Tootfinder

Indiana University fired the adviser for The Indiana Daily Student, whose alums have won Pulitzers, showing how easily universities can seize student papers (Annie Aguiar/Poynter)
https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/indiana-daily-student-ids…

At Indiana University, the journalism school forgot what journalism is for - Poynter
By firing the Indiana Daily Student’s adviser, IU showed how easily universities can seize control of the press they claim to support

Inside First Wap, a European-led phone tracking company in Indonesia that has exploited the SS7 telecom protocol to target politicians, journalists, and others (Mother Jones)
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/

The surveillance empire that tracked world leaders, a Vatican enemy, and maybe you
Inside the hidden world of First Wap, whose untraceable tech has targeted politicians, journalists, celebrities, and activists around the globe.

Coherence and Dimensionality Witnesses for Fractional OAM Modes
A. L. S. Santos Junior, I. Prego, M. Gil de Oliveira, A. C. Barbosa, B. P. da Silva, D. J. Brod, E. F. Galv\~ao, A. Z. Khoury
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.13275

Coherence and Dimensionality Witnesses for Fractional OAM Modes
We characterize sets of fractional orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes of a light beam using unitary-invariant properties encoded by two-mode overlaps. Using basis-independent coherence and dimension witnesses, we experimentally certify, on a triple of fractional modes, both the presence of coherence and that the states necessarily span a space of dimension 3. We propose and implement a practical, fast experimental method to extract two-mode overlaps requiring only a single intensity image per…

Local connections first. Then: eyes out for local groups who are doing observer trainings, giving out whistles, giving our “know your rights” cards, that sort of thing. Whatever they’re doing, join in.
@…

"For Levy and Newborn, the stakes were clear, and the title of the first chapter of the book says it all: “The Challenge is World Champion Kasparov”. Said chapter describes in detail the match between a first iteration of a chess supercomputer by IBM, the less well-known “Deep Thought”. It was a strong contender, having defeated quite a few grandmasters along the way (including the aforementioned Levy), but was no match for Kasparov in August 1989."

David Levy & Monty Newborn
The literature about and around chess is too long to enumerate in an article of a thousand words, and this is clearly not my intent. If you want to learn chess, there are so many good books around, it is hard to pick just one. There are, however, fewer books explaining the art of how to teach a computer to play chess; and the one chosen for this issue of the Library section does a magnificent job at precisely that.

🧊 Intense groundwater flow destabilizes ice in North America's Great Lakes, simulations show
https://phys.org/news/2025-09-intense-groundwater-destabilizes-ice-north.html

Intense groundwater flow destabilizes ice in North America's Great Lakes, simulations show
Powerful pulses of groundwater flow up from beneath Lakes Michigan and Huron, which together form one of the largest freshwater systems in the world. This groundwater flux may dramatically alter how and where ice forms, with important implications for ice-climate models. As climate change pressures the system, new research suggests that conventional models may underestimate how groundwater can destabilize lake ice along its shorelines (coasts).

🔊 #NowPlaying on #BBCRadio3:
#InTune
- Charles Mackerras at 100
Petroc Trelawny continues the celebration of Charles Mackerras with Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša, winner of the very first Sir Charles Mackerras Award plus live music in the studio.
Relisten now 👇
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002m0km

Heading to #Malaysia for the first time since the pandemic in a few weeks, likely followed by #Indonesia. Can't wait - to eat all the amazing vegetarian food, drink lots of teh, speak in Indonesian.

This is a really good question from @…. The first thing I keep telling everyone in other cities who wonders how they can help, what they can do:
Get organized NOW. Meet your neighbors NOW. Get your neighbors set up with secure messaging NOW. Form multiple hyper-local neighborhood social groups NOW. Organize a block picnic or community craft night or repair workshop or whatever NOW. Get contact info for the human beings who physically show up for neighborhood events NOW.
Form all those local connections ASAP, so that they’re there when you need them. The hardest lines of communication to establish will be the ones with the people closest to you. If you get local lines open in advance, you’ll be in a far, far better place.
https://infosec.exchange/@mathaetaes/115731104851949153

CBS News' Standards chief Claudia Milne announces her departure, becoming the first senior executive to leave since the arrival of Bari Weiss as EIC (Brian Steinberg/Variety)
https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/cbs-news-standards-chief-exit-claudia-m…

CBS News' Standards Chief Claudia Milne Exits
CBS News' standards and practices chief, Claudia Milne, announced she would exit the Paramount Skydance news unit as it comes under intense scrutiny