Push to map Great Lakes bottom gains momentum amid promises effort will help fishing and shipping

Push to map Great Lakes bottom gains momentum amid promises effort will help fishing and shipping

MADISON, Wis. — Jennifer Boehme grew up scouting beaches around her home in St. Petersburg, Florida, for whatever she could find. Rocks, sand dollars, coquina mollusks — anything the ocean gave up. Now, 40 years later, Boehme wants to launch another treasure hunt. As executive director of the Great Lakes Observing System, she’s leading a … Read more

North Carolina town that produces quartz needed for tech products is devastated by Helene

North Carolina town that produces quartz needed for tech products is devastated by Helene

SPRUCE PINE, N.C. — Two North Carolina facilities that manufacture the high-purity quartz used for making semiconductors, solar panels and fiber-optic cables have been shut down by Hurricane Helene with no reopening date in sight. Sibelco and The Quartz Corp both shut down operations in the Appalachian town of Spruce Pine on Thursday ahead of … Read more

Swiss glaciers are receding again after 2 punishing years and despite a good start to 2024

Swiss glaciers are receding again after 2 punishing years and despite a good start to 2024

GENEVA — The volume of Switzerland’s glaciers shrank again this summer, compounding the negative impact of climate change after a devastating two-year run that depleted the ice by more than 10%, scientific experts reported Tuesday. The cryosphere observation team at the Swiss Academy of Sciences reported that high temperatures in July and August, combined with … Read more

Details from New Mexico’s lawsuit against Snap show site failed to act on reports of sextortion

Details from New Mexico’s lawsuit against Snap show site failed to act on reports of sextortion

Snapchat failed to act on “rampant” reports of child grooming, sextortion and other dangers to minors on its platform, according to a newly unredacted complaint against the company filed by New Mexico’s attorney general. Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed the original complaint on Sept. 4, but internal messages and other details were heavily redacted. Tuesday’s … Read more

Congress is trying to force carmakers to keep AM radio − it should also use this opportunity to correct the mistakes of the past

Congress is trying to force carmakers to keep AM radio − it should also use this opportunity to correct the mistakes of the past

A lament about the demise of AM radio has been rising in the halls of Congress. Several automakers, most notably Tesla and Ford, have decided to stop putting AM radios in their electric vehicles. They claim their electric motors interfere with the audio quality of the signal and insist that FM and satellite radio are … Read more

Appeals court reinstates Indiana lawsuit against TikTok alleging child safety, privacy concerns

North Carolina town that produces quartz needed for tech products is devastated by Helene

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Court of Appeals has reinstated a lawsuit filed by the state accusing TikTok of deceiving its users about the video-sharing platform’s level of inappropriate content for children and the security of its consumers’ personal information. In a 3-0 ruling issued Monday, a three-judge panel of the state appeals court reversed two … Read more

NASA’s Webb telescope detects traces of carbon dioxide on the surface of Pluto’s moon

NASA’s Webb telescope detects traces of carbon dioxide on the surface of Pluto’s moon

NEW YORK — NASA’s Webb Space Telescope has identified new clues about the surface of Pluto’s largest moon. It detected for the first time traces of carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on the surface of Charon, which is about half Pluto’s size. Previous research, including a flyby from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft in 2015, revealed … Read more

Popular Chinese EVs can listen to conversations, owners say

Popular Chinese EVs can listen to conversations, owners say

A popular brand of electric vehicle sold in Australia has a hidden backdoor allowing the manufacturer to listen into conversations, users have claimed. After witnessing an explosive month showcasing the awful possibilities of technological warfare, the topic of electric vehicles and their potential to be hacked has once again been thrust into the global spotlight. … Read more