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Submission + - Pneumonic plague outbreak hits Siberia as lab worker, 28, dies (hotair.com)

Submitted by schwit1
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...

Submission + - SpaceX Set To Receive $84.5 Billion From Anthropic In AI Capacity Payments (wccftech.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
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)

Submitted by schwit1
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.

Submission + - China broadens travel curbs to encompass family of top AI talent. (business-standard.com)

Submitted by schwit1
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.

Submission + - Inside Britain's Infrastructure Of Information Control (dailywire.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
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.

Submission + - US appeals court upholds Pentagon's supply chain risk label on Anthropic (cnbc.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes:
  • A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., upheld the Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic.
  • The DoW labeled Anthropic a supply chain risk in March, and Anthropic sued the Trump administration in an effort to undo that action.
  • The designation prevents the U.S. military from using Anthropic’s models and blocks defense contractors from using them in their work with the agency.
  • “We remain confident in our position and are considering all options, including further review,” an Anthropic spokesperson said in a statement.

Submission + - New UK PM to set up 'Ministry of Truth,' sparking free speech row (telegraph.co.uk)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Fears were mounting on Wednesday that Labour would use a new disinformation unit, dubbed a 'Ministry of Truth' by critics, to 'silence dissent' amongst Britons criticising the Government.

This comes after the PM revealed plans for a 'National Centre for Information Defence' to tackle online disinformation at a United Nations (UN) gathering on Tuesday.

Silkie Carlo, the director of civil liberties group Big Brother Watch claimed that similar Government units have led to free speech being curtailed in Britain.

In a statement, she said: 'We have already seen the mantle of countering 'disinformation' being abused by our Government in attempts to malign and silence dissent.'

Submission + - Trump signs trilateral security agreement with Denmark and Greenland (apnews.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The announced terms include: a larger U.S. military presence and a build permit; a ban on non-NATO bases or military presence; full flyover rights; continued effect after a future Greenlandic independence; and a U.S. approval right over sensitive Russian or Chinese investments.

Submission + - Samsung to invest up to $100 million in Oak Ridge nuclear plant (wate.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: “Kairos broke ground on the Hermes 2 plant in April. It is the first power-producing Generation IV reactor to get a United States construction permit. In August, Kairos announced a deal with Google and the Tennessee Valley Authority as well as plans to train East Tennesseans to join the nuclear workforce.”

Submission + - The 'Anti-AI' Panic Is Led by...AI Companies (hotair.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: What we are seeing is a massive, pretty obviously coordinated campaign by AI researchers, companies, NGOs, and politicians to strangle competition in an industry and, as I will show, save the financial bacon of the top AI companies that are vastly overextended financially because they have made contractual commitments that they simply have no prospect of paying for.

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