Science & Technology

/

Knowledge

Gunnar/Gunnar/TNS

Gunnar Optiks reveals new lenses and gaming-themed frames

Gunnar has been making gaming glasses for years based on studies that reportedly show that blue light glasses help with eye fatigue. With that selling point, the company has carved a niche for itself in the space though further studies challenged those conclusions.

Since then, Gunnar has been pivoting, focusing on other lens innovations while...Read more

Mohu/Mohu/TNS

Jim Rossman: Metal roof doesn’t mean you can’t receive OTA channels

This week I had an email exchange with a reader who wants to cut the cord and was wondering how they could watch their local channels.

I was all ready to mention putting up an antenna, but he added, “Over-the-air will not work in our case because of a metal roof.”

So I pivoted to talking about which streaming services offer local ...Read more

Handout/Victrola/TNS

Gadgets: Retro look, modern sound

The multiple media format Century 6-in-1 Music Center from Victrola has a retro look to play music from many generations. Along with the functionality, it's an attractive addition to any family room.

Front and center is a three-speed turntable. Then add a cassette player (remember those?), CD player, a pair of built-in Bluetooth speakers and ...Read more

RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post/TNS

Colorado's historic wolf reintroduction faces barrage of challenges 1 year after first paws hit the ground

DENVER — Depending on who’s talking, Colorado’s wolves are an existential threat to ranching, an imperiled native species crucial to a healthy ecosystem, a ruthless predator that kills for sport or a beautiful species that enriches lives.

Despite a full year passing since the first reintroduced canines put paws on the ground, tensions ...Read more

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images North America/TNS

Biden creates 2 vast national monuments during final week in office

President Joe Biden on Tuesday created two new vast national monuments in California’s desert and far north that protect lands considered sacred by tribes, bolstering his conservation legacy days before leaving office.

Biden signed proclamations establishing the 624,000-acre Chuckwalla National Monument south of Joshua Tree National Park in ...Read more

Jeff Gritchen/Orange County Register/TNS

$20 billion Delta tunnel plan wins endorsement from Silicon Valley's largest water agency

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $20 billion plan to build a massive, 45-mile long tunnel under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to make it easier to move water from Northern California to Southern California won the endorsement of Silicon Valley’s largest water agency on Tuesday.

By a vote of 6-1, with director Rebecca Eisenberg ...Read more

Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

Firefly looks to punch NASA moon ticket with overnight SpaceX launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A SpaceX mission set to lift off overnight marks a first for Firefly Aerospace under NASA’s plans to build up American companies to support its lunar goals.

A Falcon 9 targeting a 1:11 a.m.Eastern time, liftoff Wednesday from KSC’s Launch Pad 39-A is carrying the Cedar Park, Texas-based company’s Blue Ghost lunar ...Read more

Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune/TNS

EPA warns of toxic forever chemicals in sewage sludge used on farmland, including thousands of acres near the Chicago area

CHICAGO — Farmers who use sewage sludge as fertilizer and their neighbors face higher risks of cancer and other diseases, according to a new federal analysis that pins the blame on toxic forever chemicals.

The findings are particularly relevant for northeast Illinois, where more than 777,000 tons of sludge from Chicago and Cook County have ...Read more

Renée Jones Schneider/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Mega data centers are coming. Their power needs are staggering

Facebook’s parent company is building Minnesota’s first mega data center in Rosemount to house its fast-growing need for computing muscle.

Amazon and Microsoft bought land for large data centers near Xcel Energy’s soon-retiring coal plant in Becker. A Colorado company called Tract has advanced a project in Farmington and is eyeing ...Read more

Rebecca Slezak/The Denver Post/TNS

Colorado to start regulating emission of 5 air toxins that make people sick

DENVER — Colorado air pollution regulators spend a lot of time thinking about greenhouse gases that create a smog across the Front Range and contribute to global warming, But this week, they’ll focus on five toxic chemicals that make people sick.

Five new compounds soon will be listed as priority toxic air contaminants in Colorado and, ...Read more

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North America/TNS

China discusses sale of TikTok US to Musk as one possible option

Chinese officials are evaluating a potential option that involves Elon Musk acquiring the U.S. operations of TikTok if the company fails to fend off a controversial ban on the short-video app, according to people familiar with the matter.

Beijing officials strongly prefer that TikTok remains under the ownership of parent ByteDance Ltd., the ...Read more

Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

San Jose water agency to vote on whether to help fund Gov. Gavin Newsom's $20 billion Delta tunnel project

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Silicon Valley’s largest water agency will vote Tuesday on whether to support Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to spend $20 billion to build a massive, 45-mile long tunnel under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to make it easier to move water from Northern California to Southern California.

The board of the Santa Clara Valley ...Read more

Carl Juste/Miami Herald/TNS

Climate change threatens Miami real estate. The new appraiser wants lower taxes for that

MIAMI — Miami-Dade’s newly elected property appraiser says it’s time for county property estimators to factor in the harm that climate change will bring to the local real estate market — and to lower property values accordingly.

“When we look to consider the future value of a property, we should also start considering location, ...Read more

Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun/TNS

Maryland Port Administration to launch multi-year, $147 million project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

BALTIMORE — The Maryland Port Administration said Monday that it is beginning preliminary work on a multi-year, federally funded $147 million project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the Port of Baltimore.

The funds are part of a $3 billion national investment in ports that was part of the Inflation Reduction Act signed by outgoing ...Read more

LA fires: Fast wildfires are more destructive and harder to contain

Investigators are trying to determine what caused several wind-driven wildfires that have destroyed thousands of homes across the Los Angeles area in January 2025. Given the fires’ locations, and lack of lightning at the time, it’s likely that utility infrastructure, other equipment or human activities were involved.

California’...Read more

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America/TNS

White House unveils new curbs on exporting Nvidia AI chips

The White House unveiled sweeping new limits on the sale of advanced AI chips by Nvidia Corp. and its peers, leaving the Trump administration to decide how and whether to implement curbs that have encountered fierce industry opposition.

The rules, which are set to take effect in one year, establish caps on the amount of computing power that can...Read more

Avishek Das/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/TNS

Sonos CEO to step down after disastrous app overhaul

Sonos Chief Executive Patrick Spence is stepping down and leaving the company’s board in a shake-up that comes as the wireless speaker maker tries to win back the trust of its customers.

Last year, the Santa Barbara-based company botched the overhaul of its phone app that customers use to control their speakers and other audio products. The ...Read more

Walter G Arce Sr Grindstone Medi/ASP via ZUMA Press Wire/TNS

Washington Legislature considers climate, environmental bills this session

SEATTLE — Don't expect any grand or sweeping climate and environmental laws out of Washington's Capitol during this long legislative session, starting Monday.

Rather, this session is largely about "implementation," said state Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, D-Burien. That is to say, it's about making sure the state's current policies and initiatives —...Read more

SpaceX/TNS

SpaceX sends up 5th Space Coast launch of the year

SpaceX knocked out another launch on Monday sending up the fifth Space Coast mission of the year.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 21 satellites took off through overcast skies at 11:47 a.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40.

The first-stage booster for the mission made its 15th flight with a recovery landing ...Read more

Firefighting planes are dumping ocean water on the Los Angeles fires − why using saltwater is typically a last resort

Firefighters battling the deadly wildfires that raced through the Los Angeles area in January 2025 have been hampered by a limited supply of freshwater. So, when the winds are calm enough, skilled pilots flying planes aptly named Super Scoopers are skimming off 1,500 gallons of seawater at a time and dumping it with high precision on the ...Read more