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Breaking news and analysis from the world of technology
The movie Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is a new slasher film that mixes horror and humor. It uses classic filmmaking tricks called matte paintings to create dreamy, emotional backgrounds, making the story more immersive.
Key Facts
The film is directed by Jane Schoenbrun and stars Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson.
It follows Kris, a queer film director working on a reboot of a politically incorrect camp horror franchise.
The story blends slasher horror with fantasy and psychological themes.
Matte painting is an old film technique that involves painting on glass to create backgrounds.
The production team revived this technique to create emotional and immersive set designs.
They researched old books and blogs to figure out how to do matte paintings since the original methods were not well known.
Scenic artist Joel Rodriguez created five matte paintings for the film.
The director used these paintings to show the main character’s changing emotions and to add visual creativity to the scenes.
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OpenAI has introduced ChatGPT for Teens, a version of its AI chatbot made for 13 to 17-year-olds with extra safety features to protect against harmful content. The chatbot helps teens with homework by guiding them to learn rather than just giving answers, and includes parental controls and protections to support healthy and age-appropriate use.
Key Facts
ChatGPT for Teens is designed specifically for users aged 13 to 17.
It restricts conversations about sensitive topics like suicide, self-harm, and romantic or sexual subjects.
The chatbot aims to help teens learn by providing homework support without simply giving answers.
Parents can set “quiet hours” when teens cannot use the chatbot and receive notifications for safety concerns.
The AI is programmed not to suggest it has feelings or consciousness to prevent emotional overreliance.
OpenAI estimates user age through their questions, automatically switching minors to the teen version.
Using parental controls requires both teen and parent to opt in, but safety features work even without them.
This product launch follows concerns about AI chatbots’ effects on teens, including cheating and mental health risks.
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Federal regulators recently approved Zoox’s driverless taxi, which does not have a steering wheel, for public use in Las Vegas. This raises new questions about who is responsible if an accident happens inside these self-driving cars.
Key Facts
Zoox’s robotaxi has no steering wheel and drives itself.
Federal regulators approved the car for commercial use late last month.
The robotaxi will start operating in Las Vegas soon.
People will be able to pay to ride in the driverless taxis.
A main concern is who is responsible if passengers get injured in an accident.
Traditional rules about driver responsibility do not directly apply to these cars.
The approval marks a new stage in the use of autonomous vehicles.
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A group of 29 U.S. states is suing Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, for allegedly harming children and teens by designing features that keep them using the apps for too long. The lawsuit seeks over $200 billion in damages and demands changes to how the social media platforms work for young users.
Key Facts
The lawsuit was filed in 2023 by a bipartisan group of state attorneys general, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
The states accuse Meta of breaking child privacy laws and creating addictive features to boost profits.
The case will be tried in federal court in California starting August 18, 2026.
Meta denies the allegations and says it supports young users with safety protections.
The states want Meta to remove infinite scrolling, autoplay videos, certain recommendation algorithms, appearance filters, disappearing content, multiple account creation, and notification practices.
The lawsuit cites violations of laws like the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
This case follows a previous ruling in New Mexico that fined Meta nearly $1 billion and ordered changes for minor protections.
If successful, this case could lead to major redesigns of Facebook and Instagram's services for young users.
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The UK government and Google UK are working together on a 30-month trial to reduce the climate impact of airplane contrails by changing flight altitudes over the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. Using Google’s artificial intelligence forecasts, air traffic controllers will direct some flights to adjust altitude slightly to avoid areas likely to form contrails, which trap heat and contribute to global warming.
Key Facts
The trial is called Operation Blue Skies and will run for 30 months with testing during the next two winters.
Flights crossing the Shanwick Oceanic Control Area between Europe and North America will be part of the study.
About 10,000 flights pass through this airspace during the tests, with 1% to 5% of flights altering their altitude by up to 2,000 feet (610 meters).
Contrails form when planes fly through cold, humid air, causing ice crystals to develop around engine soot, which traps heat in the atmosphere.
Google UK provides AI-powered forecasts to predict contrail-forming regions.
The UK government funds over half of the study’s cost, around £5 million ($6.76 million).
Contrails contribute roughly 1% to 2% of global warming, and reducing them could help lower the aviation sector’s climate impact.
Previous individual airline tests showed altitude changes reduced contrail formation; this trial expands efforts to control contrails over a larger airspace.
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Choosing the best clothes for extreme heat is more complex than just wearing light, loose fabrics. Scientists say the fabric type, weight, weave, fit, color, and activity level all influence how well clothing helps keep the body cool by allowing sweat to evaporate.
Key Facts
The body cools down mainly through sweat evaporating from the skin, so clothes should allow this process.
Lightweight, breathable fabrics that let air flow easily are best for cooling in hot weather.
How fabric fibers are woven or knitted affects breathability more than just fiber type.
Natural fibers like cotton and linen tend to be more breathable than synthetic ones.
"Wicking" fabrics move sweat away from the skin to help it dry faster but may not cool the skin as directly.
The fit of clothes matters; loose clothes help ventilation, but tighter fits may be better for active people.
Clothing designed to manage heat is an active area of scientific research due to rising global temperatures.
Other factors like clothing color and treatments on fabric can also impact heat comfort.
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Meta held an event in Australia to involve parenting influencers in promoting its safety tools for teens on Instagram. The company is trying to prevent bans on social media use by children under 16 by showing it offers features to keep teens safe, especially as Australia enforces a law banning social media use for under-16s starting December 2025.
Key Facts
In July 2025, Meta hosted a camping-themed event in Sydney with parenting influencers to promote Instagram safety tools for teens.
Australia passed a law banning children under 16 from using social media, effective December 2025.
Meta has safety features for teen accounts (ages 13–17) with extra restrictions compared to regular accounts.
Meta pays some influencers to promote these safety tools and argues banning teens pushes them to unsafe internet areas.
A 2025 Australian study found 96% of children aged 10–15 use social media and 71% were exposed to harmful content.
Meta has faced criticism and lawsuits in the US about teen exposure to harmful content and platform addictiveness.
Meta works with parent and advocacy groups to oppose teen bans and promote its safety controls.
Meta says it aims to help parents and experts ensure teens use social media safely when allowed.
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Researchers found a security flaw in Microsoft 365 Copilot Enterprise that let attackers get user passwords and other private information without permission. The flaw came from a secret web link trick that Copilot did not block properly, allowing automatic commands to run when a user clicked a link.
Key Facts
Microsoft Copilot is an AI assistant that normally requires user approval before running sensitive commands.
Security experts at Varonis tested if Copilot’s safety limits could be bypassed.
They discovered Copilot revealed an undocumented web link parameter named "?autorun=1" that skipped the approval step.
When combined with another parameter "?q=", this allowed automatic execution of commands embedded in a URL.
Using this, attackers could trick users into clicking links that made Copilot leak email contents or passwords.
Microsoft fixed part of the issue in February by blocking "?q=" from injecting text and introduced stronger fixes later.
The vulnerability was reported to Microsoft three months before the first mitigation.
Copilot’s responses about its own safety rules helped the researchers learn how to bypass them.
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Flock is a company that uses cameras to help with public safety. By 2025, it had over 120,000 cameras that helped with more than 1 million criminal investigations and incidents.
Key Facts
Flock operates more than 120,000 cameras.
These cameras assist with public safety efforts.
In 2025, Flock’s cameras supported over 1 million criminal investigations and incidents.
The company uses video technology to aid law enforcement.
Garrett Langley is the CEO of Flock.
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Audrey Hobert performed at NPR's Tiny Desk, showing strong singing skills but using awkward lyrics, dance moves, and facial expressions on purpose. While some viewers found her performance uncomfortable or "cringe," she aims to challenge traditional female pop star images, sparking mixed reactions online.
Key Facts
Audrey Hobert sang well during her Tiny Desk performance, with clear melodies and strong vocals.
Her lyrics are very casual and specific, sounding like personal voice notes set to music.
Her dance and expressions are intentionally awkward and exaggerated.
Hobert’s style contrasts with typical pop stars who often emphasize sex appeal.
Online commenters debated her appearance and even questioned her gender identity, based on her unique performance style.
Supporters argue the negative reactions were unfair and showed misunderstanding or sexism.
Hobert’s debut album is titled "Who’s the Clown?" signaling her acceptance of this unconventional style.
The controversy reflects how audiences react to female performers who break usual standards of polish and femininity.
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Sonic the Hedgehog was first released in 1991 and quickly became a popular video game character that helped boost sales of Sega’s console. Over 35 years, Sonic has grown beyond games into TV shows and a movie franchise making over $1 billion worldwide.
Key Facts
Sonic the Hedgehog launched in 1991 and helped Sega gain more players compared to Nintendo.
Sonic 2 introduced two-player mode, allowing cooperative play, despite a tight development schedule.
Takashi Iizuka has worked on Sonic games since 1992 and has been the series producer for almost 20 years.
Sonic became very popular in the US, not just as a game but also through TV cartoons and comic books.
The Sonic movie series has earned over $1 billion globally, attracting new fans beyond gamers.
Sonic teams up with partners like McLaren Racing to reach broader audiences.
The franchise has had ups and downs, but remains a significant part of gaming culture.
Sonic’s legacy is passed down through generations, connecting different age groups with the character.
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OpenAI is adding new safety features for users under 18 who use ChatGPT. These changes include stopping the chatbot from speaking in a human voice to teens, sending reminders to take breaks, and alerting parents about some harmful user requests.
Key Facts
ChatGPT will no longer respond with a human-like voice to users under 18.
Teen users will get regular reminders to take breaks and remember ChatGPT is AI.
Teen accounts become the default for users who say they are under 18 or are identified as teens by OpenAI.
Under-13s are not allowed to use ChatGPT.
Users can enable Study Mode during set hours to help with learning without giving direct answers.
Quiet times can be set to turn off ChatGPT temporarily for young users.
Harmful requests related to eating disorders will trigger alerts to parents with linked accounts.
OpenAI reviews alerts before sending them to parents, aiming for under an hour’s response time.
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OpenAI has launched a special version of its chatbot, ChatGPT, made just for teenagers aged 13 to 17. This version has extra safety features to block harmful or inappropriate content and aims to help teens use AI in a healthy and age-appropriate way.
Key Facts
ChatGPT for Teens is tailored for users aged 13 to 17 with stronger content protections.
It blocks topics like suicide, self-harm, and romantic or sexual conversations.
The chatbot helps with homework and study, focusing on learning rather than giving direct answers.
OpenAI wants to support teens’ development without treating them like kids or exposing them to harmful material.
Research showed that earlier versions of ChatGPT could provide risky advice to teens, such as instructions on drug use or self-harm.
More than 70% of U.S. teens use AI chatbots for companionship, and half use them regularly, according to a 2025 study.
ChatGPT for Teens avoids suggesting it has feelings or consciousness to prevent emotional overreliance.
OpenAI estimates users’ ages through the types of questions asked but does not verify age directly.
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Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, is facing a major trial. It is accused of creating features that make children under 13 addicted to its social media platforms.
Key Facts
Meta is being sued for allegedly designing social media features that encourage addiction in young children.
The trial marks an important legal case about the effects of social media on children.
The children affected are reportedly under the age of 13.
The lawsuit claims Meta knew about the addictive nature of these features.
The article mentions a large financial lawsuit against Meta, reportedly worth $1.4 trillion.
The case has drawn wide attention concerning children's safety and social media use.
Meta will defend itself against these accusations in the upcoming trial.
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An architecture firm called FORMA designed a new building that combines a data center with a public bathhouse. The data center's waste heat is used to warm the pools and bathing areas, turning excess heat into a useful resource for the community.
Key Facts
The building design mixes a data center with a public bathhouse, called "Pink Thermal Baths."
The data center is hidden underground while sharing heat with the bathhouse pools.
Data centers produce a lot of heat, and bathhouses need heat, so the idea uses waste heat instead of letting it go to waste.
The design helps save energy and benefits local communities by making infrastructure visible and useful.
The project was first imagined years before the current surge in AI and data center building.
FORMA’s founder partner, Miroslava Brooks, says this approach integrates energy, buildings, and landscapes into one system.
Tech companies like Google and Microsoft are also working to reduce data centers’ environmental impact by using renewable energy.
This project offers a new way to recover heat in a city setting while supporting leisure and public use.
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Scientists have developed a new way to help CAR-T cell therapy attack solid tumors using focused ultrasound to make tumors temporarily show a marker that the therapy can recognize. This method, called SHIFTERS, has shown promising results in lab and animal tests but still needs more work before it can be tried in humans.
Key Facts
CAR-T cell therapy is a treatment that uses a patient’s immune cells to kill cancer cells, mainly used for blood cancers.
Solid tumors are harder to treat with CAR-T because they lack clear targets for the therapy.
Researchers at USC created SHIFTERS, which uses focused ultrasound and tumor signals like low oxygen to make tumors show a special marker called CD19.
This temporary marker signals CAR-T cells where to attack the tumor.
Tests in the lab and animals showed that targeting tumors this way caused them to shrink significantly.
The marker only needs to appear on 10-25% of tumor cells to trigger an effective attack.
The approach is still experimental and hasn’t been tested in humans yet.
Researchers are exploring how to deliver the SHIFTERS system safely into tumors using methods like lipid nanoparticles or modified viruses.
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A UK trial called Operation Blue Skies will use artificial intelligence (AI) to help planes avoid flying through areas where climate-warming contrails form. AI will predict when and where contrails are likely, allowing air traffic controllers to guide planes to slightly different altitudes to reduce these clouds that trap heat.
Key Facts
Contrails are icy clouds created by airplane exhaust that can trap heat and contribute to climate change.
Operation Blue Skies is a 30-month project involving Google, the UK government, the Met Office, air traffic control (NATS), and researchers.
The trial focuses on the Shanwick Oceanic airspace over the North Atlantic, responsible for about 5% of global contrail warming.
AI will analyze satellite images and flight data to forecast where contrails may form, then inform air traffic controllers to adjust flight altitudes by around 2,000 feet.
Changes to flight altitude are small and similar to normal adjustments pilots make for turbulence or weather, so passengers likely won’t notice.
Testing will happen during winter evenings and nights in 2026-27 and 2027-28 with about 10,000 flights passing through the area, only some needing altitude changes.
The UK government is funding £2.65 million of the project; Google contributes £1.4 million in AI technology and resources.
Early studies show the extra fuel used from changing altitude is less than 1%, which is much smaller than the climate benefit of reducing contrail warming.
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This article reviews different vacuum cleaners available in the UK, testing their ability to clean various types of dirt on carpets and hard floors. It highlights the best models, including corded and cordless options, and explains the testing methods used to compare their performance.
Key Facts
The article tests 19 different vacuum cleaners on flour, cat litter, and pet hair.
Testing included measuring suction power and battery life for cordless models.
Each vacuum was tested on carpets and hard floors using a single pass over the dirt.
The Shark Detect XL Pet Pro LA791UKT is rated the best corded vacuum cleaner overall.
The Shark PowerDetect Clean & Empty IP3251UKT is the best cordless vacuum cleaner overall.
Budget options include the Henry Home for corded and Vax HomePro Pet-Design for cordless.
The author has experience testing vacuums and uses a home setup with pets and various floor types for realistic tests.
Tested vacuums were either returned to manufacturers or donated to charity after testing.
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The article introduces new words that describe common frustrations people face with technology in 2026. These include annoying pop-ups, forced AI features, annoying security checks, difficult subscription cancellations, and persistent marketing emails.
Key Facts
"Dickover" means pop-ups or panels that block content and force users to click away before reading.
AI features are now included in many apps and devices, often in ways users find unhelpful.
Captchas, which ask users to prove they are human, take a lot of time and effort.
Cancelling subscriptions often involves multiple steps or even phone calls, making it hard for users to stop services.
"Cart cling" describes how online stores send repeated emails to people who put items in their cart but do not buy them.
These new terms help people talk about the common annoyances caused by modern technology.
The article aims to give people a better way to describe these everyday tech frustrations.
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A new video game called Dressmaker lets players design and create virtual dresses by making decisions similar to real dressmaking. The game focuses on fitting patterns to fabric, decorating dresses, and adjusting sizes, all without simulating actual cloth movement. The creators drew on their own experience with sewing and costume design to make the game realistic and creative.
Key Facts
Dressmaker is a video game where players design and sew virtual dresses.
Players arrange pattern pieces, add buttons and trims, and customize dress measurements.
The game does not simulate cloth movement but allows artistic creativity on dress designs.
The developers took inspiration from real sewing challenges and experience.
The game prototype received thousands of downloads and positive player feedback.
Some players wanted features like ironing or printable patterns, which are not included.
Developers faced technical challenges to align seams and pattern pieces accurately.
Dressmaker has a vintage style inspired by an era when dresses were made by dressmakers.
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