news

Police departments with high rates of brutality against civilians make deal with Amazon Ring
Amazon Ring is a home surveillance system attached to door bells, and are shaing footage and access with over 14,000 agencies

Companies mandate or heavily encourage software that spies on employees working from home during covid
Bossware collects data and performs other surveillance well outside of the necessary scope for monitoring a workforce

Car brakes and tires accelerating arctic ice melt
Dark hued microplastics from car tires traveling across asphault and exhaust darken surface of snow and ice, absorbing more heat from sun

Land Sinking Along Mid-Atlantic Coast Will Increase Rate of Sea Level Rise
Land is sinking along the mid-Atlantic coast because of land subsidence dating from the ice age

Silicon Valley Elite Discuss Journalists Having Too Much Power in Private App
In leaked audio from an invite-only app, venture capitalists pondered everything they think is wrong with journalism

Socio-economic & environmental impacts of COVID-19
A global look at the impacts of the virus across various sectors

More wildfires in the Arctic this year
Wildfires exacerbated by heatwaves accelerate the process of permafrost melt, which in addition to releasing to CO2 has led to infrastructure collapses in the region

Texas will face driest conditions of the last 1,000 years
Texas' future climate will feature drier summers and decreasing water supplies for much of the state for the remainder of the 21st century

Analysis of YouTube Trending Videos of 2019 (US)
A detailed analysis of data and details from trending youtube videos in 2019

Earliest evidence of bow and arrow technology in Eurasia discovered
The site in Sra Lanka also holds potential evidence for clothing making, the oldest outside of Africa

Individuals in higher socioeconomic classes more likely to overestimate their own skills
The study finds overconfidence can be perceived as greater competenece, leading to reinforcement of social hierarchies

Underground network of microbes and fungus connecting trees mapped for first time
Nicknamed the 'wood wide web', the complex interconnected web of microorganisms help tree roots exchange nutrients with soil, among other things

New Surge In 3d Printed Guns
A sharp increase has occured in the sharing of instructions and capabilities to produce 3d printed handguns

Generic drug producers dangerously underregulated
Investigative journalist publishes book claiming FDA is dangerously underfunded, and generic drug manufacturers are made aware of upcoming inspections weeks ahide of time, allowing them to destroy or fabricate documents regarding their drugs production and efficacy

US Nuclear Weapons Tests Relics Possibly Leaking Radioactive Waste Into Pacific Ocean
The remains of radioactive soil and ash from the cold-war era atomics testing performed by the US are encased from above in concrete but not reinforced from below, and has eroded over time

Google begins drone deliveries in Finland after initial launch in Australia
Google makes good on promise Amazon failed to live up to

Google keeps a record of all of your purchases
The tech giant uses Gmail to create a track list of every purchase you've ever made, and it is difficult to delete

'Endangered' category requires reclassification to protect slow-breeding animals
Conservations call for a reworking of the requirements to consider a species endangered, as the current definition does not accurately reflect vulnerability of certain species, particularly megafauna like elephants, that reproduce at a much slower rate than others

Jeff Bezos announces plans to colonize space
In a stunning display of narcisissm and megalomania, world's wealthiest man lays out his own vision for humanity's future, depsite having zero qualifications aside from his ability to horde wealth

Bedbugs evolved 100 million years ago
New DNA study shows the creatures existed on earth as early as the dinosaurs

Phage therapy successfully treats antibiotic resistent bacteria
Bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) have been genetically altered to attack human infections that are growing resistant to known forms of antibiotics

414 million pieces of plastic wash up on shores of barely inhabited Indian Island chain
A survey of Cocos (Keeling) Islandsfound an estimated 238 tonnes of plastic, including hundreds of thousands of shoes and toothbrushes washed up from around the world

Accuracy of silicon two-qubit operations have been measured for first time
The breakthrough shows promise for use of silicon in full-scale quantum processors

Lack of plant diversity damages bumblebees' ability to develop into healthy adults
Loss of different food sources for bees results in insufficient nutrition for juvenile bees growing to adulthood, inhibiting their ability to reach maturity contribute to their colony

Cocaine, pharmaceuticals found in wildlife in UK rivers and streams
The study was performed across 15 sites in Suffolk and identified banned pesticides in addition to illicit substances

First hominids in Tibet were Denisovans
Fossil remains have been found in Tibet showing the Denisovans, a little known hominid group related to Neanderthals first discovered in Siberia, occupied the caves long before homo sapiens moved to the area

Arsenic-breathing lifeforms discovered in tropical Pacific Ocean
The survival strategy is thought to have been utilized by microorganisms in early oxygen-poor Earth environments

Fracking triggers earthquakes far outside of injection sites
A new study shows the pressure of injecting fluids more than a kilometer into the Earth's crust can create a domino-like effect of seismic activity much farther from the initial injection zone than previously estimated

Amazon makes another series of major acquisitions
Big purchases by the corporation include online pharmacy PillPack, self-driving car startup Aurora, electric truck startup Rivian, expansions to Amazon Air, and the commercial space-based internet service Project Kuiper

Protesters occupy, skateboard in new gas pipeline being constructed in Germany
Another pipeline is being obstructed by protests amid arguments that the environmental impact report is inaccurate and history of environmental damage seen in other such pipelines

Indigenous Ecuadorian tribe wins landmark legal battle to protect millions of acres of land from deforestation
The victory, won by the Waorani people of Pastaza, sets an important legal precedent in Ecuador in preventing the seizure of land from indigenous peoples to sell for the mining of resources

5 ways extinction is accelerated
An analysis of 15,000 studies on species extinction reveals key factors in degradation of the planet's biosphere

Nearly 25% of ice in West Antarctica now unstable
Rapid thinning in the last quarter century has increased over time and glaciers are now unstable, losing more mass through melting and calving than they gain through snowfall

The standard for measurement on earth has changed from referential to atomic
On May 20, the official standard for acertaining the mass of an object will be based on atomic properties rather than specific, manmade objects created as points of reference

[PDF] DOD's annual casualty report
The US Department of Defense's annual report of civilian casualties and injuries in connection with the US military

Sweden begins first driverless deliveries via electric trucks on public roads
Swedish start-up Einride is in talks with major suppliers to utilize autonomous trucks, with human operators supervising up to 10 vehicles simultaneously

Analysis of medical student evaluations shows biases towards women, minorities
A study of 88,000 evaluations of third-year medical students over a decade (2006-2015) found students who were minorities or white women were more frequently described with words judging their personality while white men are more often are described with language judging their skills

Professional Runner Jo Pavey states Nike froze their sponsorship after she announched her pregnancy
The 5-time Gold winning Olympian accuses Nike of hypocrisy, as the corporation uses slogans of suppporting women pursuing their goals and dreams to sell its products while denying its own sponsored athletes support through maternity

Neo-Nazi convicted for murder plot of British member of Parliament
Jack Renshaw was under investigation for pedophilia and child abuse by labor party member Rosie Cooper whom he conspired to kill, exposed by an undercover member of Hope Not Hate (an anti-racism campaign investigating white supremacists)

96 year old retiree builds hundreds of birdnest boxes, turning tide for endangered bluebird species
With no formal science background, Alfred Larson began building nest boxes for the birds in 1978 as a hobby

Nature journal outlines ocean plastic problem with 60-year data set
Plankton monitoring instruments help detect rising levels of plastics in oceans

"Lifelike" material with artificial metabolism developed
The tiny machines made of biomaterials are also capable of self-assembly and organization

Kakapo parrots of New Zealand having best mating season on record
The rare flightless birds, once the country's most common bird, has hatched 76 chicks by a total of 147 remaining adults in existence

Hours after death, some functions are restored to pig's brain by scientists
Many basic cellular functions were observed in the brain which was obtained from a meatpacking plant

Thousands of Google employees protest work with Pentagon
Employees, including senior engineers, sign letter protesting technology using AI to improve drone strikes as well as Google's sponsorship of the Conservative Political Action Conference

Exorcisms gain popularity in US
Trained exorcist numbers have risen from 15 to over 100 since 2011. (Note: in 2008 Pope Benedict called for increased efforts in the 'War on Satan', including global focus on training more exorcists)

Harmful stereotypes about immigrants demonstrated false yet continue to influence policy
Assumptions that immigrants spread disease and drain public resources are not supported by facts, shown in recent study

Massive glacial melt in Greenland could be responsible for sudden sea level rises
Melting of Greenland's ice sheet has increased dramatically compared to the last 400 years with no sign of slowing

Gut Flora species differs depending on ethnicitices
Studies of gut microbiomes across multiple demographics found commonalities among different ethnic groups

Social unrest in France possibly being influenced by foreign propaganda bots
Examination of social media accounts that have helped influence the Yellow Vests and surrounding rhetoric

Data caps predicted to interfere with streaming within next year
ISPs like Comcast will charge customers for going over their monthly data cap, resulting in extra charges for overusing services like Netflix

AT&T will keep customers' money if they cancel in the middle of their billing cycle
TV and Internet users will no longer be offered prorates or credits if they want to cancel their subscriptions, and will be forced to ride out the rest of the month

Walmart announces robot janitors
The automated workers will be fully autonomous and function even in the presence of customers

3d printed vegan steak developed
First 3d printed steak synthesized from plant proteins that mimic muscle textures of beef, chicken

Monarch Butterfly populations drop by an order of magnitude
Only 20,456 butterflies were found at surveyed sites compared to 148,000 last year

Streaming Services announce "pause ads"
AT&T and Hulu, among others, announce intent to test advertisements that play when content is paused

Amazon announces drone deliveries in 5 years 5 years ago
Amazon is officially late fulfilling this promise given by its CEO, and implementation is not expected in near future

Hackers use Google Chrome extension to exploit vicitims
The browser extension was used to infect users, steal passwords and cookies

US Life expentency on the decline
Rise of drug overdoses and suicide are prime contributors

Virtual fence along highway reduces annual wildlife fatalities by 50%
New technology in Australia using motion-sensor alarms placed on roadside posts being tested along one of the busiest highways in the country to prevent animals from being struck and killed by vehicles

Airlines use algorithm to split up families; charge more for closer seating
Airlines accused of using algorithm to identify passengers of same surname, placing their seats far away from each other on the plane unless the passengers pay a fee to be seated next to one another. From the UK

Five Year Trends for Poverty Rates, Internet Use, and Household income available
From US Census Bureau

Facebook collects and archives call data from users for years
Internal documents show facebook considered the decision high-risk but went ahead with it

Cars stolen by thieves remotely hijacking wireless key fobs
The key fob signal can be boosted and rerouted, even when the keys are inside a home. From Toronto

Volkswagon will stop producing vehicles that aren't CO2 neutral
VW Corporation announces next generation of vehicles with combustion engines will be its last

24 Amazon Warehouse Workers Hospitalized after accident involving robot
Workers were blasted with concentrated capsaicin (the active chemical in pepperspray) from bear spray after robot punctures cannister, all expected to be released within 24 hrs


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