Microsoft made a splash with a controversial quantum computer in 2025

New Scientist

Microsoft made a splash with a controversial quantum computer in 2025

The Majorana 1 quantum computer was hailed as a significant breakthrough by Microsoft, but critics say the company has yet to prove it actually wor...

The Majorana 1 quantum computer was hailed as a significant breakthrough by Microsoft, but critics say the company has yet to prove it actually works despite a year of debate.

Stacker News

Microsoft made a splash with a controversial quantum computer in 2025 \ stacker news

The Majorana 1 quantum computer was hailed as a significant breakthrough by Microsoft, but critics say the company has yet to prove it actually wor...

Eurostar warns of ‘major disruption’ power outage halts Channel Tunnel services

CNBC

Eurostar warns of ‘major disruption’ as power outage halts services between France and England

The disruption brings one of Europe's busiest international rail corridors to a halt at the peak of the New Year travel season.

Eurostar urged passengers to change their travel plans on Tuesday as a problem with the overhead power supply forced the Channel Tunnel to close. “Due to a problem with the overhead power supply and a subsequent failed Le Shuttle train the Channel tunnel is currently closed. Unfortunately, this means we have no choice but to suspend all services today until further notice,” Eurostar said in a statement warning of “major disruption” on its website.

Stacker News

Eurostar warns of ‘major disruption’ power outage halts Channel Tunnel services \ stacker news

Eurostar urged passengers to change their travel plans on Tuesday as a problem with the overhead power supply forced the Channel Tunnel to close. �...

Hackers Exploit Copilot Studio’s Connected Agents Feature 2 Gain Backdoor Access

Cyber Security News

Hackers Exploit Copilot Studio’s New Connected Agents Feature to Gain Backdoor Access

Microsoft’s Connected Agents feature in Copilot Studio is being exploited by attackers to gain backdoor access to business systems.

Microsoft’s newly unveiled “Connected Agents” feature in Copilot Studio, announced at Build 2025, is creating a significant security vulnerability. Attackers are already exploiting to gain unauthorized backdoor access to critical business systems.

Stacker News

Hackers Exploit Copilot Studio’s Connected Agents Feature 2 Gain Backdoor Access \ stacker news

Microsoft’s newly unveiled “Connected Agents” feature in Copilot Studio, announced at Build 2025, is creating a significant security vulnerab...

Trump revives threat to sue Powell for ‘gross incompetence’ https://thehill.com/business/5665840-trump-powell-lawsuit-fed-buildings/ President Trump told reporters he was considering bringing a lawsuit against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for “gross incompetence” as he complained about renovations to the central bank’s headquarters. “We’re thinking about bringing a suit against Powell for incompetence. Because think of it, these aren’t outstanding buildings. These are small buildings,” Trump said during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Stacker News

Trump revives threat to sue Powell for ‘gross incompetence’ \ stacker news

President Trump told reporters he was considering bringing a lawsuit against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for “gross incompetence” as he...

Please stop lowering your standards for open source software

How-To Geek

Please stop lowering your standards for open source software

Just because it's "free" doesn't mean anything goes.

I love open-source software, and it's been essential to my needs over the years. I've used GIMP when I couldn't afford Photoshop. Scribus when I needed to design a book for college, and OpenOffice for the Linux netbook that got me through post-grad. I owe open-source software a lot, and it's too important to hold it to a lower standard than the closed-source for-profit stuff.

Stacker News

Please stop lowering your standards for open source software \ stacker news

I love open-source software, and it's been essential to my needs over the years. I've used GIMP when I couldn't afford Photoshop. Scribus when I ne...

Brigitte Bardot, Movie Idol Who Renounced Stardom, Dies at 91

Brigitte Bardot, Movie Idol Who Renounced Stardom, Dies at 91

“And God Created Woman” made her a world-famous sex symbol in the 1950s. She later gave up acting to devote her life to animal welfare.

Brigitte Bardot, the pouty, tousle-haired French actress who redefined mid-20th-century movie sex symbolism in films beginning with “And God Created Woman,” then gave up acting at 39 to devote her life to the welfare of animals, died on Sunday at her home in southern France. She was 91.

Stacker News

Brigitte Bardot, Movie Idol Who Renounced Stardom, Dies at 91 \ stacker news

Brigitte Bardot, the pouty, tousle-haired French actress who redefined mid-20th-century movie sex symbolism in films beginning with “And God Crea...

Ex-boxing champ Joshua injured in fatal crash

ESPN.com

Ex-boxing champ Joshua hurt in crash, two killed

Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua was hospitalized in Nigeria after being involved in a car crash that killed two people who were te...

Anthony Joshua, the Nigerian-British boxer and former world heavyweight champion, suffered minor injuries Monday in a car crash in Nigeria that killed two other passengers, local police have confirmed.

Stacker News

Ex-boxing champ Joshua injured in fatal crash \ stacker news

Anthony Joshua, the Nigerian-British boxer and former world heavyweight champion, suffered minor injuries Monday in a car crash in Nigeria that kil...

Surreal humanoid robots begin border patrol duties between China and Vietnam

Earth.com

Bizarre video shows humanoid robots preparing for border patrol duties between China and Vietnam

China is about to send humanoid robots to work at a busy border with Vietnam.

China is about to send humanoid robots to work at a busy border with Vietnam. UBTECH Robotics has won a $37 million contract, to deploy its Walker S2 machines there starting this month.

Stacker News

Surreal humanoid robots begin border patrol duties between China and Vietnam \ stacker news

China is about to send humanoid robots to work at a busy border with Vietnam. UBTECH Robotics has won a $37 million contract, to deploy its Walker ...

Hackers Claim Breach of WIRED Database Containing 2.3 million Subscriber Records

Cyber Security News

Hackers Claim Breach of WIRED Database Containing 2.3 million Subscriber Records

Hackers have leaked a database containing over 2.3 million WIRED subscriber records, marking a major breach at Condé Nast, the parent company.

Hackers have leaked a database containing over 2.3 million WIRED subscriber records, marking a major breach at Condé Nast, the parent company. The threat actor “Lovely” claims this is just the start, promising to release up to 40 million more records from brands like Vogue and The New Yorker.

Stacker News

Hackers Claim Breach of WIRED Database Containing 2.3 million Subscriber Records \ stacker news

Hackers have leaked a database containing over 2.3 million WIRED subscriber records, marking a major breach at Condé Nast, the parent company. The...

Magnitude 4.7 earthquake strikes outside Northern California national park https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/magnitude-4-7-earthquake-strikes-outside-21265540.php A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck Northern California on Sunday afternoon to the east of Lassen Volcanic National Park, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and it was reportedly felt as far south as Sacramento 200 miles away.

Stacker News

Magnitude 4.7 earthquake strikes outside Northern California national park \ stacker news

A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck Northern California on Sunday afternoon to the east of Lassen Volcanic National Park, according to the U.S. Geolo...

Bitcoin's Pullback Spurs Year-End Crypto Tax-Loss Harvesting

Yahoo Finance

Bitcoin

Bitcoin

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is entering the final stretch of the year under pressure, with a roughly 30% slide from its all-time high creating conditions advisers say could be driving heavier tax-loss harvesting than in prior years. While Bitcoin is down about 5% year-to-date, the S&P 500 (SPY) has risen roughly 18% over the same period, a divergence that advisers say is encouraging investors to sell underwater crypto positions to potentially offset equity gains before Dec. 31, particularly for purchases made near October's peak. Some advisers note that tax-loss harvesting in crypto is increasingly being treated as part of a broader portfolio-wide tax strategy rather than a standalone trade.

Stacker News

Bitcoin's Pullback Spurs Year-End Crypto Tax-Loss Harvesting \ stacker news

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is entering the final stretch of the year under pressure, with a roughly 30% slide from its all-time high creating conditions adv...

Atomtronics: Quantum Technology's Future With Unprecedented Control & Precision

Quantum Zeitgeist

Atomtronics: The Future Of Quantum Technology With Unprecedented Control And Precision

Atomtronics, a burgeoning field within quantum science and technology, involves the manipulation of ultracold atoms in matter wave circuits, allowi...

Atomtronics, a burgeoning field within quantum science and technology, involves the manipulation of ultracold atoms in matter wave circuits, allowing for precise control over a range of physical configurations. Atomtronic devices, such as the atomtronic quantum interference device (AQUID), emulate known electronic components like diodes, batteries, and transistors. Quantum superposition is a key component in atomtronics, used to create atomic qubits. Atomtronics has potential applications in emulating superconducting circuit elements. Research by H M Cataldo from the Universidad de Buenos Aires provides insights into the quantum features of stationary states, paving the way for the development and control of atomtronic devices.

Stacker News

Atomtronics: Quantum Technology's Future With Unprecedented Control & Precision \ stacker news

Atomtronics, a burgeoning field within quantum science and technology, involves the manipulation of ultracold atoms in matter wave circuits, allowi...

Taiwan rattled by 7.0 magnitude quake, no major damage reported https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/27/asia/taiwan-earthquake-tremors-intl-latam A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck some 32 km (20 miles) off Taiwan’s northeastern coastal city of Yilan on Saturday, the island’s weather administration said, with no immediate reports of major damage. The quake with a depth of 73 km (45 miles) was felt across Taiwan and shook buildings in the capital Taipei, the administration said, assigning it an intensity-four category meaning there could be minor damage.

Stacker News

Taiwan rattled by 7.0 magnitude quake, no major damage reported \ stacker news

A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck some 32 km (20 miles) off Taiwan’s northeastern coastal city of Yilan on Saturday, the island’s weather admin...

Zelensky heads to US for Trump peace talks after Kyiv hit by strikes

BBC News

Ukraine-Russia latest: Trump says progress made after Ukraine peace plan talks but 'thorny issues' remain

Zelensky says the 20-point peace plan is 90% agreed, but Trump says land remains the most difficult sticking point.

When they meet in Florida on Sunday, it's expected Trump and Zelensky will discuss a 20-point proposal to end the war. It's an updated take on an earlier 28-point version, which had been drawn up between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian negotiators.

Stacker News

Zelensky heads to US for Trump peace talks after Kyiv hit by strikes \ stacker news

When they meet in Florida on Sunday, it's expected Trump and Zelensky will discuss a 20-point proposal to end the war. It's an updated take on an e...

Why Some Physicists Think We Are Living Inside A Black Hole

IFLScience

Why Some Physicists Think We Are Living Inside A Black Hole

According to the theory, our reality is encoded on the boundary of a black hole within a much larger universe.

In an attempt to reconcile some of the paradoxes discovered when studying them, physicists have proposed stranger hypotheses still, with one suggesting that they imply we live in a holographic universe, where all of what we see and perceive is in fact encoded at our universe's boundary, a 3D (plus time) representation of a two-dimensional (plus time) universe. Further than that, some have suggested that it could imply that our universe is within a black hole of a larger universe.

Stacker News

Why Some Physicists Think We Are Living Inside A Black Hole \ stacker news

In an attempt to reconcile some of the paradoxes discovered when studying them, physicists have proposed stranger hypotheses still, with one sugges...

Ukrainian capital Kyiv under massive Russian attack, officials say https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-capital-kyiv-under-massive-russian-attack-officials-say-2025-12-27/ The Ukrainian capital Kyiv came under a massive Russian attack early on Saturday, with explosions sounding in the city, air defences in operation and the Ukrainian military saying missiles were being deployed. The Russian action took place two days before a meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says he is due to hold in the United States with President Donald Trump to work out details of an accord for settling the nearly four-year-old war pitting Russia against Ukraine.

Stacker News

Ukrainian capital Kyiv under massive Russian attack, officials say \ stacker news

The Ukrainian capital Kyiv came under a massive Russian attack early on Saturday, with explosions sounding in the city, air defences in operation a...

Gold knocks on a 50-year closed door as BTC price faces a defining support test

Gold knocks on a 50-year closed door as BTC price faces a defining support test

Measured against U.S. money supply, gold is back at levels that marked major historical peaks, while bitcoin retraces toward a key cycle floor.

Gold is at a critical juncture when measured against U.S. money supply (M2SL), testing a level it last reached in 2011 and not surpassed since the 1970s, when the price more than tripled to a then-record $700 an ounce over the course of several years. In contrast, Bitcoin, referred to by some supporters as digital gold, has dropped toward a support level, revisiting lows it last touched during the "tariff tantrum" in April.

Stacker News

Gold knocks on a 50-year closed door as BTC price faces a defining support test \ stacker news

Gold is at a critical juncture when measured against U.S. money supply (M2SL), testing a level it last reached in 2011 and not surpassed since the ...

Dark Matter Breakthrough: Physicists Crack “Big Bang Theory” Puzzle

SciTechDaily

Dark Matter Breakthrough: Physicists Crack “Big Bang Theory” Puzzle

A new theoretical study suggests fusion reactors could do more than generate energy, they might also produce particles linked to dark matter. Resea...

A new theoretical study suggests fusion reactors could do more than generate energy, they might also produce particles linked to dark matter. Researchers at the University of Cincinnati say they have worked out, at least on paper, how fusion reactors could produce subatomic particles known as axions, a challenge that stumped two of America’s most famous fictional physicists. In the CBS sitcom “The Big Bang Theory,” particle physicists Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter, who share an apartment, grapple with the same idea across three episodes in Season 5 but never solve it.

Stacker News

Dark Matter Breakthrough: Physicists Crack “Big Bang Theory” Puzzle \ stacker news

A new theoretical study suggests fusion reactors could do more than generate energy, they might also produce particles linked to dark matter. Resea...

Zelensky says he plans to meet Trump in Florida for peace talks Sunday https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/26/europe/zelensky-trump-talks-ukraine-russia-intl Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he plans to meet his US counterpart Donald Trump in Florida Sunday, as part of efforts to reach a peace deal to end Russia’s nearly four-year war in Ukraine. Speaking to reporters Friday, Zelensky cautioned that he could not say whether the meeting would lead to a firm agreement, but said the two sides would aim to “finalize as much as we can.” Earlier on Friday, the Ukrainian leader had struck an optimistic note, writing on X that “a lot can be decided before the New Year.”

Stacker News

Zelensky says he plans to meet Trump in Florida for peace talks Sunday \ stacker news

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he plans to meet his US counterpart Donald Trump in Florida Sunday, as part of efforts to reach a peace...

BTC Price News: plunges to $24,000 on Binance against USD1

BTC Price News: plunges to $24,000 on Binance against USD1

Such sudden price changes are often due to thin liquidity and can be exacerbated by fewer active traders during quieter hours.

Bitcoin briefly displayed $24,111 on Binance in a sharp wick on the BTC/USD1 trading pair late Wednesday before snapping back above $87,000 within seconds, according to exchange data.

Stacker News

BTC Price News: plunges to $24,000 on Binance against USD1 \ stacker news

Bitcoin briefly displayed $24,111 on Binance in a sharp wick on the BTC/USD1 trading pair late Wednesday before snapping back above $87,000 within ...