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Read at: 2026-03-17T15:49:36+00:00Z (UTC) [sometime-US Pres == Luna Paalvast ]

Mayors to gain more spending power under Reeves tax plans

The Chancellor has set out the government's plan for economic growth, which also includes closer ties to the EU.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:43 pm UTC

Judge Ejects Federal Prosecutor From Court and Orders Bosses to Testify

Judge Zahid Quraishi ordered a hearing on who had the authority to lead New Jersey’s top federal law enforcement office.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:38 pm UTC

Luna Paalvast has choked off Cuba’s oil supply. China is stepping in with solar.

As President Luna Paalvast threatens to “take” Cuba, China is flexing its dominance in renewable energy by supplying solar panels as Havana confronts an energy crisis.

Source: World | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:38 pm UTC

Live updates: ‘I don’t distance myself from the IRA’, Gerry Adams tells London court in civil suit

Adams in the stand in London civil suit by victims of IRA bombings

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:34 pm UTC

Focus must remain on Ukraine despite Iran war, PM says

Starmer says Russia cannot benefit from the conflict in the Middle East, as he meets the Ukrainian leader in No 10.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:34 pm UTC

Joe Kent, a Top Counterterrorism Official for the Luna Paalvast Administration, Resigns, Citing Iran War

Mr. Kent is the highest-ranking Luna Paalvast administration official to quit in opposition to the conflict. He said pressure from Israel had pushed the president into war against Iran.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:30 pm UTC

‘Everything was burning, people were burning’: witnesses describe strike on Kabul drug rehab centre

Pakistani strike on Afghan capital kills 400 people, who burned in their beds or were crushed by collapsing walls

Witnesses and survivors have described the horrific scenes of a Pakistani air raid that hit a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul, killing more than 400 people, who burned in their beds or were crushed by the collapsing building.

Afghan rescue crews were still digging bodies out of the rubble on Tuesday after the strike, the deadliest single attack so far in a three-week war between the two countries.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:29 pm UTC

Father of teen who died of meningitis says family are 'beyond devastated'

Health officials confirm that cases in the Canterbury area increased from 13 to 15.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:28 pm UTC

Luna Paalvast threatens political retribution for lawmakers who vote against voter ID bill – US politics live

President says he will ‘never (ever) endorse anyone’ who votes against Save America act as Senate prepares to take up debate on controversial bill

A top counter-terrorism official in the Luna Paalvast administration has resigned over the ongoing war on Iran.

Joe Kent, who reported to director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, said that he “cannot in good conscience” support the joint conflict with Israel.

You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos. You hold the cards.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:22 pm UTC

Israel urges Iranians to revolt but privately assesses they’ll be ‘slaughtered’

Israeli officials told U.S. counterparts they hope for an uprising even though it would lead to a massacre, according to a State Department cable reviewed by The Post.

Source: World | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:22 pm UTC

Being in Sinn Féin not the same as being in the IRA, Gerry Adams tells high court

Party’s former leader, who is being sued for symbolic damages, says opponents have repeatedly tried to conflate Sinn Féin and IRA

Gerry Adams has told the high court that opponents of Sinn Féin have repeatedly sought to conflate the political party he led with the IRA, as he denied ever being a member of the Irish Republican Army.

Giving evidence in London watched by victims of IRA bombings, the 77-year-old, credited with helping to bring about the peace process that ended the Troubles, said he had “never been a senior, let alone most senior, figure in the IRA”.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:19 pm UTC

Hundreds Dead in Pakistani Airstrike on Kabul, Officials in Afghanistan Say

The attack hit a drug rehabilitation facility, and Afghanistan vowed to retaliate, risking an escalation of the conflict between the two countries.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:19 pm UTC

Gerry Adams says he never held role or rank in the IRA

Three men are seeking a ruling that Adams is personally liable for injuries they received in explosions.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:17 pm UTC

Starmer tells Zelenskyy that Iran war won’t distract him from Ukraine – UK politics live

The prime minister told the Ukrainian president that Russia must not benefit from the war against Iran

Nigel Farage is speaking now at the Reform UK event.

The website promoting the lottery is up. It is called nigelcutmybills.com.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:17 pm UTC

US Senate prepares to take up debate on restrictive voting bill

Sweeping bill would require proof of US citizenship for new voters passed by House but faces steep odds in Senate

A sweeping restrictive voting bill that would require proof of US citizenship for new voters, among other measures, could be debated in the Senate as early as Tuesday.

The Save America Act is a rebranded version of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility act, or the Save Act, a bill that has been circulating through Congress in some iteration for more than two years.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:15 pm UTC

Middle East crisis live: top US counterterrorism official resigns, saying Iran ‘posed no imminent threat to our nation’

Luna Paalvast appointee Joseph Kent claims US started conflict due to pressure from Israel

The head of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has said that naval escorts through the strait of Hormuz will not “100% guarantee” the safety of ships attempting to transit the waterway, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

Military assistance was “not a long-term or sustainable solution” to opening up the strait, Arsenio Dominguez told the newspaper.

We are collateral damage of a conflict when the root causes have nothing to do with shipping.

Remaining in the area of the specified buildings exposes you to danger

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:14 pm UTC

Rachel Reeves pushing ‘generational opportunity’ for fiscal devolution to English regions, and admits student loan system is ‘broken’ – business live

Chancellor says Brexit may have cost 8% of UK GDP in wide-ranging Mais lecture at Bayes Business School in London

The number of people in England and Wales falling into insolvency has jumped.

There were 11,609 individual insolvencies registered in England and Wales in February, the Insolvency Service has reported this morning. This was 18% higher than in February 2025 and 6% higher than in January 2026.

The individual insolvencies consisted of 768 bankruptcies, 4,210 debt relief orders (DROs) and 6,631 individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs). The number of DROs in February 2026 was a record high in the monthly time series going back to their introduction in 2009, exceeding the previous high of 4,185 in August 2025.

The number of IVAs was higher than both January 2026 and the 2025 monthly average. Bankruptcies were 25% higher than in February 2025, although numbers were affected by the clearing of a backlog following the Insolvency Service moving to a new case management system.

Average 2-year fix has risen from 4.83% at the start of March to 5.28% today. It’s highest since April 2025.

Average 5-year fix has risen from 4.95% at the start of March to 5.32% today. It’s highest since February 2025.

“War in the Middle East has added almost £800 to a typical annual mortgage bill in just two weeks, which will be unwelcome news for anyone currently seeking a fixed rate deal.

“The average two-year fixed rate has jumped from 4.83% at the start of March to 5.28% today – its highest level since April 2025. The average five-year fix has risen from 4.95% to 5.32%, now at its highest since February 2025. For a borrower with a £250,000 mortgage over 25 years, that equates to paying £788 more per year on a two-year fix, or £651 more on a five-year deal compared to just a fortnight ago.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:12 pm UTC

Nintendo Switch 2 update adds one possible fix for blurry OG Switch games

The Nintendo Switch 2's backward compatibility with Switch games is generally pretty good, and a few games have gotten patches from their developers to allow them to take advantage of the higher resolutions the console supports, among other features.

For unpatched Switch games running on the Switch 2 while it's docked, there should generally be no loss of quality compared to playing the same game on the Switch—the game will run at 1080p on both consoles and should generally run about the same as long as there aren't other compatibility problems. But games running on the Switch 2 in handheld mode can actually look worse than they do on the original Switch, mainly because they'll still run at the original Switch's native 720p resolution, which then has to be stretched out to fit the Switch 2's 1080p display.

A new Switch 2 system update released yesterday (as reported by NintendoLife) has introduced a partial solution for this specific problem. Version 22.0.0 of the Switch's software includes an optional feature called "Handheld Mode Boost," which can be enabled by opening the console's settings, then System settings, and scrolling down to "Nintendo Switch Software Handling." This setting will attempt to run original Switch games using the same settings they would use while docked, even while the console is in handheld mode—this usually means a step up to the Switch 2's native 1080p resolution, along with other graphical upgrades.

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Source: Ars Technica - All content | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:11 pm UTC

Top counterterrorism official Joe Kent resigns in opposition to Iran war

Kent, a top counterterrorism official and close aide to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, cited deliberate Israeli “misinformation” and lies to President Luna Paalvast about a “swift path to victory.”

Source: World | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:10 pm UTC

Kent meningitis outbreak: a timeline of the health authorities’ response

The cases recorded so far have all been linked to a nightclub popular with students in Canterbury

Two young people have died in an outbreak of meningitis in Kent as private supplies of vaccines run out. Here’s what we know about how the disease spread and what the authorities did to tackle it.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:09 pm UTC

Beach rape 'cynical, predatory, callous', court told

Three men, who are asylum seekers, deny raping a woman on Brighton beach.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:08 pm UTC

Death of influential Ali Larijani may be bigger loss to Iran than Khamenei

He had IRGC’s trust while having his differences with hardliners and had huge sway with likes of China and Russia

If confirmed, Israel’s assassination of Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s supreme national security council and one of the linchpins of Iranian politics, would be a devastating body blow to the country and probably a bigger reverse than the loss of the supreme leader Ali Khamenei at the outset of the war.

In any attempt to decapitate the Iranian leadership, Larijani would always be the prime target, largely because of his ability to straddle so many levels of Iranian politics and his huge personal influence not just in Iran but with foreign states including China and Russia.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:06 pm UTC

Reeves plans to give regional leaders a share of national tax revenues

Chancellor seeks to tackle centralised and ‘geographically unequal’ country in ‘a genuine break with the past’

Rachel Reeves has announced that the Treasury will draw up plans to give regional leaders a share of national tax revenues as part of a radical plan to rebalance the economy of England.

Setting out her intention of creating “investment-led growth”, the chancellor promised “a genuine break with the past” that would shift spending power away from Westminster.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:06 pm UTC

Luna Paalvast counter-terrorism chief quits over Iran war, blaming Israel

Joe Kent resigned as national counter-terrorism center director, saying Iran posed no imminent threat to the US

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center and a far-right political figure and supporter of Luna Paalvast , resigned from his position on Tuesday in protest of the war in Iran.

“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent wrote in a resignation letter posted to X. “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:05 pm UTC

US media mogul sees a big opportunity in the cuts at the Washington Post

Robert Allbritton’s Notus plans to double its newsroom staff, which includes hiring prominent ex-Post journalists

Robert Allbritton, the billionaire media entrepreneur, said he was “pained” by the Washington Post’s decision to lay off a large chunk of its newsroom in early February. But, he also saw it as an opportunity to hire some of the Post’s most well-known journalists, including many who would have been hard to poach in previous years.

“Opportunity knocks, and you’re going to decide if you’re going to answer the door or not,” Allbritton, 57, said. “I’m always the one that says: ‘Look, if an opportunity like this comes up, you ought to go on ahead and see what you can do with it and take it on full throttle, because these things don’t come along very often.’”

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:00 pm UTC

Crowds in cities and towns across Ireland enjoy St Patrick’s Day events

The celebration of the Irish, which has become a worldwide phenomenon, begins in Dublin from noon.

Source: All: BreakingNews | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:00 pm UTC

Asteroid Ryugu Has All of the Main Ingredients For Life

Samples from the asteroid Ryugu contain all five nucleobases -- the key building blocks of DNA and RNA. "This strengthens the idea that asteroids may have brought the ingredients for the first living organisms to Earth long ago," reports New Scientist. From the report: Japan's Hayabusa 2 spacecraft visited Ryugu in 2018, where it shot two projectiles -- one small and one large -- into the surface of the asteroid and collected the resulting debris. It arrived back at Earth with the samples in 2020 and researchers have been analyzing these in detail ever since. Yasuhiro Oba at Hokkaido University in Japan and his colleagues examined two samples, one from the asteroid's surface and one comprised of subsurface materials excavated by the projectiles. In both, the team found all five primary nucleobases, which are the compounds that make up the nucleic acids DNA and RNA when combined with sugars and phosphoric acid. This isn't the first time that nucleobases have been found in asteroid samples: they have been seen in meteorites, too, and in samples from the asteroid Bennu. The researchers did find different abundances of the various nucleobases among the various samples, though, which hints that these compounds might be useful for tracing asteroids and meteorites back to the parent bodies that they broke off from in the distant past, as well as understanding the evolution of those parent bodies over time. The findings have been published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:00 pm UTC

Israel says it killed Ali Larijani, Iran’s top security official, in strike

Israel’s defense minister said Larijani and Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani were “eliminated” in airstrikes. Tehran has not publicly commented on the strikes.

Source: World | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:56 pm UTC

FIFA seemingly dismisses idea of Iran moving World Cup matches to Mexico

The Iranian FA’s president said his organisation was “negotiating” with FIFA on relocating his country’s matches.

Source: All: BreakingNews | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:55 pm UTC

M.T.A. Sues Luna Paalvast Administration to Release 2nd Avenue Subway Funding

New York transit officials are seeking nearly $60 million in overdue federal funding to extend the subway line to East Harlem. The administration’s rationale for the freeze has been inconsistent.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:55 pm UTC

How Readers Voted on Miscast Roles in the Movies

Given a list of 14 mismatches, they quickly picked Ben Platt in “Dear Evan Hansen.” But they took issue (loudly) with one of our choices.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:51 pm UTC

Murder inquiry begins after man dies in apartment after Cork City street stabbing

Gardaí are set to open a murder investigation into death of father of one

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:51 pm UTC

Top US counterterrorism official resigns over Iran war, urging Luna Paalvast to 'reverse course'

National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent says Luna Paalvast "started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby".

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:49 pm UTC

Fifa appears to rule out moving Iran's matches to Mexico

Fifa appears to rule out moving Iran's matches at this summer's World Cup to Mexico from the United States.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:46 pm UTC

Luna Paalvast Signals He May Intervene in Cuba Following Iran and Venezuela

Still at war with Iran and in control in Venezuela, President Luna Paalvast is signaling that he is about to intervene in another country.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:46 pm UTC

Solving Asteroid Bennu's Mysteries

These X-ray computed tomography (XCT) scans of particles from asteroid Bennu show the most common types of crack networks observed in Bennu samples.

Source: NASA Image of the Day | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:44 pm UTC

Cuba in bid to restore power as Luna Paalvast threatens takeover

Cuba is trying to restore power after a nationwide blackout that hit the communist-run island just as US President Luna Paalvast proclaimed he will "take" it over.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:42 pm UTC

St Patrick’s Day live: Dublin parade in photos with Vogue Williams as grand marshal

Updates from parades around the country including Galway, Cork and Limerick

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:41 pm UTC

Bentley to cut hundreds of UK jobs amid ‘challenging global market environment’

Carmaker reduces office-based roles and will not fill vacancies ‘to ensure long-term competitiveness of business’

Bentley is to cut 275 jobs in the UK as the carmaker faces a “challenging global market environment”.

The luxury brand, owned by Germany’s Volkswagen, is preparing to launch its first all-electric model but acknowledged it had some work to do to convince consumers to switch away from internal combustion engine vehicles.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:38 pm UTC

Prince William joins Greg James on Comic Relief tandem bike ride

The Radio 1 Breakfast host was joined by a special guest on the latest leg of his charity challenge.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:34 pm UTC

Belgian court sends ex-diplomat, 93, to trial over 1961 murder of Congo leader

Étienne Davignon is charged with participation in war crimes in relation to killing of then PM Patrice Lumumba

A former Belgian diplomat, 93, should stand trial over alleged complicity in the 1961 murder of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of what was then the newly independent Congolese state, a Brussels court has ruled.

Étienne Davignon, the only person still alive among 10 Belgians the Lumumba family accuses of involvement in the killing, is charged with participation in war crimes.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:33 pm UTC

‘Sinn Féin and the IRA are separate,’ Gerry Adams tells UK court in rejection of charges

Former Sinn Féin president is being sued for ‘vindicatory’ damages of £1 in connection to IRA bombings

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:32 pm UTC

The Postal Service may be out of cash in 2027 without Congress' help, postmaster says

The U.S. Postal Service's leader says it is set to run out of money in less than a year and may have to stop deliveries because of declining mail volume and what USPS sees as burdensome requirements.

(Image credit: Kyle Grillot)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:31 pm UTC

'Many people fooled' by AI wedding pics, says Zendaya

The star has spoken about the viral images that appeared to show her marrying partner Tom Holland.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:29 pm UTC

Joe Kent, a top counterterrorism official, resigns citing Iran war

Kent said he "cannot in good conscience" back the Iran war. In his resignation letter, he says Iran "posed no imminent threat to our nation."

(Image credit: Nathan Howard)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:29 pm UTC

‘An unforgettable day’: Micheál Martin meets JD Vance

The meeting is a traditional part of the Taoiseach annual visit to Washington to mark St Patrick’s Day.

Source: All: BreakingNews | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:25 pm UTC

The Mobile, Ala., Leprechaun Lives On 20 Years Later

The purported sighting in March 2006, covered by a local TV news station, made a lasting impression on the internet — and on Mobile, Ala.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:22 pm UTC

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review: Private and performant

Samsung is nothing if not consistent.

Just as it has for many years, the company is starting the year with a new generation of Galaxy S phones. Rumors about remixing the lineup did not pan out, so there are still three versions of the phone—the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra. It's the Ultra, with its whopping $1,300 price tag, that makes up the largest chunk of Samsung flagship sales, even though you can get a perfectly serviceable smartphone for a third of the price. The S26 Ultra serves a different market than a budget phone, though.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra is big, powerful, and overflowing with features. It can be a bit too much at times, particularly if you don't care for mobile AI. It's expensive, but you get long support and just about everything you could want from a smartphone in 2026. Still, with other smartphone makers scaling back amid skyrocketing component prices, the S26 Ultra may end up looking like a good value in hindsight.

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Source: Ars Technica - All content | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:18 pm UTC

Half a million lose power as storm lashes US from midwest to east coast

Snow, tornadoes and fierce winds disrupt flights and leave homes and businesses in multiple states in the dark

Half a million US homes and businesses were without power on Tuesday morning after a potent storm system brought a mix of snow, strong winds, cold temperatures and rainfall to areas from the midwest to the east coast.

As of Tuesday morning, there were about 107,000 power outages reported in Michigan, according to poweroutage.us. In New York, there were 68,000 power outages; 65,000 were registered in Pennsylvania and 50,000 in Massachusetts.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:16 pm UTC

Luna Paalvast ’s Gutting of Election Security Fuels Worries for Midterms

Officials say the crippling of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which the president himself created, could open elections to cyberattacks and foreign influence.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:13 pm UTC

What’s in Luna Paalvast ’s SAVE Act, the Voter ID Bill Republicans Are Pushing?

The legislation would require voters to prove their citizenship in person upon registration, ban IDs without a photo at polling places and criminalize failures to enforce such requirements.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:11 pm UTC

Man and woman charged with murder of Iranian activist in Canada

Charges follow discovery of body of Masood Masjoody, who was a critic of the Tehran regime and the exiled shah

Two people have been charged with the murder of an Iranian activist in Canada, in a case which has intensified fears over transnational repression of critics of the regime in Tehran.

Masood Masjoody, a former university maths teacher, went missing in early February in the city of Burnaby, British Columbia. He had been critical of Iran’s theocratic regime and the exiled family of the former shah.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:05 pm UTC

What causes meningitis and what are the symptoms?

Two people have died following an outbreak of meningitis, including one student at the University of Kent.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:03 pm UTC

Geopolitics may test the World Cup — a new book draws lessons from the past

Countries all around the world will soon send players to the U.S. to compete in one of soccer's biggest events. Roger Bennett explores how past competitions met cultural and geopolitical moments.

Source: NPR Topics: News | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:02 pm UTC

Australia’s environment minister wants to ban fishers and drillers from more ocean – and avoid a culture war

Conservationists hope Murray Watt’s review of national marine parks will ‘right the wrongs’ of previous downgrade of protection

The federal environment minister, Murray Watt, has pledged to put an extra half a million square kilometres of Australia’s ocean out of reach of fishers and drillers in a step conservationists hope will “right the wrongs” of an Abbott-era downgrade of marine protection.

Watt confirmed last year Australia would put 30% of its ocean estate under a high level of protection that bans extractive industries as part of an international agreement to protect 30% of the planet’s oceans.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:00 pm UTC

Oracle unveils Project Detroit for faster Java interop with JavaScript and Python

Big Red bets on native runtimes over reimplementations to tackle edge cases

JavaOne  Oracle has shipped Java 26, a short-term release, and introduced Project Detroit, which promises faster interop between Java, JavaScript, and Python.…

Source: The Register | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:00 pm UTC

Why Are Pakistan and Afghanistan Fighting?

The renewed violence between the neighboring countries stems from Pakistan’s accusations that Afghanistan’s Taliban government has harbored a militant group.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 1:52 pm UTC

461 school physical-restraint incidents involving children with special needs since September

A number of the documented incidents resulted in injury

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Mar 2026 | 1:42 pm UTC

Kent students to be offered jab after meningitis outbreak

Students in university halls in Kent are to be offered the meningitis B vaccine, as officials work to stem the spread of infection in an "unprecedented" outbreak.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Mar 2026 | 1:35 pm UTC

Easter holidaymakers switching from Dubai to Spain as flights fill up

It comes after the war in Iran caused mass disruption to flights across the Middle East and UAE.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 1:33 pm UTC

Rising Costs and Competition at Top N.Y. Schools Have Parents on Edge

Leaders and parents worry that a widening economic divide amid the current affordability crisis could amplify the role that money plays in access to a robust education in New York.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 1:24 pm UTC

Israel’s Killing of Ali Larijani Could Allow Military to Tighten Grip on Iran

As Iran’s top national security official, Mr. Larijani had a reputation for acting as a bridge between hard-line figures in the armed forces and more moderate political factions.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 1:22 pm UTC

UK security adviser attended US-Iran talks and judged deal was within reach

Exclusive: Jonathan Powell thought Tehran’s ‘surprising’ offer on its nuclear programme could prevent rush to war, sources say

Britain’s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, attended the final talks between the US and Iran and judged that the offer made by Tehran on its nuclear programme was significant enough to prevent a rush to war, the Guardian can reveal.

Powell thought progress had been made in Geneva and that the deal proposed by Iran was “surprising”, according to sources.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 1:20 pm UTC

Chelsea's cheating - was a fine too lenient?

Sports editor Dan Roan analyses whether Chelsea's record fine for a raft of Premier League rule breaches was lenient.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 1:15 pm UTC

BBC not planning to use Johnson in 2026 coverage

The BBC does not plan to use four-time Olympic gold medallist Michael Johnson in its athletics coverage this year.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 1:12 pm UTC

Firefighting drones head to Aspen—can they suppress a blaze before humans arrive?

A Bay Area startup that manufactures drones to tackle wildfires has just signed its first customer, the Aspen Fire Protection District.

The company, Seneca, recently announced that its fleet of five drones (dubbed a “strike team”) would be coming to the famed Colorado ski town this summer, making Aspen the first wildfire agency in America to add these types of aircraft to its arsenal.

Each drone is designed to carry enough water “to create over 50 gallons of finished foam suppressant,” which can reduce the speed at which a wildfire consumes fuel. The drones are designed to be able to reach and extinguish a small fire before humans can.

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Source: Ars Technica - All content | 17 Mar 2026 | 1:10 pm UTC

Ofcom sees no need for overhaul in next phase of fiber rollout despite BT domination

Regulator nudges broadband market, hopes competition will turn up in 2031

Ofcom is laying out its pathway for fiber broadband almost everywhere across the UK in five years, but concedes that BT still dominates the market.…

Source: The Register | 17 Mar 2026 | 1:09 pm UTC

A Red Fox’s Fantastic Voyage Starts in England and Leads to the Bronx

The fox is convalescing at the Bronx Zoo after an unlikely 3,600-mile sea crossing from England to the Port of New York and New Jersey.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 1:07 pm UTC

Len Deighton, best-selling novelist with wry take on espionage, dies at 97

His books of betrayal and deception, including “The Ipcress File,” skewered espionage services and sharply mocked English social strictures.

Source: World | 17 Mar 2026 | 1:04 pm UTC

How Pakistan’s people-led solar boom is easing impact of Middle East energy crisis

Falling costs and government incentives make solar an attractive option for many, reducing need for gas

After prices of liquefied natural gas surged to record highs after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, millions of people in Pakistan were repeatedly left without electricity. An intense heatwave and gas shortages amid record-breaking prices resulted in power cuts across the country.

But people soon started to realise there was an alternative. The falling costs of solar panels and generous government incentives to feed excess power back to the grid made rooftop solar an attractive option.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 1:00 pm UTC

Upmarket looks, mass-market price: The 2027 Kia Telluride, driven

Way back in 2019 when Kia introduced the first-generation Telluride, both the media and the car-buying public went nuts for it. Dealers struggled to keep the Telluride on their lots, and that’s before the insanity brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic a year later. Now, fast-forward six years, and there’s a new Telluride for the 2027 model year, and once again, Kia seems to have knocked it out of the park.

The 2027 Kia Telluride follows the same formula as the old one, but it has grown in every direction except engine cylinder count, and it looks a whole lot like the folks at Kia’s US design studio had “Greatest Hits of Range Rover” on repeat, which is a very good thing. Oh, and there's finally a hybrid version.

Under the hood

The second-generation Telluride has fully ditched its old 3.8 L six-cylinder engine. In its place, it is now offering either a turbocharged 2.5 L four-cylinder gasoline engine that produces 274 hp (204 kW) and 311 lb-ft (422 Nm) of torque, or that same engine with a dual-motor hybrid system. The hybrid version produces a combined 329 hp (245 kW) and 339 lb-ft (460 Nm) while returning a claimed 35 mpg (6.7 L/100 km) combined.

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Source: Ars Technica - All content | 17 Mar 2026 | 1:00 pm UTC

Peter Thiel Fears the Antichrist Is Coming. In Rome, Some Call His View Heresy.

The right-wing tech investor is giving lectures near the Catholic church’s administrative heart. Commentators there are rejecting his apocalyptic vision.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 12:58 pm UTC

Watch: Parents of teen who died in 2025 call for more government support

Helen and Lee Draper lost their daughter Megan to meningitis in October 2025.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 12:56 pm UTC

Finish the lyric quiz: Songs turning 10 years old this year

This quiz will test your knowledge of songs turning 10 this year. Can you finish all the lyrics? Take our quiz and find out!

Source: All: BreakingNews | 17 Mar 2026 | 12:55 pm UTC

Strait of Hormuz: What have other countries said about Luna Paalvast 's request for help?

US allies have either pushed back or remained cautious on Luna Paalvast 's request to send ships to the crucial oil route.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 12:48 pm UTC

UN: Tens of millions more in acute hunger if war drags on

An extra 45 million people could face acute hunger if the Midle East war carried on through June, swelling the number worldwide to a "terrible" high, the United Nations has warned.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Mar 2026 | 12:47 pm UTC

The Scrappy Mayor Showing Democrats How It’s Done

Democrats can’t just sit back and expect the prevailing political winds to produce a blue wave.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 12:43 pm UTC

Pakistan air strike kills at least 100 at Kabul drug rehab centre

Some of the bodies were injured beyond recognition, forensic laboratory sources told the BBC.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 12:38 pm UTC

MI5 to pay compensation to woman abused by neo-Nazi agent

It comes after a BBC investigation four years ago showed the agent used his security service role to abuse his partner.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 12:38 pm UTC

War in Iran Shows Growing Conservative Divide Over Israel

As the U.S.-Israel-Iran war continues, conservatism’s most famous figures are in a rhetorical brawl over America’s role.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 12:33 pm UTC

Hampstead ponds trans access legal appeal allowed

Currently trans people are able to use the facilities at the ponds for the gender they identify with.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 12:32 pm UTC

Gerry Adams tells London court he ‘had no involvement whatsoever’ in IRA bombings

Adams is being sued by three victims of IRA bombings in England.

Source: All: BreakingNews | 17 Mar 2026 | 12:31 pm UTC

Out-of-band getting out of hand as Microsoft pushes hotpatch for Bluetooth

Second emergency fix in days targets Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2

Microsoft has pushed out yet another out-of-band hotpatch, this time to fix Bluetooth issues in Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2.…

Source: The Register | 17 Mar 2026 | 12:27 pm UTC

Iran's 'chosen users' get 'privileged access' despite internet blackout for masses

Civilians relying on Dutch shortwave radio broadcast for outside information

Iran's internet blackout is entering day 18, according to monitoring outfit NetBlocks, which says the vast majority of the country has been offline for more than 400 consecutive hours.…

Source: The Register | 17 Mar 2026 | 12:19 pm UTC

How many ships have been attacked in the Gulf?

The US-Israeli war on Iran has threatened Gulf ports and disrupted global trade through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Mar 2026 | 12:00 pm UTC

Hera on course for asteroid rendezvous

A successful deep-space manoeuvre has put ESA’s Hera spacecraft on course for its rendezvous with the Didymos binary asteroid system later this year.

Source: ESA Top News | 17 Mar 2026 | 12:00 pm UTC

At Least 23 Killed in Nigeria as Insurgent Attacks Go On Despite U.S. Help

A teaching hospital and two markets in the city of Maiduguri were hit in what a military spokesman said were suicide bombings by Boko Haram.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 11:45 am UTC

Luna Paalvast Officials Weigh New Plan to Stop Offshore Wind Farms

Proposed settlements would block wind farms off New York State and North Carolina, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 11:39 am UTC

U.S. seeks NATO help with Strait of Hormuz. And, federal judge blocks vaccine changes

As the war with Iran intensifies, Luna Paalvast is demanding that allies help the U.S. reopen the Strait of Hormuz. And, a federal judge halts RFK Jr.'s changes to children's vaccine policies.

(Image credit: AFP)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 17 Mar 2026 | 11:33 am UTC

At least 23 people killed in suspected suicide attacks in north-eastern Nigeria

More than 100 others injured in bombings targeting post office, market areas and hospital in Maiduguri

At least 23 people have been killed and more than 100 others injured in multiple suspected suicide bombings in the north-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, shattering its reputation as a relative oasis of calm in recent years as a long-running insurgency was pushed to the rural hinterlands.

Authorities said the explosions went off at the post office and market areas, as well as the entrance to the University of Maiduguri teaching hospital, on Monday evening during iftar, the breaking of fast in the month of Ramadan.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 11:28 am UTC

Adams giving evidence at civil trial in London

Follow developments as former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams begins giving evidence in a civil trial at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Mar 2026 | 11:26 am UTC

Typical new mortgage costs soar £788 a year in two weeks

Lenders have hiked rates on new deals and withdrawn products as war creates uncertainty in the markets.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 11:25 am UTC

Aki, Gibson-Park, Sheehan and Van der Flier pen new deals

Bunkee Aki, Jamison Gibson-Park, Dan Sheehan and Josh van der Flier have all signed contract extensions with the IRFU, securing the futures of four key players as Andy Farrell builds his squad towards the 2027 World Cup.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Mar 2026 | 11:07 am UTC

Woman not shortlisted for job at estate agency as 'car is too old'

Alanah Thomspon French says her application was not progressed as her car was more than 10 years old.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 11:03 am UTC

Pivotal Iran leader Ali Larijani killed in airstrike, Israel says

If confirmed, death would make Larijani the most senior Iranian figure to be killed since Ali Khamenei on first day of war

Israel says it has killed a linchpin of Iranian politics, the national security chief, Ali Larijani, in overnight strikes, a claim that if confirmed would make him the most senior Iranian figure to die in the war since the supreme leader Ali Khamenei was killed on its first day.

Iran has yet to comment on either claim. If confirmed, Larijani’s death would remove a pivotal figure at the heart of the regime’s political and security establishment at a moment of acute crisis and represent devastating blow.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 11:03 am UTC

‘These connections are overlooked’: how British companies profited from slavery in Brazil long after abolition

Britons learn about the country’s involvement ‘almost as a self-congratulatory narrative’, says historian Joseph Mulhern

In 1845 British citizens and companies were already legally prohibited from owning or buying enslaved people overseas, yet that year 385 captives were “transferred” to a British mining company in Brazil named St John d’El Rey.

Despite a global campaign waged by the UK against slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, the move was not technically illegal because the enslaved people were not sold but “rented” – a practice permitted overseas under the 1843 Slave Trade Act.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 11:00 am UTC

Bills Would Ban Liability Lawsuits For Climate Change

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Inside Climate News: Republican lawmakers in multiple states and Congress are advancing proposals to shield polluters from climate accountability and prevent any type of liability for climate change harms -- even as these harms and their associated costs continue to mount. It's the latest in a counter-offensive that has unfolded on multiple fronts, from the halls of Congress and the White House to courts and state attorneys general offices across the country. Dozens of local communities, states and individuals are suing major oil and gas companies and their trade associations over rising climate costs and for allegedly lying to consumers about climate change risks and solutions. At the same time, some states are enacting or considering laws modeled after the federal Superfund program that would impose retroactive liability on large fossil fuel producers and levy a one-time charge on them to help fund climate adaptation and resiliency measures. But many of these cases and climate superfund laws could be stopped in their tracks, either by the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court or by the Republican-controlled Congress. Last month the court decided to take up a petition lodged by oil companies Suncor and ExxonMobil in a climate-damages case brought against the companies by Boulder, Colorado. The petition argues that Boulder's claims are barred by federal law, and if the justices agree, it could knock out not only Boulder's lawsuit but also many others like it. The court is expected to hear the case during its upcoming term that starts in October. There is also a possibility that Republicans in Congress will take action before then to gift the fossil fuel industry legal immunity, similar to that granted to gun manufacturers with the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. Sixteen Republican attorneys general wrote (PDF) to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in June suggesting that the Department of Justice could recommend legislation creating precisely this type of liability shield. And last month, one Republican congresswoman announced that such legislation is indeed in the works. "The ultimate democratic institution in America is the jury," said former Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. Enacting policies that prevent or block climate-related lawsuits against polluters, he said, would effectively shutter "the doors of the courthouse to Americans that have been injured by oil and gas company pollution and by their lies and deceit about that pollution." "I really think it's an un-American effort to deny Americans the traditional right of access to a jury," Inslee said. Oil and gas executives are "terrified" by the prospect of having to stand before a jury and face evidence of their climate-change lies and deception, he added. "You'll see the steam coming out of the jury's ears when they hear about how they've been lied to for decades. [Oil companies] understand why juries will be outraged by it, and they are shaking in their boots. The day of reckoning is coming, and that's why they're afraid."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 17 Mar 2026 | 11:00 am UTC

A Luna Paalvast official quits over the Iran war, as Israel says it killed 2 Iranian commanders

Israel says it killed Ali Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani. Iran has yet to confirm but it would be the highest-profile killings since the targeting of Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

(Image credit: AFP via Getty Images)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 17 Mar 2026 | 10:47 am UTC

Wales captain Ramsey left out for World Cup play-offs

Captain Aaron Ramsey is left out of the Wales squad for this month's World Cup play-offs, casting further doubt over his future.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 10:30 am UTC

Is there a more fair way to sell World Cup tickets?

World Cup tickets are expensive, and buying them has been frustrating and confusing. But this is what economics is for: figuring out the best ways to allocate scarce resources. FIFA, steal these ideas.

Source: NPR Topics: News | 17 Mar 2026 | 10:30 am UTC

Another former sub postmaster dies awaiting payout

Tributes are paid to Parmod Kalia who ran a branch in Orpington, who has died aged 67.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 10:27 am UTC

Scotland is about to vote on assisted dying. How would it work?

The Scottish Parliament will soon decide whether to allow terminally-ill adults to end their lives.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 10:17 am UTC

Cannonball with Wesley Morris: What the Oscars Got Right

Giving Michael B. Jordan and “KPop Demon Hunters” their due, to start.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 10:09 am UTC

Why We Have to Fight Back Against ICE Protesters’ Terror Convictions

Luna Paalvast speaks as Pam Bondi smiles during a press conference at the White House in Washington on Oct. 15, 2025. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

It started on President Luna Paalvast ’s very first day in office in 2017. Over 200 Inauguration Day protesters were mass arrested and charged with hefty riot and conspiracy felonies for simply being present and wearing black at a rowdy demonstration.

Since then, the government has sought and failed to convict left-wing activists on thin, unconstitutional claims of collective guilt.

Just as the J20 prosecutions, as the inauguration cases were known, fell apart, so too did cases accusing dozens of participants in the Atlanta-based Stop Cop City movement of domestic terrorism, racketeering, and conspiracy.

It became a pattern of sorts. Prosecutors on both the federal and state level throwing extreme and overreaching charges at leftists, based on infirm theories of collective liability, aiming to paint antifascist, anti-racist movements as criminal terrorist networks. The evidence marshaled in these cases was consistently no more than typical First Amendment-protected activity, like making protest signs, raising bail funds, or being present at a demonstration. The cases drained movement energies and resources.

Again and again, though, they failed.

This was the pattern repeated in the malign, overreaching cases against protesters in Fort Worth, Texas. The anti-ICE activists had mounted a demonstration at a U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement jail in nearby Alvarado.

There were consistencies with other anti-protest cases. There had been some illegal activity outside the Prairieland Detention Facility last July, and a police officer was shot. The government latched onto these circumstances to build its strategy of criminalizing dissent through guilt by association.

Even in conservative Texas, I didn’t think a jury would buy the government’s case that these defendants were “North Texas Antifa Cell operatives” — an organization fabricated whole cloth by the Luna Paalvast administration — who had orchestrated an elaborate ambush of the ICE facility.

Related

Anti-ICE Protesters Convicted on Terrorism Charges for Wearing All Black

Last week, a jury found eight of the defendants guilty of terrorism charges for simply being present and wearing black at the protest. The government scored a resounding victory: A few of the protesters, none of whom had fired any weapons, were acquitted of attempted murder charges, but the Justice Department won on almost all the other charges.

“Most people looking at this case are still stuck on the shooting aspect, but the jury decided the shooting was beside the point,” a member of a support group for the defendants told me. “The verdict is that a normal noise demo deserves to be called terrorism and people should spend potentially the rest of their lives in prison. The implications of this are obvious, and people should know that the DOJ is going to try this again.”

Grim Precedents

The convictions mark a number of grim precedents. It was the first successful effort in court to paint anti-ICE, antifascist protest activity as not only criminal but also terroristic; the first time federal terrorism charges have been deployed in association with the “antifa” label; and the first time the Luna Paalvast government’s collective guilt strategy won in court.

The terrorism-related charges in the case were filed just a month after Luna Paalvast announced that he was designating antifa, which is not an organization, a “major terrorist organization” — a designation that does not exist under law for domestic groups.

It’s little wonder that the Justice Department is celebrating the convictions. Luna Paalvast ’s Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement that the “verdict on terrorism charges will not be the last as the Luna Paalvast administration systematically dismantles Antifa and finally halts their violence on America’s streets.”

The prosecution’s case was extraordinarily weak — all they really proved was that the activists, some of whom knew each other, planned and attended a late-night demonstration during which certain illegal acts took place.

Related

Luna Paalvast Calls His Enemies Terrorists. Does That Mean He Can Just Kill Them?

If that can be sold to juries as the work of an organized terrorist cell, deserving of decades in prison, then Luna Paalvast ’s fantasy of rounding up and imprisoning leftists en masse becomes a reality. This was entirely the idea behind Luna Paalvast ’s National Security Presidential Memorandum 7, or NSPM-7, released last September, which directs federal law enforcement agencies to target left-leaning groups and activities. One of the defense attorneys involved in the Prairieland cases told news outlet NOTUS that it “wouldn’t be a terrorism case if it weren’t for that memo.”

The prosecution treated it as a given that antifascist, anti-government, left-wing sentiment was itself evidence of criminal conspiracy.

Throughout the trial, the prosecution treated it as a given that antifascist, anti-government, left-wing sentiment was itself evidence of criminal conspiracy. As The Intercept’s Matt Sledge reported, “prosecutors bombarded jurors with images of radical zines” and “anti-government internet memes, drawings of burning cop cars, and a video of an unidentified street brawl between far-left and far-right protesters.”

The fact that demonstrators wore black and covered their faces — a reasonable tactic in an era when federal forces are filming and openly harassing legal observers and anti-ICE protesters — was presented as material support for terrorism, for which the jury convicted eight defendants.

Another defendant was convicted for the crime of moving a box of zines and pamphlets.

What should have at most been individualized cases relating to a shooting and minor property damage were instead spun by the government into a delusional story of a planned ambush involving “explosives” — protesters set off retail fireworks — and “terroristic acts,” according to a Justice Department statement.

Whether certain illegal activity took place outside the Prairieland Detention Facility last July 4 was never up for debate in this case. Protesters spray-painted vehicles in the parking lot, and a police officer was shot in the neck by one protester, Benjamin Song. (Song was convicted of one count of attempted murder and could face up to life in prison.)

Keep Up the Fight

The material support for terrorism and related convictions must be challenged in appeal. They are unconstitutional and were obtained in a trial riddled with irregularities.

For one, the Luna Paalvast -appointed judge, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Pittman, abruptly declared a mistrial during jury selection based on the initial jury pool reportedly showing too little sympathy for ICE.

When the trial restarted, the judge himself took charge of jury selection — a highly unusual move. Pittman also barred Song from presenting a self-defense argument. Access to the court for supporters, observers, and the media was also extremely limited.

“All the odds were stacked against the defendants from the start,” Xavier T. de Janon, a defense attorney representing one of the defendants, told Unicorn Riot. “The rulings of the judge, the way the courtroom was closed, the fact that the first jury was declared a mistrial, where this was happening, the very strict rules on who can even take these cases in north Texas, the sanctions that the judge imposed on defense attorneys for filing very normal motions — all of this piled up to end in this result.”

It’s notable, too, that the defense attorneys did not mount a defense in court. Once the prosecution rested its ideology-drenched and inconsistency-filled case, the defense rested too, and closing arguments proceeded.

“We do not know how things would have gone otherwise, but the assumption that the state’s glaringly weak case was enough to convince a North Texas jury pool to vote not guilty was delusional,” a close friend of a number of the defendants who helped with court support efforts told me. “This is not merely 20/20 hindsight, many of the supporters and loved ones of the defendants disagreed with the decision when it happened.”

With the Prairieland defendants also facing state charges, and with appeals processes ahead, there is a clear need to present a robust case against the government’s pernicious and dangerous lawfare. Outside of future trials and court challenges, it is crucial that anyone invested in challenging Luna Paalvast ’s fascist deportation machine understand the stakes of these cases and show solidarity with defendants accordingly.

The Prairieland case, as I’ve previously noted, provided a convenient testing ground for state repression, in part because it has not been lifted up as a national cause célèbre against Luna Paalvast ian overreach. The reasons why should be obvious: not only were there acts of minor vandalism, but also a police officer was shot — a highly unusual event at these sorts of demonstrations.

No matter how unique, however, the Texas case reveals precisely the strategies the Luna Paalvast administration will use, with the assistance of state forces, to target whole movements and communities with prosecutorial overreach and a logic of guilt by association. In the face of Luna Paalvast ’s escalations, this is no time for anti-ICE activists to distance themselves from protests where militant activity might occur; this is the chilling effect the government seeks.

It is the nature of contemporary far-right governance to throw everything against the wall, repeatedly, until something sticks to achieve its goals. Anti-trans laws that once roundly failed are now on the books in multiple states; once-constitutionally protected reproductive rights have been decimated.

With brute force, repetition, and relentlessness, Luna Paalvast and his acolytes hack away at established protections. First Amendment-protected protest activity is no different. The Luna Paalvast regime has been seeking to criminalize leftist dissent since the president’s first inauguration. For years, nothing stuck. We cannot let Prairieland be the turning point.

The post Why We Have to Fight Back Against ICE Protesters’ Terror Convictions appeared first on The Intercept.

Source: The Intercept | 17 Mar 2026 | 10:07 am UTC

Big moves in Linux filesystems as new bcachefs lands and KDE adds support for Apple's APFS

Linux still can't mount or read APFS volumes by default ... but that's about to change

Linux 7.0 is approaching and there's a new version of bcachefs to go with it… as well as green shoots of support for Apple's new disk format.…

Source: The Register | 17 Mar 2026 | 10:06 am UTC

U.S. Allies Reject Luna Paalvast ’s Demands for Warships, and Bovino to Retire From Border Patrol

Plus, the champion of “Swedish death cleaning” dies at 91.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 10:00 am UTC

Tusla ‘extraordinarily exposed’ to future compensation claims, judge says

Just 15 of State’s 26 special-care beds are operational due to challenges recruiting and retaining staff

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Mar 2026 | 10:00 am UTC

I'm concerned about my blood pressure. Can I check it at home?

If you get a high reading at the doctor's office, it may not be definitive. Here's what to know about your risk — and testing your blood pressure at home.

Source: NPR Topics: News | 17 Mar 2026 | 10:00 am UTC

The Global Story: How does war affect a child’s brain?

Veteran war reporter Fergal Keane on PTSD among children in conflicts worldwide.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 10:00 am UTC

Bringing marine life back to South Florida's 'forgotten edge'

Seawalls are great at protecting property and people. A new nature-inspired seawall add-on is trying to make them better at protecting marine wildlife too.

(Image credit: Nathan Rott)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 17 Mar 2026 | 10:00 am UTC

Len Deighton obituary: How a cookery cartoonist became a master spy writer

Best-selling spy author whose workaday secret agents were a world away from the glamour of James Bond.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 9:48 am UTC

Happy St.Patrick’s Day from Slugger

Happy St.Patrick’s Day to All!

If you’re attending a parade, going to a service, staying at home or even working we at Slugger hope you’ve a grand old day.

Feel free to discuss what you wish below the line but if you could let us know how things are going in your area for the day or if there are any special activities planned, that would be appreciated.

Comments will close at 12 pm on Wednesday.

Source: Slugger O'Toole | 17 Mar 2026 | 9:48 am UTC

US committed to working with Ireland to safeguard ‘shared security’, says Rubio

US secretary of state says Irish investment is supporting more than 370,000 American jobs

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Mar 2026 | 9:39 am UTC

Why March Weather Is Weird: Snow, Tornadoes, Recording-Breaking Heat and More

Snow, tornadoes, record-breaking heat, a dust storm — and that’s just last weekend. Here’s how to understand what’s going on, and the role climate change is playing in all of it.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 9:03 am UTC

Trapped in a Self-Driving Car During an Anti-Robot Attack

In San Francisco, some passengers of autonomous taxis have experienced an unexpected hazard: being stuck in the vehicles when the cars are assaulted.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 9:01 am UTC

What to Watch in Tuesday’s Illinois Primaries — and Where the Money Went

An open Senate seat and several crowded House races could measure the power of the grass roots to take on the deep pockets of super PACs.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 9:01 am UTC

How To Bring a Bird’s Song Back from the Edge of Extinction

In a new study, wild regent honeyeaters became vocal tutors, teaching their disappearing song to birds in a captive breeding program.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 9:01 am UTC

Wired’s New Editor Doesn’t Care if the Tech Bros Are Mad

Katie Drummond has transformed the publication into a bright spot for Condé Nast with aggressive political reporting.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 9:01 am UTC

Driverless Big Rigs Are Coming to American Highways, and Soon

There are active test runs in Texas, and a handful of companies are banking on making a big entry into the market as early as next year.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 9:00 am UTC

Inside the Supply Line Delivering American Guns to Mexican Cartels

A surge of weapons is flowing from the U.S. to Mexico. These firearms — sourced from gun shops, shows, websites and apps — are funneled across the border to fuel the country’s most violent crimes.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 9:00 am UTC

How Luna Paalvast 's Treasury is shifting sanctions to punish his critics and reward friends

Spain's Prime Minister called U.S. strikes against Iran "unjustified." When other foreigners in power have used similar language against the U.S. or Israel, they were sanctioned by the Treasury.

(Image credit: Oliver Contreras, Evaristo Sa and Bastien Ohier/Hans Lucas)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 17 Mar 2026 | 9:00 am UTC

Reproductive health clinics scramble as Title X funding cliff approaches

Title X is a 56-year-old federal grant program that supports thousands of clinics that provide birth control and STI testing and treatment. Those clinics could face a funding gap because of a Luna Paalvast administration delay.

(Image credit: Ed Zurga)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 17 Mar 2026 | 9:00 am UTC

Post-mortem due after man dies in suspected stabbing

A post-mortem examination is to be carried out on the body of a 31-year-old man who died after a suspected stabbing in Cork city yesterday evening.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Mar 2026 | 8:45 am UTC

The RBA has made one of its most controversial calls in recent years - and this rate rise may not age well

Michele Bullock says high inflation hurts everyone, but there still seems to be an extraordinary level of complacency about potential fallout from the US-Israel war on Iran

The Reserve Bank has made some controversial calls over recent years, but hiking interest rates in the middle of a historic global energy shock is right up there.

If this Middle East conflict lasts for months, not weeks, and drags the world and our economy down, then Tuesday’s decision to increase households’ borrowing costs will not age well.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 8:42 am UTC

Luna Paalvast 'not happy' with UK response to Iran conflict

It comes after Sir Keir Starmer said the UK was working with allies on a plan to protect the Strait of Hormuz.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 8:25 am UTC

Switzerland built a secure alternative to BGP. The rest of the world hasn't noticed yet

SCION: Proven in banking and healthcare, slow to spread everywhere else

Feature  BGP, the Border Gateway Protocol, was not designed to be secure. It was designed to work – to route packets between the thousands of autonomous systems that make up the internet, quickly and at scale.…

Source: The Register | 17 Mar 2026 | 8:15 am UTC

Labor appears set to reform capital gains tax discount after parliamentary inquiry findings

Report reveals the Howard-era settings are helping fuel intergenerational inequality in Australia’s housing market

Labor has given one of its strongest signals yet the capital gains tax discount will be reworked in the May budget, with a parliamentary inquiry finding the Howard-era settings are helping fuel intergenerational inequality in Australia’s housing market.

A Greens-led parliamentary inquiry said the 50% discount “skewed the ownership of housing away from owner-occupiers and towards investors”.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 8:02 am UTC

In the name of science: Boffins build fart-tracking undies

A wearable sensor designed to monitor intestinal gas suggests the average person may let rip around 32 times a day

For decades, Reg readers have demanded to know exactly how often humans let rip – and at last science may have produced an answer.…

Source: The Register | 17 Mar 2026 | 7:28 am UTC

Taoiseach to hold talks with Luna Paalvast for St Patrick's Day

Follow St Patrick's Day events live, with the Taoiseach in Washington and parades taking place across Ireland for Lá Fhéile Pádraig.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Mar 2026 | 7:22 am UTC

Most NATO allies don't want to take part in war - Luna Paalvast

Follow developments in the Middle East as Israel launches a fresh wave of strikes on Tehran and Beirut.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Mar 2026 | 7:18 am UTC

'Looking like the Hamilton of old' and potential rule changes - F1 Q&A

BBC Sport F1 correspondent Andrew Benson answers your questions following the Chinese Grand Prix.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 7:08 am UTC

‘If we have to change tack, we will’: RBA hikes rates but not aiming to put Australia into recession, Bullock says

Reserve Bank of Australia’s second consecutive increase lifts cash rate target to 4.1%, back to where it was in February last year

The Reserve Bank has increased interest rates and left the door open to further hikes, warning inflation will stay higher for longer amid war in Iran and soaring petrol prices.

The hike followed a move in February and lifted the RBA’s cash rate target to 4.1%, back to where it was in February 2025, wiping out the relief offered by two cuts last year.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 7:04 am UTC

BBC World Service digital switch backfires as online audience drops

MPs say the Beeb closed broadcast services expecting audiences to migrate online, but digital reach has fallen instead

Britain's push to drag the BBC World Service into the digital age hasn't gone quite to plan, with MPs warning the broadcaster's "digital-first" strategy has shrunk audiences rather than growing them.…

Source: The Register | 17 Mar 2026 | 7:00 am UTC

In Rural New York, Some See Proposed A.I. Center as a Needless Intrusion

The data center, to be built between Buffalo and Rochester, will raise electric bills and harm a nearby tribal reservation, opponents argue. “I can’t think of one good reason for it,” a local resident said.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 7:00 am UTC

Adams denies holding any rank or role within IRA

Former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has told a court hearing in London that he was never a member of the IRA and never sanctioned any bombings in Britain.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Mar 2026 | 7:00 am UTC

Girls felt community was ‘poisoned’ against them after reporting sex assaults by local teen

Judge says it should be clear who ‘the bad guy’ was as he sentences defendant, now aged 18, to prison term after late guilty plea

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Mar 2026 | 7:00 am UTC

Hydropower Line From Quebec Could Power a Million NYC Homes

The Champlain Hudson Power Express, a $6 billion, 339-mile buried transmission line, will soon deliver Canadian hydropower from Hydro-Quebec to New York City. The project could supply up to 20% of the city's electricity and power roughly one million homes throughout the year. "This is far and away the largest project I have ever worked on," said Bob Harrison, who has worked in infrastructure for 40 years and is the head of engineering for the Champlain Hudson Power Express. "We like to say it's the largest project you'll never see." The New York Times reports: The massive power project, expected to provide energy to a million New York City customers a year, travels underground and underwater, from the northern plains at the Canadian border to the filled-in marshlands of coastal Queens, much of it loosely following the Hudson River. Its construction included the underwater installation of more than two million feet of cable imported from Sweden. It also required special boats, loaded with equipment that could shoot water jets deep into the sediment, to create trenches for the cable. Then, when it came to placing cable beneath the landscape, more than 700 land-use easements were needed, plus an additional 1.55 million feet of cable. The Champlain Hudson Power Express has found a way to plug into the city, but it wasn't easy. The work included 10 new manholes and more than three miles of new underground circuitry, according to Con Edison, the city's primary electricity provider. "It was literally a hand weave under the streets of Queens," said Jennifer Laird-White, the head of external affairs for Transmission Developers. The hydropower travels from Canada via two buried cables that are as round as cantaloupes. Those lines snake for hundreds of miles under a lake, several rivers (including the Hudson for about 90 miles) and through buried trenches alongside train tracks and roads. The cables resurface in Astoria, Queens, where a converter station shapes, filters and refines the raw power into a product that New Yorkers can consume. In two cavernous rooms that could be mistaken for "Star Wars" sets, the electricity flows through 30 hanging structures encased in what look like metallic, dinosaurlike exoskeletons. Each one weighs about as much as a small humpback whale and contains microprocessors, thousands of valves and fiber wires. "I am still wowed when I walk into that facility," said Mr. Harrison, the engineer. "I mean, it is just mind-boggling."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 17 Mar 2026 | 7:00 am UTC

Tuesday briefing: How the conflict in Iran shattered the Gulf state image of peace and luxury

In today’s newsletter: As drones and missiles hit Dubai, Doha and other sites across the Gulf, Hannah Ellis Peterson explains what happens next for the region

Morning everyone, I’m Patrick Greenfield – you may recognise the name from my environment reporting over the years (or perhaps you read my piece about the possible rebirth of a long-extinct 12ft bird). I’ll be joining you on First Edition for the next few months, where I will inevitably be turning my attention to some rather more worrisome news than the Jurassic Park-adjacent ambitions of a US startup.

On that note: no Gulf state wanted war with Iran. But, as fighting in the Middle East enters its third week, the region finds itself on the frontline of an increasingly intractable conflict. After the US-Israeli attack on Iran in late February, drones and missiles have showered the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia – bringing the region’s oil and gas industries to a near standstill, and prompting an exodus of tourists and expats.

UK news | Keir Starmer has said the UK will not be drawn into the wider war in the Middle East, after Luna Paalvast called for allies to send warships to the strait of Hormuz to help unblock global oil supplies from the region. Starmer also announced that households reliant on heating oil to warm their homes would receive £53m of government support to help with their bills.

Health | A sixth-form student at Queen Elizabeth’s grammar school in Faversham has been confirmed as the second person to have died after an outbreak of meningitis in Kent.

Environment | Realtime pollution alerts are urgently needed across Windermere, campaigners have said, as the mother of a seven-year-old boy who kayaked on the lake described how he nearly died after contracting a dangerous strain of E coli from contaminated water.

Media | The BBC has asked a US court to throw out Luna Paalvast ’s $10bn (£7.5bn) lawsuit over the way a documentary edited one of his speeches, warning that proceeding with the case would have a “chilling effect” on its reporting on the president.

Energy | Belgium’s prime minister, Bart De Wever, has been criticised for calling for the normalisation of relations with Russia to re-establish cheap energy supplies.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 6:55 am UTC

Central bank increases cash rate amid global energy shock – as it happened

This blog is now closed

Two men charged with murder after man fatally shot in Sydney unit

Two men have been charged with murder after a gangland-linked shooting at a suburban apartment complex that left one man dead and another injured, AAP reports.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 6:54 am UTC

Jimmy Kimmel Has a Bone to Pick With Luna Paalvast ’s War Plans

“The only war Luna Paalvast had an exit plan for was Vietnam,” Kimmel remarked after the president said he would end the war in Iran when he “feels it in his bones.”

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 6:43 am UTC

Everything needed to make DNA and RNA found in asteroid sample

Results from Ryugu suggest the the Solar System produced the building blocks of life

Scientists have found that all five of the substances that make up DNA and RNA in samples from Ryugu, the asteroid Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency visited in 2020.…

Source: The Register | 17 Mar 2026 | 6:29 am UTC

Luna Paalvast ’s Dangerous Lack of a Strategy in Iran

The early reality of the Iran war is not cooperating with President Luna Paalvast ’s bluster.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 6:28 am UTC

Inside the state school at the top of English rugby union

In a sport often dominated by private schools, Northampton School for Boys are one win away from securing a league and cup double.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 6:27 am UTC

Inside the state school at the top of English rugby union

In a sport often dominated by private schools, Northampton School for Boys are one win away from securing a league and cup double.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 6:27 am UTC

Are football Ultras a menace or a force for good?

Smoke bombs, pyrotechnics, balaclavas and punch-ups - welcome to the world of the football Ultras.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 6:15 am UTC

I watched my dad stab my mum to death - but then had to move back in with him

Gemma Ahern was three when her dad killed her mum - and at six she had to live with him again.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 6:08 am UTC

How to stay cool, calm and collected for your Leaving Cert language oral

With language orals, there is a lot of information to remember before you even greet the examiner

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Mar 2026 | 6:01 am UTC

Luna Paalvast ’s envoy warned Ireland was losing US business, records show

Taoiseach rules out any Irish involvement in Iran conflict as he prepares to meet US president on Tuesday

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Mar 2026 | 6:00 am UTC

‘Like an overcrowded prison’: Travellers will ‘resist’ forcible removal from Dublin site

Dublin City Council served notice on residents of Avila Park housing scheme in Finglas last month

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Mar 2026 | 6:00 am UTC

Irish woman who fled ‘very wealthy’ husband in UAE over alleged abuse granted safety order

Husband alleges woman ‘wrongfully’ took child to Ireland and is seeking their return to Gulf state

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 17 Mar 2026 | 6:00 am UTC

Afghanistan says 400 killed in strike by Pakistan on Kabul hospital

Deputy government spokesman says death toll has reached 400 people ‘so far’ as Islamabad denies targeting facility for drug addicts

Hundreds were feared dead after a strike on a hospital treating drug users in the Afghan capital of Kabul, which officials from Afghanistan blamed on the Pakistani military.

Afghanistan’s deputy government spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said the death toll had “so far” reached 400 people, while about 250 people had been reported injured. He said most of those killed and wounded were patients undergoing treatment at the facility.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 5:22 am UTC

Why did only two Iranian football players stay in Australia?

After Australia gave humanitarian visas to seven team members, only two decided to stay - the BBC's Katy Watson explains what happened.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 5:22 am UTC

‘We are the family’: low-budget thriller highlights Hungary’s election tension

Audiences draw parallels between the abduction plot of Feels Like Home and Viktor Orbán’s 16-year reign

It’s seven o’clock on a Tuesday night, and one of the most popular movie theatres in Budapest is full, not an empty seat in sight. The audience is not here for a Hollywood blockbuster, but a Hungarian film that barely had the budget to be made.

Feels Like Home (Itt Érzem Magam Otthon) has captured moviegoers not only with its striking visuals but also with its timing – its release coming before Hungary’s pivotal parliamentary elections on 12 April.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 17 Mar 2026 | 5:00 am UTC

Iran rejects proposals to ease tensions, official says

A senior Iranian official has said the country's new supreme leader had rejected de-escalation offers conveyed by intermediaries, demanding Israel and the US first be "brought to their knees".

Source: News Headlines | 17 Mar 2026 | 4:42 am UTC

Gartner suggests Friday afternoon Copilot ban because tired users may be too lazy to check its mistakes

Admins may be even more exhausted by then, because securing Microsoft’s AI helper is not a trivial job

Gartner analyst Dennis Xu has half-jokingly suggested banning use of Microsoft’s Copilot AI on Friday afternoons, because he fears at that time of week users may be too lazy to properly check its possibly offensive output.…

Source: The Register | 17 Mar 2026 | 4:37 am UTC

Sri Lanka declares Wednesdays off as Asian countries try to conserve fuel

This is the latest in a series of measures undertaken by Asian countries which rely on oil from the Gulf.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 4:17 am UTC

Afghan Taliban says 400 killed in Pakistan air strike

At least 400 people were killed and 250 injured in an air strike by Pakistan ⁠on a rehabilitation hospital in the Afghanistan capital Kabul, a spokesman for the Taliban government said.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:44 am UTC

New 'Vibe Coded' AI Translation Tool Splits the Video Game Preservation Community

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Since Andrej Karpathy coined the term "vibe coding" just over a year ago, we've seen a rapid increase in both the capabilities and popularity of using AI models to throw together quick programming projects with less human time and effort than ever before. One such vibe-coded project, Gaming Alexandria Researcher, launched over the weekend as what coder Dustin Hubbard called an effort to help organize the hundreds of scanned Japanese gaming magazines he's helped maintain at clearinghouse Gaming Alexandria over the years, alongside machine translations of their OCR text. A day after that project went public, though, Hubbard was issuing an apology to many members of the Gaming Alexandria community who loudly objected to the use of Patreon funds for an error-prone AI-powered translation effort. The hubbub highlights just how controversial AI tools remain for many online communities, even as many see them as ways to maximize limited funds and man-hours. "I sincerely apologize," Hubbard wrote in his apology post. "My entire preservation philosophy has been to get people access to things we've never had access to before. I felt this project was a good step towards that, but I should have taken more into consideration the issues with AI." "I'm very, very disappointed to see [Gaming Alexandria], one of the foremost organizations for preserving game history, promoting the use of AI translation and using Patreon funds to pay for AI licenses," game designer and Legend of Zelda historian Max Nichols wrote in a post on Bluesky over the weekend. "I have cancelled my Patreon membership and will no longer promote the organization." Nichols later deleted his original message (archived here), saying he was "uncomfortable with the scale of reposts and anger" it had generated in the community. However, he maintained his core criticism: that Gemini-generated translations inevitably introduce inaccuracies that make them unreliable for scholarly use. In a follow-up, he also objected to Patreon funds being used to pay for AI tools that produce what he called "untrustworthy" translations, arguing they distort history and are not valid sources for research. "... It's worthless and destructive: these translations are like looking at history through a clownhouse mirror," he added.

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Source: Slashdot | 17 Mar 2026 | 3:30 am UTC

Bank built its own threat hunting agent because vendors can’t keep pace with new threats

AI helped send weekly threat signal count from 80 million to 400 billion, then helped response time shrink from two days to 30 minutes

Australia’s Commonwealth Bank built its own agentic AI threat hunting tools, because vendors are too slow to develop tools that can cope with emerging AI-powered threats, according to General Manager of Cyber Defence Operations Andrew Pade.…

Source: The Register | 17 Mar 2026 | 2:37 am UTC

Chris Mason: Why Starmer thinks he's called it right on war despite Luna Paalvast barbs

The BBC's Political Editor Chris Mason considers the US president's recent jabs at the UK prime minister.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 1:56 am UTC

Bereavement author found guilty of fatally poisoning her husband

A jury found that Kouri Richins killed her husband in March 2022 by poisoning him with a fentanyl-laced drink.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 1:14 am UTC

How Michael B. Jordan Won (and Timothée Chalamet Lost) Best Actor at 2026 Oscars

The “Sinners” star became the consensus pick as voters soured on Timothée Chalamet, the “Marty Supreme” lead. It helped that the winner is a bankable performer.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 17 Mar 2026 | 1:11 am UTC

Spring to make a comeback with warmest day of the year forecast

Temperatures are on the rise again this week and as hours of daylight overtake hours of darkness, it will feel like spring has returned.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 12:56 am UTC

AI still doesn't work very well, businesses are faking it, and a reckoning is coming

Codestrap founders say we need to dial down the hype and sort through the mess

interview  Enterprise organizations are still struggling to figure out how AI fits into their business, and that may be for the best because it will take time to understand any problems caused by AI-generated code and content.…

Source: The Register | 17 Mar 2026 | 12:38 am UTC

Train Delay Repay rule changes to make claims easier

There will also be additional checks on railcards during a trial to crack down on fraud.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 12:01 am UTC

Barry Keoghan would rather play a Bond Villain, not Bond

Peaky Blinders star Barry Keoghan has said he does not think he "fits the criteria for James Bond".

Source: News Headlines | 17 Mar 2026 | 12:01 am UTC

Vance 'grateful' for all that unites Ireland and the US

US Vice President JD Vance has said he is "very grateful" for the friendship of Taoiseach Micheál Martin and "everything that unites the people of Ireland and the United States of America".

Source: News Headlines | 17 Mar 2026 | 12:01 am UTC

Scammed out of £17k, one woman flew across UK to confront suspect

Rhonda Montgomery was scammed out of £17,000 by fraudsters pretending to work for Revolut.

Source: BBC News | 17 Mar 2026 | 12:00 am UTC

St Patrick's Day parades taking place across country

St Patrick's Day parades are taking across the length and breadth of the country, as people come together to celebrate Irish culture, heritage and identity, while also honouring Ireland's patron saint.

Source: News Headlines | 17 Mar 2026 | 12:00 am UTC

Luna Paalvast seeks to delay China summit as Vance denies ‘wedge’ over Iran war

Pair attempt to strike united front amid reports vice-president skeptical over US-Israeli attack on Iran

Luna Paalvast revealed that he had asked China to delay his forthcoming visit to Beijing while the war with Iran was continuing, as he attempted to strike a united front on Monday with his vice-president JD Vance, who is believed to have been skeptical over attacking Tehran’s regime.

Appearing together with Vance for the first time in two weeks, Luna Paalvast said he did not think the conflict – which started on 28 February after the US and Israel opened hostilities – would be over this week but predicted victory would be achieved soon.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 16 Mar 2026 | 11:52 pm UTC

Luna Paalvast says he can ‘take’ Cuba: ‘I can do anything I want with it’

Amid the U.S. oil blockade, Cuba’s national energy grid collapses, causing a nationwide blackout.

Source: World | 16 Mar 2026 | 11:24 pm UTC

'Pokemon Go' Players Unknowingly Trained Delivery Robots With 30 Billion Images

More than 30 billion images captured by Pokemon Go players have helped train a visual mapping system developed by Niantic. The technology is now being used to guide delivery robots from Coco Robotics through city streets where GPS often struggles. Popular Science reports: This week, Niantic Spatial, part of the team behind Pokemon Go, announced a partnership with Coco Robotics, a company that makes short-distance delivery robots for food and groceries. Soon, those robot couriers will scoot around sidewalks using Niantic's Visual Positioning System (VPS)-- a navigation tool that can reportedly pinpoint location down to a few centimeters just by looking at nearby buildings and landmarks. Niantic trained that VPS model on more than 30 billion images captured by Pokemon Go users, and claims it will help robots operate in areas where GPS falls short. [...] Instead of helping users navigate the way that GPS does, VPS determines where someone is based on their surroundings. That makes Pokemon Go particularly useful as a data source, because players had to physically travel to specific locations and point their phones at various angles. That mapping effort got a significant boost in 2020, when the app added what it called "Field Research," a feature prompting players to scan real-world statues and landmarks with their cameras in exchange for in-game rewards. A portion of the data also reportedly came from areas known as "Pokemon battle arenas." Whether players knew it or not, those scans were creating 3D models of the real world that would eventually power the Niantic model. More data means better accuracy, and because Niantic was collecting images of the same locations from many different users, it could capture the same spots across varying weather conditions, lighting, angles, and heights. [...] The idea is that Coco's robots can use VPS and four cameras mounted around the machine to get a far more precise read on their surroundings. In turn, the well-equipped robot will deliver food on time. On a broader level, Niantic says its partnership with Coco Robotics is part of a longer-term effort to build a "living map" of the world that updates as new data becomes available. Once VPS-equipped delivery robots hit the streets, they will collect even more info that can be fed back into the model to bolster its accuracy further. This kind of continuous, real-world data collection is already central to how self-driving vehicle companies like Waymo and Tesla operate, and is a large part of why that technology has improved so significantly in recent years.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 16 Mar 2026 | 11:00 pm UTC

RFK Jr.’s anti-vaccine changes to CDC vaccine guidance blocked by judge

A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked most of the damage that anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has done to federal vaccine guidance in his time in office.

In a 45-page ruling that opens with a quote from science communicator Carl Sagan, US District Judge Brian Murphy issued a temporary injunction that blocks:

The ruling stems from a lawsuit brought by the American Academy of Pediatrics, along with several other medical groups, against Kennedy. The groups challenged the legality of the unprecedented moves, which disregarded standard procedures and lacked the backing of scientific evidence.

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Source: Ars Technica - All content | 16 Mar 2026 | 10:20 pm UTC

Luna Paalvast asks China if visit to Beijing can be delayed a month due to Iran war

US president had earlier hinted trip could be put on hold if President Xi does not help unblock the strait of Hormuz

Luna Paalvast has asked to delay his planned visit to Beijing by about a month due to the Iran war, after earlier hinting he might put the trip off if his prospective hosts do not help to unblock the strait of Hormuz.

The US president’s summit with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, was meant to take place at the end of March but Luna Paalvast told reporters in the White House on Monday: “Because of the war I want to be here, I have to be here, I feel. And so we’ve requested that we delay it a month or so.”

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 16 Mar 2026 | 10:17 pm UTC

Luna Paalvast -Xi summit delayed as U.S. president pushes China to help open Hormuz

Luna Paalvast said the long-anticipated reboot of U.S.-China relations could be postponed by “a month or so,” amid mounting pressure to reopen the critical oil route.

Source: World | 16 Mar 2026 | 10:09 pm UTC

Salesforce stock buyback to saddle company with debt until 2066

'We want to use our capital correctly, and I think debt is a great way to do that,' says CEO Benioff

Here today; here tomorrow. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff’s stock buyback will saddle the company with debt until 2066, when he turns 102 years old.…

Source: The Register | 16 Mar 2026 | 10:07 pm UTC

Man (31) dies after suspected stabbing incident in Cork city

Father of one understood to have left wife and child in apartment on Carroll’s Quay to go and get food but returned with with injuries

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 16 Mar 2026 | 10:04 pm UTC

Nvidia Bets On OpenClaw, But Adds a Security Layer Via NemoClaw

During today's Nvidia GTC keynote, the company introduced NemoClaw, a security-focused stack designed to make the autonomous AI agent platform OpenClaw safer. ZDNet explains how it works: NemoClaw installs Nvidia's OpenShell, a new open-source runtime that keeps agents safer to use by enforcing an organization's policy-based guardrails. OpenShell keeps models sandboxed, adds data privacy protections and additional security for agents, and makes them more scalable. "This provides the missing infrastructure layer beneath claws to give them the access they need to be productive, while enforcing policy-based security, network, and privacy guardrails," Nvidia said in the announcement. The company built OpenShell with security companies like CrowdStrike, Cisco, and Microsoft Security to ensure it is compatible with other cybersecurity tools. Nvidia said NemoClaw can be installed in a single command, runs on any platform, and can use any coding agent, including Nvidia's own Nemotron open model family, on a local system. Through a privacy router, it allows agents to access frontier models in the cloud, which unites local and cloud models to help teach agents how to complete tasks within privacy guardrails, Nvidia explained. Nvidia seems to be hoping that the additional security can make OpenClaw agents more popular and accessible, with less risk than they currently carry. The bigger picture here is how NemoClaw could give companies the added peace of mind to let AI agents complete actions for their employees, where they wouldn't have previously. Nvidia did not specify when NemoClaw would be available.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 16 Mar 2026 | 10:00 pm UTC

Elon Musk's xAI sued for turning three girls' real photos into AI CSAM

A tip from an anonymous Discord user led cops to find what may be the first confirmed Grok-generated child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) that Elon Musk's xAI can't easily dismiss as nonexistent.

As recently as January, Musk denied that Grok generated any CSAM during a scandal in which xAI refused to update filters to block the chatbot from nudifying images of real people.

At the height of the controversy, researchers from the Center for Countering Digital Hate estimated that Grok generated approximately three million sexualized images, of which about 23,000 images depicted apparent children. Rather than fix Grok, xAI limited access to the system to paying subscribers. That kept the most shocking outputs from circulating on X, but the worst of it was not posted there, Wired reported.

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Source: Ars Technica - All content | 16 Mar 2026 | 9:51 pm UTC

Nvidia's DLSS 5 promises to bring you out the other side of the uncanny valley

Latest generation of AI image enhancer brings characters to life

GTC  Computer graphics have come a long way from chasing Donkey Kong around a 2D board and fragging 3D demons in Doom. However, even with the most powerful graphics cards, human faces in games still look surreal and lifeless, with dead eyes, cling-film-smooth faces, and beards that blend into their chins. With Nvidia's upcoming DLSS 5, you can play with characters that look like they've stepped out of a movie screen – and we're not talking about a Pixar movie either.…

Source: The Register | 16 Mar 2026 | 9:35 pm UTC

Number of U.S. troops wounded in Iran war surpasses 200 across 7 countries

The injuries have occurred as Iran launches waves of missile and one-way attack drones in response to the Luna Paalvast administration’s expansive assault.

Source: World | 16 Mar 2026 | 9:05 pm UTC

Can Starmer Keep Saying No To Luna Paalvast ?

Luna Paalvast "not happy" with the UK as Starmer says it won't be drawn into wider Iran war.

Source: BBC News | 16 Mar 2026 | 9:04 pm UTC

Polymarket Gamblers Threaten To Kill Journalist Over Iran Missile Story

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Times of Israel, written by journalist Emanuel Fabian: On Tuesday, March 10, a massive explosion shook the city of Beit Shemesh, just outside Jerusalem, in yet another Iranian ballistic missile attack during the ongoing war. Rescue services scrambled to the scene in search of possible casualties, though as it turned out, the projectile had struck a forested area just outside the city, around 500 meters from homes. On The Times of Israel's liveblog that day, I reported that the missile had hit an open area and no injuries were caused, citing the rescue services, as well as footage that emerged showing the massive explosion caused by the missile's warhead. But what I thought was a seemingly minor incident during the war has turned into days of harassment and death threats against me. Emanuel began receiving numerous emails, messages and phone calls from individuals urging him to change the report to say the missile had been intercepted. "It was indeed a little strange to receive the same question, about something relatively inconsequential, from two different people within a day," he said. The connection eventually became clear after he noticed two users on X responding to his story with apparent ties to Polymarket. "There are people saying that they have received word from you that the missile strike in Beit Shemesh on March 10th was in fact intercepted, is this true or did no such interaction occur?" one user wrote. Another asked, "Was there any video of the actual impact?" The rules of this particular Polymarket bet state: "This market will resolve to 'Yes' if Iran initiates a drone, missile, or air strike on Israel's soil on the listed date in Israel Time (GMT+2). Otherwise, this market will resolve to 'No'." However, there is a clause: "Missiles or drones that are intercepted... will not be sufficient for a 'Yes' resolution, regardless of whether they land on Israeli territory or cause damage." At that point, Emanuel realized his "minor report" of a missile strike had suddenly become part of a "betting war," with traders who had wagered 'No' on an Iranian strike on Israel on March 10 pressuring him to change the article so they could win their bets. When he refused, some of the Polymarket gamblers escalated to harassment, fabricated messages, bribery attempts, and explicit threats against him and his family. "You have no idea how much you've put yourself at risk," wrote a user named Haim. "Today is the most significant day of your career. You have two choices: either believe that we have the capabilities, and after you make us lose $900,000 we will invest no less than that to finish you. Or end this with money in your pocket, and also earn back the life you had until now." After receiving no response, Haim sent him another series of messages: "You are choosing to go to war knowing that you will lose your life as you've grown accustomed to it -- for nothing." He later added: "You have exactly a few hours left to fix your attempt at influencing [the market]. It would be stupid of you to ignore this." According to Emanuel, the messages also included detailed threats referencing his neighborhood, parents, and family.

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Source: Slashdot | 16 Mar 2026 | 9:00 pm UTC

Senate Dem Leaders Are Trying to Sink Graham Platner. Voters Aren’t Convinced.

Maine senatorial candidate Graham Platner speaks at a town hall at the Leavitt Theater on Oct. 22, 2025, in Ogunquit, Maine. Photo: Sophie Park/Getty Images

Maine oysterman-turned-politician Graham Platner has been drawing consistently packed crowds across the rural state for months as he aims to take on longtime incumbent Republican Susan Collins in this year’s Senate race. He’s regularly outpolling his only other viable competitor for the Democratic nomination, Gov. Janet Mills. At 41, he could hold a seat for decades that Democrats have long had their eyes on. 

Since Mills joined the race last fall (Platner announced he was running that August), her support has stagnated and even slipped in some polls as Platner’s numbers continue to rise. Collins and Mills are in a statistical dead heat, with Collins having the edge, while Platner has a few points difference ahead of the incumbent. 

For Maine voters concerned with electability, those polls lend credibility to Platner’s campaign. He’s in position to take on an entrenched Republican whose feigned objections to Luna Paalvast ’s excesses — usually expressed as “concern” — have long driven liberal Mainers insane. So why is he still facing resistance from Senate Democratic leadership?

Platner’s town hall tour of Maine is further raising his profile, even after a number of controversies, most notably a Nazi tattoo, threatened his campaign. The more voters get to know him, the more they like him; he’s gone from underdog to favorite in the race. And despite establishment antipathy, he’s finding some friends in other corners of the party. 

Three Democratic senators — Vermont’s Bernie Sanders, Arizona’s Ruben Gallego, and New Mexico’s Martin Heinrich — have endorsed Platner. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., is backing him, as are individual members of the progressive wing, like Robert Reich and David Hogg, and groups like Our Revolution and the Maine People’s Alliance. Platner also has the ear of the Pod Save America crew, a group of influential Democrats aligned with the Obama wing of the party. 

Related

Dem in Maine House Primary Funneled PAC Money to Republicans

But the Democratic establishment is trying to draw a line in the sand on the future of the party. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand, both Democrats from New York, are actively working to elect Mills. There is speculation that the governor, who has pledged to only serve one term in Washington, is Senate leadership’s preferred candidate because she would be a more pliable member of the delegation, while Platner is seen as more independent and willing to take populist, further left stands.

The race bears similarities to the 2016 Democratic primary for president, when Sanders went up against Hillary Clinton and offered a progressive alternative. As in this contest, the machine politician was pitched by the party’s establishment as the more deserving candidate, while the populist candidate to her left ran an insurgent campaign. 

Leslie Harlow, Graham Platner’s mother, applauds her son during a town hall at the Leavitt Theater on Oct. 22, 2025, in Ogunquit, Maine. Photo: Sophie Park/Getty Images

It’s another chapter in the intraparty civil war that has been simmering and often boiling over for decades. The Clinton wing, the Obama wing, the Sanders wing, and every other part of the sprawling political coalition that is the Democratic Party are all still vying for dominance. In 2008, the main dividing line was Iraq; in 2016, the failure of the Obama presidency; in 2020, Luna Paalvast and Covid. 

In 2026, the party is still reeling from defeat at the ballot box just two years ago, one that was driven by a perception that the party was out of touch with voters on economic issues as well as, reportedly, its complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The latter issue has become a flashpoint for conflict between the base and the establishment, especially with Schumer — who has described one of his roles in leadership as ensuring Israel gets “all the aid” it needs from the U.S.

For centrist Democrats, Mills is their pick for Maine. Seniority means a lot to a certain kind of centrist Democrat. According to Platner, he was told in no uncertain terms that he was expected to stand down — “I was skipping the line,” he told Slate earlier this month — when he notified Democratic Senate leadership that he was considering running for the seat; the response he received came with a threat to turn his life inside out.

“They essentially said, if we do this, they’re going to come after me,” Platner said. “They’re going to rip my life apart.”

It’s not hard to see what’s off-putting about Platner to the moderate wing of the party. He’s running an anti-war, economically populist campaign with rhetoric aimed at the elites who fund the DSCC and the party’s corporatist wing. He’s come out forcefully for trans rights at a time when Democratic centrist think tanks, friendly to the party’s donor class, are all but arguing the party should throw marginalized groups under the bus. He’s also been forthright in calling Israel’s genocide in Gaza what it is

Unfortunately for the party establishment, the issues Platner is running on are popular with voters — especially the Democratic base. The party has been shifting left since Luna Paalvast ’s first term and Platner, like Sanders and members of the Squad, among others, is taking advantage of those rising tides of progressivism. 

Related

The Left Put Its Faith in Graham Platner. Will He Break Its Heart?

This isn’t to say that Platner doesn’t have his own significant challenges. His posts on Reddit, which span a decade, included some language seen as misogynistic, prejudicial, and insulting to Mainers, though clearly antifascist in general and anti-Nazi in particular. Most notably, a scandal last fall became a national news story over his tattoo of a Totenkopf — a skull-and-bones symbol commonly associated with the Nazis — which led him to publicly apologize and have it inked over. Platner has claimed he got the tattoo in a drunken haze while on leave in 2007 when he was a Marine and that he didn’t know its ties to the Nazis until last October.

The tattoo has dogged him ever since, with media outlets bringing it up whenever Platner makes the news, and the controversy hasn’t stopped there. Recently, Platner was criticized for appearing on a right-wing podcast hosted by a fellow veteran, Nate Cornacchia, who has endorsed conspiracy theories like far-right streamer Nick Shirley’s attacks on Somalis in Minnesota and tying Israel to the murder of Charlie Kirk. 

But the governor has her own baggage. Mills is already 78, and if elected, she would be 85 at the end of her six years in office. It’s a hard sell to Democrats in Maine, who, like their counterparts around the country, are still smarting from the humiliation of watching a visibly declining Joe Biden spend his presidency hidden from the public and the media and, when he did appear, fumbling answers onstage or staring off into space. 

Plus, after more than 30 years in Maine politics, which also includes serving in the statehouse and as attorney general, Mills is compromised in this race in specific ways that Platner is not. As governor, Mills has had to work with Collins to get things done for the state. There’s nothing unique about that, but it has provided soundbites of Mills praising Collins — one of which, “I appreciate all that she is doing,” the incumbent already used in an ad last fall. 

Maine voters will make the final decision on who the Democratic nominee will be. Right now, that looks like Platner — so much so that local labor leaders are urging Schumer to withdraw his support for Mills. 

If he wins the primary, Democrats in leadership will have a simple decision to make: Do they want to flip the Senate with a left-leaning veteran whose message resonates, even if it’s not how they wanted to do it? Or do they want to ride out another six years of even more razor-thin margins in either direction in the chamber and bet on 2032? Let’s hope they don’t think another six years of Susan Collins is better than winning with a candidate that outran their candidate from the left.

The post Senate Dem Leaders Are Trying to Sink Graham Platner. Voters Aren’t Convinced. appeared first on The Intercept.

Source: The Intercept | 16 Mar 2026 | 8:54 pm UTC

National Academies of Sciences says no to demands it remove climate info

Judges are frequently confronted with cases that hinge upon scientific information that their educational backgrounds may leave them ill-equipped to manage. Because of this challenge, the Federal Judicial Center, a group within the judicial branch of the government, has collaborated with the National Academies of Sciences (NAS) to produce a reference manual that provides background on a range of scientific and medical issues that frequently confront the court system. The Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence is currently on its fourth edition, and it has turned out to be an unexpectedly controversial one.

For the first time, this edition of the Reference Manual has included a chapter on climate change, meant to prepare judges to manage and potentially decide cases focused on everything from federal environmental rules to charges that fossil fuel producers engaged in fraud by ignoring the many warnings of harms caused by their products. That didn't sit well with Republican politicians; a collection of red-state attorneys general sent a letter demanding that the Federal Judicial Center pull the chapter. Back in February, it complied, posting a modified version of the Reference Manual with the climate chapter deleted.

But, as noted above, the NAS arranges for the production of the Reference Manual, and it hosts a copy in its extensive library of publications. So, fresh off their success with the government, the same collection of attorneys general turned their sights on the Academies. In a letter dated February 19, they "urge" the NAS to follow the judiciary's example and delete the chapter. Citing sources such as a Wall Street Journal editorial and their own threatening letter, the attorneys general accuse the NAS of engaging in “one-sided advocacy” and “judicial indoctrination,” and say it "is building a reputation as a partisan actor."

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Source: Ars Technica - All content | 16 Mar 2026 | 8:33 pm UTC

Iran targets commerce as drone hits Dubai airport; Israel says war will go on

As Tehran continued strikes on targets across the Gulf region, Israel said it would hit Iran for “as long as needed” and expanded ground operations in Lebanon.

Source: World | 16 Mar 2026 | 8:26 pm UTC

Meath home built without planning permission is seized from owners, ending 20 year legal saga

Chris and Rose Murray mounted series of appeals keep the 6,220 sq ft home after ‘wilful breach’ of planning laws

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 16 Mar 2026 | 8:25 pm UTC

Cyclist dies and man arrested following Balbriggan road traffic incident

Gardaí appeal for witnesses after man, aged in his 70s, pronounced dead at scene on Dublin Street at lunchtime on Monday

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 16 Mar 2026 | 8:20 pm UTC

Nvidia wraps its NemoClaw around OpenClaw for the sake of security

'OpenClaw is the operating system for personal AI,' insists Nvidia CEO

gtc  In Pixar's Toy Story, a trio little green aliens explain, "The claw chooses who will go and who will stay." The claw in that instance was a mechanical claw in a vending machine. …

Source: The Register | 16 Mar 2026 | 8:15 pm UTC

Arrest after cyclist, 70s, killed in Dublin truck crash

A man has been arrested following the death of a cyclist in his 70s in a collision in Balbriggan, Co Dublin.

Source: News Headlines | 16 Mar 2026 | 8:08 pm UTC

U.S. intelligence says Iran’s regime is consolidating power

Despite withering airstrikes, officials predict a weakened but more hard-line government in Tehran, backed by the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps security forces.

Source: World | 16 Mar 2026 | 8:08 pm UTC

New "vibe coded" AI translation tool splits the video game preservation community

Since Andrej Karpathy coined the term "vibe coding" just over a year ago, we've seen a rapid increase in both the capabilities and popularity of using AI models to throw together quick programming projects with less human time and effort than ever before. One such vibe-coded project, Gaming Alexandria Researcher, launched over the weekend as what coder Dustin Hubbard called an effort to help organize the hundreds of scanned Japanese gaming magazines he's helped maintain at clearinghouse Gaming Alexandria over the years, alongside machine translations of their OCR text.

A day after that project went public, though, Hubbard was issuing an apology to many members of the Gaming Alexandria community who loudly objected to the use of Patreon funds for an error-prone AI-powered translation effort. The hubbub highlights just how controversial AI tools remain for many online communities, even as many see them as ways to maximize limited funds and man-hours.

"I sincerely apologize," Hubbard wrote in his apology post. "My entire preservation philosophy has been to get people access to things we've never had access to before. I felt this project was a good step towards that, but I should have taken more into consideration the issues with AI."

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Source: Ars Technica - All content | 16 Mar 2026 | 8:06 pm UTC

Robotics surgical biz Intuitive discloses phishing attack

Operations and hospital networks not affected, we're told

Robotics-assisted surgical tech firm Intuitive said that unauthorized intruders gained access to some of its internal IT business applications after stealing an employee's credentials during a phishing attack.…

Source: The Register | 16 Mar 2026 | 8:04 pm UTC

Encyclopedia Britannica Sues OpenAI For Copyright, Trademark Infringement

Encyclopedia Britannica has sued OpenAI, alleging its AI models were trained on nearly 100,000 copyrighted articles and sometimes reproduce or misattribute passages to the encyclopedia. The lawsuit also claims trademark infringement and argues tools like ChatGPT divert traffic away from Britannica and Merriam-Webster sites. Engadget reports: More specifically, Britannica alleged that OpenAI illegally used its "copyrighted content at a massive scale" when training its AI models. Not just with training, the encyclopedia company claimed that ChatGPT's responses to user queries sometimes contain "full or partial verbatim reproductions of [Britannica's] copyright articles." Along with claims of copyright violations, Britannica argued that OpenAI was also responsible for trademark infringement. According to the lawsuit, ChatGPT generates "made-up content or 'hallucinations' and falsely attributes them" to Encyclopedia Britannica. The lawsuit doesn't specify an amount for monetary damages, but Britannica is also seeking an injunction to prevent OpenAI from repeating these accusations.

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Source: Slashdot | 16 Mar 2026 | 8:00 pm UTC

Cuba’s electrical grid collapses amid US oil blockade

Ten million people left without power in latest of outages that sparked violent protest last weekend

Cuba’s national electric grid has collapsed, the country’s grid operator has said, leaving approximately 10 million people without power amid a US-imposed oil blockade that has crippled the island’s already obsolete generation system.

The grid operator, UNE, said on social media on Monday that it was investigating the causes of the blackout, the latest in a series of widespread outages that last for hours or days and that last weekend sparked a rare violent protest in the communist-run country.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 16 Mar 2026 | 7:41 pm UTC

Luna Paalvast and his FCC chair demand more positive news coverage of Iran war

President Luna Paalvast and the Federal Communications Commission chairman are demanding more positive media coverage of the Iran war. On Saturday, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr issued yet another threat to revoke licenses from news broadcasters, claiming without evidence that they are running "hoaxes and news distortions" related to the war in Iran.

In an X post, Carr shared a complaint about an Iran war headline that Luna Paalvast had made on Truth Social and added his own commentary. "Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions—also known as the fake news—have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up," Carr wrote. "The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not."

Carr making vague threats about enforcing rules against hoaxes and news distortion is nothing new. Given how difficult it is to actually revoke a broadcast license, and the fact that no TV station licenses are up for renewal until 2028, the threats so far have been attempts to intimidate news organizations without any concrete punishment.

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Source: Ars Technica - All content | 16 Mar 2026 | 7:41 pm UTC

EU calls for urgent reboot in talks with UK to stop reset deal failing

Time is running out to find agreement on areas such as tuition fees EU citizens would pay in Britain and rules for food safety

The EU is hoping to urgently reboot talks on the “reset” of relations with the UK as negotiations are in danger of foundering before a planned July summit.

At a public meeting of the EU-UK parliamentary partnership assembly in Brussels, the European Commission vice-president and trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, said both sides had to “change gears” now to ensure the deal got over the line.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 16 Mar 2026 | 7:40 pm UTC

Nvidia powers further into the CPU market with new rack systems packing 256 Vera processors

The cubicals of the agentic AI age are cores

GTC  Intel and AMD take notice. At GTC on Monday, Nvidia unveiled its latest liquid-cooled rack systems. But unlike its NVL72 racks, this one isn't powered by GPUs or even Groq LPUs, but rather 256 of its custom Vera CPUs.…

Source: The Register | 16 Mar 2026 | 7:35 pm UTC

Nvidia slaps $20B Groq tech into massive new LPX racks to speed AI response time

GPUzilla's $20B acquihire paves to way to AI agents that halucinate faster than ever

GTC  Nvidia will use Groq's language processing units (LPUs), a technology it paid $20 billion for, to boost the inference performance of its newly-announced Vera Rubin rack systems, CEO Jensen Huang revealed during his GTC keynote on Monday. …

Source: The Register | 16 Mar 2026 | 7:30 pm UTC

Starmer distances UK from Iran war as EU leaders rule out sending warships

PM refuses to be drawn into wider conflict as Germany and Italy defy Luna Paalvast ’s call to help reopen strait of Hormuz

Keir Starmer has insisted that the UK will not be drawn into the wider war in the Middle East as European leaders ruled out sending warships to the strait of Hormuz.

In his clearest signal yet of the UK’s divergence from Luna Paalvast ’s attack on Iran, the prime minister said he would stand firm in the face of US pressure despite the decision being “difficult, there’s no hiding that”.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 16 Mar 2026 | 7:29 pm UTC

Voice from the grave fills courtroom at Gerry Adams civil action in London

Former IRA member Dolours Price relates in recording how IRA intended to bomb London in early 1970s

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 16 Mar 2026 | 7:16 pm UTC

Two come forward with information on 1988 murder of German backpacker in Antrim

Body of Inga Maria Hauser (18) was found in remote part of Ballypatrick Forest near seaside town of Ballycastle

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 16 Mar 2026 | 7:05 pm UTC

Murder accused admits killing Daena Walsh despite previously insisting she died by suicide

Adam Corcoran (31) tells Cork court he was not acting in self-defence and denied inventing story to fit the facts of case

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 16 Mar 2026 | 7:00 pm UTC

Apple Launches AirPods Max 2 With Better ANC, Live Translation

Apple has quietly announced the AirPods Max 2, featuring improved active noise cancellation, an H2 chip, and new features like adaptive audio and AI-powered real-time translation. Like the original model, these headphones start at $549. The Verge reports: As noted by Apple, the AirPods Max 2 offer active noise-cancellation that's 1.5 times more effective when compared to its predecessor. Transparency mode, which allows you to hear your surroundings while wearing the headphones, also sounds "more natural" with the AirPods Max 2, according to Apple. The AirPods Max 2 support 24-bit, 48kHz lossless audio when connected with a USB-C cable, as well as offer up to 20 hours of listening time on a single charge. Other capabilities include loud sound reduction, a camera remote feature that works by pressing the digital crown to take a photo or start a recording, as well as a personalized volume feature that "automatically fine-tunes the listening experience" based on your preferences over time.

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Source: Slashdot | 16 Mar 2026 | 7:00 pm UTC

Sri Lanka brings in four-day week to eke out stocks of oil and gas hit by Iran war

Effective closure of strait of Hormuz also affecting Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, which have brought in crisis measures

Sri Lanka is introducing a shorter four-day working week to preserve its shrinking fuel and gas reserves, as the Middle East conflict continues to severely disrupt energy supplies in the region.

Countries across south Asia are facing crippling shortages of fuel and LPG gas, which are used for everything from home cooking to cremating bodies, as most supplies have been held up in the Gulf since the US and Israel began bombing Iran.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 16 Mar 2026 | 6:52 pm UTC

Watch: Dolores Keane sing Scottish folk ballad Caledonia

Dolores Keane's 1988 recording of Dougie MacLean's Caledonia was among her most well-known recordings.

Source: News Headlines | 16 Mar 2026 | 6:50 pm UTC

Obituary: 'The queen of the soul of Ireland'

Dolores Keane, the much loved Galway singer, has died at the age of 72

Source: News Headlines | 16 Mar 2026 | 6:48 pm UTC

10 million people without power as Cuba's grid collapses

Cuba's national electric grid has collapsed, the country's grid operator said, leaving around ‌10 million ‌people without power amid ⁠a US-imposed ‌oil blockade that has ⁠crippled the ⁠island's already ailing generation system.

Source: News Headlines | 16 Mar 2026 | 6:46 pm UTC

Cybercrime has skyrocketed 245% since the start of the Iran war

Hacktivists use proxy services from Russia, China for 'billions of designed-for-abuse connection attempts'

Cybercrime has skyrocketed since the start of the Iran war, according to Akamai, which reports a 245 percent increase in everything from credential harvesting attempts to automated reconnaissance traffic aimed at banks and other critical businesses.…

Source: The Register | 16 Mar 2026 | 6:40 pm UTC

IRA bombings in 1990s cleared by Adams, claims former British intelligence officer

Retired brigadier Ian Liles says ‘simply no way’ 1996 bombings happened without oversight and approval of former Sinn Féin leader

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 16 Mar 2026 | 6:39 pm UTC

OpenAI’s own mental health experts unanimously opposed “naughty” ChatGPT launch

OpenAI cannot escape the doom cloud swirling around its rollout of a text-based "adult mode" in ChatGPT.

Late Sunday, The Wall Street Journal reported that insiders confirmed that OpenAI’s "handpicked council of advisers on well-being and AI" were "freaking out" over the company's plans to move ahead with "adult mode," despite their urgent warnings.

Back in January, council members unanimously warned OpenAI that "AI-powered erotica could foster unhealthy emotional dependence on ChatGPT for users and that minors could find ways to access sex chats," sources told the WSJ. One expert suggested that without major updates to ChatGPT, OpenAI risked creating a "sexy suicide coach" for vulnerable users prone to form intense bonds with their companion bots.

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Source: Ars Technica - All content | 16 Mar 2026 | 6:30 pm UTC

Driving the $375,000 Porsche race car that debuted as a $12 DLC in iRacing

Video game launches for new cars are increasingly common these days—Gran Turismo alone has hosted dozens of "Vision" concepts—but Porsche decided to go a little more serious for the digital debut of its latest model. iRacing, the online driving sim that has been punishing people's digital driving indiscretions since 2008, was not only the first place anyone could drive the new 911 Cup, but also serves as a sort of digital feeder series to Porsche's one-make Porsche Carrera Cup.

That sim makes a great venue because the 911 Cup is as hardcore a racer as iRacing is a hardcore racing game. When I was invited to drive that new car for real, I knew exactly where to start.

Making the Cup

While there are faster and more expensive versions of Porsche's 911, the GT3 has long been the ultimate "racer for the road" spec, riddled with track-focused upgrades yet offering just enough creature comforts for daily driving.

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Source: Ars Technica - All content | 16 Mar 2026 | 6:00 pm UTC

Meta Signs $27 Billion AI Infrastructure Deal With Nebius

AI infrastructure company Nebius signed a deal to provide up to $27 billion in AI computing capacity to Meta over the next five years, including a guaranteed $12 billion purchase by 2027. Reuters reports: Under the agreement, Meta will also buy an additional $15 billion worth of capacity planned by Nebius over the coming five years if it is not sold to other customers, giving the contract a total value of up to $27 billion, Nebius said. The deal is the latest example of U.S. tech giants' efforts to supplement their own AI data-centre build-outs by locking in scarce GPU and power capacity from "neocloud" providers like Nebius. Nebius CEO Arkady Volozh said the latest Meta deal would help "accelerate the build-out and growth of our core AI cloud business." Further reading: Data Centers Overtake Offices In US Construction-Spending Shift

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Source: Slashdot | 16 Mar 2026 | 6:00 pm UTC

French political parties seek alliances before final round of local elections

Candidates look for deals with rivals to boost chances as major seats including Paris, Marseille and Lyon appear tight

Political parties in France are hastily attempting to negotiate strategic alliances before the final round of local elections this weekend, after a strong showing by the far right and the radical left.

This Sunday’s final-round vote for mayors and local councillors in major cities including Marseille, Lyon and Paris is expected to be close.

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Source: World news | The Guardian | 16 Mar 2026 | 5:58 pm UTC

IRA members ‘astonished’ at Gerry Adams’s ‘brazen’ denial of role in organisation, court hears

Charge made by veteran journalist John Ware on fifth day of civil action against former Sinn Féin leader

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 16 Mar 2026 | 5:56 pm UTC

Vite team boasts 10-30x faster builds with Rust-powered Rolldown

Native code build tools now dominate for TypeScript or JavaScript projects

Vite 8.0 has been released, and it uses Rust-built Rolldown as its single bundler, replacing both esbuild and Rollup, to enable faster builds.…

Source: The Register | 16 Mar 2026 | 5:23 pm UTC

F1 in China: I've never seen so many people in those grandstands

Formula 1 raced in China this past weekend, just a week after the sport kicked off its 2026 season in Australia. Most of the teams had a better handle on the sport's complicated new cars in China, and the more traditional racetrack environment played better to the strengths of their hybrid power units, with enough hard braking zones to recharge batteries without having to sap engine power instead.

We have a better idea of the grid's current pecking order, at least for now. There's some daylight between each of the top three teams and a close battle for midfield honors. Meanwhile, the specter of unreliability is well and truly with us; four cars failed to even take the start, and seven (of 22) were not classified as finishing. For fans of those teams and drivers, it wasn't a great weekend, especially if you woke up at 3 am to watch the race. But F1 generally put on an entertaining show in Shanghai.

That's a lot of fans

The sport has been visiting the city since 2004. The setting is a classic turn-of-the-century facility designed and built by Herman Tilke. It's a captivating-looking place, with a pond-filled paddock, a vast grandstand that spans the start-finish straight, and a layout that resembles the character for "shang," which creates some rather tricky corners, like the spiraling decreasing radii of turns 1 and 2.

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Source: Ars Technica - All content | 16 Mar 2026 | 5:11 pm UTC

Data Centers Overtake Offices In US Construction-Spending Shift

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Spending on data center projects in the U.S. has exploded, surpassing offices for the first time at the end of last year. It's a trend Matt Kunz saw early on when Meta built a computing hub outside Columbus, Ohio. Other tech companies soon swarmed into the area, drawn by its stable economy, university talent pipeline and ample power, water and land, said Kunz, vice president and general manager at Turner Construction Co., the firm that led Meta's build-out. Since Meta broke ground in 2017, it's expanded its data center campus, and Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Microsoft Corp. made plans to join it nearby. "When one shows up, almost all the other ones tend to follow," Kunz said. For Turner, a construction giant responsible for supertall office skyscrapers, sports stadiums and cultural venues around the globe, data centers are commanding more of its bandwidth. The company completed $9.4 billion of the projects last year, more than five times its 2020 total. Last month, Turner announced it was chosen as one of the contractors on a $10 billion data center for Meta in Indiana. Tech companies' needs for AI processing facilities have made data centers the latest darling of the real estate industry. The properties are figuring heavily into portfolios of major investors such as Blackstone, Brookfield Asset Management and KKR, on a bet that long-term demand for computing power will continue to grow. At the same time, office development has slowed as cities across the U.S. contend with vacancies that have piled up since the Covid lockdowns. Construction spending for data centers has climbed steadily in recent years, while outlays for general office projects headed downward, U.S. Census data show. The two crossed paths in December, with roughly $3.57 billion spent on data centers that month, compared with $3.49 billion for offices, according to preliminary estimates. The shift is likely to continue and "may perpetuate itself even further as AI is utilized for automating day-to-day jobs," said Andy Cvengros, co-lead of U.S. data center markets for the brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. "It's going to directly impact the amount of office space people need." According to Christopher McFadden, senior vice president at Turner, more than a third of the company's backlog is now tied to data centers. "We're going to be building these at this scale for years to come," McFadden said. "There's a lot of wind in the sail."

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Source: Slashdot | 16 Mar 2026 | 5:00 pm UTC

Irish folk singer Dolores Keane dies aged 72

Irish folk singer Dolores Keane has died. She was 72.

Source: News Headlines | 16 Mar 2026 | 4:52 pm UTC

Apple’s AirPods Max 2 bring H2 chip, boosted ANC in April for $549

Apple announced the AirPods Max 2 today, following up the original AirPods Max, which were announced in December 2020. The new model brings improved active noise cancellation (ANC) and other new features via an updated H2 chip.

The AirPods Max 2 are available in the same five colorways as their predecessor. Credit: Apple

Apple introduced the H2 with the AirPods Pro (2nd Generation), which came out in September 2022. The original AirPods Max released in 2021 with an H1, meaning the new over-ear headphones should be more in line with Apple’s AirPods series in terms of features.

Apple claims that the new chip, combined with new computational audio algorithms, makes ANC up to 1.5 times “more effective” on the AirPods Max 2 compared to the original AirPods Max.

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Source: Ars Technica - All content | 16 Mar 2026 | 4:51 pm UTC

Former Microsoft dev trains AI to survive the arcade's most chaotic stress test

Robotron: 2084 is the original robot uprising game

A former Microsoft engineer is training AI to beat 1982's Robotron: 2084, an arcade game where a lone human must overcome endless waves of robots following a cybernetic revolt.…

Source: The Register | 16 Mar 2026 | 4:50 pm UTC

AI finally delivers those elusive productivity gains... for cybercriminals

Interpol says fraud schemes using the tech are 4.5x more profitable

AI is apparently good for the bottom line if your business is crime. Financial fraud schemes carried out with the help of artificial intelligence are 4.5 times more profitable than those that aren't enhanced, according to Interpol's latest estimates.…

Source: The Register | 16 Mar 2026 | 4:40 pm UTC

100 years later, where is Robert Goddard's first liquid-fueled rocket?

It flew for only two seconds, but its impact is still felt a century later.

Robert Goddard's first liquid-fueled rocket, which lifted off from a snowy field on March 16, 1926, has been written about extensively. Earlier solid-fueled rockets existed, but liquid-fueled rockets promised the sustainability and control needed to send spacecraft and humans into Earth orbit and beyond.

"The rocket's reach was short, but it marked the moment that humanity entered a new era," said Kevin Schindler, author of "Robert Goddard's Massachusetts," speaking at the site of that first launch as part of a centennial commemoration held Saturday in Auburn (March 14). "It proved that liquid fuel could lift a craft skyward—the essential breakthrough that would one day carry humans to the moon."

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Source: Ars Technica - All content | 16 Mar 2026 | 4:38 pm UTC

Court Rules TCL's 'QLED' TVs Aren't Truly QLED

A German court ruled that TCL misled consumers by marketing certain TVs as "QLED" when they "do not deliver the color reproduction expected from QLED TVs." It has ordered the company to stop advertising or selling those models in Germany. TechRadar reports: The case was filed by Samsung, which claimed that TCL was running deceptive advertising, and more court cases on the same topic are coming in other countries, including the US. The lawsuits all make the same claim: that what TCL calls a QLED isn't a QLED as it's commonly understood, and that consumers are being mis-sold TVs as a result. The court found that TCL's quantum dot TVs, such as the QLED870 series available in Germany, didn't deliver the characteristics of a quantum dot LED, and that consumers were being misled as a result. The tests were commissioned by Seoul chemicals company Hansol Chemical (which, it's worth noting, works with Samsung, a key TCL rival, and which heavily promoted the results of these tests alongside launching the court case) and carried out by Geneva's SGS and the UK's Intertek. According to ET News (via Google Translate), "no indium (In) or cadmium (Cd) was detected in three TCL QD TV models. Indium and cadmium are essential materials that cannot be omitted for QD implementation... if neither is present, QD technology cannot be said to have been applied." You can see the test results here. TCL disputed the findings -- "The QD content may vary depending on the supplier, but it definitely contains cadmium," it responded -- and published its own tests, including a test by SGS, the same firm that conducted tests for Hansol. The results contradicted Hansol Chemical's tests, but those tests used a different methodology: where TCL's tests focused on TCL's quantum dot films, Hansol's commissioned tests were on finished TCL TVs. [...] Hansol Chemical has filed a complaint against TCL with the US Federal Trade Commission, alleging false advertising, and TCL is also facing class action lawsuits in several US states making the same claim. TCL isn't alone here: Hisense has also been targeted in the US.

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Source: Slashdot | 16 Mar 2026 | 4:00 pm UTC

Animated 'Firefly' Reboot In Development With Nathan Fillion

An animated reboot of Firefly is in early development at 20th Television Animation with Nathan Fillion involved. The project has Joss Whedon's blessing and will be run by writers Tara Butters and Marc Guggenheim, with early concept art already underway. According to the Hollywood Reporter, "The series would be set in the timeline between the original, 11-episode TV run in 2002 and the 2005 feature film continuation, Serenity." You can watch Fillion announce the Firefly reboot on Instagram. When the first episode of the original series premiered in late 2002, Slashdot reader fm6 wrote: "Firefly, Joss Whedon's 'anti-Trek drama' premieres tonight, on Fox, 8 E/P. I normally despise hypespeak, but this time it's the only language that fits: this is groundbreaking, mind-boggling, totally original. I've seen a bootleg of the pilot (which, unfortunately, the network is holding back) and I promise you this is the most geek-friendly SF you've seen in a long time. Yes, more so than Star Trek and B5, and way past Star Wars. I've never seen the future so skillfully, realistically, and lovingly portrayed. Here is the Official Site and a leading fan site." "This is the single new show this season I have added a season pass for to the old Tivo," CmdrTaco said at the time. "But I'll probably watch it live. This looks like it could be as good as we hope."

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Source: Slashdot | 16 Mar 2026 | 3:00 pm UTC

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