Month: October 2017

Enlarge / An old television studio. (credit: Getty Images | Steven Beijer | EyeEm)

The Federal Communications Commission today eliminated a decades-old rule that required TV and radio stations to maintain studios in the local communities they serve.

The FCC's Republican majority claims that the change will produce cost savings that broadcasters can use to improve "programming, equipment upgrades, newsgathering, and other services that benefit consumers." But Democrats say the change will instead make it easier for stations to abandon the cities and towns they serve.

Mignon Clyburn, one of two Democrats to dissent in the 3-2 vote, argued:

Enlarge (credit: Getty |Mark Boster)

Of all the frights you might experience between now and Halloween, this one might be the worst: Chinese scientists have genetically engineered pigs to be reduced-fat.

They meant well.

The engineering created hardier, leaner pigs that the scientists argue will improve pig welfare and cut losses and energy use on farms. Publishing data on their genetically modified pigs in PNAS, the scientists don’t mention anything about how the new pigs will taste.

Enlarge / Johnson's baby powder, stocked at a supermarket shelf in Alhambra, California. (credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)

A judge has thrown out a $417 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson, which came about when a jury sided with a terminally ill plaintiff who said that Johnson's baby powder caused her ovarian cancer.

On Friday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maren Nelson granted (PDF) J&J's motion for a new trial (PDF). The plaintiff, Eva Echeverria, won $70 million in compensatory damages and $347 million in punitive damages following a trial. Echeverria's trial date was accelerated because of her poor medical condition, and she has since died.

More than 5,000 lawsuits have been filed against J&J alleging that baby powder, which contains talc, is linked to ovarian cancer. The lawsuits typically allege that J&J had a duty to warn consumers about the connection between cancer and baby powder. J&J has maintained that its product is safe and any warning would be misleading.

Enlarge (credit: Twitter)

In light of recent Russia-related disclosures, American politicians have begun weighing in on the lack of transparency in the world of politically motivated online ads. On Tuesday, Twitter chose to get ahead of potential political and legal action by announcing plans to open its advertising disclosure process in a big way.

A blog post titled "New Transparency for Ads on Twitter" detailed coming changes to "political" and "issue-based" advertising on the site. Political ads received a specific focus, and new rules will apply to any ads that fall under the FEC's definition of political or "electioneering" ads. The interesting stuff here is how much data Twitter will force any political advertisers to disclose, including the following: exactly how much money a single advertiser has spent, other ad campaigns run by the same organization, and all targeting demographics (gender, age, geography).

Twitter used this sample ad design to show how political ads would look different from others. The biggest difference we can see here is purple branding. (credit: Twitter)

That kind of cost-breakdown data is the sort of "how does online advertising work" sausage that social media companies generally avoid disclosing. Twitter GM Bruce Falck makes it pretty clear why Twitter would do so, because in the announcement, he cites by name every Senator and House member behind last week's Honest Ads Act. That bipartisan bill would force social media companies to disclose pretty much all of that aforementioned data.

Enlarge (credit: LA Metro)

LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority is soliciting proposals from tech companies to help it build a software-driven ridesharing service called MicroTransit that would augment its existing network of trains and buses. The service would feature shuttle-like vehicles smaller than buses but larger than private automobiles, and it would aim to offer a more accessible and potentially lower-cost alternative to private services like Lyft and Uber.

In a townhall with press on Monday, Metro Chief Innovation Officer Joshua Schank laid out the details of the pilot program and its RFP (which will become public later this week) for LA citizens and other interested parties. To frame the service, he said, "There are many people who need better public transit in Los Angeles, that we cannot adequately serve with our existing scheduled bus network or our existing rail network, that would perhaps be better served by this dynamic service." He said that he believes the private sector partner is key, as private tech and transportation companies would know better than the city how best to implement many aspects of the service.

How it works

MicroTransit would involve a fleet of vehicles, driven by Metro employees, that would pick up and drop off passengers at "virtual stops"—designated streets and corners that may change dynamically. The vehicles would not follow a fixed route, but they wouldn't be as direct as taking a Lyft, either. Rather, they would follow ever-changing dynamic routes between virtual stops based on demand. Self-driving cars are not part of the current plan, but Metro reps said they wouldn't rule anything out in the long run if a good proposal came in.

Greetings, Arsians! Courtesy of our friends at TechBargains, we have another round of deals to share. Today's list is led by a familiar face, as the steep discount on Dell's XPS 8910 desktop PC that we noted in last week's Dealmaster is back again. No points for originality, sure, but a deal's a deal. Beyond that, Amazon is running a number of discounts on its Kindle devices, while Dell is doing the same for various monitors.

You can take a look at the full list of deals below.

Note: Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.

Enlarge (credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Two House committees announced Tuesday that they would conduct a joint probe into the FBI's handling of the Clinton e-mail investigation. The Clinton investigation concluded with no charges being levied against the former secretary of state who was running for president under the Democratic ticket.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) said in a joint statement that they are unsatisfied with how the probe into Clinton's private e-mail server concluded. Among other things, the chairmen want to know why the bureau publicly said it was investigating Clinton while keeping silent that it was looking into President Donald Trump's campaign associates and their connections to Russia.

"Our justice system is represented by a blind-folded woman holding a set of scales. Those scales do not tip to the right or the left; they do not recognize wealth, power, or social status," Goodlatte and Gowdy said in a joint statement. "The impartiality of our justice system is the bedrock of our republic, and our fellow citizens must have confidence in its objectivity, independence, and evenhandedness. The law is the most equalizing force in this country. No entity or individual is exempt from oversight."