Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

A pretty fundamental rule of political physics in our age: If you criticize Donald Trump, he roars back.Which makes what’s happening now worth noting: Elon Musk is criticizing Donald Trump, and Trump … isn’t responding.As you likely know by now, on Monday afternoon, Musk used his X account to complain about the Republican budget bill — the one that’s supposed to be Trump’s signature legislation, and the one that’s literally called the “One Big Beautiful Bill” act because that’s the name Trump likes.More specifically: Musk called the bill “a disgusting abomination.””Shame on those who voted for it: you know you…

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear stepped up his efforts Wednesday to guarantee preschool access for every 4-year-old in the state, offering assurances his plan would reap widespread benefits — improving student performance while bolstering employment and family budgets.Having been stymied by the state’s GOP-supermajority legislature in recent years when he pitched his universal pre-K plan, Beshear kicked off a high-profile campaign in hopes of building grassroots support. It comes about seven months before lawmakers convene in January for their 2026 session, which could be the term-limited governor’s last realistic chance to turn his ambitious preschool plan…

OpenAI’s ChatGPT is adding new features for business users, including integrations with different cloud services, meeting recording, and MCP connection support for connecting to tools for deep research. As part of the launch, ChatGPT is gaining connectors for Dropbox, Box, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Google Drive. This allows ChatGPT to look for information across users’ own services to answer their questions. For instance, an analyst could use the company’s slide deck and documents to build out an investment thesis. OpenAI said that the new feature will follow an organization’s access control hierarchy. Recording and transcription of meetings, now a table-stakes feature…

WINDER, Ga. (AP) — Officials in the Georgia school district where four people were killed in a September shooting at Apalachee High School are considering a property tax increase to pay for school-based police officers.Barrow County Superintendent Dallas LeDuff told school board members Tuesday that the tax increase would be necessary because county government has informed the school district that it will no longer pay for sheriff’s deputies, local news outlets reported.The school district and Barrow County Commission have been splitting the price of deputies assigned as school resource officers since 2017. That number was originally 12, rose to 16…

KJ Muldoon, a 10-month-old baby who sparked nationwide headlines after receiving a first-of-its kind gene-editing treatment, was released from the hospital this week.KJ has spent the majority of his life at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia after being diagnosed with a one-in-a-million, deadly genetic disease shortly after birth. Working quickly, his doctors were able to use new gene-editing technology called CRISPR, designing a bespoke treatment just for him.Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia – PHOTO: KJ Muldoon and his parents prepare for the journey home after he received the first-of-its-kind treatment.MORE: Doctors save baby’s life with first-ever gene fix for deadly rare diseaseThe…

U.S. agriculture officials are warning that ground beef sold at Whole Foods markets nationwide may be contaminated with potentially dangerous E. coli bacteria.Officials on Tuesday issued a public health alert for 1-pound, vacuum-packed packages of Organic Rancher beef, produced on May 22 and May 23, by NPC Processing Inc., of Shelburne, Vermont. The products have use-by dates of June 19 and June 20.The U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service did not request a recall because the products are no longer available for purchase. However, they may still be in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers.The meat was produced in Australia or Uruguay…

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Justice Department on Wednesday sought to block a Texas law that for decades has given college students without legal residency in the U.S. access to reduced in-state tuition rates, widening the Trump administration’s crackdown over immigration.Texas was the first state in the nation in 2001 to pass a law allowing “Dreamers,” or young adults without legal status, to be eligible for in-state tuition if they meet certain residency criteria. While two dozen states have since enacted similar laws, the Justice Department brought the challenge against a state that has been an ally in Trump’s hardline…

CNN  —  The original cast of “Back to the Future” has reunited – not for a reboot, but to help locate a piece of movie history that went missing about 40 years ago. A hunt is underway for the cherry red Gibson ES-345 guitar, which was played by Michael J. Fox in the 1985 movie as part of the pivotal “Enchantment Under the Sea” school dance scene. Filmmakers tried to locate the instrument during production of the 1989 sequel, but they were unsuccessful. In a video released by guitar company Gibson on Tuesday, Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Harry…

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen signed into law Wednesday a measure banning transgender students from girls’ sports, making the state the latest to keep transgender athletes from competing on women’s and girls’ teams.Pillen signed the law flanked by dozens of lawmakers, women athletes and other advocates — including former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines, who has made a name for herself as a vocal advocate of banning transgender athletes from women’s sports.The measure passed by the Nebraska Legislature last week broke a filibuster by a single vote cast along party lines. It was pared down from its initial…

American streets are incredibly dangerous for pedestrians. A San Carlos, California-based startup called Obvio thinks it can change that by installing cameras at stop signs — a solution the founders also say won’t create a panopticon.  That’s a bold claim at a time when other companies like Flock have been criticized for how its license plate-reading cameras have become a crucial tool in an overreaching surveillance state.  Obvio founders Ali Rehan and Dhruv Maheshwari believe they can build a big enough business without indulging those worst impulses. They’ve designed the product with surveillance and data-sharing limitations to ensure they can…