An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: A Donald Trump-backed push has failed to wedge a federal measure that would block states from passing AI laws for a decade into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) told reporters Tuesday that a sect of Republicans is now "looking at other places" to potentially pass the measure. Other Republicans opposed including the AI preemption in the defense bill, The Hill reported, joining critics who see value in allowing states to quickly regulate AI risks as they arise.

For months, Trump has pressured the Republican-led Congress to block state AI laws that the president claims could bog down innovation as AI firms waste time and resources complying with a patchwork of state laws. But Republicans have continually failed to unite behind Trump's command, first voting against including a similar measure in the "Big Beautiful" budget bill and then this week failing to negotiate a solution to pass the NDAA measure. [...]

"We MUST have one Federal Standard instead of a patchwork of 50 State Regulatory Regimes," Trump wrote on Truth Social last month. "If we don't, then China will easily catch us in the AI race. Put it in the NDAA, or pass a separate Bill, and nobody will ever be able to compete with America." If Congress bombs the assignment to find another way to pass the measure, Trump will likely release an executive order to enforce the policy. Republicans in Congress had dissuaded Trump from releasing a draft of that order, requesting time to find legislation where they believed an AI moratorium could pass. "The controversial proposal had faced backlash from a nationwide, bipartisan coalition of state lawmakers, parents, faith leaders, unions, whistleblowers, and other public advocates," the NDAA, a bipartisan group that lobbies for AI safety laws, said in a press release.

This "widespread and powerful" movement "clapped back" at Republicans' latest "rushed attempt to sneak preemption through Congress," Brad Carson, ARI's president, said, because "Americans want safeguards that protect kids, workers, and families, not a rules-free zone for Big Tech."

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alternative_right quotes a report from the Guardian: The statue looms and glints at more than 11 feet tall and weighing 3,500 pounds, looking out at the city with, how to put it ... a characteristically stern expression? Despite its daunting appearance and history as a crimefighter of last resort, the giant new bronze figure of the movie character RoboCop is being seen as a symbol of hope, drawing fans and eliciting selfie mania since it began standing guard over Detroit on Wednesday afternoon. It has been 15 years in the making. Even in a snowstorm in the dark, people were driving by to see it, said Jim Toscano, co-owner of the Free Age film production company, where the statue now stands firmly bolted down near the sidewalk. RoboCop hit theaters in 1987, portraying a near-future Detroit as crime-ridden and poorly protected by a beleaguered and outgunned police force, until actor Peter Weller appeared as a nearly invincible cyborg, apparently created by a nefarious corporation bent on privatizing policing. A grassroots campaign to build a RoboCop statue in Detroit began in 2010, eventually raising over $67,000 on Kickstarter and resulting in a completed sculpture in 2017. However, hosting setbacks caused it to get stuck, "stored away from public view," reports the Guardian. The project finally found a home after business owner Mike Toscano agreed to display it in their new open-air product market, calling it "too unique and too cool not to do."

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U.S. regulators are pressing Waymo for answers after Texas officials reported 19 instances of its self-driving cars illegally passing stopped school buses, including cases that occurred after Waymo claimed to have deployed a software fix. Longtime Slashdot reader BrendaEM shares the report from Reuters: In a November 20 letter posted by NHTSA, the Austin Independent School District said five incidents occurred in November after Waymo said it had made software updates to resolve the issue and asked the company to halt operations around schools during pick-up and drop-off times until it could ensure the vehicles would not violate the law. "We cannot allow Waymo to continue endangering our students while it attempts to implement a fix," a lawyer for the school district wrote, citing one incident involving a Waymo that was "recorded driving past a stopped school bus only moments after a student crossed in front of the vehicle, and while the student was still in the road."

The letter prompted NHTSA to ask Waymo on November 24 if it would comply with the request to cease self-driving operations during student pick-up and drop-off times, adding: "Was an appropriate software fix implemented or developed to mitigate this concern? And if so, does Waymo plan to file a recall for the fix?" The school district told Reuters on Thursday that Waymo refuses to halt operations around schools and said another incident involving a self-driving car and an actively loading school bus occurred on December 1, which "indicates that those programming changes did not resolve the issue or our concerns."

In a statement, Waymo did not answer why it had refused to halt operations around Austin schools or answer if it would issue a recall. "We're deeply invested in safe interaction with school buses. We swiftly implemented software updates to address this and will continue to rapidly improve," Waymo said. NHTSA said in a letter to Waymo on Wednesday that it was demanding answers to a series of questions by January 20 about incidents involving school buses and details of software updates to address safety concerns.

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A light aircraft crashed in Gloucestershire after a 3D-printed plastic air-induction elbow softened from engine heat and collapsed, cutting power during final approach and causing the plane to undershoot the runway. Investigators say the part was made from "inappropriate material" and safety actions will be taken in the future regarding 3D printed parts. The BBC reports: Following an "uneventful local flight", the AAIB report said the pilot advanced the throttle on the final approach to the runway, and realized the engine had suffered a complete loss of power. "He managed to fly over a road and a line of bushes on the airfield boundary, but landed short and struck the instrument landing system before coming to rest at the side of the structure," the report read.

It was revealed the part had been installed during a modification to the fuel system and collapsed due to its 3D-printed plastic material softening when exposed to heat from the engine. The Light Aircraft Association (LAA) said it now intends to take safety actions in response to the accident, including a "LAA Alert" regarding the use of 3D-printed parts that will be sent to inspectors.

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DEN HAAG (ANP) - Speelgoed is het afgelopen jaar goedkoper geworden in Nederland. Dat is opvallend, producten worden doorgaans juist steeds duurder. Experts denken dat de toegenomen productie in China en de handelsspanningen van dat land met de Verenigde Staten mogelijk een rol spelen.

Volgens cijfers van het Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) lagen de speelgoedprijzen in oktober 1,5 procent lager dan in oktober vorig jaar. Vergeleken met twintig jaar geleden bleven de prijzen op hetzelfde niveau.

CBS-hoofdeconoom Peter Hein van Mulligen zegt dat de prijzen al sinds 2022 dalen, nadat ze in het vorige decennium waren toegenomen. "Speelgoed van bekende merken wordt vaker in China en naburige lagelonenlanden geproduceerd. Dat houdt de prijsontwikkeling in bedwang." Daarnaast kopen consumenten meer speelgoed uit Chinese webshops. "Dat helpt ook de prijzen laag te houden."

Black Friday

Sectorbankier Dirk Mulder bij ING vermoedt daarnaast dat de hoge importheffingen die de Amerikaanse president Donald Trump eerder dit jaar oplegde aan China, hebben geleid tot goedkoper speelgoed. "Veel speelgoed voor de feestdagen is in het voorjaar al besteld en veel bedrijven in Amerika zijn toen gestopt met het inkopen van speelgoed. Chinese fabrieken zijn op zoek gegaan naar alternatieven en kwamen in Europa terecht." Veel handelaren profiteerden volgens de sectorbankier daarom van "fikse" kortingen. Inmiddels hebben de VS de importheffingen flink verlaagd.

Door de handelsspanningen tussen de VS en China zijn de koers van de dollar ten opzichte van de euro en de containerprijzen dit voorjaar gedaald, aldus Mulder. Ook die ontwikkeling zorgde voor gunstigere prijzen voor handelaren in Nederland. Verder vermoedt hij dat speelgoedverkopers in oktober meer Black Friday-kortingen gaven en wijst hij op de populariteit van goedkope Chinese webshops als Temu en AliExpress.

Een woordvoerder van Intertoys laat weten dat de speelgoedwinkelketen deze week een "significante" groei zag in het aantal sinterklaasaankopen vergeleken met vorig jaar. Wel gaven consumenten gemiddeld een iets lager bedrag uit dan in 2024. De voorgaande jaren hadden Nederlanders volgens hem vaak wat duurdere cadeaus op hun verlanglijstjes staan.

Op de Stationsweg in Sliedrecht is donderdagavond een ernstig ongeluk gebeurd. Een grijs voertuig kwam in botsing met een bromfiets. De bestuurder van het voertuig reed daarna door en liet de bromfietser zwaargewond liggen.

Het is weer pakjesavond!  Maar waar zijn toch Sint en Piet?  Want redacteur Juliette Vasterman, die ziet ze niet.

niggyl :) has added a photo to the pool:

My sister is an en plein air landscape painter. @PetaCrossArt

The palate here is hers, as are the forms in the image. Quite extraordinary really, life imitating art?

One of three frames shot at the northern end of Binalong Bay that all share the palate and the mood of her work.

Binalong Bay, larapuna, Bay of Fires, Tasmania

Ricoh GRiii, 18.3mm f/2.8 GR lens, 5 secs at f/11, ISO 100. NiSi 10 stop ND filter.

gecko47 has added a photo to the pool:

One of three in a group of Tawny Frogmouths, high in a large tree. Not sure if orange eyes indicate age or sex but this one was somewhat smaller than the others.

Stueyman has added a photo to the pool:

Coastal path at Point Peron, WA

Stueyman has added a photo to the pool:

Penguin Island Jetty, currently closed for business.

5penguins has added a photo to the pool:

Spiral staircase in the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art.

jovo2021 has added a photo to the pool:

Waiting for the Yamabiko Shinkansen
Sendai Station, Japan

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Never mind, says jolly green giant, we’re a networking-centric company now

HPE has revealed its revenue from servers and hybrid cloud products has gone backwards but insisted that’s nothing to worry because it’s now poised to profit from its acquisition of Juniper Networks.…

This gallery presents a selection of illustrations, mixing geometric shapes, psychedelic colors, and bold, clean linework. Each piece reflects my signature style?vibrant, detailed, and influenced by European graphic design. The collection explores themes of movement, symmetry, and surreal forms, created for use in editorial, packaging, posters, and art prints.