New posts from the.micro.blog
🔗 Articles: Tuesday 07.May.2024
Electrek: A fully-electric, 50,000 kWh container ship has begun service
Chinese state-owned company COSCO Shipping has launched what it calls the “world’s largest” river-to-sea electric container ship. The Green Water 01 is a 10,000-ton+ fully electric vessel that sets a new benchmark in sustainability in the marine logistics industry.
Defector: Nate Jackson: I Wish I’d Never Become The NFL Weed Guy
Substance abuse is a trap waiting for any ex-athlete. The checks on your usage that existed when you were on a team—drug tests, itineraries, workouts, playbooks, paychecks, film sessions, intense competition, and simply just having something to do—all disappear. In an instant, you find yourself alone with nowhere to be, a laundry list of injuries, no doctors around to treat them, maybe some brain trauma, probably some depression, some money in the bank, and a propensity to medicate. There is a reason that ex-NFL players are four times more likely than the average American male to become addicted to opioids.
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There is a reason why they hand you a helmet your first day on the job. Your head is in danger. And since the discovery and publicity of CTE, there appeared to be very few therapeutic answers for it. Depending on whom you asked, the NFL’s concussion settlement, the “heads-up tackling” initiative, the concussion protocol, and various rule changes either made the game safer, or muddied the waters by only appearing to make the game safer. The fact remains that the most effective way to stop a large man in his tracks is to lead with your most dangerous weapon, which happens to be the helmet, and to hit him in his most vulnerable part: his head. That’s a reality that will never change on a football field, no matter how many fines or suspensions anybody hands out.
A serious article about a multi-faceted issue.
The Atlantic: Russia and China Are Winning the Propaganda War
In 2000, President Bill Clinton told an audience at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies that it was impossible. “In the knowledge economy,” he said, “economic innovation and political empowerment, whether anyone likes it or not, will inevitably go hand in hand.” The transcript records the audience reactions:
“Now, there’s no question China has been trying to crack down on the internet.” (Chuckles.) “Good luck!” (Laughter.) “That’s sort of like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall.” (Laughter.)
While we were still rhapsodizing about the many ways in which the internet could spread democracy, the Chinese were designing what’s become known as the Great Firewall of China. That method of internet management — which is in effect conversation management — contains many different elements, beginning with an elaborate system of blocks and filters that prevent internet users from seeing particular words and phrases. Among them, famously, are Tiananmen, 1989, and June 4, but there are many more. In 2000, a directive called “Measures for Managing Internet Information Services” prohibited an extraordinarily wide range of content, including anything that “endangers national security, divulges state secrets, subverts the government, undermines national unification,” and “is detrimental to the honor and interests of the state” — anything, in other words, that the authorities didn’t like.
Politico: Judge Cannon indefinitely postpones Trump’s classified docs trial
Cannon, a Trump appointee who took the bench in late 2020, indicated in the order that, before setting a new trial date, she intends to resolve the backlog of other issues in the case that have piled up on her plate. Smith’s defenders have criticized Cannon for what they see as a plodding pace in resolving pretrial matters, and tensions between the special counsel and the judge have flared in recent months over a series of puzzling rulings that threatened to derail the case.
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That reshuffling further clouds the picture for Smith, who is also awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity that could determine whether his other case against Trump – charges in Washington D.C. for attempting to subvert the 2020 election – can move forward this year.
Trump is currently on trial in a third criminal case in Manhattan, in which he is accused of falsifying records of a hush money payment to a porn star. He is also facing criminal charges in Georgia for attempting to interfere with the 2020 results in that state.
Electrek: GAF Energy’s new Texas factory is about to make a lot of nailable solar shingles
GAF Energy built the nailable solar shingle factory in Texas to meet the growing demand for its “world’s first” Timberline Solar Energy Shingle that debuted in January 2022.
The new Texas factory, the company’s second, will bump up its capacity by 500% and bring the total production of its solar shingle to 300 megawatts (MW) annually. It’s expected to employ more than 240 people. GAF Energy’s first factory, in San Jose, California, came online in 2021.
Electrek: Despite Elon’s foolishness, auto industry shouldn’t give up on Tesla’s NACS
Last week, Tesla abruptly fired its entire Supercharging team, leading to an immediate pullback in Supercharger installation plans. The explanation we’ve heard for these firings is that CEO Elon Musk was unhappy with EV Charging lead Rebecca Tinucci for not firing enough people, and retaliated by suddenly firing her and her entire team.
The firing was so ill-considered that the company has even had to send out an email blast to suppliers and contractors, seemingly confused about which companies it’s even working with on site development.
The abrupt firing has caused a lot of chaos and reconsideration in the EV industry, with some automakers reportedly having meetings about whether to proceed with the planned NACS transition or pull back on their plans.
TechCrunch: Tesla is Luminar’s largest lidar customer
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that lidar sensors are a “crutch” for autonomous vehicles. But his company has bought so many from Luminar that Tesla is now the lidar-maker’s top customer.
Tesla accounted for “more than 10%” of Luminar’s revenue in the first quarter of 2024, or a little more than $2 million, the lidar-maker revealed Tuesday in its first-quarter earnings report.
Luminar reported that its revenue fell 5% from the fourth quarter of 2023, which it mostly attributed to “lower sensor sales to non-automotive customers.” That drop was “offset by sensor sales to Tesla, which was our largest lidar customer in Q1.” Luminar also noted a 45% gain in revenue year-over-year.
Time to fire the autopilot crew.
Last Updated: 07.May.2024 23:58 EDT
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🔗 Articles: Wednesday 08.May.2024
pv magazine: Solar-hydrogen solution rolled out for off-grid settings
H2PowerBox has launched its eponymous integrated solar-hydrogen energy system that generates and stores hydrogen through electrolysis during the day and uses a fuel cell to convert it back to electricity when needed, providing an alternative to mobile diesel generators in off-grid scenarios.
The trailer-mounted system is equipped with solar panels, a high-performance electrolyzer and a fuel cell. An integrated intelligent energy management system allows for efficient management of the entire process from solar energy capture to hydrogen production.
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The H2PowerBox has a peak output of 10kW but has been designed for scalability with multiple units able to be combined to meet larger power requirements.
I couldn’t find the storage capacity (in kWh) in the article or on their website.
9to5Mac: New iPads won’t include stickers in the box due to Apple’s environmental goals
Apple Stores, however, are receiving shipments with a limited quantity of Apple logo stickers that can be distributed to customers who buy a new iPad Pro or iPad Air, but only upon request. So, if you buy an iPad Pro or iPad Air from an Apple Store, you can request an Apple sticker at the time of purchase.
CBC: FTX says most customers will get all their money back less than 2 years after crypto fraud crisis
Company owes $11.2B US to its creditors, has up to $16.3B to distribute to them.
The rest will go to the lawyers?
UPI: Boeing’s Starliner flight delayed again for oxygen tank valve replacement
The test launch is now set for 6:16 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Space Station Florida on May 17, a week later than the date set earlier this week after the initial launch was scrubbed due to concerns about an oxygen relief valve, NASA said Tuesday.
ULA will replace the valve when the rocket is moved back to its Vertical Integration facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Wednesday.
Kottke: After launching last month, the Delta game emulator has been one of the most popular apps
After launching last month, the Delta game emulator has been one of the most popular apps in Apple’s App Store. It allows you to play NES, GB, SNES, N64, and DS games on your iPhone or Mac.
Last Updated: 08.May.2024 19:09 EDT
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I listened to 𝘒𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 (Charlotte Church) podcast, episode 3, 𝘐 𝘌𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘠𝘰𝘶, interviewing her mum; what a pair they are! I really enjoyed it. (Quite the Cardiffian accents though!)
🔗 Articles: Thursday 09.May.2024
9to5Mac: Vision Pro support arrives for Duet Display and Screens to enhance your virtual desktop
More functionality for Vision Pro has landed with two new third-party app updates. The popular Duet Display and Screens are both now available for Apple’s headset. Here are all the details and features.
NYT: Milan Cracks Down on Nightlife After Campaign to Lure Visitors
Packed bars with carousing revelers spilling onto clogged streets. Takeaway booze swigged by drunken tourists and students. Earsplitting volumes in once quiet residential neighborhoods long after midnight.
When Milan’s authorities embarked years ago on plans to promote the city as a buzzy destination by building on its reputation as Italy’s hip fashion and design capital, the resulting noise and rowdy overcrowding were perhaps not quite what they had in mind.
Yahoo Sports: Sheldon Keefe fired as Maple Leafs’ head coach after 5 seasons
“Today’s decision was difficult,” said Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving in a statement. “Sheldon is an excellent coach and a great man; however, we determined a new voice is needed to help the team push through to reach our ultimate goal. We thank Sheldon for his hard work and dedication to the organization over the last nine years, and wish him and his family all the very best.”
As far as Keefe’s staff — Guy Boucher, Dean Chynoweth, Manny Malholtra, Mike van Ryn and Curtis Sanford — the team says “decisions regarding the remainder of the coaching staff will follow.”
Guardian: Record-breaking increase in CO2 levels in world’s atmosphere
The largest ever recorded leap in the amount of carbon dioxide laden in the world’s atmosphere has just occurred, according to researchers who monitor the relentless accumulation of the primary gas that is heating the planet.
The global average concentration of carbon dioxide in March this year was4.7 parts per million (or ppm) higher than it it was in March last year, which is a record-breaking increase in CO2levels over a 12-month period.
The increase has been spurred, scientists say, by the periodic El Niño climate event, which has now waned, as well as the ongoing and increasing amounts of greenhouse gases expelled into the atmosphere due to the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.
via Denny
Guardian: Is a previously unheard-of First Nation just Canada’s latest Pretendian case?
Local chiefs claim Kawartha Lakes First Nation is part of a wave of cases in which people falsely claim Indigenous identity.
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About two months ago, William Denby, the self-proclaimed “chief” of the Kawartha group began sending emails to local chiefs, municipal and provincial officials. The messages, seen by the Guardian, were often written in all caps and combined grievances and increasingly bold claims.
Denby protested against the destruction of farmland for housing developments and made broad allegations of corruption. He also said he was the hereditary leader of a forgotten Indigenous nation and claimed his group had rights to nearly 5,800 square miles (15,000 sq km) of land.
Guardian: Trump promised to scrap climate laws if US oil bosses donated $1bn – report
According to the Washington Post, the former US president made his jaw-dropping pitch, which the paper described as “remarkably blunt and transactional”, at a dinner at his Mar-a-Lago home and club.
In front of more than 20 executives, including from Chevron, Exxon and Occidental Petroleum, he promised to increase oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, remove hurdles to drilling in the Alaskan Arctic, and reverse new rules designed to cut car pollution. He would also overturn the Biden administration’s decision in Januaryto pause new natural gas export permits which have been denounced as “climate bombs”.
“You’ll get it on the first day,” Trump said, according to the Post, citing an unnamed dinner attendee.
Guardian: World’s top climate scientists expect global heating to blast past 1.5C target
Hundreds of the world’s leading climate scientists expect global temperatures to rise to at least 2.5C (4.5F) above preindustrial levels this century, blasting past internationally agreed targets and causing catastrophic consequences for humanity and the planet, an exclusive Guardian survey has revealed.
Almost 80% of the respondents, all from the authoritative Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), foresee at least 2.5C of global heating, while almost half anticipate at least 3C (5.4F). Only 6% thought the internationally agreed 1.5C (2.7F) limit would be met.
Many of the scientists envisage a “semi-dystopian” future, with famines, conflicts and mass migration, driven by heatwaves, wildfires, floods and storms of an intensity and frequency far beyond those that have already struck.
Numerous experts said they had been left feeling hopeless, infuriated and scared by the failure of governments to act despite the clear scientific evidence provided.
“I think we are headed for major societal disruption within the next five years,” said Gretta Pecl, at the University of Tasmania. “[Authorities] will be overwhelmed by extreme event after extreme event, food production will be disrupted. I could not feel greater despair over the future.”
Will people adopt the changes that are required, or will we pay the far higher price of inaction?
Guardian: ‘Destruction of the human experience’: Apple iPad ad prompts online backlash
Apple has faced an online backlash over an advert for its new iPad that features an industrial-sized hydraulic press crushing a collection of objects and gadgets including musical instruments and books.
The ad, launched by Apple’s chief executive, Tim Cook, on Tuesday, shows the machine squashing an array of items – ranging from a piano and a metronome to tins of paint and an arcade game – before a single iPad Pro then appears in their place. A voiceover then states: “The most powerful iPad ever is also the thinnest.”
But the revenues! 🤑🙄
TorStar: Green Party trying to move past an ugly internal rift
Some Green Party members are calling for a new leadership election a year and a half after long-time Green MP Elizabeth May returned to power as party leader on a mandate to co-lead with activist Jonathan Pedneault.
Although the pair campaigned on a co-leadership bid, the party’s constitution does not allow co-leaders, and there is debate about whether changing the constitution to allow it should warrant a new leadership election. It’s unclear if May and Pedneault, who has yet to be officially made co-leader, would have to face election if the constitution is overhauled.
Wikipedia: The Waffle
The Waffle (officially known as the Movement for an Independent Socialist Canada after 1972) was a radical wing of Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP) in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It later transformed into an independent political party, with little electoral success before it permanently disbanded in the mid-1970s. It was generally a New Left youth movement that espoused both Canadian nationalism and solidarity with the Quebec sovereignty movement.
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Lewis remained hostile; in 1972, he described the Waffle as “an encumbrance around my neck”. Then at the NDP’s Provincial Council on 24 June, Lewis obtained a resolution ordering the Waffle to disband or else leave the NDP. Debate on the motion lasted for three hours, with labour leaders leading the charge to expel the Waffle. Finally, the council approved the anti-Waffle motion 217 to 86, thereby ending months of public feuding.
TorStar: Premier Ford staffer met with developer over Greenbelt land
A member of Premier Doug Ford’s officeattended a private meeting with a developer regarding his land that was later removed from the Greenbelt, reigniting questions about how directly involved the premier’s staff were in the ill-fated housing development plan.
Newly released records show that Carlo Oliviero, who was at the time the executive director of stakeholder relations for Ford, was invited to the meeting about Greenbelt lands in Hamilton. The invitation was forwarded by a well-known lobbyist and former executive assistant of the premier’s.
Within days of the meeting, internal emails show, housing ministry staff were actively researching the land in Hamiltonbefore ultimately selecting it for Greenbelt removal.
ScienceAlert: Alarming Study Finds 99% of Fake Painkillers Tested Contain Fentanyl
In 2022, of all the counterfeit oxycodone seized by Rhode Island law enforcement, virtually every pill that scientists tested contained fentanyl – a synthetic narcotic 50 times more powerful than heroin and now claiming the lives of more than 100,000 people a year nationally.
Between 2017 and 2020, only 10 percent of fake oxycodone pills seized by the state contained fentanyl, researchers at Brown say.
That’s an incredibly steep rise for a particularly dangerous street drug – one that’s made all the more concerning by fentanyl’s regular pairing with a strong sedative: a non-opioid horse tranquilizer called xylazine, that is not approved for human use.
CBC: Writer and journalist Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
Rex Murphy, the controversial Newfoundland-born pundit and wordsmith whose writing and often-blistering commentaries were the focus of a decades-long career in Canadian media, has died at the age of 77, according to the National Post.
“You might not agree with what Rex had to say, but oh, boy, could he ever say it,” said comedian and fellow Newfoundlander Mark Critch, who performed an impression of Murphy on This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
In a report published on the Post’s website on Thursday, the newspaper said Murphy died after a battle with cancer.
Rhodes scholar.
ScienceAlert: Scientists Discover First-of-Its-Kind Molecule That Absorbs Greenhouse Gasses
A ‘cage of cages’ is how scientists have described a new type of porous material, unique in its molecular structure, that could be used to trap carbon dioxide and another, more potent greenhouse gas.
Synthesized in the lab by researchers in the UK and China, the material is made in two steps, with reactions assembling triangular prism building blocks into larger, more symmetrical tetrahedral cages – producing the first molecular structure of its kind, the team claims.
The resulting material, with its abundance of polar molecules, attracts and holds greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide(CO2) with strong affinity. It also showed excellent stability in water, which would be critical for its use in capturing carbon in industrial settings, from wet or humid gas streams.
Last Updated: 09.May.2024 22:48 EDT
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No aurora for us tonight. Cloudy (& snowing). 😞❄️
🔗 Articles: Friday 10.May.2024
Guardian: Fixation on UK nuclear power may not help to solve climate crisis
Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic are backing as yet unproven small modular reactors (SMRs) as an indispensable part of the answer to the climate crisis and are running competitions to get this industry started. These reactors, from tiny ones of the type that power nuclear submarines, to scaled-up versions that can, in theory, be factory produced and built in relays to provide steady power, are all still in the design stage.
As the Union of Concerned Scientists in the United States points out, whichever model is chosen they have all the drawbacks of existing nuclear power stations; expensive, even without cost overruns, and the still unsolved waste problem. The biggest disadvantage, the group says, is that even if the technology worked it would be too little, too late, to keep the climate safe.
NYT: Colson Whitehead Cancels His Commencement Speech at UMass Amherst
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead said Thursday that he would not give the commencement address at the University of Massachusetts Amherst on May 18 as planned, citing the administration’s decision to call the police on campus protesters.
“I was looking forward to speaking next week at UMass Amherst,” Mr. Whitehead wrote on the social network Bluesky. “But calling the cops on peaceful protesters is a shameful act. I have to withdraw as your commencement speaker. I give all my best wishes and congratulations to the class of ’24 and pray for the safety of the Palestinian people, the return of the hostages, and an end to this terrible war.”
Benzinga: Elon Musk Announces $500M Investment In Tesla’s Supercharger Network Expansion In 2024
Musk, in a post on Friday, reiterated Tesla’s commitment to expanding its Supercharger network despite recent layoffs and a shift in strategy.
“Just to reiterate: Tesla will spend well over $500M expanding our Supercharger network to create thousands of NEW chargers this year. That’s just on new sites and expansions, not counting operations costs, which are much higher,” Musk wrote.
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Amid these developments, **BP ** has expressed interest in acquiring Tesla’s Supercharging stations and plans to spend $1 billion by 2030 to install more than 3,000 charging locations across the U.S.
NYT: Giuliani Is Suspended by WABC, and His Radio Show Is Canceled
The radio station disciplined Rudolph W. Giuliani after he violated company policy by trying to discuss the legitimacy of the 2020 election on the air.
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In a statement, he called WABC’s policies “a clear violation of free speech.” He disputed that he had been aware of any policy related to what he could say on air about the 2020 election, and said he only learned he had been fired when contacted by The New York Times.
As a lawyer, Giuliani should be aware of the actual definition of free speech protection, shouldn’t he?
NYT: Judge Blocks New U.S. Rule Limiting Credit Card Late Fees
In March, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced that a new federal rule would cap fees on late credit card payments at $8 a month, estimating that the change would save American households $10 billion a year.
On Friday, a federal judge in Fort Worth temporarily blocked the rule, siding with bank and credit card company lobbyists who contend in a lawsuit that it is unconstitutional.
Last Updated: 10.May.2024 23:28 EDT
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🔗 Articles: Saturday 11.May.2024
Discover: Rare and Endangered, These Non-Parasitic Lampreys Are Far From Home
The endangered species is especially unusual because it is part of a paired species — meaning that it has a relative with some physical differences that is genetically similar. Its closest cousin, the short-headed lamprey (Mordacia mordax), attaches to its prey with a ring of sharp teeth, then sucks its blood. M. praecox, which is nearly indistinguishable from M. mordax, dines by straining water through a filter in its mouth.
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“Basically, there’s only a several month window in their entire lifespan were you can distinguish them, and it’s rather tricky,” says Carpenter-Bundhoo.
Manton Reece (micro.blog): Welcome Kimberly Hirsh! 👋
Excited to announce that @kimberlyhirsh is joining the Micro.blog team. She’ll be helping part-time with curation and community. We’ve been talking to Kimberly for a while and I’m happy she can join us as @jean moves on.
Kimberly Hirsh: My new role
Thanks to everyone for your kind words over on Manton’s post about my joining the Micro.blog team!
I want to be clear that I’m not taking over for Jean as community manager. I’m the first of I hope many people who will contribute to curation and community work.
The World (PRX): Once the epicenter of hydraulic engineering, Mexico City is now running out of water
Water supplies in Mexico City are at a historic low due to low rainfall, rising temperatures and outdated infrastructure. The World’s Tibisay Zea reports on the paradox of a sinking, thirsty city that was once surrounded by lakes.
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But environmental factors alone don’t explain the scale of the current water crisis in Mexico’s capital, according to Luis Zambrano, a professor of urban ecosystems at the National Autonomous University (UNAM). He said chaotic urban growth, leaking infrastructure and the overuse of water by large companies have also contributed to the problem.
Zambrano added that the city has a history of bad water management that goes back to colonial times.
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In recent weeks, residents in the Benito Juarez borough, primarily populated by the middle and upper-middle classes, started to notice that the water running from the tap smelled “like gasoline.” Resident Cristina Montemayor said she and her neighbors had a hard time getting the attention of the authorities, who initially dismissed their claims.
After days of protests, city leaders agreed to take and examine water samples in the district, but they are reluctant to publish the results, alleging “they could be misinterpreted”.
But a little over a year later, when Spone finally appeared in court to face the charges against her, she was told the cyberharassment element of the case had been dropped. The police were no longer alleging that she had digitally manipulated anything. Someone had been crying deepfake. A story that generated thousands of headlines around the world was based on teenage lies, after all. When the truth finally came out, it was barely reported – but the videos and images were real.
Guardian: Tim Dowling: No focus, no fights, and a bad back – 16 ways technology has ruined my life
17.Feb.2024
Let’s be fair: technology has improved my life in ways that still surprise and delight me on a daily basis. My phone is also a torch! My TV remembers how far I got in last night’s episode, even if I don’t! The bus stop knows when the bus is coming, and I can watch my pizza’s entire journey from the restaurant to my house! These are, frankly, miracles.
But there have been corresponding sacrifices. Over 20 years, I have turned over whole areas of competence, memory, authority and independence to the machines in my life. Along the way, I have become anxious about problems that didn’t used to exist, indecisive over choices I never used to have to make, and angry about things I would once have been wholly unaware of.
There are probably hundreds of ways in which technology has ruined my life. But let’s start with 16 of them.
Last Updated: 11.May.2024 18:17 EDT
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🔗 Articles: Sunday 12.May.2024
Guardian: Mystery of where Mona Lisa was painted has been solved, geologist claims
Now a geologist and Renaissance art historian believes she has finally solved the mystery in one of the world’s most famous paintings. Ann Pizzorusso has combined her two fields of expertise to suggest that Leonardo painted several recognisable features of Lecco, on the shores of Lake Como in the Lombardy region of northern Italy.
Pizzorusso has matched Leonardo’s bridge, the mountain range and the lake in the Mona Lisa to Lecco’s 14th-century Azzone Visconti bridge, the south-western Alps overlooking the area and Lake Garlate, which Leonardo is known to have visited 500 years ago.
CleanTechnica: Anker Introduces Modular Whole-Home Battery System
Now, Anker has announced its biggest product yet: a whole-home battery storage system called the Anker SOLIX X1. Sure, other companies are already serving that need (especially Tesla), but Anker is bringing more than just a big battery and good software to the table.
If I had to sum up what the product offers in just one word, it would be “flexibility.”
When Ukrainian forces in Azovstal laid down their arms in May 2022, Merkotan and other musicians were among more than 2,000 Ukrainians taken into Russian captivity.
Over 20 months in Russian prisons, he lost nearly 60kg of body weight, and was subjected to a gruesome routine of physical and psychological torment.
CleanTechnica: More Electric Trucks Coming To US, But China Still Leads
Amazon is one of the largest marketing companies in the world and imports gigatons of stuff every year. This week, it announced it is adding almost 50 battery-electric trucks to its fleet of vehicles in California as part of its plan to decarbonize every step of the delivery process. The fully electric trucks will haul cargo containers and customer packages in its first and middle mile operations so they can be delivered by hundreds of last-mile electric vans all across California. Combined, the trucks are expected to travel more than 1 million miles each year with zero tailpipe emissions.
NYT: Mark Penn: Biden Is Doing It All Wrong
President Biden appears behind in all the swing states and his campaign appears all-too-focused on firming up his political base on the left with his new shift on Israel, a $7 trillion budget, massive tax increases and failing to connect on the basic issues of inflation, immigration and energy. By pitching too much to the base, he is leaving behind the centrist swing voters who shift between parties from election to election and, I believe, will be the key factor deciding the 2024 race.
I’ve spent decades looking at the behavior of swing voters and how candidates appeal to them, including for Bill Clinton’s re-election campaign in 1996. If Mr. Biden wants to serve another four years, he has to stop being dragged to the left and chart a different course closer to the center that appeals to those voters who favor bipartisan compromises to our core issues, fiscal discipline and a strong America.
CleanTechnica: More Electric Trucks Coming To US, But China Still Leads
Amazon is one of the largest marketing companies in the world and imports gigatons of stuff every year. This week, it announced it is adding almost 50 battery-electric trucks to its fleet of vehicles in California as part of its plan to decarbonize every step of the delivery process. The fully electric trucks will haul cargo containers and customer packages in its first and middle mile operations so they can be delivered by hundreds of last-mile electric vans all across California. Combined, the trucks are expected to travel more than 1 million miles each year with zero tailpipe emissions.
In freight logistics, “first mile” refers to moving goods from where they are manufactured, through customs, across oceans, into ports, and then into the Amazon fulfillment network. A dozen Volvo electric trucks will be added to Amazon’s first-mile fleet by the end of 2024. Those trucks will transport containers from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to an Amazon facility in Santa Fe Springs, California.
Amazon is also adding more electric trucks to its middle-mile operations, which move customer orders between fulfillment centers, sort centers, and air facilities to delivery stations, where packages are loaded into last-mile vans to be delivered to customer doorsteps. Amazon has deployed 35 heavy-duty electric trucks in Southern California to support its middle-mile operations and has installed more than 45 DC fast chargers at 11 sites to keep those trucks charged.
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Amazon has been operating electric yard tractors since 2019 and now has over 140 of them engaged in moving trailers around its sites in the US. It also now has over 13,000 electric delivery vans manufactured by Rivian in service in America.
UPI: 3 dead, a dozen inured in Alabama concert shooting
About 1,000 people were attending a concert on Bryants Landing Road near Yates Lane when gunfire erupted following an altercation, WKRG reported.
The age of outrage.
Last Updated: 12.May.2024 18:18 EDT
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🔗 Articles: Monday 13.May.2024
UPI: SpaceX launches 23 Starlink satellites from Florida
SpaceX launched 23 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Sunday night, bringing the total number of Starlink satellites in orbit to just over 6,000.
This was the 15th mission for the reusable booster rocket, which launches the spacecraft into orbit, largely under the power of a million pounds of rocket-grade kerosene. Nine of its launches have been Starlink missions.
After separation, the booster returned to the drone ship called A Shortfall of Gravitas, stationed in the Atlantic Ocean, and will be reconditioned for a future mission.
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SpaceX has been authorized to deploy 12,000 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit and has applied for approval for an additional 30,000.
NBC: Virginia school board votes to restore names of Confederate leaders to schools
In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, a school board in Virginia stripped the names of Confederate military figures from two schools. Four years later, the board approved a motion to restore the names.
The school board in Shenandoah County, Virginia, early Friday approved a proposal that will restore the names of Confederate military leaders to two public schools.
The measure, which passed 5-1, reverses a previous board’s decision in 2020 to change the names of schools that had been linked to Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Turner Ashby, three men who led the pro-slavery Southern states during the Civil War.
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The vote in Shenandoah County comes as conservative groups across the U.S. increasingly push back against efforts to reckon with race in America in educational settings, including efforts to limit classroom discussion of racial identity, ban library books dealing with racial themes, and derail diversity plans.
Globe: Three firms tied to ArriveCan app got $1-billion in federal contracts, Ottawa reveals
Three government contractors involved in developing the ArriveCan app have received hundreds of federal contracts worth more than $1-billion over the past 13 years.
Until now, the federal government has not been able to provide a clear breakdown of how much contract work the three companies have been awarded. The new numbers were provided to MPs on the public accounts committee and a copy was obtained by The Globe and Mail.
The three companies have been at the centre of parliamentary scrutiny into the sharp increase in federal outsourcing on professional services – from about $8-billion a year in 2016 to projections of more than $21-billion last year.
Globe: Carbon capture plan faces doubts after Capital Power cancels $2.4-billion project
The Edmonton-based power generator announced in its quarterly earnings report on Wednesday that it is discontinuing pursuit of the $2.4-billion project because it does not work financially. It had previously said that the proposal would annually capture up to 3 million tonnes of emissions from natural-gas units at its Genesee generating station in Alberta.
All smoke and mirrors.
Electrek: Tesla’s head of Cybertruck manufacturing is out
Tesla’s head of Cybertruck manufacturing has left the company. It’s unclear if he was involved in yet another round of layoffs or if he left on his own accord.
Over the last month, Tesla has been conducting several major waves of layoffs across its entire organization.
At least 10% of the workforce has been let go, but Electrek has heard that as much as 20% of the entire headcount could be gone by the time everything is said and done.
The massive destruction continues.
SportsNet: Canucks’ Carson Soucy suspended one game for cross-checking Oilers’ Connor McDavid
Vancouver Canucks defenceman Carson Soucy has been suspended one game for cross-checking Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced Monday.
The incident occurred at the end of the Canucks’ 4-3 win over the Oilers in Game 3 Sunday in Edmonton.
CBC: Gas station chain’s 29-year lease on reserve land is invalid, B.C. judge rules
7.May.2024
Agreement between Super Save and Penticton Indian Band members was example of ‘buckshee lease’: judge.
CBC: Trump’s former lawyer ‘beyond angry’ he wasn’t offered senior White House post, trial told
He described his reaction when he learned that Stormy Daniels was shopping around her story, just days after the release of an explosive Access Hollywood tape that captured Trump describing crude, unwanted sexual advances against women.
Of the decision to pay $130,000 US to keep Daniels quiet, Cohen said the motivation was politics, not about keeping the news from Trump’s wife. “He wasn’t thinking about Melania. This was all about the campaign,” said Cohen, who summed up his own reaction at the time: “Catastrophic. This is horrible for the campaign.”
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Cohen testified that he remembered Trump telling him: “This is a disaster, a total disaster. Women will hate me. Guys — they’ll think it’s cool. But this is going to be a disaster for the campaign.” He said Trump ordered him to deal with it and make sure it didn’t emerge before the election.
Last Updated: 13.May.2024 18:37 EDT
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