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The U.S. military will no longer allow transgender individuals to join the military and will stop performing or facilitating procedures associated with gender transition for service members, according to a memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth filed in court on Monday. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month that took aim at transgender troops in a personal wayat one point saying that a man identifying as a woman was “not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member.” “Effective immediately, all new accessions for individuals with a history of gender dysphoria are paused,” Hegseth said in a memo dated Feb. 7 and filed on Monday with the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. “All unscheduled, scheduled, or planned medical procedures associated with affirming or facilitating a gender transition for Service members are paused,” he said. Hegseth said individuals with gender dysphoria already in the military would be “treated with dignity and respect,” and the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness would provide additional details on what this would mean. The military has about 1.3 million active-duty personnel, according to Department of Defense data. While transgender rights advocates say there are as many as 15,000 transgender service members, officials say the number is in the low thousands. A poll from Gallup published on Monday said 58% of Americans favored allowing openly transgender individuals serving in the military, but the support had declined from 71% in 2019. Last week, a U.S. judge asked lawyers for Trump’s administration to ensure that six military members who sued to stop the executive order targeting transgender troops are not removed from service before further court proceedings are held. Civil rights organizations had filed for a temporary restraining order after a service member alleged that she was told she must either be classified as a man or be separated from the military. Miriam Perelson, a 28-year-old female transgender service member based at Fort Jackson in South Carolina, had said she was required to leave the sleeping area for female troops, given a cot in an empty classroom and not allowed to use the female restrooms. Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart, Reuters
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“Insane project idea: all of wikipedia on a single, scrollable page, Patina Systems founder Tyler Angert posted on X earlier this month. “Even better, an infinitely scrolling Wikipedia page based on whatever you are interested in next?” replied Bloomberg Beta VC James Cham. WikiTok, added Angert. insane project idea: all of wikipedia on a single, scrollable page— Tyler Angert (@tylerangert) February 3, 2025 New York-based app developer Isaac Gemal stumbled across the discussion the following evening. Within two hours, WikiTok was live. If you’re the type to instinctively pull up Wikipedia to fact-check anything and everything, this app is made for you. WikiTok users can swipe through an endless stream of Wikipedia article stubs, discovering random facts and interesting information along the way. Damn this is really cool, much better for the brain, one X user posted. The rabbit hole we didn’t know we needed. knowledge discovery powered by attention span instead of search terms. finally, a productive way to waste time, another added. Free from invasive tracking and endless notifications, this app offers the closest thing to guilt-free scrolling. Instead of feeding you content based on an algorithm, it delivers a truly random selection of Wikipedia articles, pulled straight from the Wikipedia API and displayed in a TikTok-style interface. Each entry appears with an image from the corresponding articleand if something catches your interest, a simple tap on “Read More” opens the full Wikipedia page in your browser. Gemal made the code for WikiTok available on GitHub, allowing anyone to modify or contribute to the project. Currently, the web app supports article previews, sharing capabilities, and 14 languages across both desktop and mobile browsers. As the community grows, new features are expected to roll in as contributors get involved. The app is currently algorithm-free and Gemal plans to keep it that way. “I have had plenty of people message me and even make issues on my GitHub asking for some insane crazy WikiTok algorithm,” Gemal told Ars Technica. “And I had to put my foot down and say something along the lines that we’re already ruled by ruthless, opaque algorithms in our everyday life; why can’t we just have one little corner in the world without them?” One little corner, in other words, without doomscrolling.
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T-Mobile has launched a wide-scale beta satellite-to-cell service using SpaceX’s Starlink, aimed at extending service to remote areas or “dead zones” that cell towers can’t reach. The satellite-messaging service will be free to use until July, even if you arent a T-Mobile customer (that means you, Verizon and AT&T users). Starlink, a satellite internet service that provides high-speed broadband internet to rural areas, is owned by SpaceX CEO and Trump adviser Elon Musk. The wireless carrier made the announcement Sunday with a big ad during the first quarter of the Super Bowl. While it’s free until July for all, after that, only T-Mobile’s customers can add the plan for $15 a month; those with T-Mobile’s premium Go5G Next plan will get it at no extra cost. T-Mobile Starlink uses satellites orbiting the Earth at more than 200 miles an hour to deliver cell phone signals creating text messages to and from locations that traditional cell towers cant reach, known as “dead zones.” In the future, users will also be able to send images, use data, and make voice calls. Its a massive technical achievement and an absolute game changer for ALL wireless users, T-Mobile president and CEO Mike Sievert said in a statement. Were still in the early daysI dont want to overhype the experience during a beta testbut were officially putting no bars on notice. Dead zones, your days are numbered at the Un-carrier. How does Starlink satellite texting work? “If you can see the sky, youre connected with T-Mobile. Its that simple, Mike Katz, T-Mobile’s president of marketing, strategy, and products, told Fast Company. When a cell phone is out of cell tower range, the phone automatically connects to the T-Mobile Starlink. The technology works on “most smartphones from the last four years,” including iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones, and most operating systemshowever, the iPhone’s latest operating software, iOS 18.3, did not add Starlink to the handset (it merely added SAT as an onscreen option instead of LTE or 5G, according to Forbes). T-Mobile Starlink also broadcasts Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) nationwide to anyone in range of the signal and with a compatible devicewhich could be a literal game changer, enabling users to send and receive potentially life-saving messages in places impacted by severe weather and natural disasters or in remote hiking areas. How do I sign up for Starlink’s beta test? Sign up for the satellite service beta here. It is free for everyone, but spots are limited, according to T-Mobile. Once enrolled, you may have to wait a few days before you can send text messages. Can I also make Starlink satellite calls? No, currently the free beta service only supports text messages including SMS, RCS, and iMessageno satellite calls. Nor can you send your favorite video clips from last night’s Super Bowl, where the T-Mobile Starlink ad first ran, as data is not yet available.
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