Microsoft wants enterprise customers to start thinking about PC refreshes using the same mindset - and line in the budget - as AI investments. The problem? Rising component costs caused by the proliferation of AI datacenters mean many clients are delaying client refreshes.

In a call to arms, Microsoft became the headline sponsor of the Canalys Forum in Barcelona early last month for the first time ever. Redmond needs distributors and resellers that convene at the event annually to get behind Copilot, Cowork and, more generally, AI computers.

Mark Linton, corporate veep for Windows and Device Sales, took to the stage to preach to a room he is hoping to convert.

"What we're seeing is the tokenomics of [AI] is getting very challenging," he said. "Having agents working on frontier models quickly becomes very expensive."

Redmond's proposed solution is to use those massive LLMs where most needed, "the right model for the right job," running smaller models locally at the edge on Windows PCs. "My goal, if we're successful in pivoting Windows to the agentic platform, is to have PC spend be part of the AI spend versus just PC refresh budget," he said.

"In an AI hybrid world, you'll be able to use edge devices, powerful PCs with lots of memory, lots of capability to run your AI workloads that are appropriate right there on the device. You keep the data locally. Of course, you don't have the token cost of the cloud. You have better latency, and you have more control."

Copilot is merely a component. This is not only about customers using Microsoft "first-party software" - it's for all models and all agents to use Windows as the platform, added Linton.

Goodness knows, Windows does need a shot in the arm. Microsoft last week reported profit and loss accounts for Q1 of its fiscal 2027, ended September 30, and revenue in the Windows OEM and Devices division shrank 22 percent from last year to $3.55 billion. Microsoft warned revenue generated in its Q2 may be down 30 percent.

"Growth will continue to be impacted by elevated inventory levels, PC market demand and a prior year comparable that benefited from Windows 10 end of support," Microsoft CFO Amy Hood said on an earnings call.

Market watcher IDC said calendar Q3 PC shipments sank to 62.7 million units, down 20.1 percent year-on-year, translating into 15.8 million fewer sales into distributors' warehouses. Tough macroeconomic conditions coupled with rising memory costs mean tough times for the PC industry.

Omdia - which owns Canalys - said: "The impact of upstream component cost increases has now fully worked its way through to end-market pricing, with consumers and IT decision-makers responding accordingly."

Reg readers know why component costs are going up. The datacenter construction frenzy meant memory chip makers could make more money from higher-margin HBM than conventional DRAM, prompting them to prioritize production of the former.

But AI PCs have been a tough sell from the start, as higher prices and a lack of killer applications meant many customers delayed purchases. Microsoft has to convince the market of the benefits - including trade customers as well as those in charge of procurement at enterprises.

Back at the Canalys Forum, Microsoft's Linton claimed customers mulling AI PC purchases want better productivity, to reduce costs, to innovate, and to be able to use these computers securely and at scale.

Microsoft is going to invest heavily in Windows from both the platform capability and security to enable these ends. So, if you are a Microsoft partner, you'll be able to run Windows and secure agents at the operating system level with Agent 365, with Intune, or with Entra.

Linton added: "We announced in June some of the technology in Windows, in particular Microsoft Execution Containers (MXC). And so essentially you can virtualize agents, and then you can use Intune to give them policy. And so other platforms, you have to manage agent by agent. Windows, you'll be able to do it policy-based, much like you manage people and network resources.

"You will have agents for all, and you need to know how to manage them, track them, audit them, and then ensure that they're contained in the right way. So we're doing that at the operating system primitive level."

Some of the quality control issues that have dogged Windows may give some sysadmins pause for thought about the grand claims made by the Windows exec.

Still, Microsoft is on a mission, and it knows how to attract thousands of resellers by dangling financial incentives in their direction. Linton said it is pumping money into channel programs, including AI-readiness funded headcount with "top partners" to "get this hybrid AI story moving."

Microsoft wants the channel to deploy AI internally too, "especially for your sales team" because "if they're using it, they're able to sell it."

Dell isn't hopeful of an uplift in PC demand this year. David Kennedy, chief financial officer, said sales will remain "compressed."

"The reality is most enterprises this year for their IT budgets are sweating those assets out a little bit more and what dollars they have, they're trying to build out their infrastructure side," he told the Citi TMT conference in September.

"As we go forward, I think you'll see it [become] a little bit more robust. Our main focus will be on those higher ASP (average sales price) commercial boxes as part of the AI storyboard that's there."

He reckons there are more than 400 million PCs owned by customers that are "over four years old", and with the "cheapest token being closest to the data, none of those installed base PCs will have the battery life or the power to do AI workloads on them. So there is a pent-up demand that we believe will come once it stabilizes and once IT budgets get a little bit more settled and expanded."

Will 2027 be the year of the AI desktop? The Reg suspects not, though readers can do what they always do and speak their brains in the comments section. ®

Schneider Electric sees no slowdown in its datacenter business, but says operators must be more open with communities about the power, water, and land their projects will consume.

As a supplier of electrical infrastructure, cooling, and power distribution equipment, Schneider has a direct view of operators' spending plans - and a commercial interest in continued construction.

Steven Carlini, vice president of innovation and datacenter, said Schneider's pipeline showed no slowdown. "And Schneider has a lot of agreements, supply chain agreements with the larger datacenter operators."

Reports earlier this year suggested only half the capacity planned for 2026 is actually under construction in the US, and land being cleared for new bit barn projects has plateaued.

Carlini nevertheless said US companies were building as fast as they could, contrasting that with planning bureaucracy and other obstacles in Europe.

"But the one thing that I think is going to be the biggest change is the level of transparency from the operators when they're trying to secure permits and when they're requesting power," Carlini said.

"The way the model traditionally worked in the US is the operators would negotiate with the local jurisdictions that were responsible for issuing the permits, and there would be non-disclosures involved, almost universally. So the residents where these datacenters were going to be built had no visibility into these projects until construction started."

Opposition to datacenter construction has grown in the US. Campaign groups called for a moratorium on new facilities late last year, and New York state imposed a halt this summer.

The sheer scale of the new builds has also alarmed many folk, with Meta's Hyperion facility, for example, planned to reach 5 GW of power capacity and cover an area equal to a significant chunk of Manhattan.

A recent survey by think tank Pew Research Center found that Americans are increasingly wary of datacenters, with more than half saying they are bad for the environment, bad for household energy bills, and consume water resources for cooling.

In response, companies building and operating compute sheds need to be more upfront about what effect their plans will have on the local area, Carlini said.

"They're going to have to disclose where the power is going to come from, how they're going to get the power, their water usage, their carbon emissions, the efficiency of the datacenter, where it is going to be located physically, the noise levels of the facility, the water sources, which is a big one, and how much water they're going to use is another big one that operators have traditionally not been very forthright in publishing."

In Virginia - the world's "datacenter capital" - an ex-water sustainability program manager at AWS is taking his former employer to court over claims it published false and misleading statements about water use in the state.

Carlini expects permitting requirements to force greater disclosure, followed by reporting obligations once facilities are operating.

"And then they're going to have to report it as part of regulations during operations as well, so it's not going to be a case of here's our prediction, and then you get the permit and you never have to report again," he said.

Datacenter owners and operators must win hearts and minds as well, Carlini added, a point already recognized by some in the industry at an event last year.

"From a public relations perspective, that's another area where the operators really need to focus, because in many cases they've taken the position that they're benefiting the community," he said. "Those days are gone, so the operators are going to have to, from a PR perspective, engage with the local residents more amicably."

People using Facebook or Gmail doesn't mean they'll welcome a datacenter next door, Carlini told us.

"So it's going to have to be more like 'Here's how we're going to help,'" he said. Operators would need to acknowledge residents' concerns and explain any benefits, such as tax breaks or lower costs.

For AI facilities, Carlini expects more attention to token-processing performance and efficiency, rather than power capacity alone.

"I think we're going to start to see more and more focus on tokens per watt, tokens per dollar, and even datacenters could be sized in tokens as a performance metric for the IT rather than just the power metric," he told us.

"I think the industry has suffered in the past because datacenters have always just been sized in power consumption, and that gave little idea what it was producing and what value [it] was adding."

For more on the economics of tokens in AI processing, readers can refer to our article on this topic from earlier this year. ®

For two years, Donald Trump's Republican Party has worked to push the United States further and further into a state of fascist rule. Trump's regime has turned the federal government against ideological enemies, enriched and entrenched the power of billionaire allies, and done its utmost to decimate any checks and balances on the actions of the despotic leader and his loyalists.

It is, then, an extraordinary and overdue moment of relief to see the processes of democracy — however flawed in our barely representational system — offer the opportunity to take an off-ramp away from technocapital-backed fascism. Across the nation, Democrats secured historic victories. Even in Republican strongholds including Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina, voters delivered a rebuke to Trump's GOP.

Democrats in Congress now have a mandate to do two things: Stop Trump, and improve the welfare of the U.S. working class. This should be understood as no less than a moral imperative to act immediately to curb the regime's fascism in every possible way.

Americans are above all furious at the dire economic conditions in which they're expected to struggle. The midterm results reflect a limit of Trumpian false consciousness: People know when they are poor, and they can see when billionaires, federal armed forces, genocidal governments, and presidential family members are profiting.

Democrats now have a mandate to do two things: Stop Trump, and improve the welfare of the U.S. working class.

Despite their newfound congressional majority, Democrats now face an uphill battle to deliver legislation that will improve people's material conditions. But that is not an excuse for inaction, mealy-mouthed gestures, or nods to bipartisanship. Democrats must push legislation that Republicans cannot stop, as well as legislation that Trump is all but sure to veto.

For one, Democrats must immediately roll back cuts to programs like Medicaid and supplemental nutritional programs. They must go further, too, and deliver on campaign promises for robust healthcare provisions, welfare spending, and restrictions on the ruinous depredations of Big Tech.

Related Trump Scrambles to Halt Military Aid to Israel to Deprive El-Sayed of a Talking Point

Trump bypassed Congress to prosecute his illegal war of choice on Iran, which has cost over $47 billion to date. But Congress has the power to curb military spending. Democrats must pass further resolutions to end the war, and they must pull the plug on military budget, directing funds instead to healthcare, housing, and investments in green infrastructure, to name a few urgent priorities. Though a flailing Trump finally announced that he would end military aid to Israel on Monday, it is Democrats who must pass further legislation to end all U.S. complicity in Israel's apartheid regime and genocide.

Democrats must also propose laws to defund and abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This is no outlandish proposal; the impunity-drenched militia was only founded in 2003, and it is only by virtue of Congress that it now receives more funding than any other federal law enforcement agency. It is in Congress's power to dismantle the agency and pass legislation to nullify the $170 billion-plus allocated to the border regime in Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill.

Democrats should do whatever possible to roll back and end political prosecutions and the Trump administration's brazen efforts to criminalize dissent.

Related The AI Doomsday Future Is Not Inevitable

The Democratic program must, in short, reject the austerity logics that have dominated the party for four decades. As sociologist Melinda Cooper has pointed out, and Trump's Republicans have again and again proven, such austerity is not even austere: Pro-austerity governments since the Nixon administration in the 1970s have overseen lavish public spending in the shape of tax cuts and subsidies for holders of financial wealth (which does not trickle down), as well as funding for policing, border enforcement, prisons, and war machines. These are choices, and Democrats have been given a mandate to make choices that instead benefit — to revive a classic — the many, not the few.

Democrats such as Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., have stressed that their focus will be on the "affordability agenda" on which the party has run. This must include taking swift action to investigate and impeach the president and the worst offenders in his Cabinet, including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In no way does insisting on accountability for Trump and his acolytes' lawlessness distract from an economic focus. No affordability agenda can be achieved with an authoritarian executive in place. Challenging Trump's despotism and self-dealing with every possible tool goes hand in hand with legislating to deliver on so-called kitchen-table issues.

Will Democrats in Congress, many of whom continue to reject the progressive and left-wing energies that have helped drive this blue wave, succeed in this anti-fascist political and economic agenda? No doubt, they will be thwarted at every turn by a desperate and dangerous executive and an embattled Republican minority. That is no reason to compromise, and constant pressure must be kept on Democrats who pretend otherwise. As the votes tonight make clear, in their millions, Americans know who to blame.

The post Democrats, Don't Mess This Up appeared first on The Intercept.

It's very gross for this to be any sort of "I told you so" opening to this post, but the measles outbreak in America continues to get worse, as predicted. While last years case counts and deaths from the disease, which had been vaccinated to the point of eradication back in 2000, were a record-breaking shitshow, 2026's case and death counts have already outpaced it significantly. There are more than double the total cases of measles already compared with last year, and triple as many deaths. Through it all, RFK Jr. and his HHS agency have battled the outbreak through inaction and obfuscation of data.

The worst of the outbreaks has been in Pennsylvania this year. Unfortunately, highly infectious diseases don't respect state borders. Measles is already spilling out into neighboring states. Weeks ago, New York State declared a state of emergency due to measles infections. And, now, the state has sadly reported its first fatality from measles.

It's the first known measles-associated death in the state in over 30 years, health officials said.

"We are deeply saddened by the death of a child in Lewis County associated with the ongoing measles outbreak," the New York State Department of Health and Lewis County Public Health said in a joint statement on Monday. "We extend our heartfelt condolences to the child's family and loved ones and ask that their privacy be respected during this difficult time."

No additional information on the case was released.

We don't have any more information on the specific case or victim beyond that. But we do know that it was another child that died. Children have represented the overwhelming percentage of case counts and fatalities thus far. We also know that this death needn't have happened. Until RFK Jr. got into government, America had not had a measles fatality recorded in decades. Through vaccination programs and the resulting herd immunity, even those medically unable to get vaccinated against measles were protected. The anti-vaxxer movement undid all of that, of course, and the avatar for that movement is Kennedy.

A major concern among health professionals right now is measles cases occurring during pregnancy, given how dangerous it can be for both the person pregnant and the fetus upon birth. The CDC reportedly wanted to issue an informational alert to health professionals about the dangers of such cases and how to handle them. Unfortunately, it seems the powers running those government health agencies would prefer to hide that information from the public.

Days before the seventh preventable measles death, The Washington Post reported on Kennedy's latest push to thwart public health efforts: Career scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—which is under Kennedy's control—were blocked from publishing an urgent health alert to clinicians regarding the risk and management of measles cases during pregnancy.

Given the previous success of vaccines and vaccination campaigns, many clinicians have never seen such cases in their careers. But measles infections during pregnancy pose severe, life-threatening risks to both pregnant people and fetuses. As such, CDC scientists wanted to issue an informational advisory through the CDC's Health Alert Network.

But the CDC Director's Office declined to provide the required approval for the alert, sources told the Post. The scientists have since moved to trying to publish the information in the CDC's publication, The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). But the peer-review process for the publication is longer than that of an advisory. Further, vaccine-related studies already approved for publication in MMWR have been suspiciously delayed, the Post reported.

Here again we see sociopathic behavior from Kennedy and its detrimental impact on the health of Americans. Kennedy doesn't want government studies on vaccine related information because, obviously, those studies don't align with Kennedy's preferred conspiracy theories about vaccines. Likewise, he doesn't want alerts going out to medical professionals about measles during pregnancy because either they put the lie to Kennedy's claim that he has this whole measles thing under control, because the advice given in those alerts would be to encourage more vaccination, or both.

There is no explanation for why informational alerts about an ongoing health crisis that were otherwise approved for publication should be blocked by someone with no medical degrees or background. This is hiding information from the public, and from doctors. It's evil.

People are getting sick and dying, most of them children. That Kennedy is prioritizing his own ego and pet projects over those lives isn't surprising, but it is horrifying. And it must be stopped.

Andy Ingamells

Vanity Project

The solo debut album by the British composer-performer is full of fun - and no shortage of questions

"Search for fun, types of fun, source of fun, apply for fun, awarded fun, get fun, have fun," enumerates Andy Ingamells in the opener of his first solo album Vanity Project. It would indeed be fun, were it not for the call bell that keeps cutting in, turning fun into fun-ding - a never-ending, soul-sucking loop. Silence falls after 'decision pen-ding'.

This semantic, even conceptual playfulness of 'Ding' permeates Vanity Project, which gathers pieces from 2008 to 2026. Ingamells is the sole musician on all but one track, speaking, singing, playing melodica, pipe organ and more. Central to his practice is the intersection...

The post Andy Ingamells - Vanity Project appeared first on The Quietus.

Researchers find the birds' guano feeds algal blooms that absorb significantly more solar energy

Penguin poo is making the Antarctic snow melt faster, a study shows. As temperatures rise, penguins are waddling closer to the south pole, with potential for this previously unrecognised phenomenon to affect a wider area.

Snow algae are tiny single-celled plants that make a home in some of the coldest places on Earth. When nutrients are scarce, the algae produces red pigments to protect itself from the sun and slow growth.

Frome, Somerset: Dippers and fritillaries and pink campion … there is a deep satisfaction in accumulating associations with a regular haunt

Enchantment surely fills the eyes of first-time visitors who come upon this little stone bridge over the stream. Do they marvel at the judgment of hands in building, wedding rock with rock, face against face? Do they arrive on a brighter morning than this, one on which sunbeams chase each other under the arch and cast sparkling reflections of water on the underside? Does their pulse quicken watching the brook breaking out of its tunnel and skittering over the pebbled bed, hastening through even in times of sluggish drought?

Me? I see a bird that isn't there.

China's crewed space program has outlined plans for a moon landing it hopes to achieve by the year 2030.

Deputy chief designer Wang Xiang explained the plans last weekend at an event called the Seventh Manned Space Symposium. Chinese state media has posted video of Wang discussing plans to reach Luna by launching two Long March 10 rockets.

One will carry a lander named "Lanyue" and the other will hoist a crew capsule called "Mengzhou." The two craft will meet in orbit around the Moon, where two of the three Taikonauts aboard Mengzhou will transfer to Lanyue and descend to set boot on regolith.

In the video, Wang said China plans near-Earth orbit test missions for both vehicles in coming years, followed by an uncrewed visit to the Moon. If all goes well, China hopes to attempt a crewed landing by 2030.

The Seventh Manned Space Symposium marked the 70th anniversary of the founding of China's space program and was also pitched as a moment for articulation of the nation's ambitions in space under its 15th five-year-plan, Beijing's blueprint for the years 2026 to 2030.

China called off its last moonshot in August, when authorities decided the Chang'e 7 robotic ice hunting mission "failed to meet launch criteria" just one day before its planned launch. The orbit required to reach the South Lunar Pole for that mission isn't always easily accessible, so China plans to try again next year.

When China tries to get Chang'e 7, Lanyue, and Mengzhou flying, it will at least have some new standards to apply to their operations after the China Manned Space Engineering Office last week published seventeen of them. One of the standards defines the architecture for Ethernet and Wi-Fi networks on China's space station and other orbiters. Another governs signage used in orbit, in the hope that a standard means Taikonauts won't make mistakes. A couple outline procedures for extravehicular activities, and use of a robotic arm to assist Taikonauts on such missions. Others explain the materials designers can choose from when building spacecraft. ®

With a manic grin leering from the cover Aphex Twin's fourth was readily incorporated into blather about dill & bass but his best, most cohesive album was neither wacky or a novelty, says Toby Manning

Richard D. James Album by Aphex Twin

The year is 1996, the era of Britpop and lads' mags, of Euro 96 and 'Three Lions', the retro complacency of which has seemingly no connection to the restlessly innovative Aphex Twin's fifth album. Yet the depthless positivity of Cool Britannia didn't just produce Britpop but 'comedy is the new rock & roll', the wipe-clean irony of Chris Evans and the music weeklies' suffusion with puns, gags and exclamations of 'arse!' This comedification of culture hence predicated the media presentation...

The post Funny Games: Aphex Twin's Richard D. James Album 30 years on appeared first on The Quietus.

Nearly 50 years after the Club of Rome warned of a "human gap" between humanity's power to transform reality and its capacity to understand the consequences, Constellations of Hope explores how education can help close that gap.

90 authors from 25 countries across 5 continents document evidence of transformation already underway. They work in Himalayan farming communities, Indigenous-led networks in the Amazon, Scottish Highland communities and engineering classrooms in South Africa. Their work shows learning that is changing how people act.

"For decades, environmental educators fought for opening another way of learning, ploughing the waves of complexity. Constellations of Hope says: your commitment has been fruitful, you are not alone. We want to prove that transformation is not a future aspiration; it is current practice." - Mario Salomone, Secretary-General of World Environmental Education Congress Network (WEEC) and one of the editors of the book.

Published today, Constellations of Hope, a report to the Club of Rome, is the first publication from No Limits to Hope, an initiative by The Fifth Element and WEEC. The book showcases transformative learning practices that challenge conventional education and point towards regenerative futures.

In many places, this way of learning is part of daily life. In South Africa, Mphatheleni Makaulule, custodian of Dzomo la Mupo, describes what it looks like on the ground: "Our work balances indigenous knowledge with Western scientific approaches, promoting a green circular economy that weaves together many ways of knowing. We teach and learn through doing, in nature's classroom."

Ana Rosa de Lima, Founder and Director of the Meli Bees Network in the Amazon, articulates the deeper shift this represents: "Education for this new era must reintroduce humans into nature as participants: curious, creative and in reciprocity with life. This is not about returning to an idealised past, but about remembering a truth modernity has tried to forget: that learning is a relational, embodied, restorative force."

This is the essence of what contributors to Constellations of Hope document throughout the collection. Knowledge that is born from communities working directly with the land and with each other. Educators and learners are already showing what becomes possible when pedagogy shifts from extraction to reciprocity.

Constellations of Hope is not a manual or a claim that systemic transformation has already been achieved. Rather, it gathers signs that transformation is being attempted, in many ways, in many places and by many people, often quietly and against significant odds.

"Our greatest challenge is not the crises themselves, but the widespread illusion of our own insignificance. What this book proves is that hope is not a passive feeling; it is an active tool for those who refuse that illusion and insist that education systems can become adaptive, life-generating forces. That refusal is where change begins." - Carlos Álvarez Pereira, Secretary General of the Club of Rome and co-editor of Constellations of Hope.

The book invites educators, learners, practitioners, policymakers and community organisers into an ongoing conversation about what learning needs to become if it is to meet the scale of the crises facing humanity.

In English:

Also available in Romanian: 

The post Constellations of Hope: New book shares evidence of learning transformation appeared first on Club of Rome.

Foto: Heritage & Legends

East Anglia's biggest shake-up of local government in half a century has been agreed, challenged in the courts, withdrawn, reviewed by a new prime minister - and now restarted, all within seven months.

In March, ministers decided how councils across Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex would be reorganised after months of competing proposals and public consultation. Then Reform UK took control of all three county councils, all three launched legal challenges, and Andy Burnham arrived in Downing Street with his own ideas about devolution. By September the decisions had been withdrawn and the national programme was under review.

Now local government reorganisation (LGR) is moving again. But councils which had expected to disappear in 2028 will survive for another year, the structures chosen in March are no longer guaranteed, and public money is being spent on transition work for councils which may never exist. After seven months of stops, starts and legal challenges, East Anglia could yet end up with much the same council map it started with.

Much of East Anglia still has two-tier local government. County councils provide services including social care, education and highways, while district, borough and city councils deal with services such as rubbish collection, housing and planning. LGR would replace those two layers with fewer single councils, known as unitary authorities, each responsible for the full range of council services. The aim is to simplify local government, with residents relying on one council for all their local services, while reducing costs by removing duplication.

Councils across the region spent much of 2025 developing proposals, followed by government consultations before ministers announced decisions for Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex in March. What happened after May's local elections reopened decisions which had appeared settled.

Reform won control of Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk county councils in May. Within weeks, all three were pursuing judicial reviews of the government's decisions. In Suffolk, the county council had proposed replacing all six existing councils with one county-wide authority, while the five district and borough councils had jointly proposed three. Ministers chose three.

The new Reform administration challenged that decision. Council leader Michael Hadwen said Suffolk could not be forced into a "costly and chaotic reorganisation on the basis of a flawed process" and later promised to "fight tooth and nail" to prevent the county being divided. By the end of June, his cabinet had voted to continue with a judicial review intended to halt LGR altogether, rather than simply secure its preferred single-unitary model.

Hadwen later said Reform had been "clear before the election" that it opposed LGR and would take all possible steps against it. However, East Anglia Bylines examined all ten Reform campaign leaflets from the Suffolk election held in the crowdsourced ElectionLeaflets.org archive and found no mention of local government reorganisation. Nor did Hadwen mention it in his first speech as council leader, when he set out the new administration's priorities. His decision to make stopping LGR a defining issue therefore appears to have emerged some time after the election.

The legal action divided the council. Labour's Martin Cook warned against spending taxpayers' money on litigation, but Hadwen dismissed opposition criticism: "Opposition parties are entitled to their views, but they did not win the election. We did."

Norfolk's March decision would have created three authorities - Greater Norwich City, East Norfolk and West Norfolk. After Reform took control of the county council, its new leader David Bick said: "We could not stand idly by and watch the government dismember our county." Norfolk joined South Norfolk Council in challenging the decision.

Essex County Council also went to court over ministers' choice of five unitary councils across Essex, Southend and Thurrock. Ten district, borough, city and unitary councils had submitted that proposal, while the county council had backed three. After Reform took control, leader Peter Harris described the chosen scheme as "ill-thought, expensive" and said the council would resist it. By the end of June, all three Reform-controlled East Anglian county councils were pursuing legal challenges to decisions made only three months earlier.

The Starmer government continued with LGR despite the challenges, announcing decisions for another 14 areas as late as 16 July. Andy Burnham became Prime Minister four days later. On 7 September, Communities Secretary Angela Rayner announced a rapid review and withdrew the decisions already made for Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Proposals elsewhere, including Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, were also paused.

The government said updated legal advice had raised questions about whether the process was sufficiently robust. There had been no court ruling that the original decisions were unlawful, and ministers stressed that withdrawing them was not an admission that they had been wrong. But the review went beyond the legal challenges. Rayner told Parliament that Burnham had asked her to look again at LGR and said ministers would consider whether the proposals aligned with "the priorities of the new Administration and the new Prime Minister".

Hadwen called the withdrawal a "resounding victory for Suffolk" and said residents could "breathe a sigh of relief". Less than two months later, however, it became clear that LGR itself was not going away.

Local Government Minister Jim McMahon announced the first results of the review on 29 October. Five areas elsewhere in England have moved to the next stage, while ministers continue considering the remaining proposals. Some decisions are expected by Christmas and all areas should know their fate by early next year.

All the original proposals remain under consideration. Suffolk could still have one or three unitary councils, while Norfolk's eventual structure could contain one, two or three. Essex is again awaiting a choice between the competing proposals, including the three-unitary model backed by the county council and the five-unitary arrangement ministers chose in March.

Hadwen is now "keeping our options open", while Suffolk Green group leader Andrew Stringer described the announcement as "basically resetting the clock". Cook pointed out that retaining Suffolk's existing system is not among the options: "Keeping things as they are isn't one of the options on the table."

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are slightly different because ministers had not reached a final decision there before Burnham ordered the review. Proposals would replace Cambridgeshire County Council, its five district and city councils and the existing Peterborough unitary authority with either two or three new councils. A decision had already been delayed before the September review created a further wait.

South Cambridgeshire MP Pippa Heylings described the process as a "merry-go-round", while Cambridgeshire County Council leader Lucy Nethsingha warned that uncertainty was making financial planning, recruitment and procurement more difficult. Across all four areas, elections to existing councils will now take place in May 2027. Elections for their replacements are planned for May 2028, with the new councils taking over on 1 April 2029.

Councils have already spent money preparing for changes which were expected to happen sooner. Areas where new authorities had previously been announced will now receive half of the £900,000 transition funding allocated for each proposed council, based on the original decision regardless of the eventual outcome. Suffolk will therefore receive £1.35mn for the three councils announced in March, even if ministers ultimately choose something different. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, where no decision had been made, will receive £500,000.

The review has now concluded that LGR should continue. What remains unknown is whether ministers will reach different conclusions from those made in March - or whether, after a year's delay and additional expense, some or all of East Anglia will end up with much the same council map.

LGR and devolution are often discussed together, but they do different things. Reorganisation changes which councils provide existing local services. Devolution transfers powers and funding currently held by central government to larger regional strategic authorities. The Budget significantly expanded that fiscal devolution, with mayors due to receive a share of business rates from 2027 and a proportion of income tax receipts from 2028.

Norfolk and Suffolk are due to share a mayoral strategic authority, while Greater Essex will have another. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough already have a combined authority and elected mayor. These bodies work across larger areas on issues such as transport, skills, economic development and major infrastructure.

For Burnham, who spent nine years as Mayor of Greater Manchester before entering Downing Street, that distinction may prove particularly important. His government has made clear that it intends to go further on devolution than its predecessor.

What that could mean for East Anglia - and what powers its new mayors might eventually have over people's everyday lives - is another question we'll explore in a follow-up article.

This article is based on a several pieces by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, compiled with assistance from AI tools and edited by East Anglia Bylines.

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The post East Anglia's council shake-up is back on - but a year later first appeared on East Anglia Bylines.

Access to our £37,000 deposit in a savings account is restricted after a 'routine security review'

My wife's Revolut account was frozen in what it calls a "routine security review" over a week ago. Nothing has been requested from her - no documents, the source of funds, or ID - yet, as a result, our house deposit of £37,000 in a joint savings account is also restricted.

We're approaching the completion of our property purchase and have given notice on our rental home. Direct debits are bouncing and we're concerned about our credit records.

I grew up with spinal conditions that solidified my sense of being 'weak and weird'. By my late 30s, I was feeling burnt out. But an invitation from a colleague set me on an unexpected and exhilarating new path

In 2023, I was in the Alps trekking the 80-mile Tour du Mont Blanc when there came a moment I was no longer trekking, exactly. I was on my hands and knees. Frozen. And then I started to cry. Others were casually bopping past me, up and over like water around a stone. But I was stuck. Why can't I move? I thought.

I was not always fit enough to trek 80 miles in the Alps. As a child, I was the one who always got picked last in gym class. I would have picked me last too: by any measure, I was the most physically awkward kid in my year group. Other students bullied me and I was ashamed of my body. I felt weird, weak and sad.

Mink farms are the perfect petri dishes for deadly flu strains to emerge. Yet officials appear to be protecting business interests over human lives

Could this be ground zero? Could it be the spot where the next pandemic begins? It's certainly a candidate, not least because the chain of events that could trigger a plague far worse than Covid-19 looks like the opening sequence of a disaster movie. A really bad disaster movie, in which the levels of carelessness and turpitude defy belief.

A report by the investigative news service ProPublica reveals that bird flu has been raging in a mink farm in Utah since August, and it appears next to nothing has been done by public officials. In 2023, I warned in the Guardian that mink farms could scarcely be better designed to generate lethal plagues. This is for three reasons: mink are fed on the offcuts of chickens, cows and other farm animals, in which new viral variants often develop; mink readily host both avian and human flu viruses, which can then exchange genetic material, turning a bird disease into a human one; and mink possess extremely high "zoonotic potential" - the ability to infect animals of other species, including human beings.

George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist

Mink farms are the perfect petri dishes for deadly flu strains to emerge. Yet officials appear to be protecting business interests over human lives

Could this be ground zero? Could it be the spot where the next pandemic begins? It's certainly a candidate, not least because the chain of events that could trigger a plague far worse than Covid-19 looks like the opening sequence of a disaster movie. A really bad disaster movie, in which the levels of carelessness and turpitude defy belief.

A report by the investigative news service ProPublica reveals that bird flu has been raging in a mink farm in Utah since August, and it appears next to nothing has been done by public officials. In 2023, I warned in the Guardian that mink farms could scarcely be better designed to generate lethal plagues. This is for three reasons: mink are fed on the offcuts of chickens, cows and other farm animals, in which new viral variants often develop; mink readily host both avian and human flu viruses, which can then exchange genetic material, turning a bird disease into a human one; and mink possess extremely high "zoonotic potential" - the ability to infect animals of other species, including human beings.

George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist

Farmers in Gurez store their harvests underground to last the Himalayan winter. As the practice fades, local varieties and handed-down skills are disappearing too

Hajra Begum rolls a potato in her hands, checking its skin for cuts, soft spots and signs of rot. After a day harvesting in her family's field in Chorwan, a remote mountain village in Gurez, Indian-administered Kashmir, she is sorting the crop for winter storage. Some of the potatoes will feed her family through the cold months; others will be saved for planting in spring.

"It should be perfect for planting," she says. "If you keep a bad potato, you will waste the whole next year."

AMD has predicted it will win more revenue than Intel in its next quarter, potentially marking the first time it becomes the dominant vendor whose main product is x86 processors.

The house of Zen on Tuesday announced its Q3 2026 results, which saw it grow revenue 45 percent year-over-year to $13.4 billion. The company's Data Center segment won $8.5 billion of revenue, up 97 percent year-over-year. Sales of silicon in AMD's client and gaming segment slid eight percent to $3.7 billion, a worse fall than the five percent fall that helped to sink Intel's share price.

Intel, AMD's great rival in the x86 market, offered revenue guidance of $15 billion to $16 billion for its next quarter, which would represent almost no growth.

AMD, by contrast, told investors it expects around $17 billion of revenue next quarter.

CEO Lisa Su predicted even better days are ahead.

"We think 2027 is going to be a very strong momentum year for both the CPU business as well as the data center AI business," she said on the company's earnings call. "We have said the overall company will grow greater than 80 percent, and for the data center CPU business, we will about double, and for the data center AI business, it will significantly more than double."

Su said AMD is confident its supply chain can meet that demand.

"We have worked across our supply chain to secure the wafers, substrates, advanced packaging, memory, and other key components needed to support much higher growth next year," she said. "We are also deepening our collaboration with our supply chain partners and investing alongside them to secure the long-term capacity our growth will require."

The CEO added that AMD has "strong confidence in our ability to sustain exceptional revenue growth for years to come, with earnings growing even faster."

If those predictions are correct, AMD will likely accelerate away from Intel to become the leading provider of x86 processors after years of challenging Chipzilla's lead. Intel would still have higher overall revenue, due to its foundry operations, but in terms of revenue earned from selling chips, AMD would become the market leader.

AMD is arguably already the server CPU technology leader, and while it is second to Nvidia in the GPU market has trounced Intel.

Even AMD's declining client and gaming revenue has an upside because it was the gaming part of the portfolio that created the problem. PC chip sales rose seven percent year-over-year to $2.9 billion. Su said strong sales of Ryzen mobile processors drove that growth.

"Commercial is becoming a larger part of our client business as large enterprises adopt Ryzen PRO PCs across their employee base," she said, pointing to strong adoption at the world's largest banks, automotive companies, and healthcare concerns. Big corporate buyers are often a source of bigger profits and/or steadier revenue, so AMD looks to be taking the cream off the top of the PC market rather than scrounging for SMB and retail scraps.

Investors liked what they heard, sending AMD's share price up by around five percent in after hours trading. ®

We are raiding the Guardian long read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors

This week, from 2023: A year ago, Germany's vice-chancellor was one of the country's best-liked public figures. Then came the tabloid-driven backlash. Now he has to win the argument all over again

By Philip Oltermann. Read by Sam Peter Jackson

Read the text version here

Support the Guardian today: theguardian.com/longreadpod

In California's Central Valley, some surprising voters are lining up behind a progressive upstart: A law enforcement officer who calls for the abolition of ICE. A millennial who once voted for a Republican congressman. 

They found themselves among supporters of Randy Villegas, a Democrat poised to oust longtime incumbent Republican Rep. David Valadao in a district dominated for decades by conservatives in California's Central Valley. 

With Democratic victories across the nation, California's 22nd Congressional District is the kind of historically red stronghold where progressive policies may find new purchase.

Villegas's path to the general election mirrors that of other progressive candidates charting a new identity within the party. Running on policies such as Medicare for All, addressing affordability, rejecting corporate donations, and halting the flow of weapons to Israel, the 31-year-old defeated a moderate Democratic state assembly member backed by the party's establishment in the June primary. 

Villegas's opposition to ICE in a district that is 70 percent Latino or Hispanic marked the sharpest point of contrast with Valadao, who defended the Trump administration's anti-immigrant campaign and famously uttered "It is what it is" on the debate stage last month when pressed on the issue. Valadao claimed "a lot" of the individuals captured by ICE in the Central Valley in recent weeks have criminal records, despite research showing the majority of those detained by ICE lack criminal convictions. 

It was Valadao's stance on immigration that most animated Central Valley voters who spoke with The Intercept.    

"I've never seen him stand up to something I feel is egregious," said Raul Castro, 53, a Fresno County probation officer who is upset with Valadao's lack of willingness to oppose Trump on the ICE raids surging through the area in recent weeks. "I just don't respect people like that."

Related Trump's National Killer Police Force

While standing on the front porch of his house in a middle-class suburb in northwest Fresno, Castro lamented ICE's targeting of immigrants based on their appearance, language, or jobs. He spoke out against immigration agents pulling people from the street and into labyrinthine detention centers where civil rights advocates have reported a lack of access to basic necessities such as clean water and adequate healthcare. Though Castro once supported ICE, when asked whether he would support abolishing the agency altogether, he said yes. 

"If you asked me that same question, 'Hey would you abolish ICE?' I'd say, 'No, 'cause they're doing things to make sure our country is safe. I want to live in a safe Fresno, safe county, safe city,'" Castro told The Intercept. "But now, wait a minute, maybe that's not what I thought it was going to be."

Villegas told The Intercept he wasn't surprised to hear he had won the support of an anti-ICE law enforcement officer. 

"I don't find it surprising because I think ICE has made it much more difficult for local law enforcement to carry out their jobs and their work — and everybody is seeing the indiscriminate profiling going on," Villegas said at a Fresno park rally to support last-minute canvassing efforts.

Villegas himself does not support abolishing ICE but instead has called for wide-ranging reforms of the agency. The policy position makes Villegas somewhat an anomaly among his progressive peers, who are riding a wave of leftist energy into Congress, some of whom include "Abolish ICE" among their campaign platforms. 

Related If Democrats Win, Thank the Left

While holding key endorsements from high-profile democratic socialists Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Villegas has also rejected the socialist label, preferring "populist," despite attempts by the Republican national party to weaponize the term against him. Unlike many of his fellow progressives, Villegas is also one of the few who is running in a historically red district. And he's confident voters are not caught up in the ideological nuances and hopes to instead cut through them. 

"People are fed up with an agency who is unaccountable, people are fed up with a member of Congress who is unaccountable, who doesn't even have public town halls," Villegas said. "We deserve better than that in the Central Valley, and I think that's why our messaging is resonating across the political spectrum."

Such reach across the political spectrum is also evidenced in voters like Aram Easter, 33, who was born and raised in Fresno. He doesn't vote in every election, but cast a ballot for Valadao a decade ago when his district previously covered Fresno, largely because he bought the vision of someone with local Central Valley roots (Valadao was born and raised in the nearby Hanford). He also agrees with some aspects of Trump's agenda, such as building the border wall. But he drew the line on immigration enforcement.   

"You got people tearing people's families apart," Easter said. "My family immigrated here — I have Black and Mexican family — I'm not with them overly-aggressively doing it." 

Since early October, ICE raids have become more prevalent in the region, with more than 200 people detained by authorities throughout the surge, according to the local newsroom Fresnoland. Similar upticks in ICE have taken place recently throughout the state, including Los Angeles and San Diego. Voter rights organizations in the Central Valley have taken notice and are viewing the raids as an effort by the Trump administration to suppress the vote, especially in a key race in the 22nd District. 

"This timing of the uptick in ICE is not a coincidence," said Marisa Moraza, political director at PowerCA Action, which is doing independent expenditure work to support Villegas's campaign. "It's not a coincidence that this started at the beginning of October when voters received their ballots in the mail."

The raids have also suppressed get-out-the-vote efforts, Moraza said. Last month, the group had to pause in-person canvassing operations for several days amid the surge in ICE activity, electing to instead do phone banking. 

The ICE activity is also keeping would-be voters from dropping off their ballots, as recent arrests of U.S. citizens struck fear among voters, said Cirilo Ordaz, a canvasser with PowerCA supporting Villegas. 

"With going out to vote, I think a lot of them haven't done it yet because of that fear," said Ordaz, who was one of dozens of Villegas supporters who fanned out across the region on the Monday before Election Day to urge residents to vote.

Related "Offensive Driving": ICE's Deadly Weaponization of Vehicles Against Civilians

Sylvia Ramirez, another Fresno native canvassing with PowerCA said she's noticed far fewer people outside in recent weeks, including a lack of crowds at the popular annual event Big Fresno Fair. For voters, she and her group offer to drop off people's ballots for them if the fear is keeping them inside. 

"Offering the services of dropping off a ballot for somebody really helps out with the fear that people have of leaving their houses," she said, adding that she has told her family to stay at home as much as possible in recent days to avoid interactions with ICE.

The Central Valley, known for its significant agriculture production, has been the seat of high-profile Republican lawmakers, such as former Rep. Devin Nunes and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. 

But after a Democrat-led redistricting in the state last year in response to Texas's partisan redistricting effort, the district now includes the northwest sections of Fresno, a city with more Democrats. 

Early voting across the state has outpaced recent midterm elections, according to a recent survey. It's unclear how much of that is anti-Trump animus or having a candidate voters are excited to support. 

Castro, the probation officer, was among those who voted early. In recent weeks, he said he noticed residents looking at him with concern while on the job in uniform, showing up at areas where ICE had previously conducted raids. It's a fear he acutely understood. As a child, he lived in labor camps with his mother and father, who were both undocumented immigrants working in Fresno as farm laborers. He recalled similar indiscriminate sweeps by Border Patrol in the 1970s. 

"When I was small, back then it was Border Patrol, and they used to show up in a van," Castro recalled. "All the agents used to get out and run after these guys. And they used to round them up and take them out," he said. 

Seeing video and hearing of recent ICE raids targeting farmworkers in the area conjured such painful memories.

"I never thought I'd see that again," he said.  

The post In California's Central Valley, ICE Might Swing a Red District Blue appeared first on The Intercept.

• The new Diavel V4, the DesertX Rally and the exclusive Panigale V4 SP, Panigale V2 SP and Streetfighter V4 SP are unveiled to the public
• Brand-new, eye-catching liveries on the XDiavel and Scrambler Full Throttle, Multistrada V2, and the new Hypermotard 698 Mono RVE and Hypermotard V2 RVE
• Ducati's off-road range is expanded with a preview of the new Desmo250 EDS
• The special exhibition "100 YEARS. 100 STORIES. 100 key moments from Ducati's first century" celebrates the Borgo Panigale-based manufacturer's centenary with another unmissable event

Milan - Ducati is showcasing a series of new models at EICMA that make its range even broader and more sophisticated, unveiled at an event held ahead of the traditional Tuesday opening for industry professionals. On the same evening, a monographic exhibition dedicated to the centenary of the Borgo Panigale-based manufacturer was inaugurated; it will be open to the public for the duration of the show.

Following the models unveiled at the Ducati World Première 2027, the Borgo Panigale-based manufacturer is presenting at least five brand-new models at its final event of the year. The Diavel V4 becomes sportier and more sophisticated thanks to new electronic control strategies and Öhlins semi-active suspension on the new V4 S. The DesertX Rally is the model Ducati has dedicated to rally-raid and competition enthusiasts, developed on the new V2 engine and drawing on feedback and experience gained over years of development.

EICMA also offers the first opportunity to see the Monster Dark - unveiled digitally a few days ago - the Multistrada V4 Grand Tour and Pikes Peak, and above all the Panigale V4 MY27, the latest evolution of Ducati's Superbike, which incorporates all the innovations and technical solutions developed in racing, in the flesh.

Alongside the Panigale V4 MY27, three exclusive, limited-edition models are also making their debut: the Panigale V4 SP, designed to offer the ultimate track experience for track day enthusiasts; the Streetfighter V4 SP, the pinnacle of the Streetfighter range; and the Panigale V2 SP, developed as the homologation model for the bike that will compete in the World Supersport Championship from next year.

Finally, the 2027 Ducati range features new, eye-catching liveries on the XDiavel, Multistrada V2, and Scrambler Full Throttle, as well as the new Hypermotard 698 Mono RVE and Hypermotard V2 RVE. And exactly one year on from the preview of the Desmo450 EDS, the first modern Ducati enduro, the Bologna-based manufacturer is bringing a new, exciting preview to EICMA: the Desmo250 EDS, which will be available at European dealerships in the summer of 2027.

All the new models from the DWP 2027 range will be on display throughout EICMA 2026 at the Ducati stand, where the Borgo Panigale-based manufacturer is ready to welcome all enthusiasts at Hall 5, stand O82.

• Diavel V4

The new Diavel V4 MY27 further evolves the 'Muscle Roadster' concept, which, since 2010, has represented one of the most original interpretations of Ducati's philosophy. Created to combine the muscular character and striking presence of a cruiser with the performance and dynamics of a sports bike, the Diavel now reinforces its identity with a more aggressive style, updated technology and an expanded range. The design draws on the Diavel V4 RS, borrowing elements such as the new air intakes and several aesthetic features that accentuate its sporty character. Completing this evolution are the redesigned single-seat tail section, new wheels and numerous details that make the line-up even more dynamic and contemporary.

The major new addition is the S version, which returns to the range for the first time in the V4 engine era. It stands out for its Öhlins SmartEC-3 semi-active electronic suspension with event-based adjustment, which adapts the bike's behavior in real time, as well as for a specification that includes a lithium-ion battery, heated grips and dedicated finishes for the alloy wheels.

On the technical front, the 168 HP V4 Granturismo engine returns, updated with a new electronic control system that improves the response smoothness at low and medium revs, and complemented by the new Ducati Quick Shift 2.0 for faster, and more precise gear changes. The electronics have also advanced with the new 6.9-inch TFT display with optical bonding technology, standard turn-by-turn navigation and displays derived from the Panigale V4, as seen on the Diavel V4 RS.

• DesertX Rally MY27

The DesertX Rally is the Ducati model designed for adventure touring enthusiasts, developed from feedback and experience gained over years of development and competition on the most challenging terrain. For Model Year 27, it adopts the DesertX family's new technical platform, built around the 890 cc Ducati V2 engine, the new dedicated monocoque frame, and the Full Floater rear suspension. The twin-cylinder engine, the lightest ever produced by Ducati in its class, delivers 110 HP and 68 lb ft of torque, with a particularly generous torque curve at low and medium revs, while the chassis has been designed to offer even greater control, precision, and safety off-road.

The DesertX Rally features professional-grade KYB suspension with long travel, including a closed-cartridge competition fork, technology typically reserved for top-level motocross and enduro bikes. The fork utilizes premium surface treatments such as Kashima Coating and DLC on the 48 mm stanchions, ensuring smooth operation, consistent performance and the ability to absorb even the most severe obstacles. At the rear is a fully adjustable professional shock absorber, designed to offer maximum support and control on the most challenging terrain, supported by an adjustable Öhlins steering damper.

The new Full Floater rear suspension with progressive linkages is a racing-derived solution that improves comfort, traction, and bump absorption. Thanks to this design and the increased wheel travel, the DesertX Rally further enhances its off-road performance, making the bike more stable, precise and controllable even in the most extreme situations.

Rounding off the off-road package are the new Takasago Excel professional tubeless rims, with a 21-inch front wheel and an 18-inch rear wheel. The rear rim's 36-spoke configuration enhances strength and reliability, while the narrower channels help make the Rally more agile over difficult terrain. Lighter and more impact-resistant than traditional designs, these rims represent a significant step forward for those seeking high performance and maximum reliability on the most demanding adventures.

• Panigale V4 SP, Panigale V2 SP and Streetfighter V4 SP

The new Panigale V4 SP MY27 represents the ultimate expression of Ducati's supersport bike for track enthusiasts - a numbered series that brings solutions derived from WorldSBK and MotoGP directly to the Panigale V4. Based on the new Panigale V4 MY27, it stands out for its exclusive specification, including carbon-fiber wheels, an STM EVO-SBK dry clutch, a racing gearbox, and dedicated race-derived components. The 218 CV Desmosedici Stradale engine is fitted with the new Ducati Racing Gearbox with Neutral Lock. The chassis features Öhlins Smart EC 3.0 suspension and an adjustable rear link derived from the Panigale V4 R. The new aerodynamic package, featuring larger wings and Corner Sidepods - which respectively increase downforce and improve cornering performance - makes it even more effective, precise and fast through the corners, designed to offer every rider an experience as close as possible to that of the professionals.

The new Panigale V2 SP brings the new-generation Panigale V2 to the FIM Supersport World Championship. Developed based on the Panigale V2 S and refined thanks to the experience gained at the Lenovo V2 Future Champs Academy, it recaptures the original meaning of the SP designation as a production motorcycle designed to validate technical solutions intended for competition. The new model combines the 120 CV Ducati V2 engine with variable valve timing with a chassis designed for maximum track performance, featuring Öhlins suspension, a longer swingarm to improve stability and precision, lighter forged wheels and a dry clutch that allows the use of Ducati Corse Performance Oil. Thanks to a state-of-the-art electronics package and a series of modifications aimed at enhancing agility, traction and control, the Panigale V2 SP stands out as the most specialized supersport in the V2 family and as the direct link between the world of racing and Ducati's production range.

The Streetfighter V4 SP is the most exclusive and specialized version of Ducati's high-performance naked bike, a numbered series designed for those seeking the best in technology, performance, and racing features. Based on the Streetfighter V4, it features the traditional 'Winter Test' livery and technical specifications derived directly from racing experience. Distinctive features include carbon-fiber wheels, which reduce weight and inertia while improving agility and handling precision, the STM EVO-SBK dry clutch, the racing final drive and machined, adjustable footpegs. The 205 HP Desmosedici Stradale engine is paired with the latest-generation electronic Öhlins suspension and a braking system enhanced by a Brembo MCS master cylinder with remote adjustment. The result is an extreme yet refined naked bike, developed to deliver maximum riding enjoyment on the road and on the track, while retaining the unmistakable character of the highest-performance Streetfighter ever.

• Hypermotard 698 Mono RVE and Hypermotard V2 RVE

The new Hypermotard 698 Mono RVE and Hypermotard V2 RVE expand the Hypermotard range with two models that highlight the distinctive character of Ducati's fun bikes. The 698 Mono RVE features an evolved version of the famous Graffiti livery to enhance its visual impact and, where available, comes standard with Termignoni-approved silencers, further emphasizing its sporty character.

With the new V2, Ducati brings the iconic RVE interpretation back into the twin-cylinder family, enhancing it with a dedicated livery and an even more comprehensive specification, to offer a version that combines style, technology and riding enjoyment.

Scrambler Full Throttle Heritage and XDiavel Black Edition and Multistrada V2 Sport Livery

In the Scrambler area, Ducati is unveiling the new Heritage livery for the Scrambler Full Throttle Model Year 27. The classic green and bronze color scheme - also featured on the aluminum wheels - is inspired by 1970s racing motorbikes and cars, and stands out thanks to the contrast provided by the black finish on the exhaust heat shields and front side covers.

Two years after the launch of the V4, the XDiavel returns to its traditional black livery with a new, striking design. Defined by its sheer stage presence, the new XDiavel V4 Black Edition represents the boldest, most muscular and imposing expression of the Borgo Panigale-based manufacturer.

The new Multistrada V2's Sport livery draws inspiration from the Multistrada Pikes Peak, whose color combinations and surface treatments reflect Ducati's racing language. The result is a modern, dynamic, instantly recognizable graphic design, where black, Racing Red wheels, and side-panel details create a look that is both sporty and elegant.

"100 ANNI. 100 STORIE. A journey through the Ducati Centenary milestones"

To mark Ducati's centenary, a unique exhibition at the south entrance traces the hundred moments that have shaped the identity of the Borgo Panigale-based manufacturer, recounting a century of style, innovation, performance and passion. Through a timeline spanning a hundred years of history, visitors are taken on a journey through sporting successes, technological innovations, and design icons that have made Ducati a globally recognized brand, with some of the most significant moments represented by the motorbikes and engines that played a central role.

The exhibition offers the opportunity to see unique motorcycles from the Ducati Museum and archives, as well as those produced in extremely limited series. EICMA 2026 is the final destination of the 'Collezione 100' tour, which began with the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello and continued with World Ducati Week, the Goodwood Festival of Speed and exhibitions at various museums in the Bologna area.

The exhibition, set up at the south gate entrance, will offer visitors the chance to admire the incredible Superleggera V4 Centenario Tricolore, all the motorbikes from the 100 Collection, and a selection of true gems, such as the MotoGP and Superbike winners ridden by Capirossi, Stoner, Bagnaia, Fogarty and Bautista, as well as Marco Lucchinelli's 750 F1 BOT, Mike Hailwood's 900 SS from the epic 1978 Tourist Trophy and Bruno Spaggiari's 750 Imola Desmo. The exhibition will remain open to the public for the entire duration of EICMA 2026.

The post Ducati Unveils Five New Models And A Preview At EICMA 2026 appeared first on Roadracing World Magazine | Motorcycle Riding, Racing & Tech News.

NIO's October sales were nothing like XPENG's. Rather than soaring to record heights, they drooped. Rather than surpassing 50,000 sales (something NIO is yet to do and XPENG has done only this once), NIO scored 34,246 vehicle deliveries, the company's lowest delivery total since April. Nonetheless, that brought the company's ... [continued]

The post NIO's October Sales Meh, But 2026 Sales Up 38.5% appeared first on CleanTechnica.

On an election night handing Republicans a beating in critical House and Senate races across the country, the GOP fell short even in once deep-red Texas after a campaign run on a go-to outrage tactic: fearmongering over the rights of transgender people.

Democrats escaped the political wilderness in the Longhorn State on Tuesday night, when Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton — despite the far-right attorney general's relentless attacks on the trans community and his party's claims that Democrats would enforce so-called "transgenderism" as a kind of ideology. 

The massive upset was paired with a victory for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa, who beat Republican incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott shortly after the Senate race was called for Talarico. 

In Dallas, Paxton voter Rachel Fuller told The Intercept she was alarmed by what she believed was Talarico's support for "far-fetched" ideas, like "giving children the right to decide — and making parents, calling them abusive for not letting them have transgender changes." 

Her comments suggested some of the $78 million Republicans spent on anti-trans attack advertisements in Texas were working. But they weren't enough to help Republicans hold onto power in Texas, which hasn't had a Democratic senator since the 1990s.

The ads made up almost half of all ad spending in support of Paxton, according to an analysis from Puck using data from AdImpact.  

By and large, the ads spread blatant misinformation about Talarico's record. 

One infamous $29 million ad created by Texas PAC, a political action committee primarily funded by billionaire Elon Musk, claimed that Talarico supported jailing parents who did not support gender-affirming surgeries for minors. "Every mom in Texas should be worried about James Talarico putting parents in jail if they do not support surgically transitioning their children," a woman in the ad warned ominously. 

Related The Rise of the Christian Left in Texas

That attack, which according to Puck received 1.9 billion views as of October, does seem to have caught the attention of Texans — even with voters who ultimately supported Talarico. 

Julius Ishola, a canvasser for Black TOP, an operation under Texas Organizing Project that targets Black voters, told The Intercept he had frequently heard Black voters raise concerns that Talarico intended to jail parents. 

"I've been getting a lot of bad feedback regarding James Talarico," Ishola told The Intercept, saying many voters cited concerns of "gender sex change and possibly prosecuting parents who go against that … and allowing transgenders into female restrooms." 

As a state legislator, Talarico fought bans on transgender athletes' participation in youth sports, and famously said that God is "nonbinary," earning him ridicule from Republicans, who nicknamed the Senate candidate "Talafreako." In the face of those attacks this cycle, Talarico appeared to backtrack on the issue, telling Fox News in September that he supported bans on transgender children's participation in sports if it risks "safety or fairness" — without clarifying what that meant. 

His wavering does not seem to have reached many voters. 

"I voted Republican all the way. And that's my fear of Talarico going in," said Carol Billings, a voter who cast her ballot for Paxton at the Living Waters Church in Dallas County. Like Fuller, she cited her perception of the Democratic nominee's trans policies as a major source for concern.

Still, many voters in Black districts, which were vital to Talarico's victory, barely mentioned Talarico. 

"At the end of the day," said Dallas Jones, a Houston-based Democratic political strategist whose firm focuses on African American voter engagement and backed Talarico, "the results show that people care more about their everyday lives than they do about trans Americans who just want to get by."  

Some voters told The Intercept they were far more concerned with issues of affordability. " I just hope we can get these gas prices down," said Darryl Moore, a Fort Worth voter.

This is a developing story and will updated. Akela Lacy reported from Dallas, Texas.

The post Even Anti-Trans Panic Couldn't Save Republicans in Deep-Red Texas appeared first on The Intercept.

This is new story by me and Bruce Sterling. It appeared on Boing Boing, on Halloween, 2026. And I added it to a new 2nd edition of our anthology, Transreal Cyberpunk, which went live the same day. And now I'm posting the story online, mixing in some photos and paintings that I have kicking around […]

The post "Bottle Imps" Rudy Rucker & Bruce Sterling first appeared on Rudy's Blog.

In courts across the country, publishers and creators are suing large AI companies for training generative AI models on copyrighted works. It's easy to see these cases as a David-and-Goliath showdown between authors and publishers fighting for a cut of Big Tech company profits. But this fight is actually much larger. It affects billions of people who aren't represented in the case at all, including researchers, artists, activists, journalists, people with disabilities, and anyone who accesses and shares content online.   

That's why EFF is stepping in to defend the public's rights in these cases. Last week, EFF filed an amicus brief in In re OpenAI, explaining how the court's ruling on fair use could impact people worldwide. If fair use gets narrowed, it will impede work that benefits the public, like medical research and investigative journalism, and even limit access to privacy protection tools.

Let's be clear: creators and workers deserve support as AI changes their fields, and Big Tech companies must be held accountable for the harms they cause. But giving copyright holders more control over the web won't accomplish either of these goals. If the plaintiffs prevail in these cases, courts would have to rewrite copyright law in ways that hurt everyone except powerful media and tech companies.

Copyright exists for one reason: to stimulate creativity and innovation in service of the greater public good. Unfortunately, the plaintiffs in this lawsuit are arguing to limit everyone's fair use rights, in ways that would thwart the basic purpose of copyright. The harms of shrinking fair use will go far beyond generative AI, impacting everyone.

Initial speculation that AI models would be infringement machines, churning out works highly similar to those on which they were trained, has proven unfounded. And courts have already found fair use in cases where copyrighted works were used to train generative AI models, recognizing that training uses those works for a fundamentally different purpose.

Plaintiffs in these cases argue that, even if the use is transformative, using their works to train AI is still unfair, because the AI models could generate new, non-infringing works that might compete with plaintiffs' own works. They also argue that scraping or downloading the data without permission—or in some cases, from websites containing infringing copies—was independently infringing and/or rendered any subsequent uses of that data unfair.

These arguments would put beneficial research and reporting at risk. First, if copying without permission rules out fair use, the law will never protect transformative uses that benefit us all. Researchers, journalists, and other watchdog groups gather information the same way AI companies do—but they do it to serve the public interest, and often to hold Big Tech itself accountable. For example, journalists and nonprofit researchers have used "crawling" or "scraping" to investigate potentially anticompetitive practices by tech companies, and research misinformation and hateful content posted on X. Their data acquisition techniques are virtually identical to those used by AI giants—but they lack those companies' deep pockets.

Requiring users to show that copyrighted material was lawfully obtained would also threaten everyday internet use. As EFF's brief explained, that requirement would "cast legal doubt on the billions of copies we collectively make every day through routine online activities like opening emails, clicking on an embedded link, visiting websites, sharing pictures, streaming music, and watching videos. All of this activity requires intermediate copying."

Fair use is what lets us all use the internet without being compelled to track the source of every image, video, and article that we click on, and make sure the rights are all cleared.

Additionally, while rightsholders are understandably concerned about competition from AI generated works, copyright law exists to promote new creation, not protect authors who published first. Under the plaintiffs' theory, no one could stand upon the shoulders of giants. Copyright could prevent people from writing new books inspired by themes in a favorite novel or genre, or prevent academic researchers from publishing literature reviews that distill insights from prior research—simply because readers might prefer those new publications over those that came first.

Finally, general-purpose AI models are neither designed nor usually used to create works targeted at any particular market. These models have been used to generate new insights and tools for medicine, science, journalism, art, and accessibility. For instance, an AI-powered tool called Be My AI uses Open AI's GPT models to provide visual descriptions for people who are blind or have low vision. Generative tools have also accelerated scientific research, and researchers have used these tools to develop new medical treatments and medications for conditions previously thought to be incurable.

Some creators and publishers argue that AI developers should just get a license. But requiring permission for every work used would give the largest companies massive advantages over small competitors and impede academic research. As Professor Lawrence Lessig recently noted:

If all training requires a license, then none but a handful of tech giants will be able to afford the costs of training. That's not because authors are greedy but because the copyright system is the least efficient property system known to man.

Moreover, creators are unlikely to benefit from these licensing arrangements in many cases. Media and entertainment giants have exploited the imbalance between themselves and underpaid working artists for decades. Trying to help creators by giving them more rights under copyright is, as Cory Doctorow has written, like trying to help a bullied kid by giving them more lunch money for the bully to take. Artists aren't getting good deals from record labels or publishers now; there's no reason to think these companies, which already own the copyrights, will treat artists more fairly once they control the data that powers AI.

AI technologies will affect all of us, and copyright law is ill-equipped to address many of these consequences. The rules governing these technologies should be rules that serve the public—not just the small number of companies that can afford to litigate copyright battles for decades, or settle for billions.

Republished from the EFF's Deeplinks blog.

For the past few weeks on Techdirt, we've been publishing The Metric Is Not The Mission, a ten-part series by internet governance and digital policy expert Konstantinos Komaitis which is now available as a single, complete paper. This week, Konstantinos joins the podcast to talk all about his argument in the paper and why it's a necessary part of understanding big tech.

You can also download this episode directly in MP3 format.

Follow the Techdirt Podcast on Soundcloud, subscribe via Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or grab the RSS feed. You can also keep up with all the latest episodes right here on Techdirt.

So, it's come to this. The good ship USS Revenge Prosecution is sinking. And the deserting rats are deciding which rats should desert first, apparently based on nothing more than the current state of the organizational chart.

Two people figured heavily into the disastrous attempt to prosecute a handful of Chicago residents for engaging in protected First Amendment activity. The DOJ, urged on by the DHS and Trump himself, wanted to ring up hundreds of people on federal charges for engaging in anti-ICE protests. By the time the DOJ got things in front of a grand jury, the number of defendants had dwindled to… six.

They were the so-called "Broadview Six." And while the DOJ — represented locally by US Attorney Andrew Boutros — thought it had secured a handful of wins via the grand jury sign-off on the charges, it only took an initial visit to federal court to find out how wrong it was.

Here's what Boutros did to salvage what was left of his reputation when everything suddenly went disastrously sideways in from of federal judge April Perry:

Boutros announced the decision to dismiss the remaining charges in court following a closed-door meeting over redacted grand jury transcripts. He told U.S. District Judge April Perry he was unaware until recently of the alleged misconduct, including a prosecutor meeting with a grand juror outside proceedings and other jurors who disagreed with the case being dismissed and prevented from participating. Boutros did not dispute the allegations, saying the conduct was upsetting and the reason the case was being dismissed.

"Not good enough!" said the righteously outraged court, which demanded more answers from the DOJ, as well as raising the specter of sanctions if said answers weren't acceptable:

Although I am not going to prejudge the issue without a hearing, I will say that I was incredibly shocked by the redactions that were made. I have read hundreds, if not thousands, of grand jury transcripts involving prosecutors who are the most junior of prosecutors to several U.S. Attorneys who appeared before the grand jury. I have never seen the types of prosecutorial behavior before a grand jury that I saw in those transcripts.

And this was all over a handful of federal misdemeanor charges, after Boutros and his subordinates (1) did shady shit with a grand jury, and (2) couldn't actually get anyone to bite on felony charges against the "Broadview Six."

US Attorney Boutros still has his job, despite being this debacle's ringleader. The person who has been permanently turfed — former special agent in charge of the Chicago field office, Douglas DePodesta — wasn't actually involved in the failed prosecution. But he was the one who paid the price for this DOJ failure, as WBEZ Chicago reports:

When charges were dropped against the "Broadview Six" amid revelations of apparent prosecutorial misconduct, "Boutros began a campaign within the Department of Justice to blame DePodesta for the unraveling of the case." Boutros' complaints to superiors in Washington ultimately led to DePodesta's ouster, the lawsuit says.

More succinctly put:

"I was forced to leave my job," DePodesta said. "I was ordered to leave my job."

DePodesta's ouster is likely the result of a couple of things. First, Boutros desperately needed a patsy to take the hit on his behalf so he could continue his disservice to his office and his country. Second, DePodesta was a holdover from Christopher Wray's stint as Trump's FBI Director — an FBI director Trump only likes slightly more than James Comey.

The lawsuit [PDF] alleges that DePodesta's rights (First, Fifth, and others) were violated by this forced resignation. It hopes to secure not only back pay and other damages, but also a formal statement from the Trump administration admitting to violating the former FBI SAIC's rights.

Most likely, none of that will happen. But while it works its way to not happening, we can hope that it will result in a bunch of discovery that exposes more of the inner workings of Trump's DOJ-enabled revenge operations.

But before we give DePodesta the ol' "Comey is my homey" treatment, let's not forget that he wasn't exactly opposed to Trump's anti-migrant/anti-civil rights overtures. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune shortly after his elevation to the top spot in the FBI's Chicago office, DePodesta not only echoed a bunch of dumb fentanyl-related talking points, but also affirmed his loyalty to the Bigoted New World Order Trump sought to create by turning every federal law enforcement agency into little more than DHS deputies:

DePodesta said the Chicago FBI, which has more than 1,000 total employees, has partnered locally with the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, embedding some of the FBI's 450 agents on the street "helping them effect arrests."

The targets, DePodesta said, "are people that have removal orders that have a criminal history — murderers, rapists," adding that the effort was "ongoing" and had no timetable for a conclusion.

"It is not a surge; it is a sustained effort," DePodesta said. He said no new agents have been added to fulfill the FBI's role in immigration enforcement — instead, agents from other squads have rotated and worked overtime.

DePodesta was onboard with rerouting FBI resources to help with mass deportation efforts. His contribution here contributed to the events that led to the bullshit charges against anti-ICE protesters. And, until we see something in forthcoming documents that states otherwise, there's little reason to believe DePodesta wasn't, at best, just saying nothing as the DHS and ICE utilized shared resources to surveil protesters and use whatever they could find to generate criminal charges.

So, while DePodesta wasn't involved at all with the extremely questionable prosecutions the DOJ engaged in here, he also doesn't seem to have done much to keep himself or his direct employees from becoming the very tools of vengeful oppression he's suing about now that he's out of a job.

Again, some judgment can be withheld here because all the facts aren't available. But I'm willing to bet that once they are made public (assuming the administration doesn't just write a check to DePodesta and tell him to walk away from this), it will not only expose the DOJ's complete subjugation, but will likely show DePodesta's agreement to contribute to the mass deportation effort won't see him emerge from this lawsuit as an anti-MAGA hero.

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While Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian have tried to downplay Aaron Swartz's role in "founding" Reddit, he was still an instrumental part of the company's early journey. His "infogami" project was rolled into Reddit, and the founder credit was a part of the deal. Part of the point of infogami was to support open access to information — which was Swartz's lifelong mission. The code behind infogami is considered instrumental in the launch of the Internet Archive's Open Library.

So it's a real shame that Reddit has been doing its best to hammer the final nails into the coffin of the open internet. The latest, of course, is Huffman announcing that Reddit is moving to a "logged-in-only" experience.

Reddit will start testing the login requirement in "select," non-US markets in Q4. The company will use those tests to decide what a logged-in-only Reddit will look like "globally," per Huffman.

"Pretty much all of the major ad-based platforms have gone through this transition. We are excited and moving quickly," the CEO added, noting Reddit's intent to become a "direct daily habit for every Internet user."

Huffman admits that he's doing this in part because traffic from Google had declined massively, which can be (understandably) blamed on Google's AI summaries on search results.

"During October, we have seen that search traffic has dropped by more than 1 million referrals on average per week. If this rate of decline continues, current trends would suggest that total DAUqs [or daily active unique users] could fall in Q4, by a low-double-digit percentage from our current base of 130 million DAUqs," Huffman wrote.

People have long known that for certain searches on Google you got better results by adding "reddit" to the keywords you searched for, so that Reddit results got prioritized. At the time, people argued that this showed Reddit was becoming a "better search engine than Google," and that the company had room to build on that and maybe even compete with Google.

It hasn't really turned out that way. Over the last few years, Reddit and Huffman seem to be seeing how much of the open web they can cut off in pursuit of locking things into silos they can charge for. You may recall three years ago when Reddit cut off a bunch of third party developers (some of whom made it possible for subreddit mods to do their job) all in pursuit of a paid API with the belief that by locking down its tools, the company could profit off the content of its users (despite Reddit not holding the copyright on their content, and not sharing any of the money it would make back with the content creators).

Reddit signed a big $60 million/year API deal with Google, and that should have been seen as the beginning of the end. Now, instead of working on making its site better for users, Reddit was deep down the enshittification curve of making it worse for users to support its business partners who paid the bills. Last year we called out the company for its horrifyingly problematic lawsuit against SerpApi, in which it claimed that because SerpApi made Google search results available to third parties as an API, it violated the DMCA 1201's anti-circumvention clause.

The whole thing made little sense, because it was difficult to see how Reddit could claim standing with a straight face. It was complaining about a service that operated on Google, not Reddit, that made it possible that others could find links to Reddit posts, with content from Reddit's users (again, not Reddit's own IP). That case is still ongoing, but it was yet another attack on the open internet by Reddit, as it seeks to wall off the openness in pursuit of a form of scarcity it can charge extra for.

And, certainly, part of this new effort is in the hopes that the more they lock up their own content, the more they may be able to cut licensing deals.

Cutting off logged-out visitors is just the latest step. In Huffman's writeup, he admits that this is an anti-open internet move, which he claims is new to him:

And I don't know about you, but as someone whose life has been defined by the open internet, it's a big change for me. But I've come to the conclusion that this is the right decision for our platform and the right decision for our business.

But, again, Huffman has been moving squarely in this direction for the past three years, so I wouldn't say it's entirely accurate to say this is a "big change" for him.

Huffman and Reddit think this will lock more users into Reddit, but I would bet that long term it will do the opposite. Just as locking down the API to cut a deal with Google didn't bring more traffic to Reddit itself, locking out logged-out readers seems likely to push people toward alternative sources of information rather than into Reddit's silo. Huffman argues that logged in users are more profitable and valuable for the company, so is betting that this strategy will trade drive-by visitors for more valuable logged-in users, but I wouldn't take that bet.

There is some extra irony here as well, given that when the Australian government began pushing its "under 16 social media ban" and included Reddit in the list of social media, we were told it wasn't really a ban, because you could still enjoy Reddit without an account. You just couldn't have an account if you were under 16. But now, if you don't have an account, you'll be much more limited in what you can access. There apparently will still be a front page that you can read without logging in, and they want to build some sort of "incognito" mode, but the site is clearly moving to a siloed logged-in experience.

It's also why I'm concerned about efforts to require a license for all scraping, which is exactly the logic behind Reddit's lawsuit. That would also be the death of the open internet. The more we wall off the internet to fight AI, the more we lose the wonders and value of an open internet. If people want to support a true open internet, where anyone can build, we're going to have to figure out a better overall system than just putting up walls and saying everything must be licensed.

Meanwhile, I'm extremely biased on this, but I will note that ATproto Spaces has been in alpha for a couple months now and should be more widely available soon. And one thing it will enable developers to do is to create Reddit-like spaces on the open internet that no central entity can control. As the old web starts closing down, perhaps we can see the rise of a new open web, where the users are in control, rather than giant companies on the enshittification curve.

For more than a generation, U.S. media academics have warned anybody who'd listen that the death of your local newspaper and the steady consolidation of local TV broadcasters was creating either "news deserts," or local news that's mostly just low-quality infotainment and agitprop.

Despite claims that the "internet would fix this," doing quality local journalism just wasn't profitable enough for the dipsy brunchlords that fail upward into positions of prominence at most media companies, so the internet… didn't. As a result, all sorts of terrible stuff has rushed to fill the vacuum where quality local journalism once existed.

That includes not just your usual collection of propaganda like Fox News, Tucker Carlson, Sinclair Broadcasting, etc., but also so-called "pink slime" fake local newspapers that try to look like a real local paper, but are basically just partisan agitprop.

Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University did the definitive study on the subject in 2022, and found that there were 1,200 bogus local news outlets around the country, all feeding gullible readers a steady diet of misleading bullshit. In the years since, such fake newspapers have outnumbered real ones. They're often even better funded.

This partisan ratfuckery historically was heavily dominated by Republicans. But in recent years Democrats have gotten in on the action. And increasingly as voters turn to AI to inform them about upcoming elections, AI chatbots are leaning on these fake pink slime newspapers as reliable sources of local information:

"As a citation, ChatGPT linked to a website called the Kalamazoo Beacon. The Beacon labels its articles as "news articles" in the website's source code. The outlet also describes itself in the site's source code as "Reporting on Kalamazoo, southwest Michigan, and the issues shaping lakeshore communities."

But the Kalamazoo Beacon has only published 16 stories, all about [Michigan Democrat Democrat Sean McCann], his policy positions and his record as a state legislator, NPR's review shows."

When the "both sides" press covers this pink slime phenomenon, they sometimes try to imply that this kind of stuff is happening perfectly symmetrically among both major parties (as this Financial Times story does). But NPR's own previous reporting (which this newer piece curiously fails to mention) indicates that Republican pink slime efforts outnumber Democrats by around ten to one.

In this newer case, nobody can actually seem to track this new smattering of pink slime newspapers to an actual source:

"It's unclear who operates the websites. NPR was unable to find or reach the site operators. One of the Democrats promoted by the network, JoAnna Mendoza of Arizona, said she wasn't behind the websites and doesn't know who is. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the campaign arm of the House Democrats, denied involvement in a phone call with NPR. Other candidates the websites promoted, including McCann, as well as other Democratic super PACs that support the candidates, including American Bridge 21st Century, Tomorrow Together and House Majority PAC, did not respond to NPR's requests for comment."

Regardless of the party of origin, the tactic represents a very ugly problem in a country increasingly being devoured by artifice and disinformation. There's an active extraction class effort to not only undermine sources of expertise (journalism and academia), but to "flood the zone with shit" to disorient Americans (or their AI chatbots) that go hunting for reliable information.

The death of local news divides the public, can actively shift electoral outcomes, reduces electoral participation, makes a populace more susceptible to propaganda, and can even increase municipal borrowing costs (less local truth-to-power journalism means less oversight of waste, which results in more waste, which results in higher interest rates for municipal bond lenders).

Journalism ideally is the glue that contributes to a healthy civic nervous system. We've lost that tether, and therefore (quite intentionally) our sense of a collective, shared reality. You may have noticed a few… repercussions here and there.

There are ample paths out from inside the problem (better media literacy training, enforcing antitrust law, funding public media, restoring media consolidation and media diversity ownership requirements, creating better funding models for real journalism). And while there are organizations spending a lot of time working on the problem (see: the creation of state "civic information consortiums") they're consistently out-financed and in desperate need of additional support.

Australian design software maker Canva is restructuring, with 1,271 employees, or 22 percent of its workforce, facing layoffs, changes to their roles, or requests to relocate.

The company, which has become a challenger to Adobe, announced the news by sharing a message that CEO Melanie Perkins sent to staff on Wednesday.

That missive, titled "An important update on our team," doesn't mention AI but does state "New technology is transforming what people can create, how they create it, and what they expect from the products they use."

Perkins observed that Canva's rate of growth recently slowed for the first time in a decade and shared her view that continued success won't happen without change.

"After exploring a wide range of alternatives, I've come to the difficult conclusion that small changes won't be enough," she wrote. "To set ourselves up for the next decade, we need to refound Canva, getting back to our roots of small, empowered teams with the freedom to make decisions, take ownership and focus on what matters most for our community."

The CEO did not say how many jobs would go, but argued the changes are necessary because the company has become inefficient.

The changes will therefore see Canva combine its product, growth and platform teams into a single "Product Org," which Perkins says means "changing the way we work to provide clearer ownership, greater autonomy and flexibility to tackle our most important goals."

She characterized the changes as "simplifying layers, consolidating overlapping responsibilities, and ensuring teams have the right mix of skills and experience for the chapter ahead."

The CEO three times described herself as "deeply sorry" for the changes.

Affected staff will receive a calendar invite for an optional individual meeting with a senior leader. Remaining staff get to attend two rounds of meetings next week - one company-wide affair and another with their reorganized teams.

Another of Perkins' decisions will see Canva move more of its product teams to its headquarters in Sydney, Australia. The company will ask some staff to relocate and has promised "comprehensive support" to make that happen.

Departing staff can keep their company-issued MacBooks and will receive at least six months' pay, a year of health insurance, plus various forms of support to find a new gig including a one-year membership of LinkedIn Premium.

Perkins' post does not cite financial pressures as a reason for the layoffs. Canva is privately held and does not face the same financial disclosure requirements as a listed business, but last year revealed it had 260 million monthly users and revenue of $3.5 billion. Execs have previously claimed the company is profitable on a free-cash-flow basis.

Canva and Atlassian are among Australia's most successful and celebrated technology businesses. Both have now announced job cuts this year. ®

XPENG had a fantabulous sales month in October. We can give you the numbers, but as you can see well enough in the chart above and below, the company's sales soared to a whole new level last month. Reaching 50,237 vehicle deliveries, that meant 22% sales growth month over month ... [continued]

The post XPENG Sales Soar! appeared first on CleanTechnica.

For the left, it's been the marquee race of the midterm cycle. Either a Republican former U.S. representative known for pushing domestic spying powers or an outspoken progressive who forced a reckoning over U.S.-Israel policy among Democrats will emerge from Election Day as the next senator from Michigan.

Abdul El-Sayed would be the first Muslim U.S. senator if elected Tuesday night, capping off a race that's been viewed as a referendum on swing-state appeal for the Democratic Party's left flank. If he defeats Mike Rogers, a loyal Trump ally whose campaign often peddled Islamophobic tropes against the Democratic nominee, the results will all but certainly embolden progressives ahead of the 2028 presidential election.

If El-Sayed loses, it will likely trigger a centrist backlash — and cost the Democrats a critical Senate seat as the party fights to take back the upper chamber.

Polls across Michigan closed by 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, with anxious voters across the state awaiting the returns.

Related Polls Close in Maine as Democrats Make Final Push to Oust Sen. Susan Collins

In the heavily Arab and Muslim city of Dearborn, voters across party lines said they were outraged at the Islamophobic attacks ads targeting El-Sayed that became a staple of airwaves and social media feeds in the campaign's final days.

"I am a Muslim. And I've seen a lot of ads, and it's disgusting, because we are good people," said Gus Tarraf, a Republican running for a state House seat. "I love this country."

Although Donald Trump carried many precincts in Dearborn two years ago due to voter frustration over the Biden administration's support of Israel, Tarraf said his community is turning on the Republican Party this year.

"Not a lot of Arab Americans are happy with the Trump administration," he said. "So it doesn't matter if they know you, as soon as they know you are on the Republican ticket." 

El-Sayed's willingness to criticize U.S. policy on Israel animated soap-opera-level drama in the final days of the race, when his former primary opponent, centrist Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, announced she would switch her endorsement to support Rogers.

After demanding an apology from El-Sayed for an outside PAC's ad, Stevens said on social media that she came to the decision after feeling "shut out" by El-Sayed's campaign, adding that she's heard from "Black voters, Jewish voters, and others about how deeply these messages hurt." Rogers, she said, gave her "the hope that he can serve in the tradition of John McCain: a senator willing to put country before party and stand up to his own side when conscience requires it."

Stevens's late-breaking endorsement of Rogers drew a mix of eye-rolls and outrage from voters at three precincts in Detroit and Dearborn. None of the voters interviewed by The Intercept said it had swayed them to vote for Rogers.

"People have already early voted. People have already absentee voted," said Noora Iskander. "I don't think many people change their minds. So I think it's just hypocritical."

Stevens's decision to make the endorsement while inside a Black church in Detroit may also have generated backlash from the Black voters that Rogers was hoping to win over, according to some who spoke to The Intercept. One said the church community has been buzzing — and not positively — about the weekend's events.

"Unfortunately, she went to a Black church to use it as a backdrop," said Dearborn voter Dorothea Sharon. "It really was a slap in the face for the Black community that that happened."

Related Trump Scrambles to Halt Military Aid to Israel to Deprive El-Sayed of a Talking Point

While El-Sayed has had to face intense scrutiny over accusations of conflating opposition to U.S. aid to Israel with antisemitism, little accounting has been made of the blatant Islamophobia and xenophobia from the Rogers campaign, the Republican Party, and Trump. But in Dearborn, the rhetoric had clearly hurt several voters who spoke to The Intercept.

The father of state Senate candidate Abbas Alawieh, a Democrat who played a prominent role in the 2024 Uncommitted movement, grew visibly upset when asked about the ads targeting Muslims.

"These are weak people who don't have anything to do — they don't have any programs for our economy, for our health, for our future," Zouheir Alawieh said. "That's why they are attacking us as Muslims and as human beings. It's never been like this. This is a shame. America is a place where the Black with the white with the yellow, the Muslim with the Christian with the Jews, can live freely. Don't try to tear up our society."

Outside Dearborn, El-Sayed has tried to defuse the anti-Muslim smears against him by joking that he is only in favor of "shawarma law." However, the Islamophobic attacks convinced at least one voter to cast her ballot for Rogers.

"I don't want to live under Sharia law," said Joann, a law firm employee who declined to give her last name after she voted in Detroit.

The fear of Islamic rule was the main issue for Joann, she said, although she also worried about El-Sayed's campaign pledge of Medicare for All.

"I've worked my whole life, put all my stuff into the Medicare, but then I've got to let other people get it for free? It doesn't seem fair to me when I've worked my whole life for it, and we're not even sure that it's going to be there when we really get ready to retire," she said.

Yet it was that very messaging from El-Sayed's campaign that excited many other residents in Michigan. Many voters who spoke to The Intercept said they were more focused on pocketbook issues.

"It's the gas prices, the food. I mean, money is running out your pocket so fast," Leigh James said after voting at Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit.

James said she had walked to the polling place to avoid using gas. "I'm trying to save," she said. "So thank God I live in the neighborhood."

Other voters said they were inspired by El-Sayed's personality, with one woman describing him as a "fighter."

Noora Iskander, who voted for El-Sayed in Dearborn, said she approved of his stance in favor of Medicare for All, his affordability platform, and his solidarity with Palestine.

"I think he's going to make a lot of change. He's going to scare a lot of people — which I believe is a good thing, because you can't really change for the better if you don't scare a few people," she said.

This is a developing story. Matt Sledge reported from Dearborn and Detroit, Michigan.

The post Michigan Senate Race Closes as a Referendum on Israel Policy appeared first on The Intercept.

Oahu is a unique place. It's the home of one of the largest clean tech incubators in the world, Elemental Impact, for a reason. Exorbitantly high electricity rates combined with ample natural resources make it an incredible laboratory to bring clean tech solutions to market. Rapid investment for WWII created ... [continued]

The post How does Oahu get to an economically resilient, 100% clean energy future? appeared first on CleanTechnica.