In the real world, the construction of the World Cup infrastructure in Qatar has been marred by extreme temperatures and migrant worker deaths. In the metaverse, however, a digital replica of Lusail Stadium in Doha has none of that baggage -- and the virtual property can be raffled off as a prize for a lucky soccer fan. From a report: FIFA's virtual universe is part of the soccer organization's penchant for embracing the latest tech buzzword. In 2010, some matches were broadcast in 3-D. In 2018, it offered a virtual-reality experience. Now it's the metaverse. While some superfans may fly to Qatar and shell out for a ticket to cheer alongside 80,000 other people during a game, metaverse-inclined fans can head to a virtual airport, wait several hours while they "fly" to Doha, visit a digital version of the stadium and enter nearby shops in the FIFA World Cup-branded village to buy digital merchandise such as scarves and flags, which they can later use to adorn their virtual houses to express their team spirit. That digital journey is thanks to Upland, a metaverse platform based in Mountain View, California, which is partnering with FIFA to provide a blockchain-based metaverse experience during the tournament. Upland isn't FIFA's only partner to provide immersive soccer-themed digital environments tied to the World Cup, which begins Nov. 20 and is the most-watched athletic event across the globe. Roblox has also built out a technicolor world where fans can play a game that's a mix of soccer and bowling.

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Mark Zuckerberg, in a blog post: Today I'm sharing some of the most difficult changes we've made in Meta's history. I've decided to reduce the size of our team by about 13% and let more than 11,000 of our talented employees go. We are also taking a number of additional steps to become a leaner and more efficient company by cutting discretionary spending and extending our hiring freeze through Q1. I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here. I know this is tough for everyone, and I'm especially sorry to those impacted. At the start of Covid, the world rapidly moved online and the surge of e-commerce led to outsized revenue growth. Many people predicted this would be a permanent acceleration that would continue even after the pandemic ended. I did too, so I made the decision to significantly increase our investments. Unfortunately, this did not play out the way I expected. Not only has online commerce returned to prior trends, but the macroeconomic downturn, increased competition, and ads signal loss have caused our revenue to be much lower than I'd expected. I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that. In this new environment, we need to become more capital efficient. We've shifted more of our resources onto a smaller number of high priority growth areas -- like our AI discovery engine, our ads and business platforms, and our long-term vision for the metaverse. We've cut costs across our business, including scaling back budgets, reducing perks, and shrinking our real estate footprint. We're restructuring teams to increase our efficiency. But these measures alone won't bring our expenses in line with our revenue growth, so I've also made the hard decision to let people go.

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Mexico will raise its target to unconditionally cut greenhouse gas emissions to 30% below usual levels by 2030 at this year's COP27 U.N. climate summit, its environment ministry said in a statement Tuesday, lifting its previous target of 22%. Latin America's second-biggest greenhouse gas emitter will also raise its target for conditional emission cuts -- a goal dependent on external support -- to 40% from 36%. Reuters reports: Last year, Mexico pledged to expand its climate goals after research coalition Climate Action Tracker warned that emissions could actually rise under targets unchanged since 2016. Climate Action Tracker had rated Mexico's previous goals "highly insufficient", noting the Paris Climate deal requires countries to progressively raise their percentage reduction targets to offset rising levels of overall emissions. The ministry said Mexico would maintain its target to unconditionally cut "black carbon" emissions by 51%, or 70% depending on external conditions. Black carbon is the sooty material emitted from coal plants and diesel engines, but Climate Action Tracker said its effect as an additional metric was "negligible" since it comes largely from the same sources as CO2. Mexico's environment ministry said it had identified measures to cut an estimated 88.9 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually by 2030, including more industrial regulation, zero-emission vehicles, rail transport, remote working, and creating more natural reserves.

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As subtropical storm Nicole moved across the Atlantic Ocean toward Florida on Monday afternoon, NASA confirmed that its Artemis I mission would remain at the launch pad along the state's east coast. Ars Technica reports: The risks to these large and costly vehicles are non-zero, however, and appear to be rising as Nicole starts to strengthen. The space agency's primary concern from tropical systems is winds. Much of the rocket's structure is pretty robust, such as its tank-like solid rocket boosters. But there are sensitive elements prone to damage from debris and wearing effects due to high winds inside a tropical system. According to the SLS rocket's chief engineer, John Blevins, the rocket can withstand wind gusts up to 74.1 knots. Knots are a term used in meteorology and maritime navigation and are equal to 1 nautical mile per hour. In this case, the SLS rocket can withstand gusts up to 85 mph, or 137 km/h. Wind "gusts" are different from sustained winds. These are short-term bursts of wind, as opposed to sustained winds over one minute or longer. On Monday, at the time NASA announced its decision to remain at the launch pad as Nicole approached Florida, there was just a 4 percent chance of such winds at Kennedy Space Center. NASA, therefore, was willing to take a calculated risk by staying at the pad. One reason for remaining outside was, somewhat ironically, wear and tear. The process of rolling the Artemis I mission four miles back and forth, between the Vehicle Assembly Building and launch pad, puts a lot of stress on the vehicle. When it computes risk factors for the Artemis I launch vehicle, NASA has a certain budget for rollouts. The rocket has now been out to the pad on four separate occasions since this spring. While NASA has not confirmed this, according to a source, NASA has just one remaining roll in its budget. This does not mean the rocket will fall apart with additional roundtrips, it's just that additional movements would incrementally increase the risk of damage. NASA may also simply not have had time to move inside the protective confines of the Vehicle Assembly Building. It takes a couple of days to prep the rocket to roll back. By Monday, it may have already been too late because to roll back before Nicole's arrival would probably have meant doing so no later than Tuesday night. Asked whether NASA really had no choice but to remain at the pad, a spokesperson for the agency, Rachel Kraft, was non-committal. "The team reviewed the forecast and determined the rocket will remain at the pad," she said on Monday. The problem for NASA is that Nicole is now expected to transition into a tropical storm and come ashore just south of Kennedy Space Center as a Category 1 hurricane. "The corresponding odds for hurricane-force winds -- at or above the safety limit established by NASA for its rocket -- are now up to 10 percent," reports Ars. "This is higher than the forecast that prompted a rollback during Ian."

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An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Guardian: Draconian licensing rules and a lack of public funding are holding back the emerging field of psychedelic medicine in the UK, leading scientists have warned after the release of groundbreaking results on the use of psilocybin to treat depression. The latest clinical trial found that a single dose of the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, combined with psychotherapy, helped alleviate depression in nearly a third of patients with severe depression. The finding follows other promising results suggesting that psychedelic drugs could be used in treating conditions including anxiety, PTSD, addiction and anorexia. However, Prof David Nutt, the former government drug adviser and director of the neuropsychopharmacology research unit at Imperial College London, said that unless regulations and attitudes changed, potential treatments would remain "in limbo" at an experimental stage and available only to those who could pay for them in private clinics. "Patients are being denied access because of the regulations," he said. "The research is really hampered by the legal status." Despite what some are hailing as a "psychedelic renaissance," Nutt said there had been minimal public funding for research in this area, besides a grant he received from the Medical Research Council to study psilocybin and funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research for a trial published last week. "I don't think there's any other funding. It's all philanthropists and private sector funding," he said. "It reflects the fact that we still see illegal drugs as drugs to be banned." He said basic scientific research was vital for the development of new potential treatments. "This isn't just some public groundswell of hippy resurrection," he said. "The science has driven the clinical work."

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The Bloomberg Terminal has updated its estimate of FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried's net worth on Nov. 8 to $991 million, down from $16 billion the day before. CryptoSlate reports: The reduced estimate that takes away SBF's billionaire status comes as the native token of the FTX exchange, FTT, fell over 83% to a low of just $2.67 from a daily high of $20.47. A large percentage of SBF's wealth is tied to his business activities with both FTX and Alameda Research, meaning a reduction in the price of FTT tokens would directly affect his personal wealth. The crypto community on Twitter, never to shy away from adding comedy to tragedy, shared memes and anecdotes comparing SBF to Mark Zuckerberg and the fictional Russ Hannemann from the TV show Silicon Valley. Hannemann had a similar experience losing his "3 commas" status, becoming "just" a multimillionaire. In addition, many users commented that SBF's fall from grace outweighs most retail investors' 2022 losses.

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Lauren Forristal writes via TechCrunch: Disney reported (PDF) results for the final quarter of its 2022 fiscal year today, revealing a total of 164.2 million Disney+ global subscribers, an increase of 12 million subs from 152.1 million in Q3. The flagship streaming service was only expected to gain 9.35 million subs. Across Disney's streaming services, Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ had a combined total of 235.7 million subscribers, up from 221 million in the third quarter. The company beat expectations of 233.8 million. [...] However, the company fell short of expectations for total revenue, which was reported to be $20.15 billion. Wall Street estimated that Disney would report a 15% year-on-year jump in revenue to $21.3 billion. The direct-to-consumer division lost $1.5 billion. Disney+ is also set to launch a cheaper ad-supported version on December 8th as it looks to find more ways to earn revenue. The company also increased subscription prices for Disney+, Hulu, Hulu Live TV bundles and ESPN+ plans.

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Wordle will now have its own dedicated editor to help make the hit guessing game word puzzles, The New York Times announced on Monday. The Verge reports: Tracy Bennett will be the editor, and the game will have a word list curated by the NYT and "be programmed and tested" like its crosswords and the Spelling Bee game. The changes appear to mean that the NYT will be lining up some of its own solutions instead of relying on the long list of answers you could find if you knew where to look. However, it sounds like the game itself won't be changing. "Wordle's gameplay will stay the same, and answers will be drawn from the same basic dictionary of answer words, with some editorial adjustments to ensure that the game stays focused on vocabulary that's fun, accessible, lively and varied," Everdeen Mason, the NYT's editorial director of games, wrote in an article about Bennett's appointment. You might already be seeing a different answer than someone else as a result of the change. If that's the case, Mason suggests refreshing your browser or playing the game on the Crossword app.

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An anonymous reader quotes an excerpt from an Ars Technica article: In the United States, the lack of regulatory clarity threatens to slow down not just mainstream adoption of new technologies but also innovation in digital payment options, potentially cutting off consumers and businesses nationwide from sought-after conveniences, simply because regulators can't keep up with how digital assets are being used today. "There has to be some clarity that comes out, some standards, some ideas of the dos and the don'ts and some structure around it," said May Zabaneh, PayPal's vice president of product in blockchain, crypto, and digital currencies during a Money 20/20 session focused on how people use crypto to make digital payments. "Otherwise, that mainstream adoption will really be inhibited." According to Zabaneh, digital payment processors need government agencies to ensure much more stability before the companies can confidently "explore the potential" of using digital assets like stablecoins or central bank digital currencies to provide alternative payment options in e-commerce. She said that even though PayPal has a responsibility to continue innovating in digital payments, efforts can become stalled because "there needs to be more clarity around regulation," particularly regulations around consumer protection and the tax implications of using digital assets. These are areas US agencies have only just begun considering, and that's holding innovation back. "In order for things to become mainstream, they have to be easily accessible, easily adoptable," she said. Zabaneh was not alone in calling for regulatory clarity to drive innovation. Executives from other payment processors like Checkout.com, cryptocurrency exchange platforms like Coinbase, and banks like JPMorgan Chase all repeated the same call in their sessions, warning that US fears over digital assets involved in financial crimes created hard-to-navigate compliance risks for those most invested in driving innovation. The executives said the US is moving so slowly in passing laws and establishing rules that industry leaders will start to conduct business elsewhere. Experts at Money 20/20 said this is already happening. The US wants to be on the leading edge of digital currencies, but tension remains between what President Joe Biden wrote in an executive order this year concerning the country's economic "interest in responsible financial innovation" and the wide-ranging security risks, including those to consumers and businesses, as well as to national security. To keep fintech leaders doing business in the US and participating in what's become a trillion-dollar market, Tufts University cybercrime expert Josephine Wolff told Ars she thinks the country must first prove it can prevent illegal activity and other security risks associated with digital assets. [...] The US government has struggled to keep up with the way digital assets are used but seems determined to crack down on illegal uses while simultaneously pushing aggressively forward with government-backed digital assets, like a central bank digital currency. Wolff said that because many in the government don't know how digital currencies are used, both legally and illegally, legislators are unsure how to regulate new digital assets. Meanwhile, digital payment technologies continue to evolve. New uses emerge, and policymakers are continuing to look at the US's existing financial regulatory framework while asking basic questions. Is this digital asset considered a form of currency like a security (such as bitcoins), or is it being traded like a commodity (such as non-fungible tokens)? Or is some new legislation, such as the Stablecoin Transparency Act, needed to regulate emerging digital assets? Until mainstream adoption of technologies makes evident the most common uses of digital assets, regulators will continue struggling to make clear laws defining how digital assets can be used. Wolff told Ars it's a difficult policy agenda to navigate because "each of these new digital assets we see creates new opportunities for crime." "The United States is trying to balance two somewhat at-odds priorities: We want this technology to be sufficiently regulated and traceable so that we can conduct law enforcement investigations and hold criminals accountable," Wolff told Ars. "But we also want it to be flexible enough that people can invent new things and experiment with new models and innovate. So I understand why companies are saying, 'Well, look, we could innovate more if you told us exactly what's allowed.'" "Regulation of the financial services industry has a bad name, and rightfully so," said Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's director, Rohit Chopra, but CFPB was motivated to activate a dormant authority in the Consumer Financial Protection Act to ensure the US benefits from "a more decentralized and neutral consumer financial market structure" that "has the potential to reshape how companies compete in the sphere." "That could mean the most innovative companies capture the largest parts of the US payments market," reports Ars, citing Wolff. "And as the market favors technologies and consumers adopt trusted digital assets, that could help regulators who still aren't sure how to craft policy for digital assets."

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"An ugly hack within the Linux kernel that has been in mainline for over three years has been called out," writes Phoronix's Michael Larabel. "Due to a buggy X.Org Server / xf86-video-modesetting DDX, the Linux kernel has been imposing different behavior on whether a process starts with 'X' and in turn disable the atomic mode-setting support." Linux security researcher and WireGuard creator, Jason Donenfeld, discovered the 'ugly code' within the kernel and commented on it via the kernel mailing list. "The commit to this kernel with the 'X' first character check was made back in September 2019," notes Larabel. "The 'good' news is that since then on user-space side back in 2019 the xf86-video-modesetting code went ahead and disabled atomic support by default. So technically if running an updated X.Org stack within the past three years, this kernel hack isn't necessary anymore since user-space is just then avoiding the atomic API."

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At its Zoomtopia conference, the company announced a bunch of features that are coming to its platform, including two key ones for productivity: email and calendars. Engadget reports: You can connect third-party email and calendar services to Zoom and access them through the desktop app. The company says that can help save you time instead of having to switch between apps and perhaps needing to hunt for the right tab in your browser. Those on the Zoom One Pro or Zoom Standard Pro plans will be able to set up email accounts through the platform, and folks with certain plans have the option to use custom domains. You'll get up to 100GB of storage included. The key selling point is that messages sent directly between Zoom Mail Service users (i.e. those who use Zoom's email hosting services) will have end-to-end encryption. You'll also be able to send external emails that can expire and contain access-restricted links. As for Zoom Calendar, there will be options to see which of your contacts has joined a meeting, and you can schedule Zoom voice and video calls in the app. Zoom's own calendar service will include the ability to book appointments. On the way in 2023 is a feature called Zoom Spots. The company describes this as a virtual coworking space where colleagues can stay more connected during the workday via video-first conversations. While the company didn't reveal too much detail about Zoom Spots in its blog post, there may be a downside as the feature could enable bosses to keep a closer eye on what their employees are doing. Businesses will soon be able to employ Zoom Virtual Agent, a conversational AI and chatbot designed to help customers resolve issues. That tool will be available in early 2023. Other things in the pipeline include a way for developers to make money from the Zoom Apps Marketplace and a virtual coach to help sellers perfect their pitches. As for the core functions people know Zoom for, there's a feature on the way that connects team chats with in-meeting chats. You'll be able to carry the conversation from one to the other and back again to keep things flowing. The company is also looking to roll out translation options for team chats in 2023. In the near future, you'll be able to schedule a chat message to send at a later time. Zoom Phone is coming to the web, which should be handy for many folks. A progressive web app will be available for ChromeOS too. Meanwhile, users will be able to use a one-click chat message as a response when they can't answer a call. As for Zoom Rooms, there will be a way for folks in one of those to join a Google Meet room and vice versa. Last, but by no means least, Zoom revealed a string of updates for meetings. The Smart Recordings feature uses AI to generate summaries, next steps and chapters to make archived meetings more digestible and help you get to the part you're looking for. There will be meeting templates that can automatically configure the right settings and a way to record videos with narration and screensharing that you can send to colleagues. On top of that, you'll have more avatar options, including the ability to use a Meta avatar.

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An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Associated Press: Should California's richest residents pay higher taxes to help put more electric vehicles on the road? That's a question the state's voters are weighing in the election that concludes Tuesday. Proposition 30 would place a new 1.75% tax on incomes above $2 million, which is estimated to be fewer than 43,000 taxpayers. It would raise billions annually, with most going to help subsidize the purchase of electric vehicles and construction of charging stations. Twenty percent of the money would go toward boosting resources to fight wildfires. The ballot fight comes as California races to reduce emissions from transportation -- by far the largest source -- and meet its ambitious climate goals. Wildfires, meanwhile, are spewing more carbon into the air as they become larger and more destructive, threatening to set back the state's progress. Though Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom pushed for a policy that bans the sale of most new gas-powered cars in the state in 2035, he does not support Proposition 30. That's pit him against the state Democratic Party and a number of environmental and public health organizations. Newsom has called it a taxpayer-funded giveaway to rideshare companies, which under California regulations must ensure nearly all trips booked through their services are zero-emission by 2030. Lyft supplied most of the "yes" campaign's funding; competitor Uber has not taken a position. Backers of the measure, including most major environmental groups, say the state needs a dedicated, robust source of funding to set up infrastructure that can handle more plug-in cars and to help Californians of all income levels to buy them. The money won't go exclusively to passenger cars; the state could also tap it to put cleaner delivery trucks, buses and even e-bikes on the roads. A portion of the money must go to help people in low-income or disadvantaged communities buy or access electric cars. [...] Rideshare companies like Lyft do not own the vehicles their drivers use, but they are still on the hook to ensure that trips booked through their app will be zero-emission. Proposition 30 does not include any provisions that exclusively benefit Lyft. But Newsom and other opponents say the measure would allow Lyft to rely on taxpayer dollars, not company money, to help its drivers transition to electric cars. Supporters of the measure, though, say an effort to raise taxes on the rich to boost electric vehicle adoption was in the works before Lyft got involved.

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As insurance companies struggle to stay afloat amid rising cyber claims, Swiss Re has recommended a public-private partnership insurance scheme with one option being a government-backed fund to help fill the coverage gap. From a report: Global cyber insurance premiums hit $10 billion in 2021, according to Swiss Re's estimates. In a study published this week, the insurance giant forecasted 20 percent annual growth to 2025, with premiums rising to $23 billion over the next few years. Meanwhile, annual cyberattack-related losses total about $945 billion globally, and about 90 of that risk remains uninsured, according to insurance researchers at the Geneva Association. While Forrester estimates a typical data breach costs an average $2.4 million for investigation and recovery, only 55 percent of companies currently have cyber insurance policies. Additionally, less than 20 percent have coverage limits in excess of $600,000, which the analyst firm cites as the median ransomware demand in 2021. "The market needs to mature further to ensure enough insurance protection is available," John Coletti, head cyber reinsurance at Swiss Re, told The Register. "Our industry has a key role to play by addressing three issues: improving data and modeling, increasing contract consistency and clarity and identifying new sources of capital."

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Salesforce on Tuesday confirmed that it cut some employees this week after the enterprise software maker saw demand lighten in some countries and industries. From a report: Protocol reported earlier on the cuts, saying that they could affect up to 2,500 employees. One person familiar with the matter said Salesforce let go of fewer than 1,000 people on Monday. At the end of January it employed 73,541 people. In August Salesforce said in a filing that headcount rose 36% in the past year "to meet the higher demand for services from our customers."

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Sony will start phasing out plastic packaging for small electronic gadgets such as smartphones, cameras and audio accessories from next year, a company spokeswoman said Tuesday. From a report: From April, plastic packaging will not be used for some new products weighing one kilogram (2.2 pounds) or less. The Japanese conglomerate wants to eliminate the material from all containers for newly designed smaller goods by 2025, the spokeswoman told AFP. "Instead of plastics, we will mainly use paper, and a so-called 'original blend material' made from bamboo, used paper and squeezed sugarcane fibre," she said. Sony eventually wants to eliminate plastic packaging for larger products like televisions, but no specific time frame has been decided yet, she said.

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A federal judge denied Elizabeth Holmes's bid for a new trial, the latest setback for the Theranos founder who was convicted of fraud in January. From a report: U.S. District Judge Edward Davila, who oversaw Ms. Holmes's trial which began last year, said in a ruling late Monday that the arguments in her three motions for a new trial didn't introduce material new evidence or establish government misconduct, adding that a new trial was unlikely to result in an acquittal. Ms. Holmes is scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 18. Earlier Monday, a court probation officer submitted a presentence report, an investigation into Ms. Holmes's legal and personal background. The judge previously denied her request for an acquittal. He also denied requests for an acquittal and new trial from Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, Ms. Holmes's former boyfriend and deputy at Theranos, who was found guilty on 12 counts of fraud and conspiracy in a separate trial that concluded in July.

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Microsoft's proposed $69 billion takeover of games developer Activision Blizzard faces an in-depth European Union probe after regulators said they're concerned the software giant could thwart access to blockbuster franchises such as Call of Duty. From a report: The European Commission said in a statement on Tuesday that Microsoft may "foreclose access to Activision Blizzard's console and PC video games, especially to high-profile and highly successful games." The EU's merger watchdog set a March 23 deadline for its so-called phase 2 investigation. The combination with Activision -- which owns some of the most popular games also including World of Warcraft and Guitar Hero -- would make Microsoft the world's third-largest gaming company and boost the Xbox maker's roster of titles for its Game Pass subscribers. But the deal is already facing protracted scrutiny from antitrust agencies across the globe. Microsoft last month accused the UK's Competition and Markets Authority of relying on "self-serving" input from rival Sony Group in its deliberations. The US Federal Trade Commission is also reviewing the transaction, including looking into how it might impact workers.

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Spyware such as Pegasus is being deployed by state-run organizations across the European Union to snoop on politicians and journalists with virtually no EU-level oversight, according to a draft report for the bloc's parliament. From a report: The document on the use of surveillance spyware released on Tuesday said citizens can "safely assume that all EU member states have purchased one or more commercial spyware products" such as Pegasus, developed by Israel-based NSO Group. But, "no meaningful European oversight is in place; not to curb the illegal use of powerful spyware against individuals, nor to monitor the trade in these digital goods," lawmaker Sophie in 't Veld, the report's author, said in a statement. The 159-page document focuses on the use of spyware based on investigations of journalists and civil society groups and the parliament's own research missions.

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Turnover at Apple has hindered efforts to replace the head of product design, leaving a gaping hole at the helm of a prominent team that's been key to the iPhone maker's prolonged success. From a report: Legendary design leader Jony Ive departed Apple in 2019, and his replacement for hardware design lasted just about three years. Now the department -- still in Ive's shadow -- needs a new leader at a time when there are few obvious choices. And the fate of Apple's hardware devices, which accounted for more than three-quarters of its nearly $400 billion in revenue last year, hangs in the balance. Evans Hankey, who has held the job since Ive left, informed Apple last month that she will be departing. Though Hankey had been at the company for about 20 years, her relatively brief tenure at the top of the industrial design team made it hard to establish a distinct vision for new products. Apple also lacks a clear succession plan for the job, a significant problem for a company that sells premium-priced products largely based on their look.

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Binance has signed a non-binding, letter of intent to acquire FTX, the two firms said, delivering a surprising twist amid the public feud between the world's two largest crypto exchanges that contributed to several tokens taking a tumble Tuesday. The firms didn't disclose the value of the deal, pending the due diligence process. From a report: In a series of tweets, Binance founder and chief executive Changpeng Zhao said Binance made the decision after FTX reached out to the firm for help. "To protect users, we signed a non-binding LOI, intending to fully acquire FTX and help cover the liquidity crunch. We will be conducting a full DD in the coming days," he said. Binance, the world's largest exchange, is the first investor that backed FTX, but as the younger firm grew in popularity, the relationship between the two firms started to wither.

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