Mars findings cataloged in Navajo language
Native people have had ties to land in North America since time immemorial, and now that connection is expanding to the cosmos.
The Perseverance rover has been on Mars for a month, collecting data and making discoveries with each passing day. A number of the findings, through a collaboration with NASA, have been catalogued in Diné Bizaad, the Navajo language.
The Perseverance team started with a list of 50 words and will expand the list as needed. According to a tweet from the rover itself, some terms have already been used, such as tsé łichíí (red rock), yéigo (diligence) and séítah (amongst the sand).
Gov says anti-porn bill has needed message, despite worries
A bill that would mandate pornography filters on every device sold in the state would send an “important message” about keeping explicit online content away from kids, Republican Gov. Spencer Cox said.
Cox didn’t say whether he would sign the bill at a Thursday news conference on PBS-Utah. It marks the latest salvo in Utah’s legislative efforts to curb the availability of porn.
He did say, though, he wasn’t as worried about constitutional concerns swirling around the proposal because it would not immediately go into effect.
The bill specifies it will only be enforced if five other states also enact similar laws, a provision added to address concerns that it would be logistically difficult for after manufacturers and retailers.
Sonoma county to use artificial intelligence against fires
Sonoma County officials say they will add artificial intelligence technology to help fight wildfires with a 24-7 monitor to track fire outbreaks.
The technology will be added to the county’s network of wildfire detection cameras that monitor California’s backcountry to spot the first outbreak of flames. Many of the cameras are affixed to existing radio communication towers.
“This early detection technology will provide emergency managers and first responders with round-the-clock monitoring, a sophisticated addition we are excited to add to our alert and warning toolkit,” Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Chair Lynda Hopkins said.
Striking Myanmar rail workers move out as protests continue
Residents of Myanmar’s second-biggest city helped striking railway workers move out of their state-supplied housing Saturday after the authorities said they would have to leave if they kept supporting the protest movement against last month’s military coup.
Mandalay residents carried the workers’ furniture and other household items to trucks, van and pickup trucks.
The state railway workers last month went on strike as key and early supporters of the civil disobedience movement against the Feb. 1 coup that toppled the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The military regime has sought to force them back to work through intimidation, which included a nighttime, gun-firing patrol last month through their housing area in Mandalay and a raid in the railway workers’ housing area in Yangon.
