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Author Archives: Sabrina I. Pacifici

What the data says about immigrants in the U.S.

“The United States has long had more immigrants than any other country. In fact, the U.S. is home to one-fifth of the world’s international migrants. These immigrants have come from just about every country in the world. Pew Research Center regularly publishes research on U.S. immigrants. Based on this research, here are answers to some… Continue Reading

A week of nonstop breaking political news stumps AI chatbots

Washington Post [unpaywalled]: “In the hour after President Biden announced he would withdraw from the 2024 campaign on Sunday, most popular AI chatbots seemed oblivious to the news. Asked directly whether he had dropped out, almost all said no or declined to give an answer. Asked who was running for president of the United States,… Continue Reading

The FOIA.gov Search Tool Updated

“FOIA.gov, the government’s central resource for information about the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) now includes additional functionality to help users locate commonly requested law enforcement and related records. The FOIA.gov Search Tool was updated to add a “Law Enforcement records” pre-defined user journey that helps the public more quickly locate commonly requested information. This user journey… Continue Reading

Voice-cloning technology brings key Supreme Court moment to ‘life’

AP: “Seventy years ago on Friday, no one outside of the U.S. Supreme Court building heard it when Chief Justice Earl Warren announced the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision on school desegregation. Now, through the use of an innovative voice-cloning technology, it is becoming possible for people to “hear” Warren read the decision… Continue Reading

Ransomware Attack Takes Down Computer System for America’s Largest Trial Court

AP: “A ransomware attack has shut down the computer system of the largest trial court in the country, officials with the Superior Court of Los Angeles County said. The cybersecurity attack began early Friday and is not believed to be related to the faulty CrowdStrike software update that has disrupted airlines, hospitals and governments around… Continue Reading

AI terminology, explained for humans

The Verge: “Artificial intelligence is the hot new thing in tech — it feels like every company is talking about how it’s making strides by using or developing AI. But the field of AI is also so filled with jargon that it can be remarkably difficult to understand what’s actually happening with each new development.… Continue Reading

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, July 20, 2024

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, July 20, 2024 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex… Continue Reading

Flight Rights – Airline Customer Service Dashboard

U.S. Department of Transportation: “Secretary Buttigieg has called upon airlines to improve their customer service commitments to passengers, which all have done to varying degrees. The dashboards below provide information for air travelers on airlines’ commitments to families flying with young children and customers experiencing significant flight disruptions due to circumstances within the airline’s control.… Continue Reading

We mapped weather forecast accuracy across the U.S. Look up your city.

[unpaywalled] “Everyone complains about the weather forecast, but some people have more cause to grumble than others. In Miami, the temperature forecast is usually accurate a week into the future. But in Paonia, Colo., even the one-day temperature forecast is wrong by almost 6 degrees Fahrenheit on average. That’s according to our analysis of government… Continue Reading

US financial regulators, banks, industry groups remain cautious on Supreme Court’s “Chevron” deference ruling

Thomson Reuters: “The Supreme Court’s recent decision that overturns the decades-old “Chevron deference” doctrine will likely have an enormous impact on the financial industry, and only time will tell how it fully plays out US financial institutions, the regulators who oversee them, and the industry groups that advocate for them have largely maintained a curious… Continue Reading

Google URL Shortener links will no longer be available

Yet another reason to stop using google via Google for Developers: “In 2018, we announced the deprecation and transition of Google URL Shortener to Firebase Dynamic Links because of the changes we’ve seen in how people find content on the internet, and the number of new popular URL shortening services that emerged in that time.… Continue Reading