Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA
WASHINGTON (AP) — Heat waves that lead to sudden and damaging drought are spreading across the globe at an accelerating rate, highlighting how climate change-fueled extremes can build dangerously off each other, a new study found.Researchers from South Korea and Australia looked at compound extreme weather — a one-two punch of heat and drought — and found it increasing as the world warms. But what’s rising especially fast is the more damaging type when the heat comes first and that triggers the drought. In the 1980s, that kind of extreme covered only about 2.5% of Earth’s land each year. By…
In a recent security partnership with Mozilla, Anthropic found 22 separate vulnerabilities in Firefox — 14 of them classified as “high-severity.” Most of the bugs have been fixed in Firefox 148 (the version released this February), although a few fixes will have to wait for the next release. Anthropic’s team used Claude Opus 4.6 over the span of two weeks, starting in the javascript engine and then expanding to other portions of the codebase. According to the post, the team focused on Firefox because “it’s both a complex codebase and one of the most well-tested and secure open-source projects in…
March 6 (Reuters) – Measles cases in South Carolina rose to 991 on Friday, state health data showed, an increase of one case since Tuesday as the nation’s largest outbreak in decades shows signs of slowing.* The state has seen a 70% increase in vaccination inFebruary, compared with the same month last year. * Three CDC “disease detectives” from the agency’s EpidemicIntelligence Service are expected to arrive in the state nextweek to help analyze data collected during the outbreak,according to state health officials. * Last week, Reuters reported that a dozen non-CDC publichealth experts paid for by the nonprofit CDC…
The Pentagon has officially designated Anthropic a supply-chain risk after the two failed to agree on how much control the military should have over its AI models, including its use in autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance. As Anthropic’s $200 million contract fell apart, the DoD turned to OpenAI instead, which accepted and then watched ChatGPT uninstalls surge 295%. As the stakes keep rising, the question remains: how much unrestricted access should the military have to an AI model? Watch as Equity hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O’Kane break down what startups should know about chasing federal AI contracts, plus the week’s biggest tech stories, from Paramount’s Warner Bros. deal and MyFitnessPal’s Cal…
The Pentagon has officially designated Anthropic a supply-chain risk after the two failed to agree on how much control the military should have over its AI models, including its use in autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance. As Anthropic’s $200 million contract fell apart, the DoD turned to OpenAI instead, which accepted and then watched ChatGPT uninstalls surge 295%. As the stakes keep rising, the question remains: how much unrestricted access should the military have to an AI model? On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O’Kane dig into what startups should think about when chasing federal contracts, especially when nobody seems to know what to do with AI in Washington, and…
Claude’s daily active users are on the rise on mobile devices, as are its new app installs, following the company’s fallout with the Pentagon. After Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei refused to allow the government to use its AI systems for mass surveillance of Americans or to power fully autonomous weapons, the AI model provider behind Claude was marked as a supply-chain risk. However, Anthropic’s stance led many consumers to favor the model, data suggests. App intelligence provider Appfigures reports that the U.S. downloads of Claude’s mobile app continue to surpass those of ChatGPT. The most recent figures from March 2 show Claude with…
By Sriparna RoyMarch 6 (Reuters) – Tylenol use among pregnant women fell after U.S. President Donald Trump linked autism to the over-the-counter pain relief medicine, according to an analysis of U.S. emergency room prescribing patterns published in the UK medical journal Lancet.In September, Trump said pregnant women should avoid using Tylenol, the brand name for the product known as acetaminophen or paracetamol owned by Kenvue. Health officials cited research claiming prenatal Tylenol use is linked with neurodevelopmental disorders to back up his statement.The decrease in Tylenol prescribing appeared to wane after several weeks, possibly in response to messaging from trusted…
Anthropic economists say that AI use is far from reaching its full potential to disrupt the labor market.Using their new measure, they found the five most exposed occupations to be: Computer programmers, customer service representatives, data entry keyers, medical record specialists, and market research analysts and marketing specialists.AI has yet to significantly affect the unemployment rate for workers in these highly exposed professions, economists Maxim Massenkoff and Peter McCrory wrote. The pair said there is “suggestive evidence” that the hiring of young workers in those fields has slowed.Our measure, “observed exposure,” compares the tasks LLMs are theoretically capable of to…
Frito-Lay issued a voluntary recall for Miss Vickie’s Spicy Dill Pickle Potato Chips sold in six states as they contain undeclared milk that could cause “serious or life-threatening allergic reaction,” according to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.The recall of 8 oz. bags of chips, including the jalapeño-flavored potato chips, was issued on Wednesday after a consumer contacted the company. No other Miss Vickie’s products were recalled.”Unless a consumer has a dairy allergy or sensitivity to milk, this product is safe to consume,” Frito-Lay said in a statement.The products were sold in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Most of America “springs forward” Sunday for daylight saving time. Losing that hour of sleep can do more than leave you tired and cranky the next day; it also could harm your health.Darker mornings and more evening light knock your body clock out of whack — which means daylight saving time can usher in sleep trouble for weeks or longer. Studies have even found an uptick in heart attacks and strokes right after the March time change.There are ways to ease the adjustment, including getting more sunshine to help reset your circadian rhythm for healthful sleep.When does…