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Category: Technology

Every American child is born pre-polluted with synthetic chemicals

Every American child is born pre-polluted with synthetic chemicals

Mariah Blake writes: During the crucial early weeks of pregnancy, when fetal cells knit themselves into a brain and organs and fingers and lips, a steady flow of man-made chemicals pulses through the umbilical cord. Scientists once believed that the placenta filtered out most of these pollutants, but now they know that is not the case. Along with nutrients and oxygen, numerous synthetic substances travel to the womb, permeating the fetus’s blood and tissues. This is why, from their very…

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Trump’s space budget rewards Elon Musk and SpaceX

Trump’s space budget rewards Elon Musk and SpaceX

The New York Times reports: Elon Musk and SpaceX are big winners in Donald J. Trump’s 2026 spending plan. President Trump is delivering on Mr. Musk’s wish list at both NASA and the Pentagon to reorient federal spending on space in a way likely to drive billions of dollars in new business to Mr. Musk’s space technology company, if Congress signs off on the budget plan. At the Pentagon, Mr. Trump is calling for a massive jump in spending, an…

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New study shows handwriting improves early reading skills more than typing

New study shows handwriting improves early reading skills more than typing

PsyPost reports: New research published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology suggests that handwriting helps children learn to read more effectively than typing. In an experiment with 5-year-old prereaders, those who practiced writing by hand—either by copying or tracing—outperformed children who typed the same material on a keyboard across a variety of tasks. The findings provide strong support for the idea that the physical act of writing strengthens children’s ability to learn letters and words. The study was conducted…

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Meta is turning its Ray-Bans into a surveillance machine for AI

Meta is turning its Ray-Bans into a surveillance machine for AI

Gizmodo reports: What you see is what Meta AI sees while wearing the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, and your opt-out options are getting narrower and narrower. In a recent update to the privacy policy for the device, received by most owners in an email sent April 29, according to The Verge, Meta opened up the ability to collect more data for use to train its artificial intelligence models. Under the new policies, Meta explains that “Meta AI with camera use…

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DOGE operatives gain accounts on classified networks holding nuclear secrets

DOGE operatives gain accounts on classified networks holding nuclear secrets

NPR reports: Two members of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have been given accounts on classified networks that hold highly guarded details about America’s nuclear weapons, two independent sources tell NPR. Luke Farritor, a 23-year-old former SpaceX intern, and Adam Ramada, a Miami-based venture capitalist, have had accounts on the computer systems for at least two weeks, according to the sources who also have access to the networks. Prior to their work at DOGE, neither Farritor nor Ramada appear…

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An American panopticon of databases

An American panopticon of databases

Ian Bogost and Charlie Warzel write: If you were tasked with building a panopticon, your design might look a lot like the information stores of the U.S. federal government—a collection of large, complex agencies, each making use of enormous volumes of data provided by or collected from citizens. The federal government is a veritable cosmos of information, made up of constellations of databases: The IRS gathers comprehensive financial and employment information from every taxpayer; the Department of Labor maintains the…

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Elon Musk says he will spend less time in Washington as Tesla’s profit falls by 71%

Elon Musk says he will spend less time in Washington as Tesla’s profit falls by 71%

The New York Times reports: Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, said on Tuesday that he would spend less time in Washington working for President Trump after the automaker reported a profit drop of 71 percent in the first three months of the year. Mr. Musk told Wall Street analysts in a conference call that he would continue to spend “a day or two per week” on Washington matters, probably for the duration of Mr. Trump’s presidency. The billionaire executive is…

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China’s CATL EV battery — 5 min charge to go 320 miles — even better than Tesla-killer BYD’s

China’s CATL EV battery — 5 min charge to go 320 miles — even better than Tesla-killer BYD’s

CNN reports: China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), the world’s largest producer of electric vehicle batteries, has unveiled an upgraded battery it says promises an even longer range than rival BYD’s cutting-edge technology. Both tech giants now boast they have batteries that can charge EVs in as little as five minutes. But on Monday, CATL upped the ante by announcing that its new Shenxing battery has a range of 320 miles, about 70 miles longer than BYD’s stated range of 250…

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‘He’s pure evil’: Former Tesla engineer says Musk threatened to deport her team for pointing out brakes problem

‘He’s pure evil’: Former Tesla engineer says Musk threatened to deport her team for pointing out brakes problem

Futurism reports: A Tesla engineer has accused Tesla of threatening her team with deportation after bringing up a brake safety issue with CEO Elon Musk in 2014. Balan was fired after informing Musk that she was worried floor carpets could curl up underneath the pedals in Model S vehicles, she says, in a major braking safety hazard. According to Balan, she was simply following Musk’s orders to “talk to me” if staffers thought it was the “fastest way to solve…

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The ACLU is suing the government to get access to DOGE records

The ACLU is suing the government to get access to DOGE records

Wired reports: The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit on Monday against the US Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In its lawsuit, the ACLU accuses the agencies of violating the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by ignoring the ACLU’s requests and subsequent appeals for information concerning the so-called Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) “attempted or actual access” to sensitive federal databases. The ACLU began pursuing documents under the federal transparency law in…

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Meta’s chief AI scientist calls French initiative to attract U.S. scientists a ‘smart move’

Meta’s chief AI scientist calls French initiative to attract U.S. scientists a ‘smart move’

Business Insider reports: Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has tightened immigration controls, cut funding for government grants and research, reduced staffing at NASA and NOAA, and attacked top universities. France seems to have sensed an opportunity. The National Research Agency, part of the Education Ministry, announced on Friday a “Choose France for Science” initiative to attract scientists from abroad, opening up more government funding for universities, schools, and research organizations to entice foreign talent. “As the international…

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Trump team eyes politically connected startup to overhaul $700 billion government payments program

Trump team eyes politically connected startup to overhaul $700 billion government payments program

By Christopher Bing and Avi Asher-Schapiro This story was originally published by ProPublica Four days before Donald Trump’s inauguration, financial technology startup Ramp published a pitch for how to tackle wasteful government spending. In a 4,000-word blog post titled “The Efficiency Formula,” Ramp’s CEO and one of its investors echoed ideas similar to those promoted by Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk: Federal programs were overrun by fraud, and commonsense business techniques could provide a quick fix. Ramp sells…

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The U.S. is in a weak position in the China trade war

The U.S. is in a weak position in the China trade war

Politico reports: The White House says it has the upper hand in its trade war with China. Its actions suggest otherwise. Top administration officials spent the weekend trying to defend a carve-out of consumer electronics from the astronomical 145 percent tariffs it levied on China last week. The carve-out was neither an exemption nor a policy rollback, the White House argued, because those electronics are still subject to a separate 20 percent tariff on China and some electronic components could…

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Tesla accused of hacking odometers to rip off customers

Tesla accused of hacking odometers to rip off customers

Futurism reports: Tesla has been accused of manipulating the odometers in its cars to avoid repair responsibilities and warranty agreements. As The Street reports, a class-action lawsuit filed in February claims that Tesla has been trying to dodge warranty-related obligations by intentionally overstating the distances its vehicles travel. The plaintiff, a man in California who bought a used 2020 Model Y with 36,772 miles, noticed an “abnormal spike in average daily miles driven” — despite a “consistent driving routine” —…

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A whistleblower’s disclosure details how DOGE operatives may have taken sensitive labor data

A whistleblower’s disclosure details how DOGE operatives may have taken sensitive labor data

NPR reports: In the first days of March, a team of advisers from President Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency initiative arrived at the Southeast Washington, D.C., headquarters of the National Labor Relations Board. The small, independent federal agency investigates and adjudicates complaints about unfair labor practices. It stores reams of potentially sensitive data, from confidential information about employees who want to form unions to proprietary business information. The DOGE employees, who are effectively led by White House adviser and…

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Chinese manufacturing is superior — tariffs won’t be enough to shift production to the U.S.

Chinese manufacturing is superior — tariffs won’t be enough to shift production to the U.S.

Wired reports: Dallas-based small business owner Allen Walton says he just sold out of one of his products, a surveillance camera used by law enforcement and private detectives. That would normally be great news for Walton’s electronics company, SpyGuy, which specializes in gadgets like GPS trackers and hidden camera detectors. But thanks to the Trump administration’s ever-shifting tariff policies, Walton says he doesn’t know if he should replenish his stock. His products are mostly manufactured in southern China, and the…

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