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Eunice Foote, Amateur Scientist From the Mid-1800s Whose Experiments Foreshadowed the Discovery of Earth's Greenhouse Effect
Science was one of those domains where women were struggling to be heard, and Eunice Foote is among the pioneers whose work paved the way toward acceptance. A column in the September 1856 issue of Scientific American, titled “Scientific Ladies — Experiments with Condensed Gases,” began, “Some have not only entertained, but expressed the mean idea, that women do not possess the strength of mind necessary for scientific investigation.” The writer went on to describe Foote’s experiments as evidence to the contrary, concluding: "The columns of the Scientific American have been oftentimes graced with articles on scientific subjects, by ladies, which would do honor to men of the highest scientific reputation; and the experiments of Mrs. Foot afford abundant evidence of the ability of woman to investigate any subject with originality and precision." more »
GAO*, Pipeline Safety: Performance Measures Needed to Assess Recent Changes to Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Regulations
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration amended safety regulations in 2019. Stakeholders told us the changes could improve safety without presenting significant challenges. However, several operators said they would need to modify or replace pipelines to accommodate certain inspection tools. The agency hasn't developed measures to assess whether the changes improve safety. We recommended doing so. GAO-21-493 Published: Jun 22, 2021. Publicly Released: Jun 22, 2021.
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New Documents Show Trump Repeatedly Pressed DOJ to Overturn Election Results Before Inciting Capitol Attack
Documents ... show that in December 2020 and early January 2021, President Trump, his Chief of Staff, and outside allies repeatedly put pressure on senior DOJ officials to challenge the results of the presidential election and advance unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud, with the apparent goal of keeping President Trump in power despite losing the 2020 election. more »
US Department of Justice: Russian National Convicted of Charges Relating to Kelihos Botnet
A federal jury in Connecticut convicted a Russian national on Tuesday for operating a “crypting” service used to conceal “Kelihos” malware from antivirus software, enabling hackers to systematically infect victim computers around the world with malicious software, including ransomware. “By operating a website that was intended to hide malware from antivirus programs, Koshkin provided a critical service that enabled other cyber criminals to infect thousands of computers around the world,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Leonard C. Boyle for the District of Connecticut. “We will investigate and prosecute the individuals who aid and abet cyber criminals as vigorously as we do the ones who actually hit the ‘send’ button on viruses and other malicious software.” more »