“China’s National People’s Congress approved legislation promoting what it calls the ‘ethnic unity’ law, which human rights groups say could further marginalize minority groups. The law formalizes policies in order to promote Mandarin as the ‘national common language’ for official purposes such as education and public affairs. As part of the law, educational institutions will now be obliged to teach in Mandarin, with teenagers required to have a ‘basic grasp’ of Mandarin when finishing their compulsory education. It also states that the law can be applied outside China’s borders, meaning people outside China who ‘engage in activities that undermine ethnic unity'” or incite ‘ethnic separatism’ can be held legally liable.” (03/12/26)
“In the latest example of Republicans using artificially generated deepfakes to attack their opponents, the Senate GOP’s official social media account has posted an attack ad depicting a synthetic version of Texas Democrat James Talarico, a state representative and US Senate candidate. The video, posted on Wednesday to the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) page on X, portrays a frighteningly realistic approximation of Talarico’s (D-50) appearance and voice. The state representative, who won the Democratic nomination for Texas’[s] US Senate seat in a primary earlier this month, is depicted reading an array of old social media posts that the NRSC described as ‘extreme statements praising transgenderism, twisting Christian beliefs, and advocating for open borders.'” [editor’s note: All they need to do is play his existing actual words – SAT] [editor’s note: Neither deepfakes nor real quotes will reduce even that guy to Paxton’s depths of depravity, though – TLK] (03/12/26)
“A Costco customer in the US has taken the retailer to court, demanding that the company use potential tariff refunds to return money to shoppers who paid more due to the levies. In a proposed class action lawsuit, customer Matthew Sockov argues that Costco is in the position to potentially recoup its tariff costs twice, ‘from customers through elevated pricing and from the government.’ He says that amounts to ‘unjust enrichment’ and asks the court to order the firm to refund shoppers. The legal battle is a sign of the complexities looming over the roughly $166bn (£124bn) in tariff refunds the US owes to companies since the Supreme Court struck down many of Trump’s tariffs last month.” [editor’s note: Gotta throw the BS flag on this one, unless Costco expressly itemized a “tariff” line on its invoices/receipts – TLK] (03/12/26)
“The Senate passed a broad bill on Thursday to make U.S. housing more accessible and affordable, a rare bipartisan effort in Congress to address a growing national problem. The bill, which passed 89-10, would reduce regulations, regulate corporate investors and expand how housing dollars can be used to build affordable homes and rentals. It will now head back to the House, which passed a similar bill earlier this year. ‘We have a housing shortage all across America,’ said Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who worked with Republicans to win overwhelming support from both parties for the legislation. ‘We need more housing of every kind. More housing for first-time home buyers, more housing for renters, more housing for seniors, more housing for people with disabilities, more rural housing, more urban housing, more, more, and more.’ The legislation, she said ‘will help drive down prices.'” (03/12/26)
“Senegal’s parliament has approved a new bill that toughens punishment for homosexuality in the largely Muslim West African nation, the latest African country to impose harsh penalties against the LGBTQ+ community. The new bill, which was introduced to parliament last month by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, describes homosexual acts as being ‘against nature.’ It doubles the punishment for those convicted from prison sentences of one to five years to between five and 10 years. Nearly all lawmakers voted in favor of the bill during Wednesday’s plenary, with no opposition and three abstentions. It needs presidential assent before becoming a law, with Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye widely expected to sign it.” (03/12/26)
“A Georgia judge denied Jose Ibarra’s motion for a new trial following his conviction in the killing of nursing student Laken Riley. Superior Court Judge Patrick Haggard rejected the request, leaving in place Ibarra’s sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Ibarra, a Venezuelan migrant, was found guilty of malice murder, felony murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault, hindering a 911 call, tampering with evidence and peeping tom in connection with Riley’s death. The ruling means Ibarra’s convictions and life sentence remain intact.” (03/12/26)
“A superintendent in Los Angeles whose home and office was raided by the FBI last month released a statement Wednesday denying any wrongdoing. Attorneys for Alberto Carvalho, the superintendent who is on administrative leave following the raid, said in the statement that they hope he is reinstated promptly. Carvalho is the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District. … The attorneys and FBI have not clarified why Carvalho’s home and office were raided or what sparked the investigation into the superintendent.” (03/11/26)
“A 656-acre parcel of land tucked into the desert mountains south of Palm Springs and Cathedral City has been returned to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, the tribe and local conservation groups announced this week. The parcel is located deep in the upper Palm Canyon area within the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto mountains and neighbors several parcels that are already owned and managed by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians as part of its Indian Canyons trail system. Tribal Chairman Reid D. Milanovich called the return of the unceded ancestral land ‘the restoration of responsibility’ in a news release issued Monday. ‘Since time immemorial, our people have stewarded these mountains and waterways. We are grateful to Friends of the Desert Mountains, the Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy, and the State of California for their partnership in advancing land conservation through Tribal stewardship,’ Milanovich said in the news release.” (03/12/26)
“Artificial intelligence systems that can generate sexualized deepfakes of real people would be banned in the EU under proposals seen by POLITICO. The push comes after X’s AI tool Grok allowed users to generate millions of images of real people in bikinis or fully nude, including images of children. A proposal set to be approved by EU ambassadors on Friday would make it illegal to market in Europe any artificial intelligence system that can generate non-consensual sexualized videos, images or audio files involving real people.” (03/11/26)
“Explosive-laden Iranian boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member, after projectiles struck four vessels in Gulf waters, according to reports. The ships targeted in late-night attacks on Wednesday in the Gulf near Iraq were the Marshall Islands-flagged Safesea Vishnu and the Zefyros, which had loaded fuel cargoes in Iraq, two Iraqi port officials told the Reuters news agency. … Reuters said reports of the use of explosive-laden unmanned surface vessels, which Ukraine has used with great effect in its war with Russia, come as Iran has blocked oil shipments from transiting the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas transits but which has been blocked since the US-Israeli war on Iran began.” (03/12/26)
