You can opt out of facial recognition at airports, for now, but the TSA has indicated it wants to make the invasive technology a requirement. read more
Big Tech corporations on Friday hit out at a landmark Australian law that bans youths under the age of 16 from accessing social media, saying the law was "rushed" through parliament. read more
A striking new phenomenon is emerging: distinct regions are seeing repeated heat waves that are so extreme, they fall far beyond what any model of global warming can predict or explain. read more
The Associated Press has found that the study, "Prohibited Extremist Activities in the U.S. Department of Defense" conducted by the Institute for Defense Analyses, relied on old data, misleading analyses and ignored evidence that pointed to the opposite conclusion. read more
Dueling tariffs between the United States and Mexico could mean higher prices for American consumers. read more
Yup.
And this is with a slow start ...
Unusually mild Atlantic hurricane season likely to ramp up (August 2024)
www.axios.com
... 2024 was forecast to be one of the busiest Atlantic hurricane seasons on record. Yet Atlantic storm activity is in a near-historic pause.
Why it matters: The reduced activity highlights the challenge of long-term forecasting, even as short-term forecasts indicate things will soon kick back up.
Between the lines: The causes of the pause come down to a few big factors. ...
Another view...
Syria insurgents enter Aleppo in new anti-Assad offensive
www.dw.com
... Insurgents reached Aleppo, Syria's second city, on Friday, in a swift offensive against Bashar Assad's forces, who are supported by Russian and Iranian allies.
The fighting is some of the deadliest in years, with 255 people, mostly combatants killed, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
It started on Wednesday in areas controlled by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Turkish-backed rebels, calling themselves the Syrian National Army, joined the fighting. ...
@#10 ... NBC actually fired him from The Apprentice. ...
I did not know that.
NBC fired Donald Trump from "The Apprentice" for "making racist remarks."
www.snopes.com
... Rating: True ...
@#15 ... Nope. The pardon power only extends to "Offenses against the United States," i.e. federal crimes. The underlying civil judgment in this is for state law defamation against two individuals. ...
OK the reason I had wondered about the pardon ability is that I saw mention of this case as bing in a Federal court.
'The Court Will Take Action': Judge Upbraids Combative Rudy Giuliani During Outburst at Hearing
www.law.com
... Rudy Giuliani was chastised in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday after the ex-New York City mayor attempted to shout down the judge overseeing attempts by Georgia poll workers he defamed to collect on their nearly $150 million judgment.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman of the Southern District of New York interrupted a nearly 30-second rant by Giuliani to say he would not be permitted to speak in court again unless he wanted to represent himself pro se.
"The court will take action," Liman told Giuliani if there were future interruptions. "You can't have hybrid representation."
"We can have him take the stand in the future," the judge told defense attorney Joseph Cammarata.
The outburst came following disputed accounts over the location of a car title that Giuliani has so far failed to turn over to plaintiffs Ruby Freeman and Wandrea "Shaye" Moss, in violation of a court order. ...
That is the case of which I spoke.
Is it a Federal case?
@#9 ... Blame it on Trump.
It's his fault. ...
Is it really Pres-elect Trump's fault, as you assert?
...Matt Eberflus is out as Chicago Bears head coach after a colossal blunder late in the game's loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day. ...
What's next after Bears fire head coach Matt Eberflus
www.espn.com
... Time ran out Thursday night, not only on another avoidable Bears defeat, but also on Matt Eberflus' coaching tenure in Chicago.
Eberflus was fired Friday, hours after Eberflus held a news conference on Zoom and said he was confident he would be coaching the Bears against the San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 8.
The final straw was a 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions punctuated by Eberflus not calling timeout with 32 seconds remaining and the Bears facing a third-and-26 at the Lions' 41.
After being sacked, rookie quarterback Caleb Williams tried to rush his teammates to the line of scrimmage.
But the slow-developing play, a long pass attempt to Rome Odunze, allowed time to run out before Cairo Santos had a shot to tie it with a 58-yard field goal attempt.
In the Bears' locker room, there seemed to be more resignation than indignation after coming up with another way to lose. ...
OK, I openly admit that I am not a sports aficionado. But when I read something along the lines of...
... In the Bears' locker room, there seemed to be more resignation than indignation after coming up with another way to lose. ...
I will say that there seems to be something majorly wrong with the management of that team.
Something is wrong.
@#12 ... It sounds to me like Rudy is trying to run out the clock with his incessant delays in hope Trump will step in, eventually, and help him. ...
Yeah, this looks to be a Federal case, so Pres-elect Trump does seem to have the option to pardon.
Will he?
Found this...
Trump Has Discussed With Advisers Pardons for His 3 Eldest Children and Giuliani (2020)
www.nytimes.com
... President Trump has discussed with advisers whether to grant pre-emptive pardons to his children, to his son-in-law and to his personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani, and talked with Mr. Giuliani about pardoning him as recently as last week, according to two people briefed on the matter.
Mr. Trump has told others that he is concerned that a Biden Justice Department might seek retribution against the president by targeting the oldest three of his five children -- Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump -- as well as Ms. Trump's husband, Jared Kushner, a White House senior adviser.
Donald Trump Jr. had been under investigation by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, for contacts that the younger Mr. Trump had had with Russians offering damaging information on Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign, but he was never charged. Mr. Kushner provided false information to federal authorities about his contacts with foreigners for his security clearance, but was given one anyway by the president.
The nature of Mr. Trump's concern about any potential criminal exposure of Eric Trump or Ivanka Trump is unclear, although an investigation by the Manhattan district attorney into the Trump Organization has expanded to include tax write-offs on millions of dollars in consulting fees by the company, some of which appear to have gone to Ms. Trump.
Presidential pardons, however, do not provide protection against state or local crimes. ...
Police Use of AI-Powered Facial Recognition Technology and the Risk of Racial Bias (May 2024)
www.americanbar.org
...
Summary
- - - When used by law enforcement in identifying crime suspects, facial recognition technology (FRT) powered by artificial intelligence can reinforce unconscious bias and lead to the arrest of innocent Black people.
- - - FRT programs are more prone to error on facial images depicting Black males than facial images depicting white males.
- - - Testing, monitoring, and the implementation of enforceable safety measures are imperative to prevent constitutional violations in the use of FRT and AI.
...
@#4 ... Nothing beats walking through customs after a 12 hour flight by just looking at a kiosk. ...
For starters, how accurate is that facial recognition technology?
Understanding The Debate On Facial Recognition ... (September 2024)
ace-usa.org
... A facial image is like a fingerprint: a unique piece of human data that can identify an individual or connect them to a crime. Law enforcement uses facial recognition to identify suspects, monitor large crowds, and ensure public safety.
Facial recognition software is used by local, state, and federal law enforcement, but its adoption is uneven. Some cities, like San Francisco and Boston, have banned its use for law enforcement, while others have embraced it. Despite this, the technology has been instrumental in solving cold cases, tracking suspects, and finding missing persons, and is considered a game changer by some in law enforcement.
Facial recognition software can be integrated with existing police databases, including mugshots and driver's license records. Private companies like Clearview AI and Amazon's Rekognition also provide law enforcement with databases containing information gathered from the internet.
Here's how police use facial recognition technology: ...
But, how accurate is it?
And, for the record, here is the pre-season prediction I saved...
NOAA forecasts extraordinarily busy Atlantic hurricane season (May 2024)
www.axios.com
So... how did that forecast do?
There's this...
2024 Atlantic hurricane season
en.wikipedia.org