Leftovers

• Science

  • New York Times ☛ Quakes on Mars Reveal New Features of the Planet’s Interior

    Using data from NASA’s retired InSight lander, two separate teams of researchers found evidence of a sluggish Martian mantle and a solid inner core.

  • Science Alert ☛ Your Cat Can Get Dementia Too – Here Are 8 Signs to Look Out For

    It's not just a people thing.

  • Science Alert ☛ Using Your Phone on The Toilet May Dramatically Increase Your Risk of Hemorrhoids

    The painful truth.

  • Science Alert ☛ 4 Powerful Telescopes Agree: Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Really Is Bizarre

    It's even stranger than expected.

  • Science Alert ☛ A Distinct New Form of Diabetes Is Officially Recognized

    Introducing type 5.

  • Federal News Network ☛ DOE’s latest cohort of innovators is turning science into startups

    "It's really a gem that we can provide to our burgeoning industry to enable technology commercialization," said Dr. Chris Saldaña.

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ China injects tens of billions of dollars in chipmaking tools, but it's easily more than a decade behind the market leaders — Here's why

    China’s chip industry excels at mature nodes but remains at least a decade behind in advanced lithography.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ 'Doomer science fiction': Nvidia criticizes proposed US bill that would force it to give American buyers 'first option' in Hey Hi (AI) GPU purchases before selling chips to other countries — GAIN Hey Hi (AI) Act debuts in defense spending bill

    U.S. lawmakers have proposed the GAIN Hey Hi (AI) Act, a bill that would block exports of cutting-edge Hey Hi (AI) chips — like Nvidia's H100 and B300 — and require developers to prioritize American buyers before fulfilling foreign orders.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Nvidia's next-gen Hey Hi (AI) chip could double the price of H20 if China export is approved — Chinese firms still consider Nvidia's B30A a good deal

    Chinese companies are hungry for more computing power and are willing to pay for it.

  • Hackaday ☛ Repairing A Tektronix 577 Curve Tracer

    Over on his YouTube channel our hacker [Jerry Walker] repairs a Tektronix 577 curve tracer.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Intel’s old NAND plant in China is now officially registered as SK hynix after US imposes new sanctions that limit fab upgrades in China

    According to Chinese registry filings, the plant's name officially changed to reflect its ownership by SK hynix on September 1.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Pro Publica ☛ Why Some Illinois Farmers Are Stuck Raising Crops That No Longer Thrive

    The seed tractor sank again, no surprise to Steve Williams. Everything sank out here on Dogtooth Bend in Southern Illinois since the floodwaters ran through five years earlier and dumped millions of tons of sand. The ground looked firm, but deep pockets of sticky mud lurked under the sun-cracked surface, pulling him under without warning.

    He hit the gas. His wheels spun in place; sand flew. A few cuss words, too.

  • Bridge Michigan ☛ What you need to know about getting the COVID-19 vaccine in Michigan

    Changes at the federal level are making access to the mRNA shot, as well as insurance coverage challenging, while doctors still tout the treatment as effective in treating and preventing coronavirus infection.

  • New York Times ☛ 5 Takeaways From RFK Jr.’s Senate Hearing

    During often tense exchanges, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended his positions on Covid vaccines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and autism.

  • NYPost ☛ RFK Jr.’s Senate ravings prove he won’t bring sanity back to public health

    Health Secretary Robert Kennedy's Senate testimony Thursday made one thing crystal clear: He won't be restoring sanity to our public-health bureaucracies, desperate as the need is.

  • New York Times ☛ RFK Jr. Faces Senate Grilling After Vaccine Changes and C.D.C. Shake-Up

    A three-hour hearing before the Senate Finance Committee revealed that the health secretary was on uncertain ground even with some Republicans who voted to confirm him.

  • France24 ☛ DR Congo declares new Ebola outbreak as death toll reaches 15

    DR Congo has declared a new Ebola outbreak in Kasai province, with 15 confirmed deaths since late August. The country's health ministry confirmed 28 suspected cases, including a pregnant woman as the first reported patient. This marks the country’s 16th outbreak, caused by the vaccine-preventable Zaire strain, though logistical challenges complicate response efforts.

  • New York Times ☛ Ebola Outbreak Is Declared in Kasai Province of Congo

    Health officials have recorded 28 suspected cases and 15 fatalities so far in the latest outbreak of the deadly virus, which has claimed thousands of lives in previous outbreaks in the Central African country.

  • JURIST ☛ Florida announces plan to end all vaccine mandates

    Florida’s surgeon general announced Wednesday that the state plans to eliminate all vaccine mandates Speaking at a press conference, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo described vaccine mandates as “drip[ping] with disdain and slavery,” and said: The Florida Department of Health [has] some rules that [my predecessors] promulgated that include a handful..."

  • New York Times ☛ Could a Pill Fix the Brain?

    Neurologists are exploring medications that would help the brain recover after a stroke or traumatic injury.

• Proprietary

  • Windows Central ☛ "There was a staff reduction" — 2K quietly announces layoffs at Civilization 7 dev Firaxis amid Hollow Knight: Silksong launch hype, but won't say how many

    Job cuts across and throughout the gaming industry continue to mount, with Firaxis Games — the development studio behind the popular strategy game franchises Sid Meier's Civilization and XCOM, as well as the tactical RPG Marvel's Midnight Suns — the latest to be hit by a wave of layoffs.

    The news first came not from the developer or its publisher, 2K, directly, but rather from Firaxis writer Emma Kidwell on LinkedIn. In a post, she explained that she was laid off and that other team members were cut from the studio as well.

    "Hi everyone! I was affected by the layoffs at Firaxis, and am open to full-time writing work at your studio," she wrote. "I'm an incredibly adaptable writer who wrote on Civilization VII and Marvel's Midnight Suns during my (nearly) 5 years at the studio, and I encourage you to keep an eye out for my former colleagues who were also laid off."

  • EuroGamer ☛ Over 50% of video game layoffs have been in California, says Game Changers award recipient

    The games industry has been wracked by layoffs in the last few years, but over half of all layoffs have been in California, with North America overall the worst hit region.

    That's according to Amir Satvat, who spoke to The Game Business on the topic. Satvar was the first recipient of the Game Changers award at The Game Awards 2024 for his work assisting laid-off employees across the industry.

    "Over 70 percent, and in some years 75 percent, of the layoffs have been in North America," said Satvat. "North America used to have 30 percent, 35 percent, 40 percent of the open roles, and that number is now down to 25 percent."

  • Press Gazette ☛ Daily Mail names first president for North America to lead revenue growth [Ed: So a large tabloid is now controlled by a Microsoft drone. iophk: Another platform for their propaganda and disinformation.]

    Greta Lawn joins from Abusive Monopolist Microsoft and previous leadership roles at Spotify and Hearst Magazines.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Windows 11 August 2025 security update is causing unintended UAC prompts to appear for non-admin users — some apps are crashing

    Microsoft's latest backdoored Windows update for backdoored Windows 11, backdoored Windows 10 is causing unintended UAC prompts to appear in certain cases for non-admin users.

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Marcy Wheeler ☛ What We Talk About When We Talk About Hey Hi (AI) (Part Four)

      LLMs are Lead Part 4- Delusion, Psychosis, and Child Murder (Go to Part Three) This installment deals with self harm quite a lot. If you’re not in a good place right now, please skip this.

  • Social Control Media

    • BIA Net ☛ YouTuber arrested after gunfire incident in video

      Authorities charged Bozkurt with “inciting hatred and hostility among the public.”

    • BIA Net ☛ RTÜK criticized for ‘selectively’ enforcing license on left-wing daily’s YouTube channel

      The media watchdog has the authority to require licenses for online broadcasters, but critics say pro-government channels are rarely subjected to such requirements.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia warns Fentanylware (TikTok) against cyber bullying, deepfake posts

      Malaysia's Communications Minister said he was dissatisfied with TikTok's attitude.

• Security

  • Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

    • Cyble Inc ☛ Google Patches CVE-2025-48543, CVE-2025-38352 In Android

      “There are indications that the following may be under limited, targeted exploitation: CVE-2025-38352, CVE-2025-48543,” Google stated in the bulletin.

    • Security Week ☛ Two Exploited Vulnerabilities Patched in Android

      Elevation of privilege flaws in Android Runtime (CVE-2025-48543) and GNU/Linux kernel (CVE-2025-38352) have been exploited in targeted attacks.

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • BIA Net ☛ All Surveillance Giant Google services go down across Turkey, Eastern Europe in two-hour outage

      During the nearly two-hour outage, many news outlets relying on Surveillance Giant Google Ads appeared without advertisements. However, disruptions in accessing Ads and other professional services significantly slowed down those sites, including bianet.

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Why are we so bashful about our names and addresses nowadays?

      Another week, another “data breach.” These stories follow a fairly predictable trajectory. An embarrassed company – or government department – announces that the “personal data” of thousands of people has been “hacked”.

    • Latvia ☛ First electronic surveillance tag applied in spousal abuse case

      An unnamed man born in 1975 has become the first person in Latvia subjected to electronic monitoring as a security measure as a result of suspected spousal abuse, according to the State Police.

    • EDRI ☛ EDRi warns against GDPR ‘simplification’ at EU Commission dialogue

      On 16 July 2025, EDRi participated in the European Commission’s GDPR Implementation Dialogue. We defended the GDPR as a cornerstone of the EU’s digital rulebook and opposed further attempts to weaken it under the banner of ‘simplification’. The discussion was more divided than the official summary suggests.

• Defence/Aggression

  • Defence Web ☛ Help Protect South Africa’s Defence Industry – Speak Up Against IP Theft and Poaching of Key Employees

    This is a call to all defence professionals, past and present, who believe in protecting South Africa’s industrial defence sovereignty. Are you aware of intellectual property theft or the poaching of key employees in the defence industry?

  • France24 ☛ 'Highly unusual': Normally anti-drug operations involve international cooperation

    President The Insurrectionist justified the lethal military strike that his administration said was carried out against a Venezuelan gang as a necessary effort by the United States to send an unmistakable message to Latin American cartels. Meanwhile, the Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello accused the United States of committing 11 extrajudicial murders.

  • New York Times ☛ After Boat Strike, Rubio Says U.S. Will Help Other Nations ‘Blow Up’ Crime Groups

    The Forrest Dump administration aims to carry out more violent strikes against drug cartels, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said as he met with Ecuador’s president.

  • JURIST ☛ Massachusetts dispatch: Lowell lockdown ends with possible armed suspect free, underscoring US gun violence

    On the afternoon of September 3, I noticed multiple helicopters circling overhead while I worked from my apartment in Lowell, Massachusetts. At first, I thought little of it—helicopters are a common sight where I live.

  • Defence Web ☛ Is vigilance making SA land borders less porous?

    In what appears to be a quiet month for SA Army soldiers deployed on border safeguarding duties, just 64 undocumented persons were prevented by the military from continuing their illegal journeys into South Africa in August.

  • Xi stresses China’s enduring friendship with North Korea in meeting with Kim

    “This position will not change,” the Chinese president said, according to state media.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Kim tells Pooh-tin that North Korea will support China’s interests

    Xi told Kim that China and North Korea are “good neighbours, good friends and good comrades”.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China's Pooh-tin seeks closer coordination with North Korea in meeting with Kim

    China's President Pooh-tin Jinping called on Thursday for closer coordination with North Korea in global and regional affairs, state media reported, as the leaders of the two nuclear-armed neighbours held their first meeting in six years.

  • The Straits Times ☛ DPM Gan hails China’s growth potential as he meets top leaders in Beijing

    Singapore and China mark the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Chinese navy says it conducted 'routine patrol' in South China Sea

    China's navy conducted a "routine patrol" in the South China Sea on September 3, a spokesperson for its Southern Theatre Command said on Thursday, while accusing the Philippines of "undermining regional peace and stability" through joint patrols with other countries.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia PM Anwar meets North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in chance encounter in China

    The two leaders were attending China's military parade in Beijing.

  • New York Times ☛ China’s Show of Military Might

    Xi Jinping’s huge military parade in Tiananmen Square provided a rare look at China’s new weapons.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Latvia ☛ Some border area land to be expropriated; owners still don't know which parts

      On 4 September, the Saeima will begin to consider the draft law on the establishment of an anti-mobility infrastructure, which the National Security Council has urged to be adopted as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the Latgale Planning Region and the heads of the border municipalities, as well as forest owners, are expressing concern about the draft anti-mobility law, Latvian Radio reports.

    • LRT ☛ Six months on, will ‘Coalition Of Willing’ deliver plan for Ukraine?

      It's been mocked as the "Coalition of the Waiting". The ad hoc alliance of mostly European countries – known as the Coalition of the Willing – that pledged to provide a viable post-war security plan for Ukraine has had months of meetings with few clear results.

    • LRT ☛ EU remains sceptical about seizing Russia’s frozen assets – Lithuanian FM

      Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said Thursday that European Union countries remain sceptical about proposals to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.

    • France24 ☛ Russian forces advance in Ukraine but at heavy cost

      As European leaders meet in Paris in a fresh bid to pressure Russia to move towards a ceasefire in Ukraine, Russian forces are continuing their advance in Ukraine’s east, gaining more territory every day. But it is coming at a heavy cost, with independent Russian sources estimate Russian casualties to be in their hundreds of thousands.

    • France24 ☛ Ukraine's digital front lines: Startups on bleeding edge of military tech

      This week we zero in on the military tech sector in Ukraine with our correspondent Gulliver Cragg and Kateryna Bondar, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, an improvised industry of defence tech startups has surged, and technology – particularly drones – has helped Kyiv to hold the line against Moscow. But the country currently lacks the funding to scale production. Meanwhile the Kremlin is catching up, rapidly growing its domestic production of Shahed drones.

    • RFERL ☛ Hungary Probing Missing Critical Components From 8 MiG Jets

      Hungarian authorities have launched a probe into the disappearance of key components from eight MiG-29 fighter jets and whether the parts may have ended up in Ukraine.

    • RFERL ☛ Macron Says Ukraine Security Guarantees To Be Agreed With US In 'Coming Days'

      French President Emmanuel Macron said 26 countries have agreed to take part in post-war security guarantees for Ukraine and that US support for the plan will be finalized in the coming days.

    • New York Times ☛ Europe Aims to Show It Is Ready to Secure Postwar Ukraine

      President Emmanuel Macron of France hosted a meeting of leaders to review options for protecting any peace with Russia.

    • New York Times ☛ 2 Dead as Russia Strikes Danish Demining Group, Ukraine Official Says

      The Danish Refugee Council said that one of its teams had been affected by a missile attack and that it was investigating.

    • France24 ☛ Macron says 26 countries offer to participate in Ukraine post-war security

      Twenty-six countries have signed up to contribute to Ukraine's security after any ceasefire or peace deal with Russia, French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday. "We have today 26 countries who have formally committed -- some others have not yet taken a position -- to deploy as a 'reassurance force' troops in Ukraine, or be present on the ground, in the sea, or in the air," Macron told reporters at a joint press conference with Volodymyr Zelensky following a meeting of allies in Paris.

    • France24 ☛ Europe’s security impacts the US: EU holding on to hope Convicted Felon won’t ‘sell Ukraine down the river’

      French President Emmanuel Macron has announced the twenty-six countries who have signed up to contribute to Ukraine's security after any ceasefire or peace deal with Russia. Meanwhile, Macron assures that the United States have been clear on their will to take part in the security guarantees offered to Ukraine. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective Delano D'Souza welcomes John Lough, Associate Fellow for the Russia and Eurasia Program at Chatham House.

    • France24 ☛ 26 nations pledge post-war security support for Ukraine, Macron says

      French President Emmanuel Macron announced that 26 countries have pledged post-war military support to Ukraine after any ceasefire deal with Russia. Macron said the planned deployments aim to ensure security, not provoke conflict. With US backing expected to be finalised soon, Ukraine's President Zelensky called the move a major step forward.

    • New York Times ☛ Russia Wants ‘Security Guarantees’ Too. Here’s What They Look Like.

      The Kremlin’s vision of national security comes at the expense of Ukrainian sovereignty, underlining the challenges of striking a peace deal.

    • Meduza ☛ Russia’s Belgorod region bans posting information about Ukrainian attacks from unofficial sources — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘Touching stories’: Russians use AI tool to generate ‘farewell videos’ featuring soldiers killed in the war with Ukraine — Meduza

    • New York Times ☛ Macron Said That 26 Countries Would Secure Ukraine

      The pledges were made in Paris at a summit designed to show that Europe is ready to uphold any future peace deal for Ukraine.

    • Security Week ☛ US Offers $10 Million for Three Russian Energy Firm Hackers

      Marat Tyukov, Mikhail Gavrilov, and Pavel Akulov targeted US critical infrastructure and over 500 energy companies in 135 countries.

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ US offers $10M reward for snitching on trio of Russians that hacked critical infrastructure

      The U.S. Department of State offered a $10 million bounty via the Rewards for Justice program for information related to a trio of Russian hackers.

    • Meduza ☛ Sberbank CEO says Russian economy has hit ‘technical stagnation’ and warns of recession risk — Meduza

    • Atlantic Council ☛ The China-Russia natural gas deal is a distraction from LNG sanctions evasion

      The announcement of a China-Russia natural gas pipeline deal is attention-grabbing geopolitical theater. The United States should instead be focused on curbing Russia's evasion of LNG sanctions.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Europe’s best security guarantee against Russia is the Ukrainian army

      With Europe militarily unprepared and deeply reluctant to confront the Kremlin, a strong Ukraine currently looks to be by far the most realistic deterrent against further Russian aggression, write Elena Davlikanova and Yevhenii Malik.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Twenty-six European countries have committed to help defend Ukraine after the war. What’s next?

      Our experts share their perspectives on what the commitments that members of the Coalition made on Thursday will mean for Ukraine’s security.

    • Latvia ☛ Public media charity drive raises EUR 240 thousand for Ukraine

      The Latvian Public Service Media (LSM) in cooperation with "Ziedot.lv" organised a charity campaign "In thoughts and deeds together with Ukraine!" to deliver Latvian-made goods - night vision devices, clothing, food and other necessary resources - to Ukrainian soldiers at the frontline.

    • European Commission ☛ Statement by President von der Leyen following the meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in Paris

      Today I was in Paris, where we just had the meeting of the Coalition of the Willing.

    • Meduza ☛ Zelensky rejects Putin’s Moscow invitation: ‘If you want no meeting, invite me there’ — Meduza

    • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea’s Kim reaffirms full support for Russia, discusses partnership with Putin

      He held a meeting with the Russian President on the sidelines of China’s celebrations.

    • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea wipes off traces of Kim Jong Un after Beijing meeting with Putin

      Such security measures have reportedly been standard protocol since the era of Mr Kim's predecessor.

    • RFERL ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man Pressures Europe On Russian Oil Purchases As Coalition Looks To Finalize Ukraine 'Reassurance Force'

      US President The Insurrectionist appeared to take a combative tone with Kyiv’s key European supporters, telling them in a video call that they should put more financial pressure on Russia and its main ally, China, to force the Kremlin to end its war on Ukraine, a White House official said.

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Open mic caught Xi, Putin discussing organ transplants, immortality

      Chinese President Pooh-tin Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin discussed life-prolonging organ transplants and immortality as they chatted before Beijing’s massive military parade this week, in comments picked up by state media microphones.

    • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Chinese President Pooh-tin holds talks with North Korean leader Kim in Beijing

      Chinese President Pooh-tin Jinping and Kim Jong Un met for talks in Beijing on Thursday, state media reported, while the North Korean leader is in China on a rare foreign visit. Kim and Russia’s Vladimir Putin flanked Pooh-tin at a massive parade of Chinese military might on Wednesday in Beijing, where underwater drones, massive missiles […]

    • France24 ☛ Boots on the ground to stop Putin? 26 states commit to Ukraine's post-war security

      Security guarantees for Ukraine have been agreed at the Paris meeting of the Coalition of the Willing to help Ukraine in its existential fight against Vladimir Putin's Russia.

    • Atlantic Council ☛ Ukrainian bombing campaign turns Russia’s sheer size into a weakness

      For centuries, Russia’s sheer size has been its greatest asset. Ukraine now intends to transform this vastness into a weakness with a long-range bombing campaign targeting Putin's economically vital but vulnerable energy industry, writes David Kirichenko.

    • Meduza ☛ Russian lawmaker says new mandatory messenger app will not use AI to report users to authorities — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘We’re all in shock’: U.S. police launch murder investigation after Russian man found ‘lying in a pool of blood’ in tent at Burning Man — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ ‘I’ve never seen such an extensive film of pollution’: New oil spill dumps over 10 tons of petroleum in the Black Sea, killing birds and coating Russian beaches — Meduza

    • Meduza ☛ Russia touts prosthetics breakthrough — fueled by its own war casualties — Meduza

    • France24 ☛ Did Pooh-tin Jinping snub Narendra Modimir during his visit to China?

      In the wake of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation summit, attended by more than 20 world leaders earlier this week, some internet users are claiming that Indian prime minister Narendra Modimir was snubbed by Chinese President Pooh-tin Jinping during the event. But videos alleging to portray Pooh-tin refusing to shake Modi's hand were taken out of context in a bid to mislead viewers, as France 24's Charlotte Hughes explains.

    • The Straits Times ☛ As Convicted Felon cools US-India ties, Modimir warms to China and Russia

      The US has stumbled in its effort to draw India into its diplomatic orbit.

• Environment

  • The Straits Times ☛ Third quake strikes south-eastern Afghanistan, after series that killed over 2,200 people

    A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck the region on Sept 4.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • MIT Technology Review ☛ How Convicted Felon is helping China extend its massive lead in clean energy

      On a spring day in 1954, Bell Labs researchers showed off the first practical solar panels at a press conference in Murray Hill, New Jersey, using sunlight to spin a toy Ferris wheel before a stunned crowd. The solar future looked bright.

• Finance

  • Breach Media ☛ Canada’s hidden tax crisis is stripping $15 billion from the economy every year

    For decades, Liberal and Conservative governments alike have incentivized corporations and wealthy individuals to shift profits overseas.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Straits Times ☛ Thai royal officials reject Parliament dissolution bid: Acting PM [Ed: Did they ask their highness Chan and Zuck for permission? iophk: Yes, they must ask permission for each and every post before it can be seen by the public, apparently he cannot afford his own web site any more.]

    He made the announcement on his Facebook (Farcebook) page.

  • Pro Publica ☛ Three Trump Cabinet Members Have Multiple Primary-Residence Mortgages

    The Trump administration has vowed to go after anyone who got lower mortgage rates by claiming more than one primary residence on their loan papers.

    President Donald Trump has used it as a justification to target political foes, including a governor on the Federal Reserve Board, a Democratic U.S. senator and a state attorney general.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • IP Kat ☛ 2025-08-30 [Older] Peddlageddon: Attempts to take down videos backfire with unjustified threats

  • The Straits Times ☛ Nepal to block some social control media including Facebook

    Nepal had mandated registration for social control media platforms in a bid to crackdown on misuse.

  • Meduza ☛ Russian authorities create AI tool to censor books for ‘drug propaganda’ — Meduza

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • Press Gazette ☛ From Washington Post to Manchester’s Mill Media for new investigations editor

    Former Washington Post managing editor Cameron Barr has joined Mill Media.

  • Meduza ☛ Support independent journalism like this! Meduza has won more Redkollegia awards than any other Russian-language media outlet. Here’s a selection of our winning reporting. — Meduza

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • U.S. House passes Uyghur Policy Act supporting victims of persecution by China

    Bill directing State Department to coordinate Uyghur human rights policy now heads to the Senate.

  • Atlantic Council ☛ In Beijing and Paris, a tale of two global futures

    Recent gatherings in China and France revealed that competing international orders are crystallizing. What part will the United States play?

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Same Evidence, Different Label: “Reference Recycling” in IPR Estoppel

    The Federal Circuit is now considering a rehearing petition challenging the Federal Circuit's recent decision in Ingenico Inc. v. IOENGINE, LLC, 136 F.4th 1354 (Fed. Cir. 2025), which narrowed the scope of Inter Partes Review (IPR) estoppel under 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2).

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ POPA Challenges Convicted Felon’s Union Busting “National Security” Designation for Patent Examiners

    The Patent Office Professional Association (POPA) - the patent monopoly examiner union - filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on September 2, 2025, challenging Hell Toupée's executive order that stripped collective bargaining rights from USPTO patent monopoly examiners by designating them as "national security" workers. The lawsuit (which also includes the National Weather Service Employees Organization as a plaintiff) presents a direct constitutional challenge to what the unions characterize as presidential retaliation against federal employee organizations that have opposed Convicted Felon administration policies through grievance proceedings and public advocacy.

• Trademarks

  • TTAB Blog ☛ TTABlog Test: Are Clothing and Perfume Related Under Section 2(d)?

    The USPTO refused to register the mark MUSH MUSH in the design form shown below, for perfume and cologne, finding confusion likely with the registered mark MUSH-MUSH for various items of clothing. Unsurprisingly, the Board found the marks to be "extremely similar," but what about the goods? Applicant argued that its goods are "distinctly different" having "a clear distinction in the nature, use, and function of the goods." How do you think this came out? [I'll bet everyone will get this right.] In re Esscenza Fragrances Corp., Serial No. 98086647 (August 27, 2025) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Wendy B. Cohen).

  • IP Kat ☛ 2025-08-30 [Older] [Guest post] Retromark Volume XVI: the last six months in trade marks

  • New York Times ☛ Vetements Takes Its Trademark Fight to U.S. Supreme Court

    Why does Veuve Clicquot get a U.S. trademark while Vetements — home of the packing-tape minidress, no less! — does not? Its lawyers are asking the Supreme Court.

• Copyrights

  • Creative Commons ☛ What We Heard: Insights from the CC Global Community

    Community © 2022 by Dunk is licensed under CC BY 2.0 As we’ve been talking about on the blog, we are intentionally seeking ways to reengage with the global community, which will likely entail making changes to the current CC Global Network (CCGN). We recently surveyed the CC global community to help inform next steps.