Hacker NewsMonday, January 26

EFF's concerns about government data consolidation have materialized as ICE now uses Palantir's ELITE tool to create deportation target maps with confidence scores, pulling data from Medicaid and other sources. This surveillance system violates privacy by using personal information collected for essential services for unrelated enforcement purposes, echoing discredited Total Information Awareness programs.

Andy King attempted to replicate an influential sustainability study cited over 6,000 times but found serious flaws and misrepresentations. The original authors ignored his requests, the journal rejected his criticism citing "tone," and universities dismissed research misconduct evidence even after authors admitted errors. The article remains largely uncorrected despite acknowledged statistical misreporting and methodological impossibilities, highlighting systemic failures in academic publishing and peer review that prioritize reputation over scientific integrity.

Deutsche Telekom is accused of violating net neutrality by creating artificial bottlenecks that slow down or block websites and services that don't pay premium fees. Epicenter.works and other organizations filed a complaint with Germany's Federal Network Agency. Customers report widespread issues accessing sites like GitHub, Discord, YouTube, and university resources, particularly during evening hours, forcing many to use VPNs as workarounds.

USC researchers used satellite data to study California neighborhoods from 2019-2023 and found that for every 200 zero-emissions vehicles added, nitrogen dioxide pollution levels dropped 1.1%. This is the first statistically significant evidence that electric and hybrid vehicles are already improving air quality in real-world conditions, supporting continued adoption of clean transportation.

Users share elaborate setups with multiple AI agents playing different roles (manager, architect, developers, etc.) in software development. Discussion covers the effectiveness, costs, and complexity of these orchestrated systems versus simpler single-agent approaches.

Posturr is a macOS app that uses your Mac's camera and Apple's Vision framework to monitor your posture in real-time. When it detects slouching, it progressively blurs your screen as a visual reminder to sit up straight. The app features menu bar controls, multi-display support, runs locally for privacy, requires no account, and includes adjustable sensitivity settings for slouch detection.

The comma four is an AI upgrade device that adds active driver assistance to existing cars from Toyota, Hyundai, Ford and other brands. The openpilot system can drive for hours without driver input and works with 325+ car models from 27 brands.

A developer created a playable version of the classic 1993 DOOM game that runs on internet-connected Pinebuds Pro earbuds. Players can remotely control the game through a web browser using keyboard controls, with gameplay streamed via Twitch and MJPEG. The project overcomes hardware limitations through optimizations.

The author, initially reluctant to call Trump a fascist, now argues that Trump's governing style has evolved into fascism based on a constellation of characteristics: demolition of civic norms, glorification of violence, might-makes-right mentality, politicized law enforcement, dehumanization of opponents, police-state tactics through ICE expansion, undermining elections, and blurring public-private boundaries. The author distinguishes this from mere authoritarianism or patrimonialism, arguing Trump's approach represents ideological fascism seeking to crush resistance and rewrite the social contract.

OnePlus deployed firmware updates in January 2026 that permanently blow hardware fuses in Qualcomm processors, preventing users from downgrading or installing custom ROMs. Affected devices include OnePlus 13, 15, and Ace 5 series running ColorOS versions ending in .500, .501, or .503. Attempts to downgrade result in permanent "hard brick" requiring motherboard replacement. OnePlus has issued no official statement about this anti-rollback mechanism.