On day one of his presidency, one of Donald Trump’s first acts in office was to sign an executive order declaring that there are only two sexes: male and female. 

The order is a transphobic, scientifically incorrect screed titled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government” that mischaracterizes sex and gender and demands that “every agency and all Federal employees acting in an official capacity on behalf of their agency shall use the term ‘sex’ and not ‘gender’ in all applicable Federal policies and documents.” 

The Social Security Administration and other government departments are complying with the order by scrubbing information about changing one’s sex from its website.

Ari Drennen spotted the change to the “change sex identification” site and posted a screenshot on X: 

And just like that, the “how to change sex identification” page has vanished from the Social Security Administration website. pic.twitter.com/cNj7XeeuVH

— Ari Drennen (@AriDrennen) January 23, 2025

The site now says “you are not authorized to access this page,” blocking it from public view. It used to show basic information about how to change your sex on record with the Social Security Administration by requesting a new Social Security card, and a link to a questionnaire that helped determine how to go about it. “You don't need to provide medical or legal evidence of your sex designation,” the site said when it was online. “Currently, you can change your sex identification to either male or female, but we are examining ways to provide an unspecified sex identification option in the future.” 

Information about gender identity and access to guides on changing one’s sex have also been scrubbed from the administration’s main LGBTQIA+ site. Here’s what looks like today, compared to how it looked last week.

The Gender Identity link that’s now missing from that site and inaccessible to the public—showing a 404 error and not a CMS login message, unlike the “change sex identification” site—used to provide links to forms one would need to fill out to start the process. 

Form SS-5: Application for A Social Security Card is still available for download on the Internet Archive. A page about how to get a social security card is still online, as is a page for locating a Social Security office. 

Several other government websites about gender identity and discrimination are also offline, including a Department of Labor site about discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and a State Department site about how to select your gender marker on your passport, are also gone or scrubbed of mentions of gender identity.

Aside from being unscientific nonsense and anti-abortion rhetoric, the “Defending Women from Gender Ideology” executive order has triggered all of this essential information to go offline across the internet, adding to the confusion and panic that many queer and trans people—and anyone who actually cares about reproductive rights or freedom of speech—already face going into Trump’s presidency. And it’s not the first time Trump’s administration took down a bunch of government websites to try to suppress scientific information: thousands of pages with climate change information were removed or buried during his first term. 

Although fans of A Song of Ice and Fire might still be hankering for the long-delayed next book in the series, bestselling sci-fi/fantasy author George R.R. Martin has instead added a different item to his long list of publications: a peer-reviewed physics paper just published in the American Journal of Physics that he co-authored. The paper derives a formula to describe the dynamics of a fictional virus that is the centerpiece of the Wild Cards series of books, a shared universe edited by Martin and Melinda M. Snodgrass, with some 44 authors contributing.

Wild Cards grew out of the Superworld RPG, specifically a long-running campaign game-mastered by Martin in the 1980s, with several of the original sci-fi writers who contributed to the series participating. (A then-unknown Neil Gaiman once pitched Martin a Wild Cards story involving a main character who lived in a world of dreams. Martin rejected the pitch, and Gaiman's idea became The Sandman.) Initially, Martin planned to write a novel centered on his character Turtle, but he then decided it would be better as a shared universe anthology. Martin thought that superhero comics had far too many sources of the many different superpowers and wanted his universe to have one single source. Snodgrass suggested a virus.

The series is basically an alternate history of the US in the aftermath of World War II. An airborne alien virus, designed to rewrite DNA, had been released over New York City in 1946 and spread globally, infecting tens of thousands worldwide. It's called the Wild Card virus because it affects every individual differently. It kills 90 percent of those it infects and mutates the rest. Nine percent of the latter end up with unpleasant conditions—these people are called Jokers—while 1 percent develop superpowers and are known as Aces. Some Aces have "powers" that are so trivial and useless that they are known as "deuces."

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Fresh out of federal prison, former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio suggests he’s still in charge as the far-right organization looks to regroup.

Facebook owner Meta has denied claims from some users that they have been "forced" to follow social media accounts belonging to the Trump administration.

Meta is returning to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2022 with an ad featuring a pair of star-studded Chris's. Actors Chris Pratt and Chris Hemsworth will promote Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses, wearable, AI-powered tech that enables wearers to capture photos and videos, listen to music, make calls and texts using voice commands,...

It's Emilia Perez's world, and we're just living in it. After years of chasing Oscar's biggest prize--that elusive Best Picture statue--Netflix is back in a dominant position courtesy of its Spanish-language musical from French auteur Jacques Audiard. Emilia Perez led the field with 13 nods when nominations for the 97th Academy Awards were unveiled on...

While we are still tracking big-time price drops on just about every M3 MacBook Air configuration, today’s deals are headlined by a massive discount on premium renewed iPhone 15 Pro units at up to $476 off the launch prices as well as select M4 iPad Pro models at up to $300 off. From there we move over to the accessory space with the return of all-time lows on the Find My Twelve South wall charger as well as the official 4-pack of Apple Pencil Tips at just $7, Philips Hue gear, and one of the thinnest MagSafe power banks we have ever seen at just $20. All of that and more is waiting for you below. 

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Electronic Arts shares plummeted on Thursday after the video game publisher cut its forecast, due largely to challenges with its soccer franchise.

Dasung has announced a new compact E Ink monitor that’s the company’s first to offer a 60Hz refresh rate. The Paperlike 103 features a 10.3-inch e-paper panel making it similar in size to E Ink-based electronic notepads like the Boox Go 10.3 or the Amazon Kindle Scribe. Those devices typically have limited refresh rates, but by boosting the Paperlike 103’s refresh to 60Hz, the portable monitor will offer the advantages of E Ink (less eye strain and low power usage) while making tasks like scrolling documents and websites, and even watching videos, appear smoother and closer to how they do on LCD and OLED screens.

The Paperlike 103 is priced at 1,999 yuan, or around $274, according to Good e-Reader, and is available to order through the Chinese retailer, Jing Dong. It’s not available globally yet, but Dasung typically releases all of its products outside China, eventually. The company currently sells a similar version of the Paperlike 103 that starts at $699 with a larger 13.3-inch E Ink panel. Its refresh rate is limited to 40Hz, but watching a side-by-side comparison of its performance versus an LCD gives a good idea of how well the Paperlike 103 will perform, with potentially even less ghosting.

Image: Dasung

With a resolution of 1,872 x 1,404 pixels in a 4:3 aspect ratio, the Paperlike 103’s 227ppi is slightly behind the 300ppi E Ink screens on the Kindle Paperwhite, Scribe, and other e-readers released over the past few years. But it offers similar lighting options with LEDs along the edge of the screen that aren’t blasting directly into your eyes, and color temperature adjustments from cool to warm to further reduce eye strain if you’ll be staring at it for a while.

The monitor’s body is made from aluminum alloy that’s just five millimeters thick so it’s both lightweight and strong enough to survive getting accidentally squished in your bag. There’s also no battery to add bulk and weight. The Paperlike 103 relies on USB-C for both power and to connect to source devices like computers and mobile devices. There’s also a set of six physical buttons on the left bezel used to turn the monitor on and off, adjust the brightness and color temperature of its lighting, and to switch between different display modes optimized for text, video, or imagery.

CNN is developing a new streaming service — and it sounds a lot like the one it shut down nearly three years ago. In an internal memo shared with The Verge, CNN CEO Mark Thompson says the service will give viewers the ability “to stream news programming from us on any device they choose” as part of a broader restructuring plan.

CNN jumped on the streaming bandwagon in 2022 with the launch of CNN Plus, a short-lived service that shut down after just one month. Thompson doesn’t say whether the new service will mirror the content on its linear channel, or if it will stick to original programming, similar to CNN Plus.

“It’s early days but we’ve already established that there’s immense demand for it not just in America but across much of the world,” Thompson wrote. “We’ll have more to say about this new digital product in the coming months, including content plans and how we will work with our existing and future distribution partners to bring this to market.”

Along with the new streaming service, Thompson’s memo also said Alex MacCallum, CNN’s executive vice president for digital products and services, will announce the company’s “first lifestyle-oriented digital product” and a “major pivot to digital video.”

As part of these changes, CNN will lay off six percent of jobs, making up around 200 employees. Thompson says the company “doesn’t expect total headcount to fall much this year” because of a $70 million investment from CNN parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, The Hollywood Reporter says.

The news of a revived CNN streaming service comes as linear TV networks grapple with a growing shift toward streaming. CNN, which airs a 24/7 news broadcast on Max, recently announced that it’s locking some of its articles behind a paywall. Along with CNN, CNBC also launched a $14.99 / month CNBC Plus subscription.

Samsung is now rolling out a promotional program called the “Galaxy Club” that allows users to buy the Galaxy S25 with the addition of small payments for the promise of any upgrade after 12 months with the device. The new plan promises a Galaxy S25 Ultra for as low as $8/month.

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I love air fryers. They offer microwave-like convenience, but stuff actually tastes good. If you want to see what all of the fuss is about, a standout Cosori air fryer is on sale via Amazon for $90. This is a fairly substantial discount of 25 percent, as the original price is $120.

This particular model made our list of the best air fryers, and for very good reason. It’s a great device that gets the job done. It’s a six-quart model that offers plenty of cooking space, which we found ideal for side dishes like sweet potato fries and onion rings. However, it’s no slouch with mains like chicken wings, tofu and more. The rounded basket is particularly roomy.

The touchscreen is easy to use and there are plenty of preset cooking modes, including a handy preheating option for starting things off. Most people will rely on the standard air fry mode, I know I do, but it’s nice to have the option for broiling, baking and roasting. We also appreciated the basket release button, which is a nice safety feature.

This is pretty much the ideal air fryer, so it’s tough to find complaints. There isn’t a see-through window, for those who like taking a look at tater tots crisping up. This particular unit is also on the wider side, which could make placement difficult in tiny kitchens.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/one-of-our-favorite-air-fryers-is-25-percent-off-right-now-161542670.html?src=rss

©

© Cosori

Following a two-year wait, NVIDIA’s highly-anticipated GeForce 50 series of GPUs are nearly here. Engadget has published its review of the $2,000 RTX 5090, but if you’re reading this article, chances are you already know if you want to splurge on a 50 series card. The question then is how to buy one of them? Depending on when you read this story, the good news is that we’re at most a week away from major retailers, including Best Buy and Newegg, stocking the new cards on January 30.

As for the bad news? If the 50 series launch is anything like the 40 series one before it, expect high demand and limited initial availability. If you’re set on buying an RTX 5090, 5080, 5070 Ti or 5070 at release, be sure to use the notification feature Best Buy and other retailers offer to have the best chance of securing one of the cards before they all sell out.

GeForce RTX 5090 for $2,000: The RTX 5090 is the most expensive consumer GPU NVIDIA has ever released. It’s also one of the most powerful and power-hungry, with the 5090 featuring 21,760 CUDA cores, 32GB of GDDR7 VRAM and a potential total power draw of 575W.

Of course, as with all of NVIDIA’s new GPUs, raw specs are only half the story. In conjunction with DLSS 4, the entire 50 series is capable of multi-frame generation. With the tech, RTX 50 GPUs can generate up to three additional frames for every frame they render using traditional techniques. DLSS 4 is the reason the 5090 can produce an average of 246 frames per second with full ray tracing in games like Cyberpunk 2077.

If you prefer to buy from Newegg or B&H, both retailers will stock models from third-party OEMs, including ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI and Zotac.

GeForce RTX 5080 for $999: Despite costing half as much as the RTX 5090, the 5080 is no slouch. It features an impressive 10,752 CUDA cores and 16GB of GDDR7 VRAM, with a memory bandwidth of 960GB/sec. Like the 5090, you get the benefit of DLSS 4 multi-frame generation. Moreover, total power draw is more modest at 360W, meaning you probably won’t need a 1,000W PSU to power the 5080. 

Again, both Newegg and B&H will stock third-party options. For a Founders Edition model, your best bets are NVIDIA and Best Buy. 

GeForce RTX 5070 Ti for $749. If I had to guess, the 5070 Ti is probably the model with the most interest from people who want to buy a 50 series card. That’s because it features 16GB of GDDR7 VRAM compared to the 5070’s 12GB. An extra 4GB of VRAM might not seem like much, but it will likely translate to the 5070 Ti being a much better purchase over the long run. Modern AAA games use a lot of VRAM, so much so that 8GB GPUs like the RTX 3070 are starting to show their age. 

Unfortunately, the 5070 Ti is the one model NVIDIA won't offer a Founders Edition version of, so finding one to buy may be tricky. Your best bet here is likely to be B&H. The retailer is showing a few 5070 Ti models on its website. 

GeForce RTX 5070 for $549: At launch, the RTX 5070 will be NVIDIA’s most affordable 50 series GPU. It’s also the GPU NVIDIA claims is as fast as the RTX 4090. Of course, that’s with DLSS 4 enabled. If you’re interested in the 5070, I strongly advise waiting for reviews to come out before you commit to buying one. As mentioned, with only 12GB of VRAM, the 5070 could quickly become a bottleneck to your system.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/how-to-buy-a-nvidia-rtx-50-series-gpu-160902797.html?src=rss

©

© Devindra Hardawar for Engadget

Although fans of A Song of Ice and Fire might still be hankering for the long-delayed next book in the series, bestselling sci-fi/fantasy author George R.R. Martin has instead added a different item to his long list of publications: a peer-reviewed physics paper just published in the American Journal of Physics that he co-authored. The paper derives a formula to describe the dynamics of a fictional virus that is the centerpiece of the Wild Cards series of books, a shared universe edited by Martin and Melinda M. Snodgrass, with some 44 authors contributing.

Wild Cards grew out of the Superworld RPG, specifically a long-running campaign game-mastered by Martin in the 1980s, with several of the original sci-fi writers who contributed to the series participating. (A then-unknown Neil Gaiman once pitched Martin a Wild Cards story involving a main character who lived in a world of dreams. Martin rejected the pitch, and Gaiman's idea became The Sandman.) Initially, Martin planned to write a novel centered on his character Turtle, but he then decided it would be better as a shared universe anthology. Martin thought that superhero comics had far too many sources of the many different superpowers and wanted his universe to have one single source. Snodgrass suggested a virus.

The series is basically an alternate history of the US in the aftermath of World War II. An airborne alien virus, designed to rewrite DNA, had been released over New York City in 1946 and spread globally, infecting tens of thousands worldwide. It's called the Wild Card virus because it affects every individual differently. It kills 90 percent of those it infects and mutates the rest. Nine percent of the latter end up with unpleasant conditions—these people are called Jokers—while one percent develop superpowers and are known as Aces. Some Aces have "powers" that are so trivial and useless that they are known as "deuces."

Read full article

Comments

© Michael Kormarck/Tor Books

The CSA, Thread Group, and Wi-Fi Alliance say they’re working together to fix the problems that have plagued the smart home standard in its first two years. In this exclusive interview, I ask them how and when.

Read the full story at The Verge.

Apple TV+ has been on a roll with its TV shows lately, but movies remain a struggle for the streamer. Today’s newly unveiled Oscar nominations confirm that, as a grand total of zero nominations were received by Apple.

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Photo editing app Luminar Mobile is delivering two highly requested user features today. Full RAW image editing support and iCloud sync between devices arrives in Luminar Mobile 2.2.

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Save $100 on the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra and receive up to $350 more in credit with a trade-in.

Netflix and Konami know there's a sizable craving for more Castlevania, but meeting that demand seems oddly difficult.

This is TVNewser's basic cable network ranker and cable news report for the week of Jan. 13, 2024. After a busy start to the new year, the news cycle slowed as wildfire containment efforts grew in Southern California, and the final days of Joe Biden's presidency failed to offer much political drama save for TikTok's...