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Category: policy

Microsoft to disable Excel workbook links to blocked file types

Microsoft has announced that it will start disabling external workbook links to blocked file types by default between October 2025 and July 2026.

After the rollout, Excel workbooks referencing blocked file types will display a #BLOCKED error or fail to refresh, eliminating security risks associated with accessing unsupported or high-risk file types, including, but not limited to, phishing attacks that utilize workbooks to redirect targets to malicious payloads.

This change is being introduced as a new FileBlockExternalLinks group policy, which expands File Block Settings to include external workbook links.

Launch pad indicator error causes SpaceX, NASA to scrub planned static fire test of a Falcon 9 rocket ahead of the Crew-11 launch

Amazon is hoping to get a good rhythm going with the launch and deployment of Project Kuiper, its 3,232-satellite internet constellation, which began operational flights in April. The tech giant said on Thursday that its nearly $140 million investment in Florida is a cornerstone to making that happen.

While shown in the background of photos and hinted at in other public relations materials during its first three launch campaigns, Amazon confirmed on July 24 that its payload processing facility (PPF) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) entered service back in April in time to support its first operational launch on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket.

“There is no better place than Florida’s Space Coast to fulfill Kuiper’s promise to bring broadband to unserved and underserved across the nation and world,” said Brian Huseman, Amazon’s vice president for public policy and community engagement, in a statement. “We are proud to make investments in Florida that will impact the local community and ultimately our customers. We look forward to our long-term partnership with Space Florida, NASA, Space Force, and state and local officials, as well as our launch providers and community partners.”

Earth and Space for Educators

This FREE features Inspiration4 astronaut Chris Sembroski and educator Erin Duncan-Sembroski, along with your hosts, planetary scientist Dr. Kirby Runyon and space educator Dr. Mark Wagner. The high-energy one-hour session is focused on providing an overview of the three-day Earth and Space Experience coming up on November 7–9, 2025. Register now to learn about the geology at specific locations in Southern New Mexico, and how these sites are analogs for the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere in the solar system. Time is also allocated for a Q&A opportunity with all four speakers… come ready with questions! Participation in this also includes access to free space education resources that you can take back to share with your students or others in your community.

Note: This is appropriate for educators, industry professionals, and space enthusiasts from all walks of life. Space education is for everyone!

Chris “Hanks” Sembroski is a commercial astronaut, U.S. Air Force veteran, and passionate advocate for space exploration and STEM education. Best known for his role as Mission Specialist on the historic Inspiration4 mission in 2021, Sembroski spent three days in space, completing 47 orbits as part of the first all-civilian crew. With degrees in aeronautics and a career dedicated to advancing aerospace innovation, he has contributed to groundbreaking projects like Blue Origin’s New Glenn program and teaches as an adjunct faculty member at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Chris’s journey reflects a lifelong passion for human spaceflight, from launching model rockets in college, leading teams through simulated missions at U.S. Space Camp, to advocating for space policy in Washington, D.C. He continues to inspire the next generation through his work as a speaker, educator, and industry leader, embodying the spirit of generosity and exploration.

Evaluating AI and machine learning models in cheminformatics: benchmarking techniques and case studies

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PAPO: Perception-Aware Policy Optimization for Multimodal Reasoning

Suppose you’re trying to solve a puzzle that includes both words and pictures — like reading a comic strip and figuring out what happens next. That’s the kind of challenge today’s AI faces in “multimodal reasoning,” where it must understand both text and images to think and respond accurately.

Grok 4 for a spin this weekend to build this game prototype

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Rivian CEO Exposes Legacy Automaker EV Lies

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe claims that legacy automakers are intentionally slowing down electric vehicle adoption and hindering competition to protect their profits from gas-powered vehicles, which could threaten their survival and allow newer EV makers like Rivian and Tesla to dominate the market ## ## Questions to inspire discussion.

Legacy Automakers and EVs.

🚗 Q: Why are legacy automakers resistant to selling EVs? A: Legacy automakers don’t want to sell EVs because they make good margins on low-efficiency gas cars and can sell them at a premium price, preferring to see the EV market disappear.

🏛️ Q: How are legacy automakers fighting against EV policies? A: Legacy automakers are the biggest adversaries of EV policies, spending the most energy fighting against them in DC, reflecting their desire for the EV market to vanish. Rivian’s Challenges and Strategy.

💰 Q: What financial challenge does Rivian face? A: Rivian has a massive $23 billion debt, making it more indebted than any startup has ever been, requiring 10–20 years to become cash flow positive.

🛻 Q: How is Rivian addressing its product pricing? A: Rivian’s R2 electric truck, launching in 2025, will target a **$45,000 starting price, a strategic move to make their products more accessible.

Continue reading “Rivian CEO Exposes Legacy Automaker EV Lies” | >

AI and biophysics unite to forecast high-risk viral variants before outbreaks

When the first reports of a new COVID-19 variant emerge, scientists worldwide scramble to answer a critical question: Will this new strain be more contagious or more severe than its predecessors? By the time answers arrive, it’s frequently too late to inform immediate public policy decisions or adjust vaccine strategies, costing public health officials valuable time, effort, and resources.

In a pair of recent publications in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a research team in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology combined biophysics with artificial intelligence to identify high-risk viral variants in record time—offering a transformative approach for handling pandemics. Their goal: to get ahead of a virus by forecasting its evolutionary leaps before it threatens public health.

“As a society, we are often very unprepared for the emergence of new viruses and pandemics, so our lab has been working on ways to be more proactive,” said senior author Eugene Shakhnovich, Roy G. Gordon Professor of Chemistry. “We used fundamental principles of physics and chemistry to develop a multiscale model to predict the course of evolution of a particular variant and to predict which variants will become dominant in populations.”