BREAKING NEWS: August 2020

Monday, August 31, 2020

Facebook Could Block Sharing of News Stories in Australia

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Wikipedia article of the day for September 1, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for September 1, 2020 is Vespro della Beata Vergine.
Vespro della Beata Vergine (Vespers for the Blessed Virgin) by Claudio Monteverdi is an extended composition for the evening vespers on Marian feasts, printed in 1610. The composer set the usual Latin psalms and Magnificat, but also solo concertos in the style of the emerging opera. The ambitious composition, which uses traditional Gregorian chant as cantus firmus, is scored for soloists, choirs of up to ten parts, and orchestra. Monteverdi wrote it when he was maestro di capella in Mantua, where he served as musician and composer for the Gonzagas, the Dukes of Mantua. He had it printed in Venice, with a dedication to Pope Paul V dated 1 September 1610 (pages from a copy pictured). He then travelled to Rome to deliver it to Pope Paul in person. Monteverdi became director of music at San Marco in Venice in 1613. His Vespers represent a milestone of music history at the transition from Renaissance to Baroque styles.

TikTok Deal Faces Complications as U.S. and China Ratchet Up Tit-for-Tat

By BY MIKE ISAAC AND ANA SWANSON from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/32IxIjV

Apple’s App War Needs Peace

By BY SHIRA OVIDE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/34Nfal9

Big Oil Faded. Will Big Tech?

By BY SHIRA OVIDE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3bcg2kq

Sunday, August 30, 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for August 31, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 31, 2020 is New York State Route 175.
New York State Route 175 is a west–east state highway located in Onondaga County, New York, in the United States. The 15.46-mile (24.88 km) route begins at an intersection with U.S. Route 20 east of the village of Skaneateles. It heads towards the northeast as Lee Mulroy Road, traversing farmland. It then passes through the village of Marcellus before ending at a junction with U.S. Route 11 in Syracuse. Designated in the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, the highway brought about an increase in population and development along its route. The section of Route 175 from downtown Marcellus to New York State Route 173 in Onondaga was built along the historical Seneca Turnpike, which was established in 1800 and dissolved in 1852. At 157 miles (253 km), the turnpike was the longest in the state at the time and was instrumental in the development of the villages of Skaneateles and Marcellus.

Saturday, August 29, 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for August 30, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 30, 2020 is House of Music.
House of Music is the fourth and final album by American R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné!, released in 1996 by Mercury Records. Bassist-vocalist Raphael Saadiq (pictured), guitarist-vocalist D'wayne Wiggins, and percussionist-keyboardist Timothy Christian Riley worked on its songs independently before recording them together as a group. While doing most of the production, Tony! Toni! Toné! emphasized musicianship and expanded on their previous work's traditional soul influences with live instrumentation and balladry. Music journalists have noted the album's incorporation of old-fashioned and modern sensibilities, themes of love and romance, and witty, sensitive lyrics. The album charted for 31 weeks on the Billboard 200 and sold over a million units in the United States. Critics praised the musicianship and songwriting, later deeming it a masterpiece of 1990s R&B. Despite its success, the group disbanded shortly after due to creative differences and Mercury's management of the album's short-lived marketing campaign.

TikTok Deal Is Complicated by New Rules From China Over Tech Exports

By BY PAUL MOZUR, RAYMOND ZHONG AND DAVID MCCABE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3hGZS5g

Friday, August 28, 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for August 29, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 29, 2020 is Commissioner Government.
The Commissioner Government was a short-lived Serbian collaborationist puppet government established in the German-occupied territory of Serbia during World War II from 30 April to 29 August 1941. It was headed by Milan Aćimović (pictured) and was pro-German, anti-Semitic and anti-communist. The Aćimović government was merely an instrument of the German occupation regime, carrying out its orders within the occupied territory without appearing to moderate its policies. The government actively assisted the Germans in exploiting the population and the economy, and its members regarded their own participation in the Holocaust as "unpleasant but unavoidable". By mid-July, the Germans had decided that the Aćimović regime was incompetent, and the Commissioner Government resigned at the end of August. It was succeeded by the Government of National Salvation, in which Aćimović initially retained the interior portfolio.

Will More Data Make Us Healthier?

By BY SHIRA OVIDE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3lsgtfn

Why Does Walmart Want TikTok? Looking to China May Explain

By BY RAYMOND ZHONG from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2QvIELY

In Bid for TikTok, Microsoft Flexes Its Power in Washington

By BY KAREN WEISE AND DAVID MCCABE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2EHqxQG

Thursday, August 27, 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for August 28, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 28, 2020 is Réunion ibis.
The Réunion ibis (Threskiornis solitarius) is an extinct bird formerly endemic to the Indian Ocean island of Réunion. Subfossil remains were found in 1974, and it was formally described in 1987. Early travellers described a white bird on Réunion that flew with difficulty, later assumed to refer to a white relative of the dodo. The ibis subfossil suggested that the tales referred to this bird instead. The ibis was mainly white, although its wing tips and plume feathers on its rear were black. The neck and legs were long, and the beak was relatively straight and short for an ibis. Similar to its extant relatives but more robust, it was about 65 cm (25 in) long. Subfossil wing-bones indicate that it had reduced flight capabilities. The diet of the ibis was invertebrates foraged from the soil. In the 17th century it lived only in mountainous areas, perhaps due to predation by introduced animals and hunting by humans for its tasty meat. These factors had driven the ibis to extinction by the early 18th century.

What if Facebook Is the Real ‘Silent Majority’?

By BY KEVIN ROOSE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/31ySBi1

Big Oil Faded. Will Big Tech?

By BY SHIRA OVIDE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/32CnKki

Walmart Joins Talks to Buy TikTok

By BY MIKE ISAAC from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3b0BA3w

Intel Slips, and a High-Profile Supercomputer Is Delayed

By BY DON CLARK from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/32wMA4O

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

TikTok Chief Executive Kevin Mayer Resigns

By BY MIKE ISAAC from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2EFodcO

TikTok Chief Executive Kevin Mayer Resigns

By BY MIKE ISAAC from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3hxIdg5

Wikipedia article of the day for August 27, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 27, 2020 is Operation PBFortune.
Operation PBFortune was a covert United States operation to overthrow the democratically elected Guatemalan president Jacobo Árbenz (pictured) in 1952. The operation was planned by the Central Intelligence Agency and authorized by President Harry Truman. It was motivated by US fears that Árbenz was being influenced by communists, and lobbied for by the United Fruit Company. The operation was planned with the support of Anastasio Somoza García, Rafael Leonidas Trujillo and Marcos Pérez Jiménez, the dictators of Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, respectively. The plan involved providing weapons to the exiled Guatemalan military officer Carlos Castillo Armas, who was to lead an invasion from Nicaragua. US secretary of state Dean Acheson became concerned that the coup attempt would damage the image of the US and terminated the operation. Two years later, another covert CIA action, Operation PBSuccess, toppled the Árbenz government and ended the Guatemalan Revolution.

The Lesson We’re Learning From TikTok? It’s All About Our Data

By BY BRIAN X. CHEN from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2YzwRB1

What’s a Palantir? The Tech Industry’s Next Big I.P.O.

By BY CADE METZ, ERIN GRIFFITH AND KATE CONGER from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2YC3NZr

How TikTok’s Talks With Microsoft Turned Into a Soap Opera

By BY MIKE ISAAC AND ANDREW ROSS SORKIN from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/34y7QK9

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for August 26, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 26, 2020 is Battle of Crécy.
The Battle of Crécy was fought on 26 August 1346 in north-east France during the Hundred Years' War. It resulted in a victory for a greatly outnumbered English army led by King Edward III over the French led by King Philip VI and heavy loss of life among the French. The English prepared a defensive position on a hillside near Crécy-en-Ponthieu. After the French mercenary crossbowmen were routed by English longbowmen, French cavalry made repeated charges. They had to force their way uphill over muddy ground across pits dug by the English, while taking heavy casualties from the longbowmen. The ensuing hand-to-hand combat against the English men-at-arms was described as "murderous, without pity, cruel, and very horrible". The French charges continued late into the night, all with the same fierce fighting, until the French were repulsed. The battle established the effectiveness of the longbow as a dominant weapon on the Western European battlefield.

Ant Group, the Alibaba Payment Affiliate, Files to Go Public

By BY RAYMOND ZHONG from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2D0tcVg

With Hacks and Cameras, Beijing’s Electronic Dragnet Closes on Hong Kong

By BY PAUL MOZUR from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2D0lJWe

To Fight Apple and Google’s Grip, Fortnite Creator Mounts a Crusade

By BY ERIN GRIFFITH from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2QnICGg

Monday, August 24, 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for August 25, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 25, 2020 is Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is a 2005 action-adventure video game, the first in the Castlevania series by Konami to be released on the Nintendo DS. It was written and produced by Koji Igarashi (pictured) and directed by Satoshi Kushibuchi. Incorporating many elements from its predecessor, Aria of Sorrow, it was commercially successful, selling more than 15,000 units in its first week in Japan and 164,000 in the United States within three months. The protagonist, Soma Cruz, manages to escape the fate of becoming the new Dracula with the help of allies. The game has platform and role-playing elements, with a dark, gothic atmosphere. It introduces a multiplayer mode and a "Magic Seal" system that requires the use of the DS stylus to draw a pattern to defeat enemies. The game received high scores from many video game publications and was considered one of the best games on the Nintendo DS for 2005. (This article is part of a featured topic: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow.)

TikTok Sues U.S. Government Over Trump Ban

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TikTok Sues Trump Administration

By BY MIKE ISAAC AND ANA SWANSON from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/32oZiTn

Sunday, August 23, 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for August 24, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 24, 2020 is California Pacific International Exposition half dollar.
The California Pacific International Exposition half dollar is a fifty-cent piece that was struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1935 and 1936 as a commemorative coin. Its obverse depicts Minerva and other elements of the Seal of California; the reverse shows buildings from the California Pacific International Exposition (held 1935–1936), which the coin was issued to honor. Legislation for the half dollar moved through Congress without opposition in early 1935, and Robert I. Aitken was hired to design it. The San Francisco Mint produced 250,000 coins, but expected sales did not materialize. The Exposition Commission, left with over 180,000 pieces they could not sell, sought and obtained legislation authorizing new coins. Although there was a spike in prices for many commemorative coins in 1936, the Exposition Commission's new coins also sold poorly, and 150,000 pieces were returned to the Mint.

Twitter Flags Trump Tweet for Dissuading Voting

By BY KATE CONGER from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3aP6njL

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for August 23, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 23, 2020 is Parachute Jump.
The Parachute Jump is a defunct amusement ride on the Riegelmann Boardwalk in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. Listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and protected as a New York City designated landmark, it consists of a 250-foot-tall (76-meter), 170-short-ton (150-metric-ton) open-frame, steel parachute tower. The ride has twelve cantilever steel arms radiating from the top of the tower. When it was in operation, riders were belted into a suspended two-person canvas seat, lifted to the top, and dropped; a parachute and shock absorbers slowed their descent. The jump was the tallest structure built for the 1939 New York World's Fair at Flushing Meadows. The ride was moved to its current location in 1941, where it operated until the 1960s, when the Steeplechase amusement park shut down. After a period of neglect, the frame was restored and fitted with a light-show system in 2006.

Friday, August 21, 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for August 22, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 22, 2020 is John W. Beschter.
John W. Beschter (1763–1842) was a Catholic priest from the Duchy of Luxembourg who emigrated to the United States in 1807 to become a missionary of the Society of Jesus. He took up ministry in rural Pennsylvania, and was soon made the pastor of St. Mary's Church in Lancaster. As pastor, Beschter was praised by Archbishop John Carroll for ministering to Catholic congregations of three distinct ethnic and linguistic groups, and quieting a parochial dispute over the nationality and language of their pastor. In 1812, Beschter went to Maryland to become the master of novices at the new Jesuit novitiate in White Marsh. After two years, he returned to ministering in rural Pennsylvania and Maryland. He became the pastor of the German congregation of St. John the Evangelist in Baltimore, a position he held until 1828. The following year, he became the president of Georgetown College. After several months, he left the office, and returned to ministering in Paradise, Pennsylvania, where he lived out his final years.

Palantir, Tech’s Next Big I.P.O., Lost $580 Million in 2019

By BY ERIN GRIFFITH AND KATE CONGER from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3gmfVno

Jeff Wilke, Amazon’s Chief of Consumer, to Retire Next Year

By BY KAREN WEISE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3l83xLm

Facebook Braces Itself for Trump to Cast Doubt on Election Results

By BY MIKE ISAAC AND SHEERA FRENKEL from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/32coj43

Thursday, August 20, 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for August 21, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 21, 2020 is Tropical Storm Ileana (2018).
Tropical Storm Ileana was a small tropical cyclone that affected western Mexico in early August 2018. The eleventh tropical cyclone and ninth named storm of the 2018 Pacific hurricane season, Ileana originated from a tropical wave that left the west coast of Africa and traveled across the Atlantic Ocean before crossing into the eastern Pacific Ocean early on August 4. The system began to strengthen on August 5, becoming Tropical Storm Ileana. On August 6, it began to develop an eyewall structure as it reached its peak intensity with winds of 65 mph (100 km/h) and a pressure of 998 mbar (29.47 inHg). The storm became intertwined with Hurricane John; the circulation of John disrupted Ileana before absorbing it on August 7. Paralleling the coast of Mexico for much of its existence, Ileana killed four people in Guerrero and four others in Chiapas. There was flooding in the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Estado de México.

Mark Zuckerberg Questioned Under Oath in F.T.C. Antitrust Inquiry

By BY DAVID MCCABE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2Efc9z8

Ann Syrdal, Who Helped Give Computers a Female Voice, Dies at 74

By BY CADE METZ from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3aJiAqj

Former Uber Security Chief Charged With Concealing Hack

By BY KATE CONGER from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3l1SfIH

Uber and Lyft Threaten to Shut Down in California

By BY KATE CONGER from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2E9bz60

How Kamala Harris Forged Close Ties With Big Tech

By BY DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI, STEPHANIE SAUL AND KENNETH P. VOGEL from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3hgOhcG

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for August 20, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 20, 2020 is George Tucker (politician).
George Tucker (August 20, 1775 – April 10, 1861) was an American lawyer, politician, author, and educator. He wrote the first in-depth biography of Thomas Jefferson, the first fictional account of colonial life in Virginia, and the four-volume History of the United States. Despite a social life which had been profligate, and at times even scandalous, at age 50 he was named Professor of Moral Philosophy at Jefferson’s newly founded University of Virginia and served in that post for twenty years. A son of the first mayor of Hamilton, Bermuda, he immigrated to Virginia at age 20, was educated at the College of William and Mary, and was admitted to the bar. He was elected in 1816 to the Virginia House of Delegates, then served in the United States House of Representatives from 1819 to 1825. In 1827 he wrote A Voyage to the Moon, one of America's earliest works of science fiction. He also produced diverse compositions on slavery, suffrage, morality, intracoastal navigation, wages, and banking.