Mission Everywhere

Meta is starting to test closed spaces called “members-only worlds” in Horizon Worlds, its social VR experience. The company has begun a limited alpha test to give creators the ability to grow and moderate their own communities. Meta has selected a small group of creators to build and obtain feedback about members-only worlds. In a blog post , Meta explained that creators can hand-select members and offer them exclusive experiences. During the alpha test, each members-only world can have up to 150 world members and 25 concurrent visitors at any given time. With members-only worlds, creators can launch a dedicated space to do things like host a book club, gather a gaming group, organize a support group or just hang out with friends and family without having to worry about uninvited guests. Image Credits: Meta “Every community develops its own norms, etiquette, and social rules over time as it fosters a unique culture,” Meta explained in its blog post. “To enable that, we’ll provid...

Matt Binder / Mashable : Twitter shuts down CoTweets, an experimental feature that let two users author and publish a tweet in tandem; in a month, CoTweets will show a single author   —  If you're reading this, it's already too late to post a CoTweet.  —  Did you use Twitter's fairly new CoTweets feature? from Techmeme https://ift.tt/ky084SE

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., left, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call Senate Democrats want to ramp up the pace of federal judge confirmations this Congress. But their task could grow challenging when it comes to filling vacancies in states with GOP senators. By tradition, senators have essentially a veto power over district court nominees in their home states. Senate Democrats are vying to confirm more of President Joe Biden's nominees to the federal bench after he broke his recent predecessors' records for judges appointed in their first two years in office.  "This Congress, with an even larger majority, Senate Democrats will ramp up to a record pace and continue to make our courts more reflective of our country," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement to Insider. But even with a 51-seat majority, the task for Democrats could grow challenging as many of the 88 open judgeships — a number that's ...

Female-focused telehealth startup, Teal Health , is popping up today to announce an $8.8 million seed round with a roster of heavy hitting investors on board — including (Serena Williams’) Serena Ventures, ( Chelsea Clinton’s) Metrodora Ventures, and (Laurene Powell Jobs’) Emerson Collective. The February 2020-founded San Francisco-based startup’s first product will be a service that supports women to collect their own sample for cervical cancer screening in the comfort of their own home. It wants to tackle the problem of women not getting screened — either because the traditional route of going to a doctor’s surgery for a pap smear (using a speculum ) is uncomfortable or inconvenient or both. Teal has developed a novel device for women to self collect a sample to mail off for lab analysis. Its websites refers to this device as a “collection wand” — and we gather there’s a sponge involved — but details of what exactly it looks like and how it will function remain under wraps as...

Robert Iafolla / Bloomberg : A National Labor Relations Board judge rules Amazon violated US federal labor laws as part of its efforts to resist unionization at two New York City facilities   —  Amazon.com Inc. violated federal labor law as part of its efforts to resist unionization at two facilities in New York City, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/lba2hOk

YouTuber MrBeast paid for 1,000 blind and near-blind people around the world to receive cataract surgery. Jeff Cheatham/HCK2 YouTuber MrBeast paid for 1,000 blind and near-blind people to receive cataract removal surgery. The surgery, which can cost between $3,000 and $5,000 per eye, takes only 10 minutes to complete. One man who couldn't drive because of his bad eyesight was also gifted a red Tesla. YouTuber MrBeast just gave the gift of sight — and a Tesla — to a man that couldn't see clearly for his entire life. In his latest YouTube video, MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, paid for 1,000 blind and near-blind people all over the world to receive surgery. On top of the cataract surgery that the video describes, some patients received gifts, like $10,000 in cash or $50,000 for a college fund.  "Half of all the blindness in the world is people who need a 10-minute surgery," Jeff Levenson, the ophthalmologist and surgeon who worked with Donaldson...

After eight months, Netflix’s Kids Mystery Box feature has officially rolled out to Android devices today. Android users worldwide can now discover new children’s shows and TV characters by clicking on the “Mystery Box” in the “Favorites Row” at the top of the Netflix homepage. The company today updated its previous announcement post from May, stating, “This feature is now available on Android devices for all global members.” The Mystery Box feature works similarly to a shuffle button and gives kids and their caregivers the ability to find new content in a more playful way. The content in the mystery box changes daily, ranging from shows and characters like Ada Twist, Iggy and Rosie from “Ada Twist, Scientist” to dinosaurs from “Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous.” Netflix has a decent slate of kids’ shows and films, including popular titles like “Cocomelon,” “Gabby’s Dollhouse” and Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio,” which was just nominated for the 2023 Oscars . The streaming servic...

Bloomberg : Sources: Twitter made its first interest payment under Elon Musk to a group of seven banks; the payment was due around January 27 and estimated to be ~$300M   —  Twitter Inc. made its first interest payment under Elon Musk, according to people with knowledge of the matter … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/Qb6UJdO

The collaboration shoe is expected to retail at $400. Nike Nike and Tiffany & Co have confirmed a new collaboration sneaker. The sneaker will reportedly release this spring at a retail price of $400. So far, sneakerheads are not impressed.  It's official. A Nike and Tiffany & Co collaboration sneaker is on the way.  Both companies took to social media over the weekend to advertise the collaboration. In separate Instagram posts, the retailers revealed the shoe box for the upcoming sneaker. Nike and Tiffany also took out a full-page ad in Sunday's print edition of The New York Times featuring the words "A Legendary Pair." —Staccato L'ouverture 🇭🇹 (@Staccato_Lo) January 29, 2023 The sneaker, dubbed the Nike Air Force 1 Low Tiffany & Co. "1837," features an all-black nubuck leather on the upper with a swoosh in Tiffany blue, the light medium robin egg blue of the brand's jewelry boxes, according to unofficial images leaked on...

Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced today that the social network is launching its text update Notes feature across Europe and Japan. Notes are short posts of up to 60 characters that include just text and emojis, and appear above your profile photo. Prior to this expansion, Notes was already accessible everywhere Instagram is available beyond Europe and Japan since the feature’s initial roll out in December . Users can post Notes by navigating to the top of their inbox, then selecting the followers they follow back or others from their existing “Close Friends” list. They can then type out the note itself, after which it will appear at the top of friends’ inboxes for 24 hours. If a user responds to a Note, the reply will arrive as a DM. Notes Launch Worldwide Notes are now available in Europe and Japan. Check it out and let me know what you think! pic.twitter.com/MSSjQZVIuZ — Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) January 30, 2023 In a video posted to his social accounts, Mosseri ex...

Hannah Murphy / Financial Times : Sources detail Twitter's nascent moves to facilitate payments, a key to becoming a “super app”, as the company files for regulatory licenses across the US   —  Company has started applying for US state licences in bid for fresh revenues beyond advertising from Techmeme https://ift.tt/hTafVN0

Ashlyn DeLong, 28, and her fiancé Josh, 33, are set to tie the knot on February 4 at an event hall across the street from the trial of Alex Murdaugh. Ashlyn DeLong/Facebook The Alex Murdaugh murder trial is underway at a South Carolina courthouse across the street from a wedding venue. Three events were set to take place during the trial, and another wedding was held on Thursday. One bride told The Daily Beast she's stressed about her wedding being so close to the trial. A South Carolina bride said she fears her wedding day will be interrupted by the swarm of journalists covering what some have called the trial of the century in the state. Last January, 28-year-old Ashlyn DeLong and 33-year-old her fiancé Josh booked a space in the Walterboro Wildlife Center for their 205-person wedding. Last week, she discovered the Colleton County Courthouse — located across the street from the venue— would be holding the highly publicized double homicide trial of former lawyer Alex Mur...

Douglas Sacha/Getty Images Ky'Air Thomas, one of the twins who were abducted last month, has died, police said. Officers responded to a report of an unresponsive baby on Saturday. An investigation is ongoing, authorities said.  One of the twin Ohio infants whose abduction last month prompted a public outpouring of support was pronounced dead this weekend, local news reported. Officers on Saturday night responded to a call at around 11 p.m. of an unresponsive 6-month-old baby, identified as Ky'Air Thomas, a spokesperson for the Columbus Division of Police told Insider.  The baby was transported to a local children's hospital "in life-threatening condition" where he was pronounced dead just before midnight, the spokesperson said.  An investigation is underway and an autopsy is set for Monday to determine the cause of death, according to police and local news reports.  The child's mother, Wilhelmina Barnett, released a brief statement on her Instagr...

Former Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 19, 2022. WADE VANDERVORT/AFP via Getty Images As Donald Trump embarks on his 2024 campaign, Chris Christie said he "can't win a general election." Former New Jersey Gov. Christie said on "This Week" he believes Trump's electability has declined since 2020. Christie pointed to the 2022 midterms where he said many election deniers proved to be "loser" candidates. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Donald Trump "can't win a general election" and predicted the former president will not be successful in his 2024 presidential run.  Christie, a Republican, said on "This Week" on ABC News that Trump's electability has "gotten worse" since the 2020 election.  "I've said, over and over again, that he can't win a general election," Christ...

TechCrunch : Court records since 2011 show how police in some US states used digital data, like text messages, search history, and emails, in abortion-related prosecutions   —  In late April, police in Nebraska received a tip saying 17-year-old Celeste Burgess had given birth to a stillborn baby and buried the body. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/BH9Xiu6

Jen Glantz. Gaby Deimeke Jen Glantz is an entrepreneur with seven income streams that help her earn six figures a year. In addition to her two businesses, she's rented out her apartment and monetized her social media. In 2023, she's considering peer-to-peer lending and investing in crowdfunded real estate. In 2015, after being laid off from my full-time job at a tech startup, I was overwhelmed with stress and confusion. I'd lost the only source of income I had, but I still had a stack of bills and financial obligations to take care of. I decided that I wanted to do whatever I could to make sure I was never in that position again. Soon after, I learned that self-made millionaires usually have around three to four sources of income. I knew I wanted to eventually be a millionaire — or at least someone who never had to worry about losing a paycheck. So I've tried to add new streams of income every year, from new products and services that I launch through my two ...

Emerald Garner, Eric Garner's daughter. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images) Emerald Garner spoke out about how authorities released the Tyre Nichols footage. Garner told NewsNation that it was rolled out like a "premiere of a movie." Her father, Eric, was killed by an NYPD officer in 2014, sparking calls for justice.  The daughter of Eric Garner, who an NYPD officer fatally choked in 2014, spoke out about the footage of Tyre Nichols' arrest, and sharply criticized how authorities handled the release.  "The fact that we waited for this video to be released like it was an exclusive movie that needed to be premiered on a certain day, it really boils my blood," Emerald Garner told NewsNation on Friday. "It's just heart-wrenching." She told the outlet that it was a grim reminder of the fatal encounter her father had with Daniel Pantaleo, the former NYPD officer who put her father in a chokehold during an attempted arrest caught on cel...

Julia Angwin / The Markup : Q&A with Princeton CS professor Arvind Narayanan on why he calls ChatGPT a “bullshit generator”, his worries over its boom, developing his AI taxonomy, and more   —  Hello, friends,  —  If you have been reading all the hype about the latest artificial intelligence chatbot … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/UNKInJi

Tyre Nichols died after being brutally beaten by five Memphis police officers, city officials have said. The five police officers involved in the beating have been charged with second-degree murder. Here is a timeline of events as they unfolded. Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, died three days after he was stopped at a traffic stop and beaten by Memphis police officers. The Memphis Police Department released video footage of the arrest on Friday, showing a violent encounter between multiple officers and Nichols on the evening of January 7. The city braced for civil unrest ahead of the footage's release. Five officers have been charged with Nichols' murder, and have since been released from jail on bond. Here's a timeline of the events and what we know so far: January 7, a round 8:30 p.m: Nichols is stopped, arrested, and beaten Memphis police officers stopped Nichols for "reckless driving" near the intersection between Raines Road and Ross Road, ...

Rep. Ruben Gallego, left, and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Alex Wong/Getty Images Ruben Gallego on Thursday blasted Sen. Sinema over what he said was her inattention to Arizona. "She doesn't speak to Arizonans anymore. She doesn't actually talk to them," he said on CNN. Gallego on Monday announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination for Senate in Arizona. Arizona Democratic Senate candidate Ruben Gallego on Thursday blasted Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema over her job performance, arguing that the lawmaker is "hardly" seen in the state and remarking that she "doesn't speak to Arizonans anymore." During an appearance on CNN's "This Morning," Gallego — a congressman who has represented a Phoenix-anchored district since 2015 — told co-anchor Don Lemon that Sinema is "no longer popular with anybody." "Nobody in Arizona has really spoken to her in the last fou...