Latest News

Last updated 27 Mar, 03:51 AM

BBC News

Beyond oil: The crucial exports blocked by Hormuz closure - The price of a wide range of goods - from food, to smartphones, to medicines - could be affected by the US-Israel war with Iran.

Under-5s should not be on screens for more than an hour a day, parents told in new government advice - New government guidance suggests avoiding fast-paced children's content and sharing screen time where possible.

Mandelson personal phone messages requested for files release - Officials are set to publish more documents related to his appointment as UK ambassador to the US - but have so far only had access to the peer's work phone.

US lawmaker makes direct plea to Sarah Ferguson to testify over 'close Epstein ties' - The letter, seen by the BBC, also called on Ferguson to share any knowledge about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's links to Epstein.

Olivia Dean's streak continues as she wins big at Mobo Awards - The pop star secured three of the biggest awards of the night as the show celebrated its 30th anniversary.

The Register

China’s not thrilled its AI experts want to leave the country - Urges scientists to avoid major conference, and looks unkindly on Meta's Manus acquisition China appears to be unhappy about its brightest AI talent going offshore, either to visit or to sell their wares.…

Anthropic tweaks timed usage limits to discourage Claude demand during peak hours - AI biz makes some Claude conversations more costly to manage capacity Anthropic on Wednesday adjusted its opaque usage limits for Claude customers by reducing the power of the services it delivers during times of peak demand, in an effort to balance demand with its capacity to deliver service.…

AI companies lick their chops as FCC proposes forcing call center onshoring - You actually thing companies are going to pay Americans to take customer service calls in the AI age? Uncle Sam is trying to make American call centers great again. The question is whether they will be great because they're filled with local workers or whether this will provide yet another excuse for companies to turn customer service jobs over to AI.…

AWS would prefer to forget March ever happened in its UAE region - Cloud giant waives an entire month of charges, then erases the billing data. There is literally nothing to see here. I received an email / billing notification from AWS this week that may be the most diplomatically crafted communication in the history of cloud computing. Here it is, stripped of the usual boilerplate around it:…

AMD’s new desktop CPU oozes cache out of all 16 cores - Turns out massive caches are good for more than games. House of Zen boasts 5-13% perf boost over prior-gen part AMD aims to extend its lead in desktop gaming with a new CPU, dubbed the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition. This top-of-the-line part has 16 cores fed by an absolutely massive 208 MB pool of cache, with memory spread across both CCDs.…

New Scientist - Home

First glimpse of sperm whale birth reveals teamwork to support newborn - A female sperm whale has been filmed giving birth for the first time, supported by 10 adult females who lifted the calf out of the water and protected it from predators

Fossils discovered in Egypt may be the closest ancestor of all apes - Pieces of jawbone and teeth found in Egypt have been identified as a new early ape species named Masripithecus moghraensis, which lived about 17 million years ago

Computer finds flaw in major physics paper for first time - A computer language designed to robustly verify mathematical theorems and expose logical flaws has been turned towards a physics paper – and spotted an error. The discovery raises questions about how many other papers may harbour similar issues

A variety of jungle animals all use one type of tree as a latrine - In the cloud forest of Costa Rica, many canopy-dwelling animals do their business in strangler fig trees, perhaps as a way of leaving messages

The Selfish Gene: Still one of the most thrilling evolution books ever - Fifty years ago, Richard Dawkins shared an irresistible scientific metaphor with the world that modernised and democratised evolutionary biology. Half a century on, The Selfish Gene remains powerfully insightful, finds Rowan Hooper

Hacker News

Show HN: I put an AI agent on a $7/month VPS with IRC as its transport layer - Comments

Why so many control rooms were seafoam green (2025) - Comments

Apple discontinues the Mac Pro - Comments

From 0% to 36% on Day 1 of ARC-AGI-3 - Comments

Judge blocks Pentagon effort to 'punish' Anthropic with supply chain risk label - Comments

Slashdot

Apple Gives FBI a User's Real Name Hidden Behind 'Hide My Email' Feature - An anonymous reader quotes a report from 404 Media: Apple provided the FBI with the real iCloud email address hidden behind Apple's 'Hide My Email' feature, which lets paying iCloud+ users generate anonymous email addresses, according to a recently filed court record. The move isn't surprising but still provides uncommon insight into what data is available to authorities regarding the Apple feature. The data was turned over during an investigation into a man who allegedly sent a threatening email to Alexis Wilkins, the girlfriend of FBI director Kash Patel. "On or about February 28, 2026, Person 1 received an email from the email address peaty_terms_1o@icloud.com," the affidavit reads. Earlier on, the document explicitly says that Person 1 is Alexis Wilkins. [...] The affidavit says Apple then provided records that indicated the peaty_terms_1o@icloud.com email address was associated with an Apple account in the name of Alden Ruml. The records showed that account generated 134 anonymized email addresses, according to the affidavit. Law enforcement agents later interviewed Ruml and he confirmed he had sent the email, the affidavit says. Ruml said he sent the email after reading a February 28 article about how the FBI was using its own resources to provide security to Wilkins. The specific article is not named or linked in the affidavit, but a New York Times article published that same day described how Patel ordered a team to ferry his girlfriend on errands and to events. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Apple Discontinues Mac Pro - Apple has discontinued the Mac Pro and says it has no plans for future models. "The 'buy' page on Apple's website for the Mac Pro now redirects to the Mac's homepage, where all references have been removed," reports 9to5Mac. From the report: The Mac Pro has lived many lives over the years. Apple released the current Mac Pro industrial design in 2019 alongside the Pro Display XDR (which was also discontinued earlier this month). That version of the Mac Pro was powered by Intel, and Apple refreshed it with the M2 Ultra chip in June 2023. It has gone without an update since then, languishing at its $6,999 price point even as Apple debuted the M3 Ultra chip in the Mac Studio last year. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Senators Demand to Know How Much Energy Data Centers Use - Elizabeth Warren and Josh Hawley are pressing the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to provide better information on how much electricity data centers actually use. In a joint letter sent to the EIA on Thursday, the two senators press the agency to publicly collect "comprehensive, annual energy-use disclosures" on data centers, saying it's "essential for accurate grid planning and will support policymaking to prevent large companies from increasing electricity costs for American families." Wired reports: In December, EIA administrator Tristan Abbey said at a roundtable that he expects the EIA "is going to be an essential player in providing objective data and analysis to policymakers" with respect to data centers. The agency announced on Wednesday that it would be conducting a voluntary pilot program to collect energy consumption information from nearly 200 companies operating data centers in Texas, Washington, and Virginia, which will cover "energy sources, electricity consumption, site characteristics, server metrics, and cooling systems." While the senators praise the EIA pilot program, their letter includes several questions about how the agency plans to move forward with more data collection, such as whether or not the energy surveys will be mandatory and whether or not the EIA will collect information on behind-the-meter power. This information will be especially crucial, the senators say, to make sure that big tech companies that signed the agreement at the White House earlier this month pledging that consumers won't bear the costs of data center electricity use will stick to their promises. "Without this data, policymakers, utility companies, and local communities are operating in the dark," the senators write. The EIA mandates that other industries, including oil and gas and manufacturing, provide regular data to the agency; Hawley and Warren assert that the EIA should be able to collect similar information from data centers under the same provision. The provision is broad enough, Peskoe says, that it could absolutely be interpreted to encompass data centers. Yesterday, Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced a bill that would "enact a reasonable pause to the development of AI to ensure the safety of humanity." It calls for a federal moratorium on AI data centers until stronger national safeguards are in place around safety, jobs, privacy, energy costs, and environmental impact. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

JPMorgan Starts Monitoring Investment Banker Screen Time To Prevent Burnout - JPMorgan is piloting a system that monitors junior investment bankers to avoid burnout (source paywalled; alternative source). "[T]he bank will seek to match up hours claimed by the bankers with digital activity," reports Bloomberg. "The tool won't be used for evaluation purposes, but is designed to provide a better estimate of employee workloads." From the report: The program will monitor the weekly digital footprint, including video calls, desktop keystrokes, and scheduled meetings, the Financial Times reported earlier, adding JPMorgan plans to roll out the effort more widely across its investment bank. Banks on Wall Street are known for heavy working hours, but can in return offer salaries of as much as $200,000 for entry-level analyst and associate roles. "Much like the weekly screen time summaries on a smartphone, this tool is about awareness -- not enforcement," a representative for JPMorgan said in a statement. "It's designed to support transparency, well-being, and encourage open conversations about workload." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Vizio TVs Now Require Walmart Accounts For Smart Features - An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Prospective Vizio TV buyers should know there's a good chance the set won't work properly without a Walmart account. In an attempt to better serve advertisers, Walmart, which bought Vizio in December 2024, announced this week that select newly purchased Vizio TVs now require a Walmart account for setup and accessing smart TV features. Since 2024, Vizio TVs have required a Vizio account, which a Vizio OS website says is necessary for accessing "exclusive offers, subscription management, and tailored support." Accounts are also central to Vizio's business, which is largely driven by ads and tracking tied to its OS. A Walmart spokesperson confirmed to Ars Technica that Walmart accounts will be mandatory on "select new Vizio OS TVs" for owners to complete onboarding and to use smart TV features. The representative added: "Customers who already have an existing Vizio account are being given the option to merge their Vizio account with their Walmart account. Customers with an existing Vizio account can opt out by deleting their Vizio account." The representative wouldn't confirm which TV models are affected. Walmart's representative said the Walmart account integration is "designed to respect consumer choice and privacy, with data used in aggregated, permissioned, and compliant ways" but didn't specify how. Read more of this story at Slashdot.