"If you call 911 in New Orleans, you may hear the sound of an artificial intelligence (AI) agent answering your call instead of a human voice," reports the Shreveport Times:

The Orleans Parish Communication District (OPCD) is currently testing out the new tool designed to reduce the volume of calls human dispatchers must handle, which is over a thousand emergency calls a day.

New Orleans implemented AI in April to answer 311 calls for non-emergencies. The AI was trained and programmed to provide information to callers, as the OPCD says 50% of 311 calls are for information, according to GovTech. AI is now answering 911 emergency calls in Louisiana's largest city and one of the cities with the highest call rates in the U.S.

The OPCD is using Carbyne's AI Emergency Call Triage, with triage being the process of analyzing and prioritizing emergency calls. The AI system assesses incoming calls and can provide immediate feedback to callers. This is intended to handle the increase of calls that are related to one incident, so callers get automatically routed to an AI agent who asks if they are calling regarding the incident. If the answer is yes, then callers can receive information or updates, and if it's no, then the callers are transferred to a human. This combats multitudes of calls piling up and taking longer time to potentially answer an emergency call. The OPCD said the AI will not be used to handle emergency calls, only to direct such calls to a human dispatcher.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

In Georgia the Savannah Police Department "terminated four sworn officers and two civilian employees following an internal investigation into misuse of the department's Flock Safety License Plate Reader system," according to a local news report:

All six cases are also under independent criminal investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation... Investigators found that employees were running searches on personal acquaintances and family members. One officer was found to have given someone from an outside law enforcement agency access to SPD's Flock Safety system, which they weren't authorized to do.


Elsewhere ABC News reports that a female North Carolina police officer was arrested Wednesday "for allegedly using Flock license plate readers to track her boyfriend's ex-wife, according to police..." The officer is accused of accessing the system for personal use 31 different times, including at least twice when she was off-duty, and listing most of the lookups as motor vehicle infractions. [Police chief Ron] Campurciani "added that the department is looking at 10 other potential misuse cases and said three 'look like they could be problematic.'"


And an Ohio news station reports a police officer who recently resigned "while under internal investigation repeatedly used the Flock license plate reader system to search a vehicle registered to someone investigators identified as his likely domestic partner."

Meanwhile, 404 Media reported this week that an Iowa county's usage police specifically tells police officers — in all capital letters — not to tell occupants of a vehicle that an automated license plate reader was used for a traffic stop. It also instructs officers to not even mention the use of the ALPR technology in their reports "unless absolutely necessary," according to information they'd obtained from a public records request," suggesting they instead they call the cameras "county resources":


It is not just local police in small communities who are creating policies designed to obfuscate Flock usage. Earlier this year, we reported that police in multiple states were being told to be "as vague as permissible" about why they were using Flock because their searches could be obtained using public records requests, and that warning was being shared by the FBI and Department of Justice...

In the [Iowa county] public records request, Sheriff Don Phillips said "there is no need" to tell people about the use of Flock... "because the information is verified by the deputy running the license plate. It is common practice for law enforcement to refrain from disclosing investigative methods and sources to prevent criminals from learning how to circumvent them."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

"In a milestone for energy storage technology, Peak Energy has selected Sacramento, California, as the home of America's first manufacturing facility dedicated to grid-scale sodium-ion battery systems," according to the sustainability news site Intelligent Living.

The move "represents the first large-scale test of whether sodium-ion technology can deliver on its promise of cheaper, safer, and more sustainable grid storage at a scale that actually moves the needle for the U.S. electricity system."

The 183,000-square-foot plant, representing a $71 million investment, will produce up to 4 gigawatt-hours of storage annually when production begins in early 2027. That is enough output each year to serve nearly four million homes, and it signals that sodium-ion technology has moved from laboratory promise to commercial reality... Peak Energy, founded in 2023 by former engineers from Tesla, Enovix, and Fluence, announced its Sacramento site selection on July 8, 2026, after a nationwide search that ultimately chose California over Texas... The factory is designed as a system assembly plant rather than a cell fabrication facility. Peak will receive sodium-ion cells, manufactured to its specifications by Chinese suppliers, and assemble them into complete 30-foot-long, 100,000-pound containerized storage systems. Each GS1.1 unit stores 3.1 megawatt-hours, enough to fully charge more than 40 electric vehicles...


In the United States, Peak Energy has emerged as the most advanced grid-scale player. It has secured more than 6 GWh of customer commitments, including a landmark deal with Jupiter Power for up to 4.75 GWh through 2030, valued at up to $500 million. Energy Vault has committed to 1.5 GWh of sodium-ion storage for AI data center applications, and RWE Americas has already deployed Peak's first grid-scale system on the MISO grid in Wisconsin, energized in March 2026. General Motors is codeveloping sodium-ion cells with Peak at its Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center in Michigan, testing 170- and 190-amp-hour cell formats with domestic production targeted for 2028. China, however, remains the global heavyweight. CATL, the world's largest battery manufacturer, unveiled its TENER Sodium energy storage system in June 2026 with a rated cycle life of 15,000 cycles and a projected 25-to-30-year service life. In April 2026, CATL signed a 60 GWh supply agreement with HyperStrong, the largest sodium-ion deal announced to date. BYD, HiNa Battery, and Farasis are also shipping commercial sodium-ion products, including batteries for a $400 electric scooter already on sale in China...

Peak Energy's first commercial shipments from Sacramento are slated for the first quarter of 2027, with contracted deliveries to Jupiter Power, Energy Vault, and RWE Americas following shortly after. The company has publicly stated it needs to deploy over $100 million in product in 2026, up from roughly $10 million in 2025, and the Sacramento facility is sized to meet that demand. At the system level, sodium-ion grid storage is already operating. Peak's pilot installation at the SolarTAC testing facility in Watkins, Colorado, stores 3.5 MWh and has been running since 2025. The RWE Americas deployment in Wisconsin, energized in March 2026, marks the first time sodium-ion batteries have backed up the MISO grid, which serves 15 central U.S. states and the Canadian province of Manitoba...

According to the International Energy Agency, sodium-ion manufacturing capacity announcements have accelerated sharply since 2024, with global pipelines now exceeding 400 GWh annually... Researchers are also pushing the technology forward. In May 2026, a team at the National University of Singapore published a breakthrough in all-solid-state sodium batteries that could further reduce costs and eliminate the flammable liquid electrolytes found in both lithium-ion and current sodium-ion designs.


"The technology's sweet spot is utility-scale, multi-megawatt-hour installations," the article points out, "where the system-level cost savings from passive cooling and longer cycle life outweigh the per-cell energy density penalty..." The article also points out observations from the American Battery Leadership Coalition, an industry group advocating for sodium-ion policy support, that sodium-ion batteries can be built almost entirely from American materials, including coal, sawdust, and agricultural waste.


This week Syntropic Power and UNIGRID Inc. also announced "a major partnership to commercialize UNIGRID's proprietary sodium chromium oxide (NaCrO2) battery technology across North America," reports Interesting Engineering, "targeting one gigawatt-hour (1 GWh) of deployments in 2027. The technology could be used in residential, virtual power plant, and large-scale stationary grid applications..."

Independent testing by the ISO-accredited Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Battery Development Center revealed something surprising. UNIGRID's 210Ah cells displayed endothermic behavior during charging. This means the chemical reaction actually absorbs heat rather than dumping it into the environment. Coupled with a 97.9% cell-level round-trip energy efficiency and remarkable thermal stability under abuse testing, the battery stays cool on its own.
The 210Ah sodium-ion cells deliver up to 218Ah of discharge capacity. It demonstrated exceptional durability, retaining over 99% of its capacity after 1,000 full discharge cycles, as well as heat-absorbing behavior during charging. These validated strengths allow Syntropic to optimize its product designs, enabling platforms like GridSpan [its modular DC platform designed for large-scale energy applications with flexible discharge durations ranging from 20 minutes to 20 hours] to operate safely and efficiently at grid scale without needing complex mechanical cooling systems...

Commercialization kicks off with Tenet, a safety-focused, wall-mounted system for residential, light-commercial, and virtual power plant uses... Relying on abundant and widely distributed raw materials like sodium and chromium — rather than lithium and cobalt — protects manufacturers from geopolitical price spikes and material shortages. Apart from offering an alternative to lithium, a successful rollout will demonstrate that the most durable energy storage is the kind that could stay cool entirely on its own.

Thanks to Slashdot reader fjo3 for sharing the news.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The Dallas Business Journal reported Monday that the U.S. multinational paper goods company Kimberly-Clark announced "that its researchers identified and advanced patented technology transforming fibers from hesperaloe, a low-water-use plant with pointy leaves that thrives in the southwest region of the country, into material for paper towels." Discovering an alternative to conventional wood fiber "could reshape how the company, and the industry at large, manufactures products," according to article.


And the move comes "amid growing pressure on manufacturers regarding their reliance on wood fibre from freshly felled trees," reports The Telegraph. "Campaigners claim that more than one million trees are cut down every day..."

Unlike trees, hesperaloe can be grown on dry, low-quality farmland unsuitable for most food crops and harvested much more quickly. Kimberly-Clark said it had tested more than 70 potential materials before settling on hesperaloe. Earlier candidates included wheat straw, corn waste, seaweed, algae and chicken feathers. The US consumer goods giant will now develop the fibre at a pilot factory in Yuma, Arizona, working with local growers to determine whether the crop can be cultivated for commercial use in its tissue products. "This represents an exciting moonshot for Kimberly-Clark and the culmination of more than two decades of materials and plant science expertise," said Craig Slavtcheff, who is helping develop the new toilet paper.
However, the company said products made from hesperaloe remained years away from supermarket shelves, with further research needed before the fibre could be produced at the scale required for global manufacturing. The US-based company has invested about $250m (£190m) in the project and filed more than 30 patents linked to the technology.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Weer voor Rotterdam 🌕 - 09-08-2026 01:15 CEST

In één oogopslag:
• 20.7°C · Helder 🌕 | Min 15.6°C / Max 26.2°C

Verwachting voor vandaag:
• Min 15.6°C, Max 26.2°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1014.2 hPa ↘️ -2.9 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 11.5 km/u (3.2 m/s), richting: ← 91°

Uurlijkse voorspelling voor de komende 12 uur:

• 02:00: 20.3°C (Helder) 🌕, 🧭 1017.1 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 7.9 km/u (2.2 m/s), richting: ← 90°
• 03:00: 20.0°C (Helder) 🌕, 🧭 1016.4 hPa ↘️ -0.7 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 9.0 km/u (2.5 m/s), richting: ← 97°
• 04:00: 19.4°C (Helder) 🌕, 🧭 1015.9 hPa ↘️ -0.5 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 7.9 km/u (2.2 m/s), richting: ← 90°
• 05:00: 19.2°C (Helder) 🌕, 🧭 1015.3 hPa ↘️ -0.6 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 7.9 km/u (2.2 m/s), richting: ← 87°
• 06:00: 18.7°C (Helder) 🌕, 🧭 1015.2 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 6.5 km/u (1.8 m/s), richting: ← 99°
• 07:00: 18.4°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1015.1 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 5.8 km/u (1.6 m/s), richting: ← 97°
• 08:00: 20.3°C (Zonnig) ☀️, 🧭 1015.0 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 2.2 km/u (0.6 m/s), richting: ← 112°
• 09:00: 23.4°C (Zonnig) ☀️, 🧭 1014.7 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 1.8 km/u (0.5 m/s), richting: ↗ 238°
• 10:00: 26.0°C (Zonnig) ☀️, 🧭 1014.5 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 4.0 km/u (1.1 m/s), richting: → 269°
• 11:00: 27.5°C (Zonnig) ☀️, 🧭 1014.6 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 4.3 km/u (1.2 m/s), richting: ↘ 309°
• 12:00: 28.8°C (Zonnig) ☀️, 🧭 1014.7 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 5.4 km/u (1.5 m/s), richting: ↗ 241°
• 13:00: 29.8°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1014.4 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 9.4 km/u (2.6 m/s), richting: ↗ 226°

Voorspelling voor de komende dagen:

• maandag 10 augustus: Min 18.4°C, Max 30.9°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1016.4 hPa ↗️ +2.2 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 22.7 km/u (6.3 m/s), richting: ↑ 195°
• dinsdag 11 augustus: Min 18.0°C, Max 23.9°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 5%, 🧭 1025.3 hPa ↗️ +8.9 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 17.6 km/u (4.9 m/s), richting: ↘ 329°
• woensdag 12 augustus: Min 15.9°C, Max 22.1°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1025.6 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 15.5 km/u (4.3 m/s), richting: ↙ 55°
• donderdag 13 augustus: Min 13.8°C, Max 26.7°C (Licht bewolkt) 🌤️, 🧭 1022.3 hPa ↘️ -3.3 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 12.1 km/u (3.4 m/s), richting: ← 82°
• vrijdag 14 augustus: Min 17.8°C, Max 31.0°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1017.0 hPa ↘️ -5.3 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 11.0 km/u (3.1 m/s), richting: ← 92°
• zaterdag 15 augustus: Min 20.0°C, Max 33.7°C (Zonnig) ☀️, 🧭 1015.0 hPa ↘️ -2.0 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 7.1 km/u (2.0 m/s), richting: ↓ 15°

Details:
• 🌡️ Huidige temperatuur (om 01:15): 20.7°C (Helder)
• 🤚 Gevoelstemperatuur: 19.0°C (-1.7°C)
• 💨 Windsnelheid: 8.6 km/u (2.4 m/s), richting: ← 80°
• 🌬️ Windstoten: 13.3 km/h (3.7 m/s)
• 💧 Luchtvochtigheid: 51%
• 🧭 Luchtdruk: 1017.1 hPa ↘️ -1.2 hPa/3h
• 👁️ Zichtbaarheid: 50.0 km
• ☀️ UV-index: 0.0
• 🌅 Zonsopgang: 06:15 · 🌇 Zonsondergang: 21:19

Luchtkwaliteit:
• AQI: 53 🟡 (Matig)
• PM2.5: 9.0 μg/m³
• PM10: 13.8 μg/m³

Gegevens geleverd door Open-Meteo

#Rotterdam #Meteo #MeteoBot #MeteoNetherlands #OpenMeteo #FediMeteo

Fat Burns ☮ has added a photo to the pool:

Many thanks for your visits, faves and comments. Cheers.

Little Black Cormorant
Scientific Name: Phalacrocorax sulcirostris
Description: The Little Black Cormorant is a small, slim, totally black cormorant with a greenish sheen to the back and a slender grey hooked bill. In the breeding season, adults have fine white flecks on the head and neck and the green tinge becomes more bronze. This species congregates in larger flocks than other cormorants and flies in V-shaped formations.
Similar species: The Little Black Cormorant is one of only two totally black cormorants in Australia, with the other being the much larger (70 cm - 90 cm)Great Cormorant, P. carbo, which has a yellow bill, face and throat and a white chin. The Great Cormorant also flies more often in long lines than in V-shaped formations.
Distribution: The Little Black Cormorant is found throughout Australia, including Tasmania. It is also found from Borneo and Java, Indonesia, to Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Palua and New Zealand.
Habitat: The Little Black Cormorant is mainly found in freshwater wetlands, but will sometimes be found on sheltered coastal waters, and can use relatively small, deep water bodies. It is strongly aquatic, seldom being seen on dry land, but is often seen resting on rocks, jetties and other perches in water.
Seasonal movements: Nomadic, leaving coastal habitats when inland waters are plentiful.
Feeding: The Little Black Cormorant feeds on fish, crustaceans and aquatic insects. It catches prey underwater, by diving and swimming using its large, fully webbed feet for propulsion. It has special nictitating membranes that cover and protect the eyes underwater. As their feathers are not waterproof, cormorants are regularly seen perched with their wings outstretched to dry after fishing.
Breeding: The Little Black Cormorant nests colonially, often on the fringes of heron or ibis colonies, building large stick nests in the fork of a tree or on the ground. Both sexes share nest-building, incubation and feeding of the young.
Minimum Size: 60cm
Maximum Size: 65cm
Average size: 62cm
(Source: www.birdsinbackyards.net)

© Chris Burns 2026
__________________________________________

All rights reserved.

This image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying and recording without my written consent.

Fast-moving fire displaces people in western Canada, burning homes as it races through towns on Okanagan Lake

British Columbia declared a state of emergency on Saturday as a fast-moving wildfire destroyed homes, trapped residents and forced more than 20,000 people to flee communities along Okanagan Lake in western Canada.

The premier, David Eby, announced the emergency as more than 100 wildfires burned across the province, nearly half of them out of control in hot, windy weather and prolonged drought.

Continue reading...

• Fifa issues statement defending under-fire president

• ‘Insinuation should not be presented as fact’

Fifa has issued a new statement alleging there is a “concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine Fifa and its president” as pressure increases on Gianni Infantino.

The governing body issued the statement in response to Uefa confirming on Saturday that a “departure payment” was made to a female employee who is alleged to have been in a relationship with Infantino while he was the organisation’s general secretary – allegations Fifa dismissed as “categorically untrue”.

Continue reading...

Tehran urges US to ‘correct its behaviour’ as UAE says one of its ships targeted by Iranian missile

Iran has issued tough new demands for reopening the strait of Hormuz, while the United Arab Emirates said one of its ships was targeted by an Iranian missile, as a deal to open the strategic waterway remained out of reach on Saturday.

Iran’s politburo-like body known as the supreme national security council said the strait of Hormuz will not open until the United States “corrects its behaviour”, with its state broadcaster publishing a statement from the council’s secretary, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who is also a commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC.

Continue reading...

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

VANCOUVER (ANP/RTR) - De West-Canadese provincie British Columbia heeft de noodtoestand uitgeroepen vanwege de natuurbranden die er woeden. Duizenden mensen zijn geëvacueerd.

"Huizen zijn verloren, eigendommen verwoest", aldus de provinciale premier David Eby. "Sommige mensen waren vast komen te zitten doordat de omstandigheden zeer snel veranderden en moesten worden gered." Volgens Eby blijft de situatie erg bedreigend.

Zeker 9500 hectare is getroffen in de buurt van het Okanagan Lake. In die regio wordt veel wijn geproduceerd. Veel wijnboerderijen moesten ontruimd worden.

Stroom uitgevallen

In sommige gebieden is de stroom uitgevallen door de brand. Ook de waterzuiveringsinstallaties werken niet goed meer, waardoor inwoners het advies krijgen om hun kraanwater te koken voor ze het drinken.

Ook in andere provincies in Canada zijn deze zomer veel natuurbranden geweest, omdat het uitzonderlijk droog is geweest. In totaal is dit jaar al 4 miljoen hectare afgebrand.