Signal

Sep 20 · AM · 65 · archive
TOP SIGNAL8
Researchers may have solved a long-running mystery surrounding the Dead Sea Scrolls by proposing that the Qumran sect really did use its distinctive 364-day calendar. Its perfectly ordered 52-week system kept holidays on the same weekdays, but it slowly drifted out of sync with the seasons because it was shorter than the true solar year.
Science Daily Science Society44mancient-history-archaeology9
As Xi Jinping arrives in the United States this week for a state visit, China’s advances in artificial intelligence will be in the air. Less discussed: China’s economy in its worst shape in decades.
NYT Home Page3hfrontier-labs8
Israeli lawmakers have promoted visits to an ancient reservoir in the West Bank that was refilled this summer with water diverted from Palestinian-owned farms.
NYT World News3henvironmental-risk-intel8
Did bond yields rise because the economy is strong or because America’s credibility is on the line?
WSJ Markets3hmacro-monetary⊕28
Nearly three decades of Hurricane Hunter data reveal four features that can help a tilted tropical cyclone straighten its circulation and become capable of intensifying. The findings could give forecasters an earlier warning that a seemingly disorganized storm is becoming primed to strengthen.
Science Daily Climate8henvironmental-risk-intel8
A cyclone in a snail shell. ScienceAlert stories are written, fact-checked, and edited by humans, never generated by AI. Don't miss a story, subscribe here.
Science Alert2hbiology-medicine8
Proving once again that you need the right geology to get life-promoting biology. ScienceAlert stories are written, fact-checked, and edited by humans, never generated by AI. Don't miss a story, subscribe here.
Science Alert10hearth-paleontology8
Ancient DNA reveals that plague repeatedly returned to Europe for more than 400 years after the Black Death, evolving into new lineages and spreading through trade, migration, and war. Researchers also developed a method to date ancient plague genomes more precisely, linking many of them to specific outbreaks recorded in historical sources.
Science Daily Science Society5hancient-history-archaeology8
GENERAL25
Elor Azaria’s conviction in 2017 for manslaughter of man who stabbed soldier continues to divide country Israel’s president has pardoned a combat medic who shot dead a badly wounded Palestinian attacker who had stabbed a soldier in the occupied West Bank, in a case that divided the country a decade ago. Elor Azaria’s conviction in 2017 for manslaughter and his release after serving two-thirds of his 18-month sentence drew enormous attention in Israel, where military service is compulsory for most Jewish men. Continue reading...
Guardian World16h⊕25
Trump said the updated plans were at the request of the US military and for national security purposes.
BBC Top Stories0m5
In 2019, Lonnie G. Bunch III became both the first historian and the first African American to serve as Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Now 73, Bunch has announced he is retiring. He talks with correspondent Mo Rocca about fulfilling and enriching the Smithsonian's mandate. He also talks about pressure from the Trump White House questioning the patriotism of Smithsonian staff, and why the museums' mission – to protect history – includes giving America a full picture of itself.
CBS News0m8
As the organisation meets this week, it remains the best hope for restoring order. But it relies on goodwill from the US president – and that is lacking If all goes to plan, at some stage in the coming weeks 15 diplomats will emerge from a small sound-proofed room deep in the bowels of the United Nations headquarters in New York and announce the organisation’s next secretary-general. The person they choose will face a combination of challenges unlike any that their predecessors have had to deal with. Two of the security council’s permanent members, the US and Russia, are engaged in wars of choice that have no end in sight. A UN commission of inquiry has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza , but the UN has effectively been reduced to the role of bystander, pushed out by Donald Trump’s Board of Peace . The climate crisis is creating a cascade of new humanitarian disasters, while every day now seems to bring a new security threat caused by the unregulated rise of AI. Steve Bloomfield is the former international editor of the Observer and a previous winner of the Orwell prize Continue reading...
Guardian US0m5
The Atlantic recently called Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang "the most powerful man in AI." He talks with correspondent Jo Ling Kent at Nvidia headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., about the latest developments in artificial intelligence and the ongoing debate over safety and regulations.
CBS News0m9
"Sunday Morning" looks back at historical events on this date.
CBS News0m7
The money legally wagered on sports gambling has surged to $167 billion a year since it was legalized beyond Nevada in 2018. But data show, in states where online gambling has been made legal, bankruptcies and credit card delinquencies go up 25%. Correspondent Jim Axelrod talks to a gambler who wagers his annual income; and examines how the online betting platforms FanDuel and DraftKings – now the subjects of lawsuits regarding their design – interact with their customers.
CBS News0m6
Iran's cost of living crisis is affecting the dreams and everyday life choices of young Iranians.
Al Jazeera0m6
David Sacks convinced Trump against any restrictions on AI – putting the White House out of step with its own party As lawmakers from both sides of the aisle in the US have joined together calling for the regulation of powerful artificial intelligence models, one of the few vocal naysayers has been Donald Trump . He’s called the perceived dangers of the technology a “hoax” and a “scam”, arguing that the government already has “tremendous CRIMINAL and REGULATORY power over these companies”. It’s a starkly different stance from those of his former adviser Steve Bannon , the Republican Texas senator Ted Cruz and even the heads of the world’s leading AI companies. But it’s directly in line with the opinion of David Sacks – a prominent billionaire venture capitalist and Trump’s onetime AI and crypto czar, who has pushed back publicly and forcefully against recent claims of an impending AI apocalypse. Continue reading...
Guardian US0m7
Unit1 hopes to offer cheaper version of shows such as Abba Voyage, showcasing living and dead artists in any venue The former chief executive of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s entertainment group has obtained a near-£15m investment for his UK music tech startup that hopes to recreate classic concerts by manifesting musicians as digital avatars. Unit1 was set up last year by Barney Wragg, an entertainment executive who ran Lord Lloyd-Webber’s Cats-to-Evita empire for five years from late 2011. It has secured the $20m in funding from a group of investors, including tech backer Balderton Capital through its partner Daniel Waterhouse, who made early investments in Spotify. Continue reading...
Guardian World0m4
President Trump said that he has agreed to convert plans for a massive triumphal arch into a "top grade Military Complex," equipped with snipers and drone storage.
CBS News7m5
In the bustling heart of the southern Indian city of Chennai is a market that never sleeps, where residents from the poorest neighborhoods wage a battle of survival with the sea.
NPR News18m4
Former president of Chile drops out after support collapsed in security council straw poll, leaving seven candidates in contest Michelle Bachelet, a former president of Chile, has withdrawn her candidacy to become the next secretary general of the ⁠UN, ending an attempt ​that had struggled to gain traction among security council members. Bachelet, 74, announced ⁠her decision in a video posted on Instagram on Saturday, saying: “I will now continue, with the ⁠same determination as always, my international work.” Continue reading...
Guardian World38m4
Rabid goats at a North Carolina petting zoo and a diseased beaver attacking a Maryland boy have set the public on edge Recent unusual incidents involving humans and rabid animals and a subsequent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory have prompted concerns about rabies, but it’s not clear if there has actually been an increase in cases of the deadly disease in the United States, experts say. In recent months, rabid beavers have attacked three people in Maryland , and hundreds of people were exposed to goats with rabies at a petting zoo in North Carolina , according to news reports. The CDC issued a health advisory on 10 September “in response to recent reports of increases in human exposures to rabid or possibly rabid animals”. Continue reading...
Guardian US41m5
Environmental Protection Agency asked firm to choose rules it wanted for dicamba, then put the choices in a proposed federal rule The EPA allowed pesticide giant Bayer to pick from a menu of regulation options for the controversial and destructive weedkiller dicamba, newly released internal agency documents show. The documents provide an unusually clear look into the process of developing pesticide regulations, which is typically done out of public view. It shows in detail how the EPA asked Bayer which regulations it wanted, received a response from Bayer, then put Bayer’s choices into a proposed federal rule. Continue reading...
Guardian US42m8
Iran's latest stipulations come as growing regional escalation causes oil prices to cross $100 per barrel.
Al Jazeera1h7
Trump says he digs coal – but pneumoconiosis cases are at a 50-year high, and sick miners are mired in benefit delays For 38 years, Josh Armes worked as a coal miner in West Virginia and Virginia. After retirement, Armes, 74, of Grundy, Virginia, was diagnosed with black lung disease, medically known as coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP), caused by breathing in coal dust over long periods, which irreversibly damages the lungs. Continue reading...
Guardian US1h7
Rafael Moreno, whose company has opened demo plant in Brazil, says market is ‘nervous’ as Trump-Xi summit looms The head of a mining company hoping to supply the EU with rare earths in two years’ time has said it is “paramount” to end China’s stranglehold on the supply of the raw materials used in everything from cars to wind turbines and military jets. As Donald Trump and China’s president, Xi Jinping, prepare to meet on Thursday in their second summit of the year, Rafael Moreno said it was also “imperative” that they do a deal for Beijing to ease up, once again, on its threat to ban exports of rare earths. Continue reading...
Guardian World1h7
It seems the new agreement may not be that 'new'.
Al Jazeera1h4
Scale of debt issuance being used to fund the hectic pace of the datacentre rollout by tech firms is a worry Warnings about powerful and uncontrolled AI have dominated the headlines this past week. But even amid the omens of apocalypse , it is still worth asking if the entire AI-industrial complex is sailing towards a financial iceberg. It will hardly be our most pressing concern if the bots are poised to take over the world, but a collapse of the AI bubble would have repercussions far beyond the US. Continue reading...
Guardian US2h9
Ankara expresses readiness to assist Riyadh as Houthi attacks escalate, testing a recent trilateral defence agreement.
Al Jazeera2h7
It’s not clear that financial interests are driving White House policy, but they run parallel even as resistance mounts Donald Trump ’s sons, through a series of AI -linked defense and technology ventures, have picked up a $620m Pentagon loan, a Marine Corps robotics contract and an undisclosed air force drone deal in the past year. His longtime friend Michael Dell won a Pentagon contract worth nearly $9bn. And this week, as public support for artificial intelligence sinks to some of the lowest levels ever recorded, the president went to bat for the industry. . “The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades,” he posted on Truth Social Monday. “There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers.” It was the first of many aggressively pro-AI posts he would make this week. Continue reading...
Guardian US2h8
Candidates have been selected for November’s midterms – have Republicans and Democrats made the right choices? Primary season has officially concluded in the United States, with Democrats leading the polls among voters amid widespread economic anxieties, a war with Iran and Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda continuing into the end of the year. Democratic and Republican voters have selected contenders for key races in the 3 November midterms that will decide the balance of power in Congress, and the future of both parties. Democrats have been rocked by the primary victories of leftwing candidates. Republicans have doubled down on backing the president’s policies, despite his low approval ratings. And both parties are navigating the fallout from a series of scandals that have forced some candidates from the race, while others decided to press on. Continue reading...
Guardian US2h5
Grandparents taking care of their grandkids is nothing new. But the surging cost of childcare in the U.S. has made familial support even more critical for some parents who struggle to afford it.
NPR News2h5
Sir Ed blamed Donald Trump's war with Iran for damaging the UK economy and pushing fuel prices up.
BBC Top Stories3h5
AI ML3
A small number of people are shaping what chatbots value. Those choices are already influencing how people think.
NYT Home Page1hai-governance7
Artificial intelligence labs are on the verge of handing over the training of A.I. to A.I. We should stop them.
NYT Artificial Intelligence7hai-governance7
The president proposed a follow-up to his Space Force but continued to dismiss worries about A.I.’s pace or potential for harm.
NYT Home Page12hai-governance6
POLICY ACADEMIA10
Public policy9
Elections in eastern Germany on Sunday could galvanize the Alternative for Germany, an ascendant far-right party, or spur a backlash.
NYT World News8h7
How today’s polling numbers compare with the results of some previous midterms.
NYT Politics3h7
Carsten Breuer, an advocate of strong European defense against Russia, will become the alliance’s highest military official.
WSJ World News20h7
A reformist president weighs the pressure to move fast against the imperative to restore institutions his people can trust.
The Atlantic1h7
The liberal party Yabloko is fielding 98 candidates in this weekend’s elections, a small miracle for antiwar Russians who cannot openly express their views.
NYT World News1h6
Ukraine says it used a newly developed ballistic missile in the attacks, which also targeted other parts of Russia.
NYT World News17m5
Markwayne Mullin is working to overcome hard-liners’ doubts about his leadership, his position undermined by missteps with the White House.
NYT US News3h4
For more than five years, U Kyaw Moe Tun has refused to give up his United Nations post and a sandstone townhouse on the Upper East Side.
NYT World News8h4
No commander in chief has been better at seizing public attention than Donald Trump. But there is a difference between getting attention and doing something with it.
The Atlantic1h4
Regulation antitrust1
The government is exploring nuclear power options to guard against global energy shocks. One proposal is to switch on a plant in Bataan that has been mothballed for 40 years.
NYT World News1h6
STRATEGY BUSINESS2
Startup methodology1
Last year, more than seven million new one-person companies were established in China.
WSJ US Business9h7
Strategy game theory1
RJ Scaringe thinks it will take robots, tariffs and diplomacy to maintain a manufacturing base in the United States.
NYT Business3h5
SCIENCE HISTORY6
Earth paleontology1
Chemical clues preserved inside fossilized T. rex teeth reveal that the dinosaur maintained a body temperature of about 97 degrees Fahrenheit, almost identical to humans. The finding provides direct evidence that the giant predator was warm-blooded, helping explain how it stayed active and survived in chilly environments as far north as Alaska.
Science Daily Sea Life6h7
Biology medicine3
There are several possible paths. ScienceAlert stories are written, fact-checked, and edited by humans, never generated by AI. Don't miss a story, subscribe here.
Science Alert0m7
How curious. ScienceAlert stories are written, fact-checked, and edited by humans, never generated by AI. Don't miss a story, subscribe here.
Science Alert4h7
Researchers have uncovered a hidden molecular warning sign of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that can linger even when patients feel well and appear to be in remission. By studying around 900 human gut biopsies and patient-derived mini-intestines, the team found that intestinal cells can remain unusually primed to die, creating a “smoldering” defect that may help drive future flare-ups.
Science Daily Health Medicine9h6
Ancient history archaeology1
They scanned the pattern of microscopic imperfections on an ancient limestone slab, and used A.I. to figure out how a game might have been played.
NYT Science3h6
Physics cosmology1
It's not you, it's physics. The post The reason your face looks wrong in photos appeared first on Popular Science .
Popular Science43m6
CULTURE LIFE4
Health performance1
At best, older, laid-off workers will struggle to find health insurance that bridges the years before they qualify for Medicare at age 65.
NYT Business1h5
Cooking cuisine2
In the eastern city of Xalapa, what started as a joke among friends over two decades ago has become a vibrant annual tradition that highlights creativity and absurdity with melons.
NYT World News14h4
Kwame Onwuachi, the star chef behind New York’s Tatiana and author of a new cookbook, shares his deluxe instant ramen recipe and the secret to his “House Spice” blend.
WSJ Arts & Culture1h4
Unsorted1
We asked readers around the country to tell us what the holiest day of the Jewish calendar looks like for them in 2026. Here’s what we learned.
NYT US News3h⊕24
MARKETS FINANCE2
Derivatives tail risk1
CEO Shayne Coplan brushed off concerns about a scheme involving stolen debit cards. Now the prediction market is bolstering its executive ranks as it eyes an IPO.
WSJ US Business11h5
Macro monetary1
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong was at the center of a protracted fight over the role of digital assets in mainstream finance.
WSJ Markets11h5
MISC5
A tour of a neighborhood near Seattle shows how a younger generation is making it work in one of the least affordable housing markets in decades.
WSJ Social & Economy12h7
Thieves have exploited antiquated magnetic stripes on benefits cards to steal hundreds of millions of public dollars.
WSJ US News3h6
How a record stretch of peace ended in my hometown.
The Atlantic1h5
For most of its life, The New York Times has tried to correct its errors. These efforts have not always been perfect.
NYT Home Page3h4
See the likely path and wind arrival times for Dujuan
NYT Weather5h4