He Was an FBI Informant—and Inspired a Generation of Violent Extremists

Listing the Atomwaffen Division and the Order of Nine Angles as a lasting influence, Butcher also disclosed the nature of MKU’s “alliance” with 764, which was forged by the users “Xor” and “Kush” (both of whom are still unidentified). While deriding 764 for not committing enough in-person violence, Butcher said the two groups “might still… Continue reading He Was an FBI Informant—and Inspired a Generation of Violent Extremists

The Incredible Physics of Simone Biles’ Yurchenko Double Pike

A gymnast can actually perform both of these types of rotation at the same time—that’s what makes the sport so interesting to watch. In physics, we would call this type of movement a “rigid body rotation.” But, clearly, humans aren’t rigid, so the mathematics to describe rotations like this can be quite complicated. For the… Continue reading The Incredible Physics of Simone Biles’ Yurchenko Double Pike

Amazon Has to Recall More Than 400,000 Dangerous Products

Amazon failed to adequately alert more than 300,000 customers to serious risks—including death and electrocution—that US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) testing found with more than 400,000 products that third parties sold on its platform. The CPSC unanimously voted to hold Amazon legally responsible for third-party sellers’ defective products. Now, Amazon must make a CPSC-approved… Continue reading Amazon Has to Recall More Than 400,000 Dangerous Products

Election Deniers Are Ramping Up Efforts to Disenfranchise US Voters

EIN advises its network of state-level groups to conduct voter roll challenges using EagleAI, a tool designed to automatically create lists of ineligible voters. Activists in EIN’s network across the country take these lists and manually review them, and, at times, conduct door-to-door canvasses to back up their challenges—a practice that has been condemned for… Continue reading Election Deniers Are Ramping Up Efforts to Disenfranchise US Voters

Meet the Swifties Campaigning for Kamala Harris

In less than a week, Swifties have turned their community into an online election headquarters for US vice president Kamala Harris—and the campaign wants in on the effort. After President Joe Biden announced that he would not seek reelection last week, Emerald Medrano, 22, flipped on the news. As he watched pundits yap about the… Continue reading Meet the Swifties Campaigning for Kamala Harris

The Best Cat Furniture, Scratching Posts, and Litter Boxes (2024)

Catit assured me all the Vesper furniture is made with toxin-free materials, and it follows the formaldehyde emission standards (TSCA Title VI compliant) for composite wood products put forth by the EPA. Runner-Up The Mau Cento Tree got the most compliments of any furniture I’ve owned. Beyond being pretty, my cats loved it. I often… Continue reading The Best Cat Furniture, Scratching Posts, and Litter Boxes (2024)

The Affordable Connectivity Program Died—and Thousands of Households Have Already Lost Their Internet

The death of the US government’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is starting to result in disconnection of internet service for Americans with low incomes. On Friday, Charter Communications reported a net loss of 154,000 internet subscribers that it said was mostly driven by customers canceling after losing the federal discount. About 100,000 of those subscribers… Continue reading The Affordable Connectivity Program Died—and Thousands of Households Have Already Lost Their Internet

Wear This AI Friend Around Your Neck

The Friend gets around 15 hours of battery life and comes in an array of colors that look almost exactly like the color palette of the first Apple iMac computers. (Schiffmann says that wasn’t intentional.) The design comes from a partnership with Bould, the company that designed Nest thermostats. The Friend is available for preorder… Continue reading Wear This AI Friend Around Your Neck

Zombie Alt-Weeklies Are Stuffed With AI Slop About OnlyFans

Several of the most prominent alt-weekly newspapers in the United States are running search-engine-optimized listicles about porn performers, which appear to be AI-generated, alongside their editorial content. If you pull up the homepage for the Village Voice on your phone, for example, you’ll see reporting from freelancers—longtime columnist Michael Musto still files occasionally—as well as… Continue reading Zombie Alt-Weeklies Are Stuffed With AI Slop About OnlyFans

A Senate Bill Would Radically Improve Voting Machine Security

Congress is moving closer to putting US election technology under a stricter cybersecurity microscope. Embedded inside this year’s Intelligence Authorization Act, which funds intelligence agencies like the CIA, is the Strengthening Election Cybersecurity to Uphold Respect for Elections through Independent Testing (SECURE IT) Act, which would require penetration testing of federally certified voting machines and… Continue reading A Senate Bill Would Radically Improve Voting Machine Security