Industry
Waymo's robotaxi fleet is being recalled again, this time for failing to stop for school buses
Waymo's robotaxi fleet is being recalled again, this time for failing to stop for school buses This voluntary recall follows a federal investigation that claimed the robotaxis illegally passed stopped school buses. To prevent its robotaxi fleet from passing stopped school buses, Waymo is issuing another software recall in 2025. While it's not a traditional recall that pulls vehicles from the road, Waymo is voluntarily updating software for its autonomous fleet in response to an investigation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. According to Waymo, the recall will be filed with the federal agency early next week. Mauricio Peña, Waymo's chief safety officer, said in a statement that Waymo sees far fewer crashes involving pedestrians than human drivers, but that the company knows when our behavior should be better.
Deadly attack on kindergarten reported in Sudan
A drone attack on the town of Kalogi, in Sudan's South Kordofan region, is said to have hit a kindergarten and killed at least 50 people, including 33 children. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group battling the army in Sudan's civil war, was accused of Thursday's attack by a medical organisation, the Sudan Doctors' Network, and the army. There was no immediate comment from the RSF. The RSF in turn accused the army of hitting a market on Friday in a drone attack in the Darfur region, on a fuel depot at the Adre border crossing with Chad. Sudan has been ravaged by war since April 2023 when a power struggle broke out between the RSF and the army, who were formerly allies .
5 captivating images from National Geographic's Pictures of the Year
'Individually, these photographs speak to beauty, fragility, and wonder.' A sperm whale floats amid shards of polar pack ice, dead and decomposing, mouth hanging open. When photographer Roie Galitz captured the scene with a drone, the image was so arresting that it took a moment to notice the hungry female polar bear stretching her jaw to break through the whale's leathery skin. Galitz was leading a photography expedition along Norway's Svalbard archipelago when he spotted a blackened blob floating on the horizon. As the icebreaker drew close, he could see (and smell) that the blob was a massive decaying carcass releasing an occasional exhalation of noxious gas, like a big air cushion.
Artificial intelligence research has a slop problem, academics say: 'It's a mess'
The author, Kevin Zhu, now runs Algoverse, an AI research and mentoring company for high schoolers. The author, Kevin Zhu, now runs Algoverse, an AI research and mentoring company for high schoolers. Artificial intelligence research has a slop problem, academics say: 'It's a mess' AI research in question as author claims to have written over 100 papers on AI that one expert calls a'disaster' A single person claims to have authored 113 academic papers on artificial intelligence this year, 89 of which will be presented this week at one of the world's leading conference on AI and machine learning, which has raised questions among computer scientists about the state of AI research. Zhu himself graduated from high school in 2018. Papers he has put out in the past two years cover subjects like using AI to locate nomadic pastoralists in sub-Saharan Africa, to evaluate skin lesions, and to translate Indonesian dialects.
Lenovo Legion Go Gen 2 Review: A High-End Gaming Handheld
This premium gaming handheld loads up with features for power users, but Windows still holds it back from being the easy option. Performance is better than previous-generation handhelds. Detachable controllers are comfortable and improve usability. Windows on a handheld is still frustrating. Many companies have tried and failed to produce gaming handhelds that run Windows, and it's not hard to see the appeal.
The strange Wild West tale of the first cow-buffalo hybrid
Inside cowboy Charles Jesse "Buffalo" Jones's get-rich-quick scheme to restore the plains 100 years ago. By 1888, Charles Jesse "Buffalo" Jones had succeeded in crossbreeding a buffalo with cow, a hybrid he claimed would be as tasty as beef and as hardy as buffalo. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. The "cattalo" was a homely creature--stocky and shaggy, with a slight buffalo's hump and a cow's docile face. Charles "Buffalo" Jones invented the cow-buffalo hybrid in 1888.
A Marvel beat-'em-up, long-awaited survival horror and other new indie games worth checking out
Plus, an RPG made with 3D ASCII art and a bizarre idle game that features geese and human fingers. Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. It's from Tribute Games and publisher Dotemu, the same pair that brought us . It's an enjoyable enough game, largely thanks to the variety of characters and how differently they play. Captain America is one of my favorites.
Why Tehran Is Running Out of Water
Because of shifting storms and sweltering summers, Iran's capital faces a future "Day Zero" when the taps run dry. During the summer of 2025, Iran experienced an exceptional heat wave, with daytime temperatures across several regions, including Tehran, approaching 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) and forcing the temporary closure of public offices and banks. During this period, major reservoirs supplying the Tehran region reached record-low levels, and water supply systems came under acute strain . By early November, the reservoir behind Amir Kabir Dam, a main source of drinking water for Tehran, had dropped to about 8 percent of its capacity . The present crisis reflects not only this summer's extreme heat but also several consecutive years of reduced precipitation and ongoing drought conditions across Iran.