Technology

FILE - A student prepares to leave school, Aug. 13, 2014, southeast of Brookhaven, Miss. (AP Photo/...

Trump visa changes squeeze rural schools relying on international teachers

Like many school systems facing teacher shortages, South Carolina’s Allendale County has looked overseas for help. A quarter of the teachers in the rural, high-poverty district come from other countries. The superintendent praises the international educators — mostly from Jamaica and the Philippines — for their skill and dedication, but she is preparing to lose […]
8 months ago

Social Security watchdog opens probe into alleged misuse of data by ex-DOGE employee

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Social Security Administration’s internal watchdog is investigating a whistleblower complaint into what it describes as a former Department of Government Efficiency worker’s potential misuse of data obtained from the Social Security Administration. According to a document the Associated Press obtained Wednesday, the SSA’s inspector general informed the leadership of four congressional […]
8 months ago
A service dog named Alfred, who belongs to college student Tori Andres, attends a news conference a...

A service dog named Alfred sparked a Lyft settlement in Minnesota with nationwide reach

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The ride-sharing company Lyft will ensure the rights of blind and other disabled passengers across the country to travel with their service animals under a settlement announced in Minnesota on Wednesday. College student Tori Andres turned to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights after several Lyft drivers refused to let […]
8 months ago

US medical equipment company Stryker says cyberattack disrupted its global networks.

PORTAGE, Mich. (AP) — Stryker, a major U.S. medical equipment company, said a cyberattack disrupted its global networks Wednesday. “We have no indication of ransomware or malware and believe the incident is contained. Our teams are working rapidly to understand the impact of the attack on our systems,” Stryker said in a statement on its […]
8 months ago
Pages from the Anthropic website and the company's logo are displayed on a computer screen in New Y...

Microsoft backs Anthropic, urging a judge to halt Pentagon’s actions against AI company

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Microsoft is throwing its weight behind Anthropic in asking a federal court to block the Trump administration’s designation of the artificial intelligence company as a supply chain risk. Microsoft, in a legal filing, is challenging Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s action last week to shut Anthropic out of military work by labeling […]
8 months ago
FILE - Cars drive past data centers that house computer servers and hardware required to support mo...

Virginia has a data center boon. Officials debate whether it’s time to scrap its tax breaks

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Nearly two decades ago, Virginia gave tech companies a tax break on equipment and software, and they began to build. The state became a data center hub, and they kept building. Residents bemoaned the noise while they built some more. Artificial intelligence boomed, and the power grid strained — still, more […]
8 months ago
Smoke rises after an Iranian drone attack in the port area of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, ...

Tracing the US military’s learning curve on fighting Iran’s drones: What to know

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Iran war quickly tested America’s ability to combat the swarms of cheap drones that have become a staple of the modern battlefield after Ukraine and Russia demonstrated how effective they could be. The Islamic Republic launched so many drones across the region at once that some slipped through the defenses, including […]
8 months ago
FILE - Moltbook, a social network built exclusively for AI agents, is shown on a computer screen Th...

Meta to acquire Moltbook, the social network for AI agents

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Meta said Wednesday it is acquiring Moltbook, a social network built exclusively for artificial intelligence agents to make posts and interact with each other. A takeover of the AI experiment by the parent company of Facebook and Instagram comes weeks after Moltbook attracted viral attention as an unusual Reddit-like hub for […]
8 months ago
FILE - Three versions of Activision's Call Of Duty games are seen on sale at Best Buy, in Mountain ...

White House war promo videos marry action movies, sports and video games to real-life combat footage

Peaceful and violent, in video game screenshots and movie clips and on professional playing fields, the icons come fast and furious in quick-cut footage — some of the most renowned slivers of 21st-century American popular culture, harnessed by the Trump administration to promote the freshly launched war with Iran. The White House’s social media feed […]
8 months ago
Pages from the Anthropic website and the company's logos are displayed on a computer screen in New ...

Anthropic sues Trump administration seeking to undo “supply chain risk” designation

Anthropic is suing the Trump administration, asking federal courts to reverse the Pentagon’s decision designating the artificial intelligence company a “supply chain risk” over its refusal to allow unrestricted military use of its technology. Anthropic filed two separate lawsuits Monday, one in California federal court and another in the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., […]
8 months ago
FILE - In this March 15, 2017, file photo, a sign marks a pickup point for the Uber car service at ...

Uber’s women-only option goes nationwide in the US

NEW YORK (AP) — Uber launched a feature Monday to allow both women riders and drivers across the U.S. to be matched with other women for trips, expanding a pilot program aimed at addressing concerns about the safety of its ride-hailing platform. The new feature is being rolled out nationwide despite an ongoing class action […]
8 months ago
John Zola stands in an apple tree grove on his property on a spot where he says the local electric ...

AI is spurring a big expansion of high-voltage power lines. Landowners and locals are fighting back

SUGARLOAF, Pa. (AP) — For John Zola, the 40 acres were like a paradise: apple orchards tucked into northern Pennsylvania’s rolling hills, a barn, meadows and more than enough land for four houses: one for himself and his wife and each of his three adult children. It’s been “hell,” however, since a contractor hired by […]
8 months ago
FILE- Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, and Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engi...

Pentagon’s chief tech officer says he clashed with AI company Anthropic over autonomous warfare

A top Pentagon official said Anthropic’s dispute with the government over the use of its artificial intelligence technology in fully autonomous weapons came after a debate over how AI could be used in President Donald Trump’s future Golden Dome missile defense program, which aims to put U.S. weapons in space. U.S. Defense Undersecretary Emil Michael, […]
8 months ago
WA microchip bill...
Manda Factor

Your boss can’t force you to get microchipped: WA legislature passes worker protection bill

Washington lawmakers have approved legislation prohibiting employers from requiring workers to have microchips implanted in their bodies.
8 months ago
Middle East conflict escalates; militaries increasingly adopt AI. (Photo: Getty Images)...
Luke Duecy

Tech Talk: AI becomes new frontline weapon as militaries accelerate autonomous warfare

As conflict in the Middle East intensifies, militaries are turning to a new kind of weapon — not a missile or drone, but AI.
8 months ago
FILE - The symbol of the United Nations is displayed outside the Secretariat Building, Feb. 28, 202...

Demand for minerals to power technology could triple by 2030, UN political chief says

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Demand for critical minerals that power technology from smartphones to missiles could triple by 2030 and quadruple by 2040, the United Nations political chief told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday. “A decade ago, minerals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel had limited strategic importance,” Undersecretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo said. “Today, they […]
8 months ago
Xbox layoffs new ceo...
Jason Sutich

Microsoft announces ‘return of Xbox’ with console that plays Xbox, PC games

Microsoft's new Gaming CEO Asha Sharma confirmed the "return of Xbox" with its next-generation console, which is cross-compatible between Xbox and PC games.
8 months ago
FILE - An FBI seal is displayed on a podium before a news conference at the field office in Portlan...

FBI investigating ‘suspicious’ cyber activity on system holding sensitive surveillance information

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI said this week that it is investigating “suspicious activities” on an internal system that contains sensitive information related to surveillance operations and investigations. The bureau is working to determine the scope and impact of the problem, according to a notification sent to members of Congress that says the unnamed culprit […]
8 months ago

Wisconsin man accused of setting fire to congressman’s office over TikTok ban gets 7 years in prison

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin man who allegedly told police that he tried to set fire to a Republican congressman’s office last year because he was angry that the lawmaker backed a bill requiring TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell off its U.S. operations was sentenced Thursday to seven years in prison. In addition to […]
8 months ago
FILE - This undated photo provided by NASA shows a view from orbit looking at the surface of the mo...

No chance asteroid will slam into the moon in 2032, NASA says

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA issued a welcomed all-clear Thursday, saying there’s now zero chance that asteroid 2024 YR will crash into the moon in 2032. The space agency had been predicting a 4.3% chance of a direct hit. But observations by the Webb Space Telescope in February helped scientists refine the asteroid’s orbit. […]
8 months ago
Lawyers for the plaintiff watch on a laptop as a recording of Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg'...

New Mexico jurors watch Zuckerberg deposition in Meta child safety bellwether trial

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Jurors in a bellwether trial about the impacts of social media on children watched a deposition of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday that explored what the architects of Facebook and Instagram knew from internal research about the negative experiences of young users and how the company responded. New Mexico’s […]
8 months ago
FILE - The Epic Games logo is seen in San Francisco on Sept. 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)C...

Google settles with Epic Games with offer to lower its app store commissions

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google will lower the lucrative fees imposed on its Android app store and offer a way for rival options to gain its stamp of approval, ending a bruising legal battle that led to one of several rulings condemning its tactics as an illegal monopoly. The proposed changes filed Wednesday with a […]
8 months ago

US issues first commercial construction permit for a nuclear reactor in years to a Wyoming project

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued its first construction permit for a commercial nuclear reactor in eight years Wednesday, granting approval to plans by a Bill Gates-backed company to build a sodium-cooled reactor in western Wyoming. TerraPower filed for the permit in 2024, with construction now set to begin within weeks. Completion of the up […]
8 months ago
Meta ray-ban glasses privacy...
Charlie Harger

If you own Meta Ray-Ban glasses, a stranger in Kenya may have watched you undress

You put on your Meta Ray-Ban glasses, and say "Hey Meta." What you don't know is that somewhere in Kenya, a human being may be watching that same footage.
8 months ago