NASA astronaut Don Pettit has captured a striking photograph of Mecca from the International Space Station, offering a rare view of the Saudi Arabian city shimmering under night skies. The image, shared on Pettit’s social media accounts, shows the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest site, glowing prominently at the center of the sprawling urban landscape. The photograph … Read more
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is moving to extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies set to expire later this year, a step that marks a departure from his long standing opposition to the Affordable Care Act and underscores the political challenges of rolling back entrenched government benefits. Roughly 22 million Americans currently rely on the subsidies, which … Read more
PHOENIX — Rising from the arid expanse of the Sonoran Desert, sprawling computer chip factories now cover more than 1,149 acres, an area larger than New York’s Central Park. The $165 billion complex, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, represents one of the largest industrial investments in US history and a critical effort … Read more
LONDON — Former NASA engineer Mark Rober has taken his signature blend of science and entertainment to the football pitch, developing a robotic goalkeeper designed to block shots from Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the world’s most celebrated footballers. The experiment, a fusion of advanced engineering and sports technology, seeks to answer a simple question: can … Read more
Minneapolis, Minn. — US President Donald Trump on Tuesday referred to Somali immigrants living in the United States as “garbage” and suggested they should leave, claiming without evidence that they “contribute nothing.” The comments followed reports that federal authorities were preparing an immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota focused on Somali immigrants residing unlawfully in the … Read more
The European Union is preparing to open an EU antitrust probe into Meta over the company’s integration of artificial intelligence tools inside WhatsApp, according to a report published Thursday by the Financial Times. The investigation marks another escalation in the bloc’s efforts to scrutinize the deployment of generative AI systems on large digital platforms. Two … Read more
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea is developing a new mobile app that will allow stalking victims to see the real time location of their perpetrators, a move authorities said is intended to strengthen protections as reported stalking cases continue to rise. The justice ministry announced Wednesday that the app is part of a wider … Read more
The Pentagon’s independent oversight office concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the Signal messaging app to convey sensitive details about a military strike put US personnel and their mission at risk, according to two people familiar with the findings. The assessment underscores broader concerns about operational security and digital communications within the U.S. … Read more
A major Venmo outage disrupted service for tens of thousands of users Wednesday, preventing them from sending payments, accessing balances or logging into the PayPal owned app. The outage, which began in the early evening of December 3, reached a peak of more than 37,000 reports on monitoring site Downdetector. By 3:50 pm PT, more … Read more
TikTok will invest more than $37 billion to build a large scale data facility in northeastern Brazil, a move company officials said will deepen its presence in one of the world’s fastest growing digital markets. The planned TikTok Brazil data center, announced Wednesday, will be developed in Ceará near the industrial port of Pecém and … Read more
