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AI-Powered Weapons Scanners in NYC Subway Found No Guns Month-Long Test (Maria)
The author writes, “A pilot program testing AI-powered weapons scanners inside some New York City subway stations this summer did not detect any passengers with firearms — but falsely alerted more than 100 times, according to newly released police data. Through nearly 3,000 searches, the scanners turned up more than 118 false positives as well as 12 knives, police said. … The announcement drew skepticism from some riders and civil liberties groups, who argued it was neither feasible nor constitutional to scan millions of riders who enter the subway system through hundreds of entrances each day.”
Leaked Video Shows Elon Musk Is Trash at Helping With Trump’s Campaign (Reader Jim)
The author writes, “Reports of glitchy door-knocking canvassing by Elon Musk’s super PAC just got way more real, spelling serious trouble for Donald Trump, who has almost entirely outsourced his door-to-door efforts in battleground states to the billionaire technocrat. It was previously reported that the app used by Trump and Musk’s canvassers was plagued by design problems and glitches, making it difficult to determine whether employees in swing states were actually doing their jobs. Now it seems that some employees are exploiting the app’s faulty location functions.”
Doctors Agreed Her Baby Would Die 3 Months Before She Was Forced to Give Birth (Bethany)
From Rolling Stone: “Deborah Dorbert was five months pregnant in November 2022 when she learned that her baby was not going to live. Late in the second trimester of her pregnancy, a scan revealed that his kidneys and lungs were failing to develop; a specialist diagnosed the baby with Potter syndrome, a condition that occurs when there is a lack of amniotic fluid in the uterus. He would not survive more than a few hours past birth, Deborah and her husband, Lee, were told. Her doctor advised that the safest option for Deborah would be to induce, and end the pregnancy as soon as possible. But because of restrictions that had taken effect in Florida that summer, a week after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, that option was not available to her. Instead, Deborah was forced to carry her pregnancy to term: three and half more months, living with the knowledge that her child was going to die.”
Los Angeles Times Editorials Editor Resigns After Owner Blocks Presidential Endorsement (Dana)
From Columbia Journalism Review: “Mariel Garza, the editorials editor of the Los Angeles Times, resigned on Wednesday after the newspaper’s owner blocked the editorial board’s plans to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president. ‘I am resigning because I want to make it clear that I am not okay with us being silent,’ Garza told me in a phone conversation. ‘In dangerous times, honest people need to stand up. This is how I’m standing up.’”
Eagle Real Estate Agent Offers Free Listings To Liberals Leaving Idaho. Is That Allowed? (Reader Steve)
From the Idaho Statesman: “The posts on Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter, made a splash: A real estate firm in Eagle was offering free real estate listings to liberals leaving Idaho. ‘We are here to help you return to your safe spaces!’ said its posts, which included a picture of a couple wearing disposable face masks. The firm, Idaho Wild, got a range of responses — ‘everything from people in full support and throwing in additional offers … all the way to people lecturing me about being, whatever, hateful and un-Christian,’ Mark Fitzpatrick, the company’s owner, told the Idaho Statesman by phone. … As of Tuesday, no one had taken Fitzpatrick up on his offer. Still, some asked: Was this kind of real estate advertisement even allowed?”
Flesh-Eating Bacteria Cases Rise in Florida After Hurricanes Helene and Milton (Mili)
The author writes, “Florida has seen a recent increase in confirmed cases of flesh-eating bacteria following the devastating hurricanes Helene and Milton, according to state health department data. The Tampa Bay-area counties of Hillsborough and Pinellas — which were inundated by torrential rain and a devastating storm surge — saw the largest increase of the bacteria Vibrio vulnificus commonly found in warm coastal waters, but concentration levels can rise with heavy rain or flooding. Before Hurricane Helene made landfall on September 26, there were no reported cases in Pinellas County and one in Hillsborough County. Now, Pinellas has 13 confirmed cases, and there are seven in Hillsborough.”
A Kingly Government? Benjamin Franklin’s Great Fear (Al)
From the Journal of the American Revolution: “On May 29, 1787, a Tuesday, with delegates to the Federal Convention seated and rules settled, Virginia’s governor Edmund Randolph introduced his state’s vision for the new nation. … Wilson’s motion raised a host of contentious issues. Who will choose the chief executive? How long will he serve? What authority will he exercise? Who can check his power? Each question opened a range of possible solutions, and all fields were interconnected. An executive imbued with extensive powers, for instance, might require greater checks or shorter terms.”
