There’s a nice binocular comet – Comet NEOWISE – in the early morning sky now. Some experienced observers are catching it with the eye alone. It’s nice … but not great. When will we see our next Great Comet? Source: https://earthsky.org/space/northern-hemisphere-overdue-for-a-great-comet…
Tag: records
Atomic ‘Swiss Army knife’ precisely measures materials for quantum computers
It images single atoms. It maps atomic-scale hills and valleys on metal and insulating surfaces. And it records the flow of current across atom-thin materials subject to giant magnetic fields. Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a novel instrument that can make three kinds of atom-scale measurements simultaneously. Together, these measurements can uncover new knowledge…
Hundreds of Armed US Counter-Protesters Fall for ‘Apparent Hoax’
Yesterday as America celebrated its Independence Day, the Washington Post reports something unusual happened at the historic Civil War battefield at Gettysburg: For weeks, a mysterious figure on social media talked up plans for antifa protesters to converge on this historical site on Independence Day to burn American flags, an event that seemed at times to border on the farcical… There…
Former Yahoo Engineer Who Infiltrated 6,000 Accounts Avoids Jail
This week finally saw the federal sentencing of a former Yahoo software engineer who “admitted to using his access through his work at the company to hack into about 6,000 Yahoo accounts” back in 2018, according to America’s Department of Justice:
Ruiz admitted to targeting accounts belonging to younger women, including his personal friends and work colleagues. He made copies of images…
Zoom Misses Its Own Deadline To Publish Its First Transparency Report
How many government demands for user data has Zoom received? We won’t know until “later this year,” an updated Zoom blog post now says. From a report: The video conferencing giant previously said it would release the number of government demands it has received by June 30. But the company said it’s missed that target and has given no firm new…
Dusty sunrises and sunsets over U.S. South
See the layers of dust set against this South Carolina sunset? That dust came from Africa’s Sahara Desert. It traveled across the Atlantic Ocean this month to cause dusty skies across the U.S. south and into Texas. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/photos-saharan-dust-june-2020-florida-texas…
California City Bans Predictive Policing In US First
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: As officials mull steps to tackle police brutality and racism, California’s Santa Cruz has become the first U.S. city to ban predictive policing, which digital rights experts said could spark similar moves across the country. “Understanding how predictive policing and facial recognition can be disportionately biased against people of color, we officially banned…
Siberian town records 100 degree F day — the hottest in Arctic history
The Siberian town of Verkhoyansk just recorded a 100-degree Fahrenheit day — the hottest in Arctic history. Source: https://www.livescience.com/hottest-arctic-circle-temperature-ever-siberia.html
Temperature Hits 100 Degrees in Arctic Town in Siberia
An anonymous reader quotes Gizmodo:
A freak heatwave has been scorching most of the Arctic for weeks now, but it broke records Saturday when the temperature hit 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit in a town in Siberia, one of Russia’s northernmost regions. It’s likely the hottest temperature ever recorded north of the Arctic Circle, CBS meteorologist Jeff Berardelli wrote on Twitter, though the recording…
Masked Arsonist Identified and Jailed Because of Etsy Review
An anonymous reader quotes Ars Technica:
To some extent, every Internet user leaves a digital trail. So when a masked arsonist was seen on video setting fire to a police car on the day of a recent protest in Philadelphia, the fact that her face was hidden didn’t prevent a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent from tracking down the suspect. The keys…