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AT&T today sued the local government in Louisville and Jefferson County, Kentucky to stop a new ordinance designed to give Google Fiber access to utility poles.

AT&T's lawsuit in US District Court in Louisville says the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government's ordinance is invalid because it conflicts with and is preempted by the Federal Communications Commission's pole attachment regulations. AT&T also argues that under Kentucky law, only the state Public Service Commission has jurisdiction to regulate pole attachments.

WDRB posted a copy of the lawsuit.

The Facebook signature wall in question is much bigger than this one, by the way. (credit: Matteo Artizzu)

Facebook may require real names to post on the social network's so-called "walls," but for the company's own real-life equivalent, that does not appear to be the case. As a result, co-founder Mark Zuckerberg reportedly posted a private company-wide memo condemning a particular wave of anonymous activity on its "signature wall."

According to a Gizmodo report, Zuckerberg took issue on Wednesday with someone crossing out part of the phrase "Black Lives Matter"—which was written on the company's giant, dry-erase wall next to other staffers' and guests' signatures and drawings—and changing it to read "all lives matter." The Zuckerberg memo alleged that this had happened multiple times to the Facebook signature wall, and he called out the anonymous activity: "Despite my clear communication at Q&A last week that this was unacceptable... this has happened again."

(credit: Lisa Roe)

What happens in the testes, stays in the testes. At least, that’s according to frustrated researchers who have spent years trying to understand and recreate the process that generates sperm. But now, in a satisfying data release, a group of Chinese researchers report that they’ve finally cracked that nut.

In the study, published Thursday in Cell Stem Cell, the researchers describe using mouse stem cells to generate rudimentary sperm that was used to fertilize eggs and produce healthy mouse pups. If true, the study could pave the way for the development of human sperm in lab dishes for fertility treatments.

“The results are super-exciting and important,” Jacob Hanna, a stem cell scientist at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, told Nature. However, several other researchers said they were skeptical of the data and anxious to see the results repeated in other researchers’ hands. “You have to be very cautious about the implications of this paper,” Mitinori Saitou of Kyoto University said.

The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the SES-9 satellite is ready to go. (credit: SpaceX)

Are you ready for round two? On Wednesday, SpaceX delayed the launch of a commercial communications satellite, SES-9, to a geostationary transfer orbit out of an abundance of caution. The company said it wanted to ensure that liquid oxygen temperatures are as cold as possible to maximize performance of the vehicle. So it's going to try the launch today at 6:46pm ET. Weather is better as well, with an 80 percent chance of "go" conditions when the launch window opens.

As with other recent launches, SpaceX will try yet again to fly its booster back to an automated ship in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida. However, because this is a high orbit (about 35,000km above the equator) and will require a heavy vehicle with more fuel and more speed, returning safely back to Earth is far from a sure thing. Additionally, at 5,300kg, this is the heaviest payload SpaceX has attempted to deliver to a geostationary orbit.

Still, the company says it will make another attempt at a historic first, landing an orbital rocket on a sea-based platform. "The first stage of the Falcon 9 will attempt an experimental landing on the 'Of Course I Still Love You' droneship," SpaceX said in its press kit. "Given this mission’s unique GTO profile, a successful landing is not expected."