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Technology

In the twilight of the muscle car era, demand for the new 486-horsepower V-8 Ford Mustang is roaring

Ford says it will start shipping new versions of the Mustang muscle car next week, and more than two thirds of the orders are for 5-liter V-8 engines.
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Sustainability Tonomia En

Kansas governor vetoes measures to aid anti-abortion centers, limit health officials’ power

Kansas’ Democratic governor has vetoed Republican legislation that would have provided a financial boost to pregnancy centers run by abortion opponents and curbed state and local officials' powers during infectious disease outbreaks. The two measures scotched Friday by Gov. Laura Kelly were part of a wave of conservative policies passed by GOP-controlled state legislatures this year. The vetoes will stand because Kansas lawmakers have adjourned for the year. The first measure would have granted new state income tax credits to donors to pregnancy centers that seek to discourage abortions. The second would have stripped state and local officials of their authority to prohibit public gatherings during infectious disease outbreaks or order quarantines for infected people.
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Technology

Hate passwords? You’re in luck – Google is sidelining them

Good news for all the password-haters out there: Google has taken a big step toward making them an afterthought by adding “passkeys” as a more straightforward and secure way to log into its services. Ultimately, passkeys could end racking your brain to recall complicated mnemonics or trusting password managers to cough up randomized strings of gobbledygook when you need them. Setting up passkeys isn't quite as simple as it could be, but it's not too bad. And living without passwords might be worth the trouble.
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Technology

4 dangers that most worry AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton

Geoffrey Hinton, a computer scientist known as the “godfather of artificial intelligence,” recently resigned his high-profile job at Google specifically to share his concerns that unchecked AI development could threaten humanity. It's a big switch for an award-winning researcher who helped pioneer critical AI technologies such as neural networks and “deep learning,” the process AI systems use to absorb and apply new information. In recent interviews, Hinton said his change of heart reflects AI's rapidly growing intelligence and the various ways such systems might upend — or simply end — humanity.
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Technology

What can Google’s AI-powered Bard do? We tested it for you

To use, or not to use, Bard? That is the Shakespearean question an Associated Press reporter sought to answer while testing out Google's artificially intelligent chatbot. The recently rolled-out bot dubbed Bard is the internet search giant's answer to the ChatGPT tool that Microsoft has been melding into its Bing search engine and other software.
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Technology

Is Bing too belligerent? Microsoft looks to tame AI chatbot

Microsoft’s newly revamped Bing search engine can write recipes and songs and quickly explain just about anything it can find on the internet. But if you cross its artificially intelligent chatbot, it might also insult your looks, threaten your reputation or compare you to Adolf Hitler.
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Environment

Pause sought in wind farm ocean prep after 7th dead whale

BRIGANTINE, N.J. (AP) — Lawmakers at local, state and federal levels called Friday for a temporary pause in ocean floor preparation work for offshore wind farms in New Jersey and New York after another dead whale washed ashore in the area.
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Climate Change

Powell: Fed has only narrow role to play on climate change

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve has only a limited role to play in combating climate change, Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday, a stance that puts him at odds with environmental activists who have pushed central banks worldwide to take steps to restrict lending to energy companies.
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Environment

EPA moves to toughen standards for deadly soot pollution

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is proposing lower limits for a deadly air pollutant, saying tougher standards for soot from tailpipes, smokestacks and wildfires could prevent thousands of premature deaths a year.
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Electric vehicles eVs

CES 2023: Stellantis preps cost cuts due to higher EV prices

DETROIT (AP) — Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares says his company has to work on cutting costs globally in order to keep electric vehicles affordable for the middle class. Among the cuts are reducing the number of the automaker's factories because electric vehicles cost about 40% more than those powered by gasoline.