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.
8/26/16
TechNews for the week: August 26; August 24; August 22;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Syrian rebels, backed by Turkey and U.S., capture ISIS stronghold of Jarabulus; Turkey pushes into Syria to hold the line against Kurds;
Kurdish forces answer Turkish demand to withdraw after U.S. threatens to pull support; How to Stop Turkey's Anti-American Turn;
Iran ends Russian use of air base because of unwanted publicity;
Why is the US bankrolling Israeli occupation? Tel Aviv Diary: Some hanker after an Israeli Putin;
Palestinian rocket strikes Israel, drawing Israeli reprisal; Israel launches 'dozens' of Gaza strikes, draws Turkish ire;
Explosions, gunfire reported at American University of Afghanistan;
Italy earthquake: Death toll passes 240 as rescue efforts continue;
Judge in Texas temporarily blocks Obama's transgender rules; Judge Pushes State Dep't to Release More Clinton Emails;
Illinois governor's office warns of crippling pension payment hike;
In-person voting fraud is rare, doesn't affect elections; Phony War on Voter Fraud Looks Even Phonier;
Federal appeals court says no to restoring extra days of early voting in Ohio; Absentee ballot returns show spike in unlikely voters weighing in on Florida's primary;
Only 11 percent of Trump backers expect votes to be counted accurately;
Political punditry masks propaganda pass-throughs;
Trump's false claim that undocumented immigrants collect Social Security benefits; A complete list of the Trump products made overseas;
Trump campaign manager no longer wants him to release his tax returns; Taxpayers spent $127 million on this New York golf course. Trump reaps the rewards;
Baltimore police are taking aerial photos of residents like never before; A black homeowner called 911 to report a carjacking. Police shot him;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
Voting machines should be seen as critical democracy infrastructure;
The latest NSA leak shows why it's so hard to trust even tech designed to keep computers safe; Russian Hackers Blamed for Cyber Attacks on News Outlets;
WikiLeaks Inadvertently Exposes Private Medical, Financial Info;
Research on the Timing of Security Warnings; Interesting Internet-Based Investigative Techniques;
Privacy Implications of Windows 10; 13 essential network security utilities;
Group Exploits Apple Security Vulnerabilities to Spy;
Math and science
Scientists believe they have discovered closest 'Earth-like' planet to our solar system; A new class of galaxy has been discovered, one made almost entirely of dark matter;
Miniature black holes may be hitting Earth once every 1,000 years; Those 'wet' streaks found on Mars might not hold water;
NASA Set to Launch Asteroid-Sampling Mission; NASA just found a spacecraft that's been lost for two years;
A widening 80 mile crack is threatening one of Antarctica's biggest ice shelves;
New Window Coating Allows Light Passage And Still Blocks 90% Of Sun Rays;
How Long Can Retirees Expect To Live Once They Hit 65;
An alarming number of scientific papers contain Excel errors; NASA Launches Free Online Database With Research Papers, Data;
Web and computing issues
Windows 10 Anniversary Update kills webcams, no fix until September;
How Facebook censors your posts; Facebook To Make Image Recognition AI Code Public;
South Korea Delays Giving Mapping Data to Google;
5 things to do with your old phone (other than sell it);
SC Politics
Both sides to settle in Slager's lawsuit against police group;
Finance and Economics
Second-quarter GDP still weak: 1.1%; CBO Releases Forecast: The US Budget Can Be Balanced Without Tax Increases; Big banks plan to coin new digital currency;
The US Air Force has no idea what it's doing trying to retire the A-10;
Former Interior Officials Support BLM's Fracking Rule In Appeal; Small Turnout For Government's Annual Offshore Oil Lease Auction;
Analysis: Offshore Wind Industry May Grow In US; Small Modular Reactor Designs Hold Promise To Reduce Risk For Investors;
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Protests, Files Lawsuit To Block Oil Pipeline; Protesters Rally In DC Against Dakota Access Pipeline;
Judge denies Iowa landowners' request to halt pipeline work;
Secondary Market Emerging For Used Electric Car Batteries As Home Energy Storage;
T-Mobile's Plan to 'Throttle' Video Violates Net Neutrality;
Other news
Professor: Here's why most of us are Democrats;
'Should I be doing this?': It's a question minor leaguers ask themselves as they struggle to pay the bills;
Education:
The 'Match' Between Students and Colleges; Helping Students Seek Social Services; Colleges No Longer Requiring SATs;
Op-Ed: How College Freshman Can Overcome The Fear Of Failure; Podcast: You Don't Know Your Students. This Professor Hopes to Change That;
Chinese students seeking admission to top colleges flock to U.S. high schools;
Many Are Lowering Student Loan Payments, But Lots Are Still Behind; U.S. Acts Against Wells Fargo Bank for Illegal Student-Loan Practices;
Education Department Cuts Off Federal Aid to New Students at For-Profit ITT;
A southern city wants to secede from its school district, raising concerns about segregation;
A New Academic Year Brings Fresh Anxiety at Illinois's Public Colleges; Berkeley Suspends Its 'Global Campus' Because of Budget Deficit;
Duke U. Lays Claim to $10 Million From Oilman's Estate ;
NLRB Rules Columbia U. Grad Students Are Employees; Ruling Pushes Door to Grad-Student Unions 'Wide Open'; A New Era for Grad-Student Organizing;
U. Chicago's Condemning of Safe Spaces and Trigger Warnings Reignites Debate; Stanford Bans Hard Liquor From Undergraduate Parties;
NCAA's Ole Miss investigation expands;
8/19/16
TechNews for the week: August 19; August 17; August 15;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
How the Islamic State was created; Russia uses Iran as base to bomb Syrian militants for first time;
How off-the-shelf drones are changing war in Syria and Lebanon;
Israel to demolish Palestinian school in West Bank; Israel Loses Secretive Oil Pipeline Case To Iran, Ordered To Pay $1.1 Billion Plus Interest;
New York police hunt for gunman in Muslim cleric's killing; Why Milwaukee boiled over with violence after police shooting death;
Pennsylvania's top prosecutor to resign after conviction;
Election reveals Paul Ryan to be worst speaker in U.S. history;
Sex, money, politics: The Fox News scandal the network has barely covered;
Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoes automatic voter registration bill; Chris Christie Vetoes Yet Another Voter Registration Bill;
Courts urged to strike down election maps that lock in the winners; North Carolina asks Supreme Court to restore voting procedures ruled discriminatory;
Are We Heading for a Rigged Election? It's Happened Before; A 'rigged' election in the Electoral College?
Trump says Only 'cheating' can keep me from winning Pennsylvania; Who are Trump voters? A new portrait emerges;
More than $12 million earmarked for Trump's campaign manager in Ukraine; Embattled Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort resigns;
Trump calls for ideological test for Muslim immigrants and visitors to the U.S.; 83 brutal seconds of Donald Trump totally contradicting himself on foreign policy;
Trump Campaign Hires Breitbart Executive; The strange claims of Trump's top spokeswoman;
Trump promised to donate his own money on 'Celebrity Apprentice.' He didn't;
Trump's Jersey Tax Debt Shrunk by $25M After Christie Became Governor; Christie says not aware of huge Trump N.J. tax reduction;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
August Crypto-Gram Newsletter, Security of Our Election Systems, Hacking, Internet of Things, and more;
Microsoft Accidentally Leaks Key to Windows Backdoor; Linux traffic hijack flaw also affects most Android phones, tablets;
FOR SALE: NSA Malware; Powerful NSA hacking tools mysteriously surface online; Major NSA/Equation Group Leak;
Yet Another Government-Sponsored Malware; Cisco Issues Warning, Fix After Hacking Linked to NSA Operation; Snowden: Alleged NSA attack is Russian warning;
Homeland Security Offers to Help States with Election Hacking; Malware Used to Access Payment Card Data at Eddie Bauer; Powerful Bit-Flipping Attack;
China launches quantum satellite in battle against hackers;
Prisoner's Dilemma Experiment Illustrates Four Basic Phenotypes;
Security researcher turns the tables on cyber-scammers;
Math and science
Ancient people built these mysterious giant arrows in the desert; Scientists discovered a secret American manuscript that was hidden under paint for 500 years;
Venus May Once Have Been a Garden Planet; New telescopes poised to unlock the universe;
Air Force Envisions Future With "Swarms" Of Autonomous Drones; World's Largest Aircraft Completes First Flight in England;
The Limits of Athletic Performance; Moore's Law Is About to Get Weird; The Tyranny of Simple Explanations;
Web and computing issues
White House Plans ICANN Shift for October 1; US now ready to give up our role governing the internet ;
Download free ebooks from your local library; How to remove unwanted apps from Windows 10;
Why Google Duo will actually make you want to use video calling;
SC Politics
State insurance fund paid out $55K in Citadel hazing lawsuit;
Clemson's Football Team Is Getting a Nap Room and a Lot of Other Stuff;
A West Ashley 'TIF' District Closer to Reality;
Finance and Economics
Aetna will leave most Obamacare exchanges, projecting losses; Aetna warned it would drop out of Obamacare exchanges if its merger was blocked;
To Curtail Violence, Researchers Say, Reduce Economic Inequality;
Colorado Work Program Training Unemployed Miners For Solar Jobs; Appalachia Working To Develop New Industries As Coal Mines Close;
Tech Companies Plan Layoffs As Technologies Shift; Michigan Launches Campaign To Keep Auto Companies From Relocating To California;
California Delays Regional Grid Proposal Until January; First US Offshore Wind Project Nearing Completion;
Greens Groups Sue US Army Corps Of Engineers To Stop Sabal Trail Pipeline Project;
SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Sends Japanese Satellite Into Orbit, Sticks Landing Upon Return To Earth;
Study: 87 Percent Of America's Vehicles Could Be Electric; New Gasoline Engine Could Make Today's Diesel Engines "Obsolete";
Ford Pushing Ahead To Develop Autonomous Vehicle By 2021; Besides Tesla, Other Automakers Advancing Semi-autonomous Driving Technologies;
Self-Driving Cars Will Double Number Of Human Drivers;
Other news
10 ways to keep the brain 'in shape'; 6 Reasons Enterprise Collaboration Fails and What to Do About It;
The Myths and Realities of 'Doing What You Love';
Donald Trump will win in a landslide. Scott Adams explains why;
Education:
Where Does Your Freshman Class Come From? Training Programs Deliver Good Jobs Without College Degrees; Free Entrance Exams Open a Path to College;
Top U.S. Higher-Education Official Says Innovation Will Best Serve the 'New Normal' Students;
Why Colleges Still Scarcely Track Ph.D.s; Coalition Of Groups Call On King To Track Student Debt Racial Disparities;
Colleges Moving Up Financial Aid Deadlines, Sparking ED Rebuke;
Presidential Candidates' Approach To Student Debt;
Education Department Picks Nontraditional Partners for Student Aid; Experiment With New Education Providers Also Tests New Ways to Measure Quality;
Professor Calls For Including History In Teaching Sciences;
Report: For-Profit Colleges Have Similar Problems, Few Benefits; A Public-Records Fight Raises Questions About a University's Obligations;
Report Calls Texas Public Universities "Dropout Factories"; U. Arizona President Asks for Investigation of Medical Schools' Leaders;
Ken Starr Resigns Faculty Position at Baylor; The Students Behind 'Students for Concealed Carry';
8/12/16
TechNews for the week: August 12; August 10; August 8;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Even with the help of U.S. airstrikes, Libyans struggle to oust Islamic State; As ISIS weakens, chance of new wars in Iraq grows;
Scores of attorneys among the dead in suicide bombing in southwestern Pakistan; Head of Islamic State in Afghanistan killed in U.S. drone strike;
After coup attempt, Turkey's president gets friendly with Putin again;
Iran's Offensive Cyber Abilities Have Improved Since Nuclear Deal;
An Introduction to Israeli National Security Challenges; Israel rejects Swiss court ruling to pay Iran $1bn in oil debts from Shah's era;
Spyware Deluge Hits Vietnam Sites Amid South China Sea Spat;
North Carolina will ask Supreme Court to allow voter ID law to stand; Courts Overturn Voter ID Laws is Win for Voting Rights Advocates;
Despite recent rulings, voter ID laws could still scramble calculus in November; Appeals court suspends ruling rejecting parts of Wisconsin voter ID law;
GOP Legislators In Texas Drop Requiring Citizenship Tests For Minority Voters After Most Legislators Fail Test;
The Republicans' big gerrymander could backfire in a major way; Poll Finds More Want Democratic-Controlled Congress;
Senate Republicans' inaction puts judiciary in crisis;
Florida woman, 73, is fatally shot by officer during class at citizen police academy;
Trump unveils a new economic team full of wealthy advisers; Trump proposes major tax cut; calls for cutting income-tax brackets down to three;
Lessons from the search for Trump's personal giving to charity; Crowd cheers Trump for $20 million donation that may not exist;
In 2007, Trump was forced to own up to his falsehoods; Trump demanded Obama's records But he's not releasing his own;
Donald Trump now says even legal immigrants are a security threat; Trump implies 'second amendment folks' could stop Clinton judge picks;
Clinton acknowledges trust issues, blames them on GOP; Hillary Clinton releases 2015 tax return;
Clinton agrees to debate schedule, despite Trump's complaints; Why Trump might not debate Clinton;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
Judge criticizes secrecy rules on FBI requests for companies'; Canadian Court Says Text Messages Not Protected by Privacy;
IDI Has Built a Profile on Every American Adult;
Researchers crack open unusually advanced malware that hid for 5 years; spyware detected targeting firms in Russia, China;
Hacker demonstrates how voting machines can be compromised; More on Voting Machine Security; More Interview;
Hacking the Internet of Things: Locks and Thermostats; Hacking Your Computer Monitor; Hacking Electronic Safes; Malware from Kazakhstan;
There's a new way to make strong passwords and it's way easier than what you've been doing;
Why People Become Terrorists;
Math and science
Science Isn't Broken;
The observatory that changed astronomy forever; One of the most groundbreaking machines in the history of science;
Mysterious object discovered in strange orbit beyond Neptune; but scientists have no idea what it is; The Perseid meteor shower could be twice as awesome this year;
Stardust trapped deep within the ocean reveals a 2.6-million-year-old mystery;
Engineers Build Dust-Sized, Wireless Sensors To Monitor Muscles, Nerves; Hydrogen molecule falls to quantum computer;
UAS AI Uses Fuzzy Logic To Defeat Fighter Pilot;
Physics Could Prevent Prime Air Drone Deliveries; UK Engineers Develop Tethered Drone With Unlimited Flight Time;
Mountaintop Dig Finds Chilling Echo of Dark Greek Legend;
'New Stonehenge' at Durrington Walls 'had no standing stones'; King Arthur's Home? Archaeologists Investigate Legendary Birthplace;
Ancient burial mound reveals role of women in "America's 1st city"; Dig Extended at Site of 1750s British, American Encampments;
First Americans Took Coastal Route to Get to North America;
N. Korean 'Viagra' might actually work;
Web and computing issues
14 Google Maps tips and tricks; 10 Versatile Smartwatches, Fitness Trackers Worth a Closer Look;
IOC Bans Press from Publishing Short Videos from Olympic Games;
SC Politics
The South's intentional ignorance encourages groups like the Secessionist Party;
What Should The Gateway To Charleston Look Like; Sales Tax Holiday Gimmick Is Here Again;
Finance and Economics
In SC Chinese factories, American workers; Climate Change Legislation Targets Southern California Ports; Native Americans Protest Dakota Access Pipeline;
Oil Prices See-Saw, India Keeps Interest Rates Unchanged; Japan Exploring For Metals 900 Miles Offshore, 5,000 Feet Deep;
Record Review Finds Hundreds Of Oil, Gas Spills Affected Water; Increased Regulation Could Be Reducing Oklahoma Earthquakes;
Nevada's Move Could Lead To Shift Away From Government Support For Solar Energy; First US Offshore Wind Project a "New Era" For Wind Industry;
Professor: US Should Not Let Nuclear Power "Slip Away"; US Must Increase Investment To Maintain Supercomputing Lead;
Federal Regulators Work To Help Communities Implement "Complete Street"; Michigan DOT Uses New Method To Accelerate Construction For I-75 Project;
Delta's massive computer outage is part of a much bigger problem; Air Force faces pilot-shortage crisis that could get worse soon;
DowDuPont's massive merger at risk over antitrust concerns; Apple Loses Patent Ruling on Use of 'Common Knowledge';
Other news
What is Sharia Law and Should You be Scared;
A hillbilly's plea to the white working class;
New Cadets March Back from 'Beast Barracks' at West Point;
Education:
General Education Gets an 'Integrative Learning' Makeover; Free Job Training Program Focuses On Manufacturing Careers;
College Board Reports Theft Of Unpublished SAT Exam Material; Medical Students Launch Campaign To Eliminate "Redundant" Standardized Test For Medical License;
What $500 Tuition Could Mean for 3 UNC Campuses; Wisconsin Governor Touts Tuition Freeze, Other College Affordability Actions;
Administration Steps Up Efforts To Regulate Student Loan Servicers; FAFSA Changes Popular, But Advocates Say Problems Remain;
For the Wealthiest Colleges, How Many Low-Income Students Are Enough; Education Dept. Denies College Chain's Request to Become Nonprofit;
3 Prominent Universities Are Sued by Employees Over Retirement Plans; The Unintended Consequences of Seeking Tenure;
University of Tennessee director of football operations placed on leave; Brigham Young Is Under Title IX Investigation;
8/5/16
TechNews for the week: August 5; August 3; August 1;
War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
U.S. conducts airstrikes against Islamic State stronghold in Libya;
Israel and U.S. are close to a deal on the biggest military aid package ever;
Navy Officials Say U.S. Uses Submarines for Cyberattacks;
Appeals court strikes down North Carolina's voter-ID law; The 'smoking gun' proving North Carolina Republicans tried to disenfranchise black voters;
Federal judge blocks North Dakota's voter-ID law, as unfair to Native Americans; Town accused of sending police to challenge African-American residents' right to vote;
Delaware death penalty law declared unconstitutional by state's highest court;
N.J. State troopers shoot man, 76, after 911 call mix-up; A black woman called 911 because she was afraid of a police officer. A violent arrest followed;
Korryn Gaines is the ninth black woman shot and killed by police this year; Video of fatal shooting shows Chicago officers firing at car;
What America would look like without gerrymandering;
Koch brothers network rules out anti-Clinton ads;
Trump attacks retired general who spoke forcefully for Clinton; Trump stirs outrage after lashing out at Muslim parents of dead U.S. soldier;
What we know about Donald Trump and his taxes so far; Buffett challenges Trump to release tax returns;
Trump has a totally plausible path to 270 electoral votes; 5 not-totally-crazy electoral maps that show Donald Trump winning;
Trump Says Trump Says He's 'Afraid the Election Is Going to Be Rigged'; For Trump, a new 'rigged' system: The election itself;
Why facts don't matter to Trump's supporters; Trump just downgraded Clinton from 'the devil' to the 'founder of ISIS';
Trump said he watched an Iranian recording of the money transfer. He was wrong.; Trump Blabs Top Secret Info from Intelligence Briefings at Campaign Rally;
Donald Trump fires senior adviser Ed Brookover;
Melania Trump's Immigration Story Does Not Add Up;
How the 'Stupid Party' Created Donald Trump;
Math, science and technology:
Security issues
Essay: Hacking the Vote; Black Hat Hackers Demonstrate How To Hack EMV Technology At PoS Systems, ATMs;
How foreign governments spy using PowerPoint and Twitter; Microsoft won't fix Windows flaw that lets hackers steal your username and password;
Cyber experts warn of hacking capability of drones; Iranian Hackers Attack 'Telegram' Instant Messaging Accounts;
Frequent Password Changes Is a Bad Security Idea;
Math and science
What Your Brain Looks Like When It Solves a Math Problem;
Researchers Push Back Against Journals' Demands That Medical Data Be Shared;
This weird hexagon on Saturn has puzzled scientists for decades;
Legends say China began in a great flood. Scientists now say there's evidence of it;
New App Helps Patients To Find Lost Memories; Researchers Develop Biodegradable Pill Robot;
The shaky evidence for flossing;
Lockheed Mini Missile Successfully Complete Second Test Flight;
Web and computing issues
Dark Data Shouldn't Be Taken Lightly; How to use Instagram Stories ; 8 Lessons Every Enterprise Can Learn From 2016 Presidential Election;
11 best downloadable keyboards for Android; Best secure Android browser; The best apps for working out while you travel;
SC Politics
State's baseball coaches moving forward with pitch count rules;
City outlines new guidelines for late-night soft closings;
Edisto River swimmer contracts infection from brain-eating amoeba;
Sheriff: Jail inmate slugs man charged in church massacre;
Finance and Economics
US adds a healthy 255,000 jobs, unemployment rate holds at 4.9%; European Bank Stocks Crash, Japan Approves Stimulus Package;
Bank of England cuts interest rates to 0.25% and expands QE; Our attitude towards wealth played a crucial role in Brexit. We need a rethink;
Chicago property tax bill double whammy: Increases plus an assessment hike; New Jersey halves hedge fund exposure;
Washington overhauls job-matching site; Cities, states plod toward 'Next Generation 911';
Pacific Northwest Considers Response To Risks Posed By Oil Trains; New York PSC Approves Zero-Emissions Credit Subsidies For Upstate Nuclear Plants;
Clean Power Plan Said to Fall Short On Protections For Low-income Minorities; West Virginians See 'All Pain, No Gain" From Clean Power Plan;
Nevada High Court Questions Rooftop Solar Ballot Referendum; Wind Group Responds To Trump's Claims About Wind Power;
Unmanned Surface Vessels Discussed; FAA Sanctions Testing Of Alphabet's Project Wing Delivery Drones; Administration Expands Research Efforts And Drone Funding;
GSK, Alphabet Unite To Develop Bioelectronic Medicines;
T-Mobile vows to match Verizon's coverage in next 12 months;
Other news
10 Reasons to Become a Project Manager; How Better Soft Skills Equal Better Pay; How to Win an Academic Argument;
How to visit nearly every national park in one epic road trip;
Education:
Why Are There So Many White Young American Men Without College Degrees? Report: Low-Income Students Need More Support For Workplace Success;
Britain's Brexit Could Benefit Universities Elsewhere;
Survey: Most Americans Support Debt-Free Tuition; Parties Differ On How To Address Student Debt Crisis;
Elite Colleges With Big Endowments Offer Little Aid To Low Income Students;
Study Finds Calculus, Confidence Keep Women Out Of STEM; As Coding Boot Camps Grow, One Tries a Nonprofit Model;
ED Gets Over 1,000 Comments On Defense To Repayment Rules; ITT Educational Services Cautions That New-Student Enrollment May Drop by Half;
Arkansas State U. Chancellor Quits Following His Wife's Resignation Last Month; Chancellor Was the Subject of an Audit When He Resigned;
In Leadership Fight at U. Louisville, Uncertainty Reigns;
Texas Professors Sue Over Campus Gun Law; Professor Who Battled College of Charleston Over Syllabus Is Suing;
What Is a 'Serious Academic' in the era of Social-Media;
What the Future Holds for the Federal Crackdown on Campus Sexual Assault;
A Journalist Says Rape Culture Is Systemic in College Football; Why Isn't Baylor Under Title IX Investigation? A Records Request Yields Laughably Little;
A Star Quarterback's Unfiltered Posts Set Off Debate About Athletes' Speech Rights;