ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to cancel a Biden-era land-use plan that had boosted environmental protections for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, a region that has drawn new interest from the oil industry in recent years.

A companion measure from Alaska Republican Rep. Nick Begich has yet to be considered in the ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday passed a joint resolution that would vacate a Biden-era Bureau of Land Management rule covering portions of northern Alaska.

The joint resolution passed 52-45, with Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania the only Democrat joining Republicans. Introduced by Alaska Republican Sens. Dan Sullivan and Lisa ...Read more

The strange political bedfellows created by efforts to save spotted owls in the Pacific Northwest just got even stranger.

Already Republican members of Congress were allied with animal rights activists.

They don’t want trained shooters to kill up to 450,000 barred owls, which are outcompeting northern spotted owls, under a U.S. Fish and ...Read more

Cameo, the Chicago-based celebrity video messaging website, has become the latest company to sue OpenAI, alleging trademark infringement for the technology giant’s new service that makes AI-generated celebrity videos under the same Cameo name.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in a California federal court, said the recent rollout of the “Cameo”...Read more

Three wolf pups from a pack whose adult members were euthanized by state conservation officials earlier this month had still not been captured despite weeks of searching by scientists and wildlife officers, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said.

The slow progress of the search prompted concerns from environmental groups about the ...Read more

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently reported a spike in entangled whales off California in 2024, leading scientists and marine mammal biologists to worry about how this year will go as winter fishing seasons get underway.

Already, sea creatures have been plagued in 2025 by deadly algae blooms, bacterial illnesses and ...Read more

Three wolf pups from a pack whose adult members were euthanized by state conservation officials earlier this month had still not been captured despite weeks of searching by scientists and wildlife officers, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said.

The slow progress of the search prompted concerns from environmental groups about the ...Read more

In the scrub-brush foothills between the long flat fields of California's San Joaquin Valley and the mighty peaks and Sequoia forests of the Sierra Nevada, state leaders and elders from the Tule River Indian Tribe gathered Wednesday to mark the return of 17,000 acres of ancestral land to Tule River Indian tribe.

Gov. Gavin Newsom's office ...Read more

Character.AI, a platform for creating and chatting with artificial intelligence chatbots, plans to start blocking minors from having "open-ended" conversations with its virtual characters.

The major change comes as the Menlo Park, Calif., company and other AI leaders face more scrutiny from parents, child safety groups and politicians about ...Read more

WASHINGTON — On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive memorandum prohibiting new offshore wind leasing for all areas of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf and directing his Cabinet to review previously approved projects.

The president’s animosity toward wind turbines already was well-known, going back over a ...Read more

Stellantis NV said Tuesday it plans to work with tech heavyweights Nvidia Corp., Uber Technologies Inc. and Foxconn as it seeks a foothold in the robotaxi business.

The automaker said it signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the three companies and wants to "explore the joint development" of autonomous vehicles for robotaxis.

...Read more

Scrolling through the Sora app can feel a bit like entering a real-life multiverse.

Michael Jackson performs standup; the alien from the “Predator” movies flips burgers at McDonald’s; a home security camera captures a moose crashing through the glass door; Queen Elizabeth dives from the top of a table at a pub.

Such improbable realities,...Read more

Industries and individuals around the world burned record amounts of oil, gas and coal last year, releasing more greenhouse gases than ever before, a group of leading scientists said in a new report, warning that humanity is hurtling toward “climate chaos.”

The surge in global use of fossil fuels in 2024 contributed to extreme weather and ...Read more

It was Arthur C. Clark who said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

I think about that saying whenever I run across a gadget that really impresses me with a particular feature.

For the last month or so, I’ve been testing the Eufy FamiLock S3 Max smart lock for my front door. The Familock S3 Max ($399....Read more

Scosche's MagicMount Flask is a multi-function accessory designed to work with the new iPhones or any MagSafe-compatible smartphone.

The flask is available in 22- and 32-ounce sizes and features double-wall vacuum insulation. The insulation will keep your beverages cold for up to 24 hours or hot for 12 hours.

However, the MagicMount Flask ...Read more

The pandemic shined an intense spotlight on the diverging fortunes of video games and Hollywood. While the former thrived during lockdown, the latter had difficulty adapting with movie theaters still looking for ways to draw an audience and resurrecting the blockbusting days of the past.

Meanwhile, gaming has continued to steadily grow as a ...Read more

This week’s reader question is about VPN: ”I have used VPN in the past provided by my university, but that was just for overseas access from China. Since retiring, I no longer have access to that service. Considering the way we are being tracked these days, is a private subscription worth it? Any downsides? I'd appreciate your opinion.” ...Read more