Technology

FILE - A ninth grader places his cellphone into a phone holder as he enters class at Delta High Sch...

Half of US states now have laws banning or regulating cellphones in schools, with more to follow

ATLANTA (AP) — Florida was the first state to pass a law regulating the use of cellphones in schools in 2023. Just two years later, half of all states have laws in place, with more likely to act soon. Bills have sprinted through legislatures this year in states as varied as New York and Oklahoma, […]
1 year ago
People pose for photos in front of an I/O logo at a Google I/O event in Mountain View, Calif., Tues...

Google’s search engine can go into full ‘AI mode’ as its makeover moves into its next phase

Google on Tuesday unleashed another wave of artificial intelligence technology to accelerate a year-long makeover of its search engine that is changing the way people get information and curtailing the flow of internet traffic to websites. The next phase outlined at Google’s annual developers conference includes releasing a new “AI mode” option in the United […]
1 year ago
In this photo provided by Tennessee Valley Authority, Scott Hunnewell, vice president of the utilit...

First US utility seeks permit for a small nuclear reactor

For the first time in the United States, a utility is asking federal regulators for a permit to build a small nuclear reactor. The nation’s largest public power company, the Tennessee Valley Authority, announced Tuesday it submitted a construction permit application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a small, modular nuclear reactor. It wants […]
1 year ago
Eric Trump, Executive VP of The Trump Organization, right, speaks as Co-founder of World Liberty Fi...

Senate advances legislation to regulate stablecoins, a form of cryptocurrency

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has voted to move forward with legislation to regulate a form of cryptocurrency called stablecoins, two weeks after Democrats blocked the measure. Monday’s 66-32 procedural vote keeps one of President Donald Trump’s top legislative priorities on track for passage and highlights the growing political strength of the cryptocurrency industry, which […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump, right, watches as first lady Melania Trump speaks at an event for Military ...

Trump, alongside the first lady, will sign a bill to make posting ‘revenge porn’ a federal crime

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, on Monday were hosting a signing ceremony for the Take It Down Act, a measure the first lady helped usher through Congress to set stricter penalties for the distribution of non-consensual intimate imagery online, or “revenge porn.” In March, Melania Trump used her first public […]
1 year ago
FILE - Voting machines are seen at the Bartow County Election office, Jan. 25, 2024, in Cartersvill...

Trump order targets barcodes on ballots. They’ve long been a source of misinformation

ATLANTA (AP) — President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to overhaul how U.S. elections are run includes a somewhat obscure reference to the way votes are counted. Voting equipment, it says, should not use ballots that include “a barcode or quick-response code.” Those few technical words could have a big impact. Voting machines that give […]
1 year ago
An Israeli tank moves in a staging area in southern Israel, near the border with Gaza, Friday, May ...

Microsoft says it provided AI to Israeli military for war but denies use to harm people in Gaza

WASHINGTON (AP) — Microsoft acknowledged Thursday that it sold advanced artificial intelligence and cloud computing services to the Israeli military during the war in Gaza and aided in efforts to locate and rescue Israeli hostages. But the company also said it has found no evidence to date that its Azure platform and AI technologies were […]
1 year ago
FILE - Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden arrives at the presentation of the Gershwin Prize, to be ...

Donald Trump’s Library of Congress fight is really about the separation of powers

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s not really about the books. President Donald Trump’s abrupt firing of top officials at the Library of Congress and equally sudden attempt to appoint a slate of loyalists as replacements has instead morphed into an enormous fight over the separation of powers, as the White House tries to wrest control of […]
1 year ago
FILE - Shoppers look at Apple products in the Apple Store at the Walden Galleria in Buffalo, NY, on...

Fortnite says its now offline on Apple’s iOS around the world

NEW YORK (AP) — Fortnite says it’s now unavailable on Apple’s iOS globally because the tech giant blocked a bid to release the popular video game for iPhone users in the U.S. and Europe. “Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission so we cannot release to the U.S. App Store or to the Epic Games Store […]
1 year ago

US cable giants Charter and Cox pursue $34.5 billion merger

Charter Communications and Cox Communications will pursue a $34.5 billion merger, a tie-up that would combine two of the largest cable companies in the U.S. Charter said Friday that it will acquire Cox Communications’ commercial fiber and managed IT and cloud businesses. Cox Enterprises will contribute Cox Communications’ residential cable business to Charter Holdings, an […]
1 year ago
This image provided by BCG shows a sketch by Bob Goodson that included a crude concept of what woul...

Here’s a story about the history of the Like button that you might like

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The internet wouldn’t be the same without the Like button, the thumbs-up icon that Facebook and other online services turned into digital catnip. Like it or not, the button has served as a creative catalyst, a dopamine delivery system and an emotional battering ram. It also became an international tourist attraction […]
1 year ago
In this screengrab taken from a video posted on Oliver Widger's Instagram account on Saturday, May ...

Sailing from Oregon to Hawaii after quitting his job turns a man with a cat into social media star

HONOLULU (AP) — Midway while sailing across the Pacific with just his cat named Phoenix, Oliver Widger reflected on why he thinks his many followers — more than a million on TikTok and Instagram — are drawn to his story of quitting his 9-to-5 job and embarking on a journey from Oregon to Hawaii. “The […]
1 year ago
FILE - An Intel chip is displayed during an event called AI Everywhere in New York, Thursday, Dec. ...

Potential US semiconductor manufacturing boom complicated by Trump’s economic policies

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Before “America First” became the Trump administration’s mandate for foreign policy and trade, one sector was already working to bring business back to the United States: the semiconductor industry. Aided by government incentives, American and foreign tech companies alike have invested hundreds of billions of dollars to bolstering semiconductor operations — […]
1 year ago
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, left, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, secon...

China blasts new US rule banning use of Huawei’s Ascend advanced computer chips

China has blasted a new U.S. rule against use of Ascend computer chips made by Huawei Technologies anywhere in the world, chafing Thursday against the limitations of a temporary truce in the trade war between the two biggest economies. Beijing moved ahead, however, with fulfilling its promise to lift retaliatory measures it imposed after U.S. […]
1 year ago
This photo provided by Harvard Law School shows a rare copy of the Magna Carta from 1300 sits in a ...

Harvard thought it had a cheap copy of the Magna Carta. It turned out be extremely rare

BOSTON (AP) — Harvard University for decades assumed it had a cheap copy of the Magna Carta in its collection, a stained and faded document it had purchased for less than $30. But two researchers have concluded it has something much more valuable — a rare version from 1300 issued by Britain’s King Edward I. […]
1 year ago
FILE - A DoorDash sign is posted on the door of a Dunkin' Donuts franchise, Feb. 27, 2023, in Methu...

DoorDash delivery driver pleads guilty to stealing $2.5 million in deliveries scam

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A former food delivery driver pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to steal more than $2.5 million from DoorDash by getting the company to pay for deliveries that never occurred, federal prosecutors said. Sayee Chaitanya Reddy Devagiri pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in San Jose to a single count of […]
1 year ago
FILE - The Ford logo is seen above the entrance to the Ford Motor Company Kentucky Truck Plant, Wed...

Ford recalls nearly 274,000 Navigator and Expedition SUVs due to loss of brake function risk

NEW YORK (AP) — Ford is recalling nearly 274,000 of its Expedition and Lincoln-branded Navigator SUVs across the U.S. due to an issue that may cause a loss of brake function while driving, increasing crash risks. According to documents published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the front brake lines in these now-recalled cars […]
1 year ago
FILE - GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis arrives at the 36th annual GLAAD Media Awards on Ma...

Major social media platforms fail to protect LGBTQ users, advocacy group GLAAD says

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Major social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and X have failed to protect LGBTQ+ users from hate and harassment, in part, because they intentionally rolled back previous safety practices, the advocacy group GLAAD said Tuesday in its annual Social Media Safety Index. The report said that recent “unprecedented hate speech […]
1 year ago

Drone footage shows New Mexico deputies disarm children handling a loaded gun

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The sheriff in New Mexico’s most populous county is crediting his department’s drone program for helping disarm two children and prevent what could have been a worse outcome. The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office recently released drone and body camera footage showing a tense standoff in February with two young brothers — […]
1 year ago
A display shows the status of flights at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., Mond...

Software update keeps Newark airport radar online but network concerns and flight limits remain

A new software update prevented a third radar outage in the last two weeks at New Jersey’s busy Newark airport when a telecommunications line failed again over the weekend, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday. At a news conference, Duffy also said the recent problems that have led to hundreds of cancellations and delays in […]
1 year ago

Four men arrested in West Africa for extortion scheme linked to California teen’s suicide

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Three years after a California teenager died by suicide, four men in West Africa have been arrested on suspicion of participating in “international sextortion scheme,” according to federal investigators. The 2022 death of Ryan Last, a 17-year-old high school senior, prompted a lengthy international investigation, according to a statement Friday from […]
1 year ago
FILE - Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office, testifie...

Trump administration fires top copyright official days after firing Librarian of Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has fired the nation’s top copyright official , Shira Perlmutter, days after abruptly terminating the head of the Library of Congress, which oversees the U.S. Copyright Office. The office said in a statement Sunday that Perlmutter received an email from the White House a day earlier with the notification […]
1 year ago
This image provided by King.com Limited shows the “Candy Crush Saga” video game. (King.com Limi...

How Candy Crush uses AI to keep players coming back to its puzzles

LOS ANGELES (AP) — PHOTOS NYBZ701-702 ON HOLD Players swiping their way through more than 18,700 levels of Candy Crush Saga might be surprised to learn they’re solving puzzles designed with an assist from artificial intelligence. The app that helped make gamers out of anyone with a smartphone uses AI to help developers create levels […]
1 year ago
San Carlos Apache member Donna Cracium protests a massive copper mining project on federal land in ...

US judge halts plan to transfer Oak Flat land for contested Arizona copper mine

PHOENIX (AP) — A U.S. district judge on Friday temporarily halted the federal government’s plans to transfer land in eastern Arizona for a massive copper mining project amid protest by Native American groups that consider the area sacred. Apache Stronghold and its supporters have been fighting for years to stop the transfer of Tonto National […]
1 year ago