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With 2 launches in the books, Blue Origin announces even more powerful New Glenn is coming

ORLANDO, Fla. — Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is powerful, but Jeff Bezos’ rocket company wants more.

After completing a successful second mission of New Glenn, including a launch from Cape Canaveral and landing and the return of its first-stage booster, Blue Origin announced upgrades coming to the heavy-lift rocket as soon as mission No...Read more

Embark Studios/Embark Studios/TNS

Review: ‘Arc Raiders’ may have the secret sauce for the extraction genre

Faced with dozens of choices each week, gamers have an embarrassment of riches this holiday season, and developers face bigger challenges. With so many titles fighting for attention, it’s more difficult than ever to break through the noise.

It’s not enough to have engaging gameplay. The timing of the release, the visuals, price and ...Read more

Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Aliens? Submarines? Gassy whales? Mystery bubbles off California coast spark intrigue, theories

LOS ANGELES — Is it a gassy whale? A top secret submarine? Godzilla rising from the surfer-filled waters of Hermosa Beach?

Residents have been stumped over a patch of bubbles rising out of the ocean off the coast of Hermosa Beach this week, prompting several beachgoers to speculate at what exactly is under the surface and causing the water to...Read more

Matt Leclercq/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/TNS

Deadly horse virus threatens North Texas herds after outbreak south of Fort Worth

The Texas Department of Agriculture is warning horse owners to take precautions with their herds after an outbreak of a deadly virus after an event in Waco last week.

At least 18 equestrian events in North Texas and beyond have been canceled to control the spread of Equine Herpesvirus Type 1, including at the Fort Worth Stockyards. Visit Fort ...Read more

Yui Mok/Pool/Getty Images North America/TNS

Meta AI pioneer LeCun announces exit, plans new startup

Yann LeCun, an artificial intelligence pioneer who runs a research lab at Meta Platforms Inc., told employees that he will depart the social media giant at the end of the year and start a new company, according to a memo obtained by Bloomberg News.

LeCun, who has been at Meta since 2013, made the announcement on Wednesday, according to the ...Read more

Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Some California landfills are on fire and leaking methane. Newly proposed rules could make them safer

LOS ANGELES — A vast canyon of buried garbage has been smoldering inside a landfill in the Santa Clarita Valley, inducing geysers of liquid waste onto the surface and noxious fumes into the air.

In the Inland Empire, several fires have broken out on the surface of another landfill. In the San Fernando Valley, an elementary school has ...Read more

US government to become a shareholder in battery maker EOS

EOS Energy Enterprises Inc. is the latest public company that will have the U.S. government as a shareholder.

The zinc-based battery manufacturer, whose main factory is in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, said Tuesday that it signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy to issue the government warrants — vouchers to buy stock — for 570...Read more

Kevin Clark/The Seattle Times/TNS

University of Washington pumps $10 million donation into AI

The University of Washington unveiled its new initiative Tuesday to spearhead the college's approach to artificial intelligence.

The initiative, AI@UW, was made possible in part through a $10 million donation by Charles and Lisa Simonyi, a husband-wife pair of philanthropists, according to a news release shared with The Seattle Times.

Charles ...Read more

California Department of Fish and Wildlife/California Department of Fish and Wildlife/TNS

California has a new wolf pack after another was euthanized

LOS ANGELES — California wildlife officials have confirmed there’s a new wolf pack in the northern part of the state, as the population of the endangered canids — and the number of livestock they have preyed on — continues to rise.

The freshly minted Grizzly pack is roaming southern Plumas County and consists of at least two adults and ...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

Companies are warming up to saying AI is the reason for job cuts

In late September, the German airline Deutsche Lufthansa AG told analysts and investors that it planned to eliminate 4,000 administrative positions by the end of the decade. Among the reasons it cited was “the increased use of artificial intelligence.”

Weeks later, Dutch lender ING Groep NV said nearly 1,000 positions were at risk from “...Read more

Focal/Focal/TNS

Sound Advice: Listen here for holiday headphone gift ideas

Earphones and headphones featured this week: If you are looking for yourself or as a gift, here are some great options just in time for the holidays!

EarFun Air Pro 4+ earphones only $65.99: The EarFun Air Pro 4+ earphones have recently received overwhelmingly positive reviews from tech and audio websites and are becoming widely known as the ...Read more

Handout/Whoosh/TNS

Gadgets: Solar speaker

A category on the Victrola site referred perfectly to their new Victrola Zen wireless outdoor Bluetooth solar speaker as "The Art of Outdoor Listening." This speaker not only has powerful, crystal-clear sound but also is a beautifully designed piece of art that delivers all-day, solar-powered playback.

The somewhat rounded, stone-colored ...Read more

Jim Rossman/Jim Rossman/TNS

Jim Rossman: New Wi-Fi? Better let Alexa know

This week we help my mom.

She did some research and found out she could save $70 per month if she changed her TV and Internet service over to her local cable company.

She made the change, and the installer came last week to set it all up, which went off without a problem.

He set up her TVs and iPad and iPhone on the new wireless network, ...Read more

Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times/TNS

After 'alarming' Guana land swap idea, Florida lawmaker files bill for more transparency

When Florida’s government unveiled a proposal this summer to trade 600 acres of a beloved St. Johns County wilderness preserve, Floridians of all political backgrounds felt blindsided.

Though the plan was scrapped after widespread protest, including from President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, questions remained about how an idea to give ...Read more

Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

Blue Origin's 1st recovered New Glenn booster arrives to Port Canaveral

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — There are tall, pointy metal tubes aplenty at Port Canaveral, but one is extra large.

The first-ever recovered first-stage booster for Blue Origin’s massive New Glenn rocket arrived to the port Tuesday morning five days after its launch from nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex 36 on the NG-2 ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Google launches new Gemini AI model with interactive answers

Alphabet Inc.’s Google debuted an updated version of its artificial intelligence model, Gemini, that executives said represents a “massive jump” in reasoning and coding ability.

The new model, Gemini 3, will be available immediately across all of Google’s major products, including search, and can answer questions with interactive ...Read more

An Amazon climate summit built on contradiction, creating unease for California delegates

BELÉM, Brazil — Two stark-white cruise ships loomed over a muddy Amazonian estuary, an odd sight from a beach where two children waded in the water.

The diesel-powered vessels towered over the impoverished riverfront neighborhood where trash littered the ground and a rainbow sheen from household and street runoff glistened on top of rain ...Read more

Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Europe/TNS

How little plastic does it take to kill marine animals? Scientists have answers

Ocean plastic kills sea creatures. It can obstruct, perforate or twist their airways and gastrointestinal tracts.

Now new research shows it takes just 6 pieces of ingested rubber the size of a pencil eraser to kill most sea birds.

For marine mammals, 29 pieces of any kind of plastic — hard, soft, rubber or fishing equipment — are often ...Read more

Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images North America/TNS

Biofuels standards put farm, oil state members on opposite sides

WASHINGTON — The perennial battle over EPA’s biofuels mandates is coming to a head soon as the agency works on finalizing updates to the Renewable Fuel Standard’s blending obligations.

So far, the EPA’s proposal for the 2026 and 2027 RFS mandates has drawn the support of farm-state lawmakers — who often find themselves at odds with ...Read more

Mauro Pimentel/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

An Amazon climate summit built on contradiction, creating unease for California delegates

LOS ANGELES — Two stark-white cruise ships loomed over a muddy Amazonian estuary, an odd sight from a beach where two children waded in the water.

The diesel-powered vessels towered over the impoverished riverfront neighborhood where trash littered the ground and a rainbow sheen from household and street runoff glistened on top of rain ...Read more