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People Still Aren't Into Buying Cars Online

WIRED

A new report shows that only 7 percent of new-car buyers in the US completed their purchase online, despite a major push by automakers, Amazon, and others to move past the dealership. In the US, cars follow only housing as the most expensive purchase consumers make. So it makes a lot of sense that, according to recent buyer surveys, very few of them want an Amazon-style, one-click approach to getting a new set of wheels. "People want to see, feel, and touch the car," says Erin Lomax, the vice president of consumer marketing at Cox Automotive, a research firm that also makes digital auto sales products that allow dealers to initiate transactions online. Not to mention test-driving the expensive thing they'll probably use every day.


ChatGPT, MD

Slate

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Two killed, dozens wounded in large Russian drone attacks across Ukraine

Al Jazeera

Could Ukraine hold a presidential election right now? Will Europe use frozen Russian assets to fund war? How can Ukraine rebuild China ties? 'Ukraine is running out of men, money and time' Two people have been killed and dozens injured in overnight Russian drone attacks across Ukraine, where strikes on energy infrastructure have caused power outages in freezing temperatures, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In a social media post on Sunday, Zelenskyy said the Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhia, Khmelnytskyi and Odesa regions were targeted in an attack that included more than 200 drones.


Musk seeks up to 134 billion damages from OpenAI, Microsoft

The Japan Times

Elon Musk is seeking between $79 billion and $134 billion in damages over his claims that OpenAI defrauded him by abandoning its nonprofit roots and partnering with Microsoft. Elon Musk wants OpenAI and Microsoft to pay him damages in the range of $79 billion to $134 billion over his claims that the generative AI company defrauded him by abandoning its nonprofit roots and partnering with the software giant. Musk's lawyer detailed the damages request in a court filing Friday, a day after a federal judge rejected a final bid by OpenAI and Microsoft to avoid a jury trial set for late April in Oakland, California. Citing calculations by a financial economist expert witness, C. Paul Wazzan, the filing says Musk is entitled to a chunk of OpenAI's current $500 billion valuation after he was defrauded of the $38 million in seed money he donated to OpenAI when he helped found the startup in 2015. OpenAI and Microsoft later disputed the calculations.


'Still here!': X's Grok AI tool accessible in Malaysia and Indonesia despite ban

The Guardian

Indonesia and Malaysia have become the first two countries in the world to announce blocks on the Grok AI. Indonesia and Malaysia have become the first two countries in the world to announce blocks on the Grok AI. D ays after Malaysia made global headlines by announcing it would temporarily ban Grok over its ability to generate "grossly offensive and nonconsensual manipulated images", the generative AI tool was conversing breezily with accounts registered in the country. That DNS block in Malaysia is pretty lightweight - easy to bypass with a VPN or DNS tweak," Grok's account on X said in response to a question from a user. Grok's ability to allow users to create sexually explicit images, including images of children, has created a global outcry over recent weeks, with regulators and politicians around the world launching investigations. Indonesia and Malaysia became the first two countries to announce blocks on the technology, with Malaysia's regulatory body saying last Sunday it had "directed a temporary restriction" on access to Grok, effective as of 11 January 2026. Officials in the Philippines have said they too plan to ban the technology. Blocking access to Grok is not straightforward, however. The technology not only exists across multiple platforms, including a standalone app and website, but is also integrated across X, which, along with Grok, is owned by Elon Musk's xAI. The protest group Everyone Hates Elon advertises a boycott of X in London. Over the past week, X users, and even Grok itself, have advised people on how to bypass restrictions. This includes using a VPN - many of which are available for free - or changing domain name system (DNS), the protocol on the internet that turns address names into IP addresses that load websites. When the Guardian tried to use Grok in Indonesia, its website was working even without a VPN, though the Grok app did not work. Grok was also still responding to Indonesian accounts on X, where it functions as an integrated chatbot. X has not been subject to a ban. Even if governments could completely restrict Grok, though, this is not a real solution, said Nana Nwachukwu, an AI governance expert and PhD researcher at Trinity College Dublin. "Blocking Grok is like slapping a Band-Aid on a weeping wound that you haven't cleaned," she said. "You block Grok, and then you go around shouting you've done something.


Indonesian rescuers find wreckage of plane that had 11 people on board

Al Jazeera

Indonesian rescuers have recovered wreckage from a missing plane that is believed to have crashed with 11 people on board while approaching a mountainous region on Sulawesi island during cloudy conditions. The discovery on Sunday comes after the small plane - on its way from Yogyakarta on Indonesia's main island of Java to Makassar, the capital city of South Sulawesi province - vanished from radar on Saturday. Rescuers on the ground then retrieved larger debris consistent with the main fuselage and tail scattered on a steep northern slope, Anwar told a news conference. "The discovery of the aircraft's main sections significantly narrows the search zone and offers a crucial clue for tightening the search area," Anwar said. "Our joint search and rescue teams are now focusing on searching for the victims, especially those who might still be alive." The plane, a turboprop ATR 42-500, was operated by Indonesia Air Transport and was last tracked in the Leang-Leang area of Maros, a mountainous district of South Sulawesi province.


ET exists! Ninety-five per cent of educated people believe in alien life... they just won't admit it to their friends and family

Daily Mail - Science & tech

CBS News's star anchor caught on tape caving to Trump's demands as president issues blunt two-word warning over interview'edits' Trump's Greenland tariff squeeze detonates Europe trade deal as NATO is pushed to breaking point Iconic '90s femme fatale Men In Black star hasn't been seen in 16 years... now the Daily Mail reveals distressing truth behind her disappearance Investigator reveals hidden clues in Ellen Greenberg's crime scene photos that PROVE bride-to-be was brutally murdered Nicole Kidman's subtle but devastating digs at Keith Urban revealed... as insiders claim country star has MOVED IN with new squeeze Sales of Toyota's EV stall as furious drivers say'impossible to fuel' cars have landed them in debt nightmare Trump insiders reveal the persistent ICE'murmurs' now rippling through the White House... and what will happen next: MARK HALPERIN Dark side of America's favorite vacation hotspot... where women are subjected to the most horrific sex attacks imaginable She was at the center of one of Netflix's most shocking documentaries after being kidnapped TWICE - now she opens up over fresh heartache My beautiful, brilliant wife took her final breath 10 years ago. I didn't think I would survive... then I witnessed something miraculous that as a scientist I just can't explain Michael Jackson's chimp Bubbles used to party with rock stars all night but new photos show him enjoying quiet retirement in Florida where he's in bed by 6pm Aspiring conservative lawmaker's head gushes with blood as Minneapolis descends into anarchy Devastated Princess Eugenie has'cut off all contact' with disgraced father Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor over Epstein scandal Astrologer names the NFL power couples destined to split... including the QB and his'freakier' girlfriend Mysterious new owner of Wyoming ranch bigger than Rhode Island is unmasked amid speculation Ukraine's Zelensky was circling The blonde, blue-eyed moms recruited in America's suburbs to bear children for global elite Secret ranking of NFL WAGs revealed: From a'jealous' ex-cheerleader to the'annoying queen'... meet the stunning sideline spouses raking in MILLIONS Ninety-five per cent of educated people believe in alien life... they just won't admit it to their friends and family If you've got a sneaking suspicion that there is alien life out there, you are, er, not alone! In fact, a study shows 95 per cent of us - including top academics, doctors and scientists - believe in extra-terrestrial beings but we won't admit it. Fear of being laughed at has meant most people say they don't believe in galaxies far, far away. To investigate belief in extra-terrestrial life, researchers from Harvard University in the US and Reichman University in Israel quizzed 6,114 highly-educated and scientifically interested people with degrees, postgraduate qualifications and doctorates.


Watch: Fishing on a frozen river for respite from the war in Ukraine

BBC News

Kyiv is many miles from the front line, but Ukraine's war with Russia is never far away - with Moscow's missile and drone attacks directed at the city almost every day. On the frozen surface of the mighty River Dnipro, the BBC speaks to men who spend hours fishing to take their minds off the almost four-year-old conflict, which has left homes with no heating after Russian strikes on power stations. Drilling holes in the ice of the river in the heart of the city, these ice-fisherman - many of them veterans with friends and family at the front - hope to catch small fish, and a little respite. Authorities deliberately triggered the avalanche on Mount Elbrus to release a build up of snow. The limited deployment involves Germany, France, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands and the UK.


TEPCO reports error at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant

The Japan Times

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco) said Saturday that an alert system did not work during a test operation held the day prior as part of the restart of the No. 6 reactor at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture. The company is working to identify the cause of the problem, but failure to resolve it soon may affect its plan to restart the reactor on Tuesday. According to Tepco, the problem was confirmed at 12:36 p.m., and it stopped the test operation. The alert system is designed to activate when a control rod is being pulled out of the reactor while another rod is already out. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa reactor would be the first of Tepco's nuclear reactors to be restarted since the March 2011 accident at its tsunami-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.


I left my toxic mums' group because I'd had enough of being judged

BBC News

I left my toxic mums' group because I'd had enough of being judged Martina loved the idea of a baby signing class. As well as teaching her baby to communicate with simple hand gestures, she'd be able to meet other mothers in her area. But after the third session, Martina scooped up her newborn and walked out. She'd had enough of being judged. She says the other mothers scoffed at her parenting choices - she bottle-feeds her son - and seemed to disapprove of her choosing to deliver her baby by caesarean section.