forces

OpenAI is working closely with the US Pentagon and armed forces in creating and setting up an open-source cybersecurity software in partnership with the US Defense Department. This marks a shift from OpenAI's earlier position of using AI for military purposes…

SpaceX is collaborating with agricultural industry giant John Deere to provide satellite internet connectivity, enabling its tractors to operate autonomously and communicate with each other in rural areas.Astronomers Could Soon Get Warnings When SpaceX Satellites Threaten Their ViewThe unlikely pairing announced an agreement on Tuesday to provide satellite internet to farmers, helping them connect new and existing machinery through SpaceX’s Starlink network. In a post shared on X, SpaceX wrote, “Starlink is ideal for…

Christian nationalists are joining forces to recruit swing-state, MAGA-leaning churches to help elect Donald Trump in 2024. It’s a brazen effort to transform religious congregations — which are technically supposed to keep electoral politics out of the pulpit — into a campaign powerhouse for the former president. During a weekend broadcast of his podcast, the influential Christian nationalist “apostle” Lance Wallnau unveiled a new collaboration with Turning Point USA that aims to get “civically enlightened”…

A New Zealand couple suffered a less-than-pleasant flight after sitting in a passenger’s urine during a 10-hour international flight from Bangkok to Sydney.The revolting incident unfolded just before New Year’s on December 30, 2023, as two Kiwis flew from Bangkok, Thailand, to Sydney, Australia, en route to their motherland, the New York Post reported.One of the unidentified travelers from Wellington described the moment they realized they had been stuck in a total nightmare: “Now we know that we have been sitting in…

A crippling fuel leak forced a U.S. company on Tuesday to give up on landing a spacecraft on the moon.Astrobotic Technology's lander began losing fuel soon after Monday's launch, possibly because of a ruptured tank. The spacecraft had trouble keeping its solar panel pointed towards the sun and generating solar power, as flight controllers scrambled to salvage what they could of the mission. “Given the propellant leak, there is, unfortunately, no chance of a soft landing on the moon,” Astrobotic said in a statement.…

After the surprising success of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom over The Marvels, Marvel is likely glad that there won’t be any more competition from DC until July 2025, when the new DCU launches with Superman: Legacy. Unfortunately, the MCU movie that’s going head-to-head with it has just hit a major Jonathan Majors-style setback. Elsewhere, the incoming Echo might be somewhat sailing under the radar, but at least it’s forced Marvel to admit something we’ve been dying to hear for a full decade now. Basically, Daredevil…

The British government tolerates the Kurds right now. No longer are they consigned by the pens of our diplomats and mandarins to the middens of geopolitics. They excel at killing Islamic State fighters, they keep a lid on the grander imperial daydreams of Mr Erdoğan, they give women equal-ish rights and AK47s. At least here, the Foreign Office can say, Brylcreemed Blairite liberal interventionism worked out all right. No more Halabjas. Drilling rights for British oil. Splendid.“When it comes to Kurds, the brightest minds…

Stepfamily dynamics can be complex and challenging. Differing opinions, parenting styles, sibling rivalries, and failed bonding sessions are just a few things these blended households face.The Redditor, u/Grouchy_Tap_8264, shared a friend’s story that encapsulates this perfectly. Their buddy’s stepmother made her husband cut all ties with his daughter, breaking their connection for 30 years. However, after the lady’s death, the father is now trying to redeem himself and reunite with his child.The heroine’s wicked…

A top anti-vaxxer has taken over Robert Kennedy Jr.’s campaign communications shop — underscoring the fringe, anti-science thrust of the independent candidate’s presidential bid. Del Bigtree leads the conspiratorial, anti-vaccine Informed Consent Action Network, which alleges (against substantial scientific evidence) that childhood vaccines cause autism, and that myriad vaccines — from chicken pox to Covid jabs — “should never have been licensed.” Bigtree is also the producer of a controversial, 2016…

January 1, 20242min readThieving worms may manipulate their prey with stolen genesBy Darren IncorvaiaHorsehair worm and its mantid host. For a praying mantis, eating the wrong insect can be a one-way ticket to a watery grave. Some of its typical bug prey contain horsehair worms, Chordodes fukuii, which grow in a mantid's gut—and somehow manipulate the mantid into diving into the nearest body of water. The spaghettilike worms then wriggle free of their drowned host and reproduce. Aquatic insects eat the worms' offspring…