning legacy admissions is only the first step appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/04/16/a-legacy-admissions-ban-is-only-a-first-step/
USC football had a worrisome week
date: 2024-04-16, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The Trojans lost two defensive players to the transfer portal, raising concerns about next season.
The post USC football had a worrisome week appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/04/16/usc-football-had-a-worrisome-week/
Designers unveil original pieces at spring show
date: 2024-04-16, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The Fashion Industry Association presented “Sonder,” its latest entry into the canon of modern fashion.
The post Designers unveil original pieces at spring show appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/04/16/designers-unveil-original-pieces-at-spring-show/
Maui Fire Department to release after-action report on deadly Hawaii wildfires
date: 2024-04-16, from: VOA News USA
HONOLULU — The Maui Fire Department is expected to release a report Tuesday detailing how the agency responded to a series of wildfires that burned on the island during a windstorm last August — including one that killed 101 people in the historic town of Lahaina and became the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century.
The release comes one day before the Hawaii Attorney General is expected to release the first phase of a separate comprehensive investigation about the events before, during and after the Aug. 8 fires.
The reports could help officials understand exactly what happened when the wind-whipped fire overtook the historic Maui town of Lahaina, destroying roughly 3,000 properties and causing more than $5.5 billion in estimated damage, according to state officials.
The Western Fire Chiefs Association produced the after-action report for the Maui Fire Department. After-action reports are frequently used by military organizations, emergency response agencies, government entities and even companies to help identify the strengths and weaknesses of the organization’s response to an emergency.
A similar after-action report was released by the Maui Police Department in February. It included 32 recommendations to improve the law enforcement agency’s response to future tragedies, including that the department obtain better equipment and that it station a high-ranking officer in the island’s communications center during emergencies.
Hawaiian Electric has acknowledged that one of its power lines fell and caused a fire in Lahaina the morning of Aug. 8, but the utility company denies that the morning fire caused the flames that burned through the town later that day. But dozens of lawsuits filed by survivors and victims’ families claim otherwise, saying entities like Hawaiian Electric, Maui County, large property owners or others should be held responsible for the damage caused by the inferno.
Many of the factors that contributed to the disaster are already known: Strong winds from a hurricane passing far offshore had downed power lines and blown off parts of rooftops, and debris blocked roads throughout Lahaina. Later those same winds rained embers and whipped flames through the heart of the town.
The vast majority of the county’s fire crews were already tied up fighting other wildfires on a different part of the island, their efforts sometimes hindered by a critical loss of water pressure after the winds knocked out electricity for the water pumps normally used to load firefighting tanks and reservoirs. County officials have acknowledged that a lack of backup power for critical pumps made it significantly harder for crews to battle the Upcountry fires.
A small firefighting team was tasked with handling any outbreaks in Lahaina. That crew brought the morning fire under control and even declared it extinguished, then broke for lunch. By the time they returned, flames had erupted in the same area and were quickly moving into a major subdivision. The fire in Lahaina burned so hot that thousands of water pipes melted, making it unlikely that backup power for pumps would have made a significant impact.
Cellphone and internet service was also down in the area, so it was difficult for some to call for help or to get information about the spreading fire — including any evacuation announcements. And emergency officials did not use Hawaii’s extensive network of emergency sirens to warn Lahaina residents.
The high winds made it hard at times for first responders to communicate on their radios, and 911 operators and emergency dispatchers were overwhelmed with hundreds of calls.
Police and electricity crews tried to direct people away from roads that were partially or completely blocked by downed power lines. Meanwhile, people trying to flee burning neighborhoods packed the few thoroughfares leading in and out of town.
The traffic jam left some trapped in their cars when the fire overtook them. Others who were close to the ocean jumped into the choppy waters to escape the flames.
NASA needs new ideas and tech to get Mars Sample Return mission off the ground
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Current plans are too expensive and slow, meaning China could win race to score red rocks
NASA still wants to proceed with its Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission but needs its cost to drop – so it’s seeking help from the commercial space sector.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/16/nasa_msr_mission_update/
Org-mode Tutorial / Cheat Sheet (2012)
date: 2024-04-16, from: Tilde.news
http://emacsclub.github.io/html/org_tutorial.html
Broadcom throws VMware customers on perpetual licenses a lifeline
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Meanwhile, Gartner predicts massive market share loss and European regulators start asking questions
Broadcom has blinked, and made a couple of changes to support VMware customers who don’t want to move to its new software bundle subscriptions.…
On Tax Day, students protest US, USC’s role in Israel’s war in Gaza
date: 2024-04-16, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The demonstration, part of a nationwide effort, came as Middle East tensions are ramping up.
The post On Tax Day, students protest US, USC’s role in Israel’s war in Gaza appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/04/15/on-tax-day-students-protest-us-uscs-role-in-israels-war-in-gaza/
April 15, 2024
date: 2024-04-16, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog
April 15 is a curiously fraught day in American history. In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to put down a rebellion in the southern states. In 1865, Lincoln breathed his last at 7:22 a.m., and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, who adored the president, said, “Now he belongs to the ages.”
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-15-2024
McKenzie Forbes, Kaitlyn Davis selected in 2024 WNBA draft
date: 2024-04-16, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Both Trojans were picked in the third round following the team’s Elite Eight season.
The post McKenzie Forbes, Kaitlyn Davis selected in 2024 WNBA draft appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/04/15/mckenzie-forbes-kaitlyn-davis-wnba-draft/
Alibaba Cloud reveals network telemetry tool that helped cut number of engineers needed by 86%
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Zoonet employs ‘elegant generalization of ping and traceroute’ among other tricks
Exclusive Alibaba Cloud has detailed the telemetry tool it uses to look out for glitches in customers’ virtual networks, and revealed it’s reduced the number of personnel dedicated to troubleshooting by 86 percent since developing the system.…
Biden meets Iraqi PM amid escalating Mideast tensions
date: 2024-04-16, from: VOA News USA
As President Joe Biden hosted Iraq’s prime minister on Monday, all eyes were on Iran, which over the weekend made a historic first strike on Israel. That attack has inflamed concerns of a wider regional war, something the two leaders focused on during their Oval Office meeting. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from the White House.
https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-meets-iraqi-pm-amid-escalating-mideast-tensions/7571667.html
OpenAI launches Asian operations in Tokyo to avoid being lost in translation
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Local customers get early access to Japanese-language GPT-4
On Sunday, OpenAI announced the launch of its operations in Asia, beginning with a office in Tokyo, Japan. It’s OpenAI’s third outpost beyond the United States, following offices in London and Dublin.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/16/openai_tokyo_office/
‘WE DON’T TRUST YOU’ and ‘WE STILL DON’T TRUST YOU’ light a spark in hip-hop
date: 2024-04-16, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Metro Boomin and Future’s two-part project reinvigorates excitement in the hip-hop scene and delivers hits, but drags on longer than it needs to.
The post ‘WE DON’T TRUST YOU’ and ‘WE STILL DON’T TRUST YOU’ light a spark in hip-hop appeared first on Daily Trojan.
How to manage a quantum computing emergency
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: Educated Guesswork blog
https://educatedguesswork.org/posts/pq-emergency/
Konica Minolta and Fujifilm ponder JV to cut costs of printer businesses
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Japanese giants have big brands, but tiny shares of a shrinking market
Japanese imaging manufacturers Konica Minolta and Fujifilm have revealed talks aimed at creating a joint venture to handle printer manufacturing and R&D for both brands.…
NASA looking for faster, cheaper way to collect mars rocks
date: 2024-04-16, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/nasa-looking-for-faster-cheaper-way-to-collect-mars-rocks/7571642.html
Ukraine, Israel aid to hit US House floor as separate bills soon
date: 2024-04-16, from: VOA News USA
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives will consider aid to Israel and Ukraine as separate legislation this week, Republican Speaker Mike Johnson said on Monday, more than two months after the Senate passed a bill combining the two.
Leaving a meeting of House Republicans on Monday evening, Johnson said the narrowly divided chamber would consider four bills altogether that would also include aid to Taiwan, U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific and U.S. national security priorities.
“We know that the world is watching us to see how we react,” Johnson told reporters. “They’re watching to see if America will stand up for its allies and in our own interest around the globe. And we will.”
U.S. aid has been delayed by Johnson’s unwillingness to consider a $95 billion bipartisan bill the Senate passed in February, including $14 billion for Israel as well as $60 billion for Ukraine.
Also included were billions to strengthen allies in the Indo-Pacific, where China is becoming more assertive, and for international humanitarian aid.
Johnson said the new House bills provide roughly the same amount of foreign aid as the Senate bill but would include differences including some aid in the form of a loan.
Republicans aim to release legislative text as early as Tuesday morning but will observe a 72-hour review period before voting. Johnson said votes on passage could come late on Friday.
The push to pass the aid gained urgency after Iran’s weekend missile and drone attack on Israel despite fierce opposition in the deeply divided Congress.
Three of the four bills Johnson suggested would cover Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific. The makeup of the fourth was not immediately clear.
Backers had insisted the broad foreign aid measure passed with 70% support in the Senate would have received similar support in the House. However, Johnson had given a variety of reasons to delay, among them the need to focus taxpayer dollars on domestic issues and reluctance to take up a Senate measure without more information.
Johnson also faces a threat from a hard-right Republicans to oust him as speaker if he allows the Ukraine aid to move ahead. Many on the right, especially those closely allied with former President Donald Trump, who has been skeptical of assisting Kyiv in its fight against Russia, fiercely oppose sending billions more dollars to Ukraine.
The House Freedom Caucus - a group of Republican hardliners with about three dozen members - released a statement on Monday calling for aid to Israel, but not to Ukraine, and rejecting as “bogus” any suggestion that the attack on Israel should help ease the path toward more funds for Kyiv.
Representative Andy Biggs, a Freedom Caucus member, told reporters he liked the idea of separate bills, but had to see them before committing to voting for them.
Defense industry watching
The issue is closely watched by industry. U.S. defense contractors could be in line for huge contracts to supply equipment for Ukraine and other U.S. partners if the additional funding passes. Aid supporters stress that approving the Ukraine bill would create many American jobs.
The White House has been pushing Johnson to allow a vote, as have Senate Republicans and Democrats. “If House Republicans put the Senate supplemental (spending bill) on the floor, I believe it would pass today, reach the president’s desk tonight and Israel would get the aid it needs by tomorrow,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in the Senate on Monday.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell told his fellow lawmakers: “It’s also time for Congress to deliver the urgent investments that our industrial base, our forces, and our partners will need to meet and out-compete the growing and linked threats we face.”
The top House Democrat, Representative Hakeem Jeffries, sent a letter to his caucus on Monday spelling out the need to support Ukraine as well as Israel.
“The gravely serious events of this past weekend in the Middle East and Eastern Europe underscore the need for Congress to act immediately. We must take up the bipartisan and comprehensive national security bill passed by the Senate forthwith,” Jeffries wrote.
Ukraine appealed again to allies on Monday for “extraordinary and bold steps” to supply air defenses to help defend against waves of Russian airstrikes that have targeted its energy system in recent weeks.
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-04-16, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Ripley Ending Explained, What Happens to Tom Ripley?
Biden meets Iraqi PM amid escalating Mideast tensions
date: 2024-04-16, from: VOA News USA
White House — As U.S. President Joe Biden hosted Iraq’s prime minister Monday, all eyes were on Iran, which over the weekend made a historic first strike on Israel.
That attack has inflamed concerns of a wider regional war — a situation that effectively eclipsed the leaders’ already-planned Oval Office meeting, where they wanted to discuss their mutual fight against Islamic State, economic issues and Iraq’s progress toward energy independence and modernization.
“The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the enduring strategic partnership between Iraq and the United States, and discussed their visions for comprehensive bilateral cooperation under the 2008 U.S.-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement,” the two leaders said in a joint statement after Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani met with Biden.
Meanwhile, White House officials disputed reports that Iran delivered a clear warning before the strike. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby called such reports “nonsense.”
“Can you imagine a world in which Iran would pick up the phone and say, ‘Hey, we’re about to try to schwack Israel with 300 cruise missiles and drones. We just wanted to let you know it’s coming. And oh, by the way, here’s what we’re going to hit.’”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “It just didn’t happen.”
He stressed that Israel’s response is “an Israeli decision to make,” and “we’re going to leave it squarely with them.”
Even though the United States is describing Iran’s aerial assault as a failure, Iraq’s leader acknowledged that the conflict between Israel and Hamas is of major concern in the region.
“We are actually very eager about stopping this war, which claimed the lives of thousands of civilians, women and children,” Sudani said, sitting beside Biden in the Oval Office. “And we encourage all the efforts about stopping the expansion of the area of conflict.”
The two nations have a delicate relationship after decades of U.S. military involvement in Iraq. U.S. anti-aircraft assets in northern Iraq were used to shoot down some of the Iranian missiles.
Biden said Iraq has a role to play in maintaining peace.
“Simply put, our partnership is pivotal for our nations, for the Middle East, and I believe, for the world,” he said.
Earlier Monday, Sudani’s deputy met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, where both men hailed the regional cooperation that thwarted the attack and urged de-escalation.
“I think what this weekend demonstrated is that Israel did not have to and does not have to defend itself alone when it is the victim of an aggression, the victim of an attack,” Blinken said.
“In the 36 hours since, we have been coordinating a diplomatic response to seek to prevent escalation.”
“We call on all parties for self-restraint and respect the rules and also international norms that we set,” said Muhammad Ali Tamim, Iraq’s deputy prime minister.
The two leaders announced a raft of bilateral measures Monday, but none directly referenced Iran.
“The President and Prime Minister agreed on the importance of working together to advance regional stability and reinforce and respect Iraqi sovereignty, stability, and security,” their joint statement said.
The other agreements centered on the priorities the Biden administration outlined in March ahead of the visit: energy independence, regional security and the “lasting defeat of ISIS.”
But analysts say Baghdad should seize every diplomatic opportunity to seek peace.
“Iraq needs to make its preference for reduced escalation clear,” Daniel Byman, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told VOA on Zoom. “And that’s both talking to the Iranians, but also talking to other Arab states and talking to the United States, that this is negative from Iraq’s point of view, and that it wants all the powers to take responsible action to try to reduce escalation.”
As Israel mulls its response, regional actors are not sitting still. On Monday, Iraq’s president met with King Abdullah II of Jordan. According to Jordan’s royal court, they spoke about the dangers of this conflict escalating further.
https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-meets-iraqi-pm-amid-escalating-mideast-tensions/7571622.html
Los Alamos Lab powers up Nvidia-laden Venado supercomputer
date: 2024-04-16, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Promises up to ten AI exaFLOPs of grunt – if you turn down the resolution a bit
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has flipped the switch on its Venado supercomputer – a machine capable of bringing ten exaFLOPS of performance to bear on AI workloads for the Department of Energy.…
Opponents of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price say they collected enough valid signatures to force recall election
date: 2024-04-16, from: San Jose Mercury News
The recall group submitted 74,757 valid signatures, just barely more than the 73,195 required to get the question on a ballot, according to Alameda County’s registrar of voters.
Planners to discuss mall plan, Farmer Bros.
date: 2024-04-16, from: The Signal
City planners are expected Tuesday the Town Center Specific Plan to the Planning Commission and discuss their efforts to turn the mall into a “place-making space.” The commission is also scheduled to review a possible Farmer Bros. drive-thru on Copper Hill Drive. Centennial, a Dallas-based real estate developer, said it plans to work with the […]
The post Planners to discuss mall plan, Farmer Bros. appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/04/planners-to-discuss-mall-plan-farmer-bros/
Lancaster sues LASD over contract costs
date: 2024-04-16, from: The Signal
The city of Santa Clarita had little to say Monday in response to a class-action lawsuit over allegations the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department has been overbilling contract cities for its services. Mayor Cameron Smyth acknowledged the suit, which was filed April 3, in a text Monday. “The city is certainly aware of the lawsuit filed […]
The post <strong>Lancaster sues LASD over contract costs</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/04/lancaster-sues-lasd-over-contract-costs/
Community heroes sweat it out for a cause
date: 2024-04-16, from: The Signal
Dozens of people made their way to the Centre on Saturday morning to participate in a three-and-a-half-hour-long “Superheroes Unite Zumbathon” fundraiser held by the Sister Cities organization to support the “Dollars for Desks” campaign meant to provide desks to students in Sariaya, Philippines. People of all ages and from various parts of Los Angeles County […]
The post <strong>Community heroes sweat it out for a cause </strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/04/community-heroes-sweat-it-out-for-a-cause/
What the ‘Fallout’ show gets right about the post-apocalyptic video game series
date: 2024-04-16, from: San Jose Mercury News
With superhero movies losing pop culture steam, the next big thing emerging on the horizon are video game flicks. Over the past few years, films and TV shows based on interactive entertainment have steadily gained traction with the likes of “Sonic the Hedgehog,” “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and “The Last of Us.” Hollywood’s relationship […]
Supreme Court upholds Idaho ban on treatments for transgender minors
date: 2024-04-16, from: VOA News USA
SCV Sanitation District to consider rate increase
date: 2024-04-16, from: The Signal
Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District officials Monday approved a schedule of discussion as part of the required public notice for rate increases on two different potential schedules for county sewer fee ratepayers. After a May 20 public hearing, the board is expected to give staff instruction on which rate schedule to go with, and then […]
The post SCV Sanitation District to consider rate increase appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/04/scv-sanitation-district-to-consider-rate-increase/
GHC 9.6.5 is now available
date: 2024-04-16, from: Glasgow Haskell Compiler
GHC 9.6.5 is now available
Zubin Duggal - 2024-04-16
The GHC developers are happy to announce the availability of GHC 9.6.5. Binary distributions, source distributions, and documentation are available on the release page.
This release is primarily a bugfix release addressing some issues found in the 9.6 series. These include:
-
Bumping the bundled
processlibrary to 1.6.19.0 to avoid a potential command injection vulnerability on Windows for clients of this library. This isn’t known to affect GHC itself, but allows users who depend on the installed version of theprocessto avoid the issue. -
Fixing a bug resulting in the distributed
hsc2hswrapper using flags from the compiler build environment (#24050). -
Disabling the
-fasm-shortcuttingoptimisation with-O2as it is known to result in unsoundess and incorrect runtime results in some cases (#24507). -
Ensuring we take
LDFLAGSinto account when configuring a linker (#24565). - Fixing a bug arising from incorrect parsing of paths containing spaces in the settings file (#24265).
- And many more fixes
A full accounting of changes can be found in the release notes. As some of the fixed issues do affect correctness users are encouraged to upgrade promptly.
We would like to thank Microsoft Azure, GitHub, IOG, the Zw3rk stake pool, Well-Typed, Tweag I/O, Serokell, Equinix, SimSpace, Haskell Foundation, and other anonymous contributors whose on-going financial and in-kind support has facilitated GHC maintenance and release management over the years. Finally, this release would not have been possible without the hundreds of open-source contributors whose work comprise this release.
As always, do give this release a try and open a ticket if you see anything amiss.
Enjoy!
-Zubin
http://haskell.org/ghc/blog/20240416-ghc-9.6.5-released.html
CSUN gets caked at Big Show
date: 2024-04-15, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
Over 4,000 CSUN students and guests gathered for the annual Big Show on Saturday, April 6th to see the one and only Steve Aoki. “I am here to see Steve…
https://sundial.csun.edu/180624/arts-entertainment/csun-gets-caked-at-big-show/
Federal Appeals Court Upholds SCV Water Judgment Against Whittaker
date: 2024-04-15, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit affirmed a $68.5 million judgment Monday for SCV Water for the cleanup of local groundwater contamination in its case against the Whittaker Corporation
https://scvnews.com/federal-appeals-court-upholds-scv-water-judgment-against-whittaker/
Valedictorian barred from speaking at commencement
date: 2024-04-15, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The decision came six days after groups accused Asna Tabassum of antisemitism.
The post Valedictorian barred from speaking at commencement appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/04/15/valedictorian-will-not-speak-at-class-of-2024-commencement/
Staying in Cali: Los Angeles Sparks select Stanford star Cameron Brink second overall in WNBA Draft
date: 2024-04-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
Stanford center Cameron Brink drafted second overall to Los Angeles Sparks.
Trump blasts judge who warns he may miss Barron’s graduation
date: 2024-04-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
Judge Juan M. Merchan told an angry Trump it’s too soon to say whether he can adjourn court on May 17 so that he can attend his youngest son’s graduation in Florida.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/04/15/trump-blasts-judge-who-warns-he-may-miss-barrons-graduation/
Review | ‘The Outsider’
date: 2024-04-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
See the good, clean, fun side of politics in SBCC Theatre Group’s latest production.
The post Review | ‘The Outsider’ appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/04/15/review-the-outsider/
Higher Tesla Model 3 prices bumped up EV prices overall in March
date: 2024-04-15, from: Electrek Feed
After Tesla’s price cuts pulled a quarter of overall EV prices down in February, higher Model 3 prices increased EV prices in March.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/15/higher-tesla-model-3-prices-bumped-ev-prices-up-overall-march/
Letters: Don’t confuse | Accurate names | East Bay backyard | Water policy | Republican hypocrisy
date: 2024-04-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
East Bay Times Letters to the Editor for April 16, 2024
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/04/15/letters-1684/
Daily EV Recap: Layoffs and leadership changes at Tesla
date: 2024-04-15, from: Electrek Feed
Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from Electrek. Quick Charge is now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn and…
https://electrek.co/2024/04/15/daily-ev-recap-layoffs-and-leadership-changes-at-tesla/
Cougars Defeat Antelope Valley College 10-5
date: 2024-04-15, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Angelo Aleman smacked a pair of home runs as College of the Canyons concluded its three-game series vs. Antelope Valley College with a 10-5 home victory at Mike Gillespie Field on Friday.
https://scvnews.com/cougars-defeat-antelope-valley-college-10-5/
Biden hosts Czech leader to promote Ukraine aid amid delay in Congress
date: 2024-04-15, from: VOA News USA
washington — President Joe Biden urged the U.S. House to immediately take up Senate-passed supplemental funding for Ukraine and Israel on Monday as he hosted Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala in the Oval Office.
The visit came as Biden aimed to highlight the efforts other nations are making to support Ukraine. It followed the Czech government’s announcement that it is sending 1 million rounds of artillery ammunition to Ukraine, which Kyiv says is badly needed on the battlefield against Russia’s invasion.
“As the Czech Republic remembers, Russia won’t stop at Ukraine,” Biden said. He appealed to Congress to pass the supplemental funding so the U.S. could do its part to help Ukraine. “They have to do it now,” he said.
Fiala praised the U.S. president for his leadership in support of Ukraine, adding, “We are also doing our best.”
He said, “In 1968 I saw Russian tanks in the streets of my town, and I don’t want to see this again.”
Biden called the Czech Republic a “great ally” in NATO, as Fiala said his country’s decision to purchase F-35 fighter jets from the U.S. will “make our cooperation and security much stronger.”
Fiala told reporters following his meeting with Biden that he would meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to further discuss Ukraine aid.
“The support from U.S., the help from U.S., is very important,” Fiala said.
Documentary ‘Eva Haller: A Work in Progress’ Leaves the Audience in Awe at the Santa Barbara Debut of the Illuminate Film Festival
date: 2024-04-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Premiering for the first time in Santa Barbara, Illuminate Film Festival kicked off the weekend with the documentary ‘Eva Haller: A Work in Progress,’ an inspiring story of a Holocaust survivor and philanthropist.
The post Documentary ‘Eva Haller: A Work in Progress’ Leaves the Audience in Awe at the Santa Barbara Debut of the Illuminate Film Festival appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
Ken Striplin | Kick Up Your Heels at Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival
date: 2024-04-15, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Cowboy Festival weekend is upon us!
https://scvnews.com/ken-striplin-kick-up-your-heels-at-santa-clarita-cowboy-festival/
Trump’s hush-money trial begins: No jurors picked as Day 1 concludes
date: 2024-04-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
Only about a third of the 96 people in the first panel of potential jurors remained after the judge excused some members.
Letters: Congressional recount | Failed leadership | Free housing | Ignorant of past | Debt relief
date: 2024-04-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
Mercury News Letters to the Editor for April 16, 2024
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/04/15/letters-1683/
Soul Majestic Opens the 4/20 Weekend Celebrations at Santa Barbara’s SOhO Restaurant and Music Club
date: 2024-04-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Reggae fusion band Soul Majestic brings good vibes and their unique sound to SOhO this Friday.
The post Soul Majestic Opens the 4/20 Weekend Celebrations at Santa Barbara’s SOhO Restaurant and Music Club appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
A Beginner’s Guide to Teensy (2019)
date: 2024-04-15, from: Tilde.news
https://www.circuito.io/blog/teensy-guide/
Zelenskyy calls for same defense from allies as for Israel
date: 2024-04-15, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/zelenskyy-calls-for-same-defense-from-allies-as-for-israel-/7571223.html
Remembering OJ Simpson
date: 2024-04-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
No cheering from the press box: veteran sports reporter reflects on the dangers of “godding up those ball players.”
The post Remembering OJ Simpson appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/04/15/remembering-o-j-simpson/
CISA in a flap as Chirp smart door locks can be trivially unlocked remotely
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Hard-coded credentials last thing you want in home security app
Some smart locks controlled by Chirp Systems’ software can be remotely unlocked by strangers thanks to a critical security vulnerability.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/critical_vulnerability_chirp_lock/
Castaic Educator Selected for Smithsonian’s Teacher Innovator Institute
date: 2024-04-15, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Castaic Union School District is thrilled to announce that Lara Frandzel has been selected to participate in the Teacher Innovator Institute at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
https://scvnews.com/castaic-educator-selected-for-smithsonians-teacher-innovator-institute/
City Releases 2024 Concerts in the Park Lineup
date: 2024-04-15, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The city of Santa Clarita’s exciting Concerts in the Park series, presented by Logix Federal Credit Union, makes its highly anticipated return this summer for friends, families and neighbors to gather under the evening sky and enjoy free, live musical performances on Saturdays from July 6 to Aug. 24, at Central Park, located at 27150 Bouquet Canyon Road.
https://scvnews.com/city-releases-2024-concerts-in-the-park-lineup/
Camilo Doval hasn’t pitched for SF Giants in over a week. What’s going on?
date: 2024-04-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
The Giants closer hasn’t appeared in a game since last Sunday.
Mustangs Capture First GSAC Season Title
date: 2024-04-15, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Master’s University men’s volleyball team left no doubt about it as they swept the OUAZ Spirit 25-22, 25-14, 25-22 in the season finale Saturday in The MacArthur Center
https://scvnews.com/mustangs-capture-first-gsac-season-title266775-2/
Tesla Might Pivot To Robotaxis. Does It Have A Death Wish?
date: 2024-04-15, from: Inside EVs News
Much of Tesla’s stock price was seemingly hinged on sales growth. Without an entry-level $25,000 car, where will the brand’s growth come from?
https://insideevs.com/news/716189/tesla-model-pivot-robotaxi-cancelled/
Lithium battery explosion, fire damages Oakland residence
date: 2024-04-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
Investigators believe a lithium battery used to power a go-cart caused a fire Sunday at an Oakland home.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/04/15/lithium-battery-explosion-fire-damages-oakland-residence/
Supreme Court: Idaho can enforce ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth
date: 2024-04-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
Under a 2023 law, physicians in the state can be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison if they provide hormones, puberty blockers or other gender-affirming care to those younger than 18.
Register Now for Greater L.A. County Vector Control Fireside Chat
date: 2024-04-15, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Join the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District online for an engaging conversation with experts in the field as they discuss the latest advancements and future trends in vector control Monday, April 15, from 6 p.m to 7:30 p.m. Learn about innovative strategies, technologies, and research shaping how to combat vector-borne diseases. Don’t miss…
2025 Mercedes-Benz eSprinter Gets New Smaller Battery Option At A Lower Price
date: 2024-04-15, from: Inside EVs News
The new model year will arrive at U.S. dealerships in the second half of 2024.
https://insideevs.com/news/716053/2025-mercedes-esprinter-smaller-battery-price/
Concerts in the Park is Back with a Fresh, New Lineup
date: 2024-04-15, from: City of Santa Clarita
Central Park to Become Vibrant Stage for Outdoor Concerts in July and August The City of Santa Clarita’s exciting Concerts in the Park series, presented by Logix Federal Credit Union, makes its highly anticipated return this summer for friends, families and neighbors to gather under the evening sky and enjoy free, live musical performances on […]
The post Concerts in the Park is Back with a Fresh, New Lineup appeared first on City of Santa Clarita.
https://santaclarita.gov/blog/2024/04/15/concerts-in-the-park-is-back-with-a-fresh-new-lineup/
Lilbits: Apple allows game console emulators in the App Store now… but not this one
date: 2024-04-15, from: Liliputing
Earlier this month Apple updated its App Store guidelines to allow developers to distribute “retro game console emulators” for iOS and iPadOS for the first time. But it was unclear at first whether that meant all emulators were welcome, or if this was just a way to let game publishers offer emulators that would allow you to […]
The post Lilbits: Apple allows game console emulators in the App Store now… but not this one appeared first on Liliputing.
Is abortion about personal freedoms or states’ rights?
date: 2024-04-15, from: VOA News USA
Abortion is one of the central issues of the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign. President Joe Biden says access to abortion is an issue of personal freedom, while Republican candidate Donald Trump says states should continue to decide their own abortion laws. VOA Correspondent Scott Stearns reports.
https://www.voanews.com/a/is-abortion-about-personal-freedoms-or-states-rights-/7571164.html
Castaic volleyball earns first league home win, sweeps Hart
date: 2024-04-15, from: The Signal
Castaic Coyotes boys’ volleyball earned the program’s first home Foothill League win on Thursday after beating the visiting Hart Indians. The Coyotes won in straight sets, 25-16, 25-20, 25-20. Castaic served well and clicked right away to start the match. The team is hot off a tournament win in Las Vegas and seems to be […]
The post <strong>Castaic volleyball earns first league home win, sweeps Hart</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/04/castaic-volleyball-earns-first-league-home-win-sweeps-hart/
Tesla heads are rolling over critical projects at Gigafactory Texas
date: 2024-04-15, from: Electrek Feed
While Tesla is conducting broader layoffs, Electrek is learning that heads are rolling at Tesla over specific critical projects at Gigafactory Texas.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/15/tesla-heads-rolling-critical-projects-gigafactory-texas/
The Affordable Kia EV3 Will Be Released This Year
date: 2024-04-15, from: Inside EVs News
The Kia EV3 will be the first step to grow volume and meet the demand for reasonably priced EVs.
https://insideevs.com/news/716188/kia-ev3-release-2024-cheap/
Child & Family Center Offering Mental Health Seminar Series
date: 2024-04-15, from: SCV New (TV Station)
In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month in May, Child & Family Center is presenting a series of four seminars for parents and caregivers of children and teens. Each will be held at the Center’s Education Building on their campus at 21545 Centre Pointe Parkway, Santa Clarita. The first is Preventing Teen Suicide, discussing how…
The next full Moon is the Pink Moon, Sprouting Grass Moon, Egg Moon, Fish Moon, the Pesach or Passover Moon
date: 2024-04-15, from: NASA breaking news
The next full Moon will be Tuesday evening, April 23, 2024, The Moon will appear full for about 3 days around this time, from Monday morning to Thursday morning.
Celebrate series: Brazil cultural extravaganza
date: 2024-04-15, from: The Signal
Despite the cold overcast weather on Friday, numerous people made their way to the Canyon Country Community Center for the first 2024 city of Santa Clarita “Celebrate” series installment: Brazil. Brazil is known for its vibrant cultural costumes during Carnaval, an annual celebration with intricate and infectious rhythms such as Samba and high-energy dancing, which […]
The post Celebrate series: Brazil cultural extravaganza appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/04/celebrate-series-brazil-cultural-extravaganza/
Community members gather for Hart Park cleanup
date: 2024-04-15, from: The Signal
In preparation for the upcoming Cowboy Festival, members of the Santa Clarita Valley community gathered at William S. Hart Park on Saturday to spruce it up. With this being the first year that the festival is being held at Hart Park since 2019, Shaunasey Lane, director of Just Serve Valencia, organized a cleanup effort that […]
The post <strong>Community members gather for Hart Park cleanup</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/04/community-members-gather-for-hart-park-cleanup/
Matadors Gearing Up for Finals at CSUN’s ‘Crunch Time’
date: 2024-04-15, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The University Student Union at California State University, Northridge is helping Matadors keep their peace during finals season with “Crunch Time,” from Monday, May 6 to Thursday, May 16. Students will have the opportunity to grab breakfast and participate in fun activities like aroma blending and puppy petting. Free resources such as scantrons, green books,…
Fedora intends to fully embrace “AI”, but doesn’t address sourcing or its environmental impact
date: 2024-04-15, from: OS News
All weekend, I’ve been mulling over a recent blog post by Fedora Project Leader Matthew Miller, which he wrote and published on behalf of the Fedora Council. Fedora (the KDE version) is my distribution of choice, I love using it, and I consider it the best distribution for desktop use, and not by a close margin either. As such, reading a blog post in which Fedora is announcing plans to make extensive use of “AI” was bound to make me a feel a little uneasy. Miller states – correctly – that the “AI” space as it stands right now is dominated so much by hyperbole and over-the-top nonsense that it’s hard to judge the various technologies underpinning “AI” on merit alone. He continues that he believes that stripped of all the hyperbole and techbro bullshit, there’s “something significant, powerful”, and he wants to make “Fedora Linux the best community platform for AI”. So, what exactly does that look like? In addition to the big showy LLM-based tools for chat and code generation, these advances have brought big jumps for more tailored tasks: for translation, file search, home automation, and especially for accessibility (already a key part of our strategy). For example, open source speech synthesis has long lagged behind proprietary options. Now, what we have in Fedora is not even close to the realism, nuance, and flexibility of AI-generated speech. ↫ Matthew Miller Some of these are things we can all agree are important and worthwhile, but lacking on the Linux desktop. If we can make use of technologies labelled as “AI” to improve, say, text-to-speech on Linux for those who require it for accessibility reasons, that’s universally a great thing. Translation, too, is, at its core, a form of accessibility, and if we can improve machine translations so that people who, for instance, don’t speak English gain more access to English content, or if we can make the vast libraries of knowledge locked into foreign languages accessible to more people, that’s all good news. However, Fedora aims to take its use of “AI” even further, and wants to start using it in the process of developing, making, and distributing Fedora. This is where more and more red flags are starting to pop up for me, because I don’t feel like the processes and tasks they want to inject “AI” into are the kinds of processes and tasks where you want humans taken out of the equation. We can use AI/ML as part of making the Fedora Linux OS. New tools could help with package automation and bug triage. They could note anomalies in test results and logs, maybe even help identify potential security issues. We can also create infrastructure-level features for our users. For example, package update descriptions aren’t usually very meaningful. We could automatically generate concise summaries of what’s new in each system update — not just for each package, but highlighting what’s important in the whole set, including upstream change information as well. ↫ Matthew Miller Even the tools built atop billions and billions of euros of investments by Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, Facebook, and similar juggernauts are not exactly good at what they’re supposed to do, and suck at even the most basic of tasks of providing answers to simple questions. They lie, they make stuff up, they bug out and produce nonsense, they’re racist, and so on. I don’t want any of that garbage near the process of making and updating the operating system I rely on every day. Miller laments how “AI” is currently a closed-source, black box affair, which obviously doesn’t align with Fedora’s values and goals. He doesn’t actually explain how Fedora’s use of “AI” is going to address this. They’re going to have to find ethical, open source models that are also of high quality, and that’s a lot easier said than done. Sourcing doesn’t even get a single mention in this blog post, even though I’m fairly sure that’s one of the two major issues many of us have with the current crop of “AI” tools. The blog post also completely neglects to mention the environmental cost of training these “AI” tools. It costs an insane amount of electricity to train these new tools, and with climate change ever accelerating and the destruction of our environment visible all around us, not mentioning this problem when you’re leading a project like Fedora seems disingenuous at best, and malicious at worst. While using “AI” to improve accessibility tools in Fedora and the wider Linux world is laudable, some of the other intended targets seem more worrisome, especially when you take into account that the blog post makes no mention of the two single biggest problems with “AI”: sourcing, and its environmental impact. If Fedora truly intends to fully embrace “AI”, it’s going to have to address these two problems first, because otherwise they’re just trying to latch onto the hype without really understanding the cost. And that’s not something I want to hear from the leaders of my Linux distribution.
PuTTY vulnerability vuln-p521-bias
date: 2024-04-15, from: Tilde.news
https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/wishlist/vuln-p521-bias.html
Show Us Your Rad and Rowdy Motorcycle Tattoos
date: 2024-04-15, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
Let’s see your ink.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/716166/motorcycle-tattoo-comments-cool/
Framework’s software and firmware have been a mess, but it’s working on them
date: 2024-04-15, from: OS News
Framework puts a lot of effort into making its hardware easy to fix and upgrade and into making sure that hardware can stay useful down the line when it’s been replaced by something newer. But supporting that kind of reuse and recycling works best when paired with long-term software and firmware support, and on that front, Framework has been falling short. Framework will need to step up its game, especially if it wants to sell more laptops to businesses—a lucrative slice of the PC industry that Framework is actively courting. By this summer or fall, we’ll have some idea of whether its efforts are succeeding. ↫ Andrew Cunningham at Ars Technica A very painful read, and I’m disappointed to learn that the software support from Framework has been so lacklustre – or non-existent, to be more accurate. Leaving severel security vulnerabilities in firmware unpatched is a disgrace, and puts users at risk, while promising but not delivering updates that will unlock faster Thunderbolt speeds is just shitty. They have to do better, especially since their pitch is all about repairability and longevity. This article has made me more weary of spending any money on Framework – not that I have the money for a new laptop, because reasons – and I feel more people will feel this way after reading this.
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Major Disaster Declaration for California
date: 2024-04-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
WASHINGTON – FEMA announced that federal disaster assistance has been made available to the state of California to supplement recovery efforts in
The post President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Major Disaster Declaration for California appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
Free household hazardous and e-waste collection set for Saturday
date: 2024-04-15, from: The Signal
News release A free household hazardous and e-waste roundup is scheduled 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at College of the Canyons. The free Countywide Household Hazardous and E-Waste Roundup Program is brought to residents by the county of Los Angeles and presented by Los Angeles County Public Works and Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts […]
The post Free household hazardous and e-waste collection set for Saturday appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/04/free-household-hazardous-and-e-waste-collection-set-for-saturday/
Detectan Caso De Influenza Aviar “Gripe Aviar” en Texas
date: 2024-04-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) – Debido a un informe reciente de un caso aislado de influenza aviar altamente patógena (IAAP), o
The post Detectan Caso De Influenza Aviar “Gripe Aviar” en Texas appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/04/15/detectan-caso-de-influenza-aviar-gripe-aviar-en-texas/
Rivian launches new reliability scoring feature to make public EV charging easier
date: 2024-04-15, from: Electrek Feed
In its latest software update, Rivian added several helpful features to make public charging as easy as possible. A new reliability scoring feature is now available on every R1S and R1T to show the most reliable fast chargers on your trip.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/15/rivian-launches-new-reliability-scoring-ev-charging-easier/
Radxa ROCK 5 ITX: a first look
date: 2024-04-15, from: OS News
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the ROCK 5 ITX coming soon and since then, samples of the Rockchip RK3588-based Radxa ROCK 5 ITX have been landing on doorsteps (or service points, screw you, UPS) of a lucky group of people and somehow I was one of those, so here’s a first look at Radxa’s latest Single Board Computer in a Mini ITX form-factor! It’s going to be a photo-heavy post and I make no apologies for that, it’s a very nice-looking PCB, with the black and gold colour scheme looking very stylish. I imagine that was a very conscious decision seeing as, as expected, they’re marketing this as a low-power desktop option and you probably don’t want a plain Jane motherboard taking pride of place in your new system, right? ↫ Bret Weber Now this – this, my friends, is exactly what the doctor ordered. I can’t wait for standard, ATX motherboard sporting ARM processors to become more common and readily available, hopefully standardised better than what we’re used to from the ARM world. I want my next (non-gaming) machines to be ARM-powered, and that means we’re going to need more of these ATX ARM boards, spanning wider performance levels.
https://www.osnews.com/story/139295/radxa-rock-5-itx-a-first-look/
L.A. County Sites Identified for Possible Measles Exposure
date: 2024-04-15, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has been notified by the California Department of Public Health of one case of measles in a non-Los Angeles County resident who traveled throughout Los Angeles County from Saturday, March 30 to Sunday, April
https://scvnews.com/l-a-county-sites-identified-for-possible-measles-exposure/
Avian Influenza “Bird Flu” Case Detected in Texas
date: 2024-04-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) – Due to a recent report of an isolated case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or
The post Avian Influenza “Bird Flu” Case Detected in Texas appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/04/15/avian-influenza-bird-flu-case-detected-in-texas/
Unite to Light Opens Its Third Annual Call for Light Art
date: 2024-04-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
SANTA BARBARA, CA (12 April 2024)— Calling all artists, creatives, and innovators! Unite to Light, a non-profit organization based in
The post Unite to Light Opens Its Third Annual Call for Light Art appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/04/15/unite-to-light-opens-its-third-annual-call-for-light-art/
Male Bonobos, Close Human Relatives Long Thought to Be Peaceful, Are Actually Quite Aggressive, Study Suggests
date: 2024-04-15, from: Smithsonian Magazine
The new research found bonobos were three times more likely than chimpanzees to commit an act of physical aggression
GMK NucBox K9 is an Intel Meteor Lake mini PC with Thunderbolt 4 and 2.5 GbE LAN
date: 2024-04-15, from: Liliputing
The GMK NucBox K9 is a compact desktop computer with an Intel Core Ultra 5 125H Meteor Lake mobile processor with 14 CPU cores, 18 threads, and 7-core Intel Arc integrated graphics. GMK first unveiled the NucBox K9 in China in March, and now it’s available for purchase worldwide from AliExpress or the GMKTec website. Prices […]
The post GMK NucBox K9 is an Intel Meteor Lake mini PC with Thunderbolt 4 and 2.5 GbE LAN appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/gmk-k9-is-an-intel-meteor-lake-mini-pc-with-thunderbolt-4-and-2-5-gbe-lan/
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-04-15, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
A directory of completed audio fiction.
How Would China Weaponize Disinformation Against Taiwan in a Cross-Strait Conflict?
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: RAND blog
What might China’s future disinformation operations against Taiwan focus on and how can Taipei and its partners combat them? China would likely have at least five discrete audiences for disinformation operations in mind, with specific lines of effort and goals for each.
What If the Most Widely Used Climate Tool Doesn’t Work?
date: 2024-04-15, from: Heatmap News
About six months ago, a climate scientist from Arizona State University,
Stephanie Arcusa, emailed me a
provocative
new paper she had published that warned against our growing reliance
on life cycle analysis. This practice of measuring all of the emissions
related to a given product or service throughout every phase of its life
— from the time raw materials are extracted to eventual disposal — was
going to hinder our ability to achieve net-zero emissions, she wrote. It
was a busy time, and I let the message drift to the bottom of my inbox.
But I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Life cycle analysis permeates the climate economy. Businesses rely on it to understand their emissions so they can work toward reducing them. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s climate risk disclosure rule, which requires companies to report their emissions to investors, hinges on it. The clean hydrogen tax credit requires hydrogen producers to do a version of life cycle analysis to prove their eligibility. It is central to carbon markets, and carbon removal companies are now developing standards based on life cycle analysis to “certify” their services as carbon offset developers did before them.
At the same time, many of the fiercest debates in climate change are really debates about life cycle analysis. Should companies be held responsible for the emissions that are indirectly related to their businesses, and if so then which ones? Are carbon offsets a sham? Does using corn ethanol as a gasoline substitute reduce emissions or increase them? Scientists have repeatedly reached opposite conclusions on that one depending on how they accounted for the land required to grow corn and what it might have been used for had ethanol not been an option. Though the debate plays out in calculations, it’s really a philosophical brawl.
Everybody, for the most part, knows that life cycle analysis is difficult and thorny and imprecise. But over and over, experts and critics alike assert that it can be improved. Arcusa disagrees. Life cycle analysis, she says, is fundamentally broken. “It’s a problematic and uncomfortable conclusion to arrive at,” Arcusa wrote in her email. “On the one hand, it has been the only tool we have had to make any progress on climate. On the other, carbon accounting is captured by academia and vested interests and will jeopardize global climate goals.”
When I recently revisited the paper, I learned that Arcusa and her co-authors didn’t just critique life cycle analysis, they proposed a bold alternative. Their idea is not economically or politically easy, but it also doesn’t suffer from the problems of trying to track carbon throughout the supply chain. I recently called her up to talk through it. Our conversation has been edited for clarity.
Can you walk me through what the biggest issues with life cycle analysis are?
So, life cycle analysis is a qualitative tool —
It seems kind of counterintuitive or even controversial to call it a qualitative tool because it’s specifically trying to quantify something.
I think the best analogy for LCA is that it’s a back-of-the-envelope tool. If you really could measure everything, then sure, LCA is this wonderful idea. The problem is in the practicality of being able to collect all of that data. We can’t, and that leads us to use emissions factors and average numbers, and we model this and we model that, and we get so far away from reality that we actually can’t tell if something is positive or negative in the end.
The other problem is that it’s almost entirely subjective, which makes one LCA incomparable to another LCA depending on the context, depending on the technology. And yes, there are some standardization efforts that have been going on for decades. But if you have a ruler, no matter how much you try, it’s not going to become a screwdriver. We’re trying to use this tool to quantify things and make them the same for comparison, and we can’t because of that subjectivity.
In this space where there is a lot of money to be made, it’s very easy to manipulate things one way or another to make it look a little bit better because the method is not robust. That’s really the gist of the problems here.
One of the things you talk about in the paper is the way life cycle analysis is subject to different worldviews. Can you explain that?
It’s mostly seen in what to include or exclude in the LCA — it can have enormous impacts on the results. I think corn ethanol is the perfect example of how tedious this can be because we still don’t have an answer, precisely for that reason. The uncertainty range of the results has shrunk and gotten bigger and shrunk and gotten bigger, and it’s like, well, we still don’t know. And now, this exact same worldview debate is playing into what should be included and not included in certification for things [like carbon removal] that are going to be sold under the guise of climate action, and that just can’t be. We’ll be forever debating whether something is true.
Is this one of those things that scientists have been debating for ever, or is this argument that we should stop using life cycle analysis more of a fringe idea?
I guess I would call it a fringe idea today. There’s been plenty of criticism throughout the years, even from the very beginning when it was first created. What I have seen is that there is criticism, and then there is, “But here’s how we can solve it and continue using LCA!” I’ve only come across one other publication that specifically said, “This is not working. This is not the right tool,” and that’s from Michael Gillenwater. He’s at the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute. He was like, “What are we doing?” There might be other folks, I just haven’t come across them.
Okay, so what is the alternative to LCA that you’ve proposed in this paper?
LCA targets the middle of the supply chain, and tries to attribute responsibility there. But if you think about where on the supply chain the carbon is the most well-known, it is actually at the source, at the point of origin, before it becomes an emission. At the point where it is created out of the ground is where we know how much carbon there is. If we focus on that source through a policy that requires mandatory sequestration — for every ton of carbon that is now produced, there is a ton of carbon that’s been put away through carbon removal, and the accounting happens there, before it is sold to anybody — anybody who’s now downstream of that supply chain is already carbon neutral. There is no need to track carbon all the way down to the consumer.
We know this is accurate because that is where governments already collect royalties and taxes — they want to know exactly how much is being sold. So we already do this. The big difference is that the policy would be required there instead of taxing everybody downstream.
You’re saying that fossil fuel producers should be required to remove a ton of carbon from the atmosphere for every ton of carbon in the fuels they sell?
Yeah, and maybe I should be more specific. They should pay for an equal amount of carbon to be removed from the atmosphere. In no way are we implying that a fossil carbon producer needs to also be doing the sequestration themselves.
What would be the biggest challenges of implementing something like this?
The ultimate challenge is convincing people that we need to be managing carbon and that this is a waste management type of system. Nobody really wants to pay for waste management, and so it needs to be regulated and demanded by some authority.
What about the fact that we don’t really have the ability to remove carbon or store carbon at scale today, and may not for some time?
Yes, we need to build capacity so that eventually we can match the carbon production to the carbon removal, which is why we also proposed that the liability needs to start today, not in the future. That liability is as good as a credit card debt — you actually have to pay it. It can be paid little by little every year, but the liability is here now, and not in the future.
The risk in the system that I’m describing, or even the system that is currently being deployed, is that you have counterproductive technologies that are being developed. And by counterproductive, I mean [carbon removal] technologies that are producing more emissions than they are storing, and so they’re net-positive. You can create a technology that has no intention of removing more carbon than its sequesters. The intention is just to earn money.
Do you mean, like, the things that are supposed to be removing carbon from the atmosphere and sequestering it, they are using fossil fuels to do that, and end up releasing more carbon in the process?
Yeah, so basically, what we show in the paper is that when we get to full carbon neutrality, the market forces alone will eliminate those kinds of technologies that are counterproductive. The problem is during the transition, these technologies can be economically viable because they are cheaper than they would be if 100% of the fossil fuel they used was carbon neutral through carbon removal. And so in order to prevent those technologies from gaming the system, we need a way to artificially make the price of fossil carbon as expensive as it would be if 100% of that fossil carbon was covered by carbon removal.
That’s where the idea of permits comes in. For every amount that I produce, I now have an instant liability, which is a permit. Each of those permits has to be matched by carbon removal. And since we don’t have enough carbon removal, we have futures and these futures represent the promise of actually doing carbon removal.
What if we burn through the remaining carbon budget and we still don’t have the capacity to sequester enough carbon?
Well, then we’re going into very unchartered territory. Right now we’re just mindlessly going through this thinking that if we just reduce emissions it will be good. It won’t be good.
In the paper, you also argue against mitigating greenhouse gases other than carbon, and that seems pretty controversial to me. Why is that?
We’re not arguing against mitigating, per se. We’re arguing against lumping everything under the same carbon accounting framework because lumping hides the difficulty in actually doing something about it. It’s not that we shouldn’t mitigate other greenhouse gases — we must. It’s just that if we separate the problem of carbon away from the problem of methane, away from the problem of nitrous oxide, or CFCs, we can tackle them more effectively. Because right now, we’re trying to do everything under the same umbrella, and that doesn’t work. We don’t tackle drinking and driving by sponsoring better tires. That’s just silly, right? We wouldn’t do that. We would tackle drinking and driving on its own, and then we would tackle better tires in a different policy.
So the argument is: Most of climate change is caused by carbon; let’s tackle that separately from the others and leave tackling methane and nitrous oxide to purposefully created programs to tackle those things. Let’s not lump the calculations altogether, hiding all the differences and hiding meaningful action.
Is there still a role for life cycle analysis?
You don’t want to be regulating carbon using life cycle analysis. So you can use the life cycle analysis for qualitative purposes, but we’re pretending that it is a tool that can deliver accurate results, and it just doesn’t.
What has the response been like to this paper? What kind of feedback have you gotten?
Stunned silence!
Nobody has said anything?
In private, they have. Not in public. In private, it’s been a little bit like, “I’ve always thought this, but it seemed like there was no other way.” But then in public, think about it. Everything is built on LCA. It’s now in every single climate bill out there. Every single standard. Every single consulting company is doing LCA and doing carbon footprinting for companies. It’s a huge industry, so I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised to hear nothing publicly.
Yeah, I was gonna ask — I’ve been writing about the SEC rules and this idea that companies should start reporting their emissions to their investors, and that would all be based on LCA. There’s a lot of buy-in for that idea across the climate movement.
Yeah, but there’s definitely a fine line with make-believe. I think in many instances, we kid ourselves thinking that we’re going to have numbers that we can hang our hats on. In many instances we will not, and they will be challenged. And so at that point, what’s the point?
One thing I hear when I talk to people about this is, well, having an estimate is better than not having anything, or, don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good, or, we can just keep working to make them better and better. Why not?
I mean, I wouldn’t say don’t try. But when it comes to actually enforcing anything, it’s going to be extremely hard to prove a number. You could just be stuck in litigation for a long time and still not have an answer.
I don’t know, to me it just seems like an endless debate while time is ticking and we will just feel good because we’ll have thought we measured everything. But we’re still not doing anything.
https://heatmap.news/climate/life-cycle-analysis-study
What’s up with AI lately? Let’s start with soaring costs, public anger, regulations…
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
‘Obtaining genuine consent for training data collection is especially challenging’ industry sages say
The Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) has issued its seventh annual AI Index Report, which reports a thriving industry facing growing costs, regulations, and public concern.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/stanford_report_ai/
Rare 100-Year-Old Train Carriage Found Buried in Belgium
date: 2024-04-15, from: Smithsonian Magazine
The wooden LNER train wagon was a “removals truck” used to move people’s belongings between residences
The Demise of Email Forwarding Is Getting Closer
date: 2024-04-15, from: Michael Tsai
gastropod: A bunch of universities have just sent out notices that email forwarding is going to increasingly break in the very near future. The big email services, gmail, yahoo, outlook and apple, are going to start tightening the thumbscrews (strict SPF, DMARK and DKIM, but also other stuff) on April 1 (bad timing, that).I’d vaguely […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/04/15/the-demise-of-email-forwarding-is-getting-closer/
2025 Maserati GranCabrio Folgore: Finally, A New Convertible EV
date: 2024-04-15, from: Inside EVs News
Weighting only 176 pounds more than the coupe version, the Cabriolet is expected to perform like its hardtop sibling.
https://insideevs.com/news/716180/2025-maserati-grancabrio-folgore-reveal/
Gun supervisor gets 18 months in prison for fatal movie set shooting by Alec Baldwin
date: 2024-04-15, from: VOA News USA
santa fe, new mexico — A movie weapons supervisor was sentenced to 18 months in prison in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western film “Rust,” during a hearing Monday in which tearful family members and friends gave testimonials that included calls for justice and a punishment that would instill greater accountability for safety on film sets.
Movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted in March by a jury on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and has been held for more than a month at a county jail on the outskirts of Santa Fe.
Prosecutors blamed Gutierrez-Reed for unwittingly bringing live ammunition onto the set of “Rust” where it was expressly prohibited and for failing to follow basic gun safety protocols.
Gutierrez-Reed was unsuccessful in her plea for a lesser sentencing, telling the judge she was not the monster that people have made her out to be and that she had tried to do her best on the set despite not having “proper time, resources and staffing.”
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer for “Rust,” was pointing a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal on a movie set outside Santa Fe in October 2021 when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter. He is scheduled for trial in July at a courthouse in Santa Fe.
The sentence against Gutierrez-Reed was delivered by New Mexico Judge Mary Marlowe Summer, who is overseeing proceedings against Baldwin. The judge said anything less than the maximum sentence would not be appropriate given that Gutierrez-Reed’s recklessness amounted to a serious violent offense.
“You were the armorer, the one that stood between a safe weapon and a weapon that could kill someone,” the judge told Gutierrez-Reed. “You alone turned a safe weapon into a lethal weapon. But for you, Ms. Hutchins would be alive, a husband would have his partner and a little boy would have his mother.”
Gutierrez-Reed teared up as Hutchins’ agent, Craig Mizrahi, spoke about the cinematographer’s creativity and described her as a rising star in Hollywood. He said it was a chain of events that led to Hutchins’ death and that had the armorer been doing her job, that chain would have been broken.
Los Angeles-based attorney Gloria Allred read a statement by Hutchins’ mother, Olga Solovey, who said her life had been split in two and that time didn’t heal, rather it only prolonged her pain and suffering. A video of a tearful Solovey, who lives in Ukraine, also was played for the court.
“It’s the hardest thing to lose a child. There’s no words to describe,” Solovey said in her native language.
Defense attorneys for Gutierrez-Reed requested leniency in sentencing — including a possible conditional discharge that would avoid further jail time and leave an adjudication of guilt off her record if certain conditions are met.
Gutierrez-Reed was acquitted at trial of allegations she tampered with evidence in the “Rust” investigation. She also has pleaded not guilty to a separate felony charge that she allegedly carried a gun into a bar in Santa Fe where firearms are prohibited.
Defense attorneys have highlighted Gutierrez-Reed’s relatively young age “and the devastating effect a felony will have on her life going forward.”
They said the 26-year-old will forever be affected negatively by intense publicity associated with her prosecution in parallel with an A-list actor, and has suffered from anxiety, fear and depression as a result.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey urged the judge to impose the maximum prison sentence and designate Gutierrez-Reed as a “serious violent offender” to limit her eligibility for a sentence reduction later, describing the defendant’s behavior on the set of “Rust” as exceptionally reckless.
Defense attorneys argued Monday that Gutierrez-Reed was remorseful and had breakdowns over Hutchins’ death. They also pointed to systemic problems that led to the shooting.
“Rust” assistant director and safety coordinator Dave Halls last year pleaded no contest to negligent handling of a firearm and completed a sentence of six months unsupervised probation. “Rust” props master Sarah Zachry, who shared some responsibilities over firearms on the set of “Rust,” signed an agreement with prosecutors to avoid prosecution in return with her cooperation.
NSTableView With SwiftUI
date: 2024-04-15, from: Michael Tsai
Edvinas Byla (via Dave Verwer): The [LazyVGrid] user experience isn’t great, but it’s still probably okayish for a version 1.0.0 release. The performance issues are less noticeable with fewer items unless you’re used to high-quality apps. But then there was this one thing that bugged me: the behavior of the context menu.On macOS, right-clicking an […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/04/15/nstableview-with-swiftui/
Keeping Your Data From Apple Is Harder Than Expected
date: 2024-04-15, from: Michael Tsai
Minna Tiainen (via Hacker News): The researchers studied eight apps: Safari, Siri, Family Sharing, iMessage, FaceTime, Location Services, Find My and Touch ID. They collected all publicly available privacy-related information on these apps, from technical documentation to privacy policies and user manuals. The fragility of the privacy protections surprised even the researchers. ‘Due to the […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/04/15/keeping-your-data-from-apple-is-harder-than-expected/
GM Stops Sharing Driver Data With Brokers
date: 2024-04-15, from: Michael Tsai
Jonathan M. Gitlin (Hacker News): After public outcry, General Motors has decided to stop sharing driving data from its connected cars with data brokers. Last week, news broke that customers enrolled in GM’s OnStar Smart Driver app have had their data shared with LexisNexis and Verisk. Those data brokers in turn shared the information with […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/04/15/gm-stops-sharing-driver-data-with-brokers/
One-Third Of U.S. EV Sales In Q1 2024 Were Tesla Model Ys
date: 2024-04-15, from: Inside EVs News
Sales of Tesla’s ubiquitous Model Y crossover are still going strong, even despite the EV market slowdown.
https://insideevs.com/news/716123/tesla-model-y-one-third/
Maserati launches new tri-motor GranCabrio Folgore convertible that goes 0-100 km/h in 2.8 sec
date: 2024-04-15, from: Electrek Feed
As promised earlier today, Maserati has officially launched its third all-electric model, the GranCabrio Folgore, during its “Folgore Day” event in Rimini, Italy. We were on location for the debut of the new Maserati convertible, which features three all-electric motors and impressive performance specs.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/15/maserati-new-tri-motor-grancabrio-folgore-convertible-ev-electric/
Ethiopia’s Sisay Lemma, Kenya’s Hellen Obiri win Boston Marathon
date: 2024-04-15, from: VOA News USA
BOSTON — Sisay Lemma scorched the first half of the Boston Marathon course on Monday, setting a record pace to build a lead of more than half of a mile.
Then the weather heated up, and the 34-year-old Ethiopian slowed down.
After running alone for most of the morning, Lemma held on down Boylston Street to finish in 2 hours, 6 minutes, 17 seconds — the 10th fastest time in the race’s 128-year history. Lemma dropped to the pavement and rolled onto his back, smiling, after crossing the finish line.
“Until halfway through I was running very hard and very good. But after that it was getting harder and harder,” said Lemma, who failed to finish twice and came in 30th in three previous Boston attempts. “Several times I’ve dropped out of the race before. But today I won, so I’ve redeemed myself.”
Hellen Obiri defended her title, outkicking Sharon Lokedi on Boylston Street to finish in 2:27:37 and win by eight seconds; two-time Boston champion Edna Kiplagat completed the Kenyan sweep, finishing another 36 seconds back.
Obiri also won New York last fall and is among the favorites for the Paris Olympics. She is the sixth woman to win back-to-back in Boston and the first since Catherine “the Great” Ndereba won four in six years from 2000 to ’05.
“Defending the title was not easy. Since Boston started, it’s only six women. So I said, ‘Can I be one of them? If you want to be one of them, you have to work extra hard,’” she said. “And I’m so happy because I’m now one of them. I’m now in the history books in Boston.”
Lemma, the 2021 London champion, arrived in Boston with the fastest time in the field — just the fourth person ever to break 2:02:00 when he won in Valencia last year. And he showed it on the course Monday, separating himself from the pack in Ashland and opening a lead of more than half of a mile.
Lemma ran the first half in 1:00:19 — 99 seconds faster than Geoffrey Mutai’s course record pace in 2011, when his 2:03:02 was the fastest marathon in history. Fellow Ethiopian Mohamed Esa closed the gap through the last few miles, finishing second by 41 seconds; two-time defending champion Evans Chebet was third.
Each winner collected a gilded olive wreath and $150,000 from a total prize purse that topped $1 million for the first time.
On a day when sunshine and temperatures rising into the mid-60s left the runners reaching for water — to drink, and to dump over their heads — Obiri ran with an unusually large lead pack of 15 through Brookline before breaking away in the final few miles.
Emma Bates of Boulder, Colorado, finished 12th — her second straight year as the top American. Again, she found herself leading the race through the 30-kilometer mark, slapping hands as she ran past the Wellesley College students chanting her name before fading on the way out of Heartbreak Hill.
“I thought last year was crazy loud, but this year surpassed that completely,” Bates said. “It was such a nice day for the spectators. Not so nice for the runners; it was pretty hot.”
CJ Albertson of Fresno, California, was the top American man in seventh, his second top-10 finish.
Switzerland’s Marcel Hug righted himself after crashing into a barrier when he took a turn too fast and still coasted to a course record in the men’s wheelchair race. It was his seventh Boston win and his 14th straight major marathon victory.
Hug already had a four-minute lead about 18 miles in when he reached the landmark firehouse turn in Newton, where the course heads onto Commonwealth Avenue on its way to Heartbreak Hill. He spilled into the fence, flipping sideways onto his left wheel, but quickly restored himself.
“It was my fault,” Hug said. “I had too much weight, too much pressure from above to my steering, so I couldn’t steer.”
Hug finished in 1:15:33, winning by 5:04 and breaking his previous course record by 1:33. Britain’s Eden Rainbow-Cooper, 22, won the women’s wheelchair race in 1:35:11 for her first major marathon victory; she is the third-youngest woman to win the Boston wheelchair race.
The otherwise sleepy New England town of Hopkinton celebrated its 100th anniversary as the starting line for the world’s oldest and most prestigious marathon, sending off a field of 17 former champions and nearly 30,000 other runners on its way. Near the finish on Boylston Street 26.2 miles (42.2 kilometers) away, officials observed the anniversary of the 2013 bombing that killed three and wounded hundreds more.
Sunny skies and minimal wind greeted the runners, with temperatures in the 40s as they gathered in Hopkinton rising to 69 as the stragglers crossed the finish line in the afternoon. As the field went through Natick, the fourth of eight cities and towns on the route, athletes splashed water on themselves to cool off.
“We couldn’t ask for a better day,” former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, the grand marshal, said before climbing into an electric car that would carry him along the course. “The city of Boston always comes out to support, no matter the event. The weather is perfection, the energy is popping.”
The festivities began around 6 a.m., when race director Dave McGillivray sent about 30 Massachusetts National Guard members off. Lt. Col. Paula Reichert Karsten, one of the marchers, said she wanted to be part of a “quintessential Massachusetts event.”
The start line was painted to say “100 years in Hopkinton,” commemorating the 1924 move from Ashland to Hopkinton to conform to the official Olympic Marathon distance. The announcer welcomed the gathering crowds to the “sleepy little town of Hopkinton, 364 days of the year.”
“In Hopkinton, it’s probably the coolest thing about the town,” said Maggie Agosto, a 16-year-old resident who went to the start line with a friend to watch the race.
The annual race on Patriots’ Day, the state holiday that commemorates the start of the Revolutionary War, also fell on One Boston Day, when the city remembers the victims of the 2013 finish line bombings. Before the race, bagpipes accompanied Gov. Maura Healey, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and members of the victims’ families as they laid a pair of wreaths at the sites of the explosions.
https://www.voanews.com/a/ethiopia-sisay-lemma-kenya-hellen-obiri-win-boston-marathon/7571079.html
GMK G5 is a 2.8 inch mini PC with Intel N97 for $170 and up
date: 2024-04-15, from: Liliputing
The GMK G5 is a palm-sized computer that measure just 72 x 72 x 45mm (2.8″ x 2.8″ x 1.8″). But it’s a full-fledged desktop computer, albeit a low-power one. Inside the computer’s little case you’ll find a 12-watt Intel N97 quad-core processor with Intel UHD integrated graphics. The computer also has 12GB of RAM soldered […]
The post GMK G5 is a 2.8 inch mini PC with Intel N97 for $170 and up appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/gmk-g5-is-a-2-8-inch-mini-pc-with-intel-n97-for-170-and-up/
Can Studying Combat in the Black Sea Improve the Chinese Navy?
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: RAND blog
Chinese military strategists have been watching the Ukraine War closely, and events in the Black Sea with special attention. Why would China be interested in uncovering the secrets of Ukraine’s success against a much larger fleet?
The Home Page | Festivities, Flowers, and Downtown Gems
date: 2024-04-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
This edition of The Home Page was originally emailed to subscribers on April 14, 2024. To receive Sarah Sinclair’s real estate
The post The Home Page | Festivities, Flowers, and Downtown Gems appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/04/15/the-home-page-festivities-flowers-and-downtown-gems/
Fisker adds new US dealer and several more in Europe as extreme price cuts take effect
date: 2024-04-15, from: Electrek Feed
California-based EV startup Fisker signed a new dealer in Miami and several in Europe as it fights to turn things around. After announcing massive price cuts on its Ocean electric SUV last month, Fisker looks to grow its dealer network.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/15/fisker-adds-new-dealers-extreme-price-cuts-take-effect/
Santa Barbara illustrator launches long-anticipated art shop Danvillage
date: 2024-04-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Santa Barbara, CA – Today marks the long awaited official launch of Danvillage Art Lab, an innovative apparel and art
The post Santa Barbara illustrator launches long-anticipated art shop Danvillage appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
I’m AirChatting
date: 2024-04-15, from: Om Malik blog
There have been multiple attempts to create a new social network that tries to mimic Twitter as a short-text-oriented real-time platform ever since Twitter (nee X) started to fray. Mastodon is the choice of the proponents of the Indie web; BlueSky, a network promoted by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, and Warpcast, which has its roots in the decentralized …
https://om.co/2024/04/15/im-airchatting/
SWOT Satellite Helps Gauge the Depth of Death Valley’s Temporary Lake
date: 2024-04-15, from: NASA breaking news
Data from the international Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission helped researchers to calculate the depth of water in this transient freshwater body. California’s Death Valley, the driest place in North America, has hosted an ephemeral lake since late 2023. A NASA-led analysis recently calculated water depths in the temporary lake over several weeks in […]
Tesla puts ‘$25,000 electric car’ codenamed NV9 on back burner despite what Elon Musk said
date: 2024-04-15, from: Electrek Feed
Electrek can confirm that Tesla indeed put its upcoming ‘$25,000 electric car, sometimes referred to as ‘Model 2’, on the back burner despite what Elon Musk said.
The project was codenamed NV9.
Here’s Your First Look At The Cadillac Optiq’s Interior
date: 2024-04-15, from: Inside EVs News
The Optiq will slot below the Lyriq, making it Cadillac’s most affordable new EV when it goes on sale later this year.
https://insideevs.com/news/716107/cadillac-optiq-interior-photos-china/
Watch a Honda Gold Wing Take On Montana’s BDR Treacherous Off-Road Trails
date: 2024-04-15, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
Matt Spears takes his girlfriend along for an unforgettable two-up adventure aboard Piggy the Enduro Gold Wing.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/716036/matt-spears-goldwing-magruder-corridor-montana-bdr/
Senator Warren slams Intuit’s ‘junk fees’ as America’s Tax Day rolls around again
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Says the IRS can do this stuff for free
As Americans go through their annual ceremony of tax day, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has reminded the FTC that tax software biz Intuit is making bank on “junk fees.”…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/warren_intuit_tax/
GestureX: control your Linux machine with hand gestures
date: 2024-04-15, from: OS News
GestureX enables you to control your Linux PC using hand gestures. You can assign specific commands or functionalities to different hand gestures, allowing for hands-free interaction with your computer. ↫ GestureX GitHub page I personally see no use for any of this, but I’m sure there are some interesting accessibility uses for technology like this, which in and of itself make it a worthwhile endeavour to work on. Do note, though, that this is all beta, so there’s bound to be issues.
https://www.osnews.com/story/139290/gesturex-control-your-linux-machine-with-hand-gestures/
Seeing the Solar Eclipse from 223,000 Miles Away
date: 2024-04-15, from: NASA breaking news
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured the April 8, 2024, solar eclipse from hundreds of thousands of miles away. The camera suite aboard the LRO usually retrieves high resolution black and white images of the Moon’s surface; these images provide knowledge of polar illumination conditions, identify potential resources, hazards, and enable safe landing site selection. […]
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/seeing-the-solar-eclipse-from-223000-miles-away/
Maserati Ramps Up Its Electrification Plans, With One Big Caveat
date: 2024-04-15, from: Inside EVs News
Maserati has big plans to move on from screaming Ferrari V8 engines, while keeping sounds and rumbles for future EVs too.
https://insideevs.com/news/716170/maserati-folgore-day-announcement/
Apple’s mysterious fisheye projection
date: 2024-04-15, from: OS News
If you’ve read my first post about Spatial Video, the second about Encoding Spatial Video, or if you’ve used my command-line tool, you may recall a mention of Apple’s mysterious “fisheye” projection format. Mysterious because they’ve documented a CMProjectionType.fisheye enumeration with no elaboration, they stream their immersive Apple TV+ videos in this format, yet they’ve provided no method to produce or playback third-party content using this projection type. Additionally, the format is undocumented, they haven’t responded to an open question on the Apple Discussion Forums asking for more detail, and they didn’t cover it in their WWDC23 sessions. As someone who has experience in this area – and a relentless curiosity – I’ve spent time digging-in to Apple’s fisheye projection format, and this post shares what I’ve learned. ↫ Mike Swanson There is just so much cool technology crammed into the Vision Pro, from the crazy displays down to, apparently, the encoding format for spatial video. Too bad Apple seems to have forgotten that a technology is not a product, as even the most ardent Apple supporterts – like John Gruber, or the hosts of ATP – have stated their Vision Pro devices are lying unused, collecting dust, just months after launch.
https://www.osnews.com/story/139288/apples-mysterious-fisheye-projection/
TED, AI, and the test of time
date: 2024-04-15, from: Gary Marcus blog
How well did last year’s talks hold up?
https://garymarcus.substack.com/p/ted-ai-and-the-test-of-time
NASA Welcomes Switzerland as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory
date: 2024-04-15, from: NASA breaking news
Switzerland became the 37th country to sign the Artemis Accords at NASA Headquarters in Washington on Monday, April 15, affirming Switzerland’s commitment to the sustainable and beneficial use of space for all humankind. “Today, we marked a giant leap forward in the partnership between the United States and Switzerland,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “As […]
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-welcomes-switzerland-as-newest-artemis-accords-signatory/
Bookends 15.0.1
date: 2024-04-15, from: TidBITS blog
https://tidbits.com/watchlist/bookends-15-0-1/
Samsung snags $6.4B in CHIPS Act funds for Texas fabs
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-16, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Work in Austin, Taylor will include new 2nm facility, packaging plant, and Pentagon partnership
Samsung is the latest chipmaker to benefit from CHIPS and Science Act funds, with the US Commerce Department today announcing the Korean megacorporation is getting $6.4 billion in funding to expand its Texas operations. …
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/samsung_snags_64b_in_chips/
‘Spectacular’ Frescoes of Helen of Troy, Apollo and Zeus Unearthed Among the Ruins of Pompeii
date: 2024-04-15, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Found in an ancient dining hall, the artworks depict characters associated with the Trojan War
Yadea Artist launched as impressive $499 full-suspension electric scooter
date: 2024-04-15, from: Electrek Feed
Yadea, a global leader in electric mobility including scooters, mopeds, e-bikes, and more, has just launched two new full-suspension electric scooters. The Yadea Artist offers a lightweight, affordable ride, while the Yadea Elite Max adds more power and performance to the package.
Listen Later Adds Features Requested by TidBITS Readers
date: 2024-04-15, from: TidBITS blog
The Listen Later text-to-podcast service now features outro music after each podcast episode and provides a Chrome extension for easier submission. Also, if a paywall is blocking you from converting an article to a podcast, TidBITS readers have developed a workaround.
https://tidbits.com/2024/04/15/listen-later-adds-features-requested-by-tidbits-readers/
U.S. Measles Cases Are Rising in 2024, CDC Warns
date: 2024-04-15, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Health officials urge vaccination against the highly contagious virus, which has caused 121 infections in the country this year
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/us-measles-cases-are-rising-in-2024-cdc-warns-180984150/
On AI agents: how are these digital butlers supposed to get paid?
date: 2024-04-15, from: Dave Karpf’s blog
FILE UNDER: the trajectory of any new technology bends toward money.
https://davekarpf.substack.com/p/on-ai-agents-how-are-these-digital
AI Applications – a new article type for PeerJ Computer Science
date: 2024-04-15, from: PeerJ blog
In response to requests from the community, we are pleased to introduce a new article type in PeerJ Computer Science aimed at showcasing innovative applications of artificial intelligence techniques – ‘AI Applications’. AI Application articles present research relating to the study of artificial intelligence techniques – such as machine learning, deep learning, computer vision, natural […]
China Paid Billions In Aid To Local EV Makers, Including Tesla, To Dominate The Market: Study
date: 2024-04-15, from: Inside EVs News
BYD was the biggest beneficiary of China’s support scheme, raking $3.7 billion in direct subsidies.
https://insideevs.com/news/716063/china-ev-subsidies-byd-tesla-billions-study/
Rivian R1S climbs to fourth best-selling EV in the US in Q1, tops Hyundai IONIQ 5, VW ID.4
date: 2024-04-15, from: Electrek Feed
Rivian’s electric SUV continues attracting new buyers in the US. In the first three months of the year, the Rivian R1S became the fourth best-selling EV in the US, topping Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 and the Volkswagen ID.4.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/15/rivian-r1s-tops-hyundai-ioniq-5-vw-id-4-fourth-top-selling-ev/
FBI opens investigation into Baltimore bridge collapse
date: 2024-04-15, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/fbi-opens-investigation-into-baltimore-bridge-collapse/7570884.html
Save $525 on Greenworks Venture mountain e-bike for $1,575, Jackery power station hits $849, and more
date: 2024-04-15, from: Electrek Feed
Kicking off this week’s green deals are three discounts to all-time lows, both new and returning. Headlining the offers is Greenworks’ new Venture 80V 26-inch Fat Tire Mountain e-bike that returns for its second official discount to the $1,575 low. It is joined by Jackery’s Explorer 1000 Plus Portable Power Station that just hit a new $849 low, as well as another one-day sale on the Greenworks 80V 26-inch Cordless Electric Hedge Trimmer at its $175 low. Plus, you’ll find all of the other day’s other best Green Deals below.
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.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/15/greenworks-venture-mountain-e-bike-jackery-power-station-and-more/
US lawmakers rage over Intel Meteor Lake-powered Huawei PC
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Special export license granted to Intel by President Trump unlikely to be renewed
Huawei’s launch of its newest MateBook Pro X, which uses Intel’s latest Meteor Lake CPU has invoked the ire of Republican members of Congress in the US.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/american_legislators_in_arms_over/
Forget the Milano EV – Alfa Romeo changes name to something non-Italian-sounding
date: 2024-04-15, from: Electrek Feed
The ongoing tensions between Italy and Alfa Romeo’s parent company Stellantis reached a head last week when the Italian government told the automaker that naming its upcoming Alfa Romeo EV the Milano was against the law because the car will be built in Poland. So now Alfa Romeo has decided to change the name to something that won’t evoke any feelings of la dolce vita or desire for delicious Pepperidge Farm cookies, or any emotions at all for that matter. Besides total blandness.
34 Years of TidBITS and New Mac App Discounts for Members
date: 2024-04-15, from: TidBITS blog
It’s our 34th anniversary today, and Adam Engst marks the occasion by sharing some thoughts and stats about where TidBITS is now, along with new discounts on apps from the Ukrainian companies Belight Software and MacPaw.
https://tidbits.com/2024/04/15/34-years-of-tidbits-and-new-mac-app-discounts-for-members/
Alfa Romeo Milano Now Named ‘Junior’ Because Of Italian Law Protecting Cheese
date: 2024-04-15, from: Inside EVs News
The car will be built in Poland, not Italy, which means it’s not allowed to bear an Italian-sounding name.
https://insideevs.com/news/716161/alfa-romeo-junior-rename-milano/
California exceeds 100% of energy demand with renewables over a record 30 days
date: 2024-04-15, from: Electrek Feed
In a major clean energy benchmark, wind, solar, and hydro exceeded 100% of demand on California’s main grid for 30 of the past 38 days.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/15/renewables-met-100-percent-california-energy-demand-30-days/
US citizen arrested in Moscow on drug charges appears in court
date: 2024-04-15, from: VOA News USA
Moscow — A U.S. citizen arrested on drug charges in Moscow amid soaring Russia-U.S. tensions over Ukraine appeared in court on Monday.
Robert Woodland Romanov is facing charges of trafficking large amounts of illegal drugs as part of an organized group — a criminal offense punishable by up to 20 years in prison. He was remanded into custody in January, and the trial began in the Ostankino District Court in late March. A new court hearing is scheduled for next week.
In January, the U.S. State Department said it was aware of reports of the recent detention of a U.S. citizen and noted that it “has no greater priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas,” but refrained from further comment, citing privacy considerations. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow issued a similar statement at the time.
Russian media noted that the name of the accused matches that of a U.S. citizen interviewed by the popular daily Komsomolskaya Pravda in 2020.
In the interview, the man said that he was born in the Perm region in the Ural Mountains in 1991 and was adopted by an American couple when he was two. He said that he traveled to Russia to find his Russian mother and eventually met her in a TV show in Moscow.
The man told Komsomolskaya Pravda that he liked living in Russia and decided to move there. The newspaper reported that he settled in the town of Dolgoprudny just outside Moscow and was working as an English teacher at a local school.
Arrests of Americans in Russia have become increasingly common as relations between Moscow and Washington sink to Cold War lows. Washington accuses Moscow of targeting its citizens and using them as political bargaining chips, but Russian officials insist they all broke the law.
Some have been exchanged for Russians held in the U.S., while for others, the prospects of being released in a swap are less clear.
@Chris Coyier blog (date: 2024-04-15, from: Chris Coyier blog)
I’ve heard the new cooperative version of Scrabble made fun of a few times. These pansy youths just wanna hold hands, drink warm milk, and avoid any conflict. Whatever. Nobody is threatening the value of competition. Me, I think cooperative games are awesome. There are still challenges. You work together to solve them. Like, I […]
https://chriscoyier.net/2024/04/15/11282/
2024 Cowboy Festival Road Closures, Parking and Public Transportation Details
date: 2024-04-15, from: City of Santa Clarita
The 28th Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival makes its anticipated return to William S. Hart Park (24141 Newhall Avenue) this upcoming weekend! Residents are encouraged to prepare for road closures around the event site and plan transportation accordingly for Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21. The 2024 Cowboy Festival is expected to draw thousands of […]
The post 2024 Cowboy Festival Road Closures, Parking and Public Transportation Details appeared first on City of Santa Clarita.
Tesla’s Top Engineering Exec Departs As 10% Of Workforce Gets Cut
date: 2024-04-15, from: Inside EVs News
Two top Tesla executives resigned on Monday as layoffs rocked the electric automaker.
https://insideevs.com/news/716164/tesla-executive-drew-baglino-resigns/
No injuries in Canyon Country attic fire
date: 2024-04-15, from: The Signal
No injuries were reported after a two-story home in Canyon Country caught fire Monday morning, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department officials. Personnel with the L.A County Fire Department received reports of a house fire on the 18000 block of Utopia Court in Canyon Country at 8:25 a.m. Monday and arrived at the scene […]
The post <strong>No injuries in Canyon Country attic fire</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/04/no-injuries-in-canyon-country-attic-fire/
The U.S. Paid $580 Million In Point-Of-Sale EV Tax Credits So Far This Year
date: 2024-04-15, from: Inside EVs News
The IRS received roughly 100,000 time-of-sale EV reports since January 1.
https://insideevs.com/news/716072/point-of-sale-ev-rebates-580-million-april-2024/
Japan turns up heat on Apple, Google with threat of hefty fines
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Antitrust proposals could stretch to 30% of annual revenues for law-breaking app store monopolies
Apple, Google, and other Big Tech players could be fined 20 or even 30 percent of their sales in Japan if they break newly proposed regulations on abusive app store monopolies.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/japan_app_store_monopolies/
Landslide Causes Road Closures Along California’s Highway 1
date: 2024-04-15, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
A portion of Highway 1 has been closed off as a chunk of the road collapsed following a recent storm.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/715686/landslide-road-collapse-california-highway1/
NASA Sets Path to Return Mars Samples, Seeks Innovative Designs
date: 2024-04-15, from: NASA breaking news
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson shared on Monday the agency’s path forward on the Mars Sample Return program, including seeking innovative designs to return valuable samples from Mars to Earth. Such samples will not only help us understand the formation and evolution of our solar system but can be used to prepare for future human explorers […]
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-sets-path-to-return-mars-samples-seeks-innovative-designs/
Tesla’s head of policy and business dev leaves
date: 2024-04-15, from: Electrek Feed
Tesla’s head of policy and business development, Rohan Patel, has left the automaker and he is the second executive to do so today.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/15/teslas-head-policy-business-dev-leaves/
Philippines says it will not grant US access to more bases
date: 2024-04-15, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/philippines-says-it-will-not-grant-u-s-access-to-more-bases-/7570756.html
A’s relocation: Last Dive Bar, Oakland 68s taking ‘SELL’ movement to Sacramento ballgame
date: 2024-04-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
The grassroots movement of A’s fans opposing the club’s move to Sacramento and Las Vegas will continue at Sutter Health Park.
Tesla decimates staff amid ongoing performance woe
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Shares of the worst performing member of the S&P 500 slide some more as news unlikely to please investors
Tesla is starting the week on a low note by laying off “more than” 10 percent of its employees just days after Cybertruck production was reportedly halted to address an issue with the accelerator pedal.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/tesla_lays_off_10_percent/
Jeep says its new Wagoneer S electric SUV can rival Tesla’s Model Y to charge up sales
date: 2024-04-15, from: Electrek Feed
Jeep has high hopes for its first 100% electric SUV in the US. The rugged SUV brand is preparing to reverse slumping sales with new EVs that Jeep believes can compete with the best. Jeep’s CEO, Antonio Filosa, believes the Wagoneer S electric SUV can take market share from Tesla’s best-selling Model Y.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/15/jeep-new-wagoneer-s-electric-suv-rival-tesla-model-y/
Lenovo Chromebox Micro hits retail for $244 and up (phone-sized ChromeOS computer)
date: 2024-04-15, from: Liliputing
The Lenovo Chromebox Micro is a tiny computer that’s about the size of a smartphone, giving it a space-saving design and making it easy to transport from place to place. First announced in December, the Lenovo Chromebox Micro is aimed at business customers. But it’s recently started showing up at online stores including B&H, CDW, […]
The post Lenovo Chromebox Micro hits retail for $244 and up (phone-sized ChromeOS computer) appeared first on Liliputing.
En La Semana De Concientización De Infecciones De Transmisión Sexual Hazte La Prueba
date: 2024-04-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Plantilla de comunicado de prensa (SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) — El Departamento de Salud Pública del Condado de Santa Bárbara (SBCPHD,
The post En La Semana De Concientización De Infecciones De Transmisión Sexual Hazte La Prueba appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
Wine on the Roof Tickets Still Available
date: 2024-04-15, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Live jazz music, entertainment by talented William S. Hart Union High School District Students, music by Lance Allyn, be treated to happy hour, plus six seated courses - each one created by a different chef from your favorite local restaurants and paired with fabulous wines, local and statewide
https://scvnews.com/wine-on-the-roof-tickets-still-available/
Get Tested for Sexually Transmitted Infections Awareness Week
date: 2024-04-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
press release template (SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) — Santa Barbara County Public Health Department (SBCPHD) is joining the California Department of
The post Get Tested for Sexually Transmitted Infections Awareness Week appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
End-Stage Poverty Is Killing People in Safety Net-Free America
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/04/end-stage-poverty-is-killing-people-in-safety-net-free-america
The “think of a number” fallacy
date: 2024-04-15, from: Paolo Valdemarin’s blog
Some time a go a colleague commenting on the idea of iterative prompting, suggested to ask GPT to “think about something” and then make a decision on what to write or not to write. The problem with this approach is that a session with an LLM doesn’t really have a memory outside the actual text … Continue reading “The “think of a number” fallacy”
https://val.demar.in/2024/04/the-think-of-a-number-fallacy/
Two-car crash results in fatality on Highway 4
date: 2024-04-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
The wreck marked the second fatal one on Highway 4 in 2024; there were 15 in 2023.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/04/15/two-car-crash-results-in-fatality-on-highway-4/
Why Oil Traders Are Not Freaking Out Today
date: 2024-04-15, from: Heatmap News
Iran and Israel’s proxy conflict escalated into direct strikes over the weekend and oil prices have hardly budged. So far on Monday, the Brent crude oil benchmark is hovering around $89.50 a barrel, a 1-ish% dip for the day.
This has been the story of the conflict so far: While oil prices rose following Hamas’s October 7 attack on Southern Israel and the beginning of Israel’s invasion of Gaza, they’re now back to where they were for much of September, and are down substantially from their summer 2022 highs.
It remains to be seen how, exactly, Israel will respond to the attack by Iranian drones, but oil markets are still largely relaxed. By the end of last week, explained Eurasia Group analyst Greg Brew, the markets had already “priced in” an Iranian attack, pushing prices above $90.
Brew pointed to both the United States and Iran indicating that “further escalation is being actively discouraged” as one cause for the market’s relative relaxation so far today.
“The market is down a bit, though there is still a lot of anxiety regarding whether Israel’s response to the attack creates more escalatory pressure,” he told me. “So we’re still in a wait-and-see pattern.”
Despite the escalation, oil markets apparently still don’t see the conflict spinning out of control. “Crude essentially unchanged to start the week,” oil analyst Rory Johnston tweeted Sunday. “Iran’s reaction perfectly priced in.”
https://heatmap.news/sparks/iran-israel-oil-markets
Woman shot while sitting in car in Oakland
date: 2024-04-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
The shooting happened about 9:30 p.m. Sunday at Parker Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/04/15/woman-shot-while-sitting-in-car-in-oakland/
Backblaze cloud storage buzzes with added Event Notifications
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
If you want open system to automate workflows over platform of your choosing, join the queue
Cloud storage provider Backblaze is adding Event Notifications to its portfolio, sending out an alert whenever data in its Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage changes.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/backblaze_event_notifications/
Alaska is ready for another record-breaking cruise season
date: 2024-04-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
Cruise lines at various pricing tiers will make frequent excursions to the 49th state, a definite ‘bucket list’ destination.
Rivian’s Latest Software Update Actually Rates Public Charging
date: 2024-04-15, from: Inside EVs News
We chat with RIvian’s VP of Software about how the new software will improve the customer experience.
https://insideevs.com/news/716140/rivian-software-better-charging-experience/
San Francisco’s Micah Siva puts a plant-forward spin on Jewish dishes in new cookbook
date: 2024-04-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
From vegan matzo balls to Passover-friendly cookies, Siva draws inspiration from the global Jewish diaspora.
Passover Recipe: Cast-Iron Potato and Caramelized Onion Kugel
date: 2024-04-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
When it comes to comfort food, San Francisco cookbook author Micah Siva swears by potato kugel.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/04/15/passover-recipe-cast-iron-potato-and-caramelized-onion-kugel/
Passover recipe: Turmeric Vegetable Matzo Ball Soup
date: 2024-04-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
This golden broth is perfect for any soup, but it’s especially good for matzo ball soup.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/04/15/passover-recipe-turmeric-vegetable-matzo-ball-soup/
Recipe: Micah Siva’s Passover Black and White Cookies
date: 2024-04-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
Black and white cookies are a staple of New York delis. These ones are also vegan, gluten-free and Passover-friendly.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/04/15/recipe-micah-sivas-passover-black-and-white-cookies/
Passover Recipe: Floater Herbed Matzo Balls
date: 2024-04-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
It wasn’t until recently that San Francisco cookbook author Micah Siva decided to replace salty matzo ball mix with fresh herbs and spices – fresh chives, dill and parsley or even basil.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/04/15/passover-recipe-floater-herbed-matzo-balls/
US News and World Report’s top 10 bucket list destinations in Alaska
date: 2024-04-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
From rugged Denali to Glacier Bay National Park, this lineup of Alaska’s top sights reads like a travel bucket list.
NASA’s LRO Observes 2024 Solar Eclipse Shadow
date: 2024-04-15, from: NASA breaking news
As the Moon blotted out the Sun to viewers across the United States during the April 8 solar eclipse, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured an image from some 223,000 miles away of the highly anticipated celestial event. There are three cameras that comprise the LRO camera (LROC) suite: two Narrow Angle Cameras (NAC) and […]
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/lro/nasas-lro-observes-2024-solar-eclipse-shadow/
Meteorites Are Becoming Harder to Find as They Sink Into Antarctica’s Melting Ice
date: 2024-04-15, from: Smithsonian Magazine
The disappearing space rocks are burying valuable clues into the history and composition of our solar system, according to a new study
Always a good day to read Daniel Radcliffe’s open letter to J.K….
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/04/0044393-always-a-good-day-to
Roku makes 2FA mandatory for all after nearly 600K accounts pwned
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Streamer says access came via credential stuffing
Streaming giant Roku is making 2FA mandatory after attackers accessed around 591,000 customer accounts earlier this year.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/roku_2fa_for_everyone/
CCC trauert um Reinhard Schrutzki
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-16, from: Chaos Computer Club Updates
Am 22.03.2024 ist nach kurzer, schwerer Krankheit Reinhard Schrutzki aka Goblin – im Alter von 67 Jahren – von uns gegangen.
https://www.ccc.de/de/updates/2024/ccc-trauert-um-reinhard-schrutzki
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-04-15, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
Current status
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/112275877583444393
NASA tries to jog Voyager 1’s memory from 15 billion miles away
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Since you can’t get a soldering iron out there, the fix will be in software
Engineers at NASA have pinpointed some corrupted memory as the cause of Voyager 1’s troubles and are working on a remote fix to deal with the hardware problem.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/voyager_engineers_prepare_fix/
A Pareto analysis of the best driver/kart build you can drive in…
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/04/0044394-a-pareto-analysis-of-the
A blogroll on a Drummer blog
date: 2024-04-15, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News
How to add a FeedLand blogroll to a Drummer blog.
- You must have a Drummer blog and a FeedLand account.
- You can specify that all the feeds you’re subscribed to are in your blogroll or use a category and only feeds in that category will be in the blogroll.
- The blogroll updates automatically, when one of the feeds has a new post, it goes to the top of the list.
- You can expand a feed to see the five most recent items. Click on the pubdate to go to the full item on the web.
- It supports keyboard navigation. Up and down arrows move through the list, Return to expand/collapse.
- We’re working on WordPress plugin.
Four head-level attributes in your blog.opml file. Only one required.
- blogrollUsername – required
- blogrollServer – optional, if not specified it’s feedland.com
- blogrollCategory – optional
- blogrollTitle – optional, but you really should provide a title, otherwise we invent a silly one for you. 😄
Screen shot of how the head-level attributes are set on Bull Mancuso’s blog.
Screen shot of the blog itself with the blogroll.
A link to Bull’s blogroll category on feedland.com.
A place to ask questions offer kudos, etc. 😄
PS: I’m not trying to sell you on using Drummer to run a blog. Rather I needed a place to figure out how this works, so we know how to set up and document the WordPress plugin.
http://scripting.com/2024/04/15/145315.html?title=aBlogrollOnADrummerBlog
Review Used By UK to Limit Gender Affirming Care Uses Images of AI-Generated Kids
date: 2024-04-15, from: 404 Media Group
One image depicts a non-binary child with short pink hair, consistent with how generative AI tends to represent queer people. In another image, a child’s fingers blend together.
https://www.404media.co/uk-gender-affirming-care-ai-generated-children/
Can NIO’s new ET7 with a 150 kWh semi-solid state EV battery break its 650-mi range record?
date: 2024-04-15, from: Electrek Feed
China’s NIO is launching its new ET7 powered by a massive 150 kWh semi-solid state battery pack this month. Pre-orders open tomorrow, April 16, and NIO is holding an endurance challenge to see if the luxury EV can beat its own 650-mile (1044 km) range record.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/15/nio-shows-off-new-et7-150-kwh-semi-solid-state-ev-battery/
As optical illusions go, this is pretty good….
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/04/0044380-as-optical-illusions-go-t
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-04-15, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
I love that WebAssembly is becoming a bytecode for Swift tooling.
Pure, unadulterated, high-octane fuel for a he swift ecosystem:
https://github.com/apple/swift/pull/73031
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/112275714810429725
Ultimate Tesla Drag Race Features Every Performance Version Of Model S And X
date: 2024-04-15, from: Inside EVs News
It’s Tesla versus Tesla in a 6-way drag race between every performance model of the Model S and Model X.
https://insideevs.com/news/716034/tesla-performance-race-model-s-x/
Microsoft lifts years-old compatibility hold for Windows 11
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
It probably wasn’t only sound driver problems that kept users away
Microsoft has lifted a 29-month compatibility hold that prevented some Windows 10 systems from upgrading to Windows 11 due to an issue with an Intel Smart Sound Technology driver.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/windows_11_compatibility_hold/
Tesla Cybertruck’s Stuck Accelerator Pedal Problem Creates 6,800-Pound Land Missile
date: 2024-04-15, from: Inside EVs News
A design flaw in the accelerator pedal has reportedly caused deliveries to be halted, potentially ahead of a recall.
https://insideevs.com/news/716031/tesla-cybertruck-stuck-accelerator-pedal/
BP axes jobs and scales back its EV charging business
date: 2024-04-15, from: Electrek Feed
Oil and gas giant BP is slashing jobs at its electric vehicle charging business and pulling out of several markets as its big bet on rapid growth in commercial EV fleets “didn’t pay off,” according to company sources.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/15/bp-axes-jobs-and-scales-back-its-ev-charging-business/
Tesla’s top engineering executive Drew Baglino leaves in massive leadership loss
date: 2024-04-15, from: Electrek Feed
Tesla’s top engineering executive, Drew Baglino, has left the automaker in a massive blow to the company’s leadership.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/15/tesla-top-engineering-executive-drew-baglino-leaves-leadership-loss/
NASA Selects New Crew for Next Simulated Mars Journey
date: 2024-04-15, from: NASA breaking news
NASA has selected a new crew of four volunteers to participate in a simulated mission to Mars within a habitat at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Jason Lee, Stephanie Navarro, Shareef Al Romaithi, and Piyumi Wijesekara will step into the agency’s Human Exploration Research Analog, or HERA, on Friday, May 10. Once inside, […]
https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/nasa-selects-new-crew-for-next-simulated-mars-journey/
Geometers Engineer New Tools to Wrangle Spacecraft Orbits
date: 2024-04-15, from: Quanta Magazine
Mathematicians think abstract tools from a field called symplectic geometry might help with planning missions to far-off moons and planets.The post Geometers Engineer New Tools to Wrangle Spacecraft Orbits first appeared on Quanta Magazine
https://www.quantamagazine.org/geometers-engineer-new-tools-to-wrangle-spacecraft-orbits-20240415/
@Tomosino’s Mastodon feed (date: 2024-04-15, from: Tomosino’s Mastodon feed)
Are you looking for a talented developer who can do pretty much anything in any language?
Check out https://writing.exchange/@alxd/112258444456719161
#typeScript #python #RustLang #remote #softwareDev #react , #nodejs , #django , #fastAPI , #pandas , #postgresql , #docker , #kubernetes , #AWS and #digitalOcean .
https://tilde.zone/@tomasino/112275604240195196
Genesis U.S. EV Sales Increased Slightly In Q1 2024
date: 2024-04-15, from: Inside EVs News
The company offers three models, but its total volume remains under 1,000 units.
https://insideevs.com/news/715985/genesis-us-ev-sales-2024q1/
Delinea Secret Server customers should apply latest patches
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Attackers could nab an org’s most sensitive keys if left unaddressed
Updated Customers of Delinea’s Secret Server are being urged to upgrade their installations “immediately” after a researcher claimed a critical vulnerability could allow attackers to gain admin-level access.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/delinea_secret_server_patch/
Papyrus 2: A Bold New Look for Avatar
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/04/papyrus-2-a-bold-new-look-for-avatar
Why good external SSDs are faster with Apple silicon
date: 2024-04-15, from: OS News
After several days testing the latest Express 1M2 enclosure from OWC, I have changed my recommendations for the best external SSDs. Previously I had chosen the relatively reliable Thunderbolt 3 up to 3 GB/s, even though few drives ever seemed capable of achieving that up to. If you’re still needing good performance with an Intel Mac, that makes sense. But if you need best performance with an Apple silicon Mac, you’re far better off with a high-quality USB 40Gbps enclosure such as OWC’s Express 1M2, which should reliably return over 3 GB/s even through a compatible hub. I much prefer the word over to up to. ↫ Howard Oakley If you have an Apple Silicon Mac, and you’re looking for an external drive – this is some good advice to follow.
https://www.osnews.com/story/139285/why-good-external-ssds-are-faster-with-apple-silicon/
MINISFORUM V3 tablet w/Ryzen 7 8840U launches for $1199
date: 2024-04-15, from: Liliputing
The MINISFORUM V3 is a Windows tablet with a 14 inch, 2560 x 1600 pixel, 165 Hz display, an AMD Ryzen 7 8840U processor, and what MINISFORUM calls a “3-in-1” design. That’s because it comes with a keyboard that allows you to use the tablet like a laptop and because it also has supports video input, […]
The post MINISFORUM V3 tablet w/Ryzen 7 8840U launches for $1199 appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/minisforum-v3-tablet-w-ryzen-7-8840u-launches-for-1199/
Busting the “immigrants as job takers” myth
date: 2024-04-15, from: Marketplace Morning Report
On today’s program, we’re taking a closer look at immigration and entrepreneurship. Immigrants are more likely to start a new company than U.S.-born citizens, studies show. And those new businesses need to make hires — turns out, immigrant entrepreneurs are associated with a net gain in jobs. We’ll discuss. Also, a boost in the Internal Revenue Service budget seems to be making a difference, and investors respond to rising tensions in the Middle East.
April 14, 2024
date: 2024-04-15, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-14-2024-129
Review says 2021 deadly Kabul bombing wasn’t preventable
date: 2024-04-15, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/review-says-2021-deadly-kabul-bombing-wasn-t-preventable-/7570520.html
All Bad Bosses at Amazon Are Now Named ‘Wayne’
date: 2024-04-15, from: 404 Media Group
The newly-fabricated dispatcher, named Wayne, represents every manager who assigns incompletable routes and package loads. But he’s based in reality.
https://www.404media.co/bad-amazon-bosses-wayne/
‘Charges Faster Than Any EV We’ve Tested’: Chevy Silverado EV Impresses In Test
date: 2024-04-15, from: Inside EVs News
The Silverado EV with the large 200+ kWh battery pack is the quickest-charging EV and it stays quick throughout its charging curve.
https://insideevs.com/news/716074/chevrolet-silverado-ev-fast-charging/
World is finally buying more phones and prices are rising
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Someone forgot to tell Apple and Samsung as Chinese brands rebound
The world is collectively buying more factory-fresh smartphones again, with Chinese homegrown brands propelling shipments. Meanwhile, Apple reported a near double-digit slump, and Samsung also saw declines, albeit at a slower rate.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/idc_global_smartphone_sales/
US Commerce Dept. grants Samsung $6.4 billion for Texas chip plants
date: 2024-04-15, from: VOA News USA
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-04-15, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
Magnificent guide by @dgregor79
Swift for C++ Practitioners:
https://www.douggregor.net/posts/swift-for-cxx-practitioners-value-types/
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/112275455714265523
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-04-15, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
Ok friends how are we gaming duolingo? Do I need to wait until tonight at 11pm to join?
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/112275443761103236
So kottke[dot]org had some significant downtime this weekend but it seems to…
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/04/0044390-so-kottkedotorg-had-some-
US senator wants to put the brakes on Chinese EVs
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Fears of low-cost invasion and data spies spark call for ban
Electric vehicles may become a new front in America’s tech war with China after a US senator called for Washington DC to block Chinese-made EVs to protect domestic industries and national security.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/china_ev_ban/
The Huge Screen In BMW’s Future Electric SUV Is Surprisingly Cool
date: 2024-04-15, from: Inside EVs News
We got hands-on with the BMW Vision Neue Klasse X, a preview of the brand’s next-generation electric SUV.
https://insideevs.com/news/715952/bmw-neue-klasse-x-screen/
Tesla Is Reportedly Making Big Layoffs This Week
date: 2024-04-15, from: Heatmap News
Current conditions: Temperatures in Sapporo, Japan, surpassed 77 degrees Fahrenheit today, earlier than ever before • Gale-force winds are blasting Britain • The weather is looking great for the Boston Marathon.
THE TOP FIVE
- Tesla reportedly lays off 10% of global workforce
Tesla has reportedly laid off “more than 10%” of its global workforce, according to Jameson Dow at Electrek. In an internal company-wide email, CEO Elon Musk said “this will enable us to be lean, innovative and hungry for the next growth phase cycle.” The exact headcount isn’t clear but Dow calculates a 10% cut would bring the number of workers newly out of a job to about 14,000. The news wasn’t unexpected – employees had been whispering about potential layoffs for a few weeks, and their angst was fueled by the announcement last Thursday that Cybertruck production shifts at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Texas would be shortened, starting today. Dow notes the layoffs will hurt morale, “which is a shame, because we do need Tesla to keep pushing things forward, and to keep attracting the best and brightest.”
- House Republicans pivot from appliances to Iran crisis
House Republicans canceled a plan to put forward six new bills related to household appliances and energy standards this week and will focus instead on responding to rising tensions between Iran and Israel. The bills were going to be a “coordinated legislative offensive on the Department of Energy’s efficiency standards,” reported E&E News. It’s not clear if or when the bills will be heard.
- Biden administration increases fees for oil and gas drilling on
public lands
In case you missed it: The Biden administration late last week moved to hike fees for drilling for oil and gas on public lands. The New York Times explained it nicely: “The nation’s largest property owner, the federal government, effectively charges rent to oil and gas companies that exploit public land for private profit.” Now it is hiking its rates. The new rules, which could take effect in 60 days, raise royalty rates, lease rents, minimum auction bids, as well as “bonding rates,” which are upfront payments “to cover the cost of plugging abandoned oil and gas wells,” Reuters reported. The new minimum lease bonds will be $150,000 per lease, up from $10,000. Royalty rates will rise from 12.5% to 16.67%. The government estimates the rules would increase costs for fossil fuel companies by about $1.5 billion through 2031. Some of the money will go toward cleaning up old abandoned oil and gas wells.
Get Heatmap AM directly in your inbox every morning:
- Intense flooding prompts more evacuations in Russia, Kazakhstan
Flooding continues along the Russia-Kazakhstan border, where huge amounts of snowmelt from the Ural Mountains, coupled with heavy rain, overwhelmed the Ob-Irtysh river system, the world’s seventh largest. The Tobol River, which is usually frozen this time of year, rose by 9 inches in just four hours this morning. More than 125,000 people have been evacuated since the flooding began earlier this month. Flooding is common for the region in the spring, but this year has been particularly bad. Experts say the soil was already saturated before winter, and higher-than usual snowfall followed by a burst of warm weather made for ideal flood conditions. Maria Shahgedanova, a professor of climatic science at Reading University, said extreme flooding is likely to become more common because climate change is causing heavier snowfall in the area. “We’re looking at a 7% increase in (snow) precipitation where there is one degree temperature change,” she said.
- New pilot project to test highway that charges EVs on the go
Indiana has broken ground on a pilot project that will allow electric vehicles to charge wirelessly as they drive down the highway. The technology was developed by Purdue University and is being put to the test on a quarter-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 52 in West Lafayette, Indiana, Inside Climate News reported. It will charge cars as they travel up to speeds of 65 miles per hour. “If you have a cellphone and you place it on a charger, there is what’s called magnetic fields that are coming up from the charger into that phone,” said Steve Pekarek, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue. “We’re doing something similar.” Cars would have to be equipped with special receivers to be compatible with the wireless charging, so even when the system is up and running next summer it won’t yet benefit existing EV drivers. “This is a simple solution,” Pekarek said. “There are complicated parts of it, and that we leave to the vehicle manufacturers.” The state’s Department of Transportation hopes the project will help in the quest to ease range anxiety for would-be EV buyers, and electrify long-haul trucking.
THE KICKER
Researchers say they’ve found a way to make the common pain-reliever acetaminophen (aka Tylenol) from compounds found in wood, instead of from chemicals derived from crude oil.
https://heatmap.news/electric-vehicles/tesla-layoffs-appliance-week
Tesla Is Reportedly Making Big Layoffs This Week
date: 2024-04-15, from: Heatmap News
Current conditions: Temperatures in Sapporo, Japan, surpassed 77 degrees Fahrenheit today, earlier than ever before • Gale-force winds are blasting Britain • The weather is looking great for the Boston Marathon.
THE TOP FIVE
- Tesla reportedly lays off 10% of global workforce
Tesla has reportedly laid off “more than 10%” of its global workforce, according to Jameson Dow at Electrek. In an internal company-wide email, CEO Elon Musk said “this will enable us to be lean, innovative and hungry for the next growth phase cycle.” The exact headcount isn’t clear but Dow calculates a 10% cut would bring the number of workers newly out of a job to about 14,000. The news wasn’t unexpected – employees had been whispering about potential layoffs for a few weeks, and their angst was fueled by the announcement last Thursday that Cybertruck production shifts at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Texas would be shortened, starting today. Dow notes the layoffs will hurt morale, “which is a shame, because we do need Tesla to keep pushing things forward, and to keep attracting the best and brightest.”
- House Republicans pivot from appliances to Iran crisis
House Republicans canceled a plan to put forward six new bills related to household appliances and energy standards this week and will focus instead on responding to rising tensions between Iran and Israel. The bills were going to be a “coordinated legislative offensive on the Department of Energy’s efficiency standards,” reported E&E News. It’s not clear if or when the bills will be heard.
- Biden administration increases fees for oil and gas drilling on
public lands
In case you missed it: The Biden administration late last week moved to hike fees for drilling for oil and gas on public lands. The New York Times explained it nicely: “The nation’s largest property owner, the federal government, effectively charges rent to oil and gas companies that exploit public land for private profit.” Now it is hiking its rates. The new rules, which could take effect in 60 days, raise royalty rates, lease rents, minimum auction bids, as well as “bonding rates,” which are upfront payments “to cover the cost of plugging abandoned oil and gas wells,” Reuters reported. The new minimum lease bonds will be $150,000 per lease, up from $10,000. Royalty rates will rise from 12.5% to 16.67%. The government estimates the rules would increase costs for fossil fuel companies by about $1.5 billion through 2031. Some of the money will go toward cleaning up old abandoned oil and gas wells.
Get Heatmap AM directly in your inbox every morning:
- Intense flooding prompts more evacuations in Russia, Kazakhstan
Flooding continues along the Russia-Kazakhstan border, where huge amounts of snowmelt from the Ural Mountains, coupled with heavy rain, overwhelmed the Ob-Irtysh river system, the world’s seventh largest. The Tobol River, which is usually frozen this time of year, rose by 9 inches in just four hours this morning. More than 125,000 people have been evacuated since the flooding began earlier this month. Flooding is common for the region in the spring, but this year has been particularly bad. Experts say the soil was already saturated before winter, and higher-than usual snowfall followed by a burst of warm weather made for ideal flood conditions. Maria Shahgedanova, a professor of climatic science at Reading University, said extreme flooding is likely to become more common because climate change is causing heavier snowfall in the area. “We’re looking at a 7% increase in (snow) precipitation where there is one degree temperature change,” she said.
- New pilot project to test highway that charges EVs on the go
Indiana has broken ground on a pilot project that will allow electric vehicles to charge wirelessly as they drive down the highway. The technology was developed by Purdue University and is being put to the test on a quarter-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 52 in West Lafayette, Indiana, Inside Climate News reported. It will charge cars as they travel up to speeds of 65 miles per hour. “If you have a cellphone and you place it on a charger, there is what’s called magnetic fields that are coming up from the charger into that phone,” said Steve Pekarek, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue. “We’re doing something similar.” Cars would have to be equipped with special receivers to be compatible with the wireless charging, so even when the system is up and running next summer it won’t yet benefit existing EV drivers. “This is a simple solution,” Pekarek said. “There are complicated parts of it, and that we leave to the vehicle manufacturers.” The state’s Department of Transportation hopes the project will help in the quest to ease range anxiety for would-be EV buyers, and electrify long-haul trucking.
THE KICKER
Researchers say they’ve found a way to make the common pain-reliever acetaminophen (aka Tylenol) from compounds found in wood, instead of from chemicals derived from crude oil.
https://heatmap.news/tesla-layoffs-appliance-week
A Massive Halo of Golden Retrievers
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: One Foot Tsunami
https://onefoottsunami.com/2024/04/15/a-massive-halo-of-golden-retrievers/
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-04-15, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
Performance improvements in Safari.
1% here, 0.3% there and six months later you have a 30% boost on a mature codebase.
https://webkit.org/blog/15249/optimizing-webkit-safari-for-speedometer-3-0/
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/112275295970308025
North American S/4HANA migrations ramping among SAP users
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Skills access still an issue for organizations hoping to beat the 2027 ECC support deadline
Nearly two-thirds of SAP users in North America are set to migrate to its latest S/4HANA ERP platform, or have already started the process, according to a recent survey.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/american_s4hana_migrations_ramp_up/
Ford’s BlueCruise hands-free driver assist under investigation after two fatal crashes
date: 2024-04-15, from: Electrek Feed
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating two fatal crashes involving two separate Ford Mustang Mach-Es crashing into stationary vehicles, where three people have died. In at least one of the crashes, Ford’s BlueCruise hands-free driver-assist system was activated at the time of the crash, while the second one is under preliminary investigation. Here’s what happened.
Tesla May Be Headed For Massive Layoffs As Woes Mount: Reports (Updated)
date: 2024-04-15, from: Inside EVs News
Plus, the EV world needs more technicians and both Volkswagen and Mercedes face a battle with a renewed UAW.
https://insideevs.com/news/716095/tesla-layoffs-critical-materials/
Tech Time Capsule: Early 1990s Clip Art Captured an Era
date: 2024-04-15, from: Vintage Computing
Clip art collections from the early 1990s are today’s forgotten cultural time capsules, freezing life three decades ago as digital illustrations full of obsolete tech, vintage fashions, and more. Just for fun, let’s explore computer art from a time just before the Internet hit it big. [Benj’s note—I wrote this piece years ago, and it […]
Microsoft to use Windows 11 Start menu as a billboard with app ads for Insiders
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
This wasn’t what most had in mind when Redmond promised to make the feature ‘great again’
Microsoft is to try out “recommendations” – ads for apps in the Microsoft Store – in the Windows 11 Start Menu, but only for a small set of US Beta Channel Windows Insiders at first.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/microsoft_recommendations_windows_11/
Did Ancient South Americans Keep Foxes as Pets?
date: 2024-04-15, from: Smithsonian Magazine
At a cemetery in Argentina, a 1,500-year-old fox buried alongside humans suggests a “close relationship” between the species, researchers say
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-ancient-south-americans-keep-foxes-as-pets-180984134/
Maserati’s Folgore Day event showcases its commitment to electrification, just not 100%
date: 2024-04-15, from: Electrek Feed
To celebrate over 100 years in business while looking ahead to another century filled with electrification, Maserati held a “Folgore Day” event in Italy. At this event, it showcased its lineup of BEVs, including the GranTurismo Folgore and Grecale Folgore SUV, ahead of the official launch of its GranCabrio Folgore convertible this evening.
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-04-15, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Unlocking the Potential of Fiction Podcasts: A Call to Podcast App Developers.
Happy Tax Day from your friendly neighborhood chatbot
date: 2024-04-15, from: Marketplace Morning Report
Today is Tax Day. While payers in 12 states have the opportunity to use a pilot IRS system to directly file their taxes online, tax software companies like Intuit and H&R Block have introduced generative artificial intelligence assistants to be more competitive. But do they work? Then, Samsung beats out Apple for title of the world’s biggest smartphone maker, and we examine how residents of “news deserts” access their local news.
Feline firewall woke developer to declaw DDoS disaster
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
System alerts were pinging but cat had no way of knowing what was happening
A developer named Danny Guo has shared a story of the time his cat alerted him to a DDoS attack.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/cat_warns_owner_of_ddos/
What could a wider Middle East conflict mean for Iranians?
date: 2024-04-15, from: Marketplace Morning Report
From the BBC World Service: Tensions continue to run high in the Middle East after Iran’s recent drone and missile attacks against Israel. We’ll delve into how this weekend’s events could make a bad situation worse for Iran’s heavily sanctioned economy and the people living there. Plus, we’ll hear how the ongoing war in Ukraine could provide another big hit to energy prices, and we’ll preview the outlook for Zimbabwe’s new gold-backed currency.
New Lattice Cryptanalytic Technique
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-14, from: Bruce Schneier blog
A new paper presents a polynomial-time quantum algorithm for solving certain hard lattice problems. This could be a big deal for post-quantum cryptographic algorithms, since many of them base their security on hard lattice problems.
A few things to note. One, this paper has not yet been peer reviewed. As this comment points out: “We had already some cases where efficient quantum algorithms for lattice problems were discovered, but they turned out not being correct or only worked for simple special cases.”
Two, this is a quantum algorithm, which means that it has not been tested. There is a wide gulf between quantum algorithms in theory and in practice. And until we can actually code and test these algorithms, we should be suspicious of their speed and complexity claims…
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/04/new-lattice-cryptanalytic-technique.html
Helmets Might Not Be the Scam We’re Led To Believe
date: 2024-04-15, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
If you were one of the many who thought helmets were a scam, you could be wrong.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/715942/missouri-helmet-law-repeal/
Open source versus Microsoft: The new rebellion begins
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Neither side can afford to lose, but one surely must
Opinion Twice it was tried, twice it failed. In Germany, Munich and Lower Saxony both decided to switch to open source for official IT. Both projects, to some extent or another*, returned to Microsoft. Now the state of Schleswig-Holstein is hoping for third time lucky. It’s been planning the same thing for three years, and now it’s pressing the button.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/opinion_microsoft_sovereignty/
New York Will Soon Get Congestion Pricing — After a 150,000-Year Wait
date: 2024-04-15, from: Heatmap News
In late March, the board that oversees New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority cast a final vote to implement congestion pricing. If the plan survives some last-ditch lawsuits, drivers will soon have to cough up $15 to travel into Lower Manhattan during rush hours. The MTA will get billions every year to make capital improvements, the air will be markedly cleaner, the streets notably less congested, and a proposal that was first pitched by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg 17 years ago will have finally been realized.
“I often wonder what our system would have been like if we passed it back in 2008,” MTA board member Haeda Mihaltses, a veteran of the Bloomberg administration, mused just before she cast her vote in favor.
The price of nearly two decades of procrastination over doing something to alleviate the most densely-populated, traffic-snarled place in North America is, indeed, unfathomably high. There’s the billions of dollars of mass transit infrastructure we missed out on, the billions spent on health care from breathing in dirty air.
And then there’s the most precious resource of all. According to one calculation from transport economist and congestion pricing advocate Charles Komanoff, the plan the MTA adopted last month will save drivers, bus passengers, and subway riders a combined 225,000 hours every single day. Here’s a fun thought experiment: If New York had adopted this plan back in 2008, we could have saved ourselves a combined 1,314,000,000 hours, or 150,000 years.
How could implementing something so obviously necessary and routine — anyone who has paid to camp in a National Park or drive on the New Jersey Turnpike understands the concept — take so long? What does it say about how we govern? And what can we learn from it?
“I think it is fair to say that whatever roadblock congestion pricing could have hit, it hit,” Rachael Fauss, a policy director and MTA researcher for the good government group Reinvent Albany, told me. “It was the worst case scenario of timelines if you were to project out: What are the things that could delay this?”
Some of the delays were deliberate: It’s hard enough for lawmakers to summon the courage to raise taxes on millionaires and billionaires, so charging drivers money for something that used to be “free,” to fund a transit agency that often conjures delayed trains and decades-long boondoggles in the public’s imagination, was always going to require a fortitude that is in chronically short supply in Albany. When then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo pushed to pass congestion pricing in 2019, he and his fellow lawmakers wrote into the actual bill that the tolling scheme couldn’t be announced for a year and a half — until after the 2020 election. The same politicians who were supposedly brave enough to vote congestion pricing into law didn’t want anything to do with putting that law into practice.
Then there were the bureaucratic delays. The COVID pandemic, of course, redirected much of the government and forced the MTA into survival mode as subway ridership dropped 90%; suddenly the agency’s most important work was to coordinate lifesaving bailouts from the federal and state governments. Then the Trump administration slow-walked the answer to a key question: Because the congestion pricing plan involved placing tolls on roads built with federal funding, the state needed a sign-off from the federal Department of Transportation. But was congestion pricing the kind of massive infrastructure project that, under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, required an exhaustive Environmental Impact Statement? Could it pass NEPA review with a less thorough Environmental Assessment? Or, given that nothing was actually being built up or torn down, could it be exempt from these reviews altogether?
Two years after the congestion pricing law passed, and months after the plan was supposed to go into effect in early 2021, the newly installed Biden administration finally asked for the middle option, an Environmental Assessment, which the MTA initially said could be done in a matter of months. In actuality, that timeline stretched to 16 months and produced a 4,000-page behemoth that some experts noted was more comprehensive than the average EIS.
Seemingly nothing escaped the MTA’s scrutiny — it even looked at how congestion pricing would affect traffic in the Philadelphia suburbs (not all that much). The results were not exactly shocking: Tolling vehicles entering Lower Manhattan below 60th Street would result in up to 20% fewer vehicles in the Central Business District, improving air quality while also generating $1 billion in revenue for public transit, which could then be used to secure up to $15 billion in bonds. After more than 50 public meetings and 25,000 written comments (60% in favor of the plan), the Biden administration produced a “finding of no significant impact,” meaning that congestion pricing wouldn’t negatively affect the economy, the environment, or the roads.
There was at least one notable benefit that came from doing such a comprehensive, time-intensive review: The MTA found that congestion pricing could cause an increase in truck traffic to the South Bronx for drivers looking to toll shop, which in turn prompted the agency to allocate $200 million to alleviate pollution in some of New York City’s poorest neighborhoods, which have shamefully high asthma rates that mostly affect Black and Latine New Yorkers. “Is it congestion pricing’s job to remedy those problems? Maybe not,” Fauss, of Reinvent Albany, said. “But is it a really important way to correct some past wrongs? Yeah, absolutely.”
The MTA’s thoroughness may help protect it from the bad faith lawsuits that have been filed to try and shut down the license plate readers before they go live on June 15. But we’re in the midst of a climate crisis. Why should a 54-year-old law designed to prevent overeager developers from doing things like demolishing neighborhoods to build highways discourage cities and states from enacting dynamic, flexible solutions to cut pollution created by those highways — and fund public transit at the same time? And why should a review of a plan that requires no concrete, no demolition — no actual infrastructure — take three years?
The biggest hurdle congestion pricing had to overcome might have been psychological. Let’s call it “car brain”: Even though 85% of commuters who travel into the Central Business District take mass transit, for years, lawmakers and congestion pricing opponents have argued (and in the case of the current New York City Mayor Eric Adams, still argue) that charging people to drive into Lower Manhattan was a kind of attack on the middle class. In a city where valuable street real estate has been converted into free parking, congestion pricing was portrayed as profaning the sacred rights of “regular” New Yorkers — never mind the fact that just 2% of New York’s working poor will end up paying the tolls. Driving your car wherever you please, it turns out, is quite expensive.
“Elected officials are facing the world from the front seat of a car, whether they’re driving or being driven,” Danny Pearlstein, the policy and communications director at Riders Alliance, one of the most forceful proponents of congestion pricing, told me. Pearlstein added that “bureaucrats who drive to work” probably contributed to the Biden administration’s slow-walking of the approval process, or so he suspects. “They were very cautious about doing something that alters not just, you know, air patterns, or patterns of inequity, but actual commutes,” Pearlstein said.
As a reporter who has covered congestion pricing for nearly a decade, I have learned never to underestimate the power of “car brain” on public policy. As a New Yorker who lives steps from the entrance of the Williamsburg Bridge on the Lower East Side, who watches mothers push strollers through oceans of hot, heavy steel boxes belching poisonous gasses driven by people on a hair trigger, and who has seen our leaders pretend that this is New York, that we are too exceptional to change, I cannot help but go about my day, doing my best to tune out the incessant honking, feeling like the dog engulfed in flames: “This is fine.”
That it took transportation advocates, regional planners, and forward-looking politicians nearly 20 years to enact congestion pricing in New York City — the U.S. municipality perhaps most amenable to it because of its housing density and excellent mass transit system — reveals the daunting task of weaning Americans off the automobile. More than three-quarters of us drive our own personal cars to our jobs.
“The only thing that’s going to change the fact that the overwhelming majority of Americans drive to work is not permitting reforms to programs like congestion pricing. It’s permitting reforms to allow dense housing development in metropolitan areas across the country,” Pearlstein said.
“It’s a little bit like a Marxian analysis,” he mused. The crisis must come to a head in order to overthrow the status quo. “In order to adopt congestion pricing, you first have to exacerbate congestion significantly by condensing your built environment.”
https://heatmap.news/climate/new-york-congestion-pricing
After delay due to xz, Ubuntu 24.04 ‘Noble Numbat’ belatedly hits beta
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Kernel 6.8, GNOME 46, and more apps in Snap packages
The beta version of this year’s Ubuntu LTS release is out, complete with a new, and automatable, installation program.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/ubuntu_24_04_belated_beta/
Tesla lays off ‘more than 10%’ of its global workforce
date: 2024-04-15, from: Electrek Feed
Tesla has announced layoffs of “more than 10%” of its global workforce in an internal company-wide email. We exclusively reported yesterday that Tesla was prepping a massive layoff.
https://electrek.co/2024/04/15/tesla-lays-off-more-than-10-of-its-global-workforce/
MIT breakthrough means there’s no material too weird for 3D printing
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Thanks to sensors and math, machines can ‘learn’ to adapt to new mediums
Eggheads at MIT say they have developed a method for 3D printing, which they claim greatly reduces the time taken to adapt machines to using different materials.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/3d_printers_mit/
Happy Tax Day, and the coming fight over extending Trump’s tax cut
date: 2024-04-15, from: Robert Reich on Substack
It’s behind the big money financing Trump’s 2024 campaign
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/happy-tax-day
Tax Day reveals a major split in how Joe Biden and Donald Trump would govern
date: 2024-04-15, from: VOA News USA
Washington — Tax Day reveals a major split in how Joe Biden and Donald Trump would govern: The presidential candidates have conflicting ideas about how much to reveal about their own finances and the best ways to boost the economy through tax policy.
Biden, the sitting Democratic president, plans to release his income tax returns on Monday, the IRS filing deadline. And on Tuesday, he is scheduled to deliver a speech in Scranton, Pennsylvania, about why the wealthy should pay more in taxes to reduce the federal deficit and help fund programs for the poor and middle class.
Biden is proud to say that he was largely without money for much of his decades-long career in public service, unlike Trump, who inherited hundreds of millions of dollars from his father and used his billionaire status to launch a TV show and later a presidential campaign.
“For 36 years, I was listed as the poorest man in Congress,” Biden told donors in California in February. “Not a joke.”
In 2015, Trump declared as part of his candidacy, “I’m really rich.”
The Republican former president has argued that voters have no need to see his tax data and that past financial disclosures are more than sufficient. He maintains that keeping taxes low for the wealthy will supercharge investment and lead to more jobs, while tax hikes would crush an economy still recovering from inflation that hit a four-decade peak in 2022.
“Biden wants to give the IRS even more cash by proposing the largest tax hike on the American people in history when they are already being robbed by his record-high inflation crisis,” said Karoline Leavitt, press secretary for the Trump campaign.
The split goes beyond an ideological difference to a very real challenge for whoever triumphs in the November election. At the end of 2025, many of the tax cuts that Trump signed into law in 2017 will expire — setting up an avalanche of choices about how much people across the income spectrum should pay as the national debt is expected to climb to unprecedented levels.
Including interest costs, extending all the tax breaks could add another $3.8 trillion to the national debt through 2033, according to an analysis last year by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Biden would like to keep the majority of the tax breaks, based on his pledge that no one earning less than $400,000 will have to pay more. But he released a budget proposal this year with tax increases on the wealthy and corporations that would raise $4.9 trillion in revenues and trim forecasted deficits by $3.2 trillion over 10 years.
Still, he’s telling voters that he’s all for letting the Trump-era tax cuts lapse.
“Does anyone here think the tax code is fair? Raise your hand,” Biden said Tuesday at a speech in Washington’s Union Station to a crowd predisposed to dislike Trump’s broad tax cuts that helped many in the middle class but disproportionately favored wealthier households.
“It added more to the national debt than any presidential term in history,” Biden continued. “And it’s due to expire next year. And guess what? I hope to be president because it expires — it’s going to stay expired.”
Trump has called for higher tariffs on foreign-made goods, which are taxes that could hit consumers in the form of higher prices. But his campaign is committed to tax cuts while promising that a Trump presidency would reduce a national debt that has risen for decades, including during his Oval Office tenure.
“When President Trump is back in the White House, he will advocate for more tax cuts for all Americans and reinvigorate America’s energy industry to bring down inflation, lower the cost of living, and pay down our debt,” Leavitt said.
Most economists say Trump’s tax cuts could not generate enough growth to pay down the national debt. An analysis released Friday by Oxford Economics found that a “full-blown Trump” policy with tax cuts, higher tariffs and blocking immigration would slow growth and increase inflation.
Among Biden’s proposals is a “billionaire minimum income tax” that would apply a minimum rate of 25% on households with a net worth of at least $100 million.
The tax would directly target billionaires such as Trump, who refused to release his personal taxes as presidents have traditionally done. But six years of his tax returns were released in 2022 by Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee.
In 2018, Trump earned more than $24 million and paid about 4% of that in federal income taxes. The congressional panel also found that the IRS delayed legally mandated audits of Trump during his presidency, with the panel concluding the audit process was “dormant, at best.”
Biden has publicly released more than two decades of his tax returns. In 2022, he and his wife, Jill, made $579,514 and paid nearly 24% of that in federal income taxes, more than double the rate paid by Trump.
Trump has maintained that his tax records are complicated because of his use of various tax credits and past business losses, which in some cases have allowed him to avoid taxes. He also previously declined to release his tax returns under the claim that the IRS was auditing him for pre-presidential filings.
His finances recently received a boost from the stock market debut of Trump Media, which controls Trump’s preferred social media outlet, Truth Social. Share prices initially surged, adding billions of dollars to Trump’s net worth, but investors have since soured on the company and shares by Friday were down more than 50% from their peak.
The former president is also on the hook for $542 million due to legal judgments in a civil fraud case and penalties owed to the writer E. Jean Carroll because of statements made by Trump that damaged her reputation after she accused him of sexual assault.
In the civil fraud case, New York Judge Arthur Engoron looked at the financial records of the Trump Organization and concluded after looking at the inflated assets that “the frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience.”
The Defense Industry’s Inside Man In The Pacific Arms Race
date: 2024-04-15, from: The Lever News
A Biden envoy shaped defense policy in the Pacific islands while consulting for a private firm with major interests in the region.
https://www.levernews.com/the-defense-industrys-inside-man-in-the-pacific-arms-race/
Classifieds – April 15, 2024
date: 2024-04-15, 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 – April 15, 2024 appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/04/15/classifieds-april-15-2024/
Tired techie ‘fixed’ a server, blamed Microsoft, and got away with it
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
If you’re too exhausted to think, maybe you shouldn’t be doing tech support
who, me? Welcome once again, gentle reader folk, to the comfy corner of The Register safe space we call Who, Me? wherein readers share their stories of times when they were not perhaps at the very peak of their technical brilliance.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/who_me/
Learn Python: Make a To-Do List | #MagPiMonday
date: 2024-04-15, from: Raspberry Pi News (.com)
Keep track of your tasks with a simple to-do list. Lucy Hattersley explains how the basics of Python programming work.
The post Learn Python: Make a To-Do List | #MagPiMonday appeared first on Raspberry Pi.
https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/learn-python-make-a-to-do-list-magpimonday/
After Jewish student’s mezuzah torn from doorway, worries of campus antisemitism grow anew
date: 2024-04-15, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The Department of Public Safety said it didn’t find evidence of a hate crime. But Bella Yadegar says the incident still left her on edge.
The post After Jewish student’s mezuzah torn from doorway, worries of campus antisemitism grow anew appeared first on Daily Trojan.
Today in SCV History (April 15)
date: 2024-04-15, from: SCV New (TV Station)
1954 – Frank Sinatra, Sterling Hayden on streets of Newhall for filming of “Suddenly.” [story
https://scvnews.com/today-in-scv-history-april-15/
First Look Awards celebrate robust cinematic arts program at USC
date: 2024-04-15, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
SCA displayed students’ diverse cinematic talents and artistic styles Thursday.
The post First Look Awards celebrate robust cinematic arts program at USC appeared first on Daily Trojan.
Viterbi group photographs eclipse from space
date: 2024-04-15, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Eleven students used a balloon to capture high-resolution images of the eclipse.
The post Viterbi group photographs eclipse from space appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/04/15/viterbi-group-photographs-eclipse-from-space/
Avery Howell is ready for Los Angeles
date: 2024-04-15, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Incoming freshman women’s basketball player Avery Howell is ready to be the best.
The post Avery Howell is ready for Los Angeles appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/04/15/avery-howell-is-ready-for-los-angeles/
Sometimes, it’s not wrong to be a hater
date: 2024-04-15, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Voicing unpopular opinions can sometimes be mischaracterized as hate, preventing the acknowledgment of offensive content.
The post Sometimes, it’s not wrong to be a hater appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/04/15/sometimes-its-not-wrong-to-be-a-hater/
Beach volleyball finishes second to UCLA in SLO
date: 2024-04-15, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The Trojans went 3-1 at the Center of Effort Challenge and swept two top-10 teams.
The post Beach volleyball finishes second to UCLA in SLO appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/04/15/beach-volleyball-finishes-second-to-ucla-in-slo/
A24’s ‘Civil War’ is an inferno of dystopian chaos
date: 2024-04-15, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Writer-director Alex Garland peeks through the lens of journalism to send a grim message to the divided states of America.
The post A24’s ‘Civil War’ is an inferno of dystopian chaos appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/04/15/a24s-civil-war-is-an-inferno-of-dystopian-chaos/
Social media aesthetics are crossing a line
date: 2024-04-15, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Gen Z’s obsession with various new aesthetics and “#cores” reveals desperation.
The post Social media aesthetics are crossing a line appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/04/15/social-media-aesthetics-are-crossing-a-line/
Microsoft hikes Dynamics 365 prices by around ten percent or more
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
First rise in five years varies between 9.26 and 16.67 percent for different products – for no apparent reason
Microsoft has foreshadowed significant price rises for its Dynamics 365 cloudy business applications.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/dynamics_365_price_rises/
UCSB Baseball Completes Sweep of Hawaii with 6-2 Victory
date: 2024-04-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
The Gauchos remain undefeated at home this season.
The post UCSB Baseball Completes Sweep of Hawaii with 6-2 Victory appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/04/14/ucsb-baseball-completes-sweep-of-hawaii-with-6-2-victory/
Who counts?
date: 2024-04-15, from: Enlightenment Economics
I had been looking forward to reading The Ordinal Society by Marion Fourcade and Kieran Healy, and it hasn’t disappointed. My copy is covered in sticky notes marking interesting points. What do they mean by the term? It is the … Continue reading
http://www.enlightenmenteconomics.com/blog/index.php/2024/04/who-counts/
Hyundai picks Palantir to help it build automated navy ships
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Reconaissance vessels first, then set a course for armed drones
South Korean industrial giant HD Hyundai’s maritime arm announced on Sunday it will collaborate with controversial software developer Palantir Technologies to develop an unmanned surface vessel (USV) that can conduct reconnaissance for the world’s navies.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/hyundai_palantir_autonomous_ships/
April 14, 2024
date: 2024-04-15, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog
Today, on ABC’s This Week, host George Stephanopoulos asked New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu about his recent switch from supporting former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley for the Republican presidential nomination to supporting former president Trump.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-14-2024
Salesforce apparently poised to slurp data management outfit Informatica
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Investors get excited about using AI to make AI easier
Supercolossal SaaS seller Salesforce is reportedly poised to acquire cloud data management outfit Informatica.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/salesforce_informatica/
Lintek Computer Accessories’ Paper Tamer
date: 2024-04-15, from: Computer ads from the Past
Restore Order (to your printer)
https://computeradsfromthepast.substack.com/p/lintek-computer-accessories-paper
US, Israel say coalition achieved ‘spectacular defeat’ of Iran’s attack
date: 2024-04-15, from: VOA News USA
The United States and Israel say they achieved a “spectacular defeat” over an Iranian aerial attack that sent 300 munitions – more than 100 of them ballistic missiles – to Israel on Saturday. But as Sunday dawned in both places, a bigger question rose on the horizon: What happens next in this six-month conflict that threatens to envelop the Middle East? VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Washington.
US House approves FISA renewal – warrantless surveillance and all
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
PLUS: Chinese chipmaker Nexperia attacked; A Microsoft-signed backdoor; CISA starts scanning your malware; and more
Infosec in brief US Congress nearly killed a reauthorization of FISA Section 702 last week over concerns that it would continue to allow warrantless surveillance of Americans, but an amendment to require a warrant failed to pass.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/security_in_brief/
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-04-15, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
Next up, let’s connect Drummer blogging to FeedLand blogrolls. 😄
http://scripting.com/2024/04/14.html#a012517
Daily EV Recap: US falls behind with EVs
date: 2024-04-15, from: Electrek Feed
Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from Electrek. Quick Charge is now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn and…
https://electrek.co/2024/04/14/daily-ev-recap-us-falls-behind-with-evs/
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-04-15, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
I
want to work with the best developers, I don’t care where they work. It
occurred to me watching a Martin Scorcese
documentary
about the life of George Harrison, how much people in music seek out
opportunities to create with other musicians. In technology, it doesn’t
happen, we don’t even look at each others software. After waiting a
whole lifetime for a culture of collaboration, we have had it for short
periods, but it’s most of the time it’s been people trying to
deconstruct and reinvent other people’s work, not build on it. I’m still
open to this changing. I hope to be a catalyst for it, one more
time.
http://scripting.com/2024/04/14.html#a011848
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-04-15, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
I
don’t like how betting has invaded sports broadcasting. I don’t like
that it breaks the bond among people who root for one team their whole
lives, as I have with the Knicks and the Mets. I think of people who
love the same teams as I do as family. I like that there are Knicks fans
who also like the Yankees even though I totally despise the Yankees and
everything they (don’t) stand for, but we all love the freaking Knicks
(and ignore the Nets, btw). Before long there won’t be any of us left,
everyone will see sports as a business, an obsession, or their downfall,
because you can’t win at gambling, we all know that. The whole tribal
thing about sports is broken by integrated gambling, it suggests many of
us, maybe eventually most of us, are here not for love of team, rather
they’re feeding an addiction.
http://scripting.com/2024/04/14.html#a011808
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-04-15, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Axios CEO Believes AI Will 'Eviscerate the Unprepared' Among Media Companies.
https://m.slashdot.org/story/427226
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-04-15, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
There are a lot of things that Mastodon & ActivityPub can’t do.
US suggests Israel need not retaliate against Iran
date: 2024-04-15, from: VOA News USA
WASHINGTON — Top officials in Washington are attempting to avoid a widening war in the Middle East after Iran launched an unprecedented attack on Israel with explosive drones and missiles.
“There need to be some consequences here,” said a senior U.S. official briefing reporters Sunday afternoon on the condition of not being named.
But U.S. President Joe Biden, in his latest conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “made very clear to the prime minister last night that we do have to think carefully and strategically about risks of escalation,” especially in view of the attack causing only light damage and no significant casualties, the official said.
Israeli officials insist there will be a response, but the country’s war Cabinet appears divided on how and when.
If Israel retaliates, it would be doing it alone.
“We would not envision ourselves participating in such a thing,” replied the senior administration official when asked whether the United States would participate in any military response to the Iranian attack.
It was an “incredible military achievement” by Israel, the United States and other partners in repelling “more than 300 drones and missiles” launched by Iran, according to White House national security spokesperson John Kirby.
US Central Command says its forces, supported by US European Command destroyers, on Saturday and on Sunday morning “successfully engaged and destroyed more than 80 one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles (OWA UAV) and at least six ballistic missiles intended to strike Israel from Iran and Yemen. This includes a ballistic missile on its launcher vehicle and seven UAVs destroyed on the ground in Iranian-backed Houthi controlled areas of Yemen prior to their launch.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in a statement late Saturday, said the explosive aircraft and missiles were launched from the territories of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
“We call on Iran to immediately halt any further attacks, including from its proxy forces, and to deescalate tensions,” Austin said. “We do not seek conflict with Iran, but we will not hesitate to act to protect our forces and support the defense of Israel.”
He spoke by phone Sunday for the third time during the weekend with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Biden convened a hastily arranged video conference Sunday of leaders of the Group of Seven nations to coordinate a united diplomatic response to the Iranian attack.
“With its actions, Iran has further stepped toward the destabilization of the region and risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation. This must be avoided,” the G7 leaders said in a group statement issued after their meeting. “We will continue to work to stabilize the situation and avoid further escalation. In this spirit, we demand that Iran and its proxies cease their attacks, and we stand ready to take further measures now and in response to further destabilizing initiatives.”
Biden spoke by phone with Netanyahu on Saturday evening to “reaffirm America’s ironclad commitment to the security of Israel.”
Biden told Netanyahu, according to media reports, that since the Iranian attack caused only minimal casualties and damage, Israel should not retaliate against Iran.
Both Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have been calling leaders in the region to make it clear that while Washington does not seek a direct military confrontation with Tehran, the United States will not hesitate to continue to defend Israel.
Biden had rushed back to Washington from a visit to Delaware earlier Saturday and convened a meeting in the White House Situation Room with key officials of his Cabinet as Iran launched the unprecedented attack after vowing to retaliate over an April 1 suspected Israeli airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus.
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the strike.
The U.S. military began moving extra troops and equipment to sites in the Middle East, defense officials confirmed Friday. It has about 40,000 troops in the region.
The U.S. Navy moved two guided-missile destroyers capable of intercepting drones and incoming missiles closer to Israel in anticipation of the Iranian attack, The Wall Street Journal reported.
U.S. Navy Red Sea forces have previously intercepted long-range missiles launched toward Israel from Yemen by the Iranian-allied Houthi forces.
The Biden administration’s response to the Iranian attack will be closely watched by his political opponents, coming less than seven months before a general election rematch between the Democratic Party incumbent and his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump.
Trump, speaking Saturday at a rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, claimed the attack “would not have happened if we were in office.” He did not elaborate on how.
“God bless the people of Israel,” he said. “They are under attack right now. That’s because we show great weakness.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has failed to permit a floor vote on bipartisan legislation passed by the Senate providing security aid to Israel and Ukraine, is accusing Biden’s administration of undermining Israel and appeasing Iran and that “contributed to these terrible developments.”
A Republican congressman, Mike Turner of the state of Ohio, is calling for a more robust response from Biden.
“I think the administration needs to take seriously that this attack has happened. It’s unprecedented and certainly it needs to be viewed as an escalation. This is an escalating conflict,” Turner, who chairs the intelligence committee in the House, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program Sunday.
Democrat Chris Coons, of Biden’s home state of Delaware, is urging lawmakers to pass Biden’s request for military aid to Israel.
“The House should promptly pass this coming week the long-delayed national security supplemental to ensure that our Israeli allies have everything they need to defend themselves from attacks by Iran and its proxies,” he said.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-suggests-israel-need-not-retaliate-against-iran/7570166.html
Australian operation of web host BlueVPS laid low by storage failure
date: 2024-04-15, updated: 2024-04-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
PLUS: AWS expands India payment options; Alibaba co-founders unite in criticism; Korea invests in AI; and more
Asia In Brief The Australian operations of Estonian cloud and web hosting outfit BlueVPS have been struck by a multi-day outage that commenced on or about April 9 and is ongoing at the time of writing.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/asia_tech_news_roundup/
Matadors defeat Beach in emotional match
date: 2024-04-15, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
Entering the match, Yuliia Zhytelna never wanted to be in the position to clinch. But she was. The Matadors (11-5, 5-1 Big West Conference) entered the match against Long Beach…
https://sundial.csun.edu/180584/sports/matadors-defeat-beach-in-emotional-match/
Physical modelling of unreinforced masonry walls using a sand-based 3D printer
date: 2024-04-15, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Del Giudice, Lorenzo; Katsamakas, Antonios; Liu, Bowen; Sarhosis, Vasilis; Vassiliou, Michalis F.
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/661336
Announcing Version 2 of the ROR Schema and API!
date: 2024-04-15, from: ROR Research ID Blog
Today, we are delighted to announce the launch of version 2 of the ROR schema and API! This new version of our schema and API will serve as a rock-solid foundation for everything ROR users want to accomplish now and in the future.
https://ror.org/blog/2024-04-15-announcing-ror-v2/
On Opening Essays, Conference Talks, and Jam Jars
date: 2024-04-15, from: Maggie Appleton blog
https://maggieappleton.com/openings
GHC 9.10.1-alpha3 is now available
date: 2024-04-15, from: Glasgow Haskell Compiler
GHC 9.10.1-alpha3 is now available
bgamari - 2024-04-15
The GHC developers are very pleased to announce the availability of the third alpha release of GHC 9.10.1. Binary distributions, source distributions, and documentation are available at downloads.haskell.org.
We hope to have this release available via ghcup shortly.
GHC 9.10 will bring a number of new features and improvements, including:
-
The introduction of the
GHC2024language edition, building uponGHC2021with the addition of a number of widely-used extensions. -
Partial implementation of the GHC Proposal #281, allowing visible quantification to be used in the types of terms.
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Extension of LinearTypes to allow linear
letandwherebindings -
The implementation of the exception backtrace proposal, allowing the annotation of exceptions with backtraces, as well as other user-defined context
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Further improvements in the info table provenance mechanism, reducing code size to allow IPE information to be enabled more widely
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Javascript FFI support in the WebAssembly backend
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Improvements in the fragmentation characteristics of the low-latency non-moving garbage collector.
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… and many more
A full accounting of changes can be found in the release notes. As always, GHC’s release status, including planned future releases, can be found on the GHC Wiki status.
This alpha is the penultimate prerelease leading to 9.10.1. In two weeks we plan to publish a release candidate, followed, if all things go well, by the final release a week later.
We would like to thank GitHub, IOG, the Zw3rk stake pool, Well-Typed, Tweag I/O, Serokell, Equinix, SimSpace, the Haskell Foundation, and other anonymous contributors whose on-going financial and in-kind support has facilitated GHC maintenance and release management over the years. Finally, this release would not have been possible without the hundreds of open-source contributors whose work comprise this release.
As always, do give this release a try and open a ticket if you see anything amiss.
http://haskell.org/ghc/blog/20240415-ghc-9.10.1-alpha3-released.html