Since Elon Musk took the mantle of power thanks to Donald Trump, Tesla has become a universal focus of protest around the world. In the US, frustrated taxpayers have taken to the streets to occupy dealerships, steal tires, and vandalize Teslas wherever they appear.In response, the federal government has declared a crackdown on dissent. A recently formed FBI-ATF taskforce is said to be working to identify vandals and arsonists on behalf of Tesla even as Musk decries accusations that the US has descended into oligarchy.Those allegations aren't likely to go away if Attorney General Pam Bondi has anything to say about it. She recently announced that the Justice Department will seek a staggering 20-year federal prison sentence for Cooper Jo Frederick, a Colorado man accused of vandalizing a Tesla Service Center earlier in March."I've made it clear, if you take part in a wave of domestic terrorism of Tesla properties, we will find you, arrest you, and put you behind bars," Bondi said in a video posted on X-formerly-Twitter. "Let this be a warning: you can run, but you cannot hide. Justice is coming."Bondi's demand for a 20-year stint comes weeks after she announced charges against three other defendants accused of destroying Tesla cars and charging stations. A Justice Department press release states that each defendant faces a "minimum penalty of five years and up to 20 years in prison" for property destruction."The Department of Justice is committed to ending all acts of violence and arson directed at Tesla properties and otherwise," it concludes.The monumental penalties are part of a push by the Trump and Musk administration to equate property damage and vandalism with "domestic terrorism," even in incidents like this one, in which no people were harmed. Musk and Bondi have also both repeated unsubstantiated claims that Tesla protests and vandalism are funded and organized by a shadowy cabal that needs to be taken down.It's not unlike the rhetoric used during a federal crackdown on nonviolent environmental and animal activism known as the "Green Scare." In May of 2007, two saboteurs with the Earth Liberation Front were charged with 12 and 16 years in federal prison for torching a forest ranger station, a police substation, an SUV dealership, and a tree farm.According to The Intercept, fears of property damage led the fur and animal testing industries to increase "their efforts to convince the FBI and the DOJ to treat animal rights and environmental protestors as terrorists." This led to an expansion of the Animal Enterprise Protection Act, allowing acts of property damage to be prosecuted as acts of domestic terrorism.Still, the Tesla crackdown is a notable stepping stone in what seems like ever-harsher sentencing guidelines for acts of non-violent vandalism, which feels especially stark when the goal is protecting the property of a corporation run by the sitting president's best buddy. For context, in 2022, a Philadelphia woman was sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison after pleading guilty to torching two police cruisers during 2020 protests.The 17.5 year difference between her sentence and the threat of Frederick's 20-year stint for roughly the same crime suggests that Musk's involvement in US politics comes with a heavy hand. Mess with Tesla, and the government will make an example out of you.Even disregarding Tesla's special treatment, prison sentences in the US are already higher than in most nations. In 2022, an analysis by the Council on Criminal Justice foundthat the US is a global outlier in its use of prison sentences of 10 years or more. And when it comes to non-violent property damage, sentencing has skyrocketed in recent years, from an average of 18.3 months in 2016 to 60 months in 2023.All told, it's a troubling time as demonstrations against Tesla become a nearly everyday occurrence. If vandalism can be prosecuted as domestic terrorism, how soon until peaceful protests incur the wrath of Musk's FBI?More on oligarchy: Mothers and Children Are Already Dying Because of Elon Musks CutsShare This Article

Is it all falling apart?Political LiabilityNow that he's done irreparable damage to the federal government, billionaire Elon Musk is reportedly stepping back in the coming weeks as the head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.As Politico reports, president Donald Trump has informed his inner circle that Musk will soon hang up his coat as his number one hatchet man.If confirmed, it'd be a huge inflection point in Musk's arc and unmiskable evidence that his unpredictable and extremely unpopular bull-in-the-china-shop approach to slashing government funding has become a political liability for the president.Breaking PointIt's been a bad week for the billionaire. Musk threw $25 million behind judge Brad Schimel, who ran against liberal candidate judge Susan Crawford during a pivotal Wisconsin Supreme Court election on Tuesday. Crawford beat Schimel handily.Tesla investors have also accused Musk of abandoning his carmaker in favor of focusing all of his time on gutting the government's budget with DOGE.Oddly enough, the EV maker's shares rose almost five percent today after the company posted catastrophic quarterly results, with longtime investors calling for his resignation a reaction, perhaps, to the news that Musk's tenure in the government could be ending.The relationship between Trump and Musk has been under heavy scrutiny for quite some time now. Now that Trump is rumored to be looking to kick the mercurial CEO out of the White House, that relationship could really be tested.Did Musk assume too much influence from within the White House? Is Musk simply bored of the plundering and growing concerned about his ailing businesses?Pundits have long argued that Musk could be acting as the real "shadow president" behind the scenes, with his most recent attempt to sway the Wisconsin Supreme Court election demonstrating considerable political influence despite his candidate losing in the end.According to Politico, Trump told attendees of a March 24 cabinet meeting that Musk would be leaving the administration.However, when or if Musk will actually depart remains unclear."As the President said, this White House would love to keep Elon around for as long as possible," White House spokesperson Harrison Fields told Politico. "Elon has been instrumental in executing the Presidents agenda, and will continue this good work until the President says otherwise."More on Musk: Tesla Just Got Some Absolutely Horrible NewsShare This Article

Last year for May the 4th (Be With You),Star Wars unveiled a new edition of its Tales animated anthology series,Tales of the Empire.This years Tales, comingto Disney+ onMay 4, 2025, will be calledTales of the Underworld, and will focus on two different famous members of theStar Wars galaxys criminal elite: Bounty hunter Cad Bane fromStar Wars: The Clone Wars andThe Book of Boba Fett, and Nightsister Asajj Ventress fromThe Clone WarsandThe Bad Batch, and quite a few Star Warsnovels and video games.Disney announced this latest batch ofTales along with a brief teaser for this years shorts. Watch it below:READ MORE: EveryStar WarsMovie Ranked From Worst to BestBane will be voiced once again by Corey Burton; Ventress isplayedbyNika Futterman.Here is the series official synopsis:The popular series, which began in 2022 with Tales of the Jedi and continued in 2024 with Tales of the Empire, this time focuses on the criminal underbelly of theStar Warsgalaxy through the experiences of two iconic villains. Former assassin and bounty hunter Asajj Ventress is given a new chance at life and must go on the run with an unexpected new ally, while outlaw Cad Bane faces his past when he confronts an old friend, now a Marshal on the opposite side of the law.Star Wars: Tales of the Underworldis set to premiere on Disney+ on May the 4th Be With You.Sign up for Disney+ here.Get our free mobile app10 Actors Who Played Distractingly Bad Doubles in MoviesThese dual performances are doubly distracting.Gallery Credit: Emma Stefansky

At SPAR, we're on a mission to help clients scale and grow by continually innovating and delivering great Customer and Employee experiences.We areseeking a dynamic, collaborative Agile Project Manager withConsultingexperience to advise, plan, and lead project teams to implement and sustain a variety of cloud solutions for CRM and Contact Centers. Projects may range from complex initiatives tied to a specific business unit or for enterprise-wide projects. Ideally looking for analytical, organized multitaskers with strong business acumen and knowledge of consulting practices.-Full Time (W2), 100% Remote6+ years as a Project Manager Agile background (Scrum frameworks, Kanban, Waterfall) Hybrid cultureAbility and experience engaging with cross functional stakeholders within the IT/SaaS sector6+ years of SOW management experience within IT domainFunctionality for different business groups within projects, and the ability to work and communicate amongst the entire team6+ years of exp with JIRA (preferred) or Asana, Rally, ClickupSalesforce or any CRM exposureCertifications: PMP (preferred) or CSM, PMI-ACP, PSMApply NowLet's start your dream job Apply now

At Roofr, were obsessed with our customers. We constantly gather feedback to shape, prioritize, and launch the products they truly need. Thats what makes Roofrs CRM special. We started by building essential sales tools like aerial roof measurements and digital sales proposals. But when our customers asked for a simple, affordable way to manage and scale their entire businesses, we listened. So, we created a CRM that connects these solutionsalong with payments, material ordering, and moreinto a seamless, powerful platform. With a clear roadmap ahead, were excited to continue expanding and leading the market with innovative products.We have an amazing culture, strong financials, and best-in-class company metrics. Its an exciting time to be part of an extraordinary startup that is already successful, yet still early enough to offer its team significant growth, equity, and the opportunity to make a real impact.The Partnerships Team is looking for a stellar Territory Managerwho has a background in roofing supply, manufacturing, or any relevant adjacent industriesand that can drive Roofrs partner enablement program for its current and future supplier alliances in regions across North America.A strong communicator and skilled in sales and account management, the candidate will be recognized for their abilities to prioritize and execute on key partnership enablement strategies, product training and onboarding, and develop long-term and sustainable relationships that drive net-new opportunities for Roofrs revenue team.The candidate will work closely with several internal stakeholders including, including sales, marketing, operations, and other teams within the partnerships group to deepen Roofrs partnerships with the roofing supply vertical. What you get to do:Own existing branch relationships and enable their sales repsBe responsible for driving partner growth through partner engagement and enablement programsBecome the main point of contact for partners for all subjects related to Roofr and our products that are assigned to youProvide effective Roofr product training and onboarding support for our new partnersPlan, forecast, and meet monthly and quarterly departmental objectives and quotasOwn engagement responsibilities by organizing and hosting timely and localized community events and meetingsProvide Roofr product updates through in-person, or virtual, trainings, presentations, and meetingsTravel to partner sites/locations regularly (estimated 1-2 weeks per month)Become a master of Roofrs PRM & CRM for partner-related updatesWork cross-functionally with Roofrs sales, success, revops, and support leaders to define priorities and resolve any issues between Roofr and the partnerWhat you bring to the role:3+ years of experience in the roofing industry or industries adjacent to Roofing (e.g., home improvement/construction, etc.)5+ years of account management and/or relationship management experienceExperience working in channel partnerships is a huge plusExperience managing partnerships in a business development environment with Roofing supply companies is a huge plusExperience with relevant or modern tooling such as CRMs (Hubspot/Salesforce), PRMs (Partner stack), Asana, Google suiteExcellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to multi-task/switch gears in a fast-paced environmentExcellent verbal and written communication skills and presentation skillsExcel at building and maintaining internal and external relationships and navigating organizations, and making relevant, high-producing connectionsAbility to work collaboratively or independently with minimal supervisionAbility to manage influence through persuasion, negotiation, and consensus buildingWho You Are:You are an outstanding communicator with a proven ability to foster long-term relationships with various types of stakeholders and people of diverse backgroundsYou are well organized, (e.g., diligent with note-taking, punctual with all virtual and in-person meetings, etc.)You have a team-centric attitude that adapts well to consensus decision-making and enjoys collaborative workYou have an affinity for technology and start-upsYou are outgoing, someone who looks forward to traveling and meeting our partners in person!We are specifically interviewing candidates located in the following California Cities: Stockton, Ceres, Martinez, Merced, Sonora, Sacramento, Roseville, Fresno, Chico, Redding, Bakersfield What we offer:When you join our team, youre not just accepting a job. Youre making a career move. Heres how well support you in doing some of the most impactful work of your career: Vacation/Paid Time Off:1st week of employment is mandatory PTO! Start your journey with Roofr by decompressing and recharging - we will see you in week 2!1 Friday off per month (we call those our laundry days!)Company wide paid shutdown for the week between Christmas and New YearsFlexible time off80% employer paid benefitsRRSP/401k matchGenerous Parental Leave policy Perks:We host 2 retreats per year and great team building activitiesAmple learning and development opportunities to continue growing your careerHome office setup stipendInternet and phone allowanceRemote first cultureWeekly Friday paydays!At Roofr, we celebrate individuality and uniqueness. Roofr is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building an organization that empowers inclusion and diversity. We encourage candidates and employees to be true to themselves and express all aspects of their identities. We believe that the convergence of fresh perspectives and experiences from all walks of life is what makes our product and culture so great. We do not discriminate against employees based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, gender identity or expression, age, disability, pregnancy (including childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical condition), genetic information, protected military or veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.IMPORTANT NOTICE: Our company takes the security and privacy of job applicants very seriously. We will never ask for payment, bank details, or personal financial information as part of the application process. All our legitimate job postings can be found on our official career site (https://boards.greenhouse.io/roofr). Please be cautious of job offers that come from non-company email addresses (@roofr.com), instant messaging platforms, or unsolicited calls.

Rumors of the ongoing death of software development that its being slain by AI are greatly exaggerated. In reality, software development is at a fork in the road: embracing the (currently) far-off notion of fully automated software development or acknowledging the work of a software developer is much more than just writing lines of code. The decision the industry makes could have significant long-term consequences. Increasing complacency around AI-generated code and a shift to what has been termed vibe coding where code is generated through natural language prompts until the results seem to work will lead to code thats more error-strewn, more expensive to run and harder to change in the future. And, if the devaluation of software development skills continues, we may even lack a workforce with the skills and knowledge to fix things down the line. This means software developers are going to become more important to how the world builds and maintains software. Yes, there are many ways their practices will evolve thanks to AI coding assistance, but in a world of proliferating machine-generated code, developer judgment and experience will be vital. The dangers of AI-generated code are already here The risks of AI-generated code arent science fiction: theyre with us today. Research done by GitClear earlier this year indicates that with AI coding assistants (like GitHub Copilot) going mainstream, code churn which GitClear defines as changes that were either incomplete or erroneous when the author initially wrote, committed, and pushed them to the companys git repo" has significantly increased. GitClear also found there was a marked decrease in the number of lines of code that have been moved, a signal for refactored code (essentially the care and feeding to make it more effective). In other words, from the time coding assistants were introduced theres been a pronounced increase in lines of code without a commensurate increase in lines deleted, updated, or replaced. Simultaneously, there's been a decrease in lines moved indicating a lot of code has been written but not refactored. More code isnt necessarily a good thing (sometimes quite the opposite); GitClears findings ultimately point to complacency and a lack of rigor about code quality. Can AI be removed from software development? However, AI doesnt have to be removed from software development and delivery. On the contrary, theres plenty to be excited about. As noted in the latest volume of the Technology Radar Thoughtworks report on technologies and practices from work with hundreds of clients all over the world the coding assistance space is full of opportunities. Specifically, the report noted tools like Cursor, Cline and Windsurf can enable software engineering agents. What this looks like in practice is an agent-like feature inside developer environments that developers can ask specific sets of coding tasks to be performed in the form of a natural language prompt. This enables the human/machine partnership. That being said, to only focus on code generation is to miss the variety of ways AI can help software developers. For example, Thoughtworks has been interested in how generative AI can be used to understand legacy codebases, and we see a lot of promise in tools like Unblocked, which is an AI team assistant thatsupport for new languages in an internal tool, CodeConcise. We use CodeConcise to understand legacy systems; and while our success was mixed, we do think theres real promise here. Tightening practices to better leverage AI Its important to remember much of the work developers do isnt developing something new from scratch. A large proportion of their work is evolving and adapting existing (and sometimes legacy) software. Sprawling and janky code bases that have taken on technical debt are, unfortunately, the norm. Simply applying AI will likely make things worse, not better, especially with approaches like vibe. This is why developer judgment will become more critical than ever. In the latest edition of the Technology Radar report, AI-friendly code design is highlighted, based on our experience that AI coding assistants perform best with well-structured codebases. In practice, this requires many different things, including clear and expressive naming to ensure context is clearly communicated (essential for code maintenance), reducing duplicate code, and ensuring modularity and effective abstractions. Done together, these will all help make code more legible to AI systems. Good coding practices are all too easy to overlook when productivity and effectiveness are measured purely in terms of output, and even though this was true before there was AI tooling, software development needs to focus on good coding first. AI assistance demands greater human responsibility Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger recently claimed that in three years software engineers wont write any code: they will only review AI-created code. This might sound like a huge claim, but its important to remember that reviewing code has always been a major part of software development work. With this in mind, perhaps the evolution of software development wont be as dramatic as some fear. But theres another argument: as AI becomes embedded in how we build software, software developers will take on more responsibility, not less. This is something weve discussed a lot at Thoughtworks: the job of verifying that an AI-built system is correct will fall to humans. Yes, verification itself might be AI-assisted, but it will be the role of the software developer to ensure confidence. In a world where trust is becoming highly valuable as evidenced by the emergence of the chief trust officer the work of software developers is even more critical to the infrastructure of global industry. Its vital software development is valued: the impact of thoughtless automation and pure vibes could prove incredibly problematic (and costly) in the years to come. This content was produced by Thoughtworks. It was not written by MIT Technology Reviews editorial staff.

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April 2, 20253 min readTiny, Injectable Pacemaker Runs on Light and then DissolvesThis temporary pacemaker, smaller than a grain of rice, could regulate the heart less invasivelyBy Payal Dhar edited by Sarah Lewin FrasierA pacemaker uses electricity to regulate heartbeats. Eugene Mymrin/Getty ImagesTemporary pacemakers can be used as a stopgap measure to regulate the heartbeat after surgery and in emergency situations. But the fact that they need to be surgically installed and removed also brings risk: moon walker Neil Armstrong famously developed fatal bleeding when surgeons removed his temporary pacemakers wires in 2012. Now researchers have developed a tiny temporary pacemaker that could eliminate some of that risk. Their device, just a few millimeters long, has no wires and needs minimally invasive placement. It can be injected into the body with a needle. And when its work is done, it simply dissolves.Conventionally, temporary pacemakers comprise electrodes that are implanted in the heart muscle. These electrodes are connected to an external battery that delivers a pulse to control the hearts rhythm and correct slow or irregular heartbeats. The new, less invasive pacemaker, which could be particularly useful in a newborn baby's tiny heart, consists of two electrodesconducting metal padsthat are designed to do two things, says Northwestern University biomedical engineer John A. Rogers, one of the co-authors of an April 2 paper in Nature that describes the device. One is that they inject current into the cardiac tissue to stimulate contractions that lead to an overall cardiac cycle.... [The other is that they] provide a power source for driving the operation of the pacemaker.A temporary pacemaker like this one, smaller than a grain of rice, could be injected into the body to regulate heartbeats.John A. Rogers/Northwestern UniversityOn supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.The mini pacemaker device does not have a separate battery. Instead its body functions as a simple type of battery called a galvanic cellthe two electrodes, made of different combinations of magnesium, zinc and molybdenum, react with the naturally occurring electrolytes in bodily fluids to produce an electric current.On the side opposite of the electrodes lies a tiny light-activated switch that controls the batterys operation. In the switchs on position, an electrical pulse is delivered to the cardiac tissue; in its off state, nothing happens. The pacemaker is paired with a soft, flexible skin patch above the heart that monitors heart rate. When it senses an irregular or slow heartbeat, it flashes a light on and off to dictate the correct pacing. The pacemaker responds to near-infrared lightwavelengths that can penetrate deeply into biological tissues.When the pacemakers job is done, it simply dissolves into the body. The device has a finite operating time of between a few days and about three weeks, Rogers says, depending on the choice of metals for the electrodes.The current study is an advance on an earlier dissolvable pacemaker by the same team. The previous iteration used a technology called near-field communication instead of a galvanic cell; it ran on power beamed to an antenna, which made it much bigger. The extreme miniaturization is one of the advances in the new model, Rogers says. What follows from that is that we can use multiple of these millimeter-scale pacemakers simultaneously at different locations of the heart [with the devices] operating in different wavelengths.The researchers are also looking at the possibility of integrating the devices with medical implants, such as replacement heart valves, that currently dont have any kind of cardiac control mechanisms.Thanh Nho Do, a biomedical engineer at the University of New South Wales in Australia, who wasnt involved with the study, calls this pacemaker a breakthrough in miniaturization. It gives reliable and sustained pacing without external energy inputs, he says, and could significantly reduce procedural risks and patient discomfort.Virginia Tech researcher Xiaoting Jia, who was also not involved in the project, says it has great potential for practical use in humans. The team has performed comprehensive tests in animal models and in ex vivo settings [experiments outside the body]. The next important step would be to thoroughly evaluate the safety for application in humans and obtain [Food and Drug Administration] approvals for clinical use. The researchers are working toward this via a new start-up company.One key challenge, Do adds, is selecting suitable materials to balance functionality and safe degradation without triggering excessive immune reactions such as inflammation.

April 2, 20253 min readWhy the New Torpedo Bat Is Hitting It out of the ParkAfter a stellar Yankees win on Saturday, torpedo bats are in the spotlight. Is there science behind these baseball bats?By Stephanie Pappas edited by Dean VisserNew York Yankees' Austin Wells swings the new torpedo bat and hits a home run on Saturday, March 29, 2025, against the Milwaukee Brewers at Yankee Stadium. Mike Stobe/Getty ImagesThe New York Yankees 20-9 win against the Milwaukee Brewers last Saturday has put the spotlight on the odd, bowling-pin-shaped torpedo bat that many of the teams players were swinging. The bats peculiar new design could help explain how the team achieved nine home runs that night.Just whats so special about this bat? Researchers say the design isnt just about powering balls out of the park. Instead its a matter of accuracy and finesse, of letting players maneuver the bat better and turn foul balls into singles and pop flies into home runs.If there is a competitive advantage with the torpedo bat, its likely more due to an improved batting average than it is to an enhanced bat performance, says Lloyd Smith, a professor of mechanical engineering at Washington State University, who studies bat performance.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.What that means is that the bat probably isnt letting players smack the ball harder or faster. In fact, balls hit by the new torpedo bat may even go a bit slower on average, Smith says. But because of the shape, the bat feels easier to swing, and the ball is more likely to make contact with the bats thickest section, leading to a more solid hit.A traditional baseball bat has a skinny handle that flares into a barrel of about the same diameter in the middle and far ends of the bat. The new torpedo bat moves the mass down toward the players grip, with a thicker barrel in the middle of the bat and a tapered end.The key metric that this shift changes is something called swing weight, Smith says. When you swing a bat, it becomes a rotating object. That means that the weight thats closest to your hands will be the easiest to move and that the weight thats farthest away will be the hardest. A torpedo bat that weighs the same as a traditional one can thus feel lighter to swing. That means the batter can swing faster and make quicker split-second adjustments as the ball screams toward them.Because youre able to swing the bat faster, you have a little longer to watch the ball before you commit, Smith explains.The design change for the torpedo bat also results in a bigger diameter at the middle of the barrel, making it more likely that players will hit the ball dead-on. If youve got a bigger barrel, youve got a bigger chance of getting closer to the middle of the bat, so youre likely to get a solid contact, a more direct hit, says Daniel Russell, a teaching professor of acoustics at Pennsylvania State University, who also studies bats.The Yankees used high-speed cameras to determine the spot where each player was most likely to hit the ball and then designed the bats to match. These are things that are fine-tuned to the individual player, so there is a lot of room for innovation in this, says Alan Nathan, an emeritus professor of physics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, who studies the physics of baseball.What isnt clear is if the new design lets players transfer energy more efficiently from bat to ball. That happens best at the region of a bat called its sweet spot, which is usually five to seven inches from its tip. The torpedo bats shape might change the sweet spot, Smith says, but if such bats end up lighter than traditional ones, the bat-ball collision might actually transfer less energy and lead to slightly slower ball speeds.Another question involves the sensory experience of using the torpedo bat, Russell says. Its wider diameter could allow players to see the bat using peripheral vision, perhaps letting them line up their hits better. He, Nathan and Smith are all eager to test the new bat to answer such questions.Were all set up for it, Smith says. We just need to get our hands on some of these bats.