Google could soon add a feature that makes it super easy to learn about a file. 

Rumors and reports online suggest that the tech giant could be working on a feature that'll let you attach a file then search within it, in order to then analyze the document. 

As spotted by Android Authority, this new, rumored tool from Google would let a user upload a file in the search bar with the familiar paperclip icon, then parse through that document. Users would be prompted to "ask anything about the file" via the regular Google search bar. 

In effect, you could take any local file and comb through it via Google search, receiving answers with the help of AI. Of course you'd have to trust Google to keep your documents private and that its AI tools would spit out accurate responses. 

The tool was spotted and posted on X and by Khushal Bherwani, an SEO analyst who frequently posts about this sort of thing of the social media site.

Governor Roy Cooper has announced the launch of the state’s Tech Resource Finder, a new website that provides more than 1,100 resources that help North Carolinians use the internet, find public computers and Wi-Fi and access technical support and digital skills classes across the state.

"All North Carolinians need the resources to access high-speed internet and use it safely and effectively,” said Governor Cooper. “This website will help ensure that more people can be part of the growing digital economy to work, learn, access telehealth and connect with others online.”

The N.C. Department of Information Technology’s Division of Broadband and Digital Equity collected information about all organizations in North Carolina offering these services to help people get online and identify gaps within communities for future initiatives.

Tech Resource Finder users can search for local offerings by county, zip code or type of resource and can select a map view or table view. Each resource includes a description, address, website, contact information and directions. The division is also partnering with NC State University’s William & Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation to keep the Tech Resource Finder’s offerings up to date.

"The internet is essential in almost every aspect of today’s world," said State CIO and NCDIT Secretary Jim Weaver. "Our goal is to ensure that North Carolinians are aware of nearby resources available to help them get online and build their digital skillsets.”

As part of the division’s partnership with the United Way/ NC 211, the Tech Resource Finder offerings will be integrated into the NC 211 system, so their trained community resource specialists can connect callers to these verified community sources. NC 211’s service is available in most languages and is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

For more information about the NCDIT Division of Broadband and Digital Equity and Governor Cooper’s plan to close the digital divide, please visit ncbroadband.gov.

Pastfinders is thrilled that Cari Taplin will join us to discuss using Google Maps for Genealogy. The Presentation “Using Google’s My Maps as a Research and Analysis Tool” will be hosted by Pastfinders on Thursday, January 9 at the Cooper Memorial Library located at the Lake-Sumter State College, South Lake Campus in Clermont, Florida and Zoom from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm. The public is welcome to attend any of the free classes given by our society.  You must register to use Zoom or just arrive early at Cooper Memorial Library in room 108 to enjoy the program and meet other like-minded individuals. 

Program Description: Did you know you can create your own maps using Google’s My Maps? Many of us use Google Maps for travel or locating a place. My Maps allows users to create custom maps, making it a fantastic and easy-to-use research and analysis tool. Maps can be shared with others making it a great way to present your research to family and friends. This webinar will give an overview of My Maps, examples for why and how it can be useful for genealogy, and will go in-depth to demonstrate to the audience exactly how to create custom maps, including inserting lines, shapes, images, text, and more. 

Speaker Bio: Cari Taplin is the owner of  GenealogyPANTS, she provides speaking services. She also lends help and shares her expertise as an administrator on the highly popular Facebook Group “The Genealogy Squad.” Cari currently works for Ancestry ProGenealogists. Cari’s research focuses on midwestern and Great Lakes states. Her family told her she was related to Roy Rogers. As a result, finding her true heritage has been her focus since the year 2000. She is a native of Wood County, Ohio but now lives in Longmont, Colorado. Cari holds the Certified Genealogist® credential and has served in various volunteer and leadership positions for state, local, and national societies. 

Registration Form: https://tinyurl.com/GoogleMapsJan9430pmest

Visit PastfindersSLC.org for more details.

Gov. Dan McKee called the deadline given by hackers who installed malicious malware on the RIBridges system and demanded a ransom a “moving target” at a press conference late Saturday afternoon.

This article was originally published by Rhode Island Current.

Time is of the essence for hundreds of thousands of Rhode Islanders to take steps to shield their digital identities after state officials Friday acknowledged a major cyberattack on the state’s system for enrolling on Medicaid and other social service programs or signing up for commercial-based health care plans.

Gov. Dan McKee called the deadline given by hackers who installed malicious malware on the RIBridges system and demanded a ransom a “moving target” at a press conference late Saturday afternoon.

“Based on our latest information we have, the data could be exposed in the near future as early as this coming week,” McKee said.

State officials declined to comment on the ransom amount.

RIBridges, formerly known as the Unified Health Infrastructure Project (UHIP), serves approximately one third of the state’s population. That includes more than 46,000 individuals enrolled in health plans through the state’s health insurance marketplace, HealthSource RI, as well as over 8,000 more through the small group options offered to employers in the state. But the data breach could impact people who have applied for but are not receiving benefits. And it’s unclear how many years of data could have been exposed.

Rhode Island has nearly 1.1 million residents, according to the 2020 Census.

No representative from Deloitte, the vendor that manages the RIBridges system, was present at the news  conference.

McKee relinquished the podium to a federal cybersecurity expert who strongly encouraged residents to enable multi-factor authentication on their bank or credit card accounts, sign up online for free credit monitoring services through major credit bureaus and use passwords that are 10 to 12 characters long.

“In talking with the governor, it is possible that we’re going to have some additional credit monitoring provided by Deloitte as part of the partnership and work that they’re doing together,” said Michael Tetreault, cybersecurity advisor at CISA U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The RIBridges system is used to serve vulnerable residents who rely on assistance for health care, food, child care, adult day care and emergency housing.

The system was taken offline Friday afternoon after Deloitte confirmed a major security threat had occurred and that there was a “high probability that a cybercriminal has obtained files with personally identifiable information from RIBridges.” Networks are typically taken offline to prevent further intrusion on systems.

Effective Monday, the Department of Human Services will revert back to paper application processing, said Director Kimberly Merolla-Brito.

“We formerly used to do this and are confident that we’ll be able to help individuals in need of human service benefits and services,” Merolla-Brito said.

Merolla-Brito said Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cardholders can place a freeze on their cards to prevent the card or benefits associated with the account from being used via the ebtEDGE online portal. Cardholders who lost or misplaced their cards or fear they may have been compromised can also call the EBT customer service line at 1 (888) 979-9939.

State officials learned of the possibility that the system was the target of a potential cyberattack on Dec. 5 from its vendor Deloitte. At that time, the FBI and the Rhode Island State Police were notified.

On Tuesday, Dec. 10, Deloitte confirmed there had been a breach of RIBridges based on a screenshot of file folders sent by the hacker to Deloitte. On Friday, Dec. 13, Deloitte confirmed there was malicious code present in the system, prompting the shutdown of the system.

The state will provide updates at https://admin.ri.gov/ribridges-alert.

Update: This story has been clarified to reflect that the data of applicants and not just current beneficiaries could have been exposed.

In a rare joint statement, the archivist and deputy archivist of the United States said Tuesday that the 1970s-era Equal Rights Amendment cannot be certified without further action by Congress or the courts, as Democrats press President Joe Biden to act unilaterally on its ratification before he leaves office next month.

The five-decade push to amend the Constitution to prohibit discrimination based on sex remains stalled. Congress sent the amendment, which guarantees men and women equal rights under the law, to the states in 1972 and gave states seven years to ratify it, later extending the deadline to 1982. But the amendment wasn’t ratified by the required three-quarters of states before the deadline.

Four years ago, however, Virginia lawmakers voted to ratify the amendment, becoming the 38th and final state needed — albeit nearly four decades after the congressionally mandated deadline for ratification.

More than 120 House Democrats, led by Reps. Cori Bush and Ayanna Pressley, called on Biden on Sunday to direct the archivist to certify and publish the amendment despite the missed deadline. 

“Solidifying your legacy on equal rights with a final action on the ERA would be a defining moment for the historic Biden-Harris administration and your presidency,” they wrote to Biden.

But the archivist, Colleen Shogan, and her deputy, William J. Bosanko, who are responsible for certifying and publishing new amendments once they meet the required ratification threshold, say neither they nor Biden can act without Congress or the courts lifting the deadline.

“In 2020 and again in 2022, the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice affirmed that the ratification deadline established by Congress for the ERA is valid and enforceable,” they said in a joint statement. “The OLC concluded that extending or removing the deadline requires new action by Congress or the courts. Court decisions at both the District and Circuit levels have affirmed that the ratification deadlines established by Congress for the ERA are valid.”

They added: “Therefore, the Archivist of the United States cannot legally publish the Equal Rights Amendment. As the leaders of the National Archives, we will abide by these legal precedents and support the constitutional framework in which we operate.”

Congress tried last year in the latest push to lift the deadline to allow for the amendment’s ratification, but the measure didn’t reach the required 60-vote threshold in the Senate. 

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who is leading the effort among Democrats in the Senate, insisted in a statement that the archivist’s analysis was flawed and said she was “wrongfully inserting herself into a clear constitutional process, despite the fact that her role is purely ministerial.”

She encouraged Biden to ignore the OLC memo and certify the ERA anyway. “OLC memos are advisory in nature and can easily be disregarded by the current administration,” she said.

The Biden White House has been discussing the possibility with lawmakers and in internal meetings, according to a person familiar with the matter, but believes the best path forward is for Congress to lift the deadline and thereby eliminate the risk of a legal challenge to the amendment.

White House spokesperson Kelly Scully said: “President Biden has been clear that he wants to see the Equal Rights Amendment definitively enshrined in the Constitution.”

“Senior Administration officials have and will continue to engage with key Congressional leaders and other stakeholders on this issue in the weeks ahead,” she added. “It is long past time that we recognize the clear will of the American people.”

Lee esta historia en español aquí. 

Josie Cavazos was 15 when her mother died of ovarian cancer. 

Nearly five decades later, the 62-year-old still wishes she could have asked her mother about her childhood or how she came to wait tables for 20 years at Home Cafe, which became Andy’s Home Cafe in 1977.

“I didn’t realize when I was that young that there was such a finite window to get these stories and talk to my family about their history and their families,” she said on a recent Tuesday.

Josie and her 44-year-old daughter, Christina, were among a dozen people who gathered at the Leonel J. Castillo Community Center earlier this month to learn about genealogy and how to research their family history. The two-hour workshop was specially designed for Hispanic and Latino families, who sometimes face hurdles in tracking down their ancestors. 

Carlos Cantú, an adjunct history professor at the University of Houston and co-founder of the Collective of Progressive Educators (COPE), which hosted the workshop, said Hispanic and Latino heritage has not been cataloged and inventoried to the extent that European heritage has.

“There is plenty of information out there. But not everything has been inventoried, not everything has been gone through,” Cantú added. 

According to its Facebook page, COPE’s mission is to “uncover, preserve, and promote underrepresented histories, build partnerships with advocacy groups, non-profits, institutions of higher learning, and resource centers, and provide safe learning spaces for all communities.”

To that end, the nonprofit partnered with AARP to host the workshop and brought in four speakers to teach the basics of genealogy.

Dr. Ramiro Contreras introduces the basics of researching genealogy using ancestry.com on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Houston. The Collective of Progressive Educators and AARP hosted a Latino Genealogy Workshop to help participants find and share resources for tracing their family history. (Joseph Bui for Houston Landing)

Ramiro Contreras, an independent researcher, advises budding genealogists to start their research project by gathering basic information about their immediate family and creating a family tree. Using online repositories like Ancestry.com, search for people who were alive around 1950 and work backward from there.

“The bureaucracy of documentation is strong by 1950,” Contreras said.

“These records are telling us a story,” he added. “They’re talking to us, and when you click on them they’re going to speak to you and tell you something about your ancestor’s life.”

If looking for records from Latin American countries or Spain, the experts recommended going to FamilySearch.org. The website, run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has an extensive collection of international records, said Carl Smith, manager of the Family History Research Center at the Clayton Library. 

Smith said that the Museum District research center, as an affiliate partner of the Mormon repository, has access to records that would otherwise be kept private.

Smith also said that the research center has one of the largest collections of published and unpublished family histories in the country, containing more than 100,000 volumes and 3,000 periodicals.

“The vast majority of records still are not online. It won’t be in our lifetime,” he added.

Marina Flores Sugg said she attended the workshop to learn more about how she can research both sides of her extended family. As a fourth-generation Texan, Flores said she knows little to nothing about her Mexican heritage. “We’ve lost many contacts that we used to have to Mexico because we’ve been here for so long,” she said. 

One thing she does know is that her great-grandmother brought Flores’s grandfather to Houston because she didn’t want the then-12-year-old to be recruited by the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. She also remembers someone telling her that her grandfather became a meat cutter upon moving to Texas.

“He’s the one that cut the meat into steaks, different types of steaks,” Flores said. “The butcher just kills the animal.”

Marina Flores Sugg poses for a photo after attending a workshop about genealogy on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Houston. The Collective of Progressive Educators and AARP hosted a Latino Genealogy Workshop to help participants find and share resources for tracing their family history. (Joseph Bui for Houston Landing)

Flores also remembers her great-grandmother having a house on Canal Street in Houston’s East End, and a large machine the matriarch used to press clothes.

“My mother tells me ‘there’s no way you can remember that, Rena, because you were two or three. I said ‘mom, I remember,’” Flores said.

Cavazos said her mother grew up in Dewalt, Texas, got married young and worked as a waitress at Andy’s, the longtime Houston restaurant. Other than that, she doesn’t know much else about Guadalupe Castillo Waterhouse or how she lived her life.

Cavazos hopes that by learning more about her mother, she will learn more about that side of the family and what brought them to Texas.

“I have little bits and pieces but I never sat down with anybody in my family to get the full story.”

Long Lost Family is presented by Nicky Campbell and Davina McCall

US pubcaster PBS has picked up 12 seasons of the UK version of long-running genealogy format Long Lost Family from Dutch distributor Lineup Industries to help feed its slew of new FAST channels.

PBS unveiled a major expansion of its activities in the free ad-supported streaming TV market last month with the launch of more than 150 channels on Amazon’s Prime Video in the US.

Now, the organisation’s PBS Distribution subsidiary has signed a deal with Lineup for Long Lost Family archives, plus seven seasons of spin-off series What Happened Next, to help power new FAST channel, PBS Genealogy, available on Pluto TV in the US, as well as via PBS Passport, available via the PBS app.

Over the course of two decades on air, since its launch on NPO1, Long Lost Family has been produced locally for channels including TLC in the US, Sweden’s TV4, Reshet in Israel, Ten in Australia, DR Denmark, and RTL in Hungary. Produced by Wall to Wall, the UK version originated on ITV, where it has been recognised by awards from BAFTA, Grierson, National TV and TV Choice and inspiring spin-off shows What Happened Next and Born Without Trace.

Following the 2023 fires that destroyed or severely damaged eight historic sites managed by the nonprofit Lahaina Restoration Foundation—resulting in the loss of tens of thousands of artifacts and records from the former capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom—US Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced the Public Archives Resiliency Act. 

The proposed legislation would authorize grants to support the preservation, climate resilience, and continuity of vital government records, while protecting historically and culturally significant documents. It would fund public archives, libraries, museums, educational institutions, and nonprofits, with companion legislation introduced in the US House by Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC).

“Public records are essential to the preservation of our history and culture,” said Hirono. “The Public Archives Resiliency Act will help to better protect them from the effects of climate change, including natural disasters like wildfires or floods.”

Government records are generated through birth, death, marriage, taxes, military service, education, immigration, property ownership, and much more. Many institutions that manage these records however, are at risk of environmental damage and lack resources to protect themselves and their communities. When these public records are destroyed or become inaccessible, it can delay an individual’s ability to access key government benefits and services, as well as result in the loss of irreplaceable cultural artifacts.

“The importance of this bill cannot be overstated,” said Janel Quirante, head archivist, at ‘Ulu‘ulu: The Henry Ku‘ualoha Giugni Moving Image Archive of Hawai‘i. “This bill provides crucial support to libraries, archives and museums that care for historic and cultural materials endangered by the impacts of climate change. Infrastructure support would allow for critical improvements to aging HVAC systems, especially in Hawai‘i and other tropical climates where high temperature and humidity pose major challenges to maintaining a safe long term preservation environment for archival films. Digitization support would allow for the preservation, access and sharing of our cultural heritage documented on films and videos that are increasingly susceptible to loss from climate disasters.”

“Historic records and artifacts left by our kūpuna (ancestors) serve as foundational blueprints, offering invaluable guidance for addressing present-day challenges and shaping our future,” said Kai Kahele, chairman of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees. “The Public Archives Resiliency Act, which allocates additional funding to repositories, greatly strengthens the capacity of Hawai‘i’s archives to preserve and access essential historical records. This support is particularly critical as we confront the challenges of climate change, as recently underscored by the devastating wildfires on Maui in 2023.”

The Public Archives Resiliency Act will provide essential support to Hawai‘i’s repositories dedicated to the preservation and accessibility of historic documents and artifacts,” said Kale Hannahs, research systems administrator at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. “These institutions serve as vital stewards, empowering and educating the communities they support. OHA’s partnership with the Lahaina Restoration Foundation serves as a timely example of the importance of digitizing historic documents for the purpose of preserving Hawaiʻi’s history and provides a foundational framework upon which we build our future.”

Full text of the legislation is available here.

Ottawa police say advances in DNA technology helped them find, arrest and charge a suspect in a 1996 stabbing death on the Portage Bridge.

At a news conference Monday, Deputy Chief Trish Ferguson said 73-year-old Lawrence Diehl, who was living in Vancouver, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder last week for the death of Christopher Smith.

The victim was crossing the Portage Bridge between Ottawa and Gatineau, Que., early on April 12, 1996, with a cousin when he got into an altercation and was stabbed, police said. Smith was later pronounced dead at a Gatineau hospital.

Ferguson said advances in genetic genealogy, or building potential family trees using DNA, helped lead investigators to the breakthrough. She declined to share more details.

While this is the first time Ottawa police say they have found relatives using the technology, it's also been used to help identify Jewell Parchman Langford as the "Nation River Lady.” 

Ottawa police thanked police in Toronto and Vancouver and the RCMP. They're also asking the public for any additional information about what Diehl was doing in Ottawa around that time, saying only that he was there for work.

Ottawa police said they're regularly reviewing more than 60 unsolved homicides. In 2012, they put up a $50,000 reward for information related to his death.

Diehl appeared in court on Saturday. He has not yet entered a plea. 

This article originally appeared on https://www.huffpost.com/entry/heritage-travel-genealogy-tourism_l_67591567e4b068cbf4c261c5:

These days, it seems like more people are traveling than ever. So it makes sense that many travelers are seeking unique experiences that don’t feel like the same standard vacation everyone else is taking (and posting about on social media). 

Fortunately, there are plenty of fresh and fulfilling types of trips you can take ― from “destination dupes” to “mystery travel.” But a particularly meaningful option is “heritage travel.”

Below, travel experts break down this approach to travel and what you should know before you plan a heritage trip. 

What is heritage travel?

“Heritage travel is when you explore destinations tied to your ancestry or cultural roots,” said Gabby Beckford, founder of the travel site Packs Light. “It’s about discovering more about yourself, your family stories, and your overall identity by traveling to places where you are, in some part, ‘from.’”

People interested in heritage travel ― which is also known as genealogy tourism, ancestral travel, roots tourism and DNA tourism ― can plan vacations around their family lineage and walk the path of their ancestors. This is all much easier to do in the age of services like 23andMe, AncestryDNA and MyHeritage. 

“It’s been popular for years already, but I think it’s really grown since the advent of at-home DNA testing products,” said Laura Motta, the senior director of content at Lonely Planet. “They can give people a ton of insight into where their families are from.”

For many, these home kits have awakened a desire to connect with their history and experience aspects of their ancestors’ culture firsthand. Now, companies like Ancestry are offering special guided heritage travel opportunities to customers who want to gain a greater understanding of their family’s past. Options include ancestral home visits, genealogy cruisesand personal guided tours.

Heritage travel is increasingly common in places that experienced mass emigration or forced removal at some point and therefore have a large diaspora community in other parts of the world. Examples include Ireland, Ghana and Italy (as seen in Season 2 of HBO’s “The White Lotus,” which featured a three-generation Sicilian American family returning to their ancestral roots in Testa dell’Acqua). 

“Lots of countries and communities are working to enable and encourage heritage tourism, which makes complete sense. It’s big business,” Motta said. “Tour operators and tourism boards often have information to help you get started.”

Heritage travel can also refer more broadly to any type of tourism that involves visiting historic and cultural sites and immersing yourself in the destination’s past and present way of life. And this certainly applies to ancestry-focused tourism. 

“Reconnection to the past is at the central core of heritage travel,” said Katy Nastro, a travel expert and spokesperson for the Going travel app. “A type of travel designed to better engage a traveler with the cultural heritage of a place, heritage travel is more about understanding a destination through genuine traditions and experiences rooted in history. 

What are the benefits of heritage travel?

There are many reasons why heritage travel might appeal to tourists. 

“It can be really fascinating and can help connect people to their ethnic and cultural roots,” Motta said. “Of course, heritage tourism can mean very different things to different people. You might be chasing a complicated paper trail of baptism certificates and immigration records in Ireland, or finding your family’s former home in California, or learning about rituals that your ancestors performed in Ghana.”

Beckford said she personally finds the heritage travel trend to be very exciting. 

“As someone who is multiracial, I understand that in a world that likes to put people into neat categories, not fitting perfectly into one can feel alienating,” she noted. “I believe knowledge is power, and traveling back to where your ancestors came from to understand how you became the person you are today can be not only fascinating but healing for many people like me.”

Heritage travel can take many forms and include a wide range of experiences. People may have different goals and approaches to their ancestral journeys. 

“I see many families, particularly second and third generations, taking heritage trips to reconnect with rituals, traditions, religions, holidays, or even to honor specific family members who have passed,” Beckford said.

By taking a heritage-focused trip, you have the opportunity to truly immerse yourself in the local culture and history as well. 

“Travelers more and more are seeking an authentic travel experience, away from uber-popular tourist traps, traveling more purposefully,” Nastro said. “There is no better way to understand your current surroundings than by walking through its past.”

She added that you don’t necessarily need to design an entire vacation around heritage travel, but can instead incorporate it through specific activities or experiences in your trip. 

You can read the full article at: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/heritage-travel-genealogy-tourism_l_67591567e4b068cbf4c261c5.