David Lidsky's Blog, page 385

How Frank McCourt wants to fix TikTok

The executive chairman of McCourt Global and former Los Angeles Dodgers owner explains why he feels the social media platform poses a national security risk.

Next week, TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, goes to court as the U.S. government pushes to force the sale or shutdown of the popular app. One potential buyer, Frank McCourt, Executive Chairman of McCourt Global and former LA Dodgers owner, wants a different experience for TikTok’s 170 million users. For McCourt, the surveillance in tech has caused a crisis, and he’s ready to fix it. Here’s how he plans to right the wrongs of the digital age.

K-pop giant Hybe has gone to war with NewJeans, and wants Google’s help

The BTS record label asked a federal court to identify ‘defamatory’ YouTube users, part of a battle over the lucrative girl group.

The world’s largest K-pop company does not take well to accusations of plagiarism—even from YouTube fan accounts.

Uber and Waymo are partnering to bring driverless rideshare to Austin and Atlanta

Riders who request an UberX, Uber Green, Uber Comfort, or Uber Comfort Electric may be matched with a Waymo.

Uber users in Atlanta and Austin may be matched with a Waymo robotaxi when they call a ride starting early next year, the companies announced on Friday.

As fires rage from Brazil to Bolivia, South America sets a record for most blazes in a year

Brazil and Bolivia have dispatched thousands of firefighters to attempt to control the blazes, but remain mostly at the mercy of extreme weather fueling the fires.

South America is being ravaged by fire from Brazil’s Amazon rainforest through the world’s largest wetlands to dry forests in Bolivia, breaking a previous record for the number of blazes seen in a year up to Sept. 11.

TikTok’s fate in the U.S. could be decided on in upcoming key court date

The hearing comes at a time when Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are actively courting younger voters on TikTok.

TikTok and parent company ByteDance face a key court hearing on Monday in a legal battle seeking to block a law that could ban the app used by 170 million Americans as soon as Jan. 19.

ispace’s second Moon landing attempt is set for December

The lander, called Resilience, is funded by private capital and JAXA, the Japanese space agency.

Japanese lunar firm ispace will launch its Hakuto-R lander to the Moon on a SpaceX Falcon 9 no earlier than December, CEO Takeshi Hakamada said this week. 

Boeing machinists vote overwhelmingly to reject contract offer and strike

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers members at Boeing voted 94.6% to reject a contract offer from the company—and then voted 96% to strike, another setback for the beleaguered aerospace company.

Boeing machinists vote to strike after rejecting pay increases of 25% over 4 years

Machinists at Boeing voted Thursday to go on strike, another setback for the giant aircraft maker whose reputation and finances have been battered and now faces a shutdown in production of its best-selling airline planes.

The Harris-Trump debate is over—but the memes carry on

From Donald Trump’s claim about having ‘concepts of a plan’ to Kamala Harris’s not-so-masked facial expressions, some debate moments continue to make the rounds on social media.

Days after Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump went head-to-head in their first (and so far, only) televised debate, the memes don’t appear to be slowing down.

Leaving X? Here’s how to delete your account and keep your data

If you’re not ready to commit to full X deletion, you could instead lock down your account.

Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter, renamed it X, fired much of its staff, and made other big changes, a steady stream of celebrities, public figures, organizations, and ordinary people have quit the social media platform.

Pumpkin spice lovers beware: Unsafe levels of lead were found in these 12 common cinnamon brands

A new warning from Consumer Reports reveals a number of products tested over the metal limit set by the American Spice Trade Association.

A new food safety warning may have you sorting through your spice rack this week. That’s because certain brands of cinnamon have troubling levels of lead, according to a new warning from Consumer Reports.