cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19889325 > Money that was supposed to fund educational trips for children without homes instead paid for vacations that New York schools staffers took with their families around the country, including a visit to Disney World, according to a recently released investigative report. > > Investigators recommended firing employees after finding that the head of the Queens Students in Temporary Housing (STH) program, meant to reward hardworking unhoused students with educational excursions, was telling her staff they could bring their families instead. (Temporary housing status is for students living in shelters, cars, parks or abandoned buildings, according to the New York City Public Schools website.) > > Staff families weren’t joining the trips under a misunderstanding of the rules, independent investigators wrote. In one instance, STH Queens regional manager Linda Wilson allegedly told her staff: “What happens here stays with us.” She denies saying it. > ...
Money that was supposed to fund educational trips for children without homes instead paid for vacations that New York schools staffers took with their families around the country, including a visit to Disney World, according to a recently released investigative report. Investigators recommended firing employees after finding that the head of the Queens Students in Temporary Housing (STH) program, meant to reward hardworking unhoused students with educational excursions, was telling her staff they could bring their families instead. (Temporary housing status is for students living in shelters, cars, parks or abandoned buildings, according to the New York City Public Schools website.) Staff families weren’t joining the trips under a misunderstanding of the rules, independent investigators wrote. In one instance, STH Queens regional manager Linda Wilson allegedly told her staff: “What happens here stays with us.” She denies saying it. ...
Sept 17 (Reuters) - Every football player knows that plays don’t always go the way they’re diagrammed on the coach’s whiteboard. To win, sometimes you need a back-up plan. Just ask Shannon Sharpe, the Hall of Fame tight end who spent most of his storied NFL career with the Denver Broncos. On Monday, Sharpe defeated an appeal by another NFL Hall of Famer —Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre — because he built contingency plays into his legal strategy. Favre sued Sharpe for defamation in 2023, after Sharpe spoke on his popular Fox Sports television show about Favre’s involvement in a scandal over the alleged misuse of Mississippi welfare funds. The background details here are important. A Mississippi state auditor discovered in 2021 that more than $77 million earmarked for the state’s neediest families had been misappropriated for other uses between 2016 and 2019. Six people have since pleaded guilty to state and federal charges related to the welfare funding scandal. ...
fpslem 1 day ago • 100%
For the record, while the Supreme Court justices have refused to hold themselves to the same standards as lower court judges, a U.S. District Court judge like Cannon is indeed bound by the Code of Conduct for United States Judges and the policies of the Judicial Conference, which do require disclosure of such gifts and trips.
solarpunk memes
Density saves nature
fpslem 1 day ago • 90%
Don't forget the huge energy savings (heating/cooling, transportation, infrastructure) by having denser housing. It isn't just a measurement of "I can see trees," but all the daily human activities that have a reduced environmental impact in denser development. It's counter-intuitive, but rural areas that are "nearer to nature" are often worse for the environment.
There is probably a break-even point, I don't think everyone living in skyscrapers is ecologically ideal and I wouldn't want to live there anyway. But medium-density development with multi-unit (shared wall) buildings allows huge energy costs, while also making public transit more viable and providing a tax base that actually pays for its own infrastructure.
www.propublica.org
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19879143 > Federal Judge Aileen M. Cannon, the controversial jurist who tossed out the classified documents criminal case against Donald Trump in July, failed to disclose her attendance at a May 2023 banquet funded by a conservative law school. > > Cannon went to an event in Arlington, Va. honoring the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, according to documents obtained from the Law and Economics Center at George Mason University. At a lecture and private dinner, she sat among members of Scalia’s family, fellow Federalist Society members and more than 30 conservative federal judges. Organizers billed the event as “an excellent opportunity to connect with judicial colleagues.” > > A 2006 rule, intended to shine a light on judges’ attendance at paid seminars that could pose conflicts or influence decisions, requires them to file disclosure forms for such trips within 30 days and make them public on the court’s website. > > It’s not the first time she has failed to fully comply with the rule. > > In 2021 and 2022, Cannon took weeklong trips to the luxurious Sage Lodge in Pray, Montana, for legal colloquiums sponsored by George Mason, which named its law school for Scalia thanks to $30 million in gifts that conservative judicial kingmaker Leonard Leo helped organize. > > ...
www.propublica.org
Federal Judge Aileen M. Cannon, the controversial jurist who tossed out the classified documents criminal case against Donald Trump in July, failed to disclose her attendance at a May 2023 banquet funded by a conservative law school. Cannon went to an event in Arlington, Va. honoring the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, according to documents obtained from the Law and Economics Center at George Mason University. At a lecture and private dinner, she sat among members of Scalia’s family, fellow Federalist Society members and more than 30 conservative federal judges. Organizers billed the event as “an excellent opportunity to connect with judicial colleagues.” A 2006 rule, intended to shine a light on judges’ attendance at paid seminars that could pose conflicts or influence decisions, requires them to file disclosure forms for such trips within 30 days and make them public on the court’s website. It’s not the first time she has failed to fully comply with the rule. In 2021 and 2022, Cannon took weeklong trips to the luxurious Sage Lodge in Pray, Montana, for legal colloquiums sponsored by George Mason, which named its law school for Scalia thanks to $30 million in gifts that conservative judicial kingmaker Leonard Leo helped organize. ...
fpslem 2 days ago • 100%
And, to be clear, his voting record is trash.
fpslem 2 days ago • 100%
His wife rather publicly disagrees with you.
Selfhosted
Low Cost Mini PCs
fpslem 2 days ago • 100%
Thanks for the rec! I also love that you presume that there will be a next time, cuz, uh, that's accurate. These little boxes are powerhouses, I probably want one for a TV set-top box now that all the TV boxes (Roku, Amazon Fire, even Android TV and soon Apple TV) are riddled with ads.
Climate - truthful information about climate, related activism and politics.
Data center emissions likely 662% higher than big tech claims. Can it keep up the ruse? Emissions from in-house data centers of Google, Microsoft, Meta and Apple may be 7.62 times higher than official
fpslem 2 days ago • 100%
At this point, my only hope is that the failed business model will kill most of these before they get even worse, regulators don't seem to have any appetite to monitor or restrict/tax the runaway energy usage.
www.theguardian.com
Big tech has made some big claims about greenhouse gas emissions in recent years. But as the rise of artificial intelligence creates ever bigger energy demands, it’s getting hard for the industry to hide the true costs of the data centers powering the tech revolution. According to a Guardian analysis, from 2020 to 2022 the real emissions from the “in-house” or company-owned data centers of Google, Microsoft, Meta and Apple are likely about 662% – or 7.62 times – higher than officially reported. Amazon is the largest emitter of the big five tech companies by a mile – the emissions of the second-largest emitter, Apple, were less than half of Amazon’s in 2022. However, Amazon has been kept out of the calculation above because its differing business model makes it difficult to isolate data center-specific emissions figures for the company. As energy demands for these data centers grow, many are worried that carbon emissions will, too. The International Energy Agency stated that data centers already accounted for 1% to 1.5% of global electricity consumption in 2022 – and that was before the AI boom began with ChatGPT’s launch at the end of that year. AI is far more energy-intensive on data centers than typical cloud-based applications. According to Goldman Sachs, a ChatGPT query needs nearly 10 times as much electricity to process as a Google search, and data center power demand will grow 160% by 2030. Goldman competitor Morgan Stanley’s research has made similar findings, projecting data center emissions globally to accumulate to 2.5bn metric tons of CO2 equivalent by 2030. ...
fpslem 2 days ago • 100%
Hardly. The arguments against race-conscious admissions or affirmative action are generally based (unironically) in the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Selfhosted
Low Cost Mini PCs
fpslem 2 days ago • 100%
Beelink and Minisforum are legit
I wish I knew a lot of this when I first started shopping for a mini PC. I ended up with a Beelink model that I'm quite happy with, but it seems almost luck that I didn't pick another one, and I would have liked a "reputable brand" search function.
nashvillebanner.com
Republican Congressman Mark Green has filed for divorce from his wife of 35 years after having an affair, according to a dispatch from his wife. In a note obtained by the Banner, Camilla Green accuses her husband of having an affair with a 32-year-old woman after being corrupted by his time in Congress, warning that his peers may become “intoxicated with power and adoration.” “He is living life greatly deceived. I have offered reconciliation, and he wants nothing of it and has insisted on a divorce. Satan has rewritten our marriage in his mind,” she wrote. Multiple sources tell the Banner that the letter was sent to members of Congress. Rep. Green asked for privacy after the note was released, but did not address the validity of the affair. ...
procycling
A 2024 Vuelta a España round-up (spoilers, obviously)
fpslem 4 days ago • 100%
Yeah, his win was inevitable in 2022 until he careened into Fred Wright. Nothing is certain in cycling.
fpslem 4 days ago • 100%
Aldi employees do a lot (stocking, cleaning, cashiering, etc.) but are paid relatively well and get solid hours. The stores I have visited seem to retain their workers for long periods, too.
Bicycling
Lael Wilcox sets new women’s Around the World record: 18,125 miles in 108 days, 12 hours and 12 minutes
fpslem 5 days ago • 100%
Awesome, it looked like so much fun!
Climate - truthful information about climate, related activism and politics.
Democrats seek to tax fossil fuel companies over climate change
fpslem 6 days ago • 100%
Taxing carbon at its source is the only feasible way of doing a carbon tax, we have to get serious about this if we even pretend to care about the safety and national security threats that come with global warming, rising sea levels, severe/changing weather, etc.
jalopnik.com
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19704884 > A Purdue University student thought he kicked his way to a two-year car lease for making three field goals in a contest held during the Boilermakers’ season opener in West Lafayette. However, the dealership sponsoring the giveaway later reneged on the deal because of a technical. The final kick – a 40-yarder – left his foot just a split second too late on August 31. Car dealerships really cannot help but be bastards, can they? > > ...
jalopnik.com
A Purdue University student thought he kicked his way to a two-year car lease for making three field goals in a contest held during the Boilermakers’ season opener in West Lafayette. However, the dealership sponsoring the giveaway later reneged on the deal because of a technical. The final kick – a 40-yarder – left his foot just a split second too late on August 31. Car dealerships really cannot help but be bastards, can they? ...
Comic Strips
Pockets 👀
fpslem 6 days ago • 100%
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MO9CUyuwf4
". . . and you can put so much stuff in there, you wouldn't even know!"
Bicycling
Lael Wilcox sets new women’s Around the World record: 18,125 miles in 108 days, 12 hours and 12 minutes
fpslem 6 days ago • 100%
A lot of donuts and cookies, I think.
The social media pictures and video from the trip are pretty cool, if you want to see where she went and what parts of the trip were like.
Electric Vehicles
USPS' long-awaited new mail truck makes its debut to rave reviews from carriers
fpslem 6 days ago • 100%
Good news (no thanks to de Joy). Those are adorkable.
Also, in an unfortunate coincidence, a mail truck broke down in front of my place yesterday, so the need is real.
www.cyclingweekly.com
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19688003 > In the evening twilight hours of September 11, 2024, Lael Wilcox became the unofficial new world record holder for the Fastest Circumnavigation of the World by Bicycle (female). > > Wilcox left Chicago's Grant Park at 7:06 a.m. on May 26, 2024, and returned to the Buckingham Fountain 108 days, 12 hours, and 12 minutes later, having completed 18,125 miles (29,169 km) across four continents and 22 countries. > > With her time, the 38-year-old Alaskan has unseated Scot Jenny Graham who held the record since 2018 after completing her unsupported journey in 124 days, 10 hours and 50 minutes. > > "I had so much fun — felt like I could’ve just kept riding forever," Wilcox commented at the finish, where she was welcomed by family, friends and the Chicago cycling community. > > ...
www.cyclingweekly.com
In the evening twilight hours of September 11, 2024, Lael Wilcox became the unofficial new world record holder for the Fastest Circumnavigation of the World by Bicycle (female). Wilcox left Chicago's Grant Park at 7:06 a.m. on May 26, 2024, and returned to the Buckingham Fountain 108 days, 12 hours, and 12 minutes later, having completed 18,125 miles (29,169 km) across four continents and 22 countries. With her time, the 38-year-old Alaskan has unseated Scot Jenny Graham who held the record since 2018 after completing her unsupported journey in 124 days, 10 hours and 50 minutes. "I had so much fun — felt like I could’ve just kept riding forever," Wilcox commented at the finish, where she was welcomed by family, friends and the Chicago cycling community. ...
World News
650-Foot High Megatsunami in Greenland Sends Seismic Waves Worldwide
fpslem 1 week ago • 100%
That's basically the wave in the water planet scene from Interstellar. That's terrifying.
Electric Vehicles
Jeep's first EV for the US could be delayed if it's not 'perfect quality'
fpslem 1 week ago • 100%
The predecessor company had several significant innovative periods. Heck, I'd say that when Lee Iacocca took over and developed the minivan platform with the Dodge Caravan it was innovative. Maybe minivans aren't sexy, but they were an untapped market and sold a lot of units for Chrysler and basically defined the vehicle category for many years.
News
Former Nashville Medical Examiner, Whose Testimony Helped Convict a Russell Maze in 2004 of Killing His Baby, Now Says He Was Wrong. Maze could still spend the rest of his life in prison.
fpslem 1 week ago • 100%
And I have been very critical of Nashville DA Glenn Funk, including for his malfeasance in using person connections to get fake work to boost his own pension, but the formation of the Conviction Review Unit—once it was actually used, after an initially inactive period—deserves recognition and praise.
www.propublica.org
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19643632 > Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20240911120039/https://www.propublica.org/article/russell-maze-nashville-medical-examiner-recants-testimony
... During a scorching, relentless wildfire season, Facebook has been flagging and removing dozens of posts containing links and screenshots from Watch Duty, a widely relied-upon wildfire alert app, as well as from federal and state agencies, according to interviews and Facebook conversations with nearly 20 residents, Facebook users and moderators, as well as employees from disaster response organizations. And it’s not happening just to people in Hutchinson’s rural and extremely fire-prone community 135 miles north of San Francisco but to volunteer responders, fire and sheriff departments, news stations and disaster nonprofit workers across California and in other states, according to screenshots. ...
fpslem 1 week ago • 100%
Thanks! Is there any better way of getting new mods? There are a couple I'm on that are somewhat orphaned, I've messaged the mods and no response.
Comic Strips
Charlie and the Marvelous Turnip Factory [Hark A Vagrant]
fpslem 1 week ago • 100%
"What baby" 😆
abcnews.go.com
A Delta jet clipped a smaller plane on a taxiway at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Tuesday morning, tearing the tail off the smaller plane, officials said. Delta Air Lines Flight 295, which was en route to Tokyo, was taxiing for takeoff when its wingtip hit the tail of Endeavor Air Flight 5526, which was headed to Louisiana, knocking the Endeavor plane's tail off, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and Delta. ...
Electric Vehicles
EV sales have not fallen, cooled, slowed or slumped. Stop lying in headlines.
fpslem 1 week ago • 100%
That's a good insight, car dealers are a huge part of the market, and they exert a lot of pressure against change. They also fund and support a lot of local Republican candidates, historically, a fact not entirely unrelated.
www.techspot.com
cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/41908556 > Opening statements before District Judge Leonie Brinkema of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia start later today. The BBC notes that the Justice Department plans to argue that Google's parent company, Alphabet, illegally operates a monopoly in the online advertising market. However, Alphabet denies the allegations, claiming that its success is due to the "effectiveness" of its services. > > The Justice Department claims Google established its monopoly through the anti-competitive acquisitions of smaller ad-tech rivals and even bullying website publishers into using its ad products. Google is also said to have unethically controlled key businesses in each part of the advertising supply chain, thereby driving up ad rates for advertisers while reducing the payouts to website owners. > > Pointing out Google's systematic abuse of the online ad business, the DoJ will ask the court to break up the company's ad-tech monopoly. The agency believes a breakup would create new opportunities for Google's smaller competitors and incentivize new players to enter the market. It will also be better for both advertisers and publishers.
wpln.org
Bus ridership in Nashville has been rebounding after dramatic reductions seen nationwide during the height of the pandemic. And officials say the latest numbers show overall trips have surpassed pre-COVID levels. WeGo says its strongest improvements are being seen on its bus route connecting to the airport (Route 18), and on some of the routes with the most frequent service, like those on Murfreesboro (55), Dickerson (23), and Nolensville (52) pikes. In the last part of 2023, ridership was up 6% compared to the prior year. ...
mlk50.com
With the growth of institutional mega-landlords in Memphis, many have worried about how they would treat their tenants and their properties. But these concerns may have missed the main point, according to new research from Austin Harrison, assistant professor at Rhodes College, and researchers at Georgia State University. The bigger issue, Harrison told MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, is the sheer number of homes companies are purchasing and the fact that these homes seem quite unlikely to return to owner occupants anytime soon. Absent government action, this trend will make it extremely difficult for the city to grow its homeownership rate or even maintain its current one. ...
wpln.org
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tyre Nichols’ parents, RowVaughn and Rodney Wells, plan to be in the courtroom as fired Memphis detectives Justin Smith, Tadarrius Bean and Demetrius Haley go on trial Monday in the beating death of their son after a traffic stop in 2023. “You’re the mother. You want to make sure that what they’re saying is correct and you want to make sure that everything is going accordingly,” says RowVaughn Wells. “So you have to sit there and listen, even though you don’t want to.” The former police officers are charged with depriving Tyre Nichols of his rights through excessive use of force, failure to intervene and obstruction of justice for conspiring to cover up what happened. The felony charges carry a possible sentence of life in prison or the death penalty. Two other former policemen indicted in the case have pleaded guilty. ...
escapecollective.com
Lotte Kopecky started her 2024 road season by winning the overall at the UAE Tour, and seven months later she has ended her current run in the rainbow jersey (at least in terms of WorldTour racing) by winning the overall at Tour de Romandie – bookending her rainbow year with WorldTour GC titles that started with the 2023 Simac Ladies Tour. The Belgian finished second in the opening stage sprint, second on the mountaintop at the end of stage 2, and third behind a breakaway of two in the final stage. The three podium finishes secured her the overall victory, six seconds ahead of teammate Demi Vollering and 46 seconds ahead of Gaia Realini of Lidl-Trek. “I came here to see how my form was at the moment, and I’m quite happy where I am with the World Championships coming,” Kopecky said after the third stage. Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) won the opening sprint stage and Riejanne Markus (Visma-Lease a Bike) won the final stage after a day in the breakaway. ...
velo.outsideonline.com
How good was the 2024 Vuelta a España? Record heat, a brutally hard course, and animated racing made it interesting, but was it good? This rough-and-tumble Vuelta had a lot going for it. Primož Roglič won a record-tying fourth crown that seemed all but inevitable even with a banged up back and a late-race bad tummy. With the other three of the “Big 4” sitting on the sidelines, who was going to beat him anyway? Ben O’Connor at least made it interesting after pulling a “Kuss” on the exact same stage that Sepp Kuss sprung clear last year to win. The Australian finally buckled to Roglič’s incessant tapping in stage 19, but he didn’t fully crack, and hung on for a well-deserved first career podium. Behind those two, this Vuelta was a bit of a mixed bag. ...
www.cyclingnews.com
As if riding the 3,261 kilometres of the 2024 Vuelta a España as his last race was not enough, Spanish veteran Luis Maté (Euskaltel-Euskadi) is celebrating his retirement by riding the 600 kilometres from the Vuelta finish in Madrid to his home in Marbella in the south of Spain. Maté started his three-day return on Monday morning “without getting up too early” and will stay overnight in Puertollano, a town some 250 kilometres south of the Spanish capital. He will then pedal on to Lucena, roughly 220 kilometres further south, before reaching his home in Marbella on the Andalusian coast after a shorter leg some time late on Wednesday afternoon. Maté completed his twelfth and last ever Vuelta in 61st place overall, during a final season in which he also celebrated a final win, a stage in the Volta a Portugal. “It’s partly to get used to the idea of leaving my pro career behind, but I’m going on being a bike rider, and this is like a transition, riding home from being a pro to riding a bike ‘for real’, " the 40-year-old told Cyclingnews. ...
Comic Strips
Charlie and the Marvelous Turnip Factory [Hark A Vagrant]
fpslem 1 week ago • 100%
Love love Hark! A Vagrant. And a lot of the other comics are way funnier, especially the historical ones. The comics about "marauding women on bicycles" (like this one) crack me up. I still think the "strong female characters" series is one of the funniest things ever.
I wish Beaton would keep doing Hark! A Vagrant, but given what her family went through and her sister's misdiagnosis and death from cancer, I understand why she finished it up. Her graphic novel/memoir, Ducks, was one of the best books I read last year.
Space
[Scott Manley] Does It Make Sense To Put Data Centers In Space? Can They Really Cost Less To Operate?
fpslem 1 week ago • 100%
In case you're wondering, the answer is "Definitely not."
Climate - truthful information about climate, related activism and politics.
EV sales are growing. So why are automakers getting cold feet?
fpslem 1 week ago • 100%
Have automakers gotten so used to fat profit margins from SUV sales, particularly during the post-pandemic boom, that they consider anything that requires investment to be "insufficiently profitable"? Or has the high-return mindset of Silicon Valley infected Detroit as well?
www.cbsnews.com
... Over a 15-year period, 6,253 cars crashed into 7-Eleven storefronts in the U.S. – an average of 1.14 per day. 7-Eleven apparently fought in court to withhold that data from the public. "They have not been producing that information for many, many years," Rogers said, "and that's what's important about this case - getting this information out about how frequently this happens." Rob Reiter is co-founder of the Storefront Safety Council. He was retained as an expert by Carl's attorneys in this case. "If you install bollards, you pretty much solve that problem," he said of the danger. Reiter advocates for safety bollards or protective barriers being placed in front of storefronts – especially those with parking lots that face the front door. ...
fpslem 2 weeks ago • 100%
Who's Yellen now? (This song was actually commissioned by APM's Marketplace when Janet Yellen became Secretary of the Treasury, but feels appropriate now.)
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19517395 > With its vast expanses of forest, Canada has the most “certified” sustainable timber operations of any nation, according to the nonprofit organizations that attest to the environmental soundness of logging practices. > > Such forestry-standards groups were born in the 1990s out of rage over tropical rainforest destruction. Today, they put their leafy seals of approval on toilet paper, two-by-fours and other wood and paper goods to assure eco-conscious consumers and investors they were responsibly produced. > > Yet research shows Canadian forests have seen some of the world’s largest declines in ecologically critical primary and old-growth woodlands over the last two decades, even as sustainability-certification programs grew to include nearly all of Canada’s logging. > > To track destruction of older woodlands in these certified zones, Reuters analyzed forestry data in Ontario, a major logging province. The analysis found that about 30% of the certified boreal forests harvested from 2016 to 2020 were at least 100 years old. That resulted in the loss of 377 square miles of these older forests, an area the size of New York City and Washington D.C. combined, the analysis found. > > ...
With its vast expanses of forest, Canada has the most “certified” sustainable timber operations of any nation, according to the nonprofit organizations that attest to the environmental soundness of logging practices. Such forestry-standards groups were born in the 1990s out of rage over tropical rainforest destruction. Today, they put their leafy seals of approval on toilet paper, two-by-fours and other wood and paper goods to assure eco-conscious consumers and investors they were responsibly produced. Yet research shows Canadian forests have seen some of the world’s largest declines in ecologically critical primary and old-growth woodlands over the last two decades, even as sustainability-certification programs grew to include nearly all of Canada’s logging. To track destruction of older woodlands in these certified zones, Reuters analyzed forestry data in Ontario, a major logging province. The analysis found that about 30% of the certified boreal forests harvested from 2016 to 2020 were at least 100 years old. That resulted in the loss of 377 square miles of these older forests, an area the size of New York City and Washington D.C. combined, the analysis found. ...
Booksfpslem 2 weeks ago • 100%
I just started Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine, which I've been meaning to read for ages.
Before that I read The Queen's Thief series, by Megan Whalen Turner, which was fun.
All things Spain
Madrid bans hired e-scooters over safety concerns
fpslem 2 weeks ago • 100%
Prevenir que usarios del servicio operen los scooters en áreas prohibidas y los dejen en las ceras y plazas donde no se permite.
okmatewanker
most reasonable driver in Nottinghamshire
fpslem 2 weeks ago • 100%
North America is full of those dual carriage motorways, with no alternate roads in many areas. No one enjoys riding on them, they just don't have another choice.
It's also a North American past-time to blame the guy trying to get to work or school when some inattentive driver mows him down.
www.lemonde.fr
You can share an article by clicking on the share icons at the top right of it. The total or partial reproduction of an article, without the prior written authorization of Le Monde, is strictly forbidden. For more information, see our Terms and Conditions. For all authorization requests, contact syndication@lemonde.fr. https://www.lemonde.fr/en/transport/article/2024/09/05/madrid-bans-hired-e-scooters-over-safety-concerns_6724935_216.html Madrid City Hall said on Thursday, September 5, it would ban all rental e-scooters from October because of the risk they pose to pedestrians, the latest city to make the move. "We are withdrawing authorization for companies hiring out scooters on the city's streets," the Spanish capital's conservative mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida wrote on X. "Our priority is the... safety of the people of Madrid," he said, adding that the measure would "take full effect in October." The three companies currently with licenses to rent out e-scooters on the streets of Madrid – Lime, Dott and Tier Mobility – will now have to remove their devices. These firms "did not comply with the conditions we imposed to guarantee the safety of pedestrians, particularly the elderly," the mayor said. Madrid City Hall criticized the firms for not using technology to prevent e-scooters from driving or parking in prohibited areas and lacking the appropriate accident insurance. ...
Technology
The Internet Archive just lost its appeal over ebook lending
fpslem 2 weeks ago • 98%
Not a surprise, but still somehow crushing. It's a loss for us all.
www.theverge.com
The Internet Archive has lost its appeal in a fight to lend out scanned ebooks without the approval of publishers. In a decision on Wednesday, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that permitting the Internet Archive’s digital library would “allow for widescale copying that deprives creators of compensation and diminishes the incentive to produce new works.” The decision is another blow to the nonprofit in the Hachette v. Internet Archive case. In 2020, four major publishers — Hachette, Penguin Random House, Wiley, and HarperCollins — sued the Internet Archive over claims its digital library constitutes “willful digital piracy on an industrial scale.” The Internet Archive has long offered a system called the Open Library, where users can “check out” digital scans of physical books. The library was based on a principle called controlled digital lending, where each loan corresponds to a physically purchased book held in a library — avoiding, in theory, a piracy claim. It’s a fundamentally different system from programs like OverDrive, where publishers sell limited-time licenses to ebooks on their own terms. ...
www.theguardian.com
Phoenix, Arizona, saw its 100th straight day of 100F (37.7C) heat this week. The hottest large city in the United States broke its previous record of 76 consecutive 100F days set in 1993. The relentless streak, which started on 27 May and hit its 100th day on Tuesday, is forecast to persist into next week. An excessive heat warning is in effect through Friday, with temperatures expected to reach 110F (43C) tomorrow. This summer was the hottest one in Phoenix since 1896, when records first began. Latest county data shows that at least 177 people died from heat-related causes so far this year, with 436 under investigation. Last year, Maricopa county saw 645 confirmed heat-related fatalities, enduring 55 days in a row with above 110F temperatures. ...
Trains
‘Transformational’: how a California city launched America’s first hydrogen-powered passenger train
fpslem 2 weeks ago • 100%
Honestly, if LA did tons of rail and it was all diesel powered, it would still be a huge improvement in carbon emissions, not to mention the traffic and urban density benefits.
Nintendofpslem 2 weeks ago • 100%
Kinda, there was a progression to travel to different planets, etc. I mostly played it with friends and messed around, so I didn't pursue it very far.
www.theguardian.com
Florida’s department of environmental protection has fired a whistleblower who exposed and sank governor Ron DeSantis’s secretive plan to pave over environmentally sensitive state parks and build lucrative hotels, golf courses and pickleball courts. James Gaddis, who worked for the agency for two years as a cartographer, was terminated for “conduct unbecoming a public employee”, according to a letter he received on Saturday. His leaking of the proposals sparked a furious backlash that united Republicans with Democrats and environmental advocates, and forced DeSantis into a humiliating climbdown last week in which he admitted the plans were “half-baked” and were “going back to the drawing board”. Speaking with the Tampa Bay Times on Monday, Gaddis said preservation of the state parks was more important to him than his position. “It was the absolute flagrant disregard for the critical, globally imperiled habitat in these parks,” he said. “This was going to be a complete bulldozing of all of that habitat. The secrecy was totally confusing and very frustrating. No state agency should be behaving like this.” News of his firing came as two Democratic state representatives pressed the agency about who was involved in drawing up plans that appeared to include no-bid contracts destined for mysteriously pre-chosen developers outside the requirements of Florida law. ...
Trains
‘Transformational’: how a California city launched America’s first hydrogen-powered passenger train
fpslem 2 weeks ago • 100%
100% agree, this article glosses over that (and many other aspects) of this supposedly newfangled system.
Trains
‘Transformational’: how a California city launched America’s first hydrogen-powered passenger train
fpslem 2 weeks ago • 100%
I posted this because I think this is absolutely silly. A hydrogen-powered train that runs on a low-volume 9-mile track? Why on earth couldn't this just run on gantry-provided electric power? I guess it's fine as an experimental trial system, but let's not pretend that hydrogen is better than electric in basically every rail application imaginable.
www.theguardian.com
There’s a new train pulling into the station in San Bernardino, a southern California city about 60 miles from Los Angeles. From the outside, it looks like any other commuter train, with three passenger carriages, blocky windows and a colourful blue exterior. But inside, it’s unlike anything the region – or the country – has seen before. The $20m Zero-Emission Multiple Unit, known as Zemu, uses a hybrid hydrogen fuel cell and battery system to propel the train and run other onboard electrical systems. The only byproduct of the fuel cell is water vapour, a welcome change in an area known as the Inland Empire that suffers from some of the worst air quality rates in the country. The new technology will make Zemu the first hydrogen-powered, zero-emissions passenger train in North America to meet Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requirements when it goes into service early next year. ...
Progressive Politics
Response
fpslem 2 weeks ago • 85%
I generally agree. At this point, I can't tell if Stein is that stupid or not, but she's still be used to undermine representative democracy. A candidate can make good points and still be a tool of fascism.
Anymusic
Climate - truthful information about climate, related activism and politics.
US squandering billions on unproven climate solutions, critics say
fpslem 2 weeks ago • 100%
Put a fraction of that in wind, solar, or forced geothermal, and you'd get a real benefit. But the fossil fuel industry demands a fig leaf to cover its naked greed, so here we are.
Today I Learned
TIL Cessna made a budget Fighter Jet using Cessna jet engines and other Cessna parts.
fpslem 3 weeks ago • 100%
I think US military operations moved away from counter-insurgency to preparedness with conflicts with mechanized military forces that have actual air power, so a low-and-slow airframe wasn't considered as necessary. That, and drones are filling a lot of the air coverage and surveillance gap (though no one on the ground will tell you there could ever be a complete replacement for the BRRRRRRRR of an A-10.)
Today I Learned
TIL Cessna made a budget Fighter Jet using Cessna jet engines and other Cessna parts.
fpslem 3 weeks ago • 100%
As I understand it, the Armed Overwatch pick that would at least sometimes replace the A-10 for close air support is the OA-1K Sky Warden, which has 10 hard points, and a 7,257kg gross weight. I don't know how to accurately calculate the Sky Warden's weight budget, but it's a little more than half of the gross weight of the A-10, so I'd guess it's roughly half, or 3,500kg or so. Which is definitely a step down in terms of weight and ability, but I guess the hope is that it will be cheaper to fly and maintain, particularly since it's based off the long-running Air Tractor AT-802 airframe. I think the other two planes in consideration, the EMB-314 Super Tucano and the AT-6B Wolverine, have fewer hard points (5 each) and lower maximum take-off weights (5,400kg and 2,948kg, respectively).
Today I Learned
TIL Cessna made a budget Fighter Jet using Cessna jet engines and other Cessna parts.
fpslem 3 weeks ago • 100%
And if I read the literature correctly, the craft actually selected was the OA-1K Sky Warden, the airframe based on the agricultural aircraft designs of Air Tractor AT-802.
Technology
Is Google Training AI on YouTube Videos?
fpslem 3 weeks ago • 92%
But really it’s just stealing with extra steps.
Accurate.
www.boston.com
NHL player Johnny Gaudreau and his younger brother were killed Thursday night when they were hit by a suspected drunken driver while riding bicycles in their home state of New Jersey, police said. Gaudreau, 31, and brother, Matthew, 29, are Carneys Point, New Jersey, natives and were in the area for their sister Katie’s wedding scheduled for Friday in Philadelphia, at which they were to be groomsmen. New Jersey State police said Friday the Gaudreau brothers were cycling on a road when a man driving in the same direction attempted to pass two other vehicles and struck them from behind, causing fatal injuries. Police said the driver, Sean M. Higgins, was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and charged with two counts of death by auto and jailed at the Salem County Correctional Facility. Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 11 professional seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He played his first nine with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America. ...
Yes. The answer is Yes. And Hank Green brings receipts.
www.theguardian.com
People who like Bill Clinton, or who find him convenient for their own goals, have a long history of underplaying the multiple allegations of sexual harassment and violence that he faces from at least four women. They say that Paula Jones, the former Arkansas state employee who sued Bill Clinton for sexual harassment after the then governor brought her to his hotel room, propositioned her and exposed himself, is lying – even though Jones has multiple corroborating witnesses, and even though her story has not changed in more than 30 years. They say that Juanita Broaddrick, the woman who says that Clinton raped her in a hotel room in 1978, when he was Arkansas attorney general, is lying, too – even though Broaddrick, like Jones, told multiple people of Clinton’s attack at the time. They say that Monica Lewinsky, the 22-year-old unpaid intern whom Clinton carried on an affair with in the White House when he was 49 and the most powerful person in the world, technically consented to the sex acts that Clinton asked her to do – an insistence that betrays a startlingly simple-minded and willfully obtuse understanding of sexual ethics. ...
www.theguardian.com
So it is definitely not a maybe. Oasis are reuniting for a UK and Ireland tour that could be one of the most lucrative ever, with tickets being hyped as the “hottest of the decade”. But one question people are asking is why? The most obvious motivation is money. Despite both Gallagher brothers establishing successful solo careers since their split in 2009, nothing they have done comes close to the kinds of figures potentially on offer from the 14-date reunion shows that include a four-show run at Wembley stadium. ...
www.cyclingnews.com
After the rest day, O'Connor still has an advantage of almost 4 minutes over his closest rival, Primoz Roglic, and he's looking good. Roglic apparently hasn't felt as strong, and hasn't struck on the typical climbs we would expect him to use to put time into O'Connor and other rivals. Joao Almeida is out of the race with COVID, and Adam Yates is now UAE's top GC man, ~ 5:30 back from O'Connor. Sepp Kuss does not seem to be in top form and will probably not defend his red jersey. Richard Carapaz, Enric Mas, and Mikel Landa are ~30 seconds away from Roglic after the first rest day.
www.businessinsider.com
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19059055 > The crypto industry is making its mark on this year's elections to the tune of some $119 million. > > The funding has largely come from two companies — Coinbase and Ripple — which are funneling money into super PACs like Fairshake PAC, which is dedicated to "elevating pro-crypto candidates and attacking crypto skeptics," according to Public Citizen. > > At the 2024 bitcoin conference in Nashville in February, Trump — who called bitcoin "highly volatile and based on thin air" in 2019 — said he'd lay out a plan "to ensure that the United States will be the crypto capital of the planet and the bitcoin superpower of the world." Trump has already won the backing of several crypto enthusiasts, including his running mate JD Vance, who owns at least $250,000 in bitcoin.
www.nbcnews.com
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19040697 > **_Democrats were able to get President Joe Biden to step aside after a pressure campaign. But it’s much more difficult to force out a federal judge._** > > At the age of 97, Judge Pauline Newman is the oldest full-time federal judge on the bench, but despite concerns about her ability to do the job, her colleagues are struggling to get rid of her. > > … > > When Democrats decided after President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance that he was no longer fit to serve at the top of the ticket, a multifaceted pressure campaign was able to convince him to step aside. > > But federal judges, as well as Supreme Court justices, have lifetime appointments and there is no easy process for easing them aside. > > With people generally living longer, a lifetime appointment can now last many decades. **The average age of a federal judge is 69, according to a [recent study](https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1671\&context=faculty_articles), and there is no clean way to force someone to step down**.
jalopnik.com
It turns out that more technology in cars isn’t necessarily something customers want, and it’s not really improving their driving experience. We know my thoughts on the matter, but I’ll do my best to stay impartial on this latest survey from JD Power that shows most customers don’t appreciate technology in cars unless they can see a clear benefit to them. JD Power’s 2024 U.S. Tech Experience Index Study evaluated over 81,000 drivers’ experience with “advanced vehicle technologies” in 2024 model year vehicles after 90 days of ownership, It turned out to be a pretty mixed bag when it came to what people liked using. There are a number of tech features that customers like using because they feels that it answers their needs, but at the same time there is a whole lot that don’t get used very often or are continually annoying, according to the survey. ...
theintercept.com
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19043926 > Last spring, New York City police officers stopped a 19-year-old on the subway during her commute. She was eligible for a free transfer from the bus to the subway, but the transfer failed to register at the turnstile, so she and a friend entered through the platform emergency exit door. > > Police stopped them, took their names, and let her friend go. Officers told the 19-year-old she had a prior arrest — from 2018, when she was in her early teens — and began to question her. > > The cops should not have known about that past arrest. A New York state law protects juvenile records in cases without any finding of guilt from access by anyone, including law enforcement, without a court order. > > The young woman is one of three plaintiffs who filed a class-action suit in July against the city and NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban for what they said was a practice of illegally accessing, using, and leaking sealed youth records. The suit, which was unsealed Thursday, alleges that officials routinely share those sealed records with prosecutors and the media — specifically with pro-cop tabloids that regularly publish juvenile arrest information sourced from police. > > ...
theintercept.com
Last spring, New York City police officers stopped a 19-year-old on the subway during her commute. She was eligible for a free transfer from the bus to the subway, but the transfer failed to register at the turnstile, so she and a friend entered through the platform emergency exit door. Police stopped them, took their names, and let her friend go. Officers told the 19-year-old she had a prior arrest — from 2018, when she was in her early teens — and began to question her. The cops should not have known about that past arrest. A New York state law protects juvenile records in cases without any finding of guilt from access by anyone, including law enforcement, without a court order. The young woman is one of three plaintiffs who filed a class-action suit in July against the city and NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban for what they said was a practice of illegally accessing, using, and leaking sealed youth records. The suit, which was unsealed Thursday, alleges that officials routinely share those sealed records with prosecutors and the media — specifically with pro-cop tabloids that regularly publish juvenile arrest information sourced from police. ...
www.vox.com
It is a harrowing proposition: that in trying to control drug prices for 67 million Medicare patients now, we might inadvertently prevent the development of future drugs that could save lives. Implied, if not stated outright, is that we’re putting a cure for cancer or Alzheimer’s or some other intractable disease in jeopardy. But we have good reasons to believe that the current policy won’t have such a trade-off any time soon. For one, pharma is hugely profitable, and these negotiated prices, while potentially chipping away at profit margins, should hardly entirely dampen the incentive to innovate, according to a couple of key studies of the industry. Two, if we are worried about future innovation, we should be focused on making it cheaper to develop drugs – and this is actually one area where AI is showing promise. By identifying the best candidates for possible treatments early in the research process, we could speed up development and continue to reduce costs — without losing out on tomorrow’s breakthroughs. ...