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The Painful Truth of Exactly How ICE's New Shock Gloves Work

WIRED

ICE is spending millions on shock gloves designed to overpower subjects through intense, localized pain. With the revelation that ICE will spend up to $20 million by March on gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks to subdue an individual, according to a notice published earlier this week by the Department of Homeland Security, it's worth looking at how this apparel, designated as a nonlethal tool for law enforcement, actually works. These shock gloves go by the unsubtle acronym of GLOVE (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter) and are manufactured by Compliant Technologies, based in Lexington, Kentucky. The GLOVE, previously used in jails and police departments in the US, looks and functions like a normal pair of patrol gloves until officers press a switch to activate an electrical mode. Classified as a CD3 (conductive distraction and de-escalation device), the gloves don't work like stun guns or Tasers, which shoot out probes or use high voltages to cause neuromuscular incapacitation that overrides the central nervous system.


Honeytrap thieves jailed for killing men they had drugged

BBC News

A couple who drugged men seeking sexual services in order to steal from them have been jailed for killing two men and poisoning others. Adina Mihai and Madalin Dumitru admitted the manslaughter of Gary Mouat, 36, from Oxfordshire, and Malcolm King, 80, from Gloucestershire, in 2025 and 2024 respectively. The pair also each admitted two further counts of administering poison to surviving victims on the first day of their trial in June. Mihai and Dumitru were both sentenced to 17 years in prison at Oxford Crown Court. Mihai, who posed as a sex worker, and her partner Dumitru, arranged to meet men paying for services she had advertised online at their homes.


Dating app Bumble divides users by ditching its signature 'women-first' chat rule

BBC News

Bumble divides users by ditching its signature'women-first' chat rule Dating app Bumble has divided its users by dropping its signature rule which allowed only women to send the first message to a match. When the app launched 2014, founder and boss Whitney Wolfe Herd said it distinguished itself from rivals like Tinder by allowing women to make the first move. But the thing that made Bumble famous will now be ditched following a trial which showed more engagement - and a survey among users which found 66% of women prefer men to send the first message. Reaction across online forums has highlighted a divide among users about whether the update will get more people using Bumble - or if it makes it just like any other dating app. Previously, only same-sex relationships did not have to follow the strict women-first rule.


'The fish is in the right' says man bitten by blue shark while angling

BBC News

'The fish is in the right' says man bitten by blue shark while angling A man who was bitten by a shark on a boat off the coast of County Waterford is due to undergo surgery. Sebastian Achim was part of a crew tagging sharks for research off Ram Head, Ardmore, when the incident happened on Tuesday. The crew, who were experienced fishermen, were catching the sharks, tagging them and then releasing them back into the sea. Later in the day, Achim caught another shark and was bitten in the leg after pulling it into the boat. 'The fish is in the right' Speaking to RTÉ Radio One's Morning Ireland, external programme, Achim said the plan was to hook the shark, tag it and release it.


Harvey Nichols bought by Sports Direct owner

BBC News

Luxury department store Harvey Nichols has been bought by the owners of Sports Direct, who warn significant restructuring will be needed to ensure the 200-year-old business remains sustainable. Mike Ashley's Frasers Group will take control of the Harvey Nichols stores, including its flagship in Knightsbridge, as well as the international franchise. The department store was immortalised in BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous, but had faced challenges in recent years. The firm had appointed administrators in June. Frasers Group's chief executive Michael Murray called the store a British institution with significant potential but added clear meaningful change is needed.


Zero hours crackdown could cost firms up to 2.9bn a year

BBC News

Zero hours crackdown could cost firms up to £2.9bn a year Businesses could face costs of up to £2.9bn a year because of a crackdown on zero hours contracts, according to the government's own analysis. Labour's employment reforms are set to cut the number of hours staff can work before they must be offered guaranteed time. Official analysis released on Wednesday showed it could cost employers between £350m and £2.9bn, based on the eventual threshold of hours the policy impacts. Skills Minister Baroness Jacqui Smith said the reforms would ensure workers are fairly paid but business groups said the cost to employers was disproportionate compared to how much it would help workers. Government analysis said there were potential trade-offs that include more administrative costs and less flexibility for companies, including making it harder for employers to respond to changes in demand.


ICE agents could soon use gloves that give painful electric shocks

Mashable

Creator Hub Versus Look Up Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Say More Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Mashable Selects Switch Off Trending Now Safety Net In My Bag VidCon with Mashable All Series The devices are already in use by law enforcement agencies across the U.S. Amanda Yeo is an Assistant Editor at Mashable, covering entertainment, culture, tech, science, and social good. Based in Australia, she writes about everything from video games and K-pop to movies and gadgets. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers could soon use gloves that can give a painful electric shock to anyone they touch. As first reported by the Associated Press, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice on Monday revealing plans to distribute electrically powered shock gloves to ICE agents by the end of March next year. CD3s are not weapons -- they deliver small, non-injurious electrical pulses directly to the surface of the skin, the body's largest and most conductive organ, achieving NPI (Neuro Peripheral Interference), Compliant Technologies states on its website .


CBP Workers Allegedly Used Government Databases to Spy on Exes, Crushes, and Colleagues

WIRED

Records obtained by WIRED detail hundreds of allegations of Customs and Border Protection workers misusing internal tools to look up romantic interests and track colleagues' cell phones. Internal records obtained by WIRED reveal how, for years, United States Customs and Border Protection employees and contractors were accused of abusing sensitive government databases for reasons that had nothing to do with their jobs. The records contain hundreds of allegations of misuse of law enforcement databases, including federal agents querying data to look up romantic interests, monitor family members, expose various personal information and, in some cases, provide intelligence to suspected smugglers or drug-trafficking organizations. Acquired through Freedom of Information Act requests to CBP's Office of Professional Responsibility and the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General, the records reveal the breadth of alleged database abuse by CBP employees spanning more than a decade. As immigration and border authorities expand their surveillance through facial recognition, license plate readers, mobile-device searches, and commercially purchased location information generated by ordinary apps, the sheer range of these records, which date from 2009 through 2022, highlights how US residents can be--and have been--targeted by federal government employees with access to highly sensitive data and powerful tools.


Twitch faces backlash over Amazon using content to train AI

BBC News

Twitch has been criticised by users after it emerged the popular streaming platform allowed their content to be used to train Amazon's artificial intelligence (AI) models. Amazon owns Twitch and a setting allowing the US tech giant to take data generated by creators and audiences to train AI is turned on by default. Users can now opt out of that, Twitch said on Wednesday, but the announcement sparked a backlash with some users questioning why it was allowed in the first place. Twitch's chief product officer Mike Minton, said it's respecting users by letting them opt out but on why data was collected by default, he admitted: If it's opt-in, nobody would opt-in. Users who remain opted in could have any of their channel content used for training, Minton said during a livestream, adding that the data collected will not be re-sold to other companies.


'A High Potential for Abuse': Plan to Equip ICE Agents With Electric Shock Gloves Draws Alarm From Former Officials

TIME - Tech

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