Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

Google on Wednesday launched its AI coding agent, Jules, out of beta, just over two months after its public preview debut in May. Powered by Gemini 2.5 Pro, Jules is an asynchronous, agent-based coding tool that integrates with GitHub, clones codebases into Google Cloud virtual machines, and uses AI to fix or update code while developers focus on other tasks. Google initially announced Jules as a Google Labs project in December and made it available to beta testers through a public preview at its I/O developer conference. Kathy Korevec, director of product at Google Labs, told TechCrunch that the tool’s…

NEW YORK (AP) — Gavin Williams came within two outs of Cleveland’s first no-hitter in 44 years before Juan Soto homered with one out in the ninth inning, and the Guardians completed a three-game sweep of the reeling New York Mets with a 4-1 win Wednesday.Williams (7-4) walked three and struck out six, including Francisco Lindor to lead off the ninth. But Soto homered just beyond the leaping grasp of center fielder Angel Martínez two pitches later for the Mets’ first hit since the fourth inning of Tuesday’s 3-2 loss. The Guardians have not thrown a no-hitter since Len Barker…

A new startup, Lava Payments, aims to take on payment giants by building a solution for the modern web where AI agents now handle transactions for their customers. The idea came to founder Mitchell Jones after he left his earlier Y Combinator-backed fintech startup, Lendtable, as he began to experiment with AI. He saw the potential to build out a system that would make using AI and agent payments simpler and more developer-friendly. While experimenting with an AI app and trying to build what he thought was something simple, he realized he quickly spent more than $400 trying to build…

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward and series officials were shocked by a social media post from the Department of Homeland Security that touts plans for an immigration detention center in Indiana dubbed “Speedway Slammer,” and includes a car with the same number as the only Mexican driver in the series.“It caught a lot of people off guard. Definitely caught me off guard,” O’Ward said Wednesday. “I was just a little bit shocked at the coincidences of that and, you know, of what it means. … I don’t think it made a lot of people proud, to say…

Companies across many industries are implementing AI agents for internal use, automating a wide range of tasks. In the financial sector, AI agents are critical for fraud detection. They can analyze vast amounts of transaction data in real time. Meanwhile, sales organizations are using AI agents to gather data on potential customers. These AI sales agents can scour the web and social media for information. To be effective, these agents need to access the internet and find information from relevant sources, all while following company policies and mirroring how a human researcher would work. Connecting an agent directly to a…

Three people have died and more than 60 others are sickened in a growing Legionnaires’ disease cluster in New York City, according to officials.The cluster, which began July 25, has led to 67 Legionnaires’ disease diagnoses in Central Harlem as of Aug. 5, according to the NYC Department of Health’s latest update.The source of the cluster is believed to be a cooling tower in the area, according to the agency.Legionnaires’ disease is a severe pneumonia caused by a type of bacteria called Legionella, which grows in warm water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Legionnaires’ disease: What to know about…

NEW YORK (AP) — Two hard hit comebackers in the first inning Wednesday afternoon had Gavin Williams worrying about the direction his start would take against the New York Mets.Instead, the Cleveland Guardians right-hander nearly made history.Williams came within two outs of Cleveland’s first no-hitter in 44 years before Juan Soto homered with one out in the ninth and Hunter Gaddis finished the combined one-hitter in a 4-1 win.“Man, it was that close,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “I thought he was going to get it.”Williams wasn’t thinking no-hitter after an eventful first. Francisco Lindor’s 107.2 mph liner on Williams’…

NEW YORK (AP) — The toll of wildfires is usually counted in acres burnt, property destroyed and lives lost to smoke and flames. But three studies published Wednesday suggest the cost to human health from the Maui and Los Angeles wildfires was substantially higher.Two of the papers explore what happened after the Hawaii fire in August 2023 — one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires in a century. A third looks at the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year.The Maui fire was directly blamed for more than 100 deaths. But it also left 1 in 5 with lung damage and as…

Powerful bass is an essential part of a high-quality sound system. Without it, movies and TV shows can sound too thin and deflated, lacking the weight and depth that dedicated low frequencies bring. Many soundbars use integrated woofers to provide bass, but this method has limitations. That’s why we’ve rounded up the best soundbars with full-fledged subwoofers. These models include separate subwoofer units to offer room-shaking oomph while watching your favorite action flicks.After extensive hands-on testing, we recommend the Samsung HW-Q990C as the best soundbar with a subwoofer. This powerful multi-piece system offers immersive surround sound with Dolby Atmos support…

Uber’s gig-worker drivers have some stiff competition from self-driving cars when it comes to productivity.So far, Uber has started offering rides in Waymo’s autonomous vehicles in Atlanta and Austin.”In both cases, the average Waymo is busier than 99% of our drivers in terms of completed trips per day,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said during the company’s earnings call on Wednesday.That’s great news for the future of self-driving cars on Uber’s app, Khosrowshahi said, since it provides a proof point for the banks and other investors that the company will eventually need to finance its rollout of AVs. Besides Waymo, Uber…