Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hit out at Facebook as detrimental to democracy after the news service began blocking access to news stories on its platforms in Canada in the midst of a wildfire crisis. “It is so inconceivable that a company like Facebook is choosing to put corporate profits ahead of ensuring that local news organizations can get up-to-date information to Canadians and reach them,” Mr Trudeau said prior to a cabinet meeting on Prince Edward Island on Monday in comments reported by the New York Post. Mr Trudeau’s anger at Facebook comes as the company has started enforcing a new policy blocking Canada-based users from accessing news stories in response to a recent Canadian law that requires the company to pay publishers for content shared on the platform. Facebook, in response, has sharply reduced its role as a news service in the country — an issue in an emergency like the one Canada is facing now as its summer wildfires have forced the evacuation of some 35,000 families in the western province of British Columbia. “Democracy depends on people being able to trust high-quality journalism and of all sorts of different perspectives and points of view,” Mr Trudeau said on Monday. “But right now, in an emergency situation, up-to-date local information is more important than ever.” The prime minister’s contention is that Facebook’s policy is threatening people’s safety — a charge that a Facebook spokesperson denied in a statement provided to the Associated Press in which they said that Canadian Facebook users can still use the platform “to connect with their communities and access reputable information, including content from officials.” The dispute between Canadian lawmakers and companies like Facebook and Google set to be affected by the payment law has been brewing for months. In comments made last year, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook’s parent company, Meta, said the Canadian law “is based on the incorrect premise that Meta benefits unfairly from news content shared on our platforms, when the reverse is true.” In fact, experts say, the popularity of Facebook as a news-sharing platform has helped to drive a number of news agencies out of business while reportedly profiting in some cases from the dispersal of misinformation. Meanwhile, Canadian wildfires continue to burn and push families out of their homes. Per the Post, there have been more than 5,700 fires in Canada this summer that have burned more than 50,000 square miles — with the resulting smoke felt at various points in states across the US. Read More Canadian officials ease wildfire evacuation orders in scenic British Columbia region

The new iPhone 15 line, particularly the Pro models, has lots of cool new features

Researchers funded by the US Air Force are developing a new type of device that can invite comparisons to a weapon used by a Batman villain. Scientists, including Patrick Hopkins from the University of Virginia in the US, are working on a new device to be used for on-demand surface cooling for electronics inside spacecraft and high-altitude jets. The device may seem similar to the freeze gun used by Batman villain Mr Freeze to “ice” his enemies. “A lot of electronics on board heat up, but they have no way to cool down,” said Dr Hopkins, whose lab has been granted $750,000 over three years to develop the technology. On Earth, electronics in military craft can rely on nature to cool themselves, but in space, this may be a challenge, scientists said. Citing an example, researchers said the Navy uses ocean water in its liquid cooling systems while flying jets can rely on air that is dense enough to help keep components chilled. “With the Air Force and Space Force, you’re in space, which is a vacuum, or you’re in the upper atmosphere, where there’s very little air that can cool,” Dr Hopkins said. “So what happens is your electronics keep getting hotter and hotter and hotter. And you can’t bring a payload of coolant onboard because that’s going to increase the weight, and you lose efficiency,” he explained. In such extra-terrestrial environments, a jet of plasma, the fourth and most common state of matter in the universe, can be used in the interior of a craft. “This plasma jet is like a laser beam; it’s like a lightning bolt. It can be extremely localized,” Dr Hopkins explained. One of the strange qualities of plasma is that while it can reach temperatures as hot as the surface of the Sun, it chills before heating when it strikes a surface. In the new research, published recently in the journal ACS Nano, scientists fired a purple jet of plasma generated from helium through a hollow needle encased in ceramic, targeting a gold-plated surface. When researchers turned on the plasma, they could measure temperature immediately at the point where the plasma hit, and could see that the surface cooled first and then heated up. “We were just puzzled at some level about why this was happening, because it kept happening over and over,” Dr Hopkins said. “And there was no information for us to pull from because no prior literature has been able to measure the temperature change with the precision that we have. No one’s been able to do it so quickly,” he said. The strange surface-cooling phenomenon, according to scientists, was the result of blasting an ultra-thin, hard-to-see surface layer, composed of carbon and water molecules. Researchers compare this to a similar process that happens when cool water evaporates off of our skin after a swim. “Evaporation of water molecules on the body requires energy; it takes energy from body, and that’s why you feel cold. In this case, the plasma rips off the absorbed species, energy is released, and that’s what cools,” the researchers explained. Using the method, scientists could reduce the temperature of the setup by several degrees for a few microseconds. While this may not be dramatic, they said it is enough to make a difference in some electronic devices. Now, thanks to the Air Force grant, researchers are looking at how variations on their original design might improve the apparatus. “Since the plasma is composed of a variety of different particles, changing the type of gas used will allow us to see how each one of these particles impact material properties,” researchers said. Read More Scientists discover 3,000-year-old arrowhead made of ‘alien’ iron Carcinogens found at nuclear missile sites as reports of hundreds of cancers surface India’s moon rover confirms sulphur and detects several other elements near the lunar south pole China’s ‘government-approved’ AI chatbot says Taiwan invasion likely Russian cyber-attacks ‘relentless’ as threat of WW3 grows, expert warns How new bike technology could help cyclists tell drivers not to crash into them

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 12, 2023--

About a week ago, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI sent out a joint

People were baffled when news broke that Tom Jones had died aged 95, leading many to believe the Welsh singer had passed away. However, it was legendary entertainer Thomas John Woodward, known by his stage name Tom Jones. Awkwardly, social media was flooded with tributes for the Welsh singer, with one Facebook user sharing an attempt to fuel the rumour, writing: "At about 11 a.m. ET on Saturday (August 12, 2023), our beloved singer Tom Jones passed away. Tom Jones was born on June 7, 1940 in Pontypridd. He will be missed but not forgotten. Please show your sympathy and condolences by commenting on and liking this page." Many more people shared photos of the 'Sex Bomb' singer online with RIP messages, but The Voice judge is alive and well. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Tom Jones, who wrote the longest-standing musical to date The Fantasticks, sadly lost his battle with cancer on Friday (11 August). Alongside the late composer Harvey Schmidt, Jones' Broadway musical lasted 42 years after opening in Greenwich Village in 1960. Heartwarming messages and memories soon flooded X (formerly known as Twitter). "One of my fondest college memories was when our choreographer would make us stretch to "Orphan in the Storm". In just under a decade Tom Jones, along with Harvey Schmidt, brought us The Fantasticks, 110 in the Shade, I Do! I Do! and Celebration. Incredible. RIP Tom Jones," one person penned. Another wrote: "RIP to writer/lyricist/director Tom Jones. He's most known for his Broadway musicals The Fantasticks, 110 in the Shade & Celebration. Great music and a wonderful legacy. Thank you, Mr. Jones." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

MILTON KEYNES, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 18, 2023--

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 25, 2023--

iShowSpeed ended a recent stream suddenly after accidentally exposing himself to fans live on air. The hugely popular figure was broadcasting to 24,000 people when he accidentally flashed the camera, looking shocked after realising what he’d done instantly. The streamer, real name Darren Watkins stood up, showing his crotch, not realising that his penis was exposed while playing the game Five Nights at Freddy's. “Oh my god,” he said, before immediately ending the stream. The moment sparked a big reaction on social media and became an instant meme. Some have speculated that the YouTuber could have his account banned for the incident, with the platform’s policies prohibiting content that includes “the depiction of clothed or unclothed genitals, breasts, or buttocks that are meant for sexual gratification”. However, TMZ has since reported that YouTube will not ban Watkins despite the infringement. It comes after iShowSpeed has opened up about the health crisis that saw him rushed to hospital, saying that he “almost died”. The influencer was in hospital for weeks after being taken to a Japanese hospital in July for a sinus infection which caused a "deadly headache”. The influencer, real name Darren Watkins Jr, previously posted footage of himself with one eye closed and the other severely swollen. His followers have been showing support for the 18-year-old, with fans previously arriving outside of his hospital in Tokyo. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Prominent streamer xQc is embroiled in controversy as allegations from his ex-girlfriend, Adept, suggest he attempted to impregnate two women

Alphabet Inc.’s Google has cut jobs at mapping service Waze, the tech giant’s latest move to trim its

To get the Eminem Marshall Magma skin for free in Fortnite, players must purchase the Marshall Never More skin and then attend the Eminem concert on Dec. 2.