OUR PICKSDrones Warn New Yorkers About Storm Dangers | TikTok, Influence Operations, and U.S. Elections | The Case for AI Optimism, and more
· Drones Warn New Yorkers About Storm Dangers
Gone is the bullhorn. Instead, NYC emergency management officials have turned high-tech, using drones to warn residents about potential threatening weather
· U.S. Pauses Humanitarian Program for Citizens of Four Countries
The program allows up to 30,000 people into the United States each month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela if they have sponsors and meet other conditions
· How Project 2025 Would Put U.S. Elections at Risk
Experts say the “nonsensical” policy proposal, which largely aligns with Donald Trump’s agenda, would weaken the US agency tasked with protecting election integrity, critical infrastructure, and more
· TikTok, Influence Operations, and U.S. Elections
Influence operations conducted by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are also a serious concern for national security for multiple reasons
· Ditching Factory Farming Can Help Prevent Another Pandemic
The neglected environmental and health benefits of fighting Big Meat — for humans
· The Case for AI Optimism
The root of concerns about AI is legitimate, but their magnitude is wildly overblown
Drones Warn New Yorkers About Storm Dangers (AP / VOA News)
Gone is the bullhorn. Instead, New York City emergency management officials have turned high-tech, using drones to warn residents about potential threatening weather.
With a buzzing sound in the background, a drone equipped with a loudspeaker flies over homes warning people who live in basement or ground-floor apartments about impending heavy rains.
“Be prepared to leave your location,” said the voice from the sky in footage released Tuesday by the city’s emergency management agency. “If flooding occurs, do not hesitate.”
About five teams with multiple drones each were deployed to specific neighborhoods prone to flooding. Zach Iscol, the city’s emergency management commissioner, said the messages were being relayed in multiple languages. They were expected to continue until the weather impacted the drone flights.
Flash floods have been deadly for New Yorkers living in basement apartments, which can quickly fill up in a deluge. Eleven people drowned in such homes in 2011 amid rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ida.
The drones are in addition to other forms of emergency messaging, including social media, text alerts and a system that reaches more than 2,000 community-based organizations throughout the city that serve senior citizens, people with disabilities and other groups.
U.S. Pauses Humanitarian Program for Citizens of Four Countries (Reuters / VOA News)
The Biden administration said on Friday it had temporarily put on hold a program that allows citizens of four countries to enter the United States on humanitarian grounds while it reviews vetting and screening processes for sponsor applications.
The program is part of a Biden administration effort to increase legal pathways to the United States and discourage illegal border crossings but has been criticized by Republicans as overly permissive.
The program allows up to 30,000 people into the United States each month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela if they have sponsors and meet other conditions. Sponsors must be in the United States legally and have sufficient financial resources to support the person they are sponsoring for the duration of their stay.
