‘We have come too far to turn around now,’ the monument on Alabama’s Montgomery Square reads

At the recently opened Montgomery Square in Alabama, bronze hands rise from the pavement, holding a placard against the sky. It reads 7053, the booking number displayed in Rosa Parks’s 1956 mugshot after she and other leaders of the Montgomery bus boycott were arrested.

Often with booking numbers and mugshots, the viewer is trained to see criminality before circumstance, guilt before resistance. But at Montgomery Square, a number meant to reduce Parks to an arrestee, has been remade into a monument to what her arrest exposed.

Continue reading...

In his new memoir, the vice-president covers his conversion and politics – at a time when hardline Catholicism is ascendant in the US

When JD Vance became Roman Catholic, he wondered what his dead grandmother would think.

His grandmother Mamaw did not have anything against them, but growing up in Ohio he had sometimes heard that Catholics were servants of the antichrist. And although the people he knew as a child professed personal relationships with Jesus, most rarely went to church. The Church of Rome – with its rituals and costumes, foreign leadership, veneration of Mary and the saints – seemed exotic, even alien, to his family from Appalachia.

Continue reading...

• Latest updates from Friday’s race card

• Greg Wood’s day four tips | Email Niall

Back to the straight course for the finale, and a chance for the American trainer Wesley Ward, a regular winner at this meeting over the last 15 years, to get another on the board via Bacio, who has been handed the plum draw in stall 31. He arrives with three wins from four starts, the most recent of which was an easy two-length win on firm going at Churchill Downs. Jazl, the winner of his two starts this year including his handicap debut at Leicester last time, is also attracting support despite his low draw in stall five, while Gold Digger, in 10, is another big runner and recently described as potentially being a Group horse in a handicap by his jockey, Saffie Osborne.

Continue reading...

Experts cast doubt on conclusion of government-funded study of factory emitting forever chemicals near Blackpool

Concerns have been raised about the conclusions drawn by a government-funded study that looked at rates of kidney cancer in the vicinity of a factory using forever chemicals near Blackpool.

Pfoa, which is a known carcinogenic forever chemical that was globally banned in 2020, was emitted from the AGC Chemicals Europe factory in Thornton-Cleveleys, a town north of Blackpool, between the 1950s and 2012. During this period, approximately 49 tonnes of Pfoa were emitted into the air. The factory, which AGC Chemicals Europe bought in 1999, stopped using Pfoa in 2012.

Continue reading...

Age verification means that the sector’s biggest players will now have access to information that will only make them richer and more powerful

This week, the UK announced a wide-ranging ban on social media that will soon block users from communicating or accessing information on apps such as X, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat unless they prove that they’re over the age of 16.

The prime minister, Keir Starmer, called the policy “a line in the sand”. “Tech giants had their chance and failed,” he said, “but we’re stepping in to protect children, back parents and set a new normal for future generations.” All internet users, especially children, should be protected from exploitative systems online, but this new law will only foster more harm and help the largest and most powerful tech companies consolidate power and influence over everyone’s lives.

Taylor Lorenz is a technology journalist who writes the newsletter User Mag and is the author of the bestselling book Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet

Continue reading...

The web giant announced that Artificial, a biopic about the controversial tech executive, ‘will be better served if it were released by a different studio’

Artificial, Luca Guadagnino’s controversial Sam Altman biopic, which is poised for an awards run next year, has been dropped by its distributor, Amazon.

In a statement first reported by Puck, Amazon said that it believes “that Artificial will be better served if it were released by a different studio and are working closely with the film-making team to find the film a new home”.

Continue reading...

Amid UK government proposals for a ban, experts discuss what other activities might really serve children well

When a Lancashire schoolgirl was asked what she would do if the proposed social media ban for under-16s came into effect, her answer hit a national nerve: “Stare at a wall,” she deadpanned.

The clip went viral, not least because it distilled a question many parents have been asking themselves about the consequences of the government’s proposed social media ban.

Continue reading...

Social

Ja, ingewikkeld concept, tijd, niet in de laatste plaats omdat onze beleving ervan context gebonden is, en afhangt van bijvoorbeeld levensfase of locatie, om nog maar te zwijgen over bedrading. Sommige mensen komen nou eenmaal altijd te laat, en sommige ex-geliefden vertelden nou eenmaal gekmakend gedetailleerd, langdradig op het lugubere af, alsof het samenvatten van een werkdag werd ingezet als een moderne martelmethode. Je mag kiezen: een kwartiertje waterboarden, of luisteren naar wat Tessa van HR tegen Niels van sales heeft gezegd (kwartiertje waterboarden svp). Ja en toen we jong waren hè, toen voelde het echt alsof zo'n WK vijf weken duurde. Terwijl, nu we wat ouder zijn duurt zo'n WK ineens vijf weken. Afijn, de vraag wat lang is, en in het verlengde daarvan te lang, is eigenlijk een filosofische, waar we graag over zouden uitweiden, ware het niet dat het we er geen tijd voor hebben. Een stel Rotterdamse filosofen heeft de kwestie bovendien onlangs onderzocht. In het geval van oogcontact is enige voorzichtigheid in ieder geval geboden, wat voor de een kort is kan de ander als vervelend lang ervaren, en dat kan de ander ertoe nopen zomaar een mes in je buik te proppen. Niet leuk!

Je auto kan veel hebben, maar als je continu dezelfde dingen verkeerd doet, gaat hij sputteren. Doe het beestje dus een lol en stop met deze zeven fouten:

1. Hand op de pook
   Door de druk van je hand op de versnellingspook slijt de versnellingsbak sneller. Bovendien is het veiliger om je handen aan het stuur te houden.
2. Koppeling ingedrukt
   We weten het allemaal: laat die koppeling los als je rijdt. Maar doe je dat ook altijd? Het ding slijt sneller als je hem te lang ingedrukt houdt dus laat de versnelling ook niet in de 1 staan als je bij een stoplicht wacht.
3. Remmen bij het afdalen
   In Nederland gebruik je gewoon de rem als je wilt stoppen, maar als je in de bergen rijdt en bezig bent met een scherpe afdaling moet je dat niet doen. Rem dan altijd op de motor en druk het rempedaal enkel in als je nog bij moet remmen.
4. Te snel in de achteruit
   Niemand wordt blij van het geluid van verkeerd geschakel. Ga je van vooruit naar achteruit wacht dan dus altijd tot je helemaal stilstaat.
5. Sturen terwijl je stilstaat
   Alvast in de goede richting sturen voor je wegrijdt? Doe het niet: alleen rijdend sturen, is een advies dat je vast al eens hebt gehoord.
6. Te weinig bandenspanning
   De meeste auto's geven wel een melding als er te weinig lucht in de banden zit. En dat is maar goed ook. Niet alleen kost het extra brandstof, te weinig bandenspanning leidt ook tot een slechtere wegligging.
7. Over de stoeprand rijden
   Vooral het rechterachterwiel heeft flink te lijden onder een beuk op de stoeprand tijdens het achteruit inparkeren. Wees dus voorzichtig en rijdt enkel recht de stoep op, met twee wielen tegelijk dus.

ARNHEM (ANP) - De rechtbank in Arnhem heeft vrijdag een 27-jarige man uit Almere veroordeeld voor het verkrachten van een 15-jarig meisje in een mobiel toilet. Dat gebeurde vorig jaar tijdens Koningsdag in het centrum van Arnhem. De man krijgt een gevangenisstraf van 28 maanden, waarvan twaalf maanden voorwaardelijk. De rechtbank legde de Almeerder ook een contactverbod op van drie jaar.

De man had een drankje voor het meisje gekocht en duwde haar in het toilet toen ze wilde plassen. Hij draaide de deur op slot, trok haar kleding naar beneden en verkrachtte haar.

De man was veel ouder dan het meisje en had fysiek overwicht. Hij maakte misbruik van het feit dat ze onder invloed was van alcohol en negeerde haar signalen van verzet en weerstand, aldus de rechtbank in het vonnis. "Hiermee zorgde hij voor een situatie die voor het meisje zó bedreigend en beangstigend was dat zij zich daar niet aan kon onttrekken."

Farmers Defence Force (FDF) sluit acties niet uit in reactie op de aanstaande stikstofplannen van het kabinet, zegt een woordvoerster. De boerenactiegroep kijkt ook naar juridische stappen tegen de plannen waar deze week diverse media over hebben geschreven. Ook voorzitter Erik Luiten van landbouworganisatie Agractie merkt dat het "broeit" onder de boeren.

Volgens diverse media komen er zones van 500 of 1000 meter rondom kwetsbare natuur waarin strengere stikstofregels gelden, zo bleek eerder deze week. Volgens landbouwminister Jaimi van Essen (D66) stond er "een bult onzin" in de mediaberichtgeving. De plannen van de landbouwminister worden volgende week vrijdag officieel gepresenteerd.

Volgens een woordvoerster van FDF betekent het niet per se dat boeren naar het Malieveld trekken. "Zeker niet omdat ze straks in Den Haag met reces zijn. Maar we hebben altijd acties klaar om uit te voeren." Wat die acties zijn, wil de woordvoerster niet zeggen.

hiroki.sato has added a photo to the pool:

NASA has selected Relativity Space to build and launch Aeolus, a 2028 Mars orbiter that would provide daily global measurements of dust, winds, and atmospheric temperatures to support future robotic and human missions. TechCrunch reports: The structure of the contract is akin to the deals that NASA made with SpaceX to fly cargo to the International Space Station, or Firefly Aerospace to put a lander on the Moon. The government agency handles the science, while the private company provides low-cost infrastructure. Aeolus, as the mission is dubbed, will contain four instruments to measure and image Mars from orbit, providing what NASA expects to be the first daily, global view of dust, winds, and temperature in its atmosphere. The agency said that data will make it safer for landers and, someday, astronauts, to visit the surface of the Red Planet.

By pairing NASA's world-class instruments with commercial innovation and investment, we can deliver more science, more often, and reduce the time it takes to get essential data into the hands of researchers preparing for future human missions to Mars," NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said in statement. The mission is set to launch in 2028 -- a rapid pace that will require Relativity to design and build the spacecraft to carry the Aeolus instruments, and finish building the rocket that will carry it to space, all on a tight timeline. NASA did not disclose how much it is paying Relativity for the mission, and Relativity did not respond to questions from TechCrunch.

Relativity was founded in 2015 by two former SpaceX and Blue Origin engineers, with the idea of using 3D printing to its maximum potential as a path to building a cheaper rocket. The company's first design, Terran-1, launched in March 2023 and failed mid-flight. Relativity doubled down by moving on to a larger design, dubbed the Terran R. Before Relativity could get it to the launch pad, the company ran into fundraising challenges, and Schmidt took a majority stake in the company in it last year, installing himself as CEO. He's been tight-lipped about the investment but has expressed interest in orbital data centers, and is thought to be using Relativity to launch a space telescope, Lazuili, financed by his family philanthropy, Schmidt Sciences.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Vanillasludge posted a photo:

The founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, has suggested Meta might be using its investment in Indian telco Jio to sabotage the messaging service. Durov dropped his theory on X, writing: "Indian telecom Reliance is sabotaging access to Telegram for millions of users OUTSIDE India (including the UAE) via a rogue method called BGP hijacking." Such attacks see miscreants publish inaccurate routing announcements that associate a service with the wrong IP address. Because routers share info with each other using the border gateway protocol (BGP), fake announcements can quickly propagate across the internet. When that happens, netizens can struggle to reach online services. Durov alleged that Reliance's mobile carrier, Jio, had used BGP hijacking to disrupt access to Telegram. "The sabotage seems intentional, as Reliance has ignored multiple reports," he wrote. "This may be part of a competitive war, as Reliance is partially owned by Meta – the company behind WhatsApp." "The decision to ban Telegram in India looks more like a way to help WhatsApp protect its market share than a legitimate regulatory action that can fix anything," he added in another Xeet. Meta has indeed invested in Reliance, to the tune of $5.7 billion – and two weeks ago announced it will use a datacenter operated by the Indian company. Jio has denied misconfiguring any routes. "Jio continues to operate its network in accordance with global internet routing best practices and the highest standards of reliability, security, and transparency," the company said. Durov offered no proof for his theory, but that didn't stop him from suggesting a deeper conspiracy. "Such abuse of global internet routing is alarming. I wouldn't be surprised if Reliance/WhatsApp were also behind the recent lobbying effort to ban Telegram in India." That's a reference to India's decision to block Telegram for six days to prevent scams and other misconduct at the time of a medical studies entrance exam that over two million people will sit. The decision to implement the ban was taken by India's IT ministry, at the urging of the National Testing Agency – an organization that oversees exams. The founder is correct to say that some Indian entities have called for bans and/or tighter regulation of Telegram for reasons including its uncooperative response to requests for assistance from law enforcement, suspicions that the service facilitates content piracy, and its allowance of user anonymity. Indian telcos are also unhappy that services like Telegram – and WhatsApp – provide voice services but aren't governed by the same laws as licensed carriers. Durov's suggestion that Indian authorities have singled out Telegram is therefore hard to sustain. Durov also criticized the exam-time Telegram ban. "This punishes 150M+ ordinary Telegram users in India – not the insiders who leaked the exam materials." he wrote, before observing that the scams and leaks that Indian authorities hoped to prevent would likely move to other apps. ®

Several reports have suggested that stray air defense missiles may have been partly responsible for the destruction at an oil refinery near Moscow.