New mothers working in software development are staring down an AI-pilled workplace they barely recognize. As Danielle settled into the rhythms of new motherhood, her profession underwent a drastic reinvention. Danielle, who asked to use her first name to avoid damaging her job prospects, worked as a software developer at a car company in Portland, Oregon. Before she left the workforce in mid-2024, barely anybody used AI to write code; by the time she was ready to return, a year later, it had become the expectation. Once upon a time, she had been drawn to coding for the job security it offered, but AI was threatening to upend that.

The Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases were launched during the Covid-19 pandemic. The group lost its funding under Trump in part due to conspiracy theories. As the world struggles to contain the rapidly growing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ituri province, a vital network of research centers has been unable to help on the ground. The reason: The Trump administration slashed its funding last year, in part due to conspiracy theories about the origins of Covid-19. Established in 2020 by the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases (CREID) Network was conducting research into viruses that emerge from wildlife and spill over to people, including the family of viruses that Ebola belongs to.

The tech giant says a breakthrough in data-center networking has dramatically accelerated the flow of information through its massive cloud infrastructure. Amazon says it recently achieved a major breakthrough in networking design--and has been quietly deploying the new technology in its data centers since late last year. The company claims it has significantly increased data speeds while reducing energy use, potentially giving the tech giant an edge as companies race to build ever-faster systems in the cloud. The new technology hinges on a "quasi-random" design that combines elements of traditional, structured data networks with the performance advantages of more random architectures. Researchers have explored random networks for decades, but the technology has never been successfully scaled.

The LAPD has long turned to wealthy boosters to supplement its multi-billion dollar annual budget, but the influx of private money is prompting concerns.

Customer data from more than 350 hotels around the world may have been accessed as part of realistic reservation-hijacking scams. Travelers' information and booking details may have been stolen from hundreds of hotels around the world, according to new findings from security researchers. These swiped trip details, such as booking names and reservation information, are then being repurposed by cybercriminals to create highly targeted phishing messages used to steal credit card information. At least 350 hotels, vacation rentals, motels, and guesthouses in 50 different countries have been caught up in so-called reservation hijacking scams, according to an analysis of phishing messages and cybercriminal infrastructure by security company Norton. Researchers say the use of legitimate booking information in phishing messages may increase the chances that someone clicks on a fraudulent link and hands over other sensitive details to criminals.

It is one thing to say AI will change the world. It is another to expect the class of 2026 to applaud it. In fact, when former Google CEO Eric Schmidt told University of Arizona graduates that their task is to help shape AI, he was met with a resounding chorus of boos. "I can hear you," he said, before conceding that fears about disappearing jobs and a broken future were "rational." This is not exactly the message one hopes to hear while sweating under a polyester gown and tallying student loan payments. Graduates have been jeering at AI pep talks at other commencements too, including ceremonies at the University of Central Florida and Middle Tennessee State University.

It's part of Amazon's efforts to reach net-zero carbon across its operations in the coming years. Amazon Japan has started using the country's iconic bullet trains to move packages between facilities across different regions. The company said teaming up with Japan Railway is part of its efforts to cut both delivery times and carbon dioxide emissions. Japan's Shinkansen can reach speeds of up to 200 mph and can cut down travel times, say, from Tokyo to Osaka from around 8 hours to two-and-a-half hours. They also run on electricity delivered by an overhead electrical system. Back in 2019, the company launched an initiative that aims for net zero carbon emissions for deliveries.

In the race against China for AI supremacy, the United States dominates when it comes to access to the most cutting-edge semiconductors. But when it comes to powering the huge data centres that run on AI chips, China holds the clear advantage. A typical data centre can consume as much electricity as 100,000 households, while next-generation "hyperscale" facilities can gobble up as much power as two million homes, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). China's access to an abundant supply of cheap electricity places it in the ideal position to meet such colossal energy demands. China already generates more than twice as much electricity as the US, a lead that is expected to widen amid an aggressive state-led investment in the country's energy grid.

Ballots Have Been Seized Across the US. So far this year, authorities have seized or demanded ballots from elections in four states. Experts fear the trend could throw the midterms into chaos unless courts draw a line. As US voters look to the November midterms, the Trump administration is obsessed with looking back to past elections, seizing ballots cast years ago in several states in search, it claims, of fraud or other malfeasance. But experts believe the goal may be more varied. The seizures began in January when FBI agents armed with a warrant raided an election facility in Fulton County, Georgia, and grabbed 600 boxes of ballots from 2020.

Utilizing artificial intelligence and robots -- and more specifically humanoids -- is crucial in making up for Japan's labor shortage. This was the dominant talking point at the Humanoids Summit on Thursday when the two-day event kicked off in Tokyo. Hosted by a California-based robotics company of the same name, it is the first time the summit, which was previously held in Silicon Valley and London, is being held in Asia. It is expected to draw 2,000 attendees from 30 countries and 300 companies, according to the organizers. Japan was chosen for its "foundational role in the global robotics ecosystem for decades," said Terence Bennett, executive director of the Bay Area Robotics Association, in his opening remarks.