Science & Technology
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Airbnb's Chesky says US 'misunderstanding' use of Chinese open-source AI models
Airbnb Inc. Chief Executive Officer Brian Chesky defended his company’s use of Chinese artificial intelligence models, saying U.S. lawmakers who worry Chinese firms can access Americans’ user data are “misunderstanding” the technology.
Airbnb is not a customer of Alibaba or other Chinese companies, he said in a Bloomberg TV interview on...Read more
Trump OKs $2B water pipeline under Sloan Canyon conservation area
President Donald Trump signed a bill into law Tuesday that will allow water managers to build a $2 billion pipeline under a national conservation area.
The Sloan Canyon Conservation and Lateral Water Pipeline Act was championed in Congress by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Rep. Dina Titus, both Democrats. Ultimately, the pipeline will meet ...Read more
Dogfight over California: The ugly battle between electric air taxi leaders Joby and Archer
Two California companies at the front of the global race to bring battery-powered air taxis to the public are trying to trip each other up in court.
While Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation are based within an hour of each other in Northern California, they are bitter rivals, each hoping their own small electric vertical take-off and landing ...Read more
Meta begins 8,000 global job cuts in AI efficiency push
Meta Platforms Inc. is alerting thousands of employees that they’re being laid off, part of a previously announced restructuring aimed at reducing costs while the company invests heavily in artificial intelligence.
The company notified workers around the world Wednesday morning, starting with employees across Asia, who got the note at 4 a.m. ...Read more
Welcome to the future: National Restaurant show features robot baristas and sushi-makers
CHICAGO — Traffic has been down across the restaurant industry over the past few years, but you wouldn’t know it by the crowds at the annual National Restaurant Association show at McCormick Place this week.
The four-day event through Tuesday featured packed exhibition halls, overflowing parking garages and aisles jammed with some 53,000 ...Read more
Disney accused of misusing facial recognition technology
A visitor has filed a $5 million lawsuit against Disneyland for allegedly failing to properly disclose the use of facial-recognition technology at park and collecting sensitive data on guests.
Summer Christine Duffield of Riverside County, California, filed the lawsuit after a May 10 visit to Disneyland and sister park California Adventure, ...Read more
As Expedia turns 30, CEO wants to win travelers over with AI
The office of Ariane Gorin, chief executive officer of Expedia Group, features a large window overlooking a common area at the heart of the travel company's Seattle headquarters. That was on purpose.
When I took the role, I intentionally took this office," Gorin told The Seattle Times in an interview this month. "I wanted people to see me. I ...Read more
EPA is sidelining its independent chemical referee – and that endangers public health
For decades, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has relied on an independent scientific program to answer two basic questions when chemicals come up for review: Does the chemical pose a threat to human health? If so, how much exposure is necessary before it becomes a problem?
The scientists involved in that program, known as the...Read more
How a SoCal native became one of NASA's most valuable assets
LOS ANGELES — One of NASA's most valuable assets is a Southern Californian.
Following the space agency's successful Artemis II mission around the moon last month, Victor Glover — who grew up primarily in the Inland Empire and has spent much of his career at Southern California's many military and aerospace hubs — is now the only pilot to ...Read more
Jim Rossman: Should you go all-in on Apple?
This week a reader wrote in, “I am 74 and was always on top of most electronics as they evolved, but I have to say the rapid changes are hard to keep up with, and I find myself relying on a couple of my younger, more in-tune adult children when it gets to be too much!
"One of my major problems and 'strategies' has been to keep it simple ...Read more
Gadgets: Kitchen game changers
Cosori’s NutriLens smart nutrition scale and its Iconic 6.5-quart stainless-steel smart air fryer are kitchen game changers.
Testing these over several weeks of home-cooked meals—led by my wife—delivered impressive results. For example, in the past, we’ve made chicken Parmesan in a few different air fryers, and some turned out great; ...Read more
Review: Arctis Nova Pro Omni is a gaming headset to rule the living room
For years, I’ve searched for one headset to rule them all, a set of cans that offers great sound quality, robust features and universal compatibility. Several devices have come close but fallen short in one area or another. A headset that could do everything seemed like a pipedream until SteelSeries came along with the Arctis Nova Pro Omni. ...Read more
'Dun-dun ... dun-dun.' The great white shark surge of 2026 and why it's good for SoCal
LOS ANGELES — As the early morning breeze tickles the top of the Santa Monica Bay, three scientists pack into a small whaler boat and push out to sea in pursuit of great white sharks.
Armed with a set of drones, a GoPro camera on a stick and a tracking device atop a spear, the team from the Cal State Long Beach Shark Lab has many questions ...Read more
Wall Street watchdogs pause some cyber exams after Mythos shock
U.S. regulators are pausing some cyber-related examinations of the largest banks, giving the lenders more breathing room as the firms dig into the risks exposed by Anthropic PBC’s new Mythos AI model.
The Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency want to give banks time to bolster their systems against cyber threats ...Read more
Formula 1 racing shows the hard part of reaching net-zero carbon emissions isn’t the engineering
Formula 1 auto racing is one of the most energy-intensive and logistically complex sports on the planet. The events involve cars, of course, but also long-haul freight, international travel, temporary event infrastructure, and a global calendar that keeps people and equipment moving almost constantly.
Motorsports companies are not ...Read more
Blue crab population booms in Chesapeake Bay by 100 million, report finds
BALTIMORE — After a hit to the blue crab population last year, the numbers have grown by over 100 million in 2026.
The blue crab population is estimated at 349 million in the Chesapeake Bay, compared to the 238 million last year, according to results from this winter’s annual dredge survey of the waterway.
Blue crab populations are highly ...Read more
As ocean temperatures spike, more dead sea birds are washing up on California shores
LOS ANGELES — For the last several months, wildlife experts have been alarmed by a large influx of dead and emaciated seabirds washing up on California beaches.
While experts had been recording high mortality rates for brown pelicans for several years now — the result of harmful algal blooms, or “red tides” — this die off appears ...Read more
It's not just white sharks: Massachusetts shark researchers 'closely monitoring' another shark species this season
This is just jaw-some.
Another shark species has the attention of local white shark researchers, who will be “closely monitoring” an additional apex predator this season as beachgoers return to the water.
Dusky sharks — which were spotted attacking seals off Nantucket in the past — have also been seen off Orleans’ Nauset Beach, where...Read more
A gray wolf has entered Sequoia National Park for the first time in a century
LOS ANGELES — A wolf known as BEY03F seems intent on making history over and over again.
The 3-year-old, black-furred wolf has become the first of her kind known to venture into Sequoia National Park in more than a century — after making similarly momentous visits to Los Angeles and Inyo counties.
By 7 a.m. Sunday, BEY03F had passed just ...Read more
Hurricane forecasts have improved dramatically, saving lives, but federal cuts threaten to stretch NOAA to the breaking point
The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1, and while a developing El Niño might result in a tamer season than in the past few years, all it takes is one big storm hitting a populated area to make it a bad hurricane season.
Every year, Americans rely on accurate forecasts when hurricanes might be developing to know when to ...Read more





