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More than 40 protesters gathered at the intersection of Ocean and Water Streets on Tuesday evening for a rapid-response protest against the U.S.-Israel war in Iran and President Donald Trump’s increasingly serious threats against the country. The protest, organized by Indivisible Santa Cruz County, was announced just hours earlier on social media.

Trump, however, walked back the threats later on Tuesday, and announced a two-week pause in attacks on Iran. Iran accepted the ceasefire, and Israel joined as well, according to news reports.

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Tensions had ballooned in recent days, coming to a head Tuesday morning, when Trump wrote a threatening message on social media that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought again,” if Iran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz. 

Trump has backed down from deadlines multiple times since the war began. Indivisible volunteer and clinical psychologist Diane Bridgeman said that while the pattern is exhausting, and at times predictable, it’s important that people don’t normalize the behavior.

Aptos resident Mike Borg. Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

“We have to start questioning why we’re allowing him to continue to do it,” she said. “He’s so immoral and I worry about the younger generation, and what they’re learning from the way he treats people.”

Aptos resident Mike Borg stood at the sidewalk in a taco costume to represent the popular acronym TACO, standing for “Trump Always Chickens Out.” He said that although Trump walking back his threats wasn’t surprising, his violent rhetoric was more serious. Borg said people need to keep the pressure up through protesting, writing to legislators, and staying informed.

The post Last-minute protest against Trump’s Iran threats draws community response appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Jessica M. Pasko’s weekly column returns with news of Santa Cruz County getting more than half a million from pharmacy giant Walgreens and local businesses’ chance to get in on World Cup fever, plus names, numbers and dates to know.

The post This week in Santa Cruz County business: County reaches settlement with Walgreens; businesses invited to partake in World Cup promotions appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

Supplier will support the current Oracle E-Business Suite and lead migration to a new Oracle Fusion SaaS platform

The UK's largest police force has awarded DXC Technology a contract worth up to £1 billion to develop and run a host of business process outsourcing services – including building a new Oracle ERP system.…

Two practice web addresses appear to have been compromised

Multiple domains belonging to Scottish healthcare providers have been hijacked and are now pushing links to adult content and illegal sports streams, according to a researcher.…

Martin Gillow's 3D recreation lets users explore would-be Enigma successor's mechanics and enciphering logic online

An enthusiast has built a digital 3D model of the SG-41 cipher machine, replete with wheels, levers, and stepping logic, accessible via a browser.…

Agents will look for info elsewhere unless official sources sharpen up

The UK's hopes of fueling cutting-edge AI development and applications with a National Data Library (NDL) could be dashed unless it makes datasets easier to use.…

Santa Cruz wellness practitioners are embracing nervous system–based therapies—from neurofeedback to breathwork and somatic healing—to help people move beyond stress, anxiety and chronic patterns.

From rail advocacy to organic farming and local reflections, Santa Cruz readers share their perspectives in this week’s Letters to the Editor.

President Brad Smith tells an interviewer that Microsoft is reconsidering datacenter design in light of Iran war

Microsoft is reevaluating how it designs and builds datacenters in conflict-prone regions after Iran began targeting Middle Eastern bit barns in retaliation for US military operations.…

ARIES March 21-April 19 Unexpected deliverance? Lucky rides? Beginner’s grace? Dreamy, gleaming replacements? To the untrained eye, it may look like you are bending cosmic law in your favor. In truth, you’re simply redeeming the backlog of blessings you earned in the past—acts of quiet generosity and unselfish hardship that never got their proper reward. […]

At Oreno Ramen in Scotts Valley, rich broths, authentic Japanese noodles and Korean-inspired flavors come together in a cozy, modern setting.

From pizza deals at Watsonville’s Hangar to Beer Mule events and updates on Dharma’s, this week’s Santa Cruz dining scene is full of flavor and change.

From Kendall-Jackson’s crisp Brut Cuvée to non-alcoholic sparkling wines and bold rye whiskey, this week’s Vine & Dine offers something for every palate.

A new Santa Cruz musical celebrates Betty Boop and Fleischer-era animation, bringing Sammy Timberg’s classic cartoon music to life on stage. At the International Academy of Dance, Friday and Saturday

Chef Reilly Meehan returns to Santa Cruz to celebrate his debut cookbook A Little Bit Extra, blending bold flavors and personal stories. 4/13 at Bookshop Santa Cruz, 7pm. RSVP online.

Opting out of personal data use won't be an option because Minister says that's a 'very big obstacle' to AI adoption

Japan’s Minister for Digital Transformation Hisashi Matsumoto has declared the nation will become the easiest place in the world to develop AI apps, thanks to legal changes that mean organizations won’t need to secure consent to use some personal information.…

The cities of Watsonville and Santa Cruz are opposing the proposed placement of a man deemed a sexually violent predator, and are urging residents to contact Santa Cruz County Superior Court to voice their concerns.

Michael Cheek, 74, was convicted in 1981 of rape and forcible sodomy. He was sentenced to prison but escaped and, in Lake County, committed additional sexually violent crimes against a minor that same year. He was convicted again, declared a sexually violent predator and sentenced to additional prison time.

The California Department of State Hospitals has proposed placing Cheek at the Valley Inn at 970 Main St. in Watsonville as his primary residence, according to Watsonville police. He would be placed at 111 Ocean St. in Santa Cruz if the Watsonville site “is no longer viable,” according to a city of Santa Cruz news release.

In a Facebook post, the city of Watsonville said it “strongly opposes” the proposed placement.

“A hotel setting is not appropriate for (sexually violent predator) placement and raises serious public safety concerns,” the post states. “The proposed site is located in a busy commercial corridor near youth- and family-serving spaces, and hotel guests would be unaware they could encounter an SVP on the premises.”

Watsonville officials said they plan to hold a town hall to gather community input.

Under California law, individuals designated as sexually violent predators may be considered for conditional release under supervision.

Proposed placements must be more than a quarter-mile from any K-12 school, including private schools and homeschool programs.

In a news release, Santa Cruz city officials cited several reasons for their concern, including that Cheek should not have any contact with minors.

“Yet, the proposed location is extremely close to at least a dozen youth-serving facilities, including parks, beaches, a preschool and a youth center,” the release states.

In addition, the proposed location is frequently occupied by families and children, creating unavoidable contact with potential victims, the release states. It is also close to other visitor-serving motels.

“The city’s position is that Mr. Cheek’s residence at this location would alter the intensity and character of land use and would require a coastal development permit under the Coastal Act,” the release states.

A placement hearing is scheduled for May 22 at 1:30pm in Department 6 of Santa Cruz County Superior Court.

Community members may submit comments to the court before April 27 via email at cr**********@************rt.org or by mail to Superior Court, 701 Ocean St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060.

Hasn't released it to the public, because it would break the internet - in a bad way

For years, the infosec community’s biggest existential worry has been quantum computers blowing away all classical encryption and revealing the world’s secrets. Now they have a new Big Bad: an AI model that can generate zero-day vulnerabilities.…

Neighbors can be a nightmare. I’m sure we’ve all had our fair share of nosy neighbor horror stories. Other times, neighbors might just become your best friend. Or something else entirely. In the trailer for A24’s upcoming film The Invite, it’s not entirely clear which is the case. Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton play neighboring couples in the intriguing first look below.Watch the Official Trailer for The Invite!

The film is described as a charged romantic dramedy, which the trailer makes evident. It keeps things pretty vague, clueing us in just enough without giving too much of the plot away. There’s a strikingly obvious tension between the couples. My takeaway is that Cruz and Norton have got to be swingers.

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Anne Hathaway Is Iconic in A24’s MOTHER MARY Trailer

The movie follows couple Joe and Angela (Rogen and Wilde), whose marriage rests on thin ice. They invite their mysterious upstairs neighbors (Cruz and Norton) over for a dinner party, which we see unravel in the trailer. The night spirals into unexpected outcomes, leading to a proposition that threatens to change everything. It’s a raw look into the complexities of marriage, one that’s both funny and deeply human.

The Invite is Wilde’s first directorial effort since Don’t Worry Darling in 2022. The Invite is a remake of the Spanish film The People Upstairs. It is co-written by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack. David Permut, Megan Ellison, and Ben Browning produced.

A24

The Invite received high praise when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, igniting a bidding war that A24 ultimately came out on top of. The trailer gives us an enthralling first look at the upcoming film. My guess is that it will likely be A24’s next big hit following The Drama. What unforeseen outcomes will unfold at this dinner party? Find out this summer. The Invite heads to select theaters on June 26 and is out everywhere in July.

The post THE INVITE Trailer Sees Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde at a Fraught Dinner Party appeared first on Nerdist.

Your PLCs aren't internet-connected, right? Right?!

Iranian-affiliated actors have escalated intrusions targeting critical US water and energy facilities, in some cases disrupting operations, the FBI and American cyber defense agencies said on Tuesday.…