Verizon said on Wednesday that its wireless service was suffering an outage impacting cellular data and voice services. From a report: The nation's largest wireless carrier said that its "engineers are engaged and are working to identify and solve the issue quickly." Verizon's statement came after a swath of social media comments directed at Verizon, with users saying that their mobile devices were showing no bars of service or "SOS," indicating a lack of connection.
Verizon, which has more than 146 million customers, appears to have started experiencing services issues around 12:00 p.m. ET, according to comments on social media site X. Users also reported problems with Verizon competitor T-Mobile. But the company said that it was not having any service issues. "T-Mobile's network is keeping our customers connected, and we've confirmed that our network is operating optimally," a spokesperson told NBC News. "However, due to Verizon's reported outage, our customers may not be able to reach someone with Verizon service at this time."
Verizon, which has more than 146 million customers, appears to have started experiencing services issues around 12:00 p.m. ET, according to comments on social media site X. Users also reported problems with Verizon competitor T-Mobile. But the company said that it was not having any service issues. "T-Mobile's network is keeping our customers connected, and we've confirmed that our network is operating optimally," a spokesperson told NBC News. "However, due to Verizon's reported outage, our customers may not be able to reach someone with Verizon service at this time."
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An anonymous reader shares a report: Global temperatures soared in 2025, but a NASA statement published Wednesday alongside its latest benchmark annual report makes no reference to climate change, in line with President Donald Trump's push to deny the reality of planetary heating as a result of human activities.
That marks a sharp break from last year's communications, issued under the administration of Democrat Joe Biden, which stated plainly: "This global warming has been caused by human activities" and has led to intensifying "heat waves, wildfires, intense rainfall and coastal flooding."
Last year's materials also featured lengthy quotes from the then-NASA chief and a senior scientist and included graphics and a video. By contrast, this year's release only runs through a few key figures, and amounts to a handful of paragraphs. According to the US space agency, Earth's global surface temperature in 2025 was slightly warmer than in 2023 -- albeit within a margin of error -- making it effectively tied as the second-hottest year on record after 2024.
That marks a sharp break from last year's communications, issued under the administration of Democrat Joe Biden, which stated plainly: "This global warming has been caused by human activities" and has led to intensifying "heat waves, wildfires, intense rainfall and coastal flooding."
Last year's materials also featured lengthy quotes from the then-NASA chief and a senior scientist and included graphics and a video. By contrast, this year's release only runs through a few key figures, and amounts to a handful of paragraphs. According to the US space agency, Earth's global surface temperature in 2025 was slightly warmer than in 2023 -- albeit within a margin of error -- making it effectively tied as the second-hottest year on record after 2024.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
An anonymous reader shares a report: Chinese authorities have told domestic companies to stop using cybersecurity software made by roughly a dozen firms from the U.S. and Israel due to national security concerns, two people briefed on the matter said.
As trade and diplomatic tensions flare between China and the U.S. and both sides vie for tech supremacy, Beijing has been keen to replace Western-made technology with domestic alternatives. The U.S. companies whose cybersecurity software has been banned include Broadcom-owned VMware, Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet, while the Israeli companies include Check Point Software Technologies, the sources said.
As trade and diplomatic tensions flare between China and the U.S. and both sides vie for tech supremacy, Beijing has been keen to replace Western-made technology with domestic alternatives. The U.S. companies whose cybersecurity software has been banned include Broadcom-owned VMware, Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet, while the Israeli companies include Check Point Software Technologies, the sources said.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
McKinsey is asking graduate applicants to "collaborate" with an AI tool as part of its recruitment process, as competence with the technology becomes a requirement in competing for top-level jobs. From a report: The blue-chip consultancy is incorporating an "AI interview" into some final-round interviews, according to CaseBasix, a US company that helps candidates apply for posts at leading strategic consulting companies.
In an online post, CaseBasix said candidates in "select final rounds" in the US have been asked to complete tests using McKinsey's internal AI tool, Lilli. They are required to carry out practical consulting tasks with the help of Lilli. "In the McKinsey AI interview, you are expected to prompt the AI, review its output, and apply judgment to produce a clear and structured response. The focus is on collaboration and reasoning rather than technical AI expertise," CaseBasix said.
In an online post, CaseBasix said candidates in "select final rounds" in the US have been asked to complete tests using McKinsey's internal AI tool, Lilli. They are required to carry out practical consulting tasks with the help of Lilli. "In the McKinsey AI interview, you are expected to prompt the AI, review its output, and apply judgment to produce a clear and structured response. The focus is on collaboration and reasoning rather than technical AI expertise," CaseBasix said.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Coal power generation fell in China and India for the first time since the 1970s last year, in a "historic" moment that could bring a decline in global emissions, according to analysis. From a report: The simultaneous fall in coal-powered electricity in the world's biggest coal-consuming countries had not happened since 1973, according to analysts at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, and was driven by a record roll-out of clean energy projects.
The research, commissioned by the climate news website Carbon Brief, found that electricity generated by coal plants fell by 1.6% in China and by 3% in India last year, after the boom in clean energy across both countries was more than enough to meet their rising demand for energy. China added more than 300GW of solar power and 100GW of wind power last year -- together, more than five times the UK's total existing power generation capacity -- which are both "clear new records for China and, therefore, for any country ever," the report said. India added 35GW of solar, 6GW of wind and 3.5GW of hydropower last year, according to the analysis.
The research, commissioned by the climate news website Carbon Brief, found that electricity generated by coal plants fell by 1.6% in China and by 3% in India last year, after the boom in clean energy across both countries was more than enough to meet their rising demand for energy. China added more than 300GW of solar power and 100GW of wind power last year -- together, more than five times the UK's total existing power generation capacity -- which are both "clear new records for China and, therefore, for any country ever," the report said. India added 35GW of solar, 6GW of wind and 3.5GW of hydropower last year, according to the analysis.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Cloud-native, 37 plugins … an attacker's dream
A brand-new Linux malware named VoidLink targets victims' cloud infrastructure with more than 30 plugins that allow attackers to perform a range of illicit activities, from silent reconnaissance and credential theft to lateral movement and container abuse. …
Dierenopvangcentrum Rotterdam aan de Abraham van Stolkweg viert feest: het asiel bestaat deze week precies een jaar. In die tijd zijn 361 katten, 127 honden en 231 vogels opgevangen. Toch vindt niet ieder dier even gemakkelijk een nieuw baasje. Zo zitten Bomba, Moppie en Kwak al weken in het asiel.
Het wordt tijd en het gaat vanavond gebeuren. Een Amerikaanse aanval op Iran met als einddoel het omver werpen van het regime van de dood. Er gebeurt momenteel veel: er zijn zojuist zeker zes tankvliegtuigen opgestegen van de Amerikaanse luchtmachtbasis Al-Udeid in Qatar. ZES, zes keer de Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. Mogelijk evacuatievluchten, omdat Al-Udeid (net als bij de Amerikaanse aanval op de nucleaire faciliteiten afgelopen juni) het voornaamste doelwit zal zijn van een Iraanse tegenaanval. Irans ideologische aartsvijand Israël heeft de schuilkelders alvast open gegooid, schepen mijden Iraanse havens en gaan voor de kust voor anker, Polen en Italië hebben hun burgers nog opgeroepen snel te vertrekken nu het nog kan: alle signalen wijzen erop dat Donald Trump vanavond een eerste beuk gaat uitdelen aan het regime van de haat. Israël heeft Iran alvast gewaarschuwd all-in te gaan, mocht het een Iraanse wraakaanval om de oren krijgen. Spannend. We volgen. F5. Later meer.
Update 21:07 - Trump, ondertussen: "We have been told that the killing in Iran is stopping, it has stopped. There is no plan for executions. I have been told that, we will find out about it."
Update 21:17 - Britse ambassade in Teheran gesloten
Deze beukers
Gul L’Abi is een videoclip-project dat de samensmelting van diverse culturen en perspectieven uitdrukt door esthetische overwegingen centraal te stellen. Beïnvloed door de oosterse cultuur, suggereert het project een nieuw concept van een ‘nieuwe wereld’, genaamd ‘Neuland’. De onverwoestbare, door de vrouwelijke personages bestreden, mannelijk gedomineerde culturen.
Acid Arab is a duet from Paris whose goal is to mix all kind of Eastern music (North Africa, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey or… Mumbai) with electronic sounds, from pioneering acid house to today’s powerful techno.
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I Was Kidnapped by Idiots. “Later, he tried the ‘good cop, bad cop’ routine on me but undermined the effect by playing both characters himself, on alternate days, which just made him seem deranged.”
BERLIJN (ANP/RTR) - Ook Duitsland stuurt militairen naar Groenland. Denemarken kondigde eerder op woensdag aan de militaire aanwezigheid op het eiland te versterken, ook met hulp van bondgenoten.
Zweden en Noorwegen maakten na de Deense aankondiging bekend militairen naar Groenland te sturen. Een woordvoerder van de Duitse regering bevestigt na berichtgeving van Bild dat ook Duitsland dat zal doen. Meer dan tien Duitse militairen gaan donderdag naar het eiland in het Noordpoolgebied.
Groenland maakt deel uit van het Deense koninkrijk, maar moet volgens de Amerikaanse president Donald Trump om veiligheidsredenen bij de Verenigde Staten horen.
Tijdens de Koude Oorlog was wetenschappelijke samenwerking een voorbeeld van de zogeheten détente tussen Moskou en Washington. Daarvan is door de grootschalige invasie in Oekraïne weinig over.
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De Groenlandse en Deense ministers van Buitenlandse Zaken noemen het gesprek met de Amerikaanse vicepresident JD Vance en minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Marco Rubio ‘constructief en openhartig’. Het gevreesde ‘Zelensky-moment’ bleef uit.
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Researchers have demonstrated remotely controlling a wheelchair over Bluetooth. CISA has issued an advisory.
CISA said the WHILL wheelchairs did not enforce authentication for Bluetooth connections, allowing an attacker who is in Bluetooth range of the targeted device to pair with it. The attacker could then control the wheelchair’s movements, override speed restrictions, and manipulate configuration profiles, all without requiring credentials or user interaction.
From figures with multiple legs and noodles for arms to frolicking trees, Paco Pomet summons the absurd. Known for his uncanny oil paintings rendered mostly in monochrome and enlivened by colorful details of overly stretchy limbs or celestial objects, a sense of nostalgia greets surreal scenarios. The artist often derives his imagery from vintage black-and-white photographs, adding an absurd dimension to history.
Pomet’s work is currently on view in a solo exhibition titled Planet Circus at Richard Heller Gallery, which continues through February 14 in Santa Monica. See more on the artist’s Instagram.
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Absurd Scenarios Stretch Across Paco Pomet’s Uncanny Canvases appeared first on Colossal.