News gathered 2024-09-07
(date: 2024-09-07 07:23:13)
It’s hard not to like this story…
date: 2024-09-07, from: Status-Q blog
Regular readers will know that I like electrifying things. Our car has been electric for nearly a decade now, and we also have a lawnmower, a strimmer, two hedge-trimmers, two bicycles and a range of other devices powered by batteries. We also generate most of our own electricity, and buy the rest overnight at cheap Continue Reading
https://statusq.org/archives/2024/09/07/12175/
Icy Dock ExpressSlot MB204MP-B makes it easy to swap up to 4 m.2 SSDs
date: 2024-09-07, from: Liliputing
The Icy Dock ExpressSlot MB204MP-B is a PCIe expansion card that can accepts up to four m.2 SSDs. While it’s not the first device that lets you use a single PCIe slot to add up to four SSDs, the company says it’s the first to offer “easy additional and removal” thanks a mechanism that lets […]
The post Icy Dock ExpressSlot MB204MP-B makes it easy to swap up to 4 m.2 SSDs appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/icy-dock-expressslot-mb204mp-b-makes-it-easy-to-swap-up-to-4-m-2-ssds/
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-09-07, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
Will this be the year that I make a commitment to cross into New Hampshire and use my Apple Card to buy all the new hardware for that sweet discount?
Or as a vessel of animal desires, I will place my orders online as soon as the keynote is over?
Stay tuned as this war rages inside of me.
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/113096558108868245
Kunai Corne V3
date: 2024-09-07, from: mrusme blog
This is a follow-up build log on the Corne V3 post, in which I finalize the Kunai case.
https://xn--gckvb8fzb.com/kunai-corne-v3/
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-09-07, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Dick Cheney Says He Will Vote for Kamala Harris. #history
Despite cyberattacks, water security standards remain a pipe dream
date: 2024-09-07, updated: 2024-09-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
White House floats round two of regulations
It sounds like the start of a bad joke: Digital trespassers from China, Russia, and Iran break into US water systems.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/09/07/us_water_cyberattacks/
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-09-07, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
The European Union demands Apple turn iOS into the Cheesecake Factory menu option, with hilarious results.
https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=zglax7gc
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/113096265602498979
How I’m Trying to Use Generative AI as a Journalism Engineer — Ethically
date: 2024-09-07, from: The Markup blog
Is it possible?
YOU LOVE TO SEE IT: A Dam Good Idea
date: 2024-09-07, from: The Lever News
Plus, AI gets reined in, Mississippi thinks of the children, and electric school buses power on.
https://www.levernews.com/you-love-to-see-it-a-dam-good-idea/
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-09-07, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
New Harris campaign ad.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0lKA_GeGwIo&feature=youtu.be
Family demands independent probe into ‘Israeli military’ killing of American
date: 2024-09-07, from: VOA News USA
Jerusalem — The family of a Turkish-American woman shot dead while demonstrating against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank demanded an independent investigation into her death on Saturday, accusing the Israeli military of killing her “violently.”
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was “shot in the head” while participating in a demonstration in Beita in the West Bank on Friday.
“Her presence in our lives was taken needlessly, unlawfully, and violently by the Israeli military,” Eygi’s family said in a statement.
“A U.S. citizen, Aysenur was peacefully standing for justice when she was killed by a bullet that video shows came from an Israeli military shooter.
“We call on President (Joe) Biden, Vice President (Kamala) Harris, and Secretary of State (Antony) Blinken to order an independent investigation into the unlawful killing of a U.S. citizen and to ensure full accountability for the guilty parties.”
The Israeli military said its forces “responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them” during the protest.
Eygi was a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a pro-Palestinian organization, and was in Beita on Friday for a weekly demonstration against Israeli settlements, according to ISM.
In recent years, pro-Palestinian demonstrators have frequently held weekly protests against the Eviatar settlement outpost overlooking Beita, which is backed by far-right Israeli ministers.
During Friday’s protest, Eygi was shot in the head, according to the U.N. rights office and Rafidia hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Turkey said she was killed by “Israeli occupation soldiers,” with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemning the Israeli action as “barbaric.”
Washington called it a “tragic” event and has pressed its close ally Israel to investigate.
But her family has demanded an independent probe.
“Given the circumstances of Aysenur’s killing, an Israeli investigation is not adequate,” her family said.
Her family said Eygi always advocated “an end to the violence against the people of Palestine.”
Israeli settlements in the West Bank, where about 490,000 people live, are illegal under international law.
Since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel which triggered the war in Gaza, Israeli troops or settlers have killed more than 690 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
At least 23 Israelis, including security forces, have been killed in Palestinian attacks during the same period, according to Israeli officials.
Boeing’s beleaguered Starliner returns home without astronauts
date: 2024-09-07, from: VOA News USA
WASHINGTON — Boeing’s beleaguered Starliner made its long-awaited return to Earth on Saturday without the astronauts who rode it up to the International Space Station, after NASA ruled the trip back too risky.
After years of delays, Starliner launched in June for what was meant to be a roughly weeklong test mission — a final shakedown before it could be certified to rotate crew to and from the orbital laboratory.
But unexpected thruster malfunctions and helium leaks en route to the ISS derailed those plans, and NASA ultimately decided it was safer to bring crewmates Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back on a rival SpaceX Crew Dragon — though they’ll have to wait until February 2025.
The gumdrop-shaped Boeing capsule touched down softly at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, its descent slowed by parachutes and cushioned by airbags, having departed the ISS around six hours earlier.
As it streaked red-hot across the night sky, ground teams reported hearing sonic booms. The spacecraft endured temperatures of 1,650 degrees Celsius during atmospheric reentry.
NASA lavished praise on Boeing during a post-flight press conference where representatives from the company were conspicuously absent.
“It was a bullseye landing,” said Steve Stich, program manager for NASA’s commercial crew program. “The entry in particular has been darn near flawless.”
Still, he acknowledged that certain new issues had come to light, including the failure of a new thruster and the temporary loss of the guidance system.
He added it was too early to talk about whether Starliner’s next flight, scheduled for August next year, would be crewed, instead stressing NASA needed time to analyze the data they had gathered and assess what changes were required to both the design of the ship and the way it is flown.
Ahead of the return leg, Boeing carried out extensive ground testing to address the technical hitches encountered during Starliner’s ascent, then promised — both publicly and behind closed doors — that it could safely bring the astronauts home. In the end, NASA disagreed.
Asked whether he stood by that decision, NASA’s Stich said: “It’s always hard to have that retrospective look. We made the decision to have an uncrewed flight based on what we knew at the time and based on our knowledge of the thrusters and based on the modeling that we had.”
History of setbacks
Even without crew aboard, the stakes were high for Boeing, a century-old aerospace giant.
With its reputation already battered by safety concerns surrounding its commercial jets, its long-term prospects for crewed space missions hung in the balance.
Shortly after undocking, Starliner executed a powerful “breakout burn” to swiftly clear it from the station and prevent any risk of collision — a maneuver that would have been unnecessary if crew were aboard to take manual control if needed.
Mission teams then conducted thorough checks of the thrusters required for the critical “deorbit burn” that guided the capsule onto its reentry path around 40 minutes before touchdown.
Though it was widely expected that Starliner would stick the landing, as it had on two previous uncrewed tests, Boeing’s program continues to languish behind schedule.
In 2014, NASA awarded both Boeing and SpaceX multibillion-dollar contracts to develop spacecraft to taxi astronauts to and from the ISS, after the end of the Space Shuttle program left the US space agency reliant on Russian rockets.
Although initially considered the underdog, Elon Musk’s SpaceX surged ahead of Boeing, and has successfully flown dozens of astronauts since 2020.
The Starliner program, meanwhile, has faced numerous setbacks – from a software glitch that prevented the capsule from rendezvousing with the ISS during its first uncrewed test flight in 2019, to the discovery of flammable tape in the cabin after its second test in 2022, to the current troubles.
With the ISS scheduled to be decommissioned in 2030, the longer Starliner takes to become fully operational, the less time it will have to prove its worth.
Blood boffins build billions of nanobots to battle brain aneurysms without surgery
date: 2024-09-07, updated: 2024-09-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Good news for rabbits, maybe great news soon for humans?
An international team of scientists has developed a drug delivery system that could one day treat human brain aneurysms in a way without the need for traditional surgery.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/09/07/nanobots_brain_aneurysms/
NASA, Boeing Welcome Starliner Spacecraft to Earth, Close Mission
date: 2024-09-07, from: NASA breaking news
NASA and Boeing safely returned the uncrewed Starliner spacecraft following its landing at 10:01 p.m. MDT Sept. 6 at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, concluding a three-month flight test to the International Space Station. “I am extremely proud of the work our collective team put into this entire flight test, and we are […]
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-boeing-welcome-starliner-spacecraft-to-earth-close-mission/
Buying Elections Could Become A Tax Deduction
date: 2024-09-07, from: The Lever News
Legal operatives tied to Trump, power broker Leonard Leo, and a hate group are aiming to make dark-money donations tax deductible.
https://www.levernews.com/buying-elections-could-become-a-tax-deduction/
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-09-07, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
When someone leaves an idiotic comment on one of your posts, you..
https://x.com/davewiner/status/1832227623860138201
Republican bill to avoid government shutdown requires proof of citizenship to vote
date: 2024-09-07, from: VOA News USA
washington — House Republicans unveiled on Friday their legislation to avoid a partial government shutdown at the end of the month and fund the government into late March, when a new president and Congress would make the final decision on agency spending and priorities for fiscal 2025.
Republicans also added a hot-button immigration issue to the measure by requiring states to obtain proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, when someone registers to vote. Inclusion of the citizenship requirement is a nonstarter in the Senate, complicating prospects for the spending bill’s passage.
Lawmakers are returning to Washington next week following a traditional August recess spent mostly in their home states and districts. They are not close to completing work on the dozen annual appropriations bills that will fund the agencies during the next fiscal year, so they’ll need to approve a stopgap measure to prevent a shutdown when the new fiscal year begins October 1.
“Today, House Republicans are taking a critically important step to keep the federal government funded and to secure our federal election process,” Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement. “Congress has a responsibility to do both, and we must ensure that only American citizens can decide American elections.”
Bipartisanship urged
But in a joint statement, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray said avoiding a shutdown requires bipartisanship, not a bill drawn up by one party.
“If Speaker Johnson drives House Republicans down this highly partisan path, the odds of a shutdown go way up, and Americans will know that the responsibility of a shutdown will be on the House Republicans’ hands,” Schumer and Murray said.
It is a crime under federal law for a noncitizen to vote, or even register to vote, in a federal election, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
Johnson’s decision to add the proof of citizenship requirement to the spending measure comes after the House Freedom Caucus called for it in a position statement last month. The group of conservatives, banking on a win by Republican nominee Donald Trump, also urged that the measure fund the government into early next year so Republicans could get more of their priorities in legislation.
Some Republican leaders had wanted to pass the final spending bills by the end of this Congress so that the new president, whether it be Trump or Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, could focus more on getting staffed and pursuing their own top priorities rather than dealing with spending disagreements.
Republicans say requiring proof of citizenship would ensure American elections are only for American citizens, improving confidence in the nation’s federal election system. But opponents say the available evidence shows that noncitizen voting in federal elections is incredibly rare and such a requirement would disenfranchise millions of Americans who don’t have the necessary documents readily available when they want to register.
What remains to be seen is what happens if the bill passes the House this week and the Senate declines to take it up or votes it down.
The bill would fund agencies at current levels until March 28, though there’s also money to help cover additional security costs associated with Inauguration Day and $10 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund.
Rare copy of US Constitution to be sold at auction
date: 2024-09-07, from: VOA News USA
ASHEVILLE, north carolina — Seth Kaller, an appraiser and collector of historic documents, spreads a broad sheet of paper across a desk. It’s in good enough condition that he can handle it, carefully, with clean, bare hands. There are just a few creases and tiny discolorations, even though it’s just a few weeks shy of 237 years old and has spent who knows how long inside a filing cabinet in North Carolina.
At the top of the first page are familiar words but in regular type instead of the sweeping Gothic script readers are accustomed to seeing: “WE the People.”
And the people will get a chance to bid for this copy of the U.S. Constitution — the only one of its type thought to be in private hands — at a sale by Brunk Auctions on September 28 in Asheville, North Carolina.
The minimum bid for the auction of $1 million has already been made. There is no minimum price that must be reached.
This copy was printed after the Constitutional Convention finished drafting the proposed framework of the nation’s government in 1787 and sent it to the Congress of the ineffective first American government under the Articles of Confederation, requesting that it be sent to the states to be ratified by the people.
Few copies remain
It’s one of about 100 copies printed by the secretary of that Congress, Charles Thomson. Just eight are known to still exist and the other seven are publicly owned.
Thomson likely signed two copies for each of the original 13 states, essentially certifying them. They were sent to special ratifying conventions, where representatives, all white and male, wrangled for months before accepting the structure of the U.S. government that continues today.
“This is the point of connection between the government and the people. The Preamble — ‘we, the people’ — this is the moment the government is asking the people to empower them,” auctioneer Andrew Brunk said.
What happened to the document up for auction between Thomson’s signature and 2022 isn’t known.
Two years ago, a property was being cleared out in Edenton in eastern North Carolina that was once owned by Samuel Johnston. He was the governor of North Carolina from 1787 to 1789 and he oversaw the state convention during his last year in office that ratified the Constitution.
The copy was found inside a squat, two-drawer metal filing cabinet with a can of stain on top, in a long-neglected room piled high with old chairs and a dusty bookcase, before the old Johnston house was preserved. The document was a broad sheet that could be folded one time like a book.
“I get calls every week from people who think they have a Declaration of Independence or a Gettysburg Address and most of the time it is just a replica, but every so often something important gets found,” said Kaller, who appraises, buys and sells historic documents.
“This is a whole other level of importance,” he added.
Washington letter
Along with the Constitution on the broad sheet printed front and back is a letter from George Washington asking for ratification. He acknowledged there would have to be compromise and that rights the states enjoyed would have to be given up for the nation’s long-term health.
“To secure all rights of independent sovereignty to each and yet provide for the interest and safety for all — individuals entering into society must give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest,” wrote the man who would become the first U.S. president.
Brunk isn’t sure what the document might go for because there is so little to compare it to. The last time a copy of the Constitution like this sold, it went for $400 - in 1891. In 2021, Sotheby’s of New York sold one of only 14 remaining copies of the Constitution printed for the Continental Congress and delegates to the Constitutional Convention for $43.2 million, a record for a book or document.
But that document was meant to be distributed to the Founding Fathers as delegates to the Constitutional Convention. The signed copy being sold later this month was one meant to be sent to leaders in every state so people all around the country could review and decide if that’s how they wanted to be governed, connecting the writers of the Constitution to the people in the states who would provide its power and legitimacy.
The auction listing doesn’t identify the seller, saying it’s part of a collection that is in private hands.
Other items up for auction in Asheville include a 1776 first draft of the Articles of Confederation and a 1788 Journal of the Convention of North Carolina at Hillsborough, where representatives spent two weeks debating if ratifying the Constitution would put too much power with the nation instead of the states.
https://www.voanews.com/a/rare-copy-of-us-constitution-to-be-sold-at-auction/7775063.html
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-09-07, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
They’re worse than “going easy” they’ve let him hijack their reps for doing journalism, replacing best efforts to tell truth, to openly and knowingly transmitting lies.
Boeing’s beleaguered Starliner capsule leaves space station without its astronauts
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
Elections in America could affect US nuclear umbrella over Seoul
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
washington — A South Korean senior official has rekindled debate over the U.S. commitment to that nation’s defense, bringing up the possibility of the U.S. rolling back its nuclear umbrella if former President Donald Trump is reelected.
Kim Tae-hyo, South Korea’s deputy national security director, said in a Seoul forum Tuesday the reelection of Trump could “weaken a U.S. nuclear umbrella” designed to protect South Korea from North Korean aggression.
“Trump as candidate can be seen as pursuing transactional benefits in terms of the South Korea-U.S. alliance,” Kim said, according to news reports. “It is not unlikely that he would suggest negotiating defense cost-sharing or the deployment of U.S. strategic assets from a cost perspective.”
Skepticism about America’s willingness and capability to protect South Korea from a North Korean nuclear attack has grown among South Koreans as North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs become increasingly sophisticated. A recent poll by South Korea’s Institute of National Unification revealed that 66% of respondents supported the country having its own nuclear weapons.
Concern over commitment
Gary Samore, former White House coordinator for arms control and weapons of mass destruction during the Obama administration, said Kim’s remarks reflect widespread concern among U.S. allies.
There is a concern that “Trump, if reelected, would pursue policies that will weaken U.S. alliances around the world, including in Europe and East Asia,” Samore told VOA Korean Wednesday via email.
“In the case of Korea, Trump might seek to resume summit diplomacy with Kim Jong Un and make concessions that weaken the U.S.-ROK alliance, as he did at the Singapore summit in June 2018,” Samore said. ROK stands for Republic of Korea, the official name for South Korea.
According to the joint statement released after the 2018 summit, Trump “committed to provide security guarantees” to North Korea, while the North Korean leader reaffirmed “commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”
“However, I think it’s premature to predict exactly what policies President Trump will adopt toward Korea if he is reelected,” Samore added. “There are too many uncertainties, including, for example, who President Trump appoints for his top foreign policy and defense positions.”
Michael O’Hanlon, director of foreign policy research at the Brookings Institution in Washington, told VOA Korean Tuesday via email the South Korean official’s assessment of Trump is justifiable.
“I think the official is correct,” O’Hanlon said, adding Trump could take steps to address this concern. “I do not know if he will.”
‘Treat us properly,’ says Trump
Trump has often complained that U.S. allies do not pay the U.S. enough for bases and troops used in their defense. In an April interview with Time magazine, Trump said, “I want South Korea to treat us properly,” suggesting he would demand that South Korea pay more for the American troops stationed there.
But Frederick Fleitz, who served as chief of staff of the National Security Council in the Trump White House, told VOA Korean by phone Tuesday that Trump’s reelection is not likely to affect the U.S. nuclear umbrella.
Making clear that he was speaking for himself, not for Trump, Fleitz said the former president “was a strong friend of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan when he was in office last time and he’ll be a strong friend again.”
“Why would there be such a big change in a second Trump term when he didn’t do that in the first term?” Fleitz asked. “The second Trump administration, concerning South Korea, will be countering the threat from North Korea and this new axis relationship between China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.”
Fleitz stressed there is no evidence to suggest Trump would link the defense cost-sharing with offering a nuclear umbrella, adding discussions on how much South Korea pays for U.S. troops in South Korea will not be a “deal breaker” for the second Trump administration.
“It is an issue that will be resolved among friends,” he said. “The security threats in the region are so severe — I think that’s what the U.S. will focus on.”
Redeployment of nukes
Robert Peters, a fellow for nuclear deterrence and missile defense at the Heritage Foundation, told VOA Korean Tuesday via email it is “far more likely” that America’s extended deterrence commitment to South Korea would strengthen during a second Trump term.
Peters said a second Trump administration could consider redeploying U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula, due to the threats coming from North Korea and China.
“I think a second Trump administration would field SLCM-N [nuclear-armed, sea-launched cruise missiles] in the near term and potentially reintroduce American nuclear weapons to South Korea as a means to assure the ROK, deter North Korea and strengthen regional stability,” said Peters.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, is widely expected to inherit incumbent President Joe Biden’s Asia policies should she win the election.
The Biden administration is not considering the redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea. In 1991, the U.S. withdrew from South Korea all its nuclear weapons, roughly 100 in number, according to some studies.
“The United States does not assess returning nuclear weapons to the Indo-Pacific as necessary at this time,” a State Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement on May 31 in response to a VOA Korean inquiry. “The United States has no plans to forward deploy nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula.”
In April 2023, Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol adopted the Washington Declaration, in which the U.S. declared that its commitment to the defense of South Korea will be backed by the full range of U.S. capabilities, including nuclear.
During this week’s high-level security talks between the U.S. and South Korea, the Biden administration reiterated its commitment to defend South Korea with nuclear weapons if necessary to deter attacks from North Korea.
“We reaffirm the U.S. extended deterrence commitment to the ROK using the full range of U.S. defense capabilities, and that any DPRK [North Korea] nuclear attack on the United States or its allies and partners is unacceptable and will result in the end of that regime,” Bonnie Jenkins, U.S. undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, told reporters after Wednesday’s talks.
VOA Korean contacted the Trump campaign and asked what Trump’s stance is on the U.S. nuclear umbrella offered to South Korea, but did not receive a reply by the time this article was published.
FTC urged to stop tech makers downgrading devices after you’ve bought them
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Some brick devices they’d rather not support, kill apps that drive functions, or add post-sale subscriptions
Consumer and digital rights activists are calling on the US Federal Trade Commission to stop device-makers using software to reduce product functionality, bricking unloved kit, or adding surprise fees post-purchase.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/consumer_ftc_software_tethering/
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-09-06, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Jeff Jarvis: An Unprecedented Grand Coalition.
https://medium.com/whither-news/an-unprecedented-grand-coalition-b5c247d5eef2
7 Ways to Bring Biodiversity to Your Garden
date: 2024-09-06, from: California Native Plants Society
Gardening with native plants brings biodiversity to your garden. But there is even more you can do—follow these 7 steps to make your garden a biodiversity powerhouse!
The post 7 Ways to Bring Biodiversity to Your Garden appeared first on California Native Plant Society.
https://www.cnps.org/gardening/7-ways-to-bring-biodiversity-to-your-garden-40139
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-09-06, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Dick Cheney will vote for Kamala Harris, daughter says.
https://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/06/dick-cheney-kamala-harris-liz-cheney-colin-allred/
Man charged with plotting shooting at NYC Jewish center on Hamas attack anniversary
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
new york — A Pakistani man was arrested in Canada this week for plotting a mass shooting at a Jewish center in Brooklyn on the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attack by Hamas that sparked the latest conflict in the Middle East, federal authorities announced Friday.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Muhammad Shahzeb Khan had attempted to travel from Canada, where he lives, to New York City with the “stated goal of slaughtering, in the name of ISIS, as many Jewish people as possible.”
The 20-year-old, who is also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, was apprehended on September 4 and charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to the terror group, which stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.
“As I said to Canada’s minister of public safety yesterday, we are deeply grateful to our Canadian partners for their critical law enforcement actions in this matter,” Garland said in a statement. “Jewish communities — like all communities in this country — should not have to fear that they will be targeted by a hate-fueled terrorist attack.”
It was unclear if Khan has a lawyer. There was no listing for the case in the online federal court system. Edward Kim, a spokesperson for the Manhattan federal prosecutor’s office, which is handling the case, declined to respond to follow-up questions, including where Khan was being held and when he would be brought to the U.S. to face the charges. He deferred to Canadian authorities, who didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
U.S. authorities said Khan began sharing ISIS propaganda videos and expressing his support for the terror group in social media posts and communications with others on an encrypted messaging app last November.
In conversations with two undercover law enforcement officers, he confirmed that he and another ISIS supporter based in the U.S. had been planning to carry out attacks against Jewish centers in America and needed to obtain AR-style assault rifles, ammunition and other materials, according to the Justice Department.
Khan also provided details about how he would cross the border from Canada into the U.S. and that he was considering conducting the attacks on either the October 7 anniversary or on October 11, which is the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, authorities said.
Then on August 20, he told the undercover officers that he had settled on targeting New York City because of its sizable Jewish population and sent a photograph of the specific area inside a Jewish center where he planned to carry out the attack, according to the Justice Department.
Using three separate vehicles, Khan began traveling to the U.S. but was stopped around Ormstown, a town in the Canadian province of Quebec that is about 12 miles (19 kilometers) from the U.S. border, federal authorities said.
50 Years Protecting Rare Plants: Reflections on the RPI with Julie Kierstead and Heath Bartosh
date: 2024-09-06, from: California Native Plants Society
For 50 years, the California Rare Plant Inventory has served as the essential resource for understanding and protecting rare plant species in the state.
The post 50 Years Protecting Rare Plants: Reflections on the RPI with Julie Kierstead and Heath Bartosh appeared first on California Native Plant Society.
https://www.cnps.org/rare-plants/50-years-protecting-rare-plants-40155
This Week in the IndieWeb
date: 2024-09-06, from: This week in Indie Web
August 30 through September 6, 2024
Recent Events
From events.indieweb.org/archive:
Upcoming Events
From events.indieweb.org:
- NÜRNBERG, Bayern: LEONARDO – Zentrum für Kreativität und Innovation
HWC Nuremberg is a in-person meeting for everybody who is interested in setting up a personal website and talk about web-related issues.
One big HWC, for anyone who is available. Eastern refers to the timezone for this event. People from all parts of the world are welcome!
Front End Study Hall is an HTML + CSS focused group meeting, held on Zoom to learn from each other about how to make code do what we want.
Come prepared to teach and learn!
What We’re Reading
From news.indieweb.org:
New Community Members
From IndieWeb Wiki: New User Pages:
User:Cascading.space
Created by Cascading.space on Wednesday and edited 1 more time
Top New Wiki Pages
From IndieWeb Wiki: New Pages:
bunny.net
bunny.net is a CDN and static file host.
Created by Mat.tl on Friday with 5 more edits by tantek.com, trainedmonkey.com, and catgirlin.space
Top Edited Wiki Pages
From IndieWeb Wiki: Recent Changes:
- omg.lol 6 edits by tantek.com, mat.tl, and adam.omg.lol
- Main Page 6 edits by tantek.com
- discuss 5 edits by tantek.com and mat.tl
- SSH 5 edits by tantek.com and mat.tl
- rsvp 5 edits by gregorlove.com
- Windows 4 edits by mat.tl
- macOS 3 edits by mat.tl
- web hosting 3 edits by mat.tl
- Linux 2 edits by mat.tl
- iOS 2 edits by mat.tl
https://indieweb.org/this-week/2024-09-06.html
Google says replacing C/C++ in firmware with Rust is easy
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Not so much when trying to convert coding veterans
Google recently rewrote the firmware for protected virtual machines in its Android Virtualization Framework using the Rust programming language and wants you to do the same, assuming you deal with firmware.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/google_rust_c_code_language/
Rome’s Ancient Arch of Constantine Has Been Struck by Lightning
date: 2024-09-06, from: Smithsonian Magazine
A fierce thunderstorm dislodged marble fragments of the 1,700-year-old monument
📰 #216 - As you already know…
date: 2024-09-06, from: Interesting, a blog on writing
Explaining exposition.
https://inneresting.substack.com/p/216-as-you-already-know
US adversaries step up efforts to influence results of next election
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
washington — Russia, Iran and China are ramping up efforts to impact the outcome of the U.S. presidential election and down-ballot races, targeting American voters with an expanding array of sophisticated influence operations.
The latest assessment from U.S. intelligence agencies, shared Friday, warns that Russia remains the preeminent threat, with Russian influence campaigns seeking to boost the chances of Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump over Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.
Russian actors, led by networks created by the Kremlin-backed media outlet RT, “are supporting Moscow’s efforts to influence voter preferences in favor of the former president and diminish the prospects of the vice president,” a senior intelligence official told reporters, briefing on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.
“RT has built and used networks of U.S. and other Western personalities to create and disseminate Russia-friendly narratives while trying to mask the content in authentic Americans’ free speech,” the official said.
And RT, the official added, is just part of a growing Kremlin-directed campaign that is looking to impact not just the race for the White House, but smaller elections across the United States, with an added emphasis on swing states.
“Russia’s influence apparatus is very large and it’s worth highlighting that they have other entities that are active,” the official said. “Russia is working up and down ballot races, as well as spreading divisive issues.”
Tracking the Russian influence efforts has become more difficult, with U.S. officials saying that there is a greater degree of sophistication and an increased emphasis on amplifying American voices with pro-Russian views rather than seeding social media with narratives crafted in the Kremlin.
“It’s not just about Russian bots and trolls and fake social media persona, although that’s part of it,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told VOA Friday.
“We’re not taking anything for granted,” he added. “There’s no question that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has every intent to try to sow discord here in the United States, to try to pump disinformation and Russian propaganda through to the American people, through what he believes were our credible sources, be they online or on television and we have to take that seriously.”
The intelligence officials declined to share additional specifics about Russia’s network of influence operations. But indictments Wednesday from the U.S. Justice Department have shed some light on the scope of the Kremlin’s recent operations.
In one case, the U.S. charged two employees of RT with using fake personas and shell companies to funnel almost $10 million to Tenet Media, a Tennessee-based company producing videos and podcasts for a stable of conservative political influencers.
The aim, prosecutors said, was to produce and disseminate content promoting what Moscow viewed as pro-Russian policies.
In a separate action, the U.S. seized 32 internet domains linked to an operation directed by a key aide to Putin. The aim, U.S. officials said, was to mimic legitimate U.S. news sites to spread Russian-created propaganda.
RT publicly ridiculed the allegations while some of the influencers working with Tenet posted statements on the X social media platform saying they were unaware of the company’s links to Moscow.
As for the latest U.S. intelligence allegations, the Russian Embassy in Washington has yet to respond to VOA’s request for comments, though it has described previous accusations as “Russophobic.”
Requests for comment to the Trump and Harris campaigns have also, so far, gone unanswered.
But earlier U.S. intelligence assertions of Russian support for Trump have raised the ire of the Trump campaign, which has pointed to public statements by Russia’s Putin supporting Trump’s opponents.
“When President Trump was in the Oval Office, Russia and all of America’s adversaries were deterred, because they feared how the United States would respond,” national press secretary for the Trump campaign, Karoline Leavitt, told VOA in an email this past July.
U.S. intelligence officials, however, said it would be a mistake to put any faith in Putin’s words, including public comments Thursday expressing support for Harris.
The U.S. intelligence community “does not take Putin’s public statements as representative of Russia’s covert intentions,” the senior official said. “There are many examples over the past several years where Putin’s public statements do not align with Russian actions. For example, his comments that he would not invade Ukraine.”
Experts say Iran, China trying to influence results
U.S. intelligence agencies Friday emphasized Russia is not alone in its effort to shape the outcome of the U.S. elections in November, warning both Tehran and Beijing are sharpening their influence campaigns with just about 60 days until America voters go to the polls.
“Iran is making a greater effort than in the past to influence this year’s elections, even as its tactics and approaches are similar to prior cycles,” the intelligence official said, describing a “multi-pronged approach to stoke internal divisions and undermine voter confidence in the U.S. democratic system.
U.S. intelligence agencies previously assessed that Iran has focused part of its efforts on denigrating the Trump campaign, seeing his election as likely to worsen tensions between Tehran and Washington.
U.S. officials last month also blamed Iran for a hack-and-leak operation targeting the Trump campaign, though they said that Iran-linked actors have also sought to infiltrate the Harris campaign.
As for China, U.S. intelligence officials said it appears Beijing is still content to stay out of the U.S. presidential race, seeing little difference between Trump and Harris.
But there are indications China is accelerating its efforts to impact other political races.
U.S. intelligence “is aware of PRC [People’s Republic of China] attempts to influence U.S. down-ballot races by focusing on candidates it views as particularly threatening to core PRC security interests,” the official said.
“PRC online influence actors have also continued small scale efforts on social media to engage U.S. audiences on divisive political issues, including protests about the Israel-Gaza conflict and promote negative stories about both political parties,” the official added.
‘Malicious speculations against China’
The Chinese Embassy in Washington, Friday, rejected the U.S. intelligence assessment.
“China has no intention and will not interfere in the U.S. election, and we hope that the U.S. side will not make an issue of China in the election,” spokesperson Liu Pengyu told VOA in an email.
Liu added that accusations Beijing is using social media to sway U.S. public opinion “are full of malicious speculations against China, which China firmly opposes.”
While U.S. intelligence officials have identified Russia, Iran and China, as the most prominent purveyors of disinformation, they are not alone.
Officials have said countries like Cuba are also engaging in influence operations, though at a much smaller scale.
And other countries are edging closer to crossing that line.
“We are seeing a number of countries considering activities that, at a minimum, test the boundaries of election influence,” according to the U.S. assessment. “Such activities include lobbying political figures to try to curry favor with them in the event they are elected to office.”
Misha Komadovsky contributed to this report.
Sergio Mendes, Grammy-winning Brazilian music legend, dies at 83
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
RIO DE JANEIRO — Sergio Mendes, the celebrated Brazilian musician whose 1966 hit “Mas Que Nada” made him a global superstar and helped launch a long, Grammy-winning career, has died after months battling the effects of long COVID. He was 83.
The death Thursday of the Brazilian pianist, songwriter and arranger was confirmed in a statement by his family.
“His wife and musical partner for the past 54 years, Gracinha Leporace Mendes, was by his side, as were his loving children,” the statement said Friday. “Mendes last performed in November 2023 to sold out and wildly enthusiastic houses in Paris, London and Barcelona.”
Mendes was born in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro’s sister city, and studied classical music at a conservatory before joining jazz groups. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he began playing Bossa Nova as the genre was heating up in Rio’s nightclub scene with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Gilberto and others.
In 1962, they traveled to New York for a Bossa Nova festival at Carnegie Hall. During the trip, Cannonball Adderley invited Mendes to collaborate on the album “Cannonball Adderley and The Bossa Rio Sextet,” leading to his first American record, “The Swinger from Rio,” after signing with Atlantic Records.
Two years later, Mendes moved to California and formed Brazil ’64, which evolved into Brazil ’66 after he added two female vocalists. The group’s debut album, produced by Herb Alpert, featured “Mas Que Nada.” Sung entirely in Portuguese, “Mas Que Nada” was a mid-tempo Samba number originally released in 1963 by composer Jorge Ben Sor and updated three years later by Mendes, who had been playing the song in clubs and gave it a jazzier, more hard-hitting feel.
“I put a band together called Brasil ’66,” he told The Guardian in 2019. “I’d always had instrumental groups, but when I added the two female singers — Lani Hall and Bibi Vogel — it made a different kind of sound. We recorded the song in Los Angeles, with me, the drums, bass and guitar all performing live.”
Mendes’ version was a worldwide hit that helped perpetuate the Brazilian music boom of the 1960s. In 2006, a modern version of the song topped U.S. charts, as performed by the Black Eyed Peas. It was included in his album “Timeless,” produced by will.i.am and also featuring Stevie Wonder, Justin Timberlake and John Legend, among others.
“Sergio Mendes was my brother from another country,” trumpet player Alpert wrote on Facebook, along with a photo from decades ago, sitting next to Mendes at the piano. “He was a true friend and extremely gifted musician who brought Brazilian music in all its iterations to the entire world with elegance.”
Mendes’ other hits were an eclectic blend ranging from covers of the Beatles’ “The Fool on the Hill” and “With a Little Help from My Friends,” to his own Brazilian chant, “Magalenha.” Mendes also composed the soundtrack for the film “Pele,” featuring saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, and even produced an album recorded by the great Brazilian soccer player.
Mendes won the 1992 Grammy Award for Best World Music Album for “Brasileiro” and two Latin Grammy Awards. He also received an Oscar nomination in 2012 for Best Original Song for “Real in Rio,” from the animated film “Rio.”
“Brazilian soul was there,” pianist, singer, and songwriter Marcos Valle told GloboNews about Mendes’ music. Valle also noted that it was Mendes who helped open doors for other Brazilian artists of his generation, including himself, to reach foreign audiences.
New to Distilled? Start here.
date: 2024-09-06, from: Distilled Earth blog
An organized list of our most popular stories
https://www.distilled.earth/p/new-to-distilled-start-here
Trump taps Musk to lead ‘government efficiency’ task force
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-07, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Surely this duty will be executed without bias toward NHTSA, FAA, DOJ, NLRB
If Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wins the election in November, he plans to create a “government efficiency commission” based on ideas from Tesla, SpaceX, and X CEO Elon Musk, who will also lead the body.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/musk_government_efficiency_trump/
Pennsylvania Battery Plant Workers Vote to Unionize
date: 2024-09-06, from: Capital and Main
Workers at Pittsburgh-area Eos Energy join the United Steelworkers.
The post Pennsylvania Battery Plant Workers Vote to Unionize appeared first on .
https://capitalandmain.com/pennsylvania-battery-plant-workers-vote-to-unionize
The Surprising Link Between Bats Dying and Human Infant Mortality
date: 2024-09-06, from: Smithsonian Magazine
A new study finds that when bats in U.S. counties were decimated by the deadly white-nose syndrome, human deaths followed closely behind
US to continue to enforce sanctions after aircraft linked to Venezuela’s Maduro seized, Blinken says
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that the United States will continue enforcing sanctions against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro following the seizure and investigation of two aircraft linked to him earlier this week in the Dominican Republic.
On Friday, Blinken held discussions with Dominican President Luis Abinader during his first official visit to Santo Domingo as the top U.S. diplomat.
Blinken underscored the U.S. commitment to continued collaboration with the Dominican Republic to promote inclusive economic growth, strengthen democratic institutions, uphold human rights, and improve governance and security.
On Monday, U.S. authorities seized a plane used by Maduro, the equivalent to the U.S. Air Force One. The aircraft, undergoing maintenance in the Dominican Republic, was seized for being illegally purchased through a shell company and smuggled out of the United States, violating U.S. export control and sanctions laws.
After the controversial reelection of Maduro on July 28, Venezuela suspended commercial flights to and from the Dominican Republic.
A second plane linked to Maduro is under investigation in the Dominican Republic. This aircraft is similar to the one seized on Monday and is listed among the sanctioned assets by the U.S. Treasury as belonging to Maduro.
“With regard to the plane seizures, we’ve been very clear. We’ll implement our sanctions, and if we find violations of them, we will act. That’s what we did, and that’s what we’ll continue to do,” Blinken told reporters during a joint press conference with Abinader at the National Palace.
The Dominican Republic will host the 2025 Summit of the Americas, where Western Hemisphere leaders will address shared challenges and policy issues facing the region.
On August 16, Abinader was sworn in for a second four-year term, vowing to enhance security by increasing police training over the next four years. His administration has also implemented policies barring migrants from neighboring Haiti.
The U.S. has urged the Dominican Republic to establish a path toward normalization with Haiti, as border tensions continue to escalate.
Blinken said he and Abinader are committed to support the Haitians to build security and “make sure the people are treated humanely.”
Abinader told reporters his country will continue moving forward and normalizing the relationship with Haiti, such as opening air flights, but the security and safety of citizens of the Dominican Republic is still the priority.
The U.S. and the Dominican Republic signed a historic Open Skies agreement on August 2. Once in effect, the agreement will expand opportunities for airlines, travel companies and people-to-people exchanges. More than 4 million U.S. citizens visit the Dominican Republic each year.
The Dominican Republic is a crucial partner for the U.S. in hemispheric affairs, due to its position as the second-largest economy in the Caribbean, after Cuba, and the third-largest country by population, behind Cuba and Haiti. The U.S. is its primary trading partner.
Additionally, the Dominican Republic is home to Pueblo Viejo, one of the world’s largest gold mines, and serves as a major global supplier of ferronickel, used for making stainless steel.
The Dominican Republic and the United States, along with five Central American countries, are parties to the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement, known as CAFTA-DR. This agreement enhances economic opportunities by eliminating tariffs, opening markets, reducing barriers to services and promoting transparency.
The U.S. Agency for International Development is investing more than $9.5 million to strengthen the Dominican Republic’s existing justice system and to reduce crime and violence.
Blinken also announced on Friday “the first phase of a supply chain investment through USAID, an initial $3 million that will help the Dominican government improve its workforce training, build industrial parks, attract high-tech industries here to the Dominican Republic.”
Xmem and FVWM
date: 2024-09-06, from: OS News
So given that, xmem can be useful as a monitoring tool. Fluffy (my main server) runs both squid and apache, and given that fluffy only has 64MB of RAM, things can get a little cramped. If I suddenly see that the whole of xmem turns blue (i.e. the swap file’s thrashing), then I know that something is odd, and I can easily find out which processes are eating up so much RAM. I said earlier that xmem can brighten up one’s desktop. Indeed, as I use FVWM in a rather archaic fashion, it seems fitting I should like xmem. 🙂 Here’s a full screenshot showing xmem (plus other applications) in action. ↫ Thomas Adam This is basically just an excuse to show off this awesome FVWM desktop shown off in this short little article about xmem, written by one of FVWM’s core developers. It just looks neat.
https://www.osnews.com/story/140686/xmem-and-fvwm/
Harnessing the Power of Foresight: Designing EU Policies for Unpredictable Futures
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: RAND blog
Ursula von der Leyen’s re-election as European Commission President brings new priorities, including infrastructure, defense, and housing. Maintaining foresight is key for effective long-term EU policymaking but its role remains uncertain.
Academic Semester Legal Externships (HQ)
date: 2024-09-06, from: NASA breaking news
Externships with NASA Headquarters Office of the General Counsel NASA’s Office of the General Counsel (OGC) periodically has externships for highly qualified law students. OGC offers unpaid, part-time and full-time externships during the law school academic year (for law school credit). These externships are intended to expose law students to the rewards of Federal service […]
https://www.nasa.gov/organizations/academic-semester-legal-externships/
NASA Selects Companies for Commercial SmallSat Services Award
date: 2024-09-06, from: NASA breaking news
NASA has selected eight companies for a new award to help acquire Earth observation data and provide related services for the agency. The Commercial SmallSat Data Acquisition Program On-Ramp1 Multiple Award contract is a firm-fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple-award contract with a maximum value of $476 million, cumulatively amongst all the selected contractors, and a performance period […]
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-selects-companies-for-commercial-smallsat-services-award/
ArmSoM-CM5 is a computer-on-a-module with an RK3576 processor
date: 2024-09-06, from: Liliputing
This summer Banana Pi and ArmSoM launched single-board computers featuring a Rockchip RK3576 processor and plenty of I/O features including support for a PCIe 2.0 SSD, eMMC storage, and a microSD card reader. Now ArmSoM has introduced a compute module with the same processor. The ArmSoM-CM5 is a Raspberry Pi CM4-sized computer-on-a-module with an RK3576 […]
The post ArmSoM-CM5 is a computer-on-a-module with an RK3576 processor appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/armsom-cm5-is-a-computer-on-a-module-with-an-rk3576-processor/
Moscow accuses Washington of undue pressure on Russian media
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/moscow-accuses-washington-of-undue-pressure-on-russian-media-/7774593.html
Cisco merch shoppers stung in Magecart attack
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
The ‘security issue’ was caused by a 9.8-rated Magento flaw Adobe patched back in June
Bad news for anyone who purchased a Cisco hoodie earlier this month: Suspected Russia-based attackers injected data-stealing JavaScript into the networking giant’s online store selling Cisco-branded merch.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/cisco_merch_adobe_magento_attack/
Judge delays Trump’s sentencing in hush money case until after November election
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
new york — A judge agreed Friday to postpone Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush money case until after the November election, granting the Republican presidential nominee a hard-won reprieve as he navigates the aftermath of his criminal conviction and the homestretch of his campaign.
Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan, who is also weighing a defense request to overturn the verdict on immunity grounds, delayed Trump’s sentencing until November 26, several weeks after the final votes are cast in the presidential election.
It had been scheduled for September 18, about seven weeks before Election Day.
Merchan wrote that he was postponing the sentencing “to avoid any appearance — however unwarranted — that the proceeding has been affected by or seeks to affect the approaching presidential election in which the Defendant is a candidate.”
“The Court is a fair, impartial, and apolitical institution,” he said.
Trump’s lawyers pushed for the delay on multiple fronts, petitioning the judge and asking a federal court to intervene. They argued that punishing the former president and current Republican nominee in the thick of his campaign to retake the White House would amount to election interference.
Trump’s lawyers argued that delaying Trump’s sentencing until after the election would also allow him time to weigh next steps after Merchan rules on the defense’s request to reverse his conviction and dismiss the case because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s July presidential immunity ruling.
In his order Friday, Merchan delayed a decision on that until November 12.
Judge rejects Trump request
A federal judge on Tuesday rejected Trump’s request to have the U.S. District Court in Manhattan seize the case from Merchan’s state court. Had they been successful, Trump’s lawyers said they would have then sought to have the verdict overturned and the case dismissed on immunity grounds.
Trump is appealing the federal court ruling.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which prosecuted Trump’s case, deferred to Merchan and did not take a position on the defense’s delay request.
Messages seeking comment were left for Trump’s lawyers and the district attorney’s office.
Election Day is November 5, but many states allow voters to cast ballots early, with some set to start the process just a few days before or after September 18.
Trump was convicted in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. Daniels claims she and Trump had a sexual encounter a decade earlier after they met at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.
Prosecutors cast the payout as part of a Trump-driven effort to keep voters from hearing salacious stories about him during his first presidential campaign. Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels and was later reimbursed by Trump, whose company logged the reimbursements as legal expenses.
Trump maintains that the stories were false, that reimbursements were for legal work and logged correctly, and that the case — brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat — was part of a politically motivated “witch hunt” aimed at damaging his current campaign.
Democrats spotlight Trump’s conviction
Democrats backing their party’s nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, have made his conviction a focus of their messaging.
In speeches at the Democratic Party’s convention in Chicago last month, President Joe Biden called Trump a “convicted felon” running against a former prosecutor.
Representative Jasmine Crockett, a Texas Democrat labeled Trump a “career criminal with 34 felonies, two impeachments and one porn star to prove it.”
Trump’s 2016 Democratic opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, inspired chants of “lock him up” from the convention crowd when she quipped that Trump “fell asleep at his own trial, and when he woke up, he made his own kind of history: the first person to run for president with 34 felony convictions.”
Falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years behind bars. Other potential sentences include probation, a fine or a conditional discharge, which would require Trump to stay out of trouble to avoid additional punishment. Trump is the first ex-president convicted of a crime.
Trump has pledged to appeal, but that cannot happen until he is sentenced.
In seeking the delay, Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove argued that the short time between the scheduled immunity ruling on September 16 and sentencing, which was to have taken place two days later, was unfair to Trump.
To prepare for a September 18 sentencing, the lawyers said, prosecutors would be submitting their punishment recommendation while Merchan is still weighing whether to dismiss the case. If Merchan rules against Trump, he would need “adequate time to assess and pursue state and federal appellate options,” they said.
The Supreme Court’s immunity decision reins in prosecutions of ex-presidents for official acts and restricts prosecutors in pointing to official acts as evidence that a president’s unofficial actions were illegal.
Trump’s lawyers argue that in light of the ruling, jurors in the hush money case should not have heard such evidence as former White House staffers describing how the then-president reacted to news coverage of the Daniels deal.
Painting Attributed to Rembrandt Found Tucked Away Inside an Attic in Maine
date: 2024-09-06, from: Smithsonian Magazine
An auctioneer discovered “Portrait of a Girl,” which just sold for $1.4 million, during a standard “house call” to an estate
Drought Reveals a Sunken Village in Greece as a Reservoir Dries Up
date: 2024-09-06, from: Smithsonian Magazine
After the country’s hottest June and July on record, a shrinking artificial lake has uncovered ruins of a school and other buildings that were submerged in the 1970s
NASA to Take Part in Hidden Figures Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony
date: 2024-09-06, from: NASA breaking news
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson will represent the agency during a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony at 3 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 18, recognizing the women who contributed to the space race, including the NASA mathematicians who helped land the first astronauts on the Moon under the agency’s Apollo Program. Hosted by House Speaker Mike Johnson, the […]
Trump assails women who accused him of misconduct
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
washington — Shortly after appearing in court for an appeal of a decision that found him liable for sexual abuse, Donald Trump stepped Friday in front of television cameras and brought up a string of past allegations of other acts of sexual misconduct, potentially reminding voters of incidents that were little-known or forgotten.
The former president has made hitting back at opponents and accusers a centerpiece of his political identity, but his performance at his namesake Manhattan office tower was startling even by Trump’s own combative standards. At times he seemed to relish using graphic language and characterizations of the case, which could expose the former president to further legal challenges.
Trump’s remarks came just four days before he will debate Vice President Kamala Harris, with early voting about to begin in some parts of the country and Election Day just two months away.
Trump is staying in the public eye while Harris prepares for the debate in private with her advisers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. That’s a reflection of their divergent campaign styles, with Trump frequently engaging with reporters — often in friendly settings — while Harris has done just one interview and no news conferences since taking President Joe Biden’s place atop the Democratic ticket.
Trump on Friday repeatedly brought up Harris’ lack of news conferences. But his own comments — in which he talked about the cases against him for more than half an hour without mentioning any campaign issues — threatened to cause him more legal jeopardy. And after convening reporters for what his campaign said was a news conference, Trump walked off without taking any questions.
Legal team makes arguments
A jury returned a $5 million verdict finding Trump liable of sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996. His legal team made its appeal arguments Friday morning.
Juries now have twice now awarded Carroll huge sums for Trump’s claiming she made up a story about him attacking her in a department store dressing room in 1996 to help her sell a memoir.
But that hasn’t stopped Trump from continuing to make nearly identical statements to reporters. At his news briefing Friday, he said again that Carroll was telling a “made up, fabricated story.”
Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, warned in March after a jury awarded Carroll another $83 million that she would continue to monitor Trump’s comments and would consider suing again if he kept it up.
Earlier in court, he walked in quietly and passed in front of Carroll without acknowledging or looking at her.
The former president reacted at times during the proceedings, such as shaking his head when Carroll’s attorney said that Trump sexually abused her client. He periodically tilted his head from side to side, but otherwise sat still and mostly alone.
A Manhattan jury in May found Trump responsible for sexual abuse. Carroll says Trump attacked her in a department store dressing room, but the former president’s legal team says the verdict should be overturned because some evidence that was allowed during the trial should have been excluded while other evidence that should be excluded was allowed. He denies guilt.
In the midst of running for president and facing a series of other legal cases against him, Trump did not attend the Carroll trial and wasn’t there when the charges were read — though he assailed the verdict as “a disgrace” on his social media site.
Later Friday, he’s traveling to Charlotte, North Carolina, to address the Fraternal Order of Police.
More than 12 women make accusations
Carroll is one of more than a dozen women who have accused Trump of sexual assault or harassment. She went public in a 2019 memoir. Trump denied it, saying he never encountered Carroll at the store and did not know her. He has called her a “nut job” who invented her story to sell a memoir.
Trump faces unprecedented criminal and civil jeopardy for a major-party nominee.
He has separately been convicted on 34 felony counts in a New York state case related to hush money payments allegedly made to a porn actor. The judge in that case is expected to decide Friday whether to postpone Trump’s sentencing.
Trump has also been ordered to pay steep civil fines for lying about his wealth for years.
And he’s still contending with cases alleging his mishandling of classified documents, his actions after the 2020 election, and his activities during the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — though none are likely to go to trial prior to Election Day.
ESA prints 3D metal shape in space for first time
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Tech demo paves way to producing spare parts and tools during missions
The European Space Agency (ESA) has shown off the first 3D metal part printed on the International Space Station (ISS).…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/esa_metal_3d_printing/
NASA Scientific Balloon Takes Flight With Student-Built Payloads
date: 2024-09-06, from: NASA breaking news
NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program’s fifth balloon mission of the 2024 fall campaign took flight Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, from the agency’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. The HASP 1.0 (High-Altitude Student Platform) mission remained in flight over 11 hours before it safely touched down. Recovery is underway. HASP is a partnership […]
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/nasa-scientific-balloon-takes-flight-with-student-built-payloads/
Retroid Pocket 5 is a $219 handheld game console with a 5.5 inch display, Snapdragon 865 and Android or Linux support
date: 2024-09-06, from: Liliputing
The Retroid Pocket 5 is a handheld game console with a 5.5 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel AMOLED display with support for up to 500 nits of brightness, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, 6GB of RAM, and 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage. While the handheld ships with Android 10 software, it’s also the first game console […]
The post Retroid Pocket 5 is a $219 handheld game console with a 5.5 inch display, Snapdragon 865 and Android or Linux support appeared first on Liliputing.
PanCan Swim set for Sept. 21
date: 2024-09-06, from: Catalina Islander
On Saturday, Sept. 21 , the Catalina Island Swim Club will host its annual fundraising swim for PANCAM.org, pancreatic cancer. Swimmers will meet at Casino Point at 6:45 a.m. and the swim will start at 7:15 a.m. The swim will be 2.2 miles, total, swimming to Frog Rock and back to Casino point. Any distance […]
https://thecatalinaislander.com/pancan-swim-set-for-sept-21/
Catalina Island to hosts More Than Pink events
date: 2024-09-06, from: Catalina Islander
In partnership with the Susan G Komen Foundation, Catalina residents and visitors are invited to join in raising awareness and funds for Cancer Cures, by joining in the More Than Pink Walk, Paddle and Mammogram events. On Saturday September 14, starting at noon, Simultaneous Walk and Paddle Board events will initiate. Walkers will convene just […]
https://thecatalinaislander.com/catalina-island-to-hosts-more-than-pink-events/
Teen charged in Georgia school shooting and his father to stay in custody after hearings
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
Winder, Georgia — The 14-year-old suspect in a shooting that killed four people at a Georgia high school and his father, who was arrested for allowing his son to have a weapon, will stay in custody after their lawyers decided not to seek bail Friday.
Colt Gray, who has been charged with four counts of murder, is accused of using a semiautomatic assault-style rifle to kill two fellow students and two teachers Wednesday at Apalachee High School in Winder, outside Atlanta. His father, Colin Gray, faces related charges in the latest attempt by prosecutors to hold parents responsible for their children’s actions in school shootings.
The two appeared in back-to-back hearings Friday morning with about 50 onlookers in the courtroom, where workers had set out boxes of tissue along the benches, in addition to members of the media and sheriff’s deputies. Some victims’ family members in the front row hugged each other and one woman clutched a stuffed animal.
During his hearing, Colt Gray, wearing khaki pants and a green shirt, was advised of his rights as well as the charges and penalties he faced for the shooting at the school where he was a student.
After the hearing, he was escorted out in shackles at the wrists and ankles. The judge then called the teen back to the courtroom to correct an earlier misstatement that his crimes could be punishable by death. Because he’s a juvenile, the maximum penalty he would face is life without parole. The judge also set another hearing for December 4.
Shortly afterward, Colin Gray was brought into court dressed in a gray-striped jail uniform. Colin Gray, 54, was charged Thursday in connection with the shooting and answered questions in a barely audible croak, giving his age and saying he finished 11th grade, earning a high school equivalency diploma.
Colin Gray has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and second-degree murder related to the shooting, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said.
“His charges are directly connected with the actions of his son and allowing him to possess a weapon,” Hosey said.
The charges come five months after Michigan parents Jennifer and James Crumbley were the first convicted in a U.S. mass school shooting. They were sentenced to at least 10 years in prison for not securing a firearm at home and acting indifferently to signs of their son’s deteriorating mental health before he killed four students in 2021.
The Georgia shootings have also renewed debate about safe storage laws for guns and have parents wondering how to talk to their children about school shootings and trauma.
The Barrow County hearings for the father and son came as police in the Atlanta suburb of Dunwoody said schools there and nationwide have received threats of violence since the Apalachee High School shooting, police said in a statement. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation also noted that numerous threats have been made to schools across the state this week.
Before Colin Gray’s arrest was reported, the AP knocked on the door of a home listed as his address seeking comment about his son’s arrest.
According to arrest warrants obtained by The Associated Press, Colt Gray is accused of using a “black semi-automatic AR-15 style rifle” to kill the two students and two teachers. Authorities have not offered any motive or explained how he obtained the gun or got it into the school.
He was charged as an adult in the deaths of Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53. Nine people were also hurt in Wednesday’s attack.
A neighbor remembered Schermerhorn as inquisitive when he was a little boy. Aspinwall and Irimie were both math teachers, and Aspinwall also helped coach the school’s football team. Irimie, who immigrated from Romania, volunteered at a local church, where she taught dance.
Colt Gray denied threatening to carry out a school shooting when authorities interviewed him last year about a menacing post on social media, according to a sheriff’s report obtained Thursday. Conflicting evidence on the post’s origin left investigators unable to arrest anyone, the report said. Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum said she reviewed the report from May 2023 and found nothing that would have justified bringing charges at the time.
The attack was the latest among dozens of school shootings across the U.S. in recent years, including especially deadly ones in Newtown, Connecticut; Parkland, Florida; and Uvalde, Texas. The classroom killings have set off fervent debates about gun control but there has been little change to national gun laws.
It was the 30th mass killing in the U.S. this year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University. At least 127 people have died in those killings, which are defined as events in which four or more people die within a 24-hour period, not including the killer — the same definition used by the FBI.
City Council receives annual cruise ship report
date: 2024-09-06, from: Catalina Islander
The City Council this week voted 3-1 to receive and file the annual cruise ship report. Councilmember Mary Schickling cast the dissenting vote. Councilmember Lisa Lavelle recused herself from the meeting. The discussion of the quality of life versus revenue issue took up the bulk of the nearly five-hour council meeting Tuesday, Sept. 3. There […]
https://thecatalinaislander.com/city-council-receives-annual-cruise-ship-report/
Still Waiting for Kaiser’s Plan to Fix Its Mental Health Care Shortfalls
date: 2024-09-06, from: Capital and Main
Kaiser and regulators are two months away from their deadline for a required action plan to overhaul mental health treatment at the state’s largest health care provider.
The post Still Waiting for Kaiser’s Plan to Fix Its Mental Health Care Shortfalls appeared first on .
https://capitalandmain.com/still-waiting-for-kaisers-plan-to-fix-its-mental-health-care-shortfalls
City council increases cruise ship wharfage
date: 2024-09-06, from: Catalina Islander
The Avalon City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday, Sept. 3, to increase cruise ship wharfage fees by $2.50 per passenger. That will bring the rate up to $7.50 per passenger. The previous rate was $5. “City Staff proposes implementing the wharfage increase effective January 1, 2026 to provide operators with adequate notice in consideration for […]
https://thecatalinaislander.com/city-council-increases-cruise-ship-wharfage/
Sheriff’s Log: Aug. 29 to Sept. 4, 2024
date: 2024-09-06, from: Catalina Islander
The following is the Avalon’s Sheriff’s Stations significant incidents report for the period of Aug. 29 to Sept. 4, 2024. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Many people who are arrested do not get prosecuted in the first place and many who are prosecuted do not get convicted. […]
https://thecatalinaislander.com/sheriffs-log-aug-29-to-sept-4-2024/
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition is a 2.2 pound Lunar Lake laptop with a 2.8K OLED display
date: 2024-09-06, from: Liliputing
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon line of laptops have crammed powerful hardware into thin and light designs for years. But the new ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition is one of the most lightweight models to date, while also sporting a high-quality display and an Intel Lunar Lake processor. Those features come at a steep price […]
The post Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition is a 2.2 pound Lunar Lake laptop with a 2.8K OLED display appeared first on Liliputing.
Indiana test highway could transform electric vehicle charging
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
The Midwestern state of Indiana is testing a segment of roadway designed to charge electric vehicle batteries. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh visited the site near Lafayette, Indiana, and reports on how the technology could transform driving.
NASA Sets Coverage for Crew Launch; Trio to Join Expedition 71
date: 2024-09-06, from: NASA breaking news
NASA astronaut Don Pettit will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft, accompanied by cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, to the International Space Station where they will join the Expedition 71 crew in advancing scientific research. Pettit, Ovchinin, and Vagner will lift off at 12:23 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 11 (9:23 p.m. Baikonur time) […]
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-sets-coverage-for-crew-launch-trio-to-join-expedition-71/
Avalon football opens season with solid victory
date: 2024-09-06, from: Catalina Islander
The Avalon High football team started their season off with a win, as the Lancers battled through heat and cramps to defeat Animo Robinson of Los Angeles, 36-26, on Saturday on the road. It was a good-sized hurdle for a young team as the Lancers had never beaten Animo. Avalon graduated much of its starting […]
https://thecatalinaislander.com/avalon-football-opens-season-with-solid-victory/
Divers Discover Sunken Warship Torpedoed by Germany in World War I
date: 2024-09-06, from: Smithsonian Magazine
A German U-boat sank the HMS “Hawke” off the coast of Scotland in the early days of the war
Spick and Span: How North Korea’s Clean Streets Sanitize Its Image Abroad
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: RAND blog
Visitors to Pyongyang often marvel at its clean streets. This fascination highlights the regime’s success in controlling the narrative and presenting an image of efficiency and purity to the outside world. But outside the capital, many areas face poor sanitation and infrastructure, revealing a stark contrast.
See 13 Captivating Images From the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest
date: 2024-09-06, from: Smithsonian Magazine
The highly commended shots provide a preview of the 60th annual competition, which spotlights astounding animal behaviors and the conservation issues they face
Qualcomm reportedly eyeing Intel’s PC design biz and more
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Chipzilla hasn’t collapsed yet but the vultures are circling
Qualcomm reportedly aims to cash in on Intel’s financial woes by stripping the ailing chipmaker of parts.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/qualcomm_intel_rumors/
The United Kingdom Is Late to Economic Security Planning—but Not Too Late
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: RAND blog
The United Kingdom needs a cohesive economic security strategy. Integrating industrial and trade policies with safeguards, incentives, and collaboration could enhance resilience and growth, securing a stable future for the country.
US-Iraq deal would see hundreds of troops withdraw in first year, sources say
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
baghdad — The United States and Iraq have reached an understanding on plans for the withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition forces from Iraq, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
The plan, which has been broadly agreed but requires a final go-ahead from both capitals and an announcement date, would see hundreds of troops leave by September 2025, with the remainder departing by the end of 2026, the sources said.
“We have an agreement, it’s now just a question of when to announce it,” a senior U.S. official said.
The U.S. and Iraq are also seeking to establish a new advisory relationship that could see some U.S. troops remain in Iraq after the drawdown.
An official announcement was initially scheduled for weeks ago but was postponed because of regional escalation related to Israel’s war in Gaza and to iron out some remaining details, the sources said.
The sources include five U.S. officials, two officials from other coalition nations, and three Iraqi officials, all speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Several sources said the deal could be announced this month.
Farhad Alaaldin, foreign affairs adviser to the Iraqi prime minister, said technical talks with Washington on the coalition drawdown had concluded.
“We are now on the brink of transitioning the relationship between Iraq and members of the international coalition to a new level, focusing on bilateral relations in military, security, economic, and cultural areas,” he said.
He did not comment on details of the plan and the U.S.-led coalition did not respond to emailed questions.
The agreement follows more than six months of talks between Baghdad and Washington, initiated by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in January amid attacks by Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups on U.S. forces stationed at Iraqi bases.
The rocket and drone attacks have killed three American troops and wounded dozens more, resulting in several rounds of deadly U.S. retaliation that threatened government efforts to stabilize Iraq after decades of conflict.
The U.S. has approximately 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in neighboring Syria as part of the coalition formed in 2014 to combat Islamic State as it rampaged through the two countries.
The group once held roughly a third of Iraq and Syria but was territorially defeated in Iraq at the end of 2017 and in Syria in 2019. Iraq had demonstrated its ability to handle any remaining threat, Alaaldin said.
The U.S. initially invaded Iraq in 2003, toppling dictator Saddam Hussein before withdrawing in 2011, but returned in 2014 at the head of the coalition to fight Islamic State.
Other nations, including Germany, France, Spain and Italy, also contribute hundreds of troops to the coalition.
Under the plan, all coalition forces would leave the Ain al-Asad airbase in western Anbar province and significantly reduce their presence in Baghdad by September 2025.
U.S. and other coalition troops are expected to remain in Irbil, in the semi-autonomous northern Kurdistan region, for approximately one additional year, until around the end of 2026, to facilitate ongoing operations against Islamic State in Syria.
Exact details of troop movements are being kept secret because of their military sensitivity.
The drawdown would mark a notable shift in Washington’s military posture in the region.
While primarily focused on countering Islamic State, U.S. officials acknowledge their presence also serves as a strategic position against Iranian influence.
This position has grown more important as Israel and Iran escalate their regional confrontation, with U.S. forces in Iraq shooting down rockets and drones fired towards Israel in recent months, according to U.S. officials.
Prime Minister al-Sudani has stated that while he appreciates their help, U.S. troops have become a magnet for instability, frequently targeted and responding with strikes often not coordinated with the Iraqi government.
The agreement, when announced, would likely present a political win for al-Sudani as he balances Iraq’s position as an ally of both Washington and Tehran. The first phase of the drawdown would end one month before Iraqi parliamentary polls set for October 2025.
The State Department and U.S. Embassy in Baghdad did not respond to requests for comment.
NASA Invites Media to Discuss Europa Clipper Mission
date: 2024-09-06, from: NASA breaking news
NASA will hold a media teleconference at 4 p.m. EDT, Monday, Sept. 9, to provide an update on Europa Clipper, a mission that will study whether Jupiter’s moon Europa could be hospitable to life. The teleconference will occur after a key decision point meeting earlier that day regarding next steps for the mission. Audio of […]
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-invites-media-to-discuss-europa-clipper-mission/
How to Make the Most of the Kursk Gambit
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: RAND blog
Ukraine’s bold incursion into Russia’s Kursk region may not be enough to deliver an absolute military victory for Kyiv. However, the Kursk offensive may work to Ukraine’s advantage at the negotiating table.
https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2024/09/how-to-make-the-most-of-the-kursk-gambit.html
Oversize EVs Have Some Big Issues
date: 2024-09-06, from: Heatmap News
A few Super Bowls ago, when General Motors used its ad spots to pitch Americans on the idea of the GMC Hummer EV, it tried to flip the script on the stereotypes that had always dogged the gas-guzzling SUV. Yes, it implied, you can drive a military-derived menace to society and still do your part for the planet, as long as it’s electric.
You don’t hear much about the Hummer anymore — it didn’t sell especially well, and the Tesla Cybertruck came along to fill the tank niche in the electric car market. But the reasoning behind its launch endures. Any EV, even a monstrous one, is a good EV if it convinces somebody, somewhere, to give up gasoline.
This line of thinking isn’t wrong. A fully electric version of a big truck or SUV is far better, emissions-wise, than a gas-powered vehicle of equivalent size. It’s arguably superior to a smaller and efficient combustion car, too. A Ford F-150 Lightning, for example, scores nearly 70 in the Environmental Protection Agency’s miles per gallon equivalent metric, abbreviated MPGe, that’s meant to compare the energy consumption of EVs and other cars. That blows away the 20-some miles per gallon that the gas F-150 gets and even exceeds the 57 combined miles per gallon of the current Toyota Prius hybrid.
In terms of America’s EV adoption, then, we’ve come to see all EVs as being created equal. Yet our penchant for large EVs that aren’t particularly efficient at squeezing miles from their batteries will become a problem as more Americans go electric.
Big, heavy cars use more energy. This is how we worried about the greenness of cars back in the days before the EV: Needlessly enormous models such as the Ford Expedition and the Hummer H2 deserved to be shamed, while owning a fuel-sipping hybrid or a dinky subcompact was the height of virtue.
This logic has gotten a bit lost in the scale-up phase of electric vehicles going mainstream. We talk at length about EV sales and how fast their numbers are growing; we rarely talk about whether the EVs we buy are as energy-efficient as they could be. As a new white paper from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy points out, though, getting more miles out of our EV batteries would save drivers money and reduce the strain on the grid that will come from millions of people charging their cars.
The simplest way to measure an EV’s fuel efficiency is to know how many miles it travels per kilowatt-hour of electricity. Popular crossovers like Tesla’s Model Y and Kia’s EV6 achieve a pretty-good 3.5 miles per kilowatt-hour. Look at bigger, heavier vehicles and you’ll see a major fall-off. InsideEVs found that Rivian’s R1S gets between 2.1 and 2.4 miles per kilowatt-hour. The hulking Hummer EV scores just 1.5, according to Motor Trend’s testing. The EPA’s MPGe data is another way to see the same story. The 60-some miles per gallon equivalent of an electric pickup like the Rivian R1T or Chevy Silverado EV crushes the mileage of petro trucks, but pales next to the 140-plus MPGe that an electric sedan from Hyundai or Lucid can claim. (Those EVs can deliver 4 or more miles per kilowatt-hour.)
Even modest gains in EV efficiency could cause beneficial ripple effects, the ACEEE says. Drivers who own a 3.5 miles per kilowatt-hour car would save hundreds of dollars on fuel annually compared to those whose vehicles get 2.5 miles per kilowatt-hour. More efficient cars should be less expensive, as well. Huge, inefficient EVs need to carry enormous batteries just to reach an adequate range, and the bigger the battery, the bigger the cost. Whereas a Model Y’s battery capacity ranges from 60 kilowatt-hours for standard range to 81 kilowatt-hours for long range, a Rivian’s runs from 92 to 141.5 kilowatt-hours. ACEEE calculates that the jump from 2.5 to 3.5 kilowatt-hours could shave nearly $5,000 from the cost of making a car because it would need so much less battery.
Making EVs more efficient would mean faster charging stops, too, since drivers wouldn’t need to cram so many kilowatt-hours into their batteries. It would ease demand for electricity, making it easier for the grid to keep pace with an electrifying society. But convincing Americans to buy smaller, more efficient vehicles has been an uphill battle for decades.
Earlier this summer, Ford CEO Jim Farley called for a return to smaller vehicles as more of the U.S. car fleet turns over to electric. Yet it was Ford that just a few years ago quit making cars altogether (outside of the Mustang) because it reaped so much more profit on the pricier crossovers, SUVs, and pickups that Americans have voted for with their wallets. And not long after Farley’s speech, the company scaled back its EV ambitions, clearly struggling to find a way to sell electric vehicles profitably.
The issue is not only carbuyers’ preference for big, heavy vehicles. ACEEE points out that public policy doesn’t punish big electric cars. “The EPA standard treats all EVs as having zero emissions. It therefore provides no incentive to improve EV efficiency since inefficient and efficient EVs are treated the same for compliance purposes,” the paper says.
That is why ACEEE floats the idea of a policy change. For example, its paper suggests the fees some states levy against EVs (ostensibly to make up for the lost revenue from those cars avoiding the gas tax) could be tweaked to charge more for inefficient EVs. Rebates for purchasing an EV could be changed in the same manner.
It was, after all, regulatory loopholes and misplaced incentives that helped big gas guzzlers conquer the roads in the first place. With better rules about big EVs, perhaps we could avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.
https://heatmap.news/electric-vehicles/ev-size
Retroid Pocket Mini is a handheld game console with a 3.7 inch HD OLED display
date: 2024-09-06, from: Liliputing
The maker of the Retroid line of handheld game consoles plans to launch a new model with a compact design and an OLED display. The upcoming Retroid Pocket Mini features a 3.7 inch, 1280 x 960 pixel AMOLED display with a 4:3 aspect ratio and support for up to 500 nits brightness. The handheld is powered […]
The post Retroid Pocket Mini is a handheld game console with a 3.7 inch HD OLED display appeared first on Liliputing.
MINIX Neo Z300-dB is a fanless mini PC with an 8-core Intel Core i3-N300 Alder Lake-N processor
date: 2024-09-06, from: Liliputing
Late last year MINIX launched a fanless mini PC called the MINIX Z100-0dB that packs a quad-core Intel N100 Alder Lake-N processor into a compact chassis with a passive heat sink, support for up to 16GB of RAM, PCIe 3.0 storage, and 2.5 GbE Ethernet connections. Now the company has introduced a new model called […]
The post MINIX Neo Z300-dB is a fanless mini PC with an 8-core Intel Core i3-N300 Alder Lake-N processor appeared first on Liliputing.
Dutch government takes ASML export measures off Uncle Sam’s hands
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Photolithography giant assures customers it is under no new restrictions
ASML has moved to assure customers and investors that it is subject to no new restrictions following an announcement that expands the Netherlands government’s own role in export control measures.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/dutch_asml_export_controls/
Blog Carnival 22: Editor’s Outro: “Digital Literacy, Multimodality, & The Writing Center”
date: 2024-09-06, from: Digital Humanities Quarterly News
In this blog carnival, we, writing center personnel, center on how emerging digital technologies have been impacting the writing center world. Therefore, we invited reflections from writing center tutors and administrators across geographical, linguistic, and cultural contexts to explore how they think and imagine the connections between digital literacy, multimodal composition, and writing centers (see […]Sluggish US jobs report clears way for Federal Reserve to cut interest rates
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
WASHINGTON — Hiring by America’s employers picked up a bit in August from July’s tepid pace, and the unemployment rate dipped for the first time since March in a sign that the job market may be cooling but remains sturdy.
Employers added a modest 142,000 jobs, up from a scant 89,000 in July, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2% from 4.3% in July, which had been the highest level in nearly three years. Hiring in June and July, though, was revised sharply down by a combined 86,000. July’s job gain was the smallest since the pandemic.
“The labor market is weakening,” said Eugenio Aleman, chief economist at Raymond James Financial. “It is not falling apart, but it is weakening.”
The cooling jobs figures underscore why the Federal Reserve is set to cut its key interest rate when it next meets September 17-18, with inflation falling steadily back to its target of 2%. Friday’s mixed jobs report raises the question of how large a rate cut the Fed will announce. It could decide to reduce its benchmark rate by a typical quarter-point or by a larger-than-usual half-point. In the coming months, the policymakers will also decide how much and how fast to cut rates at their subsequent meetings.
Christopher Waller, an influential Fed policymaker, suggested in a speech Friday that the central bank is leaning toward a quarter-point reduction this month. But he left the door open for larger rate cuts, if necessary, later this year.
“I do not expect this first cut to be the last,” Waller said in a speech at the University of Notre Dame. “With inflation and employment near our longer-run goals and the labor market moderating, it is likely that a series of reductions will be appropriate.”
“I am open-minded,” he added, “about the size and pace of cuts, which will be based on what the data tell us about the evolution of the economy.”
Collectively, Friday’s figures depict a job market slowing under the pressure of high interest rates but still growing. Many businesses appear to be holding off on adding jobs, in part because of uncertainty about the outcome of the presidential election and about how fast the Fed will reduce its benchmark rate in the coming months.
Daniel Zhao, lead economist at the career website Glassdoor, said some of the details in the August jobs report indicate that businesses’ demand for workers is slowing. The number of Americans who are working part time but would prefer full-time work rose, extending a year-long trend.
“When you look under the hood, you’re seeing numbers that confirm that the job market is on that cooling trajectory,” Zhao said.
America’s labor market is now in an unusual place: Jobholders are mostly secure, with layoffs low, historically speaking. Yet with the pace of hiring having weakened, landing a job has become harder.
In the past three months, hiring has averaged only 116,000 a month, down sharply from an average of 211,000 a year ago. And August’s job gains were concentrated in just a few industries, with health care adding 44,000 jobs, restaurants, hotels and entertainment companies gaining 46,000, and construction 34,000. Steady hiring by restaurants and hotels could reflect ongoing gains in consumer spending, which rose last month even after adjusting for inflation.
In a major speech last month, Chair Jerome Powell suggested that the Fed’s policymakers have all but tamed inflation through high interest rates and don’t want to see the job market weaken further. The central bank is trying to achieve a “soft landing,” in which it succeeds in driving inflation down from a 9.1% peak in 2022 to its target level without causing a recession. A lower Fed benchmark rate will lead eventually to lower borrowing costs for a range of consumer and business loans, including mortgages, auto loans and credit cards.
For now, companies are posting fewer job openings and adding fewer workers, while Americans are far less likely to quit their jobs now than they were soon after the economy rebounded from the pandemic. In a strong job market, workers are more likely to quit, usually for higher-paying opportunities. With quits declining, it means fewer jobs are opening up for people out of work.
Becky Frankiewicz, North American president of the staffing firm ManpowerGroup, said that uncertainty around the presidential election and the Fed’s next moves are causing many companies to hold back on new investments and hiring.
“There’s a whole world waiting to see what happens with our election,” she said. “We have this great waiting game. No one wants to make big moves yet.”
Still, Frankiewicz said the job market appears to be stable for now.
“The bottom isn’t falling out, and we’re not seeing a rocket ship,” she said. “It’s stability.”
A slower pace of hiring is often a precursor to layoffs — one reason why the Fed’s policymakers are now more focused on sustaining the health of the job market than on continuing to fight inflation.
Recent economic data has been mixed, elevating the importance of the jobs report, which is among the more comprehensive economic snapshots of the government issues. The Labor Department surveys roughly 119,000 businesses and government agencies and 60,000 households each month to compile the employment data.
The Fed’s Beige Book, a collection of anecdotes from the 12 regional Fed banks, reported that many employers appeared to have become pickier about whom they hired in July and August. And a survey by the Conference Board in August found that the proportion of Americans who think jobs are hard to find has been rising, a trend that has often correlated with a higher unemployment rate.
At the same time, consumer spending, the principal driver of economic growth in the United States, rose at a healthy pace in July. And the economy grew at a solid 3% annual pace in the April-June quarter.
Friday Links: September 6, 2024
date: 2024-09-06, from: California Native Plants Society
Celebrate California Biodiversity Day and week with stories about protecting, understanding, and enjoying biodiversity!
The post Friday Links: September 6, 2024 appeared first on California Native Plant Society.
https://www.cnps.org/friday-links/friday-links-september-6-2024-40118
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-09-06, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Stranded astronauts' capsule to head home without them.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx29wzk4r19o
Behind the Blog: Party Time
date: 2024-09-06, from: 404 Media Group
This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss last night’s shindig.
https://www.404media.co/behind-the-blog-party-time/
Texas Is the King of Greenhouse Emissions. It’s Also in the Path of the Climate Change Storm.
date: 2024-09-06, from: Capital and Main
From hurricanes to wildfires to droughts, every region of Texas is threatened by man-made climate change, vulnerability index shows.
The post Texas Is the King of Greenhouse Emissions. It’s Also in the Path of the Climate Change Storm. appeared first on .
NASA Summer Camp Inspires Future Climate Leaders
date: 2024-09-06, from: NASA breaking news
From July 15-19, 2024, the Coastal Equity and Resilience Hub at the Georgia Institute of Technology collaborated with the University of Georgia (UGA) Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant to host a week-long NASA Sea Level Changemakers Summer Camp. The camp introduced 14 rising 7th-8th graders to how coastal areas are changing due to sea […]
Tribes celebrate Klamath dam removal, largest in US history
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
For over a century, dams have blocked fish migration on California’s second-largest river. VOA’s Matt Dibble takes us to the removal of the last of four dams, a major victory for Native Americans who depend on the river.
https://www.voanews.com/a/tribes-celebrate-klamath-dam-removal-largest-in-us-history/7774202.html
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-09-06, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
I thought this was a joke, but then I
googled.
https://mastodon.social/@paulmcaleer/113090757317535638
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/113091362157063405
CubeSats are pictured after being deployed into Earth orbit
date: 2024-09-06, from: NASA breaking news
Tiny satellites, also known as CubeSats, are pictured after being deployed into Earth orbit from a small satellite orbital deployer on the outside of the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module. The CubeSats were delivered aboard the Northrop Grumman Cygnus space freighter and will serve a variety of educational and research purposes for public and […]
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/cubesats-are-pictured-after-being-deployed-into-earth-orbit/
Salesforce now owns Own Company after $1.9B bargain hunt
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Acquisition of SaaS backup vendor ends mega-merger moratorium
Having adopted Own Company’s technology, Salesforce has decided to buy the SaaS data protection and data management outfit for $1.9 billion in cash.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/salesforce_own_company/
HMD Fusion is a smartphone that can learn new tricks thanks to modular “Fusion Outfits”
date: 2024-09-06, from: Liliputing
The HMD Fusion is a mid-range smartphone with a few unusual features. One is that, like several other recent HMD smartphones, the Fusion is designed to be easily repairable. But another is that while the phone’s built-in hardware isn’t all that remarkable, you can add functionality to the device by replacing the back cover with […]
The post HMD Fusion is a smartphone that can learn new tricks thanks to modular “Fusion Outfits” appeared first on Liliputing.
The new Khadas Mind is a pocket-sized PC with Intel Meteor Lake or Lunar Lake and support for modular add-ons
date: 2024-09-06, from: Liliputing
The Khadas Mind is a tiny desktop computer that’s designed to be part of a modular ecosystem that allows you to quickly attach an external graphics card, a docking station, or other accessories that tap into the high-speed “Mind Link” connector on the bottom of the system. When Khadas first launched the platform in 2023, […]
The post The new Khadas Mind is a pocket-sized PC with Intel Meteor Lake or Lunar Lake and support for modular add-ons appeared first on Liliputing.
In the US, music cassette tapes are making a comeback
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
Music cassette tapes are making a comeback in the U.S, with more than 430,000 sold in 2023 – about five times the number sold just a decade ago. Cassette tapes are especially popular with younger generations who grew up with digital music. Karina Bafradzhian has the story. Videographer: Sergii Dogotar
https://www.voanews.com/a/in-the-us-music-cassette-tapes-are-making-a-comeback-/7774074.html
Trump, Musk and a proposed government efficiency commission
date: 2024-09-06, from: Marketplace Morning Report
Former President Donald Trump says he’ll establish a government efficiency commission if re-elected in November, and it would be headed by Elon Musk. Musk’s various ventures are regulated by federal agencies, which are currently investigating several of his companies. We’ll hear more. Plus, the NFL goes global, and traders lean toward a half-point rate cut this month.
Kremlin accuses US of unacceptable pressure on Russian media
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
Moscow — The Kremlin on Friday accused the United States of applying unacceptable pressure on Russian media after the U.S. Justice Department charged Russian TV contributor Dimitri Simes and his wife with schemes to violate U.S. sanctions.
The two indictments were announced just one day after the U.S. took several legal actions against Russia to combat alleged efforts to meddle in the 2024 presidential elections, including charging two employees of the Russian state media network RT and sanctioning RT and its top network editor.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who has said Russia is not seeking to interfere in the U.S. presidential election, told reporters that Washington was trying to ensure that Moscow’s own perspective on world affairs was not available to people.
“Washington continues to try to put pressure on Russia, on Russian citizens, and even on the Russian media, which is engaged in informing both citizens inside our country and world public opinion about what is happening, from our perspective,” said Peskov.
“Washington does not even accept that there should be options out there for anyone to get news from our perspective.
This is nothing other than blatant pressure. We strongly condemn this stance as unacceptable,” he said.
Moscow still grants accreditation to Western journalists to work in Russia, though many have left since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022 and the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on spying charges in March 2023.
Gershkovich, who denied the charges, was freed in a prisoner swap last month.
Russia has said it will take retaliatory measures against U.S. media in response to Washington’s moves against RT.
Asked what those measures would be, Peskov said Russia carefully evaluated the editorial policies of various foreign media outlets and would take those factors into account when making any decisions, on what he suggested would be a case-by-case basis.
https://www.voanews.com/a/kremlin-accuses-us-of-unacceptable-pressure-on-russian-media-/7774052.html
Competition watchdog accuses Google of abusing ad dominance
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Provisional findings echo worries in the US and EC about the search giant’s dominance
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has administered a provisional rap over Google’s knuckles for alleged abuse of its dominant position in the advertising technology marketplace.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/uks_competition_watchdog_takes_issue/
Ukraine, Kursk, and the Importance of Lines of Operation in History
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: RAND blog
Ukraine’s bold incursion into Kursk mirrors historic tactics using interior lines. To withstand Russia’s response, Ukraine must consolidate forces, leveraging the rapid reinforcement and supply advantages interior lines provide.
When a president swayed the decisions of the Federal Reserve
date: 2024-09-06, from: Marketplace Morning Report
Federal Reserve independence has come into the spotlight recently, with former President Donald Trump indicating he thinks the president should have some influence in the Fed’s actions. Today, we wind the clock back to when exactly that happened: In 1971, President Richard Nixon devised a scheme to sway then-Federal Reserve Chair Arthur Burns — and the direction of the U.S. economy — in the run-up to reelection. But first: Hiring was weaker than expected in August.
Small Internet protocol roundup
date: 2024-09-06, from: Tilde.news
http://dbohdan.sdf.org/smolnet/
Rust on RP2350
date: 2024-09-06, from: Raspberry Pi News (.com)
Jonathan Pallant on programming in Rust on RP2350: the very considerable amount that’s working so far, what still needs some attention, and how people can get involved.
The post Rust on RP2350 appeared first on Raspberry Pi.
https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/rust-on-rp2350/
OSAM-1 Partnership Opportunity: Request for Information
date: 2024-09-06, from: NASA breaking news
NASA is exploring potential partnerships for alternate use cases for the On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 1 (OSAM-1) flight hardware, test facilities, and experienced personnel. Through a Request for Information for OSAM-1 Partnerships released Sept. 5, 2024, NASA seeks interest from U.S. organizations that will benefit commercial, civil, and national objectives, thereby advancing domestic leadership […]
https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/osam-1-partnership-opportunity-request-for-information/
US IRS enforcement efforts recover $1.3 bln in unpaid taxes, Treasury says
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
Washington — The U.S. Treasury and Internal Revenue Service said on Friday that they have recovered $1.3 billion in unpaid taxes from wealthy individuals under new enforcement initiatives funded by $60 billion in IRS modernization spending from the climate-focused Inflation Reduction Act.
Why it’s important
Republicans in Congress have long vowed to rescind the 10-year IRS funding passed in 2022, arguing that it would unfairly harass Americans on their taxes. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump vowed on Thursday to rescind all unspent funds from the Inflation Reduction Act, which include billions of dollars earmarked for the IRS.
The IRS has planned to spend about $10.6 billion of those funds through end of the 2024 fiscal year, which concludes on Sept. 30, leaving nearly $50 billion that could be recouped. But budget forecasters say that doing so would increase the federal budget deficit by more than $100 billion over a decade because the agency would forego stepped-up enforcement.
By the numbers
The Treasury said that in the first six months of a new initiative to target 125,000 wealthy individuals who have not filed tax returns since 2017, it has collected $172 million from 21,000 non-filing taxpayers.
Another initiative to target wealthy individuals with more than $1 million in income and $250,000 in unpaid, recognized tax debts has brought in $1.1 billion to Treasury coffers.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the audit rate for millionaires fell by 80% due to budget cuts at the IRS.
“During the previous [Trump] administration, as audit rates on high-income taxpayers fell, the share of audits on taxpayers with incomes under $200,000 increased,” Yellen said in remarks to be delivered at an IRS service center in Austin, Texas. “In 2019, the top one percent of Americans was estimated to owe over one-fifth of unpaid taxes, leaving ordinary Americans to shoulder the burden.”
US job growth misses expectations in August; unemployment rate slips to 4.2%
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
Washington — U.S. employment increased less than expected in August, but a drop in the jobless rate to 4.2% suggested an orderly labor market slowdown continued and probably did not warrant a big interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve this month.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 142,000 jobs last month after a downwardly revised 89,000 rise in July, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls increasing by 160,000 jobs after a previously reported 114,000 gain in July. Estimates ranged from 100,000 to 245,000 jobs.
The smaller-than-expected increase in payrolls likely does not signal a deterioration in labor market conditions.
August payrolls have a tendency to initially print weaker relative to the consensus estimate and recent trend before being revised higher later. Hiring typically picks up in the education sector, which is anticipated by the model that the government uses to strip out seasonal fluctuations from the data.
The start of the new school year, however, varies across the country, which can throw off the so-called seasonal factors. The initial August payrolls counts have been revised higher in 10 of the last 13 years. Layoffs remain at historic low levels.
The drop in the unemployment rate followed four straight monthly increases, which had lifted it near a three-year high of 4.3% in July. Early on Friday, financial markets saw a roughly 43% probability of a half-point rate cut at the Fed’s Sept. 17-18 policy meeting, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool. The odds of a 25 basis point rate reduction were around 57%.
Average hourly earnings increased 0.4% in August after falling 0.1% in July. Wages increased 3.8% year-on-year after advancing 3.6% in July. Still-solid wage growth continues to underpin the economy through consumer spending.
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-09-06, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
"Journalism in the US is gone," would be a more accurate title for this piece in the Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/sep/06/trump-clinton-harris-election
We Just Lived Through the Hottest Summer Ever
date: 2024-09-06, from: Heatmap News
Current conditions: Torrential rains flooded the streets of Milan, Italy • The U.K. recorded its coldest summer since 2015 • The temperature in Palm Springs, California, hit 121 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday.
THE TOP FIVE
- Summer 2024 was hottest on record
Summer 2024 was officially the warmest on record in the Northern Hemisphere, according to new data from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Between June and August, the average global temperature was 1.24 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the 1991-2020 average, beating out last summer’s record. August 2024 tied August 2023 for joint-hottest month ever recorded globally, with an average surface air temperature of 62.27 degrees Fahrenheit.
C3S
“During the past three months of 2024, the globe has experienced the hottest June and August, the hottest day on record, and the hottest boreal summer on record,” said Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S. “This string of record temperatures is increasing the likelihood of 2024 being the hottest year on record. The temperature-related extreme events witnessed this summer will only become more intense, with more devastating consequences for people and the planet unless we take urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
- Trump says climate change’s effect on sea levels is ‘not our
problem’
During a speech at the Economic Club of New York yesterday, former President Donald Trump said that because of climate change, “the ocean is going to go down 100th of an inch within the next 400 years,” and dismissed this as “not our problem.” This appears to be a warped variation of his repeated claim that “the ocean is going to rise one eighth of an inch over the next 400 years.” He’s said this many times, occasionally subbing in “200 to 300 years” for 400 years. Either way, he’s incorrect. “Trump’s numbers are orders of magnitude off the mark,” wrote Heatmap’s Jeva Lange in her epic historical fact check of Trump’s various climate statements. “The oceans are on track to rise 3.5 feet to 7 feet along America’s coastlines by 2100,” Lange said. Back in 2022, Michael Oppenheimer, director of the Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment at Princeton University, called Trump’s sea-level calculation “so far from accurate as to appear to have been entirely fabricated.”
- U.S. and China find some common ground during climate talks
The U.S. and China had “excellent discussions” during climate talks this week in Beijing, climate envoy John Podesta said today. The two nations came closer to being on the same page about climate finance and greenhouse gas emissions cuts. “Notwithstanding some friction in our bilateral relationship, we can find places to collaborate for the good of our people and the good of our climate,” Podesta said. As Bloomberg noted, this is likely the last opportunity for the world’s two biggest emitters to try to find common ground ahead of the U.S. presidential election and the COP29 climate summit in November.
- Ford F-150 Lightning sales rise in August
Ford reported some interesting August sales figures yesterday. The company saw a 50% jump in hybrid sales last month compared to a year before, and a 29% rise in electric vehicle sales, with F-150 Lightning sales up 160% year over year. But internal combustion engine cars still made up 86% of total monthly sales. The automaker recently scrapped its plans to build a three-row EV crossover and instead plans to make that vehicle as a hybrid, and will double down on producing more hybrid models.
- Super Typhoon Yagi makes landfall in China
China evacuated 400,000 people from some of its southern provinces in anticipation of Super Typhoon Yagi. Schools are shut down, flights have been canceled, and Hong Kong’s stock market is closed. The storm struck the Philippines earlier this week but has doubled in strength since, and now packs wind speeds of about 140 miles per hour, giving it the power of a Category 4 hurricane. It made landfall on the popular tourist island of Hainan this morning and is expected to hit Guangdong, China’s most populous province, before churning toward Vietnam’s historic Ha Long Bay. It is the strongest typhoon to strike China’s southern coast in 10 years, and according to NASA, it has been supercharged by unusually warm water in the Northwest Pacific Basin.
THE KICKER
“Everybody’s getting drunk and having a good time: ‘Oh, look at the gift they brought us!’ But at night, they’re going to sneak out of that horse, and they’re going to leave an environmental disaster.” –A long-time resident of Superior, Arizona, ponders the promise and perils of mining the town’s copper deposits, one of the largest remaining in the world.
https://heatmap.news/climate/2024-summer-hottest-ever
Defense AI models ‘a risk to life’ alleges spurned tech firm
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Chatterbox Labs CEO claims Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office unfairly cancelled a contract then accused him of blackmail
In-depth Chatterbox Lab CEO Danny Coleman alleges that after three and a half years of uncompensated work to provide the US Defense Department with tools for “Responsible AI,” he found himself accused of trying to blackmail the government.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/defense_ai_models_risk/
Quick, Someone Find a Dutch Boy
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: One Foot Tsunami
https://onefoottsunami.com/2024/09/06/quick-someone-find-a-dutch-boy/
Foot-thick wall workaround: Gigabit network links beamed through solid concrete
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Makes cabling a bit less onerous, says WaveCore maker
Airvine Scientific has a product that could make life easier for IT staff. WaveCore is designed to beam a network signal through thick concrete walls, eliminating the need to drill holes or route your cabling via a circuitous course.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/wavecore_can_beam_a_gigabit/
China’s halt of foreign adoptions leaves questions about pending cases
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
beijing — The Chinese government is ending its intercountry adoption program, and the U.S. is seeking clarification on how the decision will affect hundreds of American families with pending applications.
In a phone call with U.S. diplomats in China, Beijing said it “will not continue to process cases at any stage” other than those cases covered by an exception clause. The embassy is seeking clarification in writing from China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs, the U.S. State Department said Thursday.
“We understand there are hundreds of families still pending completion of their adoption, and we sympathize with their situation,” the State Department said.
At a daily briefing Thursday, Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said China is no longer allowing foreign adoptions of the country’s children, with the only exception for blood relatives to adopt a child or a stepchild.
She didn’t explain the decision other than to say that it was in line with the spirit of relevant international conventions.
Many foreigners have adopted children from China over the decades, visiting the country to pick them up and then bringing them to a new home overseas.
U.S. families have adopted 82,674 children from China, the most from any foreign country.
China suspended international adoptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The government later resumed adoptions for children who had received travel authorization before the suspension in 2020, the U.S. State Department said in its latest annual report on adoptions.
A U.S. consulate issued 16 visas for adoptions from China from October 2022 through September 2023, the first in more than two years, the State Department report said. It wasn’t clear if any more visas had been issued since then.
In January, Denmark’s only overseas adoption agency said it was winding down operations after concerns were raised about fabricated documents and procedures, and Norway’s top regulatory body recommended stopping overseas adoptions for two years pending an investigation into several cases.
Beijing’s announcement also has followed falling birth rates in the country. The number of newborn babies fell to 9.02 million in 2023, and the overall population declined for the second consecutive year.
7-Eleven owner rejects Canadian takeover
date: 2024-09-06, from: Marketplace Morning Report
From the BBC World Service: It’s the world’s largest convenience chain, with 85,000 stores — and Seven & i Holdings said the $40 billion takeover bid for 7-Eleven from rival Alimentation Couche-Tard “grossly undervalues” the business. We’ll hear the latest on why the deal seems to be falling apart. Also on this morning’s show: How do you put a value on Banksy’s street art to local neighborhoods?
Hubble Examines a Busy Galactic Center
date: 2024-09-06, from: NASA breaking news
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the spiral galaxy IC 4709 located around 240 million light-years away in the southern constellation Telescopium. Hubble beautifully captures its faint halo and swirling disk filled with stars and dust bands. The compact region at its core might be the most remarkable sight. It holds an active galactic […]
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-examines-a-busy-galactic-center/
Datacenters to emit 3x more carbon dioxide because of generative AI
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Carbon capture outfits could be making up to $45B, say analysts
The datacenter industry is set to emit 2.5 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide between now and the end of the decade, three times more than if generative AI had not been developed.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/datacenters_set_to_emit_3x/
Will The Real Kamala Harris Please Stand Up? (Part 1)
date: 2024-09-06, from: The Lever News
Kamala Harris has branded herself as a crusader against corporate greed — but does her background support the claim?
https://www.levernews.com/will-the-real-kamala-harris-please-stand-up-part-1/
Copper Almost Killed This Arizona Town. Now Copper Could Save It.
date: 2024-09-06, from: Heatmap News
In the town of Superior, Arizona, there is a hotel. In the hotel, there is a room. And in the room, there is a ghost.
Henry Muñoz’s father owned the building in the early 1980s, back when it was still a boarding house and the “Magma” in its name, Hotel Magma, referred to the copper mine up the hill. One night, a boarder from Nogales, Mexico, awoke to a phantom trying to pin her to the wall with the mattress; naturally, she demanded a new room. When Muñoz, then in his fearless early 20s, heard this story from his father, he became curious. Following his swing shift at the mine, Muñoz posted himself to the room with a case of beer and passed the hours until dawn drinking and waiting for the spirit to make itself known.
Muñoz didn’t see a ghost that night, but he has since become well acquainted with others in town. There is the Mexican bakery, which used to sell pink cookies but now opens only when the late owner’s granddaughter feels up to it. There’s the old Magma Club, its once-segregated swimming pool — available one day a week to Hispanics — long since filled in. Muñoz can still point out where all the former bars were on Main Street, the ones that drew crowds of carousing miners in the good years before copper prices plunged in 1981 and Magma boarded up and left town. Now their dusty windows are what give out-of-towners from nearby Phoenix reason to write off Superior as “dead.”
“What happens when a mine closes, the hardship that brings to people — today’s generation has never experienced that,” Muñoz told me.
Superior is home to about 2,400 people, less than half its population when the mine was booming. To tourists zipping past on U.S. 60 to visit the Wild West sites in the Superstition Mountains, it might look half a step away from becoming a ghost town, itself. As recently as 2018, pictures of Main Street were used as stock photos to illustrate things like “America’s worsening geographic inequality.”
But if you take the exit into town, it’s clear something in Superior is changing. The once-haunted boarding house has undergone a multi-million-dollar renovation into a boutique hotel, charging staycationers that make the hour drive south from Scottsdale $200 a night. Across the street, Bellas Cafe whips up terrific sandwiches in a gleaming, retro-chic kitchen. The Chamber of Commerce building, a little further down the block, has been painted an inviting shade of purple. And propped in the window of some of the storefronts with their lights on, you might even see a sign: WE SUPPORT RESOLUTION COPPER.
Resolution Copper’s offices are located in the former Magma Hospital, where Muñoz was born and where his mother died. People in hard hats and safety vests mill about the parking lot, miners without a mine, which is not an unusual sight in Superior these days — no copper has been sold out of the immediate area in over two decades. And yet just a nine-minute drive further up the hill and another 15-minute elevator ride down the deepest mine shaft in the country lies one of the world’s largest remaining copper deposits. It’s estimated to be 40 billion pounds, enough to meet a quarter of U.S. demand, according to the company’s analysis.
That’s “huge,” Adam Simon, an Earth and environmental sciences professor at the University of Michigan, told me, and not just in terms of sheer size.
“Copper is the most important metal for all technologies we think of as part of the energy transition: battery electric vehicles, grid-scale battery storage, wind turbines, solar panels,” Simon said. In May, he published a study with Lawrence Cathles, an Earth and atmospheric sciences researcher at Cornell University, which looked at 120 years of copper-mining data and found that just to meet the demands of “business as usual,” the world will need 115% more of the material between 2018 and 2050 than has been previously mined in all of human history, even with recycling rates taken into account.
Aluminum, used in high-voltage lines, is sometimes floated as a potential substitute, but it’s not as good of a conductor, and copper is almost always the preferred metal in batteries and electricity generation. Renewables are particularly copper-intensive; one offshore wind turbine can require up to 29 tons. What lies in the hills behind Superior, then, represents “millions of electric vehicles, millions of wind turbines, millions of solar panels. And it’s also lots of jobs, from top to bottom — jobs for people with bachelor’s degrees in engineering, mining, geology, and environmental science, all the way down to security officers and truck drivers,” Simon said. He added: “The world will need more copper year over year for both socioeconomic improvement in the Global South and also the energy transition, and neither of those can happen without increasing the amount of copper that we produce.”
Muñoz insisted to me that the promises of jobs and a robust local economy are a kind of Trojan horse. “Everybody’s getting drunk and having a good time: ‘Oh, look at the gift they brought us!’” he said of Superior’s support for Resolution Copper. “But at night, they’re going to sneak out of that horse, and they’re going to leave an environmental disaster.”
For now, though, the copper has just one catch: Resolution isn’t allowed to touch it.
If not for a painted sign declaring the ground HOLY LAND, there would be nothing visible to suggest the 16 oak-shaded tent sites over Resolution Copper’s ore body were anything particularly special. The Oak Flat campground is less than five miles past Superior, but at an elevation of nearly 4,000 feet, it can feel almost 10 degrees Fahrenheit cooler. On the late June day that I visited with Muñoz, Sylvia Delgado, and Orlando “Marro” Perea — the leaders of the Concerned Citizens and Retired Miners Coalition — the floor of the East Valley was 113 degrees Fahrenheit, and the altitude offered only limited relief.
Directly below us and to the east of the campground, beneath a bouldery, yucca-studded desert, lies the copper deposit. At 7,000 or so feet deep, extracting it would require an advanced mining process called block caving, in which ore is collected from below through what is essentially a controlled cave-in, like sand slipping through the neck of an hourglass.
Muñoz, a fifth-generation miner, prefers the metaphor of going to the dentist. “They drill out your tooth and refill it: that’s basically traditional cut-and-fill mining,” he told me. “Block cave, on the other hand, would be going to the dentist and having them pull out the whole molar. It just leaves a vacant hole.” In this case, the resulting cavity would be almost two miles wide and over 1,000 feet deep by the time the ore was exhausted sometime in the 2060s.
Even four decades is just a blink of an eye for Oak Flat, though, where human history goes back at least 1,500 years; anthropologists say the mine’s sinkhole would swallow countless Indigenous burial locations and archeological sites, including petroglyphs depicting antlered animals that Muñoz and Perea showed me hidden deep in the rocks. Even more alarmingly, the subsidence would obliterate Chí’chil Biłdagoteel, the Western Apache’s name for the lands around Oak Flat, which are sacred to at least 10 federally recognized tribes. The members of the San Carlos Apache who are leading the opposition effort, and use the location for a four-day-long girlhood coming-of-age ceremony, say it is the only place where their prayers can reach the Creator directly.
Mining and Indigenous sovereignty have been at odds in Arizona for over a century. “The Apache is as near the lobo, or wolf of the country, as any human being can be to a beast,” The New York Times wrote in 1859, claiming the tribe was “the greatest obstacle to the operations of the mining companies” in the area. Three years later, the U.S. Army’s departmental commander ordered Apache men killed “wherever found,” the social archaeologist John Welch writes in his eye-opening historical survey of the region, in which he also advocates for using the term “genocide” to describe the government’s policies. That violence still casts a shadow in Superior: Apache Leap, an astonishing escarpment that looms over the town and backs up against Oak Flat, is named for a legend that cornered Apache warriors jumped to their deaths from its cliffs rather than surrender to the U.S. Cavalry.
As the Apache were being forced onto reservations and into residential boarding schools during the late 1890s, a treaty with the government set aside Oak Flat for protection. The land was later fortified against mining by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, with the federal protections reconfirmed by the Nixon administration in the 1960s. (The defunct Magma Mine that fueled the first copper boom in Superior is located just off this 760-acre “Oak Flat Withdrawal Area.”)
In 1995, the enormity of the Oak Flat ore body — and the billions it would be worth if it could be accessed — started to become apparent. The British and Australian mining companies Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton formed a U.S. subsidiary, Resolution Copper, which bought the old Magma mine and began to lobby Arizona politicians to sign over the neighboring parcel of Oak Flat. Between 2004 and 2013, lawmakers from the state introduced 11 different land transfer bills into Congress, none of which managed to earn broad support.
Then, in December 2014, President Barack Obama signed a must-pass defense spending bill. On page 1,103 was a midnight rider, inserted by Arizona Republican Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake, which authorized a land transfer of 2,400 acres of Tonto National Forest, including Oak Flat, to Resolution Copper in exchange for private land the company had bought in other parts of the state. (Flake previously worked as a paid lobbyist for a Rio Tinto uranium mine, and the company contributed to McCain’s 2014 Senate campaign.)
Heatmap
Illustration / Esri, TomTom, Garmin, FAO, NOAA, USGS, © OpenStreetMap
contributors, and the GIS User Community
The senators’ rider also included an odd little twist. While the National Environmental Policy Act requires the Forest Service to conduct an environmental impact statement for a potential mine, the bill stipulated that the land transfer to Resolution Copper had to be completed within a 60-day window of the final environmental impact statement’s release, regardless of what the FEIS found.
After six years of study, the FEIS was rushed to publication by President Donald Trump in the final five days of his term, triggering that 60-day countdown. President Biden rescinded Trump’s FEIS once he took office in 2021, pending further consultation with the tribes, but the clock will begin anew once a revised FEIS is released, potentially later this year. (The new FEIS was expected last summer, but the Forest Service has since reported there is no timeline for its release. The agency declined to comment to Heatmap for this story, citing ongoing litigation.)
A spokesperson for Resolution Copper told me that the company is “committed to being a good steward of the land, air, and water throughout the entirety of this project,” and described programs to restore the local ecology and preserve certain natural features, including Apache Leap. “At each step,” the spokesperson said, “we have taken great care to solicit and act upon the input of our Native American and other neighbors. We have made many changes to the project scope to accommodate those concerns and will continue those efforts over the life of the project.”
Meanwhile, Apache Stronghold — the San Carlos Apache-led religious nonprofit opposing the mine — filed a lawsuit to block the land transfer, arguing that the destruction of Oak Flat infringes on their First Amendment right to practice their religion. The lower courts haven’t agreed, citing a controversial 1988 decision against tribes who made a similar argument in defense of a sacred grove of trees in California. Apache Stronghold, joined by the religious liberty group Becket, is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its case, a decision that is expected any day now. Nearly everyone I spoke with for this story, however, was pessimistic that the Justices would agree to hear the battle over Oak Flat, meaning the lower court’s ruling against Apache Stronghold would stand.
If Mila Besich could have it her way, Biden would visit Superior. He’d marvel at Apache Leap and Picketpost Mountain, visit the impressive new Superior Enterprise Center — paid for partially with money from his 2021 American Rescue Plan Act — and maybe wrap up the day with a purple scoop of prickly pear ice cream from Felicia’s Ice Cream Shop. And, most importantly, he’d hear her pitch: that “Superior and the state of Arizona have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to be the leader in advancing your green energy strategy.” She says Superior — and America — needs this mine.
Superior is a blue town, and Besich, its mayor, is a Democrat, which means she has found herself in the awkward position of defending Resolution Copper against colleagues like Congressman Raúl Grijalva of Tucson and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who have introduced unsuccessful bills in Congress to prevent the land transfer. There is something of a bitter irony, too, in seeing her party tout the economic upsides of the energy transition while standing in the way of Superior’s mine, which would employ an average of 1,434 workers per year and add over $1 billion annually to Arizona’s economy during its lifespan, according to the FEIS.
“Every mayor wants more jobs in their community,” Besich told me simply. But, she also pointed out, “Copper is critical to the green economy, so if we want the green economy, we should want to be mining American copper.”
Superior, of course, isn’t just any town. “Everybody here either worked in the mines or had family that worked in the mines,” James Schenck, a former employee of Resolution Copper who supports the mine and serves as the treasurer for Rebuild Superior, a nonprofit working to diversify the local economy, told me. “They understand the downsides, and some of them, for a while, were having a hard time understanding how this is different than what went on before.”
Though everyone seems to be on cordial terms — at one point during my visit, I was having lunch with Muñoz and Delgado when Besich walked in, and everyone smiled politely at one another — there are still clear factions. A Facebook group for locals warns against “posts concerning DRAMA, POLITICS, RELIGION, and MINING,” presumably the same topics to be avoided at family Thanksgivings.
The critical mineral experts I talked to for this story, though, said Schenck is largely right on that point. “Mining in 2024 is radically different than mining in 1954 or in 1904,” Simon told me. “It is really surgical.”
Muñoz is one of those in town who still isn’t buying it, and has converted his garage into an interpretive center for exposing the perceived infiltrators. As soft classic rock played over the speakers and a fan whirred to keep us cool, he showed me the 3D model he had commissioned of the Oak Flat sinkhole, with a miniature Eiffel Tower subsumed in its crater for scale. Laid out on a table on the other side of the room was a row of six dictionary-thick, spiral-bound sections of the FEIS, their most pertinent sections bookmarked. On the walls, Muñoz had hung pictures of comparable tailings sites in other parts of the world — cautionary tales of the hazards posed during the long lifespan of mines. (Including the water demands, no small concern in a place like Arizona, which opens a whole other can of worms).
“I use my experience to educate the people,” Muñoz said. “This isn’t what it’s made out to be. They’re going to play you.”
Muñoz was employed at the Magma Copper mine until 1982, when he was 27. “One day they said, ‘We’re shutting down.’ They folded up just like a carnival does on Monday morning,” he recalled. The abrupt departure devastated Superior: In These Times described the following years as an “economic cataclysm” for the town. By 1989, the median household income was just $16,118 compared to $36,806 in Queen Creek, the nearest Phoenix suburb just a 45-minute drive away.
“I witnessed grown men cry,” Muñoz said. “Men who’d been in the mines pretty close to 30 years — they never knew nothing else.” His father, the former boarding house owner, was among them: “He had limited writing abilities and what have you. He was 58. People lost their homes here. They lost their cars. There were divorces. Some people committed suicide. The drinking, the drugs. It was a bad time.”
Muñoz went on food stamps and unemployment. “This generation that is coming up, they’ve never experienced that,” he said. “They’ve never experienced a repossession note in the mail from the bank. They’ve never experienced a disconnection notice hanging from your front door knob. And they’ve never experienced calling up the utilities and saying, ‘Hey, can you wait until Friday when my unemployment check comes in?’”
Superior’s story isn’t unique; Arizona’s Copper Triangle is a constellation of hollowed-out company towns. Like many other out-of-work Magma miners, Muñoz eventually found a job at San Manuel, a BHP-owned block cave mine about an hour south of Superior. Then, in 1999, copper prices stuttered again, and by 2003, it shut down, too.
Muñoz had just returned from a car show in San Manuel when we met in his garage, and he reported it was still a sorry sight. “The main grocery store is closed, the Subway, all the buildings are boarded up, and the schools are shut down,” he said. The mine “just abandoned that town.”
Even as Muñoz and the Concerned Citizens and Retired Miners Coalition work with Apache Stronghold and national environmentalist groups like HECHO, the Sierra Club, and the National Wildlife Federation try to block Resolution Copper’s mine, there is a distinct feeling in Superior of its inevitability. Schenck, the treasurer for Rebuild Superior, told me he suspects just “10% or 15%” of people in town are “against the project.”
“My personal belief is this copper deposit is going to be developed at some point,” Schenck said. “It’s too important.”
Besich, the mayor, gave this impression too. “What people need to understand is, this ore body is not going anywhere,” she said. “Someone will mine it in the future.” She views Superior and the copper industry as partners in an “arranged marriage,” and her job as mayor is helping them “figure out how to get along.”
From the outside, though, Resolution Copper looks more like a sugar daddy. To date, Rio Tinto and BHP have spent more than $2 billion combined pursuing the Oak Flat mine, including pumping money into the Chamber of Commerce building, the Enterprise Center, and the fire department. When the town of Kearny, downstream of the mine’s proposed tailings site, needed a new ambulance, Resolution Copper offered to help foot the bill. Local high schoolers and tribal members can even apply for Resolution Copper scholarships.
Critics say Resolution Copper is buying political and social influence in the Copper Corridor, a modern-day iteration of the propaganda tactics that swept aside the Apache in the late 1800s. Rio Tinto and BHP “remain committed to influencing U.S. government decisions about the use of public lands and minerals, regardless of additional harms to those lands, to Native Americans, or to National Register historic sites and sacred places,” the archaeologist Welch wrote in his Oak Flat study.
Rio Tinto is infamous even in the mining industry for its poor history of handling community- and heritage-related concerns. To pick a recent example, the company drew international condemnation for its 2020 destruction of the Juukan Gorge cave in Western Australia, a sacred site to the Aboriginal people that had evidence of continuous human occupation going back to the Ice Age. Though Rio Tinto had the legal right to destroy the 45,000-year-old caves, “it is hard to believe community engagement is being taken seriously” by the company, Glynn Cochrane, a former Rio Tinto senior advisor, said in a testimony in the aftermath. Archaeologists and sympathetic politicians have warned that the cultural and spiritual loss caused by mining Oak Flat would be like a second Juukan Gorge.
The San Carlos Apache are not a monolith, however, and the community has differing beliefs about the cultural importance of Oak Flat. Tribal members who support the mine or work for Resolution Copper are often cited by non-Native supporters as proof of Apache Stronghold’s supposedly arbitrary defense of Oak Flat. (Apache Stronghold, which is on a prayer journey to petition the Supreme Court, did not return Heatmap’s request for comment.)
Muñoz and his team are specifically worried about how Superior, the town, will make out. U.S. copper smelters are already at capacity, meaning Resolution Copper would likely send much if not all of the raw copper extracted at Oak Flat to China for processing. (Rio Tinto’s largest shareholder is the Aluminum Corporation of China.) The spokesperson for Resolution Copper told me that it’s the company’s priority to process the ore domestically, and Rio Tinto does have its own facility in the U.S., the Kennecott copper smelting facility in Utah. Yet it hasn’t committed publicly to processing the Arizona ore there, and it’s far from clear that it even has the capacity to do so.
For Simon, the University of Michigan professor, that shouldn’t be a deterrent: “If we mine more copper here and it just means we have to export it — who cares?” he pushed back. “If it has to go to China and they smelt it, then you send it to China and they smelt it. Climate is the prize, and if we want to mitigate our impact, we’ve got to do it. There are no ifs, ands, or buts.”
Oak Flat is also located outside of Superior’s town limits, meaning the community would only recoup about $500,000 in tax revenue, on the high end, from the mine annually, according to the 2021 FEIS — Schenek told me the town’s budget is around $3 million, so it’s hardly insignificant, though it is peanuts compared to the $38 million the state would reap. The FEIS additionally estimated that only about a quarter of the mine’s eventual employees would actually “seek to live in or near Superior;” many would choose instead to commute the hour or so from Phoenix’s Maricopa County.
Because of technological advances in mining and robotics, the mine also won’t bring back the physical jobs locals remember from the 1970s — by Resolution Copper’s own admission. Besich, at least, isn’t bothered by this detail: “In all reality, I don’t see my children and their peers wanting to do the manual physical labor that my grandfather, my father, and certainly my great-grandfather did,” she told me. “So the change in technique is good, and I think that it’s actually better for the environment in the long term.” She added that Resolution Copper’s investment in things like local infrastructure and worker training programs will compensate for the comparably insignificant tax revenue the town will otherwise receive, ensuring Superior gets a fair cut of the bonanza.
What supporters and opponents of the mine can agree on is that Superior must avoid the devastation of the 1980s if or when the Oak Flat mine is exhausted in 40 or more years. Besich and Schenck told me their vision is for Superior to be a town with a mine, not a mining town. But is such a thing even possible? In recent years, Superior has tried to position itself as an outdoor recreation gateway to the many climbing routes and hiking trails in the area. Yet I struggle to imagine anyone would want to vacation or recreate so close to a massive mining operation.
Muñoz believes Superior should throw itself entirely into tourism, which brings in three times as much revenue as the copper industry in Arizona. He dismissed arguments that losing the mine this far into negotiations and preparations would set the town back two decades, telling me about a conversation he had with Vicky Peacey, the president of Resolution Copper. “She said, ‘How do I tell my 300-plus employees that they don’t have a job?’” he recalled. “I said, ’The same way BHP told the 3,300 in San Manuel they didn’t have a job. Magma Copper didn’t have a problem telling us we didn’t have a job in ’82.”
Whatever gets decided about Oak Flat will reverberate far beyond Superior, though. “We’ve got to keep our eyes on the prize,” Simon told me. “And if the prize is mitigating human impacts on climate, and that requires the energy transition, and that requires copper, and we have a potential mine in Arizona that would provide 500,000 tons of copper every year for decades — we need to do that.”
At the end of my day in Superior, I went with Muñoz and Delgado, another former miner, to visit the haunted boarding house.
The renovated interior was surprisingly beautiful, decorated with period-appropriate details like iron bed frames, clawfoot bathtubs, and lace curtains that softened the harshness of the mid-afternoon light. Though even the FEIS warns that “mining in Arizona has followed a ‘boom and bust’ cycle, which potentially leads to great economic uncertainty,” it was with a pang that I imagined the building one day falling back into disrepair. It, and the town, had survived too much.
After peeking into Room 103, where Muñoz had passed his tipsy night all those decades ago, we asked the friendly woman working the front desk if she’d had any supernatural experiences herself — surely she’d seen the mattress-flipping phantom, or swinging chandeliers, or perhaps a white-boot miner who’d come down from the hills?
To our disappointment, she shook her head. For now, whatever ghosts there once might have been in Superior had gone.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include comment from
Resolution Copper.
https://heatmap.news/economy/resolution-copper-mine
Pat Gelsinger’s grand plan to reinvent Intel is in jeopardy
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Foundry faces a reckoning
Comment Intel’s fledgling foundry business is in trouble. The division is bleeding billions each quarter and now the chipmaker has revealed that it won’t even manufacture parts on its own long-awaited 20A node.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/intel_foundry_in_jeopardy/
Venezuela says detained US sailor entered ‘without any type of document’
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
Caracas, Venezuela — A U.S. Navy sailor held in Venezuela since late last month was arrested for entering “without any type of document,” the South American country’s attorney general said Thursday.
An American official on Wednesday announced the sailor had been detained at a time of soaring tensions between Washington and Caracas in the aftermath of disputed elections in Venezuela, with the opposition party claiming it can prove were stolen.
In his first comments on the matter, Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab said the sailor “entered without any type of document, without any means of subsistence for what he came to do in the country.”
He said the sailor held dual U.S. and Mexican nationalities.
For its part, the Pentagon said the sailor had been in Venezuela on “personal travel.”
“This wasn’t something that was authorized,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters.
“The U.S. Navy is looking into this. We’re working with the State Department,” she said, adding that: “Of course, we’d like to see the sailor returned home.”
Venezuela was rocked by protests after President Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of a disputed July 28 election, with 25 civilians and two soldiers killed and more than 2,400 people arrested.
The opposition claims it won by a landslide, and the United States, the European Union and several Latin American countries have refused to recognize Maduro’s claimed victory without seeing detailed voting results.
On Monday, Washington seized Maduro’s plane in the Dominican Republic and flew it to Florida, a move the Venezuelan leader condemned as “piracy” but which Washington said was necessary due to sanctions violations.
The following day, Washington denounced an arrest warrant issued for opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia and warned of further action against Maduro.
The U.S. State Department has warned Americans against traveling to Venezuela for reasons including crime, unrest and wrongful detention.
Oak Ridge boffins enlist Quantum Brilliance to make supercomputers sparkle at room temp
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Diamond-based accelerators could help smash science problems
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is working with a company called Quantum Brilliance on the integration of quantum systems and high-performance computing (HPC) to tackle scientific concerns.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/ornl_quantum_brilliance/
To patch this server, we need to get someone drunk
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
When maintenance windows are hard to open, a little lubrication helps
On Call The Register understands consuming alcohol is quite a popular way to wind down from the working week, but each Friday we get the party started early with a new and sober instalment of On Call, the reader contributed column in which you share stories about the emotional hangovers you’ve earned delivering tech support.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/on_call/
SQL king Larry Ellison becomes sequel sultan with controlling interest in Paramount Global
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Oh, great: another tech billionaire owns a media company – although his son probably runs the show
Oracle founder and CTO Larry Ellison has been revealed as holding the controlling interest in US media giant Paramount Global.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/larry_ellison_paramount_global/
Webcurios 06/09/24
date: 2024-09-06, from: Web Curios blog
Reading Time: 36 minutes I went to the seaside last weekend, to visit an old friend of mine who lives there with his partner and child, and who has an allotment, and who is pretty much the least-online person I know, and I looked at his life and thought ‘yeah, ok, fine, leaving aside the kid, I am…jealous?’ For…https://webcurios.co.uk/webcurios-06-09-24/
NASA’s solar sailing spacecraft is tumbling – but that’s part of the plan
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Who needs fuel – or even engines – when you could use the sun to push a spacecraft along?
NASA has announced its experimental ACS3 solar-sailing spacecraft is working as expected, after it was spotted tumbling in the night sky.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/nasa_solar_sail_acs3/
In Haiti, Blinken announces $45 million new aid, calls for renewed security mission mandate
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
Port-au-Prince, Haiti — During a trip to Haiti on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $45 million in new humanitarian aid for the Caribbean nation, which has been wracked by violence for years.
He also called for the renewal of the United Nations mandate for the Multinational Security Support, or MSS, mission to combat the armed gangs that dominate much of the capital.
“At this critical moment, you do need more funding. We do need more personnel to sustain and carry out the objectives of this mission,” Blinken told a news conference on a rare visit to Port-au-Prince.
The top U.S. diplomat said he plans to convene a ministerial meeting at the coming U.N. General Assembly to encourage greater international contributions to address Haiti’s security, economic, and humanitarian needs.
The MSS mandate is set to expire at the beginning of October. U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration is reportedly exploring the possibility of changing the mission into a traditional U.N. peacekeeping operation, a move that would ease funding, provide more equipment and enable use of military forces rather than only police officers.
Blinken said that while the MSS mission itself needs to be renewed, it also needs to ensure that it is “reliable” and “sustainable.”
“A peacekeeping operation would be one such option. I think there are others,” he told reporters on Thursday.
Blinken’s visit to Port-au-Prince underscores U.S. support for Haiti as the country grapples with gang violence.
On Thursday, Blinken met with Edgard Leblanc Fils from Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council.
“Both concurred on the critical need to make timely advancements on election preparations,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
Apart from Fils, Blinken also held talks with Prime Minister Garry Conille, MSS head Godfrey Otunge and Normil Rameau, head of the Haitian National Police.
The United States and Canada are the top funders of the MSS in Haiti. The first-year estimated cost for the mission is $589 million. The U.S. has already provided $309 million — $200 million toward the MSS mission base and $109 million in financial support.
Gang-related violence and drug trafficking have fueled political instability and insecurity in Haiti, leading to unbearable conditions for Haitians.
At least 80% of Port-au-Prince is no longer under Haitian authorities’ control, with violence spreading to other parts of the country.
In the past year, displacement in Haiti has tripled as gang violence grips the Caribbean nation. The U.N. says at least 578,000 people have been displaced because of violence, including murders, kidnappings and rapes.
The situation is further exacerbated by widespread hunger, with nearly half the 11.7 million population facing acute food insecurity.
After Haiti, Blinken arrived in Santo Domingo later Thursday. His visit follows the start of Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader’s second term in mid-August.
The Dominican Republic will host the 2025 Summit of the Americas, where Western Hemisphere leaders will address shared challenges and policy issues facing the region.
VOA’s Liam Scott contributed to this report.
VMware revenue bounces for Broadcom, chips were a little undercooked
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
CEO says market for non-AI silicon has bottomed out
Broadcom’s turnaround plan for VMware appears to be working, as the silicon-and-software-slinger reported 47 percent year on year revenue growth – but also posted a loss.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/broadcom_q3_2024/
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-09-06, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
JD Vance says that school shootings are a 'fact of life.’
https://apnews.com/article/jd-vance-georgia-shooting-7d7727a1aff8491f66914a4d8a14cd8c
Persevering Through the Storm
date: 2024-09-06, from: NASA breaking news
It’s dust-storm season on Mars! Over the past couple of weeks, as we ascended the Jezero Crater rim, our science team has monitored increasing dust in the atmosphere — typically highest around this time of the Martian year.
https://science.nasa.gov/blog/persevering-through-the-storm/
Tribes celebrate removal of dam, revival of community along Klamath River
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
For more than a century, dams have blocked fish migration on California’s second-largest river. VOA’s Matt Dibble takes us to the removal of the last of four dams, a victory for Native Americans who depend on the river.
In Haiti, Blinken pledges $45M in aid, calls for renewal of security mission
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
state department — During a trip to Haiti on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $45 million in new humanitarian aid for the Caribbean nation, which has been wracked by violence for years.
“At this critical moment, you do need more funding. We do need more personnel to sustain and carry out the objectives of this mission,” Blinken told a news conference on a rare visit there.
During the visit, Blinken also called for renewing a U.N. mandate for an international security mission to Haiti to fight armed gangs that control much of the country’s capital.
The mandate, first approved for 12 months, is set to expire at the beginning of October. Blinken said a U.N. peacekeeping mission could help bring a more sustainable peace to Haiti.
“Much remains to be done, and we’re determined to continue,” he said. “It’s starting to move.”
“The Haitian people, not Haitian gangs, will write the country’s future,” Blinken said.
Blinken’s visit to Port-au-Prince underscores U.S. support for Haiti, with additional humanitarian assistance anticipated as the country grapples with gang violence.
On Thursday, Blinken also met with Edgard Leblanc Fils, the head of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council, in Port-au-Prince, a State Department spokesperson said.
“Both concurred on the critical need to make timely advancements on election preparations,” spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
Blinken also will visit the Dominican Republic. His trip to Santo Domingo follows the start of Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader’s second term in mid-August.
A senior State Department official told reporters on Wednesday that the United States is prioritizing efforts with its international partners to set up a structure that ensures “a reliable source of financing and staffing” for a security mission in Haiti.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration is reportedly considering the possibility of transitioning a largely U.S.-funded multinational security force into a traditional U.N. peacekeeping operation.
“A formal PKO [peacekeeping operation] is one of the ways that we could accomplish that, but we’re looking at multiple ways to do that,” said Brian Nichols, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs.
With about a month left in the mandate of the U.N.-ratified, Kenya-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) in Haiti, progress has been limited, and many pledges remain unfulfilled.
“The one-year anniversary of the mission is October 2, and we’re going to work to ensure that it’s poised for success and renewal of its mandate in whatever form that takes,” Nichols told VOA on Wednesday.
Multinational security assists police
Gang-related violence and drug trafficking have fueled political instability and insecurity in Haiti, leading to an unbearable living situation for the Haitian people.
In October 2022, Haiti requested the deployment of an international force to assist the Haitian National Police in combating heavily armed gangs and facilitating humanitarian aid. In October 2023, the U.N. Security Council authorized the MSS.
The United States and Canada are the top funders of the MSS in Haiti. The first-year estimated cost for the mission is $589 million. The U.S. has already provided $309 million — $200 million toward the MSS mission base and $109 million in financial support.
During a visit to Haiti in July, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced an additional $60 million in humanitarian assistance for the Haitian people, along with providing armored vehicles for the national police.
Apart from Fils, Blinken met with MSS head Godfrey Otunge and was also to meet Prime Minister Garry Conille and Normil Rameau, head of the Haitian National Police.
Gang violence grips nation
At least 80% of Port-au-Prince is no longer under the control of the Haitian authorities, with violence spreading to other parts of the country.
In the past year, displacement in Haiti has tripled as gang violence grips the Caribbean nation. The United Nations reports that at least 578,000 people have been displaced due to violence, which includes murders, kidnappings and rapes.
The situation is exacerbated by widespread hunger, with nearly half the 11.7 million population facing acute food insecurity.
Gangs, some aligned with political elites, accumulated their control over territory and illicit markets during the tenure of the unpopular former Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who took office after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021, according to a Congressional Research Service report.
Henry resigned in April 2024 following the formation of a Transitional Presidential Council.
VOA’s Liam Scott contributed to this report.
Father of Georgia school shooting suspect arrested on murder, manslaughter charges
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
WINDER, Ga. — The father of a 14-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting four people at a Georgia high school and wounding nine others was arrested Thursday and faces charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter for allowing his son to possess a weapon, authorities said.
It’s the latest example of prosecutors holding parents responsible for their children’s actions in school shootings. In April, Michigan parents Jennifer and James Crumbley were the first to be convicted in a U.S. mass school shooting. They were sentenced to at least 10 years in prison for not securing a firearm at home and acting indifferently to signs of their son’s deteriorating mental health before he killed four students in 2021.
Colin Gray, 54, the father of Colt Gray, was charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said at a news conference.
“These charges stem from Mr. Gray knowingly allowing his son, Colt, to possess a weapon,” Hosey said. “His charges are directly connected with the actions of his son and allowing him to possess a weapon.”
In Georgia, second-degree murder means that a person has caused the death of another person while committing second-degree cruelty to children. It is punishable by 10 to 30 years in prison. Involuntary manslaughter means that someone unintentionally causes the death of another person.
Authorities have charged 14-year-old Colt Gray as an adult with murder in the shootings Wednesday at Apalachee High School outside Atlanta. Arrest warrants obtained by the AP accuse him of using a semiautomatic assault-style rifle in the attack, which killed two students and two teachers and wounded nine other people.
The teen denied threatening to carry out a school shooting when authorities interviewed him last year about a menacing post on social media, according to a sheriff’s report obtained Thursday.
Conflicting evidence on the post’s origin left investigators unable to arrest anyone, the report said. Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum said she reviewed the report from May 2023 and found nothing that would have justified bringing charges at the time.
“We did all we could do with what we had at the time,” Mangum told The Associated Press in an interview.
When a sheriff’s investigator from neighboring Jackson County interviewed Gray last year, his father said the boy had struggled with his parents’ separation and often got picked on at school. The teen frequently fired guns and hunted with his father.
“He knows the seriousness of weapons and what they can do, and how to use them and not use them,” Colin Gray said according to a transcript obtained from the sheriff’s office.
The teen was interviewed after the sheriff received a tip from the FBI that Colt Gray, then 13, “had possibly threatened to shoot up a middle school tomorrow.” The threat was made on Discord, a social media platform popular with video gamers, according to the sheriff’s office incident report.
The FBI’s tip pointed to a Discord account associated with an email address linked to Colt Gray, the report said. But the boy said “he would never say such a thing, even in a joking manner,” according to the investigator’s report.
The investigator wrote that no arrests were made because of “inconsistent information” on the Discord account, which had profile information in Russian and a digital evidence trail indicating it had been accessed in different Georgia cities as well as Buffalo, New York.
The attack was the latest among dozens of school shootings across the U.S. in recent years, including especially deadly ones in Newtown, Connecticut; Parkland, Florida; and Uvalde, Texas. The classroom killings have set off fervent debates about gun control and frayed the nerves of parents whose children are growing up accustomed to active-shooter drills. But there has been little change to national gun laws.
Classes were canceled Thursday at the Georgia high school, though some people came to leave flowers around the flagpole and kneel in the grass with heads bowed.
Gray was being held Thursday at a regional youth detention facility. His first court appearance was scheduled for Friday morning.
He has been charged in the deaths of students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53, according to Hosey.
At least nine other people — eight students and one teacher at the school in Winder — were wounded and taken to hospitals. All were expected to survive, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said.
It was the 30th mass killing in the U.S. so far this year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University. At least 127 people have died in those killings, which are defined as events in which four or more people die within a 24-hour period, not including the killer — the same definition used by the FBI.
Who is alleged Chinese agent Linda Sun?
date: 2024-09-06, from: VOA News USA
washington — Linda Sun, the Chinese American political aide accused this week of acting as an agent of Beijing, rose rapidly in New York state politics on her way to a job as deputy chief of staff to Governor Kathy Hochul.
She climbed the ladder with stints as public relations director to a Taiwanese American member of Congress and an assignment as the deputy chief diversity officer in the office of the previous governor.
But according to the indictment made public this week, she used her position to tamp down public criticism of China’s treatment of its Uyghur minority and to prevent interactions between Taiwanese government officials and senior New York state officials.
In return, the indictment alleges, Beijing rewarded her with millions of dollars in bribes and business deals.
Sun and her husband, Chris Hu, were arrested Tuesday, accused of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act by illegally acting as agents of the Chinese government. Other charges include visa fraud, alien smuggling and money laundering conspiracy. Hu was also charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and abuse of identification.
Court appearance
The two naturalized U.S. citizens made their first appearance in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn on Tuesday. During the arraignment, they pleaded not guilty and were released on a combined $2 million bail. They are not allowed to travel outside New York, New Hampshire and Maine.
In a statement shared with VOA Mandarin, Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu dismissed the allegations.
“I am not aware of the specific details. But in recent years, the U.S. government and media have frequently hyped up the so-called ‘Chinese agents’ narratives, many of which have later been proven untrue,” he said.
He added that “China requires its citizens overseas to comply with the laws and regulations of the host country, and we firmly oppose the groundless slandering and smearing targeting China.”
Barnard graduate
Sun was born in China in 1983 and moved to the U.S. with her parents at age 5. She is fluent in Chinese.
She got her undergraduate degree in political science from Barnard College in 2006. According to a campus magazine, she first got involved in public service at age 8 by translating forms and filing tax returns for her parents.
She obtained her master’s degree in education from Columbia University in 2009, but her path turned to politics.
In 2008, she met Grace Meng, the U.S. representative for New York’s 6th Congressional District. Meng was campaigning at the time and was said to be impressed by Sun’s energy and initiative.
Sun joined Meng’s campaign as public relations director and then became chief of staff for the Taiwanese American congresswoman.
In 2012, Sun became the director of Asian American Affairs and Queens regional representative in the governor’s office. She also served as the deputy chief diversity officer in former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration from 2018 to 2020 and then was deputy chief of staff to Hochul from 2021 to 2022.
Alleged effort to silence
As a deputy chief diversity officer, she called on ethnic minorities to have a seat at the table through government programs.
However, according to the indictment, Sun sought to silence voices in the U.S. speaking out for China’s Uyghur Muslim minority, whom the Chinese government has long been accused of oppressing. She allegedly had an argument with Hochul’s speechwriter, who had insisted the then-lieutenant governor should mention the Uyghur situation in China in a Lunar New Year speech to the Chinese American community.
The indictment said Sun successfully prevented Taiwanese government officials, including former Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, from interacting with senior New York state officials, while facilitating Chinese delegations’ trips to the U.S. with fraudulent invitation letters.
In return for Sun’s political assistance, the indictment says, the Chinese government financially rewarded her with millions of dollars and aided Hu’s commercial activities in China.
Using the illegal funds, the couple is alleged to have bought a 2024 Ferrari, a $2.1 million apartment in Hawaii and a $3.55 million Long Island single-family home.
Sun and Hu are scheduled to next appear in court on September 25.
Adrianna Zhang and Adam Xu contributed to this report.
https://www.voanews.com/a/who-is-alleged-chinese-agent-linda-sun-/7773589.html
Nvidia and chums inject $160M into Applied Digital to keep GPU sales rolling
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Datacenters are the lifeline for its $30B ML-fueled boom
AI has made GPUs one of the hottest commodities on the planet, driving more than $30 billion in revenues for Nvidia in Q2 alone. But, without datacenters, the chip powerhouse and its customers have nowhere to put all that tech. …
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/nvidia_applied_digital_gpu_funding/
US tightens export controls on quantum kit and chips for China, Iran, Russia
date: 2024-09-06, updated: 2024-09-06, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Alloys make the list too, as allies try to ensure foes can’t weaponise tech
The US has tightened export controls on quantum computing and semiconductor technology to address national defense and foreign policy concerns posed by foes including China, Iran, and Russia.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/us_rolls_out_new_export/
LinkedIn collaborative articles confuse me
date: 2024-09-06, from: Ze Iaso’s blog
Toss an insight to your algorithmic overlords
https://xeiaso.net/notes/2024/linkedin-collaborative-articles/