Your tone does more than startle your pet. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Whether it's the sound of food being poured into a bowl or the front door opening, a dog's ears are on alert. Noises picked up by their highly-attuned senses can also affect their balance. A small study in Austria found that balance is stabilized and destabilized when dogs hear both happy or angry human voices.

Two important things happened on January 20, 2025. In Washington, D.C., Donald Trump was inaugurated as President of the United States. In Hangzhou, China, a little-known Chinese firm called DeepSeek released R1, an AI model that industry watchers called a "Sputnik moment" for the country's AI industry. "Whether we like it or not, we're suddenly engaged in a fast-paced competition to build and define this groundbreaking technology that will determine so much about the future of civilization," said Trump later that year, as he announced his administration's AI action plan, which was titled "Winning the Race." There are many interpretations of what AI companies and their governments are racing towards, says AI policy researcher Lennart Heim: to deploy AI systems in the economy, to build robots, to create human-like artificial general intelligence.

Users Civilians Are Using A.I. to Unmask ICE Agents. Websites like ICEList are attempting to hold federal agents accountable--but it's unclear whether they make the system safer or more dangerous. After federal immigration officers shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, social media users called for the unmasking of the agents responsible. On X, users shared photos of the agents involved. It didn't take long before A.I.-generated pictures made their appearance: One user posted a seemingly deepfaked picture of a masked ICE agent, writing, "This is one of the soulless lowlife ghouls who executed Alex Pretti in cold blood!

Google Chrome is launching agentic AI "autobrowsing" that automates web tasks like form filling, reservations, and license renewals for paid Google AI subscribers. PCWorld reports that a new Gemini AI sidebar will be available to all Chrome users, accessing personal data from Gmail and other apps.

How much do you know about friction? Jennifer R. Vail's charming, if sometimes technical, biography of the force showcases its amazing and largely overlooked role in everything from climate change to dark matter, says Karmela Padavic-Callaghan IN 2009, World Aquatics banned a specific type of swimsuit from all international competitions in water sports, ruling that it gave athletes an unfair advantage. The development of this swimsuit included using NASA's testing facilities and sophisticated computer software. Some versions had ultrasonically welded seams instead of traditional stitches. Swimmers who wore the suit broke 23 of the 25 world records set at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Google's latest addition to its Chrome browser puts generative AI behind the wheel and you in the passenger seat. Google debuted a new "Auto Browse" feature for Chrome on Wednesday. The tool, powered by Google's current Gemini 3 generative AI model, is an AI agent designed to take over your Chrome browser to help complete online tasks like booking flights, finding apartments, and filing expenses. The release of Auto Browse is part of Google's continued integration of AI features into Chrome. Last year, Google dropped the "Gemini in Chrome" mode to answer questions about what's on web pages and synthesize details from multiple open tabs.

Amazon is slashing 16,000 jobs in a second wave of layoffs at the e-commerce giant in three months, as the company restructures and leans on artificial intelligence. Wednesday's cuts follow the 14,000 redundancies that the Seattle, Washington-based company made in October. The layoffs are expected to affect employees working in Prime Video, Amazon Web Services, and the company's human resources department, according to the Reuters news agency, which first reported the cuts. In a memo to the employees, shared with Al Jazeera, Amazon said workers in the United States impacted by the cuts will have a 90-day window to find a new role in the company. "Teammates who are unable to find a new role at Amazon or who choose not to look for one, we'll provide transition support including severance pay, outplacement services, health insurance benefits [as applicable], and more," Beth Galetti, senior vice president of People Experience and Technology at Amazon, said in the note provided to Al Jazeera.

A logo of Ubisoft is seen at its booth during the Gamescom video games trade fair at the Trade Fair Center in Cologne, western Germany. When deciding which video game to buy, Is it fun? is no longer the only consideration. Given the state of the industry, Do I want to support this company? is arguably more important. Take, for example, Ubisoft, where things seem to unravel more each day. After the floundering publisher floated even more layoffs this week, workers at its Paris headquarters said, Enough is enough.

Alex Pretti's Minneapolis death was murder, Americans declare in damning poll as voters issue new demand to Trump... and reveal how few back the shooting'Greedy pig' Harry Styles is shamefully exploiting obsessed women. I know... because it happened to me: LIZ JONES My sister confided an unbearable secret about her boyfriend. Keeping quiet is intolerable... our mother will be devastated: DEAR JANE Trump accounts: Million-dollar baby plan aims to create a fortune for America's newest arrivals before age 30 Nicki Minaj flashes dagger-long nails as she clutches Trump's hand after gushing she's his No. 1 fan Bryan Kohberger's warped requests from behind bars leave prison guards sickened... as new pictures of Idaho murders reveal full extent of his barbarity Bruce Willis' wife Emma makes heartbreaking admission about star's dementia battle Hilarious live gaffe on David Muir's World News Tonight that'triggered behind the scenes meltdown' Haley Kalil confident her bitter lawsuit with ex-NFL star husband will be thrown out as she cites'free speech' after revealing size of his manhood'He was Mr Perfect... now we're seeing his true colours': How Harry Styles cultivated his'good boy' image... and why fans are now turning on him after this controversial new move Mom who gave all four of her daughters the same name slams critics: 'Our family doesn't need outside approval' Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz share photo of the'world's most expensive wine' at £17,000 a BOTTLE... as it's revealed she gets a '$1m monthly allowance' from her billionaire father Battlefield'voice of God' sonic weapon used in warzones unleashed on Minneapolis protesters A military grade device capable of projecting a deafening, focused sound was deployed during a tense anti ICE protest in Minnesota Monday night. State patrol troopers faced off with activists outside the SpringHill Suites in Maple Grove, where demonstrators believed federal immigration agents were staying. Officers threatened to engage a long range acoustic device (LRAD), giving the crowd a countdown before deployment.

A Ukrainian soldier has described the moment a passenger train was targeted by Russian drones, killing five people. When a carriage on the train was hit in northeastern Ukraine, passengers threw themselves on the floor in panic and the military officer told them to get out immediately. Without his instruction, issued moments before the carriage burst into flames, many more passengers could have died. The officer, whose army call-sign is Omar, is part of Ukraine's 93rd brigade. He was among the passengers travelling on a route from Chop, on the border with Slovakia, to Barvinkove, the last stop before the front line in eastern Ukraine.