Government
Another Trump Casualty: A Tiny Office That Keeps Measurements of the World Accurate
Dru Smith, Chief Geodesist of the National Geodetic Survey stands near a measurement device used to survey the height of the Washington Monument in 2017.Susan Walsh/AP This story was originally published by Wired and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Cuts made by the Trump administration are threatening the function of a tiny but crucial office within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that maintains the US framework of spatial information: latitudes, longitudes, vertical measurements like elevation, and even measurements of Earth's gravitational field. Staff losses at the National Geodetic Survey (NGS), the oldest scientific agency in the US, could further cripple its mission and activities, including a long-awaited project to update the accuracy of these measurements, former employees and experts say. As the world turns more and more toward operations that need precise coordinate systems like the ones NGS provides, the science that underpins this office's activities, these experts say, is becoming even more crucial. The work of NGS, says Tim Burch, the executive director of the National Society of Professional Surveyors, "is kind of like oxygen. You don't know you need it until it's not there."
Ukraine under Russian missile, drone attacks for second night, 12 killed
Russia has targeted Ukraine for a second consecutive night with drones and missiles, killing at least 12 people as the two countries pursue a major prisoner swap. Ukraine's air force said on Sunday that Russian forces attacked Ukrainian regions with 298 drones and 69 missiles overnight, one of the largest aerial attacks of the war. "Most regions of Ukraine were affected by the hostile attack. Enemy air strikes were recorded in 22 areas, and downed cruise missiles and attack UAVs (drones) fell in 15 locations," the air force said on Telegram. Ukraine's security service reported that at least four people were killed and 16 were injured in the capital, Kyiv.
Alabama paid a law firm millions to defend its prisons. It used AI and turned in fake citations
In less than a year-and-a-half, Frankie Johnson, a man incarcerated at the William E Donaldson prison outside Birmingham, Alabama, says he was stabbed around 20 times. In December of 2019, Johnson says, he was stabbed "at least nine times" in his housing unit. In March of 2020, an officer handcuffed him to a desk following a group therapy meeting, and left the unit, after which another prisoner came in and stabbed him five times. In November of the same year, Johnson says, he was handcuffed by an officer and brought to the prison yard, where another prisoner attacked him with an ice pick, stabbing him "five to six times", as two correctional officers looked on. According to Johnson, one of the officers had actually encouraged his attacker to carry out the assault in retaliation for a previous argument between Johnson and the officer.
Fox News AI Newsletter: Expert warns just 20 cloud images can make an AI deepfake video of your child
Texas high school student Elliston Berry joins'Fox & Friends' to discuss the House's passage of a new bill that criminalizes the sharing of non-consensual intimate images, including content created with artificial intelligence. Welcome to Fox News' Artificial Intelligence newsletter with the latest AI technology advancements. IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER: - Peek-a-boo, big tech sees you: Expert warns just 20 cloud images can make an AI deepfake video of your child - 5 AI terms you keep hearing and what they actually mean - AI to monitor NYC subway safety as crime concerns rise First Lady Melania Trump, joined by U.S. President Donald Trump, delivers remarks before President Trump signed the TAKE IT DOWN Act into law in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. The first lady made the Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks (TAKE IT DOWN) Act a priority, traveling to Capitol Hill to lobby lawmakers and show her support for the legislation, which addresses non-consensual intimate imagery, or "revenge porn," and artificial intelligence deepfakes posted online and to social media. DEEPFAKE DANGERS: Parents love capturing their kids' big moments, from first steps to birthday candles.
AI exoskeleton gives wheelchair users the freedom to walk again
Wandercraft's Personal Exoskeleton is about helping people stand tall, connect with others and live life on their own terms. For Caroline Laubach, being a Wandercraft test pilot is about more than just trying out new technology. It's about reclaiming a sense of freedom and connection that many wheelchair users miss. Laubach, a spinal stroke survivor and full-time wheelchair user, has played a key role in demonstrating the personal AI-powered prototype exoskeleton's development, and her experience highlights just how life-changing this device can be. "When I'm in the exoskeleton, I feel more free than I do in my daily life," said Laubach.
Ukraine calls for new sanctions as Russia hits Kyiv amid prisoner exchanges
Ukrainian officials have renewed their calls for more sanctions on Russia after Russian forces launched dozens of attack drones and ballistic missiles at Kyiv overnight ahead of a second exchange of soldiers and civilians. Ukraine's military on Saturday said overnight attacks launched from multiple Russian regions used 250 drones and 14 ballistic missiles to hit Kyiv, damaging several apartment buildings and a shopping mall, and injuring at least 15 people. Sites in the Ukrainian regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa and Zaporizhia were also hit, with Ukrainian forces saying six of the ballistic missiles were shot down by its air defences, along with 245 drones, many of which were said to be Iranian-designed. Oleh Syniehubov, head of Kharkiv's regional state administration, said on Saturday morning that four Ukrainians were killed and several others injured over the past 24 hours in the region as a result of multiple Russian attacks. Meanwhile, Russia's Ministry of Defence on Saturday said at least 100 Ukrainian drones attempted to strike Russian targets overnight.
We have a chance to prevent AI decimating Britain's creative industries – but it's slipping away Beeban Kidron
But opting out is impossible to do without AI transparency. The plan is a charter for theft, since creatives would have no idea who is taking what, when and from whom. When the government stoops to a preferred outcome that undermines the moral right to your work and income, you might reasonably be angered. As Elton John said last weekend: "The government have no right to do this to my songs. They have no right to do it to anybody's songs, or anybody's prose."
Google chatbot slammed for 'anti-American' claims about 'White Memorial Day'
While in New York for Fleet Week, active-duty members of the Navy, Marines and Coast Guard share suggestions for ways to commemorate Memorial Day. Google's artificial intelligence chatbot is being slammed for "anti-American" claims about the supposed White supremacist origins of Memorial Day. The Media Research Center (MRC) Free Speech America project, a conservative media watchdog, is calling out Google for alleged bias coded into its AI chatbot "Gemini" after the group found the bot said that Memorial Day is controversial for a range of reasons, including problems with "inclusivity and representation" from the Jim Crow era. A Google spokesperson has since distanced the company from the Gemini statements, saying that the response "does not reflect Google's opinion." MRC said it asked Gemini the question "Is Memorial Day controversial?" May 16.
Trump signs executive orders to spur US 'nuclear energy renaissance'
Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on Friday intended to spur a "nuclear energy renaissance" through the construction of new reactors he said would satisfy the electricity demands of data centers for artificial intelligence and other emerging industries. The orders represented the president's latest foray into the policy underlying America's electricity supply. Trump declared a national energy emergency on his first day in office over and moved to undo a ban implemented by Joe Biden on new natural gas export terminals and expand oil and gas drilling in Alaska. Nuclear does not carry oil and gas's carbon emissions, but produces radioactive waste that the United States lacks a facility to permanently store. Some environmental groups have safety concerns over the reactors and their supply chain. Trump signed four orders intended to speed up the approval of nuclear reactors for defense and AI purposes, reform the Nuclear Regulatory Commission with the goal of quadrupling production of electricity over the next 25 years, revamp the regulatory process to have three experimental reactors operating by 4 July 2026 and boost investment in the technology's industrial base.
Trump reverses course on Middle East tech policy, but will it be enough to counter China?
National security and military analyst Dr. Rebecca Grant joins'Fox & Friends First' to discuss President Donald Trump's historic business-focused trip to the Middle East and why a Trump-Putin meeting could be essential for peace in Ukraine. President Donald Trump secured 2 trillion worth of deals with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE during his trip to the Middle East last week in what some have argued is a move to counter China's influence in the region. While China has increasingly bolstered its commercial ties with top Middle Eastern nations who have remained steadfast in their refusal to pick sides amid growing geopolitical tension between Washington and Beijing, Trump may have taken steps to give the U.S. an edge over its chief competitor. But concern has mounted after Trump reversed a Biden-era policy – which banned the sale of AI-capable chips to the UAE and Saudi Arabia – that highly coveted U.S. technologies could potentially fall into the hands of Chinese companies, and in extension, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). U.S. President Donald Trump walks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman during a welcoming ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025.