download ubet63 Web3 hosting solutions are fundamental in supporting the growth and running of decentralized applications and blockchain technologies. They provide the infrastructure that ensures security, scalability, and integration into blockchain protocols for decentralized platforms. Let’s learn how Web3 hosting solutions work and what features make them essential to the decentralized ecosystem. Decentralized Infrastructure: Web3 hosting uses blockchain protocols and smart contracts to allow dApps to operate without relying on traditional, centralized servers. This infrastructure is very important for blockchain projects to maintain security and independence. Improved Security: Web3 hosting solutions use advanced encryption algorithms during data transmission and storage. The majority of Web3 hosting services offer DDoS protection. Hosting solutions are also designed to run securely within protected data centers, which prevents physical and cyber hacks while maintaining a high level of uptime. Scalability: Web3 hosting services allow users to add nodes and resources as needed to ensure high performance even as demand grows. This scalability is important for dApps, which must handle a high volume of transactions and data requests while ensuring fast user response times. Decentralized Data Storage: Decentralized data storage is one of the fundamental characteristics of Web3 hosting solutions. Most services utilize the InterPlanetary File System to store data in a distributed way. This means dApp data will not be stored on a single central server but spread over a decentralized network of nodes. This increases the application's security and resilience by protecting it from data breaches and server outages. Community Integration: Web3 hosting allows for interoperability between other applications within the much larger Web3 ecosystem. Its connection with developers, projects, and communities empowers them to interact within a collaborative platform that would be beneficial for their apps. In this respect, many hosting providers interface with decentralized finance, DAOs, and various other initiatives. Performance Optimization: For Web3 applications to be successful, they need to be optimized for high transaction volumes, smart contract executions, and data. Web3 hosting services ensure the infrastructure is tuned for high performance and provide reliable services under heavy load. Compliance Support: As the decentralized ecosystem continues to expand, governments are increasingly interested in regulations surrounding blockchain technologies and their respective decentralized applications. Web3 hosting services can ensure compliance with evolving regulatory frameworks, ensuring that developers create applications that operate according to legal standards. Some Web3 hosting services have taken the lead in decentralized infrastructure for dApps. IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) : IPFS is a protocol for peer-to-peer data storage. Content addressing, version control, and resilience against censorship make it an excellent solution for distributed hosting of dApp assets . Fleek : Fleek provides decentralized hosting with a focus on user experience. It offers free hosting options and up to the most comprehensive packages explicitly tailored for Web3 applications. Dedicated Node Hosting Providers: Companies such as Servers.com offer dedicated bare metal and cloud node hosting specifically for different blockchain protocols. The services offered come with 24/7 support, thus maintaining blockchain applications' high uptime and performance. There are two main models for Web3 hosting solutions: Fully Decentralized Hosting: In this model, decentralized platforms host all components of a decentralized application for utmost security and censorship resistance. Although such deployment provides greater security, it increases the complexity of deployment and management. Hybrid Hosting: Hybrid hosting combines decentralized smart contracts with centralized front-end hosting, making it easier to deploy dApps. Although hybrid hosting is simple, it introduces vulnerabilities because of its reliance on centralized systems. As Web3 technologies evolve further, the requirement for hosting services is likely to be more crucial. It will allow developers to create more efficient and robust decentralized applications, further enhancing the growth and sustainment of the Web3 ecosystem.

[Source: Reuters] A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday upheld a law requiring Chinese-based ByteDance to divest its popular short video app TikTok in the United States by early next year or face a ban. The decision is a win for the Justice Department and opponents of the Chinese-owned app and a devastating blow to ByteDance. It increases the possibility of an unprecedented ban in just six weeks on a social media app used by 170 million Americans. The ruling is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court. The appeals court noted the law was the result of Republicans and Democrats working together, as well as two presidents, as “part of a broader effort to counter a well-substantiated national security threat posed by the PRC (People’s Republic of China).” But free speech advocates immediately criticized the decision. The American Civil Liberties Union said it sets a “flawed and dangerous precedent.” “Banning TikTok blatantly violates the First Amendment rights of millions of Americans who use this app to express themselves and communicate with people around the world,” said Patrick Toomey, deputy director of the ACLU’s National Security Project. TikTok said it expected the Supreme Court would reverse the appeals court decision on First Amendment grounds. “The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue,” TikTok said in a statement. In its analysis, the court said China, through its relationship with TikTok parent ByteDance, threatened to distort U.S. speech through TikTok and “manipulate public discourse.” China’s “ability to do so is at odds with free speech fundamentals. Indeed, the First Amendment precludes a domestic government from exercising comparable control over a social media company in the United States.” Attorney General Merrick Garland made a similar point in his statement on the decision, calling it “an important step in blocking the Chinese government from weaponizing TikTok to collect sensitive information about millions of Americans, to covertly manipulate the content delivered to American audiences, and to undermine our national security.” U.S. appeals court Judges Sri Srinivasan, Neomi Rao and Douglas Ginsburg considered the legal challenges brought by TikTok and users against the law, which gives ByteDance until Jan. 19 to sell or divest TikTok’s U.S. assets or face a ban. The decision — unless the Supreme Court reverses it — puts TikTok’s fate in the hands of first President JoeBiden on whether to grant a 90-day extension of the Jan. 19 deadline to force a sale and then President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20. But it’s not clear whether ByteDance could meet the heavy burden to show it had made significant progress toward a divestiture needed to trigger the extension. Trump, who unsuccessfully tried to ban TikTok during his first term in 2020, said before the November presidential election he would not allow the TikTok ban. Friday’s decision upholds the law giving the U.S. government sweeping powers to ban other foreign-owned apps that could raise concerns about collection of Americans’ data. In 2020, Trump also tried to ban Tencent-owned WeChat, but was blocked by the courts. If banned, TikTok advertisers would seek new social media venues to buy ads. As a result, shares of Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab, which competes against TikTok in online ads, hit an intraday record high following the ruling, last up over 2%. Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab, whose YouTube video platform also competes with TikTok, was up over 1%.Eileen Mitchell took to social media on Friday to share that her 19-year old sister, Katie - who is non-verbal, autistic and has learning difficulties - was removed from a branch of the second-hand electronics shop CEX on December 19th. She said her sister had entered the shop after she spotted a DVD she wished to purchase, but was told by staff that a sale was not possible as the registers had been taken off due to closing. She shared an image of Kate standing at the till, alongside a video in which she is being carried by several police officers out the front door of the shop. Watch: Police remove autistic girl from Lisburn shop The post has nearly 10,000 likes and over 8,000 shares, while the group NI Disability and Carers shared the post saying they “have no words” and tagged Chief Constable Jon Boutcher asking him if the response from the officers in the video was acceptable. Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, Eileen said Katie didn’t understand the situation which occurred after she spotted a DVD she wished to purchase of her favourite cartoon series Thomas the Tank Engine, and hit out at how it was handled by the retailer. “It’s shocking, it’s like something you would have expected 20 years ago, but it’s coming into 2025 and things like this are still happening to vulnerable people,” said Eileen who said she believes it was her parents who called the police in the hopes of helping de-escalating the situation. CEX has been contacted for comment. “To be honest, Katie was very traumatised over this for a long time, it was the shock of it. We don’t know what long term impact it will have, we’re scared Katie will now react if she sees a police officer when out shopping, or if she sees another one of these shops. “I don’t think we can take her shopping in Lisburn either, it’s so traumatic for her. “You just assume that you can call the police in a crisis, and they’ll be able to help and be aware of how to handle vulnerable people, and help the situation.” After the incident, Eileen claims her sister was carried outside of the shop, before she was set down. The police and shop staff then left, as Katie and Eileen’s father attempted to help her. She also said her father stepped in after the incident because he was concerned that due to her low weight, Katie would be hurt when being carried by the officers. “The worst part of it was that she was just left outside the store and everyone just walked off,” she added. “We did hear from the police on Christmas Day who contacted us who told us that it was basically my mum and dads fault - as well as Katie’s fault. They were blaming them.” The family said they have not received any further response from the police. “I shared the video because of how my parents and Katie have been since, they’re really in shock about it all. The fact that several police officers needed to remove a young girl because of a £2 DVD. At the time when Katie wanted to buy it, my mum also said she begged with the shop to do anything that would help, like bringing back the DVD the next day to scan it, or letting them keep the box so the sale could be processed in the morning. “I think we just need more common sense, and a better approach for disabled and vulnerable adults.” The incident comes just weeks after the . An aspect of the training was to “focus on understanding and responding to the needs of autistic members of the public whilst on duty.” At the time, Autism NI praised the partnership and said it was “ great to see” the organisation's “commitment to supporting both autistic members of the public and autistic staff members”. A PSNI spokesperson said: "Police were called to assist in a shop in the Bow Street area of Lisburn at 6.15pm last Sunday, 22nd December. Officers attended and removed a 19-year-old female from the shop." Sinn Féin councillor Gary McCleave said he had contacted the PSNI over the incident. “I have made contact with the PSNI regarding this incident. “This incident highlights the importance that shops and people who work in the public sector receive appropriate training. “I will be speaking with my colleagues who will be raising it with the policing board.”

Giller protesters relieved to see charges dropped, vow to continue antiwar action TORONTO — Charges against four of the five people arrested for protesting at last year's Giller Prize have been withdrawn, antiwar organizers announced Friday as they pledged to keep fighting for an end to Israel's attacks on Gaza. Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press Dec 6, 2024 1:20 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Arrestee and writer Maysam Abu Khreibeh poses for a portrait in Toronto, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. It was announced today that four of the five people arrested and charged at a protest at the 2023 Giller Prize awards ceremony have had their charges withdrawn. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young TORONTO — Charges against four of the five people arrested for protesting at last year's Giller Prize have been withdrawn, antiwar organizers announced Friday as they pledged to keep fighting for an end to Israel's attacks on Gaza. The group CanLit Responds announced the development at a press conference across from a Scotiabank Toronto branch on Friday, more than a year after protesters interrupted the literary award decrying the big bank — then a title sponsor — for its investment in Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems. Scotiabank is still a Giller sponsor, though it's no longer in the award's title. "As a Palestinian writer and organizer, I know that this act of protest is the bare minimum of what we can do when bunker-busting bombs are dropping on our families back home," said Maysam Abu Khreibeh, 26, who was arrested that night. She said the move to withdraw the charges was delayed for months, leaving her and her fellow protesters in legal limbo longer than necessary. "I do feel relieved to hear that the courts finally recognize that what we did is not something that should be criminalized, that the charges were withdrawn," she said after the press conference. Abu Khreibeh was one of three people arrested the night of the ceremony and charged with criminal mischief and using a forged document to gain entry to the ceremony, while CanLit Responds said two others were arrested later. The protest took place just over a month after the war began, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 others hostage. In response, Israel launched an assault on Gaza killing at least 44,500 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. This week, Amnesty International called Israel's actions a genocide and said the Oct. 7 attacks did not justify it. Israel rejects the allegations. Abu Khreibeh's lawyer, Riaz Sayani, said in a written statement that the Giller protesters never should have been charged. "The Crown correctly withdrew the charges. It was not in the public interest to proceed, given the nature of this protest. In my view, there was also no reasonable prospect of conviction," he said. "To mislabel this kind of protest as a criminal act has a chilling effect and undermines everyone’s right to free expression." In an email, Toronto Police spokeswoman Stephanie Sayer said the Crown’s decision to drop the charges "does not negate the reasonable grounds upon which charges were laid or the validity of the charges." CanLit Responds said charges against the fifth protester are still before the court. Toronto police say charges were filed against her in May, and she was arrested in September 2024. Abu Khreibeh said she didn't expect the Canadian literary community to rally around the protesters in the way many of them have. The day after she was arrested, when she was still feeling paranoid and anxious, thousands of writers signed a letter calling for the charges against the protesters to be dropped. Since then, dozens of authors withdrew their books from consideration for the prize and many pledged to boycott the award. They're calling on the Giller Foundation to sever ties with Scotiabank, and for the financial institution's subsidiary to divest from Elbit Systems. Prize organizers have not ended any of those sponsorships but did drop Scotiabank from the name of the award. Giller Foundation Executive Director Elana Rabinovitch said the board made that change in order to keep the focus on the writers. Scotiabank representatives did not respond to requests for comment. Asked to comment on the charges being dropped, Rabinovitch said the literary non-profit "fully and unequivocally supports freedom of speech, expression, dissent and the right to protest." Fatima Hussain, who was also arrested last November, said the last year has been jarring. The 24-year-old wasn't able to travel to the U.S. to visit an ill grandparent. Nor was she allowed to speak with her co-accused while the charges were before the courts. She still can't communicate with the final protester who was arrested. But still, she doesn't regret getting involved in the protest. This sort of action is ingrained in her, she said. She was born in Iraq in the years between the Gulf War and Iraq War, and she said one of her earliest memories was at an antiwar protest. So while the arrests may have had a chilling effect on some, it won't work on her. "We keep fighting because the genocide doesn't end," Hussain said. "People don't stop dying. We keep going." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2024. Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message More The Mix Police believe the gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare's CEO left NYC on a bus after the shooting Dec 6, 2024 2:01 PM Health Canada says daily cannabis use hasn't changed much since legalization Dec 6, 2024 1:56 PM Tech stocks help lift S&P/TSX Friday, U.S. stock markets mixed after jobs report Dec 6, 2024 1:50 PM Featured Flyer

North Dakota lawmakers gather for day 1 of organizational sessionThe Reform UK leader pushed back against reports suggesting that legal action would be the next step, saying he would make a decision in the next couple of days about his response if there is no apology for the “crazy conspiracy theory”. Mr Farage also said the party has “opened up our systems” to media outlets, including The Daily Telegraph and The Financial Times, in the interests of “full transparency to verify that our numbers are correct”. His remarks came after Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch accused Mr Farage of “fakery” in response to Reform claiming they had surpassed the Tories in signed-up members. Mrs Badenoch said Reform’s counter was “coded to tick up automatically”. A digital counter on the Reform website showed a membership tally before lunchtime on Boxing Day ticking past the 131,680 figure declared by the Conservative Party during its leadership election earlier this year. Mr Farage, on whether he was threatening legal action or not, told the PA news agency: “I haven’t threatened anything. I’ve just said that unless I get an apology, I will take some action. “I haven’t said whether it’s legal or anything.” He added: “All I’ve said is I want an apology. If I don’t get an apology, I will take action. “I will decide in the next couple of days what that is. So I’ve not specified what it is.” Mr Farage, on the move to make membership data available to media organisations, said: “We feel our arguments are fully validated. “She (Mrs Badenoch) has put out this crazy conspiracy theory and she needs to apologise.” The accusations of fraud and dishonesty made against me yesterday were disgraceful. Today we opened up our systems to The Telegraph, Spectator, Sky News & FT in the interests of full transparency to verify that our data is correct. I am now demanding @KemiBadenoch apologises. — Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) December 27, 2024 On why Mrs Badenoch had reacted as she did, Mr Farage said: “I would imagine she was at home without anybody advising her and was just angry.” Mr Farage, in a statement issued on social media site X, also said: “The accusations of fraud and dishonesty made against me yesterday were disgraceful. “Today we opened up our systems to The Telegraph, Spectator, Sky News and FT in the interests of full transparency to verify that our data is correct. “I am now demanding Kemi Badenoch apologises.” A Conservative Party source claimed Mr Farage was “rattled” that his Boxing Day “publicity stunt is facing serious questions”. They added: “Like most normal people around the UK, Kemi is enjoying Christmas with her family and looking forward to taking on the challenges of renewing the Conservative Party in the New Year.” Mrs Badenoch, in a series of messages posted on X on Thursday, said: “Farage doesn’t understand the digital age. This kind of fakery gets found out pretty quickly, although not before many are fooled.” There were 131,680 Conservative members eligible to vote during the party’s leadership election to replace Rishi Sunak in the autumn. Mrs Badenoch claimed in her thread that “the Conservative Party has gained thousands of new members since the leadership election”. Elsewhere, Mr Farage described Elon Musk as a “bloody hero” and said he believes the US billionaire can help attract younger voters to Reform. Tech entrepreneur Mr Musk met Mr Farage earlier this month at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, amid rumours of a possible donation to either Mr Farage or Reform. Mr Farage told The Daily Telegraph newspaper: “The shades, the bomber jacket, the whole vibe. Elon makes us cool – Elon is a huge help to us with the young generation, and that will be the case going on and, frankly, that’s only just starting. “Reform only wins the next election if it gets the youth vote. The youth vote is the key. Of course, you need voters of all ages, but if you get a wave of youth enthusiasm you can change everything. “And I think we’re beginning to get into that zone – we were anyway, but Elon makes the whole task much, much easier. And the idea that politics can be cool, politics can be fun, politics can be real – Elon helps us with that mission enormously.”

By Yukiho Takaichi and Takeru Tsuzuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers 7:00 JST, December 26, 2024 * * “What kind of alcohol do you usually drink?” said the android. It was “Nikola,” a robot developed by Riken research organization. Michihiko Minoh, 68, who leads the development team, replied, “I like wine. Would you like to try some?” Nikola raised an eyebrow and said, “I don’t like the smell of alcohol.” Nikola is equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) and is capable of natural conversation. Depending on its conversation partner’s facial expression and the content of the conversation, it can create facial expressions, including displaying happiness and surprise. Pneumatic motors move its silicone skin, and it can even blink. The development team is aiming to develop a robot that supports humans while functioning autonomously like a human. In addition to Nikola, which specializes in conversing with people, Riken will unveil Indy, which can move around autonomously, and Aetro, which a person can attach to their body to help them move, at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo. “If there are robots that can accompany people, those people will be able to have peace of mind and live happily even if they grow old and become alone,” said Minoh. “We want Expo visitors to imagine what life will be like in 2050.” Recent advances in AI have led to dramatic improvements in what robots are capable of. Many robots equipped with cutting-edge AI will be on display at the Expo, which aims to serve as a testing ground for future society. The signature pavilion, produced by Osaka University Prof. Hiroshi Ishiguro, will display about 50 robots, allowing visitors to get a glimpse of a future society in which they will be surrounded by robots. “I want to show what robots, AI and [remotely controlled] avatars will look like 50 years from now when they are no longer unusual,” said Ishiguro. On the other hand, AI could also be a threat to mankind. Some predict that “the singularity,” in which AI surpasses human capabilities, will arrive in 2045, and there is a growing movement to regulate AI, particularly in the European Union. “I wonder if robots that can read human emotions will be allowed to do so under European regulations,” said Minoh. “We hope to see discussions like that at the Expo.” The spread of AI could even lead to the revival of Japanese manufacturing. “Japan came late to AI development, but its robot drive technology is strong,” said Yutaka Matsuo, 49, a professor at the University of Tokyo known as one of the leading AI researchers. “If flexible control of robots by generative AI can be realized, Japan will be able to develop a new market.” Man-Machine Synergy Effectors, Inc. in Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture, a start-up company established at Ritsumeikan University, will exhibit a humanoid worker robot. One of the characteristics of this robot is that the weight and physical resistance of objects it holds are instantly transmitted to the hands of the operator, who is nearby and holding the control stick. The robot is expected to be used for work in dangerously high places and on construction sites, and the company aims to have it began doing actual work in the 2030s. The use of AI will reduce the burden on the operator and make the robot easier to use. Hakase Kanaoka, president of the company, said, “We want to show that Japan continues to lead the way in robotics technology.”

U.S. stocks rose to records after data suggested the job market remains solid enough to keep the economy going, but not so strong that it raises immediate worries about inflation. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2%, just enough top the all-time high set on Wednesday, as it closed a third straight winning week in what looks to be one of its best years since the 2000 dot-com bust. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.3%, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.8% to set its own record. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams have claimed cornerback Emmanuel Forbes off waivers from Washington. The Rams (6-6) announced the move Monday. They waived undrafted rookie defensive back Charles Woods to make room on the roster. Forbes was the 16th overall draft pick in 2023, but the Commanders released him Saturday in yet another latest flop for their first-round selections under former coach Ron Rivera. Forbes started 10 games as a rookie, but the Mississippi State product got benched during the season — and his playing time dwindled to almost nothing under new coach Dan Quinn this season. Forbes was considered undersized to be an elite NFL defensive back before Washington used a first-round pick on him, and his play did little to discourage that perception. But the Rams are taking a flier on Forbes to help their mediocre pass defense. Darious Williams, a member of the Rams' Super Bowl championship team who returned to Los Angeles this season as a free agent, has been their best cover corner, but he struggled in Sunday's victory over New Orleans. Third-year pro Cobie Durant has started all 12 games this season with one interception. Los Angeles already traded Tre'Davious White, its other major offseason signing at cornerback, after the former Pro Bowler failed to perform. The Rams shipped White to Baltimore for a seventh-round pick swap last month. Woods has played in nine games for the Rams, appearing mostly on special teams. Los Angeles hosts Buffalo on Sunday. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

In states that ban abortion, social safety net programs often fail familiesST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri’s governor on Monday denied clemency for Christopher Collings , a death row inmate facing execution for sexually assaulting and killing a 9-year-old girl and leaving her body in a sinkhole. Collings, 49, is scheduled to receive a single injection of pentobarbital at 6 p.m. CST Tuesday at the state prison in Bonne Terre, Missouri, for the 2007 killing of fourth-grader Rowan Ford. It would be the 23rd execution in the U.S. this year and the fourth in Missouri. “Mr. Collings has received every protection afforded by the Missouri and United States Constitutions, and Mr. Collings’ conviction and sentence remain for his horrendous and callous crime,” Republican Gov. Mike Parson said in a statement. Parson’s decision likely sealed Collings’ fate. Earlier Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal on behalf of Collings, without comment. No additional appeals are planned, Collings' attorney, Jeremy Weis, said. Parson's decision was not unexpected — a former sheriff, Parson has overseen 12 previous executions without granting clemency. Weis said Parson has allowed other executions to proceed for inmates with innocence claims, intellectual disabilities and for men who were “reformed and remorseful” for their crimes. “In each case of redemption, the Governor has ignored the evidence and sought vengeance,” Weis said in a statement. Collings confessed to killing Rowan, a child who referred to him as “Uncle Chris” after Collings lived for several months with the girl’s family in tiny Stella, Missouri. Rowan was killed on Nov. 3, 2007. Her body was found in a sinkhole outside of town six days later. She had been strangled. The clemency petition said an abnormality of Collings’ brain causes him to suffer from “functional deficits in awareness, judgment and deliberation, comportment, appropriate social inhibition, and emotional regulation.” It also noted that he suffered from frequent and often violent abuse as a child. “The result was a damaged human being with no guidance on how to grow into a functioning adult,” the petition stated. The petition also challenged the fairness of executing Collings when another man charged in the crime, Rowan’s stepfather, David Spears, also confessed but was allowed to plead to lesser crimes. Spears served more than seven years in prison before his release in 2015. Collings told authorities that he drank heavily and smoked marijuana with Spears and another man in the hours before the attack on Rowan, according to court records. Collings said he picked up the sleeping child from her bed, took her to the camper where he lived and assaulted her there. He said he strangled the child with a rope when he realized she recognized him. Collings told investigators that he took the girl's body to a sinkhole. He burned the rope used in the attack, along with the clothes he was wearing and his bloodstained mattress, prosecutors said. Spears also implicated himself in the crimes, according to court documents and the clemency petition. A transcript of Spears’ statement to police, cited in the petition, said he told police that Collings handed him a cord and that he killed Rowan. “I choke her with it. I realize she’s gone. She’s ... she’s really gone,” Spears said, according to the transcript. It was Spears who led authorities to the sinkhole where her body was found, according to court documents. No phone listing could be found for Spears. The Supreme Court appeal challenged the reliability of the key law enforcement witness at Collings’ trial, a police chief from a neighboring town who had four AWOL convictions while serving in the Army. Failure to disclose details about that criminal history at trial violated Collings’ right to due process, Weis contended. “His credibility was really at the heart of the entire case against Mr. Collings," Weis said in an interview. Three men have been executed in Missouri this year — Brian Dorsey on April 9, David Hosier on June 11 and Marcellus Williams on Sept. 24. Only Alabama, with six, and Texas, with five, have performed more executions than Missouri in 2024.

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Bluesky has seen its user base soar since the U.S. presidential election, boosted by people seeking refuge from Elon Musk’s X, which they view as increasingly leaning too far to the right given its owner’s support of President-elect Donald Trump, or wanting an alternative to Meta’s Threads and its algorithms. The platform grew out of the company then known as Twitter, championed by its former CEO Jack Dorsey. Its decentralized approach to social networking was eventually intended to replace Twitter’s core mechanic. That’s unlikely now that the two companies have parted ways. But Bluesky’s growth trajectory — with a user base that more than doubled since October — could make it a serious competitor to other social platforms. But with growth comes growing pains. It’s not just human users who flocked to Bluesky but also bots, including those designed to create partisan division or direct users to junk websites. The skyrocketing user base — now surpassing 25 million — is the biggest test yet for a relatively young platform that branded itself as a social media alternative free of the problems plaguing its competitors. According to research firm Similarweb, Bluesky added 7.6 million monthly active app users on iOS and Android in November, an increase of 295.4% since October. It also saw 56.2 million desktop and mobile web visits, in the same period, up 189% from October. Besides the U.S. elections, Bluesky also got a boost when X was briefly banned in Brazil. “They got this spike in attention, they’ve crossed the threshold where it is now worth it for people to flood the platform with spam,” said Laura Edelson, an assistant professor of computer science at Northeastern University and a member of Issue One’s Council for Responsible Social Media. “But they don’t have the cash flow, they don’t have the established team that a larger platform would, so they have to do it all very, very quickly.” To manage growth for its tiny staff, Bluesky started as an invitation-only space until it opened to the public in February. That period gave the site time to build out moderation tools and other distinctive features to attract new users, such as “starter packs” that provide lists of topically curated feeds. Meta recently announced it is testing a similar feature. Compared to the bigger players like Meta’s platforms or X, Bluesky has a “quite different” value system, said Claire Wardle, a professor at Cornell University and an expert in misinformation. This includes giving users more control over their experience. “The first generation of social media platforms connected the world, but ended up consolidating power in the hands of a few corporations and their leaders,” Bluesky said on its blog in March. “Our online experience doesn’t have to depend on billionaires unilaterally making decisions over what we see. On an open social network like Bluesky, you can shape your experience for yourself.” Because of this mindset, Bluesky has achieved a scrappy underdog status that attracted users who grew tired of the big players. “People had this idea that it was going to be a different type of social network,” Wardle said. “But the truth is, when you get lots of people in a place and there are eyeballs, it means that it’s in other people’s interests to use bots to create, you know, information that aligns with their perspective.” Little data has emerged to help quantify the rise in impersonator accounts, artificial intelligence-fueled networks and other potentially harmful content on Bluesky. But in recent weeks, users began reporting large numbers of apparent AI bots following them, posting plagiarized articles or making seemingly automated divisive comments in replies. Lion Cassens, a Bluesky user and doctoral candidate in the Netherlands, found one such network by accident — a group of German-language accounts with similar bios and AI-generated profile pictures posting in replies to three German newspapers. “I noticed some weird replies under a news post by the German newspaper ‘Die Ziet,’” he said in an email to The Associated Press. “I have a lot of trust in the moderation mechanism on Bluesky, especially compared to Twitter since the layoffs and due to Musk’s more radical stance on freedom of speech. But AI bots are a big challenge, as they will only improve. I hope social media can keep up with that.” Cassens said the bots’ messages have been relatively innocuous so far, but he was concerned about how they could be repurposed in the future to mislead. There are also signs that foreign disinformation narratives have made their way to Bluesky. The disinformation research group Alethea pointed to one low-traction post sharing a false claim about ABC News that had circulated on Russian Telegram channels. Copycat accounts are another challenge. In late November, Alexios Mantzarlis, director of the Security, Trust and Safety Initiative at Cornell Tech, found that of the top 100 most followed named individuals on Bluesky, 44% at least one duplicate account posing as them. Two weeks later, Mantzarlis said Bluesky removed around two-thirds of the duplicate accounts he initiallydetected — a sign the site was aware of the issue and attempting to address it. Bluesky posted this month that it quadrupled its moderation team to keep up with its growing user base.Illumen Capital is doubling down on its support for fund managers and founders from underrepresented communities. The firm is an impact fund of funds that has previously supported ways to address racial bias in investing. Yesterday, the firm, founded by Daryn Dodson, announced the raise of a $32.75 million “Catalyst Fund “to once again support emerging fund managers and founders, especially those hailing from underrepresented backgrounds. The news comes during a fraught time for many diverse funding managers and founders, who are seeing less financial support than in the years before. Black founders raised less than 1% of venture capital funding last year, according to Crunchbase, and as of H1, was on track to continue seeing a funding decline. Speaking to TechCrunch, Dodson said, “During terms of economic uncertainty, political polarization, and concerns of ongoing inflation, we’ve seen biases increase,” Dodson told TechCrunch, adding that these biases are also playing out in the venture space, where billions of capital are still going to the same people. When asked about fundraising, Dodson said that the firm was fortunate enough to have “established deep relationships,” with limited partners that are “committed to backing the next generation of VC and PE managers.” The firm has approximately $285 million in assets under management, it said. It last raised a $168 million Fund II in 2023 to also address racial and gender bias in investing. Dodson said the Catalyst Fund is a complementary strategy to its first two funds. “Whereas our Fund I and Fund II focused on more established managers, the Catalyst Fund prioritizes first-time managers and early-stage founders,” he continued. “It was intentionally a smaller vehicle, and we were fortunate that two of our anchor investors from our Fund II – Ford Foundation and Health Forward Foundation – backed this latest fund.” The Fund hopes to invest at least 65% of capital into first-time venture managers and up to 35% of capital as direct co-investments into companies sourced through any of its active funds. “At least 90% of the fund will likely be focused domestically,” Dodson continued. “And up to 20% in emerging markets.” The fund will look generally at managers working in education, health and wellness, financial inclusion, climate, and sustainability, he said. Dodson hopes to deploy the fund within the next year and a half. “We see our Catalyst Fund taking advantage of a market inefficiency,” he said. “With the Catalyst Fund, we hope to demonstrate the intrinsic value of backing diverse-led funds, and identify the best of the next generation of venture managers.”

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