Threaten

As Extreme Heat and Smoke Threaten U.S. Farmworkers, Federal Health Leaders Evaluate ProtectionsLeaders of the Department of Health and Human Services will meet throughout the spring and summer to help protect farm laborers from heat and wildfire smokeBy Ariel Wittenberg & E&E NewsHealth and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra described the risks faced by his father, a farmworker in California. Credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty ImagesCLIMATEWIRE | A group of the nation’s health experts will…

All told, the law sparked a national innovation renaissance that continues to this day. In 2002, the Economist dubbed it “possibly the most inspired piece of legislation to be enacted in America over the past half-century.” I consider it so vital that after I retired, I joined the advisory council of an organization devoted to celebrating and protecting it.  But the efficacy of the Bayh-Dole Act is now under serious threat from a draft framework the Biden administration is currently in the process of finalizing after a…

The possibility of a second Donald Trump administration has raised concerns over the revival of the anti-immigration agenda in the US, even as the tech industry is already ringing alarm bells about the H-1B visa fee hikes. The unprecedented fee hikes are likely to be implemented from 2025.Next year, the H-1B visa registration fees are to increase 2,050% from $10 to $215, while the application fee will increase 70% from $460 to $780. Initial registrations for the fiscal 2025 H-1B cap began March 6 and will continue till…

After a year of basking in global fame, the San Francisco company OpenAI is now confronting a multitude of challenges that could threaten its position at the vanguard of artificial intelligence research.Some of its conflicts stem from decisions made well before the debut of ChatGPT, particularly its unusual shift from an idealistic nonprofit to a big business backed by billions of dollars in investments.It’s too early to tell if OpenAI and its attorneys will beat back a barrage of lawsuits from Elon Musk, the New York…

A new review of literature on global climate change written by an international team of more than 200 researchers leaves no room for doubt: humanity is heading for disaster, unless significant steps are taken to change that course.How disastrous? The research team mentions trillions of US dollars in climate-related damage, billions of people pushed into hardship around the world, and millions of lives lost as a result of a rapidly warming planet.The report focuses specifically on tipping points – sudden, large scale…

The extent of what is now believed to be the largest and oldest network of pre-Hispanic cities was first unveiled in 2023 after a project scanning the area with laser-mapping techonology from above. Shielded by the jungle for hundreds of years, the remains of a massive 2,500-year-old network of Ecuadoran cities are being threatened by road and farm encroachment just as its long-held secrets are being revealed, researchers say.…

The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) identified Lingo Telecom, a Texas-based wireless provider, as the company that transmitted deepfake robocalls impersonating President Biden. The FCC sent the company a cease and desist letter, according to a press release sent to Gizmodo Tuesday, threatening to permanently block Lingo’s operations.Bruce Willis is Keeping His Face“Lingo Telecom, LLC is apparently originating illegal robocall traffic,” said the FCC in its cease and desist letter. “Failure to comply with the steps…

Taylor Swift’s lawyers sent a cease and desist letter to a college student who uses public flight data to track private jet usage, suggesting his social media accounts were aiding Swift’s stalkers and threatening her safety. As The Washington Post reports, the letter was sent to Jack Sweeney, the same programmer and University of Central Florida student briefly suspended from X in Dec. 2022 after his jet tracking account rankled Elon Musk. At the time, Musk characterized the tracking of aircraft as a form of…

The concept of planetary commons is crucial for the future of civilization and Earth’s stability. Researchers propose that Earth system functions transcending national boundaries, such as the Amazon rainforest and Greenland ice sheets, should be governed collectively as planetary commons. This nearly two-year research by 22 international experts suggests expanding the global commons concept to include critical biophysical systems. The goal is to create effective global governance strategies that transcend national…

Digital security experts around the world have their eyes fixed on the Y2Q—“Years to Quantum”—clock. It ticks down the time until the projected date when a quantum computer will be able to break an essential form of modern cryptography. Called public-key cryptography because of its ingenious method of sharing secret codes in public, it keeps your credit card number safe when you shop online and ensures that your phone's software update is coming from the phone company and not a hacker. Whistleblowers use it to contact…