Russia has replaced Wikipedia with a state-sponsored encyclopedia that is a clone of the original Russian Wikipedia but which conveniently has been edited to omit things that could cast the Russian government in poor light. Real Russian Wikipedia editors used to refer to the real Wikipedia as Ruwiki; the new one is called Ruviki, has "ruwiki" in its url, and has copied all Russian-language Wikipedia articles and strictly edited them to comply with Russian laws.
Laser beam comms are fast, so long as the weather cooperates
In this part of Vancouver [Canada], innovative technology is harnessing heat from wastewater and using it as a renewable energy source to heat homes.
The first calls that Dr. Barb Petersen received in early March were from dairy owners worried about crows, pigeons and other birds dying on their Texas farms. Then came word that barn cats " half of them on one farm " had died suddenly.
A new Microsoft generative AI system has highlighted how advanced deepfake technology is becoming - generating convincing video from a single image and audio clip. The tool takes an image and turns it into a realistic video, along with convincing emotions and movements such as eyebrows raising. Read more
Riyadh seeks more modest agreement with Washington in absence of Gaza ceasefire and Netanyahu resistance to Palestinian state
The cookbook author [and Jerry's wife} and the billionaire culture warrior have publicly put up cash for controversial campus counterprotests.
ELYRIA, Ohio (WOIO) - Shocking body cam video shows Elyria police officers storming into a man's home without a warrant. He is then tased, arrested and charged with five felonies but his attorney says the police officers are the ones who broke the law. Raul Ortiz says he's still reeling from the day when three Elyria police officers rushed into his home without a warrant. Body cam video from Elyria Police Officer Paige Mitchell shows how things played out on May 11, 2023. Mitchell, who's been with the EPD since 2015, was the senior officer that day. She and fellow officers Colty Hersh and newly hired officer Chris Lewis met up with Ortiz's ex-girlfriend, Brittney Warner. Warner told officers she was leaving Ortiz, previously lived at the home and needed help getting back inside to retrieve her belongings. "I wanted to get some medication," Warner is heard telling officers on the video.
NYPD union sues mayor's administration over new zero tolerance' policy on officer steroid use The Police Benevolent Association alleged the policy goes against previous legal agreements allowing officers to take prescribed steroids without consulting a district surgeon
Israel's far-right national security minister has reportedly asked whether the military could kill some of the Palestinians taken captive instead of arresting them " the latest comment by one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's multiple extremist cabinet members that dehumanizes residents of Gaza.
A Southern Illinois University professor appeared to be beaten and injured by police at a pro-Palestinian demonstration at Washington University in St. Louis over the weekend, according to video footage shared by a bystander. In a post on X, a woman who identified herself as Tamari's wife, Sandra Tamari, shared a video of her husband being "brutally beaten" by police, noting that both of them were arrested at the student encampment. "I was arrested at the Gaza encampment at Washington University in St. Louis on [Saturday]. My husband, a 65-year old full professor at [St. Illinois University Edwardsville], was brutally beaten by police. Here is the video of his arrest," she wrote. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the SLMPD, along with several other departments, was at the protest on Saturday. The St. Louis police told HuffPost that they did not arrest any protesters. The department also did not comment on the video of Tamari being beaten. Read more
Northwestern University in Illinois and Brown University in Rhode Island both reached a deal with pro-Palestine protesters this week to end their occupation of campus grounds. As part of a bargain made by NU and the Northwestern Divestment Coalition, a group helping to organize the protests and encampment, the university agreed to permit protests and pro-Palestine gatherings through the final day of spring classes on June 1. The school has also agreed to disclose its investments in businesses with Israeli ties. In exchange, the NDC has agreed to leave just one aid tent on the lawn. On Tuesday, another deal was reached between Brown University and the Brown Divest Coalition, a similar pro-Palestine group. Protesters involved with the coalition agreed to remove all tents and end the encampment on campus in exchange for a promise from the university to hold a board vote in October on whether or not to divest from Israel-linked companies.
Violent clashes erupted on Wednesday on the campus of the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) between pro-Palestinian protesters and a group of counter-demonstrators, according to live video coverage provided by a U.S. broadcaster. The UCLA student newspaper Daily Bruin said supporters of Israel had tried to tear down a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the campus.
Donald Trump has been held in contempt of court during his criminal trial for election interference in New York. Judge Juan Merchan ruled that Trump has violated his gag order nine times and fined him $1000 per violation, the maximum amount the court is allowed. The judge warned Trump that any further violations of the order that bars him from publicly attacking witnesses, jurors or other involved parties such as court staff, may result in incarceration. Judge Marchon also sent a warning that the court will not uphold the order in cases where Trump can show he was responding to attacks targeting him from those who are receiving protection from the order.
An anonymous Jewish student filed a lawsuit Monday against Columbia University, alleging that the Ivy League school has failed to provide "a safe educational environment" for its students amid ongoing pro-Palestinian protests. While the plaintiff acknowledges students' right to engage in peaceful protests, the lawsuit argues that a subset of demonstrators have "gone well beyond" exercising this right and have instead sought to advance "different and menacing goals." "These extreme demonstrators are not engaging in constitutionally protected free speech. Instead, they are openly inciting violence against Jewish students," the lawsuit reads. Read more
Four out of five voters (80%) back the Jewish state in its nearly seven-month-old war against the Islamic terrorist group, with the highest levels of support concentrated among older age groups, according to a Harvard CAPS/Harris survey released Monday. Meanwhile, 72% of voters say they back an Israel Defense Forces military operation in Rafah to "finish the war," with 28% saying Israel should "back off now and allow Hamas to continue running Gaza." Read more
