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frojack writes:

The story is being carried by USA Today and just about every major news outlet. There were some economic takes on the election as well.

takyon: Results at CBC and BBC. DeSmog Canada has an analysis focusing on potential shifts in environmental and science policies:

The Liberal party has taken a strong stance on the war on science in Canada, promising to free scientists to speak publicly about their work. Trudeau has also promised to instate a Parliamentary Science Officer to ensure transparency, expertise and independence of federal scientists. This position will mirror that of the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

In addition to unmuzzling scientists, the party also wants to work collaboratively with the provinces, First Nations and other stakeholders when it comes to ocean management. This is significant in light of the Conservative government's de-funding of numerous marine science programs, including the only research being conducted into the effects of industrial pollutants on marine mammals. The Liberal party has promised to reinstate $40 million of funding for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin who was considered earlier this year to be one of the two frontrunners (along with Jeb Bush) for the Republican nomination, is quitting the race, according to several news organizations ahead of a scheduled news conference. Walker created controversy in Wisconsin with his union-busting policies, making him a conservative favorite; however, he was unable to create enthusiasm for his bid on the campaign trail.

At times, Walker seemed to be both overly cautious and dangerously misinformed at the same time.

Recent polls in Iowa showed that Walker's support there has almost evaporated during the two months he's been on the campaign trail. The Iowa caucuses, scheduled for next January, is by tradition the first event of the primary season that produces party convention delegates for the winner. It was considered a must-win event for Walker, who was already fairly well known in Iowa, a state bordering Wisconsin.

takyon: Check https://soylentnews.org/my/homepage to prevent "Breaking News" nexus stories from appearing on the homepage. Or to ensure that they do.

Original Submission

martyb writes:

Reports are coming in about a massive earthquake off the coast of Chile. A tsunami advisory has been issued for Hawaii:

BASED ON ALL AVAILABLE DATA A MAJOR TSUNAMI IS NOT EXPECTED TO STRIKE THE STATE OF HAWAII. HOWEVER...SEA LEVEL CHANGES AND STRONG CURRENTS MAY OCCUR ALONG ALL COASTS THAT COULD BE A HAZARD TO SWIMMERS AND BOATERS AS WELL AS TO PERSONS NEAR THE SHORE AT BEACHES AND IN HARBORS AND MARINAS.

Here is the USGS (US Geological Survey) page for the initial 8.3 earthquake. Aftershocks have also been reported.

According to the BBC:

The earthquake struck just off the coast at 19:54 local times (22:54 GMT), about 55km west of the city of Illapel, the US Geological Survey said. Officials said it was at the depth of about 10km.

The US Geological Survey initially reported the tremor as magnitude 7.9, but then quickly revised the reading to 8.3. Several strong aftershocks were reported just minutes later.

Illapel Mayor Denis Cortes reported that one person was killed by a collapsing wall, and 15 other people were injured.

[...] "Tsunami waves reaching more than three metres above the tide level are possible along some coasts of Chile," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned.

The earthquake struck as thousands of Chileans have been travelling to the coast ahead of a week of celebrations of the national holidays, or Fiestas Patrias. Tsunami alerts were also issued for Peru and Hawaii.

According to Wired:

The National Tsunami Warning Center has warned that Chile's shorelines could experience tsunamis exceeding nine feet. "That might not sound like much, but a tsunami wave has all the weight of the ocean behind it," says Scott Langley, an electronics technician with the National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska. "This isn't something you want to go out and ride with your surfboard."

Since the initial quake, the USGS has reported four aftershocks, ranging from 5.7 to 6.4 moment magnitude.

Separately, we reported back on April 26th that a Magnitude 7.8 Quake in Nepal Kills At Least 1800, Aftershocks Continue. I happened to speak with someone from Nepal yesterday who told me they are still receiving magnitude 6-plus aftershocks.

Original Submission

darnkitten writes:

The first library-hosted Tor node in the U.S. is to be reactivated, after a public meeting on Tuesday at the Kilton Public Library in West Lebanon, New Hampshire, in which area residents expressed support for the Board of Trustees and the Tor system. The Library had also conducted surveys which indicated strong support from both residents and non-residents alike.

The node had been set up as part of the Library Freedom Project's pilot program, following a unanimous decision by the Board in June; however, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had apparently contacted City officials and law enforcement, informing them that (FTA) "Tor sometimes is used by criminals to distribute child pornography or illegal drugs, among other abuses." After discussion with the Town, the Board had suspended the relay, pending discussion at Tuesday's public meeting.

City officials insisted that they had not intended to force the Board into a particular decision, but rather intended to educate the public about their concerns.

The Board Chair, Francis Oscadal, was quoted as saying, "I could vote in favor of the good ... or I could vote against the bad. I'd rather vote for the good because there is value to this."

See also: Concord Monitor .

Original Submission

Three astronauts will launch to the International Space Station later "tonight". From Wired:

A Soyuz spacecraft will take off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 10:37 local time, or 12:37 am EDT on Wednesday. If you're curious to follow along, you can watch NASA TV's live broadcast of the launch above, starting at 11:45 pm EDT tonight.

It will be a crowded time on the ISS:

Three crew members are ready to head into space Wednesday morning bringing the crew complement on the International Space Station (ISS) to nine, something that hasn't been seen since 2013.

Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov along with Andreas Mogensen from the European Space Agency, and visitors Aidyn Aimbetov from Kazcosmos, the National Space Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan, will blast off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:37 a.m. EDT. They are scheduled to dock two days later at 3:42 a.m. on Friday with the hatch opening 6:15 a.m.

The new crew will join the One-Year duo of NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko along with Russians Gennady Padalka, Oleg Kononenko and Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui along with NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren.

That will take the number of people on board the station to nine. Typically there is a crew of six.

Aimbetov and Mogensen are scheduled to return to Earth on Sept. 12 along with current commander Padalka. Scott Kelly will take over command of the space station on Sept. 5.

Live coverage at NASA TV.

More Exoskeleton Development from Japan

basstard writes:

Bloomberg writes that Mitsui & Co., best known among investors as Japan's top oil and iron-ore trader, and its partners have built a wearable suit—a backpack fitted with belts and leg supports—that enhances a user's ability to lift and move heavy objects. The idea is that when worn by farmers, or at nursing homes or construction sites, strength is enhanced.

The device, known as the Assist Suit AWN-03, was developed at ActiveLink, Panasonic Corp.'s robot-development unit. Weighing in at 6 kilograms (13.2 pounds), the suit allows the wearer to lift as much as 15 kilograms without stressing the lower back, according to Mitsui, which demonstrated the outfit to media at its Tokyo headquarters on Aug. 14.

Such a machine is tailor-made for Japan, where labor shortages and a shrinking and aging population are already causing construction delays, says the trading house. But the Assist Suit is just a first step. In two years, Mitsui and its partners aim to release the next iteration, complete with mechanical arms and legs. Further out, future versions could start to take on Aliens-like proportions. "What we have in mind is the Aliens power loader," says Tomoya Tsutsumi, an official at Mitsui's construction and industrial machinery division.

General contractor Kajima Corp. and Yamato Holdings Co., which offers door-to-door parcel delivery services, are among dozens of companies planning to try the technology, according to Tsutsumi. The target is to sell 1,000 units in the initial year after the Assist Suit's release.

"Young workers tend to want to work in a more comfortable environment so businesses are having trouble finding enough workers when labor conditions are harsh," Tsutsumi said.

Article includes a Youtube video demonstrating some pretty nifty stuff.

[More After the Break]

takyon writes:

Multiple reports suggest that Impact Team has leaked around 9.6 to 10 gigabytes of data from the "cheating/affair website" Ashley Madison onto Tor sites (now available via BitTorrent). According to Ars Technica:

A 10-gigabyte file purportedly containing e-mails, member profiles, credit-card transactions and other sensitive Ashley Madison information became available as a BitTorrent download in the past few hours. Ars downloaded the massive file and it appeared to contain a trove of details taken from a clandestine dating site, but so far there is nothing definitively linking it to Ashley Madison. User data included e-mail addresses, profile descriptions, addresses provided by users, weight, and height. A separate file containing credit card transaction data didn't include full payment card numbers or billing addresses.

Rob Graham, CEO of Errata Security, said the dump also included user passwords that were cryptographically protected using the bcrypt hashing algorithm. That's among the most secure ways to store passwords, because bcrypt is extremely slow, a trait that requires crackers to devote vast amounts of time and computing resources. Still, it's highly likely a large percentage of the hashes will be cracked, given rampant use of weak passwords.

Ashley Madison officials have stopped short of confirming the published information was extracted from the breach.

"We have now learned that the individual or individuals responsible for this attack claim to have released more of the stolen data," they wrote in an e-mail to Ars. "We are actively monitoring and investigating this situation to determine the validity of any information posted online and will continue to devote significant resources to this effort. Furthermore, we will continue to put forth substantial efforts into removing any information unlawfully released to the public, as well as continuing to operate our business."

Previously: Adult 'Extracurricular Activity' Website AshleyMadison.com Hacked

Original Submission

takyon writes:

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has increased its estimate of the amount of taxpayers affected by a security flaw to about 334,000:

The IRS says more taxpayers than it originally believed had their data stolen by hackers. The agency now says the total is now more than 300,000.

In May, when it first revealed the breach, the IRS reported some 114,000 taxpayers had their data stolen. But in what the IRS is calling a "deeper analysis" of the breach, it identified an additional 220,000 cases where hackers got access to taxpayer records. The agency says hackers tried, but failed to access the data of some 280,000 more taxpayers.

The hackers got into the accounts by clicking a link on the IRS website called Get Transcripts. The link allowed taxpayers to get copies of their own back tax returns to use, for example, in applying for loans.

The hackers, who the IRS believes may have been part of an organized crime syndicate possibly based in Russia, were sophisticated.

Reuters, CBS, WSJ.

Previously: IRS Coughs up 100,000 Tax Returns to Thieves

Original Submission

cosurgi writes:

I witnessed the events as they unfolded yesterday, I'll try to give as objective summary as possible. Here's what happened:

The bitcoin blocksize is currently limited to 1MB. Two out of five bitcoin developers who have access to repository are worried that this is not enough to compete with VISA (in the number of transactions processed per second). The dispute to increase the blocksize has been ongoing for months. The two developers suggested to use the bitcoin built-in voting process (which has been designed in it ages ago), where the voting goes as follows:

1. the software is updated in such a way that larger block sizes are not used unless 750 out of past 1000 blocks are mined by miners who in the blockheader say "yes to bigger blocksize".

2. If such blocks (which are still below 1MB, but simply have this "yes" vote) are not mined, then the status-quo remains and nothing happens.

Three other developers have blocked any commits, and dedicated themselves to maintain the even stronger status-quo, by simply disallowing such vote to proceed. The two other developers finally decided to publish a new bitcoin client, called bitcoin XT, which has only one small change that would allow such voting to proceed. The linked blogpost presents one side of this argument, honestly I couldn't find a blogpost that would present the opposing viewpoint. If someone here has a link to nice writeup done by the other side of this argument please let us know.

The bitcoin reddit got furious yesterday night (to the point of a civil war with moderators), when the top voted and most discussed thread "why is bitcoin forking?" was deleted by one of the moderators. Interesting to note, that it had 528 upvotes at the moment of deletion and currently it has 687 upvotes, and also googling for 'why is bitcoin forking' links to this deleted thread. Before it was deleted the discussion seemed reasonable, now it's just a Streisand effect about censorship and about how few influential people are trying to prevent the voting from happening.

What it means for regular bitcoin users? Here's how it goes:

1. If the voting rejects the larger blocksize then both bitcoin clients, 'bitcoin' and 'bitcoin XT' will work as normal on the same blockchain. And in fact nothing will happen, people will be able to choose which client to use and eventually the 'bitcoin XT' will lose its momentum, fade out and stop being used.

2. If the voting goes in favor of larger blocksize, then both bitcoin clients will start operating on two different blockchains. The 'bitcoin XT' blockchain will have 75% of hashing power (by the definition of how this vote is implemented), and the 'bitcoin' blockchain wil have the remaining 25% of hashing power. Shops and exchanges will run aghast in circles trying to protect from double spending by quickly upgrading their software to use the stronger 'bitcoin XT' blockchain. The weaker blockchain with only 25% hashing power will be susceptible to attacks. And whatever bitcoins you have right now will co-exist twice in each of those blockchains. You would be able to spend them in one of the blockchains and keep them for yourself in the other blockchain. People who have changed to 'bitcoin XT' client beforehand will be safe from whatever might happen with the weaker chain, since their clients work with both blockchains, until they acquire the voting 75% majority.

The voting process as it happens can be seen live on site that shows number of clients and mined blocks that opted for larger blocksize.

I know that perhaps I am not as objective as I wanted to be. I tried to present the facts only, if I failed, then blame me and correct me in the comments. Happy discussing!

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Reuters reports:

An Indonesian domestic passenger aircraft carrying 54 people lost contact with air traffic control on Sunday in the remote eastern Papua region, the National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) said. "Lost contact with plane," BASARNAS chief Bambang Soelystyo told Reuters by phone.

According to the official BASARNAS Twitter account, the aircraft belonging to Trigana Air Service was carrying 44 adult passengers, five crew and five children and infants.

[...] An AirAsia passenger jet crashed en route from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore last December, killing all 162 people on board. The crash prompted the government to introduce regulations aimed at improving safety.

BBC.

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

Breaking: Massive Explosions Rock China's Tianjin

At least two major explosions tore through Tianjin in eastern China on Wednesday night. According to Xinhua, the shockwaves from the blasts "were felt kilometers away" and shattered windows.

Chinese media reports indicated that the blasts occurred around 11:30 p.m. local time. People's Daily tweeted that the "quake" from the blast was "felt 10 km away." In a separate tweet, People's Daily cited the China Earthquake Network Center as saying that two explosions had occurred within 30 seconds, one magnitude 2.3 M_L (or Richter magnitude) and [the] other magnitude 2.9 M_L.

The number of casualties is still unknown; Xinhua's official report (issued at around 3 a.m. local time) noted "at least 50" people injured, while the official Twitter account of People's Daily said a local hospital "has received 300-400 injured." No deaths have been confirmed as of this writing, but two firefighters have been reported missing.

Update: People's Daily is now reporting 13 dead.

There were conflicting reports as to the cause of the blast. Initial speculation suggested the cause was gas or oil-related, possibly connected to the liquid natural gas (LNG) terminal in Tianjin. By around 3 a.m. local time, official Chinese media sources were reporting that the explosion started at a warehouse in the Binhai New Area of Tianjin, where "dangerous goods" were being stored.

CCTV had the most specific information, citing the Tianjin Public Security Bureau as saying that the explosion occurred at the Tianjin Dongjiang Port Rui Hai International Logistics Co. Ltd, "which handles the transport of hazardous goods." Xing Zheming of CCTV America said the first explosion involved flammable materials; the second involved oil.

Update: People's Daily reports that a representative from Rui Hai is being questioned in connection with the explosion.

Original Submission

FrogBlast writes:

Google is now a wholly owned subsidiary of a new company called "Alphabet", to be run by Larry Page and Sergei Brin. Sundar Pichai will be CEO of Google, which will remain focused on its core of web-related products. Alphabet will serve as and umbrella for Google's now quite diverse projects, with a separate CEO for each. By way of example, the announcement cites a Life Sciences group, and a group called Calico which is focused on longevity.

All stock in Google will be converted to Alphabet stock, with the same rights and number of shares.

The announcement.

takyon: The Register, The New York Times, Wired, MarketWatch.

Original Submission

mendax writes:

What has been long suspect and almost expected since it was discovered last week has now been confirmed. The flaperon found on a beach on the French island of Réunion is definitely from that missing airliner:

Experts have determined that the aircraft part that washed up on the island of Réunion last week is definitely from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia announced in the early hours of Thursday (Wednesday afternoon Eastern time).

The part, known as a flaperon, was flown from Réunion, near Madagascar, to a laboratory in Toulouse, France, where Malaysian, Australian and French officials gathered on Wednesday to examine it, along with representatives from Boeing.

One mystery solved. Many more to go.

BBC.

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

Earlier this week we read about the German Public Prosecutor opening up a treason investigation.

Within hours, the investigation was halted. And now the public prosecutor lost his job over it.

Looks like this Slashdot commenter foresaw accurately what would happen, based on a very similar past incident:

Also at the BBC and Deutsche Welle.

Original Submission

janrinok writes with news of a report (by Michael McNally) concerning a critical defect in BIND:

https://www.isc.org/blogs/about-cve-2015-5477-an-error-in-handling-tkey-queries-can-cause-named-to-exit-with-a-require-assertion-failure/

As the security incident manager for this particular vulnerability notification, I'd like to say a little extra, beyond our official vulnerability disclosure about this critical defect in BIND [Wikipedia].

Many of our bugs are limited in scope or affect only users having a particular set of configuration choices. CVE-2015-5477 does not fall into that category. Almost all unpatched BIND servers are potentially vulnerable. We know of no configuration workarounds. Screening the offending packets with firewalls is likely to be difficult or impossible unless those devices understand DNS at a protocol level and may be problematic even then. And the fix for this defect is very localized to one specific area of the BIND code.

The practical effect of this is that this bug is difficult to defend against (except by patching, which is completely effective) and will not be particularly difficult to reverse-engineer. I have already been told by one expert that they have successfully reverse-engineered an attack kit from what has been divulged and from analyzing the code changes, and while I have complete confidence that the individual who told me this is not intending to use his kit in a malicious manner, there are others who will do so who may not be far behind. Please take steps to patch or download a secure version immediately.

This bug is designated "Critical" and it deserves that designation.

The existence of this bug was announced 'in-house' on 28 July but is announced publicly today. Apologies for releasing my own story [submission].

Original Submission