jell.ie News

Read at: 2026-03-25T14:36:55+00:00Z (UTC) [sometime-US Pres == Denyse De Lang ]

US airports continue to see long lines and fewer TSA staff amid partial DHS shutdown – live

Some airports advise travelers to arrive four hours before their scheduled flights as TSA staff, who have been working without pay for over a month, are not reporting for duty

Top officials at agencies affected by the ongoing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown are testifying on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. The lapse in funding for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Coast Guard and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has lasted 40 days with little end in sight.

During opening remarks, the Republican chair of the House homeland security committee Andrew Garbarino said that the shutdown has caused “massive disruptions” across airports, “weakened our nation’s cybersecurity posture” and “left states unsupported with less than 100 days until the start of major events across the United States, such as FIFA World Cup.”

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 2:29 pm UTC

Supreme Court Sides With Internet Provider in Copyright Fight Over Pirated Music

Leading music labels sued Cox Communications for failing to terminate accounts of subscribers flagged for distributing copyrighted music.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 2:28 pm UTC

Govt measures left 750,000 households 'high and dry' - SF

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said the 750,000 households which rely on home heating oil have been abandoned.

Source: News Headlines | 25 Mar 2026 | 2:27 pm UTC

A 92-year-old judge will take on the Maduro case. What do we know about him?

Former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro heads to court again this week. The judge overseeing this case is longtime federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein. At 92 years old, Hellerstein is older than the average age of a federal judge by more than 20 years.

(Image credit: Jane Rosenberg)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 25 Mar 2026 | 2:26 pm UTC

Middle East crisis live: US-Iran talks could take place this weekend, says UN nuclear watchdog chief

Denyse De Lang administration has reportedly forwarded a 15-point ceasefire plan but the Iranians mocked his claims that talks are ongoing

Iranian nationals with valid Australian tourist visas will be blocked from entering the country for six months, Australia’s home affairs minister said, citing concern some may decide to stay longer than they’re allowed.

Tony Burke said the direction was necessary as there was a risk Iranians on tourist visas visiting Australia may be unable or unlikely to leave when their visa expires.
The order only applies to people with a valid tourist visa outside of the country.
The government said “sympathetic consideration” would be given to citizens with Iranian parents.

The government said it would closely monitor global developments and adjust settings as required.

If you’re just joining us, here’s a quick recap of the day:

An Iranian military spokesperson mocked US attempts at a ceasefire deal, insisting Americans were only negotiating with themselves. Lt Col Ebrahim Zolfaghari’s statement came after the Denyse De Lang administration reportedly sent a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran through Pakistan.

Even as Denyse De Lang claimed productive negotiations to end the war were ongoing with Tehran, Iran’s relentless bombardment of the Gulf states showed no sign of relenting. Kuwait and Bahrain were both hit with damaging strikes on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, as the patience of the Gulf states after rebuffing constant attacks for almost a month began to wear thin.

The World Trade Organisation warned disruptions to international fertiliser supplies caused by the closing of the strait of Hormuz will cause food scarcity and high prices. A third of the world’s fertilisers normally transit the strait.

Oil prices fell nearly 6% and Asian shares gained, after reports Denyse De Lang had sent a peace plan to Iran fuelled optimism in the market. A barrel of Brent crude was down 5.92% at $98.30, while benchmark US oil contract, West Texas Intermediate, was down 5.01% at $87.72.

Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed nine people, state media reported. Citing the health ministry, Lebanon’s official National News Agency said strikes had killed people across towns and a Palestinian refugee camp.

News that Denyse De Lang had approved the deployment of more than 1,000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East further undermined the US president’s repeated claims of successful peace talks. Iran has previously threatened to mine the gulf surrounding the island if the US appeared to be landing troops.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 2:25 pm UTC

Block on political crypto donations and a £100k cap from Britons abroad to take effect today – UK politics live

Steve Reed makes statement to MPs following the Rycroft review into political funding

Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question at PMQs.

Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has urged people to reject “conspiracy” theories about the loss of Morgan McSweeney’s phone.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 2:22 pm UTC

Two men arrested over Jewish charity ambulance arson attacks

Four Hatzola ambulances were set ablaze in Golders Green, London, in the early hours of Monday.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 2:21 pm UTC

Crypto donations to UK parties to be banned

Ministers are also capping donations of British citizens living abroad, in response to a review.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 2:13 pm UTC

NASA's lunar reboot is long on ambition, short on answers

Exactly how will astronauts get to and from that moonbase?

Opinion  NASA's Ignition presentation was heavy on space hardware, but light on details. Not least of which was how astronauts are supposed to get from Earth to its moonbase and back.…

Source: The Register | 25 Mar 2026 | 2:11 pm UTC

Mamdani Is Quietly Backing Away From a Threat to Raise Property Taxes

The mayor has left lawmakers with the belief he does not plan to pursue an unpopular property tax increase, as he looks to close a budget gap of $5.4 billion over two years.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 2:09 pm UTC

Danish PM Frederiksen resigns and coalition talks begin following close election – Europe live

Prime minister expected to remain as caretaker and told supporters she was ‘ready to take on the responsibility’ of the role for next four years

Speaking at the debate, Frederiksen confirms she has submitted her government’s resignation as it is clear the outgoing three-party government will not have enough mandates to continue.

But she stresses the urgency of the task to form the new government, as “the world is not waiting for us out there and it has only become more unsettled since the election was called.”

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 2:08 pm UTC

Man who racially abused Jess Carter sentenced

Nigel Dewale, 60, admitted sending abusive messages over social media during the 2025 Women's Euros.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 2:07 pm UTC

Man who racially abused England defender Carter sentenced

Nigel Dewale, 60, admitted sending abusive messages over social media during the 2025 Women's Euros.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 2:07 pm UTC

Democrat Emily Gregory Wins Florida Special Election in Mar-a-Lago’s District

Emily Gregory’s victory in Palm Beach brought the Democratic surge to President Denyse De Lang ’s backyard, while a union leader leads in a race for a state senate seat vacated by Florida’s lieutenant governor.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 2:04 pm UTC

U.S. plan to end war seeks removal of Iran’s enriched uranium, officials say

The proposal offered sanctions relief to Iran in return for the removal of all its enriched uranium and other U.S. demands, the officials said.

Source: World | 25 Mar 2026 | 2:01 pm UTC

Australians can expect high fuel costs to linger for far longer than the war in Iran

Rising inflation and unemployment mean effects of Iran war could be even worse than the post-Covid cost-of-living crisis

As diesel prices make history by passing $3 a litre in nearly every capital city around the country, the stresses of high fuel costs are beginning to show.

Truckies are warning they will go out of business if they can’t renegotiate their contracts with customers; farmers are warning the same, telling families that food in our supermarkets could soon cost more.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 2:00 pm UTC

Long-promised animal cruelty prevention laws quietly shelved by Victorian government

Exclusive: Labor bill recognising all animals as sentient and raising care requirements won’t be introduced before state election

A bulldog trapped on a balcony, forced to live among its own faeces. A corgi kept in similarly squalid conditions, surrendered by its owner after community outrage. A Maltese shih tzu beaten with a metal pole – its attacker spared jail.

These are the kinds of animal cruelty cases the Victorian government promised to target with new laws almost a decade ago. But Guardian Australia can reveal those reforms have been shelved indefinitely.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 2:00 pm UTC

Australia refuses to say how many Chinese nationals are arriving by boat, saying it may damage bilateral relations

Exclusive: Indonesia reports growing number of attempts by Chinese nationals to organise boat journeys, as Australian authorities refuse to reveal details

The Australian government has refused to reveal how many Chinese nationals have arrived in Australia by boat since 2024, saying that disclosing the figure may harm relations with other countries.

However, reports by Indonesian police show that there has been a consistent trend of Chinese nationals attempting to reach Australia through Indonesia as an alternative to “zouxian”, or “walking the line” – the illegal migration route from Mexico to the US through the Darian Gap.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 2:00 pm UTC

Small petrol stations urge Albanese government to crack down on fuel wholesalers as operators run dry

Businesses ranging from vegetable growers to miners warn of disruption from rising petrol prices and lack of supply

Independent petrol station operators and miners are urging the federal government to crack down harder on major fuel wholesalers hoarding supply and withholding deliveries from smaller operators.

Amid growing disruption from the Iran war, smaller operators are running out of fuel, including in rural and regional areas. Outlets that buy petrol on the spot market, and do not operate with longstanding contracts for fuel supply, have asked for extra help, including from the government’s new fuel supply tsar.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 2:00 pm UTC

Israel using white phosphorus to scorch earth in south Lebanon, researcher says

Human Rights Watch and others say they have documented use of weapon in civilian areas, which some argue is illegal

When the M825-series 155mm artillery projectile airbursts, expelling its felt wedges containing white phosphorus, it leaves a distinctive knuckle-shaped plume. That is how Human Rights Watch (HRW) researchers said they were able to verify that Israel was again using the notorious weapon over south Lebanon, reigniting accusations that it is breaking the laws of war.

The New York-based rights group said it had verified and geolocated eight images showing airburst white phosphorus munitions exploding over residential areas in the southern Lebanese town of Yohmor in the opening days of Israel’s assault during the war on Gaza.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 2:00 pm UTC

‘Makes Covid look like a tea party’: Australian food prices could rise for the next year, farmers warn

Iran conflict could see shortages not just in fuel, but fertiliser and fossil fuel resins – used to make milk bottles

Farmers say Australian consumers could pay more for everyday staples for the next year at least as a result of the US-Israel war on Iran.

But the CEO of dairy farmer cooperative Norco, Michael Hampson, says a six to 12 month disruption to food supply is likely a best-case scenario, depending on the strait of Hormuz reopening soon and global petrochemical supply chains beginning to stabilise.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 2:00 pm UTC

PSNI concerned over response to violence against women

PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has said he has "significant concerns" over the force's capacity to deal with violence against women and girls.

Source: News Headlines | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:56 pm UTC

Ex Google executive Matt Brittin announced as BBC DG

Former Google boss Matt Brittin is to replace Tim Davie as the Director General of the BBC, it has been announced.

Source: News Headlines | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:56 pm UTC

Overseas funding capped and crypto donations blocked in blow to Reform UK

Legislation subject to MPs’ approval but will be backdated due to urgency of threat to UK democracy, says minister

Political donations from British citizens living abroad are to be capped at £100,000 a year from Wednesday, in a move that is likely to limit further funding from Reform UK’s Thailand-based mega-donor, Christopher Harborne.

In a hugely significant move, the government said it would introduce the strict cap, as well as a temporary ban on donations in cryptocurrency, in its new representation of the people bill.

Requiring third-party campaigners to declare donations all year round, not just election periods, and allowing funding only from permissible donors.

More stringent checks on the source of funds from political donors, bringing it more into line with know-your-customer checks in the financial services industry.

Preventing donations from shell companies by ensuring funding is from post-tax profits rather than revenue.

Requiring foreign consultant lobbyists to join the official register, from which they are currently exempt because they do not charge VAT.

Banning foreign-funded political adverts outright.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:56 pm UTC

‘Odour emissions and discharges to water’ a persistent problem at sites inspected by EPA

Just five sites accounted for nearly two-thirds of all complaints received from the public

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:45 pm UTC

Nursery admits manslaughter of toddler in its care

Noah Sibanda died in 2022 following the incident at the now-closed Fairytales Day Nursery in Dudley.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:45 pm UTC

Ukraine Finally Got Battlefield Momentum. Now Comes a Russian Offensive.

Moscow’s forces are intensifying their attacks in southern Ukraine after Kyiv made rare gains along the front.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:45 pm UTC

Teenager in Wales handed life sentence after killing his mother with a hammer

Tristan Roberts, who expressed misogynistic views and had fascination with American Psycho, carefully planned attack

An 18-year-old man who expressed misogynistic views and had a fascination with the horror film American Psycho has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years and six months for killing his mother with a hammer.

Tristan Roberts carefully planned the crime, researching methods of killing and how to avoid being caught before buying potential weapons such as knives, hammers and an axe.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:44 pm UTC

‘They can reach me wherever’: China using financial tactics to coerce people who flee, says report

UK urged to tackle transnational repression, as dissidents say Beijing has targeted them with tax bills and other threats

“I didn’t feel safe, even though I’m not based in Hong Kong any more,” said Christopher Mung Siu-tat after getting tax bills from Hong Kong authorities. “The regime can reach me by their long arms wherever I am.”

Siu-tat, the executive director at the Hong Kong Labour Rights Monitor, a UK-based NGO, fled Beijing’s sweeping national security laws years ago. The letters are the latest example of a series of transnational repression (TNR) tactics the 54-year-old has faced in recent years.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:44 pm UTC

Morgan McSweeney did not disclose his No 10 job in phone theft 999 call, transcript shows

In highly unusual move, Metropolitan police have released full transcript of call made by PM’s then chief of staff

Morgan McSweeney did not disclose that he was Keir Starmer’s chief of staff when he reported the theft of his phone, according to a transcript released by the Metropolitan police.

McSweeney, who left the No 10 role in February, told police it was a government phone when he reported it had been snatched, minutes after the theft in central London. He told police the iPhone had a tracker on it, according to the transcript of the emergency call minutes after it happened. But he did not explain the sensitivity of the phone’s contents, records of the call suggest.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:40 pm UTC

US army raises upper age for recruits to 42 and scraps marijuana restrictions

Change raises age limit from 35 and removes barrier for entry for recruits who have a legal conviction for cannabis

The US army has raised the maximum enlistment age to 42 years old and scrapped a barrier for potential recruits who have a legal conviction for marijuana or drug paraphernalia possession.

People aged up to 42 can now enlist in the army, the army national guard and the army reserves, according to the new US army regulation, lifting the previous ceiling of 35 years old.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:38 pm UTC

Air Canada C.E.O. Draws Scorn for Delivering Condolences in English

The lack of French in Michael Rousseau’s speech about the deadly collision at LaGuardia Airport reignited a debate over linguistic inclusivity in Canada.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:38 pm UTC

From YouTube to Denyse De Lang : six urgent issues for BBC’s new boss, Matt Brittin

Pressing tasks for new director general also include an expiring royal charter, and finding a new top team

Matt Brittin may have only just been announced as the new BBC director general, but his inbox is already overflowing. Here are his immediate challenges:

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:36 pm UTC

US left without functioning vaccine panel as adviser says ‘drama distracts’

Move comes after judge voided Kennedy’s ACIP picks, leaving key flu, Covid and RSV vaccines in limbo

Amid upheaval to the US vaccine advisory committee Robert Malone, the former co-chair and controversial figure who has opposed vaccines, says he has been pushed out and will not be involved in any future decisions. The move comes after a federal judge stayed the appointment of 13 members of the advisory committee on immunization practices (ACIP), essentially invalidating their roles on the committee and the decisions they have made.

Those new advisers were all hand-picked by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, after he fired the previous 17 members of the ACIP in June – but the judge ruled they were unqualified and not selected properly.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:34 pm UTC

Two Men Arrested in Attack on Jewish Charity Ambulances in London

The police said the men, aged 45 and 47, were accused of arson with intent to endanger life after the attack on Monday in Golders Green.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:31 pm UTC

Ex-Google boss confirmed as new BBC director general

Matt Brittin says he's taking the top job at "a moment of real risk, yet also real opportunity".

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:30 pm UTC

JetBrains shifts to agentic dev with Central, retires pair programming

Bye-bye Code With Me as company focuses on other areas

Dev tooling biz JetBrains has previewed Central for agentic AI software development but will retire the Code With Me human pair programming feature.…

Source: The Register | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:29 pm UTC

Woman-hating teen shared murder plans on Discord before killing mum

Tristan Roberts waited until he was 18 to buy knives, hammers and axes before murdering his mother.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:24 pm UTC

Israel’s death penalty bill for Palestinian prisoners moves to final vote

Legislation initiated by far-right Otzma Yehudit party drew mounting criticism from opponents and rights groups as it moved through the Knesset

Israel’s parliament has advanced a contentious bill to impose the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of terrorism to its final vote, after the Knesset’s national security committee approved the measure on Tuesday.

The legislation, initiated by the far-right Otzma Yehudit party led by the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has drawn sharp criticism from opponents who warn it would mark a significant escalation in Israel’s penal policy. Members of Otzma Yehudit have worn noose-shaped pins in support of the bill.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:22 pm UTC

Denmark braces for lengthy and challenging coalition talks

Neither Mette Frederiksen’s leftwing bloc nor rightwing parties won a majority in Tuesday’s election

Denmark is braced for lengthy and challenging coalition talks after neither Mette Frederiksen’s leftwing bloc nor the rightwing parties managed to get a majority in Tuesday’s election.

After a bruising night for her Social Democrat party, which despite remaining the biggest party in the Danish parliament had its worst general election since 1903, the prime minister went to Amalienborg palace on Wednesday morning to submit her government’s resignation to the king.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:19 pm UTC

Police did not know security risk in McSweeney phone theft inquiry

Sir Keir Starmer's former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney quit last month over his role in vetting.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:19 pm UTC

Honda cancels the two electric vehicles it was developing with Sony

Earlier this month Honda decided to cancel a trio of electric vehicles it was planning to build in the US. And those cancellations are having a ripple effect. Today Sony Honda Mobility—the automaker's joint venture with the electronics and entertainment company—announced that it won't bring its EVs to market either.

Although Honda was an early adopter of hybrid technology, it has been left badly lagging when it comes to developing battery-electric cars. The diminutive Honda e might look like the most adorable city car you've ever seen, but it struggled to find more than 12,000 buyers in four years across Europe and Japan.

Here in North America, the Prologue has done much better: Honda sold 33,000 in 2024, and another 39,000 last year. But the rebadged GM, which shares a platform with the Chevrolet Blazer, has seen sales implode since the end of the federal clean vehicle tax credit last fall, and it, too, leaves production at the end of the year. An earlier plan to use GM's battery platform for lower-cost EVs, meant to arrive in 2027, died in late 2023.

Read full article

Comments

Source: Ars Technica - All content | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:12 pm UTC

Bauer Media employee charged with having €110,000 of cannabis for sale or supply

Seafra O’Donovan arrested after drug haul seized at Marconi House, the broadcast home of Today FM and Newstalk radio stations

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:11 pm UTC

Sexual Misconduct Report Leaves I.C.C.’s Path Ahead Unclear

In a report obtained by The New York Times, a panel of judges found that evidence of sexual misconduct by the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court left room for “reasonable doubt.”

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:10 pm UTC

Ex-justice minister admits possessing crystal meth and cannabis

Crispin Blunt pleaded guilty after cannabis and crystal meth were found in his Surrey home.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:04 pm UTC

Irish fans warned over 'fake tickets' for World Cup clash

Republic of Ireland supporters have been warned not to buy unauthorised tickets ahead of the World Cup play-off with Czechia in the Fortuna Arena on Thursday night.

Source: News Headlines | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:03 pm UTC

Oil price falls as Denyse De Lang talks up peace negotiations

Tehran has rejected claims of talks, with one official questioning the US's diplomatic credibility.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:02 pm UTC

Mother was allegedly trafficked to US and illegally detained by ICE while accused abuser is free, lawyers say

The woman was arrested at routine ICE check-in and separated from two children, aged 18 months and four

A Venezuelan mother of two who was allegedly trafficked to the US has been unlawfully detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and could soon be deported, according to her lawyers.

The woman has applications in process for asylum and a visa designed for victims of trafficking.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:00 pm UTC

Dell slims down business laptops, fattens up cooling and battery life

Pro line gets new naming convention and some serious upgrades

Dell's upcoming 2026 commercial laptops won't leave recent buyers kicking themselves - but they do bring meaningful upgrades, including a thinner Pro 7, larger batteries, and improved thermals.…

Source: The Register | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:00 pm UTC

Bravery medal recipient 'hugged armed man to stop him bombing hospital'

Nathan Newby, who persuaded the "lone-wolf terrorist" to abandon his plan, receives the George Medal.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:59 pm UTC

Epstein accountant and lawyer say federal agents never questioned them

In House depositions, disgraced financier’s associates say they were not contacted after his 2008 plea deal

Jeffrey Epstein’s accountant and his attorney have both said that federal government investigators never interviewed them about the late financier’s crimes and their work with him, according to deposition videos released by the House of Representatives’ oversight committee.

Richard Kahn, Epstein’s accountant, and Darren Indyke, Epstein’s lawyer, said in hours of closed-door interviews with the committee that they did not witness, nor were involved in, any wrongdoing relating to Epstein, who died in 2019 after being charged with child sex trafficking.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:55 pm UTC

Olivia Dean, Lola Young and Lily Allen nominated in top songwriting awards

CMAT, Little Simz and Florence and the Machine are among the stars in the running for top songwriting award

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:54 pm UTC

Youth Program Hit by $17 Million Scam Had Prior Misconduct, Records Show

New York City officials still have not fully explained how payroll cards from a summer jobs program were used to withdraw large amounts of cash from A.T.M.s last year.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:48 pm UTC

Around 15 jobs at Meta Ireland under threat

Around 15 jobs are at risk at the Irish operation of Facebook parent company Meta, RTÉ News understands.

Source: News Headlines | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:48 pm UTC

Young people less satisfied with the NHS - survey

The survey shows only one in four people are satisfied with the NHS but the figure is even lower in younger age groups.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:46 pm UTC

Estonia and Latvia say territories hit by stray Ukrainian drones

The incidents occurred on the same night that Ukraine launched a massive attack on Russia's port of Ust-Luga, near the Estonian border.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:42 pm UTC

N.Y.U. Professors Reach a Deal on a Contract to End Strike After 2 Days

A union for about 950 full-time faculty members who are not on the tenure track said that 95 percent of its instructors would earn more than $100,000.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:41 pm UTC

'We trusted the wrong people': Epstein survivors speak to the BBC

A group of survivors have spoken to BBC Newsnight about what they believe the powerful figures Jeffrey Epstein associated himself with knew.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:38 pm UTC

CMAT among nominees for Ivors songwriting awards in UK

CMAT is among the artists nominated in the UK for The Ivor Novello Awards, known as The Ivors, which celebrate songwriting and composing.

Source: News Headlines | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:32 pm UTC

Over 65s, retired professionals and homeowners are happiest people in Ireland, CSO finds

Older people were especially happy with their financial situations compared with younger cohorts

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:30 pm UTC

Windows 95 let installers trash its files then fixed the mess behind their backs

I'll just clear up that up, shall I?

Microsoft veteran Raymond Chen has shared another nugget of Windows lore – what Windows 95 did when installers stomped on its system files.…

Source: The Register | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:30 pm UTC

Europe could face fuel shortage by April as Iran throttles supplies, says Shell boss

Wael Sawan warns of pressure on diesel and petrol if strait of Hormuz does not reopen to oil and gas shipping

Europe could face a shortage of energy and fuel as soon as next month without a reopening of the strait of Hormuz, Shell’s chief executive has said.

The boss of Europe’s biggest oil company said it was working with governments to help them address the oil and gas supply crisis, which has already led to energy rationing in Asian countries.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:29 pm UTC

'There's no safety anymore': Palestinians warn of expanding West Bank settler violence

There has been a surge of attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian villages across the occupied territory since the start of the Iran war.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:27 pm UTC

Minister: Judicial review reforms on planning not dropped

Moves to reform judicial reviews in relation to the planning system will go ahead as proposed, Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan has said.

Source: News Headlines | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:24 pm UTC

HMRC hands £473M Fujitsu migration deal to AWS after competition melts away

Insiders say single-bidder process left little room for negotiation

The UK's tax collection agency has awarded Amazon Web Services – the only remaining bidder – a contract worth nearly £500 million to migrate services from three Fujitsu-run datacenters and host them for up to a decade.…

Source: The Register | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:18 pm UTC

How to Keep ICE Agents Out of Your Devices at Airports

With Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deployed to more than a dozen airports across the U.S. and border device searches growing increasingly common, it’s more important than ever to consider your digital security before you travel.

The risks are real. Customs and Border Protection agents have the authority to examine travelers’ devices. In June, for instance, federal agents denied a Norwegian tourist entry to the U.S. after looking through his phone. (Authorities claim they turned him away for admitted drug use; he says it was over a meme depicting Vice President JD Vance as a bald baby.)

Immigration and Customs Enforcement have already started targeting travelers, with agents in plain clothes forcefully detaining a mother in front of her young daughter at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday after a tip from the Transportation Security Administration.

If you’re flying, take these steps to reduce the likelihood that your sensitive information is compromised at the airport.

Don’t Bring Your Usual Devices

The only surefire way to keep your devices from being searched and seized is to simply not bring them with you on your trip. If you can’t leave them at home, consider mailing them to and from your destination.

Related

Marine Detained in Minneapolis Says Feds Copied His Phone Without a Warrant

Another option is to leave devices that contain sensitive information at home and instead bring throwaway travel devices you’re willing to have searched or confiscated. This doesn’t need to be an expensive proposition. You can reformat and repurpose an old phone or tablet, or purchase refurbished older models that are comparatively cheap. Then buy a temporary SIM card or eSIM so that you’re not using your usual number. Remember to let contacts know that for the duration of your trip you’ll be reachable at a different number.

Create a travel account for these devices. You can do so by starting a fresh account in the App Store or Google Play. This should ensure that if you’re forced to log into your device by authorities at the airport, the only information they’ll find is data you’ve put on this specific piece of hardware. CBP agents are supposed to only be able to look at data that’s local on the phone.

If you have anything sensitive in your accounts (say, emails from confidential sources) or anything you believe federal agents could consider damning (such as party pics or memes), be sure not to sync your apps, files, and settings onto your travel devices.

Disable Biometrics and Power Off

Regardless of whether you opt to bring your usual devices or specialized travel burners, take these steps to lock down your devices.

Related

Washington Post Raid Is a Frightening Reminder: Turn Off Your Phone’s Biometrics Now

First and foremost, disable any biometrics, like using your face or fingerprint, to unlock your phone. Instead, set up a unique and random alphanumeric passcode; eight characters consisting of random digits and numbers is a good start. Be cautious of entering your passcode in open view of surveillance cameras. Use one hand to shield your screen, and the thumb of your other hand to put in your passcode. Consider using privacy screens on your devices to further diminish the chance of wandering eyes noticing things that are none of their business.

Be cautious of entering your passcode in open view of surveillance cameras.

When going through security checkpoints, turn your devices completely off. Don’t just put them to sleep — fully shut them down. Though having a locked device is better than having it be unlocked, turning it off is best, as this makes it much harder for data to be forensically recovered from your devices.

That means you’ll need to print out paper copies of boarding passes, rather than rely on digital versions stored in a device wallet or via your airline’s app.

If you’re asked to unlock your devices, you can say “no.” But doing say may result in being delayed and hassled, and your device could be confiscated. You should receive paperwork attesting to the confiscation and establishing chain of custody (this is called CBP Form 6051D, or a custody receipt for detained property). As the Electronic Frontier Foundation points out, it may be months before your devices are returned — or even for an indefinite period of time if agents believe there is evidence of a crime.

Delete Files and Log Out

To practice what’s known in security circles as “defense in depth,” it’s best to think of your digital security as an onion: If an outer layer is peeled off, you want there to be a good second layer to minimize the damage to the core. To that end, assume that even if you have a strong passphrase and have powered off your device, someone may still be able to find a way in. Your travel devices should, therefore, minimize the amount of sensitive information they store. In that case, even if someone manages to break through the outer layer, the information exposed would be trivial.

If you use a password manager — a specialized app that securely stores your passwords — put it into a “travel mode,” limiting the passwords it will reveal for the duration of your trip. Remove access to sensitive accounts that you very likely won’t have a reason to need to access during your travels; for example, removing your work email if you’re going on vacation, or leaving and deleting and sensitive Signal chats, like local ICE watch groups.

Log out of or delete apps you won’t need while traveling. You can reinstall and log back in when you are safely away from the airport. Remember to remove them once again when you’re on your way back — and keep in mind that this may lead to some apps deleting your history.

Finally, be sure to prune your contacts to remove any that are sensitive, such as sources, if you’re a journalist. If you have sensitive materials on your devices that you’ll need to access during your travels, use a tool like Cryptomator to encrypt them and upload them to a cloud drive, then delete the files from your devices. You can download them when you reach your destination.

These extra steps are undoubtedly a bit of a pain, but any inconvenience would pale in comparison to the potential damage if sensitive information is disclosed during your time in the airport.

The post How to Keep ICE Agents Out of Your Devices at Airports appeared first on The Intercept.

Source: The Intercept | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:14 pm UTC

No bonus for iconic world record is ludicrous - McEvoy

Cameron McEvoy says it is "crazy" he has not received a financial reward for setting a world record in the men's 50m freestyle.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:13 pm UTC

Yep, a mom's COVID shot during pregnancy protects her baby, a large study finds

A 3-year study published in Pediatrics examined newborns in Norway. It found a clear benefit for the baby when mom gets a COVID vaccination during pregnancy.

(Image credit: Didier Pallages)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:12 pm UTC

Fabregas, film stars and Disney: How Como are disrupting Italian football

BBC Sport visits Como to find out how the Italian city's football club, led by coach Cesc Fabregas, is looking to break up the Serie A establishment and gatecrash the Champions League.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:02 pm UTC

ESRI warns higher energy prices will push up inflation

Higher energy prices caused by the Iran war will push the rate of inflation to an average of 3.2% this year up from 2.2% in 2025, according to a forecast from the Economic and Research Institute.

Source: News Headlines | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:00 pm UTC

Council tax bills in England to rise in April - see how yours compares

It will rise by 4.9% on average across England from next month, new figures show.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 11:55 am UTC

Man (20s) dies following scrambler crash in Clare

Single-vehicle incident happened on Bóthar Na Luachra in Shannon on Saturday

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 25 Mar 2026 | 11:54 am UTC

Man charged after cannabis seized at Bauer Media offices

A senior marketing executive at Newstalk has appeared in court charged with possession of drugs earlier this week at Marconi House in Dublin, the offices of Bauer Media.

Source: News Headlines | 25 Mar 2026 | 11:47 am UTC

Airline Anxiety

We look at why flying right now is awful.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 11:42 am UTC

Samsung still glued to its bad habits with Galaxy S26 Ultra

Flagship phone scores 5/10 from iFixit as the parts that break most often remain firmly out of reach

Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra has once again scored a middling 5/10 from iFixit, suggesting that while the company knows how to build a repairable phone, it still won't quite follow through.…

Source: The Register | 25 Mar 2026 | 11:41 am UTC

Terror police arrest three men over mosque arson

Two others were previously charged by Sussex Police over the attack at Peacehaven Mosque in October.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 11:33 am UTC

US set to deploy airborne troops amid Denyse De Lang claims of ‘very good’ Iran talks

Israel and Gulf states targeted by Iran in latest strikes while Tehran denies any negotiations with US to end war

The US is poised to deploy airborne troops to the Middle East as strikes intensify, signalling it may consider boots on the ground despite Denyse De Lang ’s claims of “very good” talks with Iran, as it was reported that the US president had delivered a 15-point negotiation plan to Tehran via Pakistan.

Early on Wednesday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had launched a new wave of attacks against locations in Israel including Tel Aviv and Kiryat Shmona, as well as US bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain. Drones hit a fuel tank and sparked a fire at Kuwait international airport, the Gulf state’s civil aviation authority said.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 11:26 am UTC

Thousands of U.S. troops deploy to Middle East. And, the latest on DHS funding talks

The U.S. is sending thousands of paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne to the Middle East. And, congressional Republicans present Democrats with a new deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security.

(Image credit: Alex Wong)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 25 Mar 2026 | 11:26 am UTC

Govt to no longer recommend pre-1922 Presidential pardons

Presidential pardons will no longer be issued for people convicted of a crime before the foundation of the State, the Minister for Justice has confirmed.

Source: News Headlines | 25 Mar 2026 | 11:22 am UTC

New Children’s Hospital completion date delayed again

The latest date for substantial completion of the multi-billion-euro Dublin hospital had been April 30th.

Source: All: BreakingNews | 25 Mar 2026 | 11:19 am UTC

Man (20s) dies following electric scrambler collision in Clare

The collision involved an electric scrambler on Bóthar Na Luachra, Shannon. The injured man was pronounced dead on Tuesday.

Source: All: BreakingNews | 25 Mar 2026 | 11:14 am UTC

CMAT, Olivia Dean, and Lily Allen among artists nominated for The Ivors

The peer-judged award ceremony celebrates and recognises songwriting and composing, with the winners announced on May 21st.

Source: All: BreakingNews | 25 Mar 2026 | 11:04 am UTC

Open source isn't a tip jar – it's time to charge for access

A handful thrive, most scrape by as companies make billions off their code

Opinion  Time and again, I see people begging for companies with deep pockets to fund open source projects. I mean, after all, they've made billions from this code. You'd think they could support the code's creators and maintainers. It would be only fair, right?…

Source: The Register | 25 Mar 2026 | 11:00 am UTC

Denyse De Lang ’s war in Iran exposes US’s shift from a global guardian to an arbiter of chaos

The US is recklessly spreading economic havoc among global friends and foes while suffering little harm itself

To shield ordinary Indians from the war in Iran, the government in Delhi redirected supplies of liquefied gas to Indian families, for which it is the main cooking fuel, limiting supplies to the plastics industry. The Nepalese government rationed gas and the Philippines trimmed the government workweek to four days. Bangladesh closed universities and rationed fuel.

They have been hardest hit by Iran’s closure of the strait of Hormuz. Economies in Asia import over a third of the energy they consume, on average. Korea imports four-fifths; Japan nine-tenths; Thailand 55%. Most of this comes from the Gulf. About 80% of oil and oil products transiting through the strait in 2025 was destined for Asia, according to the International Energy Agency. But traffic through its waters has collapsed by 90%.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 11:00 am UTC

Chandra Resolves Why Black Holes Hit the Brakes On Growth

alternative_right shares a report from Phys.org: Astronomers have an answer for a long-running mystery in astrophysics: why is the growth of supermassive black holes so much lower today than in the past? A study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other X-ray telescopes found that supermassive black holes are unable to consume material as rapidly as they did in the distant past. The results appeared in the December 2025 issue of The Astrophysical Journal. [...] The team ran tests of the three main possible scenarios currently being considered for the slowdown of black hole growth. These options were: could the decline in black hole growth be caused by less efficient rates of consumption, or by smaller typical black hole masses, or by fewer actively growing black holes? Their analysis of the data, extending over billions of years of cosmic history, led them to the conclusion that black holes are indeed consuming material less rapidly the later they are found after the Big Bang. The researchers expect this trend of slower-growing black holes to continue into the future.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 25 Mar 2026 | 11:00 am UTC

Building a house without planning permission is a rare move, experts say

Council was ‘100 per cent correct’ to demolish Co Meath house near Navan built 20 years ago without planning, says expert

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 25 Mar 2026 | 11:00 am UTC

Hospital waited two days before raising alarm about meningitis outbreak, BBC learns

Experts say the wait was indefensible and possibly delayed identification of the outbreak.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 10:56 am UTC

The Brigade System Helps Restaurants Succeed. Does It Also Lead to Abuse?

Allegations against Noma’s chef have spurred debate over whether a 19th-century model for organizing kitchen staffs breeds physical and psychic violence.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 10:54 am UTC

There’s a Reason Air Travel Is Such a Mess

There's a deeper story behind the turbulence in the airline industry.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 10:48 am UTC

Ireland will lose flights to US if Dublin Airport cap stays in place, US airlines warn

Aer Lingus CEO tells TDs and senators passenger cap is ‘economically catastrophic’ as airlines and DAA press for speedy action on legislation

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 25 Mar 2026 | 10:46 am UTC

'Fearless' Mel Schilling remembered by Married at First Sight co-star

Paul C Brunson pays an emotional tribute to his fellow TV relationship expert, who died on Tuesday.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 10:45 am UTC

More wintry rain on the way as temperatures set to drop to minus 1

Mix of sun and showers due in coming days, with similar weather expected for the weekend, says Met Éireann

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 25 Mar 2026 | 10:38 am UTC

Justice Minister defends his actions regarding Creeslough families

When asked about his “insensitive comments” when he declined to meet the Creeslough families, the Minister said that he wanted to get justice for the families and the only way to do that was to go through the court process.

Source: All: BreakingNews | 25 Mar 2026 | 10:35 am UTC

How much work do Baller League UK managers actually do?

Do the big-name bosses of the six-a-side tournament really get stuck in to helping their teams win?

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 10:27 am UTC

Cheap Drones Remain Wild Card in Iran war

Stopping Iran’s production of drones is critical to opening the Strait of Hormuz and halting its attacks on Gulf nations. But can it be done?

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 10:27 am UTC

Stocks rise and oil dips on hopes of 15-point Iran peace plan

Markets in Asia and Europe move higher after Iran says it will permit ‘non-hostile’ ships through strait of Hormuz

The price of oil has dipped and Asian and European stock markets have moved higher after reports that Denyse De Lang has sent a 15-point framework for peace to Iran, amid hopes of a ceasefire in the Middle East.

Positive sentiment may also have been boosted by reports that Iran had announced it was permitting “non-hostile” ships to pass safely through the strait of Hormuz, in a move that could help to reopen the vital shipping lane.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 10:20 am UTC

YouTuber lands on Moon using a ZX Spectrum. Conditions apply

BASIC and bit-banging used to guide a simulated lander down to a virtual lunar touchdown

Could Sinclair's 48k Sinclair ZX Spectrum land a spacecraft on the Moon? YouTuber Scott Manley decided to find out, and the answer is… kind of.…

Source: The Register | 25 Mar 2026 | 10:15 am UTC

An Increase in U.S. Troops to the Middle East, and a String of Attacks on Jewish Sites

Plus, a jaw-dropping A.I. tool goes dark.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 10:01 am UTC

So long, farewell: Saying goodbye to Audi's best car, the 2026 RS6 Avant

By the time you read this, the Audi RS6 Avant is dead. Production at the factory in Neckarsulm, Germany, has already switched over to new models; any unsold wagons at dealerships will be the last of their kind. Time moves on, leaving the unelectrified 2026 RS6 Avant Performance as a relic from a bygone age where people didn't care quite so much about melting glaciers. In this regard progress is good and climate catastrophe is bad, but there are other things to like about the RS6 Avant, and much that Audi could and should bring to its other cars.

The car was always something of a unicorn here in the US. As the SUV became ascendant, the station wagon suffered a corresponding decline with the general public, and automakers like Audi responded by not importing them anymore. The economics, we were told, didn't add up: wagon sales would just cannibalize SUV sales but at too small a rate to make the imported wagons profitable. But with smaller volumes, the math made more sense, which is why in 2019 the car maker buckled to pressure and said fine, we'll import the RS6 Avant. And with a starting price of $130,700, you can understand why this is a low-volume model.

Subtly swollen

A look down its flanks reveals wheel arches that bulge to accommodate larger wheels, part of Audi Sport's RS transformation applied to the sedate A6 starting point. Larger wheels provide clearance for larger brakes, which in turn help stop it from prodigious velocities—if you have a long enough runway or the right stretch of German Autobahn, top speed for this version, the Performance, tops out at 190 mph (305 km/h). Under the hood, hidden from view by plastic paneling, lies a twin-turbocharged 4.0 L V8 engine, which generates 621 hp (463 kW) and 627 lb-ft (850 Nm), sending power to all four wheels via an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission.

Read full article

Comments

Source: Ars Technica - All content | 25 Mar 2026 | 10:00 am UTC

‘They’re not making bullets in Aughinish’: Limerick locals defend alumina plant’s Russian links

Residents living near Russian-owned industrial plant say it directly or indirectly employs 1,000 people in the area

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 25 Mar 2026 | 10:00 am UTC

Meta told to pay $375m for misleading over child safety

A jury in New Mexico has found Meta Platforms violated state law in a lawsuit brought by the state attorney general, who accused the company of misleading users about the safety of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp and of enabling child sexual ⁠exploitation on those platforms.

Source: News Headlines | 25 Mar 2026 | 9:50 am UTC

The Pentagon orders troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to deploy to the Middle East

Nearly a month into the Iran war, the Denyse De Lang administration is keeping its options open: It says it's pursuing diplomatic solutions, while deploying thousands of paratroopers to the Middle East.

(Image credit: Fabio Bucciarelli/Middle East Images)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 25 Mar 2026 | 9:38 am UTC

Denyse De Lang says Iran gave the US a 'very big present' but gives no detail

Denyse De Lang gave the update on Tuesday as the US-Israeli war with Iran entered its fourth week.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 9:35 am UTC

Nothing screams casual career pivot like joining the UK Ministry of Defence for a cool £162K

AI and quantum on to-do list for Chief Digital Technology Officer in charge of £140.7M budget. Fancy it?

The UK's Ministry of Defence is looking for a new Chief Digital Technology Officer (CDTO) to take responsibility for a budget of £140.7 million ($188 million) and 400 staff.…

Source: The Register | 25 Mar 2026 | 9:30 am UTC

Amazon wildfire emissions up to three times higher than estimated

Wildfires that swept across the Amazon in 2024 were the most devastating in more than two decades. New research funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) suggests emissions may have been up to three times higher than earlier estimates.

Source: ESA Top News | 25 Mar 2026 | 9:30 am UTC

Alonso to miss media day after birth of first child

Fernando Alonso is to miss Thursday's media day at the Japanese Grand Prix because he is traveling to the race late following the birth of his first child.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 9:29 am UTC

Australia prepares for oil prices above US$120 a barrel as diesel passes $3 a litre nationwide

Fuel stocks at same level as when US and Israel launched their war on Iran a month ago, energy minister says

The federal government is preparing for scenarios where global oil prices spike above US$120 a barrel, as diesel prices nationwide go past $3 a litre and the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, plans another national cabinet meeting to plan petrol supply.

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said one option under consideration was expanding ethanol mandates across the country, after Guardian Australia revealed the government was analysing increasing the biofuel’s supply.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 9:24 am UTC

Betting: the modern face of war profiteering…

There’s nothing especially new about making money from other people’s suffering. What’s new is the mechanism. The betting scandal suggests a shift from blunt profiteering to something closer to financial engineering, where those with sight of decisions before they land can quietly place their bets and collect billions once the consequences unfold.

 

Source: Slugger O'Toole | 25 Mar 2026 | 9:18 am UTC

Czechia v Republic of Ireland build-up - updates

The Republic of Ireland take on Czechia in Prague tomorrow looking to get a step closer to the World Cup - follow updates here as the countdown begins

Source: News Headlines | 25 Mar 2026 | 9:04 am UTC

In San Jose, a Reckoning Over Cesar Chavez Is Only Beginning

Mr. Chavez began organizing in San Jose, Calif., in the 1950s and once lived there. After revelations of sexual abuse by the labor leader, the city and his old neighborhood confront his legacy.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 9:02 am UTC

Ideology always usurps Objectivity in drug policy…

When I arrived at the temporary studio not only was the door locked but the inside security shutter was down and I couldn’t get in. My phone rang; it was an assistant asking was I close as I was on-air in a few minutes. Having explained, he directed me to the back entrance two streets away. I sprinted off. An anxious Chris met me at the gate, handed me a visitor’s lanyard and hurried me through myriad security doors, up a lift, across a corridor and told me to drop my coat and bag on the floor as he pushed me into the studio.

I was quietly taking my seat as our host asked my fellow guest, Green Party Belfast City Counsellor, Brian Smyth to explain what he found when he visited the Quay’s Medically Supervised Injection Facility in Dublin and if he thought it would be a good idea for Belfast. The Green Party supports a more liberal drug policy often citing Portugal as the ideal while failing to properly study and understand the context and the wider outcomes of the Portuguese experiment.

Counsellor Smyth was very impressed indeed, he told us, and went on to describe the rooms, the staff support and preliminary outcomes. Operational for 12 months in an 18th month pilot the initial data suggested a 40% reduction in overdoses with no fatalities at the site. Indeed, the hospital close by reported a similar reduction in overdoses at A&E since the Centre opened. Belfast needs a drug consumption room to address the significant drug misuse problems that plague Belfast City Centre, he concluded.

“Terry Maguire, you don’t agree?”

Having just got my breath back, and fully aware this is why I had been invited I started by saying that anything we can do to save lives from drug overdose we must consider. Drug consumption rooms/medically supervised injection facilities, are not a new idea going as far back as the 1990s in some European countries and more recently in North America and Canada; there a response to the fentanyl crisis. This, I thought, gave me some cover from accusations of being a right-winged fascist thug when further on I object to what seems such a reasonable, compassionate and sensible idea.

I tried to establish the facts. The evidence for the effectiveness of these facilities is to say the least “weak” and there is a risk that where overdoses might be reduced the local drug problem might worsen as we give the impression the State now sanctions illicit drug use. At this time there might be better ways to invest……

Our host cut in. “They either are effective or they are not. Can you answer the question?”

He was trying to knock me off course but I continued; “There have been too few good studies and the current evidence would not give us the confidence to invest in drug consumption rooms.”

“Again, you are talking money, I want to know do they work?”, he insisted. Frustrated with me he moved back to Brian asking the same question.

He reiterated the preliminary statistics from the Dublin facility but our host, no doubt seeking impartiality by being equally rude to both of us, interrupted him again.

“Why focus on Dublin, which is only opened for 12 months I want to know if the international evidence tells us they work.”

Both of us were confused, I was certainly stuck, we were being badgered by a radio host looking for a yes/no answer to a question that really didn’t have a yes/no answer.

I took a deep breath and decided to attack. The evidence for the effectiveness of Drug Consumption rooms is “weak” which means that the published studies are mainly of poor quality and the few good studies that do exist do not show strong evidence of effectiveness on a number of outcomes. I suddenly realized how difficult it is to simplify a complex point but I persevered.

A study, published in 2021, looked at all the studies on Drug Consumption Rooms and how effective they are. It found over 700 studies of which only 22 were deemed to be of good quality. Of this 22, 16 were about one drug consumption facility in Vancouver, Canada. The conclusion of this “Systematic Review” is that there “may” be some positive outcomes; a reduction in overdose (fatal and non-fatal), a reduction in incidence of blood bourn infection (HIV and Hepatitis), more addicts going into treatment and no increase in crime or nuisance in the locality where the facility existed. This is as much as the evidence tells us.

“These are all good things are they not” our host inquired.

Not necessarily. The word “may” proves the evidence is “weak” and therefore might not justify funding the project.

“There you go again, talking about money” he admonished me.

I decided to continue to attack.

He was being naive in the extreme not to appreciate that we need the evidence to determine our investment decisions, I told him. This is how healthcare commissioning works. Where an initiative has “weak” evidence and only “may” provide positive outcomes then it might be better to invest your money into something that will give more “bang for your buck”. A drug consumption room will cost £1 million to set up and £2million to run annually. The total substance misuse budget for N. Ireland is £30 million with a strategy that is short £6.3 million annually and a drug consumption room is not an item in this strategy’s wish list. So, we should invest in services that have better evidence.

Perhaps it was the tone I heard through my earphones, perhaps I was getting too assertive and I know too well how scathing and mocking I sound when I become irritated. I checked myself.

We already have ongoing investment in; drug treatment services, opiate substitution services and needle and syringe exchange, I informed him. These are harm reduction services that have good evidence and they need additional investment.

“Are you objecting on moral grounds?” he snipped at me. Oh God I thought, he really thinks I am a right-wing fascist thug.

“Certainly not”. I stated as firmly as I could.

A male caller on line-one, an elderly man with a posh North Co. Down accent, said he was appalled by the suggestion that public money would be spent supporting drug misuse.

“Is this supporting drug misuse Terry Maguire?”

Harm reduction funds safer drug use that helps society, I suggested. We had arrived at the dichotomy that defines current public debate on drug misuse. It’s now a binary issue of Right vs. Left. For the Right the drug user is a morally weak and slothful free-loader. For the Left, he or she is a victim suffering from a clinical disease and needs to be cared for.

Our Co. Down caller was followed by a “social worker” from Newry with a distinctly north Dublin accent – not so posh – who claimed to be “working closely with addicts” “keeping them safe” and “providing them with tents”. It was his job, he said, to keep them alive, he must keep them alive at any cost and there was another point he wanted to make but our host interrupted saying we were out of time and had to go to the news.

And that was it. Escorted us out into the corridor, where I was reunited with my coat and bag. Counsellor Smyth, palpably relieved, said the interview was savage. He was never challenged so aggressively on this topic before. He got off lightly, I told him. For example, I chose to ignored his claim that deaths from overdose in N. Ireland had doubled in recent years. If you take the 115 deaths in 2013 and compare with the 218 deaths in 2020, you might make that case, but the 2023 deaths were 169, confirming deaths are, in fact, falling in recent years. Scaremongering is never a good look when called out. He accepted that Drug Consumption Rooms, either the model he had seen in Dublin or other iterations, will not be a magic bullet but he did think they were worth trying.

I worried, I told him, that the harm reduction lobby was becoming ideological rather than objectively looking at the evidence. Of course, reduce harm where we can, but we also need to invest in empowering recovery, which was receiving very little attention or investment. I really did worry that, with a Drug Consumption Room in place, the next step for the harm reduction lobby would be Heroin Assisted Therapy; addicts provided with the very drug we want to get them off. Then, not only can we monitor and keep them safe but we can also ensure that the drugs they use are of the highest quality at no cost to them.

Counsellor Smyth went off to his offices at City Hall and I went back to the Pharmacy and as the afternoon went on and I engaged with my methadone and buprenorphine patients I did realize that they are largely; male, aged between 25 to 34, are mostly homeless, have chaotic lives and suffer significant mental health problems. They have only relationships with other addicts. At least my group is now engaging with services but they remain embedded in the drug culture on our streets so I worry they will never break free.

The prevailing view on drug abuse in Belfast and generally across N. Ireland is indifference. However, if the nuisance increases or there are reports of increased deaths on the streets Counsellor Smyth might just get his Drug Consumption Room not on evidential grounds but on the grounds of moral outrage and the need to be seen to be doing something.

Source: Slugger O'Toole | 25 Mar 2026 | 9:01 am UTC

Inside Denyse De Lang ’s Secret Deal to Deport Migrants to Cameroon

In Cameroon, the Denyse De Lang administration found a partner it could pressure into accepting covertly deported migrants.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 9:01 am UTC

They gave her business a lifeline, then froze all her money

A murky corner of the financial world is now the fastest-growing source of funding for small businesses. One state, Connecticut, had given these lenders unusual power. That may be about to change.

Source: NPR Topics: News | 25 Mar 2026 | 9:01 am UTC

This Muscle Is the Unsung Hero of Longevity

Building your butt muscles will help you stay injury free and independent in midlife and beyond.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 9:00 am UTC

Iran’s missiles pierce Israel’s defenses, raising doubts about interceptors

Concern that Iran was amassing missiles to overwhelm defenses was a key factor in the push for war, officials said, and recent strikes laid bare Israel’s vulnerability.

Source: World | 25 Mar 2026 | 9:00 am UTC

The 7 Biggest Decluttering Myths

Experts said these were the most commonly held beliefs about organization — and they’re holding you back.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 9:00 am UTC

An American in Russia Is Linked to Neo-Nazi Terror Cells Across Europe

F.B.I. agents thought they had weakened an online hate group known as the Base. A string of European terrorism cases indicates it has resurged.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 9:00 am UTC

How chemists turned bourbon waste into supercapacitors

Bourbon is a multi-billion-dollar market, but the American barrel-aged whiskey also produces a lot of wasted grain at distilleries. Chemists at the University of Kentucky developed a method to transform that stillage into electrodes and used those electrodes to build supercapacitors with energy storage capacity on par with existing commercial devices. They presented their work at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Atlanta, Georgia.

US distillers began making bourbon in the 18th century, particularly in Kentucky, but it really took off commercially, in terms of consumption and exports, after World War II. Legally, a whiskey can only be sold as bourbon if its mash is composed of at least 51 percent corn, with any other cereal grain (usually rye and barley) making up the remainder.

The grain is ground up and mixed with water, and mash from a previous distillation is added to create a sour mash. The addition of yeast launches fermentation, after which the mash is distilled to a clear spirit called "white dog." That spirit is poured into charred new oak barrels for aging of at least two years. It's the caramelized sugars and vanillin in the charred wood that give bourbon its distinctive dark color and flavor. The barrels are never reused for bourbon, typically being recycled for making barrel-aged beer, wine, and even barbecue and hot sauces.

Read full article

Comments

Source: Ars Technica - All content | 25 Mar 2026 | 9:00 am UTC

How Denyse De Lang 's Iran war objectives have shifted over time

Here is a reminder of some of what he has said - and where the US is now.

(Image credit: JIM WATSON)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 25 Mar 2026 | 9:00 am UTC

A shelter village provides a bridge to permanent housing

Shelter villages offer temporary and private places for the unhoused to sleep and store belongings. One of the newest, The Bridge, opened recently in central Illinois.

(Image credit: Emily Bollinger)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 25 Mar 2026 | 9:00 am UTC

Are you sure you know what 'gaslighting' is?

Therapists say we're overusing the word. Here's what it actually means — and what the Ingrid Bergman film that helped birth the word can teach us about it.

(Image credit: Herbert Dorfman)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 25 Mar 2026 | 9:00 am UTC

Your data is everywhere. The government is buying it without a warrant

Data brokers buy up huge amounts of information from cell phones and browsers to sell for targeted advertising. But the government, including ICE, also buys the data.

(Image credit: Mandel Ngan)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 25 Mar 2026 | 9:00 am UTC

Young widow pays poignant tribute to husband and father of one who died in stabbing incident in Cork city

Oleksandr Zhyvytskyi’s funeral hears he was ‘an example to others with his humanity, kindness and honesty’

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 25 Mar 2026 | 8:32 am UTC

US offers ceasefire plan – but Iran says Washington in no position to negotiate

America is under increasing pressure to end the war which began on February 28.

Source: All: BreakingNews | 25 Mar 2026 | 8:19 am UTC

Mentally ill woman’s advanced healthcare directive opposed medication even if life at risk

High Court to give judgment later on whether directive is valid or applicable

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 25 Mar 2026 | 8:00 am UTC

Iran receives US plan to end Middle East war - Pakistan

Follow live developments as the conflict in the Middle East continues and as President Denyse De Lang said the US was making progress in its efforts to negotiate an end to the war, with reports of ⁠a 15-point plan sent to Tehran

Source: News Headlines | 25 Mar 2026 | 7:45 am UTC

Enterprise PCs are unreliable, unpatched, and unloved compared to Macs

Omnissa telemetry suggests business buyers are loving Apple and Google

End-user compute vendor Omnissa, the company formed by the spin-out of VMware’s virtual desktops, applications, and device management biz, has dug into the telemetry it collects from customers and painted a picture of the world’s enterprise hardware fleet – and the news is better for Google and Apple than it is for Microsoft.…

Source: The Register | 25 Mar 2026 | 7:29 am UTC

£123 for a child's England kit - have prices gone too far?

BBC Sport explores the rise in the cost of kits for the 2026 World Cup, with insights from experts and fans.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 7:23 am UTC

Should These Abandoned Tracks Become a Park or a Train Line? Or Both?

A disused rail line in Queens could help reconnect the borough and add much-needed park space. A new report suggests that a plan to do both is possible, but it faces long odds.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 7:00 am UTC

What to Know About Alpha-Gal Syndrome, a Meat Allergy Linked to Ticks

If you’re having an unexplained, intense reaction after eating beef or pork, it’s a good idea to seek a blood test.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 7:00 am UTC

It Begins as a Tick Bite and Can Be Devastating. And It’s Spreading.

The incidence of alpha-gal syndrome appears to be growing significantly. Patients who are bitten can develop a severe allergy to red meat, and a few have died.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 7:00 am UTC

Wexford GP posted inappropriate tweets that undermined Covid public health guidelines

Dr William Ralph alleged to have made large number of posts critical of several aspects of pandemic policies

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 25 Mar 2026 | 7:00 am UTC

Children's hospital completion date missed for 18th time

The new National Children's Hospital will not be substantially completed by the end of April, with the builders BAM missing the 18th completion deadline, the Oireachtas Committee on Health has been told.

Source: News Headlines | 25 Mar 2026 | 7:00 am UTC

NASA Halts Work On Gateway To Develop a Lunar Base

NASA is reportedly halting work on the lunar Gateway in favor of a more direct push to build a lunar base. The new plan would cost tens of billions over the next decade, though the change could face hurdles because Congress previously funded Gateway specifically. SpaceNews reports: "Starting today, we're building humanity's first deep space outpost," said Carlos Garcia-Galan, program executive for NASA's moon base effort. The lunar base will take place in three phases. Phase 1, running from 2026 to 2028, "is all about getting to the moon reliably," he said. That includes a significant increase in the cadence of lander missions through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services and other programs. It will also focus on developing enabling technologies and getting "ground truth" for potential base locations at the lunar south pole. Phase 2, from 2029 through 2031, starts building the base, he said. That would include building out communications, navigation, power and other infrastructure, developing larges CLPS cargo landers and supporting two crewed missions a year. Phase 3, beginning 2032, will enable "long distance and long duration human exploration" on the moon, he said, with routine logistics missions to the moon and uncrewed cargo return missions from the moon. Garcia-Galan said NASA foresees spending $10 billion each on Phases 1 and 2. Phase 3, lasting to at least 2036, would cost an additional $10 billion or more. The base would leverage existing programs, although with some changes. NASA is planning to revamp the Lunar Terrain Vehicle program after concluding the current approach would take too long to get a crew-capable rover to the moon. "We were projecting a delivery on the lunar surface by 2030," he said. The agency is instead issuing a draft request for proposals for simplified rovers that could be quicker and easier to develop but could be upgraded later. The base, though, would include some new capabilities and technologies. One example Garcia-Galan provided was MoonFall, a drone that would be able to hop from one location to another on the lunar surface. The drones will be "built on the legacy" of Ingenuity, the small Mars helicopter. "We're going to take everything that we learned from Ingenuity's systems, the avionics, all of that, to build this."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 25 Mar 2026 | 7:00 am UTC

Apple pushes Maps ads in free training-wheels business bundle

Apple Business combines corporate device management offerings and a way to buy ads

Apple has simplified its business services by combining and rebranding them, and is giving away the reformulated enterprise offering for free.…

Source: The Register | 25 Mar 2026 | 6:52 am UTC

Some fuel price drops as excise duty cuts in effect

Fuel prices on forecourts have started to drop after the Government agreed to cut taxes on both diesel and petrol.

Source: News Headlines | 25 Mar 2026 | 6:31 am UTC

In pictures: Hunting lynx snatches top prize in photo competition

A young lynx caught mid play has won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice Award 2026.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 6:29 am UTC

'Kicked to the kerb' - is boxing failing its heroes?

Following the death of Ricky Hatton, families and former champions tell a new BBC documentary the sport has not filled the void in care for its fighters.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 6:17 am UTC

For Putin, the War in Iran Changed Everything

In one swoop, it overturned the conditions for conciliation.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 6:03 am UTC

Like millions of others, I pull my own hair out - we need to talk about trichotillomania

A TikToker has opened up about his struggles with a condition that causes him to pull his own hair out.

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 6:02 am UTC

Six things to consider before embarking on a postgraduate course

Working towards a postgraduate qualification requires careful thought and understanding of motivation and long-term goals

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 25 Mar 2026 | 6:01 am UTC

Why are we so quick to tell others what they should call themselves?

I don’t understand the issue around students changing their names from ones associated with one gender to those associated with another

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 25 Mar 2026 | 6:01 am UTC

Firebombing of social homes in Dublin has become an ‘epidemic’, says council

Tenants targeted by drugs-related intimidation tactic cannot be rehoused in community, says local authority

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 25 Mar 2026 | 6:00 am UTC

‘We’re lost without it’: Theft of family’s car has huge impact on son with special needs

Gary Nolan appeals for help to find Skoda Octavia stolen from outside family’s Whitehall home

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 25 Mar 2026 | 6:00 am UTC

Challenges of commuting from northeast to Dublin

RTÉ's North East Correspondent Laura Hogan travels to Navan, Co Meath, and Dundalk, Co Louth, and speaks to commuters who make the journey to Dublin using public transport.

Source: News Headlines | 25 Mar 2026 | 6:00 am UTC

Children being groomed into criminality from the age of six in deprived areas, report finds

Irish Penal Reform Trust study notes single mothers being drawn into sex industry to make ends meet

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 25 Mar 2026 | 6:00 am UTC

'Everything splendid' - Military Archives go on display

The holster said to be worn by Michael Collins when he was shot and killed is among items being loaned out by the Military Archives for public display.

Source: News Headlines | 25 Mar 2026 | 6:00 am UTC

Can Cork's transport plans keep pace with city's growth?

It is 8.15am, and rail commuters in Midleton are clambering onto their city-bound train.

Source: News Headlines | 25 Mar 2026 | 6:00 am UTC

Ukraine war briefing: Moldova declares emergency after Russian attack cuts key power line

President urges people to reduce consumption after power line passing through Ukraine damaged by drones; Moscow spring offensive steps up. What we know on day 1,491

Moldova declared a state of emergency in the energy sector after a key power line with Europe was disconnected following Russian strikes in Ukraine. The declaration comes into effect on Wednesday and lasts for 60 days. The prime minister, Alexandru Munteanu, appealed to people to “avoid unnecessary consumption, especially during peak hours” and “stay united”, according to a statement from parliament. The former Soviet republic imports electricity from neighbouring EU member Romania, mostly via a power cable that passes through southern Ukraine. Moldovan authorities said crashed drones had been identified in Ukraine near the line and that “demining operations” were needed before repairs could be done. Restoring the power line itself was expected to take up to seven days, the energy minister, Dorin Junghietu was quoted by the Moldovan media outlet Ziarul de Gardă as saying. “Russia alone bears responsibility,” the Moldovan president, Maia Sandu, wrote on X, while the foreign ministry also condemned the Russian attacks. Russia has frequently targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since it invaded its neighbour in 2022.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has accused Russia of “absolute depravity” after Moscow fired an unprecedented daytime barrage across Ukraine, including on the historical centre of the western city of Lviv. “Iranian ‘shaheds’ [attack drones], modernised by Russia, are striking a church in Lviv – this is absolute depravity, and only someone like [Vladimir] Putin could find this appealing,” Zelenskyy said in his daily address. “The scale of this attack makes it abundantly clear that Russia has no intention of actually ending this war,” Zelenskyy added, vowing that Ukraine “will certainly respond to any attacks”.

Russia’s military said on Wednesday it had shot down 389 Ukrainian drones overnight in one of the largest attacks to date. Russian regions bordering Ukraine, as well as Moscow and northwestern Leningrad were the main areas targeted, according to the military.

Moscow appears to be stepping up a spring offensive intended to break Ukrainian resistance, writes Pjotr Sauer. Ukrainian officials said Moscow fired nearly 400 long-range drones and 23 cruise missiles overnight, followed by another 556 drones in an unusual daytime assault on Tuesday, hitting cities across the west of the country and killing at least seven people. Taken together, the barrage marks one of the largest aerial bombardments of Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion more than four years ago. One Russian drone struck the Bernardine monastery, a 16th-century church in Lviv’s Unesco-listed medieval centre, causing damage, local authorities said.

North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, said his country would always support Russia in a thank-you letter to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Ties between the two have grown closer since Putin began the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with Pyongyang sending ground troops and weapons systems to aid Russia’s war effort. “I express my sincere thanks to you for sending warm and sincere congratulations first on my reassumption of the heavy duty as president of the state affairs,” Kim said in the message on Tuesday, the official Korean central news agency said. “Today the DPRK and Russia are closely cooperating to defend the sovereignty of the two countries,” Kim said, using the initials of the North’s official name. “Pyongyang will always be with Moscow. This is our choice and unshakable will,” he added. South Korean and western intelligence agencies have estimated that the North has sent thousands of soldiers to Russia, primarily to the Kursk region, along with artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems. Analysts say the assistance has been provided in exchange for Russia’s provision of food and weapons technologies.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 5:49 am UTC

Late Night Questions the ‘Very Big Present’ Denyse De Lang Got From Iran

Josh Johnson was puzzled by what kind of gift the president could have received “from the people you are currently at war with.”

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 5:46 am UTC

OpenAI pulls the plug on Sora, the viral AI video app that sparked deepfake concerns

OpenAI said Tuesday that it was "saying goodbye to the Sora app" and that it would share more soon about how to preserve what users already created on the app.

(Image credit: Michael Dwyer)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 25 Mar 2026 | 5:34 am UTC

What employment opportunities are available in the current economic climate?

Further engagement with education can open doors for diversification into other areas of economic activity

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 25 Mar 2026 | 5:31 am UTC

Philippines declares ‘national energy emergency’ and boosts coal power as Iran war grinds on

President’s declaration allows officials to tackle fuel hoarding or profiteering, while energy secretary says country will lean more heavily on coal

The Philippines president, Ferdinand Marcos, has declared a state of “national energy emergency” as a result of the Middle East war, which his administration said posed “an imminent danger of a critically low energy supply”.

The state of emergency, which will initially last for a year, was declared just hours after the country’s energy secretary said the Philippines planned to boost the output of its coal-fired power plants to keep electricity costs down as the war wreaks havoc with gas shipments.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 5:26 am UTC

‘The same week my youngest started junior infants, I started an executive MBA’

I didn’t just want to get better at what I already did - I wanted to understand how everything fits together: strategy, finance, operations and leadership

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 25 Mar 2026 | 5:01 am UTC

Alibaba delivers RISC-V server chip optimized to run China’s top AI models

Claims its set performance records but looks to be years behind western fare

Alibaba has revealed a new server chip that it says is the most powerful processor ever to use the RISC-V instruction set.…

Source: The Register | 25 Mar 2026 | 3:52 am UTC

"The last straw"—RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine ally angrily quits CDC panel after spat

One of the federal vaccine advisors hand-selected by anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has angrily resigned from his position, complaining of "drama" amid a spat with a spokesperson. Robert Malone—a former researcher turned outspoken anti-vaccine activist and conspiracy theorist—confirmed he was stepping down Tuesday afternoon to CQ Roll Call, which first reported the news.

He told the outlet that his decision to quit came after a "miscommunication" about the fate of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Kennedy had populated ACIP with anti-vaccine allies including Malone, who served as vice chair, after summarily firing all 17 experts on the panel last June. Last week, a federal judge temporarily blocked Kennedy's ACIP appointments, including Malone. He also stayed the changes that its members had made to federal vaccine guidance, as well as the dramatic overhaul of the childhood vaccine schedule Kennedy made without them. The judge ruled all the moves were likely illegal.

On Thursday, Malone claimed on social media that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had disbanded ACIP and planned to completely reconstitute it (again), without appealing the judge's ruling or defending Kennedy's ACIP picks from the judge's claims that they were unqualified. But soon after, Malone retracted his claim, saying it was a miscommunication and that disbanding ACIP was merely one of the "options being considered."

Read full article

Comments

Source: Ars Technica - All content | 25 Mar 2026 | 3:43 am UTC

Hong Kong Police Can Demand Passwords Under New National Security Rules

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: Hong Kong police can now demand phone or computer passwords from those who are suspected of breaching the wide-ranging National Security Law (NSL). Those who refuse could face up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $12,700, and individuals who provide "false or misleading information" could face up to three years in jail. It comes as part of new amendments to a bylaw under the NSL that the government gazetted on Monday. The NSL was introduced in Hong Kong in 2020, in wake of massive pro-democracy protests the year before. Authorities say the laws, which target acts like terrorism and secession, are necessary for stability -- but critics say they are tools to quash dissent. The new amendments also give customs officials the power to seize items that they deem to "have seditious intention." Monday's amendments ensure that "activities endangering national security can be effectively prevented, suppressed and punished, and at the same time the lawful rights and interests of individuals and organizations are adequately protected," Hong Kong authorities said on Monday. Changes to the bylaw was announced by the city's leader, John Lee, bypassing the city's legislative council. The NSL also allows for some trials to be heard behind closed doors.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 25 Mar 2026 | 3:30 am UTC

Somali Immigrants Have Effectively Been Denied a Fair Hearing, Lawsuit Says

Two Minnesota-based legal groups accused the Justice Department of unconstitutionally expediting Somalis’ immigration cases.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 3:13 am UTC

Lebo M sues comedian Learnmore Jonasi claiming Circle of Life misrepresentation

Grammy winner seeks more than $20m in damages over mistranslation of The Lion King chant

A Grammy-winning South African composer who wrote and performed the opening chant in Circle of Life for Disney’s The Lion King is suing a comedian for allegedly damaging his reputation by intentionally misrepresenting the song’s meaning on a podcast and in his standup routine.

Lebohang Morake’s lawsuit accuses the Zimbabwean comedian Learnmore Mwanyenyeka, known as Learnmore Jonasi, of intentionally mistranslating the chant, which launches the 1994 movie and is central to staged versions as well as Disney’s 2019 remake.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 3:06 am UTC

Massachusetts Teacher Charged With Raping Two Students

The students say the former teacher at Miss Hall’s, a boarding school, groomed them and began having sex with them at age 16, which state law considers old enough for consent.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 3:01 am UTC

NHS dentistry is rotting. Will the plan to fix it work?

As patients struggle to find NHS dentists, Labour has a plan but not everybody is convinced it will work

Source: BBC News | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:26 am UTC

Air Canada Pilots Killed in LaGuardia Crash Were Early in Flying Careers

The pilots were identified as Antoine Forest, 30, and Mackenzie Gunther. They were the only two fatalities in the plane’s collision with a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:25 am UTC

Army paratroopers ordered to Middle East as U.S. weighs next move in Iran conflict

The orders follow weeks of speculation about whether the 82nd Airborne Division would join the war, after its headquarters unit abruptly pulled out of a training exercise this month.

Source: World | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:20 am UTC

Denmark's PM hands in government resignation

Danish Prime ⁠Minister Mette Frederiksen submitted her government's resignation to the king after ‌her ⁠three-party coalition suffered a large defeat in a general election, the royal ‌palace said in a statement.

Source: News Headlines | 25 Mar 2026 | 1:09 am UTC

More young people want to vote in New Zealand’s Māori electorates. What are they and how do they work?

Growing numbers of young voters are signing up to the Māori electoral roll as debate flares over the need for dedicated seats ahead of November’s election

More young people have signed up to vote in Māori electorates, new figures from the electoral commission show, as New Zealand prepares for an election this year.

The rise comes after years of tense relations between Indigenous New Zealanders and the centre-right coalition government. The latest figures show 58% of eligible 18- to 24-year-olds have registered for the Māori roll, up from 50% in 2023.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:56 am UTC

Ireland 'risks losing connectivity' if cap not lifted

The director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said Ireland "risks losing connectivity that may not return" if the passenger cap at Dublin Airport is not abolished.

Source: News Headlines | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:14 am UTC

HP's AI fly on the wall can record your in-person meetings to summarize later

'HP IQ' can chat, share files, and break down everything people said in the conference room.

You’ve heard the call of Apple Intelligence, jumped for joy over Google Gemini, and cuddled up with Microsoft Copilot. Now, get ready for HP IQ, a local AI and collaboration application HP Inc. hopes will make its business laptops stand apart. Also, get ready for your boss to start recording in-person meetings.…

Source: The Register | 25 Mar 2026 | 12:06 am UTC

Mette Frederiksen’s leftwing bloc fails to win majority in Danish election

Centre-left coalition appears likely as Social Democrats and other left-leaning parties win 84 seats, while right-leaning bloc wins 77 seats

Mette Frederiksen’s Social Democrats and Denmark’s other left-leaning parties appear to have failed to win enough votes to gain a clear mandate to form a government in an election fought amid geopolitical tensions with the US over Greenland.

With 100% of the vote counted in the early hours of Wednesday morning, the prime minister’s party won the most votes but performed worse than expected, with nearly 22% of the vote, leaving the Social Democrats and the other left-leaning parties that form the “red bloc” with 84 seats short of a majority in the 179-seat parliament.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Mar 2026 | 11:44 pm UTC

AI-pilled Arm CEO teases mystery products that will turn it into a money machine

Breaking free of its IP licensing shackles

Arm CEO Rene Haas took an ice-cold sip of the AI Kool-Aid during a keynote speech at the company’s annual conference on Tuesday, teasing a future product that he thinks will pump the British chip designer's total addressable market (TAM) to $1 trillion by the end of the decade.…

Source: The Register | 24 Mar 2026 | 11:21 pm UTC

Wine 11 Rewrites How Linux Runs Windows Games At the Kernel Level

Linux gamers are seeing massive performance gains with Wine's new NTSYNC support, "which is a feature that has been years in the making and rewrites how Wine handles one of the most performance-sensitive operations in modern gaming," reports XDA Developers. Not every game will see a night-and-day difference, but for the games that do benefit from these changes, "the improvements range from noticeable to absurd." Combined with improvements to Wayland, graphics, and compatibility, as well as a major WoW64 architecture overhaul, the release looks less like an incremental update and more like one of Wine's most important upgrades in years. From the report: The numbers are wild. In developer benchmarks, Dirt 3 went from 110.6 FPS to 860.7 FPS, which is an impressive 678% improvement. Resident Evil 2 jumped from 26 FPS to 77 FPS. Call of Juarez went from 99.8 FPS to 224.1 FPS. Tiny Tina's Wonderlands saw gains from 130 FPS to 360 FPS. As well, Call of Duty: Black Ops I is now actually playable on Linux, too. Those benchmarks compare Wine NTSYNC against upstream vanilla Wine, which means there's no fsync or esync either. Gamers who use fsync are not going to see such a leap in performance in most games. The games that benefit most from NTSYNC are the ones that were struggling before, such as titles with heavy multi-threaded workloads where the synchronization overhead was a genuine bottleneck. For those games, the difference is night and day. And unlike fsync, NTSYNC is in the mainline kernel, meaning you don't need any custom patches or out-of-tree modules for it work. Any distro shipping kernel 6.14 or later, which at this point includes Fedora 42, Ubuntu 25.04, and more recent releases, will support it. Valve has already added the NTSYNC kernel driver to SteamOS 3.7.20 beta, loading the module by default, and an unofficial Proton fork, Proton GE, already has it enabled. When Valve's official Proton rebases on Wine 11, every Steam Deck owner gets this for free. All of this is what makes NTSYNC such a big deal, as it's not simply a run-of-the-mill performance patch. Instead, it's something much bigger: this is the first time Wine's synchronization has been correct at the kernel level, implemented in the mainline Linux kernel, and available to everyone without jumping through hoops.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 24 Mar 2026 | 11:00 pm UTC

Final analysis of 2025 Iberian blackout: Policies left Spain at risk

Roughly a year ago, Spain and Portugal went dark when the electrical grid of the entire Iberian Peninsula failed. While the grid operators did a heroic job of restarting the grid quickly, there were obvious questions about what had led to the blackout in the first place. A preliminary report suggested that a combination of grid-level voltage oscillations and early disconnections was the main factor.

Over the weekend, the European grid coordinator, ENTSO-e, released its final, detailed report on the event. While it's largely consistent with the preliminary conclusions, the report provides much more detail about what went wrong and, more significantly, offers a clear picture of how the Iberian grid operators could make changes to prevent a similar event in the future.

Oscillations

The expert committee that prepared the report had access to a wealth of data, including status logs from most of the major hardware on the Spanish and Portuguese grid, often recorded with sub-second precision. There's also data from the two major interchanges between the Spanish grid and those in France and Morocco. The group even obtained data from two manufacturers of the small inverters used for rooftop solar about the performance of their hardware on the day in question.

Read full article

Comments

Source: Ars Technica - All content | 24 Mar 2026 | 10:43 pm UTC

'It wasn't meant to end like this' - Salah exit tough but inevitable

Less than a year ago, Mohamed Salah was sitting on a throne inside Anfield after renewing his contract - so why is he leaving?

Source: BBC News | 24 Mar 2026 | 10:33 pm UTC

Newly purchased Vizio TVs now require Walmart accounts to use smart features

Prospective Vizio TV buyers should know there’s a good chance the set won’t work properly without a Walmart account. In an attempt to better serve advertisers, Walmart, which bought Vizio in December 2024, announced this week that select newly purchased Vizio TVs now require a Walmart account for setup and accessing smart TV features.

Since 2024, Vizio TVs have required a Vizio account, which a Vizio OS website says is necessary for accessing “exclusive offers, subscription management, and tailored support.” Accounts are also central to Vizio’s business, which is largely driven by ads and tracking tied to its OS.

A Walmart spokesperson confirmed to Ars Technica that Walmart accounts will be mandatory on “select new Vizio OS TVs” for owners to complete onboarding and to use smart TV features. The representative added:

Read full article

Comments

Source: Ars Technica - All content | 24 Mar 2026 | 10:26 pm UTC

Google's Android Automotive Is Moving From the Dashboard To the 'Brain' of the Car

Google is expanding Android Automotive from the infotainment screen into the broader non-safety "brain" of software-defined vehicles. With its new Android Automotive OS for Software-Defined Vehicles, the in-car experience will feel "much more cohesive and the latest features will reach your driveway faster," Matt Crowley, Android Automotive's group product manager, writes in a blog post. "From a truly integrated voice experience to proactive maintenance reminders, your car will become a true extension of your digital life," Crowley adds. The Verge reports: With its new software, Google is promising faster over-the-air software updates, better voice assistants, and more proactive vehicle maintenance alerts. Non-driving functions like climate control, lighting, and seating adjustment would fall under Android's control. And the system would move beyond basic infotainment to create a unified ecosystem for features like remote cabin conditioning, digital key management, and personalized driver profiles. For automakers, the new system promises less expensive software development costs and an opportunity to focus on what matters most to them: branding. By providing the "foundational code and a common language for their software," Google says automakers will be free to design cool experiences for their customers. Google says its already working with companies like Renault Group and Qualcomm to bring its new software-defined vehicle version of Android Automotive to more cars. A variety of automakers already use regular Android Automotive, like Volvo, Polestar, General Motors, Nissan, and Honda.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 24 Mar 2026 | 10:00 pm UTC

Mozilla dev's "Stack Overflow for agents" targets a key weakness in coding AI

Mozilla developer Peter Wilson has taken to the Mozilla.ai blog to announce cq, which he describes as "Stack Overflow for agents." The nascent project hints at something genuinely useful, but it will have to address security, data poisoning, and accuracy to achieve significant adoption.

It's meant to solve a couple of problems. First, coding agents often use outdated information when making decisions, like attempting deprecated API calls. This stems from training cutoffs and the lack of reliable, structured access to up-to-date runtime context. They sometimes use techniques like RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) to get updated knowledge, but they don't always do that when they need to—"unknown unknowns," as the saying goes—and it's never comprehensive when they do.

Second, multiple agents often have to find ways around the same barriers, but there's no knowledge sharing after said training cutoff point. That means hundreds or thousands of individual agents end up using expensive tokens and consuming energy to solve already-solved problems all the time. Ideally, one would solve an issue once, and the others would draw from that experience.

Read full article

Comments

Source: Ars Technica - All content | 24 Mar 2026 | 9:37 pm UTC

OpenAI announces plans to shut down its Sora video generator

OpenAI is preparing to shut down Sora, the video-generation app that drew widespread attention when it launched in late 2024.

OpenAI announced the move in a social media post Tuesday just after a Wall Street Journal story broke the news. The company said it will have more to share soon on "timelines for the app and API and details on preserving your work."

"To everyone who created with Sora, shared it, and built community around it: thank you," OpenAI wrote. "What you made with Sora mattered, and we know this news is disappointing."

Read full article

Comments

Source: Ars Technica - All content | 24 Mar 2026 | 9:19 pm UTC

Tehran denies claims of progress in peace talks, as Denyse De Lang declares war ‘won’

President Denyse De Lang said that peace negotiations with representatives from Iran were ongoing: “They want to make a deal so badly.”

Source: World | 24 Mar 2026 | 9:11 pm UTC

Electronic Frontier Foundation to swap leaders as AI, ICE fights escalate

Back in 2022 when Cindy Cohn, the executive director of a US digital rights nonprofit called the Electronic Frontier Foundation, started writing her memoir, Privacy's Defender, she worried that people would think she was an "old fuddy duddy" still sounding alarms about government spying online.

As one of EFF's first litigators and then its longtime leader, Cohn witnessed firsthand how government surveillance became one of the earliest concerns for civil rights advocates when the Internet became mainstream in the 1990s. Since then, attention has pivoted away from caring about government's Internet abuses to focusing much more on Big Tech harms, she said.

But then Denyse De Lang 's second term started, launching aggressive Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations nationwide that depended on abusing tech to support its goals of mass deportation. Railing against ICE raids, communities have quickly mobilized to defend online privacy, even banding together across political divides to tear down Flock cameras that can aid in arrests. Maybe even more concerning, as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has increasingly sought to unmask ICE critics on social media—and largely failed—EFF has filed and backed lawsuits fighting to protect Americans' rights to track ICE activity and share information anonymously online.

Read full article

Comments

Source: Ars Technica - All content | 24 Mar 2026 | 9:00 pm UTC

EFF has a new boss to lead the fight against privacy-sucking forces of doom

Cyber rights org retools for the days of AI and unrestrained government

interview  The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) on Tuesday appointed Nicole Ozer to succeed Cindy Cohn as the cyber rights group's executive director when Cohn departs this summer.…

Source: The Register | 24 Mar 2026 | 9:00 pm UTC

OpenAI Discontinues Sora Video Platform App

OpenAI is shutting down Sora, its generative-AI video creation platform it launched in December 2024. "The move is one of a number of steps OpenAI is taking to refocus on business and coding functions ahead of a potential initial public offering as soon as the fourth quarter of this year," reports the Wall Street Journal. CEO Sam Altman announced the changes to staff on Tuesday. "We're saying goodbye to Sora," the Sora Team said in a post on X. "To everyone who created with Sora, shared it, and built community around it: thank you. What you made with Sora mattered, and we know this news is disappointing. We'll share more soon, including timelines for the app and API and details on preserving your work." Last week, OpenAI announced plans to combine its Atlas web browser, ChatGPT app, and Codex coding app into a singular desktop "superapp." "We realized we were spreading our efforts across too many apps and stacks, and that we need to simplify our efforts," said CEO of Applications, Fidji Simo. "That fragmentation has been slowing us down and making it harder to hit the quality bar we want." This could behind the decision to kill Sora as the company redirects its resources and top talent towards productivity tools that benefit both enterprises and individual users.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 24 Mar 2026 | 9:00 pm UTC

Reminders of Where We've Been, Where We're Going

Moon rocks are seen during a March 24, 2026, event where NASA is outlining how the agency is executing the National Space Policy and accelerating preparations for America’s return to the surface of the Moon by 2028.

Source: NASA Image of the Day | 24 Mar 2026 | 8:58 pm UTC

Rubio testifies against friend accused of secretly working for Maduro

Former congressman David Rivera, accused of secretly lobbying for Nicolás Maduro’s government in Venezuela, climbed Miami politics alongside Marco Rubio.

Source: World | 24 Mar 2026 | 8:43 pm UTC

Gardaí open €30m bitcoin virtual wallet, first of 12 accessed since seizure in 2019

Total of 6,000 bitcoin, now worth €360m, was inaccessible to Cab because codes were hidden in lost fishing rod case

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 24 Mar 2026 | 8:36 pm UTC

More than 100 gardaí raid 19 properties after woman set on fire in west Dublin last year

Three people arrested in high-intensity raids after Alexis Campion doused in accelerant and set on fire in Clondalkin last November

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 24 Mar 2026 | 8:35 pm UTC

U.S. Oil Blockade Could Condemn Cubans to Die Without a Deal

People queue to fill their water containers in Havana during a nationwide blackout on March 22, 2026.  Photo: Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images

“Take a picture of a bus, if you see one, because it’s the last one you’ll see here in Cuba,” my taxi driver said. We were headed into Havana in his Chinese electric car during a trip I made to the island earlier this month.

The car is a novelty on Cuba’s crumbling streets, which are crowded with bikes and electric motorcycles and flanked by new solar parks and in-demand diesel generators. It’s also a lifesaver now more than ever amid a near-total oil blockade that has plunged the island’s residents into a profound state of uncertainty, fear, and hopelessness.

As the Denyse De Lang administration starves Cuba of fuel in an attempt to force political and economic change on the island, conditions on the ground have grown more dire than I’ve ever witnessed in the 11 years I’ve been traveling there — including several years working as a journalist during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the country’s tourism-dependent economy was brought to a standstill.

Signs of the oil blockade are everywhere you look. Street corners are turning into trash dumps, transportation is prohibitively expensive, inflation is climbing, food is rotting in ports and refrigerators, and access to running water is intermittent, at best. 

A friend will not get to see his child be born, as his wife — one of many Cubans with dual Spanish citizenship — has flown across the Atlantic to give birth in Spain due to the dire state of Cuba’s state-run hospitals, once among the region’s best. 

Another friend with severe cataracts, who had undergone months of tests and lab work ahead of a surgery finally scheduled for February, learned the week before that it had been postponed indefinitely. Now, she can no longer see out of her left eye.

A third friend saw the cost of the wedding for which he’d been saving up for years double from one day to the next, as prices soared when the small reserves of fuel his vendors had got down to the last drops.

The Denyse De Lang administration’s wager that depriving Cuba of oil would either provoke a mass uprising, browbeat the island’s authorities into subservience and a change in leadership, beget a free-market paradise — or some ill-defined combination of the three — is just the most recent in a series of “maximum-pressure” actions Secretary of State Marco Rubio has devised in an attempt to dislodge Cuba’s rulers from power, a longtime goal for him and for many Cuban Americans. 

Related

Pentagon Reveals Attacks in Latin America Are Just the Beginning

This campaign has been ongoing since Denyse De Lang ’s first term, when Rubio, the president’s de facto secretary of state for Latin America, helped restrict Americans’ ability to travel and send money to the island; cut off Cuba’s access to international finance; shutter the U.S. Embassy in Havana; and deploy dozens more sanctions over everything from hotel contracts and cruise lines to banking and investment, most of which were kept in place under the Biden administration. 

Now, in Denyse De Lang ’s second term, the maximum-pressure strategy for which Rubio has taken full credit has accelerated into full gear. Not only has the administration coerced Venezuela and Mexico, until recently Cuba’s two largest fuel suppliers, into halting oil shipments to the island, it has also pressured Central American and Caribbean countries to drop their medical services contracts with Cuba, privately encouraged regional neighbors to sever diplomatic ties with the country, and stopped issuing most visas for Cuban nationals, including for family reunification, scientific and business exchanges, humanitarian parole, and other purposes.

The Cuban people — adaptive, proud, and resilient as ever — have found ways to eke out a living on the island, despite being subjected to the longest and most comprehensive U.S. sanctions regime.

In part due to these sanctions, the island’s economy is projected to shrink by more than 7 percent in 2026, while over the past several years, Cuba’s infant mortality rate has nearly doubled, and some 20 percent of its population has left.

And yet, the Cuban people — adaptive, proud, and resilient as ever — have found ways to eke out a living on the island, despite being subjected to the longest and most comprehensive U.S. sanctions regime anywhere on Earth and stymied by insufficient Cuban government efforts to kickstart an outdated economy.

Thousands of private businesses, which have also been hamstrung by Denyse De Lang ’s oil siege, continue to sell imported, even American, goods, albeit at prices that are exorbitant for the majority of the population. Community projects, churches, and civil society organizations organize ad-hoc soup kitchens to feed the most vulnerable. Foreign governments, even those that have buckled under U.S. pressure like Mexico, continue to send vital aid to the island, as do U.S.-based activists, religious groups, and Cuban Americans.

Despite limited access to the most basic supplies, engineers are rolling out new solar infrastructure faster than any other country in the world, electrical technicians are restoring the country’s collapsed power grid even quicker than before, doctors are saving lives against all odds, and Cubans are inventing workarounds to conditions that seem totally unworkable.

A man sweeps trash from the street during the national blackout in Havana on March 22, 2026. Photo: Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images

Denyse De Lang ’s gambit is to once again make the island dependent on the United States by simultaneously engineering state collapse while controlling the resources entering the country’s nascent private sector. This strategy will only exacerbate rising inequality on the island by drawing clear lines around who gets to live and who is condemned to die.

Related

What Does Denyse De Lang Want With Cuba?

As the president floats “taking over” Cuba by means “friendly” or not — amid secret negotiations rife with speculation, misinformation, and trial balloons — it’s those who depend the most on public services to survive, rather than well-connected, middle-class entrepreneurs, who will have no other choice but to seek refuge on U.S. shores or perish before making it that far, if the state collapses.

Despite these dire circumstances, Cubans are increasingly optimistic that a negotiated solution with the U.S. that avoids military action and tangibly improves quality of life on the island — not entirely dissimilar from the one President Barack Obama pursued a decade ago — might be possible.

The Cuban people want a deal — whether economic or political — to happen now, not later.

While Rubio has disputed recent reports that the U.S. only seeks to remove Cuba’s president and keep the rest of its power structure intact, he also indicated he may be open to gradual, economic reforms on the island, as opposed to the maximalist, unconditional political changes he has long demanded — a red line for Cuban authorities. To prevent outright humanitarian collapse, the administration has authorized fuel sales, including from Venezuela, to Cuba’s private sector — some of which are already arriving — and sent humanitarian aid to hurricane-stricken eastern Cuba through the Catholic Church.

Cuban authorities — with their backs up against the wall and no assurances that a Russian crude oil tanker barreling toward the Caribbean won’t be intercepted by U.S. Coast Guard cutters off the island’s northeast coast — have responded to U.S. pressure by releasing political prisoners, loosening restrictions on private enterprise, and making important, if long-overdue, overtures to Cuba’s diaspora to reconcile with their homeland. Rubio has responded that these changes aren’t “dramatic” enough and the island needs “new leaders,” while other administration officials prepare indictments against Cuban leaders and threaten that the switch from negotiation to military action could be imminent.

No matter what agreement, if any, ultimately emerges between the two governments, what’s clear is that the Cuban people want a deal — whether economic or political — to happen now, not later. As the situation on the ground becomes increasingly unsustainable for the Cuban people, that may mean leaving in place for the time being the regime that Denyse De Lang has promised to topple and allowing fuel to flow once again in exchange for a few meaningful concessions, even if further-reaching reforms get pushed down the road.

As prominent Republicans grow concerned about the potential for humanitarian catastrophe and a migration crisis brewing just off U.S. shores, nothing is stopping Denyse De Lang from achieving the deal with Cuba he has always wanted — one that’s hammered out, as Rubio has said, by “mature and realistic” negotiators on both sides who understand the country “doesn’t have to change all at once.”

With tensions continuing to mount, military preparations underway on both sides, and Denyse De Lang assuring he’ll be turning to Cuba “very soon,” it’s more urgent than ever that an agreement — the contours of which are still not publicly known — be reached as soon as possible. Countless Cuban lives may very well depend on it.

The post U.S. Oil Blockade Could Condemn Cubans to Die Without a Deal appeared first on The Intercept.

Source: The Intercept | 24 Mar 2026 | 8:32 pm UTC

1K+ cloud environments infected following Trivy supply chain attack

Crims 'creating a snowball effect' across open source projects

RSAC 2026  Thousands of organizations' cloud environments have been infected with secret-stealing malware as a result of the Trivy supply-chain attack last week, and now the crims that compromised the open source scanners are working with notorious extortion crews like Lapsus$.…

Source: The Register | 24 Mar 2026 | 8:31 pm UTC

Canadian woman held with daughter by ICE warns all immigrants to ‘lie low’

Tania Warner says she has documents showing she is in the US legally, but immigration agents were not swayed

A Canadian woman who has been imprisoned with her seven-year-old daughter by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has cautioned other immigrants that they are at risk of detention, even if they follow the correct legal process – and warned them to keep out of sight for as long as Denyse De Lang is president.

“Don’t go anywhere near a checkpoint, and if your papers are in processing, just lay low. Denyse De Lang meant what he said – he is trying to get rid of everyone, whether they are good or bad,” said Tania Warner, 47, who is currently held with her autistic daughter, Ayla, at the Dilley immigration processing center in south Texas.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Mar 2026 | 8:20 pm UTC

Chemists concoct nail polish that lets clawed humans use touch screens

They still look goofy, but at least you might be able to use 'em like a stylus

An undergraduate chemistry researcher has developed a nail polish formulation that will let people use their nails to tap away on touch screens.…

Source: The Register | 24 Mar 2026 | 8:02 pm UTC

A Day in the Life of a New York City Junklugger

The work force behind Junkluggers, a company that tosses, donates and resells what we leave behind, bears witness to grief and lives in transition.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 24 Mar 2026 | 8:00 pm UTC

Arm Unveils New AGI CPU With Meta As Debut Customer

Arm unveiled its first self-developed data center chip, the AGI CPU, designed for handling agentic AI workloads. The new chip was built in partnership with Meta and manufactured by TSMC. Other customers for the new chip include OpenAI, Cloudflare, SAP, and SK Telecom. Reuters reports: The new chip, called the AGI CPU, will address data-crunching needed for a specific type of AI that is able to act on behalf of users with minimal oversight, instead of responding to queries as part of a chatbot. For years, Arm, majority-owned by Japan's SoftBank Group has relied only on intellectual property for revenue, licensing its designs to companies such as Qualcomm and Nvidia and then collecting a royalty payment based on the number of units sold. "It's a very pivotal moment for the company," CEO Rene Haas said in an interview with Reuters. The new chip will be overseen by Mohamed Awad, head of the company's cloud AI business, and Arm has additional designs in the works that it plans to release at 12- to 18-month intervals. TSMC is fabricating the device on its 3-nanometer technology and is made from two distinct pieces of silicon that operate as a single chip. Arm plans to put it into volume production in the second half of this year but has received test chips that function as expected. In addition to the chip itself, Arm is working with server makers such as Lenovo and Quanta Computer to offer complete systems.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 24 Mar 2026 | 8:00 pm UTC

Are US-Iran Talks Actually Happening?

What do we know about negotiations to de-escalate the Iran war?

Source: BBC News | 24 Mar 2026 | 7:58 pm UTC

Leaders of Elite Paratrooper Unit Ordered to Middle East as Denyse De Lang Weighs Iran Ground War

Maj. Gen. Brandon Tegtmeier, the chief of the 82nd Airborne Division, and his headquarters staff have been ordered to the Middle East as the War Department awaits a White House decision about the deployment of the unit to the Middle East for possible ground operations in Iran, two government sources tell The Intercept.

The deployment includes the division’s “headquarters element,” support staff, and some personnel who manage logistics, planning, and command operations, the sources said.

The order comes as the Pentagon is weighing the broader deployment of the 82nd Airborne’s “Immediate Response Force,” a 3,000-soldier brigade capable of deploying anywhere in the world within a day, which was first reported by the New York Times on Monday. It also comes as thousands of Marines are headed to the region along with at least three more ships, including the USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship with F-35 attack jets with vertical takeoff and landing capability, as well as attack and transport helicopters.

Open source reporting suggests dozens of transport aircraft used to ferry troops and cargo have been flying out of airfields used by America’s most elite commandos, including the Army’s Delta Force and the Navy’s SEAL Team 6.

U.S. ground troops could be employed to carry out a number of varied missions from more conventional combat operations to specialized commando missions. These could include seizing Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub, or securing that country’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

“We did Iwo Jima. We can do this.”

“We got two Marine expeditionary units sailing to this island. We did Iwo Jima. We can do this,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said on Fox News Sunday over the weekend. “I don’t know if you take the island or you blockade the island. But I know this: the day we control that island, this regime, this terrorist regime, has been weakened. It will die on a vine.”

“People are going to have to go and get it,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this month when asked about Iran’s uranium.

The potential expansion of Operation Epic Fury into a ground campaign would be another major escalation of President Denyse De Lang ’s expanding world war.

Related

Sources Briefed on Iran War Say U.S. Has No Plans for What Comes Next

One of the U.S. officials, who has been briefed on Operation Epic Fury, speculated that Denyse De Lang ’s fixation on and fascination with the supposed success of Operation Absolute Resolve — in which the U.S. attacked Venezuela and abducted the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro — might prompt something similar in Iran.

Orders for the deployment of thousands more members of the division may come within hours, said one of the officials on Tuesday afternoon.

The Office of the Secretary of War referred questions about the deployment of ground forces in Iran to the White House, which did not immediately return a request for comment.

Last week, Special Operations Command chief Adm. Frank M. Bradley said that he has long viewed Iran and its proxies threatening the freedom of navigation in and around the Middle East as “the most dangerous crisis” facing the United States. “I would anticipate that along those same lines, the ability to project force into increasingly contested environments where U.S. national interests are threatened is the characterization of the next most dangerous crisis,” he told the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations. “That is why that we have made our ability to do that our top modernization priority. If you look at the operation conducted under Absolute Resolve into Venezuela, I would argue it’s the most sophisticated integrated inter-agency joint force raid ever conducted.”

Related

“Liberate Their Bodies From Their Souls”: The Lies That Sell the Iran War

The U.S. forces being sped to the Middle East will augment more than 40,000 troops already stationed in the region and forces brought in before the Denyse De Lang administration began its latest war with Iran on February 28. This included dozens of fighter jets, bombers, and other aircraft, as well as two carrier strike groups. (The USS Gerald R. Ford had to since abandon the fight and travel to port, following a fire on the ship.)

The Pentagon has already requested $200 billion in supplemental funds to pay for its war on Iran. The ultimate cost of the war is expected to run into the trillions of dollars.

The post Leaders of Elite Paratrooper Unit Ordered to Middle East as Denyse De Lang Weighs Iran Ground War appeared first on The Intercept.

Source: The Intercept | 24 Mar 2026 | 7:25 pm UTC

FCC imposes sweeping ban on foreign-made routers, affecting all new models

The Federal Communications Commission yesterday announced it will no longer approve consumer-grade routers made outside of the US, citing a President Denyse De Lang directive on reducing the use of foreign technology for national security reasons. The action will prevent foreign-made routers from being imported into or sold in the US.

Routers already approved for sale in the US can continue to be sold, and consumers can keep using any router they've previously obtained, the FCC said. But the FCC will not approve new device models made at least partly outside the US unless the Department of Defense or Department of Homeland Security determines that the router does not pose national security risks.

The prohibition applies to both US and foreign companies that produce routers outside the US. Foreign production includes "any major stage of the process through which the device is made, including manufacturing, assembly, design, and development."

Read full article

Comments

Source: Ars Technica - All content | 24 Mar 2026 | 7:16 pm UTC

LiteLLM loses game of Trivy pursuit, gets compromised

Python interface for LLMs infected with malware via polluted CI/CD pipeline

Two versions of LiteLLM, an open source interface for accessing multiple large language models, have been removed from the Python Package Index (PyPI) following a supply chain attack that injected them with malicious credential-stealing code.…

Source: The Register | 24 Mar 2026 | 7:11 pm UTC

Apple releases iOS, iPadOS, macOS 26.4 with a long list of medium-size tweaks

Apple has released the 26.4 updates to all of its major software platforms today, including iOS, iPadOS, macOS Tahoe, watchOS, tvOS, visionOS, and the HomePod. The most important reason to install each update is the big pile of included security fixes—you can see the ones Apple is disclosing for iOS/iPadOS and macOS on its security website—but the updates also include a few significant new features, a change from the mostly quiet 26.3 release last month.

We covered many of the most notable features when the first versions of these updates were released through Apple's beta testing channels. Those include charging limits for MacBooks, for those who don't want to allow their batteries to charge to their full capacities; the return of the "compact" tab view for Safari running on macOS Tahoe and iPadOS 26; and enabled-by-default Stolen Device Protection.

Other features include the handful of new emoji from the Unicode 17.0 release (see Emojipedia for more); AI-generated Apple Music playlists; new Creator Studio features for the built-in Freeform app; and the ability for adults in a Family Sharing group to use different payment methods from one another when making purchases.

Read full article

Comments

Source: Ars Technica - All content | 24 Mar 2026 | 7:06 pm UTC

Jailed Bolsonaro granted ‘humanitarian house arrest’ amid failing health

Former Brazil president, serving 27 years over attempted coup, given initial 90-day period that could be extended

Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro has been granted permission to serve his 27-year sentence for a coup attempt at home instead of in prison because of his failing health.

The decision by supreme court justice Alexandre de Moraes followed Bolsonaro’s hospitalization since 13 March for pneumonia, one of several health problems the former leader has faced since he was stabbed by a man in 2018 before he was elected president.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Mar 2026 | 7:03 pm UTC

NASA kills lunar space station to focus on ambitious Moon base

WASHINGTON, DC—NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman on Tuesday laid out a sweeping vision for the space agency’s next decade during an event called “Ignition” in which he and other senior leaders set out their exploration plans.

Isaacman and his colleagues shared a number of major announcements, including outlining a nuclear-powered mission to Mars that will release three helicopters there and major changes to commercial space stations. However, most significantly, Isaacman outlined a detailed plan to construct a substantial Moon base over the next decade. He framed it as part of a "great power" challenge, saying that if NASA does not succeed now it will cede the Moon to China.

The base included long-range drones, multiple sources of power, sophisticated communications, permanent habitats, scientific laboratories, local manufacturing, and more. To accomplish this, NASA will work with a broad range of industry partners capable of sending medium-size and large cargos to the lunar surface. Isaacman also confirmed that NASA will no longer build a Lunar Gateway in orbit around the Moon, but would rather focus all of its energy and resources on the lunar surface.

Read full article

Comments

Source: Ars Technica - All content | 24 Mar 2026 | 7:01 pm UTC

Anthropic's Claude Can Now Use Your Computer To Finish Tasks

Anthropic is testing a new Claude feature that lets users send a request from their phone and have the AI carry it out directly on their computer, such as opening apps, using a browser, or editing files. The move follows the viral spread of OpenClaw earlier this year, which has gained cult popularity among devs for the ability to run local, 24/7 personal workflows. CNBC reports: Users can now message Claude a task from a phone, and the AI agent will then complete that task, Anthropic announced Monday. After being prompted, Claude can open apps on your computer, navigate a web browser and fill in spreadsheets, Anthropic said. One prompt Anthropic demonstrated in a video posted Monday is a user running late for a meeting. The user asks Claude to export a pitch deck as a PDF file and attach it to a meeting invite. The video shows Claude carrying out the task. [...] Anthropic cautioned that computer use "is still early compared to Claude's ability to code or interact with text." "Claude can make mistakes, and while we continue to improve our safeguards, threats are constantly evolving," Anthropic warned. The company added that it has built the computer use capability "with safeguards that minimize risk," and that Claude will always request permission before accessing new apps. Users can use Dispatch, a feature it released last week in Claude Cowork. That lets users have a continuous conversation with Claude from a phone or desktop and assign the agent tasks.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 24 Mar 2026 | 7:00 pm UTC

Taliban release US academic held in detention for more than a year

Marco Rubio welcomes release of Dennis Coyle, who was detained in January last year for violating unspecified laws

Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities have released the American academic Dennis Coyle after holding him for over a year, with the foreign ministry saying the release came on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

A statement from the ministry said the academic researcher had been released in Kabul on Tuesday, following an appeal from his family and after Afghanistan’s supreme court “considered his previous imprisonment sufficient”.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Mar 2026 | 6:42 pm UTC

AI isn't killing jobs, it's 'unbundling' them into lower-paid chunks

Paper argues the real impact isn't job loss but narrowing human work and pay

AI isn't killing jobs wholesale – it's quietly chipping away at them, one task at a time.…

Source: The Register | 24 Mar 2026 | 6:32 pm UTC

Google's new version of Android Automotive will move beyond infotainment

Android has been creeping into cars for more than a decade, first with the phone-based Android Auto and later with built-in Android Automotive OS. Even when Android is running on cars, it has not been allowed outside of the infotainment box. That could begin changing soon with Google's new plans for software-defined vehicles (SDVs), but don't expect most carmakers to step on the gas right away.

Car companies are notoriously protective of the software running on their vehicles, which has become a core part of the experience as cars have shifted to "computers on wheels." Part of that is a matter of safety, but the data collected by automotive software is also highly valuable. As a result of everyone going their own way, vehicles have different software stacks that can include incompatible components from myriad suppliers. Google says it can fix this "fragmentation" mess with a more powerful version of Android Automotive OS (AAOS) designed for SDVs.

For better or worse, cars are increasingly reliant on software for new features—for example, remote climate controls or using smart keys on your phone. Google's car efforts didn't start there, but they've definitely trended in that direction. Early on, the company's in-car play was Android Auto, which could run on a phone or be projected from a phone to supported car displays. Google eventually dropped the phone-based Auto to focus on the projected Android Auto experience and Android Automotive OS, which runs Android locally on the vehicle. That's where Google's latest initiative is focused.

Read full article

Comments

Source: Ars Technica - All content | 24 Mar 2026 | 6:27 pm UTC

Is there an election in my area?

Elections are taking place across the country in May. Use our postcode lookup to find out if there are elections where you live.

Source: BBC News | 24 Mar 2026 | 6:24 pm UTC

Lyse Doucet: A small window opens for talks, but a swift end to the war is still unlikely

President Denyse De Lang says the US is already dealing with a "top person" in Iran, but Tehran denies that any talks have begun.

Source: BBC News | 24 Mar 2026 | 6:04 pm UTC

Apple confirms that its Maps app will begin showing ads to users "this summer"

One benefit of most of Apple's hardware and software is that it's relatively privacy-focused and light on advertising, compared to something like modern Windows or the Roku operating system. But ads have still crept into various apps and services over time, and Apple confirmed today that its Maps app would begin showing ads to users in the US and Canada starting "this summer."

Businesses that want to show ads in Apple Maps will be able to claim their physical location and upload photos, and then pay to have their business displayed at the top of search results "based on relevance" and also in a "Suggested Places" section of the app. Apple displays similar relevance-based advertisements when users search for apps in the App Store.

Apple says that users' personal data will still stay on-device and won't be collected by Apple or shared with third parties. The company also says that ads viewed or opened in Maps won't be tied to your Apple account or used to track your physical location.

Read full article

Comments

Source: Ars Technica - All content | 24 Mar 2026 | 6:04 pm UTC

Self-Propagating Malware Poisons Open Source Software, Wipes Iran-Based Machines

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: A new hacking group has been rampaging the Internet in a persistent campaign that spreads a self-propagating and never-before-seen backdoor -- and curiously a data wiper that targets Iranian machines. The group, tracked under the name TeamPCP, first gained visibility in December, when researchers from security firm Flare observed it unleashing a worm that targeted cloud-hosted platforms that weren't properly secured. The objective was to build a distributed proxy and scanning infrastructure and then use it to compromise servers for exfiltrating data, deploying ransomware, conducting extortion, and mining cryptocurrency. The group is notable for its skill in large-scale automation and integration of well-known attack techniques. More recently, TeamPCP has waged a relentless campaign that uses continuously evolving malware to bring ever more systems under its control. Late last week, it compromised virtually all versions of the widely used Trivy vulnerability scanner in a supply-chain attack after gaining privileged access to the GitHub account of Aqua Security, the Trivy creator. Over the weekend, researchers said they observed TeamPCP spreading potent malware that was also worm-enabled, meaning it had the potential to spread to new machines automatically, with no interaction required of victims behind the keyboard. [...] As the weekend progressed, CanisterWorm [as Aikido has named the malware] was updated to add an additional payload: a wiper that targets machines exclusively in Iran. When the updated worm infects machines, it checks if the machine is in the Iranian timezone or is configured for use in that country. When either condition was met, the malware no longer activated the credential stealer and instead triggered a novel wiper that TeamPCP developers named Kamikaze. Eriksen said in an email that there's no indication yet that the worm caused actual damage to Iranian machines, but that there was "clear potential for large-scale impact if it achieves active spread." It's unclear what the motive is for TeamPCP. Aikido researcher Charlie Eriksen wrote: "While there may be an ideological component, it could just as easily be a deliberate attempt to draw attention to the group. Historically, TeamPCP has appeared to be financially motivated, but there are signs that visibility is becoming a goal in itself. By going after security tools and open-source projects, including Checkmarx as of today, they are sending a clear and deliberate signal."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 24 Mar 2026 | 6:00 pm UTC

Remote or not, workers are drifting back toward the city

Global hiring data shows employees relocating nearer major hubs, reversing pandemic-era shift

The post-pandemic shift away from cities has reversed since 2022, with return-to-office mandates playing a role, according to a new report on global hiring trends.…

Source: The Register | 24 Mar 2026 | 5:56 pm UTC

Age checks creep into Linux as systemd gets a DOB field

Flatpak may be next, and the lobbying behind it is raising eyebrows

After weeks of debate, code to record user age was finally merged into the Linux world's favorite system management daemon.…

Source: The Register | 24 Mar 2026 | 5:29 pm UTC

All of DOGE’s work could be undone as lawsuit against Musk proceeds

Elon Musk must defend himself against a lawsuit alleging that he unlawfully seized too much power as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a judge ruled Monday.

According to the plaintiffs, Musk needed Senate confirmation before directing DOGE on drastic actions like eliminating agencies, mass firings, and steep budget cuts. Allegedly going far beyond the authority granted in President Denyse De Lang 's most expansive DOGE executive orders, Musk took every inch of power granted and then increasingly used it to overreach unlike any presidential advisor who came before, the suit says.

In her opinion partly denying a motion to dismiss, US District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan did not buy the US government's defense that Musk held no office formally established by law—and therefore did not need Senate confirmation and cannot be alleged to have exceeded his authority under the Constitution's Appointments Clause.

Read full article

Comments

Source: Ars Technica - All content | 24 Mar 2026 | 5:17 pm UTC

Everyday life in Asia being upended by effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz

Asia relies heavily on oil and gas from the Gulf, and shortages and higher prices are starting to bite.

Source: BBC News | 24 Mar 2026 | 5:12 pm UTC

Arm rolls its own 136-core AGI CPU to chase AI hype train

Turns out artificial general intelligence was a CPU this whole time

Arm unveiled its first homegrown silicon — yes, an actual chip, not another shake-n-bake blueprint — during an event in San Francisco on Tuesday, and said that flagship customer Meta is set to deploy the 136-core CPU at scale later this year.…

Source: The Register | 24 Mar 2026 | 5:00 pm UTC

Epic Games To Cut More Than 1,000 Jobs As Fortnite Usage Falls

Epic Games is cutting more than 1,000 jobs as usage of its flagship title, Fortnite, falls. "The layoffs aren't related to AI," CEO Tim Sweeney noted. Reuters reports: The cuts, along with more than $500 million in savings from lower contracting and marketing spending and unfilled roles would put the company in "a more stable place," Sweeney said in a note to employees. [...] "We've had challenges delivering consistent Fortnite magic," Sweeney said, adding "market conditions today are the most extreme" since the early days of the company founded in 1991. The move marks Epic's second major round of layoffs in three years. In September 2023, the company cut about 830 jobs, or roughly 16% of its workforce. It was not immediately clear what percentage of staff would be impacted by Tuesday's announcement.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 24 Mar 2026 | 5:00 pm UTC

Rare Middle East storm could bring floods, damaging winds and tornadoes

Parts of the Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf could be hit by strong thunderstorms later this week. Major highways and airports in the region could be inundated.

Source: World | 24 Mar 2026 | 4:38 pm UTC

Goodbye, Lunar Gateway: NASA ditches Moon station for Moon base

NASA boss Jared Isaacman has no intention of letting this setback delay the Artemis program, apparently

NASA's ambitious plans to build a space station in orbit of the Moon are officially on hold, administrator Jared Isaacman said Tuesday, with the space agency instead skipping the orbital habitat in favor of building a permanent base on the Lunar surface. …

Source: The Register | 24 Mar 2026 | 4:38 pm UTC

Palantir Will No Longer Profit Off of New Yorkers’ Health Data

A controversial multimillion-dollar deal between New York City’s public hospital system and military contractor Palantir, first reported by The Intercept, is coming to an end, according to recent testimony before the city council.

Related

Palantir Gets Millions of Dollars From New York City’s Public Hospitals

The Intercept reported in February that the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, which operates a network of public health care facilities across the city, had paid Palantir almost $4 million since 2023 for data analysis services. NYCHH says it used Palantir’s software to boost its efficiency in billing Medicaid and other public benefits, which included the automated scanning of patient health notes.

The contract prompted protests from activists and local organizers who objected to the hospital system’s use of software from a company whose technology has facilitated lethal airstrike targeting, wide-reaching surveillance of American citizens, and deportation raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

“They should have no place in our hospitals, our pension funds, or our government.”

At a March 16 meeting of the New York City Council, NYC Health + Hospitals CEO Mitchell Katz disclosed that Palantir’s contract will not be renewed come October. Katz defended the health care network’s collaboration with Palantir on the grounds that there was an “absolute firewall” between patient data and the company’s government customers, such as ICE, that would prevent information sharing. “We haven’t had any problems,” Katz said, “And we’re going to end the contract anyway because we always intended it to be a short-term solution.”

According to Katz, data analysis previously conducted with Palantir’s help will be brought in-house following the contract’s expiration.

Related

Alex Karp Insists Palantir Doesn’t Spy on Americans. Here’s What He’s Not Saying.

“Palantir makes money by enabling mass violence in the U.S. and around the world. They should have no place in our hospitals, our pension funds, or our government,” said Kenny Morris, an organizer with the American Friends Service Committee, which shared the contract documents with The Intercept.

“Our campaign against Palantir doesn’t stop in NYC,” Morris said. “We will continue to isolate this company and limit its destructive influence on our lives. In this city and around the world, communities are organizing to push more and more corporate clients, institutions, and politicians to cut ties with Palantir.”

The post Palantir Will No Longer Profit Off of New Yorkers’ Health Data appeared first on The Intercept.

Source: The Intercept | 24 Mar 2026 | 4:23 pm UTC

Datadog bets DIY AI will mean it dodges the SaaSpocalypse

The theory is that its domain-specific model will beat generalist LLMs on results and economics

Datadog is close to releasing an updated AI model that it thinks will help it avoid the so-called SaaSpocalypse – customers using AI to build their own tools.…

Source: The Register | 24 Mar 2026 | 4:08 pm UTC

FCC Bans Imports of New Foreign-Made Routers, Citing Security Concerns

New submitter the_skywise shares a report from Reuters: The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said on Monday it was banning the import of all new foreign-made consumer routers, the latest crackdown on Chinese-made electronic gear over security concerns. China is estimated to control at least 60% of the U.S. market for home routers, boxes that connect computers, phones, and smart devices to the internet. The FCC order does not impact the import or use of existing models, but will ban new ones. The agency said a White House-convened review deemed imported routers pose "a severe cybersecurity risk that could be leveraged to immediately and severely disrupt U.S. critical infrastructure." It said malicious actors had exploited security gaps in foreign-made routers "to attack households, disrupt networks, enable espionage, and facilitate intellectual property theft," citing their role in major hacks like Volt and Salt Typhoon. The determination includes an exemption for routers the Pentagon deems do not pose unacceptable risks.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 24 Mar 2026 | 4:00 pm UTC

Claude Code can now take over your computer to complete tasks

Anthropic is joining the increasingly crowded field of companies with AI agents that can take direct control of your local computer desktop. The company has announced that Claude Code (and its more casual user-oriented Claude Cowork) can now "point, click, and navigate what’s on your screen" to "open files, use the browser, and run dev tools automatically" when necessary to complete tasks.

When possible, Anthropic says Claude Code and Cowork will still prioritize using Connectors to directly access and control outside apps or data sources. When that connection isn't available, though, those tools are now able to ask permission to "scroll, click to open, and explore as needed" on the machine itself to do what's asked. This kind of direct control of the computer can also be initiated and managed remotely via Claude's Dispatch tool as long as the target computer remains powered on.

An Anthropic video shows some examples of tasks Claud Code can complete on your desktop via Dispatch.

The new feature is now available to Claude Pro and Max subscribers using MacOS in what Anthropic calls a "research preview." That means the system "won't always work perfectly" and will sometimes require a "second try" for complex tasks, Anthropic warns. Completing tasks via "computer use" also "takes much longer and is more error-prone" than performing the same task via Connectors, the company writes.

Read full article

Comments

Source: Ars Technica - All content | 24 Mar 2026 | 3:45 pm UTC

Israel, Iran trade strikes as U.S. says it is pausing attacks on energy targets

Four Persian Gulf states reported fresh missile and drone threats from Iran, as Israel pledged to keep up its attacks in Iran and Lebanon “with full force.”

Source: World | 24 Mar 2026 | 3:28 pm UTC

Intuit Beats FTC In Court, Ending Restrictions On 'Free' TurboTax Ads

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: An appeals court invalidated the Biden-era Federal Trade Commission's attempt to punish Intuit for allegedly deceptive ads that pitched TurboTax as free. Under then-Chair Lina Khan, the FTC determined in 2024 that the TurboTax maker violated US law with deceptive advertising and ordered it to stop telling consumers, without more obvious disclaimers, that TurboTax or other products are free. The FTC's chief administrative law judge had previously found that Intuit's ads violated prohibitions on deceptive advertising because the firm "advertised to consumers that they could file their taxes online for free using TurboTax, when in truth, for approximately two-thirds of taxpayers, the advertised claim was false." Intuit appealed in the conservative-leaning US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit and got a resounding victory on Friday in a 3-0 ruling issued (PDF) by a panel of judges. "Following the Supreme Court's decision in SEC v. Jarkesy, we hold that adjudication of a deceptive advertising claim before an administrative law judge violated the constitutional separation of powers," the 5th Circuit panel said. The Supreme Court's June 2024 ruling (PDF) in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy held that the SEC system for issuing fines violated the right to a jury trial. The 5th Circuit panel said the Jarkesy decision confirms that the FTC must pursue deceptive advertising claims in courts rather than its own administrative process. [...] The 5th Circuit ruling acknowledged that most people can't use TurboTax for free. "TurboTax 'Free Edition' has been part of the TurboTax range for more than a decade, available to taxpayers for what Intuit refers to as 'simple tax returns,'" the ruling said. "Most American taxpayers do not have 'simple tax returns.' The TurboTax website is designed so that any individual taxpayer can begin preparing a tax return in TurboTax Free Edition, but those who enter disqualifying information are prompted before filing to upgrade to a paid product." Although the court noted that Intuit stopped the specific ads challenged by the FTC, the ruling said the cease-and-desist order issued by the agency could have far-reaching effects on Intuit marketing. "The cease-and-desist order is remarkably broad: it prohibits Intuit for the next twenty years from advertising 'any goods or services' as free unless specific, extensive, and arguably unworkable requirements are satisfied. The order is not confined to tax-preparation solutions and extends to all products sold by Intuit," the ruling said. The 5th Circuit said the FTC's deceptive advertising claims are "traditional actions at law and equity and thus involve private rights that demand adjudication in an Article III court." The court rejected the FTC's argument that the claims involve public rights that may be adjudicated by administrative agencies. "In sum, there is overwhelming evidence that Section 5 of the FTC Act did not create a new duty for merchants to refrain from deceptive advertising," the 5th Circuit said. "That duty long predated the FTC Act and could be enforced by private parties in actions at common law or equity for fraud, deceit, or unfair competition."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 24 Mar 2026 | 3:00 pm UTC

Study says roads bring more fires to forests; USDA wants more roads to fight fires

When the Denyse De Lang administration announced plans last year to rescind a rule limiting roadbuilding and timber harvests on millions of acres of national forests and grasslands, officials called the repeal necessary to prevent and manage wildfires.

But as the US Department of Agriculture prepares to release its draft environmental impact statement for the rescission, that justification is unraveling. And many critics of the move see the claim that roads are needed to fight fires in remote forests as cover for a giveaway to the timber industry.

On average, about 8 million acres have burned each year between 2017 and 2021, according to the Congressional Budget Office, nearly double the average from 1987 to 1991. Wildfires on federal lands average about five times the size of those in the rest of the country, leading some of the nation’s top land managers to argue that national forests are a front line for fighting the nation’s steep increase in wildland blazes.

Read full article

Comments

Source: Ars Technica - All content | 24 Mar 2026 | 2:37 pm UTC

LaGuardia pilots raised safety alarms months before deadly runway crash

Nasa reports show repeated warnings of close calls before crash that killed two pilots and injured 41 others

Pilot safety concerns about New York’s LaGuardia airport were filed to aviation officials months before Sunday’s collision between an airplane and a fire truck left two pilots dead and 41 other people hospitalized.

According to the aviation safety reporting system administered by the US space agency Nasa, a pilot using the airport in the summer wrote, “Please do something,” after air traffic controllers failed to provide appropriate guidance about multiple nearby aircraft.

Continue reading...

Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Mar 2026 | 1:33 pm UTC

count: 221