Science & Technology
/Knowledge

Hertz customer hit with $440 charge after AI inspection at Atlanta airport
Within a few months of Hertz announcing the launch of artificial intelligence for vehicle inspections, starting at the Atlanta airport, the car rental company is facing some backlash after a customer reported getting hit with a $440 charge for a scuff on a wheel.
The Drive, a car news and reviews website, reported in June that a Hertz customer ...Read more

'Speech-police regime': Big Tech trade group sues Minnesota over social media transparency law
Social media companies like Meta, Snapchat and X are scheduled to start sharing more information with consumers about usage rates and content practices under a new Minnesota transparency law that took effect Tuesday.
A powerful trade association and lobbying firm representing Big Tech wants to block the requirements, arguing in a federal ...Read more
Overnight Canaveral launch marked 500th for SpaceX Falcon 9
An early Wednesday morning launch on the Space Coast marked the 500th time SpaceX has flown its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, reusing the fleet-leading first stage booster for a record 29th time.
The latest flight with a payload of 27 Starlink satellites lifted off Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 2:28 a.m. coming ...Read more

Roundup: Snakebyte’s Nintendo Switch 2 accessories are hit and miss
Now that fans have the Nintendo Switch 2 in their fans, they’re looking for ways to keep it looking new, and an onslaught of accessories have flooded the market, catering to every taste imaginable. Snakebyte sent over its collection of accoutrements for the latest portable console.
They include products such as the Fast Charging Cable S2, ...Read more

Does your TV have Bluetooth?
This week a reader writes, “We are an all-Apple family, except for my hearing aids (which do connect to my phone and iPad). How many different Bluetooth devices can I connect to my iPad? (One at a time!) I’m thinking about Air Pods for listening to our TV and listening to podcasts from my iPad. (TV Bluetooth signal to AirPods)."
Your iPad, ...Read more

Gadgets: A high-tech water gun for adults
Water guns are typically geared toward the younger crowd. That's not the case with the Spyra SpyraThree water blaster.
I can attest that it is an endless source of enjoyment for adults. The SpyraThree Pro model is the pinnacle of their water blaster technology, and it's fantastic. The powerful water gun runs off an internal USB-C rechargeable...Read more

As companies embrace AI, these leaders offer tips to make it better
In 2025, it seems like just about everyone is talking about artificial intelligence and its myriad potential uses.
“I have never seen any buzzword so quickly adopted,” said Leila Rao, founder of Decatur, Georgia-based organizational change consultancy AgileXtended. Rao helps guide companies through a variety of organizational changes, ...Read more

Let AI explain why Tesla's critics are losing
Almost everything said about Tesla Inc. these days ranges from bad to worse.
The majority of 61 analysts following the electric vehicle and clean energy company led by Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk say investors should avoid buying the stock. Plummeting sales at home and abroad underscore Bloomberg Intelligence research showing 31% of car ...Read more

Miami firm partners with JPMorgan Chase to bring AI-powered strategic consulting to small businesses
A partnership between JPMorgan Chase and Miami-based firm Consulting IQ is set to reshape the landscape for small and midsize businesses (SMBs), providing them with access to high-level strategic consulting tools powered by artificial intelligence.
The platform offers SMBs a wide range of capabilities—from developing strategies in sales, ...Read more

Hardcore birders and casual sparrow spotters: Science needs you
LOS ANGELES — Attention would-be warbler watchers and pigeon peepers: Ornithologists at UCLA and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County are recruiting volunteers for Project Phoenix, a multiyear citizen science initiative investigating birds' response to wildfire.
The team is seeking volunteers in California, Oregon and Washington ...Read more

Weather clears as SpaceX launches European satellite
SpaceX was facing a poor forecast for its Tuesday launch attempt of a European satellite on the Space Coast, but the skies cleared and the rocket lifted off right on time.
A Falcon 9 on the MTGS1 mission carrying the second of EUMETSAT’s third generation of weather satellites took off from Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39-A at 5:04 p.m. ...Read more

Trump administration shuts down US website on climate change
LOS ANGELES — The Trump administration on Monday shut down a federal website that had presented congressionally mandated reports and research on climate change, drawing rebukes from scientists who said it will hinder the nation’s efforts to prepare for worsening droughts, floods and heat waves.
The U.S. Global Change Research Program’s ...Read more

Switch is building 'AI factories' in Las Vegas
Las Vegas data-center owner Switch is expanding its big presence in Southern Nevada with a new kind of facility: so-called AI factories.
Switch is developing a project at the southwest corner of the Jones Boulevard-215 Beltway interchange in the southwest Las Vegas Valley, near its existing cluster of data centers. Plans for the new site have ...Read more

Wolfspeed files for bankruptcy in effort to turn around NC chipmaker
The 38-year-old Durham, North Carolina, semiconductor supplier Wolfspeed filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday, officially starting a reorganization the company says will allow it to shed billions in debt.
The filing in the Southern District of Texas comes eight days after Wolfspeed publicized a restructuring agreement that will give its ...Read more

Weather dicey for planned SpaceX launch of European satellite
SpaceX has more than a two-hour window Monday evening to try to launch a European satellite, but weather may not cooperate.
A Falcon 9 on the MTGS1 mission carrying the second of EUMETSAT’s third generation of weather satellites is targeting liftoff during a 150-minute launch window that opens at 5:04 p.m. from Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad...Read more

Massachusetts' Nantucket is testing wastewater for cocaine, fentanyl, meth: 'Very helpful for both residents and first responders'
BOSTON — The illicit secrets are in the sewage.
Just like how wastewater testing helps communities learn when COVID surges, cities and towns are able to see what drugs are spiking in real time from their wastewater.
Nantucket is the latest community to start testing its sewage for drugs — partnering with a Cambridge firm that analyzes ...Read more
Apple weighs using Anthropic or OpenAI to power Siri in major reversal
Apple Inc. is considering using artificial intelligence technology from Anthropic PBC or OpenAI to power a new version of Siri, sidelining its own in-house models in a potentially blockbuster move aimed at turning around its flailing AI effort.
The iPhone maker has talked with both companies about using their large language models for Siri, ...Read more

Wild orcas have been trying to feed people, new research shows
SEATTLE — Wild orcas on more than 30 occasions in four oceans have attempted to share their prey with people, potentially to develop relationships with humans, researchers have found.
In each of the instances recorded over two decades, orcas approached a person within a length of the orca’s body, and dropped freshly hunted prey in front of ...Read more

Largest group of flamingos in a decade spotted in Florida Everglades
The largest group of American Flamingos seen in Florida in more than a decade was recorded late last week.
Mark Ian Cook, a wildlife and scientific photographer, posted on Facebook that he saw a group of 115 flamingos along the coastline of Florida Bay in the Everglades on Friday.
Cook was taking part in an aerial bird survey via helicopter ...Read more

Meteorite hunters chase treasures after fireball streaks across Georgia
McDONOUGH — It only took Ed Albin a few steps Sunday to spot it as he wandered onto an empty construction site in Henry County about 45 minutes southeast of Atlanta.
“Oh my God,” he said, crouching down to take a look at his find, “Oh my God.”
Perched on the dirt like it just fell from the sky isn’t just any old rock. It’s a ...Read more