Leftovers

• Science

  • Federal News Network ☛ Artemis II sails through trip around the moon after surpassing Apollo 13’s distance record

    The Artemis II astronauts are sailing through their record-breaking trip around the moon that already is providing unprecedented views of the far side. Monday’s lunar journey comes after the three Americans and one Canadian broke Apollo 13’s distance record, the farthest that humans have ever traveled from Earth. More than halfway through the six-hour flyby, Artemis II lost contact with Mission Control as the capsule passed behind the moon without stopping. The capsule emerged 40 minutes later. Working in pairs, the astronauts are taking turns capturing the magnificent lunar scenes with cameras. Coming up next: a total solar eclipse. They’ll don special glasses to view the solar corona.

  • New York Times ☛ Artemis II Astronauts Name Moon Crater After Carroll, Reid Wiseman’s Late Wife

    The crew shared an emotional moment with mission control and the family of Reid Wiseman, whose wife, Carroll, died in 2020, on the ground in Houston.

  • Science Alert ☛ It's Official: Artemis II Has Carried Humans Farther From Earth Than Ever Before

    A monumental new record.

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ US lawmakers aim to ban export of DUV chipmaking and etching tools to leading firms in China — bipartisan proposal would ban lithography equipment for Huawei, SMIC, and others

    Bipartisan group of U.S. senators propose to impose blanket ban on export of advanced DUV lithography and etching tools to Chinese companies known to have worked with China's military, such as CXMT, Huawei, SMIC, and YMTC.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • The Straits Times ☛ Sabah bans export and import of some local freshwater fish, including koi, after virus outbreak

    Mr Jamawi said such actions violated biosecurity principles and caused infections among native species.

  • Science Alert ☛ The New Gut Health Obsession Comes With a Catch, Experts Warn

    Is 'fibermaxxing' actually healthy?

  • Science Alert ☛ What Would Living on The Moon Really Do to The Human Body?

    An exciting new era of deep-space exploration is opening up.

  • Science Alert ☛ Droughts Are The Ideal Breeding Ground For Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, Study Warns

    Something is stirring in the soil.

  • Science Alert ☛ Exercise Can Protect Your Joints – Here's What You Should Try

    It's not just about maintaining muscle mass.

  • Science Alert ☛ Sticking to The Same Bedtime Each Night Could Help Lower Heart Health Risk

    Put down the phone.

  • New Yorker ☛ Why Are People Injecting Themselves with Peptides?

    Health and wellness influencers are hawking unapproved treatments on the gray market. The future of the F.D.A.—and the health of consumers—is at stake.

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man’s USAID Overhaul Sent Millions More Dollars to Big U.S.-Based Contractors

    While organizations in the developing world were nearly shut out, the big aid agencies DOGE had called wasteful received huge infusions of cash, a new analysis found.

• Proprietary

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Futurism ☛ Startup Approved to Let Hey Hi (AI) System Prescribe Psychiatric Medication

      What could possibly go wrong?

    • Futurism ☛ Inside Sources Say Scam Altman Is a Sociopath

      "He's unbelievably persuasive. Like, Jedi mind tricks."

    • Futurism ☛ Scam Altman Watches Awkwardly As He’s Shown Bizarre Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot Issue: “Uh, Maybe, Uhhh…”

      Explain this one, Sam.

    • Futurism ☛ Why Is the New York Times Laundering the Reputation of a Sleazy Hey Hi (AI) Startup That’s Selling GLP-1s via a Dishonest Dumpster Fire of Fake Doctors, Phony Before-and-After Pictures, and Other Glaring Red Flags?

      "It's just an automated GLP-1 prescription mill."

    • Tom's Hardware ☛ 80 different Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Copilot products have been mapped out by expert, but there may be more than 100 — 'What happens when you name everything Copilot,' an Hey Hi (AI) consultant mapped out the myriad products

      An Hey Hi (AI) aficionado has put together a chart of all the Copilot products they could find. At the latest count there are 80.

    • Security Week ☛ Google DeepMind Researchers Map Web Attacks Against Hey Hi (AI) Agents

      A vulnerability named ‘AI Agent Traps’ allows attackers to manipulate, deceive, and exploit visiting agents via malicious web content.

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• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • SANS ☛ How often are redirects used in phishing in 2026?, (Mon, Apr 6th)

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Site36 ☛ Use of facial recognition for suspect identification rises sharply among German police

      Criminal investigation departments used a facial recognition system of the BKA more than twice as often as in the previous year. The system is generating an increasing number of so-called hits while simultaneously creating a bias against asylum seekers. German authorities also used the police facial recognition system GES significantly more often again last year.

  • Confidentiality

    • Bruce Schneier ☛ New Mexico’s Meta Ruling and Encryption

      Mike Masnick points out that the recent New Mexico court ruling against Meta has some bad implications for end-to-end encryption, and security in general: [...]

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea says ‘credible intelligence’ indicates North Korean leader’s daughter is successor

    It cited a recent public display of her driving a tank that was likely intended to dispel any doubts.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea distancing itself from Iran to leave door open for US talks, Seoul says

    The South Korean National Intelligence Service said North Korea is carefully managing its public messaging.

  • Mexico News Daily ☛ Authorities arrest leaders of ‘Cuban-American Mafia’ in Cancún

    The federal government's Security Cabinet said that the arrest of "Milo" Valdez and Joseline García dealt "a direct blow to the operational capacity of the criminal group" and resulted from "international cooperation mechanisms based on respect for sovereignty."

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Taiwan opposition leader makes rare visit to China

    Taiwan’s main opposition leader will travel to China on Tuesday for a rare visit aimed at building cross-strait “peace”, but the government warns Beijing will seek to stop US arms sales to the democratic island.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Taiwan opposition chief leaves for China 'peace' mission, minister details warship deployments

    Taiwan opposition leader Cheng Li-wun left for China on Tuesday for a \"peace\" mission and a potential meeting with President Pooh-tin Jinping, as a senior Taiwanese minister detailed the number of Chinese warships currently deployed around the island.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China military aircraft flying near Taiwan falls by half in March

    No aircraft from the mainland were spotted for 11 days in March, following five such days in February.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China returns as S-E Asia’s preferred superpower as fears grow over Convicted Felon’s policies: ISEAS survey

    The border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand was in fourth place at 40.5 per cent.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China targets Taiwan’s chip prowess to evade global ‘containment’, Taipei says

    Taiwan also faces ongoing Chinese military pressure.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea says Pyongyang's response to drone apology marks progress in easing tensions

    South Korea's Unification Ministry said on Tuesday that North Korea's rare conciliatory response to President Lee Jae Myung’s expression of regret over drone incursions marked "meaningful progress" toward easing military tensions.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea says South Korea’s Lee is ‘wise’ for expressing regret about drones

    At least two incidents of drone incursions across the border have occurred.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Ex-South Korea president Yoon faces 10-year jail term as prosecutors press appeal

    Yoon was sentenced to five years in prison after he was found guilty on four of five charges.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea envoy to visit Kazakhstan, Oman and Saudi Arabia to secure oil supplies

    South Korea relied on the Hormuz route for about 61 per cent of its crude oil.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea working on carbon-fibre ICBM for multi-warhead delivery, Seoul says

    This would extend the missiles' range and allow for delivery of heavier and possibly multiple warheads.

  • New York Times ☛ At Least 4 Killed in Iranian Strike in Haifa, Israeli Officials Say

    Rescue workers recovered four bodies from a residential building in the port city of Haifa after air defenses failed to intercept an Iranian strike, Israeli officials said.

  • New York Times ☛ Iranians Condemn Strike on a Top University

    Government officials and anti-government activists alike denounced the attacks on the Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, the latest Iranian center for higher education to be targeted.

  • CS Monitor ☛ If US bombs Iranian infrastructure, could it be a war crime? ‘Not at all,’ Convicted Felon says.

    Iran ceasefire talks continue as Hell Toupée’s deadline looms, and questions mount over whether strikes on infrastructure could be war crimes.

  • France24 ☛ Israeli strike kills 10 at Gaza school shelter, WHO halts evacuations after aid worker death

    An Israeli airstrike killed at least 10 people and wounded several others near a school sheltering displaced Palestinians on Monday, health officials said, as violence strains a fragile US-backed Gaza ceasefire. The World Health Organisation announced it was suspending evacuations from Gaza after a worker contracted to help them was killed.

  • Site36 ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man plans anti-Antifa summit, may push for EU terror listing – with right-wing Fidesz and AfD warming up

    The Forrest Dump administration is planning an international summit to counter “Antifa” and other left-wing groups, Reuters reported, citing three sources. The conference, set for June or July, will bring together government officials to discuss strategies. The Forrest Dump administration is planning an international summit to combat “Antifa” and other left-wing groups.

  • France24 ☛ 'Vladimir Putin absolutely nervous' about Hungary's election, expert says

    Speaking with FRANCE 24's Mark Owen, Dr Marc Roscoe Loustau, Affiliated Fellow at the Central European University, says that "next to Viktor Orban, the person who stands to lose the most in case of a Fidesz party loss is Vladimir Putin". According to press reports quoting intelligence officials, the powerful explosives found near a Serbian gas pipeline to Hungary may be part of a "false flag" operation to influence the upcoming election.

  • New York Times ☛ Vance to Visit Hungary to Boost Orban Before Election

    A scheduled visit by the American vice president, JD Vance, makes clear that Russia is not the only country invested in a victory for Hungary’s leader, Viktor Orban.

  • France24 ☛ JD Vance backs Viktor Orban ahead of high-stakes Hungary parliamentary elections

    US Vice President JD Vance flew to Hungary on Monday to back nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban ahead of a closely contested parliamentary election. Vance said talks would cover bilateral ties, Europe and Ukraine. He is due to meet Orban and deliver a speech highlighting US-Hungary relations, his office said.

  • Site36 ☛ New UN report documents systematic crimes against migrants in Libya – but EU Commission keeps own findings secret

    A new UN report from Libya describes arbitrary detention, abduction, sexual violence against women, men and children, and the forcible interception of boats in the Mediterranean. The EU Commission appears largely indifferent.

  • Site36 ☛ Little-noticed new law now requires German men under 45 to get military clearance before going abroad

    Since January 2026, men up to the age of 45 have been required to seek permission from the Bundeswehr before leaving Germany for more than three months – regardless of any conscription status or military contact. A nearly unnoticed amendment to the Military Service Act makes it possible.

  • Federal News Network ☛ Service member suicide rates dropped by 11% in 2024, Pentagon finds

    For the first time, the report also broke down suicide numbers by military occupation.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Lil Nas X Says He Checked Himself Into a Mental Health Facility After His Arrest on Felony Assault Charges

    Lil Nas X hopes to have his felony assault charges dismissed after a judge granted him entry into a mental health diversion program. On Monday, rapper Lil Nas X, whose legal name is Montero Hill, appeared in Los Angeles court.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • JURIST ☛ Belarus parliament criminalizes LGBTQ+ ‘propaganda,’ mirroring Russia

      The Belarus parliament passed a bill on Thursday criminalizing “propaganda” for LGBTQA+ relationships, sex change, child-free lifestyles, and pedophilia, with punishment including fines, community service, or 15 days detention. Parliament drafted the bill in February 2024. The bill will now go to President Lukashenko, who is expected to sign it.

    • New York Times ☛ Why Trees Are Key to Russia’s Spring Offensive in Ukraine

      In the age of drone warfare, Russia is expected to exploit the return of vegetation to help conceal its troops.

    • CS Monitor ☛ In Hungary’s elections, the war in Ukraine looms large

      Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is turning to a familiar boogeyman on the campaign trail: the war in Ukraine, and the danger he claims it poses.

    • RFERL ☛ Hungary's Orban Visits Pipeline As Serbia Pushes Back On Claims Blaming Ukraine For Sabotage

      Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban traveled to the TurkStream gas pipeline on the Hungarian-Serbian border on April 6, inspecting infrastructure that his government says was the target of a foiled sabotage attempt -- six days before parliamentary elections that polls suggest he may lose.

    • RFERL ☛ Deadly Strike Hits Odesa; Ukraine Says It Struck Russian Missile Carrier

      At least three people, including a two-year-old, were killed in an overnight Russian drone strike on the southern Ukrainian port of Odesa, Ukraine said on April 6. On the same day, Kyiv also said it had hit a Russian missile carrier in an attack on the port of Novorossiisk.

    • France24 ☛ Russia says 'highly likely' that Ukraine planted explosives near gas pipeline

      ​The Kremlin said on Monday that while there was not yet conclusive evidence it was highly likely that proof would be found showing Ukraine had planted explosives found near a gas ​pipeline ‌in Serbia which carries Russian gas to ⁠Hungary.

    • LRT ☛ Dreams on wheels: How used Western cars flooded Lithuania’s post-Soviet market

      American-style excess or practical German engineering? Three decades ago, many Lithuanians faced that choice as the country emerged from Soviet rule and Western cars began replacing scarce, outdated domestic models.

• Environment

  • The Straits Times ☛ Untimely cold snap to grip South Korea with heavy rain forecast

    Morning temperatures in major cities remained below 10 deg C as at 8am on April 7.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Futurism ☛ The Entire State of Maine Is Poised to Ban New Data Centers

      "I think Maine is the canary in the coal mine."

    • New York Times ☛ China Started Preparing for an Energy Crisis Long Before the Iran War

      Long concerned about geopolitical crises, China redoubled efforts to secure energy security when Hell Toupée started raising the stakes in his first term.

    • The Straits Times ☛ This is not China’s war, but Beijing started preparing for it years ago

      Beijing boosted energy security as US President The Insurrectionist raised the stakes.

    • The Straits Times ☛ S. Korea eyes Moon landing in 2030

      It hopes to complete a civilian-led rover project by 2030.

• Finance

  • New York Times ☛ These Wall Street Investors Are Starting to Panic

    The cockroaches are starting to emerge.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Straits Times ☛ Vietnam’s top leader To Lam consolidates power, gets China-style mandate

    Vietnam’s lawmakers elected Mr Lam as the country’s state president for the next five years.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Snap polls for Malaysia in 2026 unlikely as PM Anwar bets on riding out ‘corporate mafia’ storm

    The scandal involves members of Anwar Ibrahim's inner circle and top government officials.

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Explainer: Hong Kong’s national security crackdown – month 69

    Hong Kong introduced new national security rules in March that empower police to demand that national security suspects surrender passwords to their devices. Meanwhile, an independent bookshop owner and his employees were arrested for allegedly selling seditious books.

• Civil Rights / Policing / Accessibility

  • Digital Music News ☛ Howard Stern Sued by Former Staffer for Creating ‘Hostile Work Environment’

    Former Howard Stern executive assistant Leslie Kuhn is suing the radio host and his wife over allegations of a hostile work environment.

  • JURIST ☛ Ghana dispatch: UN General Assembly declaration of transatlantic slave trade as crime against humanity demanding reparations

    A groundbreaking resolution passed by the United Nations General Assembly has classified the transatlantic slave trade as the gravest crime against humanity, sparking renewed global dialogue on reparations and the lasting consequences of historical slavery.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Internet Society ☛ Community Snapshot—March

    Our global chapters work to keep the Internet a force for good. This brief overview covers just some of their activities in March.

  • New York Times ☛ Forget the Hey Hi (AI) Apocalypse. Memes Have Already Nuked Our Culture.

    From our jokes and slang to the White House’s policy messaging, internet “brain rot” has escaped our phones to take over … well, everything.

  • APNIC ☛ APNIC Policy 101: How policy shapes operations — and how Policy Fellows are making participation easier

    Internet number resource policy determines how IPv4, IPv6, and ASN resources are managed and distributed across the Asia Pacific region. Policy can sometimes seem abstract or administrative, but has real consequences.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ How the Federal Circuit Is Rebuilding Inventorship Law After the AIA

    The AIA repealed § 102(f) but inventorship invalidity endures. Tracing the defense from 1790 through Fortress Iron and AI.

  • Unified Patents ☛ Another Wilus Wi-Fi patent monopoly challenge instituted

    On March 10, 2026, five weeks after Unified filed an ex parte reexamination, the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) granted Unified’s request, finding substantial new questions of patentability on the challenged claims of U.S. Patent 11,284,475, owned by Wilus Institute of Standards & Technology, Inc., an entity of Good Day to Invent, Inc.

  • Software Patents

    • Unified Patents ☛ Wyoming Technology vehicle patent monopoly campaign - invalidity charts coming soon [Ed: OIN and GNOME helped this patent troll "endorse" such patents]

      The team at Unified IP Services is using Pearl to identify and chart prior art against claim 33 of U.S. Patent 7,482,916, owned by Wyoming Technology Licensing, LLC, an NPE and entity of Leigh M. Rothschild.

• Copyrights

  • Digital Music News ☛ Music Publishers Move to Shut Down X’s ‘Retaliatory Antitrust Suit,’ Say the ‘Complaint Should Be Dismissed in Its Entirety’

    Music publishers have moved to shut down X’s massive antitrust suit, pointing to the alleged absence of a related injury and maintaining that the social platform’s complaint “suffers from numerous additional fatal flaws” to boot.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Nvidia's own DLSS 5 announcement video gets taken down by YouTube in Italy due to a copyright monopoly strike — local TV channel sent a copyright monopoly strike to every YouTube video for using the trailer it used for its own broadcast

    YouTube's Hey Hi (AI) moderator acted on an errant DMCA takedown, affecting nearly every video that contained clips of the DLSS 5 trailer, including Nvidia's own YouTube video.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Multiple Tracks Officially Removed from Kanye West’s ‘Bully’; Album Release Mired in Metadata Problems, Copyright Claims, and Glitches

    Kanye West’s new album release has been riddled with problems, from uncleared samples to metadata issues leading to greyed-out tracks. Sounds like typical Ye — though Gamma/Vydia is also getting dragged into this distribution quagmire.

  • Digital Music News ☛ Ugly Epidemic Sound v. Meta Copyright Battle Rages on — Dueling Summary Judgment Pushes Take Center Stage as Meta Moves to Invoke ‘Cox v. Sony’

    Nearly four years later, the ugly Epidemic Sound v. Meta copyright monopoly infringement lawsuit still hasn’t resolved. Now, both sides are pushing for summary judgment, and the Facebook (Farcebook) parent is looking to explore the impact of the Supreme Court’s Cox v. Sony decision.