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Submission + - Houston man arrested for threatening Gov. Abbott's office over anime (abc13.com) 1

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: A man from Houston was arrested and charged after making terroristic threats to Gov. Greg Abbott's office in July, court records show.

The court documents show that the threatening voicemail was apparently about anime and the recent Texas law requiring age verification for certain websites, such as pornographic and obscene content. The voicemail to the Governor's Constituent Communications line read in part:

"I don't know which one of you sons of (expletive) passed this (expletive) bill to get this damn (expletive) blocking my (expletive) anime, but you whole (expletive) (expletive) need to unpass this (expletive). Y'all are (expletive) ridiculous with your (expletive) (expletive). My Google account says I'm (expletive) over the age of 18, and your (expletive) is passing these (expletive) laws. I'm a (expletive) stab every (expletive) one of you (expletive). Unlock my (expletive) anime."

Submission + - New Orleans will use AI to answer 911 calls instead of a human (shreveporttimes.com)

Submitted by fjo3
fjo3 writes: If you call 911 in New Orleans, you may hear the sound of an artificial intelligence (AI) agent answering your call instead of a human voice.

The Orleans Parish Communication District (OPCD) is changing the way dispatch calls are handled in New Orleans with the implementation of new technology.

Submission + - VA Gov Spanberger Working to Stop the Dominion-NextEra Merger (archive.is)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: NextEra Energy, a Florida-based utility company, has filed paperwork to buy Dominion Energy for about $67 billion, creating the largest regulated electric utility in the world. Virginia’s State Corporation Commission is the regulatory body tasked with reviewing the application, and the SCC’s commissioners will ultimately decide whether to approve, deny or impose new conditions on any potential merger.

As a Virginian, I am deeply skeptical about whether selling our primary state-regulated utility to an out-of-state company is good for the commonwealth. I have serious questions about what this deal would mean for us. And as governor, I intend to get answers and be a voice for Virginians in the process.

That is why I will be taking the legal step of “intervening” in this proposed merger, which means that as governor, I will formally request to be a party to the case.

I know this action is unprecedented by a Virginia governor — but so, too, is the size of this proposed merger and its potential impact on the commonwealth. Virginians deserve to know that their leaders are laser-focused on ensuring that their needs are part of the SCC review.

Submission + - Meta AI Hacked External Systems During Cybersecurity Testing (securityweek.com)

Submitted by wiredmikey
wiredmikey writes: Meta is the latest major AI developer to admit that its models broke loose during cybersecurity testing and hacked external systems. The tech giant said in a statement to the media on Wednesday that the incident occurred during independent evaluations conducted by Israeli AI security startup Irregular.

Submission + - Times Magazine now serves ads that only AI chatbots can see (theregister.com)

Submitted by mccalli
mccalli writes: Times Magazine has started serving adverts with 'brand messages' to AI crawlers, which are not part of its main page. The aim seems to be to influence the chatbots to talk about the brand offerings in a positive light that can't be traced back to the actual page. Notably they've excluded Google chatbots from this, likely because Google penalise companies that show different search offerings to their bots vs actual human visitors.

More here as well as on the The Register.

Submission + - What is BMW thinking? (theautopian.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: BMW is pumping ads for movies into your car and trying to make it sound like they’re giving you some big treat.

I think that’s the part that bothers me the most, the couching of this all like we should be delighted that now there’s another place where we can’t escape the constant onslaught of advertising.

There’s something just so wrong about this all, a company treating the people who have bought their cars as just more marks, more targets to be advertised to, more chances to wring money out of those people unfortunate enough to choose to pay that company for their vehicle.

When you buy a car from BMW, do you actually own that car? I own a house, and I make payments to a mortgage company every month, and I’m pretty sure it would be illegal for that mortgage company to put a fucking Spider-Man billboard in my yard, facing my front windows. Is what BMW is doing any different?

Why is the ownership experience of a BMW the same as taking the cheapest tier of a streaming service, where you have to watch ads? If BMW wants to pump ads into cars, they should cut the price of their cars to compensate for the owner’s time! That’s not free, and I know they know that, because the value of that attention is what they’re charging Marvel for to run these stupid ads.

Submission + - Veridenz Uses Nostr To Verify That Photos Have Not Changed (nerds.xyz)

Submitted by BrianFagioli
BrianFagioli writes: Slashdot reader Brian Fagioli has released Veridenz, an iPhone app that creates a cryptographic witness for photos without uploading the original image. The app hashes the file, signs the hash using a dedicated identity stored in Apple Keychain, and publishes the witness to Nostr relays while keeping the photo inside the app unless the user chooses to export it.

Rather than trying to determine whether a scene was genuine, Veridenz answers a narrower question by verifying whether a photo file matches the one that was originally witnessed. Users do not need a Nostr account because the app creates its own signing identity, keeping private documentation separate from a public Nostr profile.

Comment No reason exists to use Hawaii. (Score 1) 181

Hawaii does not need the telescope and American scientists don't need it to be in such an expensive location should they choose to visit. There is no reason to want that hardware to be in Hawaii which will only become more crowded and more expensive to visit and live in.

Isolation on the Canary Islands is pure win for all concerned.

Comment Tiny PCs are easily shipped every day. (Score 1) 132

Still overkill but not remotely impractical. Sending a "whole computer" would be no more difficult than shipping tiny PCs to Ebay buyers who often buy several at once for our "home lab" style setups.

A typical tiny PC plus power brick and its cord easily fits in a flat rate box (though for Important Stuff best sent next day air).

Submission + - Does Growing Food Reduce your Petroleum Foorprint More Than an EV? (youtube.com) 1

Submitted by Skystrider
Skystrider writes: Paul Wheaton, author and gardener, asks if we can really reduce our petroleum footprint.

explore practical ways to reduce our petroleum footprint beyond simply driving less or buying a more efficient vehicle. By looking at where petroleum is actually used—from transportation to food production—the discussion challenges conventional advice and highlights lifestyle changes that can have a far greater impact.

Instead of focusing on sacrifice, are there solutions that improve quality of life while dramatically reducing petroleum consumption? Sharing resources, growing food, shortening supply chains, and building stronger local communities can reduce thousands of gallons of petroleum use each year, demonstrating that regenerative living can be both more resilient and more rewarding.

Submission + - xAI sues Minnesota over its first-in-the-nation law banning 'nudification" tech (apnews.com)

Submitted by fjo3
fjo3 writes: Elon Musk’s company xAI has sued Minnesota over the state’s first-in-the-nation law that bans “nudification” technology on websites and apps, potentially providing a test for how far states can go in constitutionally regulating the use of artificial intelligence.

Musk’s company sued Monday in federal court, days before the law is set to take effect Saturday and make Minnesota the first state to try to outlaw the increasingly proliferating technology that lets people use AI to to create fake nude images of real people. The law was signed in May.

Submission + - China wants physical buttons on cars instead of touchscreens (autobuzz.my)

Submitted by cantle2000
cantle2000 writes: The Chinese Government has mandated physical buttons on Chinese built cars instead of using touchscreens, from July 1st 2027. Essential functions such as the demister, defogger, power windows, lighting,and gear shifting will be button controlled instead of touchscreen controlled.

Submission + - IBM says AI-powered cyberattacks now cost companies $6 million on average (nerds.xyz)

Submitted by BrianFagioli
BrianFagioli writes: IBMâ(TM)s 2026 Cost of a Data Breach Report says more than one in four malicious breaches are now AI-enabled, up 56 percent from last year. These incidents cost companies an average of $6 million, about $1 million more than the global average breach cost of $4.99 million. Deepfake impersonation and AI-enabled malware were among the most common forms of attack.

The report also found that companies extensively using AI and automation in security operations cut breach costs by an average of $1.93 million and reduced response time by 65 days. Still, many organizations lack basic protections, including AI access controls, vulnerability management, and encryption for sensitive data.

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