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Republicans try to keep Yucca Mountain project alive
The Obama administration has signaled its intention to bring the curtain down on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository project, but Republicans have not given up on it
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Cops tasered three kids, threatened one with sodomy
Police officers use tasers repeatedly on three youth in Illinois; a girl who tried to intervene is choked and locked in a closet
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The business aspects of get-tough immigration policy
The post-9/11 get-tough policy toward immigration has meant booming business for private prison-management companies; the building of prisons and detention centers is now a much-needed source of income for cash-strapped rural communities
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Chance of nuclear war is greater than we think
Stanford engineer makes risk analysis, saying the risk of a child born today suffering an early death due to nuclear war is at least 10 percent
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Houston computer forensics lab accredited
Newly accredited Houston lab expands Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory Network (RCFL), a national network of sixteen FBI-sponsored digital forensics laboratories and training centers devoted entirely to the scientific examination of digital evidence in support of criminal investigations
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Robo-wheels to help search-and-rescue teams
There is new help coming to search-and-rescue teams, especially those specializing in rescuing victims of avalanches: robots with wheels — each wheel with six vanes on its side that are linked to both the wheel and a central hub; the design allows the best possible traction in tough conditions and prevents the wheel from sinking or slipping
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U.S. secret service forms three new task forces
New task forces will deal with electronic crimes, and the agency says the partnerships will bring together law enforcement, academia, and private sector
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AirKnight releases details of its bid for U.K.'s search and rescue helicopter
AirKnight — a consortium consisting of VT Group, British International Helicopters (BIH), and Lockheed Martin — announced it would use Eurocopter’s EC225 in its proposal for the future fleet of U.K.’s search and rescue helicopters
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Senate moves to tighten federal buildings security
The GAO reported that undercover investigators were able to smuggle explosives-making materials into federal buildings, then assemble explosive devices — all without security guards being aware of what was taking place under their noses; the Congress is unhappy
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WHO: Swine flu "unstoppable"
The World Health Organization says the swine flu pandemic has grown “unstoppable” and all nations will need access to vaccines; while most cases have been considered mild, a study released today said the virus causes more lung damage than ordinary seasonal flu strains
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DHS to start trials of emergency radio
DHS is launching a trial of a software-defined radio handset from Thales which is designed to operate on all the frequencies used by the emergency services
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DARPA funds see-through vidspecs, war-graffiti project
Lockheed martin turns to Microvision to develop “daylight-readable, see-through, low-profile, ergonomic” color video specs; in addition, the final device should incorporate “voice and tactile command” interfaces, some sort of location system
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Second thoughts about public alert systems
Public alert systems, which the authorities use to send messages about disasters to citizens’ cell phones and computers, have become popular among cities and localities; more and more of these localities, though, have began to question the efficacy and cost of these systems
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Cities need to prepare for a home-made nuke
An explosion of ten kiloton nuclear bomb in a city would be disastrous; as catastrophic as such an attack would be, it would not level an entire city, and a timely response could save many lives
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Soteria provides more details of search-and-rescue helicopter capabilities
The Soteria Consortium — consisting of RBS, Thales, and CHC — is competing with the AirKnight consortium for the lucrative contract to provide the U.K. government and localities with search-and-rescue helicopters
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The long view
Why Ukraine’s AI Drones Aren’t a Breakthrough Yet
Machine vision, a form of AI, allows drones to identify and strike targets autonomously. The drones can’t be jammed, and they don’t need continuous monitoring by operators. Despite early hopes, the technology has not yet become a game-changing feature of Ukraine’s battlefield drones. But its time will come.