Taiwanese pager manufacturer Gold Apollo Co., at the center of the exploding pagers incident used by Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon—resulting in nine deaths and nearly 3,000 injuries—shifted the blame onto Budapest-based BAC Consulting Kft.  The Washington Post cites Hsu Kuang, the founder of Gold Apollo, who told reporters that BAC Consulting "entirely handled" the AR-924 pager manufacturing process.  On Wednesday, Kuang told reporters at the company's...

A picture began to emerge Wednesday of a highly complex attack carried out by Israel, after thousands of pagers carried by members of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah exploded around the same time a day earlier. Many of the affected pagers were from a new shipment that Hezbollah had received recently, part of a nearly yearlong process to swap out older devices. The group said they detonated in rough unison at 3:30 p.m. Survivors reported hearing the pagers beep and...

Imagine being a 12-year-old girl in a small town who’s interested in computers. You’ve learned a bit of programming online, but you don’t know anyone who works in the tech field and your school district doesn’t have the kinds of classes you need to explore further. How likely would you be to keep and pursue that interest? Since the internet changed everyone’s lives in the 1990s, there’s been a push for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. Universal reliance on technology has made STEM careers not just desirable but vital, and the speed at which those fields are moving means we need young people to stay interested in them. Research indicates that we’ve largely succeeded in reaching kids when they’re young—children demonstrate a deep fascination with STEM subjects up to age 11. But something shifts during adolescence. Past age 11, interest in STEM starts to wane, often dissipating by age 15. The question is why.To get to the bottom of this STEM age/interest gap mystery, wireless carrier UScellular partnered with developmental psychologist and researcher Richard Rende, Ph.D. Through a state-of-the-art analysis of the research, Dr. Rende helped uncover the barriers that prevent youth—particularly girls and those living in rural communities—from maintaining and nurturing their interest in STEM. Students taking a STEM field tripPhoto courtesy of UScellularDr. Rende found that keeping kids from losing STEM interest as they become teens requires programs that are equitable, relatable, relevant and supportive.Here’s what those four drivers look like in practice:Equitable- Bringing STEM programs to rural areas that don’t have access to advanced courses or school-based curriculum- Countering the notion that STEM isn’t for everyone and offering buffers for when kids are confronted with stereotypes or biasesRelatable- Exposing girls to women in STEM professions who share similar backgrounds in smaller and rural communities- Having STEM professionals share their experiences growing up so youth don’t see them as “superheroes” doing something unattainableRelevant- Programs and field trips that demonstrate how STEM is applied, especially in ways that connect to the local environment or technology kids already use- Incorporating kids’ voices to help guide the elements of a programSupportive- Provide supportive mentorship, especially when projects become more complicated and require emotion regulation and resilience- Teach cognitive skills that will help kids believe they have the capacity to succeed in STEM subjects Kids learning about cell towers from Cheryl Dennard, Senior Manager of Core Services Engineering at UScellularPhoto courtesy of UScellularTo test out his findings before sharing them with the world, Dr. Rende worked with UScellular’s non-profit partner, YWCA, which has an after-school and summer program called TechGYRLS, designed to inspire girls in grades 3 to 8 to consider future careers in STEM fields. Together they created a refreshed STEM program guide incorporating Dr. Rende’s research and worked with focus groups at various YWCA locations to get feedback.“What we see to date is that programming and mentoring to ‘train’ kids to be STEM people is not always enough to sustain and encourage interest during the transition to adolescence, especially for underserved youth,” says Dr. Rende. “We need to help them see the opportunities in STEM that spark their curiosity and gain belief that they can confidently explore all the possibilities available to them in STEM, including those that go beyond the traditional STEM careers like mathematician or scientist. It could be a vet, a nurse, wireless network engineer, arborist, audio engineer, turf scientist, or mechanical engineer and may not be a career that requires years and years of higher education.”After-school enrichment programs like YWCA’s TechGYRLS can be found in communities all over the country, and parents, guardians and teachers can help the kids in their communities by identifying similar programs and encouraging them to participate. If teachers or youth-focused non-profits want to create their own STEM program, Dr. Rende’s whitepaper can help inform their approach and design to keep kids interested. UScellular and YWCA are working on a digital version of the program guide to increase access for even more youth and help educators improve their STEM programming. Longer term, the perceptions and attitudes of the TechGYRLS participants will be measured to evaluate if the current decline in STEM interest is being reduced or averted. Advancing innovation requires people who pursue careers in STEM fields, so the more interest we can spark and sustain in young people, the brighter our future will look.Learn more about how UScellular is supporting STEM education here.

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"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" singer died in 2020, but his legacy lives on.

Tremonti: The Mother, The Earth And I  “Throughout mankind, everyone has fought over things like power, religion, and their beliefs,” explained frontman and band namesake Mark Tremonti. “One side believes it’s right and everyone else is wrong. No matter what you believe in though, we all belong to the earth.” Jane’s Addiction: True Love   The single follows last week’s onstage scuffle and the subsequent U.S. tour cancelation. The track has band’s classic lineup of singer Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, Eric Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins. Poppy: They’re All Around Us The track was produced and co-written by former Bring Me The Horizon member Jordan Fish. It is expected to be included on Poppy’s next album – no release date has been set. ### The post New Rock Music: Tremonti, Jane’s Addiction & Poppy appeared first on RockinTown.

Frightening. “We’re seeing teenage girls presenting with Stage 4 cancer…with no family history. They’re ‘Covid Vaccinated’ as they needed them to attend university or college. We’ve never seen so many young women presenting with terminal cancer…” pic.twitter.com/dpBPBcNR70 — Liz Churchill (@liz_churchill10) September 17, 2024

by Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D., Childrens Health Defense: ACAM2000, a vaccine approved last month by the FDA for mpox, comes with a list of “serious complications,” including myocarditis, death and fetal death. The FDA’s medication guide also warns that people who receive the vaccine may spread it to unvaccinated people, who also risk developing vaccine side […]