Information Communication Technology

Attorneys general warn OpenAI and other tech companies to improve chatbot safety

Matt O'brien And Thalia Beaty, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Attorneys general warn OpenAI and other tech companies to improve chatbot safety

Matt O'brien And Thalia Beaty, The Associated Press 4 minute read Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

The attorneys general of California and Delaware on Friday warned OpenAI they have “serious concerns” about the safety of its flagship chatbot, ChatGPT, especially for children and teens.

The two state officials, who have unique powers to regulate nonprofits such as OpenAI, sent the letter to the company after a meeting with its legal team earlier this week in Wilmington, Delaware.

California AG Rob Bonta and Delaware AG Kathleen Jennings have spent months reviewing OpenAI's plans to restructure its business, with an eye on “ensuring rigorous and robust oversight of OpenAI’s safety mission.”

But they said they were concerned by “deeply troubling reports of dangerous interactions between" chatbots and their users, including the "heartbreaking death by suicide of one young Californian after he had prolonged interactions with an OpenAI chatbot, as well as a similarly disturbing murder-suicide in Connecticut. Whatever safeguards were in place did not work.”

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Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

FILE - The OpenAI logo appears on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen with random binary data, March 9, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

FILE - The OpenAI logo appears on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen with random binary data, March 9, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chip implanted into two quadriplegic Canadian patients

Hannah Alberga, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chip implanted into two quadriplegic Canadian patients

Hannah Alberga, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: 6:12 PM CDT

TORONTO - Two Canadian patients with spinal cord injuries have received Neuralink brain implants that have allowed them to control a computer with their thoughts.

They are part of the first clinical trial outside of the United States to test the safety and effectiveness of Elon Musk's Neuralink wireless brain chip, which he introduced to the public in 2020, and was first implanted in a paralyzed American in 2024.

The Canadian men, both around 30 years old – one from Ontario, the other from Alberta – have limited or no ability to use their hands.

Dr. Andres Lozano, a neurosurgeon at University Health Network who led the surgical team at Toronto Western Hospital, said the patients could move a computer cursor almost immediately after the surgery. They were able to leave the hospital following their respective procedures on Aug. 27 and Sept. 3 the next morning, he said.

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Updated: 6:12 PM CDT

Dr. Andres Lozano, right, a neurosurgeon at University Health Network, and his surgical team at Toronto Western Hospital are shown in this handout image on Wednesday Aug. 27, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - UHN / Neuralink (Mandatory Credit)

Dr. Andres Lozano, right, a neurosurgeon at University Health Network, and his surgical team at Toronto Western Hospital are shown in this handout image on Wednesday Aug. 27, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - UHN / Neuralink (Mandatory Credit)

Girls fell behind boys in math during the pandemic. Schools are trying to make up lost ground

Annie Ma And Sharon Lurye, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview

Girls fell behind boys in math during the pandemic. Schools are trying to make up lost ground

Annie Ma And Sharon Lurye, The Associated Press 7 minute read Updated: 7:24 PM CDT

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Crowded around a workshop table, four girls at de Zavala Middle School puzzled over a Lego machine they had built. As they flashed a purple card in front of a light sensor, nothing happened.

The teacher at the Dallas-area school had emphasized that in the building process, there is no such thing as mistakes. Only iterations. So the girls dug back into the box of blocks and pulled out an orange card. They held it over the sensor and the machine kicked into motion.

“Oh! Oh, it reacts differently to different colors,” said sixth grader Sofia Cruz.

In de Zavala’s first year as a choice school focused on science, technology, engineering and math, the school recruited a sixth grade class that’s half girls. School leaders are hoping the girls will stick with STEM fields. In de Zavala’s higher grades — whose students joined before it was a STEM school — some elective STEM classes have just one girl enrolled.

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Updated: 7:24 PM CDT

Students build a dragon out of LEGO bricks during class at Lively Elementary on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in Irving, Texas. (AP Photo/Ronaldo Bolaños)

Students build a dragon out of LEGO bricks during class at Lively Elementary on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in Irving, Texas. (AP Photo/Ronaldo Bolaños)

Report calls on NATO to counter authoritarian manipulation, disinformation

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Report calls on NATO to counter authoritarian manipulation, disinformation

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

OTTAWA - A resurgent North Atlantic Treaty Organization should play a leading role in fighting the growing aggression of authoritarian states in the online battlespace, says a new report from civil society groups.

The report, released by the Montreal Institute for Global Security and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Canada, warns that China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are working to expand their strategic influence and reshape global norms.

Their shared objectives include undermining U.S. leadership, discrediting western alliances — NATO in particular — and framing the West as hypocritical and neocolonial, the report says.

"Recognizing the scope of the threat is no longer enough," says the report Wired for War: How Authoritarian States are Weaponizing AI Against the West. "The authoritarian playbook is clear, and so too must be the democratic response."

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

The NATO logo is illuminated beside the stage during a ceremony celebrating NATO's 75th anniversary in Washington on Tuesday, July 9, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

The NATO logo is illuminated beside the stage during a ceremony celebrating NATO's 75th anniversary in Washington on Tuesday, July 9, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Oakland Ballers to use artificial intelligence to manage Saturday home game against Great Falls

Janie Mccauley, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Oakland Ballers to use artificial intelligence to manage Saturday home game against Great Falls

Janie Mccauley, The Associated Press 4 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland Ballers manager Aaron Miles will leave it to artificial intelligence to decide when to pinch hit or replace his pitcher.

The playoff-bound Ballers of the independent Pioneer League are turning to AI to manage most aspects of Saturday's home game against the Great Falls Voyagers at Raimondi Park. So it might feel almost like a day off for the skipper, whose lineup and in-game decisions will even be made for him — from a tablet he will have in the dugout providing instructions.

The starting pitcher is already set.

“Luckily it’s only game. Maybe we've done so well that the AI will just keep doing what we're doing,” Miles joked Wednesday. “Being a 70-win team we've got a very good bench. It's hard to write a lineup without leaving somebody out that's really good. This game I'll be like, ‘Hey, it’s not on me for not writing you in there, it's on the computer.' It won’t be my fault if somebody’s not in the lineup, I guess I’ll enjoy that.”

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

FILE - Oakland Ballers players stand during the national anthem before a Pioneer League baseball game against the Rocky Mountain Vibes in Oakland, Calif., July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

FILE - Oakland Ballers players stand during the national anthem before a Pioneer League baseball game against the Rocky Mountain Vibes in Oakland, Calif., July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Getting word out in face of AI-made messaging

Gabrielle Piché 3 minute read Preview

Getting word out in face of AI-made messaging

Gabrielle Piché 3 minute read Wednesday, Sep. 3, 2025

Manitoba marketing aficionados have named their new agency Plain Language — a nod to what they say they’ll speak.

There’s a lack of plain language around algorithms and outcomes found in online advertising, agency co-founders said. They’ve spent decades working in digital media, placing ads in an ever-changing online landscape.

“There’s a lot of different platforms, and the way that people talk about it can be quite obtuse,” said Anthony Kowalczyk, Plain Language’s chief executive. “I think that’s what we’re trying to move away from.”

He and Jason Hachkowski, Plain Language’s vice-president of digital ad operations and strategy, have worked together for more than a decade. A mutual colleague suggested the pair meet — both men were experts in digital marketing and advertising.

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Wednesday, Sep. 3, 2025

GABRIELLE PICHE / FREE PRESS

Anthony Kowalczyk (left) and Jason Hachkowski are two of six partners launching Plain Language, a Manitoba-based media buying and management agency.

GABRIELLE PICHE / FREE PRESS
                                Anthony Kowalczyk (left) and Jason Hachkowski are two of six partners launching Plain Language, a Manitoba-based media buying and management agency.

The defunded Corporation for Public Broadcasting will get one of TV’s biggest prizes

Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

The defunded Corporation for Public Broadcasting will get one of TV’s biggest prizes

Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press 2 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting will be honored with one of the television's top prizes even as it winds down its nearly 60-year work after the U.S. government withdrew funding.

The organization, which has helped pay for PBS, NPR, 1,500 local radio and TV stations as well as programs like “Sesame Street” and “Finding Your Roots,” will be awarded the Television Academy's Governors Award, which honors those who have "made a profound, transformational and long-lasting contribution to the arts and/or science of television.”

It will be handed to Patricia de Stacy Harrison, the longest-serving president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony on Sept. 7.

“For more than half a century, CPB has been a steadfast champion of storytelling that informs, educates and unites us and ensures public media remains a vital space where diverse voices are heard and communities are served,” Television Academy Chair Cris Abrego said in a statement Tuesday.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

FILE - An entrance to the Arizona PBS offices in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in Phoenix is seen Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Katie Oyan, File)

FILE - An entrance to the Arizona PBS offices in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in Phoenix is seen Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Katie Oyan, File)

The RCMP and TikTok

Christopher J. Schneider 4 minute read Preview

The RCMP and TikTok

Christopher J. Schneider 4 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 2, 2025

A trend on TikTok has Canadians “challenging” RCMP officers to fake foot pursuits.

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Tuesday, Sep. 2, 2025

FILE - The TikTok app logo is shown on an iPhone on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)

FILE - The TikTok app logo is shown on an iPhone on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)

Increasing restrictions could silence culture critics

Jen Zoratti 6 minute read Preview

Increasing restrictions could silence culture critics

Jen Zoratti 6 minute read Friday, Aug. 29, 2025

It’s getting harder to see where reviews and other forms of cultural criticism fit in the current media ecosystem. Arts writing positions are being axed at outlets all over North America — but a landscape of all influencers and no critics means all promotion and no journalism.

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Friday, Aug. 29, 2025

BORIS MINKEVICH / FREE PRESS

Deftones frontman Chino Moreno at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg in 2006, before photo approvals were a thing.

BORIS MINKEVICH / FREE PRESS
                                Deftones frontman Chino Moreno at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg in 2006, before photo approvals were a thing.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution to stop printing as it transitions to all-digital news

Jeff Amy, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Atlanta Journal-Constitution to stop printing as it transitions to all-digital news

Jeff Amy, The Associated Press 4 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will stop providing a print edition at year's end and go completely digital, a dramatic change for a storied newspaper founded shortly after the Civil War.

The decision will make Atlanta the largest U.S. metro area without a printed daily newspaper, although some smaller metro Atlanta newspapers continue printing.

Publisher Andrew Morse said in his Thursday announcement that the news organization will aim to expand its audience as it continues to report the news using online, audio and video products.

“The fact is, many more people engage with our digital platforms and products today than with our print edition, and that shift is only accelerating," Morse wrote in a letter to subscribers posted on the Journal-Constitution's website. The AJC has about 115,000 total subscribers, of whom 75,000 are online only; Morse has set a goal of gaining 500,000 online subscribers.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

Printed copies of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution are shown on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

Printed copies of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution are shown on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

Online age checks are proliferating, but so are concerns they curtail internet freedom

Barbara Ortutay, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview

Online age checks are proliferating, but so are concerns they curtail internet freedom

Barbara Ortutay, The Associated Press 7 minute read Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

Online age checks are on the rise in the U.S. and elsewhere, asking people for IDs or face scans to prove they are over 18 or 21 or even 13. To proponents, they're a tool to keep children away from adult websites and other material that might be harmful to them.

But opponents see a worrisome trend toward a less secure, less private and less free internet, where people can be denied access not just to pornography but news, health information and the ability to speak openly and anonymously.

“I think that many of these laws come from a place of good intentions,” said Jennifer Huddleston, a senior technology policy fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank. “Certainly we all want to protect young people from harmful content before they’re ready to see it.”

More than 20 states have passed some kind of age verification law, though many face legal challenges. While no such law exists on the federal level in the United States, the Supreme Court recently allowed a Mississippi age check law for social media to stand. In June, the court upheld a Texas law aimed at preventing minors from watching pornography online, ruling that adults don't have a First Amendment right to access obscene speech without first proving their age.

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Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

FILE - The OnlyFans logo is displayed on a computer monitor in this posed photo, Dec. 7, 2023, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

FILE - The OnlyFans logo is displayed on a computer monitor in this posed photo, Dec. 7, 2023, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

One Tech Tip: Ditch the chatbots and take your AI nature apps on a birdwatching hike

Matt O'brien, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

One Tech Tip: Ditch the chatbots and take your AI nature apps on a birdwatching hike

Matt O'brien, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: 6:13 PM CDT

I didn't notice the scarlet tanager until the alert appeared on my phone: “Merlin heard a new bird!”

Despite its brilliant plumage — jet-black wings on a crimson body — the songbird can be a hard one to spot in a forest because it prefers to stay high in the canopy. It sounds a little like a robin to an untrained ear.

But the free Merlin Bird ID app detected a scarlet tanager was likely nearby by using artificial intelligence to analyze my phone’s live sound recording. I paused my hike, quietly scanned the treetops, saw the bird as it kept singing and clicked a button to add the species to my growing "life list" of bird sightings. Digital confetti burst on my screen.

Like a real-world version of Pokémon Go, a gotta-catch-'em-all drive to add to my Merlin list has helped me find a great kiskadee in Mexico and a rusty-cheeked scimitar-babbler in the Himalayas. But sometimes the greatest revelations are close to home, as more AI nature app users are starting to discover.

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Updated: 6:13 PM CDT

FILE - A northern mockingbird appears on April 28, 2015, in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan, File)

FILE - A northern mockingbird appears on April 28, 2015, in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan, File)

The new ‘too normal’ — AI’s band plays on

Peter Denton 5 minute read Preview

The new ‘too normal’ — AI’s band plays on

Peter Denton 5 minute read Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025

AI does not produce new ideas; it rummages about on the internet and finds whatever is out there, neatly repackaging it for the unwitting (or dimwitted) consumer by an algorithm designed in secret for what we hope are good reasons.

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Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025

AI does not produce new ideas; it rummages about on the internet and finds whatever is out there, neatly repackaging it for the unwitting (or dimwitted) consumer by an algorithm designed in secret for what we hope are good reasons.

Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press
                                Columnist Peter Denton has a long and fractious history with Microsoft and Bill Gates (shown here on a broadcast at the University of Waterloo in 2005).

NCAA partners with Venmo to assist athletes who face harassment on the payment app

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

NCAA partners with Venmo to assist athletes who face harassment on the payment app

The Associated Press 2 minute read Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

Venmo announced a partnership Tuesday with the NCAA to support athletes who face harassment on the payment app, which has embraced its popularity on college campuses with school spirit-branded debit cards and an option for athletes to receive money from their school directly in the PayPal app.

The partnership includes a reporting hotline for athletes and the NCAA to call in potential cases of abuse, such as when former Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne said he received payment requests from angry sports bettors following a loss last season.

“The harassment we are seeing across various online platforms is unacceptable, and we need fans to do better," NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a news release. “We applaud Venmo for taking action, and we need more social media companies and online platforms to do the same.”

Venmo said it would provide a best-practices guide for athletes to “stay safe” on its platform.

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Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

FILE - Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne looks to throw a pass during the second half of an NCAA college football game against California, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

FILE - Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne looks to throw a pass during the second half of an NCAA college football game against California, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

How young content creators plan to balance their social media success and campus life

Vanessa Tiberio, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

How young content creators plan to balance their social media success and campus life

Vanessa Tiberio, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Updated: 7:24 PM CDT

Growing up, Sofia DelGiudice never imagined her father’s annual back-to-school tradition would be a pivotal moment in her social media career.

Before starting university two years ago, the 19-year-old content creator from Toronto had the idea to stitch together all the videos her dad filmed of her descending the stairs in the family's home on the first day of school.

"It's the first day of what grade?" DelGiudice’s dad can be heard asking her in each clip recorded from kindergarten onward.

DelGiudice posted what she thought was a cute homage only her small TikTok following would see — and it went viral.

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Updated: 7:24 PM CDT

Sofia DelGiudice is seen in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Instagram, @Oliveandfigco (Mandatory Credit)

Sofia DelGiudice is seen in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Instagram, @Oliveandfigco (Mandatory Credit)

The US Open dating show: How Grand Slam tennis tournaments are shooting for a Gen Z audience

Alyce Brown, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

The US Open dating show: How Grand Slam tennis tournaments are shooting for a Gen Z audience

Alyce Brown, The Associated Press 4 minute read Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — Over the course of the past week across the U.S. Open's grounds, eight couples went on their first dates — on camera.

They were all part of the tournament’s newest content creation venture, “Game, Set, Matchmaker,” the most recent play for Gen Z attention from the world of Grand Slam tennis. From Wimbledon to Flushing Meadows, the sport is starting to take risks in pursuit of a new generation of fans.

“We’re always looking for new ways to engage new audiences,” said Jonathan Zipper, the senior director of social media for the U.S. Tennis Association. The USTA governs tennis in the United States and runs the U.S. Open. "In particular, Gen Z and Millennials are a focus for us to bring into the sport of tennis. So we think about the different types of content that those demographics typically engage with and enjoy watching.”

The eight-episode YouTube series that made its debut Sunday comes amidst an explosive moment for dating shows. “Love Island,” “Love is Blind” and “The Bachelor” are just a few shows in the genre that have dominated young American audiences in the past year.

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Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

Game Set Matchmaker's Prianca and Saad are filmed on a date at the 2025 US Open on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, in Flushing, NY. (Kent Edwards/USTA)

Game Set Matchmaker's Prianca and Saad are filmed on a date at the 2025 US Open on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, in Flushing, NY. (Kent Edwards/USTA)

Businesses put at risk when employees use unauthorized AI tools at work

Ritika Dubey, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

Businesses put at risk when employees use unauthorized AI tools at work

Ritika Dubey, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Wednesday, Sep. 17, 2025

An artificial intelligence chatbot could help quickly clean up your presentation moments before an important board meeting. But those quick AI fixes can become a liability for the higher-ups you're trying to impress.

More employees are using AI tools to help them complete work tasks and increase their productivity, but most of the time, those tools aren't approved by companies. When employees make use of unauthorized AI platforms and tools, it's referred to as shadow AI, and it creates a risk that workers could accidentally disclose sensitive internal data on these platforms, making the company susceptible to cyberattacks or intellectual property theft.

Often, companies are slow in adopting the latest technology, which may push employees to seek third-party solutions, such as AI assistants, said Kareem Sadek, a partner in the consulting practice at KPMG in Canada specializing in tech risk.

This so-called shadow AI often seeps in when users are looking for convenience, speed and intuitiveness, Sadek said.

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Wednesday, Sep. 17, 2025

More workers are engaging with AI tools to help them complete work tasks and increase their productivity. Chat GPT's landing page is seen on a computer screen, Monday, Aug. 4, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

More workers are engaging with AI tools to help them complete work tasks and increase their productivity. Chat GPT's landing page is seen on a computer screen, Monday, Aug. 4, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

As AI becomes part of everyday life, it brings a hidden climate cost

Caleigh Wells, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

As AI becomes part of everyday life, it brings a hidden climate cost

Caleigh Wells, The Associated Press 6 minute read Updated: 6:20 PM CDT

Marissa Loewen first started using artificial intelligence in 2014 as a project management tool. She has autism and ADHD and said it helped immensely with organizing her thoughts.

“We try to use it conscientiously though because we do realize that there is an impact on the environment,” she said.

Her personal AI use isn't unique anymore. Now it’s a feature in smartphones, search engines, word processors and email services. Every time someone uses AI, it uses energy that is often generated by fossil fuels. That releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and contributes to climate change.

And it's getting harder to live without it.

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Updated: 6:20 PM CDT

FILE - A data center owned by Amazon Web Services, front right, is under construction next to the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Berwick, Pa., on Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, file)

FILE - A data center owned by Amazon Web Services, front right, is under construction next to the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Berwick, Pa., on Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, file)

bbno$, the Beaches warn approaching TikTok Canada closure will hurt homegrown artists

Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

bbno$, the Beaches warn approaching TikTok Canada closure will hurt homegrown artists

Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025

Several Canadian artists are worried about losing social media support that can make or break their careers as TikTok prepares to comply with a federal order to shut down its operations in Canada.

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Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025

bbno$ poses for photos after winning the TikTok Juno Fan Choice award during the Juno Awards in Vancouver on Sunday, March 30, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

bbno$ poses for photos after winning the TikTok Juno Fan Choice award during the Juno Awards in Vancouver on Sunday, March 30, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Lawyer argues Meta can’t be held liable for gunmaker’s Instagram posts in Uvalde families’ lawsuit

Itzel Luna, The Associated Press 5 minute read Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A lawsuit filed by families of the Uvalde school shooting victims alleging Instagram allowed gun manufacturers to promote firearms to minors should be thrown out, lawyers for Meta, Instagram's parent company, argued Tuesday.

Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in the May 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

The families sued Meta in Los Angeles in May 2024, saying the social media platform failed to enforce its own rules forbidding firearms advertisements aimed at minors. The families, who were present at last month's hearing, did not appear in court, with a lawyer citing the back-to-school season. Many plaintiffs attended the hearing virtually, he said.

In one ad posted on Instagram, the Georgia-based gunmaker Daniel Defense shows Santa Claus holding an assault rifle. In another post by the same company, a rifle leans against a refrigerator, with the caption: “Let’s normalize kitchen Daniels. What Daniels do you use to protect your kitchen and home?”

Minnesota sues TikTok, alleging it preys on young people with addictive algorithms

Steve Karnowski, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Minnesota sues TikTok, alleging it preys on young people with addictive algorithms

Steve Karnowski, The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: 6:07 PM CDT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota on Tuesday joined a wave of states suing TikTok, alleging the social media giant preys on young people with addictive algorithms that trap them into becoming compulsive consumers of its short videos.

“This isn’t about free speech. I’m sure they’re gonna holler that," Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said at a news conference. "It’s actually about deception, manipulation, misrepresentation. This is about a company knowing the dangers, and the dangerous effects of its product, but making and taking no steps to mitigate those harms or inform users of the risks.”

The lawsuit, filed in state court, alleges that TikTok is violating Minnesota laws against deceptive trade practices and consumer fraud. It follows a flurry of lawsuits filed by more than a dozen states last year alleging the popular short-form video app is designed to be addictive to kids and harms their mental health. Minnesota's case brings the total to about 24 states, Ellison's office said.

Many of the earlier lawsuits stemmed from a nationwide investigation into TikTok launched in 2022 by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from 14 states into the effects of TikTok on young users’ mental health. Ellison, a Democrat, said Minnesota waited while it did its own investigation.

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Updated: 6:07 PM CDT

FILE - The TikTok logo is seen on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen which displays the TikTok home screen, Oct. 14, 2022, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

FILE - The TikTok logo is seen on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen which displays the TikTok home screen, Oct. 14, 2022, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

Hijacked satellites and orbiting space weapons: In the 21st century, space is the new battlefield

David Klepper, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview

Hijacked satellites and orbiting space weapons: In the 21st century, space is the new battlefield

David Klepper, The Associated Press 7 minute read Monday, Oct. 6, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — As Russia held its Victory Day parade this year, hackers backing the Kremlin hijacked an orbiting satellite that provides television service to Ukraine.

Instead of normal programing, Ukrainian viewers saw parade footage beamed in from Moscow: waves of tanks, soldiers and weaponry. The message was meant to intimidate and was an illustration that 21st-century war is waged not just on land, sea and air but also in cyberspace and the reaches of outer space.

Disabling a satellite could deal a devastating blow without one bullet, and it can be done by targeting the satellite's security software or disrupting its ability to send or receive signals from Earth.

“If you can impede a satellite's ability to communicate, you can cause a significant disruption,” said Tom Pace, CEO of NetRise, a cybersecurity firm focused on protecting supply chains.

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Monday, Oct. 6, 2025

FILE - China's Long March 2F rocket, carrying three astronauts for the Shenzhou 20 manned space mission, blasts off at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwestern China, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

FILE - China's Long March 2F rocket, carrying three astronauts for the Shenzhou 20 manned space mission, blasts off at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwestern China, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

AI-powered personal finance is here: for better and for worse

Joel Schlesinger 5 minute read Preview

AI-powered personal finance is here: for better and for worse

Joel Schlesinger 5 minute read Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025

Financial advice at your fingertips is by no means a new innovation.

Yet with the rise of artificial intelligence, getting insights about your money has been taken to new heights of potential benefit — and dangers.

“There is a lot of upside to using AI, especially for budgeting, and it’s often good as a first draft for anything you want to do,” says Monisha Sharma, Toronto-based chief revenue officer at Fig Financial, which provides consolidation, home improvement and unsecured loans.

Fig has some insight on AI’s benefits. The fintech company leverages AI technology to make loans quickly to Canadians, but its use case is contained to Fig’s own specific data to ensure a low error rate.

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Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025

Norwegian police say pro-Russian hackers were likely behind suspected sabotage at a dam

Emma Burrows, The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Norwegian police say pro-Russian hackers were likely behind suspected sabotage at a dam

Emma Burrows, The Associated Press 2 minute read Monday, Oct. 6, 2025

Russian hackers are likely behind suspected sabotage at a dam in Norway in April that affected water flows, police officials told Norwegian media on Wednesday.

The director of the Norwegian Police Security Service, Beate Gangås, said cyberattacks are increasingly being carried out against Western nations to stoke fear and unrest.

The Associated Press has plotted more than 70 incidents on a map tracking a campaign of disruption across Europe blamed on Russia, which Western officials have described as “reckless.” Since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of staging dozens of attacks and other incidents, ranging from vandalism to arson and attempted assassination.

Intelligence officials told the AP that the campaign is becoming more violent.

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Monday, Oct. 6, 2025

FILE - Head of the Police Security Service Beate Gangas during a press conference on threat and risk assessments in Norway, in Oslo, Monday, Feb. 13, 2023. (Fredrik Varfjell/NTB Scanpix via AP, file)

FILE - Head of the Police Security Service Beate Gangas during a press conference on threat and risk assessments in Norway, in Oslo, Monday, Feb. 13, 2023. (Fredrik Varfjell/NTB Scanpix via AP, file)