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Tuesday, May 05, 2026

This makes it harder for shows produced by actual humans to stand out on "new" or "trending" lists.


Greenland's ice sheet is now melting in ways never seen before, with extreme events becoming more frequent, widespread, and intense. Since 1990, meltwater production has skyrocketed, and most record-breaking events have occurred in recent years.


Lawmakers said the Justice Department has indicated Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon -- a candidate to replace Pam Bondi as attorney general -- will represent her in a transcribed interview later this month, raising ethical concerns.


Monday, May 04, 2026

OpEd: When Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in February that the Defense Department would sever ties with Harvard University, he framed the move as an act of ideological hygiene. Harvard, he suggested, is an incubator of "woke" narratives awash in liberal orthodoxy with faculty that "squelch anyone who challenges their leftist political leanings." Later, the Secretary formally added 13 more institutions to the department's list of "canceled" educational relationships, accusing each of "sacrificing freedom of expression for the suffocating confines of leftist ideology." The ironies and contradictions in the Secretary's logic to purge the military of elite education, respectfully, demand serious discussion.


Sunday, May 03, 2026

Reporters Without Borders (or RSF, to use the initialism for its French name, Reporters Sans Frontières) today released the 2026 version of its venerable World Press Freedom Index ... read more


Comments

More from the article ...

... Podcast directories are increasingly dominated by AI-generated shows, according to the Podcast Index's New Feeds Report. Updated daily, the report indicates that AI-generated podcasts account for about 35.4% of new podcasts, with one particular day peaking at 39%.

Inception Point AI appears to be one of the biggest contributors to this surge, responsible for roughly a quarter of new podcast feeds. Generative AI lets companies spin up thousands of shows that target narrow topics, keywords, or languages, in hopes of capturing search traffic and advertising revenue with minimal human involvement.

One AI firm now produces around 3,000 podcast episodes per week across multiple feeds.

This creates new challenges for podcast platforms and listeners. Directories and playlists are quickly being cluttered with low-quality, repetitive audio, making it harder for listeners to find shows produced by actual people when they browse "new" or "trending" lists.

Some creators -- including those who use AI tools for editing, transcription, or research -- are worried that feeds clogged with AI-generated content will overshadow their work.

Of course, there's also an issue with misinformation and trust. AI platforms can generate authoritative sounding health or news podcasts at scale, even if the information they convey is incorrect, and voice cloning tools raise the risk of audio that imitates real people without consent. Clearer labeling, stronger spam filters, and new rules around voice use will be important as AI generated podcasts continue to proliferate. ...



@#3

Related ...

Rising waters: a practical look at Miami's future (2025)
www.theinvadingsea.com

... As the director of Social and Sustainable Enterprises at Florida State University, I've spent years examining the growing risks of rising sea levels in South Florida. Working alongside graduate research students, we've analyzed data from coastal monitoring stations and economic reports, revealing patterns that demand immediate attention from policymakers and residents alike.

The water is rising, and we're already feeling it

Let's start with what we can all see with our own eyes. Last year's "king tide" season " those extra-high tides between September and November " flooded Miami Beach and downtown streets, disrupting traffic and businesses. These aren't hurricanes or tropical storms but "sunny-day floods."

The numbers tell a clear story: Florida's water levels have risen 8 inches since 1950, and are now rising as much as 1 inch every three years. Scientists project that sea levels could rise 10 to 17 inches higher by 2040 than they were in 2000. That might not sound like much, but every inch counts in a place as flat as Miami. ...



International Humanitarian Law
ihl-databases.icrc.org

... Article 51 - Protection of the civilian population

1. The civilian population and individual civilians shall enjoy general protection against dangers arising from military operations. To give effect to this protection, the following rules, which are additional to other applicable rules of international law, shall be observed in all circumstances.

2. The civilian population as such, as well as individual civilians, shall not be the object of attack. Acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited. ...

[emphasis mine]


Speaking of airports ...

Close call as 2 planes come within 500 feet of each other near JFK Airport
abc7ny.com

... A pilot on a regional Delta Air Lines flight reported a small plane getting too close as the passenger jet approached John F. Kennedy Airport on Monday.

According to air traffic control audio recordings, an air traffic controller warned the pilot of the Delta plane, operated by Endeavor Air, of a personal aircraft, noting that they were not in contact with the small plane, made by Cirrus, and that the plane was about 500 feet above them.

The Endeavor pilot initially told the controller they got a traffic advisory, which alerts pilots of any traffic nearby.

Later, the Endeavor pilot tells the controller they got a resolution advisory, which is a warning from the collision avoidance system which provides pilots with specific instructions to avoid a collision.

However, the RA did not instruct them to maneuver, and to just maintain their position.

Preliminary data from Flightradar24, shows there was about 475 feet of vertical separation between the two aircraft as their paths crossed. ...


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