New technology changes game experience for visually impaired fans
Groundbreaking technology developed by Jerred Mace is changing the game for visually impaired fans. The OneCourt haptic tablet translates live games by touch so people can follow in real-time. The team hopes to expand the technology to other sports, too. NBC News' Steve Patterson reports on the device being used at the Portland Trail Blazers game.
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NBC News
2 days ago
- NBC News
Ukraine's massive drone attack deep inside Russia highlights how they have changed battlefield tactics
Dubbed operation 'Spiderweb,' Ukraine's audacious drone attack Sunday on four Russian air bases — one of them deep inside Siberia — has brought the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in modern warfare sharply into focus. While accounts differ on the extent of the damage caused by the drones, which were reportedly smuggled to the perimeter of the bases in the backs of trucks, Ukraine's security service, the SBU, put the estimated cost to the Kremlin at $7 billion. Russia has said little about the attacks, although the country's defense ministry acknowledged in a statement that some planes caught fire. The strikes have highlighted the increasing importance of drones for both Russia and Ukraine in the war, which entered its fourth year in February. And experts told NBC News that both sides are increasingly turning to cheap, commercially available first-person view or quadcopter drones that can often be purchased from online retailers and easily converted into deadly weapons — simple technology that is having a huge impact on the battlefield in Ukraine and further afield. Their use is 'going to become very, very common,' Robert Lee, a senior fellow at the Philadelphia-based Foreign Policy Research Institute think tank, told NBC News in an interview. Drones were used when Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime was overthrown in December, he said. 'They're here and because they're ubiquitous, because they are quite useful and they're demonstrating that every day in Ukraine,' he said. 'There's no doubt that they're going to be used by all sorts of groups, whether it's criminal groups or terrorist groups, and they pose a quite significant threat,' he said, adding, 'I think we're a little bit behind the power curve on this and actually getting ready to counter them.' Targeting civilians As she was riding her bicycle to a cosmetology appointment in Antonivka, a rural community in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, Anastasia Pavlenko, 23, said she noticed a drone 'hunting' her. 'It took off, followed me and I zigzagged on the bike,' the mother of two said of the September attack, adding that a second drone suddenly appeared with 'a shell attached to it.' Despite her best attempts to escape, she said the second drone dropped the shell 'right on my head' and it bounced down onto her thigh and exploded on the asphalt next to her. 'Blood was coming from my neck, and there were fragments under my ribs,' Pavlenko said, adding she somehow managed to keep cycling and take cover under a bridge where she screamed for help until she started to lose consciousness. 'I just had a small purse, shorts, a T-shirt and long loose hair, so it was clear that I was a girl,' she said, adding that she was not wearing military colors or carrying any weapons when she was hit. Doctors were unable to remove shrapnel fragments from her neck, ribs, or leg, she said, adding she had been unable to return to work at her coffee shop because she 'can't handle physical stress.'
NBC News
6 days ago
- NBC News
NAACP calls for emergency shutdown of Musk's supercomputer in Memphis
Local regulators should immediately stop Elon Musk's supercomputer project from operating in South Memphis because it's out of compliance with environmental rules, the NAACP wrote in a letter sent Thursday to Shelby County officials. The civil rights group addressed the request to Dr. Michelle Taylor, director of the Shelby County Health Department and to the commissioners of Memphis Light Gas and Water. The health department is responsible for implementing federal air regulations in Shelby County, which encompasses Memphis. 'Being the world's richest man doesn't give you the right to pollute Black communities and jeopardize the health of its residents,' NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement to NBC News. 'We urge the health department to step in immediately.' When contacted, a spokesperson for Memphis Light Gas and Water said it had not received the NAACP letter and could not comment on it. Neither the health department nor xAI immediately responded to questions about the letter, which was also signed by the presidents of the Tennessee and Memphis chapters of the NAACP. In a previous statement to NBC News, xAI said its "operations comply with all applicable laws' and that it 'works collaboratively with County and City officials, EPA personnel, and community leaders regarding all things that affect Memphis.' xAI has come under scrutiny in recent months for operating methane gas turbines at its Memphis facility to meet the electricity needs of the supercomputer Colossus. The turbines emit pollutants, including nitrogen oxides and formaldehyde, according to their manufacturer. Environmental groups and the NAACP believe the turbines required permits under the Clean Air Act; the city's health department, the mayor and the Chamber of Commerce have said permits were not required for the turbines' first year of use. xAI, which is now seeking a permit for 15 permanent turbines, said those would be equipped with pollution controls and only be used as backup once other energy options are available. Earlier this month, NBC News reported on a South Memphis neighborhood called Boxtown, about two miles from xAI's facility, where residents are concerned that Musk's project will harm the area's already poor air quality. 'They got money. And they can do what they want to do, you know, without consulting us,' said Easter Knox, who has lived in the area since 1977. Knox told NBC News she and her husband both struggle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which can be exacerbated by pollution. Health department officials have been limited in their comments about the project. On Friday, news broke that Taylor, the department head, would be leaving Shelby County to oversee the Baltimore City Health Department. Colossus, which xAI calls the world's largest supercomputer, came online in September 2024 to train Grok, the company's chatbot. But critics say the project's potential economic benefit to the community is outweighed by environmental concerns. 'While we applaud research and innovation,' the NAACP letter states, 'there must be limits that ensure that communities are healthy and alive to enjoy the benefits of any potential innovation.' Shelby County health officials are expected to make a decision on xAI's application in the coming weeks. Memphis Mayor Paul Young previously told NBC's "Nightly News" that the city plans to work with a researcher to implement air monitoring in the months ahead.
NBC News
6 days ago
- NBC News
Insurance companies look to cash in on crypto-kidnapping fears
A recent string of horrific assaults and kidnappings targeting people rich in cryptocurrency is heightening fears among investors about their physical safety — and insurance companies are hoping to cash in. At least three companies that provide insurance and security services specifically tailored for cryptocurrency holders and companies are working to come up with insurance policies for those who fear physical violence and kidnapping, called kidnap and ransom (K&R) policies, they told NBC News. Rebecca Rubenfeld, the chief operating officer of AnchorWatch, a crypto insurance firm that's working to begin offering kidnapping and ransom protection by this fall, said that fear of violence was a major topic at this week's annual Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas. 'They're tense,' Rubenfeld told NBC News. 'I'm not saying that because I'm trying to sell insurance, but overall, the mood is a very good environment for me.' The earliest reports of physical attacks on Bitcoin holders date back more than a decade, with dozens reported in the news media. But recent brutal attacks — of an Italian tourist tortured for weeks in Manhattan for access to his bitcoin, and a string of crypto executives and their family members kidnapped in France — have left many crypto holders particularly rattled. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies' accounts are easily managed by a single person, outside of traditional banking institutions, and transactions are usually irreversible. That appealed to a certain class of libertarian nerds who acquired significant amounts of Bitcoin years ago. Many have become extremely wealthy as Bitcoin's price continues to reach new highs. But as Bitcoin's value has risen, so too has its appeal to criminals, many of whom realize that the technology's ability to skirt traditional law enforcement also means it's much easier to launder if they can force a victim to give up their account. Ryan Lackey, the chief security officer at Evertas Insurance, a company that sells insurance for digital assets, said the best protection for a publicly wealthy bitcoin holder is to both have physical security and to make it public that they can only access a certain portion of funds. Most of their crypto wealth should be protected with passwords stored in difficult-to-access locations, like banks or safety deposit boxes. 'The ideal product in the space is actually something where you can probably not get access to funds beyond a certain amount, and then you can pay them a small amount. This has to be something that's widely adopted, that's known by the dumbest possible kidnappers in the world, because they'd otherwise have no reason to believe it,' he said. 'You'd actually want to be known as a person who holds it, because it shows that you don't have access to it. It's just like the signs at 7-Eleven that say 'cashier does not have access to the safe,'' he said. Lackey said Evertas encourages customers to get kidnapping and ransom insurance and is considering how to offer it directly. Kidnapping and ransom insurance is common for corporate executives, and several traditional insurers that offer it sell custom policies for people who are rich from cryptocurrency. Traditionally, kidnapping and ransom insurance is often marketed for companies to take policies out for key employees. Andrew Kurt, the vice president of executive risk at the insurance firm Hylant Capital, said he was not surprised to see more crypto companies offering K&R insurance because it is particularly lucrative, given how relatively few people actually get kidnapped. 'Historically, K&R has been a wildly profitable line of business for insurance companies, even though the premiums are very, very small,' Kurt told NBC News. 'The losses are few and far between.' 'I think what has occurred is probably not going to be a large frequency issue, but more of a severity issue here and there,' he said. Joseph Ziolkowski, the CEO of cryptocurrency insurance company Relm, said that his company has been working out details to start offering kidnapping and ransom insurance, but that the process is complicated by a need to thoroughly evaluate a customer's cyber and physical security. 'The way coverage is priced is, there's effectively a base rate, and that base rate gets debited and credited based on favorable or unfavorable circumstances related to a particular risk. If someone has 24/7 personal security detail traveling with them at all times, that obviously would be a credit and would affect premium,' he said. Some wealthy crypto holders have opted to try to largely disappear from public view. But for many, that's not an option. Some are visible because they work in the crypto industry or speak at conferences. In other cases, bitcoin holders' identities are exposed to criminals without their consent. Earlier this month, Coinbase, the largest American cryptocurrency exchange, said that cybercriminals had stolen the personal information, including names and addresses, of some of its customers, and that some had been successfully tricked out of their holdings. According to state data breach filings, nearly 70,000 customers have been exposed.
