These pages are a modest attempt to provide up-to-date news that is relevant to the areas of mathematics, education, computer science or information technology. Reader should keep in mind that old links often disappear.
9/25/15
TechNews for the week: September 25; September 23; September 21;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Iran's Rouhani: No coalition with Russia, U.S. ties improved; Russia in Syria: Did Putin just clip Israel's wings?
Welcome to Israeli Nuclear Weapons 101; Why Israel wants a religious war over Al-Aqsa; Israel's soaring population: Promised Land running out of room;
Israeli soldiers assault journalists at West Bank demo;
Thousands of refugees arrive in Austria as Hungary, Croatia let them pass; backlog of people stokes tensions in the Balkans - as it happened;
Shuttering the government actually costs more than keeping it open; GOP pragmatists protest tea party shutdown tactics;
John Boehner to resign from Congress; wheels have come off the Republican party; Shutdown update: With Boehner resigning, experts no longer expect government to shut down;
Starting gun fired in House Republican leadership race; The Hard-Line Republicans Who Pushed John Boehner Out;
Senate Blocks Federal 20-Week Abortion Ban Bill; Democrats block defense spending bill in Senate;
Republican U.S. lawmaker raises Iran nuclear deal tax question; Democrats Push Universal, Automatic Voter Registration for New York State;
Political parties go after million-dollar donors in wake of looser rules;
Kansas' dilemma: partisan principles vs. healthcare reality;
Tennessee Bill Aims to Nullify Supreme Court Marriage Ruling;
Kentucky clerk Davis rejects marriage licenses as invalid; Kentucky clerk still in contempt of gay marriage order; High court opinion is law, Davis isn't a religious freedom ally;
Donald Trump just issued a 'scathing' multimillion-dollar legal threat to a conservative group;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
U.S., China Negotiating Cyberspace Arms Control Pact; U.S., China agree not to conduct economic espionage in cyberspace;
Hacking, Malware Linked to Only 25% of Data Breaches; Defense Department Evaluating Its Computer Vulnerabilities; SYNful Knock Attack Against Cisco Routers;
History of Hacktivism; Living in a Code Yellow World;
The Case That Could Refine the 2nd Amendment;
The Windows 10 privacy debacle: Five big issues to consider;
Math and science
Why the moon will appear to turn red next week; Asteroid-Mining Plan Would Bake Water Out of Bagged-Up Space Rocks;
Why scientists are worried about a cold 'blob' in the North Atlantic Ocean;
Archeologists may have found Tomb of the Maccabees;
Researchers Publish Findings On Stealth Cloaking For Drones; Researchers Design AI System That Can Nearly Match Average Math Score On SAT;
Israeli military uses tech as its protective edge;
Panel: Consistent Research Regulations Could Ease the Burden on Scientists; Retraction Watch, the Blog That Points Out the Human Stains on the Scientific Record;
Web and computing issues
This 'smart' wheelchair knows to send repair notices, health alerts;
Get more from your Android lock screen with "Start"; How to Set up Android Pay on your mobile device; Five handy tools for dealing with passwords;
Gmail now allows users to block specific emails addresses;
SC Politics
Salary only part of S.C. lawmakers' compensation;
How much should access to a park be worth? Fix The Drainage, Fix The Traffic;
Haley's Ambition Puts DHEC Between Rock And Hard Place; Who said it, Donald Trump or Adolf Hitler?
Finance and Economics
Drug's price hike marks a defining moment in health care; Insurers pushing back, seek to link drug prices to outcomes;
AT&T boosts limit on 'unlimited' data; U.S. Agencies Revise Plans for Broadband Access;
White House Looking To Expedite Infrastructure Projects; Feds clear Virginia-to-North Carolina railway;
High-Tech Trade Groups Defend FCC on Net Neutrality; Jeb Bush Wants to 'Repeal or Reform' Net Neutrality;
Boeing, China Swap Jet Deals as Xi's Visit Underscores Stakes; Trump not happy with Boeing's plans;
Five Ways Big Data, Analytics Are Transforming the Trucking Industry;
Volkswagen boss quits over diesel scandal; Pimco fund outperforms 'bond king' Gross;
Other news
Myths And Facts On Hillary Clinton's Email And Reports Of "Top Secret" Materials ; Five myths about classified information; Private emails recovered from Clinton server;
Noam Chomsky: The United States, Not Iran, Poses Greatest Threat To World Peace; Sen. Schumer's illogical case against the Iran deal;
Yogi Berra: A celebration of baseball, life and a man's legacy of words;
Which languages will dominate in the future? Read the predictions;
Education:
The truth behind those '40%' tuition discounts;
Moody's Says Small Colleges' Closure Rate Could Triple by 2017; For Small Colleges, Some Maintenance Can No Longer Be Deferred;
Will Congress Finally Pull the Plug on Perkins Loans?
New Alabama Standards Require Climate Change, Evolution Instruction; Tips for Handling Discussions in Online Courses;
Over Objections, College in Florida Drops Tenure-Like System for New Hires; Court Rules U. of Kansas Can't Expel Student Over Derogatory Tweets;
9/18/15
TechNews for the week: September 18; September 16; September 14;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Drone strike targets Islamic State affiliated militants in Afghanistan; Russia: If Syria asks us to send troops, we'll consider it; US weighs Russia offer of military talks on Syria;
Jordan king warns Israel against Jerusalem 'provocation'; Israeli Forces Storm Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque; Israel calls Iceland capital's boycott 'pure hatred';
Refugee crisis: How do European countries' attitudes differ on refugees? Refugees: Region by Region; EU leaders to hold emergency summit on refugee crisis;
Crowds build at border with Serbia as Hungary cracks down on refugees; Croatia overwhelmed by flood of migrants;
US warns North Korea over nuclear plant 'provocation'; China continued South China Sea reclamation despite halt claim;
Senate Democrats again block Iran nuclear deal disapproval;
House GOP invokes 'martial law' for avoiding shutdown; Democrats back short-term plan to avert government shutdown;
Justice Dept. affirms Clinton could delete personal emails;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
September Crypto-Gram Newsletter, Security risks, NSA, drones, and more; Article: Hacking Team, Computer Vulnerabilities, and the NSA;
How trolls, hackers and spies are rewriting the rules of conflict; Malware on Cisco Routers Called 'Ultimate Spying Tool';
U.S. Workers Not Protecting Data Despite Threats; Online Images Allow 3D Printing of TSA Master Locks;
China Wants U.S. Firms to Store Data in Country; White House Refuses Details on Chinese Sanctions for Spying;
Independent Unmanned Surface Vehicle;
Math and science
Researchers Study Mechanical Forces Behind Knots;
Phosphorene A Potential Alternative To Graphene; Scientists At Berkeley Labs Invent Tiny Invisibility Cloak;
NASA Tests UAV Avoidance System;
Web and computing issues
Court Says Copyright Owners Must Consider Fair Use in DMCA Notices;
Master Windows processes for better performance;
SC Politics
More Energy Options Are A Good Deal;
Finance and Economics
Fed leaves key interest rate unchanged, citing low inflation; U.S. consumer spending rising solidly; manufacturing still weak;
The US Will Remain the World's Reserve Currency; When economists expect to see the next U.S. recession;
Number of Americans who lack health insurance took big dip in 2014;
GE, Boeing Blame Ex-Im Closure For Troubles, Spurring GOP "Infighting";
California Passes Climate Bill Mandating More Renewables, Greater Energy Efficiency; California Wildfires Damage Geothermal Plant;
U.S. Solar Heads for Slump in 2017 If Tax Incentive Is Cut;
Is your financial adviser working against you; watch for Potential Conflict of Interest;
Side-Slip Could Help Aircraft Turnaround Times;
Education:
White House Unveils College Scorecard That Replaces Its Scuttled Ratings Plan; the College Scorecard;
5 College Rankings Based on the White House's New College Scorecard Data; College Scorecard Offers Clues to how much graduates make.;
Websites Tracking America's Failed Colleges Show That Struggles Are Nothing New;
Differences between higher education and corporate America; Teacher Quality, Not Testing, the Best Way to Improve Education;
MOOCs Gaining Popularity; Preparing Lectures for Large Online Classes; In Online Courses, Students Learn More by Doing Than by Watching;
Special report: The Credentials Craze; A Degree Is Just the Beginning; Master's-Degree Programs Specialize to Keep Their Sheen;
Study: Black, Hispanic Students More Likely To Choose Low-Paying Majors;
California Reports First Common Core Assessment Scores; New York to Shorten Common Core Assessments Again;
New Fafsa Changes Will Bring Unintended Consequences for Colleges; Borrowers Using Income-Based Repayment Plans Are Mostly Low-Income;
New Missouri Law Bars Scholarships for Undocumented Students;
U of Oregon Academic Reputation at Risk; Enrollment in Humanities Ph.D. Programs Declines as More Graduate Schools Slim Down;
Students' Requests for Trigger Warnings Grow More Varied;
Rutgers Football Coach Tried to Get a Player's Grade Changed;
9/11/15
TechNews for the week: September 11; September 9;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Al Qaeda Leader Declares War on ISIS; Iraq begins using F-16s in battle against Islamic State militants; Coalition destroys IS hub;
Russia sending advanced air defences to Syria;
Thousands of Palestinian structures under Israeli demolition orders; Netanyahu will not allow Israel to be 'submerged' by refugees; Netanyahu urges Europe to stop pressuring Israel;
The Difference Between Hamas and Hezbollah; What An Israeli Journalist Has To Say About Iran After Meeting With Ayotallahs;
Pakistan begins drone warfare on its own soil;
E.U. leader proposes redistributing 160,000 migrants;
Iran's Supreme Leader: No US negotiations outside nuke deal;
Republican-led attempt to block Iran deal fails in Senate; House GOP to postpone vote on Iran after member revolt;
Congress returns to another spending crisis, fears of government shutdown; shutdown is likely by end of the month; New CBO chief won't cook the books for GOP;
House Republicans just won a major, unexpected victory in a battle with Obama;
The Court Case That Could Shut Down Kansas's Courts; Washington state court finds charter schools unconstitutional;
Problems creeping up again after crisis supposedly ended in recent Louisiana legislative session; Illinois' unpaid bill pile grows as budget battle drags on;
Defiant Kentucky clerk's backers: Fire aides over gay marriage licenses;
Bush's tax plan would add trillions to deficit;
Clintons personally paid State Department staffer to maintain server;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
U.S. Intelligence Director Says China, Russia Pose Cyberthreats; Gov't Personnel Hacking Called Threat to U.S. Spies Abroad;
Ransomware Up, Spam Down: Seven Security Trends; TSA Master Keys; The Security Risks of Third-Party Data; FBI and Apple's Encryption;
Cyberthreat to Energy Department Called 'Absolutely Real'; Health Insurer Hacking Exposes Data on 10 Million Members;
Google Disputes Security Concerns Over '.zip' Domains;
Drone Self-Defense and the Law; Videos: Animals vs. Drones;
Italian chess player caught cheating at a tournament;
Math and science
This Face Changes the Human Story. But How? New species of human ancestor discovered in South Africa;
Neolithic ring found near Stonehenge; Move over, Stonehenge: Scientists just found a 'superhenge' next door;
New images of Pluto show a surface 'every bit as complex as that of Mars';
Scientists waking up 30,000-year-old 'giant' virus;
Brown Vetoes Bill Making Flying Drones Illegal Within 350 Feet Of Private Property; UAV Grounds Firefighting Planes Over Utah;
Map of what Earth would look like if all the ice melted; Map shows how religion spread across the world;
Researchers urge aiming for much lower blood pressure;
NFL teams have a new secret weapon to improve performance: Virtual reality;
Web and computing issues
550,000 miles of cable hidden under the ocean that power the internet;
The best scanning apps for Android and iPhone; The Google Docs Research tool on Android; 6 new Google Drive features;
SC Politics
Got problems with federalism? Check out the S.C. Secessionist Party;
High-rises, tech companies, and new city zoning; Sgt. Jasper to reopen, welcome new tenants;
Finance and Economics
US Jobless Claims, Import Prices Down; Wholesale Inventories Decrease For First Time Since 2013; Record high U.S. job openings point to skills shortage;
The biggest remaining risk in today's financial system, hiding in plain sight; Student Loan Debt Threatens Nation's Economic Growth;
Ireland, Europe Face Battle Over Apple's Tax Treatment;
US Must Cut Red Tape To Rapidly Address Infrastructure Needs; US Manufacturers Prevail Upon Parents To Hire Kids For In-Demand Jobs;
Do the Math: The Rich Really Are Different;
Other news
Now "religious freedom" means "Christian supremacy";
Obama isn't a socialist and neither is Bernie Sanders;
Education:
National Universities Rankings; Top 50 Colleges & Universities; Best College Rankings and Lists;
Why College Is Not a Commodity; U. of Georgia Bets $4.4 Million That Small Classes Can Bolster Learning;
Research: Early School Start Times Hurt Students, Hinder Performance;
State University of New York Makes a Big Push to Strengthen Diversity on Its Campuses;
Students From For-Profit Or Two-Year Colleges More Likely To Have Trouble Repaying Student Loans;
Facing Online Enrollment Challenges, Florida Rethinks Pearson Partnership; Code.org trains 15,000 teachers in computer science;
College of DuPage fires 2 Finance Officials;
U. of California Rebuffs Pleas From Jewish Groups to Limit Criticism of Israel;
Dropbox's File Request Eases Receiving Files and Assignments;
9/4/15
TechNews for the week: September 4; September 2; August 31;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
U.S. launches secret drone campaign to hunt Islamic State leaders in Syria;
Israel won't bomb Iran but US had nothing to do with it; Images show Israeli soldier aggressively handling Palestinian boy;
Senate Dems get 34th vote to hand Obama victory on Iran deal; Netanyahu seeks to snatch victory from jaws of defeat on Iran deal; How AIPAC lost the Iran deal fight;
China to cut 300,000 troops, shift resources to sea and air;
Kansas lawmakers' judicial policy is unconstitutional, judge rules; attorney general says courts could lose funding;
Kentucky clerk's office denies marriage license to gay couple despite U.S. Supreme Court ruling; Clerk jailed for denying same-sex marriage licenses;
Ky. clerk's attorney: New marriage licenses 'not worth the paper they're written on';
Trump signs GOP loyalty pledge; Newt Gingrich: Donald Trump could be GOP nominee; Trump upends GOP message on economy;
Legal experts see no criminal trouble for Clinton; Clinton camp urged former State Dept. aide to testify;
Black motorist was stopped for making 'direct eye contact'; Second video emerges in police shooting of man with hands raised;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
Weaponized Drones Approved For North Dakota Police; U.S., Israeli companies supply spy gear to repressive regimes;
New federal requirements on cellphone surveillance; What Can you Learn from Metadata; The Declining Half-Life of Secrets;
Hacking Vulnerable Medical Equipment Puts Millions at Risk; Using Samsung's Internet-Enabled Refrigerator for Man-in-the-Middle Attacks;
Investors Hurt by Growing Threat of Cyber Crime;
University Statistician Suing Government Over Alleged Rampant Voter Fraud;
Math and science
DARPA Announces "Gremlins" Drone Program; FBI Looking Into Potential Of Contactless Fingerprinting Devices;
Researchers Working On New Generation Of Battery Technology; Study Suggests How To Reduce Impact Of Renewable Energy Projects On Wildlife;
NASA Continues To Study Rising Sea Levels; Obama administration Renames Mount McKinley to Denali;
Medical specialists urge more debate on gene-editing technology;
Why salad is so overrated;
Web and computing issues
10 Highest Paying Computer Science Programs;
The problem with hoarding photos on your phone; Searching for Android apps just got easier; Find cheap flights with Hopper for Android;
Windows 10 tips and tricks; LibreOffice 5.0.1 Open-Source Productivity Suite at a Glance;
10 brain buster apps to raise your mental game;
SC Politics
Economy Looking Better, But Work Still Needed In Rural Areas;
Hampton Park's forthcoming cafe;
Finance and Economics
U.S. job growth slows, unemployment rate falls; Why The Saudis Are Unlikely To Accept Any Production Cutback;
Egyptian gas discovery could impact Israeli exports;
Millions Facing a Hefty Increase in Medicare Premiums in 2016;
Industry Advertising Campaign Opposes New Ozone Rules;
The Unintended Consequences of Self-Driving Cars;
Other news
The Fearful and the Frustrated;
The Best Little Carnie Museum In Louisiana;
Education:
SAT scores at lowest level in 10 years, fueling new worries;
How One State Reduced In-State Tuition for Undergrads; Arkansas governor: Change higher education funding formula;
Why Students With Smaller Debts Are More Likely To Default; U.S. Has Forgiven Loans of More Than 3,000 Ex-Corinthian Students;
Report Identifies Barriers to Adopting Alternative Credentials; University Leaders Want To Submit Their Own Graduation Data To ED;
Scientists Say Universities Are Falling Behind on Reproducibility Reform;
13 Fraternities at U.South Carolina Are Barred From Recruiting; U.S. Finds Michigan State's Sex-Assault Policies Created 'Hostile Environment';
West Point Professor Who Slammed Critics of War on Terror as Traitors Resigns;
5 Rutgers Football Players Are Charged With Assault as Coach Is Investigated; Another Athletics Official at U. Minnesota Is Investigated;