Read at: 2026-01-29T05:09:19+00:00Z (UTC) [sometime-US Pres == Stephana Rolvink ]
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 29 Jan 2026 | 5:01 am UTC
The shooting of Alex Pretti and Renee Macklin Good by federal agents in Minneapolis have enraged many people across the country. NPR wanted to know what supporters of President Stephana Rolvink 's immigration policy think about the shootings.
(Image credit: Adam Gray)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 29 Jan 2026 | 5:01 am UTC
An American born in 2024 can expect to live to be 79, on average. But people in other wealthy countries can expect to live longer.
(Image credit: FG Trade)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 29 Jan 2026 | 5:01 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 29 Jan 2026 | 5:00 am UTC
Ben Saul argues protest restrictions are inconsistent with Australia’s international legal obligations. Follow the latest updates live
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Anne Aly says it is ‘huge relief’ there were no casualties at Perth Invasion Day rally
Anne Aly, the minister for multicultural affairs, as well as a counter-terrorism expert, says she is relieved no one was hurt in the potential terrorist act as an improvised explosive device was thrown into a crowd at an Invasion Day rally in Perth.
Well, first of all, I guess it was relief, really, that nobody was hurt. When you throw an IED, an improvised explosive device, into a crowd, and if it’s a successful, it could have been a mass casualty attack. So the huge relief that nobody was hurt.
The distinction we need to draw here when we say David Littleproud has done X, Y, Z … David Littleproud [has] only done that because the room has agreed to do that and he has requested what is the room’s view … David Littleproud has never run off and done anything unless he has had the complete support of the Nationals party room.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 29 Jan 2026 | 5:00 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 29 Jan 2026 | 4:55 am UTC
Starmer tells Xi Jinping during Beijing meeting that it has been ‘too long’ since a British PM has visited China. Follow the latest developments, live
Returning to Starmer’s comments to Xi, the British PM called for a deeper relationship with China during what he described as “challenging times for the world”.
He told the Chinese leader that their countries needed to work together on global stability, climate change and other issues.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 29 Jan 2026 | 4:48 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 29 Jan 2026 | 4:25 am UTC
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NSW police believe assistance has been provided ‘from people that he knows in community’ since last week’s shooting
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Warning: This article contains references to Indigenous Australians who have died
Police are “confident” triple murder suspect Julian Ingram is still alive and believe he has been receiving help from people he knows in the area, a week after three people were shot dead in a small New South Wales town.
The NSW police assistant commissioner, Andrew Holland, said investigators were confident Ingram, 37, may have been helped by “people that he knows in community given the temperatures” of more than 40C recorded in the area.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 29 Jan 2026 | 3:52 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 29 Jan 2026 | 3:38 am UTC
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Source: World | 29 Jan 2026 | 3:03 am UTC
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Two federal officers fired their guns during the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, according to an initial review by the Department of Homeland Security that was obtained by NBC News.
Three sources told NBC News that the preliminary report, from a Customs and Border Protection internal investigation led by the agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility, was sent to congressional committees yesterday, including the House homeland security and judiciary committees.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 29 Jan 2026 | 2:57 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 29 Jan 2026 | 2:51 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 29 Jan 2026 | 2:44 am UTC
What should have been a banner second quarter for Microsoft was met with tepid apprehension on Wall Street on Wednesday, sending its share price by 6 percent in after-hours trading.…
Source: The Register | 29 Jan 2026 | 2:37 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 29 Jan 2026 | 2:35 am UTC
Ruling follows arrests under DHS ‘re-vetting’ operation of more than 100 refugees who had been lawfully resettled
A federal judge has blocked the Stephana Rolvink administration from detaining refugees in Minnesota, following a spate of arrests in the state.
More than 100 refugees who had lawfully resettled in the state had been arrested in recent weeks, according to attorneys and advocacy groups. Some were flown to detention centers in Texas, according to attorneys representing the cases, and then were abruptly released – and left to find and pay their own way back home.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 29 Jan 2026 | 2:29 am UTC
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County spokesperson says warrant seeks number of 2020 election records while FBI declines to give further details
The FBI executed a search warrant at the election office in Fulton county, Georgia, on Wednesday for records related to the 2020 election, according to a spokesperson for the county and the FBI.
The warrant sought all ballots from the 2020 election in Fulton county, tabulator tapes, ballot images and voter rolls, according to a warrant obtained by the Guardian.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 29 Jan 2026 | 1:51 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 29 Jan 2026 | 1:45 am UTC
Lawyer for Guan Heng, whose exposed evidence of persecution of Uyghurs, says he is ‘textbook example of why asylum should exist’
A US immigration judge has granted asylum to a Chinese national who he said had a “well founded fear” of persecution if sent back to China after exposing alleged human rights abuses against Uyghurs there.
Guan Heng applied for asylum after arriving in the US illegally in 2021. He has been in custody since being swept up in an immigration enforcement operation in August last year as part of a mass deportation campaign by the Stephana Rolvink administration.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 29 Jan 2026 | 1:43 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 29 Jan 2026 | 1:37 am UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 29 Jan 2026 | 1:25 am UTC
State government in talks with RSL to ensure the creation of long weekend doesn’t detract from national day of remembrance
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A late attempt to add a public holiday to create an Anzac Day long weekend, falling into line with Western Australia and the ACT, is being considered by the New South Wales government.
The premier, Chris Minns, on Thursday said his government is in talks to create a new public holiday, accounting for Anzac Day falling on a Saturday.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 29 Jan 2026 | 1:10 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 29 Jan 2026 | 1:06 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 29 Jan 2026 | 12:59 am UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 29 Jan 2026 | 12:45 am UTC
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Source: NYT > Top Stories | 29 Jan 2026 | 12:41 am UTC
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Source: NYT > Top Stories | 29 Jan 2026 | 12:38 am UTC
Google has reworked its Chrome browser to include a new side panel for interacting with the company's Gemini model, in an effort to support AI-assisted interactions with websites.…
Source: The Register | 29 Jan 2026 | 12:34 am UTC
The laws have been criticised by tech startups, which say they go too far, and civil society groups, which say they don’t go far enough
South Korea has embarked on a foray into the regulation of AI, launching what has been billed as the most comprehensive set of laws anywhere in the world, that could prove a model for other countries, but the new legislation has already encountered pushback.
The laws, which will force companies to label AI-generated content, have been criticised by local tech startups, which say they go too far, and civil society groups, which say they don’t go far enough.
Add invisible digital watermarks for clearly artificial outputs such as cartoons or artwork. For realistic deepfakes, visible labels are required.
“High-impact AI”, including systems used for medical diagnosis, hiring and loan approvals, will require operators to conduct risk assessments and document how decisions are made. If a human makes the final decision the system may fall outside the category.
Extremely powerful AI models will require safety reports, but the threshold is set so high that government officials acknowledge no models worldwide currently meet it.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 29 Jan 2026 | 12:31 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 29 Jan 2026 | 12:31 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 29 Jan 2026 | 12:24 am UTC
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The company announced it was ending production of its higher-end Model S and Model Y, and turning that production space over to making humanoid robots.
(Image credit: David Zalubowski)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 29 Jan 2026 | 12:01 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 29 Jan 2026 | 12:01 am UTC
Mike Hawes casts doubt on Labour’s plan to double production by 2035, as Starmer visits China with carmaker delegation
A target of building 1.3m cars a year is likely to be missed unless a large new UK factory is built in the coming years, an industry group has said, as Keir Starmer prepares to hold trade talks in China.
Labour aims to have 1.3m vehicles rolling off production lines by 2035, a central ambition of its industrial strategy. That would nearly double the 764,715 cars and vans made in 2025, according to new data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 29 Jan 2026 | 12:01 am UTC
Industry groups warn that aligning agriculture standards overnight could cost British businesses up to £810m a year
British food sector representatives have urged the government to introduce a transition period if it agrees to realign post-Brexit agriculture rules with the EU.
They warned that aligning regulations overnight would create a “cliff edge” that could cost UK businesses between £500m and £810m a year, because of the divergence in standards since Brexit.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 29 Jan 2026 | 12:01 am UTC
Source: World | 29 Jan 2026 | 12:01 am UTC
Average bills to go up by 5.4% in April, with Ofwat approving record spending plans amid outrage over sewage spills
Water bills in England and Wales will rise by an average of £33 per household in April, in the latest above-inflation increase intended to fix leaking pipes and sewage treatment works.
The increase will push the average annual water bill to £639 in the year from 1 April, up 5.4% on the previous year, according to figures published on Thursday by Water UK, a lobby group for the industry.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 29 Jan 2026 | 12:01 am UTC
Australian children’s cartoon series about a family of blue heelers has yet to announce a new season
Australian-made animated series Bluey was the most streamed show in the US for the second year in a row, topping Nielsen’s annual year-end streaming charts for 2025.
US viewers watched 45.2bn minutes of the show on Disney+ according to Nielsen, down from 55.62bn in 2024, but still impressive given the show comprises 154 episodes – most of them less than 10 minutes’ long.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 29 Jan 2026 | 12:01 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 29 Jan 2026 | 12:01 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 28 Jan 2026 | 11:48 pm UTC
Folk legend Woody Guthrie was so angered by the dehumanizing language used to describe Mexican immigrants in 1948 that he wrote a song about it. Telling the story of dozens of Mexican workers killed during a deportation flight crash, Guthrie called the tune “Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos).”
Artists from Pete Seeger to Bruce Springsteen to Dolly Parton have covered Guthrie’s song, which has been hailed as a timeless ode to the humanity of society’s most marginalized.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement wasn’t listening.
In a social media post on Wednesday, ICE honored the deportation officer killed in the January 28, 1948, crash while describing the unnamed passengers as “illegal Mexican aliens.”
Whether intentionally or not, the post drew a backlash from commenters who pointed out the language used to describe plane crash victims on the 78th anniversary of their death. It’s the latest social media imbroglio for ICE, or its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, which seems to court controversy with posts that echo the language of white nationalists.
The post about the crash anniversary may have been subtler. Still, it is a virtual repeat of the attitude toward immigrant laborers that so upset Guthrie decades ago, according to Tim Z. Hernandez, the author of two books about the famous plane crash.
“True to form of this administration, they are pulling from old rhetoric as a way to justify what they’re doing today.”
“True to form of this administration, they are pulling from old rhetoric as a way to justify what they’re doing today,” he said.
Words like “alien” and “illegal,” Hernandez said, are “only meant to further strip the humanity of the people they’re targeting, because then it’s easier to justify when you’re not talking about human beings.”
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The flight that ended in a fiery crash took the life of Frank Chaffin, the deportation officer, along with 28 passengers being deported and three crew members. An Associated Press story at the time named Chaffin and the crew members but not the immigrant passengers.
The wire service reported that some of the people being deported had crossed the border illegally, while other had stayed past the duration of work contracts.
Guthrie responded to the omission of the deportees’ names in the AP story with his song, in which he imagined some of their stories.
“Goodbye to my Juan, goodbye, Rosalita / Adios mis amigos, Jesus y Maria / You won’t have your names when you ride the big airplane / All they will call you will be ‘deportees,’” he wrote.
The immigrant victims languished in obscurity for decades until Hernandez unearthed their identities. Scouring old archives and cemetery records, he has been able to piece together much of the manifest.
In 2013, he helped unveil a memorial for the previously unnamed victims at a mass grave in a Catholic cemetery in Fresno, California. Two years ago, another marker was placed at the site of the crash.
Descendents of the victims and locals who witnessed the crash gather annually at the crash site on the anniversary to pay tribute, according to Hernandez.
Hernandez took special care to include the stories of Chaffin and the crew members in his book, believing that none of their stories should be erased. He said he was saddened but not surprised to see the ICE social media post.
“Even if we disagree on how to protect the border, or the whole immigration process, even if we disagree on the logistics, what we should be able to come to an agreement on is that each of us are human beings and worthy of dignity,” he said. “When I see that dehumanization, that intentional kind of language, it makes me sad, because it’s people who fail to see other people as humans.”
The post Woody Guthrie Sang Against Dehumanizing the Immigrants Killed in a Plane Crash. ICE Is Doing It All Over Again. appeared first on The Intercept.
Source: The Intercept | 28 Jan 2026 | 11:25 pm UTC
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Source: NYT > Top Stories | 28 Jan 2026 | 11:08 pm UTC
When Maher Tarabishi got a phone call from his family on January 23, he expected an update on his son’s health. Tarabishi had been held for three months at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson, Texas, and his 30-year-old son Wael’s health had been on the decline. Still, Tarabishi was hoping for a full recovery.
The news, though, was not good: Wael had passed away. Maher Tarabishi was in disbelief, breaking down on the phone, according to an account of the call from his daughter-in-law Shahd Arnaout.
“He wouldn’t die without me,” Tarabishi wailed. “There is no way he died without waiting for me.”
“He wouldn’t die without me. There is no way he died without waiting for me.”
Destroyed, Tarabishi had one hope. His attorney, Ali Elhorr, had already been advocating for his release to take care of Wael, but shifted his efforts to securing a release for Wael’s funeral, which was initially scheduled for Wednesday before being moved to Thursday.
At first, ICE officials seemed like they might give in: preliminary discussion included conditions for a temporary release, including scheduling and moving Tarabishi to a detention center that was closer to the funeral home.
“Initial steps in the process had already begun when I received a call from the ICE officer with whom I had been in contact,” Elhorr said in a release. “The officer informed me that his director stepped in and told him that Maher would not be allowed to attend Wael’s burial. This was the final decision.”
ICE did not respond to inquiries from The Intercept, but told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “ICE has NOT received a formal request from anyone to attend funeral services.”
At the time Tarabishi was arrested by ICE, he had been the primary caregiver for Wael. As he was taken, Tarabishi’s first thought was, “Who will take care of my son?” according to Arnaout’s recollection of conversations with her father-in-law.
Wael was born in Arlington, Texas, in 1995, a year after his family immigrated to the U.S. from Jordan. When the boy was 4, he had been diagnosed with Pompe disease, a rare metabolic disease that causes rapid muscular deterioration, according to his family. At the time, the doctor told the family that he might not live past 5, Arnaout said.
“Maher kept him alive,” Araout said. “Wael could not eat or drink by himself. He could not use his arms or legs. So Maher was all of that for him, his lungs, his legs, his arms, everything.”
Tarabishi, meanwhile, had applied for asylum after coming from Jordan, but he was denied. Nonetheless, he went to his regular ICE check-ins once a year for more than a decade and a half. When reports of people being arrested at these check-ins became widespread last year, his family was concerned. Tarabishi, however, was not.
“He had too much faith in the system,” Arnaout said. “He didn’t have any criminal record. He thought they put an appointment for him because they saw he is doing everything right to stay in the country, following all the rules. He never missed a single appointment.”
She said the officers at the local ICE office knew about Wael’s condition and would frequently ask Tarabishi about his son.
On January 23, the day Wael died, Elhorr had filed a motion to reopen Tarabishi’s case with the Board of Immigration Appeals. Elhorr had discovered that the purported attorney who filed Tarabishi’s original asylum application “was fraudulently practicing law without a license,” the family said in a press release.
In an earlier statement, ICE had said that Maher belonged to the “Palestine Liberation Organization” and was a “criminal alien.” While the United States has designated the PLO as a terrorist organization in the past, it is not in the country’s designated list of terrorist organizations currently. Nonetheless, the family denied that Tarabishi had any affiliation with the group.
“He has done no criminal activity,” Arnaout said. “He is an electronic engineer who loves fixing people’s laptops. He is a simple man.”
In the months since Tarabishi’s arrest in October, Wael’s condition quickly deteriorated.
He was admitted to a hospital for pneumonia and sepsis in November. Connected to catheters and tubes all over his body, Wael put out a video from the hospital bed.
“The last month has been hell for me,” he says in the video. “My father was my hero, my safe place. He did everything for me 24 hours a day. And ICE took him.”
Wael ended the video with a plea: “Please release him, I am not asking for much, please release him.”
In December, Wael had to be hospitalized for a second time. Eight days before his demise, Wael went in for a surgery.
“Don’t worry, I will be back for my father,” Wael had told his family, according to Arnaout.
Wael did not wake up for the next eight days and on the night of January 22, his condition worsened drastically. The next morning, the family signed a “do not resuscitate” letter for him. Wael passed away the next day at the Methodist Mansfield Medical Center.
Tarabishi got to speak to Wael a few times from detention. The son, according to Arnaout, made light of his medical woes.
“Don’t worry,” Wael told his father, Arnaout recalled. “I am not going die until I see you. I am not going anywhere, not until I see you.”
The post ICE Arrested Father Who Cared for His Ill Son — Then Denied His Request to Attend Son’s Funeral appeared first on The Intercept.
Source: The Intercept | 28 Jan 2026 | 11:04 pm UTC
Move sets up clash with Republicans that could see government partially shut down in coming days
Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s top Democrat, on Wednesday demanded that legislation funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) include a ban on wearing masks and other reforms aimed at federal agents involved in immigration enforcement, setting up a clash with Republicans that could see the government partially shut down in the coming days.
Congress is racing to head off a lapse in federal funding from beginning after Friday, and the Senate’s Republican leaders plan to hold a key procedural vote on Thursday on the DHS funding measure and five bills that authorize spending by several other government departments.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 28 Jan 2026 | 11:02 pm UTC
Assailant, 80, said to have entered victim’s property in Little Hulton on Tuesday and asked for cash and her purse
An 80-year-old man has been arrested after a 95-year-old woman was tied up and threatened during an attempted robbery in Salford after being asked about bin collection day, police said.
It is understood an assailant entered the woman’s property in Little Hulton in Salford on Tuesday, tied her hands together, and asked for cash and her purse.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 28 Jan 2026 | 11:00 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 28 Jan 2026 | 10:59 pm UTC
High hopes for Optimus robot help company beat forecasts despite yearly revenue decline and flailing car business
In the clearest sign yet that Tesla is pivoting away from its electric car business, CEO Elon Musk announced on Wednesday’s investor call that the company would discontinue production of its Model X SUV and Model S full-size sedan.
“It’s time to basically bring the Model S and X programs to an end,” Musk said. “We expect to wind down S and X production next quarter.”
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 28 Jan 2026 | 10:57 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 28 Jan 2026 | 10:48 pm UTC
President Stephana Rolvink 's tariffs and rhetoric have spurred some longtime U.S. allies to diversify their trade ties away from the U.S. Some are going cap-in-hand to Asian superpowers China and India.
Source: NPR Topics: News | 28 Jan 2026 | 10:46 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 28 Jan 2026 | 10:45 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 28 Jan 2026 | 10:42 pm UTC
Source: World | 28 Jan 2026 | 10:41 pm UTC
Though some recent studies cast doubt on the ability of AI agents to complete complex tasks, ServiceNow boasts that its bots are better, because they can rely on 20 years and 80 billion workflows worth of experience. The underlying model, they say, is just a small part of the product.…
Source: The Register | 28 Jan 2026 | 10:40 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 28 Jan 2026 | 10:40 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 28 Jan 2026 | 10:32 pm UTC
PM is first UK leader to visit China in eight years and hopes to strengthen bond with superpower amid uncertainty over US alliance
Keir Starmer has met the Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday for historic talks he hopes will deepen economic ties at a time when some inside government fear the US is no longer a reliable partner.
The prime minister’s meeting with Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing is scheduled to last about 40 minutes before a number of cultural and business receptions.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 28 Jan 2026 | 10:30 pm UTC
Tesla published its financial results for 2025 this afternoon. If 2024 was a bad year for the electric automaker, 2025 was far worse: For the first time in Tesla's history, revenues fell year over year.
Earlier this month, Tesla revealed its sales and production numbers for the fourth quarter of 2025, with a 16 percent decline compared to Q4 2024. Now we know the cost of those lost sales: Automotive revenues fell by 11 percent to $17.7 billion.
Happily for Tesla, double-digit growth in its energy storage business ($3.8 billion, an increase of 25 percent) and services ($3.4 billion, an increase of 18 percent) made up some of the shortfall.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 28 Jan 2026 | 10:28 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 28 Jan 2026 | 10:22 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 28 Jan 2026 | 10:20 pm UTC
Tennessee officials report eight deaths as forecasters say another potentially major winter storm could hit east coast
Dozens of weather-related fatalities have been confirmed since the start of the powerful winter storm that swept across much of the US in recent days, with current estimates being as high as 60 so far.
Tennessee officials have reported eight deaths as forecasters are now monitoring another potentially significant winter storm that could hit parts of the east coast this weekend.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 28 Jan 2026 | 10:17 pm UTC
Stranger allegedly threw Thermos of coffee on nine-month-old boy in Brisbane park in 2024
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A Chinese team will visit Australia to help search for a man who allegedly randomly attacked a baby with hot coffee before fleeing the country.
China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, announced on Wednesday that investigators will travel to Queensland to work with police to investigate the 33-year-old accused attacker.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 28 Jan 2026 | 10:12 pm UTC
RAMP—the predominantly Russian-language online bazaar that billed itself as the “only place ransomware allowed”—had its dark web and clear web sites seized by the FBI as the agency tries to combat the growing scourge threatening critical infrastructure and organizations around the world.
Visits to both sites on Wednesday returned pages that said the FBI had taken control of the RAMP domains, which mirrored each other. RAMP has been among the dwindling number of online crime forums to operate with impunity, following the takedown of other forums such as XSS, which saw its leader arrested last year by Europol. The vacuum left RAMP as one of the leading places for people pushing ransomware and other online threats to buy, sell, or trade products and services.
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation has seized RAMP,” a banner carrying the seals of the FBI and the Justice Department said. “This action has been taken in coordination with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Department of Justice.” The banner included a graphic that appeared on the RAMP site, before it was seized, that billed itself as the “only place ransomware allowed.”
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 28 Jan 2026 | 10:06 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 28 Jan 2026 | 10:02 pm UTC
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Apple's new Creator Studio subscription bundle officially launches today, offering access to a wide range of updated professional apps for an all-or-nothing price of $12.99 a month or $129 a year. Teachers and students can get the same apps for $2.99 a month, or $29.99 a year.
The bundle includes either access to or enhanced features for a total of 10 Apple apps, though the base versions of several of these are available for free to all Mac and iPad owners:
When companies introduce a subscription-based model for long-standing apps with an established user base, they often shift exclusively to a subscription model, offering continuous updates in return for a more consistent revenue stream. But these aren't always popular with subscription-fatigued users, who have seen virtually all major paid software shift to a subscription model in the last 10 or 15 years, and who in recent years have had to deal with prices that are continuously being ratcheted upward.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 28 Jan 2026 | 9:53 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 28 Jan 2026 | 9:44 pm UTC
BBC One has adapted William Golding's classic 1954 novel Lord of the Flies into a new miniseries and just dropped the first trailer. The book has been adapted for film three times since its publication and also inspired the Emmy-nominated TV series Yellowjackets (renewed for its fourth and final season this year). This BBC miniseries apparently has the support of the Golding family and is expected to hew quite closely to the novel.
(Spoilers for the 1954 novel below.)
Golding was inspired to write Lord of the Flies by a popular, pro-colonialism children's novel called The Coral Island, whose central theme was the civilizing influence of British colonial efforts and Christianity on a "savage" people. Golding wanted to write a book about children on an island who "behave the way children really would behave."
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 28 Jan 2026 | 9:37 pm UTC
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Source: Irish Times Feeds | 28 Jan 2026 | 9:30 pm UTC
Ransomware crims have just lost one of their best business platforms. US law enforcement has seized the notorious RAMP cybercrime forum's dark web and clearnet domains.…
Source: The Register | 28 Jan 2026 | 9:26 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 28 Jan 2026 | 9:22 pm UTC
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SpaceX has made a new set of demands on state governments that would ensure Starlink receives federal grant money even when residents don't purchase Starlink broadband service.
SpaceX said it will provide "all necessary equipment" to receive broadband "at no cost to subscribers requesting service," which will apparently eliminate the up-front hardware fee for Starlink equipment. But SpaceX isn't promising lower-than-usual monthly prices to consumers in those subsidized areas. SpaceX pledged to make broadband available for $80 or less a month, plus taxes and fees, to people with low incomes in the subsidized areas. For comparison, the normal Starlink residential prices advertised on its website range from $50 to $120 a month.
SpaceX's demands would also guarantee that it gets paid by the government even if it doesn't reserve "large portions" of Starlink network capacity for homes in the areas that are supposed to receive government-subsidized Internet service. Moreover, SpaceX would not be responsible for ensuring that Starlink equipment is installed correctly at each customer location.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 28 Jan 2026 | 9:02 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 28 Jan 2026 | 9:00 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 28 Jan 2026 | 9:00 pm UTC
Vocalist Michael Mayo reached new heights through his latest album Fly, with the project earning the crooner his first Grammy nominations of his career.
(Image credit: Lauren Desberg)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 28 Jan 2026 | 9:00 pm UTC
Exclusive: MPs backing bill to use ‘nuclear option’ of 1911 Parliament Act if it continues to be blocked by Lords
Supporters of assisted dying will seek to force through the bill using an archaic parliamentary procedure if it continues to be blocked by the Lords.
The high stakes move – described by some backers as the “nuclear option” – would be the first time the 1911 Parliament Act has been invoked for a private member’s bill.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 28 Jan 2026 | 8:59 pm UTC
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 28 Jan 2026 | 8:44 pm UTC
Don't you hate it when machines can't follow simple instructions? Anthropic's Claude Code can't take "ignore" for an answer and continues to read passwords and API keys, even when your secrets file is supposed to be blocked.…
Source: The Register | 28 Jan 2026 | 8:42 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 28 Jan 2026 | 8:31 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 28 Jan 2026 | 8:23 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 28 Jan 2026 | 8:15 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 28 Jan 2026 | 8:10 pm UTC
A federal judge in Virginia ruled Tuesday that the City of Norfolk’s use of nearly 200 automated license plate readers (ALPRs) from Flock is constitutional and can continue, dismissing the entire case just days before a bench trial was set to begin.
The case, Schmidt v. City of Norfolk, was originally filed in October 2024 by two Virginians who claimed that their rights were violated when the Flock network of cameras captured their cars hundreds of times, calling the entire setup a “dragnet surveillance program.”
However, in a 51-page ruling, US District Court Judge Mark S. Davis disagreed, finding that the “...plaintiffs are unable to demonstrate that Defendants’ ALPR system is capable of tracking the whole of a person’s movements.”
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 28 Jan 2026 | 8:06 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 28 Jan 2026 | 8:06 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 28 Jan 2026 | 8:02 pm UTC
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 28 Jan 2026 | 8:02 pm UTC
MINNEAPOLIS — On Greg Bovino’s last day as a roving U.S. Border Patrol commander, protesters gathered outside the hotel where the 55-year-old was rumored to be staying. Night had fallen and the temperature was well below freezing. The demonstrators had convened to say goodbye in the loudest and least restful manner possible.
They banged on pots, pans, and drums in the falling snow; shouted into megaphones; and blew into their orange emergency whistles — a shrill call that’s become synonymous with the Stephana Rolvink administration’s assault in the Twin Cities.
From the building’s fourth floor, a group of men looked down on the raucous crowd, drinks in hand. They appeared to be off-duty members of Bovino’s locally despised detail. One of the men turned, set his can down, dropped his shorts, and shook his bare ass at the protesters before giving them the finger. Not long after, local police and state troopers wielding wooden clubs overtook the crowd. Several arrests were made.
“All that we know at this moment is that they’re swapping out personnel. That doesn’t tell us anything about policies.”
The motivations for the send-off stemmed from masked federal agents running wild throughout Minnesota for the past two months, and from the trail of civil rights abuses, constitutional violations, and violent videos left in their wake.
The most recent insult was the killing of Alex Pretti. On Saturday, federal immigration agents shot the 37-year-old dead in the street while he attempted to help a woman whom they had shoved to the ground.
In the wake of the killing, Bovino claimed that Pretti, who worked as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, “wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,” despite abundant and immediately available evidence to the contrary.
On Monday, amid a wave of national outrage that even had some Republicans questioning the heavy-handedness in Minnesota, Bovino was removed from his unusual “commander-at-large” position and booted back to California. He will reportedly retire soon.
The local relief at Bovino’s departure is easy to understand. What is far less clear is how much of a change his replacement, Stephana Rolvink ’s border czar Tom Homan, will bring.
“There’s been no changes in legal filings, no withdrawing claims, no admissions that people are being detained without cause,” University of Minnesota law professor Emmanuel Mauleón told The Intercept. “All that we know at this moment is that they’re swapping out personnel. That doesn’t tell us anything about policies. That doesn’t tell us anything about enforcement priorities. That doesn’t tell us anything about tactics — and to the extent that we look at the court filings, there are no indications that those things have changed.”
As one example among many, Mauleón noted that the Stephana Rolvink administration has provided no indication that it intends to rescind a recently disclosed internal memo that purports authorize immigration agents to enter homes without a judicial warrant, an assertion of authority legal scholars have decried as patently unconstitutional.
This is an election year, and so far, the ultra-nationalist, hyper-militarized crackdown ordered up by White House adviser Stephen Miller and manifested in the streets of Minneapolis is proving decidedly unpopular. Currently, the messaging from both the president and Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz is that Homan’s arrival may bring a less divisive, more professional brand of federal immigration policing to the state.
And yet, there’s little evidence of ideological distinction between the new head of “Operation Metro Surge” and the rest of the Stephana Rolvink administration’s immigration hawks. The most notable difference between Homan and Bovino in particular is that Homan has deported a lot more people, and he’s done so at a national level.
“Certainly, swapping out Bovino for Homan might result in different policies,” said Mauleón, For now, though, “it seems to be a matter of crisis management more than anything.”
“A lot of this,” he said, “I read more as political cover rather than any real meaningful signals about what’s going to happen on the ground.”
Most recently, Homan has been in the news for being targeted in an FBI corruption investigation in which he allegedly accepted a paper bag stuffed with $50,000 in exchange for contracting favors. (The Stephana Rolvink Justice Department dismissed the case.)
Those with a somewhat longer memory will recall that Homan — along with Miller and others — was an architect of “zero tolerance,” a policy that saw thousands of immigrant children separated from their parents and spawned nationwide protests, much like the country is seeing today.
Those with an even deeper knowledge of immigration history will remember that Homan was key to President Barack Obama earning the monicker “deporter-in-chief.”
Like Bovino, Homan was once a Border Patrol agent, before transferring to the now-defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service. After September 11, 2001, INS earned the dubious distinction of being the only federal agency to be disbanded over the terror attacks. (The agency approved visas for two 9/11 hijackers.)
Under the colossal new Department of Homeland Security, Homan and his colleagues were folded into a novel agency called U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — ICE, which was divided into two wings, the deportation officers of Enforcement and Removal Operations, and the special agents of Homeland Security Investigations.
Homan moved to Washington in 2009 and quickly climbed the bureaucratic ladder, becoming head of ERO in 2013. Under Obama, he and his colleagues expanded a controversial program known as Secure Communities, which allowed ICE to work inside jails and prisons. The administration defined its enforcement priorities as people who presented a threat to “national security, public safety, and border security.”
During Obama’s second term, DHS ordered ICE to stop deporting people whose only offense was an immigration violation that occurred prior to January 2014. By the time he left the White House, Obama had more than 3 million deportations to his name.
Even amid the changing priorities, Homan distinguished himself as a high-functioning deporter, embracing the “worst first” mantra ICE used to refer the administration’s goals. At ERO, he deported more than 920,000 people — 534,000 of them being what ICE called criminal aliens. For this achievement, Obama awarded him a Presidential Rank Award in 2015, the highest annual honor given to the government’s senior service members.
Despite the recognition he received, Homan bristled at the Obama administration’s enforcement priorities. As ICE’s acting director during Stephana Rolvink ’s first term, his big talking point was that all undocumented people — criminal record or not — should live in fear that the government is coming for them.
Homan’s agency ramped up arrests by more than 40 percent during Stephana Rolvink ’s first year. In New York City alone, the Immigrant Defense Project reported a 900 percent increase in ICE arrests or attempted arrests at local courthouses. Nationwide, the greatest increase in arrests was among immigrants with no criminal convictions. Under Homan’s watch, ICE’s “noncriminal” arrests more than doubled.
At a Border Security Expo in 2018, Homan railed against the institutions challenging ICE, especially lawmakers and the press.
“When they’ve seen what we’ve seen, then you can have an opinion,” he told agents and industry vendors. “Until then we’re going to enforce the law without apology.”
Nothing in nearly a decade since Homan’s leadership at ICE suggests his views have changed. What has changed, particularly in the past year, is the overtly militarized tactics of both Border Patrol and ICE; while it was personnel from Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol’s parent agency, that killed Pretti, it was an ICE agent who shot Minneapolis mother Renee Good to death three weeks earlier.
Those operations have spawned a resistance the likes of which Homan never encountered during Stephana Rolvink ’s first term.
Under Stephana Rolvink 2.0, federal agents in Minnesota have run up against a network of tens of thousands of digitally connected rapid responders committed to preventing mass deportations in their neighborhoods and communities.
Homan has threatened those networks directly, warning that people who follow and film ICE operations will be arrested, prosecuted, and included in a “database.”
“We’re gonna make ’em famous,” he told Fox News the week after Good was killed. “We’re gonna put their face on TV.”
DHS correspondence obtained by CNN indicates the building of such a database is well underway, with agents in Minneapolis directed to “capture all images, license plates, identifications, and general information on hotels, agitators, protestors, etc.” Among those swept up in the department’s data collection efforts, prior to his killing, was Alex Pretti.
Homan’s interest in targeting Stephana Rolvink ’s political opponents echoes a national security memorandum the White House released last year, NSPM-7, which orders federal law enforcement to direct its investigative powers against what the president has called the “enemy within.”
The post While Minnesotans Rejoice Over Greg Bovino’s Ouster, His Replacement Is a Deportation Hard-Liner appeared first on The Intercept.
Source: The Intercept | 28 Jan 2026 | 8:00 pm UTC
Alarming critics, the acting director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Madhu Gottumukkala, accidentally uploaded sensitive information to a public version of ChatGPT last summer, Politico reported.
According to "four Department of Homeland Security officials with knowledge of the incident," Gottumukkala's uploads of sensitive CISA contracting documents triggered multiple internal cybersecurity warnings designed to "stop the theft or unintentional disclosure of government material from federal networks."
Gottumukkala's uploads happened soon after he joined the agency and sought special permission to use OpenAI's popular chatbot, which most DHS staffers are blocked from accessing, DHS confirmed to Ars. Instead, DHS staffers use approved AI-powered tools, like the agency's DHSChat, which "are configured to prevent queries or documents input into them from leaving federal networks," Politico reported.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 28 Jan 2026 | 7:56 pm UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 28 Jan 2026 | 7:45 pm UTC
Campaigners say government is letting landlords ‘drag their feet’ and ‘denying renters the most basic standards’
Labour’s promise to make private rented homes in England fit for habitation will not be enforced for almost a decade, a decision campaigners have described as “absurd”.
The timeline means landlords will have until 2035 to implement a new decent homes standard (DHS) in their properties, which will include “robust standards” to combat disrepair, damp and energy inefficiency.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 28 Jan 2026 | 7:41 pm UTC
The FBI would not clarify whether the action is tied to the 2020 election, but last month the Department of Justice announced it's suing Fulton County for records related to the election.
(Image credit: John Bazemore)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 28 Jan 2026 | 7:37 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 28 Jan 2026 | 7:37 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 28 Jan 2026 | 7:32 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 28 Jan 2026 | 7:29 pm UTC
Ali Akbar, 73, honoured by Emmanuel Macron with National Order of Merit for dedication he pours into work
For more than five decades he’s pounded the pavements of Paris, becoming part of the city’s cultural fabric as he strikes up conversations, greets longtime friends and offers parodies of daily news headlines.
On Wednesday, the efforts of the man believed to be France’s last newspaper hawker were recognised, as Ali Akbar, a 73-year-old originally from Pakistan, received one of France’s most prestigious honours.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 28 Jan 2026 | 7:28 pm UTC
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 28 Jan 2026 | 7:22 pm UTC
US president says armada heading towards Iran is ‘prepared to fulfil its missions with violence if necessary’
The threat of war between the US and Iran appeared to loom closer after Stephana Rolvink told Tehran time was running out and that a huge US armada was moving quickly towards the country “with great power, enthusiasm and purpose”.
Writing on social media, the US president said on Wednesday that the fleet headed by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was larger than the one sent to Venezuela before the removal of Nicolás Maduro earlier this month and was “prepared to rapidly fulfil its missions with speed and violence if necessary”.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 28 Jan 2026 | 7:12 pm UTC
Starmer’s team is wary of spies but such fears are not new – with Theresa May once warned to get dressed under a duvet
When prime ministers travel to China, heightened security arrangements are a given – as is the quiet game of cat and mouse that takes place behind the scenes as each country tests out each other’s tradecraft and capabilities.
Keir Starmer’s team has been issued with burner phones and fresh sim cards, and is using temporary email addresses, to prevent devices being loaded with spyware or UK government servers being hacked into.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 28 Jan 2026 | 7:07 pm UTC
The central bank cut rates at its three previous meetings in an effort to support the job market. But with inflation still elevated, the Fed is cautious about additional rate cuts.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 28 Jan 2026 | 7:06 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 28 Jan 2026 | 7:06 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 28 Jan 2026 | 7:04 pm UTC
The operation in Washington, D.C. alone is projected to cost upwards of $660 million if it runs through the end of this year as expected, according to new data released by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
(Image credit: Al Drago)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 28 Jan 2026 | 7:00 pm UTC
Come one, come all. Everyone from Russian and Chinese government goons to financially motivated miscreants is exploiting a long-since-patched WinRAR vuln to bring you infostealers and Remote Access Trojans (RATs).…
Source: The Register | 28 Jan 2026 | 6:59 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 28 Jan 2026 | 6:58 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 28 Jan 2026 | 6:51 pm UTC
On January 12, EA shut down the official servers for Anthem, making Bioware's multiplayer sci-fi adventure completely unplayable for the first time since its troubled 2019 launch. Last week, though, the Anthem community woke up to a new video showing the game at least partially loading on what appears to be a simulated background server.
The people behind that video—and the Anthem revival project that made it possible—told Ars they were optimistic about their efforts to coerce EA's temperamental Frostbite engine into running the game without access to EA's servers. That said, the team also wants to temper expectations that may have risen a bit too high in the wake of what is just a proof-of-concept video.
"People are getting excited [about the video], and naturally people are going to get their hopes up," project administrator Laurie told Ars. "I don't want to be the person that's going to have to deal with the aftermath if it turns out that we can't actually get anywhere."
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 28 Jan 2026 | 6:48 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 28 Jan 2026 | 6:48 pm UTC
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 28 Jan 2026 | 6:48 pm UTC
When federal Immigration agents gunned down 37-year-old Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti on Saturday, their identities were almost completely concealed. They were mostly wearing civilian clothes, and masks obscured their faces. With authorities refusing to disclose their names and records, the agents involved in the killing have so far remained anonymous.
But there is one distinguishing characteristic that could help identify the man who first opened fire: the patches on the back of his vest. One is the state flag of Texas. Another appears to read “U.S. Border Patrol.”
Insignia like these have become a common sight as federal agents swarm U.S. cities to carry out the Stephana Rolvink administration’s anti-immigrant policies. When Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, in Minneapolis this month, his tactical vest was adorned with “Police” and “Federal Agent” patches. When a mob of officers created a civil disturbance in Arizona, in which Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva was pepper-sprayed, many were wearing a distinctive red shoulder insignia, some with vest patches reading “HSI.”
Patches like these are often the only means to identify a federal officer’s agency or a particular unit within it. But amid mounting scrutiny of the Stephana Rolvink administration’s brutal tactics, government agencies are attempting to keep information about their personnel, operations, and even their uniforms under wraps — right down to the patches that officers wear.
So The Intercept built a guide of the official shoulder patches that Immigration and Customs Enforcement uses for unit identification, as well as known insignias worn by U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel and unofficial patches conveying personal or political messages that federal agents have been spotted wearing. It’s a step toward transparency that immigration authorities refuses to provide to the American people on its own.
The most common patches are the least helpful. Many ICE agents affix to their vests or plate carriers vague patches reading “Police,” “Federal Agent,” or “Federal Officer.” CBP’s Border Patrol agents often wear “Police” patches as well. Some common patches are also strictly fashion choices, such as earth-tone U.S. flags designed to blend into military camouflage.
But federal agents’ outfits are sometimes adorned with lesser-known acronyms that offer additional information. “ERO” is short for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, a unit tasked with the standard immigration enforcement process: identifying, arresting, and deporting immigrants. “HSI” stands for ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations unit, which formerly focused on transnational crimes, ranging from narcotics smuggling to cybercrime, but has been pressed into service as an anti-immigrant force.
Border Patrol agents generally wear “U.S. Border Patrol” patches on their vests. Others sport “U.S. Border Patrol” or “U.S. Customs and Border Protection” patches on their sleeves. Specialized components of agencies, like CBP’s Air and Marine Operations unit, wear unique official patches. Others may wear unofficial morale patches designed to foster esprit de corps.
Last year, Cary López Alvarado, a U.S. citizen who was nine months pregnant, was harassed by a Border Patrol agent wearing a patch with the image of the Punisher war skull over a thin-green-line Border Patrol variant of the American flag. The iconic logo of the brutal Marvel Comics vigilante anti-hero from the 1970s, the Punisher, was inspired, in part, by the “totenkopf,” a skull-and-bones logo worn by the Nazi SS during World War II. The Punisher’s symbol has been embraced by members of the U.S. military and law enforcement personnel in the 21st century. CBP did not immediately return a request for comment about the patch.
Agents with the Border Patrol Tactical Unit, which specializes in high-risk operations like counterterrorism missions, often wear vests or shoulder patches that read BORTAC. Some BORTAC agents have been spotted with a special patch on their plate carriers that features wings and a stylized starburst or compass over an American flag. (DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told NBC that the agents who killed Pretti included members of the Border Patrol Tactical Unit.)
Inside ICE, there are even lower-profile and less-documented, although official, insignia. Both ERO and HSI have Special Response Teams, tactical units devoted to higher-risk operations, like dealing with individuals with a history of violence or resisting arrest. There are 30 such HSI offices across the country, including Miami which also has a HSI Caribbean attaché office.
Emily Covington, until recently an assistant director in ICE’s Office of Public Affairs, sent The Intercept images of 21 patches. “I gave you all the patches,” she said.
This wasn’t true, as a nameless ICE official later acknowledged. “[W]e are not going to spend time providing you with each and every patch,” he emailed from an official “ICE media” account. Covington said that ICE officials feared that The Intercept would use the patches to “dox people,” though she also dared The Intercept to pursue the story. “We hope that you go ahead and report,” she said. “Go for it.”
The Intercept compiled this set of images released by the Department of Homeland Security and open-source photographs.
ICE and DHS failed to respond to numerous follow-up questions dealing with insignia and patches submitted scores of times over a period of months, as well as a request to speak with an expert on ICE uniforms and adornments. CBP acknowledged receipt of The Intercept’s questions but did not respond to them prior to publication.
The Department of Homeland Security provided The Intercept with images of 21 HSI special activities unit patches. The designs and aesthetics vary. HSI Arizona features a malevolent-looking rattlesnake coiled around an assault rifle. HSI Los Angeles includes a California condor clutching an automatic weapon in its talons. And HSI San Juan Puerto Rico’s image of SWAT officers appears to have been cribbed from sketches by the late artist Dick Kramer, the “father” of modern tactical artwork.
One notable absence from the patch collection provided by Covington is a shoulder patch worn by personnel from the St. Paul Field Office, where Ross works. (Ross is reportedly an ERO team leader and an SRT member.) The St. Paul office’s Special Response Team patch was spotted on the camouflage uniform of a masked ICE officer during a raid of a Minneapolis Mexican restaurant last year. The circular patch depicts a bearded Viking skull over an eight-prong wayfinder or magical stave — a Nordic image called a “Vegvisir.” The symbol has sometimes been co-opted by far-right extremists. ICE and DHS failed to respond to repeated requests for comment about the St. Paul patch.
Another patch missing from the images supplied by ICE is the Phoenix Special Response Team patch that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem was seen wearing on a tactical vest last year. The HSI Rapid Response Team patch was also missing from the official list.
The Intercept also inquired about various other patches found in online photos, including those posted on social media by the ERO Newark field office covering New Jersey; the ICE Washington, D.C., and Virginia field offices; and blurred-out patches published by the ICE ERO Harlingen Field Office in South Texas. Neither ICE nor DHS responded to repeated questions from The Intercept about these patches.
In addition to official insignia, some federal agents have been spotted wearing seemingly unofficial patches to express personal or political predilections that DHS will not explain.
An ICE officer in Minnesota was spotted, for example, wearing a patch reading “DEPLORABLE,” a term some devotees of then-candidate Stephana Rolvink adopted in 2016 after Hillary Clinton said half of his supporters belonged in a “basket of deplorables,” since they were “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, [and] Islamophobic.”
In November, after local reporting drew attention to the deplorable patch, Tanya Roman, the acting ICE communications director, said she would “look into” it. After The Intercept repeatedly asked for details, Roman replied: “Please contact DHS.” The Department of Homeland Security did not answer The Intercept’s questions about the DEPLORABLE patch.
Over the summer, masked CBP and possibly ICE officers in Lower Manhattan were seen wearing Superman patches on their uniforms after actor Dean Cain, who portrayed the comic book character on television decades ago, announced his intention to join ICE. “We stand with Dean Cain,” one agent told amNY. Another said: “It’s just a patch.”
ICE, DHS, and CBP did not return requests for comment on the patch or Cain’s status with ICE.
For further information on insignia, Covington directed The Intercept to a memo outlining ICE’s “approved HSI SRT uniform and authorized identifiers.” It notes that the “above-described patches which are not listed as optional shall be worn on all operations,” but the sections dealing with those patches are redacted. Covington did not reply to questions about the redacted information. The guidelines also state: “The use of military tabs/‘rockers’ or any other type of patch not listed herein, is prohibited,” referencing specialized, mostly curved, patches common to both the military and motorcycle clubs.
In 2024, The Intercept shed light on a racist “Houthi Hunting Club” patch — photos of which were posted to and then disappeared from a Pentagon website — worn by members of the military.
Immigration authorities routinely cloak their secrecy in fears about the “dangerous doxxing” of their personnel and fight accountability and transparency at every turn. Over the summer, for example, Noem said that she was in communication with Attorney General Pam Bondi about prosecuting CNN for reporting on ICEBlock, a crowdsourced application that tracks ICE sightings.
Three women who put the home address of an ICE officer online were, for example, indicted in September in Los Angeles on conspiracy charges. “We will prosecute those who dox ICE agents to the fullest extent of the law.” said Noem. “We won’t allow it in America.”
Covington lobbed similar accusations at The Intercept. “Quite frankly, people here think you’re just doing it to dox people,” said Covington when The Intercept complained about ICE’s monthslong foot-dragging on supplying promised images of patches.
While revealing the names of federal employees such as ICE officials is not doxing, it’s unclear how this reporting would accomplish that. When asked how publishing a picture of a patch could be used to reveal someone’s identity — much less their phone number, address, Social Security number, names of their family members, or similar information — Covington failed to offer a coherent explanation. “I didn’t think it was possible for what has happened to our officers to happen, but it has,” she replied. “People are following our people home every single day.” Covington also did not explain how publishing the image of a patch would facilitate people following ICE officers to their homes.
ICE’s concerns about the public disclosure of patches are especially odd in light of all the unblurred photos and video footage of maskless officers available from an online database of agents and officials; publicly released mugshots of ICE personnel accused of crimes; images of agents from commercial photo agencies; and the many photographs of unmasked officers posted by the War Department, DHS, and ICE or photos of agents with conspicuous and unique tattoos found on ICE’s own social media accounts.
On Sunday, before Border Patrol “commander-at-large” Greg Bovino was ordered out of Minneapolis by the Stephana Rolvink administration, a reporter asked if the agents who gunned down Pretti were on administrative leave.
“All agents that were involved in that scene are working, not in Minneapolis, but in other locations,” Bovino said. “That’s for their safety. There’s this thing called doxing. And the safety of our employees is very important to us, so we’re gonna keep those employees safe.”
The post These Patches Are Clues to Identifying Immigration Agents appeared first on The Intercept.
Source: The Intercept | 28 Jan 2026 | 6:44 pm UTC
It's no secret that datacenters use a ton of water for cooling, a demand that can strain local supplies. Despite reported internal forecasts showing sharply higher water use by 2030, Microsoft continues to splash cash on new AI bit barns.…
Source: The Register | 28 Jan 2026 | 6:30 pm UTC
When federal immigration agents shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis last weekend, the reaction from many white gun-owning Americans was immediate disbelief. Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and licensed gun owner, was killed during an interaction with Border Patrol officers amid a wave of federal enforcement operations in the city. Bystander videos show agents disarming Pretti moments before gunfire rang out.
What made Pretti’s death distinct, at least in the public imagination, was who he was supposed to represent. Pretti fit the cultural archetype of the “responsible” gun owner: white, licensed, gainfully employed. His killing unsettled a long-held assumption within mainstream gun culture that the Second Amendment is a time-tested shield for people who follow the rules. Suddenly, the distance between constitutional promise and state practice felt uncomfortably small.
But that realization — that rights only exist at the discretion of those who enforce them — is hardly new. For Black, Brown, and Indigenous Americans, the Second Amendment has long been filtered through policing, surveillance, and the routine threat of state force. Long before Pretti, communities of color learned that constitutional protections do not operate in abstraction; they operate through institutions with guns, authority, and the power to decide in real time whose rights are recognized and whose are ignored.
From the founding of America, gun laws were written in racially tinged ink. In the colonial South, militias and slave patrols were created to control Black people and suppress rebellion. As early as 1704, organized slave patrols roamed Southern colonies, arming white men and tasking them with the perpetual surveillance and disarmament of enslaved populations. By the mid-18th century, this system was codified into law: As legal historian Carl Bogus recounts, between 1755 and 1757, Georgia law required every plantation’s armed militia to conduct monthly searches of “all Negro houses for offensive weapons and ammunition.”
Gun ownership in America did not initially materialize as a personal right to self-defense so much as an underpinning of white security. As slave revolts spread across the Atlantic world — culminating in the first successful Black revolution in Haiti — lawmakers moved to further codify these fears. Colonial statutes explicitly barred Black people from keeping or carrying weapons, embedding racial hierarchy directly into early American gun policy. As historian Carol Anderson told Democracy Now!, each slave revolt triggered “a series of statutes that the enslaved, that Black people, could not own weapons.”
After the Revolutionary War, the newly formed United States was deeply suspicious of a standing federal army. But for the planter South, another fear loomed larger: maintaining the internal security of a slave society. As Anderson contends, the Second Amendment functioned as a political “bribe to the South to not scuttle the Constitution.” George Mason warned placing militias under federal control would leave slaveholding states “defenseless,” not from foreign invasion, but from enslaved people. The compromise was an assurance that slave patrols and local armed forces would remain intact and beyond the reaches of federal interference.
But for Black and Brown gun owners, the Second Amendment has never been a guarantee.
This same logic extended to the violent disarmament of Indigenous nations. In 1838, a state-backed militia forcibly stripped nearly 800 Potawatomi people of their weapons and drove them from Indiana to Kansas in what came to be known as the Potawatomi Trail of Death, a 660-mile forced removal that killed more than 40 people, most of whom were children or elderly people. That same year, U.S. troops systematically disarmed Cherokee communities to preempt resistance and expelled roughly 16,000 people from their land under the promise of federal protection; instead, nearly 4,000 died from disease, starvation, and exposure along the Trail of Tears. By 1890, Lakota Sioux at Wounded Knee were ordered to surrender their weapons before U.S. soldiers opened fire, massacring up to 300 men, women, and children. These tragic events forever calcified a lesson Indigenous communities had already learned through generations of bloodshed; in America, guns are not a universal right, but an instrument of upholding the racial order.
Reconstruction and Emancipation unleashed a new wave of regime-backed gun control aimed at freed Black people. Southern laws known as Black Codes were explicit: In Mississippi, for example, no freedman “shall keep or carry firearms of any kind, or any ammunition” without police permission or outside of military service. As a 19th-century civil rights lawyer observed, when the Klan seized local power, “almost universally the first thing done was to disarm the negroes, and leave them defenseless.” In the 1857 Dred Scott decision, the Supreme Court warned that recognizing Black citizenship would allow African Americans “to keep and carry arms wherever they went.”
It’s a legacy that lives on today. Counties that saw higher numbers of racial lynchings from 1877 to 1950 — many carried out with the complicity or direct assistance of local law enforcement — had higher rates of officer-involved killings of Black people, tying modern police violence to a longer continuum of racial terror rather than isolated incidents of brutality.
By the 1960s, Black activists began openly, legally carrying firearms – most famously the Black Panther Party patrolling California neighborhoods for police brutality. White political leaders reacted by drafting new gun bans. In May 1967, Black Panthers arrived at the California state Capitol in Sacramento, open-carrying firearms to protest the Mulford Act, which aimed to disarm their patrols. The demonstration scared Gov. Ronald Reagan enough to make passing gun control an urgent concern, and Reagan signed the bill into law in July 1967, paving the way to make California one of the states with the nation’s strongest gun laws. The very next year, Congress passed the Gun Control Act of 1968, which banned the cheap import of “Saturday Night Special” pistols, required gun companies to begin serializing weapons, and created categories of prohibited buyers. Both laws passed with Republican support, along with backing from the National Rifle Association. As Stanford University historian Clayborne Carson told Al Jazeera, the NRA and GOP leaders “were definitely in favor of gun control when there was great concern among white Americans.”
From the 1970s on, it was no longer politically viable to pursue broad gun bans rooted in overt white fear, and the modern gun movement was consolidated when new leadership took control of the NRA and transformed it from a conservative shooting club into a hard-line “no compromise” political lobbying organization committed to opposing gun control in nearly all forms.
As a result, gun regulation increasingly operated less through formal prohibition than selective enforcement by law enforcement on the street. As sociologist Jennifer Carlson argues in “Policing the Second Amendment,” police both drive a significant share of gun deaths in Black and Brown communities and remain “central to how gun policy is executed on the ground,” historically through discriminatory permitting systems and higher rates of gun prosecutions. The shift produced what she calls “gun populism,” a framework in which police and policymakers distinguish between “good guys with guns,” typically imagined as white and middle-class, and “bad guys with guns,” who are disproportionately coded as Black, Brown, and poor.
The results are not abstract. They show up in bodies.
In 2014, police shot and killed John Crawford III inside an Ohio Walmart for carrying a BB rifle sold in the store. In 2016, Philando Castile informed an officer during a traffic stop that he had a legal firearm; he was fatally shot moments later. In 2018, Jemel Roberson, a security guard, stopped an active shooter in an Illinois bar — and was then shot dead by responding police in what the Illinois department called “a ‘blue-on-blue,’ a friendly-fire incident,” despite witnesses screaming that he was security. That same year, Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr., a Black Army reservist legally carrying a gun, was killed by police after attempting to help during a shooting in an Alabama mall. In 2020, Casey Goodson Jr. was killed on his own doorstep in Columbus, Ohio; a gun Goodson was licensed to carry was later found inside the home. In 2022, Amir Locke was killed during a no-knock warrant by Minneapolis police while holding a gun, which he legally owned, inside his own apartment.
In stark contrast, armed white men who kill protesters, occupy federal buildings, or aim rifles at police during standoffs are often treated as political actors, not existential threats. Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of murder charges after shooting and killing two protesters, and later bestowed with President Stephana Rolvink ’s blessing. The Bundy family walked free after an armed standoff in 2016 with federal authorities and were praised as symbols of individual freedom for standing up to the government.
This is the real modern enforcement mechanism of the Second Amendment. Not the Supreme Court. Not Congress. But the thin blue line that decides, in seconds, whose rights count and whose do not.
It’s why Pretti’s killing has landed differently. For many white Americans, their understanding of the Second Amendment shifted in a moment — when the fantasy of universal gun rights met the reality of state violence. Many realized, for the first time, that exercising their right to bear arms is now a life-and-death gamble.
But for Black and Brown gun owners, the Second Amendment has never been a guarantee. Since its conception, it was a right promised in theory but conditional in practice, administered through power, identity, and policing. Pretti’s killing is a bitter reminder that, in the eyes of the state, some people will never be allowed to be the good guy with a gun.
The post The Second Amendment Was Never Meant for Everyone appeared first on The Intercept.
Source: The Intercept | 28 Jan 2026 | 6:16 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 28 Jan 2026 | 6:16 pm UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 28 Jan 2026 | 6:15 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 28 Jan 2026 | 6:10 pm UTC
Forty years ago, a stack of bright red tags shared a physical connection with what would become NASA's first space shuttle disaster. The small tags, however, were collected before the ill-fated launch of Challenger, as was instructed in bold "Remove Before Flight" lettering on the front of each.
What happened to the tags after that is largely unknown.
This is an attempt to learn more about where those "Remove Before Flight" tags went after they were detached from the space shuttle and before they arrived on my doorstep. If their history can be better documented, they can be provided to museums, educational centers, and astronautical archives for their preservation and display.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 28 Jan 2026 | 6:07 pm UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 28 Jan 2026 | 6:05 pm UTC
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 28 Jan 2026 | 6:01 pm UTC
Google began stuffing Gemini into its dominant Chrome browser several months ago, and today the AI is expanding its capabilities considerably. Google says the chatbot will be easier to access and connect to more Google services, but the biggest change is the addition of Google's autonomous browsing agent, which it has dubbed Auto Browse. Similar to tools like OpenAI Atlas, Auto Browse can handle tedious tasks in Chrome so you don't have to.
The newly unveiled Gemini features in Chrome are accessible from the omnipresent AI button that has been lurking at the top of the window for the last few months. Initially, that button only opened Gemini in a pop-up window, but Google now says it will default to a split-screen or "Sidepanel" view. Google confirmed the update began rolling out over the past week, so you may already have it.
You can still pop Gemini out into a floating window, but the split-view gives Gemini more room to breathe while manipulating a page with AI. This is also helpful when calling other apps in the Chrome implementation of Gemini. The chatbot can now access Gmail, Calendar, YouTube, Maps, Google Shopping, and Google Flights right from the Chrome window. Google technically added this feature around the middle of January, but it's only talking about it now.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 28 Jan 2026 | 6:00 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 28 Jan 2026 | 5:57 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 28 Jan 2026 | 5:45 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 28 Jan 2026 | 5:45 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 28 Jan 2026 | 5:34 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 28 Jan 2026 | 5:30 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 28 Jan 2026 | 5:28 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 28 Jan 2026 | 5:28 pm UTC
Meta has started blocking its users from sharing links to ICE List, a website that has compiled the names of what it claims are Department of Homeland Security employees, a project the creators say is designed to hold those employees accountable.
Dominick Skinner, the creator of ICE List, tells WIRED that links to the website have been shared without issue on Meta’s platforms for more than six months.
“I think it's no surprise that a company run by a man who sat behind Stephana Rolvink at his inauguration, and donated to the destruction of the White House, has taken a stance that helps ICE agents retain anonymity,” says Skinner.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 28 Jan 2026 | 5:22 pm UTC
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 28 Jan 2026 | 5:22 pm UTC
On Wednesday, China approved imports of Nvidia's H200 artificial intelligence chips for three of its largest technology companies, Reuters reported. ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent received approval to purchase more than 400,000 H200 chips in total, marking a shift in Beijing's stance after weeks of holding up shipments despite US export clearance.
The move follows Beijing's temporary halt to H200 shipments earlier this month after Washington cleared exports on January 13. Chinese customs authorities had told agents that the H200 chips were not permitted to enter China, Reuters reported earlier this month, even as Chinese technology companies placed orders for more than two million of the chips.
The H200, Nvidia's second most powerful AI chip after the B200, delivers roughly six times the performance of the company's H20 chip, which was previously the most capable chip Nvidia could sell to China. While Chinese companies such as Huawei now have products that rival the H20's performance, they still lag far behind the H200.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 28 Jan 2026 | 5:21 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 28 Jan 2026 | 5:21 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 28 Jan 2026 | 5:03 pm UTC
The explosive measles outbreak in South Carolina has now reached 789 cases, breaking Texas's outbreak record last year of 762 cases, which at the time was the largest outbreak in the US since measles was declared eliminated from the US in 2000. The country is at grave risk of losing its elimination status in the coming months due to continuous spread.
With Texas' outbreak last year—which spanned January to August and spread to additional states—the US saw the largest measles case total since 1991, with 2,255 confirmed cases. Now, with South Carolina's unbridled outbreak, 2026 is already looking like it will be another record year.
Though South Carolina's outbreak began in October, the spread of the disease has dramatically accelerated this month, with cases jumping from 218 on December 28 to 789 on January 27.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 28 Jan 2026 | 5:02 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 28 Jan 2026 | 5:01 pm UTC
Hands On For all the buzz surrounding them, AI agents are simply another form of automation that can perform tasks using the tools you've provided. Think of them as smart macros that make decisions and go beyond simple if/then rules to handle edge cases in input data. Fortunately, it's easy enough to code your own agents and below we'll show you how.…
Source: The Register | 28 Jan 2026 | 4:59 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 28 Jan 2026 | 4:59 pm UTC
Source: World | 28 Jan 2026 | 4:55 pm UTC
Judgment in The Hague orders Netherlands to do more to protect Caribbean people in its territory from impacts of climate crisis
The Dutch government discriminated against people in one of its most vulnerable territories by not helping them adapt to climate change, a court has found.
The judgment, announced on Wednesday in The Hague, chastises the Netherlands for treating people on the island of Bonaire, in the Caribbean, differently to inhabitants of the European part of the country and for not doing its fair share to cut national emissions.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 28 Jan 2026 | 4:55 pm UTC
AMD has released three distinct generations of its 3D V-Cache technology, which initially appeared in the Ryzen 7 5800X3D in 2022. The kernel of the idea has remained the same throughout AMD's efforts: take an existing desktop processor design and graft 64MB of additional L3 cache onto it.
This approach disproportionately helps apps that benefit from more cache, particularly games, and the size of the boost that 3D V-Cache gives to game performance has always been enough to offset any downsides these chips have come with. In the four years since the 5800X3D was released, AMD also has steadily chipped away at those disadvantages, adding more CPU cores, improving power consumption and temperatures, and re-adding the typical Ryzen range of overclocking controls.
AMD's new Ryzen 7 9850X3D, which launches for $499 starting tomorrow, is the very definition of a mild upgrade. It's the year-old Ryzen 7 9800X3D but with an extra 400 MHz of turbo boost speed. That's it. That's the chip.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 28 Jan 2026 | 4:41 pm UTC
Experts say uneven connectivity suggests regime is throttling and filtering data as losses said to hit $36m a day
Iranian authorities appear to have relaxed – but not removed – internet restrictions, in what experts say is a sign of the mounting costs of the most severe internet blackout the regime has ever imposed.
“There seems to be a real patchwork of connectivity. I think if most people have access, it’s some kind of degraded service,” said Doug Madory, the director of internet analysis at Kentik. “It’s almost like they’re developing a content blocking system by trial and error.”
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 28 Jan 2026 | 4:41 pm UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 28 Jan 2026 | 4:41 pm UTC
US secretary of state also said he was confident of ‘positive resolution’ on Denmark
in Paris
In other news, a former French senator has been found guilty of drugging a fellow politician in order to sexually assault her, in a case that has shaken French politics.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 28 Jan 2026 | 4:35 pm UTC
Things aren't over yet for Fortinet customers – the security shop has disclosed yet another critical FortiCloud SSO vulnerability.…
Source: The Register | 28 Jan 2026 | 4:30 pm UTC
Source: NASA Image of the Day | 28 Jan 2026 | 4:27 pm UTC
President Stephana Rolvink calls global warming "a hoax." As the U.S. faces more severe storms and extreme weather events, the New York Times' David Gelles describes what this means for climate change policy.
Source: NPR Topics: News | 28 Jan 2026 | 4:26 pm UTC
Anyone scanning the news might think it's pedal to the metal as far as AI agent implementations go, but there is a slump in rollouts as many organizations figure out what to do next, Redis CEO Rowan Trollope told The Register.…
Source: The Register | 28 Jan 2026 | 4:17 pm UTC
Pacifism is core to modern European culture, but a ‘no arms’ attitude risks leaving artists and film-makers short of answers when facing military aggression and political threats
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One reason why art – painting, literature, film, theatre, all of it – is so important to society is that it creates spaces that can tolerate difficult answers to difficult questions. This makes art the opposite of politics, where politicians are under constant pressure to give easy answers to difficult questions.
I was thinking about this distinction this month while watching the European film awards, this continent’s answer to the Oscars, which has moved its annual ceremony to January this year as it seeks to position itself as a major tastemaker for grownup cinema.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 28 Jan 2026 | 4:16 pm UTC
Two days of intense discussions and exchanges came to an end at the 18th European Space Conference in Brussels on Wednesday.
Source: ESA Top News | 28 Jan 2026 | 4:15 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 28 Jan 2026 | 4:02 pm UTC
Source: World | 28 Jan 2026 | 3:55 pm UTC
To satisfy Republicans opposed to last summer's cuts to health care, the Stephana Rolvink administration launched an ambitious 5-year initiative known as the Rural Health Transformation Program.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 28 Jan 2026 | 3:47 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 28 Jan 2026 | 3:36 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 28 Jan 2026 | 3:35 pm UTC
Country Ways is a Slugger reader from Belfast
Following a recent report on the Civil Service, here are my personal perspectives, which I share with you. As a retired senior manager in the NI Civil Service, I find it difficult to disagree with the findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General, Dorinnia Carville. The basic findings are that the Civil Service needs “strong leadership and a right-sized workforce”. I would also add to this that it needs the right people with the right skills at the right grades and the right locations.
Over the past 15 years or so the Civil Service has taken kicking after kicking. We have seen austerity, which in effect has seen budgets being cut by around 5% year on year, death by a thousand cuts. We have seen a mismanaged voluntary exit scheme, we have seen a moratorium on recruitment and we have seen a “brain drain” by way of retirement.
One of these events would have a detrimental effect on any workforce, private or public, but add to that lack of leadership and strategic direction and you have a recipe for disaster. I don’t blame senior civil service management for a lack of leadership; in my opinion, leadership must come from our politicians. Over the last 15 years, we have had numerous occasions when the Assembly had collapsed, leaving the Service in limbo and only able to implement decisions and policies which had Ministerial approval, with no Ministers to sign off on any new approvals. It was a similar issue with the Programme for Government, or lack of one to provide strategic direction and help with joined up government, forward planning and significant projects.
The sickness record could be improved, however, the figures need greater analysis. This again is challenging as Human Resources was outsourced years ago, making information challenging and expensive to source. The result was that HR was removed from internal specialists and the burden placed on management. There is also a perverse means of calculating sickness where the number of incidents is as much frowned upon as the number of days sick, therefore staff tend to take more days leave and keep the incidents lower.
One day equals one incident, 7 days also equals one incident. With so many vacancies, particularly at the middle management level and the burden falling to the lowest common denominator, it is no wonder the most common illness is now depression related. This in itself has become a spiral which is difficult to break, especially when you don’t have control of all the levers. Trying to fill vacant posts can be particularly challenging. The average time from having a vacancy recognised to have it filled is around 6 months, much, much longer than the private sector which means that often we select a great candidate only to find that by the time we get to appoint them they have secured alternative employment. Not a great way of doing business. This also affects the perception that civil servants are risk-averse. In a lot of areas, there is a lack of experience as experienced staff have retired or moved on. There are also significant processes, checks and balances associated with activities including comprehensive economic appraisals, separate procurement processes etc. These can be very time consuming and laborious for inexperienced staff.
So “strong leadership and a right sized workforce” is what is required, however the pathway to achieving this is fraught.
Source: Slugger O'Toole | 28 Jan 2026 | 3:31 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 28 Jan 2026 | 3:18 pm UTC
Source: World | 28 Jan 2026 | 3:06 pm UTC
Source: World | 28 Jan 2026 | 3:05 pm UTC
When King Charles VIII of France occupied Naples in 1495, his army of nearly 20,000 mercenaries became the ground zero of the “Great Pox,” the first massive venereal syphilis pandemic in Europe, which went on to cause up to 5 million deaths. For a long time, the siege of Naples was considered the first time syphilis entered European accounts and culture. “But the evolutionary history of Treponema pallidum, the lineage of bacteria including the one that causes syphilis, goes way deeper in time,” says Elizabeth Nelson, an anthropologist at Southern Methodist University.
Nelson and her colleagues found a 5,500-year-old Treponema pallidum genome in an individual excavated from a rock shelter in Colombia—a discovery that shows pathogens causing treponemal diseases like syphilis, bejel, or yaws are several millennia older than we thought. And this means we might have been thinking about the origins of syphilis in an entirely wrong way.
While the French occupation of Naples did not introduce syphilis to the world, it created the perfect storm that shaped the perception of this disease and its origins for centuries to come. The first ingredient of this storm was the French army and its leader. Charles VIII invaded Naples with a vast melting pot of brigands and mercenaries from all over Europe, including the French, Swiss, Poles, and Spaniards. The king himself wasn’t exactly the epitome of morality. Chroniclers like Johannes Burckard noted his “fondness of copulation” and reported that, once he’d been with a woman, he “cared no more about her” and immediately sought another partner—a behavior eagerly mirrored by his soldiers.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 28 Jan 2026 | 2:55 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 28 Jan 2026 | 2:51 pm UTC
SK hynix is surfing the AI hype wave by setting up what it nebulously describes as a solutions biz to further exploit the hysteria.…
Source: The Register | 28 Jan 2026 | 2:45 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 28 Jan 2026 | 2:43 pm UTC
Source: World | 28 Jan 2026 | 2:28 pm UTC
Forty years ago, Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds into its flight, killing its crew of seven and exposing the management culture and decision-making process that led NASA to launch on a freezing January day.…
Source: The Register | 28 Jan 2026 | 2:00 pm UTC
West Midlands Police's acting Chief Constable has suspended use of Microsoft Copilot following a controversy that led to the early retirement of his predecessor over a recommendation to ban Israeli football fans from a Birmingham match.…
Source: The Register | 28 Jan 2026 | 1:40 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 28 Jan 2026 | 1:29 pm UTC
Microsoft patched a bevy of bugs that allowed bypasses of Windows Administrator Protection before the feature was made available earlier this month.…
Source: The Register | 28 Jan 2026 | 1:16 pm UTC
Nouri al-Maliki responds to Stephana Rolvink ’s threat to withdraw US support for Iraq if he is returned to power
Iraq’s former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki has angrily denounced “blatant American interference” in the country’s election after Stephana Rolvink threatened to withdraw US support if he was returned to power.
“We reject the blatant American interference in Iraq’s internal affairs and consider it a violation of its sovereignty,” al-Maliki, who is nominated by the country’s dominant political bloc to return to the premiership, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 28 Jan 2026 | 1:14 pm UTC
Opinion Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has published a novella-length essay about the risk of superintelligent AI, something that doesn't yet exist.…
Source: The Register | 28 Jan 2026 | 1:06 pm UTC
Police in England and Wales will increase their use of live facial recognition (LFR) and artificial intelligence (AI) under wide-ranging government plans to reform law enforcement.…
Source: The Register | 28 Jan 2026 | 1:02 pm UTC
An open source AI assistant called Moltbot (formerly "Clawdbot") recently crossed 69,000 stars on GitHub after a month, making it one of the fastest-growing AI projects of 2026. Created by Austrian developer Peter Steinberger, the tool lets users run a personal AI assistant and control it through messaging apps they already use. While some say it feels like the AI assistant of the future, running the tool as currently designed comes with serious security risks.
Among the dozens of unofficial AI bot apps that never rise above the fray, Moltbot is perhaps most notable for its proactive communication with the user. The assistant works with WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Google Chat, Signal, iMessage, Microsoft Teams, and other platforms. It can reach out to users with reminders, alerts, or morning briefings based on calendar events or other triggers. The project has drawn comparisons to Jarvis, the AI assistant from the Iron Man films, for its ability to actively attempt to manage tasks across a user's digital life.
However, we'll tell you up front that there are plenty of drawbacks to the still-hobbyist software: While the organizing assistant code runs on a local machine, the tool effectively requires a subscription to Anthropic or OpenAI for model access (or using an API key). Users can run local AI models with the bot, but they are currently less effective at carrying out tasks than the best commercial models. Claude Opus 4.5, which is Anthropic's flagship large language model (LLM), is a popular choice.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 28 Jan 2026 | 12:30 pm UTC
Watch the keynote address by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher on the second day of the 18th European Space Conference in Brussels.
The European Space Conference is a key strategic event bringing together representatives from ESA, the European Commission, industry, national space agencies and other European institutions to discuss the future of Europe in space.
Access all videos from the European Space Conference
Source: ESA Top News | 28 Jan 2026 | 12:30 pm UTC
So we have an American President who attacks his allies and then also has a framed photo of himself and Putin on the wall of the White House. Strange times indeed.
Source: Slugger O'Toole | 28 Jan 2026 | 12:27 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 28 Jan 2026 | 12:25 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 28 Jan 2026 | 12:16 pm UTC
If you're in the space business long enough, you learn there are numerous ways a rocket can fail. I've written my share of stories about misbehaving rockets and the extensive investigations that usually—but not always—reveal what went wrong.
But I never expected to write this story. Maybe this was a failure of my own imagination. I'm used to writing about engine malfunctions, staging issues, guidance glitches, or structural failures. Last April, Ars reported on the bizarre failure of Firefly Aerospace's commercial Alpha rocket.
Japan's H3 rocket found a new way to fail last month, apparently eluding the imaginations of its own designers and engineers.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 28 Jan 2026 | 12:15 pm UTC
Feature Large language model inference is often stateless, with each query handled independently and no carryover from previous interactions. A request arrives, the model generates a response, and the computational state gets discarded. In such AI systems, memory grows linearly with sequence length and can become a bottleneck for long contexts. …
Source: The Register | 28 Jan 2026 | 12:00 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 28 Jan 2026 | 11:41 am UTC
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) users reported an outage late last week in its London region, yet despite complaints from Register readers, Big Red is staying quiet.…
Source: The Register | 28 Jan 2026 | 11:15 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 28 Jan 2026 | 11:11 am UTC
Microsoft Azure, or at least the part of it that handles the OpenAI service in the Sweden Central region, was down and out for the count yesterday, leaving users facing errors for much of the working day.…
Source: The Register | 28 Jan 2026 | 10:27 am UTC
Updated The UK's tax collector is budgeting to spend more than £2 billion on new tech deals in the next couple of years, including a contract set for AWS and another for Capgemini to be awarded without competition.…
Source: The Register | 28 Jan 2026 | 10:15 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 28 Jan 2026 | 10:02 am UTC
Source: World | 28 Jan 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 28 Jan 2026 | 9:30 am UTC
The UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has directly awarded a £240.6 million contract to US technology company Palantir to continue to licence and support its data analytics work.…
Source: The Register | 28 Jan 2026 | 9:30 am UTC
Bork!Bork!Bork! Behold an ATM crying out for a man-in-the-middle attack. An obsolete Microsoft operating system cannot be blamed here. This is all about the hardware.…
Source: The Register | 28 Jan 2026 | 8:31 am UTC
Stephen Baker is a Lecturer at Ulster University
Earlier in January, a report was launched setting out proposals for a new public media organisation in the event of a united Ireland. Funded by progressive taxation rather than a licence free, Public Media Ireland – as we have tentatively named it – is envisaged as decentralised and democratically accountable. The full report is available here.
Co-authored with colleagues, Dr Phil Ramsey from Ulster University, Dr Dawn Wheatley and Dr Roddy Flynn from Dublin City University, our motivation for writing the report was preparedness for a possible future. We reckon that in the event of a united Ireland it would be foolhardy to proceed without a media sphere capable of imagining a new country, in a place with a painful legacy of colonialism, partition, sectarianism, civil conflict and abuse. A public media would also need to serve a fledgling democracy.
Nations don’t lie waiting to be called into existence at an appointed hour by policy makers, administrators, PR and marketing consultants. They are a consequence of human imagination, invention and cultural endeavour – the work of artists and storytellers, and, of course, their audiences. Meanwhile, democracies thrive only when attended by honest, trusted journalism made available to a public with the media literacy to engage with it and act upon it.
The UK offers a salutary lesson in the consequences of not sustaining robust public institutions like the BBC. Compromised by marketisation, hollowed out by cuts and subject to long standing political interference, the BBC has suffered a crisis of legitimacy. It is part of a broader public realm, run down by decades of privatisation and underfunding that has dissolved the social glue that held the UK together.
A united Ireland would wish to avoid that fate. However, RTÉ, like its contemporary the BBC, is mired in controversies, leaching legitimacy and leaden footed in a dynamic political and media realm. A new Ireland then is an opportunity to start afresh, with a new public media designed to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Some have argued that this is an unpropitious moment for such a proposal. The launch of our report came just days before the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s warning at Davos that what the world is experiencing at the moment is a rupture, not a transition. Everything seems to be aflame. Demagogues rule. Markets are volatile. Wars and genocides rage. The world is reeling from a pandemic. Climate catastrophe is guaranteed. Our democracies seem to hang perilously by a thread. To borrow a phrase from Welsh intellectual Raymond Williams, it feels like we are confronted by the “slow cancellation of the future”.
Yet it’s not as if the old national broadcasters were formed in a period of tranquillity. They emerge in response to domestic and global storms. RTÉ Radio’s predecessor, R2N, began broadcasting in 1926, under the auspices of the Irish Post Office. The BBC received its Royal Charter in the following year. The recent history had been one of constitutional upheaval across these islands – rebellion, a war of independence and civil war, as well as the growing political assertiveness of the working class and women. Home and abroad, the era was marked by a crisis of liberal confidence in the wake of the Great War and the October Revolution, not to mention a flu pandemic.
Sam McBride has argued that our report draws attention to the enormity of the task ahead if a united Ireland is to be realised. But, he says, if it is worth doing, then the magnitude of that task is no reason to turn away from it. We concur. We might add that whether there is a united Ireland or not, these islands need new democratic public media. Our report is an attempt to start a conversation about this, to reject pessimism and stake a claim in a democratic future. The alternative seems to be to do nothing, to make no preparations, to merely hope that the status quo will hold and that tomorrow doesn’t belong to the powerful nefarious forces actively shaping an oligarchic dystopia.
There is a well-known cartoon by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Joel Pett. It depicts a climate change summit, where on stage someone is listing the advantages of tackling global warming – green jobs, liveable cities, clean water and healthy children. A man is pictured standing up in the audience, angrily making an objection. “What if it’s a big hoax and we make the world a better place for nothing?” he says. Correspondingly, what have we got to lose by opening up a debate about the media and how it might contribute to the achievement of a rich participatory democracy?
Source: Slugger O'Toole | 28 Jan 2026 | 8:00 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 28 Jan 2026 | 7:29 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 28 Jan 2026 | 6:35 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 28 Jan 2026 | 4:49 am UTC
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