RALEIGH, N.C. — The U.S. Justice Department has reached a $450 million settlement with Chemours over the company’s release of “forever chemicals” in three states that exposed residents to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, better known as PFAS.

The federal order announced Wednesday covers four Chemours facilities across West Virginia,...Read more

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, wants to “deliver personal superintelligence to everyone in the world.” And he’s calling on Qualcomm to help power it.

The San Diego chipmaker on Wednesday revealed Meta as its first major data center customer, announcing the partnership at an Investor Day event in New York City. The announcement is the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Stress on the San Andreas Fault System has reached a 1,000-year high, according to new research from the University of Hawaii.

Higher stress on a fault means the pressure that causes earthquakes is building.

But there’s no reason to be significantly more concerned than you were before hearing about the study, said Kate ...Read more

President Donald Trump is coming back to Pennsylvania in July to headline another technology summit — this time, about defense — hosted by Republican Sen. Dave McCormick.

“Last July, the President came to Pennsylvania and together we announced more than $90 billion in investments to strengthen America’s energy dominance and AI ...Read more

NV Energy projects data centers will drive a dramatic shift in Nevada’s energy landscape, growing from 5 percent of electricity sales today to 64 percent by 2046.

NV Energy is requesting $3.2 billion in transmission and substation upgrades, along with thousands of megawatts of new solar, battery storage and geothermal and natural gas ...Read more

Anthropic PBC accused Chinese technology giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. of waging a large-scale effort to “illicitly” access its Claude artificial intelligence model using thousands of fraudulent accounts that undermine the U.S. AI developer’s decision to keep its products out of China.

Anthropic claimed that a campaign by operators ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — The Southern Nevada Health District announced Wednesday that it has identified the first mosquitoes of the season to test positive for West Nile virus in the Las Vegas Valley.

According to the agency, the mosquitoes were collected in the 89121 ZIP code as part of the Health District’s ongoing mosquito surveillance program. The ...Read more

Sony Pictures will invest $100 million and take a minority stake in virtual reality venue operator Cosm, as the studio continues to build a business in communal experiences.

As part of the investment, Sony Pictures Chief Executive Ravi Ahuja will also join Cosm's board of directors, the studio said Wednesday. The size of Sony's minority stake ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Supreme Court has declined to hear a case against UNC-Chapel Hill from an advocacy group seeking records the group said could shed light on the origins of COVID-19. The decision is likely the final word in a high-profile public records dispute dating back to 2020.

Carolina Journal first reported this story. ...Read more

American farmers are expected to plant several million fewer acres of corn in 2026 than they did in 2025, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz throttles a key fertilizer trading corridor, along with the energy and raw materials needed to produce and transport fertilizer.

The closure is disrupting deliveries of about one-third of the...Read more

I woke up this morning to a thunderstorm.

I sleep with a CPAP machine for sleep apnea, and if the power goes out, I wake up pretty quickly when the machine stops working.

A while back I started plugging my CPAP into a portable power station, which stays plugged into the wall so if the power goes out, the power station’s battery will keep my ...Read more

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. will sell the standard version of "Grand Theft Auto VI" at $80, locking in a more traditional price for the video game after speculation that the company would raise the cost of what’s expected to be one of the biggest entertainment launches of all time.

"Grand Theft Auto VI," an open-world crime game ...Read more

CHICAGO -- Maureen Cleary likens the love lives of the African penguins at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo to a soap opera. Pilchard and Maynard would probably be the couple starring in such a drama, said the zoological manager of birds.

The same-sex duo arrived in 2016 as additions to the zoo’s newly opened penguin habitat, Cleary said. Maynard, ...Read more

It’s hard to say what is my favorite product review of all time, but if I had a top 10 list, the Spyra water blaster (or water gun, as I still call it) would be at or near the top.

Spyra, known for its innovative and impressive water blasters, has launched its latest model: the SpyraFour. Spyra touts it as their most advanced and innovative...Read more

The “Sword Art Online” franchise has come full circle with “Echoes of Aincrad.” Game Studio is working on an action role-playing game that brings the fictional video game at the heart of the series to life. It’s a bit meta, but it’s also a dream for the fans of the anime and web novel.

They’ll experience events in the series, ...Read more

A few weeks back I answered a reader question about smart TVs and if their streaming apps would get too old to work well.

My advice was yes, older smart TVs can fall behind on their software updates, and my main advice was to bite the bullet and spend the money on a new TV.

I should have gone a bit deeper and made a few other recommendations...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday unanimously advanced an ordinance to halt new oil and gas drilling and phase out all existing production over the next 20 years. L.A. is home to more than 2,000 active oil wells.

The measure revives a similar ban passed in 2022, which was struck down by a judge following legal challenges ...Read more

Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown filed an amicus brief Tuesday in three lawsuits opposing a decision by the Trump administration to allow oil and gas development in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The three lawsuits specifically have to do with the coastal plain of the refuge and were filed by Alaska Native villages and ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Attorneys general in seventeen states are suing California over its landmark single-use plastic law, which went into effect on June 1.

The lawsuit comes after a coalition of environmental groups sued the state over the same law this month, arguing the new final regulations create loopholes so large they gut the law.

The states ...Read more

The United States is one of only a handful of countries that allows companies to hold patents on plant varieties. As a result, a small number of corporations can – and do – suppress competition in the seed industry, stifle innovation and turn taxpayer subsidies intended for farmers into corporate profits.

The U.S. Department of ...Read more