@#6 ... the whole strait of Hormuz problem would be solved by Saudi Arabia's pipeline ...

For the past couple three weeks, I've been seeing reporting that Iran and Oman have been meeting to set up a procedure to open the Strait of Hormuz. The time frame has been ~in a few days~ an announcement will be made.

Today, I see...

@#6

My guess is that Pres Trump is trying to deflect the blame on Ukraine for the high prices that his war has caused.

@#23

Pres Trump on golf:

October 13, 2014
Can you believe that,with all of the problems and difficulties facing the U.S., President Obama spent the day playing golf. Worse than Carter

February 4, 2016
I love golf... but if I were in the White House ... I'd just want to stay in the White House and work my ass off.

March 14, 2016
If you're here at the White House, and you have so much work to do, why do you fly? Why do you leave so much?

August 6, 2016
I'm going to be working for you, I'm not going to have time to be playing golf.

August 25, 2016
I won't be playing golf.

Does Lowe's then sell those voiceprints?

If so, what personal data might be attached to those voiceprints, and who might the buyers be?

More from the article ...

... "Unbeknownst to plaintiff and other Illinois callers, Lowe's records callers' voices and, upon information and belief, subjects at least some calls to speaker-recognition or voice analysis processing that creates, collects, receives, or otherwise obtains voice prints derived from callers' distinctive vocal characteristics," Perkins says in the complaint. ...

While ordinary audio recording is a standard practice among customer service intended to improve overall quality, biometric technology analyzes characteristics of a speaker's voice and translates it into a "mathematical representation" used to distinguish a specific speaker from others.

"Unlike a password, account number, or security code, an individual cannot simply replace the biological and behavioral characteristics reflected in a voiceprint if the information is compromised," Perkins says in the complaint. ...

@#3 ... Slumlord Jared says Ukraine should give up territory. ...

Not really surprise.

Pres Trump seems to be little more than a puppet of Pres Putin, so the puppet apparently wants to keep the puppet-master happy.

Pres Trump tells Ukraine to stop strikes on Russian diesel, while Ukraine is trying to defend itself from a massive unprovoked Russian invasion.

Pres Trump should have told Pres Putin to back away from strikes on Ukraine, and Ukraine would stop strikes on Russian diesel.

More from the artcile ...

... While FEMA is part of DHS, a federal law adopted after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 says the department "may not substantially or significantly reduce (FEMA's) authorities, responsibilities, or functions."

Agreeing with unions that sued, Illston said the department violated the law when it moved last year to stop FEMA from renewing the temporary contracts of thousands of on-call reservists who respond to disasters.

"There is no evidence in the record reflecting reasoned decision-making for this about-face or for the subsequent conditions DHS placed on FEMA's renewal authority," Illston wrote. ...

Democracy Forward, a left-leaning group that represents the plaintiffs in the case, applauded the ruling in a statement.

"Congress created FEMA to operate with independence, given its mission to prepare and respond quickly when disasters arise," said Skye Perryman, the group's president and CEO.

The unions in January amended a lawsuit they had filed last year that more broadly challenged mass layoffs initiated by the Trump administration.

The planned cuts at the emergency management agency are unlawful, the unions say, because they would undermine its core disaster response mission, were not approved by Congress, and were ordered by former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem rather than initiated within FEMA itself. ...

... saying the attacks are causing a global shortage. ...

maybe, then, Pres Trump should not have started his war of choice against Iran, because that war is causing a global shortage in products as well.

More from the article ...

... However, there are many places where local law enforcement's relationship with Flock and its network of roughly 120,000 license plate readers have continued or been reaffirmed, with the company telling one trade publication its growth has outpaced cancellations 10-to-1.

That means new devices continue to appear as jurisdictions add to their inventory or upgrade their equipment -- including one that was being installed on Aug. 19 on a suburban street outside of Atlanta, not far from the home of InvestigateTV's Brendan Keefe.

Three police cars ended up in the national investigative reporter's rearview mirror that Wednesday afternoon after he tried to film the technician installing an upgraded camera on a public street, shown in his video story at the top of this story.

The stop is one of at least two documented cases this year in which those working for Flock Safety called police on people engaging in the same category of public recording into which the company asserts its technology fits. ...

Keefe parked on the public street at a distance, donned a yellow safety vest and a hat emblazoned with the logo of InvestigateTV's Atlanta affiliate where he also works, displayed a press placard on his dashboard and then pulled out a camera to record the installation.

As Keefe began to shoot video, the installer saw him and immediately packed up his equipment and drove away, so Keefe also returned to his car and followed several cars behind, hoping to document the next stop.

The technician called 911. ...

@#22 ... So far, nothing is registered for September, but look back at earlier months ... ...

Three golfing days are now shown for September.

@#3 ... Cornyn and Tillis were fools to believe Blanch's flimsy UNofficial statement. ...

Did AG Blanche lie to Congress?

While these marketing-like announcements by the CEOs look like a good direction, they seem to be just that --- marketing-level announcements.

What are those companies telling to the lobbyists they hire to get politicians to reduce the amount of regulations AI companies face?

Are they still telling the lobbyist to continue, ~full steam ahead?~

More from the article ...

... Top executives at three of the nation's leading AI labs are calling for a slowdown in the development of advanced artificial intelligence.

The comments are a rare display of consensus among competing companies as they grapple with growing alarm across the tech industry and in Washington that the emerging technology has begun to outpace its creators' ability to understand or control it.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei was the first on Saturday to publicly call for a slowdown, writing in a lengthy essay, "We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models."

He earned quick endorsements from tech executives at rival AI labs.

Elon Musk, CEO of xAI, wrote on social media "Dario is right," just days after he derided public concern over an Anthropic researcher's warnings that AI could result in human extinction as a "psy op."

A few hours later, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, who told employees Thursday that he was open to slowing the development of its most advanced AI systems, endorsed Amodei's call publicly. ...

More from the article ...

... "Reserving all rights and waiving nothing, Defendants appear solely for the purpose of noticing their appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit from this Court's July 13, 2026," the DOJ wrote in its brief filing in Miami Federal Court, which was first reported by Politico's Josh Gerstein.

The massive fund sparked intense bipartisan backlash and nearly derailed Blanches' confirmation after Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), said they would refuse to vote for Blanche unless the proposal for the fund was scrapped.

Blanche claimed on Aug. 2 that he had formally rescinded the fund.

"My team and I have met with committee members and Senators over the past several weeks and addressed any concerns or outstanding questions," he wrote on X at the time.

"We have enjoyed good faith discussions, and as a result issue the following order and update with regard to the May IRS settlement. The Department always welcomes and appreciates productive engagement with all members of Congress."

The move prompted Cornyn and Tillis to vote for the confirmation of Trump's former personal attorney as US Attorney General. ...

More from the article ...

... Newly obtained documents revealed that the ongoing issues at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool stem from contractor mistakes rather than vandalism. The information contradicts previous claims by the Trump administration.

What we know:

Records reviewed by The New York Times indicate that the pool's blue liner peeled and tore due to human oversight during the installation process.

Specific errors cited in the documents include failing to apply sufficient primer in certain areas and using incompatible chemicals.

While the records noted that vandals caused minor cuts in the caulking along the pool's edges, they explicitly did not link those cuts to the peeling liner or pool floor damage. ...

@#20 ... Meanwhile, the imbecile who got this ball rolling is golfing in Ireland. ...

... and has golfed most weekends since he started his war.

More from the article ...

... The use of coal to generate electricity on the US grid has been plunging for nearly two decades, and the first Trump administration was unable to affect the trend. So his second administration has attempted more aggressive interventions to prop up coal use. One of its most direct means of doing so is to order coal plants that were scheduled to close to remain open, even if there is no need for them.

The administration's justification for these orders is a statute that allows the Department of Energy (DOE) to declare an emergency in the case of wartime or a sudden shortfall in generation. ...

The decision was issued by a unanimous three-judge panel from the DC Circuit's Court of Appeals. ...

The court interprets this as an indication that Congress had intended for federal intervention at the level of generation facilities to be rare and only in cases where there was an immediate shortfall that could only be addressed through federal action. And it notes that this is exactly how the authority had been used throughout its history. "Indeterminate assertions of summer electricity shortfalls are not what Congress meant by 'emergency,'" the judges conclude. ...

@#16 ... ... wut? ...

My guess is that Pres Trump is desperately looking for an exit ramp for his war of choice and, as such, he does not want to get deeper into the war.

More from the article ...

... U.S. consumer prices accelerated in August, while a key measure of underlying inflation posted its largest increase in four months, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next week. ...

"Energy inflation does not stay at the gas station. It travels by truck, airplane and cargo ship into nearly every store in America," said Sung Won Sohn, a finance and economics professor at Loyola Marymount University. "The Fed is now more likely than not to raise its policy rate ... it cannot afford to let an energy shock become an everything shock."

The CPI increased 0.4% last month after edging up 0.1% in July, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said.

In the 12 months through August, consumer inflation advanced 3.4% after rising by the same margin in July. The rise in the CPI was in line with economists' expectations.

A 3.9% jump in gasoline prices after two straight monthly declines accounted for more than a third of the increase in the CPI over the month. Other motor fuels, which include diesel, surged 9.6%. They surged 44% year-on-year in August.

There was, however, some respite for consumers at the supermarket. Food prices edged up 0.1% for a second straight month. Grocery prices were unchanged amid muted increases in the costs of meat and fish. Fruit and vegetable prices fell 0.4% over the month, weighed down by a 6.2% drop in the cost of lettuce because of a Cyclospora outbreak.

But egg prices increased 2.9%, while nonalcoholic beverages cost more, as did dairy and related products. Food prices advanced 2.7% year-on-year in August and the annual increase in consumer inflation is outpacing wage growth. Inflation-adjusted average hourly earnings fell 0.3% over the year in August.

"Inflation-adjusted wage growth contracted for a fifth consecutive month in August," said Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon. "This is the longest income squeeze since 2012 -- excluding the post-pandemic period when public assistance kept income growing despite historical job losses." ...

More from the article ...

... The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to drastically weaken requirements for leak inspections and equipment upgrades at more than 700,000 low-producing "stripper wells," according to a draft rule being reviewed by the White House and seen by ProPublica.

These wells -- which tend to be old, poorly maintained and thus prone to leaking -- produce just 6% of the country's oil and natural gas but are responsible for roughly half the sector's methane pollution, studies show.

The EPA acknowledged similar figures in the draft. But it said that the cost of complying with existing regulations would force the lowest-producing wells to shut down and that this was "unreasonable" -- even though it would eliminate just 0.4% of U.S. oil and gas production, according to an industry estimate cited in the proposed rule. ...

More from the article ...

... A new study linking the likelihood of autism and ADHD symptoms in early life to in-utero exposure to a common plasticizer is no doubt going to cause a stir.

It's another chapter in the ongoing search for answers to some pretty complex questions, like why autism and ADHD diagnoses are on the rise, and why so many children around the world seem to be afflicted with behavior problems, and what the chemicals in plastics could be doing to our brains.

And while it's an interesting addition to the research, there are very specific things this new study can (and can't) tell us about all these hot topics in science, and what patterns are emerging between them.

Let's get into it.

The study, published in Med (a peer-reviewed journal owned by Cell Press), looked at children's behavioral traits at ages two and four, and how they correlate with the child's potential prenatal exposure to the common plastic additive DEHP.

DEHP (di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate) is a synthetic chemical that helps make plastics more flexible. It's often used in vinyl furniture upholstery, garden hoses, shower curtains, medical tubing, and vegan leathers.

It's also known to easily leach out of the material it was added to, which is how it can end up in our food, water, and ultimately, our bodies. ...