All posts tagged: option

Los Angeles Voters Have No Good Option

Los Angeles Voters Have No Good Option

Published by Daniella Wilson

It’s happening again. In a big American city, a young Indian American democratic socialist is trying to unseat an unpopular Black incumbent on a platform of housing affordability. This time, the arena is not New York City but Los Angeles. Nithya Raman, the insurgent, has fashioned herself as a Zohran Mamdani of the West. Karen Bass, the embattled incumbent, is fighting to stay in office and make sure that lightning doesn’t strike on opposite coasts. But the similarities mostly end there. In New York, an inspiring young leftist competed against a boorish, but experienced, former governor to replace a corrupt mayor. In Los Angeles, the leftist insurgent isn’t inspiring, and the boorish challenger—the former reality-TV villain Spencer Pratt—is inexperienced. The incumbent isn’t corrupt, just feckless. Despite their overwhelming weaknesses, two of these candidates will advance from tomorrow’s nonpartisan primary, and one will win in the November general election. Los Angeles is unlikely to be better off. On paper, Raman seems like a natural heir to Mamdanism. In 2020, she became the first member of the …

The Ahmadinejad Option – The Atlantic

The Ahmadinejad Option – The Atlantic

Published by Sam Flores

Earlier this week, The New York Times reported that at the outset of the war, the United States and Israel sought to install former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as Iran’s leader, after the anticipated fall of the Islamic Republic. The inauspicious first step in this brilliant plan was to blow up part of Ahmadinejad’s compound in an air strike on February 28 in the Narmak district of Tehran. Days later, I noted that the attack—then assumed to be an assassination attempt—may have been intended to free him from house arrest imposed by the Iranian regime. The Times confirms this interpretation. It says that Israel and the United States had “consulted” Ahmadinejad about this plan, but that he “became disillusioned” with it after the strike. The idea that Israel and the United States might back Ahmadinejad in a coup has drawn guffaws from several different groups. The first is people who stopped paying attention to Ahmadinejad in 2010. Americans and reform-oriented Iranians reviled then-President Ahmadinejad for his Holocaust denial, his backward attitudes about gay people, and his …

That vent clip phone mount is ruining your car’s AC (and there’s a better option)

That vent clip phone mount is ruining your car’s AC (and there’s a better option)

Published by skeptic

For about three years, a vent clip held my phone in my 4Runner, and it worked fine—right up until two problems showed up at once. The center vent picked up a faint rattle, and on hot afternoons the cabin took noticeably longer to cool. I blamed an aging AC. It wasn’t the AC. The clip was pinching the vent vanes shut and forcing the blower to push against its own blocked airflow. Once I understood what half a pound of phone hanging off thin plastic does over a few years, the mount came out that weekend. I’d already reworked how my phone behaves the second I get in my car; fixing where it physically sat was overdue. The clip turned out to be doing two kinds of damage at once, and the replacement cost less than the repair it was quietly setting up. What the clip is actually doing to your vents The airflow you stopped noticing A vent clip parks the flattest, heaviest thing you own directly over the one opening built to move …

Spencer Pratt Is the Factory-Reset Option for L.A.

Spencer Pratt Is the Factory-Reset Option for L.A.

Published by Sam Flores

Spencer Pratt, the former reality-TV star and aspiring mayor of Los Angeles, recently spoke with me for a podcast. We met in front of the Airstream trailer that now sits where his house did before it burned down in the Palisades Fire in January of last year. He was excited to share his ideas, if not always able to complete his thoughts, about what he’ll do when he’s in charge. For starters, he’ll clear the drug-ravaged homeless encampments of downtown, bring in developers from all over the world, and use 3-D-printing technology to build “an entire art deco, vibed-out affordable housing.” On the issue of bike lanes, a pet cause of the YIMBY voters who are backing one of his main opponents, Pratt says he’ll do them one better. “I’m going to have bike tubes through the sky!” he says. “You know, like it’s endless possibilities when you enforce a law and you get rid of the zombies.” Zombies is Pratt’s term for the tens of thousands of people who live in depraved conditions on …

Ist die Minderheitsregierung eine Option? – POLITICO

Ist die Minderheitsregierung eine Option? – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Friedrich Merz erlebt seinen „Bärbel-Bas-Moment“. Nachdem die SPD-Vorsitzende bei den Arbeitgebern ausgelacht wurde, erntete der Kanzler nun beim DGB-Bundeskongress Buhrufe und Gelächter. Die Gräben in der schwarz-roten Koalition scheinen immer größer. Reform-Appelle verhallen im gegenseitigen Misstrauen. Gordon Repinski spielt zusammen mit Rasmus Buchsteiner das schwer Vorstellbare durch: Was passiert, wenn die Koalition zerbricht? Wie realistisch ist eine Minderheitsregierung unter Merz und welche Risiken birgt dieses Berliner Gedankenspiel? Im 200-Sekunden-Interview: Leif-Erik Holm, der wirtschaftspolitische Sprecher der AfD-Fraktion und Spitzenkandidat für die Landtagswahl in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Er grenzt sich rhetorisch vom extremen Rand seiner Partei ab. Aber wie viel inhaltliche Schnittmenge gäbe es bei Wirtschaftsreformen wirklich mit der Union? Und Gordon blickt mit Rasmus auf die letzten 24 Stunden zurück. Vom unterkühlten Koalitionsausschuss bis zur heutigen Kabinettssitzung. Die beiden analysieren, wie tief die Krise auch nach den Ereignissen beim DGB wirklich sitzt und ob die Koalitionäre überhaupt noch einen gemeinsamen Nenner finden können. Das Berlin Playbook als Podcast gibt es jeden Morgen ab 5 Uhr. Gordon Repinski und das POLITICO-Team liefern Politik zum Hören – kompakt, international, hintergründig. …

Medicare to launch weight loss drug option in July with copay  : NPR

Medicare to launch weight loss drug option in July with $50 copay  : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Weight management medications, including Wegovy, Zepbound and Foundayo, will be available to eligible Medicare beneficiaries with a $50 copay starting in July. Universal Images Group/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Universal Images Group/Getty Images Starting in July, Medicare beneficiaries may be able to get a GLP-1 prescription for weight loss for $50 a month. It’s a notable shift for Medicare, which has long been barred from covering weight loss treatments. The drugs, such as Wegovy and Zepbound, are effective but can be expensive without insurance coverage. They’re available in injection or pill form. Even with discounts, current cash prices typically range from $149 to $699 per month. About half of GLP-1 users say these drugs were difficult for them to afford, according to KFF polling. A quarter said they were “very difficult” to afford. But the new Medicare benefit comes with caveats, particularly around clinical guidelines and what happens when the short-term program ends. What is this program? The initiative, announced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, is a short-term pilot …

US declares Iran offensive over, warns force remains an option

US declares Iran offensive over, warns force remains an option

Published by Sam Flores

“MALIGN PRESENCE” Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the status quo was “intolerable”, warning the US “malign presence will diminish” as Tehran vowed to retain control of Hormuz. Monday’s exchange of fire came as the rivals enforced duelling maritime blockades following Trump’s plan to guide ships out of the Gulf. The war, sparked more than two months ago by US-Israeli strikes, has battered the global economy despite a weeks-long ceasefire. Israel’s air force chief Omer Tischler said the military was ready to “deploy the entire air force eastward if required.” Military chief Eyal Zamir added that the army remained on “high alert” and ready to respond to threats in the Gulf. Iran denied any naval losses but accused Washington of killing five civilians aboard boats. Despite tensions, Danish freight giant Maersk said one of its ships had transited Hormuz under US escort. The UAE called the attacks “a dangerous escalation”, while Saudi Arabia urged efforts toward a political solution. Rubio accused Iran of “holding the world’s economy hostage” through threats to shipping and the …

Another Mac Mini Option Goes MIA as Memory Shortage Rages On

Another Mac Mini Option Goes MIA as Memory Shortage Rages On

Published by skeptic

If you’d been thinking of picking up an Apple Mac Mini anytime soon, think again. Several high-end Apple computers were listed last week as “currently unavailable” on the company’s online store, including multiple RAM-intensive configurations of the M4 Mac Mini and Mac Studio. Now, even the cheapest Mac Mini configuration with 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD has been completely removed from Apple’s online store. Previously, this configuration was listed as out of stock, and there was an implication that it might return once Apple freed up the necessary components — now we have confirmation that this product isn’t coming back to shelves. The product removal effectively changes the starting price for the M4 Mac Mini, as the cheapest available configuration is a $799 model with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage space. While RAMageddon is raising computer prices across the board, it’s becoming clear that less popular computer configurations just won’t be supported as parts get shifted to more important products. Other affected products include high-end configurations like the 32GB and 64GB …

SpaceX is working with Cursor and has an option to buy the startup for billion

SpaceX is working with Cursor and has an option to buy the startup for $60 billion

Published by skeptic

SpaceX said it has struck a deal with Cursor to develop a next generation “coding and knowledge work AI,” which includes a surprising provision—an option to buy the popular software development platform for $60 billion later this year. Partnering with and potentially purchasing a leader in the hottest AI product category can only be seen in the context of SpaceX’s much-anticipated public offering. Investors seeking more value in the IPO might see its engagement with Cursor as another way to extract value from Elon Musk’s increasingly sprawling tech conglomerate. The deal won’t shock those who follow the industry closely. Last week, it was reported that xAI would begin renting computing power from its data centers to Cursor, with the coding startup using tens of thousands of xAI chips to train its latest AI model. And last month, two of Cursor’s most senior engineering leaders, Andrew Milich and Jason Ginsberg, left the company to join xAI, where both report directly to Musk. SpaceX described the partnership as a project combining Cursor’s “product and distribution to expert …

AI-powered website builders have come a long way – here’s your best option in 2026

AI-powered website builders have come a long way – here’s your best option in 2026

Published by skeptic

Slim3D/ iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. Generative AI and web development seem tailor-made for each other. Web design combines coding, creative text, graphics, and overall design. These are all tasks that AI performs quite well. This article is a 2026 update of an article first published in 2025. A lot has changed. Last year, when I set out to find the best AI-based website builders, I expected to see all of these capabilities wrapped around hosting dashboards. What I found was nothing close. Those that did include AI features barely worked. One vendor, Hostinger, had a chatbot interface that showed real promise, but it failed almost every test. Not this year. This year, it’s our top recommendation. Once again, I built test sites using each service. To ensure each site faced an equal challenge, I decided to model them on a business called “Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective.” Also: The best web hosting services: Expert tested and reviewed There were design notes drawn from …