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Pittsburgh at the 'epicenter' of the climate crisis, local leaders claim at rally

PITTSBURGH — An assault on climate protection is also an assault on the Pittsburgh region's public health, workforce, and overall well-being.

That was the central message from more than 100 people who rallied Saturday at the Flagstaff Hill Pavilion in Oakland in protest of President Donald Trump’s efforts to derail investment in clean ...Read more

Space Coast sees its 13th launch of the year

ORLANDO, Fla. — SpaceX sent up the Space Coast’s 13th launch in 39 days so far this year, an average of one launch every three days.

A Falcon 9 rocket on the Starlink 12-9 mission carrying 21 of the company’s internet satellites lifted off at 2:18 p.m. ET from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40.

The first-...Read more

NASA/NASA/TNS

Watchdog panel's annual NASA safety report reveals new Boeing Starliner issue, questions viable future

The annual watchdog report tasked to gauge NASA safety commended the agency’s handling of last year’s beleaguered Boeing’s Starliner mission, but revealed yet another issue found during the flight and questioned NASA’s needs for the spacecraft in the future.

The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), which was formed in 1968, released ...Read more

SpaceX/SpaceX/TNS

SpaceX pushes to Saturday planned launch from Cape Canaveral

ORLANDO, Fla. — SpaceX was set to send up the 13th launch from the Space Coast this year on Friday afternoon, but has retargeted efforts to Saturday.

A Falcon 9 rocket on the Starlink 12-9 mission carrying 21 Starlink satellites is now aiming for liftoff at 1:23 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 during a...Read more

New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance/TNS

6,000-pound massive shark washes up on Cape Cod in the winter: Possibly 'made a wrong turn' and got trapped

BOSTON — Even though it’s the heart of winter, sharks are still in our frigid waters.

One of those sharks unfortunately washed up dead on a Cape beach earlier this week, as researchers responded to Wellfleet Harbor and took samples from the massive 6,000-pound basking shark.

Scientists are still trying to figure out what caused the fish’...Read more

Handout/ATLAS/NASA/TNS

An asteroid could collide with Earth: What could happen if it hits, and should we worry?

An asteroid measuring as wide as 295 feet is possibly headed right toward Earth, but don't run for cover just yet.

A NASA-funded telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile, first spotted the asteroid, named 2024 YR4, on Dec. 27.

"The object had a close approach with Earth," which made it bright enough to be detected in surveys for asteroids, according to...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Software giant Red Hat gives owner IBM lift to shed its stodgy identity

At IBM’s Investor Day event in New York City this week, the first the company has held since 2021, a word executives stressed was “software.”

And two other words top IBM brass highlighted again and again were “Red Hat.”

“Hopefully you got the theme of the entire day today of us being a much more software-led company,” IBM chief ...Read more

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America/TNS

Hawk tagged decades ago in Pennsylvania found injured 1,000 miles away

An incredibly old red-tailed hawk is resting and recovering after making a 1,000-mile journey from Pennsylvania to Canada, officials said.

The hawk was found injured and was brought into a Nova Scotia wildlife rehabilitation center for treatment, where rescuers also discovered a band on the bird’s foot indicating it had been tagged in ...Read more

Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Google ends hiring targets tied to diversity

Google is the latest tech company rethinking how it approaches diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace as businesses face more political pressure from President Donald Trump to roll back these initiatives.

The search giant will no longer set hiring goals that are tied to improving representation in the company. The move was first ...Read more

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Sound Advice: 3 home CD player options at different price points

Q: Given your recent column regarding CDs, why not write a column with recommended CD players for home stereo systems?

—B.Z., Milwaukee

A. That is a great idea! I received quite a few emails about the column concerning physical media. Everyone writing in agreed with me, some of them very passionately and emphatically. Many of the emails were...Read more

Pool/Getty Images North America/TNS

Silicon Valley's brilliant young techies help Musk, Trump penetrate government, drawing Democrat fury

It’s not every day that a group of young Silicon Valley technology prodigies gets the keys to the most powerful nation on Earth. In fact, it appears that has not happened on any day. Ever. Until now.

Six men aged 19 to 24 — most with strong Bay Area connections — have been identified as associates of the controversial, Elon Musk-led ...Read more

Handout/Jim Rossman/TNS

Tech review: Add a space heater to your chilly rooms

It’s winter and I live in Dallas, which means the weather is a real tossup.

It isn’t uncommon for a few days with high temps in the 70s to be followed up with a cold front that drops the temperature 25 or 30 degrees in an afternoon.

Space heaters are not usually on my radar, as I’m fairly warm-natured, but our house is a bit drafty and ...Read more

Scientists search for answers after gray whale washes ashore in LA, bitten and underweight

LOS ANGELES — Over the weekend, a 38-foot-long female gray whale washed ashore at Dockweiler State Beach, prompting an outpouring of grief from marine mammal lovers and leaving an important question etched into the sand — what killed her?

Her 14-ton carcass offers several immediate clues, said Keith Matassa, chief executive of the Ocean ...Read more

Renee Jones Schneider/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Teaching nursing to rural high schoolers? Virtual reality makes it possible

LE SUEUR, Minnesota – Porter Simonette carefully placed a dollop of digital hand sanitizer on the hands of the elderly man he saw inside his virtual reality headset. The high school senior mimed opening a container of yogurt, and following the on-screen instructions, began feeding his digital patient.

“Here’s some more yogurt,” he said,...Read more

Aaron Lavinsky/The Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Inside the lab that's the beating heart of Medtronic's product pipeline

MINNEAPOLIS — The pink, white and red blob of tissue quivers in a vat of clear goop about the size of a kitchen sink.

Graduate students whiz around this slimy beating heart and crawl under the tubes connected to the apparatus cradling the organ as a Medtronic scientist prods a snaking tool around its interior.

This disembodied heart, beating...Read more

Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group/TNS

State universities launch “landmark” AI quest for students and profs

SAN JOSE, California — The California State University system has teamed up with several tech titans to launch a “landmark” quest to create an AI-powered higher education system.

San Jose State University and CSU East Bay in Hayward would be among the California state universities whose students and teachers could benefit from the ...Read more

Water is the other US-Mexico border crisis, and the supply crunch is getting worse

Immigration and border security will be the likely focus of U.S.-Mexico relations under the new Trump administration. But there also is a growing water crisis along the U.S.–Mexico border that affects tens of millions of people on both sides, and it can only be managed if the two governments work together.

Climate change is ...Read more

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America/TNS

To detect contagious bird flu, can genomic surveillance shift to sewers?

SAN JOSE, Calif. — When the H5N1 bird flu virus jumps from animals into people, it hits a dead end. Missing the key genes that would help it infect humans, it isn’t causing a pandemic.

But if the virus suddenly changed into a dangerous new mutant, how would we know?

Experts say our cities have a valuable tool that can help us keep better ...Read more

Ubisoft/Ubisoft/TNS

Hands-on with ‘Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ reveals how two protagonists make a whole new experience

“Assassin’s Creed” fans have clamored for a chapter set in Japan for years. The concepts mesh well enough. Ubisoft’s assassins lurk in the shadows and try to kill without commotion while ninjas in popular culture have the same MO. It was an ideal combination.

Unfortunately, Ubisoft has taken its time bringing “Assassin’s Creed” ...Read more

OneOdio/OneOdio/TNS

Gadgets: Impressive headphones

OneOdio's new Focus A5 Pro over-the-head headphones include AI-Based Adaptive Noise Cancellation and an impressive 75-hour battery life.

The budget-friendly Bluetooth 5.4 headphones ($69.99) have an ergonomic design with an adjustable headband. The advanced noise cancellation delivers intelligent sound isolation, adjusting in real-time to ...Read more