Trump sustains tradition of cavorting with autocrats as he lavishes Argentina’s new president with praise
Rising populism and anger at the perceived establishment could shape not just next year’s US presidential election, but votes across the world. The United Kingdom, Mexico, India, Pakistan and Taiwan are all expected to vote on new leaders in 2024.
New probe questions why Data Analytical Services has never been subjected to congressional oversight
The scale of the data available to and routinely searched for the benefit of law enforcement under the Hemisphere Project is stunning in its scope. One law enforcement official described the Hemisphere Project as “AT&T’s Super Search Engine” and … “Google on Steroids,” according to emails released by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) under the Freedom of Information Act.
Revealed: How for 10 years US presidents funded shadowing project that allows cops access to trillions of phone records
There is no law requiring AT&T to store decades’ worth of Americans’ call records for law enforcement purposes. Documents reviewed by Wired show that AT&T officials have attended law enforcement conferences in Texas as recently as 2018 to train police officials on how best to utilize AT&T’s voluntary, albeit revenue-generating, assistance.
NASA finalising ‘Son of Concorde’ aircraft that can fly from New York to Nairobi in 90 minutes
Engineers are aiming to reduce the sound of the typical sonic boom to a sonic thump to minimise disruption to people on the ground. NASA said in August they have identified potential passenger markets in about 50 established routes that connect cities.
Kennedy assassination: 60th anniversary finds family apathetic as Kennedys choose other paths to public service
During JFK’s 1960-63 presidency, governing was decidedly a family affair. Robert Kennedy was attorney general and the president’s closest adviser, brother-in-law Sargent Shriver was heading the newly formed Peace Corps and brother-in-law Stephen Smith was White House chief of staff. Youngest brother Ted Kennedy was elected to John F. Kennedy’s former Senate seat in Massachusetts.
British government has ‘the most invasive network surveillance programme anywhere in the world – Edward Snowden
The principles of “know your customer” will be imposed on everybody for everything, and anything that doesn’t have that will be made illegal under National Security justifications. Essentially, what we’re looking at is a cyber Patriot Act, which will allow for the unfettered surveillance of everyone’s online activities, and the ability to restrict or block access to the internet.
Technology: In US the balance of power between the citizenry and government has become that of the ruling and the ruled
The US government implemented Stellar Wind, a programme to actively – and illegally – spy on all Americans within days of the 2001 9/11 attack. Ten years later, in 2011, construction began on an NSA data centre in the Utah desert. It’s now the largest surveillance storehouse in the US.
NBA ace LeBron James leaves Houston Rockets wingless after dunking season-high 37 points
James scored 13 points in the fourth quarter and gave the Lakers their fifth win in the last six games. Earlier in the game, the NBA’s All-Time leading scorer became the fourth player in league history with at least 10,500 assists (he finished with eight and is at 10,504). He also tied Vince Carter for seventh on the 3-pointers list with 2,290, and moved past Clyde Drexler for eighth on the steals list at 2,208.
Transition: Light goes out on US second longest-lived First Lady Rosalynn Carter aged 96 years
The Carters were married for more than 77 years, forging what they both described as a “full partnership.” Unlike many previous first ladies, Rosalynn sat in on Cabinet meetings, spoke out on controversial issues and represented her husband on foreign trips. Aides to President Carter sometimes referred to her – privately – as “co-president.”
2024: America descends from glamourised high pedestal of democracy to pariah as political violence looms
In his 2024 campaign, Trump has ramped up his combative rhetoric with talk of retribution against his enemies. He recently joked about the hammer attack on Paul Pelosi and suggested that retired Gen. Mark Milley, a former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, should be executed for treason.
