WEATHER ALERT

Nearly half of National Weather Service offices have 20% vacancy rates, and experts say it's a risk
Read full article: Nearly half of National Weather Service offices have 20% vacancy rates, and experts say it's a riskData obtained by The Associated Press shows that close to half of the local National Weather Service forecast offices have 20% vacancy rates as severe weather chugs across the nation’s heartland.

Microsoft's AI division head wants to create a lasting relationship between chatbots and their users
Read full article: Microsoft's AI division head wants to create a lasting relationship between chatbots and their usersFifty years after the founding of Microsoft, the CEO of its artificial intelligence division has a big task: develop a new product line as integral to daily life as the software giant’s past innovations.

AI vs. pro gambler's $1 million March Madness bet coming down to Duke and Houston
Read full article: AI vs. pro gambler's $1 million March Madness bet coming down to Duke and HoustonThe $1 million March Madness wager between a pro gambler and an artificial-intelligence site will be decided by the winner of the Duke-Houston game in the Final Four.

Brown University to see half a billion in federal funding halted by Trump administration
Read full article: Brown University to see half a billion in federal funding halted by Trump administrationA White House official says the Trump administration is planning to halt more than half a billion dollars in contracts and grants awarded to Brown University.

A behind-the-scenes look at Nintendo Switch 2
Read full article: A behind-the-scenes look at Nintendo Switch 2Nintendo’s Switch 2 is bigger and better than its predecessor of eight years past as the video game developer pushes to bring its brand into “a new era” where social experiences are at the forefront.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates reflects upon a 50-year-old computer code that reshaped technology
Read full article: Microsoft founder Bill Gates reflects upon a 50-year-old computer code that reshaped technologyEven as he grows older, Microsoft founder Bill Gates still fondly remembers the catalytic computer code he wrote 50 years ago that opened up a new frontier in technology.

NASA's Webb telescope captures photos of the asteroid that won't hit Earth in 2032
Read full article: NASA's Webb telescope captures photos of the asteroid that won't hit Earth in 2032NASA's Webb telescope has captured pictures of the asteroid that caused a stir earlier this year when it topped Earth's hit list.

Coal-fired power plant, now retired, to become massive gas-powered campus for AI, data centers
Read full article: Coal-fired power plant, now retired, to become massive gas-powered campus for AI, data centersWhat was once Pennsylvania’s biggest coal-fired power plant is being turned into a $10 billion natural gas-powered data center campus designed to capitalize on Big Tech's fast-growing energy demands.

Meta is fined by Turkey after refusing to restrict content on Facebook and Instagram
Read full article: Meta is fined by Turkey after refusing to restrict content on Facebook and InstagramFacebook and Instagram owner Meta Platforms says it has been hit with a hefty fine for resisting Turkish government demands that it limit content.

Nintendo Switch 2 launches in June with new Mario Kart World game
Read full article: Nintendo Switch 2 launches in June with new Mario Kart World gameNintendo has announced a June 5 launch date and $449.99 price tag for its latest gaming console, the Switch 2, which will introduce interactive chat and screenshare functions to connect gamers.

Meta's head of AI research stepping down
Read full article: Meta's head of AI research stepping downThe head of Meta’s artificial intelligence research division said she plans to step down, vacating a high-profile position at the parent company of Facebook and Instagram at a time of intense competition in the development of AI technology.

Trump to hold a meeting on possible investors to buy TikTok with possible ban at stake
Read full article: Trump to hold a meeting on possible investors to buy TikTok with possible ban at stakePresident Donald Trump will hold a Wednesday meeting with aides about possible investors who could buy a stake in TikTok.

Detroit production of Mozart opera turns its female characters into automatons
Read full article: Detroit production of Mozart opera turns its female characters into automatonsAudiences at the Detroit Opera House expecting their performance of “Cosi fan tutte” to begin with the overture may be surprised to hear instead a product launch from a tech company CEO.

Kendrick Lamar, Gracie Abrams and Zoe Saldaña earn Webby Award nominations, along with Nutter Butter
Read full article: Kendrick Lamar, Gracie Abrams and Zoe Saldaña earn Webby Award nominations, along with Nutter ButterKendrick Lamar, Gracie Abrams, Zoe Saldaña and Nutter Butter are among the nominees for this year’s Webby Awards, recognizing the best internet content and creators.

Volcano erupts in southwestern Iceland after a nearby town and spa are evacuated
Read full article: Volcano erupts in southwestern Iceland after a nearby town and spa are evacuatedA volcano in southwestern Iceland that has erupted repeatedly for more than a year again belched lava and smoke into the air, just hours after authorities evacuated the few remaining residents of a nearby fishing village.

Bitcoin investor buys an entire SpaceX flight for the ultimate polar adventure
Read full article: Bitcoin investor buys an entire SpaceX flight for the ultimate polar adventureA bitcoin investor is headed to space with three polar explorers on the first flight to carry people over the North and South poles.

Thousands of workers at nation's health agencies brace for mass layoffs
Read full article: Thousands of workers at nation's health agencies brace for mass layoffsAs they readied to leave work Monday, some workers at the Food and Drug Administration were told to pack their laptops and prepare for the possibility that they wouldn’t be back.

NASA's newly returned astronauts say they would fly on Boeing's Starliner capsule again
Read full article: NASA's newly returned astronauts say they would fly on Boeing's Starliner capsule againNASA's celebrity astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams say they would fly on Boeing's Starliner capsule again.

Dow wants to power its Texas manufacturing complex with new nuclear reactors instead of natural gas
Read full article: Dow wants to power its Texas manufacturing complex with new nuclear reactors instead of natural gasDow, a major producer of chemicals and plastics, wants to use next-generation nuclear reactors for clean power and steam at a Texas manufacturing complex instead of natural gas.

AI and satellites help aid workers respond to Myanmar earthquake damage
Read full article: AI and satellites help aid workers respond to Myanmar earthquake damageJust after sunrise on Saturday, a satellite set its long-range camera on the city of Mandalay in Myanmar, not far from the epicenter of Friday’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake that devastated the Southeast Asian country’s second-largest city.

Scientists hope a newly discovered flower will return after rain in West Texas
Read full article: Scientists hope a newly discovered flower will return after rain in West TexasScientists who want to learn more about a tiny, newly discovered flower in West Texas are hoping it will bloom again in a couple of weeks after rain finally fell in the area.

Scientists shielding farming from climate change need more public funding. But they're getting less
Read full article: Scientists shielding farming from climate change need more public funding. But they're getting lessPublic funding for agricultural research in the U.S. has been declining for the last two decades, a process Trump has rapidly accelerated by freezing or pausing support for a variety of research programs financed by the USDA, EPA and other organizations.

China's telecoms giant Huawei Technologies says its profit fell 28% while revenue surged in 2024
Read full article: China's telecoms giant Huawei Technologies says its profit fell 28% while revenue surged in 2024Chinese telecoms gear giant Huawei says its net profit fell 28% in 2024 while its revenue surged, as the company invested heavily in advanced technologies.

A private European aerospace startup completes the first test flight of its orbital launch vehicle
Read full article: A private European aerospace startup completes the first test flight of its orbital launch vehicleA rocket by a private European aerospace company launched from Norway on Sunday and crashed into the sea 30 seconds later.

US immigration officials look to expand social media data collection
Read full article: US immigration officials look to expand social media data collectionU.S. immigration officials are asking the public and federal agencies to comment on a proposal to collect social media handles from people applying to benefits such as green cards or citizenship, to comply with an executive order from President Donald Trump.

Top vaccine official resigns from FDA, criticizes RFK Jr. for promoting 'misinformation and lies'
Read full article: Top vaccine official resigns from FDA, criticizes RFK Jr. for promoting 'misinformation and lies'The top vaccine official with the Food and Drug Administration has resigned and criticized the nation's top health official for allowing “misinformation and lies” to guide his thinking behind the safety of vaccinations.

New 3D technology could soon bring surgeons closer to patients in Africa's most remote regions
Read full article: New 3D technology could soon bring surgeons closer to patients in Africa's most remote regionsA groundbreaking initiative could soon be bringing surgeons closer to patients in Africa's remote corners where the doctor-to-patients ratio is among the lowest in the world.

New wave of smaller, cheaper nuclear reactors sends US states racing to attract the industry
Read full article: New wave of smaller, cheaper nuclear reactors sends US states racing to attract the industryU.S. states are positioning themselves to compete for newer, cheaper nuclear reactors being developed as communities and tech giants compete in a race for electricity.

Elon Musk sells X to his own xAI for $33 billion in all-stock deal
Read full article: Elon Musk sells X to his own xAI for $33 billion in all-stock dealElon Musk has sold social media site X to his own xAI artificial intelligence company in a $33 billion all-stock deal, the billionaire announced on Friday.

Convicted of bilking investors, Nikola founder and Trump donor gets a presidential pardon
Read full article: Convicted of bilking investors, Nikola founder and Trump donor gets a presidential pardonThe founder of an electric car start-up sentenced to prison for exaggerating the potential of his technology has been pardoned by President Donald Trump, potentially wiping out hundreds of millions of dollars in restitution that prosecutors were seeking for bamboozled investors.

An AI-based drone that speeds up the detection and monitoring of wildfires is presented in Germany
Read full article: An AI-based drone that speeds up the detection and monitoring of wildfires is presented in GermanyA company that specializes in early wildfire detection has developed a new, AI-based drone that it says will help speed up the detection, location and monitoring of fires.

What is 'classified' information? What are 'secure' communications? Here's a primer
Read full article: What is 'classified' information? What are 'secure' communications? Here's a primerThe Trump administration's use of a popular app to discuss sensitive military plans — with a journalist on the text chain — is raising questions about security and the importance of safeguarding the nation's secrets.

ChatGPT's viral Studio Ghibli-style images highlight AI copyright concerns
Read full article: ChatGPT's viral Studio Ghibli-style images highlight AI copyright concernsFans of Studio Ghibli, the famed Japanese animation studio behind “Spirited Away” and other beloved movies, were delighted this week when a new version of ChatGPT let them transform popular internet memes or personal photos into the distinct style of Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki.

19 New England sea turtles are back in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida after rehabbing in Missouri
Read full article: 19 New England sea turtles are back in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida after rehabbing in MissouriNineteen sea turtles that rehabbed in Missouri after suffering the effects of cold water temperatures in New England are now back in the Atlantic Ocean off of Jacksonville, Florida.

Earth’s storage of water in soil, lakes and rivers is dwindling. And it’s especially bad for farming
Read full article: Earth’s storage of water in soil, lakes and rivers is dwindling. And it’s especially bad for farmingNew research finds that global warming has significantly reduced the amount of water that’s being stored around the world in soil, lakes, rivers, snow and other places on land.

Los Angeles sheriff's department to retest 4,000 DNA samples after using faulty kits for 8 months
Read full article: Los Angeles sheriff's department to retest 4,000 DNA samples after using faulty kits for 8 monthsThe Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department says it will retest 4,000 DNA samples and open an internal investigation after learning that it used potentially flawed test kits for eight months.

Figure skating embraces the future with new technology, modern concepts to engage athletes and fans
Read full article: Figure skating embraces the future with new technology, modern concepts to engage athletes and fansThe governing body of figure skating has embarked on an ambitious plan called “Vision 2030,” and the idea is simple: Make the sport cool again.

A Venus flytrap wasp? Scientists uncover an ancient insect preserved in amber that snatched its prey
Read full article: A Venus flytrap wasp? Scientists uncover an ancient insect preserved in amber that snatched its preyScientists have discovered an ancient wasp with a body like a Venus flytrap to seize and snatch its prey.

US robotics companies push for national strategy, including a central office, to compete with China
Read full article: US robotics companies push for national strategy, including a central office, to compete with ChinaAmerican robotics companies are pushing for a national robotics strategy, including a central government robotics office, to promote the industry at a time that Beijing is making intelligent robots a top national priority.

Judge allows newspaper copyright lawsuit against OpenAI to proceed
Read full article: Judge allows newspaper copyright lawsuit against OpenAI to proceedA federal judge has ruled that The New York Times and other newspapers can proceed with a copyright lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft seeking to end the practice of using their stories to train artificial intelligence chatbots.

Teams successful on 52.2% of ball/strike challenges during spring training robot umpire test
Read full article: Teams successful on 52.2% of ball/strike challenges during spring training robot umpire testTeams won 52.2% of their ball/strike challenges during the spring training test of robot umpires, and catchers had a markedly better success rate than pitchers.

Get ready for a partial solar eclipse across Europe and parts of North America and Africa
Read full article: Get ready for a partial solar eclipse across Europe and parts of North America and AfricaThe moon will appear to take bites out of the sun during a partial solar eclipse in the Northern Hemisphere.

Cyprus to fund desalination plants at hotels to reduce impact of water shortages on tourism
Read full article: Cyprus to fund desalination plants at hotels to reduce impact of water shortages on tourismCyprus says it will make money available to subsidize construction of private desalination plants at hotels on the tourism-reliant island nation as dwindling fresh water reserves in 108 dams are reaching alarmingly low levels.

US adds Chinese tech firms to its export control list, says they sought US knowhow for military use
Read full article: US adds Chinese tech firms to its export control list, says they sought US knowhow for military useThe U.S. has added dozens of companies to its export control, including more than 50 based in China that it says sought advanced knowhow in supercomputing, artificial intelligence and quantum technology for military purposes.

Human hacking: When cyber criminals target you
Read full article: Human hacking: When cyber criminals target youWhen you get anti-hacking advice, you’ve probably heard “Don’t use a simple password,” or “Don’t plug in that USB you found on the ground.” But there’s one form of hacking that doesn’t always require a computer, and it costs businesses about $4.88 million a year.

'Like a sound from hell:' Was an illegal sonic weapon used against peaceful protesters in Serbia?
Read full article: 'Like a sound from hell:' Was an illegal sonic weapon used against peaceful protesters in Serbia?Serbia's populist government is facing increased public scrutiny over reports that it used a sonic weapon against a peaceful crowd during a massive anti-corruption rally in the capital, Belgrade, on March 15.

Researchers in limbo as Columbia bows to Trump’s demands in bid to restore $400M federal funding
Read full article: Researchers in limbo as Columbia bows to Trump’s demands in bid to restore $400M federal fundingResearchers at Columbia University remain in limbo after the Ivy League institution bowed to the Trump administration’s demands for unprecedented changes in a bid to restore some $400 million in federal funds cut.

23andMe has filed for bankruptcy. What does this mean for your DNA data privacy?
Read full article: 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy. What does this mean for your DNA data privacy?The genetic testing company 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy, prompting people who've used the service and sent in DNA samples to be analyzed to wonder what will happen to their genetic data.