The Logoff is a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here.Welcome to The Logoff. Hope you had a good weekend. Today Im focusing on the Trump administrations efforts to erase a consumer watchdog agency, both because the agency has an important mission and because the fight for its future has ramifications for the broader struggle over President Donald Trumps efforts to reshape the government.Whats going on? The administration is trying to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the federal agency that polices financial services companies (including debt collectors, payday and mortgage lenders, credit reporting companies, and some banks) for customer abuse and fraud. Over the weekend, acting CPFB Director Russell Vought, a Trump appointee, told staff to stop working, essentially paralyzing the agency. By this morning, the agencys headquarters was closed to almost all employees. Is that legal? Congress created the CFPB in 2010 as part of its response to the 2008 financial crisis, and it would take another act of Congress to abolish it.Whats next? The CFPB employees union sued Vought on Sunday, asking a federal judge to immediately freeze Voughts order and to eventually overturn it. So far, no ruling has been issued.Why does this all sound familiar? The anti-CFPB moves closely mirror the administrations attempt to shutter the US Agency for International Development another dismantling thats being contested in court.Whats the broader context? The Trump administration is asserting its right to do away with executive branch agencies whose goals it disagrees with, even if those agencies existence is protected by federal law. Thats a power grab that would take more authority away from Congress and hand it to Trump.Trumps opponents are asking the courts to block these efforts. So far, judges have several times ordered the administration to stop while cases are considered, but final rulings have not yet come down. Well keep tracking them and keep you posted.And with that, its time to log off ...Difficult times are good times to bring people together, but planning a party can be a lot of stress. It doesnt, however, have to be a lot of stress. Skeptical? I was too. But when my colleagues 93-year-old grandmother spelled it out, it helped me see how to bring people together without making myself miserable.Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

I have good news for all iPhone users hoping to grab the latest iOS 18.3 update. It will not turn your device into one of Elon Musks lackeys, even if it does include support for T-Mobiles just-hit-beta Starlink satellite offering. Heres how this news came to be: Over the past two weeks, social media has expressed dismay over a report in Bloomberglast month that said Apple and SpaceX had been secretly working with T-Mobile to add support for the Starlink network in the latest version of iOS. Now, I dont have information to say whether the two companies are or arent collaborating. But I know the fear-mongering about installing iOS 18.3 and allowing Starlink access to your iPhone has been greatly exaggerated. The iOS 18.3 updatesupportsStarlinks new satellite connectivity offerings with T-Mobile.The carrier announced thebeta launch in a big Superbowl ad, and any smartphone on any mobile network can try it. T-Mobiles idea behind the beta is to convert you over as a new customer for its out-in-the-wilderness connection offerings, so it had to be available for every iPhone compatible with iOS 18.3. For now, this includes the iPhone 14 and up. The first complaints started on Apples support pages. Folks claimed they would ditch their iPhones if it meant acquiescing to Elons whims. I want nothing to do with Elon Musk [sic], wrote a user named noelonmuskplease. Its the number one voted comment on that thread. The world freaked out when Apple downloaded a U2 album onto everyones iPhones. Why is this not being publicized more? asked another user. Well, here you go. Im publicizing it for you. Another user on a different support forum page also asked if there was a way to block T-Mobile and Starlinks satellite network offering so as not to have the link on their device. Based on who owns Starlink and his attitude towards data privacy, I dont want to connect to Starlink in any circumstance, replied another user. Reddit went in on it, too.Then, a few users on TikTok went viral with the assertion that downloading the iOS 18.3 update would put Starlink in your pocket. They told people to hold off on updating devices until there was more information about what was to come. The comments are still going strong from people, likely less technically savvy than the weirdos here at Gizmodo, expressing relief over holding off on the update for fear of complying with Elons Starlink. I love tech sleuths on social media and often cite them in my work. But its a wild jump from receiving a standard, run-of-the-mill software update to being unable to sleep because an Elon-adjacent product has dumped code on your phone. But this is also a prime example of what happens when you live in a world where misinformation runs rampant and quickly gains traction because of the fear surrounding an idea. Right now, people are wary because of whats happening high up in the U.S. government with Trump, Musk, and the rest of the band of mayhem-men.What happened is this: people freaked out over the idea that their iPhones had a link to one of the most hated men on earth. We saw Tim Cook at Trumps inauguration. Weve seen how Silicon Valley recently cowedto the newest administration and how easily the biggest technology companies rolled back their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion due to political pressure. Unsurprisingly, users would think that Musk was coming for the iPhone. He went for the White House, didnt he?

By Passant Rabie Published February 10, 2025 | Comments (0) | NASAs SLS rocket fitted with the Orion spacecraft ahead of the Artemis 1 launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA/Joel Kowsky Boeing informed its Space Launch System (SLS) team of potential layoffs, a worrying sign that NASAs Moon rocket may be at risk after massive cost overruns and schedule delays. And also Trump. The company is expecting approximately 400 fewer positions by April 2025 to align with revisions to the Artemis program and cost expectations, Boeing told Gizmodo in an email. We are working with our customer and seeking opportunities to redeploy employees across our company to minimize job losses and retain our talented teammates. The 5.75-million-pound SLS rocket, powered by a Boeing-built core stage, is essential to NASAs Artemis Moon program. SLS launched on November 16, 2022 for the Artemis 1 mission, sending an uncrewed Orion spacecraft around the Moon and back. The rocket is due to launch a follow-up mission, Artemis 2, in April 2026, with a crew on board Orion, and the first crewed Moon landing since Apollo, Artemis 3, sometime in 2027. NASAs massive Moon rocket, however, has become a budgeting nightmare. NASAs Office of the Inspector General (OIG) performed an audit from February 2022 through April 2023, finding that the space agencys overall investment in its Artemis Moon program is projected to reach $93 billion from 2012 through 2025, of which the costs of SLS alone represent $23.8 billion spent through 2022. Thats $6 billion in cost increases for the rocket, in addition to six years in schedule delays above NASAs original projections, the report stated. Another OIG report released in August 2024 criticized Boeings ineffective quality management and inexperienced workforce, continued cost increases and schedule delays, and the delayed establishment of a cost and schedule baseline, regarding the SLS rockets Exploration Upper Stage. The upper stage was scheduled to be delivered to NASA in early 2021 but its development is now projected to be complete no earlier than 2027.The current administration does not seem to be a fan of the Artemis program either. The Artemis architecture is extremely inefficient, as it is a jobs-maximizing program, not a results-maximizing program, SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk, who is a close advisor to President Donald Trump, recently wrote on X. Something entirely new is needed. During his inauguration speech, Trump didnt mention the Moon, but instead spoke of launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars. Musk also has his eyes on Mars, hoping to land SpaceXs megarocket Starship on the surface of the Red Planet by 2026. That would put Starship years ahead of NASAs plan to use the Moon as a testbed for landing astronauts on Mars sometime in the 2030s.Depending on where you stand on SLS, Boeings potential layoffs are either a worrying or welcome sign of where NASAs massive rocket stands after just one trip to the Moon.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Passant Rabie Published February 8, 2025 By Isaac Schultz Published February 8, 2025 By Passant Rabie Published February 7, 2025 By Margherita Bassi Published February 7, 2025 By Passant Rabie Published February 6, 2025 By Passant Rabie Published February 6, 2025

Beaverkill Barn / Material Design BuildUnited StatesArchitects: Material Design Build LLCAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:875 ftYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2022 Lead Architects: Material Design Build LLC More SpecsLess SpecsText description provided by the architects. MDB dismantled this circa 1881 Wagon house and re-erected it along the banks of the Beaverkill River in Sullivan County, NY. The original 25 x 25 footprint has been elongated and raised to meet the needs of the owner's program: The 1st floor houses antique cars and tractors, and the 2nd serves as a game room and features an indoor "porch": a lounge for enjoying views on rainy or sunny Catskill days.Save this picture!6 pairs of double hung windows, measuring nearly 4'x 8, were salvaged from the Roebling Iron Works building in Florence, NJ. The rest were salvaged from 2 separate houses in Princeton, NJ. The siding and additional framing lumber were milled from local Hemlock.Save this picture!The goal was to create a complementary building to the existing 19th-century farmhouse and mimic the historic patterns of the area. The neighbors have judged this a success, saying the barn "looks like it's been there forever".Project gallerySee allShow lessProject locationAddress:Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this officePublished on February 10, 2025Cite: "Beaverkill Barn / Material Design Build" 10 Feb 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1026236/beaverkill-barn-material-design-build&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

Schematic depiction of production and incorporation of cosmogenic 10Be into ferromanganese crusts. (Credit: HZDR / blrck.de)NewsletterSign up for our email newsletter for the latest science newsDating can be full of surprises. In the social kind, one can learn about all sorts of unexpected things about a potential partner. In the scientific type, sometimes strange, unexplained phenomena comes to light.The latter was the case for a group of scientists, who found twice as much Beryllium-10 in the Pacific seabed then expected. This anomaly could shift our understanding of cosmic phenomenon that affect the Earth and also help recalibrate scientific dating techniques, they report in Nature Communications.Mystery in the Pacific OceanDominik Koll, a postdoctoral researcher with TUD Dresden University of Technology, was searching for signs of stardust in the ferromanganese crust at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Instead, he noticed an anomaly: an accumulation of twice as much Beryllium-10 (10Be) dating back 10 million years than expected.The rare radioactive isotope produced by cosmic rays in the atmosphere, is used to date objects millions of years old, because its half-life is 1.4 million years. Radiocarbon, used for dating archeological objects, has a half-life of 5,730 years, making it only useful for objects up to 50,000 years old.The double dose of Beryllium-10 was unexpected, because no such increase of the isotope over the last 10 million years has been detected anywhere else on Earth.To find such a pronounced increase of 10Be was truly unexpected, says Koll. Something exceptional must have happened at that time.Varying TheoriesBut what? Koll has two theories: It could be due to either a massive shift in ocean currents or an unknown astrophysical event. The current hypothesis is the low-hanging fruit. Changing ocean currents should be straightforward to prove or dismiss, says Koll. The absolute amount of 10Be on Earth would be constant, therefore, a redistribution would need to take place to produce an anomaly in the Pacific. Consequently, there would be a lack of 10Be somewhere on Earth and you should also be able to find samples where the anomaly is not present at all."The cosmic ray theory would take more work to verify or dispute.A higher production rate of 10Be due to an enhanced cosmic ray flux (interstellar cloud collision or supernova) on the other side would be a global phenomenon which would be imprinted into all archives, says Koll. We definitely need more investigations of ferromanganese crusts and deep-ocean sediments that are 10 million years old."Taking and analyzing samples from all over the Earth, dating back 10 million years, would be necessary to confirm or deny that hypothesis.Synchronizing All TimescalesThis anomaly brings up a broader scientific issues the need to synchronize different archives such as ice cores, tree-rings, deep-ocean sediments, and ferromanganese crusts. Doing so would provide a more accurate picture of the climate of the past, earlier habitability on Earth, or changes in Earths ecosystem.Currently they are all independently dated and there are tremendous efforts to synch all timescales, says Koll. An independent time marker, present in all archives of the same age, is the key to synchronize datasets. This anomaly is our chance, if discovered in other archives, to have another time marker, but on a completely different timescale.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Nature Communications. A cosmogenic 10Be anomaly during the late Miocene as independent time marker for marine archives Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.1 free article leftWant More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/monthSubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In1 free articleSubscribeWant more?Keep reading for as low as $1.99!SubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In

Is it better to be smooth or to be scaly? For fossil plesiosaurs around 183 million years ago, the answer was a bit of both. Scrutinizing some of the first soft tissues from a fossil plesiosaur in a study in Current Biology, a team of researchers has revealed that these massive marine reptiles sported both smooth and scaly skin, potentially suited to swimming as well as to skimming or bottom-walking over the seafloor.Fossilized soft tissue, such as skin and internal organs, is exceptionally rare, said Miguel Marx, lead study author and a geology graduate student at Lund University in Sweden, in a press release. We used a broad range of techniques to identify smooth skin in the tail region as well as scales along the rear edge of the flippers. This provided us with unparalleled insights into the appearance and biology of these long-extinct reptiles.Read More: Why Were Prehistoric Marine Reptiles So Huge?Plesiosaur Skin Fit For Swimming (And Skimming)Soft tissues preserve a fossil plesiosaurs smooth and scaly skin. (Credit: Klaus Nilkens/Urwelt-Museum Hauff)The plesiosaurs, the large marine reptiles that thrived in the oceans of the Mesozoic around 203 million to 66 million years ago, werent wholly unlike the modern marine animals of today. Reaching lengths of as many as 40 feet long, these reptiles had long necks, broad bodies, and flat flippers, resulting in a loose resemblance to a modern-day sea turtle, both in terms of their looks and their methods of movement. The skin of the plesiosaurs and its similarity to that of modern marine animals has been something of a mystery, however, as few fossil specimens have had any traces of soft tissues preserved. Turning to a 183-million-year-old plesiosaur fossil from Germanys Posidonia Shale, researchers have now provided novel insights into plesiosaur skin in the Jurassic period, revealing a strange mixture of smooth on the tail and scaly on the flippers. Perhaps suited to the plesiosaurs predation strategies, it is possible that the animals smooth skin added to its speed, increasing its agility as it swam after fish, while its scaly, turtle-like skin added to its stability, steadying its movement as it swam. It is also possible, according to the researchers, that the scaly skin supported the animal as it skimmed or bottom-walked over the seafloor in search of food, though the idea that these creatures fed at the bottom of the ocean is still disputed. Our findings help us create more accurate life reconstructions of plesiosaurs, something that has been extremely difficult since they were first studied over 200 years ago, Marx said in a press release.Precisely PreservedPreserved at the tip of the plesiosaurs flipper are two turtle-like scales, shown above. (Credit: Klaus Nilkens/Urwelt-Museum Hauff)Though the 15-foot fossil was freed from the Posidonia Shale in 1940, it wasnt until 2020 that the preserved soft tissues around its tail and front flippers were found. Imaging the specimen, which is housed at the Urwelt-Museum Hauff in Holzmaden, Germany, with an assortment of techniques and analyzing its molecular makeup, the team found that the tissues were so precisely preserved that the individual skin cells were able to be studied.Apart from the mosaic of smooth skin and scales, it was an incredible moment to visualize the cells in thin sections of the fossilized plesiosaurs skin, Marx said in a press release. I was shocked when I saw skin cells that had been preserved for 183 million years. It was almost like looking at modern skin.Ultimately, the researchers results reveal the looks and locomotion of the plesiosaurs in new detail, uncovering the smooth and scaly adaptations that allowed them to thrive. The well-preserved German fossil really highlights the potential for soft tissue in providing valuable insights into the biology of these long-extinct animals, Marx said in a press release.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Current Biology. Skin, Scales, and Cells in a Jurassic PlesiosaurSam Walters is a journalist covering archaeology, paleontology, ecology, and evolution for Discover, along with an assortment of other topics. Before joining the Discover team as an assistant editor in 2022, Sam studied journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Researchers may have found the hidden tunnels beneath a castle in Milan that Leonardo da Vinci sketched in 1495.

A newly deciphered inscription suggests the immense "Galloway Hoard" found in Scotland over a decade ago was held in common.

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WB GamesThe lukewarm reception of Rocksteadys Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League didnt make its parent Warner Bros. Games happy, so the studio is going back to what it knows best: Batman.According to Bloombergs report, via IGN, the company is developing a new Batman game. Rocksteadys Kill the Justice League flop led to a wave of layoffs, and the game stopped getting updates in 2025, but this is not the only letdown for Warner Bros. Games.It will also cut support of MultiVersus, which makes payers who bought the Founders Pack feel cheated. Moreover, the relatively recently released Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions hasnt managed to catch much positive attention.Speaking in a financial call, Warner Bros. Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav said: We recognise [the games business] is substantially underperforming its potential right now.Warner Bros. has high hopes for Hogwarts Legacys sequel, Mortal Kombat, Game of Thrones, and DC, in particular Batman.We are focusing our development efforts on those core franchises, with proven studios to improve our success ratio, Zaslav said.However, Monolith Productions Wonder Woman game might not contribute to the overall success: Bloomberg claims it is in trouble and has been rebooted, switching directors early last year. Bloomberg says it has already cost more than $100 million and is still years away from release.Monolith abandoned the Nemesis system with Wonder Woman befriending enemies it will be a more traditional action adventure game.In other news, Gotham Knights developer WB Games Montreal pitched a John Constantine game, which was never approved, while a Flash game was scrapped after the DCU Flash film flopped. The studio is helping with other titles and is reportedly working on a pitch for a new Game of Thrones game.Rocksteady will be excited to hear the studio is looking to return to Batman for a single-player game, but according to Bloomberg, its years away.Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Games is busy with a refreshed version of Hogwarts Legacy, a LEGO game, and several mobile experiences for the next two years.Join our 80 Level Talent platformand ournew Discord server, follow us onInstagram,Twitter,LinkedIn,Telegram,TikTok, andThreads,where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.Source link The post Rocksteady Is Reportedly Working on New Batman Game appeared first on CG SHARES.