YouTube blocks all anti-vaccine content

YouTube will block all anti-vaccine content, moving beyond its ban on false information about the COVID vaccines to include content that contains misinformation about other approved vaccines, it said in a blog post on Wednesday.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/technology/youtube-blocks-all-anti-vaccine-content-washington-post-2021-09-29/?source=Snapzu

US to declare ivory-billed woodpecker and 22 more species extinct

Factors behind disappearances include too much development, water pollution, logging and competition from invasive species
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/29/us-bird-species-ivory-billed-woodpecker-extinct?source=Snapzu

Blue Origin ‘gambled’ with its Moon lander pricing, NASA says in legal documents

Why didn’t Jeff Bezos’ space firm pitch a cheaper proposal?
Read more: https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/29/22689729/blue-origin-moon-lunar-lander-price-nasa-hls-foia?source=Snapzu

DeepMind’s AI predicts almost exactly when and where it’s going to rain

The firm worked with UK weather forecasters to create a model that was better at making short term predictions than existing systems.
Read more: https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/09/29/1036331/deepminds-ai-predicts-almost-exactly-when-and-where-its-going-to-rain/?source=Snapzu

This is why China finally killed its bitcoin boom

Every time Beijing announces a crackdown on their industry, the running joke among the crypterati is that China has already banned cryptocurrency 18 times. Chinese government agencies have issued a string of increasingly restrictive but never conclusive legal prohibitions of various aspects of crypto since 2013; all the while, China’s crypto industry has thrived. Turns out the nineteenth time might be the charm.
Read more: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/china-ban-bitcoin-cryptocurrencies?source=Snapzu

Valve reportedly developing standalone VR headset codenamed ‘Deckard’

Valve could have a second VR headset in development with a standalone design similar to what’s currently offered by Facebook’s lineup of Oculus Quest headsets. Evidence for the new headset was brought to light by YouTuber Brad Lynch. He found multiple references in Valve’s SteamVR code to a device codenamed “Deckard” which he then cross-referenced against the company’s recent patent applications.
Read more: https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/29/22699914/valve-deckard-standalone-vr-headset-prototype-development?source=Snapzu

CIA Plotted Julian Assange Assassination – Stunning Admission

The CIA plotted to kidnap and assassinate WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, according to stunning testimony by several brave whistleblowers within the intelligence agency. Wikileaks’ publication of information related to CIA hacking created extreme anger against the journalist within the CIA. Officials within the intelligence agency sought to develop plans for a possible assassination operation targeting Assange, according to a Yahoo News investigation.
Read more: https://anonmags.com/cia-plotted-julian-assange-assassination-stunning-admission/?source=Snapzu

Why NASA Is About to Cut Contact With Its Mars Explorers

NASA is about to cut communications with its Mars rovers and other robotic explorers on the red planet. But don’t be alarmed — there’s a good reason for the move and normal operations will resume soon. The downtime is necessary as the current orbits of Earth and Mars mean the two planets are on opposite sides of the sun, a situation that occurs once every two years.
Read more: https://www.digitaltrends.com/news/why-nasa-is-about-to-cut-contact-with-its-mars-explorers/?source=Snapzu

Some iPhone 13 Users Reporting Intermittent Touch Issues, Older Models Also Affected After Updating to iOS 15

Some new iPhone 13 users are reporting intermittent touch issues on their new devices, a phenomenon where the iPhone does not respond to touch inputs by the user, sometimes requiring an entire device force restart to solve, or in other cases, repeated taps to trigger the system to react.
Read more: https://www.macrumors.com/2021/09/29/iphone-13-touch-screen-issues-ios-15/?source=Snapzu

Depression and insecure attachment might explain the link between child abuse and poor relationships in adulthood

Results from an ongoing longitudinal study provide strong evidence that childhood maltreatment predisposes victims to relationship difficulties in adulthood. The findings, published in the journal Child Abuse & Neglect, further suggest that this link between maltreatment and poor quality relationships can be explained by victims’ increased levels of depression and insecure attachment.
Read more: https://www.psypost.org/2021/09/depression-and-insecure-attachment-might-explain-the-link-between-child-abuse-and-poor-relationships-in-adulthood-61901?source=Snapzu

A Woman’s Quest for Motherhood. A Cross-Border Trade in Babies.

Jin Lifen never bothered to explain how she had suddenly become the mother of twins. One day in 2017, she showed up in her village, Zaokeng, with two infant daughters, and paid no mind to the puzzled stares and hushed gossip. In the conservative community, set in the hilly interior of Zhejiang province, an unmarried woman having children is itself cause for consternation. Moreover, some of the villagers had heard the whispers that Jin was infertile. The out-of-the-blue arrival of newborns raised all kinds of questions, and even Jin’s own mother didn’t know the answers.
Read more: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1008608/a-womans-quest-for-motherhood-a-cross-border-trade-in-babies?source=Snapzu

The epic Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain joins GOG.COM

Over the decades, gaming has expanded in ways people could never have imagined, but one genre that has continued to stand the test of time while still growing is the action-adventure genre.
Read more: https://www.gog.com/news/the_epic_blood_omen_legacy_of_kain_joins_gogcom?source=Snapzu

Apple, Google asked to turn in S.Korea compliance plans by mid-October

Apple and Alphabet's Google have been asked to turn in by mid-October compliance plans for a new South Korean law that bans major app store operators from forcing software developers to use their payment systems, a regulatory official said on Wednesday.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-google-asked-turn-skorea-compliance-plans-by-mid-october-2021-09-29/?source=Snapzu

Netflix buys first video game studio, rolls out mobile games

Netflix has bought video game creator Night School Studio and rolled out five mobile gaming titles in select European markets, the company said on Tuesday, as it looks to diversify revenue sources amid intensifying competition in the streaming space.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/technology/netflix-rolls-out-mobile-games-users-select-european-markets-2021-09-28/?source=Snapzu

Simone Biles Says She Wasn't Going To Let Larry Nassar Take Her Joy Away

Olympic gymnast Simone Biles said that she "should have quit [gymnastics] way before Tokyo" in a new interview that sheds light on what the superstar has endured outside the spotlight.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2021/09/28/1041173873/simone-biles-quit-tokyo-olympics-larry-nassar?source=Snapzu

Strong iPhone 13 Demand Sees Taiwan Suppliers Prioritize Apple Over Rivals

Strong iPhone 13 demand in Taiwan and China has led Taiwanese component suppliers to prioritize production lines for Apple over rival Samsung and many Chinese mobile vendors, according to a new DigiTimes report. The report states that Samsung's third-quarter sales this year fell short of expectations, while Chinese smartphone vendors including Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi have high inventory levels of components.
Read more: https://www.macrumors.com/2021/09/29/iphone-taiwan-suppliers-prioritize-apple/amp/?__twitter_impression=true?source=Snapzu

Most people aren’t accessing their medical records on their phones

Even as more and more people in the United States start to have access to their medical records online, most are still far more likely to use their computers to log in to patient portals than a smartphone app, according to a new report from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.
Read more: https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/28/22698323/patient-portal-health-records-smartphone-app?source=Snapzu

Lego doubles profits as demand soars beyond Covid-19 lockdown

Brick brand says it does not not expect problems with Christmas stock despite global supply crisis
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/sep/28/lego-profits-covid-19-lockdown-christmas-stock?source=Snapzu

Elon Musk says he's 'pro-nuclear' power and is 'surprised by some of the public sentiment' against it

Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday said he's a proponent of nuclear power and was "surprised by some of the public sentiment against nuclear." "I'm not saying we should go build a whole bunch of nuclear plants, but I don't think we should shut down ones that are operating safely," Musk said at the Code Conference in Los Angeles.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-pro-nuclear-power-wind-solar-future-renewable-energy-2021-9?source=Snapzu

Social media firms serve as gateway for scammers, says finance watchdog

FCA threatens action unless platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram do not toughen up against fraudsters
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/sep/28/social-media-giants-serve-as-gateway-for-scams-warns-finance-watchdog?source=Snapzu

U.S. Government Demanding Confidential Information of Semiconductor Companies

The U.S. government told semiconductor manufacturers, including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, TSMC and Intel, to submit their confidential information by Nov. 8. It mentioned that the demand is to find out the cause of the ongoing global chip shortage and the information includes client lists, inventory statuses and future production plans.
Read more: http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=77353?source=Snapzu

Misinformation has pushed American democracy to the brink, former CISA chief says

Erosion in confidence in democracy could be "potentially catastrophic," Chris Krebs says.
Read more: https://www.cnet.com/tech/misinformation-has-pushed-american-democracy-to-the-brink-former-cisa-chief-says/?source=Snapzu

Elon Musk: Bitcoin Is Indestructible, US Government Should Keep Hands Off

Elon Musk, on Tuesday at the Code Conference in California, said that he believes cryptocurrency to be virtually indestructible. He has been a very active supporter of cryptocurrency, and a significant, bullish influencer of the crypto trade markets.
Read more: https://news.todayq.com/news/elon-musk-bitcoin-is-indestructible-us-government-should-keep-hands-off/?source=Snapzu

SNL Adds Ten New Writers for Season 47

Last year’s head writers are also returning.
Read more: https://www.vulture.com/2021/09/snl-adds-ten-new-writers-for-season-47.html?source=Snapzu

Workers are putting on pants to return to the office only to be on Zoom all day

Pandemic-era safety procedures have created a new dynamic at work, in which many employees say they’re operating at work the same way they were at home.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/09/27/return-to-work-in-person-hybrid/?source=Snapzu

Activision Blizzard strikes $18 million settlement with US employment watchdog

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Activision Blizzard have settled a lawsuit over the games company’s allegedly pervasive sexual harassment and discrimination. The news follows an EEOC suit filed Monday in California court that was based on a three-year investigation including cooperation from the games publisher. As part of the settlement, Activision Blizzard will create an $18 million fund to compensate employees who claim damages.
Read more: https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/27/22697341/us-eeoc-sues-activision-blizzard-sexual-harassment-discrimination?source=Snapzu

Swiss scientists unveil wood floor that generates power when walked on

Scientists in Switzerland have developed a new type of wood flooring that generates power when it's walked on.
Read more: https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2021/09/01/switzerland-wood-power-floors/3711630510035/?source=Snapzu

Rwandan conservationist helps to save hundreds of cranes

The Umusambi Village has rescued more than 200 cranes from captivity over the years, helping to boost the population of the endangered birds to 881 from 487 just four years ago.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/rwandan-conservationist-helps-save-hundreds-cranes-2021-09-15/?source=Snapzu

Cavers discover snakes and waterfalls inside Yemen's infamous 'Well of Hell' in world-first descent

Cave explorers from Oman have become the first individuals to descend to the bottom of the 367-foot (112 meters) deep "Well of Hell" sinkhole in Yemen, which many local people believe is a genie-infested gateway to the underworld, according to news reports. The natural sinkhole, officially known as the Well of Barhout, has an eerily circular entrance that spans 98 feet (30 m) in diameter and is located in the middle of the desert in al-Mahra province in eastern Yemen, close to the border with Oman.
Read more: https://www.livescience.com/well-of-hell-sinkhole-yemen-descent?source=Snapzu

Canada and China engage in heated spat at UN

A heated back-and-forth between China and Canada kicked off in the final hours of the UN General Assembly Monday, after Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau referenced the "two Michaels" recently released from detention in China.
Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/27/world/canada-china-un-kovrig-spavor-intl-hnk/index.html?source=Snapzu

iPhone 13 Face ID failing with CPAP masks; worked with older phones

Apple made some changes to the iPhone 13 Face ID setup in terms of both hardware and software, and this seems to be causing problems for some disabled and seriously ill users. Specifically, Face ID registration is failing when some owners are wearing a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) mask – used by those with respiratory issues.
Read more: https://9to5mac.com/2021/09/28/iphone-13-face-id-cpap-masks/?source=Snapzu

‘False choice’: is deep-sea mining required for an electric vehicle revolution?

At the Goodwood festival of speed near Chichester, the crowds gathered at the hill-climb circuit to watch the world’s fastest cars roar past, as they do every year. But not far from the high-octane action, there was a new, and quieter, attraction: a display of the latest electric vehicles, from the £28,000 Mini Electric to the £2m Lotus Evija hypercar. Even here, at one of the biggest events in Britain’s petrolhead calendar, it’s clear the days of the internal combustion engine are numbered.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/28/false-choice-is-deep-sea-mining-required-for-an-electric-vehicle-revolution?source=Snapzu

Meet Tucker Carlson. The most dangerous journalist in the world

Hardly a household name outside the US, but Tucker Carlson is one of the most influential figures on the populist right and poster boy for TV shock jocks the world over. Is the White House in his sights?
Read more: https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/who-is-tucker-carlson/?source=Snapzu

Netflix Releases New Data on Most Popular TV Shows and Movies

Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-CEO and chief content officer, revealed what he said was the “most comprehensive look so far” at the streamer’s top 10 TV shows and movies.
Read more: https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/netflix-most-popular-tv-shows-movies-1235075301/?source=Snapzu

How neutron star collisions flooded Earth with gold and other precious metals

The universe is pretty good at smashing things together. All kinds of stuff collides — stars, black holes and ultradense objects called neutron stars. And when neutron stars do it, the collisions release a flood of elements necessary for life.
Read more: https://www.space.com/neutron-star-collisions-gave-earth-precious-metals?source=Snapzu

Rising U.S. yields push dollar higher; yen falls to three-month low

The U.S. dollar climbed to its highest level in more than 10 months on Tuesday, while other major G10 currencies weakened, as a rise in U.S. Treasury yields made the greenback more attractive to investors.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/rising-us-yields-push-dollar-higher-yen-falls-three-month-low-2021-09-28/?source=Snapzu

China energy crunch triggers shutdowns, pleas for more coal

China faces mounting pressure to ramp up coal imports and ensure supplies to keep lights on, factories open and water flowing as a severe power crunch roils the northeastern industrial heartland.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-energy-crunch-triggers-alarm-pleas-more-coal-2021-09-28/?source=Snapzu

How badly unvaccinated Republicans are misinformed, in one stat

The median unvaccinated Republican believes the vaccines have effectively zero efficacy in preventing hospitalizations. This is not the case with unvaccinated Democrats.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/09/27/misinformation-epidemic-among-unvaccinated-republicans-one-stat/?source=Snapzu

Most Business Owners do not Disclose Cyberattacks

A recent study shows that remote working still poses a significant cybersecurity risk and that business owners prefer to hide cybersecurity incidents.
Read more: https://cybersecuritylog.com/most-business-owners-do-not-disclose-cyberattacks?source=Snapzu

Facebook reads and shares WhatsApp private messages: report

Facebook’s encrypted messaging service WhatsApp isn’t as private as it claims, according to a new report. The popular chat app, which touts its privacy features, says parent Facebook can’t read messages sent between users. But an extensive report by ProPublica on Tuesday claims that Facebook is paying more than 1,000 contract workers around the world to read through and moderate WhatsApp messages that are supposedly private or encrypted.
Read more: https://nypost.com/2021/09/07/facebook-reads-and-shares-whatsapp-private-messages-report/??source=Snapzu

PSA: Don't Delete Your Halo Infinite Multiplayer Beta Download

Halo Infinite's Arena Slayer multiplayer beta has wrapped up, but the Big Team Battle test is scheduled to commence in just a few days. As such, anyone who has already downloaded the Halo Infinite beta client should keep it installed, developer 343 Industries advised players.
Read more: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/psa-dont-delete-your-halo-infinite-multiplayer-beta-download/1100-6496600/?source=Snapzu

Rolls-Royce to make 'historic' EV announcement on Wednesday | Autocar

Rolls-Royce will make a "historic announcement" detailing its electrified future this Wednesday (29 September), likely giving clues to its first electric car, which it has promised to launch before 2030. It will be the first high-profile electrification announcement from the British luxury car brand since CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös confirmed that it will go straight from pure-combustion to battery-electric powertrains rather than launch plug-in hybrids in the interim.
Read more: https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/rolls-royce-make-historic-ev-announcement-wednesday?source=Snapzu

UFOs: Shifting the Narrative from Threat to Science

What stands in the way of the scientific community’s taking on the challenge of discovering if any UFOs are extraterrestrial? UFOs are real. We have no idea what they are or where they come from. This is now an accepted fact, confirmed in a June 2021 report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Republican Senator Mitt Romney, one of many officials who read the classified section of that report, told CNN that the objects are not ours, and he doesn’t believe they belong to any foreign adversary.
Read more: https://thedebrief.org/ufos-shifting-the-narrative-from-threat-to-science/?source=Snapzu

Dark skies ordinance to dim Pittsburgh's light pollution

For decades, the stars in our night sky have been blotted out by artificial light—from streetlamps, residential houses, businesses, construction sites, vehicles, billboards and so on. The glow they emit misdirects light up towards the sky, obscuring much of the Milky Way.
Read more: https://phys.org/news/2021-09-dark-ordinance-dim-pittsburgh-pollution.html?source=Snapzu

'Babylon 5' is getting a reboot

Some 23 years after its original run, Babylon 5 is making its way back to TV..
Read more: https://www.engadget.com/babylon-5-reboot-the-cw-193805568.html?source=Snapzu

COVID-19 has caused the biggest decrease in life expectancy since World War II

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered life expectancy losses not seen since World War II in Western Europe and exceeded those observed around the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc in central and Eastern European countries, according to research published today, led by scientists at Oxford’s Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science.
Read more: https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2021-09-27-covid-19-has-caused-biggest-decrease-life-expectancy-world-war-ii?source=Snapzu

Predictive transactions are the next big tech revolution

In recent years, data has been the world’s hottest commodity. Money has gravitated towards companies that collect it, companies that analyse it, and the data infrastructure companies that provide the digital plumbing that makes it all possible. In the last five years, data infrastructure startups alone have raised over $8 billion of venture capital, at an aggregate value of $35 billion.
Read more: https://venturebeat.com/2021/09/26/predictive-transactions-are-the-next-big-tech-revolution/?source=Snapzu

Google Is Appealing A $5 Billion Antitrust Fine In The EU

It's still the biggest ever fine Brussels has imposed for anticompetitive behavior. The EU imposed it for stifling competition through the dominance of its Android operating system.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2021/09/27/1040889789/google-eu-android-appeal-antitrust?source=Snapzu

Bitfinex just spent $23.7 million in fees to make a single Ethereum payment

A wallet belonging to crypto exchange Bitfinex mistakenly spent an outrageous amount of money to move just $100,000.
Read more: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/118753/bitfinex-just-spent-23-7-million-in-fees-to-make-one-ethereum-transaction?source=Snapzu

R. Kelly found guilty of racketeering in sex trafficking case

NEW YORK — R. Kelly was convicted by a federal jury on Monday in his sex trafficking trial, where prosecutors accused the R&B singer of exploiting his stardom…
Read more: https://torontosun.com/entertainment/celebrity/r-kelly-found-guilty-of-racketeering-in-sex-trafficking-case?source=Snapzu