“The first image of a black hole, captured in 2019, has revealed more support for Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity,” reports CNN, adding that the new finding suggests his theory is now 500 times harder to beat. [W]hile light can’t escape the inside of a black hole, it’s possible for light to make a getaway in a region around the…
Tag: New Jersey
New York and New Jersey launch COVID-19 contact tracing apps
The app uses bluetooth technology to alert people that they’ve been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19. Source: https://www.livescience.com/contact-tracing-apps-new-york-new-jersey.html
Facebook Accused of Watching Instagram Users Through Cameras
Facebook is again being sued for allegedly spying on Instagram users, this time through the unauthorized use of their mobile phone cameras. Bloomberg reports: The lawsuit springs from media reports in July that the photo-sharing app appeared to be accessing iPhone cameras even when they weren’t actively being used. Facebook denied the reports and blamed a bug, which it said it…
Blimp over New Jersey sparks UFO hysteria
Hundreds took to social media on Monday night after a strange object appeared in the skies over New Jersey. Appearing as a slow moving cigar-shaped ob… Source: https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/339568/blimp-over-new-jersey-sparks-ufo-hysteria…
DOJ Finally Starts Process of Investigating Nursing Home Deaths From COVID-19
onyxruby writes: The DOJ has finally launched the precursor to an investigation into the mass deaths of senior citizens in nursing homes and long term care facilities. Roughly half of all COVID-19 deaths in the United Stated have occurred in nursing homes. The governors of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan are being requested to provide information to the DOJ….
Are We Ready for Driverless Trucks?
Two million truckers move 70% of America’s goods. But hundreds of thousands of their jobs could be disrupted away, reports Jon Wertheim on the CBS news show 60 Minutes, in “a high-stakes, high-speed race pitting the usual suspects — Google and Tesla and other global tech firms — against small start-ups smelling opportunity.” One of those startups is TuSimple, and their…
America Begins Airport Tests of Technology To Detect Drones and ‘Mitigate Potential Safety Risks Posed’
To address the possibility of drone-flying near airports, America’s Federal Aviation Administration “will be testing at least 10 technologies and systems,” reports Engadget, “developed not just to detect unmanned aerial systems, but also to mitigate the potential safety risks they pose.”
The first tests will be conducted at FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center, which is right next to the Atlantic City…
Should America Re-Open Its Movie Theatres?
70% of America’s movie theatres have now re-opened for business, reports NPR: “When our patrons come back, they’ll see the safe environment we’ve provided for them,” said John Fithian, president and CEO of the National Association of Theater Owners. Fithian invited two medical experts and the heads of the country’s biggest theater chains to launch a public awareness campaign dubbed “CinemaSafe,”…
Facebook Must Better Police Online Hate, State Attorneys General Say
Twenty state attorneys general on Wednesday called on Facebook to better prevent messages of hate, bias and disinformation from spreading, and said the company needed to provide more help to users facing online abuse. From a report: In a letter [PDF] to the social media giant, the officials said they regularly encountered people facing online intimidation and harassment on Facebook. They…
Pre-Clinical Test of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Shows It Protected Monkeys from Covid-19
“Johnson & Johnson’s experimental coronavirus vaccine protected macaque monkeys with a single shot in a pre-clinical study, potentially gaining on other vaccines that are further along in testing but require two doses over time,” reports Bloomberg:
Five of six primates exposed to the pandemic-causing pathogen were immune after a single injection. The exception showed low levels of the virus, according to a…