Need Plan B? Tap your credit card and enter B6. Since last November, a library at the University of Washington has featured a different kind of vending machine, one that’s become more popular on campuses around the country since the U.S. Supreme Court ended constitutional protections for abortion last year. It’s stocked with ibuprofen, pregnancy … continue reading -> “Morning-After Pill Vending Machines Gain Popularity on College Campuses Post-Roe”
If you logged onto social media over the past few months, you may have seen it – a video of the Russian Embassy on a gray, overcast day in Washington with the sounds of passing cars and buses in the background. A man’s voice asks in English, “Do you want to change your future?” Russian … continue reading -> “FBI Turning to Social Media to Track Traitors”
WASHINGTON – Long time, no speak: NASA has re-established contact with the intrepid Ingenuity Mars Helicopter after more than two months of radio silence, the space agency said Friday. The mini rotorcraft, which hitched a ride to the Red Planet with the Perseverance rover in early 2021, has survived well beyond its initial 30-day mission to … continue reading -> “NASA’s Mars Helicopter ‘Phones Home’ After No Contact for 63 Days “
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. said Friday that a cybersecurity incident involving one of its IT hardware suppliers has led to the leak of the vendor’s company data. “TSMC has recently been aware that one of our IT hardware suppliers experienced a cybersecurity incident that led to the leak of information pertinent to server initial setup … continue reading -> “Chipmaker TSMC Says Supplier Was Targeted in Cyberattack”
Heat waves like the one that engulfed parts of parts of the South and Midwest and killed more than a dozen people are becoming more common, and experts say the extreme weather events, which claim more lives than hurricanes and tornados, will likely increase in the future. A heat dome that pressured the Texas power … continue reading -> “Deadly Heat Waves Like the One in the Southern US Becoming More Frequent and Enduring”
In the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, women are crafting products from pine needles as part of an initiative that aims at providing them with livelihood opportunities while reducing the risk of forest fires. Anjana Pasricha reports on one project in the district of Mandi. Video: Rakesh Kumar …
SYDNEY – Australia on Saturday will become one of the first countries to recognize psychedelic drugs as medicines. In February, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, Australia’s medical regulator, sanctioned use of psychedelics for some mental health conditions. Experts agree that psychedelic-assisted therapies in Australia are in their infancy. Starting Saturday, authorized psychiatrists in Australia will be … continue reading -> “Australia to Use Psychedelic Drugs as Approved Medicines”
LA PAZ, BOLIVIA – Chinese and Russian companies will invest more than $1.4 billion in the extraction of lithium in Bolivia, one of the countries with the largest reserves of the mineral used in electric car batteries, the government in La Paz said Friday. China’s Citic Guoan and Russia’s Uranium One Group — both with … continue reading -> “Chinese, Russian Firms to Build Lithium Plants in Bolivia”
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO — A team of Italian researchers reached the edge of space Thursday morning, flying aboard Virgin Galactic’s rocket-powered plane as the company prepares for monthly commercial flights. The flight launched from Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert, with two Italian Air Force officers and an engineer with the National Research Council … continue reading -> “Italian Researchers Reach the Edge of Space on Virgin Galactic’s Rocket-Powered Plane”
Meta Platforms’ Oversight Board on Thursday called for the suspension of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen for six months, saying a video posted on his Facebook page had violated Meta’s rules against violent threats. The board, which is funded by Meta but operates independently, said the company erred in leaving up the video and ordered … continue reading -> “Meta Oversight Board Urges Cambodia Prime Minister’s Suspension from Facebook”
LONDON – One of the world’s most common artificial sweeteners is set to be declared a possible carcinogen next month by a leading global health body, according to two sources with knowledge of the process, pitting it against the food industry and regulators. Aspartame, used in products from Coca-Cola diet sodas to Mars’ Extra chewing … continue reading -> “WHO to Say Aspartame a Possible Carcinogen, Sources Say”
Geoffrey Hinton, one of the so-called godfathers of artificial intelligence, on Wednesday urged governments to step in and make sure that machines do not take control of society. Hinton made headlines in May when he announced he had quit Google after a decade of work to speak more freely on the dangers of AI, shortly … continue reading -> “‘Godfather of AI’ Urges Governments to Stop Machine Takeover”
PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, a devoted and very active user of Facebook — on which he has posted everything from photos of his grandchildren to threats against his political enemies — said Wednesday that he would no longer upload to the platform and would instead depend on the Telegram app … continue reading -> “Cambodia’s Hun Sen Leaves Facebook for Telegram “
U.S. President Joe Biden says he wants to make sure that every American has access to high-speed internet. VOA’s Julie Taboh has our story about the United States’ more than $40 billion-dollar investment to expand the service. (Videographer: Adam Greenbaum; Produced by Julie Taboh, Adam Greenbaum) …
South Korea is changing the way it calculates a person’s age. Under a new law that takes effect Wednesday, South Korea is adopting the international method that uses a person’s actual date of birth to determine their age. Under its traditional method, South Koreans are considered to be one year old at birth, including their … continue reading -> “South Koreans Become a Little Younger Under New Law”
Since the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT launched last fall, a torrent of think pieces and news reports about the ins and outs and ups and downs of generative artificial intelligence has flowed, stoking fears of a dystopian future in which robots take over the world. While much of that hype is indeed just hype, a … continue reading -> “Generative AI Might Make It Easier to Target Journalists, Researchers Say”
A dangerous and prolonged heat wave blanketed large parts of the southern United States on Tuesday, buckling highways and forcing people to shelter indoors in what scientists called a climate-change supercharged event. Excessive heat warnings were in place from Arizona in the southwest to Alabama in the southeast, with south and central Texas and the … continue reading -> “Southern US Swelters in Brutal, Deadly Heat Wave”
The commission that enforces rules for U.S. elections is not regulating AI-generated deepfakes in political advertising ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Deana Mitchell has the story. …
The number of different electronic cigarette devices sold in the U.S. has nearly tripled to over 9,000 since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from China, according to tightly controlled sales data obtained by The Associated Press. The numbers demonstrate the Food and Drug Administration’s inability to control the tumultuous … continue reading -> “Thousands of Unauthorized Vapes Pouring Into US Despite Crackdown on Fruity Flavors”
Robot makers who want to explore the oceans are looking to one of Earth’s most successful sea creatures for design inspiration. Steve Baragona reports. …
Deforestation rates are near record lows in Indonesia, home to the world’s third-largest rainforests. It’s one of the few bright spots in an otherwise grim annual report, on the loss of forests worldwide, from the environmental research and policy group World Resources Institute. Overall, the world lost 4.1 million hectares of undisturbed tropical forest last … continue reading -> “Deforestation Down in Indonesia Amid Increases Elsewhere”
Which is the longest river in the world, the Nile or the Amazon? The question has fueled a heated debate for years. Now, an expedition into the South American jungle aims to settle it for good. Using boats run on solar energy and pedal power, an international team of explorers plans to set off in … continue reading -> “New Quest Aims to Settle Debate Over Which River Is Longest – Amazon or Nile”
Muhammad Ali Pate, a Harvard professor who has held top health jobs in Nigeria, has relinquished the top job at the Gavi global vaccine alliance, the organization announced Monday. Pate, a medical doctor trained in internal medicine and infectious disease, was due to assume the helm on August 3, Gavi had announced in February, taking … continue reading -> “Nigerian Doctor Backs Out of Vaccine Alliance Leadership”
According to the U.N., in 2021, Nigeria had the most child deaths caused by pollution-related pneumonia in the world, at nearly 70 thousand. UNICEF says 40 percent of those deaths are a result of breathing air pollution caused by burning solid cooking fuels in the home. Timothy Obiezu has this report from Abuja, Nigeria. …
Researchers from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration are in Australia carrying out research that will help future missions to Mars. The NASA delegation is looking for the earliest signs of life on Earth that will eventually be compared to rocks brought back from Mars. NASA officials have said that parts of the Pilbara … continue reading -> “Could Australia’s Red Outback Dust Unlock Life on Mars Questions? “