Slashdot reader ArchieBunker shared this article from NBC News: Exposure to leaded gasoline lowered the IQ of about half the population of the United States, a new study estimates. The peer-reviewed study, published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, focuses on people born before 1996 — the year the U.S. banned gas containing lead. Overall, the researchers from Florida State University and Duke University found, childhood lead exposure cost America an estimated 824 million points, or 2.6 points per person on average. Certain cohorts were more affected than others. For people born in the 1960s and the 1970s, when leaded gas consumption was skyrocketing, the IQ loss was estimated to be up to 6 points and for some, more than 7 points. Exposure to it came primarily from inhaling auto exhaust. "Lead is a neurotoxin, and no amount of it is safe.

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Lead From Gasoline Blunted the IQ of About Half the U.S. Population, Study Says

Roughly $138 billion in U.S. student loan debt has now been cancelled, reports CNN. "That's about one-third of the $430 billion that would've been canceled under the president's one-time forgiveness plan, which was struck down by the Supreme Court last year." It's 9% of all outstanding federal student loan debt, according to the article, "wiping out debts for about 3.9 million borrowers — by using a number of existing programs that aim to offer debt relief for certain groups of struggling borrowers..." What President Biden has been doing — before and after the Supreme Court ruling — is using existing student loan forgiveness programs to deliver relief to certain groups of borrowers, like public-sector workers (through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program) and borrowers who were defrauded by their college (through the borrower defense to repayment program). His administration also made discharges for borrowers who are totally and permanently disabled. None of these programs expire, meaning they will help qualifying borrowers now and in the future. In some cases, Biden's administration has expanded the reach of these programs, making more borrowers eligible. And in other cases, it has made an effort to correct past administrative errors made to borrowers' student loan accounts by conducting a one-time recount of borrowers' past payments. This effort helps make sure people receive the loan forgiveness they may already qualify for by having made at least 20 years of payments in an income-driven plan, which calculates monthly payment amounts based on a borrower's income and family size, rather than the amount owed. The recount is expected to be completed by July... Last year, the administration created a new income-driven repayment plan. Known as SAVE, the new plan offers the most generous terms for low-income borrowers. Those who originally borrowed $12,000 or less will see their remaining debt canceled after making payments for at least 10 years... [The administration] is working on implementing another path toward a broad student loan forgiveness program, this time relying on a different legal authority in hopes that this attempt holds up in court. This proposal is currently making its way through a lengthy rulemaking process and has yet to be finalized.

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How $138B in US Student Loans Were Cancelled - Roughly One-Third of Planned Amount

A new report warns that a boom in computer chip manufacturing in the US could fuel demand for dirty energy, despite companies' environmental claims. The solution for manufacturers, surprisingly, might be to act more like other big tech companies chasing climate goals. From a report: New semiconductor factories being built in the US by four of the biggest manufacturers -- Intel, TSMC, Samsung, and Micron -- could use more than twice as much electricity as the city of Seattle once they're operational. These companies claim to run on renewable energy, but according to an analysis by nonprofit Stand.earth, that's not entirely true. Semiconductors happen to make up a big chunk of a device's carbon footprint. And unless companies turn to clean energy, they could wind up driving up greenhouse gas emissions as domestic chip manufacturing makes a comeback. The CHIPS and Science Act, which passed in 2022, set aside $52.7 billion in funding for domestic chip manufacturing. Now, the four companies scrutinized in the report have plans to build megafactories in Arizona, Ohio, Oregon, Idaho, Texas, and New York. Each of those megafactories alone could use as much electricity as a medium-sized town, according to the report. Cumulatively, nine facilities could eventually add 2.1 gigawatts in new electricity demand. "We're not slowing down on any of our sustainability commitments, even with our recently announced investments," Intel said in an email.

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How Much Energy Will New Semiconductor Factories Burn Through in the US?

The U.S. government announced Tuesday sanctions against the founder of the notorious spyware company Intellexa and one of his business partners. From a report: This is the first time the U.S. government has targeted specific people, in addition to companies, with sanctions related to the misuse of commercial spyware. And it signifies an escalation of the White House and U.S. government's efforts to curb the spyware industry. "Today's actions represent a tangible step forward in discouraging the misuse of commercial surveillance tools, which increasingly present a security risk to the United States and our citizens," said Brian E. Nelson, U.S Treasury's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, was quoted as saying in a press release. "The United States remains focused on establishing clear guardrails for the responsible development and use of these technologies while also ensuring the protection of human rights and civil liberties of individuals around the world." The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on Tal Dilian, the founder of Intellexa and a veteran of the spyware industry; and Sara Aleksandra Fayssal Hamou, who is not as well-known as Dilian. Hamou, according to the Treasury, has a leadership role in Intellexa, is an expert in off-shoring, and provided the company managerial services, such as renting office space in Greece.

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US Sanctions Founder of Spyware Maker Intellexa for Targeting Americans

JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines announced on Monday that they would walk away from their planned $3.8 billion merger after federal antitrust regulators successfully challenged the deal in court. JetBlue said it would pay Spirit $69 million to exit the deal. From a report: A federal judge in Boston blocked the proposed merger on Jan. 16, siding with the Justice Department in determining that the merger would reduce competition in the industry and give airlines more leeway to raise ticket prices. The judge, William G. Young of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, noted that Spirit played a vital role in the market as a low-cost carrier and that travelers would have fewer options if JetBlue absorbed it. "We are proud of the work we did with Spirit to lay out a vision to challenge the status quo, but given the hurdles to closing that remain, we decided together that both airlines' interests are better served by moving forward independently," JetBlue's chief executive, Joanna Geraghty, said in a statement on Monday. "We wish the very best going forward to the entire Spirit team." JetBlue and Spirit appealed Judge Young's decision. JetBlue filed an appellate brief last week arguing that the deal should be allowed to go through. But in a regulatory filing on Jan. 26, JetBlue said it might terminate the deal. Spirit said in its own filing the same day that it believed "there is no basis for terminating" the agreement.

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JetBlue and Spirit Call Off Their Merger

Citing potential national security risks, the Biden administration says it will investigate Chinese-made "smart cars" that can gather sensitive information about Americans driving them. From a report: The probe could lead to new regulations aimed at preventing China from using sophisticated technology in electric cars and other so-called connected vehicles to track drivers and their personal information. Officials are concerned that features such as driver assistance technology could be used to effectively spy on Americans. While the action stops short of a ban on Chinese imports, President Joe Biden said he is taking unprecedented steps to safeguard Americans' data. "China is determined to dominate the future of the auto market, including by using unfair practices," Biden said in a statement Thursday. "China's policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security. I'm not going to let that happen on my watch." Biden and other officials noted that China has imposed wide-ranging restrictions on American autos and other foreign vehicles. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said connected cars "are like smart phones on wheels" and pose a serious national security risk.

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US Will Investigate National Security Risks Posed By Chinese-made 'Smart Cars'

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Independent: Wildfires sweeping across Texas briefly forced the evacuation of America's main nuclear weapons facility as strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm temperatures fed the blaze. Pantex Plant, the main facility that assembles and disassembles America's nuclear arsenal, shut down its operations on Tuesday night as the Windy Deuce fire roared towards the Potter County location. Pantex re-opened and resumed operations as normal on Wednesday morning. Pantex is about 17 miles (27.36 kilometers) northeast of Amarillo and some 320 miles (515 kilometers) northwest of Dallas. Since 1975 it has been the US's main assembly and disassembly site for its atomic bombs. It assembled the last new bomb in 1991. "We have evacuated our personnel, non-essential personnel from the site, just in an abundance of caution," said Laef Pendergraft, a spokesperson for National Nuclear Security Administration's Production Office at Pantex. "But we do have a well-equipped fire department that has trained for these scenarios, that is on-site and watching and ready should any kind of real emergency arise on the plant site."

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Wildfires Threaten Nuclear Weapons Plant In Texas

San Francisco will vote next week on a divisive ballot measure that would authorize police to use surveillance cameras, drones and AI-powered facial recognition as the city struggles to restore a reputation tarnished by street crime and drugs. From a report: The Safer San Francisco initiative, formally called Proposition E, is championed by Mayor London Breed who believes disgruntled citizens will approve the proposal on Tuesday. Although technology fueled the Silicon Valley-adjacent city's decades-long boom, residents have a history of being deeply suspicious. In 2019, San Francisco, known for its progressive politics, became the first large U.S. city to ban government use of facial recognition due to concerns about privacy and misuse. Breed, who is running for re-election in November, played down the potential for abuse under the ballot measure, saying safeguards are in place. "I get that people are concerned about privacy rights and other things, but technology is all around us," she said in an interview. "It's coming whether we want it to or not. And everyone is walking around with AI in their hands with their phones, recording, videotaping," Breed said. Critics of the proposal contend it could hurt disadvantaged communities and lead to false arrests, arguing surveillance technology requires greater oversight.

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AI, Drones, Security Cameras: San Francisco Mayor's Arsenal To Fight Crime

@evacide NO, YOU CANNOT USE @signalapp@mastodon.world WITHOUT A PHONE NUMBER!!! *

They still require a phone number as they still do restrict the functionality of their App based off the phone number given!

Also we've all seen that #centralized, #SingleVendor & #SingleProvider solutions are inherently bad - so why should anyone use #Signal over #XMPP+#OMEMO or XMPP+#PGP/MIME ???

#Signal, like every provider in the #USA, is subject to #CloudAct ** and will obviously hand over the #metadata they collected without legitimate interest if told to do so. ***

After all, clients like @monocles ' #monoclesChat **** make XMPP w/ OMEMO and PGP/MIME extremely user-friendly...

Im many juristictions, you cannot legally obtain an anonymous prepaid SIM legally! *****


- - -

Sources:

* https://social.tchncs.de/@kuketzblog/111968247576555678

** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CLOUD_Act

*** https://web.archive.org/web/20220112020000/https://twitter.com/thegrugq/status/1085614812581715968

**** https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.monocles.chat/

*****
https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/111968383793566135

@evacide NO, YOU CANNOT USE @signalapp@mastodon.world WITHOUT A PHONE NUMBER!!! *

They still require a phone number as they still do restrict the functionality of their App based off the phone number given!

Also we've all seen that #centralized, #SingleVendor & #SingleProvider solutions are inherently bad - so why should anyone use #Signal over #XMPP+#OMEMO or XMPP+#PGP/MIME ???

#Signal, like every provider in the #USA, is subject to #CloudAct ** and will obviously hand over the #metadata they collected without legitimate interest if told to do so. ***

After all, clients like @monocles ' #monoclesChat **** make XMPP w/ OMEMO and PGP/MIME extremely user-friendly...

Im many juristictions, you cannot legally obtain an anonymous prepaid SIM legally! *****


- - -

Sources:

* https://social.tchncs.de/@kuketzblog/111968247576555678

** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CLOUD_Act

*** https://web.archive.org/web/20220112020000/https://twitter.com/thegrugq/status/1085614812581715968

**** https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.monocles.chat/

*****
https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/111968383793566135