DALLAS (AP) — The State Fair of Texas is laying down a new rule before millions of visitors flock through the gates for corn dogs, deep-fried delights and a friendly wave from a five-story cowboy named Big Tex: No guns allowed.

But that decision by fair organizers — which comes after a shooting last year on the 277-acre fairgrounds in the heart of Dallas — has drawn outrage from Republican lawmakers, who in recent years have proudly expanded gun rights in Texas. On Wednesday, the state’s attorney general threatened a lawsuit unless the fair reversed course.

“Dallas has fifteen days to fix the issue,” said Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, “otherwise I will see them in court.”

Tensions over where and how gun owners can carry firearms in public are frequent in Texas, but the standoff with one of the state’s most beloved institutions has moved the fight onto unusual turf. The fair has not backed down since cowboy hat-wearing organizers announced the new policy at a news conference last week.

The fair, which reopens in September and lasts for nearly a month, dates back to 1886. In addition to a maze of midway games, car shows and the Texas Star Ferris wheel — one of the tallest in the U.S. — the fairgrounds are also home to the annual college football rivalry between the University of Texas and University of Oklahoma. And after Big Tex, the towering cowboy that greets fairgoers, went up in flames in 2012 due to an electrical short, the fair mascot was met with great fanfare upon its return.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has revoked a pre-trial agreement reached with men accused of plotting the 11 September terrorist attacks.

In a memo on Friday, Mr Austin also said he was revoking the authority of the officer overseeing the court who signed the agreement on Wednesday.

The original deal, which would reportedly have spared the alleged attackers the death penalty, was criticised by some families of victims.

The memo named five defendants including the alleged ringleader of the plot, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The original deal named three men.

"I have determined that, in light of the significance of the decision to enter into pre-trial agreements with the accused… responsibly for such a decision should rest with me as the superior authority," Mr Austin wrote to Brig Gen Susan Escallier.

"I hereby withdraw your authority. Effective immediately, in the exercise of my authority, I hereby withdraw from the three pre-trial agreements."

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/26215028

But I was called by Mark Zuckerberg yesterday, the day before, on this same subject. And he actually apologized, he said they'd made a mistake, etc., etc., and that they're correcting their mistake. Google, nobody called from Google. One of the things I do in a show like yours. You, your show, you know, you see it on Fox. But where you really see it is all over the place. They take clips of your show that you're doing right now with me, and if I do a good job, they're going to vote for me. They're going to vote for me, because it's not just on Fox. It's on Fox, is a smaller part of it. You're on all over this, those little beautiful cell phones. You're on, you're all over the place. You have a product. You have a great product. You have a great brand. So you have to get out, you have to get out. You have to do things like your show, and other shows, and, Google, has been very bad. They've been very irresponsible. And I have a feeling that Google is going to be close to shut down. Because I don't think Congress is going to take it.

Donald Trump, 2024-08-02

Transcribed from YouTube by me.

Title

Trump slams Google over alleged censorship: They’re going to be close to shut down

Channel

Fox Business

But I was called by Mark Zuckerberg yesterday, the day before, on this same subject. And he actually apologized, he said they'd made a mistake, etc., etc., and that they're correcting their mistake. Google, nobody called from Google. One of the things I do in a show like yours. You, your show, you know, you see it on Fox. But where you really see it is all over the place. They take clips of your show that you're doing right now with me, and if I do a good job, they're going to vote for me. They're going to vote for me, because it's not just on Fox. It's on Fox, is a smaller part of it. You're on all over this, those little beautiful cell phones. You're on, you're all over the place. You have a product. You have a great product. You have a great brand. So you have to get out, you have to get out. You have to do things like your show, and other shows, and, Google, has been very bad. They've been very irresponsible. And I have a feeling that Google is going to be close to shut down. Because I don't think Congress is going to take it.

Donald Trump, 2024-08-02

Transcribed from YouTube by me.

Title

Trump slams Google over alleged censorship: They’re going to be close to shut down

Channel

Fox Business

Elon Musk's quest to wirelessly connect human brains with machines has run into a seemingly impossible obstacle, experts say. The company is now asking the public for help finding a solution.

Musk's startup Neuralink, which is in the early stages of testing in human subjects, is pitched as a brain implant that will let people control computers and other devices using their thoughts. Some of Musk's predictions for the technology include letting paralyzed people "walk again and use their arms normally."

Turning brain signals into computer inputs means transmitting a lot of data very quickly. A problem for Neuralink is that the implant generates about 200 times more brain data per second than it can currently wirelessly transmit. Now, the company is seeking a new algorithm that can transmit this data in a smaller package — a process called compression — through a public challenge.

As a barebones web page announcing the Neuralink Compression Challenge posted on Thursday explains, "[greater than] 200x compression is needed." The winning solution must also run in real time, and at low power.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/20959432

Here we go again. Good luck and stay safe McMurray.

Here we go again. Good luck and stay safe McMurray.

CNN —

In a historic decision Tuesday, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled the state must adhere to a 123-year-old penal code provision barring all abortions except in cases when “it is necessary to save” a pregnant person’s life.

The law, which can be traced to as early as 1864, also carried a prison sentence of two to five years for abortion providers.

The case is the latest high-profile example of the battle over abortion access that has played out across several states since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the US Supreme Court in 2022. Since that decision, nearly two dozen states have banned or limited access to the procedure. Providers have warned that restrictive policies on abortion access place patients at risk of poor health outcomes and doctors at risk of legal liability.

In a notice Monday, the Arizona court indicated it will file an opinion in Planned Parenthood of Arizona vs. Mayes/Hazelrigg at approximately 10 a.m. PT Tuesday.

Justices heard opening arguments in the case last December, when abortion rights opponents claimed the state should revert to the 1901 ban, and advocates asked the court to affirm the 2022 law allowing abortions up to 15 weeks, CNN previously reported.

Deaths and injuries have been reported after a gun attack at a concert hall near Moscow, Russian media say.

At least four people dressed in camouflage opened fire at the Crocus City Hall, social media video verified by the BBC shows.

Video obtained by Reuters news agency shows a large blaze and smoke rising from the hall.

Russia's Foreign Ministry described the incident as a "terrorist attack". Specialist police are at the scene

Footage on social media showed gunmen inside the concert hall while state media reported that some people were still inside.

Tass news agency reported a third of the concert venue is on fire and the roof is almost completely ablaze.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called on the international community to condemn the incident, which it called "a monstrous crime".

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the images of the shooting were "horrible and hard to watch".