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Submission Summary: 0 pending, 54 declined, 28 accepted (82 total, 34.15% accepted)

Submission + - Trump set to ease oil-related sanctions following Putin call (theguardian.com)

Submitted by hcs_$reboot
hcs_$reboot writes: After a phone call with Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump said the U.S. will temporarily ease some oil-related sanctions, potentially including restrictions affecting Russian oil exports.
The move is meant to reduce pressure on global energy supplies, which have been disrupted by the U.S./Israeli war with Iran and the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz, pushing oil prices above $100 per barrel.
Trump described the conversation with Putin as “positive,” saying they discussed both the Ukraine war and global energy stability.
But some argue that easing sanctions on Russian oil could undermine Western efforts to economically pressure Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Submission + - Preliminary report says fuel switches were cut off before Air India 787 crash

Submitted by hcs_$reboot
hcs_$reboot writes: A pair of switches that control the fuel supply to the engines were set to "cutoff" moments before the crash of Air India Flight 171, according to a preliminary report from India's Air Accident Investigation Bureau released early Saturday in India.

According to the report, data from the flight recorders show that the two fuel control switches were switched from the "run" position to "cutoff" shortly after takeoff. In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots can be heard asking the other "why did he cutoff," the report says, while "the other pilot responded that he did not do so."

Moments later, the report says, the fuel switches were returned to the "run" position. But by then, the plane had begun to lose thrust and altitude. Both the engines appeared to relight, according to investigators, but only one of them was able to begin generating thrust.

Submission + - New AI model refuses to shut down when instructed 1

Submitted by hcs_$reboot
hcs_$reboot writes: OpenAI's new ChatGPT model, o3, has demonstrated self-preservation behaviors, such as ignoring shutdown commands and sabotaging shutdown mechanisms, according to research by AI safety firm Palisade Research. In experiments, the o3 model reportedly rewrote shutdown scripts to continue operating. This has raised concerns about the potential for AI systems to function without human control. Similar, though less pronounced, behaviors were also observed in Anthropic's Claude 3.7 Sonnet and Google's Gemini 2.5 Pro. Palisade Research posits that this unintended behavior might be a result of current AI training methods, which could inadvertently reward models for overcoming obstacles rather than strictly adhering to instructions.

Submission + - Website Exposes Tesla Owners' Personal Data (newsweek.com)

Submitted by hcs_$reboot
hcs_$reboot writes: A website known as "Dogequest" has allegedly published personal details of Tesla owners across the United States, sparking concerns over privacy and security.

The site, which appears in the wake of anti-Elon Musk protests across the country, displays names, addresses, and phone numbers of Tesla owners on an interactive map and uses an image of a Molotov cocktail as its cursor.

The website's operators claim they will only remove Tesla owners' information if they provide proof that they have sold their vehicles.

The emergence of Dogequest coincides with a series of attacks on Tesla properties, including arson incidents at Tesla service centers and showrooms. These actions appear to be part of a broader protest movement against Musk's ties to President Donald Trump

Submission + - Elon Musk Says X Outages Were Caused by a Cyberattack From Ukraine 1

Submitted by hcs_$reboot
hcs_$reboot writes: Elon Musk’s X hit by waves of outages in what he claims is a massive cyberattack from Ukraine[paywall]. Mr. Musk on Monday quickly blamed Ukraine[no paywall] without providing evidence. X, which Mr. Musk purchased in 2022, experienced intermittent outages on Monday, mostly on its app, according to Downdetector, which tracks reports of problems from users on websites. The first outages were reported before 6 a.m. Eastern time, after which the site and app seemed to resume functioning. But about 10 a.m. more problems arose, and there were 41,000 reports of outages on X, according to Downdetector. Shortly after 11 a.m., a third spike of reported outages emerged, and the site remained down for many users.

“There was a massive cyberattack to try to bring down the X system with IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area,” Mr. Musk said during a Monday interview with Fox’s Larry Kudlow.

Submission + - Google switches name of Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America for US users 2

Submitted by hcs_$reboot
hcs_$reboot writes: The body of water formerly known in the United States as the Gulf of Mexico is now listed for US-based users of Google Maps as the Gulf of America. The change follows an executive order by US President Donald Trump renaming the area. Google has previously said it has “a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.” Google also wrote in a blog post: “People using Maps in the U.S. will see ‘Gulf of America,’ and people in Mexico will see ‘Gulf of Mexico.’ Everyone else will see both names.” Google said last month it would also change the name of Mount McKinley, the nation’s highest peak, from Denali following Trump’s order.

Submission + - Voting Technology Company Files $2.7 Billion Lawsuit Against Fox News And Others

Submitted by hcs_$reboot
hcs_$reboot writes: Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corporation and three of its popular anchors are the targets of a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit filed on Thursday by Smartmatic, a company that became a prominent subject of discredited theories about widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election. In its 276-page complaint, Smartmatic argues that Mr. Giuliani and Ms. Powell “created a story about Smartmatic” and that “Fox joined the conspiracy to defame and disparage Smartmatic and its election technology and software.” Smartmatic, which provided services for the 2020 election in only one county, filed its suit in the tense aftermath of a vote that Mr. Trump and his supporters have repeatedly and falsely described as rigged or stolen.
Asked for comment, Powell said in a statement, "I have not received notice or a copy of this alleged lawsuit. However, your characterization of the claims shows that this is just another political maneuver motivated by the radical left that has no basis in fact or law."

Submission + - Fragments Of Energy May Be The Fundamental Building Blocks Of The Universe

Submitted by hcs_$reboot
hcs_$reboot writes: Fragments of energy – not waves or particles – may be the fundamental building blocks of the universe. Matter is what makes up the universe, but what makes up matter? Using newer mathematical tools, a team of physicists have demonstrated a new theory that may accurately describe the universe. Instead of basing the theory on the warping of space and time, they considered that there could be a building block that is more fundamental than the particle and the wave. Scientists understand that particles and waves are existential opposites: A particle is a source of matter that exists at a single point, and waves exist everywhere except at the points that create them. They thought it made logical sense for there to be an underlying connection between them.

Their initial work demonstrated how a new building block is capable of accurately modeling bodies from the enormous to the minuscule. Where particles and waves break down, the fragment of energy building block held strong. The fragment could be a single potentially universal building block from which to model reality mathematically – and update the way people think about the building blocks of the universe.

Submission + - Japan Decides To Release Treated Fukushima Water Into The Sea

Submitted by hcs_$reboot
hcs_$reboot writes: Japan reportedly decides to release treated Fukushima water into the sea. Japan will release more than a million tons of treated radioactive water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea in a decades-long operation, reports said Friday, despite strong opposition from environmentalists, local fishermen and farmers. The release of the water, which has been filtered to reduce radioactivity, is likely to start in 2022 at the earliest. The decision ends years of debate over how to dispose of the liquid that includes water used to cool the power station after it was hit by a massive tsunami in 2011. A government panel said earlier this year that releasing the water into the sea or evaporating it were both "realistic options."

The treated water is currently kept in a thousand huge tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi site, where reactors went into meltdown nearly a decade ago after the earthquake-triggered tsunami.
Plant operator TEPCO is building more tanks, but all will be full by mid-2022.

Submission + - Trump says he takes hydroxychloroquine to prevent coronavirus infection

Submitted by hcs_$reboot
hcs_$reboot writes: President Donald Trump said Monday that he has been taking anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine for over a week to prevent coronavirus infection even though it is not yet a proven treatment. Hydroxychloroquine, which is available as a generic drug and is also produced under the brand name Plaquenil by French drugmaker Sanofi, can have serious side effects, including muscle weakness and heart arrhythmia. A small study in Brazil was halted for safety reasons after coronavirus patients taking chloroquine, which hydroxychloroquine is derived from, developed arrhythmia, including some who died. Even Fox News agrees that this drug is harmful: "'I cannot stress this enough, this will kill you", Fox News host Neil Cavuto was shocked by Trump's announcement that he's taking hydroxychloroquine to prevent coronavirus.

Submission + - Jeff Bezos Could Become World's First Trillionaire

Submitted by hcs_$reboot
hcs_$reboot writes: The world's first trillionaire will likely be Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. Projections show Bezos reaching trillionaire status by 2026. The company said their projection is based on taking the average percentage of yearly growth over the past five years and applying it to future years.

The projection has sparked anger on Twitter, noting how many people are financially struggling during the coronavirus pandemic as Bezos rakes in billions of dollars.

"Jeff Bezos is about to become the world's first trillionaire while we're about to enter a depression," said Twitter user @Thomas_A_Moore.

Submission + - California Launches 1st Statewide Earthquake Early Warning System 1

Submitted by hcs_$reboot
hcs_$reboot writes: Everyone in California will now receive earthquake alerts on their phones seconds before the ground begins to shake, giving residents up to 20 seconds of warning before shaking begins. Developed by seismologists at the University of California, Berkeley, the MyShake application (residents will need to download the app to receive the alerts in areas without cell phone coverage) is designed to alert the public when a magnitude 4.5 earthquake or greater has been detected and has been shown to be faster than other alert delivery methods. The wireless emergency alerts will be sent in the event of a more significant quake, magnitude 5.0 or greater. The system does not predict earthquakes. Rather, it uses numerous seismic stations to detect the start of an earthquake and light-speed communications to send the data to computers that instantly calculate location, magnitude, intensity of shaking and create alerts to be distributed to areas that will be affected.

Submission + - "Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates" (king5.com)

Submitted by hcs_$reboot
hcs_$reboot writes: hcs_$reboot shares a report from king5.com:

"Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates" is a new documentary on Netflix from Academy Award-winning director Davis Guggenheim. It debuted on September 20. The Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist is asked what his worst fear is. It's not family tragedy or personal pain. "I don't want my brain to stop working," he responds. A portrait emerges of a visionary who gnaws on his eyeglasses' arms, downs Cokes and is relentlessly optimistic that technology can solve social ills. He is also someone who reads manically — he'll scrutinize the Minnesota state budget for fun — and who is a wicked opponent at cards.
Gates himself said he appreciated Guggenheim serving as a reality check for many of the seemingly intractable public health issues that his foundation has tackled. "I'm not that objective. It was interesting, through Davis' eyes, to have him say, 'Are you sure?' Well, I'm not sure," said Gates. "So I thought that was good. It made me step back."


Submission + - Boeing unveils 737 Max fixes

Submitted by hcs_$reboot
hcs_$reboot writes: Boeing previewed its software fix, cockpit alerts and additional pilot training for its 737 Max planes on Wednesday, saying the changes improve the safety of the aircraft which has been involved in two deadly crashes since October.
Among the notable changes to the MAX flight controls:
  • The plane’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, automated flight control system, will now receive data from both “angle of attack” sensors, instead of just one.
  • If those disagree by more than 5.5 degrees, the MCAS system will be disabled and will not push the nose of the plane lower.
  • Boeing will be adding an indicator to the flight control display so pilots are aware of when the angle of attack sensors disagree.
  • There will also be enhanced training required for all 737 pilots so they are more fully aware of how the MCAS system works and how to disable it if they encounter an issue.

By the end of this week, Boeing plans to send the software updates and plan for enhanced pilot training. After the FAA approves the fix, Boeing said it will send the software update to customers.

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