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Japan’s New Seafloor Monitors to Drive Quake Early Warning System (Maria)

The author writes, “In August 2024, the Hyūga-Nada earthquake erupted off the southeast coast of Japan near the Nankai Trough, where a plate of ocean crust plunges into the mantle. The magnitude 7.1 earthquake injured 16 people and damaged a handful of buildings and stirred fears of something much worse. … Fortunately, Japan will soon be far better prepared than years ago. In the next few months, it will finish work on an instrumented network of seafloor cables and wire it directly into a national early warning system. By detecting earthquakes closer to their source, the $120 million network, N-net, will give power stations and bullet trains precious extra seconds to turn off and stop.”

Elon Musk Is Playing God (Gerry) 

From The Atlantic: “The issue here is not just that Musk is wrong. It is that his indifference to the suffering of people in Africa exists alongside his belief that he has a central role to play in the future of the human species. Musk has insisted that people must have as many children as possible—and is committed to siring a ‘legion’ himself — and that we must become multiplanetary. Perhaps more than anyone else on Earth, Musk, the wealthiest man alive, has the drive, the resources, and the connections to make his moon shots a reality. His greatest and most consistent ambition is to define a new era for humankind. Who does he believe is worthy of that future?”

California Bill Would Block Companies From Selling Location Data to ICE (Reader Steve) 

The author writes, “The bill, AB322, aims to protect vulnerable people from a host of nefarious uses of their private data, including sexual assault victims, women seeking abortion care and people attending protests, said Assembly Member Chris Ward, D-San Diego. The measure is getting renewed attention in light of the immigration raids and massive protests in the Los Angeles area. ‘We’re seeing ICE raids across the state and we’re seeing mothers, fathers, children being kidnapped from the streets of California,’ Assembly Member Liz Ortega, D-San Leandro, said at a news conference announcing the legislation. ‘This bill will ensure that our data is protected and that corporations and this government, the federal government, is not using it to weaponize our information to go after our beloved community members and taxpayers.’”

US Investigates Tesla’s Robotaxi Launch After Videos Show Erratically Driving Cars (Sean) 

From The Guardian: “The main transportation safety regulator in the US is requesting information from Tesla after videos showed the company’s self-driving Robotaxis exceeding the speed limit or veering into the wrong lane. The company launched the service in Austin, Texas, over the weekend. Tesla heavily promoted the initial, limited rollout of its Robotaxis, which included pro-Tesla influencers using the paid ride service and showing off footage of their trips. Instead of positive promotion, though, those videos appear to have drawn scrutiny from the National Highway Transit Safety Administration (NHTSA), as the cars struggled to comply with traffic laws.”

US State Department Told To End Nearly All Its Overseas Pro-Democracy Programs (Reader Jim) 

The author writes, “The US state department has been advised to terminate grants to nearly all remaining programs awarded under the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), which would effectively end the department’s role in funding pro-democracy programming in some of the world’s most hostile totalitarian nations. The review could affect nearly $1.3bn in grants, three state department officials told the Guardian, citing briefings on the results of a Foreign Assistance Review produced by the office of management and budget (OMB). Of 391 active grants, only two were not recommended to be cut, the officials said. They concerned one program in China and one in Yemen.”

The Battle To Be Named the World’s Oldest Restaurant (Dana) 

From The Week: “Sobrino de Botín, which opened in 1725, has enjoyed the Guinness World Record as the world’s oldest restaurant since 1987 but, just as it celebrates its third centenary, another establishment — Casa Pedro — is claiming it opened its own doors in 1702. However, meeting the esoteric rules laid down by the Guinness Book of Records to prove its claim is anything but straightforward. And, even if Casa Pedro is able to navigate the rules — a task stymied by the loss of documents in the Spanish Civil War — to usurp Sobrino de Botín’s crown, a bistro in Rome may yet spoil the party for both of them.”