Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

As some politicians continue to emphasize personal choice when it comes to vaccinations, doctors and infectious disease specialists point out that getting vaccinated not only protects the individual, but also the community.While currently available vaccines have been FDA-approved as safe and effective, no vaccine offers 100% protection. Because of this, individual protection from a particular disease is based not just on whether you are vaccinated against it, but also on whether those around you are vaccinated. That’s because vaccinations reduce the opportunity for a disease to spread.If you are less likely to be exposed, experts say, you are less likely…

Having built and sold e-commerce shipping startup Deliverr to Shopify for $2.1 billion in 2022, co-founder and CEO Harish Abbott knows the logistics industry well. Abbott felt that many manual tasks in logistics could be automated using AI. That’s why last year he launched Augment, which offers an AI assistant called “Augie” that can take over tedious and repetitive work performed by freight shippers, carriers, and brokers. On Thursday, Augment announced that it raised an $85 million Series A led by Redpoint, with participation from 8VC, Autotech Ventures, and others. The massive round comes just five months after the startup…

People who use their smartphones while sitting on the toilet face are at higher risk for painful, itchy hemorrhoids, according to new research published in the journal PLOS One.Researchers investigated the bathroom habits of 125 adults undergoing screening colonoscopies at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. About two-thirds of participants reported scrolling through their smartphones while sitting on the toilet.Those who were glued to their phone while using the bathroom were 46% more likely to have hemorrhoids compared to those who left their device in another room.MORE: Kids who own smartphones before age 13 have worse mental health outcomes:…

BOHEMIA, N.Y. (AP) — A school district in New York City’s suburbs agreed this week to change its “Thunderbirds” nickname to simply the “T-Birds” in order to comply with the state’s mandate to retire all Native American sports names and mascots.According to the deal, Connetquot Central School District on Long Island would be allowed to continue using imagery such as an eagle, thunderbolt or lightning bolt, so long as it can attest the “T-Birds” moniker has “never been associated with any Indigenous imagery of any kind.”But Native American advocates complain the proposed name change still falls short of the spirit…

NEW YORK (AP) — On Aryna Sabalenka’s first chance to end her U.S. Open semifinal against Jessica Pegula for the chance to play for a second consecutive trophy, the defending champion dumped what should have been an easy overhead into the net, then stared at the ground.On Sabalenka’s second chance, she missed a clumsy volley — and maybe shouldn’t have even ventured forward, because she went just 15 for 27 when up at the net. Uh, oh.So good at important moments in the high-stakes, high-tension final set, Sabalenka held it together there and held on, converting her third match point…

Want a discount on electric vehicles? Better act fast.Drivers in the US have until September 30 to qualify for federal EV tax credits, which President Donald Trump axed as part of his “Big Beautiful Bill.” The tax and spending bill, passed by Congress in July, eliminated a $7,500 tax credit for new EVs and a $4,000 tax credit for used EVs.The decision is a blow to American EV manufacturers like Tesla, which could see a drop in sales as drivers reconsider the higher cost. However, some automakers say they expect a temporary boost in EV sales as people race to…

NEW YORK (AP) — Tennis great Björn Borg reveals in the last chapter of his upcoming memoir, “Heartbeats,” that he was diagnosed with an “extremely aggressive” prostate cancer, and he told The Associated Press that it is in remission after an operation in 2024.“I have nothing right now. But every six months I have to go and check myself. The whole process, it’s not a fun thing,” Borg, 69, said in a recent video interview with the AP from his home in Stockholm. “But I’m OK. I’m fine. And I’m feeling very good.”Borg won 11 Grand Slam singles titles —…

Joe Lonsdale, the cofounder of Palantir and founding partner of Austin-based venture capital firm 8VC, said Thursday he was “uncomfortable” with the government’s $8.9 billion investment in Intel.”It’s very weird, of course, for the government to be taking a stake in something,” Lonsdale said on CNBC’s Squawk Box. “It’s also a little bit weird for the government to be giving $9 billion to a company, too.””It’s cronyism in some form,” he added. Cronyism, the milder cousin of nepotism, is the practice of giving jobs and benefits to friends.The funds are coming in part from the US CHIPS and Science Act,…

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Amari Cooper retired Thursday, a little more than a week after signing a one-year contract to return to the Las Vegas Raiders.Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said Cooper called coach Pete Carroll on Thursday morning and gave him the news.“It’s unfortunate because I think the world of him,” Kelly said. “I think he’s a heck of a football player. He’s had a heck of an NFL career, but he knows in his heart what he wants to do, so I wish him the best. I’ve always been a big fan of…

Google’s latest video-generation model, Veo 3, is coming to Google Photos. The new model, available on the mobile app’s Create tab, will allow users in the U.S. to turn their still images into video clips. Google Photos already offers video generation through its recently added “Photo to video” feature, but the company says the addition of Veo 3 enhances that functionality with higher-quality video. The launch also represents how the company is working to bring its latest AI tech to consumers through its products — Google Photos, for instance, had over 1.5 billion monthly active users as of May 2025.…