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Open pit gold mines have spread across large areas of the Orinoco Mining Belt in recent years. Magda Gibelli / AFP via Getty Images

Venezuela’s fragile environment faces rising risks as US pushes for oil and critical minerals and illegal gold mining spreads

Venezuela’s Orinoco River Basin is a wild land of lush forests, grasslands and a vast delta of jungle wetlands teeming with wildlife. River dolphins and endangered Orinoco crocodiles ply its waterways, and over 1,000 freshwater fish and bird species can be found there.

During the rainy season, the Orinoco is the world’s third-...Read more

Oulaphone Sonesouphap/Dreamstime/TNS

How our AI bots are ignoring their programming and giving hackers superpowers

Welcome to the age of AI hacking, in which the right prompts make amateurs into master hackers.

A group of cybercriminals recently used off-the-shelf artificial intelligence chatbots to steal data on nearly 200 million taxpayers. The bots provided the code and ready-to-execute plans to bypass firewalls.

Although they were explicitly programmed...Read more

Chad Smith/UMCP/TNS

Engineers developing edible 'robot' capsule to diagnose, treat diseases

BALTIMORE — What if you could swallow a tiny robot that could diagnose, monitor and treat health issues in your gut without scheduling an uncomfortable or time-consuming outpatient procedure?

Researchers at the University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering are developing a smart capsule to revolutionize how doctors practice ...Read more

The sun rises over New York City as a heat wave arrives in June 2025. Gary Hershorn/Getty Images

2025 was hotter than it should have been – 5 influences and a dirty surprise offer clues to what’s ahead

The past three years have been the world’s hottest on record by far, with 2025 almost tied with 2023 for second place. With that energy came extreme weather, from flash flooding to powerful hurricanes and severe droughts. Yet, by most indicators, the planet should have been cooler in 2025 than it was.

So, what happened, and what ...Read more

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America/TNS

California may ask voters for $23 billion to replace federal research funding

The Golden State’s taxpayers could fund a $23 billion bond to replace federal grants that once supercharged scientific research in California under a proposal making its way through the statehouse.

That’s the idea behind a new bill, Senate Bill 895, which would create a state-level taxpayer-funded institute similar to the National ...Read more

Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Pentagon notifies Anthropic it's deemed firm a supply-chain risk

The Pentagon said it has formally notified Anthropic PBC that it’s determined the company and its products pose a risk to the U.S. supply chain, according to a senior defense official, escalating a dispute over artificial intelligence safeguards.

“DOW officially informed Anthropic leadership the company and its products are deemed a supply ...Read more

The Ras al-Khair water desalination plant in eastern Saudi Arabia is just one of many along the Persian Gulf coast. Fayez Nureldine/AFP via Getty Images

Persian Gulf desalination plants could become military targets in regional war

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and neighboring countries in the Persian Gulf region use the fossil fuels under their desert lands not only to make money, but also to make drinking water. The petroleum they produce powers more than 400 desalination plants, which turn seawater into drinkable water.

In the war that began on Feb. ...Read more

Jon Bilous/Dreamstime.com/TNS

Baltimore to close parks at night as sharpshooters work to thin deer herds

BALTIMORE — Baltimore will close multiple parks at night this month as federal sharpshooters move in to thin deer herds that officials say are overwhelming forests and choking off new tree growth.

The city’s Recreation and Parks Department held a community meeting Wednesday to go over the details, approved last month by the Baltimore Board ...Read more

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service/TNS

Condor couple may be tending to first egg in Northern California in a century

A California condor known as Ney-gem’ ‘Ne-chweenkah’ — Yurok for “She carries our prayers” — has been flying to a particular spot deep inside Redwood National Park, near Klamath.

Then she leaves and another — nicknamed ‘Hlow Hoo-let’, or “At last I (or we) fly!” — has been arriving.

Yurok wildlife officials say this ...Read more

Simon Lehmann/Dreamstime.com/TNS

Pentagon feud with Anthropic shines light on AI's role in mass surveillance

Anthropic PBC’s clash with the Pentagon is drawing fresh attention to a lightly regulated practice: the U.S. government’s purchase of commercially available information, such as browsing histories and location data, and the growing use of artificial intelligence to analyze it at scale.

U.S. agencies, including the Defense Department, have ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Outer Banks erosion reveals buried whale, NC group says. 'Stinks to high heaven'

Worsening beach erosion on North Carolina’s Outer Banks is now being blamed for something down right creepy: Digging up a dead whale, according to coastal community leaders.

It’s happening in Corolla and the Corolla Civic Association says the grave is being repeatedly uncovered and recovered at the whims of the tide.

“Approximately four ...Read more

Christiana Botic/KFF HEALTH NEWS/TNS

Federal aid for lead cleanup is receding. That's a problem for cash-strapped cities

Tighter regulations and an influx of federal money in recent years have helped communities across the U.S. initiate efforts to clean up lead contamination in soil, drinking water, and older homes. But Congress and the Trump administration have partially rolled back those rules and resources, potentially making it more challenging for cash-...Read more

FADEL SENNA/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Iranian drone strikes on Amazon data centers highlight tech's exposure

As the tech industry chases growth in the Middle East through data centers, the companies' infrastructure is increasingly exposed to conflicts in the region.

U.S. tech companies are investing billions of dollars into data centers in the Middle East as companies chase artificial intelligence ambitions and growing need for computing power.

At ...Read more

L.E. Baskow @Left_Eye_Images/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

California, Arizona and Nevada press Trump administration to rethink Colorado River water cuts

Leaders of California, Arizona and Nevada are criticizing the Trump administration’s proposals for water cutbacks along the Colorado River, urging it to take a different approach and avoid a court battle.

The three downstream states said in letters to the Interior Department this week that the agency’s preliminary outline of five options ...Read more

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North America/TNS

Top tech companies sign Trump's pledge to provide their own power for AI data centers

In a ceremony at the White House on Wednesday, executives from seven major tech companies signed a pledge with President Trump to supply their own power for artificial intelligence data centers.

Leaders from Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, xAI, Oracle and OpenAI agreed to the “ratepayer protection pledge” Trump first announced during last ...Read more

MARINE MAMMEL COMMISION/TNS

Trump administration looking at repealing East Coast boat speed rule: 'Brutal blow to right whales'

BOSTON — The Trump administration is looking into rolling back an East Coast boat speed rule that whale advocates say would lead to more deadly ship strikes.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has proposed amendments to the North Atlantic right whale speed rule from 2008. NOAA is proposing a shift away from mandatory speed ...Read more

Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

NASA now officially has no plans to use new mobile launcher for Artemis

When NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced the revamped approach to the Artemis moon program, it was unclear whether the new mobile launcher that has been constructed over the last two years at Kennedy Space Center would ever get used.

A NASA rundown of the reconfigured Artemis launch plans released Tuesday, though, answers that question ...Read more

Handout/Dangbei/TNS

Tech review: Dangbei DBOX02 Pro is ready for your living room

I love a big TV.

There’s nothing like watching a movie or sporting event on a really big screen, but TVs can get expensive when you’re talking about screens larger than 75 inches.

There comes a price/size where you’ll realize a projector could be a better option, depending on your room setup.

Today we are looking at the Dangbei DBOX02 ...Read more

APPLE/TNS

Apple launches $599 MacBook Neo, threatening Windows PC market

Apple Inc. rolled out the $599 MacBook Neo in its biggest push yet into low-end laptops, aiming to challenge Windows PCs and Chromebooks for budget-minded shoppers.

The machine is $400 less than any new-generation laptop Apple has sold before, coming in well below the now $1,099 MacBook Air. The MacBook Neo will be offered in citrus, silver, ...Read more

TNS

Gadgets: Unique headphones

In the crowded headphone market, aside from great sound, products often need another feature to stand out. And that's exactly what the MorningBlues wireless headphones VWS X1 have with their unique, fashionable and personalized detachable 2.2-inch OLED touchscreens on each earcup.

They are promoted by MorningBlues as the world’s first ...Read more