News gathered 2024-06-24
(date: 2024-06-24 16:14:00)
Apple Says It Won’t Ship Apple Intelligence for EU Users in 2024
date: 2024-06-24, from: TidBITS blog
Apple has said the Digital Markets Act’s interoperability requirements will prevent it from shipping Apple Intelligence, iPhone Mirroring, and SharePlay Screen Sharing for EU users in 2024.
https://tidbits.com/2024/06/24/apple-says-it-wont-ship-apple-intelligence-for-eu-users-in-2024/
Major Crimes seeking bank-robbery suspect
date: 2024-06-24, from: The Signal
The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department’s Major Crimes Bureau is investigating a report of a bank robbery Friday at the California Bank & Trust in Acton, according to Palmdale Sheriff’s Station […]
The post Major Crimes seeking bank-robbery suspect appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/06/major-crimes-seeking-bank-robbery-suspect/
Highway 154 Remains Closed to Through Traffic Between Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez Valley for Foreseeable Future
date: 2024-06-24, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Caltrans is adding supports under the road to shore it up after cracks developed across all traffic lanes on June 21.
The post Highway 154 Remains Closed to Through Traffic Between Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez Valley for Foreseeable Future appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
Full Closure of State Route 192 in Santa Barbara Scheduled for July 1-2
date: 2024-06-24, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Two-day closure along Mountain Drive needed to complete the paving work for a drainage system installation project, Caltrans says.
The post Full Closure of State Route 192 in Santa Barbara Scheduled for July 1-2 appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
San Jose Museum of Art exhibit looks at Mexican American life
date: 2024-06-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
Christina Fernandez’s thought-provoking art reflects the politics and culture of her Mexican American family.
Letters: Teaching English | Solar firm win | Sideshow space | Indoctrinating students | Not pro-life | Project 2025
date: 2024-06-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
Mercury News Letters to the Editor for June 25, 2024
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/06/24/letters-1773/
Windows 11 is now automatically enabling OneDrive folder backup without asking permission
date: 2024-06-24, from: OS News
Microsoft has made OneDrive slightly more annoying for Windows 11 users. Quietly and without any announcement, the company changed Windows 11’s initial setup so that it could turn on the automatic folder backup without asking for it. Now, those setting up a new Windows computer the way Microsoft wants them to (in other words, connected to the internet and signed into a Microsoft account) will get to their desktops with OneDrive already syncing stuff from folders like Desktop Pictures, Documents, Music, and Videos. Depending on how much is stored there, you might end up with a desktop and other folders filled to the brim with shortcuts to various stuff right after finishing a clean Windows installation. ↫ Taras Buria at NeoWin Just further confirmation that Windows 11 is not ready for the desktop.
Rain, lightning over Bay Area not likely to last
date: 2024-06-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
“Stay weather aware. When the thunder roars, go indoors!” the forecast advised residents.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/06/24/rain-lightning-over-bay-area-not-likely-to-last/
SCV Senior Center Announces $5.1M Cut to Nutrition Budget
date: 2024-06-24, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The SCV Senior Center was recently informed that their Nutrition Budget - “Meals for Seniors” for Fiscal Year starting July 1, 2024, will be cut by $5.1 million dollars.
https://scvnews.com/scv-senior-center-announces-5-1m-cut-to-nutrition-budget/
What you need to know about the California budget deal
date: 2024-06-24, from: The Signal
By Alexei Koseff CalMatters Writer California will make widespread cuts to state government operations, prisons, housing programs and health care workforce development in order to maintain its social safety net as […]
The post What you need to know about the California budget deal appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/06/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-california-budget-deal/
Pinot Pours and More at Taste of Sta. Rita Hills
date: 2024-06-24, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Michael and Marlene Robinson take over Los Olivos tasting room and wine club.
The post Pinot Pours and More at Taste of Sta. Rita Hills appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/06/24/pinot-pours-and-more-at-taste-of-sta-rita-hills/
VTA light rail derailment forces Capitol Station closure, bus bridge
date: 2024-06-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
Ten people had boarded at the Capitol Station and were traveling north when the train derailed near Capitol Expressway and Highway 87.
US, South Korea, Japan condemn North Korea-Russia military pact
date: 2024-06-24, from: The Signal
By Aldgra Fredly Contributing Writer The United States, South Korea and Japan on Sunday condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the military cooperation between North Korea and Russia after the leaders […]
The post US, South Korea, Japan condemn North Korea-Russia military pact appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/06/us-south-korea-japan-condemn-north-korea-russia-military-pact/
Wildlife mystery: Why are gray whales swimming into San Francisco Bay in increasing numbers?
date: 2024-06-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
Popular species faces risks from collisions with big ships, as researchers look for clues
US moves Brunei, Sudan to blacklist on human trafficking report
date: 2024-06-24, from: VOA News USA
Scriptnotes, Episode 643: Agents and Managers 101, Transcript
date: 2024-06-24, from: John August blog
The original post for this episode can be found here. John August: Hello and welcome. My name is John August, and you are listening to Scriptnotes, a podcast about screenwriting and things that are interesting to screenwriters. Today on the show, agents and managers. How do you obtain them? How do you work with them? […] The post Scriptnotes, Episode 643: Agents and Managers 101, Transcript first appeared on John August.
https://johnaugust.com/2024/scriptnotes-episode-643-agents-and-managers-101-transcript
Scriptnotes, Episode 642: It’s Brutal Out Here, Transcript
date: 2024-06-24, from: John August blog
The original post for this episode can be found here. John August: Hey, this is John. Heads up that today’s episode has just a little bit of swearing in it. Hello and welcome. My name is John August. Craig Mazin: My name is Craig Mazin. John: You’re listening to Scriptnotes, a podcast about screenwriting and […] The post Scriptnotes, Episode 642: It’s Brutal Out Here, Transcript first appeared on John August.
https://johnaugust.com/2024/scriptnotes-episode-642-its-brutal-out-here-transcript
Trump attorney takes aim at funding of classified documents prosecution
date: 2024-06-24, from: VOA News USA
FORT PIERCE, Florida — An attorney for Donald Trump told a federal judge on Monday that the criminal prosecution against the former president on charges he mishandled classified documents was unlawfully funded, as they made another attempt to get the charges thrown out of court.
Prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that the funding mechanism for their office has been upheld in past cases, as they sought to work through a thicket of legal challenges that have delayed the trial indefinitely.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges that he illegally held on to sensitive national security papers after leaving office in 2021 and that he obstructed government efforts to retrieve them. The criminal case is one of four Trump has been facing as he seeks to unseat Democratic President Joe Biden in the November 5 election.
Cannon, a Trump appointee, set hearings on Friday and Monday in her Florida courtroom for Trump’s lawyers to argue several motions making claims similar to those that have been rejected in other cases. On Friday, Trump attorneys urged her to find U.S. special counsel Jack Smith has too much independence - even though Trump has repeatedly blasted him as a puppet of Biden.
On Monday, Trump lawyer Emil Bove said the U.S. Justice Department should not be allowed to use a fund Congress set aside in the 1970s for independent politically sensitive investigations to pay for the documents probe.
“More oversight from Congress is required for the extraordinary things that are going on in these prosecutions,” Bove said. Some Republicans in the House of Representatives have called for defunding Smith’s office.
Special counsels have been appointed in Democratic- and Republican-led administrations alike to ensure an attorney can independently investigate and, if warranted, prosecute a case without any appearance of political influence.
U.S. prosecutor James Pearce told Cannon that the funding had been upheld in previous court cases that challenged other special prosecutors - including David Weiss, who recently won a criminal conviction of Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.
Pearce said the Justice Department would fund Smith’s office out of its regular budget if Cannon ruled that it cannot rely on the 1970s law.
Cannon has allowed a flurry of motions by Trump’s legal team and has ruled in favor of the Republican presidential candidate on previous requests. It is unlikely the case will reach a jury before Trump and Biden face voters in the election.
Gag order request
Smith’s team was due to ask Cannon later on Monday to bar Trump from making statements that pose a threat to law enforcement while he awaits trial.
Trump falsely claimed that a routine FBI use-of-force policy in effect during a 2022 search of his Florida resort authorized agents to attempt an assassination.
Prosecutors called the claim “deceptive and inflammatory” in a court filing and said it subjected agents to “unjustified and unacceptable risks.”
Trump’s lawyers say a gag order would violate Trump’s free-speech rights in the heat of the presidential campaign. They also argue that prosecutors have not presented evidence of threats against the FBI.
Cannon previously denied the request on procedural grounds after she ruled that prosecutors had not adequately consulted with Trump’s lawyers before filing it.
Trump faces gag orders limiting his public statements in another federal case, also overseen by Smith, accusing him of attempting to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election, and a case in New York that led to his conviction in May for falsifying business records.
Trump has verbally attacked prosecutors, judges and witnesses in legal cases against him, contending that the U.S. justice system is being used to undermine his campaign.
Trump’s criticism of the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago social club intensified last month after the bureau’s use-of-force policy was made public as part of a tranche of records related to the FBI operation.
The policy stipulated that the FBI could not use lethal force unless an agent or other person was at serious risk of death or serious injury. Trump was not present at the club at the time of the search.
Trump’s baseless claim about an attempted assassination was included in campaign fundraising emails and was echoed by his allies in Congress.
Experiencing Art Immersion with the Vision Pro
date: 2024-06-24, from: TidBITS blog
Using the Art Authority Museum app for the Vision Pro, you can virtually wander among many masterpieces of Western art. Michael Cohen reports on his explorations.
https://tidbits.com/2024/06/24/experiencing-art-immersion-with-the-vision-pro/
Lawsuit challenges new Louisiana law requiring classrooms to display Ten Commandments
date: 2024-06-24, from: VOA News USA
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana — Civil liberties groups filed a lawsuit Monday to block Louisiana’s new law that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom, a measure they contend is unconstitutional.
Plaintiffs in the suit include parents of Louisiana public schoolchildren, represented by attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
“This display sends a message to my children and other students that people of some religious denominations are superior to others,” said the Rev. Jeff Simms, a Presbyterian pastor who is a plaintiff in the suit and father of three children in Louisiana public schools. “This is religious favoritism.”
Under the legislation signed into law by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry last week, all public K-12 classrooms and state-funded universities will be required to display a poster-sized version of the Ten Commandments in “large, easily readable font” next year.
Opponents argue that the law is a violation of separation of church and state and that the display will isolate students, especially those who are not Christian. Proponents say the measure is not solely religious, but that it has historical significance. In the language of the law, the Ten Commandments are “foundational documents of our state and national government.”
Plaintiff Joshua Herlands has two young children in New Orleans public schools who, like their father, are Jewish. There are multiple versions of the Ten Commandments, and Herlands said the specific version mandated for classroom walls does not align with the version from his faith. He worries the display will send a troubling message to his kids and others that “they may be lesser in the eyes of the government.”
“Politicians have absolutely no business forcing their religious beliefs on my kids or any kids, or attempting to indoctrinate them with what they think is the right version of a particular piece of religious text,” Herlands said.
The lawsuit filed Monday seeks a court declaration that the new law, referred to in the lawsuit as HB 71, violates First Amendment clauses forbidding government establishment of religion and guaranteeing religious liberty. It also seeks an order prohibiting the posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.
“The state’s main interest in passing H.B. 71 was to impose religious beliefs on public-school children, regardless of the harm to students and families,” the lawsuit says. “The law’s primary sponsor and author, Representative Dodie Horton, proclaimed during debate over the bill that it ‘seeks to have a display of God’s law in the classroom for children to see what He says is right and what He says is wrong.’”
Defendants include state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley, members of the state education board and some local school boards.
Landry and Louisiana Attorney General Elizabeth Murrill support the new law, and Murrill has said she is looking forward to defending it. She issued a statement saying she couldn’t comment directly on the lawsuit because she had not yet seen it.
“It seems the ACLU only selectively cares about the First Amendment — it doesn’t care when the Biden administration censors speech or arrests pro-life protesters, but apparently it will fight to prevent posters that discuss our own legal history,” Murrill said in the emailed statement.
The Ten Commandments have long been at the center of lawsuits across the nation.
In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a similar Kentucky law violated the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says Congress can “make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” The high court found that the law had no secular purpose but rather served a plainly religious purpose.
In a more recent ruling, the Supreme Court held in 2005 that such displays in a pair of Kentucky courthouses violated the Constitution. At the same time, the court upheld a Ten Commandments marker on the grounds of the Texas state Capitol in Austin. Those were 5-4 decisions, but the court’s makeup has changed, with a 6-3 conservative majority now.
Other states, including Texas, Oklahoma and Utah, have attempted to pass requirements that the schools display the Ten Commandments. However, with threats of legal battles, none has the mandate in place except for Louisiana.
The posters in Louisiana, which will be paired with a four-paragraph “context statement” describing how the Ten Commandments “were a prominent part of public education for almost three centuries,” must be in place in classrooms by the start of 2025.
The controversial law comes during a new era of conservative leadership in Louisiana under Landry, who replaced two-term Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards in January. The GOP holds a supermajority in the Legislature, and Republicans hold every statewide elected position, paving the way for lawmakers to push through a conservative agenda.
The case was allotted to U.S. District Judge John deGravelles, nominated to the federal bench by former President Barack Obama.
Explore these Airbnb alternatives for your next vacation
date: 2024-06-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
Whether you’re looking for luxury, transparency or adventure, there’s an option to suit your needs and budget.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/06/24/explore-these-airbnb-alternatives-for-your-next-vacation/
Kathryn Barger | Fighting Fires
date: 2024-06-24, from: SCV New (TV Station)
I know I speak for everyone when I say the passing of firefighter Andrew Pontious in the line of duty just one week ago was heartbreaking
https://scvnews.com/kathryn-barger-fighting-fires/
Santa Clarita Native Jeremy Bischoff to Compete in Olympic Trials
date: 2024-06-24, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Jeremy Bischoff, a Santa Clarita native and a member of the USA Gymnastics National Team for five years, will compete for a spot in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games this week. Bischoff, a 2020 graduate of Canyon High School/Learning Post Academy, will compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials June 27-June 30 in Minneapolis.
https://scvnews.com/santa-clarita-native-jeremy-bischoff-to-compete-in-olympic-trials/
North American car dealerships in revert to pens and paper after cyberattacks
date: 2024-06-24, from: VOA News USA
NEW YORK — Car dealerships in North America continue to wrestle with major disruptions that started last week with cyberattacks on a software company used widely in the auto retail sales sector.
CDK Global, a company that provides software for thousands of auto dealers in the U.S. and Canada, was hit by back-to-back cyberattacks Wednesday. That led to an outage that has continued to impact operations.
For prospective car buyers, that has meant delays at dealerships or vehicle orders written up by hand. There’s no immediate end in sight, with CDK saying it expects the restoration process to take “several days” to complete.
On Monday, Group 1 Automotive Inc., a $4 billion automotive retailer, said that it continued to use “alternative processes” to sell cars to its customers. Lithia Motors and AutoNation, two other dealership chains, also disclosed that they implemented workarounds to keep their operations going.
Here is what you need to know.
What is CDK Global?
CDK Global is a major player in the auto sales industry. The company, based just outside of Chicago in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, provides software technology to dealers that helps with day-to-day operations — like facilitating vehicle sales, financing, insurance and repairs.
CDK serves more than 15,000 retail locations across North America, according to the company.
What happened last week?
CDK experienced back-to-back cyberattacks on Wednesday. The company shut down all of its systems out of an abundance of caution, spokesperson Lisa Finney said last week.
“We have begun the restoration process,” Finney said in an update over the weekend — noting that the company had launched an investigation into the “cyber incident” with third-party experts and notified law enforcement.
“Based on the information we have at this time, we anticipate that the process will take several days to complete, and in the interim we are continuing to actively engage with our customers and provide them with alternate ways to conduct business,” she added.
In messages to its customers, the company has also warned of “bad actors” posing as members or affiliates of CDK to try to obtain system access by contacting customers. It urged them to be cautious of any attempted phishing.
The incident bore all the hallmarks of a ransomware attack, in which targets are asked to pay a ransom to access encrypted files. But CDK declined to comment directly — neither confirming or denying if it had received a ransom demand.
Are impacted dealerships still selling cars?
Several major auto companies — including Stellantis, Ford and BMW — confirmed to The Associated Press last week that the CDK outage had impacted some of their dealers, but that sales operations continue.
In light of the ongoing situation, a spokesperson for Stellantis said Friday that many dealerships had switched to manual processes to serve customers. That includes writing up orders by hand.
A Ford spokesperson added that the outage may cause “some delays and inconveniences at some dealers and for some customers.” However, many Ford and Lincoln customers are still getting sales and service support through alternative routes being used at dealerships.
Group 1 Automotive Inc., which owns 202 automotive dealerships, 264 franchises, and 42 collision centers in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, said Monday that the incident has disrupted its business applications and processes in its U.S. operations that rely on CDK’s dealers’ systems. The company said that it took measures to protect and isolate its systems from CDK’s platform.
All Group 1 U.S. dealerships will continue to conduct business using alternative processes until CDK’s dealers’ systems are available, the company said Monday. Group 1’s dealerships in the U.K. don’t use CDK’s dealers’ systems and are not impacted by the incident.
In regulatory filings, Lithia Motors and AutoNation disclosed that last week’s incident at CDK had disrupted their operations as well.
Lithia said it activated cyber incident response procedures, which included “severing business service connections between the company’s systems and CDK’s.” AutoNation said it also took steps to protect its systems and data — adding that all of its locations remain open “albeit with lower productivity,” as many are served manually or through alternative processes.
With many details of the cyberattacks still unclear, customer privacy is also at top of mind — especially with little known about what information may have been compromised this week.
In a statement last week, Mike Stanton, president and CEO of the National Automobile Dealers Association, said “dealers are very committed to protecting their customer information” and were seeking updates from CDK to determine the scope of impact “so they can respond appropriately.”
Cybersecurity experts have stressed that consumers connected to CDK (or a CDK-affilated dealership) should assume that their data may have been breached. Those impacted should monitor their credit — or even consider freezing their credit as an added layer of defense — and be wary of any suspicious phishing messages.
Goodrow likely still getting over ‘shock’ and ‘disappointment’ of Rangers’ move, Sharks’ Grier says
date: 2024-06-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
San Jose Sharks GM Mike Grier said Barclay Goodrow is likely still processing unceremonious departure from New York Rangers
Record labels gang up to sue AI music generator duo into utter oblivion
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Recording Industry Ass. of America orchestrates war on Udio and Suno
Big name record labels are together suing two AI startups for allegedly training their music-generating models on copyrighted tracks without permission, resulting in the software emitting audio that rips off commercial work.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/udio_suno_riaa/
Outstanding Young Artists Recognized in MTD Art Contest
date: 2024-06-24, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
SANTA BARBARA – Santa Barbara MTD held the 8th Annual Youth Art Poster Contest this spring for Grades 1 through
The post Outstanding Young Artists Recognized in MTD Art Contest appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/06/24/outstanding-young-artists-recognized-in-mtd-art-contest/
The Depth of the Tragedy
date: 2024-06-24, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Santa Ynez Valley artist Max Gleason guides healing through “Art Medicine” workshop series.
The post The Depth of the Tragedy appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/06/24/the-depth-of-the-tragedy/
This Week’s Presidential Debate May Decide the Future of Democracy
date: 2024-06-24, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
A TV event that may be the most important political show you will ever watch.
The post This Week’s Presidential Debate May Decide the Future of Democracy appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
Sale closed in San Jose: $1.8 million for a three-bedroom home
date: 2024-06-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
A house located in the 6200 block of Sager Way in San Jose has new owners. The 1,727-square-foot property, built in 1968, was sold on June 6, 2024. The $1,800,000 purchase price works out to $1,042 per square foot.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/06/24/sale-closed-in-san-jose-1-8-million-for-a-three-bedroom-home/
Supreme Court still has 6 blockbuster rulings to issue
date: 2024-06-24, from: The Signal
By Jack Phillips Contributing Writer The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to release a number of significant rulings in the coming week, including ones relating to whether former President Donald Trump […]
The post Supreme Court still has 6 blockbuster rulings to issue appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/06/supreme-court-still-has-6-blockbuster-rulings-to-issue/
Santa Barbara’s Eastside Boys & Girls Club Reopens Under New Director
date: 2024-06-24, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Sunday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony follows last month’s split with the United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County.
The post Santa Barbara’s Eastside Boys & Girls Club Reopens Under New Director appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
‘Studio 74’ Coming to Zonta SCV’s Golden Anniversary Celebration
date: 2024-06-24, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Zonta Club of Santa Clarita Valley invites the community to celebrate its 50 years of improving lives of women and girls globally and in the SCV with a glittering disco gala at The Oaks Club, Valencia, on Saturday night, Sept.
https://scvnews.com/studio-74-coming-to-zonta-scvs-golden-anniversary-celebration/
Apple first company to be found violating DMA
date: 2024-06-24, from: OS News
Today, the European Commission has informed Apple of its preliminary view that its App Store rules are in breach of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), as they prevent app developers from freely steering consumers to alternative channels for offers and content. In addition, the Commission opened a new non-compliance procedure against Apple over concerns that its new contractual requirements for third-party app developers and app stores, including Apple’s new “Core Technology Fee”, fall short of ensuring effective compliance with Apple’s obligations under the DMA. ↫ European Commission press release File this in the category for entirely expected news that is the opposite of surprising. Apple has barely even been maliciously compliant with the DMA, and the European Commission is entirely right in pursuing the company for its continued violation of the law. The DMA really isn’t a very complicated law, and the fact the world’s most powerful and wealthiest corporation in the world can’t seem to adapt its products to the privacy and competition laws here in the EU is clearly just a bunch of grandstanding and whining. In fact, I find that the European Commission is remarkably lenient and cooperative in its dealings with the major technology giants in general, and Apple in particular. They’ve been in talks with Apple for a long time now in preparation for the DMA, the highest-ranking EU officials regularly talked with Apple and Tim Cook, they’ve been given ample warnings, instructions, and additional time to make sure their products do not violate the law – as a European Union citizen, I can tell you no small to medium business or individual EU citizen gets this kind of leniency and silk gloves treatment. Everything Apple is reaping, it sowed all by itself. As I posted on Mastodon a few days ago: The EU enacted a new law a while ago that all bottle caps should remain attached to the bottle, to combat plastic trash. All the bottle and packaging makers, from massive multinationals like Coca Cola and fucking Nestlé to small local producers invested in the development of new caps, changing their production lines, and shipping the new caps. Today, a month before the law goes into effect, it’s basically impossible to find a bottle without an attached cap. I don’t know, I thought this story was weirdly relevant right now with Apple being a whiny bitch. Imagine being worse than Coca Cola and motherfucking Nestlé. ↫ Thom Holwerda Apple is in this mess and facing insane fines as high as 10% of their worldwide turnover because spoiled, rich, privileged brats like Tim Cook are not used to anyone ever saying “no”. Silicon Valley has shown, time and time again, from massive data collection for advertising purposes to scraping the entire web for machine learning, that they simply do not understand consent. Now that there’s finally someone big, strong, and powerful enough to not take Silicon Valley’s bullshit, they start throwing tamper tantrums like toddlers. Apple’s public attacks on the European Union – and their instructions to their PR attack dogs to step it up a notch – are not doing them any favours, either. The EU is, contrary to just about any other government body in the Western world, ridiculously popular among its citizens, and laws that curb the power of megacorps are even more popular. I honestly have no idea who’s running their PR department, because they’re doing a terrible job, at least here in the EU.
https://www.osnews.com/story/140053/apple-first-company-to-be-found-violating-dma/
Johnson Celebrates LGBTQI+ Pride Month: Eva Granger
date: 2024-06-24, from: NASA breaking news
Eva Granger firmly believes that anyone can launch a career at NASA. As the events and milestones lead for the Orion Program’s strategic communications team, she dedicates her time to engaging with the public and educating them not only about the Orion spacecraft but also about the various opportunities to contribute to the agency’s mission. […]
https://www.nasa.gov/general/johnson-celebrates-lgbtqi-pride-month-eva-granger/
Tamayo Perry dies at 49; former pro surfer killed in shark attack off Oahu
date: 2024-06-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
Tamayo Perry also appeared in a handful of film and TV roles, including in “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” and “Hawaii Five-0.”
Emmys 2024: Predictions (and voting advice) for all 15 main categories
date: 2024-06-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
Emmy voting is underway. Ballots are due June 24.
Decline of American students in China could mean fewer experts
date: 2024-06-24, from: VOA News USA
washington — The number of Americans studying in China has dropped dramatically in recent years from around 11,000 in 2019 to 800 this year, and the slump is so bad that some China scholars worry the United States could lose a generation of “China experts” as a result.
David Moser, an American who has lived and worked in China for more than three decades and is the former academic director of China Educational Tours (CET) in Beijing, said that “I haven’t seen an American student in years.”
CET, which was launched in 1982, is a Washington-based organization that recruits American students for short-term language and culture studies in China. Moser said that his position as academic director recently went away and that the organization continues to struggle to get more students to return to China.
CET once carried out short-term study-abroad programs in several cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Harbin and Hangzhou. Now, the program is only available in Beijing and Shanghai. Harbin’s page on the website shows that programs are “suspended until spring 2025.”
“We have already lost a very crucial generation who would need to be continuing right now in China with studies or whatever,” Moser said, “so that 10 years from now, they would already be … very experienced China hands [experts].”
During the 2011-12 school year, the number of American students in China was around 15,000. Since then, with Xi Jinping’s rise as China’s leader and growing frictions between the two countries, the number has declined, dropping dramatically after the pandemic to about 200 at its lowest point.
Loss of understanding
Moser said the lack of talented people who understand China is undoubtedly a huge loss for the United States.
“You really need people who understand the two academic systems, the two college systems, and the way these things work in order to not make a huge mistake,” he said.
Compared with China, however, CET’s projects in Taiwan are in full swing.
Moser said CET started its first summer study abroad program at National Taiwan University in 2022, which attracted more than 120 American students. He said a program was set up in Taiwan because too few American students wanted to go to China.
He said he believed that starting around 2008, when Beijing held its first Olympics, China’s pollution and human rights violations turned some American students away, and that the trend has not reversed.
China’s strict lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic was also a crucial turning point. At that time, many foreigners, including American students, left China. After the Chinese government suddenly lifted the lockdown at the end of 2022, most foreigners did not immediately return.
China’s increasingly aggressive posture on the international stage under Xi, and its hostile propaganda against the West at home, is likely to have prevented foreign talents from visiting China for cultural and business exchanges.
A revised counterespionage law that took effect on July 1, 2023, has also made many Americans hesitant to travel to China, let alone study there.
As U.S.-China relations deteriorate, official academic exchanges have also been coldly received. Former U.S. President Donald Trump suspended all Fulbright exchange programs to China and Hong Kong in July 2020.
After the counterespionage law negatively affected China, the Chinese government sought to extend goodwill at the level of people-to-people exchanges. Xi announced during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in San Francisco in November 2023, “In order to expand exchanges between the people of China and the United States, especially the younger generation, China is willing to invite 50,000 American young people to come to China for exchanges and studies in the next five years.”
High school students visit
In January 2024, more than 20 students from Muscatine High School in Iowa visited Beijing, Hebei and Shanghai. In March, 24 students from Lincoln High School and Steilacoom High School in Washington state also boarded a plane from San Francisco to Beijing.
Wenzhou University and Kean University in New Jersey signed an agreement to jointly establish Wenzhou-Kean University in May 2006. At the time, Xi was the party secretary of Zhejiang, home province of Wenzhou, and he attended the signing ceremony in 2006.
In a letter to Kean’s president on June 7, Xi encouraged universities in the two countries to strengthen exchanges and cooperation. However, three days later, four American teachers who were giving short-term courses at Beihua University in Jilin, China, were stabbed by a Chinese man. Chinese officials quickly deleted the relevant content on social media, and a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson called the incident an “accident” that would not affect relations between the two countries.
Meghan Burke, a former sociology professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, said that although the attack on American teachers was a shocking and unexpected incident, she still hoped that it would not affect Americans’ confidence in studying and traveling in China.
“I think it’s always been there, but I think with the pandemic, there was some really racially loaded misinformation and fears that I wouldn’t be surprised if that came into play in some students’ and some families’ decisions about where they were willing to go abroad,” she said.
Asked about the 800 American students in China today, Burke said that was a big regret for the United States.
“Language is key to understanding culture. So, any limitations on learning Mandarin or other Chinese languages only hold back our ability to have a broader and more complex intercultural understanding and international perspective that I think benefits everyone who is involved in those conversations,” Burke said.
In contrast, 300,000 Chinese students are studying in the United States.
“Asymmetry is bad for China, but it’s much worse for the United States because asymmetry is in one direction, which is towards us,” Moser said. “The Chinese have very good knowledge of the U.S., of its culture, of its government, everything.”
Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
Five Arrested as UC Santa Barbara’s ‘Liberated Zone’ Is Cleared Overnight
date: 2024-06-24, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
The pro-Palestinian encampment on UCSB’s campus swept by law enforcement after 54 days.
The post Five Arrested as UC Santa Barbara’s ‘Liberated Zone’ Is Cleared Overnight appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
iOS and iPadOS 18 can format external drives
date: 2024-06-24, from: OS News
I can’t believe this is considered something I need to write about, but it’s still a very welcome new feature that surprisingly has taken this long to become available: iOS and iPadOS 18 now allow you to format external storage devices. Last year when I began testing iPadOS 17 betas, I noticed the addition of options for renaming and erasing external drives in the Files app. I watched these options over the course of the beta cycle for iPadOS 17 to see if any further changes would come. The one I watched most closely was the “Erase” option for external drives. This option uses the same glyph as the Erase option in Disc Utility on macOS. In Disc Utility on the Mac, in order to reformat an external drive, you first select the “Erase” option, and then additional options appear for selecting the new format you wish to reformat the drive with. When I saw the “Erase” option added in the Files app on iPadOS, I suspected that Apple might be moving towards adding these reformatting options into the Files app on iPadOS. And I’m excited to confirm that this is exactly what Apple has done in iPadOS 18! ↫ Kaleb Cadle It was soon confirmed this feature is available in iOS 18 as well. You can only format in APFS, ExFAT and FAT, so it’s not exactly a cornucopia of file systems to choose from, but it’s better than nothing. This won’t magically fix all the issues a lot of people have with especially iPadOS when it comes to feeling constrained when using their expensive, powerful tablets with detachable keyboards, but it takes away at least one tiny reason to keep a real computer around. Baby steps, I guess.
https://www.osnews.com/story/140051/ios-and-ipados-18-can-format-external-drives/
Slow time?
date: 2024-06-24, from: Status-Q blog
Back in the days when I had an analogue watch, rather than a serious computer, strapped to my wrist, I often wondered whether life would be more or less stressful if I removed the minute and second hands, so that I could only tell the time to, say, the nearest 5-10 minutes. Would I be Continue Reading
https://statusq.org/archives/2024/06/24/12102/
Ollama drama as ‘easy-to-exploit’ critical flaw found in open source AI server
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
About a thousand vulnerable instances still exposed online, we’re told
A now-patched vulnerability in Ollama – a popular open source project for running LLMs – can lead to remote code execution, according to flaw finders who warned that upwards of 1,000 vulnerable instances remain exposed to the internet.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/rce_ollama_wiz/
Why Cooling Centers Were Closed Last Week
date: 2024-06-24, from: Heatmap News
With a brutal heat dome still threatening parts of the United States, one more thing about this summer has become clear: Cities are struggling to protect their most vulnerable citizens from extreme temperatures.
Just last week, on Juneteenth, over 82 million Americans were under active National Weather Service extreme heat alerts — but, due to the national holiday, many publicly operated cooling centers were closed. While Boston had opened 14 new facilities in partnership with the Centers for Youth and Families, for instance, none of them stayed open Wednesday.
The same thing happened in New York, where more than 200 cooling centers were closed for the holiday, most of them libraries. While other heat preparedness measures were still in place — Gov. Kathy Hochul announced free admission for state parks — residents counting on a facility near home had to change plans last minute. On Sunday, New York turned 45 public schools into cooling centers, this time because the public libraries were closed due to budget cuts.
In Chicago, only one cooling center was open during the holiday. The lack of cooling spaces available sparked action from homelessness advocates, who are urging the city to offer more cooling centers that are open 24/7 and also to make those facilities available when the heat index is above 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Because cooling centers are often multi-purpose spaces, data on their usage is limited. In Boston, 245 people visited cooling centers from June 18 to 20, the mayor’s office told me. New York City’s Department of Emergency Management could only say that six people visited four of the schools open Sunday.
Emergency response services also attended more heat-related calls this past week. John Chisholm, chief of the Concord Fire Department, told The New York Times that the department received more calls than usual from seniors struggling with the heat on Tuesday. In New Hampshire, 39 individuals called 911 due to the heat on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday — more than the total amount of calls the service received in all of June last year.
Cooling companies also struggled to meet demands. An HVAC company in Hartford, Connecticut told USA Today that it received about 100 calls for service per day last week — numbers usually only seen during peak summer temperatures in August. To protect its technicians, the company had to turn down requests from clients that would have required work in an attic.
Throughout the week, cities canceled activities like food markets, street fairs, Little League practices, and field trips, were due to the heat. Instead, people flocked to beaches. In Massachusetts, the number of people heading to the coast was so high on Wednesday that some were forced to head back home due to intense traffic and lack of parking spaces. One exception was New York’s annual Mermaid Parade, which went on as scheduled.
https://heatmap.news/sparks/heat-dome-cooling-centers
Recordatorio: Construcción para las Líneas Interinas de la Avenida Hollister Comienza Esta Noche
date: 2024-06-24, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
GOLETA, CA, 24 de Junio, 2024 – La construcción del Proyecto de trazado interino de Hollister Avenue comienza esta noche,
The post Recordatorio: Construcción para las Líneas Interinas de la Avenida Hollister Comienza Esta Noche appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
Reminder: Hollister Avenue Interim Striping Construction Begins Tonight
date: 2024-06-24, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
GOLETA, CA, June 24, 2024 – Hollister Avenue Interim Striping Project construction begins tonight, June 24 on Hollister Avenue between Fairview Avenue and Kinman
The post Reminder: Hollister Avenue Interim Striping Construction Begins Tonight appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
Chimpanzees May Self-Medicate With Plants, Using the Forest as a Pharmacy
date: 2024-06-24, from: Smithsonian Magazine
New research suggests sick chimps seek out and eat plants with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties—a finding that could advance drug discovery for humans
Apple Found in Breach of DMA
date: 2024-06-24, from: Michael Tsai
Lisa O’Carroll (via Hacker News, New York Times, Slashdot): Apple has been found to be in breach of sweeping new EU laws designed to allow smaller companies to compete and allow consumers to find cheaper and alternative apps in the tech business’s app store.The European Commission, which also acts as the EU antitrust and technology […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/06/24/apple-found-in-breach-of-dma/
SwiftData vs. Realm Performance Comparison
date: 2024-06-24, from: Michael Tsai
Jacob Bartlett: The Realm DB engine was written from the ground-up in C++ to minimise this overhead. […] Therefore, it’s not unreasonable to describe SwiftData as a wrapper over a wrapper over a wrapper.[…]These show that the SwiftData objects took around 10x longer to instantiate.[…]Realm topped out at writing 2,000,000 simple User objects before hitting […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/06/24/swiftdata-vs-realm-performance-comparison/
Always Allow Safari Bookmarklets
date: 2024-06-24, from: Michael Tsai
Jeff Johnson: You may already be aware that for a number of years, Safari has asked your permission every time you click on a link, such as an RSS feed, that opens in an app other than Safari[…][…]The permission prompt now has an option to “Always Allow”! This option is new in Safari 17. This […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/06/24/always-allow-safari-bookmarklets/
iCloud Drive, Dropbox, and Proton Drive
date: 2024-06-24, from: Michael Tsai
Ryan Christoffel (AppleInsider): The problem is, Apple “intelligently” decides which files can remain stored in local cache, and will make decisions to remove certain downloads without telling you. So when you need to access a given file—say, on an airplane with no connection—you might find that the file has been sent back to the cloud […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/06/24/icloud-drive-dropbox-and-proton-drive/
AI Companies Ignoring Robots.txt
date: 2024-06-24, from: Michael Tsai
Mark Sullivan: The AI search startup Perplexity is in hot water in the wake of a Wiredinvestigation revealing that the startup has been crawling content from websites that don’t want to be crawled.[…]“Perplexity is not ignoring the Robot Exclusions Protocol and then lying about it,” said Perplexity cofounder and CEO Aravind Srinivas in a phone […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/06/24/ai-companies-ignoring-robots-txt/
Pirate Ship
date: 2024-06-24, from: Michael Tsai
Adam Engst: Pirate Ship is a shipping platform with an elegant interface that allows users to access discounted shipping rates from USPS and UPS with no subscription fee. I’ve used it a handful of times for mailing packages, and it has been brilliant.[…]And, oh, what a lovely interface![…]Pirate Ship has negotiated corporate-level discounted shipping rates […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/06/24/pirate-ship/
Ventura prosecutors charge Newhall man again
date: 2024-06-24, from: The Signal
Ventura County prosecutors once again filed sex crime charges against a Newhall man after he was twice convicted of crimes involving minors in L.A. County, receiving a suspended sentence for […]
The post Ventura prosecutors charge Newhall man again appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/06/ventura-prosecutors-charge-newhall-man-again/
Everyone Wants Nuclear Now
date: 2024-06-24, from: Heatmap News
Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm has become something of a one-woman band lately, traveling the country promoting nuclear energy. In Las Vegas at the American Nuclear Society annual conference last week, she told the audience, “We’re looking at a chance to build new nuclear at a scale not seen since the ’70s and ’80s.” A few weeks earlier she paid a visit to the Vogtle nuclear plant outside of Augusta, Georgia, site of the first new nuclear project to start construction this century “It’s time to cash in on our investments by building more, more of these facilities,” she told an audience there.
Unlike the past few decades, when nuclear power plants were more likely to shut down than be built amidst sluggish growth in electricity demand, any new nuclear power — whether from a new plant, one that’s producing new power on top of its regular output, or one that’s re-opening — is likely to be bought up eagerly these days by utilities and big energy buyers with decarbonization mandates. States and the federal government are more than happy to pony up the dollars to keep existing nuclear plants running. Technology companies will even pay a premium for clean power. Amazon, for instance, bought a data center adjacent to a nuclear plant despite despite having no nuclear strategy to speak of.
What brought about this abrupt about-face of enthusiasm? In spite of the rapid expansion of wind and solar and the recent boom in batteries, with electricity demand rising, it’s hard to turn down any green electrons. And with all that solar and wind comes a need for “clean firm” power, sources of electricity that can operate when other sources aren’t. The Department of Energy estimates that a decarbonized economy will require 700 to 900 gigawatts of clean firm power by 2050, about four times what is currently on the grid.
While a number of power sources fit this bill — long-duration batteries, geothermal, hydrogen — there is already a massive preexisting nuclear fleet, and the technology for nuclear power is well-proven, even if growing costs and decades of environmental opposition arrested the industry’s growth in the United States for decades.
“Demand has changed significantly,” Kenneth Petersen, the outgoing president of the American Nuclear Society, told me. With tech companies willing to pay additional for clean, reliable power, “demand is going up, and you’re getting a premium for that.”
While nuclear power has faced stiff opposition from environmental groups for decades, the crashing price of natural gas in the 2010s combined with the growth and falling cost of renewables made it difficult for some existing plants to stay in business, especially in regions of the country with “restructured” energy markets, where the plants were competing with whatever the cheapest source of power was on the grid. Despite the fact that these plants were producing large and steady amounts of carbon-free power, electricity markets at the time didn’t particularly value either of these attributes.
States with aggressive decarbonization goals simply could not reasonably meet them considering that nuclear plants shutting down tends to result in more burning of natural gas and more greenhouse gas emissions. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided another pot of funding for existing nuclear, and so in markets like New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Illinois, and California, nuclear plants receive some combination of state and federal dollars to stay online.
Constellation Energy, which has a 21 reactor nuclear fleet, saw its stock price shoot up earlier this year when it upped its forecast for revenue growth citing the strong demand and government support for its clean electrons. Its shares have risen almost 90 percent on the year.
“When you hear utilities talk about restarting a reactor, yep, it’s a huge effort. And they’re confident that they can sell the offtake of that,” Petersen told me. In the case of the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan, which shut down in 2022 and is now in the process of re-opening, there is already a power purchase agreement with a group of rural utilities on the table.
Nuclear is the third biggest electricity source in the U.S. currently, and the largest non-carbon emitting one. As Secretary Granholm likes to remind the public — and the industry — nuclear power hasn’t had more explicit support than it has now in decades. That has come in the form of tax credits for energy output, an overhauled regulatory process for advanced reactors, and explicit funding for early-stage projects.
But Granholm isn’t the only public official talking to anyone who will listen about America’s nuclear industry.
Tim Echols, the vice chairman of Georgia Public Service Commission, the regulator that oversaw Southern Company’s Vogtle project, has been warning other state regulators about embarking on a new nuclear project without explicit cost protection from the federal government. The third and fourth Vogtle reactors started construction in 2013, about a decade after the planning process began; the final reactor was completed and started putting power on the grid in April, some $35 billion later (the project was originally expected to cost $14 billion).
And that was a successful project. A similar project in South Carolina was never completed and took down the utility, SCANA that planned it, even resulting in a two-year federal prison sentence for its chief executive, who was convicted of having “intentionally defrauded ratepayers while overseeing and managing SCANA’s operations — including the construction of two reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station.” Westinghouse, which designed the reactor in operation at Vogtle, known as the AP1000, itself went bankrupt in 2016.
Echols is proud of Vogtle now. “Finishing those AP1000s at Vogtle changed everything,” Echols told me in an email. “People are looking past the overruns and celebrating this as a great accomplishment.”
But he’s pretty sure no one else should do it like Georgia did, with a utility using ratepayer funds for a nuclear project of uncertain cost and duration. “So many of my colleague regulators in other states don’t feel there are enough financial protections in place yet — and that is holding them back,” Echols told me. “The very real possibility of bankruptcy exists on any of these nuclear projects, and I am not comfortable moving forward with some catastrophic protection — and only the federal government can provide that.”
Granholm and other DOE officials including Jigar Shah, head of the Loan Programs Office, have expressed puzzlement at this view. At the ANS conference, Granholm pointed to “billions and billions and billions” that the federal government is offering in terms of loan guarantees (from which Vogtle benefitted under presidents Obama and Trump) and investment tax credits that, according to the Breakthrough Institute’s Adam Stein, could amount to “around 60% cost overrun protection” when combined with DOE loans.
It’s unlikely that Republicans would be more interested in this level of cost protection than Democrats. Shelly Moore Capito, the West Virginia Republican who helped shepherd a recent nuclear regulatory reform bill through Congress, told Politico, “I don’t think the government should be in the business of giving backstop.”
Echols conceded that Shah “is right in saying the deal is better than it was when we started our AP1000s,” but still said the possibility of bankruptcy was too daunting for state utility regulators.
While technology companies that want to buy clean electrons have demurred about actually financing construction of next generation “advanced” nuclear plants, Echols predicted that “companies like Dow, Microsoft, or Google build a [small modular reactor] before any utility in America can finish another AP1000,” referring to the reactor model at Vogtle, which is about one gigawatt per reactor, compared to the few hundred megawatts contemplated by designs for small modular reactors.
Dow is currently working on a gas-cooled reactor project with X-energy that would provide both power and industrial steam. The reactor would operate at a higher temperature than the light water reactors that dominate the U.S. nuclear fleet. TerraPower, the Bill Gates backed startup — that has received billions of dollars in federal support, started construction on the non-nuclear portion of its Natrium plant in Wyoming earlier this year, while a number of other advanced reactor projects are at various stages of design and preparation. There’s only one design that’s received certification from the NRC, however, and the company behind it, NuScale, saw its one active project to build a plant collapse due to rising costs.
As Breakthrough’s Stein told me, “It’s not really going to be a question of large LWR vs. SMR or water-based SMR vs advanced. We’re going to need a mix of technology to get to net zero, just like we need a mix of nuclear and non-nuclear. “The nuclear space is not nearly as homogenous as photovoltaic space — it’s not all one technology with different advantages that can fit different niches.”
Much of the Department of Energy’s work in past years has been in funding and supporting the development of these “advanced” reactors, which are supposed to be more efficient and safer than existing light-water reactor designs and can serve more discrete purposes, including industrial processes like steam. Last week, Granholm announced almost $1 billion of money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for the construction of small modular reactors. The ADVANCE Act, which passed the Senate last week, was designed to help make reviews of these reactor designs faster, cheaper and more focused.
“I think the Vogtle experience and what that means for ratepayers makes it very, very unlikely that another utility is going to step up and ratebase a big first-of-its-kind, firm, flexible generation technology,” Jeff Navin, a former Department of Energy official and partner at the public affairs firm representing TerraPower, told me. “The challenges facing financing nuclear are the same challenges that you’re going to face with carbon capture, with large-scale hydrogen production, with enhanced geothermal, with all of these others technologies that we all know we need to have to solve climate change. But we don’t really know how to finance these things.”
Many analysts think that if we get advanced reactors, it will likely be sometime in the early 2030s. “Optimistically, maybe 2032 we should have a couple of these things up and running,” Jacopo Buongiorno, a nuclear engineering professor at MIT, told me. “All the industry needs is one winner, and the floodgates might open.”
https://heatmap.news/climate/everyone-wants-nuclear-now
Y Combinator, startups funnily enough aren’t fans of draft California AI safety law
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Same old whinging: We can’t change the world if you ask us to do it openly
Venture capitalist Y Combinator and more than 140 machine-learning startups have signed an open letter in opposition to a proposed hot-button AI safety law making its way through the California legislature.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/ai_startups_california_bill/
PAC Announces 2024-2025 Spotlight Series
date: 2024-06-24, from: SCV New (TV Station)
In celebration of its 20th anniversary, the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center (PAC) Spotlight Series will feature a diverse lineup of talented musicians and performers, as well as family-friendly events as part of its programming.
https://scvnews.com/pac-announces-2024-2025-spotlight-series/
Small brush fire in Castaic handled
date: 2024-06-24, from: The Signal
A small brush fire in Castaic called for a Los Angeles County Fire Department response and was quickly handled on Monday, according to department officials. The fire was reported to […]
The post Small brush fire in Castaic handled appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/06/small-brush-fire-in-castaic-handled/
Man arrested on suspicion of arson at Old Orchard Park
date: 2024-06-24, from: The Signal
A 47-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of arson Sunday afternoon by Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies after being observed lighting a tree on fire, according to station officials. […]
The post Man arrested on suspicion of arson at Old Orchard Park appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/06/man-arrested-on-suspicion-of-arson-at-old-orchard-park/
NASA Webb, Hubble Scientist Marcia Rieke Awarded Gruber Cosmology Prize
date: 2024-06-24, from: NASA breaking news
Marcia Rieke, a scientist who worked on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope, has received the Gruber Foundation’s 2024 Cosmology Prize. Rieke will receive the award and gold laureate pin at a ceremony August 8, 2024, at the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union in Cape Town, South Africa. Rieke was […]
Mozilla is trying to push me out because I have cancer, CPO says in bombshell lawsuit
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Steve Teixeira sues Firefox maker alleging disability discrimination, retaliation
Mozilla Corporation was sued this month in the US, along with three of its executives, for alleged disability discrimination and retaliation against Chief Product Officer Steve Teixeira.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/mozilla_product_chief_sues_over/
Seven Productions Filming in Santa Clarita
date: 2024-06-24, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The city of Santa Clarita’s Film Office has released the list of seven productions currently filming in the Santa Clarita Valley for the week of Monday, June 24 - Sunday, June 30.
https://scvnews.com/seven-productions-filming-in-santa-clarita/
Deputies: Wanted man arrested following pursuit
date: 2024-06-24, from: The Signal
A 35-year-old man with an outstanding warrant who led sheriff’s deputies on a pursuit through Bouquet Canyon northeast of Santa Clarita on Sunday morning was eventually arrested on suspicion of […]
The post Deputies: Wanted man arrested following pursuit appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/06/deputies-wanted-man-arrested-following-pursuit/
Indonesian government datacenter locked down in $8M ransomware rumble
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Variant of Lockbit 3.0 said to be weapon of choice for attack
The Indonesian government has admitted its national datacenter was hit by ransomware criminals, disrupting some of the country’s services.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/indonesia_datacenter_ransomware/
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-06-24, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
Example catchup sessions:
https://developer.apple.com/wwdc24/10184
https://developer.apple.com/wwdc24/10150
https://developer.apple.com/wwdc24/10181
https://developer.apple.com/wwdc24/10223
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/112673063204840521
At Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade, Thousands Channel Aquatic Weirdness
date: 2024-06-24, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Crowds decked out as fantastical sea creatures flocked to Brooklyn’s amusement district for the summer kickoff event
Starliner Astronauts Will Remain on Space Station Until July Amid Technical Issues
date: 2024-06-24, from: Smithsonian Magazine
NASA and Boeing have delayed the crewed mission’s return to Earth again, as engineers assess helium leaks and a thruster issue on the spacecraft’s service module
Entry-level GPD Pocket 3 mini-laptop gets a spec-bump
date: 2024-06-24, from: Liliputing
The GPD Pocket 3 is a versatile mini-laptop with an 8-inch display that supports pen and touch input, a hinge that swivels allowing you to fold the screen over the keyboard for use in tablet mode, and a modular port system that lets you swap out one of the ports. When the GPD Pocket 3 first […]
The post Entry-level GPD Pocket 3 mini-laptop gets a spec-bump appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/entry-level-gpd-pocket-3-mini-laptop-gets-a-spec-bump/
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-06-24, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
One thing I loved about this year’s WWDC is that there were plenty of catchup sessions, covering the basics for newcomers.
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/112673015401826718
US TV host Rachael Ray visits Ukraine, cooks for locals
date: 2024-06-24, from: VOA News USA
TV personality Rachael Ray is a U.S.-based chef, author and celebrity. But Ukrainians know her better thanks to her charity work to help the war-torn country. Omelyan Oshchudlyak reports. Camera: Yuriy Dankevych.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-tv-host-visits-ukraine-cooks-for-locals/7668264.html
Listen to the AI-Generated Ripoff Songs That Got Udio and Suno Sued
date: 2024-06-24, from: 404 Media Group
The record industry has filed a list of thousands of songs it believes have been scraped without permission, and has recreated versions of famous songs using Udio and Suno.
https://www.404media.co/listen-to-the-ai-generated-ripoff-songs-that-got-udio-and-suno-sued/
Car dealers stuck in the slow lane after cyber woes at software biz CDK
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
More customers self-reporting to SEC as disruption carries into second week
The number of US companies filing Form 8-Ks with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and referencing embattled car dealership software biz CDK is mounting.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/the_number_of_cdk_customers/
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-06-24, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
I enjoyed the technical details on this slide deck. https://mastodon.online/@karppinen/112672855308433453
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/112672898534110977
Santa Clarita’s Abbey Weitzeil Qualifies for Paris Olympic Team
date: 2024-06-24, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Eleven additional athletes claimed spots on the 2024 Paris Olympic Team, including Saugus High School alumna Abbey Weitzeil, on night eight of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials Swimming presented by Lilly, in Indianapolis, Ind
https://scvnews.com/santa-claritas-abbey-weitzeil-qualifies-for-paris-olympic-team/
[Scummvm-devel] Re: SCUMM Engine (2002)
date: 2024-06-24, from: Tilde.news
https://lists.scummvm.org/pipermail/scummvm-devel/2002-June/000341.html
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-06-24, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
Unlike .NET where the improvements to Visual Studio support are behind a subscription, the Swift improvements are public and open for all:
https://forums.swift.org/t/improvements-to-swift-in-visual-studio-code-coming-with-swift-6/72708
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/112672807503501506
US Supreme Court to consider gender-affirming care for minors
date: 2024-06-24, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/supreme-court-to-consider-gender-affirming-care-for-minors/7668190.html
Slack to Stop Storing Historical Content for Free Workspaces
date: 2024-06-24, from: TidBITS blog
Slack will be reducing its data storage needs and trying to incentivize free teams to upgrade by deleting data older than a year from free workspaces. Only the last 90 days of data is visible anyway; the change affects only those who upgrade to a paid plan and would previously have recovered all old data.
https://tidbits.com/2024/06/24/slack-to-stop-storing-historical-content-for-free-workspaces/
Pocket Z project aims to build $99 Linux PCs that fit in your pocket
date: 2024-06-24, from: Liliputing
Before smartphones with touchscreen displays began to dominate the mobile computing space, device makers tried out a number of different form factors to see what would stick. There were stylus-driven devices like the Apple Newton and Palm Pilot, thumb keyboard devices like the BlackBerry line of phones, and mini-laptops like the Psion Series 5mx and HP […]
The post Pocket Z project aims to build $99 Linux PCs that fit in your pocket appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/pocket-z-project-aims-to-build-99-linux-pcs-that-fit-in-your-pocket/
On the GOES
date: 2024-06-24, from: NASA breaking news
On June 14, 2024, NOAA’s (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) last Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-U, started its journey from the Astrotech Space Operations facility to the SpaceX hangar at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. GOES-U is the final weather-observing and environmental monitoring satellite in NOAA’s GOES-R Series. GOES-U will […]
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/on-the-goes/
NASA ought to pay up after space debris punched a hole in my roof, homeowner says
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Otero family sues Uncle Sam for $80K+ to make everything right
A Florida homeowner has sued NASA for more than $80,000 in compensation after debris from the International Space Station smashed a hole in his roof.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/nasa_ought_to_pay_up/
Microsoft Office for Mac 16.86.1
date: 2024-06-24, from: TidBITS blog
https://tidbits.com/watchlist/microsoft-office-for-mac-16-86-1/
GNU Guile 3.0.10 released
date: 2024-06-24, from: Tilde.news
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/guile-user/2024-06/msg00026.html
Georgian Epiphany
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: RAND blog
Georgian Dream has taken off its democratic mask. Its move to enact a repressive, Russian-style law has sparked a large public outcry. The West can help by sanctioning those who seek to rob Georgians of their freedom.
https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2024/06/georgian-epiphany.html
Centers of Excellence Can Support Federal Programs’ Mission and Enhance Engagement with Underserved Communities
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: RAND blog
Centers of Excellence, academic consortia that engage in research to support federal agencies, can help federal programs expand their geographic reach and increase the diversity of their technical workforce.
https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2024/06/centers-of-excellence-can-support-federal-programs.html
Move Over, Genghis Khan. Many Other Men Left Huge Genetic Legacies
date: 2024-06-24, from: Smithsonian Magazine
A 2015 study showed that ten other men have a lot of descendants. The paper is just one of several genetic studies revealing the secrets of descent
Mactracker 7.12.17
date: 2024-06-24, from: TidBITS blog
https://tidbits.com/watchlist/mactracker-7-12-17/
Ken Striplin | Enhancing Safety, Efficiency in Our Community
date: 2024-06-24, from: SCV New (TV Station)
As a city manager, father and community member — the safety of Santa Clarita residents will always be my top priority - especially on the roads
https://scvnews.com/ken-striplin-enhancing-safety-efficiency-in-our-community/
Newhall brush fire swiftly stopped
date: 2024-06-24, from: The Signal
A quarter-acre brush fire that broke out Monday morning in Newhall was swiftly stopped, according to L.A. County Fire Department officials. The fire at the 21300 block of Trumpet Drive […]
The post Newhall brush fire swiftly stopped appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/06/newhall-brush-fire-swiftly-stopped/
Microsoft’s latest Surface devices almost as easy to fix as they are to break
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
iFixit hands out provisional 8 out of 10 for hardware designed with repairs in mind
Microsoft has received a thumbs-up from iFixit, with a provisional 8 out of 10 for repairability on its latest Surface Pro and Laptop devices.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/microsoft_surface_ifixit_repairs/
The Future of Fashion Commerce Is a Designer’s AI Bot Saying You Look Great and Your Personal AI Bot Sifting Through the Bullshit
date: 2024-06-24, from: Ben Werdmuller’s blog
<div class="known-bookmark">
<div class="e-content">“The best commerce platforms will be constantly grooming you, priming you, shaping you to buy. The combination of short-term and long-term value that leads to the optimal financial outcome for the business.”
I think this is inevitably correct: the web will devolve into a battle between different entities who are all trying to persuade you to take different actions. That’s already been true for decades, but it’s been ambient until now; generative AI gives it the ability to literally argue with us. Which means we’re going to need our own bots to argue back.
Hunter’s analogy of a bot that’s supposedly in your corner calling bullshit on all the bots trying to sell things to you is a good one. Except, who will build the bot that’s in your corner? Why will it definitely be so? Who will profit from it?
What a spiral this will be.
<p>[<a href="https://hunterwalk.com/2024/06/24/the-future-of-fashion-commerce-is-a-designers-ai-bot-saying-you-look-great-and-your-personal-ai-bot-sifting-through-the-bullshit/">Link</a>]</p>
</div>
</div>https://werd.io/2024/the-future-of-fashion-commerce-is-a-designers-ai-bot
LASD Rolls Out New Crime Strategy Unit
date: 2024-06-24, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is set to roll out a fresh, data-oriented strategy aimed at curtailing crime throughout L.A. County
https://scvnews.com/lasd-rolls-out-new-crime-strategy-unit/
Why does moral progress feel preachy and annoying?
date: 2024-06-24, from: Ben Werdmuller’s blog
<div class="known-bookmark">
<div class="e-content">[Daniel Kelly and Evan Westra in Aeon]
“Many genuinely good arguments for moral change will be initially experienced as annoying. Moreover, the emotional responses that people feel in these situations are not typically produced by psychological processes that are closely tracking argument structure or responding directly to moral reasons.”
This is a useful breakdown of why arguments for social progress encounter so much friction, and why the first emotional response may be to roll our eyes. It’s all about our norm psychologies - and some people have stronger reactions than others.
As the authors make clear here, people who are already outside of the mainstream culture for one reason or another (immigration, belonging to a minority or vulnerable group, and so on) already feel friction from the prevailing norms being misaligned with their own psychology. If that isn’t the case, change is that much harder.
But naming it is at least part of the battle:
“Knowing this fact about yourself should lead you to pause the next time you reflexively roll your eyes upon encountering some new, annoying norm and the changes its advocates are asking you to make. That irritation is not your bullshit detector going off.”
Talking about these effects, and understanding their origins, helps everyone better understand their reactions and get to better outcomes. Social change is both necessary and likely to happen regardless of our reactions. It’s always better to be a person who celebrates progressive change rather than someone who creates friction in the face of it.
<p>[<a href="https://aeon.co/essays/why-does-moral-progress-feel-preachy-and-annoying">Link</a>]</p>
</div>
</div>https://werd.io/2024/why-does-moral-progress-feel-preachy-and-annoying
Dali cargo ship leaves Baltimore, nearly 3 months after bridge collapse
date: 2024-06-24, from: VOA News USA
Better Than the Sum of Its Parts: Making NATO Reserves an Alliance Resource
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: RAND blog
NATO countries are trying to recruit and retain more service members, both active and reserve. And NATO is attempting to make its formations increasingly interoperable and multinational. Integrating reserve capabilities could help address both goals.
Contributing to open source docs as a technical writer
date: 2024-06-24, from: Blog by Fabrizio Ferri-Benedetti
I’ve recently become a docs maintainer for OpenTelemetry, a pretty big open source project. As I often receive questions on how to start contributing to open source docs, this seemed the right time to write about it. Let me tell you how I started and progressed, and what you can do to start your open source documentation journey.
https://passo.uno/contribute-open-source-docs/
Why Are Some People Seemingly Immune to Covid-19? Scientists May Now Have an Answer
date: 2024-06-24, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Researchers tracked the immune responses of 16 people intentionally exposed to SARS-CoV-2 and pinpointed a gene that seems to help resist the virus before it can take hold
Asus quietly launches Chromebox 5a with 13th-gen Intel Core “Raptor Lake” processors
date: 2024-06-24, from: Liliputing
The Asus Chromebox 5a is a small desktop computer with support for up to an Intel Core i7-1355U processor, up to 32GB of RAM, and PCIe Gen 4×4 storage. It’s looks a lot like last year’s Asus Chromebox 5, but Asus replaced 12th-gen Intel Core P-series processor options with 13th-gen Intel Core U-series chips, while also […]
The post Asus quietly launches Chromebox 5a with 13th-gen Intel Core “Raptor Lake” processors appeared first on Liliputing.
China and the EU agree to consultations over EV anti-subsidy investigation
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Tit for tat spat could be avoided
China and the European Commission are to launch consultations on the European Union anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles (EVs).…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/china_and_the_eu_agree/
Quick productivity tip: Renaming lots of files in MacOS Finder
date: 2024-06-24, from: Chris Heilmann
When you select several files in Finder and choose “rename” from the context menu, you can batch rename them. You can search and replace text, add to beginning or end or even generate numbered file names. Sadly, there’s no Regular Expressions support. Check the screencast to see it in action:
How Biden, Trump differ over Ukraine policy
date: 2024-06-24, from: VOA News USA
U.S. presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump meet Thursday for the first of their two scheduled debates. Russia’s war on Ukraine is expected to be one of the top foreign policy questions. VOA’s Tatiana Vorozhko looks at how the two candidates differ in their approach to Ukraine.
https://www.voanews.com/a/how-biden-trump-differ-over-ukraine-policy/7667995.html
European Commission says Apple’s new App Store & payment rules still violate the DMA
date: 2024-06-24, from: Liliputing
The European Union’s Digital Markets Act took effect earlier this year with the goal of tackling anti-competitive behaviors from big tech companies, among other things. That’s why Apple rolled out a bunch of changes to the App Store, iOS, Safari web browser, and payment processing earlier this year… with most of those changes only applying […]
The post European Commission says Apple’s new App Store & payment rules still violate the DMA appeared first on Liliputing.
Parkour Group Damages Building in the Historic Italian City of Matera
date: 2024-06-24, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Team Phat posted a video showing one of its members breaking a stone protruding from a wall
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-06-24, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
Oh shit, real estate is about to get more expensive
https://hachyderm.io/@mogul/112672174037838068
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/112672216354591991
Has Facebook Stopped Trying?
date: 2024-06-24, from: 404 Media Group
Facebook has been overrun with AI spam and scams. Experts say Facebook has stopped asking them for help.
https://www.404media.co/has-facebook-stopped-trying/
Linux geeks cheer as Arm wrestles x86
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
AlmaLinux and upstream kernel support for Raspberry Pi 5, plus a forthcoming high-performance Arm64 Tuxedo laptop
Encouraging noises are coming from multiple directions around Linux support for both current and next-generation Arm64 kit.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/arm_linux_x86/
Linux geeks cheer as Arm wrestles x86
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
AlmaLinux and upstream kernel support for Raspberry Pi 5, plus a forthcoming high-performance Arm64 Tuxedo laptop
Encouraging noises are coming from multiple directions around Linux support for both current and next-generation Arm64 kit.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/almalinux_pi5_tuxedo/
Jill On Money: Elder financial abuse is on the rise
date: 2024-06-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
Last year, elder fraud complaints jumped by 14 percent, and associated losses of those crimes increased by about 11%. (For these types of crimes, the government defines “elder” as individuals aged 60 and older.)
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/06/24/jill-on-money-elder-financial-abuse-is-on-the-rise/
Winners and losers in California budget deal
date: 2024-06-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
With Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democratic-led Legislature coming to a budget agreement on Saturday, some winners and losers of the spending plan have become clear.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/06/24/winners-and-losers-in-ca-budget-deal/
The town that is pure California perfection
date: 2024-06-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
SLO has small-town charm. And for those in search of the original California dream, this paradise destination — only a short hop from vineyards and Pacific Coast beaches — offers plenty of postcard moments that hark back to classic Golden State tourism.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/06/24/the-town-that-is-pure-california-perfection/
The Question of What’s Fair Illuminates the Question of What’s Hard
date: 2024-06-24, from: Quanta Magazine
Computational complexity theorists have discovered a surprising new way to understand what makes certain problems hard.The post The Question of What’s Fair Illuminates the Question of What’s Hard first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Cavs to hire top Warriors assistant Atkinson as head coach: report
date: 2024-06-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
Kenny Atkinson won the 2022 NBA title in his first season on the Warriors’ coaching staff under Steve Kerr.
The case for wage insurance
date: 2024-06-24, from: Marketplace Morning Report
Job creation has been robust coming out of the worst of COVID, yet threats to workers remain: international competition, the Green Transition, artificial intelligence. How can workers respond? Today, we explore wage insurance as an option that could help. Also: What’s behind this election year stock rally? But first, Apple’s App Store has run afoul of European regulators. We’ll unpack.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/the-case-for-wage-insurance
‘Mirai-like’ botnet observed attacking EOL Zyxel NAS devices
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Seems like as good a time as any to upgrade older hardware
There are early indications of active attacks targeting end-of-life Zyxel NAS boxes just a few weeks after details of three critical vulnerabilities were made public.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/mirailike_botnet_zyxel_nas/
Supreme Court to decide whether states can restrict gender-affirming care for minors
date: 2024-06-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear the Biden administration’s challenge to a transgender care ban in Tennessee, delving into the complicated and politically fraught issue of gender-affirming care in a substantive way for the first time.
Wildfire threats make utility companies uninsurable in Northern California, across West
date: 2024-06-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
As wildfire season starts, some utilities are now operating without insurance — and are on the hook for millions of dollars in damages if their power lines are linked to a blaze.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/06/24/wildfire-threats-make-utilities-uninsurable-in-us-west/
Dressel and Ledecky win again at U.S. Olympic swimming trials. Keep an eye on Kate Douglass, too
date: 2024-06-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
Caeleb Dressel, the winner of five gold medals at the Tokyo Games, touched first in the men’s 100-meter butterfly at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials Saturday night.
Starliner to remain docked to the ISS into July – with no new departure date
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
If it’s Boeing, it isn’t going joke gets a bit real for ’nauts
Boeing’s Starliner will remain docked at the International Space Station (ISS) for a while longer as engineers analyze data from the vehicle’s propulsion system.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/starliner_to_remain_docked_to/
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-06-24, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
Great article, and companion Twitter thread:
https://x.com/isabellamweber/status/1805218925728129128
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/112671934339647143
Europe accuses Apple of preventing devs from telling users about world outside
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Plus: Commission launches new probe into iPhone maker’s efforts to work with new laws
The European Commission has published preliminary findings that accuse Apple of breaching the Digital Markets Act (DMA) by preventing developers from telling customers about options outside the App Store.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/ec_puts_apple_on_notice/
Pride Month: Fremont trans woman shares her journey, is honored by lawmaker
date: 2024-06-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
A trans woman from Fremont has become an activist for the LGBTQ community. She was honored this month by a local lawmaker as a representative for Pride Month.
Can this marriage be saved? Walnut Creek couple debates whether to feed hummingbirds year round
date: 2024-06-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
Do hummingbirds need feeders during the summer or are blooming flowers sufficient?
Travel Troubleshooter: ITA Airways lost my luggage. Why won’t it cover my expenses?
date: 2024-06-24, from: San Jose Mercury News
Jacqueline Bartolini spends $992 after ITA Airways loses her luggage. It wants to reimburse her for just $733, but she wants the airline to cover everything. Who’s right?
Britain’s Ministry of Defence accused of wasting £174M on ‘external advice’
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Morpheus comms system online by 2025? You must be dreaming
The UK government has been accused of blowing £174 million ($220 million) on “external advice” for a new radio system for the armed forces that has been beset by delays and cancelled contracts.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/mod_external_advice_spending/
A Visit to the Hobo Jungle
date: 2024-06-24, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
As a child of about 10 years old, my friend and I would bike to the “Hobo Jungle” to visit.
The post A Visit to the Hobo Jungle appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/06/24/a-visit-to-the-hobo-jungle/
A New Coalition Is Pushing Governments to Make More Ambitious Climate Plans
date: 2024-06-24, from: Heatmap News
Excessive rainfall in the Swiss Alps triggered a landslide • Power was restored in the Balkans following a massive outage that left people sweltering • Flood waters are receding in Rock Valley, Iowa, after 1,500 people were forced to evacuate.
THE TOP FIVE
- ‘Mission 2025’ coalition launches to encourage governments to
improve climate plans
A group of influential leaders across business and politics have formed a new coalition, called Mission 2025, aimed at pressuring governments to “align their upcoming national climate plans with the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.” These plans, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs), outline how countries will cut their emissions. There is a February 2025 deadline for new, updated NDCs to be submitted to the United Nations, so Mission 2025 is pushing governments to set ambitious goals. The coalition points to recent data showing that more than two-thirds of annual revenues across the world’s largest companies are now aligned with net zero, which is an increase of 45% over the last two years. Backers of Mission 2025 include IKEA, Unilever, Mastercard, and the heads of C40 Cities, among others. The coalition is spearheaded by Christiana Figueres, who helped shepherd leaders toward the Paris Agreement in 2015 and is now the co-founder of nonprofit Global Optimism. “The launch of Mission 2025 today is a clear rebuttal to everyone claiming that moving faster on tackling the climate crisis is too difficult, too unpopular or too expensive,” Figueres said.
- Heirloom will move a giant DAC project to Shreveport
Bay Area-based carbon removal company Heirloom announced today that it’s moving its half of the Department of Energy-funded Project Cypress DAC hub from coastal Calcasieu Parish inland to Shreveport — and that it will be building a second facility, capable of removing 17,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, on the same site. As Heatmap’s Kate Brigham reported, once the two facilities reach full scale, they will have the capacity to suck up a combined 317,000 metric tons of CO2 per year. Project Cypress is a partnership between Heirloom, the Swiss DAC company Climeworks, and project developer Battelle. As per the initial plan, Climeworks will still build out its portion of Project Cypress in southwest Louisiana, and together with Heirloom’s Shreveport plant, the two facilities will pull a combined megaton of CO2 out of the atmosphere every year. Heirloom expects its new 17,000 ton facility to be operational by 2026, while its larger Project Cypress plant is planned to come online in 2027. Initially, this larger facility will remove 100,000 metric tons of CO2 annually, eventually ramping up to 300,000 metric tons. For both projects, Heirloom is partnering with the carbon management company CapturePoint to permanently sequester CO2 in underground wells.
- Hajj death toll hits 1,300
The death toll from this year’s Hajj keeps climbing. Saudi Arabia now says at least 1,300 people died during the pilgrimage, which took place during an extreme heat wave. Temperatures in the holy city of Mecca reached 125 degrees Fahrenheit at one point. “May Allah forgive and have mercy on the deceased,” Health Minister Fahd Al-Jalajel said. Meanwhile, at least 1,400 heat records were set last week as temperatures soared across five continents. In the U.S., more than 100 million people were under heat warnings as of Sunday. The East Coast is getting some relief, but a heat dome is now situated over states in the Plains and the South and the heat index could reach 110.
- Study suggests West Coast geoengineering projects would bake Europe
A new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change found that geoengineering projects off the West Coast of the U.S. could inadvertently lead to more intense heat waves over Europe. The paper examines “marine cloud brightening,” which would involve spraying aerosol particles into the atmosphere to reflect solar radiation. The researchers concluded that this process would indeed lower temperatures in Western states, but only temporarily. By 2050, if temperatures increase by 2 degrees Celsius, the researchers’ models suggest cloud brightening would be ineffective and would actually lead to temperature increases in Europe.
- EU and China to negotiate over EV tariffs
China and the European Union agreed during a call on Saturday to negotiate over the EU’s planned tariffs on Chinese EVs. EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis and his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao had a “candid and constructive” discussion that ended with an agreement to “engage at all levels.” The EU has threatened levies as high as 48% and accused China of unfairly subsidizing its EV production. Bloomberg reported that China hinted that Germany’s luxury carmakers could benefit from relaxed tariffs in China if Berlin “convinces” the EU to drop its tariffs. The discussions come weeks after President Biden announced that U.S. tariffs on electric vehicles made in China will quadruple from 25% to 100%.
THE KICKER
Researchers have created a new kind of fabric that they claim can keep wearers up to 16 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than traditional silk.
https://heatmap.news/mission-2025-ndcs-paris
Heirloom Is Moving a Giant DAC Project to Shreveport
date: 2024-06-24, from: Heatmap News
Northwest Louisiana is about to be awash in direct air capture. Heirloom announced today that it’s moving its half of the Department of Energy-funded Project Cypress DAC hub from coastal Calcasieu Parish inland to Shreveport — and that it will be building a second facility, capable of removing 17,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, on the same site. Once the two facilities reach full scale, they will have the capacity to suck up a combined 317,000 metric tons of CO2 per year.
Project Cypress, one of two regional DAC hubs that’s been announced thus far, is a partnership between Bay Area-based Heirloom, the Swiss DAC company Climeworks, and project developer Battelle. As per the initial plan, Climeworks will still build out its portion of Project Cypress in southwest Louisiana, and together with Heirloom’s Shreveport plant, the two facilities will pull a combined megaton of CO2 out of the atmosphere every year.
Those are the basic facts, but still, I had a lot of questions. Why make the move at all? What does it mean for Project Cypress, for the Calcasieu community, and for Climeworks? Here’s what Heirloom told me.
Why Shreveport?
Heirloom was already in the planning phase for its 17,000 ton facility in Shreveport prior to its selection for the DAC hubs program, a spokesperson told me. Thus, “it became clear that co-locating our portion of the Project Cypress Hub in the same location made a lot of sense from a cost and operational efficiency perspective.”
Will this make Project Cypress more expensive?
At this early stage it’s hard to say. But Heirloom and Climeworks will now need to develop their own distinct CO2 transport and storage systems, infrastructure that could have been shared were the two facilities close together.
Heirloom, for its part, expects its new 17,000 ton facility to be operational by 2026, while its larger Project Cypress plant is planned to come online in 2027. Initially, this larger facility will remove 100,000 metric tons of CO2 annually, eventually ramping up to 300,000 metric tons. For both projects, Heirloom is partnering with the carbon management company CapturePoint to permanently sequester CO2 in underground wells.
But storing carbon is not the only logistical challenge involved. The companies will now need to undertake separate community planning and engagement processes, a daunting task even when they had just one to figure out. And yet, the Heirloom spokesperson told us, because planning for Project Cypress is still in its early stages, any additional impacts will be “minimal.”
Did the Department of Energy approve the change?
The DOE administers the DAC Hub program that awarded Project Cypress $50 million in March, so this is no small question. The program is “meant to spur the development of clean energy capabilities across geographical regions, not necessarily in one specific location,” the Heirloom spokesperson told me, and said “the Department of Energy has been incredibly supportive of Heirloom’s expansion into North West Louisiana.” (When we asked DOE, a representative said the agency knew of the move but didn’t provide any further details.)
All this comes on the heels of a big year for Heirloom, which uses limestone powder to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. Late last year it unveiled its first commercial DAC facility, which is capable of capturing 1,000 metric tons annually. The Shreveport plants thus represent a massive scale-up.
Heirloom wouldn’t disclose its cost per metric ton of CO2 removed, but the spokesperson said it’s currently “in the high hundreds of dollars,” and that it has an eye toward getting below $100 per metric ton by 2035, the widely accepted metric for commercial viability. So far, the company said, it has “sold a substantial portion of the capacity from both facilities to voluntary buyers.” Customers include major players in the voluntary carbon removal market, including Microsoft, Stripe, Klarna, JPMorgan Chase and Meta. Louisiana is also providing Heirloom with a set of economic incentives worth around $10 million, the company said.
Editor’s note: This piece has been updated to include a response
from the Department of Energy.
https://heatmap.news/sparks/project-cypress-heirloom-shreveport
What the FAFSA misses
date: 2024-06-24, from: Marketplace Morning Report
The deadline for students and parents to get their federal financial aid form into colleges and universities is this Sunday. With all that data you input on income and savings, there’s still something big missing: overall household wealth. Some education policy researchers say the financial aid system should be taking a closer look at big assets, like homes. Also: Federal prosecutors are recommending criminal charges against Boeing, and visas for nurses are running out again.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/what-the-fafsa-misses
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-06-24, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
2024 Summer Olympics start July 26, broadcast on NBC in the US.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Summer_Olympics
Financial survey: Women in US have just 1/3 of men’s retirement savings
date: 2024-06-24, from: VOA News USA
New York — Women in the U.S. have saved just a third of the amount that men have set aside for retirement, setting up a potential crisis among female retirees, according to a Prudential Financial survey released on Monday.
On average, men had saved $157,000 for retirement, while women had only put aside $50,000 according to a survey of 905 U.S. adults between the ages of 55 and 75.
“The financial futures of certain cohorts – such as women – are especially precarious,” Caroline Feeney, CEO of Prudential’s U.S. Businesses, said in a statement. “Women have a more challenging time saving for retirement,” she added, citing inflation, housing prices and changes in tax policies as the main barriers.
Compared with the men surveyed, women were three times more likely to be focused on providing for their families and children than saving.
Of the respondents, 46% of men said they were looking forward to retirement and had more plans, compared with 27% of women polled, the survey showed.
Happy #MagPiMonday!
date: 2024-06-24, from: Raspberry Pi News (.com)
Here’s a selection of some of the awesome Pi projects people sent us this month. Remember to follow along at the hashtag #MagPiMonday!
The post Happy #MagPiMonday! appeared first on Raspberry Pi.
https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/happy-magpimonday/
Abortion rights interests plow money into US election races after Supreme Court reversal
date: 2024-06-24, from: VOA News USA
New York — In the two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned women’s constitutional right to abortion, political contributions aimed at protecting abortion rights have far outstripped those to support anti-abortion causes.
In the 2023-2024 election cycle leading up to the Nov. 5 vote, pro-abortion rights interests have given $3.37 million to federal candidates, political parties, political action committees (PACs) and outside groups, compared to about $273,000 from anti-abortion interests, according to data from OpenSecrets, which tracks money in politics.
The level of spending by pro-abortion rights interests is expected to offer a financial boost to the campaigns of some Democratic candidates including U.S. President Joe Biden, who has made protecting abortion rights a central part of his campaign message for reelection.
The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, in 2022 overturned its 1973 Roe v. Wade precedent that had legalized abortion nationwide, prompting 14 states to since enact measures banning or sharply restricting the procedure.
Groups like super PACs received 65.8% of contributions from those backing abortion rights in this election cycle, according to a Reuters analysis of OpenSecrets data.
Republican candidates and party committees got the bulk — about 75.9% — of contributions from anti-abortion rights interests.
PACs are typically set up to gather funds for candidates or political causes. They differ from outside money groups like super PACs, which can receive donations of unlimited size but cannot coordinate with campaigns directly.
So far this election cycle, PACs and super PACs allied with anti-abortion causes have raised $3.54 million, while abortion rights groups have raised $15.3 million, OpenSecrets data showed.
“The balance of spending between pro-abortion rights and anti-abortion rights groups always reflected the fact that there are more people who support abortion rights than who don’t,” said Mary Ziegler, a law professor at University of California, Davis.
Ziegler said she would not be surprised if political donations to support or oppose abortion rights rose for the 2024 election cycle compared to the 2020 election cycle.
2020 election cycle set records
The sums reported so far are dwarfed by those in the 2020 election cycle, in which abortion rights interests poured in $11.33 million in political contributions, with spending in the 2022 midterm election cycle coming in second with $10.67 million in contributions, OpenSecrets data showed.
Contributions from anti-abortion interests totaled $6.41 million in the 2020 cycle, and $2.7 million in the 2022 midterm cycle, during which the outcomes for ballot measures and competitive races seemed to suggest that voters were eager to protect abortion access at the state level.
With more than four months to go before the November election, it remains to be seen whether contributions this election cycle from abortion rights and anti-abortion causes will outstrip those in the 2020 cycle, when Biden beat the incumbent Donald Trump, a Republican.
The impact of political contributions on race outcomes is complicated, Ziegler said, as voters have various priorities at the ballot box.
“You can’t dismiss the importance of it, but it’s not like [more contributions] definitely means ballot initiatives are going to pass, Democrats are going to win, etc. It’s not that simple,” Ziegler said.
During Trump’s term as president, which started in 2017, he appointed a third of the current members of the Supreme Court and half of its conservative bloc, with all three of his picks coming from a list compiled by conservative legal activists.
Trump’s campaign earlier this month said he supports the rights of states to make decisions on abortion, supports exceptions for abortions in cases of rape, incest and life of the mother, and also supports protecting access to contraception and in vitro fertilization.
Two of the top contributors to candidates and groups are Planned Parenthood - which advocates for abortion rights — and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America — which lobbies against abortion rights.
So far this election cycle, Planned Parenthood has contributed $2.53 million, most of that to liberal groups, the Democratic party and its candidates.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America has contributed about $92,600, almost all of it to Republican candidates and their party.
Why Are Teachers Funding Billionaires’ Private Jets?
date: 2024-06-24, from: The Lever News
Plus, Wall Street pretends it’s in Texas, Gordon Gekko gets rich off California workers, and the launch of Summer 2024’s blockbuster event.
https://www.levernews.com/why-are-teachers-funding-billionaires-private-jets/
Wavelet Labs Picks Lime Micro’s LMS7002M for its High-Performance 8×8 xMASS SDR
date: 2024-06-24, from: Lime Microsystems news
“xMASS SDR is a modular, high-performance MIMO [Multiple Input/Multiple Output] transceiver optimised for industrial, academic, and advanced software-defined radio (SDR) applications,” its creators say - promising a device suitable for a broad range of use-cases, including 5G NR cellular experimentation.
The post Wavelet Labs Picks Lime Micro’s LMS7002M for its High-Performance 8×8 xMASS SDR appeared first on Lime Microsystems.
The EU takes a bite out of Apple’s App Store
date: 2024-06-24, from: Marketplace Morning Report
From the BBC World Service: Brussels has accused Apple of violating EU competition rules with its App Store. It’s the first time EU regulators have enforced the new Digital Markets Act against a major tech firm. Then, Indian students are furious following the last-minute cancellation of a crucial entrance test for post-graduate medical courses. And rental scams are on the rise in the U.K., with some criminals targeting illegal cannabis farms.
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-06-24, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Bay Bridge sideshow Sunday ends with fireworks, noise, no arrests.
https://sfstandard.com/2024/06/23/bay-bridge-sideshow-ends-with-fireworks-noise-and-no-arrests/
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-06-24, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Abortion in America after the end of Roe, in 8 charts.
HPE GreenLake sales on the rise as branding tweaks include more lines
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
The strategy has changed so much that previously poor channel numbers don’t count, we’re told
HPE’s GreenLake strategy has changed so completely that the company said it’s impossible to compare poor channel sales numbers just three years ago to the modern GreenLake era.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/hpes_greenlake_strategy/
Levi’s and more affected in pants-dropping week of data breaches
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
A busy few days for security teams
There were data breaches galore in the US last week with various major incidents reported to state attorneys general, some in good time, some not.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/security_breaches_of_the_week/
Levi’s and more affected in pants-dropping week of data breaches
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
A busy few days for security teams
There were data breaches galore in the US last week with various major incidents reported to state attorneys general, some in good time, some not.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/breaches_of_the_week/
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-06-24, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Why New York's Unlicensed Pot Stores Outnumber Legal Dispensaries.
https://reason.com/2024/06/24/new-yorks-predictable-legal-pot-disaster/
It’s desktop refresh season in the land of the Windowsalikes
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Those with curious disposition spoilt for choice as KDE 6.1, Cinnamon 6.2, and IceWM 3.5 all arrive
New versions of two of the most popular “traditional” desktops are out, alongside a new release of one of the oldest and smallest.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/kde_cinnamon_icewm/
Meta, Microsoft SQL Server make strange bedfellows on a couch of cyber-pain
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Yanks get food poisoning far more often than Brits. Is American IT just as sickening?
Opinion When two stories from opposite ends of the IT universe boil down to the same thing, sound the klaxons. At the uber-fashionable AI end of tech, Meta has grudgingly complied with a ruling not to feed European social media crap into its training data. Meanwhile, in the industrial slums, 20 percent of running Microsoft SQL Server instances are now past the end of support.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/meta_ms_sql_column/
Admin took out a call center – and almost their career – with a cut and paste error
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Have you heard the one about the techie who forgot what was on the clipboard?
Who, me? Brace yourselves, gentle readers, for it is once again Monday, and the work week has commenced. Thankfully, The Reg is here with another dose of Who, Me? in which readers share tales of times they had a day worse than the one you’re having. We hope it helps.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/who_me/
Today in SCV History (June 24)
date: 2024-06-24, from: SCV New (TV Station)
1980 – Saugus Train Station relocated to Hart Park, Newhall [story
https://scvnews.com/today-in-scv-history-june-24/
DARPA searched for fields quantum computers really could revolutionize, with mixed results
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
It’s not all hype, but more work is needed before solutions are feasible or affordable
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has published the results of an exercise that assessed whether quantum computers will deliver on the promise of solving problems that stump classical machines – with mixed results.…
India to build re-usable launch vehicle after nailing third landing of mini-spaceplane
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Next: more work on crewed mission, including space yoga for astronauts
India’s Space Research Organization has signalled its intention to build a reusable launch vehicle after a third test of an unpowered experimental precursor again nailed its landing.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/india_orbital_reusable_vehicle/
Climate protesters run onto green, spray powder, delaying finish of PGA Tour event
date: 2024-06-24, from: VOA News USA
CROMWELL, Conn. — Six climate protesters stormed the 18th green while the leaders were lining up their putts for the final hole of regulation at the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship on Sunday, spraying smoke and powder and delaying the finish for about five minutes.
The protesters waved smoke bombs that left white and red residue on the putting surface before Scottie Scheffler, Tom Kim and Akshay Bhatia finished their rounds. Some wore white T-shirts with the words “NO GOLF ON A DEAD PLANET” in black lettering on the front.
“I was scared for my life,” Bhatia said. “I didn’t even really know what was happening. … But thankfully the cops were there and kept us safe, because that’s, you know, that’s just weird stuff.”
The PGA Tour issued a statement thanking the Cromwell Police Department “for their quick and decisive action” and noting that there was no damage to the 18th green that affected either the end of regulation or the playoff hole.
Scheffler, who recently was arrested during a traffic stop at the PGA Championship, also praised the officers.
“From my point of view, they got it taken care of pretty dang fast, and so we were very grateful for that,” said Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player, who beat Kim on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff for his sixth victory of the year.
“When something like that happens, you don’t really know what’s happening, so it can kind of rattle you a little bit,” Scheffler said. “That can be a stressful situation, and you would hate for the tournament to end on something weird happening because of a situation like that. I felt like Tom and I both tried to calm each other down so we could give it our best shot there on 18.”
Extinction Rebellion, an activist group with a history of disrupting events around the world, claimed responsibility for the protest. In a statement emailed to The Associated Press, the group blamed climate change for an electrical storm that injured two people at a home near the course on Saturday.
“This was of course due to increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather conditions,” the statement said. “Golf, more than other events, is heavily reliant on good weather. Golf fans should therefore understand better than most the need for strong, immediate climate action.”
After the protesters were tackled by police and taken off, Scheffler left a potential 26-foot clincher from the fringe on the right edge of the cup, then tapped in for par. Kim, who trailed by one stroke heading into the final hole, sank a 10-foot birdie putt to tie Scheffler and force the playoff.
Samsung teases investment to get into the GPU game
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
A head-on assault on Nvidia seems unlikely – but dumping AMD from Exynos has merit
Analysis Samsung has teased its entry into the GPU industry, but its plans are obscure.…
Snowflake breach snowballs as more victims, perps, come forward
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Also: The leaked Apple internal tools that weren’t; TV pirate pirates convicted; and some critical vulns, too
Infosec in brief The descending ball of trouble over at Snowflake keeps growing larger, with more victims – and even one of the alleged intruders – coming forward last week.…
New Zealand wins Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix
date: 2024-06-24, from: VOA News USA
NEW YORK — New Zealand came out victorious in the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix, the “world’s most exciting racing on water,” on New York’s Hudson River Sunday.
The two-day event was the penultimate race weekend of Mubadala SailGP before the competition’s fourth season concludes in San Francisco in July.
SailGP is an international sailing competition in which F50 foiling catamarans compete at 13 global destinations for a season of grand prix races. Some of this season’s previous destinations included Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Sydney, Australia.
Each grand prix consists of separate “fleet races” before the three highest-scoring teams compete in a final race to decide the champion.
This SailGP season consists of 10 world-renowned teams: Australia, Canada, Emirates Great Britain, France, Germany, New Zealand, Rockwool Denmark, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.
On Friday, Coutts announced that SailGP Season Five would feature a Brazil team, the competition’s first-ever team from South America.
“As a league, it’s an awesome place to be,” said Phil Robertson, Canada’s driver. “You got new teams and a lot of interest from a lot of countries so to have Brazil on the start line is very special and cool to expand to South America.”
Coming off its last race in Halifax, Canada, earlier this month, SailGP completed its 12th stop around the world this season in the waters between New York and New Jersey in which Canada placed second and Emirates Great Britain placed third.
The last time SailGP raced in New York was its debut season in 2019.
“Looking back on that inaugural event is like reflecting on a totally different stage in our journey,” Russell Coutts, CEO of SailGP, said in a press conference Friday. “We had just six national teams in a five-event calendar and now nearing the end of Season Four, we have 10 teams with the best of the best athletes in the sport, competing in a 13-event calendar, broadcast in 212 territories around the world.”
Approximately 9,000 ticketed attendees gathered on Governors Island and on the water Saturday and Sunday to watch the races.
Taylor Canfield, driver for the U.S. team, spoke on the significance of sailing in front of home fans in New York City and in San Francisco next month.
“It’s so cool to be here in the U.S. and these two iconic cities in New York and San Francisco,” Canfield said in Friday’s press conference. “It’s going to be amazing conditions and just perfect weather. This is the most iconic city in the world and it’s going to come alive so we’re excited about that.”
Looking forward to the final races in San Francisco next month, team Australia — reigning champion of SailGP seasons one, two and three — faces pressure to take home another win.
“It’s exciting to be in this position,” Tom Slingsby, driver for Australia, said. “For sure there’s a bit more adrenaline and there’s a bit more on the line knowing that every race really counts at the moment but I have full faith in my team. We’ve performed under pressure, we’ve won three one million dollar races.”
On July 14, one team will walk away with a $2 million prize and the title of SailGP’s season four champion.
https://www.voanews.com/a/new-zealand-wins-mubadala-new-york-sail-grand-prix/7667544.html
SoftBank boss says ‘artificial superintelligence’ could be three years away
date: 2024-06-24, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Plus: Huawei closer to divorcing Android; India probes Amazon warehouses; Singapore gets autonomous street sweepers
Asia In Brief SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son last week told investors he believes an “artificial superintelligence” that has 10,000 times the intelligence of humans could arrive in as little as three years.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/24/asia_tech_news_in_brief/
Joshua Tree
date: 2024-06-23, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Have you ever seen a star so bright / You’d think it might be Venus sparkling and twinkling
The post Joshua Tree appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/06/23/joshua-tree/
Africana Studies Department Unveils ‘Black Experience Study’ Results
date: 2024-06-23, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
The crowd did not appear shocked by the survey results shared at the Los Angeles Civil Rights’ “Black Experience Study” event; rather, the All Peoples Community Center remained fairly quiet,…
Episode 134 - Beyond the Punch
date: 2024-06-23, from: Advent of Computing
This episode I’m opening up my research vault to present some interesting pre-digital technology. Back before computers us humans used to write everything down on paper. Over time that lead to some organizational issues. By 1890 punch cards show up to solve one aspect of this problem, but that technology had it’s limitations. We will be looking at other paper-based approaches to data management, as I slowly try and explain a realization I’ve come to about the early history of hypertext.
https://adventofcomputing.libsyn.com/episode-134-beyond-the-punch
Independents
date: 2024-06-23, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
I would trust RJK Jr. to tell the people the truth, something few presidents have done.
The post Independents appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/06/23/independents/
Russia’s North Korea defense deal may create friction with China, US top general says
date: 2024-06-23, from: VOA News USA
Espargos, Cape Verde — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s mutual defense agreement with North Korea has the potential to create friction with China, which has long been the reclusive state’s main ally, the top U.S. military officer said Sunday.
“We’ve got someone else who’s kind of nudging in now, so that may drive a little bit more friction between (China) and Russia,” Air Force General Charles Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters during an overseas trip.
“So, it’ll be interesting to see how these three countries — how this plays out.”
Analysts said the pact, signed Wednesday, could undercut Beijing’s leverage over its two neighbors and any heightened instability could be negative for China’s global economic and strategic ambitions.
On Thursday, Putin said Russia might supply weapons to North Korea in what he suggested would be a mirror response to the Western arming of Ukraine.
Brown acknowledged U.S. concern about the deal.
But he also tempered those remarks by noting apparent limitations to the accord and expressing doubt Moscow would give North Korea “everything” it wanted.
U.S. officials have said they believe North Korea is keen to acquire fighter aircraft, surface-to-air missiles, armored vehicles, ballistic missile production equipment or materials, and other advanced technologies from Russia.
“The feedback I have on the agreement — it was a broad agreement that’s not overly binding, which gives you an indication (that) they want to work together but they don’t want to get their hands tied,” Brown said.
The treaty signed by Putin and Kim on Wednesday commits each side to provide immediate military assistance to the other in the event of armed aggression against either one of them.
Putin has said Moscow expected that its cooperation with North Korea would serve as a deterrent to the West, but that there was no need to use North Korean soldiers for the war in Ukraine.
The United States and Ukraine say North Korea has already provided Russia with significant quantities of artillery shells and ballistic missiles, which Moscow and Pyongyang deny.
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-06-23, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Trump taunted Jewish employees with jokes about Nazi ovens: Ex-Trump Org VP.
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-attacking-jews/
US prosecutors recommend Justice Department criminally charge Boeing as deadline looms
date: 2024-06-23, from: VOA News USA
Washington — U.S. prosecutors are recommending to senior Justice Department officials that criminal charges be brought against Boeing after finding the planemaker violated a settlement related to two fatal crashes, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The Justice Department (DOJ) must decide by July 7 whether to prosecute Boeing. The recommendation of prosecutors handling the case has not been previously reported.
In May, officials determined the company breached a 2021 agreement that had shielded Boeing from a criminal charge of conspiracy to commit fraud arising from two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 involving the 737 MAX jet.
Under the 2021 deal, the Justice Department agreed not to prosecute Boeing over allegations it defrauded the Federal Aviation Administration so long as the company overhauled its compliance practices and submitted regular reports. Boeing also agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle the investigation.
Boeing declined to comment. It has previously said it has “honored the terms” of the 2021 settlement, which had a three-year term and is known as a deferred prosecution agreement. Boeing has told the Justice Department it disagrees with its determination that the company violated the settlement, Reuters reported this month.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department declined to comment.
The two sides are in discussions over a potential resolution to the Justice Department’s investigation and there is no guarantee officials will move forward with charges, the two sources said. The internal Justice Department deliberations remain ongoing, and no final decisions have been reached, they added.
Criminal charges would deepen an unfolding crisis at Boeing, which has faced intense scrutiny from U.S. prosecutors, regulators and lawmakers after a panel blew off one of its jets operated by Alaska Airlines mid-flight Jan. 5, just two days before the 2021 settlement expired.
The sources did not specify what criminal charges Justice Department officials are considering, but one of the people said they could extend beyond the original 2021 fraud conspiracy charge.
Alternatively, instead of prosecuting Boeing, the DOJ could extend the 2021 settlement by a year or propose new, stricter terms, the sources said.
In addition to financial penalties, the strictest settlements typically involve installing a third party to monitor a company’s compliance. The DOJ can also require the company to admit its wrongdoing by pleading guilty.
Boeing may be willing to pay a penalty and agree to a monitor, but believes a guilty plea, which typically incurs additional business restrictions, could be too damaging, said one of the sources. Boeing derives significant revenue from contracts with the U.S. government, including the Defense Department, which could be jeopardized by a felony conviction, one of the sources said.
Relatives of the victims of the two fatal 737 MAX crashes have long criticized the 2021 agreement, arguing that Justice Department officials should have prosecuted the company and its executives.
At a Senate hearing in June, Chief Executive Dave Calhoun acknowledged the company’s shortcomings on safety and apologized to the families who lost loved ones.
Last week, the families pressed prosecutors to seek a fine against the planemaker of nearly $25 billion and move forward with a criminal prosecution.
Mozilla acquires ad analytics company, for some reason
date: 2024-06-23, from: OS News
One of my biggest concerns regarding the state of the web isn’t ads (easily blocked) or machine learning (the legal system isn’t going to be kind to that), but the possible demise of Firefox. I’ve long been worried that with the seemingly never-ending downward marketshare spiral Firefox is in – it’s at like 3% now on desktop, even less on mobile – Mozilla’s pretty much sole source of income will eventually pull the plug, leaving the already struggling browser effectively for dead. I’ve continuously been warning that the first casualty of the downward spiral would be Firefox on platforms other than Windows and macOS. So, what do we make of Mozilla buying an online advertising analytics company? Mozilla has acquired Anonym, a trailblazer in privacy-preserving digital advertising. This strategic acquisition enables Mozilla to help raise the bar for the advertising industry by ensuring user privacy while delivering effective advertising solutions. ↫ Laura Chambers They way Mozilla explains buying an advertising network is that the company wants to be a trailblazer privacy-conscious online advertising, since the current brand of online advertising, which relies on massive amounts of data collection, is unsustainable. Anonym instead employs a number of measures to ensure that privacy is guaranteed, from anonymous analytics to employing differential privacy when it comes to algorithms, ensuring data can’t be used to tack individual users. I have no reason to doubt Mozilla’s intentions here – at least for now – but intentions change, people in charge change, and circumstances change. Having an ad network integrated into the Mozilla organisation will surely lead to temptations of weakening Firefox’ privacy features and ad-blocking abilities, and just overall I find it an odd acquisition target for something like Mozilla, and antithetical to why most people use Firefox in the first place. What really doesn’t help is who originally founded Anonym – two former Facebook executives, backed by a load of venture capital. Do with that little tidbit of information as you please.
https://www.osnews.com/story/140047/mozilla-acquires-ad-analytics-company-for-some-reason/
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-06-23, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
IceCubes for iOS is magical
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/112668268005326959
Rail bridge collapses during Midwest flooding as a heat wave persists across much of US
date: 2024-06-23, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/millions-swelter-as-temperatures-soar-across-the-us/7667181.html
In Windows 3.1 and Windows 95, what is a “grabber”?
date: 2024-06-23, from: OS News
Windows 3.0 Enhanced Mode introduced the ability to run MS-DOS programs in a virtual machine. This by itself was already quite an achievement, but it didn’t stop there. It also let you put the MS-DOS session in a window, and run it on the screen along with your other Windows programs. This was crazy. Here’s how it worked. ↫ Raymond Chen When Raymond Chen speaks, we all shut up, listen, and enjoy.
https://www.osnews.com/story/140043/in-windows-3-1-and-windows-95-what-is-a-grabber/
CCC fordert im Innenausschuss Verbot biometrischer Überwachung
date: 2024-06-23, updated: 2024-06-24, from: Chaos Computer Club Updates
In der Sachverständigenanhörung im Innenausschuss des Deutschen Bundestages zur Änderung des Bundesdatenschutzgesetz fordert der Chaos Computer Club (CCC) das längst überfällige Verbot der umstrittenen biometrischen Überwachung im öffentlichen Raum.
https://www.ccc.de/de/updates/2024/bdsg-biometrie-verbot
When you have an evening and a morning in Granada
date: 2024-06-23, updated: 2024-06-24, from: Peter Molnar blog
A brief visit to the a wonderful old town and an unbelievably serene Generalife
https://petermolnar.net/journal/granada/
Dalai Lama arrives in US for knee treatment
date: 2024-06-23, from: VOA News USA
New York — Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama arrived Sunday in New York to undergo knee treatment, drawing a warm and festive welcome from thousands of followers.
His office in the Indian hill town of Dharamsala, his adopted home, announced earlier this month that the 88-year-old Buddhist spiritual leader would travel to the United States to undergo “medical treatment” on his knees, but no further details have been released.
Followers, many wearing traditional Tibetan outfits, waited outside the Dalai Lama’s Manhattan hotel in crushing heat hoping to catch a glimpse of the man.
“Once we saw him, it felt really powerful. And everyone was, like, emotional because he’s, like, our leader,” said one of them, 18-year-old U.S.-born Tenzin Pasang, who has now seen the Dalai Lama three times.
“So it’s very nice to see him in New York,” she said.
She welcomed the spiritual leader by joining in a performance of a traditional Tibetan dance.
Last week a group of senior U.S. lawmakers including former House speaker Nancy Pelosi met with the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, sparking heavy criticism from China.
That visit followed passage of a bill by the U.S. Congress that seeks to encourage Beijing to hold talks with Tibetan leaders – frozen since 2010.
Many exiled Tibetans fear Beijing will name a rival successor to the Dalai Lama, bolstering control over a land it poured troops into in 1950.
The Dalai Lama was just 23 when he escaped the Tibetan capital Lhasa in fear of his life after Chinese soldiers eviscerated an uprising against Beijing’s forces, crossing the snowy Himalayas into India.
He stepped down as his people’s political head in 2011, passing the baton of secular power to a government chosen democratically by some 130,000 Tibetans around the world.
https://www.voanews.com/a/dalai-lama-arrives-in-us-for-knee-treatment/7667164.html
On thorny issues, Trump, Biden campaigns hold their ground ahead of debate
date: 2024-06-23, from: VOA News USA
The first of two U.S. presidential debates in this year’s contest will take place Thursday. But the candidates’ rhetoric around sensitive topics such as immigration and former President Donald Trump’s recent hush money trial conviction is already heating up. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports.
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-06-23, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Trump is losing it. Makes sense, he's a loser.
https://www.threads.net/@thetnholler/post/C8iw_rmujoM
Chicago’s iconic ‘Bean’ sculpture reopens to tourists after nearly a year of construction
date: 2024-06-23, from: VOA News USA
Chicago — One of Chicago’s most popular tourist attractions known as “The Bean” reopened to the public Sunday after nearly a year of renovations and construction.
Construction started in August last year, and fencing around the iconic sculpture limited closeup access to visitors. The work on the plaza surrounding the sculpture included new stairs, accessible ramps and a waterproofing system, according to the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
The bean-shaped sculpture by artist Anish Kapoor is formally known as “Cloud Gate” and weighs 110 tons (99.8 metric tons).
It’s a busy tourist hub near Michigan Avenue, particularly for selfies with its reflective surface inspired by liquid mercury. Views of skyscrapers and crowds are reflected on the Millennium Park sculpture.
“Visitors can once again have full access to Chicago’s iconic Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor,” city officials said in a Sunday statement. “Come back and get your #selfie!”
Ceremony marks start of rebuilding for Pittsburgh synagogue targeted in antisemitic mass shooting
date: 2024-06-23, from: VOA News USA
Pizza delivery driver shot during Oakland attempted carjacking
date: 2024-06-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
The 28-year-old man was in stable condition at a hospital where he is being treated for a wound to his face, authorities said.
S.F.: Firefighters save warehouse in 2-acre fire in Bayview District
date: 2024-06-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
A wind-driven grass fire damaged the exterior of a warehouse and two acres of vegetation and trees in San Francisco’s Bayview district Saturday, but firefighters got the one-alarm blaze under control quickly and saved the warehouse, fire officials said.
Sharks trade forward drafted in first round to Predators
date: 2024-06-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
The San Jose Sharks have traded Ozzy Wiesblatt, their 2020 first-round draft pick, to the Nashville Predators for forward Egor Afanasyev
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/06/23/sharks-trade-forward-drafted-in-first-round-to-predators/
Turn Off The Pillow Machines
date: 2024-06-23, from: Tedium feed
Amazon’s plans to shift its packaging strategy points at a new front in the lengthy tug of war between paper and plastic—a war that started in grocery stores.
https://feed.tedium.co/link/15204/16722714/paper-vs-plastic-amazon-shipping
‘Inside Out 2’ scores $100M in its 2nd weekend, setting records
date: 2024-06-23, from: VOA News USA
New York — Weekend number two was just as joyous for “Inside Out 2.”
The Pixar sequel collected $100 million in ticket sales in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, setting a record for an animated movie in its follow-up frame in theaters. The previous best second weekend for an animated title was the $92 million for “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” Only six movies ever have had better second weekends.
In just a week and a half, “Inside Out 2” has become 2024’s highest-grossing film to date with $724.4 million globally, including $355.2 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters. That passes the $711.8 million worldwide total of “Dune: Part Two.” “Inside Out 2” will likely blow through the $1 billion mark in about a week, which would make it the first film since “Barbie” to do so.
The extent of the “Inside Out 2” success startled Hollywood, which had grown accustomed to lower expectations as the film industry watched ticket sales this year slump about 40% below pre-pandemic totals, according to data firm Comscore, before “Inside Out 2” came along.
The record haul for “Inside Out 2,” though, recalled past years when $1 billion grosses were more commonplace for the Walt Disney Co. It is also a much-needed blockbuster for Pixar, which after experimenting with direct-to-streaming releases, reconsidered its movie pipeline and approach to mass-audience appeal.
Now, “Inside Out 2,” which dipped a mere 35% from its $154 million domestic debut, is poised to challenge “The Incredibles 2” ($1.2 billion) for the all-time top grossing Pixar release. It could also steer the venerated animation factory toward more sequels. Among its upcoming films is “Toy Story 5,” due out in 2026.
For theater owners, “Inside Out 2” could hardly have been more needed. But it also reminded exhibitors of how feast-or-famine the movie business has become in recent years. Since the pandemic, movies like “Barbie,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “Top Gun: Maverick” have pushed ticket sales to record heights, but fallow periods in between box-office sensations have grown longer. Ticket sales over Memorial Day last month were the worst in three decades.
Some of 2024’s downturn can be attributed to release-schedule juggling caused by last year’s writers and actors strikes. The biggest new release over the weekend was Jeff Nichols’ motorcycle gang drama “The Bikeriders,” a film originally slated to open in 2023 before the actors’ strike prompted its postponement.
“The Bikeriders,” starring Jodie Comer, Austin Butler and Tom Hardy, came in on the high side of expectations with $10 million from 2,642 venues in its opening weekend. “The Bikeriders,” which cost about $35 million to produce, was originally to be released by Disney before New Regency took it to Focus Features last fall.
The strong business for “Inside Out 2” appeared to raise ticket sales generally. Sony Pictures’ “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” held well in its third week of release, collecting $18.8 million. It remained in second place. The “Bad Boys” sequel, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, has grossed $146.9 million domestically thus far.
Next week, the sci-fi horror prequel “A Quiet Place: Day One” and Kevin Costner’s Western epic “Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1” will hope some of the “Inside Out 2” success rubs off on them.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
“Inside Out 2,” $100 million.
“Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” $18.8 million.
“The Bikeriders,” $10 million.
“The Garfield Movie, $3.6 million.
“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” $3.6 million.
“If,” $2.8 million.
“The Exorcism,” $2.4 million.
“Thelma,” $2.2 million.
“The Watchers,” $1.9 million.
“Ghost: Rite Here Rite Now,” $1.5 million.
https://www.voanews.com/a/inside-out-2-scores-100m-in-its-2nd-weekend-setting-records/7667083.html
Fighting bots
date: 2024-06-23, from: Manu - I write blog
<p>With great timing, a post by Nicolas titled “<a href="https://thejollyteapot.com/2024/06/23/should-i-remove-this-blog-from-google-search">Should I remove this blog from Google Search?</a>” landed in my RSS feed earlier today. I’ve been thinking a lot about the current phase the web is going through, especially after reading all the various news related to Perplexity AI. I don’t think they’re especially bad or wrong in what they’re doing, I’m sure the other companies are equally as bad and they’re also not giving half of a fuck about ingesting whatever they can find if it helps make their products better. They don’t care about book authors, they don’t care about journalists and they for sure don’t care about small personal bloggers.</p>That brings up the question: what do we do? What even can we do? It’s obvious that robots.txt is no longer an option because most companies don’t even bother checking it. We can try to block the user agents at a server level but they can avoid that by simply sending a generic UA. We could de-list our sites but that would make it very hard for actual users to find our content and I suspect the point of writing for most of us is to share and connect with others. The legal system sure ain’t gonna fix this situation anytime soon. So what’s left? I guess there are only two options left:
- Accept the fact that some dickheads will do whatever they want because that’s just the world we live in
- Make everything private and only allow actual human beings access to our content
Both solutions are suboptimal. Reading Nicolas’s post made me also think about something else. He wrote:
In the case of Perplexity for example, a company that obviously steals content, lies, doesn’t really credit its sources, and — on top of it all — ignores the robots.txt rules from websites. If I were the TechCrunch, the New York Times, and the Financial Times of the world, I would simply stop reporting on the company. Not a blip on the radar, radio silence, except for their next fuck up. And then good luck finding investors if no one talks about you. They had their chance, they blew it.
What if Google decided to do that? What if Google decided to not return any result related to a company like Perplexity? I know it’s obviously not going to happen but wouldn’t that be funny?
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<p>Thank you for keeping RSS alive. You're awesome.</p>
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https://manuelmoreale.com/@/page/IWpwwDK1x1Oy2Vmo
(Weekend Edition) Field Notes: June 23, 2024
date: 2024-06-23, from: Om Malik blog
On My Mind This past week, I devoted time to “personal maintenance,” undergoing the usual array of medical tests necessary to preempt potential health issues. Additionally, I faced a dreaded dental surgery — which, despite the use of lasers and sedatives, did not necessarily mean less pain or discomfort. As a result, my writing, reading, …
https://om.co/2024/06/23/weekend-edition-field-notes-june-23-2024/
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-06-23, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Does personal AI require Big Compute?
https://doc.searls.com/2024/06/23/does-personal-ai-require-big-compute/
Animals with names, not numbers
date: 2024-06-23, from: The Signal
Blue, a Yorkshire pig, enjoyed a warm sunny Thursday morning by taking a long nap and receiving belly scratches from Farm Sanctuary tour guide Rafaella Epalas. Named after his bright […]
The post Animals with names, not numbers appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/06/animals-with-names-not-numbers/
An American Story
date: 2024-06-23, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
I was not born in America.
The post An American Story appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/06/23/an-american-story/
Self-taught home cook shines in national cooking contest
date: 2024-06-23, from: The Signal
Rlynn Smith-Thomas likes to spend time in the kitchen cooking meals that are rich in flavor, nutritious, and will put a smile on her friends’ and family’s faces. The self-taught […]
The post Self-taught home cook shines in national cooking contest appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/06/self-taught-home-cook-shines-in-national-cooking-contest/
Temperatures expected to drop after a scorching Saturday in the Bay Area
date: 2024-06-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
After a scorcher of a Saturday where parts of the Bay Area experienced temperatures in the mid-90s and in the triple digits, Sunday is expected to bring a bit of relief. “Today is going to be generally cooler than yesterday,” National Weather Service meteorologist Rachel Kennedy said. “We’re looking at temperatures that are about five […]
NHTSA finalizes moderate fuel economy standards for 2027-2031
date: 2024-06-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
On June 7th, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced finalized fuel economy standards that will govern the auto industry during model years 2027-2031. The NHTSA is an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation tasked with administering the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, and the finalization of new regulations marks the end of a complex rulemaking process.
2024 Dodge Hornet does tradition right
date: 2024-06-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
The Hudson Hornet debuted in 1951, the Dodge Hornet in 2023. In the interim, the same nameplate has been used on concept cars, pickup trucks and daily drivers.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/06/23/2024-dodge-hornet-does-tradition-right/
Arizona athletics: The challenging future, a critical report and AD Desiree Reed-Francois’ first 100 days
date: 2024-06-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
An assessment by Ernst & Young found numerous flaws with the Wildcats’ budgeting process.
‘Hands down our best performance’: Bay FC’s defense rises to occasion in win over Angel City
date: 2024-06-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
Expansion Bay FC in thick of playoff race after defense leads team to a 1-0 victory over Los Angeles rival.
The 2024 Ford Bronco Everglades Edition 4 door 4×4 SUV
date: 2024-06-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
What is a Bronco? A Bronco is a midsize SUV built in the Ford Motor Company’s Wayne, Michigan assembly plant and sold in North America by Ford. The 2024 Ford Bronco is a 4 wheel drive SUV available in 9 primary trim levels. In order of price they are: Big Bend, Black Diamond, Heritage Edition, Outer Banks, Badlands, Wildtrak, Heritage Edition Limited, Everglades and Raptor. This SUV is an Everglades Edition.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/06/23/the-2024-ford-bronco-everglades-edition-4-door-4x4-suv/
Photos: 5th annual Lakefest in Oakland
date: 2024-06-23, from: San Jose Mercury News
Thousands of festivalgoers attended Saturday’s 5th annual Lakefest at Lake Merritt in Oakland.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/06/23/photos-5th-annual-lakefest-in-oakland/
Democrats wrestle with whether to attend Netanyahu’s address to Congress
date: 2024-06-23, from: VOA News USA
Washington — The last time Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the U.S. Congress, nearly 60 Democrats skipped his speech nine years ago, calling it a slap in the face to then-President Barack Obama as he negotiated a nuclear deal with Iran.
With Netanyahu scheduled to address U.S. lawmakers on July 24 and his government now at war with Hamas in Gaza, the number of absences is likely to be far greater.
Congressional Democrats are wrestling with whether to attend. Many are torn between their long-standing support for Israel and their anguish about the way Israel has conducted military operations in Gaza. More than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that triggered the war, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run territory. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures.
While some Democrats are saying they will come out of respect for Israel, a larger and growing faction wants no part of it, creating an extraordinarily charged atmosphere at a gathering that normally amounts to a ceremonial, bipartisan show of support for an American ally.
“I wish that he would be a statesman and do what is right for Israel. We all love Israel,” former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said recently on CNN about Netanyahu.
Tensions between Netanyahu and Democratic President Joe Biden have been seeping into the public, with Netanyahu last week accusing the Biden administration of withholding U.S. weapons from Israel — a claim he made again Sunday to his Cabinet. After the prime minister leveled the charge the first time, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “We genuinely do not know what he’s talking about. We just don’t.”
The invitation from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to Netanyahu came after consultation with the White House, according to a person familiar with the matter who was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive subject. As of now, no meeting between the leaders during Netanyahu’s Washington visit has been scheduled, this person said.
Netanyahu said in a release that he was “very moved” by the invitation to address Congress and the chance “to present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us to the representatives of the American people and the entire world.”
Republicans first floated the idea in March of inviting Netanyahu after Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish official in the United States, gave a speech on the Senate floor that was harshly critical of the prime minister. Schumer, D-N.Y., called the Israeli leader “an obstacle to peace” and urged new elections in Israel, even as he denounced Hamas and criticized Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Republicans denounced the speech as an affront to Israel and its sovereignty. Johnson spoke of asking Netanyahu to come to Washington, an invitation that Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York ultimately endorsed, albeit reluctantly. Pelosi, who opposed the invitation to Netanyahu in 2015 when she was Democratic leader, said it was a mistake for the congressional leadership to extend it again this time.
Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who attended the 2015 address as a House member, said he saw no reason why Congress “should extend a political lifeline” to Netanyahu.
Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said it would be “healthy” for members of both parties to attend. “I think that a lot of Americans are getting a one-sided narrative, especially the younger generation, and I think it’s important they hear from the prime minister of Israel, in terms of his perspective,” said McCaul, R-Texas.
Interviews with more than a dozen Democrats revealed the breadth of discontent over the coming address, which many feel is a Republican ploy intended to divide their party. Some Democrats say they will attend to express their support for Israel, not Netanyahu.
New York Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he has an “obligation” to attend because of that position.
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., who leads the Sente Foreign Relations Committee, has signaled he will be there. Cardin said that what he’s looking for in Netanyahu’s speech is a “type of message that can strengthen the support in this country for Israel’s needs,” but also lay the groundwork for peace in the region.
Other Democrats are waiting to see whether Netanyahu will still be prime minister by the time he is supposed to speak to Congress.
There have been open signs of discontent over the handling of the war by Netanyahu’s government, a coalition that includes right-wing hard-liners who oppose any kind of settlement with Hamas.
Benny Gantz, a former military chief and centrist politician, withdrew from Netanyahu’s war Cabinet this month, citing frustration over the prime minister’s conduct of the war. On Monday, Netanyahu dissolved that body.
Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., said he stands with those “who hope that he’s not prime minister by the time late July rolls around. I think that he has been bad for Israel, bad for Palestinians, bad for America.” But, he added, he believes it his job to show up when a head of state addresses Congress, “even if its someone who I have concerns about and disagree with.”
Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., attended the 2015 speech and described it as “among the most painful hours” he has spent while in Congress. He plans to boycott unless Netanyahu became a “champion for a cease-fire.”
A large portion of the Congressional Progressive Caucus — lawmakers who are among the most critical of Israel’s handling of the war — is expected to skip. Among them is Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the chair of the caucus, who told The Associated Press that it was a “bad idea,” to invite Netanyahu.
Netanyahu’s visit is expected to draw significant protests.
What Are All These Ground-Level Ozone Alerts?
date: 2024-06-23, from: Heatmap News
If you’re of a certain age, you probably remember the hole in the ozone layer. Like Joseph Kony and Livestrong wristbands, the obsession over O3 now feels like a cultural artifact, thanks to ozone depletion being one of the rare success stories of international environmental cooperation. Since the world banned chlorofluorocarbons under the Montreal Protocol in 1987, the holes over the North and South poles have steadily recovered.
Today, if you hear about “ozone” at all, it’s much more likely to be from an air quality alert on your phone. Unlike the stratospheric ozone that we were all so concerned about in the 1980s and 1990s, which makes up a protective layer around the planet that insulates us from the sun’s cancer-causing ultraviolet rays, “tropospheric” or “ground-level” ozone is mainly man-made. In fact, when people throw around the word “pollution,” what they’re probably talking about is ground-level ozone, which is created by a chemical reaction between nitrogen oxides (highly reactive gases produced by burning fuels) and volatile organic compounds (organic compounds that easily evaporate under normal environmental conditions and can be found in vehicle exhaust as well as scented personal care products like deodorants, lotions, and bug sprays), plus sunlight. This chemical reaction usually occurs when cars, refineries, power plants, and other industrial sources emit pollutants into the environment during a hot, clear day. You probably know the result by its other name: smog.
Ozone is a climate issue not just because it is yet another concerning consequence of burning fossil fuels. According to some estimates, high levels of ground-level ozone pollution could grow in frequency by three to nine additional days per year by 2050 because of the gas’s close relationship with intense sunlight and high temperatures. While ozone dissipates fairly quickly once those conditions go away, it can build up while they last. Hot days, which are increasing in the U.S., also coincide with weak winds and stagnant air — conditions that allow ozone to accumulate in one place.
When the temperatures start to rise, here’s what you need to know and what you can do to protect yourself and others from ozone pollution.
How worried should I be when I get an air quality alert for ground-level ozone?
Different pollutants cause concern at different concentrations. The Air Quality Index is designed so that, in theory, a level of “100” corresponds to the point at which people in sensitive populations might start to be affected by the pollutant in question. (To learn more about how the AQI is calculated, you can read our explainer here).
That said, “The evidence has clearly been increasing that lower levels of ozone — levels well below the current standard of 70 parts per billion — are causing more health impacts,” Katherine Pruitt, the national senior director of policy at the American Lung Association, which is campaigning to strengthen the standard to 55 to 60 parts per billion, told me.
As Pruitt explained, ozone is a caustic irritant and can corrode metals. Breathing it in can cause inflammation in anyone, “from vulnerable children and elders to even the fittest elite athletes,” Pruitt said, adding that it is, “at some level, like getting a sunburn on your lungs.” Anyone who spends time outside is vulnerable to ozone, but the more sensitive groups — including children; the elderly; people with asthma, chronic heart disease, and other diseases; and pregnant women — are at a higher risk. They might already be paying more attention to the AQI levels in their area, and will potentially notice that they need to slow down and limit exertion during “yellow” or “orange”-level ozone events.
In the short term, ozone pollution can cause coughing, shortness of breath, and a lowered immune response, on top of aggravating any preexisting lung conditions or diseases. But Pruitt stressed to me that “living in places that have high levels of ozone day in and day out, for months and years, can cause respiratory diseases, nervous system disorders, metabolic disorders, reproductive problems, and mortality. It’s not just a cough and a wheeze on one bad air day.”
Where are the worst places in the country for ozone?
Ozone requires two main ingredients: the burning of fossil fuels and other chemicals, and sunlight. While ozone concentrations can be high in communities with a lot of industry and freeways nearby, ozone is “not really so much a roadway problem; it’s more of what we call an ambient air pollutant,” Pruitt said. Ozone can travel far away from where it was produced, in other words.
There are some rules of thumb, though. The places with the highest emissions and most appropriate atmospheric conditions for ozone pollution are “increasingly the western U.S. and the Southwest,” Pruitt said. The top four worst cities for ozone on the 2024 State of the Air report by the ALA were all in California, led by Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Since the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1963, other regions of the country have been doing much better, including the Southeast, mid-Atlantic, and Northeast. (Bangor, Maine, had the cleanest air in the report.)
What can I do to protect myself?
Because ozone is so strongly related to sunlight, it does not cause indoor air pollution to the same extent as wildfire smoke (which, if you’re keeping score, is a PM2.5 pollutant). “Because it’s so reactive, it gloms onto your furniture and your walls and stuff, once it gets inside,” Pruitt said of ozone. To protect yourself, you can just stay indoors and run your air conditioner.
But what if you want or need to go out? Because ozone is a gas rather than a particle, HEPA filters and face masks won’t protect you. Instead, Pruitt said that you can time your errands, tend to your garden, and exercise when the sunlight is the weakest — mornings, especially, tend to be less demanding on the lungs during ozone events.
What can I do to protect others?
The Clean Air Act of 1963 requires the Environmental Protection Agency to review the national ambient air quality standards for ozone (as well as several other pollutants) every five years. “It almost never actually does it every five years” though, Pruitt said. “Sometimes advocates have to sue them to get them to move things along.” The EPA completed its last review in December 2020, with the Trump administration maintaining the 70 parts per billion standard set in 2015. Attacks on the Clean Air Act would likely resume if Trump retakes office.
Aside from agitating for stricter clean air standards, there are measures you can take to protect others from ozone events. The simplest is not to contribute any more nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds to the environment than you otherwise have to when ozone levels are high. Avoid driving or idling your car; top off your tank during the coolest parts of the day, such as after dark; minimize your electricity use; and set your air conditioner no lower than 78 degrees.
In the long term, reducing ozone pollution will mean “choosing greener products for cleaning and personal care, so that we’re not producing volatile organic compounds,” Pruitt told me. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration previously found that in New York City in 2018, “about half” of the ambient volatile organic compounds it measured were produced by people, not vehicle exhaust. (Here’s a guide to reducing VOCs from your rotation.)
Additionally, “transitioning to zero-emission technologies so we’re not burning fossil fuels” will help limit ozone pollution, Pruitt said. The difference can be pretty significant: A study from the University of Houston published earlier this month found that by switching to electric vehicles, New York and Chicago could prevent 796 and 328 premature pollution-related deaths per month, respectively. Counterintuitively, the study found that more EVs on the roads could increase mortality in Los Angeles due to a corresponding increase in secondary organic aerosols caused by complicated dynamics between nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds and the city’s unique geography. “This underscores the need for region-specific environmental regulations,” the authors said.
https://heatmap.news/guides/ground-level-ozone
LEVER WEEKLY: AI’s Unquenchable Thirst
date: 2024-06-23, from: The Lever News
From the AI apocalypse to the risks of mega trains, here’s all the news from The Lever this week.
https://www.levernews.com/lever-weekly-ais-unquenchable-thirst/
Illinois may soon return land US stole from Prairie Band Potawatomi chief 175 years ago
date: 2024-06-23, from: VOA News USA
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Some 175 years after the U.S. government stole land from the chief of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation while he was away visiting relatives, Illinois may soon return it to the tribe.
Nothing ever changed the 1829 treaty that Chief Shab-eh-nay signed with the U.S. government to preserve for him a reservation in northern Illinois: not subsequent accords nor the 1830 Indian Removal Act, which forced all indigenous people to move west of the Mississippi.
But around 1848, the U.S. sold the land to white settlers while Shab-eh-nay and other members of his tribe were visiting family in Kansas.
To right the wrong, Illinois would transfer a 1,500-acre (607-hectare) state park west of Chicago, which was named after Shab-eh-nay, to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. The state would continue providing maintenance while the tribe says it wants to keep the park as it is.
“The average citizen shouldn’t know that title has been transferred to the nation so they can still enjoy everything that’s going on within the park and take advantage of all of that area out there,” said Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick, chairman of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation based in Mayetta, Kansas.
It’s not entirely the same soil that the U.S. took from Chief Shab-eh-nay. The boundaries of his original 1,280-acre (518-hectare) reservation now encompass hundreds of acres of privately owned land, a golf course and county forest preserve. The legislation awaiting Illinois House approval would transfer the Shabbona Lake State Recreation Area.
No one disputes Shab-eh-nay’s reservation was illegally sold and still belongs to the Potawatomi. An exactingly researched July 2000 memo from the Interior Department found the claim valid and shot down rebuttals from Illinois officials at the time, positing, “It appears that Illinois officials are struggling with the concept of having an Indian reservation in the state.”
But nothing has changed a quarter-century later.
Democratic state Rep. Will Guzzardi, who sponsored the legislation to transfer the state park, said it is a significant concession on the part of the Potawatomi. With various private and public concerns now owning more than half of the original reservation land, reclaiming it for the Potawatomi would set up a serpentine legal wrangle.
“Instead, the tribe has offered a compromise, which is to say, ‘We’ll take the entirety of the park and give up our claim to the private land and the county land and the rest of that land,’” Guzzardi said. “That’s a better deal for all parties involved.”
The proposed transfer of the park, which is 68 miles (109 kilometers) west of Chicago, won Senate approval in the final days of the spring legislative session. But a snag in the House prevented its passage. Proponents will seek endorsement of the measure when the Legislature returns in November for its fall meeting.
The Second Treaty of Prairie du Chien in 1829 guaranteed the original land to Chief Shab-eh-ney. The tribe signed 20 other treaties during the next 38 years, according to Rupnick.
“Yet Congress still kept those two sections of land for Chief Shab-eh-nay and his descendants forever,” said Rupnick, a fourth great-grandson of Shab-eh-nay. “At any one of those times the Congress could have removed the status of that land. They never did.”
Key to the proposal is a management agreement between the tribe and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Rupnick said the tribe needs the state’s help to maintain the park.
Many residents who live next to the park oppose the plan, fearing construction of a casino or even a hotel would draw more tourists and lead to a larger, more congested community.
“Myself and my family have put a lot of money and given up a lot to be where we are in a small community and enjoy the park the way that it is,” resident Becky Oest told a House committee in May, asking that the proposal be amended to prohibit construction that would “affect our community. It’s a small town. We don’t want it to grow bigger.”
Rupnick said a casino doesn’t make sense because state-sanctioned gambling boats already dot the state. He did not rule out a hotel, noting the park draws 500,000 visitors a year and the closest lodging is in DeKalb, 18 miles (29 kilometers) northeast of Shabbona. The park has 150 campsites.
In 2006, the tribe purchased 128 acres (52 hectares) in a corner of the original reservation and leases the land for farming. The U.S. government in April certified that as the first reservation in Illinois.
Guzzardi hopes the Potawatomi don’t have to wait much longer to see that grow exponentially with the park transfer.
“It keeps this beautiful public asset available to everyone,” Guzzardi said. “It resolves disputed title for landholders in the area and most importantly, it fixes a promise that we broke.”
Abortion access has won when it’s been on the ballot, but not option for half the states
date: 2024-06-23, from: VOA News USA
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Tucked inside the West Virginia Statehouse is a copy of a petition to lawmakers with a simple request: Let the voters decide whether to reinstate legal access to abortion.
The request has been ignored by the Republican lawmakers who have supermajority control in the Legislature and banned abortions in the state in 2022, shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a constitutional right to the procedure.
The petition, with more than 2,500 signatures, is essentially meaningless given the current makeup of the Legislature. But it illustrates the frustratingly limited options millions of Americans face in trying to re-establish abortion rights as the country marks the two-year anniversary since the Supreme Court’s ruling.
West Virginia is among the 25 states that do not allow citizen initiatives or constitutional amendments on a statewide ballot, an avenue of direct democracy that has allowed voters to circumvent their legislatures and preserve abortion and other reproductive rights in a number of states over the past two years.
Republicans there have repeatedly dismissed the idea of placing an abortion-rights measure before voters, which in West Virginia is a step only lawmakers can take.
“It makes you wonder what they’re so afraid of,” said Democratic Del. Kayla Young, one of only 16 women in the West Virginia Legislature. “If they feel so strongly that this is what people believe, prove it.”
The court’s ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade was praised by abortion opponents as a decision that returned the question to the states. Former President Donald Trump, who named three of the justices who overturned Roe, has repeatedly claimed “the people” are now the ones deciding abortion access.
“The people are deciding,” he said during a recent interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity. “And in many ways, it’s a beautiful thing to watch.”
But that’s not true everywhere. In states allowing the citizen initiative and where abortion access has been on the ballot, voters have resoundingly affirmed the right to abortion.
Voters in seven states, including conservative ones such as Kentucky, Montana and Ohio, have either protected abortion rights or defeated attempts to curtail them in statewide votes over the past two years. Reproductive rights supporters are trying to put citizen initiatives on the ballot in several states this year.
But voters don’t have a direct say in about half the states.
This is particularly true for those living in the South. Republican-controlled legislatures, many of which have been heavily gerrymandered to give the GOP disproportionate power, have enacted some of the strictest abortion bans since the Supreme Court ruling while shunning efforts to expand direct democracy.
States began adopting the initiative process during the Progressive Era more than a century ago, giving citizens a way to make or repeal laws through a direct vote of the people. Between 1898 and 1918, nearly 20 states approved the citizen initiative. Since then, just five states have done so.
“It was a different time,” said John Matsusaka, professor of business and law at the University of Southern California. “There was a political movement across the whole country when people were trying to do what they saw as good government.”
Some lawmakers argue citizen initiatives bypass important checks and balances offered through the legislative process. In Tennessee, where Republicans have gerrymandered legislative districts to give them a supermajority in the statehouse, House Majority Leader William Lamberth likened ballot measures to polls rather than what he described as the legislature’s strict review of complicated policy-making.
“We evaluate bills every single year,” he said.
As in West Virginia, abortion-rights supporters or Democratic lawmakers have asked Republican-controlled legislatures in a handful of states to take the abortion question straight to voters, a tactic that hasn’t succeeded anywhere the GOP has a majority.
“This means you’re going to say, ‘Hey Legislature, would you like to give up some of your power? Would you like to give up your monopoly on policymaking?’” said Thad Kousser, professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego. “You need a political momentum and then have the process cooperate.”
In South Carolina, which bans nearly all abortions, a Democratic-backed resolution to put a state constitutional amendment on the ballot never got a hearing this year. Attempts to attach the proposal to other pieces of legislation were quickly shut down by Republicans.
“If you believe you are doing the right thing for all the people of South Carolina — men and women and babies — you should have no problem putting this to the people,” said Democratic Sen. Margie Bright Matthews, alleging that Republicans fear they would lose if the issue went directly to voters.
In Georgia, Democratic Rep. Shea Roberts said she frequently fields questions from her constituents asking how they can get involved in a citizen-led ballot measure. The interest exploded after voters in Kansas rejected an anti-abortion measure from the Legislature in 2022 and was rekindled last fall after Ohio voters overwhelmingly passed an amendment codifying abortion rights in the state’s constitution.
Yet when she has brought legislation to create a citizen initiative process in Georgia, the efforts have been ignored inside the Republican-controlled Legislature.
“Voters are constantly asking us why we can’t do this, and we’re constantly explaining that it’s not possible under our current constitution,” Roberts said. “If almost half of states have this process, why shouldn’t Georgians?”
The contrast is on stark display in two presidential swing states. Michigan voters used a citizen initiative to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitution in 2022. Voters in neighboring Wisconsin don’t have that ability.
Instead, Wisconsin Democrats, with a new liberal majority on the state Supreme Court, are working to overturn Republican-drawn legislative maps that are among the most gerrymandered in the country in the hope of eventually flipping the Legislature.
Analiese Eicher, director of communications at Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, said a citizen-led ballot measure process would have been especially valuable for her cause.
“We should have legislators who represent their constituents,” she said. “And if they don’t, there should be another option.”
In West Virginia, Steve Williams acknowledges the petition he spearheaded didn’t change minds inside the Legislature.
But the Democratic mayor of Huntington, who is a longshot candidate for governor, said he thinks state Republicans have underestimated how strongly voters believe in restoring some kind of abortion access.
Republican leadership has pointed to a 2018 vote in which just under 52% of voters supported a constitutional amendment saying there is no right to abortion access in the state. But Williams said the vote also had to do with state funding of abortion, which someone could oppose without wanting access completely eliminated.
The vote was close, voter participation was low and it came before the Supreme Court’s decision that eliminated a nationwide right to abortion. Williams said West Virginia women weren’t facing the reality of a near-total ban.
“Let’s face it: Life in 2024 is a heck of a lot different for women than it was in 2018,” he said.
David Hegg | Climb That Mountain!
date: 2024-06-23, from: The Signal
By David Hegg For centuries, societies depended almost entirely on agriculture. The recognition that ground had to be cleared and plowed, seeds sown, and plants tended was part and parcel […]
The post David Hegg | Climb That Mountain! appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/06/david-hegg-climb-that-mountain/
Israel defense chief to discuss Gaza, Lebanon on US trip
date: 2024-06-23, from: VOA News USA
Jerusalem — Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant headed to Washington on Sunday to discuss the next phase of the Gaza war and escalating hostilities on the border with Lebanon, where exchanges of fire with Hezbollah have stoked fears of wider conflict.
Iran-backed Hezbollah has been trading fire with Israel since the Gaza war erupted more than eight months ago. The group has said it will not stop until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.
“We are prepared for any action that may be required in Gaza, Lebanon, and in more areas,” Gallant said in a statement before setting off to Washington, where he said he will meet his counterpart Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Earlier in June, Hezbollah targeted Israeli towns and military sites with the largest volleys of rockets and drones in the hostilities so far, after an Israeli strike killed the most senior Hezbollah commander yet.
U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein visited Israel and Lebanon last week in an attempt to cool tensions, amid an uptick in cross-border fire and an escalation in rhetoric on both sides.
Some Israeli officials have linked the ongoing Israeli push into Rafah, the southern area of Gaza where it says it is targeting the last battalions of militant Islamist group Hamas, to a potential focus on Lebanon.
Gallant appeared to make the same link in his statement.
“The transition to Phase C in Gaza is of great importance. I will discuss this transition with U.S. officials, how it may enable additional things and I know that we will achieve close cooperation with the U.S. on this issue as well,” Gallant said.
Scaling back Gaza operations would free up forces to take on Hezbollah, were Israel to launch a ground offensive or step up its aerial bombardments.
Officials have described the third and last phase of Israel’s Gaza offensive as winding down fighting while stepping up efforts to stabilize a post-Hamas rule and begin reconstruction in the enclave, much of which has been laid to waste.
Gallant, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, has sparred with the premier in the past few months, calling for a clearer post-war plan for Gaza that will not leave Israel in charge, a demand echoed by the White House.
Netanyahu has been walking a tightrope as he seeks to keep his government together by balancing the demands of the defence establishment, including ex-generals like Gallant, and far-right coalition partners who have resisted any post-Gaza strategy that could open the way to a future Palestinian state.
The head of Israel’s parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, Yuli Edelstein, told Army Radio on Sunday that fighting Hezbollah would be complex either way, now or later.
“We are not in the right position to conduct fighting on both the southern front and the northern front. We will have to deploy differently in the south in order to fight in the north,” said Edelstein, also a Likud member.
Edelstein criticized a video by Netanyahu released last week in which the prime minister said the Biden administration was “withholding weapons and ammunitions to Israel.” The video led to a spat with the White House.
President Joe Biden’s administration paused a shipment of 2,000 pound and 500-pound bombs in May over concerns about their impact if used in densely-populated areas of Gaza. Israel was still due to get billions of dollars worth of U.S. weaponry.
“I hope that in the discussions behind closed doors much more will be achieved than by attempts to create pressure with videos,” Edelstein said, referring to Gallant’s trip.
Israel’s ground and air campaign in Gaza was triggered when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
The offensive has killed more than 37,400 people, according to Palestinian health authorities, and left nearly the entire population of the enclave homeless and destitute.
https://www.voanews.com/a/israel-defense-chief-to-discuss-gaza-lebanon-on-u-s-trip/7666807.html
Dr. Gene Dorio | The Meaning of D-Day
date: 2024-06-23, from: The Signal
Robin and I share a family bond. Both our fathers were wounded World War II veterans. Her father was on the water, taken to a British hospital unconscious after his […]
The post Dr. Gene Dorio | The Meaning of D-Day appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/06/dr-gene-dorio-the-meaning-of-d-day/
FBI offers reward for information about deadly southern New Mexico wildfires
date: 2024-06-23, from: VOA News USA
RUIDOSO, N.M. — Federal authorities offered a reward for information about those responsible for igniting a pair of New Mexico wildfires that killed two people and destroyed hundreds of homes in the past week.
The FBI on Saturday offered up to $10,000 for information in connection with the South Fork Fire and Salt Fire in southern New Mexico, which forced thousands to flee.
An agency statement said it was seeking public assistance in “identifying the cause” of the fires near Ruidoso, New Mexico, that were discovered June 17. But the notice also pointedly suggested human hands were to blame, saying the reward was for information leading to arrest and conviction of “the person or persons responsible for starting the fires.”
The South Fork Fire, which reached 26 square miles (67 square kilometers), was 26% contained on Saturday, while the Salt Fire, at 12 square miles (31 square kilometers), was 7% contained as of Saturday morning, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Full containment was not expected until July 15.
Recent rains and cooler weather have assisted more than 1,000 firefighters working to contain the fires. Fire crews on Saturday took advantage of temperatures in the 70s Fahrenheit (21 to 26 Celsius), scattered showers and light winds to use bulldozers to dig protective lines while hand crews used shovels in more rugged terrain to battle the fires near the mountain village of Ruidoso.
Elsewhere in New Mexico, heavy rain and flash flood warnings prompted officials to order some mandatory evacuations Friday in the city of Las Vegas, New Mexico, and communities near Albuquerque, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of Ruidoso. Las Vegas set up shelters for displaced residents, and some evacuation orders remained in place there on Saturday.
Flash flood warnings were canceled Saturday, though the National Weather Service said afternoon storms could produce excessive runoff and more flooding in the area.
The wildfires have destroyed or damaged an estimated 1,400 structures. Other fallout from the fires, including downed power lines, damaged water, sewer and gas lines, flooding in burn scars, continued “to pose risks to firefighters and the public,” according to a Saturday update from the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.
Evacuations in areas near Ruidoso and road closures were still in effect. In Ruidoso, full-time residents will be allowed to return Monday, though everyday life won’t return to normal.
“You’re going to need to bring a week’s worth of food, you’re going to need to bring drinking water,” Mayor Lynn Crawford said on Facebook.
President Joe Biden issued a disaster declaration for parts of southern New Mexico on Thursday, freeing up funding and more resources to help with recovery efforts including temporary housing, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property and other emergency work in Lincoln County and on lands belonging to the Mescalero Apache Tribe.
Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, met with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Crawford and Mescalero Apache President Thora Walsh Padilla on Saturday. “These communities have our support for as long as it takes to recover,” Criswell posted on the social media platform X.
Much of the Southwest has been exceedingly dry and hot in recent months. Those conditions, along with strong wind, whipped the flames out of control, rapidly advancing the South Fork Fire into Ruidoso in a matter of hours. Evacuations extended to hundreds of homes, businesses, a regional medical center and the Ruidoso Downs horse track.
Nationwide, wildfires have scorched more than 3,344 square miles (8,660 square kilometers) this year, a figure higher than the 10-year average, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Risk of installing dodgy extensions from Chrome store way worse than Google’s letting on, study suggests
date: 2024-06-23, updated: 2024-06-24, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
All depends on how you count it – Chocolate Factory claims 1% fail rate
Google this week offered reassurance that its vetting of Chrome extensions catches most malicious code, even as it acknowledged that “as with any software, extensions can also introduce risk.”…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/06/23/google_chrome_web_store_vetting/
US political trailblazer Shirley Chisholm honored in exhibit
date: 2024-06-23, from: VOA News USA
new york — She was the first African American woman in U.S. Congress and the first woman and African American to seek the presidential nomination from one of the two major U.S. political parties.
Shirley Chisholm, who would have turned 100 in November, has served as an inspiration to several generations of female and minority politicians, including current Vice President Kamala Harris.
Less than five months before a hotly contested presidential election pitting Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump, the Museum of the City of New York is honoring Chisholm’s legacy with a special exhibit.
Zinga Fraser, the co-curator of the show titled “Changing the Face of Democracy: Shirley Chisholm at 100” said honoring the politician’s legacy is even more important during an election year.
“If there’s any person to remind us about democracy and what’s possible and where we need to go,” that would be Chisholm, Fraser said.
Writing on Chisholm’s birthday on November 30, 2020 — after Harris had just been elected the first African American vice president and the first woman in that role — Harris said Chisholm “paved the way for me and so many others.”
“We celebrate her brilliance and boldness to break down barriers, fight to increase the minimum wage, and speak for those who otherwise wouldn’t have a voice in the political process,” Harris wrote on Instagram.
Catalyst for change
Born in 1924 in Brooklyn, New York, to parents from Barbados and Guyana, Chisholm transformed American democracy in the 1960s and 1970s with her political slogan “Unbought and Unbossed.”
In 1968, Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to Congress and four years later launched a bid for the White House. While she didn’t win the nomination of the Democratic Party, she still served as a catalyst for change.
“I ran because somebody had to do it first,” she reflected later. “I ran because most people think the country is not ready for a Black candidate, not ready for a woman candidate. Someday …”
During her political career, Chisholm fought for abortion rights, food assistance, education and worker protection, as well as police and prison reform. She also campaigned against the war in Vietnam and apartheid in South Africa.
But even more important is the example she set, according to Fraser.
“I think what you also see as a part of her legacy is just more in terms of women and women of color in the office,” Fraser said.
Before Chisholm was elected to the House of Representatives in 1968, there were only four Black men and 11 white women or other minorities in Congress.
According to the Center for American Women and Politics, there are now 28 Black women in the House (out of 435 representatives, including 126 women) and one in the Senate (out of 100 senators, including 25 women).
‘Shirley’ on Netflix
During the 1972 primaries, Chisholm recruited student and activist Barbara Lee, who went on to serve as California’s Democratic representative in the House since 1998.
“Shirley Chisholm was more than a mentor to me,” 77-year-old Lee wrote on X. “She inspired me to live a life of service, fearlessness, & dedication to justice & equity.”
Chisholm, who died in 2005, also is being honored this year by a Netflix documentary that was released in March.
In “Shirley,” the trailblazing politician, played by actress Regina King, confronts other lawmakers and decides to compete in the primaries alone.
Total Recall
date: 2024-06-23, from: Status-Q blog
The tech news has had a lot of coverage recently of Microsoft’s proposed ‘Recall‘ system, which (as a very rough approximation) takes a screenshot of your display every five seconds, and uses their AI-type Copilot system to allow you to search it. “What was that cafe or restaurant that someone in the call recommended yesterday?” Continue Reading
https://statusq.org/archives/2024/06/23/12093/
Go West
date: 2024-06-23, from: Status-Q blog
We’ve been away for the last week or so on the south coast of Cornwall, and it was a great trip. We had our folding e-bikes inside the van, and our little boat behind, which meant it wasn’t always the easiest setup to take along narrow Cornish lanes, especially if we found ourselves needing to Continue Reading
https://statusq.org/archives/2024/06/23/12084/
Today in SCV History (June 23)
date: 2024-06-23, from: SCV New (TV Station)
1946, 11:20pm: William S. Hart, 81, dies at L.A.’s California Lutheran Hospital, leaving his Newhall estate and his (now West) Hollywood home to the public. [story
https://scvnews.com/today-in-scv-history-june-23/
2.5 million Americans will have marijuana convictions cleared or forgiven
date: 2024-06-23, from: VOA News USA
Couples’ marriages survive, thrive through gender transition
date: 2024-06-23, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/couples-marriages-survive-thrive-through-gender-transition/7664547.html
Andrew S. Tanenbaum receives ACM Software System Award
date: 2024-06-23, from: OS News
Andrew S. Tanenbaum, professor emeritus of Computer Science at VU Amsterdam, receives the ACM Software System Award for MINIX, which influenced the teaching of Operating Systems principles to multiple generations of students and contributed to the design of widely used operating systems, including Linux. Tanenbaum created MINIX 1.0 in 1987 to accompany his textbook, Operating Systems: Design and Implementation. MINIX was a small microkernel-based UNIX operating system for the IBM PC, which was popular at the time. It was roughly 12,000 lines of code, and in addition to the microkernel, included a memory manager, file system and core UNIX utility programs. It became free open-source software in 2000. ↫ VU Amsterdam website Definitely a deserved award for Tanenbaum, and it’s a minuscule bit of pride that VU Amsterdam happens to be my Alma mater. He also wrote an article for OSNews way back in 2006, detailing MINIX 3, which is definitely a cool notch to have on our belt.
https://www.osnews.com/story/140041/andrew-s-tanenbaum-receives-acm-software-system-award/
Vivaldi browser improves customization for RSS subscriptions
date: 2024-06-23, from: Open RSS Blog
The built-in RSS reader in the Vivaldi web browser has always allowed users to easily subscribe to RSS feeds when visiting web pages. But the browser’s latest feature gives you more subscription options, making the RSS experience even better.
Now, when subscribing to an RSS feed, you can customize its title, how often the feed will refresh, and even update its URL address.
Not only is the feature a very helpful addition, but it’s great to see a web browser increasingly embracing RSS. We hope that other web browsers will follow suit—especially when RSS use has become more important than ever.
https://openrss.org/blog/vivaldi-web-browser-improves-customization-for-rss-subscriptions
US military says it destroyed 3 Houthi vessels in Red Sea
date: 2024-06-23, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-military-says-it-destroyed-3-houthi-vessels-in-red-sea/7666738.html
Santa Barbara’s Eastside Boys & Girls Club Reopening in July
date: 2024-06-23, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Chartering a path forward to revitalize the historic organization.
The post Santa Barbara’s Eastside Boys & Girls Club Reopening in July appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/06/22/santa-barbaras-eastside-boys-girls-club-reopening-in-july/
Systems: What does a board of directors do?
date: 2024-06-23, from: Ben Werdmuller’s blog
<div class="known-bookmark">
<div class="e-content">“I realize that most people who’ve never been in the boardroom have a lot of questions (and often, anxieties) about what happens on a board, so I wanted to share a very subjective view of what I’ve seen and learned over the years.”
This is great, and jibes with my experiences both being on boards and supporting them as a part of various organizations.
The most functional boards I’ve seen do what Anil describes here: they’re pre-briefed and are ready to have a substantive discussion in a way that pushes the organization forward. Board meetings have a heavy reporting component, for sure, but the discussion and working sessions are always the most meaningful component.
This is also often true, and a challenge:
“I believe in the structure of a board (usually along with some separate advisors) to help an organization reach its fullest potential, in much the same way as I believe in governments having separate branches with separate forms of accountability and appointment. In practice, having nearly all-powerful executives select the membership of the organization that’s meant to hold them accountable tends to fail just as badly in business or non-profits as it does in governments.”
The board meetings I’ve attended that are the most robust and open to discussion and genuine debate have also been the ones attached to the most successful companies. I don’t think it’s quite causation, but rather two things that come from a particularly pragmatic attitude towards running a business: one where outside perspectives and differences of opinion are a strength, not a threat.
<p>[<a href="https://www.anildash.com/2024/06/20/dash-board/">Link</a>]</p>
</div>
</div>https://werd.io/2024/systems-what-does-a-board-of-directors-do
Highway 154 Closed Near San Antonio Creek Road Due to Roadway Cracking
date: 2024-06-23, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Caltrans has implemented a full closure of Highway 154 in both directions from State Route 192 in Santa Barbara to the Hwy. 154/246 Roundabout in Santa Ynez.
The post Highway 154 Closed Near San Antonio Creek Road Due to Roadway Cracking appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
Authorities Identify UC Santa Barbara Student Found Dead at Campus Dorm over Commencement Weekend
date: 2024-06-23, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Adam Paul Gromotsky, 22, was pronounced dead from unknown causes on June 15 at San Joaquin Villages.
The post Authorities Identify UC Santa Barbara Student Found Dead at Campus Dorm over Commencement Weekend appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
Brush fire quickly extinguished
date: 2024-06-23, from: The Signal
A 1-square-foot by 1-square-foot brush fire was quickly extinguished on Saturday afternoon in Canyon Country by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. First responders received reports of a brush fire […]
The post Brush fire quickly extinguished appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/06/brush-fire-quickly-extinguished/
Full Circle Weekly News 371
date: 2024-06-23, from: Full Circle Magazine
Credits
- Host: @bardictriad, @zaivala
- Bumper: Canonical
- Theme Music: From The Dust - Stardust
- https://soundcloud.com/ftdmusic
- CC BY 4.0
https://fullcirclemagazine.org/podcasts/podcast-371/
MIME, RSS, and existential torment
date: 2024-06-23, from: Ze Iaso’s blog
TL;DR: how I fixed my RSS feed by installing mailcap so I don’t get tormented by mimes