Science & Technology
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Why 'House of David' director thinks AI can save Hollywood jobs
In 1926, director Cecil B. DeMille hired hundreds of workers to build a set of Jerusalem inside the DeMille Studios in Culver City for the classic silent film "The King of Kings."
A century later, Jon Erwin filmed his biblical epic 'The Old Stories: Moses,' starring Ben Kingsley, on the same studio lot now owned by Amazon MGM Studios.
Except ...Read more
Investors bet on San Diego's new military-industrial complex, including $1.5B on Shield AI
The day before Valentine’s Day, rumors surfaced about a San Diego company’s plans to raise a billion dollars.
Executives at the company didn’t respond to requests for comment. Industry insiders wouldn’t speak on record about the raise — but they didn’t display doubt about the deal either.
The billion-dollar buzz came to fruition a ...Read more
Orphaned Monrovia bear cubs on path back to wild after state euthanized their mom
LOS ANGELES — When state wildlife officials euthanized "Blondie" the bear over the objections of local elected leaders in March, it was unclear if her two orphaned bear cubs would ever be able to live in the wild again.
The tiny furry creatures weighed just 5.8 and 7.6 pounds. They required spoon-feedings four times a day. And they could not ...Read more
Detroit’s water affordability crisis is tied to the uneven distribution of stormwater management costs – a fraught history explains why
Beginning in July 2026, Detroiters will be paying higher water and sewer bills.
That’s because The Great Lakes Water Authority, or GLWA, voted unanimously on Feb. 25, 2026, to increase water rates by 5.8% and sewer rates by 4.26% for its customers. GLWA raised rates by similar amounts in 2025.
Residents at GLWA’s last rate...Read more
Jim Rossman: Don’t make a scammer’s life easier
This week I received a question about spam emails, “For some time, I am getting emails showing an invoice for services about to be charged to my credit card. Other than ignoring them, do you have any suggestions on how to handle these messages? I’ve not had any charges to a credit/debit card or withdrawal from bank accounts. So far, I’ve...Read more
Gadgets: Stay ahead of car trouble
How annoying is it to get in your vehicle and your check engine light or other alerts suddenly flash in your face? The BlueDriver Pro Scan tool will tell you almost instantly what the problem is, and potentially keep you ahead of a breakdown.
This pocket-sized diagnostic tool does big things. Just plug it into your car’s OBDII port to get ...Read more
Tech review: Gift ideas for grads
We are in the midst of graduation season, and I’ve been testing some gadgets that would make for great graduation gifts.
Cash is a traditional gift for graduates, but I know a lot of people who like their gift to be a bit more personal.
Fender Elie 6 Portable Bluetooth Speaker ($299.00, fender.com)
Fender is well-known for their guitars and...Read more
As drought worsens, Western states brace for wildfires, water shortages
From the Rockies to the Cascades to the Sierra Nevada, mountainsides across the West are sparsely covered by the snow that usually blankets the high country well into the summer.
That snowpack is like a savings account that the West draws on when the hot, dry months arrive. It moistens the landscape as it melts, lessening the risk of severe ...Read more
Weather forces SpaceX scrub, will retry Wednesday for launch that could bring sonic boom
Poor weather conditions forced a scrub of a Tuesday night launch attempt by SpaceX on its latest resupply run for NASA to International Space Station, with a Wednesday backup attempt on tap that could bring a sonic boom to parts of Central Florida.
A Falcon 9 on the CRS-34 mission looks to send a cargo Dragon spacecraft filled with 6,500 pounds...Read more
LA quietly fires its first chief heat officer
LOS ANGELES — Marta Segura, the first chief heat officer for the city of Los Angeles, was quietly fired from her position last month, the Los Angeles Times has confirmed.
Segura stepped into the new role in 2022 amid a marked increase in climate-fueled heat events. Her appointment by then-Mayor Eric Garcetti came with much fanfare, as it made...Read more
Editorial: Nevada hurt by California's anti-fossil fuel crusade
California Gov. Gavin Newsom won’t admit it, but a move by President Donald Trump is especially helpful to drivers in California — and Nevada.
Gasoline prices are pressuring consumers around the country. On Friday, the average U.S. price was $4.55 a gallon. In California, that would be a bargain. The average there was $6.16 a gallon. Nevada...Read more
If weather allows, sonic boom in store as SpaceX tries for launch to the space station
Despite a dodgy weather forecast, SpaceX has lined up its latest resupply run for NASA to the International Space Station on Tuesday night that could bring a sonic boom to parts of Central Florida.
A Falcon 9 on the CRS-34 mission looks to send a cargo Dragon spacecraft filled with 6,500 pounds of supplies to the space station launching from ...Read more
A deep-ocean climate plan wins rare EPA approval, but is sinking plants in the sea the answer?
Innovators who are working on ways to pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to fight climate change are having a tough time lately.
Their biggest supporter, Microsoft, recently began telling partners that it is pausing its carbon removal purchases. To get a sense of how big of a deal this is, look at the numbers: The tech company ...Read more
Many of the Caribbean’s most important reefs are going unprotected
Living by the sea in the tropics means being exposed to some of nature’s most powerful forces. Hurricanes can bring storm surges, flooding and destructive waves that threaten homes, infrastructure and livelihoods.
For many communities, coral reefs are a natural first line of defense against these storms. The reefs’ rugged ...Read more
Researchers are using AI and social media to assess drug side effects
PHILADELPHIA — University of Pennsylvania scientists are using AI to mine Reddit threads to evaluate the safety and side effects of prescription drugs.
Their approach takes advantage of recent advances in large language models (LLMs), a subset of artificial intelligence, to rapidly analyze self-reported information on side effects. This ...Read more
Trees that survived LA's wildfires are dying at alarming rate. Can they be saved?
LOS ANGELES — The deadly fires that devastated homes in Pacific Palisades and Altadena also laid waste to a lush canopy of leaves and pine needles that had cooled and shaded residents here for generations.
Now, more than a year later, trees that had survived the flames are disappearing at a troubling rate.
Since the January 2025 fire siege, ...Read more
After exile, California tribes could help oversee ancestral redwoods again
Daniel Felix, 10, looks out from atop a gargantuan stump of an old-growth redwood on his tribe’s ancestral land. Once, this forest on California’s North Coast was replete with the ancient behemoths that can live beyond 2,000 years.
Only a fraction are left now, depleted by a logging company before the state acquired the forest in the 1940s....Read more
Nevada agencies clash in court over water rights tied to rural fish hatchery
LAS VEGAS — Two Nevada agencies are in court over a water rights decision that could have major implications for a state-run fish hatchery in rural Lyon County during times of drought.
The Nevada Department of Wildlife has maintained a permit to pump 861.5 acre-feet of groundwater for its Mason Valley Fish Hatchery for decades, representing ...Read more
Editorial: Upper Basin states need to offer more to preserve Colorado River
Economist Milton Friedman is often credited with noting, “If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there’d be a shortage of sand.”
State governments haven’t done much better managing the Colorado River.
On Thursday, the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center, which is part of the National Weather ...Read more
What causes landslides in Big Sur area? New study analyzes 'active coastline'
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Big Sur coastline is ever-changing.
Waves strike the base of the cliffs, taking sediment with them. Meanwhile, rain also loosens sediment across the rocky coastline, making it more vulnerable to landslides. The highway — a long scar cut across the cliffs — is periodically blocked by landslides and washouts.
...Read more
Popular Stories
- Jim Rossman: Don’t make a scammer’s life easier
- Editorial: Nevada hurt by California's anti-fossil fuel crusade
- Gadgets: Stay ahead of car trouble
- Detroit’s water affordability crisis is tied to the uneven distribution of stormwater management costs – a fraught history explains why
- Many of the Caribbean’s most important reefs are going unprotected





