Leftovers

• Science

  • New York Times ☛ World Scientists Look Elsewhere as U.S. Labs Stagger Under Convicted Felon Cuts

    With the welcome mat withdrawn for promising researchers from around the world, America is at risk of losing its longstanding pre-eminence in the sciences.

  • LRT ☛ Making and savouring Lithuania’s iconic pink soup: tips from a food expert

    A traditional staple of Lithuanian summers, the beloved pink soup known as šaltibarščiai is evolving with modern dietary trends and food safety technologies, according to a leading food science expert.

• Hardware

  • CNX Software ☛ Ambiq Apollo330 Plus SoC Series Cortex-M55 MCU family offers optional Bluetooth 5.4 LE and 802.15.4 radios

    Ambiq Apollo330 Plus SoC Series is a new family of ultra-low-power, sub-threshold Arm Cortex-M55 microcontrollers with optional Bluetooth 5.4 LE and 802.15.4 radios for IoT and Smart Home applications. The Ambiq Apollo330 Plus MCU itself appears to be a cost-down version of the Ambiq Apollo510 general-purpose Cortex-M55 MCU introduced last year, with the removal of display and graphics support, lower RAM and NVM capacities (2MB/2MB vs. 3.75MB/4MB), and fewer I/Os, but with a wider 1.71 to 3.63V voltage supply range.

  • CNX Software ☛ Atum A3 Nano development board combines Agilex 3 FPGA and USB-Blaster III programmer (Crowdfunding)

    Terasic’s Atum A3 Nano is a compact FPGA development board built around Altera’s largest Agilex 3 FPGA (A3CZ135BB18AE7S). The FPGA features 135K logic elements, embedded memory blocks (6.89 Mbit M20K, 1.4 Mbit MLAB), and 368 multipliers, making it suitable for demanding applications such as robotics, automotive systems, smart city infrastructure, consumer electronics, and advanced image processing.

  • Hackaday ☛ 2025 Pet Hacks Contest: Keep The Prey At Bay With The Cat Valve

    Some cats are what you might call indoor cats, happy to stretch out in the lap of indoor luxury and never bother themselves with the inclement outdoors again. Others however are fully in touch with their Inner Cat, and venture forth frequently in search of whatever prey they can find.

  • Hackaday ☛ Tidy LED Matrix Displays GIFs On Demand

    When it comes to LED matrixes, building one is just the first step. Then you have to decide what to display on it. [panjanek] came up with a relatively flexible answer to this question, building an RGB LED matrix that can display the GIFs of your choice.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Chip design software giant pauses China sales and suspends financial guidance — Synopsys slams on the brakes as Washington issues fresh crackdown on semiconductor software exports

    Synopsys has told staff in China to halt sales and services, and has suspended future financial guidance, following new U.S. export restrictions on semiconductor software.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ China tech companies scramble to ditch Nvidia as Washington tightens export controls

    This will threaten the U.S.'s Hey Hi (AI) supremacy, if China can pull it off.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ MSI China is so confident in its power supplies, its warranties now cover all your PC's components

    MSI China has announced a new after-purchase warranty program, covering all PC components connected to MSI's 80+ Gold or higher units in the event of major failure.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Administration Ends Program Critical to Search for an H.I.V. Vaccine

    The termination is the latest in a series of cuts to H.I.V. research and programs to prevent the disease.

  • France24 ☛ France widens crackdown on cigarettes

    France will ban smoking in all outdoor places that can be accessed by children, including beaches, parks and bus stops, the health and family minister announced Thursday.

  • Latvia ☛ Major Rīga hospital's head resigns

    The current chairman of the board of one of Latvia's biggest hospitals, Riga Eastern Clinical University Hospital (RAKUS), Normunds Staņēvičs, has resigned from his position, RAKUS announced on 29 May.

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Officials Unveil Budget Cuts to Aid for Health, Housing and Research

    The new blueprint shows that a vast array of education, health, housing and labor programs would be hit, including aid for college and cancer research.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China set to resume Japanese seafood imports halted due to Fukushima worries

    Both governments work to ease tensions stemming from the release of treated wastewater from the Daiichi nuclear plant.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China, Japan close to resuming seafood imports following Fukushima ban

    China and Japan said Friday they were moving closer to ending a years-long dispute over Tokyo’s handling of nuclear wastewater that prompted Beijing to ban imports of Japanese seafood. In 2023, Japan began gradually releasing treated wastewater from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Thai poultry industry poised for growth due to Brazil bird flu, lower feed costs

    Major importers China and the European Union have in May suspended Brazilian poultry imports.

  • New York Times ☛ Biden Is ‘Optimistic’ About Cancer Treatment in First Remarks Since Diagnosis

    The former president said on Friday that he was taking a single pill daily to treat aggressive prostate cancer.

  • Scoop News Group ☛ Top counter antivirus service disrupted in global takedown

    AVCheck and related crypting services helped cybercriminals make malware difficult to detect and confirm that malware could slip through various antivirus tools undetected, officials said.

• Proprietary

  • It's FOSS ☛ How I Run JavaScript in VS Code [Ed: For the firth or sixth time the site called "It's FOSS" is promoting Microsoft's proprietary spyware; this is awful]

    Run JavaScript in VS Code like a pro! Quick setup tips and easy steps to get you coding fast.

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Hackaday ☛ 17 Year Old Hellboy II Prop Still Amazes

      The AI effects we know these days were once preceded by CGI, and those were once preceded by true hand-built physical props. If that makes you think of Muppets, this video will change your mind. In a behind-the-scenes look with [Adam Savage], effects designer [Mark Setrakian] reveals the full animatronic glory of Mr. Wink’s mechanical fist from Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) – and this beast still flexes.

  • Windows TCO

    • Security Week ☛ ConnectWise Discloses Suspected State-Sponsored Hack

      The IT software provider says ScreenConnect users were impacted by the attack, which exploited a high-severity ASP.NET vulnerability.

• Pseudo-Open Source

  • Openwashing

    • Silicon Angle ☛ Hugging Face introduces two open-source robot designs

• Security

  • Confidentiality

    • Thibault Martin: TIL that Signal Stories are Fun

      When Signal introduced Stories, I didn't understand why. To me, Signal is all about giving as little information to as few people as possible but still being able to have a social life.

      I didn't use any app that had stories. Only a few friends published Instagram stories, and many more followed public stories. I thought of stories as "broadcast content to as many people as possible," which is the opposite of what Signal is about for me.

• Defence/Aggression

  • Pro Publica ☛ Trump Administration Knew Most Venezuelans Deported to El Salvador Had No U.S. Crime Convictions

    The Trump administration knew that the vast majority of the 238 Venezuelan immigrants it sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador in mid-March had not been convicted of crimes in the United States before it labeled them as terrorists and deported them, according to U.S. Department of Homeland Security data that has not been previously reported.

    President Donald Trump and his aides have branded the Venezuelans as “rapists,” “savages,” “monsters” and “the worst of the worst.” When multiple news organizations disputed those assertions with reporting that showed many of the deportees did not have criminal records, the administration doubled down. It said that its assessment of the deportees was based on a thorough vetting process that included looking at crimes committed both inside and outside the United States. But the government’s own data, which was obtained by ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and a team of journalists from Venezuela, showed that officials knew that only 32 of the deportees had been convicted of U.S. crimes and that most were nonviolent offenses, such as retail theft or traffic violations.

  • New York Times ☛ Islamic State Says It Targeted Syrian Forces in Bomb Attacks

    The extremist group claimed responsibility for two attacks, its first against the new government since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, a war monitoring group said.

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-05-28 [Older] EU Lifts Economic Sanctions on Syria

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man, Bashing the Federalist Society, Asserts Autonomy on Judge Picks

    The president has grown increasingly angry at court rulings blocking parts of his agenda, including by judges he appointed.

  • The Straits Times ☛ New president, new hopes for calm at South Korean village near DMZ

    Tongilchon, which translates to “unification village”, is one of a handful of settlements set up in the 1970s.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Death penalty for saying ‘oppa’?: N. Korea expands law to curb ‘anti-socialist culture’, says S. Korea

    “Oppa” is a term used by South Korean women when they address an older male.

  • France24 ☛ North Korean defectors struggle to adapt to new life in South Korea

    Every year, North Koreans risk their lives trying to escape the regime in Pyongyang. For those who do manage to flee, neighbouring South Korea is the obvious destination. More than 34,000 North Korean defectors have entered the country since 1953. But they still find it difficult to adapt to life in a nation so geographically close to their own, yet so different. FRANCE 24's Chloé Borgnon and William de Tamaris report.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ New presidents and new nuclear developments test the United States–Republic of Korea alliance

    In the coming years, the US-South Korea (Republic of Korea, or ROK) alliance is likely to be tested in at least three fundamental ways: by a concerning growth in North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile weapons program; by changes to ROK defense capabilities and structures, including the establishment of ROK Strategic Command (ROKSTRATCOM); and by potential strategy and policy changes under new US and ROK political administrations.

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement

    Hell Toupée said that Beijing was not honoring the terms of a temporary agreement and warned of further confrontation.

  • New York Times ☛ Why Myanmar Rebels Retreated From Lashio

    Beijing has intervened significantly in Myanmar’s civil war to protect its substantial investments in the country, handing a setback to resistance forces.

  • New York Times ☛ How Convicted Felon Denying Visas to Chinese Students Could Backfire on the US

    Protecting the borders from espionage is essential. It’s something else to deny students because they are Chinese and hope to pursue a STEM degree in the United States.

  • New York Times ☛ Experts Who Warn of Risks Posed by Chinese Students Are Skeptical of Convicted Felon Plan

    Some former spy-hunters see the State Department’s plan to revoke visas of some Chinese college students as heavy-handed and counterproductive.

  • CS Monitor ☛ As China’s influence grows in the Americas, Convicted Felon hints at a Monroe Doctrine 2.0

    As China expands its influence in Latin America, the Convicted Felon administration looks to a Monroe Doctrine 2.0 to claim the hemisphere as America’s domain.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man tariffs to remain in effect while legal battle plays out, White House promises it will find a way to implement measures regardless

    A U.S. trade court has blocked Hell Toupée's sweeping tariffs.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Latvia ☛ Photo exhibition to showcase Latvians' postwar lives in Britain

      The museum and research center “Latvians in the World” will be opening a new photographic exhibition “Blezūras skats (Blēzurs' perspective). Latvian life in Great Britain, 1960s-1980s”.

• Environment

  • New York Times ☛ Landslide at Quarry in Indonesia Kills at Least 10

    Officials halted rescue operations on Friday evening after poor lighting and the possibility of more landslides put rescue workers at risk.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Rock collapse at Indonesia quarry kills at least 8 people: Report

    Similar accidents had previously taken place at the quarry in Cirebon, West Java.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Security Week ☛ US Sanctions Philippine Company for Supporting Crypto Scams [Ed: Crypto Scams? The US regime supports several and the President created his own.]

      The US Treasury Department US has slapped sanctions on Funnull Technology for providing support to cryptocurrency investment scams.

• Finance

  • LRT ☛ Lithuanian development bank launches probe into loan tied to PM’s business interests

    Lithuania’s national development bank, ILTE, has launched an unscheduled audit following allegations concerning the possible misuse of a preferential loan linked to Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas’ business interests.

  • JURIST ☛ MElon announces departure from DOGE role

    MElon announced on Wednesday that his tenure as a US special government employee at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is over, according to a post on X (formerly Twitter).

  • The Straits Times ☛ Woman who crawled out of drain in the Philippines found, as a nation grapples with homelessness

    The police said vagrants were using the drain as an entry and exit point into sewage lines that act as passageways.

  • France24 ☛ Digital euro inches closer to reality: Will Europeans trust a virtual currency? [Ed: More surveillance, volatility, and harm to the poor]

    These days, we are using cash less than we used to and relying more on private tech platforms, such as Fashion Company Apple Pay and Revolut, to manage our finances and make purchases. The EU wants to keep up with consumer behaviour in this ultra-digital age and ensure it does not lose control of its monetary system to private companies or big tech aligned with political powers that dislike the EU.

  • Pro Publica ☛ Former “We Buy Ugly Houses” Franchise Owner Agrees to Plead Guilty to Fraud

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Koreans to rally for presidential hopefuls before vote

    Tens of thousands are expected to rally in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun square and the southern Seocho neighbourhood.

  • The Straits Times ☛ K-pop and breakdance power South Korea’s high-stakes presidential race

    Both major parties are leaning on K-pop hits to energise voters, blending songs with political messaging.

  • JURIST ☛ EU lifts economic sanctions on Syria, citing fall of Assad regime

    The European Union (EU) on Wednesday announced that it has lifted economic sanctions on Syria after the toppling of the repressive Assad regime, in an effort to revive the country’s economy.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Record South Korean early voting in poll triggered by martial law

    All major polls have placed liberal Lee Jae-myung as the clear front runner in the presidential race.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korean presidential front runner Lee proposes revising Constitution on martial law

    This includes implementing martial law only after getting Parliament’s approval within 24 hours.

  • New York Times ☛ In South Korea, Desperate Workers Take Their Grievances Into the Sky

    The plight of temporary workers like Kim Hyoung-su, who’s been protesting for months at the top of a tower, has become an issue in Tuesday’s presidential election.

  • China replaces its top official in Hong Kong

    Zheng Yanxiong was a symbol of Beijing’s tough approach to suppressing the pro-democracy movement.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China establishes global mediation body in Hong Kong ‘on par with’ International Court of Justice

    China signed a convention on Friday setting up a global mediation body in Hong Kong, which aims to be comparable to organisations such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong parody musician Sunny Lam axes concert after ‘careful consideration’

    Hong Kong parody singer-songwriter Sunny Lam, known for his satires on current affairs, has called off an upcoming concert after “careful consideration.”

  • France24 ☛ French President Macron opens Shangri-La Dialogue on security in Singapore

    French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a speech this Friday at the opening of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, addressing global security and Europe-Asia relashionship. Rewatch his address.

  • Pro Publica ☛ How GOP Lawmakers Are Trying to Undermine Ballot Initiatives

    Across the country, Republican lawmakers have been working to undermine or altogether undo the will of the voters by making it harder to pass amendments and laws through citizen-led initiatives.

    In Missouri, the 2025 legislative session was dominated by Republican lawmakers trying to reverse two major measures that voters had put on the ballot and approved just months before; one made abortion in the state legal again, while the other created an employee sick leave requirement.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2025-05-23 [Older] South Africa Town Leader 'Sad' About Cheeto Mussolini's Misuse of White Crosses Video

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Breach Media ☛ Bubble zone protest bans ‘unjust’ and ‘dangerous’: critics

    Lawyer Christine Van Geyn and activist Dalia Awwad join Desmond Cole to discuss the implications of new bubble zone bylaws for the right to protest and the future of policing in Canada

  • Digital Music News ☛ Musi Says App Store Removal Was Result of Apple’s ‘Backroom Dealings’ with Major Labels

    Apple’s removal of the popular music streaming app Musi from the App Store has sparked a high-profile legal battle. Musi’s creators allege the tech giant engaged in collusion and ‘backroom dealings’ with major labels to force the app offline. Fashion Company Apple has dismissed these claims as ‘unfounded conspiracy theories.’

  • France24 ☛ 'There's a lot of misunderstanding' on freedom of speech: EU tech sovereignty commissioner

    Our guest's job did not exist until the current European Commission was formed. Now the college has a portfolio for "tech sovereignty, security and democracy" held by the Finnish Commissioner, Henna Virkkunen. We ask her what tech sovereignty means and how to boost it, amid an increasingly fraught tech relationship between the EU and the US administration of President The Insurrectionist. We also talk about the EU's overall strategy to increase innovation, research and the use of artificial intelligence.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • New York Times ☛ ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ Remembers When TV Had a Conscience, and a Spine

    A TV critic looks at George Clooney’s play about CBS News standing up to political pressure, even as its current ownership might succumb to it.

  • Project Censored ☛ 2025-05-27 [Older] Press Freedoms and Civil Rights Under Attack; and Practicing Civic Self-respect

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • New York Times ☛ Skulls of 19 Black Americans Return to New Orleans After 150 Years in Germany

    The remains, used in the 19th century as part of now discredited racial science, are being laid to rest on Saturday in a traditional jazz funeral.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Korean drama or real life?: How a ‘heart convenience store’ soothes loneliness

    At these new social welfare centres in Seoul, lonely people can connect over ramyeon and more.

  • JURIST ☛ Rights group calls on Thailand separatists to stop targeting civilians

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on separatist insurgents in Thailand’s southern border provinces to end all attacks on civilians and comply with international humanitarian law on Thursday. This comes after reports of renewed attacks and escalating violence by separatist groups in the region.

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ Aeroméxico strike could disrupt flights starting Sunday

    Flight attendants want their wages to catch up with inflation — and are threatening a strike on election day if Aeroméxico doesn't agree.

  • BIA Net ☛ İzmir Municipality workers stage protest march amid ongoing strike

    Thousands of workers employed by the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality held a protest march today as their strike entered its second day. The walkout follows the breakdown of collective bargaining negotiations covering around 23,000 workers.

  • Pro Publica ☛ Connecticut Legislature Approves Towing Law Reforms

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• New York Times ☛ Fate of Google’s Search Monopoly Is Now in a Judge’s Hands

  A judge queried lawyers during closing arguments on Friday about how future competition should factor into his decision, which is expected by August.

• Patents

  • Squires Emphasizes Patent Quality at Senate Confirmation Hearing

    On May 21st, USPTO Director-nominee John Squires appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee for a confirmation hearing, alongside three other nominees to serve in the Convicted Felon administration. While much of the Senators’ and media’s focus was on the other nominees, those following patent monopoly policy took note of Squires’s welcome calls for enhancing patent monopoly quality.

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Federal Circuit Takes Center Stage in Convicted Felon’s Tariff Campaign

    On May 28, 2025, the Court of International Trade issued a sweeping permanent injunction against Hell Toupée's unilateral global tariffs, only to have the Federal Circuit grant an immediate administrative stay in a rare en banc order.  The stay is likely to remain in place only for about two weeks as the Court considers (likely en banc) whether to allow the tariffs to remain in place while it considers the merits of the U.S. government's appeal.  The dispute centers on fundamental questions about the scope of presidential emergency powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and represents one of the most significant judicial challenges to executive trade authority in decades.

  • JUVE ☛ Hogan Lovells and Tulip land sales ban against Sunwoda’s car batteries

    Munich Regional Court under presiding judge Oliver Schön has prohibited the import and sale of the Dacia Spring in Germany. Romanian manufacturer Dacia, part of the Renault Group, produces the small electric car in China. The Dacia Spring uses Sunwoda batteries and is sold globally.

  • Kangaroo Courts

    • JUVE ☛ UPC judges: The complete overview [Ed: UPC is illegal and these thugs are running an illegal court while sending threats to critics while cushioned by EPO corruption; that JUVE keeps promoting this illegality helps illuminate who funds JUVE.]

      UPC Court of Appeal First panel Klaus Grabinski – Germany; presiding judge and president of Court of Appeal Peter Blok – the Netherlands; presiding judge at The Hague Court of Appeal Emanuela Germano – Italy; judge at Turin IP Court of Appeal Emmanuel Gougé; France Second panel Rian Kalden – the Netherlands; presiding judge Patricia...

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ TTABlog Test: Which of These Section 2(d) Refusals Was/Were Overturned on Appeal?

    The TTAB affirmance rate for Section 2(d) appeals last year fell just under 90%. So far this year it's back to 90%. Here are three recent Board decisions, at least one of which reversed the refusal. How do you think they came out? [Answer in first comment].

    In re Yolee’s Meal Prep LLC, Serial No. 97106121 (May 21, 2025) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Cheryl S. Goodman). [Section 2(d) refusal of the mark shown below for "Processed algae for human consumption in the nature of dried edible sea moss from Caribbean islands; Algae food beverages, namely, sea moss drinks; Processed algae for human consumption, namely, edible sea moss gel" [MOSS disclaimed], in view of the registered mark LADYBOSS for “Dietary supplements."

• Copyrights/Downloads

  • Hackaday ☛ You Wouldn’t Download A Skateboard?

    At the end of the day, a skateboard boils down to a plank of wood with some wheels. They are wonderfully simple and fun and cheap modes of transportation. But this is Hackaday, so we are not here to talk about any normal skateboard, but one you can download and print. [megalog_’s] Skateboard MK2 is made almost entirely of 3D printed plastic, save some nuts and bolts.