Today's TECH story

Supreme Court allows social media age check law

What happened
The Supreme Court yesterday rejected an emergency appeal to pause Mississippi's controversial social media age verification law. There were no dissents noted in the brief, unsigned opinion.

Who said what
NetChoice, the tech industry group that filed the appeal, argued that Mississippi's law "threatens privacy rights and unconstitutionally restricts the free expression of users of all ages," not just those under 18, said The Associated Press. A federal judge had agreed and blocked the law from taking effect for major social media platforms, but a three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals paused that order in a "one-sentence ruling" in July, "without explaining its reasoning," Reuters said.

Mississippi's law is "far broader" than a Texas age-verification statute for online pornography that the Supreme Court upheld in June, said NPR. Unlike the Texas legislation, Mississippi "requires all users to verify their ages" for access to "common social media sites," not just adult material. Justice Brett Kavanaugh said in a concurring statement that NetChoice had convinced him its challenge was "likely to succeed" on First Amendment grounds but failed to demonstrate that the "balance of harms and equities favors it at this time."

What next?
Mississippi's law can now take effect while legal challenges play out. NetChoice's Paul Taske called yesterday's decision "an unfortunate procedural delay."

Today's BUSINESS Story

Trump said to seek government stake in Intel

What happened
The Trump administration is in talks with Intel to take a stake in the chipmaker, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. President Donald Trump and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan (pictured above) reportedly discussed the proposal at a White House meeting on Monday.

Who said what
The deal would be Trump's latest move to "blur the lines between state and industry," especially in the chip sector, Bloomberg said. In eight months of such "blunt interventions," Trump has "made himself the biggest decision-maker for one of the world's most economically and strategically important industries," The New York Times said. He has "threatened to take away government grants" and impose steep tariffs, successfully demanded a 15% cut of AMD and Nvidia chip sales to China and "turned the careful planning of companies historically led by engineers into a game of insider politics." Trump called for Tan's ouster last week, claiming he was "highly conflicted" by investments in China.

It is "unusual, but not unprecedented, for the government to consider taking stakes in companies that aren't in financial distress," the Journal said. And selling a stake of Intel to the government could relieve "political pressure" on the "beleaguered" Tan.

What next?
Details of how the deal would be structured "are still being hashed out," the Journal said, and the proposal "is still in early stages and could fall apart."

It's not all bad

Doctors could soon use high-resolution ultrasound devices to identify meningitis in babies, replacing spinal taps. Physicians participating in a Barcelona Institute for Global Health study were able to detect meningitis in the youngest patients with 94% accuracy, thanks to a "deep learning algorithm" that's able to interpret images, find and count cells, and determine if there are "inflammatory signs consistent with meningitis," said Good News Network. The ultrasound tool could limit unnecessary antibiotic use and lead to earlier diagnoses.

Under the radar

Hurricanes are not exclusive to Earth

Hurricanes occur in space more often than previously thought. While their terrestrial counterparts are made up of heavy rains and wind, said Space.com (a Week sister site), "electromagnetic tempests are made of plasma, charged particles whipped into motion by Earth's magnetic field."

The phenomenon was observed above the North Pole in 2014 when satellites found an auroral spot more than 620 miles in diameter that "appeared to look like a cyclone, with multiple spiral arms moving in an anti-clockwise rotation," said Newsweek. A recent study published in the journal Space Weather elaborated on the effects that space hurricanes have on Earth.

These hurricanes are different from other geomagnetic storms because they are capable of forming in calm conditions. "Most geomagnetic storms and subsequent impressive aurora displays occur when the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) aligns southward, essentially 'opening the door' in Earth's magnetic field," said Space.com. Space hurricanes form when the IMF aligns northward.

While they do not threaten the safety of humans the way earthly hurricanes do, space hurricanes can affect space weather, disrupting satellites and space junk in Earth's orbit.

Their most significant impact is on navigation, however. The study reveals that space hurricanes can "trigger significant ionospheric irregularities," which can mess with GPS signals, researcher Zan-Yang Xing said to Newsweek. The signals "passing through the storm's outer regions were affected by phase scintillation, a kind of 'twinkling' that occurs when plasma turbulence interferes with radio signals," said Space.com. This may lead to reduced accuracy and reliability in navigation systems.

On this day

August 15, 1057

Macbeth, the king of Scotland, died in battle against the forces of Malcolm, the eldest son of King Duncan I, whom Macbeth had slain 17 years and one day earlier in the Battle of Pitgaveny. Macbeth's defeat of Duncan formed the basis of William Shakespeare's historically inaccurate tragedy. This year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival includes several twists on "Macbeth," including the musical "Lady Macbeth Played Wing Defense."

TODAY'S newspaperS

'Canadian boycott clubs U.S. alcohol'

"Canadian boycott clubs U.S. alcohol industry," The Wall Street Journal says on Friday's front page. "Newsom kicks off revision of voting maps" to "block Trump from 'rigging' midterms," the Los Angeles Times says. Texas Democrats "who fled" to block Texas GOP map "set to return," the Austin American-Statesman says. "GOP maps bet big on Latino vote," The Washington Post says. "Ohio farm enclave is mecca for 'MAHA mom,'" says The New York Times. "'Wellness' product is ruining lives," says USA Today.

► See the newspaper front pages

Tall tale

You had one job…

A middle school teacher in Okayama City, Japan, publicly apologized after it was revealed he also works part-time at a convenience store to supplement his income. After someone notified the local education board that they had seen the teacher working a second job, the council released a statement saying his extra work caused "great distress and worry" to pupils, said SoraNews. The teacher, a man in his 60s, agreed his "conduct was damaging" and said he "deeply" regrets his actions.

Morning Report was written and edited by Helen Brown, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Rafi Schwartz and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.