Memo

Mariana Ochoa has been crowned winner of the fourth season of La Casa de los Famosos México, taking the 2026 title after the finale. Memo Schutz, a TUDN commentator, finished in second place. Mexican media are also covering the size of the cash prize after taxes, the final voting results, and where fans could watch the finale live.

The US Senate has blocked legislation sponsored by Senators Jeff Merkley and Lisa Murkowski that would have prevented the Trump administration from tearing down presidential memorials. The bill failed to advance, leaving existing protections in place amid concerns from the two senators about the fate of monuments honouring past presidents.

A repair channel known mainly for graphics card fixes has published its first DDR5 memory module repair, taking on a two-stick kit reportedly worth $16,000. The job highlights how soaring RAM prices are changing the economics of memory repair, making fixes viable for high-end kits that would previously have been written off as uneconomical to service.

Viewers of the 1999 Babylon 5 spin-off Crusade are discussing 'The Memory of War', noting that although it aired as the fourth episode, it was the second one produced. Fans point out that this creates a strange disconnect: the characters behave as if they share a history the audience has never seen, a consequence of the show's famously disrupted broadcast order.

The open-source photo editing application Darktable has shipped version 5.6.2, a maintenance release addressing OpenCL issues, crash bugs, memory leaks, and Windows usability problems, alongside updated camera presets. It is the latest stability update for the free RAW photo editor, aimed at improving performance and reliability across platforms without introducing major new features.

New research reported by The Scientist suggests bacteria can learn and store memories in ways that resemble artificial neural networks. The findings point to memory-like behaviour in single-celled organisms without nervous systems, drawing comparisons between microbial adaptation and machine learning models. Scientists say the work could reshape understanding of how simple life forms process information and inspire new computing approaches.

US semiconductor and memory stocks, including Intel, AMD, Micron and SanDisk, along with the SOXX chip ETF, declined in premarket trading after a sharp rally in October. Investors appear to be taking profits following last month's gains, with attention on whether the sector's momentum can continue.

A 1963 internal memo by IBM president Thomas Watson Jr. about Control Data Corporation's CDC 6600, then the world's fastest computer, is drawing attention via the Computer History Museum's archive. In the memo Watson urged IBM engineers to respond to CDC and Seymour Cray's advance. Readers are sharing reflections on early supercomputing history and IBM's competitive response.

A collection of Paul Reubens memorabilia, including props from his Pee-wee Herman act, is being offered at auction. The items span the career of the comedian, who died in 2023, and give fans a chance to own pieces tied to one of his most beloved comic creations.

A new essay argues that AI agents work better when given clear written documentation than when outfitted with persistent memory systems. The author contends that well-maintained docs let agents act correctly on demand, while memory mechanisms add complexity and unreliability. The piece is drawing active debate among developers about the right architecture for building agent software.

CNN chief executive Mark Thompson will remain in his role when Paramount's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery closes this week. In a memo to employees, Thompson said he expects the combined company to back editorial independence, stressing support for 'the principle and practice' of independent journalism as the merger reshapes the media landscape.

The Slime Mold Time Mold blog has published a new post outlining three ideas for independent, citizen-led science projects. The piece invites readers to pursue research outside traditional academic institutions, in line with the blog's usual focus on self-experimentation and unconventional approaches to nutrition and health. It is drawing modest attention in online science and rationalist circles.

Comedian Katt Williams has spoken to The New York Times about the books that shaped him and his forthcoming memoir. The interview offers readers a rare, literary-minded look at the comedian's influences and the story behind his decision to write his life story down. Fans of the comic have taken an interest in what a more personal, reflective project from Williams will reveal.

Israel is marking the anniversary of the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack with a national memorial day. Ceremonies and commemorations are being held across the country to honour the roughly 1,200 people killed and those taken hostage. The date comes as the Gaza war continues and the fate of remaining hostages remains a central public concern.

Samsung's next-generation HBM4 high-bandwidth memory could cost up to three times more by 2027, according to a report citing upcoming supply contracts and ongoing price negotiations with major global clients. The price surge is being linked to surging demand for AI chips, where advanced memory is a critical component, as suppliers and customers hammer out long-term agreements.

A widely shared gaming and game development commentary argues that memorable characters are not created through lengthy backstories, but through the decisions they repeatedly make when under pressure. The same thinking is being applied to AI agents: an agent becomes a character through what it does, not through its documentation. Developers and designers are discussing how behavior, not biography, should drive character design in both games and software.

Mahmoud Khalil has released a memoir recounting his experience in US immigration detention and his legal battle to remain in the country. The book, highlighted in coverage by NPR, offers a firsthand account of conditions inside detention and the personal toll of his fight to stay. The publication is drawing attention amid ongoing debate over immigration enforcement.

UK chip startup Fractile is drawing attention for its approach to AI inference hardware, which centres on memory bandwidth rather than raw compute as the key bottleneck. The company argues that moving data, not processing it, is the main constraint on running large AI models efficiently, and its chips are designed around that insight.

The camera app maker Halide has published a detailed write-up on decoding WebP images in a memory-safe way, rather than relying on the widely used native libwebp code, which has a history of serious security vulnerabilities. The piece walks through why memory safety matters in image parsing and how a safe implementation can replace risky native decoding on Apple platforms.

A photograph of a dock shrouded in morning fog, shared in black and white, is being passed around by social media users. The photographer says no filter was used and that the scene looked exactly like that in the early morning, with birds visible against the ocean backdrop. It is being shared as part of the Monochrome Monday photo-sharing tradition, where users post monochrome images at the start of the week.

US travelers are being advised on the busiest times to fly and drive over Memorial Day weekend, one of the country's heaviest travel periods. Local ABC stations in Philadelphia and Los Angeles are running guidance on when roads and airports will be most crowded, as millions prepare to travel for the unofficial start of summer.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog delivered an address at the state memorial ceremony honouring the victims of the October 7th terror attack. The ceremony, held by the Israeli government, commemorated those killed in the Hamas-led assault. Official remarks from the president typically emphasise remembrance, national resilience, and solidarity with the bereaved families and survivors.