Last minute geek

1. White House admits denying aid to Ukraine unless it "investigated" Democrats: "Get over it"
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... chief of staff Mike Mulvaney admitted there was, and added a sneering "get over it" for good measure. This was, apparently, not in the script, and he was soon made to walk back the remarks. But everyone ...

2. Trump to host G7 summit at own failing Miami hotel
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney initially tried to claim that the administration had looked at other locations and none of them worked because some places have higher altitudes and because June is apparently ...

3. #RedForEd rebooted: Chicago's teachers are back on strike
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... in terms of a stable home environment.” Although Lightfoot likes to point out she’s “not Rahm,” she’s actually retained the same chief contract negotiator as Rahm and many mayors before him. Read the rest ...

4. 'MURDER' — Aaron Dean, former Fort Worth TX police officer, charged with murder for fatal shooting of black woman
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... jail records. Aaron Y. Dean, the officer, had resigned earlier on Monday, hours before the police chief had planned to fire him amid the community’s growing anger and frustration after the death of the ...

5. Shepard Smith out at Fox News
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

After 23 years at Fox News, its chief news anchor Shep Smith is off to pastures new. "Recently I asked the company to allow me to leave Fox News and begin a new chapter," Smith said. "After requesting ...

6. The Engadget Podcast: Is macOS Catalina Apple's Vista?
(English/engadget)

MacOS Catalina is here, and it's... kind of a mess. In this episode, Devindra and Cherlynn are joined by Engadget Editor-in-Chief Dana Wollman to discuss Apple's latest desktop OS. The big question: ...

7. Facebook and Twitter say they will allow candidates to pay them to be able to lie about opponents
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... month, Facebook communications chief Nick Clegg said Facebook will not fact-check politicians’ ads, a stance the company has reiterated. In a letter to Biden’s campaign, Facebook’s head of global elections ...

8. Trump hires armed white power militia as security for Minneapolis rally
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... fight the imaginary forces arrayed against them. Local PD warns people to take care: In the meantime, Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo seems prepared for the worst. He’s urging residents to ...

9. GNU means GNU's Not U: Stallman insists he's still Chief GNUisance while 18 maintainers want him out as leader
(English/Linuxtoday)

The Register: Now-removed personal website statement sparks confusion Read all

10. BMW plans to debut a 1 Series electric hatchback in 2021
(English/engadget)

... Irlinger, the company's EV division chief, reveale... Read all  ...

11. Cops say Florida woman climbed into store ceiling to hide from them
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... climbing down from the ceiling. Perkins faces criminal mischief, petit theft, resisting law enforcement without violence and other charges. Sheriff's deputies say 3 syringes and morphine residue were ...

12. In Nevada, Tyler Turnipseed desperately leads a losing battle against 'Zombie deer'
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

Nevada's chief game warden, Tyler Turnipseed knows they will loose the battle against 'zombie deer.' Deer infected with chronic wasting disease are infecting the Western United States. NY Post: Tyler ...

13. Second whistleblower comes forward
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... Trump's dealings with Ukraine and triggered an impeachment inquiry, tells ABC News that he is now representing a second whistleblower who has spoken with the inspector general. Zaid tells ABC News' Chief ...

14. Hong Kong bans makeup and masks so facial recognition cameras can identify protesters
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... 2019 A third chief inspector, who works in a police station that has been besieged by protesters, agreed that enforcing the new would be hard, but he said it would also deter some protesters from coming ...

15. Google and Ivanka Trump unveil a tech job training program
(English/engadget)

Google is determined to prove that it's a force for job creation, and it's cozying up to some unexpected allies to make that happen. Chief exec Sundar Pichai and Ivanka Trump held a roundtable ...

16. Tim Cook disputes Trump immigration policy in Supreme Court filing
(English/engadget)

Apple chief Tim Cook hasn't been shy on where he and his company stand on immigration, but he's making it more official today. The tech firm, which named Cook and retail exc Deirdre O'Brien, ...

17. YouTube Music listeners are getting three personalized playlists this month
(English/engadget)

... and Your Mix. The platform's Chief Product Officer Neal... Read all  ...

18. Microsoft embraces dual-screen computing with the Surface Neo
(English/engadget)

Microsoft has been mulling over the value of a dual-screen computer for at least a decade, and now it finally built one. Microsoft hardware chief Panos Panay pulled back the curtain on the new Surface ...

19. UK Prime Minister proposes one last Brexit deal to Europe
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... Boris Brexit Deal, whose parameters are being revealed today. Chief among them, though, is an eventual border between the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic -- the unacceptable outcome that years of ...

20. Across America, the average worker can't afford the median home
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... Todd Teta, chief product officer with Attom Data Solutions, said in the report. The major factor driving home prices higher as of late for most of the country has been the lack of homes for sale. After ...

21. The best way to clean your AirPods
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... Illuminated Magnifier -- this will help you make sure you've thoroughly cleaned the mesh openings. My AirPods now look great, not grungy. Melissa Kirsch, the editor-in-chief of Lifehacker, read my tip ...

22. Oculus' latest concept headset has electronic varifocal lenses
(English/engadget)

Facebook might have had plenty to share about its immediate VR future at Oculus Connect 6, but it's looking even further ahead. Michael Abrash, Facebook's Reality Lab chief scientist, discussed ...

23. Thomas Cook travel collapsed and stranded 150,000 passengers, but still had millions for the execs who tanked it
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... taxpayers to clean up after the financial wizards who crashed the firm. But those financial wizards aren't done yet: Chief Executive Peter Fankhauser has pulled in GBP8.3m since he took the job in 2015, ...

24. WeWork founder Adam Neumann won't be CEO anymore
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

Embattled office space startup founder Adam Neumann has been forced out of his position as the chief executive of WeWork (We Co), WSJ reports. The company is about to go public, and a nasty exposé in ...

25. UK Supreme Court rules parliament shutdown unlawful
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... for the prime minister to resign - Downing Street said it was "currently processing the verdict". Breakout star today is Lady Hale, the court's chief justice, and her House Baenre spider brooch. Read ...