Texas Adopts Online Child-Safety Bill Opposed by Apple's CEO

SlashDot - Tue, 05/27/2025 - 15:20
Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed an online child safety bill, bucking a lobbying push from big tech companies that included a personal phone call from from Apple CEO Tim Cook. From a report: The measure requires app stores to verify users' ages and secure parental approval before minors can download most apps or make in-app purchases. The bill drew fire from app store operators such as Google and Apple, which has argued that the legislation threatens the privacy of all users. The bill was a big enough priority for Apple that Cook called Abbott to emphasize the company's opposition to it, said a person familiar with their discussion, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

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Marvel and DC Announce First Comic Crossover in 22 Years with Deadpool-Batman Pairing

SlashDot - Tue, 05/27/2025 - 14:40
Marvel Entertainment and DC Comics have announced their first crossover event since 2003's JLA/Avengers, featuring Deadpool and Batman in dual one-shot publications launching later this year. Deadpool/Batman one-shot launches September 17 and follows Wade Wilson hired for a Gotham City job that puts him against Batman. DC's Batman/Deadpool counterpart launches in November. Both publications will include additional "backup adventures" featuring other character matchups, though creative teams for those remain unannounced. The crossover required extensive coordination between the companies' editorial schedules, which typically plan two to three years in advance.

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'AI Role in College Brings Education Closer To a Crisis Point'

SlashDot - Tue, 05/27/2025 - 14:00
Bloomberg's editorial board warned Tuesday that AI has created an "untenable situation" in higher education where students routinely outsource homework to chatbots while professors struggle to distinguish computer-generated work from human writing. The editorial described a cycle where assignments that once required days of research can now be completed in minutes through AI prompts, leaving students who still do their own work looking inferior to peers who rely on technology. The board said that professors have begun using AI tools themselves to evaluate student assignments, creating what it called a scenario of "computers grading papers written by computers, students and professors idly observing, and parents paying tens of thousands of dollars a year for the privilege." The editorial argued that widespread AI use in coursework undermines the broader educational mission of developing critical thinking skills and character formation, particularly in humanities subjects. Bloomberg's board recommended that colleges establish clearer policies on acceptable AI use, increase in-class assessments including oral exams, and implement stronger honor codes with defined consequences for violations.

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CISA Loses Nearly All Top Officials

SlashDot - Tue, 05/27/2025 - 13:21
Multiple readers shared the following report about the executive departures at CISA: Virtually all of the top officials at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have departed the agency or will do so this month, according to an email obtained by Cybersecurity Dive, further widening a growing void in expertise and leadership at the government's lead cyber defense force at a time when tensions with foreign adversaries are escalating. Five of CISA's six operational divisions and six of its 10 regional offices will have lost top leaders by the end of the month, the agency's new deputy director, Madhu Gottumukkala, informed employees in an email on Thursday. [...] The exits of these leaders could undermine the efficiency and strategic clarity of CISA's partnerships with critical infrastructure operators, private security firms, foreign allies, state governments and local emergency managers, experts say.

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In a Medieval Greek Fortress, Residents Feud Over ‘Pharaonic’ Cable Car Plan

NY Times - Tue, 05/27/2025 - 10:26
The authorities in Monemvasia, founded in the sixth century, say people with limited mobility need access to the town’s peak. But critics say the project would destroy the identity of the site.

China’s Soft Spot in Trade War With Trump: Risk of Huge Job Loss

NY Times - Tue, 05/27/2025 - 00:01
A chronic housing slowdown and high youth unemployment rate have made China more vulnerable than it was in President Trump’s first term.

A Science Fiction Writer Wrestles With China’s Rise, and His Own Decline

NY Times - Tue, 05/27/2025 - 00:01
In his stories, Han Song explores the disorientation accompanying China’s modernization, sometimes writing of unthinkable things that later came true.

Nikon To Raise Camera Prices in the US Because of Tariffs

SlashDot - Mon, 05/26/2025 - 23:57
Nikon will raise prices on its cameras and imaging products in the United States starting June 23, citing President Donald Trump's tariffs on Chinese-made goods as the reason for what the company calls a "necessary price adjustment." The Japanese camera maker joins a growing list of photography equipment manufacturers implementing price increases, including Canon, Sony, Leica, and lens maker Sigma. Nikon told investors the tariffs could slash its profits by 10 billion yen ($70 million) in the upcoming fiscal year, though the company has not disclosed which specific products will see increases or by how much prices will rise.

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What We Know About the Escape From a New Orleans Jail

NY Times - Mon, 05/26/2025 - 23:46
The authorities in Louisiana are searching for two of the 10 inmates who escaped from the Orleans Parish Justice Center on May 16. Here’s what we know.

Judge Criticizes Government Inaction in Case of Migrants Held in Djibouti

NY Times - Mon, 05/26/2025 - 23:13
Judge Brian E. Murphy had ordered the Trump administration to offer due process to a group of men whom the government was trying to send to South Sudan.

Remembering John Young, Co-founder of Web Archive Cryptome

SlashDot - Mon, 05/26/2025 - 22:09
New submitter zuki shares an obit published at The Register: John Young, the co-founder of the legendary internet archive Cryptome, died at the age of 89 on March 28. The Register talked to friends and peers who gave tribute to a bright, pugnacious man who was devoted to the public's right to know. Before WikiLeaks, OpenLeaks, BayFiles, or Transparency Toolkit, there was Cryptome - an open internet archive that inspired them all, helped ignite the first digital crypto war, and even gave Julian Assange his start before falling out with him on principle.

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Liverpool FC Victory Parade: Driver Plows Into Crowd, Injuring 47

NY Times - Mon, 05/26/2025 - 22:04
The driver, a 53-year-old British man, was arrested, but the event was not being treated as terrorism, the police said. Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the scenes as “appalling.”

Former Police Chief Imprisoned for Murder and Rape Escapes From Arkansas Prison

NY Times - Mon, 05/26/2025 - 22:01
Grant Hardin, 56, escaped on Sunday from a high-security prison in Arkansas, where he was serving a decades-long sentence for first-degree murder and rape.

House Bill Takes Aim at Tax Break for Sports Owners

NY Times - Mon, 05/26/2025 - 21:53
The legislation cuts in half a tax write-off potentially worth hundreds of millions to some professional sports team owners.

Trump Says Retailers Should ‘Eat the Tariffs.’ Good Luck With That.

NY Times - Mon, 05/26/2025 - 21:33
Companies can’t deny reality.

Trump Wants $3 Billion in Harvard Grants Redirected to Trade Schools

NY Times - Mon, 05/26/2025 - 21:07
In a social media post, the president mused about redirecting $3 billion in research grant funding that his administration has frozen or withdrawn, but he gave no details.

Charles B. Rangel: A Life in Pictures

NY Times - Mon, 05/26/2025 - 21:03
The congressman from Harlem was a force on Capitol Hill — and a familiar presence on the streets he represented for decades.

What to Know About the Liverpool FC Parade Car Crash

NY Times - Mon, 05/26/2025 - 20:58
Almost 50 people, including four children, were injured on Monday after a driver plowed into a crowd that had been celebrating Liverpool F.C.’s Premier League title.

Sonic Detectives Want to Help SpaceX Listen Up

NY Times - Mon, 05/26/2025 - 20:41
Physicists who record rocket launches and landings are learning important facts about the acoustics of spaceflight.

Charles B. Rangel, Longtime Harlem Congressman, Dies at 94

NY Times - Mon, 05/26/2025 - 20:15
As the dean of New York’s delegation and the first Black chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, he was a powerful political force for decades.

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