Excerpt from the linked content:^1,2

>Mountain lions are protected from hunting in California by a law passed by popular vote in 1990.

>However, a team of researchers working across the state found that human-caused mortality — primarily involving conflict with humans over livestock and collisions with vehicles — was more common than natural death for this protected large carnivore.

>[Lead author] Benson and his colleagues found that mountain lions were at greater risk of mortality from humans when they were closer to rural development.

>They also found that mountain lions were less likely to die in areas where there were higher proportions of voters in favor of pro-environmental initiatives.

>[The] new study showed that populations of mountain lions in California experiencing greater human-caused mortality also had lower population-level survival rates, suggesting that humans do indeed increase overall mortality.

>Most research on mountain lions is conducted at relatively small scales, which limits understanding of mortality caused by humans across the large areas they roam.

>To address this, scientists from multiple universities, government agencies and private organizations teamed up to better understand human-caused mortality for mountain lions across the entire state of California.

>The team tracked almost 600 mountain lions in 23 different study areas, including the Sierra Nevada, the northern redwoods, wine country north of San Francisco, the city of Los Angeles and many other areas of the state.

^1 University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 20 Mar. 2023, https://www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news/humans-are-leading-source-death-california-mountain-lions-despite-hunting-protections

^2 John Benson et al. (2023) The ecology of human-caused mortality for a protected large carnivore. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 120 (13) e2220030120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2220030120

>fighterace00

>The word cult is not even mentioned in the article at all.

‘Cult’ is the first word in the title of the peer-reviewed research article:

>Kennedy M, Strolin L, McMahon J, Franklin D, Flavel A, et al. (2023) Cult, herding, and ‘pilgrimage’ in the Late Neolithic of north-west Arabia: Excavations at a mustatil east of AlUla. PLOS ONE 18(3): e0281904. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281904

Excerpt from the linked summary^1 by study^2 co-authors Melissa Kennedy and Hugh Thomas:

>In the 1970s, the first archaeological surveys of northwest Saudi Arabia identified an ancient and mysterious rectangular structure.

>The sandstone walls of the structure were 95m long, and although it was determined to be unique, no further study of this unusual site was undertaken.

>These structures are now known as mustatils (Arabic for rectangle).

>In 2019–2020, we undertook excavations at a mustatil site called IDIHA-0008222. The structure, made from unworked sandstone, measures 140m in length and 20m in width.

>Excavations in the head of the mustatil revealed a semi-subterranean chamber. Within this chamber were three large, vertical stones.

>We have interpreted these as “betyls”, or sacred standing stones which represented unknown ancient deities.

> 

>Surrounding these stones were well-preserved cattle, goat, and gazelle horns. The horns are so well preserved that much of what we find is the horn sheath, made of keratin – the same substance as hair and nails.

>We found only the upper cranial elements of these animals: the teeth, skulls, and horns. This suggests a clear and specific choice of offerings.

>Further analysis suggests the bulk of these remains belonged to male animals and the cattle were aged between 2 and 12 years. Their slaughter would have formed a significant proportion of a community’s wealth, indicating these were high-value offerings.

>While recording these structures after rain, we noted that almost all mustatils pointed towards areas that held water.

>Current evidence suggests that the mustatils were in use between 5300 and 4900 BCE, a time when Arabia was green and humid.

>However, within a few generations, the ancient inhabitants of Saudi Arabia began to reuse these structures, this time to bury human body parts.

^1 Enigmatic ruins across Arabia hosted ancient ritual sacrifices, Melissa Kennedy and Hugh Thomas, 16 Mar. 2023, https://theconversation.com/enigmatic-ruins-across-arabia-hosted-ancient-ritual-sacrifices-201574

^2 Kennedy M, Strolin L, McMahon J, Franklin D, Flavel A, et al. (2023) Cult, herding, and ‘pilgrimage’ in the Late Neolithic of north-west Arabia: Excavations at a mustatil east of AlUla. PLOS ONE 18(3): e0281904. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281904

Excerpt from the linked content^1 by Gerry Shih, Karishma Mehrotra, and Shams Irfan:

>Indian authorities severed mobile internet access and text messaging for a second day Sunday across Punjab, a state of about 27 million people, as officials sought to capture a Sikh separatist and braced for potential unrest.

>The statewide ban — which crippled most smartphone services except for voice calls and some SMS text messages — marked one of the broadest shutdowns in recent years in India, a country that has increasingly deployed the law enforcement tactic, which digital rights activists call draconian and ineffective.

>Three Punjab residents who spoke to The Washington Post said life had been disrupted since midday Saturday.

>“My entire business is dependent on internet,” said Mohammad Ibrahim, who accepts QR code-based payments at his two clothing shops in a village outside of Ludhiana and also sells garments online. “Since yesterday, I’ve felt crippled.”

>In each of the past five years, Indian officials have ordered internet shutdowns more frequently than any other government, according to the New York-based advocacy group Access Now, which issues annual reports on the practice.

>Authorities in Punjab deployed a tactic that is usually seen in another restive Indian region: Jammu and Kashmir. The majority-Muslim region in India’s far north has experienced internet disruptions more than 400 times in the past decade, according to the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), a New Delhi-based nonprofit.

^1 Gerry Shih, Karishma Mehrotra, and Shams Irfan for the Washington Post/Jeff Bezos, 19 Mar. 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/19/india-punjab-intermet-ban-amritpal-singh/

From the linked summary^1 by Jennifer Ouellette:

>Archaeologists excavating an early Roman imperial tomb in Turkey have uncovered evidence of unusual funerary practices.

>Instead of the typical method of being cremated on a funeral pyre and the remains relocated to a final resting place, these burnt remains had been left in place and covered in brick tiles and a layer of lime.

>Finally, several dozen bent and twisted nails, some with the heads pinched off, had been scattered around the burn site.

>It's the 41 broken and bent nails—25 bent at a 90 degree angle with the heads pinched off, 16 bent and twisted but otherwise whole—recovered from the site that set this cremation apart.

>These were not coffin nails, which are usually found intact, and nails weren't used in the construction of the funeral pyre.

From the peer-reviewed article^2 by Johan Claeys, et al.:

>Aside from the application of nails to symbolically fix the spirit, heavy weights were also used in an attempt to immobilise the physical remains of a potential revenant (Ogden 2002: 164–66; Alfayé 2009: 191–97).

>The curse ‘sit tibi terra gravis’ (‘may the earth rest heavily upon you’) was sometimes used in contrast to the epitaph ‘sit tibi terra levis’ (‘may the earth rest lightly upon you’) that was commonly reproduced in Roman funerary inscriptions in full or abbreviated (‘s.t.t.l.’) form (Tolman 1910: 5 & 21).

>The combination of nails and bricks designed to restrain the dead with the sealing effect of the lime strongly implies a fear of the restless dead.

>Regardless of whether the cause of death was traumatic, mysterious or potentially the result of a contagious illness or punishment, it appears to have left the dead intent on retaliation and the living fearful of the deceased's return.

^1 Jennifer Ouellette for Ars Technica/Advance Publications, 17 Mar. 2023, https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/03/bent-nails-at-roman-burial-site-form-magical-barrier-to-keep-dead-from-rising/

^2 Claeys, J., Van de Vijver, K., Marinova, E., Cleymans, S., Degryse, P., & Poblome, J. (2023). Magical practices? A non-normative Roman imperial cremation at Sagalassos. Antiquity, 97(391), 158-175. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2022.171

From the linked^1 content:

>The FTC is “seeking information on how these companies scrutinize and restrict paid commercial advertising that is deceptive or exposes consumers to fraudulent health-care products, financial scams, counterfeit and fake goods, or other fraud.”

Further reading:^2

>The amount of money consumers have reported losing to fraud that originated on social media platforms has skyrocketed since 2017. In 2022 alone, consumers reported losing more than $1.2 billion to fraud that started on social media, more than any other contact method, according to FTC data.

>The Commission also is seeking information about how the social media and video streaming companies ensure that consumers are able to identify commercial advertising on their platforms as advertising.

>The orders, which the companies are required to comply with by law, were sent to: Meta Platforms, Inc.; Instagram, LLC; YouTube, LLC; TikTok, Inc.; Snap, Inc.; Twitter, Inc.; Pinterest, Inc.; and Twitch Interactive, Inc.

^1 Jay Peters for The Verge/Vox Media, 17 Mar. 2023, https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/16/23644215/the-ftc-is-looking-into-meta-youtube-tiktok-snap-twitter-pinterest-and-twitchs-advertising-practices

^2 FTC issues orders to social media and video streaming platforms regarding efforts to address surge in advertising for fraudulent products and scams, 16 Mar. 2023, https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/03/ftc-issues-orders-social-media-video-streaming-platforms-regarding-efforts-address-surge-advertising

Excerpt from the linked content^1 by Joe Lofaro:

>MindGeek, the Montreal-based parent company of the controversial website Pornhub, has been acquired by a private equity firm.

>Ethical Capital Partners (ECP), an Ottawa-based firm, announced Thursday it is taking over the company, which has faced criticism in recent years for allegedly hosting illegal content, including child sexual abuse material, on the world's largest porn site.

>ECP's website describes itself as a firm that seeks "investment and advisory opportunities in industries that require principled ethical leadership."

>The terms of the deal are not being made public. MindGeek, which was founded in Montreal in 2004, has a vast portfolio that also includes other pornographic properties, such as YouPorn, Redtube, Brazzers, Men.com, and Sean Cody.

^1 Joe Lofaro for CTV/Bell Canada, 16 Mar. 2023, https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/pornhub-owner-mindgeek-sold-to-private-equity-firm-1.6316373

Findings in title quoted from the linked content^1,2 about research funded by numerous organizations, including the United States National Science Foundation, The Royal Society of London, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

From the linked summary:^1

>Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum was discovered in approximately 162-million-year-old rocks from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of northwest China in 1987 by the China–Canada Dinosaur Project team, for which it was named in 1993.

>Although Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum is known only from a handful of bones from the neck and skull, the research team was able to reconstruct its evolutionary relationships and thus make comparisons to the unusually complete skeletons of its closest relatives.

>This allowed them to conclude that Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum had a neck approximately 15.1 meters long, the longest of any known sauropod.

>Lead author Dr Andrew J. Moore, Stony Brook University palaeontologist, said, ‘All sauropods were big, but jaw-droppingly long necks didn’t evolve just once.

>‘Mamenchisaurids are important because they pushed the limits on how long a neck can be and were the first lineage of sauropods to do so. With a 15-metre-long neck, it looks like Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum might be a record-holder – at least until something longer is discovered.’

ETA:

>The question of how sauropods managed to evolve such long necks and large bodies without collapsing under their own weight has puzzled scientists since their discovery.

>When studying Mamenchisaurus the team were able to use computed-tomography (CT) scanning to reveal that the vertebrae were lightweight and hollow with air spaces comprising about 69–77% of their volume, similar to the lightly built skeletons of birds.

>However, such featherweight skeletons would also be more prone to injury. To combat this Mamenchisaurus had 4-metre-long rod-like neck ribs, bony extensions of the vertebrae that created overlapping bundles of rods on either side of the neck.

>These bundles would have stiffened the neck of Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum, increasing its stability.

^1 New fossil analysis reveals dinosaur with the longest neck of any animal ever, 15 Mar. 2023, https://www.nhm.ac.uk/press-office/press-releases/new-fossil-analysis-reveals-dinosaur-with-the-longest-neck-of-an.html

^2 Andrew J. Moore, Paul M. Barrett, Paul Upchurch, Chun-Chi Liao, Yong Ye, Baoqiao Hao & Xing Xu (2023) Re-assessment of the Late Jurassic eusauropod Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum Russell and Zheng, 1993, and the evolution of exceptionally long necks in mamenchisaurids, Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 21:1, https://doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2023.2171818