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Nintendo Switch Followup

Posted by takyon on Thursday July 18 2019, @09:22PM (#4429)
0 Comments
Hardware

Following the Nintendo Switch Lite, they announced a refresh of the original. Same features, but longer battery life due to using a die shrink of the Tegra X1.

Someone somewhere speculated that it could improve performance a little bit by alleviating thermal limits.

You would have to wait for a "Switch 2" or "Switch Pro", but maybe that's a good thing.

Nintendo Announces New Version of Switch with Longer Battery Life

Nintendo Switch Delivers On Promises Of Streaming, Doug Bowser Says

Trump Directly Involved in Illegal Pornstar Payoff

Posted by DeathMonkey on Thursday July 18 2019, @07:16PM (#4427)
29 Comments
News

Donald Trump and his press secretary were directly involved in discussions that led to an illegal hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election campaign, according to the FBI.

A court filing unsealed on Thursday said Trump and Hope Hicks spoke repeatedly with Michael Cohen, Trump’s longterm legal fixer, in October 2016 as Daniels – also known as Stephanie Clifford – threatened to sell her story of an affair with Trump.

“I believe that at least some of these communications concerned the need to prevent Clifford from going public,” an FBI agent wrote, in an application for a search warrant.

Cohen later admitted to making payments totalling $280,000 through a shell company to buy the silence of Daniels and the former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also alleged she had an affair with Trump.

The new disclosures raise the possibility that Hicks lied to the FBI. Hicks told an agent in an interview that “she did not learn about the allegations made by Clifford until early November 2016”, the new filings said. Hicks, who is now a senior executive at Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corporation, has denied wrongdoing.

The filings were released at the federal court in Manhattan, where Cohen pleaded guilty last year to campaign finance and personal financial crimes. Cohen began a three-year sentence in federal prison in May this year.

Trump directly involved in talks that led to Stormy Daniels payment, FBI says

Trump Epstein BFF Tape

Posted by takyon on Wednesday July 17 2019, @12:34PM (#4424)
59 Comments
Career & Education

Tape shows Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein discussing women at 1992 party

The November 1992 tape in the NBC archives shows Donald Trump partying with Jeffrey Epstein at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, now a private club, more than a decade before Epstein pleaded guilty to felony prostitution charges in Florida.

The president says he hasn’t spoken to Epstein since, and that his relationship with him was no different than that of anyone else in their elite circle. “I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him,” Trump said last week. “I was not a fan.”

But on the tape, Trump gives Epstein plenty of personal attention.

Bruh momentum.

FULL Morning Joe [6AM] 7/17/19 | MSNBC News Today July 17, 2019

30:07: Pre-commercial break teaser
32:28: Segment starts
33:35: Footage from tape starts
34:13: Trump greets Epstein and 2 other guests
34:33-35:12: Trump totally not vibing with Epstein
39:41: Segment ends

The ‘Lady of the House’ Who Was Long Entangled With Jeffrey Epstein

One former employee of Mr. Epstein’s mansion in Palm Beach, Fla., referred to her as the “lady of the house.” Euan Rellie, an investment banker who attended dinner parties that she and Mr. Epstein hosted in New York, said she “seemed to be half ex-girlfriend, half employee, half best friend, and fixer.”

One of Mr. Epstein’s accusers, in court papers, used another word: madam.

Jeffrey Epstein had cash, diamonds and a foreign passport stashed in safe, prosecutors say

Jeffrey Epstein had a foreign passport that listed an address in Saudi Arabia to protect himself from 'hijackers or terrorists,' his lawyers claim in new court documents

Epstein's lawyers argued that the passport acquired in the 1980s was only used "for personal protection" in connection with Middle East travel because Epstein is Jewish.

[...] "Epstein - an affluent member of the Jewish faith — acquired the passport in the 1980s, when hijackings were prevalent, in connection to Middle East travel," they wrote. "The passport was for personal protection in the event of travel to dangerous areas, only to be presented to potential kidnappers, hijackers or terrorists should violent episodes occur."

"The government offers nothing to suggest — and certainly no evidence — that Epstein ever used it," his lawyers argued.

How Jeffrey Epstein Lost $80 Million in a Hedge-Fund Bet Gone Bad

Real Hedge-Fund Managers Have Some Thoughts on What Epstein Was Actually Doing

Remembering the Time Jeffrey Epstein Rode on Donald Trump’s Plane

^ Mentioned in MSNBC segment panel discussion.

Previously: Jeffrey Epstein Settles Suit
Jeffrey Epstein Plea Deal Must Stand
Epstein Charged Again

Cow Cuddling Therapy

Posted by takyon on Monday July 15 2019, @11:52AM (#4419)
14 Comments
Career & Education

Move Over Therapy Dogs. Hello, Therapy Cows.

Even without a psychology degree, Bella’s natural talents made her an excellent therapist: She is calm and accommodating of a range of personalities, with the patience to listen to endless problems without so much as a judgmental moo.

From a lush, secluded pasture on the Mountain Horse Farm, a 33-acre bed-and-breakfast in the Finger Lakes region of New York, 3-year-old Bella and 2-year-old Bonnie are the highlander-angus crossbred cows that provide animal-based therapy.

Cow cuddling, as the practice is called, invites interaction with the farm animals via brushing, petting or heartfelt chats with the bovines. The experience is similar to equine therapy, with one game-changing difference: Horses tend to stand, but cows spontaneously lie down in the grass while chewing their cud, allowing humans to get even more up close and personal by joining on the ground and offering a warm embrace.

[...] Each session is overseen by two human counterparts: an equine therapist, usually Ms. Vullers, who can read the animals’s moods to ensure a safe, positive interaction with their new human friends, and a second handler, who keeps a watchful eye on the other animals in the field.

Neither has a psychology degree, which is kind of the point: “Whatever they’re going through, they don’t have to talk about it,” said Ms. Vullers. “It’s not like therapy, right?”

Tell me moo about your problems.

Related: Alaskan Ranch Offers "Reindeer Yoga"

Trump Labor Secretary Resigns; R. Kelly Arrested

Posted by takyon on Friday July 12 2019, @05:59AM (#4413)
18 Comments
Career & Education

Trump Labor Secretary Alex Acosta resigns amid pressure from Jeffrey Epstein sex traffic case

Labor Secretary Alex Acosta said Friday he will resign amid controversy over the way he handled a sex crimes case against wealthy businessman Jeffrey Epstein a decade ago when he was U.S. attorney for southern Florida.

Acosta made the announcement to reporters while standing next to President Donald Trump outside the White House. Trump said Acosta had called him Friday morning and that it was Acosta's decision to quit.

R. Kelly Arrested on Federal Sex Trafficking Charges: Law Enforcement Officials

Singer R. Kelly has been arrested in Chicago on federal sex crime charges, according to two law enforcement officials.

The 52-year-old was arrested by Homeland Security Investigation agents and NYPD Public Safety Task Force Thursday night on sex trafficking charges, officials tell News 4, and it is expected he will be brought to New York.

The 13-count indictment includes charges of child pornography, enticement of a minor and obstruction of justice, U.S. attorney spokesman Joseph Fitzpatrick tells The Associated Press. Further details on the case are expected to be announced Friday out of the Eastern District of New York.

They were trapped in the closet.

See also: R. Kelly is arrested by feds on new charges while walking his dog in Chicago

Previously: R. Kelly Contracts Ligma
R. Kelly Exposes Himself
R. Kelly Meltdown

Previously 2: Epstein Charged Again (Southern District of New York)

Final Moments of Himalayas Climbers Caught on GoPro

Posted by takyon on Thursday July 11 2019, @12:21AM (#4409)
13 Comments
Career & Education

Recovered GoPro video shows final moments of Himalayas climbers

Indian authorities have released footage showing the final moments of the climbers who died in the Indian Himalayas in May.

The video was found on a "memory video device" near the Nanda Devi East, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) said Monday, which showed the group of climbers moving slowly near the summit on the unnamed peak.

The group of eight climbers -- four Britons, two Americans, an Australian and their Indian liaison officer -- went missing when they were attempting to scale a previously unclimbed peak on May 26.

The final final moments were not released.

Also at NYT and NBC.

Leaked Intel Lineup Shows 10 Cores at $409

Posted by takyon on Tuesday July 09 2019, @09:16PM (#4408)
3 Comments
Hardware

Intel’s 10th Gen ‘Comet Lake’ Desktop CPU Lineup Allegedly Leaks Out – Core i9-10900KF Flagship With 10 Cores, 20 Threads, 5.2 GHz Boost at $499 US, 8 Cores Start at $339 US, 6 Cores at $179 US

(Wccftech incorrectly labels Intel Core i7-10700K as $339 instead of $389, so refer to this blurry table from the source article.)

Intel feeling the heat, or just a deepfake?

The AMD X570 Motherboard Overview: Over 35+ Motherboards Analyzed

Interesting comment:

Jansen - Tuesday, July 09, 2019

The ASUS Pro WS X570-Ace has officially validated ECC support. This is a really big deal, as Ryzen has usually only had unofficial ECC support. It opens up a whole other revenue steam for AMD that Intel has deliberately cut off in order to drive Xeon sales.

Micron is ramping up its 16GB 3200MHz DDR4 ECC modules MTA18ADF2G72AZ-3G2 specifically for this market.

X-37B Photographed in Orbit

Posted by takyon on Tuesday July 09 2019, @12:50AM (#4407)
5 Comments

Epstein Charged Again

Posted by takyon on Sunday July 07 2019, @03:39PM (#4406)
52 Comments
Career & Education

Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein arrested and accused of sex trafficking minors, sources say

Florida-based billionaire Jeffrey Epstein has been indicted on new charges related to alleged sex crimes involving minors, law enforcement sources told CNN on Saturday.

Epstein was arrested Saturday and is expected to appear in federal court in New York on Monday. Epstein faces charges brought by US prosecutors in Manhattan, after previously evading similar charges when he secured a non-prosecution deal with federal prosecutors in Miami.

The charges, contained in a sealed indictment, involve alleged sex trafficking crimes committed between 2002 and 2005, according to law enforcement sources. The indictment alleged that the crimes occurred in both New York and Palm Beach, Florida.

[...] A team of federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York, along with some in the public corruption unit, have been assigned to the case. Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey, is one of the prosecutors, according to a source with knowledge of the case.

COMEY?

Jeffrey Epstein, Billionaire Long Accused of Molesting Minors, Is Charged

He is expected to appear before a federal magistrate on Monday, more than a decade after he first gained notoriety with lurid accusations that he had paid dozens of girls for sexual massages in Florida.

Mr. Epstein had avoided federal criminal charges in 2007 and 2008 in a widely criticized plea deal whose lenient terms continue to roil the Justice Department and are facing new scrutiny in the #MeToo era.

Before the plea deal, Mr. Epstein, a former hedge-fund manager, had been friendly with Donald J. Trump, former President Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew, the Duke of York.

[...] Women who said they were Mr. Epstein’s victims have repeatedly assailed federal prosecutors for agreeing to a nonprosecution deal with him more than a decade ago.

[...] The plea deal that protected Mr. Epstein from federal charges was signed by the top federal prosecutor in Miami at the time, Alexander Acosta, who is now President Trump’s labor secretary.

In February, a judge in Florida ruled that the prosecutors led by Mr. Acosta violated federal law when they failed to disclose Mr. Epstein’s nonprosecution agreement to his victims.

Check to see if "prince andrew epstein" is censored by GOOG autocomplete. Looks like it is.

Will the Epstein story have a... happy ending?

Previously: Jeffrey Epstein Settles Suit
Jeffrey Epstein Plea Deal Must Stand

Our Tribe of Soylentils

Posted by acid andy on Saturday July 06 2019, @08:12PM (#4405)
23 Comments
Soylent

Since SoylentNews is people, it focuses a lens onto an interesting cross section of humanity. At its best and worst it reflects the most beautiful and ugliest aspects of humanity, aspects that if we look hard enough, we can see hints of in all of us. A key theme is humanity's tendencies towards tribalism. We formed a tribe united originally around the so-called Slashcott, a group of nerds sharing a common, perhaps some would say curmudgeonly, resistance to change for the sake of change, and perhaps a streak of distrust in the authority figures that were running Slashdot.

Those tendencies arguably have upsides and downsides. This stubborn strong will, combined with the natural human tendency towards tribalism, of course exhibit themselves most obviously here whenever a political thread surfaces.

This is a great community, but I am wondering whether we are sometimes a bit hard on the editors and admins of this site. I often find myself disagreeing strongly with some of their political and sometimes ethical views as I can see many others do. I know most of us like to think we're thick-skinned, but I wonder whether sometimes we should pause to think before flaming those we disagree with. Arguing these issues to solve problems or figure things out is great. When it starts to become more like venting pent up anger at one another, we should probably think twice.

Just my two cents.