Technology

The US House of Representatives has voted to decriminalize marijuana

Published

2 years ago

April 1, 2022

The US House of Representatives has voted to decriminalize marijuana

The US Home of Representatives voted Friday to approve a invoice that may decriminalize hashish on the federal stage. It’s a primary step towards making the drug authorized and trying to undo a few of the harm brought on by punitive drug legal guidelines, notably amongst communities of colour. The voting occurred alongside social gathering traces, with 220 votes in favor and 204 opposed. The invoice faces an unsure future within the Senate, however advocates say with Democrats controlling each homes of Congress, they’re extra hopeful that the laws will lastly turn out to be regulation.

The Marijuana Alternative Reinvestment and Expungement (or MORE Act) would take away marijuana from the federal record of managed substances and add a federal tax on hashish merchandise. It could additionally set up a course of to expunge convictions and assessment sentences for previous federal hashish convictions.

The Home additionally added a number of amendments to the invoice, amongst them a requirement by the Nationwide Institute for Occupational Security and Well being to conduct a research on the “Impression of the legalization of leisure hashish by states on the office” and assist employers develop finest practices in updating their hashish insurance policies. One other, which was rejected on Friday, would have rescinded hashish use as a cause for denying a federal safety clearance, retroactive to 1971.

The Home handed an earlier model of the invoice in a lame-duck session in December 2020, solely to see it stall within the Senate. However with midterms looming, advocates suppose the timing might lastly be proper for Congress to take motion.

“I really feel much more optimistic than I did final time round,” Maritza Perez, director of the Drug Coverage Motion workplace for nationwide affairs, mentioned in an interview with The Verge. “The invoice is similar model handed in 2020, with no substantive modifications, so hopefully everybody who voted final time will vote in favor once more.”

Home Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), a sponsor of the invoice, says the current wave of state legalization efforts has put strain on Congress to behave. He informed The Verge he hopes “the Senate will lastly [pass the MORE Act] so the federal authorities can be part of dozens of states in placing an finish to those unfair and outdated insurance policies.”

The destiny of the MORE Act within the Senate is unsure, however Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) launched draft laws for the Hashish Administration and Alternative Act final summer season, which could possibly be launched within the Senate subsequent month.

The Biden administration, nonetheless, has not made the progress many anticipated on hashish reform, and its actions counsel a stance that’s nonetheless very anti-cannabis. As an example, in 2021, the White Home screened employees for marijuana and requested some who examined optimistic to resign or work remotely. It additionally up to date guidelines earlier this month that would deny safety clearances to potential job candidates who invested in authorized hashish firms. And Perez mentioned earlier hopes that Vice President Kamala Harris may affect the president’s pondering have cooled.

As well as, Perez notes that Biden had a possibility to cut back hashish restrictions in Washington, DC, however didn’t accomplish that. The president’s 2023 finances proposal retains intact a rider that blocks DC from legalizing marijuana gross sales, although DC’s metropolis council voted to decriminalize marijuana possession in 2014.

“To me, that’s fairly surprising — you’d suppose the finances is an space the place he may make an announcement,” she mentioned. “This tells me the place his thoughts is at; that he believes extra analysis remains to be wanted.” Perez added that she thinks it’s attainable Biden might but take some motion to present clemency to folks convicted of low-level marijuana-related crimes.

Throughout a listening to for the MORE Act earlier than the Home Guidelines Committee on Wednesday, Chairman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) mentioned the MORE Act would “handle our nation’s failed strategy to the battle on medication.” It’s value noting that Biden was a key a part of the federal battle on medication within the Eighties and Nineteen Nineties; he authored the 1994 Violent Crime Management and Enforcement Act, which ramped up the battle on medication and imposed more durable jail sentences for federal drug crimes.

Biden took a softer line throughout the 2020 presidential marketing campaign, saying he would search “to reschedule hashish as a Schedule II drug so researchers can research its optimistic and damaging impacts.” He has not but taken motion on rescheduling.

Technology

Silo season 2 hits Apple TV Plus this November

Published

3 hours ago

July 28, 2024

Press Room

Silo season 2 hits Apple TV Plus this November

The end of the world just got a little closer. Apple confirmed that the much-anticipated second season of its postapocalyptic series Silo will start streaming on November 15th.

Based on the trilogy of novels by Hugh Howey, Silo is set in the distant future and follows the remains of humanity, who live in giant underground bunkers — the titular silos — to avoid the deadly world outside. The season 1 finale ended with a big twist that made it clear there’s a lot more going on than the show initially lets on. It also only covers part of the first book, so it’ll be interesting to see how much of the story the new season covers. Silo’s second season will see returning cast members like Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Robbins, and Common.

Technology

How to connect your AirPods to your PC and Android devices

Published

4 hours ago

July 28, 2024

Press Room

How to connect your AirPods to your PC and Android devices

Just because Apple’s AirPods are designed for other Apple devices doesn’t mean they will only work on Apple devices.

That’s right, you can use your AirPods on your PC or Android-running mobile device. It isn’t as simple as setting up AirPods with an iPhone or Mac, but it’s also not too complicated.

Follow these steps to connect your AirPods to a Windows PC or Android.

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AirPods and an Android (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

How to connect AirPods to a PC

Insert the AirPods into their charging case, ensuring they’re at least partially charged.
Open the top of your AirPod charging case, but do not remove the AirPods from the case yet.
Tap and hold the circular button on the rear side of the AirPod charging case for a couple of seconds until the light inside the case blinks white.

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The circular button on the back of the AirPod case (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Now, open your PC’s Bluetooth settings by clicking the Bluetooth icon in the system tray (bottom right of the taskbar) or by searching for “Bluetooth” in your taskbar and selecting Bluetooth and other device settings.
Click “Add Bluetooth or other devices” at the top of the settings screen.
On the “Add a device” page, click the top option for Bluetooth.

Bluetooth and device settings on a PC (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Click the AirPods option from the list of all Bluetooth discoverable devices.
Wait around 30 seconds, and you should see a connection confirmation screen once your AirPods and PC are paired and connected.

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Troubleshooting a failed connection

When you take your AirPods out of their charging case, they should automatically connect to your PC. If your AirPods are having trouble connecting to your PC, don’t panic. Close your AirPods case and your PC’s Bluetooth settings and simply repeat the pairing process outlined above. Your AirPods should automatically connect to your PC after a few seconds every time you remove them from the charging case. If, for any reason, they don’t, follow these steps:

Open your PC’s Bluetooth settings by clicking on the Bluetooth icon in the bottom-right system tray of your taskbar. Alternatively, you can search for “Bluetooth” in your taskbar and select “Bluetooth and other device settings” when it appears.
Scroll down to the Audio section under your Bluetooth list and click on the AirPods listing.
This should reestablish the Bluetooth connection between your PC and AirPods.

Remember that Siri is Apple-only, so you won’t be able to use the voice assistant while your AirPods are connected to your PC.

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Pair AirPods with your Android phone

Connecting AirPods to an Android device is similar to connecting to a PC. Before doing anything, you’ll want to ensure that your AirPods are charged and housed in their case.

Swipe down from the top of the screen on your Android device
Touch and hold the Bluetooth icon
Turn on Bluetooth
Tap Pair new device

AirPods and an Android (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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Open the lid of your AirPod case, but don’t remove the AirPods from the case.
On your AirPod case, press and hold the button on the rear of the case until the case flashes a white light.
Your AirPods should show up in your Bluetooth devices list.

If you can’t find your AirPods in your Android Bluetooth devices list, check for them under “Available Devices” in your Bluetooth settings. You can also refresh the Bluetooth list by clicking More and then “Refresh.”

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Kurt’s key takeaways

And there you have it. Now, you can easily connect your AirPods to your Windows PC or Android device. Remember, if your AirPods don’t appear in your PC or Android’s Bluetooth device list, simply restart the Bluetooth pairing process. Also, note that Apple-specific features like Siri won’t be available with your AirPods if you use them from a PC or Android device.

What other Apple accessories or devices would you like to see become more compatible with non-Apple platforms and why? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact

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Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Technology

Marvel is bringing the Russo Bros. back to direct the next two Avengers films

Published

10 hours ago

July 28, 2024

Press Room

Marvel is bringing the Russo Bros. back to direct the next two Avengers films

During Marvel’s Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con, the studio announced that the Russo brothers have signed on to direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars — the former of which will see Robert Downey Jr, return to the MCU as Doctor Doom. Doomsday is due out in May 2026, while Secret Wars will follow in May 2027.

Doctor Doom showing up just as the Fantastic Four are about to arrive makes it seem like Marvel’s been cooking up a plan to send its beleaguered Multiverse Saga off with a bang — one that’s probably going to be orchestrated by a guy who looks just like Iron Man.