Since at least 2016, this crocodile in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia has been swimming around with a tire stuck around its neck. There have been several failed attempts by the Central Sulawesi's Natural Resources Conservation Office (BKSDA) and others to capture the 13-foot animal, possibly a critically endangered Siamese crocodile, and remove the tire. So now the BKSDA is offering a reward for anyone who can safely free the croc. From Antara News:

"A reward will be given to anyone, who can release the hapless reptile," Central Sulawesi BKSDA chief Hasmuni Hasmar stated in Palu City, Central Sulawesi Province, Tuesday, though he chose to not divulge details of the prize.

The crocodile was found to have survived the tsunami and earthquake that had struck Central Sulawesi's capital city, Palu, in 2018, but the tyre remained lodged around its neck. With its body growing bigger, the crocodile may get strangled by the tyre.

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/pyLY7UDbKis/reward-offered-to-anyone-who-c.html

Friday, Jan. 31, 1:40PM Eastern: FBI spokesman James Marshall tells reporters FBI is aware of an incident at Mar-A-Lago and have agents responding to the scene. A car chase near the resort ended with shots being fired near President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort Friday in Florida, police said. Officials are still determining the details.

Police fired shots at a black SUV that was being chased, then the SUV breached two security checkpoints at Mar-a-Lago.

The SUV then fled, and was later located.

Two female suspects are now in custody, says Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.

More below from Twitter reporters.

Source: ABC News, and CNN

A heavy law enforcement presence near Australian Ave by the Studio 6 Motel where we believe the vehicle used by suspects involved in the Mar-a-lago incident was found @CBS12 pic.twitter.com/7Luj33damn

 Madeline Montgomery (@MadelineTV) January 31, 2020

#BREAKING. Police investigating incident outside Mar-a-Lago. President Trump due in town this evening. SOUTHERN blocked around Olive. Major police presence.

 Hollani Davis (@HDavisWPTV) January 31, 2020

#BREAKING - Authorities reportedly responding to incident at Mar-a-Lago. pic.twitter.com/I7e8mLPqTb

 WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) January 31, 2020

Local LE sources are telling me shots fired by police at Mar a Lago after attempted gate crash

 John Cardillo (@johncardillo) January 31, 2020

BREAKING: two female suspects now in custody after breaching two barricades near the winter white house Mar a lago on Palm Beach / pursued by FHP - shots fired into the vehicle @WPBF25News pic.twitter.com/t73iSxWJJZ

 Terri Parker (@wpbf_terri) January 31, 2020

#BREAKING Two people in an SUV breach security checkpoint at Mar-a-Lago.

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/gYlTB-dGCVA/shots-fired-near-trumps-mar.html

So you know how I promised not to post the lockpicking lawyer again until he opened something by hitting it, then he opened something by hitting it, and I promised not to post the lockpicking lawyer again until he opened something by just looking at it.

Enjoy your weekend, Happy Mutants. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/LJEPtwUcLHI/safe-opened-by-looking-at-it.html

The Trump administration is planning to make landmines great again.

On Friday, while Donald John Trump was being impeached on Capitol Hill, Trump's U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that landmines are an important tool that American troops need to keep America safe.

Donald Trump’s corrupt administration is expected to undo Obama-era restrictions on the U.S. military’s use and acquisition of landmines.

Because of course.

“Landmines are an important tool that our forces need to have available need to them in order to ensure mission success and in order to reduce risk to forces,” Esper said during a press conference with his Italian counterpart.

“That said, in everything we do we also want to make sure that these instruments, in this case landmines, also take into account both the safety of employment and the safety to civilians and others after a conflict,” Esper added.

[Source: Reuters]

IMAGE (CROPPED): Dr. Mark Esper, Acting Secretary of Defense, poses for his official portrait in the Army portrait studio at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., June 20, 2019. (U.S. Army photo by Monica King) Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/WhrwepvHXcc/landmines-are-actually-good-s.html

Deadspin, the formerly-Gawker sports and culture site ruined by its new corporate masters and abandoned by its staff, is back in spirit: many of its strongest voices are blogging at unnamedtemporarysportsblog.com. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/ikU_46LgxvI/former-deadspin-writers-start.html

Around the world, people are buying up face masks in hopes of avoiding the Wuhan coronavirus. But do they work? The answer is complicated. Read on for details from health experts.

Public health experts and medical researchers are scrambling to understand how the disease spreads, and what it does, and how to stop it. And in the absence of information, many people are hoarding face masks, wearing face masks, and advising others to wear face masks to avoid catching Novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV, which as of today has killed more than 200 people.

In China, roughly 10,000 people are believed to have been infected so far.

Zunyou Wu, chief epidemiologist at China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told a Chinese state-controlled broadcaster that all people in China must wear masks when taking public transportation.

But if the masks don't fit properly, or they're not constructed to filter properly, or if transmission happens some other way -- there's lots of ways masks may either not protect you, or worsen your risk.

From reporting by Reuters on Friday:

Coronavirus can be transmitted from person to person, although it is not clear how easily. Most cases have been in people who have been in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the center of the outbreak, family members of those infected, or medical workers. Transmission is likely through contact with an infected person via particles in the air from coughing or sneezing, or by someone touching an infected person or object with the virus on it and then touching their mouth, nose or eyes.

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/B_9XcmNlNoU/coronavirus-q-will-a-face-m.html

Trump asked national security adviser last spring in front of other senior advisers to arrange meeting between Rudolph Giuliani and Ukraine’s new leader Zelensky

Well, who bet that more John Bolton book bombshells would explode on Friday? You win.

“Trump asked Bolton to call Zelensky to ensure he would meet with Giuliani. Cipollone and Mulvaney were in room.” -- @nytmike.

Oh boy.

Excerpt from new reporting Friday by Maggie Haberman and Michael Schmidt at the New York Times:

More than two months before he asked Ukraine’s president to investigate his political opponents, President Trump directed John R. Bolton, then his national security adviser, to help with his pressure campaign to extract damaging information on Democrats from Ukrainian officials, according to an unpublished manuscript by Mr. Bolton.

Mr. Trump gave the instruction, Mr. Bolton wrote, during an Oval Office conversation in early May that included the acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, the president’s personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani and the White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, who is now leading the president’s impeachment defense.

Mr. Trump told Mr. Bolton to call Volodymyr Zelensky, who had recently won election as president of Ukraine, to ensure Mr. Zelensky would meet with Mr. Giuliani, who was planning a trip to Ukraine to discuss the investigations that the president sought, in Mr. Bolton’s account. Mr. Bolton never made the call, he wrote.

Read more at the Times.

Mister Mustache Bolton's book comes out in March 17, you can pre-order it on Amazon. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/e_hSM2QiPn0/new-bolton-book-bombshell-ear.html

Drones are now hovering over people in the streets of china, scolding those who aren't wearing face masks to protect them from the coronavirus, and it's quite eerie. Watch the video in the tweet below from the Communist Party's Global Times of the different folks the drone calls out, including an older woman: “Yes, auntie, this is the drone speaking to you. You shouldn't walk about without wearing a mask. Yes you'd better go back home and don't forget to wash your hands.”

Chinese officials in rural areas are creatively using #drones to make sure local residents don‘t gather together without wearing masks during the nationwide battle against the #coronavirus. https://t.co/e6khcWvUrx pic.twitter.com/td7u1ZZ4Kz

 Global Times (@globaltimesnews) January 31, 2020

Source: The Washington Post Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/EOVfOIf3sQk/creepy-video-of-drones-in-chin.html

This Redragon 10-keyless mechanical gaming keyboard has increased my gaming enjoyment.

I moved from controller to KB+M gameplay and things are better! I mostly wanted the insane update that moving to a modern graphics chipset, ram and storage would bring but the increased control of playing games with a keyboard and mouse are a huge bonus.

I settled on this Logitech gaming mouse.

The Redragon keyboard is a tactile delight. Solid and well made it is pleasing to rest my hand upon. The keys offer good resistance and click. Keys also are firmly in place and I do not feel any wiggle or give under my fingers, there is no side-to-side torsion to worry about.

The keyboard itself sits firmly on my desk and doesn't want to slide around as I am pushing W and constantly driving my character forward.

For less than $40 this keyboard is a winner, and helps me be one.

Redragon K552 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, RGB Rainbow Backlit, 87 Keys, Tenkeyless, Compact Steel Construction with Cherry MX Blue Switches for Windows PC Gamer (Black)by Redragon via Amazon Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/D_v2noQkCzM/i-love-this-cheap-mechanical.html

Anyone can make a new year’s resolution list, but it takes a certain type of tenacity and planning to actually check off those boxes so you can live a happier and healthier life in 2020.

This Pagico 9: Task & Data Management Software will help you become more productive and efficient in every area of your life so you have more time to tackle that resolution list, and it’s available for 50% off MSRP today.

This all-in-one task and data management tool will help you simplify all of your tasks and focus on what needs to get done—both at work and at home.

Combining a variety of task timelines, project visualizations, daily planning sessions, and other time-saving productivity tools, this best-selling app makes it easy to organize your life so you can get more done, and it’s easy to keep track of both your personal and professional projects within a single interface.

Pagico 9 also comes with a handy browser extension that allows you to quickly turn entire webpages into simplified tasks that you can add to all of your lists.

Hit those resolutions in 2020 with help from Pagico 9 for just $25—50% off its list price today. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/7kMyb6WktU4/conquer-your-2020-resolutions.html

Airlines around the world have already begun suspending flights to and from mainland China, where most cases of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak are located.

As of Thursday, 170 people have died, and almost 8,000 are believed to be infected.

The World Health Organization just declared a global emergency as Novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV continues to spread.

And also today, as our Carla Sinclair wrote, the first person-to-person transmission of coronavirus was confirmed in the US.

Here, via Reuters, is a list of airlines halting or restricting service to and from mainland China:

elow are details (in alphabetical order):

AIR CANADA Air Canada said on Jan. 28 it was cancelling select flights to China.

AIR FRANCE Air France said on Jan. 30 it suspended all scheduled flights to and from mainland China until Feb. 9.

AIR INDIA Air India said it was cancelling its Mumbai-Delhi-Shanghai flight from Jan. 31 to Feb. 14.

AIR SEOUL South Korean budget carrier Air Seoul said on Jan. 28 it had suspended all flights to China.

AIR TANZANIA Tanzania’s state-owned carrier said it would postpone its maiden flights to China. It had planned to begin charter flights to China in February.

AMERICAN AIRLINES The largest U.S. carrier said it would suspend flights from Los Angeles to Beijing and Shanghai from Feb. 9 to March 27.

BRITISH AIRWAYS BA said on Jan. 30 it had cancelled all flights to mainland China for a month.

CATHAY PACIFIC AIRWAYS Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific said it would progressively reduce capacity to and from mainland China by 50% or more from Jan.

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/aonz3ZlvyrQ/here-are-the-airlines-halting.html

The U.K. government has said there will be "no haggling" over the extradition of Anne Sacoolas, the American diplomat's wife who fled Britain after accidentally killing a motorcyclist there.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had earlier responded ambiguously to a question whether a "deal was to be done" involving Prince Andrew, who has failed to cooperate with a U.S. investigation into his alleged rape of a 17 year-old-girl.

The secretary of state replied: "Yeah, I can answer that. I am confident each of these cases will be resolved on their relative merits."

Mr Raab added: "There is no barter, it's a rules-based approach. That's what the treaty does ... There is no haggle and no-one's raised Prince Andrew. Frankly, no-one has ever raised that with me."

Mr Pompeo countered: "Yes, now they have."

Now they have. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/v1vK7kvTMso/pompeo-entertains-suggestion-o.html

The iconic Rotring 600 is on sale on Amazon today for . Unlike the 500 (which I also like) the 600 has an all-metal body, which a lot of people prefer. At current prices on Amazon the 600 is cheaper than the 500. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/EqLNBaFNE1Y/beloved-metal-body-rotring-600.html

The World Health Organization (W.H.O.) has declared a global emergency as the so-called Wuhan Coronavirus continues to spread.

The WHO's declaration came as the number of Novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV cases rose to nearly 8,000 worldwide, nearly all in mainland China.

The W.H.O.’s declaration — officially called a “public health emergency of international concern” — does not have the force of law. But it serves notice to all United Nations member states that the world’s top health advisory body thinks the situation is grave.

Governments then make their own decisions about whether to close their borders, cancel flights, screen people arriving at airports or take other protective measures.

Declaring emergencies also adds urgency to any W.H.O. appeal for money. Thus far, that is hardly relevant: The countries most affected — China, Japan, Germany, South Korea, the United States and Vietnam — can afford to wage their own battles against the virus.

Read more: W.H.O. Declares Global Emergency as Wuhan Coronavirus Spreads

RELATED:

Earlier today, as our Carla Sinclair wrote, the first person-to-person transmission of coronavirus was confirmed in the US. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/BveV6WoYOVw/who-declares-global-emergency.html

In the game Speaking Simulator (Steam and Switch) you play a robot disguised as a human that tries to fit in the real world. Your job it to control its mouth to make it talk in a way that passes muster. If you aren't good at your job, the robot's head will explode. [via Waxy]

Image: YouTube Read the rest

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CBS's All Access streaming service costs $6 a month and it's the only (legit) way to watch the new series,  Star Trek: Picard. But to give you a free taste in the hope you'll sign up, the first episode of Picard is on YouTube.

Image: YouTube Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/hOmMcnmyF_8/watch-the-first-episode-of-sta.html

"Twisting reality, one video at a time," VFX artist Kevin Lustgarten regularly churns out amazing optical illusions like this one for our visual pleasure.

See more of his stuff on Instagram. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/InfIDWn73Pg/watch-and-rewatch-this-optical.html

A second person in Chicago has come down with the coronavirus, bringing the total of coronavirus patients in the US up to six (two in Chicago, two in California, one in Seattle, and one in Arizona). But this is the first case that was transmitted person-to-person within the US (the other five patients became infected in China).

According to NBC:

The new patient lives with a Chicago woman in her 60s who was diagnosed after returning last month from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak that's now sickened upward of 8,000 people.

With more than 8,000 confirmed cases of the conronavirus (mostly in China), and at least 170 deaths, The World Health Organization is meeting again today to determine whether it should be declared as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

Image: By National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH) - National Institutes of Health (NIH), Public Domain, Link Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/8I4AVC_Faew/first-person-to-person-transmi.html

Facebook issued a disappointed quarterly report, sending its stock price down by 8%, reports CNBC.  In the report, "Facebook also warned of advertising headwinds related to privacy and regulatory changes on the horizon, leading to slowing growth in the U.S. Facebook said privacy improvements on Apple’s iPhones and Google’s Android software could hurt its ability to target advertising."

Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash Read the rest

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Facebook has agreed to pay $550m to users in Illinois who sued it over its storing of biometric data without consent. This allowed the social network to automatically tag photographsand to build a vast database of facial recognition data. It also contravenes the state's privacy laws, reports the BBC:

The case has been ongoing since 2015, and the settlement was announced in its quarterly earnings. It comes as facial recognition use by the police, and in public spaces, comes under intense scrutiny. The lawsuit against Facebook was given the go-ahead in 2018 when a federal judge ruled it could be heard as a class action (group) case. The appeals court disagreed with Facebook's attempts to stop this, and in January the Supreme Court also declined to review its appeal.

Facebook made the facial recognition feature opt-in a few months after the state Supreme Court left them on the hook.

Mike Isaac at The New York Times reports a "major victory" for privacy campaigners.

“The Illinois law has real teeth. It pretty much stopped Facebook in its tracks,” said Marc Rotenberg, the executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a nonprofit group that filed a brief in the Facebook case. “Tech firms and other companies that collect biometric data must be very nervous right now.”

Since the Illinois law was enacted in 2008, it has vexed companies that market voice assistants, doorbell cameras, photo labeling and other technology that may collect biometric details from people without their knowledge or consent.

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/hfy1p_bgI9o/facebook-pays-550m-settlement.html