Comment Maybe the agents ought to unionize (Score 1) 145
Some crafty lawyer will try.
Submission + - Vance suspends Microsoft, others from foreign workers applying for green cards, (foxbusiness.com)
Kingduck writes: Vice President JD Vance and Labor Department officials announced Thursday that the Trump administration is suspending Microsoft, Adobe and others from a key employment-based, green-card program, accusing major tech firms and outsourcing companies of abusing the visa system at the expense of American workers.
Submission + - After 9 years of waiting - Will Tesla roadster live up to the hype? (wsj.com)
schwit1 writes: The new Roadster, a sequel to Tesla’s first car, was first unveiled in November 2017. Tesla has accepted reservations for the sports car off and on since, with hopeful owners paying at least $50,000, and sometimes much more, to get on the wait list.
Tesla originally said production would begin in 2020. That didn’t happen.
Tesla is now moving forward with what is likely to be its most expensive model in company history even as its core auto business has taken a back seat. Musk has said that the new Roadster will be the final human-driven vehicle that Tesla ever produces because the company’s future lies in autonomy, artificial intelligence and robotics. The automaker didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Bringing an ultracostly, niche vehicle to market could improve the company’s cash flow while longer-term bets, like humanoid robotics, might take a while to pay off, said Jon McNeill, a former Tesla president.
“I think Ferrari proves the point that you can make a lot of money in the automotive business at low volumes, at a high price point,” McNeill said.
Musk in 2017 said the car would be able to go from zero to 60 miles an hour in 1.9 seconds, top 250 miles an hour and drive up to 620 miles on a full charge. He upped the ante in 2024 by saying that the Roadster would hit 60 mph from zero in less than one second. “And that is the least interesting part,” he said.
Tesla originally said production would begin in 2020. That didn’t happen.
Tesla is now moving forward with what is likely to be its most expensive model in company history even as its core auto business has taken a back seat. Musk has said that the new Roadster will be the final human-driven vehicle that Tesla ever produces because the company’s future lies in autonomy, artificial intelligence and robotics. The automaker didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Bringing an ultracostly, niche vehicle to market could improve the company’s cash flow while longer-term bets, like humanoid robotics, might take a while to pay off, said Jon McNeill, a former Tesla president.
“I think Ferrari proves the point that you can make a lot of money in the automotive business at low volumes, at a high price point,” McNeill said.
Musk in 2017 said the car would be able to go from zero to 60 miles an hour in 1.9 seconds, top 250 miles an hour and drive up to 620 miles on a full charge. He upped the ante in 2024 by saying that the Roadster would hit 60 mph from zero in less than one second. “And that is the least interesting part,” he said.
Comment Countries that do not change clocks use ST (Score 3, Informative) 268
Even though some regions or countries stay on a shifted time offset year-round (which might look or feel like being "ahead" like daylight saving time), standard time is legally and geographically considered the baseline time zone for those areas. They simply choose not to participate in the biannual clock adjustments.
Countries & Regions That Do Not Change Clocks
Most of Asia: This includes major industrialized nations like China, India, Japan, and South Korea, as well as most of Southeast and Central Asia.
Most of Africa: Almost the entire African continent stays on a single standard time year-round.
Parts of the Middle East: While countries like Iran and formerly parts of the Levant have experimented with it, places like Turkey and several neighbors maintain fixed times.
Parts of Europe: Iceland, Belarus, Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan do not practice seasonal time changes. (The European Union has debated abolishing the practice entirely, but member states still currently shift together).
Much of South and Central America: Countries like Argentina, Brazil (which abandoned nationwide DST a few years ago), and most of their neighbors remain on permanent standard time.
Submission + - Wisconsin U–Madison Prof Francis Halzen named 2026 Nobel laureate in physi (wisc.edu)
schwit1 writes: Halzen is the principal investigator of the NSF IceCube Neutrino Observatory, the world’s largest — and perhaps strangest — telescope. The U.S. National Science Foundation-funded observatory is operated by an international collaboration of scientists led by the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center based at UW–Madison.
Embedded in a cubic kilometer of Antarctic ice, IceCube uses thousands of light sensors to survey the universe for neutrinos, nearly massless particles that rarely interact with other matter. Neutrinos provide information about the workings of black holes, galaxies and other objects in the cosmos.
“IceCube is like no other telescope in the world,” says UW–Madison interim Chancellor Eric M. Wilcots. “And there is no other scientist quite like Francis Halzen, whose idea to create a neutrino detector under almost a mile of ice has led to a remarkable multinational and multi-institutional scientific collaboration and a fundamental shift in how we think about the universe.”
Embedded in a cubic kilometer of Antarctic ice, IceCube uses thousands of light sensors to survey the universe for neutrinos, nearly massless particles that rarely interact with other matter. Neutrinos provide information about the workings of black holes, galaxies and other objects in the cosmos.
“IceCube is like no other telescope in the world,” says UW–Madison interim Chancellor Eric M. Wilcots. “And there is no other scientist quite like Francis Halzen, whose idea to create a neutrino detector under almost a mile of ice has led to a remarkable multinational and multi-institutional scientific collaboration and a fundamental shift in how we think about the universe.”
Comment Re:impressive progress (Score 2) 50
In the same week, SpaceX launched every rocket in their lineup, 3 different vehicles, from 4 different pads, in 3 different states.
They also lifted basically every “category” of payload. Starlink, Crew, Commercial, and Military.
Submission + - Pneumonic plague outbreak hits Siberia as lab worker, 28, dies (hotair.com)
schwit1 writes: A suspected plague outbreak has erupted in Russia — killing a young lab worker, forcing nearly 200 people into isolation and triggering accusations that Vladimir Putin’s regime is trying to keep the infection’s possible spread under wraps.
The alarm was raised in Siberia after a worker at an anti-plague laboratory died of the disease, which killed tens of millions in the medieval Black Death, according to a report from The Moscow Times.
Anna Popova, who heads Russia’s public-health watchdog, then rushed 2,600 miles from Moscow to the Irkutsk region as authorities quarantined a hospital and placed scores of people who had come into contact with the victim under medical observation.
"FSB units accompanying ambulances transporting people who had been in contact with [lab tech] Shipilova for medical examination," as per local news. This is significant. FSB is Russia's domestic security / counterintelligence service, tasked w/implementing the national security of Russia." (Its predecessor was the KGB). This suggests quarantine was not voluntary.
It also means Russian authorities are treating the lab accident and plague outbreak as a national security issue, involving a lot more than routine public health.
https://x.com/AnnieJacobsen/st...
The alarm was raised in Siberia after a worker at an anti-plague laboratory died of the disease, which killed tens of millions in the medieval Black Death, according to a report from The Moscow Times.
Anna Popova, who heads Russia’s public-health watchdog, then rushed 2,600 miles from Moscow to the Irkutsk region as authorities quarantined a hospital and placed scores of people who had come into contact with the victim under medical observation.
"FSB units accompanying ambulances transporting people who had been in contact with [lab tech] Shipilova for medical examination," as per local news. This is significant. FSB is Russia's domestic security / counterintelligence service, tasked w/implementing the national security of Russia." (Its predecessor was the KGB). This suggests quarantine was not voluntary.
It also means Russian authorities are treating the lab accident and plague outbreak as a national security issue, involving a lot more than routine public health.
https://x.com/AnnieJacobsen/st...
Comment Other exceptions? (Score 1) 55
Maybe an exception for pay parking garages as they've become huge users of ALPRs. It's far more efficient than barcoded slips of paper used to use to check in and out.
Without exceptions like this the lobbyists will kill the bill.
Submission + - SpaceX Set To Receive $84.5 Billion From Anthropic In AI Capacity Payments (wccftech.com)
An anonymous reader writes: With AI giant Anthropic gearing up for its IPO, the firm has entered into agreements worth billions of dollars with SpaceX, according to documents viewed by Reuters. The revelation casts more light on both companies, following SpaceX's SEC disclosures following its IPO and the nature of the contracts which allow Anthropic to cancel the agreements with a three-month notice. The deals come as Elon Musk aggressively expands his data center capacity to bring more than a million GPUs online by the end of this year.
Submission + - California scientist emerges as possible Tylenol murders suspect (sfgate.com)
schwit1 writes: A man found dead in a church halfway across the country may have suddenly unlocked the key — quite literally — to one of America’s most famous unsolved crimes.
But although he had a successful career, working at one point for Lockheed Martin on a NASA-related project in New Mexico, Betkouski had a reputation for making unsettling comments. Former coworkers told Cooper that Betkouski spoke of how to commit a “perfect crime,” had a “history of volatility" and referenced cyanide as an ideal way to kill without detection. He also mentioned putting poison in over-the-counter medication, an especially worrisome comment coming from someone who had worked in multiple drugstores.
“It was said that Dr. Betkouski attempted to obtain some type of pills or capsules from a pharmacy in the Las Cruces area,” Cooper said at a press conference last week. “He said this would be for an experiment. For reasons not fully understood, Dr. Betkouski created a disturbance at the location and the police were summoned.”
Less than three months before Betkouski killed himself, a national terror was unfolding in Chicago. In late September 1982, seven people took over-the-counter Tylenol for their usual aches and pains. The capsules had been opened and filled with potassium cyanide, killing the people who took them.
But although he had a successful career, working at one point for Lockheed Martin on a NASA-related project in New Mexico, Betkouski had a reputation for making unsettling comments. Former coworkers told Cooper that Betkouski spoke of how to commit a “perfect crime,” had a “history of volatility" and referenced cyanide as an ideal way to kill without detection. He also mentioned putting poison in over-the-counter medication, an especially worrisome comment coming from someone who had worked in multiple drugstores.
“It was said that Dr. Betkouski attempted to obtain some type of pills or capsules from a pharmacy in the Las Cruces area,” Cooper said at a press conference last week. “He said this would be for an experiment. For reasons not fully understood, Dr. Betkouski created a disturbance at the location and the police were summoned.”
Less than three months before Betkouski killed himself, a national terror was unfolding in Chicago. In late September 1982, seven people took over-the-counter Tylenol for their usual aches and pains. The capsules had been opened and filled with potassium cyanide, killing the people who took them.
Comment Re:First Amendment (Score 1) 131
The first amendment doesn't protect pyramid schemes, or robbing liquor stores.
Or, more to the point, bribery of public officials.
Sure it does, when it's called a campaign contribution.
Submission + - China broadens travel curbs to encompass family of top AI talent. (business-standard.com)
schwit1 writes: That marks a broadening of existing curbs on the freedom of movement of China’s most influential tech talent — a category that encompasses entrepreneurs, researchers and executives. While not an outright ban on travel, the new requirement is likely to exert a further chilling effect on a tech sector already facing unprecedented curbs. China has restricted foreign travel for top AI professionals in private firms such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and DeepSeek since earlier this year, Bloomberg News reported in May, reflecting Beijing’s determination to safeguard its technology as it makes big strides in AI and chipmaking.
It’s unclear whether all those people’s families need to follow the new strictures, the people said. China is also separately implementing rules, which became effective Sept 15, for enforcing exit bans in cases ranging from criminal investigations to potential violations of the country’s industrial and technological security.
Beijing’s plan is to add relevant individuals to the list as time goes by, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a sensitive issue. Government departments have already notified several people of the need to clear family travel, two of the people said.
It’s unclear whether all those people’s families need to follow the new strictures, the people said. China is also separately implementing rules, which became effective Sept 15, for enforcing exit bans in cases ranging from criminal investigations to potential violations of the country’s industrial and technological security.
Beijing’s plan is to add relevant individuals to the list as time goes by, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a sensitive issue. Government departments have already notified several people of the need to clear family travel, two of the people said.
Submission + - Rochester General Hospital hired 82 resident doctors. 80 are on H-1B or J-1 visa (x.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Only 2 are Americans.
98% of the residency slots went to visa workers- mostly from countries with documented USMLE cheating.
98% of the residency slots went to visa workers- mostly from countries with documented USMLE cheating.
Submission + - Inside Britain's Infrastructure Of Information Control (dailywire.com)
An anonymous reader writes: The term “Orwellian” is not supposed to be a compliment. But far too often in the modern world, governments behave as if George Orwell’s warnings against totalitarianism, notably in “1984” and “Animal Farm,” are instruction manuals for governance.
On September 22, Britain’s new (and unelected) Prime Minister Andy Burnham took to the stage at the U.N. and announced a new “National Centre for Information Defence” to “detect, attribute, and disrupt” hostile state information attacks.
But this announcement is so pernicious because there is actually some merit in highlighting the kind of information warfare that is being waged against Western populations. But none of us can trust our own governments, given their recent track records, to have such power over information.
On September 22, Britain’s new (and unelected) Prime Minister Andy Burnham took to the stage at the U.N. and announced a new “National Centre for Information Defence” to “detect, attribute, and disrupt” hostile state information attacks.
But this announcement is so pernicious because there is actually some merit in highlighting the kind of information warfare that is being waged against Western populations. But none of us can trust our own governments, given their recent track records, to have such power over information.
Comment Re:Waste of a keyboard key... (Score 1) 68
Powertoys lets you map it to any AI URL or other URL.
