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Courtesy Miso Robotics/TNS/TNS

Robots can make your fries, salads and guacamole. Is this the future of fast food?

Miso Robotics' lab in downtown Pasadena, California, is filled with robots of the past and present.

There's Sippy, Chippy and Drippy. The star of the lab: an updated robot named Flippy that can fry French fries and chicken nuggets much faster than humans.

Miso Robotics has a lot riding on its ability to convince fast-food chains to incorporate...Read more

Courtesy Space Launch Delta 45/TNS/TNS

SpaceX aims for its own record with company's 69th Space Coast launch of the year

ORLANDO, Fla. — SpaceX may have contributed to an overall Space Coast record with its last launch over the last weekend, but a Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral tonight will be the most launches Elon Musk’s company has ever sent up from Florida in one year.

A Falcon 9 with 23 Starlink satellites is aiming for liftoff from Cape Canaveral ...Read more

Another problem with daylight saving time: The time change raises your risk of hitting deer on the road

Daylight saving time ends in the U.S. and Canada on Nov. 3, 2024, and most of us will set our clocks back an hour. There is a long-running debate about the benefit of the time change, given how it disrupts humans’ circadian rhythms, causing short-term stress and fatigue.

Another risk accompanying the time change is on the roads: As ...Read more

Time to freak out? How the existential terror of hurricanes can fuel climate change denial

As TVs across Florida broadcast the all-too-familiar images of a powerful hurricane headed for the coast in early October 2024, people whose homes had been damaged less than two weeks earlier by Hurricane Helene watched anxiously. Hurricane Milton was rapidly intensifying into a dangerous storm, fueled by the Gulf of Mexico’s record-...Read more

Jim Rossman/Jim Rossman/TNS

Tech review: Bring a few extra screens on your next roadtrip

I’ve been working with a laptop as my main computer for more than a decade.

I used to travel quite a bit for work, and being able to take my main computer with me on the road was very helpful.

At my desk, I’d connect that laptop to a full-size keyboard and mouse and one or more monitors so I’d be more comfortable and productive. When I ...Read more

Kevin Clark/The Seattle Times/TNS

Seattle ranks high on AI hiring, but the job hunt isn't always easy

Nearly two years after ChatGPT brought generative AI to everyone’s fingertips, the buzzy technology remains a bright spot for Seattle-area companies.

But landing an AI job isn’t as easy as the hype would lead you to believe.

After years of rolling layoffs and cost-cutting efforts, Big Tech is reluctant to expand its head count, even when ...Read more

Handout/Jim Rossman/TNS

Jim Rossman: Facebook scammer wants your quick deposit

I see a certain kind of Facebook scam fairly often. It is easy to recognize.

They start out with a small sob story about someone who is moving to assisted living or downsizing, and they need help to sell a bunch of stuff cheap.

The posts usually have a few dozen pictures of the items for sale. The items usually include a fairly new pickup ...Read more

Soundcore/Soundcore/TNS

Gadgets: Rock-solid headphones

Soundcore by Anker's new Space One Pro wireless over-the-head headphones are rock-solid, producing clear and powerful sound. Their innovative foldable design makes them compact for storage.

The Bluetooth 5.3 headphones are loaded with features, but most important is the sound. Each side has advanced 40mm drivers made from Polyether ether ...Read more

Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS

As Musk seeks to launch tens of thousands of Starlink satellites, space researchers urge caution

LOS ANGELES — Over 100 space researchers signed a letter urging the federal government to perform an environmental review before allowing SpaceX to continue launching thousands of satellites for its internet service, Starlink.

The Federal Communications Commission has licensed Elon Musk's company to launch nearly 12,000 satellites into space ...Read more

Saul Loeb/Getty Images of North America/TNS

Nightmare fuel: We asked researchers to name the scariest thing you should worry about

DENVER -- What keeps you up at night?

Bank account woes? An impending work presentation? Analyzing that embarrassing thing you said in the seventh grade?

Boring!

To give you something fresh to worry about as Halloween approaches, The Denver Post pulled from the scariest thing we can think of — the state of the world — and asked a slew of ...Read more

Beyond bottled water and sandwiches: What FEMA is doing to get hurricane victims back into their homes

In a pattern all too familiar to people affected by disasters, hurricanes Helene and Milton have disappeared from the headlines, just a few weeks after these disasters ravaged the Southeast. Although reporters have moved on, recovery is just beginning for people who were displaced.

According to government and private analysts, damages...Read more

Handout/Capcom/TNS

Do these horror game remasters still deliver on a classic experience?

Former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden recently lamented the “collapse of creativity” in the video game industry. He has a point, with the number of remasters coming out over the past few years. With blockbuster titles costing millions of dollars, publishers have become more risk-averse, and one of the reliable ways to make a hit is ...Read more

Ana Ramirez/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

EPA reviewing petition to evaluate Tijuana River Valley's eligibility as a superfund site

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Friday it is reviewing a petition sent by San Diego County residents and elected officials asking the federal government to evaluate whether the polluted Tijuana River Valley may be eligible for Superfund designation.

County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer spearheaded the effort after a majority of ...Read more

SpaceX/SpaceX/TNS

SpaceX launch sets Space Coast record for the year

ORLANDO, Fla. — A SpaceX launch from Cape Canaveral on Saturday evening marked the 73rd launch from the Space Coast in 2024, the most ever in one year.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 22 of the company’s Starlink satellites lifted off from Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 5:47 p.m.

The first-stage booster made its 19th launch with a ...Read more

Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group/TNS

California's 2024 Dungeness crab season postponed to protect whales

SAN JOSE, Calif. — For the sixth consecutive year, California officials are delaying the Bay Area’s commercial Dungeness crab season because of the “high abundance” of migrating humpback whales already getting ensnared by old crab-pot fishing lines and other gear — while conservation groups are again expressing frustration with what ...Read more

SpaceX/SpaceX/TNS

SpaceX launch on Saturday would set Space Coast record for the year

ORLANDO, Fla. — A SpaceX launch from Cape Canaveral on Saturday evening would mark the 73rd launch from the Space Coast in 2024, the most ever in one year.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 22 of the company’s Starlink satellites is set to lift off from Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40 targeting 5:47 p.m. during a launch window that runs ...Read more

NASA/TNS

NASA astronaut hospitalized after SpaceX Crew-8 splashdown return off Florida coast

ORLANDO, Fla. — A NASA astronaut suffered a medical issue and remains hospitalized in Florida on Friday after returning to Earth from a nearly eight-month stay in space.

NASA did not reveal which of the three NASA astronauts of the four-person crew of the SpaceX Crew-8 mission suffered the issue, but said in a statement the person was in “...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Survey finds Americans more afraid today than at any time in recent history

A decade ago, a few days before Halloween, a team of sociologists at Chapman University published the first “Survey of American Fears,” a poll of more than 1,000 Americans about the things that give them the willies.

The “American Fears” survey quickly became an annual media event, a social science version of Groundhog Day. Most years, ...Read more

NASA/TNS

SpaceX Crew-8 completes record run with splashdown return off coast of Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. — The four members of the SpaceX Crew-8 mission are back on Earth after a record time in space completing their mission with a splashdown aboard the Crew Dragon Endeavour early Friday off the coast of Florida.

After a nearly eight-month stay on board the International Space Station, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael ...Read more

Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

Biden administration gives final OK to Nevada lithium-boron mine. Environmentalists plan to sue

An Australian mining company’s lithium-boron mine in Nevada passed all environmental hurdles on Thursday, and an environmental group immediately notified the federal government that it plans to sue.

In a letter to Interior Department officials, the Center for Biological Diversity announced its intention to file a lawsuit, calling the mine an ...Read more