GlitzyArmrest

We should be doing more of this.

The new law, which will come into effect in six months’ time and which also allows cannabis to be used for scientific and industrial ends, passed by 248 votes in the 401-seat parliament in Kyiv. A full breakdown of the vote wasn’t immediately available. The law was proposed by Prime Minister Denys Smyhal.

The legislation imposes strict controls on cannabis production and distribution. A doctor’s prescription will be required to obtain any medicine containing cannabis. Recreational use of cannabis remains a criminal offense.

The 18-year-old Lapsus$ hacker who played a critical role in leaking Grand Theft Auto VI footage has been sentenced to life inside a hospital prison, according to a report from the BBC. A British judge ruled on Thursday that Arion Kurtaj is a high risk to the public because he still wants to commit cybercrimes.

In August, a London jury found that Kurtaj carried out cyberattacks against GTA VI developer Rockstar Games and other companies, including Uber and Nvidia. However, since Kurtaj has autism and was deemed unfit to stand trial, the jury was asked to determine whether he committed the acts in question, not whether he did so with criminal intent.

Federal drug officials are warning Georgia to shelve its plans to be the first state to allow pharmacies to dispense medical marijuana products.

News outlets report that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Nov. 27 warned pharmacies that dispensing medical marijuana violates federal law.

A Confederate memorial is to be removed from Arlington National Cemetery in northern Virginia in the coming days, part of the push to remove symbols that commemorate the Confederacy from military-related facilities, a cemetery official said Saturday.

The decision ignores a recent demand from more than 40 Republican congressmen that the Pentagon suspend efforts to dismantle and remove the monument from Arlington cemetery.

In 2019, electric truck maker Rivian filed a patent for a “removable auxiliary battery” that would fit into the front third or so of the truck bed. This patent was granted in 2020, so Rivian currently has a patent on this technology.

The patent is described as:

• An electric vehicle system for transporting human passengers or cargo includes an electric vehicle that includes a body, a plurality of wheels, a cargo area, an electric motor for propelling the electric vehicle, and a primary battery for providing electrical power to the electric motor for propelling the electric vehicle. An auxiliary battery module is attachable to the electric vehicle for providing electrical power to the electric motor via a first electrical connector at the auxiliary battery module and a second electrical connector at the electric vehicle that mates with the first electrical connector. The auxiliary battery module can be positioned in the cargo area while supplying power to the electric motor, and can be removable and reattachable from the electric vehicle. The auxiliary battery module includes an integrated cooling system for cooling itself during operation of the electric vehicle including a conduit therein for circulating coolant.

We aren’t patent lawyers here, but this sounds awfully similar to Tesla’s “range extender.” The obvious potential differences we can find are if the range extender doesn’t have integrated cooling, which is unlikely, or if the range extender isn’t removable, which doesn’t seem to jive with the statement that it is only for long trips or with the marketing showing it as an optional add-on (if that were the case, why not just offer different battery sizes?).

Tesla itself has many patents (and is still pursuing more of them) but has pledged not to “initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use its technology.” It announced this in a 2014 blog post and followed up by saying that it thinks several companies are using its patents.

So next, the question is: is Tesla’s solution different enough to avoid Rivian’s patent protection? Has Tesla licensed the idea from Rivian, and we just haven’t heard about it yet? Or will Rivian return Tesla’s “good faith” and not initiate a patent lawsuit against Tesla if it does feel like it has a good enough case to say that Tesla’s range extender infringes on its patent?

Washington State Patrol bomb squad was called to the U-Haul location in Gorst on Wednesday after a pipe bomb was found in a vehicle, according to court documents.

A 25-year-old Port Orchard man accused of having the device was charged with a count of possession of an explosive device in Kitsap County Superior Court on Thursday.

Law enforcement was initially called to the U-Haul location at about 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday on a report of an unwanted male there, a Kitsap County sheriff's sergeant wrote in a report. The man was found alone in the driver's seat of a vehicle.

The man gave consent for law enforcement to search the vehicle, and the sergeant found a metal case wedged in between the driver's seat and the center console. Inside the case, the sergeant found two mortar fireworks and a copper pipe bomb, he wrote.

"The pipe bomb was copper tubing and it was crimped on both ends," the sergeant wrote. "There was a red fuse protruding from the center of the tubing. I also noted leather string wrapped around the center of the tube."

The man explained that he knew the device was in the metal case and in the vehicle and said the device did not belong to him. He said he was only holding onto it in a safe place so no one could get to it, the sergeant wrote.

The WSP bomb squad responded, used an X-ray device to analyze the item and determined that it likely contained flash powder and was a fully functioning improvised explosive device, according to court documents.

Kaiser staffers in Washington will see raises between 17% and 25% in the next year, after combining both local and national wage increases. Staffers will also receive a 27% to 35% raise, depending on their role, by the end of the contract in September 2027.

The stolen funds financed the high-rolling lifestyle of Lee E. Price III, a Houston resident with prior felony convictions for forgery and robbery. He swindled nearly $1.7 million by submitting bogus aid applications on behalf of businesses that existed only on paper, according to court records.

Price wasted little time blowing $14,000 on a Rolex and more than $233,000 for a flashy white Lamborghini Urus, a luxury SUV that can go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds. He also spent thousands of dollars at the Casanova, a Houston stripclub. Price was sentenced to more than nine years in prison.

Vinath Oudomsine of Georgia also created a fake company that he claimed made $235,000 a year and had 10 employees. A few weeks after Oudomsine applied for the pandemic aid, the government rushed him $85,000 to keep his non-existent business afloat.

Oudomsine spent nearly $58,000 on a 1999 Charizard Pokémon card

The Rebelle Rally, the longest off-road map-and-compass rally in the United States, wrapped up Friday evening with a new EV milestone under its belt. This was the first time that a team driving an all-electric vehicle (that would be the Rivian R1T) came in first place. The Rebelle Rally, in which all-women teams competed along a 2,120-kilometer course using only paper maps, compasses, and plotters, is in its eighth year.

The 2023 Rivian R1T, with Lilly Macaruso behind the wheel and Alex Anderson behind the compass and map, took first place in the 4×4 class. (An EV has yet to make the podium in the X Cross class.) Macaruso and Anderson, who are both Rivian employees, came in fourth place in the 2022 Rebelle Rally. This year, in another first, Rivian customer, Many Brezina, took her personally owned R1T in the competition. Brezina, and navigator Alex Gilman, finished 11th.

The Rebelle Rally, the longest off-road map-and-compass rally in the United States, wrapped up Friday evening with a new EV milestone under its belt. This was the first time that a team driving an all-electric vehicle (that would be the Rivian R1T) came in first place. The Rebelle Rally, in which all-women teams competed along a 2,120-kilometer course using only paper maps, compasses, and plotters, is in its eighth year.

The 2023 Rivian R1T, with Lilly Macaruso behind the wheel and Alex Anderson behind the compass and map, took first place in the 4×4 class. (An EV has yet to make the podium in the X Cross class.) Macaruso and Anderson, who are both Rivian employees, came in fourth place in the 2022 Rebelle Rally. This year, in another first, Rivian customer, Many Brezina, took her personally owned R1T in the competition. Brezina, and navigator Alex Gilman, finished 11th.