Links 26/01/2025: Fentanylware (TikTok) Turns to Hype/Pyramid Scheme, Insurers Failed to Comply With Federal Law
Contents
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Leftovers
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Hardware
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CNX Software ☛ Intel N50 fanless open-frame panel PCs features 7” and 10” PCAP touch display, HDMI 2.0a, RS-485/232
BCM Advanced Research has recently introduced two new fanless open-frame panel PCs powered by an defective chip maker Intel Processor N50 CPU – the OFT07W-ADLN (7-inch) and OFT10W-ADLN (10-inch) – which are low-cost all-in-one embedded computers designed for tablet-like usability. Both modules feature 8GB LPDDR5 memory, 64GB eMMC storage, and an M.2 E-key slot for Wi-Fi/Bluetooth connectivity.
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Ruben Schade ☛ I wish partner graphics cards got the memo
A well-known graphics card company announced their new kit at CES this year. I’m not the target market for this silicon; I plan to buy AMD next round for their open-source driver support, and don’t have a burning need to draw 575 watts from a PSU.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Chinese semiconductor production equipment makers set sales records
Sales of China-based makers of chipmaking tools AMEC, Naura, and ACM Research expect record sales in 2024 amid curbs for Western companies to supply to China.
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Hackaday ☛ Small Print Bed? No Problem!
One of the major limitations of 3D printers is the size of the printable area. The robotic arm holding the printer head can only print where it can reach, after all. Some methods of reducing this constraint have been tried before, largely focusing on either larger printers or printer heads that are mobile in some way. Another approach to increasing the size of prints beyond the confined space typical of most consumer-grade 3D printers is to create some sort of joinery into the prints themselves so that larger things can be created. [Cal Bryant] is developing this jigsaw-based method which has allowed him to produce some truly massive prints.
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Hackaday ☛ A Modem As A Cassette Interface
At least some in the audience will at some time in the distant past have loaded or saved a program on cassette, with an 8-bit home computer. The machine would encode binary as a series of tones which could be recorded to the tape and then later retrieved. If you consider the last sentence you’ll quickly realize that it’s not too far away from what a modem does, so can a modem record to cassette and decode it back afterwards? [Jesse T] set out to give it a try, and as it turns out, yes you can.
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CNX Software ☛ WL-AC1000 AP controller can manage large fleets of wireless routers and access points
Wallys Tech WL-AC1000 is an access point (AP) controller designed to manage and optimize the operation of multiple access points (APs) within large-scale wireless networks that you may find in factories, airports, hotels, train stations, etc… The WL-AC1000 is powered by a quad-core Arm processor coupled with 1GB RAM, 8MB NOR flash, and 256MB NAND flash. It is equipped with four GbE ports and one 2.5GbE port to connect the access points through switches. It’s available as a desktop version and a 1U enclosure to mount in a rack.
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CNX Software ☛ Waveshare ESL color e-paper displays support Bluetooth & NFC, offer 5-year battery life, cloud management
Waveshare recently launched a series of dot matrix ESL color e-paper displays with Bluetooth and NFC connectivity designed for various IoT, retail, industrial, and similar applications. These Electronic Shelf Label (ESL) displays can be updated through a wireless base station that enables device management using Waveshare’s cloud platform.
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CNX Software ☛ Intel floats Modular PC design proposal for repairable laptops and mini PCs
Intel has published an article proposing a modular PC design that would improve the repairability/right-to-repair of laptops and mini PCs and reduce e-waste through the replacement of motherboard, display, and M.2 or FPC add-on modules for the user-facing ports. Making repairable, modular electronic devices is not a new idea, and the Framework laptops are probably the best-known option now, but they do come at a premium. But most projects are limited success, for instance, Project Ara modular smartphone from Surveillance Giant Google eventually died off. We’ve also covered modular or open-source hardware solutions from smaller companies over the years such as Firefly Station P3D modular Arm mini PC with swappable cards, or Olimex Teres-I DIY and open-source hardware laptop.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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Ruben Schade ☛ Getting in 10,000 Steps
As of next week, Clara and I would have taken 10,000 steps a day, every day, for a year. Yay! Barring extenuating circumstances like severe illness or late night emergency server fixes, we’ve pulled ourselves off the couch and computer chair, and had brisk walks when the Walk of Life didn’t afford it to us during the day.
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ACLU ☛ The High Costs of Abortion Bans
To protect storytellers’ identities, some names have been changed.
Sixteen states currently have total abortion bans or ban abortion before most people recognize they’re pregnant. That’s more than a quarter of our country where individuals are denied the right to make decisions about their bodies.
At the ACLU, we know that abortion is health care. We stand with the people fighting to preserve, expand and restore our rights to this basic health care. Since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, voters have continued to turn out in favor of protecting abortion access. During the 2024 election, seven states, including several that supported The Insurrectionist, voted to secure abortion access. These wins indicate just how important reproductive freedom remains to people across the country — and across party lines.
Today, as President Convicted Felon once again returns to office, anti-abortion politicians are pushing him to ignore the will of the people and misuse the Comstock Act, an antiquated law from 1873, to attempt to ban abortion nationwide, even in states where it is protected today. These extremists also want to ban medication abortion and to prosecute people who help those who live in states with abortion bans find care. And soon we will learn whether the Convicted Felon Administration intends to disregard the longstanding protections of the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act — EMTALA — and allow anti-abortion state lawmakers to ban emergency, including life-saving, abortion care altogether.
The ACLU will not stop fighting for the ability of every individual to access abortion care, no matter where they live. Access to abortion is not just about politics. It’s about people. Ahead of the 2024 election, we spoke with three individuals impacted by abortion bans in Wisconsin, Alabama and Texas.
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The Straits Times ☛ Surviving 3 days in Xi’an, one of China’s most polluted cities and home to a giant air purifier
The writer regretted not wearing a mask, as her lungs felt as though they were burning.
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Science Alert ☛ The World's 'Happiest' Countries Harbor a Dark Side, Study Reveals
What happens when you're miserable?
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Science Alert ☛ More Twins Are Being Born Even as Birth Rates Are Falling. Here's Why.
It's higher than ever before.
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Science Alert ☛ Electrolyte Drinks Can Make Things Worse When You're Sick. Here's Why.
Good to know!
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University of Michigan ☛ UMich ‘Monitoring the Future Survey’ finds continual decline in drug usage in adolescents
Correction 1/24: This article has been updated to reflect that rates of smoking in adolescents have been declining for the past three decades. Based on this data, today’s current low rates are expected and unsurprising.
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Five years after Wuhan lockdown, China still ‘struggling to recover’
The first COVID-19 lockdown ushered in three years of physical restrictions, propaganda and censorship.
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Proprietary
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Social Control Media
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The Straits Times ☛ Hong Kong tourist killed in Japan after being hit by train while taking photos
She entered an area out of bounds to the public to take photos of the ocean in Otaru, Hokkaido.
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New York Times ☛ Quantum Fentanylware (TikTok) + Memecoin Mania + Chris Hayes on the Attention Wars
“We are starting to see how Silicon Valley wants to do business during the Convicted Felon administration.”
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New York Times ☛ TikTok Ban and Convicted Felon Executive Order Lead to Tech Company Dilemma
The federal law banning Fentanylware (TikTok) has revealed a major schism among American tech companies: Some are willing to flout the law — and some, including Fashion Company Apple and Google, are not.
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France24 ☛ Why does The Insurrectionist see China as a threat on AI, but not on TikTok?
“This is money that normally would have gone to China,” Convicted Felon proclaimed on Tuesday while unveiling Stargate, an artificial intelligence project that will cost $500 billion, according to its participants OpenAI, Softbank, Oracle and MGX. It was another indication that keeping ahead of Beijing on Hey Hi (AI) is a priority of the Convicted Felon administration. But in his bid to save TikTok, the video app that was briefly banned in the US under a law that came into effect the day before Convicted Felon entered office, the president appears much more relaxed about China.
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Silicon Angle ☛ Report: ByteDance sets aside about $20B for Hey Hi (AI) spending this year
TikTok’s parent company ByteDance Ltd. has set aside 150 billion yuan ($20.64 billion) for its capital expenditure this year, and the bulk of that money will be spent on boosting its artificial intelligence capabilities, Reuters reported today.
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Pseudo-Open Source
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Openwashing
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Unicorn Media ☛ All Things Open AI’s Early Bird Pricing Ends January 31 [Ed: Hey Hi (AI) hype and nonsense]
Those wanting to attend this year's inaugural run for All Things Open Hey Hi (AI) only have a week to take advantage of $99 Early Bird pricing for day one.
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Security
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Integrity/Availability/Authenticity
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Federal News Network ☛ ‘Still work to be done’ on security clearance reform efforts
The first Convicted Felon administration started "Trusted Workforce 2.0." After years of progress and some major challenges, where does security clearance reform go next?
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Privacy/Surveillance
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog received 2 complaints about journalist harassment last year
Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog received two complaints last year about journalists who were harassed, with one case transferred to the police for follow up.
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TechRadar ☛ Microsoft is changing the way logins work: here’s what that means for you
Microsoft has (very quietly) announced that it will be changing the way account sign-ins work in February – and the new system could pose a significant security risk for some users. If you sign into your Microsoft account to check your emails in Outlook or access your OneDrive on a public computer (or, say, a friend or colleague’s device) you’ll no longer be automatically signed out afterwards, even if you close the browser entirely.
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Defence/Aggression
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Pro Publica ☛ Madison, Nashville School Shooters Appeared to Cross Paths Online
This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Wisconsin Watch. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published.
Moments before 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow opened fire inside her Madison, Wisconsin, school, killing two people and herself last month, a social media account believed to be hers posted a photograph on X showing someone sitting in a bathroom stall and flashing a hand gesture that has become a symbol for white supremacy.
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The Straits Times ☛ China says Philippines sent provisions to warship at disputed atoll
China and the Philippines have traded barbs for months over the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.
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The Straits Times ☛ Philippines suspends South China Sea survey after China’s ‘harassment’
Manila and Beijing have had a series of escalating confrontations in disputed waters of South China Sea.
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The Straits Times ☛ U.S. Typhon missile to stay in Philippines for now, top security official says
The U.S. military's Typhon launchers which can fire multi-purpose missiles up to thousands of kilometres will stay in the Philippines for the time being, the national security adviser to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Friday.
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Taiwan says 85% of national security cases involve retired army, police
Taipei accused Beijing of trying to lure retired officers with cash or by exploiting their debts.
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The Straits Times ☛ Japan PM Ishiba stresses US role in Asia-Pacific security
Japan PM Ishiba is seeking to arrange a meeting with The Insurrectionist.
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The Straits Times ☛ Chinese authorities speedily resolve recent high-profile violent crime cases
The verdict over the killing of a Japanese boy capped a busy week for China’s courts.
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LRT ☛ Beijing hints it is ‘open’ to normalising relations with Lithuania
China says it hopes to get relations with Lithuania back on track, adding that the door to dialogue is always open.
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LRT ☛ EU to continue WTO case against China’s restrictions on Lithuania
After previously considering dropping an international trade investigation against China over alleged coercive activity targeting Lithuania, the European Commission has decided to ask the World Trade Organization to continue the case.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ What are Hong Kong’s links to the Panama Canal, and does China really control the waterway as Convicted Felon claims?
By Juan José Rodríguez US President The Insurrectionist’s threat to seize the Panama Canal over alleged undue Chinese influence may really be aimed at limiting Beijing’s growing diplomatic and economic presence in Latin America, experts say.
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New York Times ☛ Greece Tightens Laws on Domestic Violence (but Not Enough, Critics Say)
Amid a surge in reported cases, lawmakers imposed harsher punishments on perpetrators. Victims’ advocacy groups said the legislation was too thin on preventive measures.
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Interview: Convicted Felon would like to resume personal diplomacy with Kim Jong Un
Former national security council chief Fred Fleitz discusses North Korea policy under Convicted Felon 2.0.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Jimmy Lai’s email exchanges with US officials floated sanction targets, national security trial hears
Jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s email exchanges with US officials in 2020 showed the group discussed potential targets of US sanctions before Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong, the tycoon’s national security trial has heard.
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Defence Web ☛ DPWI security thwarts armed thugs in attack on government property
The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) has raised alarm over the escalating wave of infrastructure vandalism, including the theft of aluminium, cables, and steel, and the destruction of critical assets like traffic lights, railway lines, and pylons.
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Mexico News Daily ☛ Thousands protest insecurity after the killing of two young brothers in Culiacán, Sinaloa
After months of frustration and uncertainty, the deaths of Gael, age 12, and Alexander, 9, brought the city to a boiling point.
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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LRT ☛ Military spending without taxes – can Lithuania afford its defence ambitions?
Lithuanian leaders have announced plans to significantly up military spending but have yet to specify where the money will come from. Borrowing, spending cuts elsewhere, EU funds are among the proposed sources, but observers say it is unrealistic to expect no tax rises.
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RFERL ☛ Ukrainian Foreign Minister Welcomes Convicted Felon's Message For Russia
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha has welcome statements by U.S. President The Insurrectionist calling for a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia and threatening to impose sanctions against Russia if Moscow refuses.
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France24 ☛ Putin ready to talk to Convicted Felon, Kyiv says no talks without Ukraine, Europe
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he was open to discussions with US President The Insurrectionist on issues such as the Ukraine conflict and energy prices, and said it would be a good idea for the two of them to meet. But Kyiv on Friday warned against war negotiations between the US and Russia without including Ukraine and Europe.
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Environment
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Science Alert ☛ World's Largest Iceberg on Collision Course With Remote Islands
A crash could be catastrophic.
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The Straits Times ☛ Indonesian rescuers halt evacuation due to bad weather after landslide kills 25, official says
JAKARTA - Indonesian rescuers on Friday paused search efforts because of bad weather as the death toll from a landslide on Java island three days ago rose to at least 25 people, said a spokesperson for the local rescuers.
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Energy/Transportation
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The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia’s KLIA aerotrain service to resume by June with new trains costing $140m
The China-made trains are undergoing testing, with 25 per cent of the 80 planned tests completed.
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Hackaday ☛ Bosch Starter Motor Freed From Mercedes Prison
Vehicle alternators are interesting beasts. Produced on a massive scale, these electric machines are available for a minimum of cost and contain all kinds of great parts: some power electronics and a belt-driven generator are generally standard fare. This generator can also be used as a motor with only minor changes to the machine as a whole, so thanks to economies of scale it’s possible to get readily-available, powerful, compact, and cheap motors for all kinds of projects using alternators as a starting point. [LeoDJ] noticed that this starter motor in a modern Mercedes had some interesting benefits beyond all of these perks, but it took a bit more work to get up and running than a typical alternator would have.
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Hackaday ☛ Bouncing Signals Off Of Satellites Other Than The Moon
The moon is a popular target for ham radio operators to bounce signals since it’s fairly large and follows a predictable path. There are some downsides, though; it’s not always visible from the same point on Earth and is a relatively long way away. Thinking they could trade some distance for size, an amateur radio group from the Netherlands was recently able to use a radio telescope pointed at a geostationary satellite to reflect a signal back down to Earth, using this man-made satellite to complete the path instead of the more common natural one.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Chair of UN’s next climate summit praises China’s ‘extraordinary’ progress on green transition
The Brazilian diplomat who will chair the next UN climate summit on Thursday praised China as an example in the fight against climate change while admonishing rich countries for shirking their responsibilities.
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Wildlife/Nature
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Science Alert ☛ This 'Walking' Coral Moves Around, And We Finally Know How
Follow the light!
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Science Alert ☛ The First Dinosaurs May Be Hidden in Earth's Least Accessible Places
The lost world.
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New Yorker ☛ Returning to a Home Consumed by the Wildfires
The longtime staff writer Dana Goodyear talks about the inferno that devastated her house and thousands of other buildings in the Los Angeles area.
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Finance
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Pro Publica ☛ Insurers Failed to Comply With Federal Law: DOL Report
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Censorship/Free Speech
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AccessNow ☛ #KeepItOn: authorities must restore access to social control media in South Sudan and uphold human rights
The #KeepItOn coalition demands the government of South Sudan put an immediate end to the ongoing social control media shutdowns in the country.
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New York Times ☛ Instagram and Facebook (Farcebook) Blocked and Hid Abortion Pill Providers’ Posts
Some posts related to obtaining abortion pills were recently hidden on Instagram and Facebook (Farcebook) and some accounts were suspended, before being later restored.
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Facebookers fined for mocking wealthy founder of budget Vietnamese airline
The posts likened the airline to a cheap noodle shop where customers have to pay extra for everything.
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Public Knowledge ☛ What Platforms Got Right and Wrong Dealing with 2024 Elections Content
Election season continues to be a contentious time for digital platforms when it comes to content moderation.
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Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press
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BIA Net ☛ Galatasaray's Osimhen assaults journalists at İstanbul nightclub
The footballer reportedly threatened and attempted to bribe the journalists to erase the photos they took. One journalist said Osimhen punched him in the head.
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Press Gazette ☛ Sara Sharif murder case judges to be named after ‘unfair’ treatment of journalists
Court of Appeal says previous judge "got carried away" with "inappropriate and unfair" remarks about the media.
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Press Gazette ☛ Planned costs of Harry and Mail publisher legal battle ‘excessive’, judges rule
Trial is due to start in January 2026 and last for 45 days.
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Press Gazette ☛ Fire the boss and fight for your rights: How publishers can succeed in 2025
New York-based media consultant Matthew Scott Goldstein shares his publisher shopping list for success.
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Civil Rights/Policing
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Citizen Lab ☛ Senior researcher Noura Aljizawi delivers testimony before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development
Noura Aljizawi, senior researcher at The Citizen Lab, delivered testimony before the House of Commons Subcommittee on International Human Rights (SDIR) of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development on November 26, 2024, addressing the issue of transnational repression in developing democracies.
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Pro Publica ☛ Doug Burgum Is Set to Lead the U.S. Agency His State Sued at Least Five Times
During Doug Burgum’s two terms as North Dakota governor, the state repeatedly sued the U.S. Department of the Interior, attempting to rip up rules that govern federal lands in his state and across the country.
Now, Burgum is poised to oversee that same department as President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the interior. Those lawsuits and a host of others the state launched against the federal government, some of which are ongoing, reveal the worldview he’ll bring to a department that touches nearly every aspect of life in the West. Its agencies oversee water policy, operate the national parks, lease resources to industries including oil and ranching, provide services across Indian Country and manage more land than any person or corporation in the nation.
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JURIST ☛ US DOJ halts all ongoing and future civil rights litigation
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) ordered its Civil Rights Division to halt all ongoing litigation from former President Joe Biden’s administration and not pursue new cases or settlements, according to multiple internal memos that were obtained by various media outlets on Wednesday.
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New York Times ☛ Arrest Made in Connection With Shooting Death of Border Patrol Agent
The shooting on Monday in Vermont near the Canadian border followed the surveillance of an armed couple who dressed in black tactical-style clothing.
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JURIST ☛ New York county redraws voting map after lawsuit claims racial gerrymandering
New York’s Nassau County agreed on Thursday to redraw its voting map after a lawsuit claimed its political boundaries disenfranchised residents of color. Once details are approved by the court, the county will enforce a new map including six districts in which Black, Latin and Asian residents constitute the majority of eligible voters.
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Digital Restrictions (DRM)
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Hackaday ☛ Sony Ends Blu-Ray, MD And MiniDV Media Production
With the slow demise of physical media the past years, companies are gradually closing shop on producing everything from the physical media itself to their players and recorders. For Sony this seems to have now escalated to where it’ll be shuttering its recordable optical media storage operations, after more than 18 years of producing recordable Blu-ray discs. As noted by [Toms Hardware] this also includes minidisc (MD) media and MiniDV cassettes.
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Patents
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Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ The Reverse Doctrine of Equivalents: An “Anachronistic Exception” Lives Another Day
by Dennis Crouch
I have been following the Steuben Foods appeal for the past year - thinking that it may be the case where the Federal Circuit nails in the coffin on the reverse doctrine of equivalents. The new decision ultimately left this question open, but it provides a fascinating exploration of three distinct doctrines of equivalence in patent monopoly law: [...]
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Unified Patents ☛ Uninvited Guests in the Smart Home: New NPE Patent Litigation
In keeping with the recent trend in smart home patent monopoly litigation, IoT Innovation rang in the new year, suing Snap One in Texas, accusing its Control4 platform for smart home integration. (2:25-cv-00022). Four months earlier, IoT Innovation filed a complaint (2:24-cv-00704) against Snap One in the same district for distributing Ecobee smart home thermostats, cameras, sensors, and plugs.
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JUVE ☛ LexisNexis launches new tool for cleaner SEP data
LexisNexis Legal & Professional has launched the ‘Cellular Verified’ initiative. According to the company, through a year-long collaboration with major SEP holders in the telecoms sector, LexisNexis was able to achieve 99.9% data accuracy by matching, cleaning, enhancing, and verifying its database of patent monopoly families with the data in the ETSI database.
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Software Patents
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Unified Patents ☛ Intellectual Discovery video codec patent monopoly challenge instituted
On January 22, 2025, two months after Unified filed an ex parte reexamination, the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) granted Unified’s request, finding substantial new questions of patentability on all challenged claims of U.S. Patent 9,432,675, owned by Intellectual Discovery, an NPE.
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Trademarks
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TTAB Blog ☛ TTABlog Test: How Did These Three Recent Section 2(d) Appeals Turn Out?
A TTAB judge once said to me that one can predict the outcome of a Section 2(d) appeal about 95% of the time just by looking at the marks and the goods/services. Of course, if you just said "affirmed" you'd be right about 89.5% of the time. Anyway, here are three Board decisions issued two days ago. No hints this time. How do you think they came out? [Answer in first comment].
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Monopolies/Monopsonies
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