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Submission + - Trump Secures Huge Trade Deal With European Union (pjmedia.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The numbers speak for themselves. The European Union will purchase a staggering $750 billion in American energy, severing its reliance on Russian resources and undermining Vladimir Putin’s economic leverage. The EU will put another $600 billion in new investment into the U.S. economy, a torrent of capital poised to create jobs, invigorate industries, and cement America’s manufacturing revival. And Trump forced open European markets with a simple, powerful stroke: zero tariffs on trade, with a uniform 15 percent tariff for automobiles and other imports, ending years of lopsided trade that favored the EU.

Submission + - More than 20% of NASA's workforce requests to leave agency (behindtheblack.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The number of NASA employees that have accepted the Trump offer to leave has now grown to more than 4,000 people, reducing the entire workforce from 18,000 to 14,000.

Nearly 4,000 employees, or more than 20% of NASA’s workforce, have applied to leave the agency, NASA confirmed to CBS News Friday. About 3,870 employees have applied to depart NASA over two rounds through the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program, NASA disclosed. The deadline for applications to the program is midnight Friday.

With those deferred resignations, NASA’s civil servant workforce would shrink from about 18,000 to 14,000 personnel. This figure also includes about 500 employees who were lost through normal attrition, the agency said.

It is certain that while Trump is office these workers will not be replaced. While most of the press and pro-government activists will claim this is terrible news, it is actually the best thing that can happen. Since NASA is now trying to use the capitalism model across the board, it doesn’t need that many employees. It is hiring the private sector to do most of its work. It doesn’t take that many people to review and issue a contract.

So, even if Congress rejects Trump’s proposed 24% cut to NASA’s 2026 budget and funds it entirely at the same levels as in 2025, the money will be more effectively used.

Submission + - Britain: 'Shut Up,' the Government Explained. (nationalreview.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes:

An elite team of police officers is to monitor social media for anti-migrant sentiment amid fears of summer riots.

Detectives will be drawn from forces across the country to take part in a new investigations unit that will flag up early signs of potential civil unrest.

The division, assembled by the Home Office, will aim to “maximise social media intelligence” gathering after police forces were criticised over their response to last year’s riots.

It comes amid growing concern that Britain is facing another summer of disorder, as protests outside asylum hotels spread.

On Saturday, crowds gathered in towns and cities including Norwich, Leeds and Bournemouth to demand action, with more protests planned for Sunday.

Comment The federal reserve needs a serious haircut? (Score 0) 70

As of the most recent data from 2023 and early 2025, the Federal Reserve System employs approximately 23,900 to 24,000 people across its entire system.
- Perplexity

They regulate banks and the money supply. Do they really need 24k people to do that? Is the fed still needed and at this size?

BTW, their regulation of banks, specifically online bank security sucks. No US financial institution should still be using SMS or phone calls for 2FA.

Submission + - Ring's flying 'spy drone' that monitors your home in the AIR 'coming soon' (the-sun.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: Ring’s flying ‘spy drone’ that monitors your home in the AIR ‘coming soon’ – it stalks burglars & even recharges itself

The drone flies automatically around the home, with some obstacle avoidance technology so that it doesn't crash into ceiling light or precious vase

It can also only fly one floor at a time, and has a limited flight time of just five minutes on a single charge

The idea is to scrap multiple plug in cameras around the home and have just one patrolling drone available

Submission + - Kill Russian soldiers, win points: Is Ukraine's new drone scheme gamifying war? (bbc.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: The images come in every day. Thousands of them.

Men and equipment being hunted down along Ukraine's long, contested front lines. Everything filmed, logged and counted.

And now put to use too, as the Ukrainian military tries to extract every advantage it can against its much more powerful opponent.

Under a scheme first trialled last year and dubbed "Army of Drones: Bonus" (also known as "e-points"), units can earn points for each Russian soldier killed or piece of equipment destroyed.

And like a killstreak in Call of Duty, or a 1970s TV game show, points mean prizes.

"The more strategically important and large-scale the target, the more points a unit receives," reads a statement from the team at Brave 1, which brings together experts from government and the military.

"For example, destroying an enemy multiple rocket launch system earns up to 50 points; 40 points are awarded for a destroyed tank and 20 for a damaged one."

Call it the gamification of war.

Submission + - Russia: Commercial satellite providing help to the Ukraine are now targets (behindtheblack.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: Russia this week informed regulators at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) that it now considers all European and American private satellite constellations "legitimate targets to be destroyed" if they provide any help to the Ukraine.

Russia tells ITU that GPS/Galileo/GNSS nav commercial broadcast sats helping Ukraine militarily should expect interference. Same for EutelsatGroup, OneWeb, Starlink constellations, which Russia has said are 'legitimate targets to be destroyed.

There is more at the full article, but that is behind a subscription paywall.

Russia's announcement here is probably in response to Trump's more bellicose statements recently about Putin and Russia.

I suspect Russia will begin by trying to jam these constellations. Let us hope it does not go farther than that.

Submission + - SPAM: Trump Ends Boondoggle on Rails

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: With an initial budget of $33 billion, the California High-Speed Rail Authority left the train station. Fifteen years down the track, that budget tripled. Two years later, those numbers became abstract. Depending on whom you ask, estimates ranged from $106 billion to $130 billion. There wasn't a concrete endpoint, literally or figuratively.
Link to Original Source

Submission + - Satellite companies SES and Intelsat complete their merger (ses.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: The Luxembourg-based satellite company SES has now completed its acquisition of the European-based satellite company Intelsat, giving the combined company 120 active satellites in a variety of low and high Earth orbits.

With a world-class network including approximately 90 geostationary (GEO), nearly 30 medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites, strategic access to low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, and an extensive ground network, SES can now deliver connectivity solutions utilising complementary spectrum bands including C-, Ku-, Ka-, Military Ka-, X-band, and Ultra High Frequency. The expanded capabilities of the combined company will enable it to deliver premium-quality services and tailored solutions to its customers. The company's assets and networks, once fully integrated, will put SES in a strong competitive position to better serve the evolving needs of its customers including governments, aviation, maritime, and media across the globe.

Both companies are long established, with Intelsat initially founded in the mid-1960s as a consortium of 23 nations aimed at launching the first geosynchronous communications satellites over the Atlantic and Pacific serving most of the Old World and linked to the New.

The merger is an attempt by both companies to compete with the new low-orbit constellations of SpaceX, Amazon, and from China.

Submission + - Delta may eliminate set prices. AI will determine how much you're willing to pay (fortune.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: Delta moves toward eliminating set prices in favor of AI that determines how much you personally will pay for a ticket

Delta has a long-term strategy to boost its profitability by moving away from set fares and toward individualized pricing using AI. The pilot program, which uses AI for 3% of fares, has so far been “amazingly favorable,” the airline said. Privacy advocates fear this will lead to price-gouging, with one consumer advocate comparing the tactic to “hacking our brains.”

https://x.com/OwenGregorian/st...

Submission + - Biden push for $10B electric mail delivery fleet flops with just 250 trucks (nypost.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Biden push for $10B electric mail delivery fleet flops with just 250 trucks built in two years

It doesn't help that the specs were so bureaucratically convoluted that only a defense contractor would make it and at twice what a repurposed commercial vehicle would cost.

Biden will probably blame the autopen for this boondoggle.

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