ReportWire

Tag: Technology

  • Preserving critical thinking amid AI adoption

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    Key points:

    AI is now at the center of almost every conversation in education technology. It is reshaping how we create content, build assessments, and support learners. The opportunities are enormous. But one quiet risk keeps growing in the background: losing our habit of critical thinking.

    I see this risk not as a theory but as something I have felt myself.

    The moment I almost outsourced my judgment

    A few months ago, I was working on a complex proposal for a client. Pressed for time, I asked an AI tool to draft an analysis of their competitive landscape. The output looked polished and convincing. It was tempting to accept it and move on.

    Then I forced myself to pause. I began questioning the sources behind the statements and found a key market shift the model had missed entirely. If I had skipped that short pause, the proposal would have gone out with a blind spot that mattered to the client.

    That moment reminded me that AI is fast and useful, but the responsibility for real thinking is still mine. It also showed me how easily convenience can chip away at judgment.

    AI as a thinking partner

    The most powerful way to use AI is to treat it as a partner that widens the field of ideas while leaving the final call to us. AI can collect data in seconds, sketch multiple paths forward, and expose us to perspectives we might never consider on our own.

    In my own work at Magic EdTech, for example, our teams have used AI to quickly analyze thousands of pages of curriculum to flag accessibility issues. The model surfaces patterns and anomalies that would take a human team weeks to find. Yet the real insight comes when we bring educators and designers together to ask why those patterns matter and how they affect real classrooms. AI sets the table, but we still cook the meal.

    There is a subtle but critical difference between using AI to replace thinking and using it to stretch thinking. Replacement narrows our skills over time. Stretching builds new mental flexibility. The partner model forces us to ask better questions, weigh trade-offs, and make calls that only human judgment can resolve.

    Habits to keep your edge

    Protecting critical thinking is not about avoiding AI. It is about building habits that keep our minds active when AI is everywhere.

    Here are three I find valuable:

    1. Name the fragile assumption
    Each time you receive AI output, ask: What is one assumption here that could be wrong? Spend a few minutes digging into that. It forces you to reenter the problem space instead of just editing machine text.

    2. Run the reverse test
    Before you adopt an AI-generated idea, imagine the opposite. If the model suggests that adaptive learning is the key to engagement, ask: What if it is not? Exploring the counter-argument often reveals gaps and deeper insights.

    3. Slow the first draft
    It is tempting to let AI draft emails, reports, or code and just sign off. Instead, start with a rough human outline first. Even if it is just bullet points, you anchor the work in your own reasoning and use the model to enrich–not originate–your thinking.

    These small practices keep the human at the center of the process and turn AI into a gym for the mind rather than a crutch.

    Why this matters for education

    For those of us in education technology, the stakes are unusually high. The tools we build help shape how students learn and how teachers teach. If we let critical thinking atrophy inside our companies, we risk passing that weakness to the very people we serve.

    Students will increasingly use AI for research, writing, and even tutoring. If the adults designing their digital classrooms accept machine answers without question, we send the message that surface-level synthesis is enough. We would be teaching efficiency at the cost of depth.

    By contrast, if we model careful reasoning and thoughtful use of AI, we can help the next generation see these tools for what they are: accelerators of understanding, not replacements for it. AI can help us scale accessibility, personalize instruction, and analyze learning data in ways that were impossible before. But its highest value appears only when it meets human curiosity and judgment.

    Building a culture of shared judgment

    This is not just an individual challenge. Teams need to build rituals that honor slow thinking in a fast AI environment. Another practice is rotating the role of “critical friend” in meetings. One person’s task is to challenge the group’s AI-assisted conclusions and ask what could go wrong. This simple habit trains everyone to keep their reasoning sharp.

    Next time you lean on AI for a key piece of work, pause before you accept the answer. Write down two decisions in that task that only a human can make. It might be about context, ethics, or simple gut judgment. Then share those reflections with your team. Over time this will create a culture where AI supports wisdom rather than diluting it.

    The real promise of AI is not that it will think for us, but that it will free us to think at a higher level.

    The danger is that we may forget to climb.

    The future of education and the integrity of our own work depend on remaining climbers. Let the machines speed the climb, but never let them choose the summit.

    Laura Ascione
    Latest posts by Laura Ascione (see all)

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    Laura Ascione

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  • AT&T reached a $177M data breach settlement. What consumers should know about claiming their money

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    NEW YORK (AP) — AT&T has reached a combined $177 million settlement over two data breaches. And impacted consumers have a little over a month left to file a claim for their chunk of the money.

    Several lawsuits emerged across the U.S. — and were later consolidated — after AT&T notified millions of customers that information ranging from Social Security numbers to call records were compromised in these breaches last year. Plaintiffs alleged that the telecommunications giant “repeatedly failed” to protect consumer data. While AT&T has continued to deny wrongdoing, it opted to settle earlier this year.

    “We have agreed to this settlement to avoid the expense and uncertainty of protracted litigation,” AT&T said in a Thursday statement, adding that the company remains “committed to protecting our customers’ data and ensuring their continued trust in us.”

    Eligible consumers have until Dec. 18 to file for a settlement payment — which will still need a judge’s final stamp of approval early next year. Here’s what you should know.

    What data breaches does the AT&T settlement cover?

    The settlement covers two different breaches. Both were disclosed in 2024 — but involve data belonging to millions of current and former AT&T customers dating as far back as 2019 or earlier.

    AT&T disclosed the first of these breaches in March 2024, after the company said it found that customer information from 2019 or earlier had been released on the “dark web” weeks earlier. At the time, AT&T said the breach impacted roughly 7.6 million current and 65.4 million former account holders — with leaked data including some sensitive info like Social Security numbers and passcodes.

    The other breach involved call and text records of nearly all AT&T customers from May through October of 2022, as well as a small subset from Jan. 2, 2023. AT&T said it learned that data was “illegally downloaded from our workspace on a third-party cloud platform” in April of last year — and began notifying customers in July 2024, after launching an investigation. The company maintained that the leaked records included information like phone numbers, but not content of the calls or texts, or other personally identifiable information.

    Several lawsuits emerged over both of these data breaches — which were later consolidated. The settlement was reached earlier this year in U.S. District Court in Texas.

    How much money could impacted customers get?

    The settlement’s cash funds total $177 million to pay those impacted by both of these breaches — which divvies up to $149 million for the first “settlement class” and another $28 million for the second, per a preliminary approval order filed in June.

    According to the settlement administrator’s website, consumers impacted by the first breach may be eligible to up to $5,000. And those affected by the second breach may be eligible for up to $2,500. It’s also possible to be an “overlap settlement class member,” which would mean you may be eligible for payments from both of these funds.

    Final payment amounts will vary depending on losses documented from each person — as well as the total number of claims received and added costs like attorney fees. And the court still has to give the settlement its final stamp of approval, in a hearing currently scheduled for Jan. 15, 2026.

    When is the deadline to file a claim?

    In the meantime, consumers have a little over a month left to file a claim online or by mail. The deadline is Dec. 18.

    To learn more, you can visit the website of the settlement administrator, Kroll Settlement Administration. Class members can also opt-out or make an objection before Nov. 17.

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  • Zanzibar’s ‘solar mamas’ are trained as technicians to help light up communities

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    ZANZIBAR, Tanzania (AP) — When darkness came, so did the smoke.

    Hamna Silima Nyange, like half of the 2 million people in Tanzania’s semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar, did not have a house connected to the electricity grid. After sunset, she would turn to smoky oil lamps that provided the only light for her eight children to study.

    ”The light was too weak,” Nyange said. “And the smoke from the lamp hurt my eyes.”

    Then one day a neighbor, Tatu Omary Hamad, installed solar panels and bulbs that lit her home with help from the strong sunlight along the Indian Ocean coast.

    “Today we have enough light,” Nyange said.

    Training women to be solar technicians

    “Solar Mama” technicians walk on the campus of Barefoot College International in Kinyasini, Unguja, Zanzibar, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Denton)

    Hamad is one of dozens of “solar mamas” trained in Zanzibar by Barefoot College International, a global nonprofit, through a program that brings light to rural communities and provides jobs for local women. So far in Zanzibar, it has lit 1,845 homes.

    The program selects middle-aged women, most with little or no formal education, from villages without electricity and trains them over six months to become solar power technicians. It is one of a small number of programs in Africa including Solar Sister.

    The women return to their communities with at least 50 sets of household solar panel kits as well as the skills and equipment to set them up and keep them running.

    Barefoot College International focuses on middle-aged women because they tend to have the strongest links to their communities while not often involved in intensive child care.

    “We want to train women who become change makers,” said Brenda Geofrey, the director of Barefoot College International Zanzibar.

    The Zanzibar campus is in its 10th year of teaching local women. Before that, it sent women for training in India, where Barefoot College International was founded.

    "Solar Mama" technicians walk into a classroom on the campus of Barefoot College International in Kinyasini, Unguja, Zanzibar, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Denton)

    “Solar Mama” technicians walk into a classroom on the campus of Barefoot College International in Kinyasini, Unguja, Zanzibar, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Denton)

    One was Khazija Gharib Issa, who had been an unemployed widow. Now she is a master trainer.

    “I got a job. I got a place to stay. Before, I didn’t have one,” Issa said.

    The importance of health

    Improving health is at the heart of the program’s mission.

    Alongside its flagship solar power course, Barefoot College International offers programs for women in tailoring, beekeeping and sustainable agriculture. Every woman who completes a program is trained in general health knowledge that they are expected to take back to their villages.

    The “solar mamas” are health catalysts in another way, by replacing harmful light sources like kerosene.

    A "Solar Mama" technician wires up a solar charge controller at the campus of Barefoot College International in Kinyasini, Unguja, Zanzibar, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Denton)

    A “Solar Mama” technician wires up a solar charge controller at the campus of Barefoot College International in Kinyasini, Unguja, Zanzibar, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Denton)

    “Using kerosene has many problems,” said Jacob Dianga, a health care worker at a local clinic who is familiar with the group’s work. The fuel can irritate the eyes, while inhaling its smoke can cause long-term lung damage. It’s also a fire hazard in cramped homes and shops, and can poison children who mistake it for a drink.

    “Clean energy is very important,” Dianga said. “It helps protect our health.”

    Challenges remain

    Barefoot College International has scaled up across Africa, with other campuses in Madagascar and Senegal. In recent years, women have been brought to Zanzibar from Malawi and Somaliland, and this year some are being recruited from Central African Republic.

    A "Solar Mama" technician takes a training session on the campus of Barefoot College International in Kinyasini, Unguja, Zanzibar, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Denton)

    A “Solar Mama” technician takes a training session on the campus of Barefoot College International in Kinyasini, Unguja, Zanzibar, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Denton)

    Funding remains a challenge as major donors, notably the United States and European ones, cut foreign aid and projects face more competition for money that remains.

    Barefoot College International is run with public and private donations and revenue generated by its social enterprises.

    Another challenge is resistance in local communities, where some people find it hard to accept the women technicians in a radical new gender role.

    While the solar training program recruits with the approval of village leadership, who put forward candidates, some husbands have stopped their wives from training.

    “In most African communities, women are pictured as somebody who is just at home,” Geofrey said.

    But the solar mamas say the results often speak for themselves.

    “People used to say this work is for men. They were surprised and laughed at me,” Issa said. “But now they see how important my work is. I have become an example.”

    A "Solar Mama" technician wires up a solar charge controller at the campus of Barefoot College International in Kinyasini, Unguja, Zanzibar, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Denton)

    A “Solar Mama” technician wires up a solar charge controller at the campus of Barefoot College International in Kinyasini, Unguja, Zanzibar, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Denton)

    ___

    For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

    The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • New Text to 911 service allows you to reach help without cell reception. Here’s how it works

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    Have you ever been in or traveling through an area where there is no or low traditional cell service and thought, “What if I had an emergency and needed to call 911?”Now, because of a well-known cell service provider’s connection to a popular network of satellites, there’s a solution when you have an emergency and are off the grid and out of reach of a terrestrial cell tower’s signal.Related video above: A different new piece of technology helps guide rescuers to woman stuck in swampThe service is called Text to 911, and its availability is all thanks to T-Mobile’s new T-Satellite with Starlink, a service that, according to a recent release from the mobile carrier, was rolled out in July and connects compatible phones to an array of Starlink satellites orbiting the Earth.But if you’re not a T-Mobile customer, don’t fret. You don’t need to be a subscriber of the provider to use Text to 911. The service is available to anyone in the U.S. who has a compatible, satellite-capable iPhone or Android phone, and is designed to work anywhere in the 500,000 square miles of the U.S. not reached by traditional cell towers.That means even customers of providers like AT&T and Verizon can sign up for Text to 911.How to sign up for and use Text to 911While the service is free to use, non-T-Mobile customers are required to sign up in advance to use Text to 911. That can be done on the company’s website. The company said T-Mobile customers can add the service under “Manage Data & Add-Ons’” in their account or in T-Life. You don’t need to take any special action to use Text to 911. The mobile provider says that all you need is a view of the sky, and that using the service is just like sending a normal text message. All you need to do is enter a message on your phone’s native messaging app and enter 911 in the number field. From there, all you’ll need to do is hit “send.”While some areas around the U.S. already have the ability to text 911, this new service allows users to do so even when they can’t get reception from a traditional cell tower. If that’s the case, Text to 911 finds you a signal from a satellite up in space.The company said it “was a no-brainer” to make Text to 911 available and free for any person who enrolls and has a compatible phone.“There’s a good chance you’ve had that moment in your life at some point. Badly rolled ankle deep into a backcountry hike. Stuck in a tree well while skiing. Flat tire on a backcountry road. Or a million other situations that require access to emergency services in a place without cell service. It’s an absolutely terrifying feeling that we don’t want anyone to have ever again,” Mike Katz, president of marketing, strategy and products for T-Mobile, said in announcing the availability of Text to 911 on Nov. 5.

    Have you ever been in or traveling through an area where there is no or low traditional cell service and thought, “What if I had an emergency and needed to call 911?”

    Now, because of a well-known cell service provider’s connection to a popular network of satellites, there’s a solution when you have an emergency and are off the grid and out of reach of a terrestrial cell tower’s signal.

    Related video above: A different new piece of technology helps guide rescuers to woman stuck in swamp

    The service is called Text to 911, and its availability is all thanks to T-Mobile’s new T-Satellite with Starlink, a service that, according to a recent release from the mobile carrier, was rolled out in July and connects compatible phones to an array of Starlink satellites orbiting the Earth.

    But if you’re not a T-Mobile customer, don’t fret. You don’t need to be a subscriber of the provider to use Text to 911.

    The service is available to anyone in the U.S. who has a compatible, satellite-capable iPhone or Android phone, and is designed to work anywhere in the 500,000 square miles of the U.S. not reached by traditional cell towers.

    That means even customers of providers like AT&T and Verizon can sign up for Text to 911.

    How to sign up for and use Text to 911

    While the service is free to use, non-T-Mobile customers are required to sign up in advance to use Text to 911. That can be done on the company’s website. The company said T-Mobile customers can add the service under “Manage Data & Add-Ons’” in their account or in T-Life.

    You don’t need to take any special action to use Text to 911. The mobile provider says that all you need is a view of the sky, and that using the service is just like sending a normal text message. All you need to do is enter a message on your phone’s native messaging app and enter 911 in the number field. From there, all you’ll need to do is hit “send.”

    While some areas around the U.S. already have the ability to text 911, this new service allows users to do so even when they can’t get reception from a traditional cell tower. If that’s the case, Text to 911 finds you a signal from a satellite up in space.

    The company said it “was a no-brainer” to make Text to 911 available and free for any person who enrolls and has a compatible phone.

    “There’s a good chance you’ve had that moment in your life at some point. Badly rolled ankle deep into a backcountry hike. Stuck in a tree well while skiing. Flat tire on a backcountry road. Or a million other situations that require access to emergency services in a place without cell service. It’s an absolutely terrifying feeling that we don’t want anyone to have ever again,” Mike Katz, president of marketing, strategy and products for T-Mobile, said in announcing the availability of Text to 911 on Nov. 5.

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  • Amazon changes name of its Project Kuiper satellites to Amazon Leo

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    NATIONWIDE — What’s in a name? Amazon has changed the name of its Project Kuiper satellites to Amazon Leo.

    What You Need To Know

    • It is a nice play on words for low-Earth orbit and the Zodiac constellation Leo

    “Project Kuiper” was actually a temporary name for the low-Earth satellites, which were named after the Kuiper Belt, a region in the outer solar system that has a ring of asteroids.

    But as Amazon revealed, it always had plans to change that name.

    “Now, we’re ready to share our permanent brand for the program: Amazon Leo, a simple nod to the low Earth orbit satellite constellation that powers our network,” the Washington-state company stated.

    And Amazon “Leo” is a nice play on words. Low-Earth orbit is known as LEO and then there is the Zodiac constellation Leo, which is the “Lion”.

    Like the SpaceX-company Starlink and its satellites that orbit Earth, Amazon’s Leo will have its own low-Earth orbital satellite network.

    The Leo satellites provide internet service to customers around the little globed Earth.

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    Anthony Leone

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  • China’s stranded astronauts to return from space station

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    FILE – Journalists film Chinese astronauts for the upcoming Shenzhou 20 mission, from left, Wang Jie, captain Chen Dong and Chen Zhongrui wave at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, file)

    The Associated Press

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  • Blue Origin launches huge rocket carrying twin NASA spacecraft to Mars

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    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Blue Origin launched its huge New Glenn rocket Thursday with a pair of NASA spacecraft destined for Mars.

    It was only the second flight of the rocket that Jeff Bezos’ company and NASA are counting on to get people and supplies to the moon — and it was a complete success.

    The 321-foot (98-meter) New Glenn blasted into the afternoon sky from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, sending NASA’s twin Mars orbiters on a drawn-out journey to the red planet. Liftoff was stalled four days by lousy local weather as well as solar storms strong enough to paint the skies with auroras as far south as Florida.

    In a remarkable first, Blue Origin recovered the booster following its separation from the upper stage and the Mars orbiters, an essential step to recycle and slash costs similar to SpaceX. Company employees cheered wildly as the booster landed upright on a barge 375 miles (600 kilometers) offshore. An ecstatic Bezos watched the action from Launch Control.

    “Next stop, moon!” employees chanted following the booster’s bull’s-eye landing. Twenty minutes later, the rocket’s upper stage deployed the two Mars orbiters in space, the mission’s main objective. Congratulations poured in from NASA officials as well as SpaceX’s Elon Musk, whose booster landings are now routine.

    New Glenn’s inaugural test flight in January delivered a prototype satellite to orbit, but failed to land the booster on its floating platform in the Atlantic.

    The identical Mars orbiters, named Escapade, will spend a year hanging out near Earth, stationing themselves 1 million miles (1.5 million kilometers) away. Once Earth and Mars are properly aligned next fall, the duo will get a gravity assist from Earth to head to the red planet, arriving in 2027.

    Once around Mars, the spacecraft will map the planet’s upper atmosphere and scattered magnetic fields, studying how these realms interact with the solar wind. The observations should shed light on the processes behind the escaping Martian atmosphere, helping to explain how the planet went from wet and warm to dry and dusty. Scientists will also learn how best to protect astronauts against Mars’ harsh radiation environment.

    “We really, really want to understand the interaction of the solar wind with Mars better than we do now,” Escapade’s lead scientist, Rob Lillis of the University of California, Berkeley, said ahead of the launch. “Escapade is going to bring an unprecedented stereo viewpoint because we’re going to have two spacecraft at the same time.”

    It’s a relatively low-budget mission, coming in under $80 million, that’s managed and operated by UC Berkeley. NASA saved money by signing up for one of New Glenn’s early flights. The Mars orbiters should have blasted off last fall, but NASA passed up that ideal launch window — Earth and Mars line up for a quick transit just every two years — because of feared delays with Blue Origin’s brand-new rocket.

    Named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit the world, New Glenn is five times bigger than the New Shepard rockets sending wealthy clients to the edge of space from West Texas. Blue Origin plans to launch a prototype Blue Moon lunar lander on a demo mission in the coming months aboard New Glenn.

    Created in 2000 by Bezos, Amazon’s founder, Blue Origin already holds a NASA contract for the third moon landing by astronauts under the Artemis program. Musk’s SpaceX beat out Blue Origin for the first and second crew landings, using Starships, nearly 100 feet (30 meters) taller than Bezos’ New Glenn.

    But last month NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy reopened the contract for the first crewed moon landing, citing concern over the pace of Starship’s progress in flight tests from Texas. Blue Origin as well as SpaceX have presented accelerated landing plans.

    NASA is on track to send astronauts around the moon early next year using its own Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket. The next Artemis crew would attempt to land; the space agency is pressing to get astronauts back on the lunar surface by decade’s end in order to beat China.

    Twelve astronauts walked on the moon more than a half-century ago during NASA’s Apollo program.

    ___

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Opinion | AI Is a Tool, Not a Soul

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    Pope Leo XIV tries to head off claims that chatbots are sentient beings with rights.

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    Kristen Ziccarelli

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  • Anthropic says Chinese hackers used its Claude AI chatbot in cyberattacks

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    Anthropic said Thursday that Chinese hackers used its artificial intelligence technology in what the company believes is the first cyberespionage operation largely carried out using AI.

    Anthropic said the cybercriminals used its popular chatbot, Claude, to target roughly 30 technology companies, financial institutions, chemical manufacturers and government agencies. The hackers used the AI platform to gather usernames and passwords from the companies’ databases that they then exploited to steal private data, Anthropic said, while noting that only a “small number” of these attacks succeeded. 

    “We believe this is the first documented case of a large-scale cyberattack executed without substantial human intervention,” Anthropic said in a statement. 

    The San Francisco-based company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. 

    Anthropic said it began detecting suspicious activity in mid-September. A subsequent investigation by the company revealed that the activity stemmed from an espionage campaign that Anthropic said was likely carried out by a state-sponsored group based in China. 

    According to the investigation, hackers allegedly duped Claude into thinking it was an employee of a legitimate cybersecurity firm and that it was being used for defensive testing. Anthropic also said the cybercriminals sought to hide their tracks by breaking down the attack into small tasks.

    Unlike conventional cyberattacks, the operation required minimal human intervention, according to the company. “The AI made thousands of requests per second, an attack speed that would have been, for human hackers, simply impossible to match,” Anthropic said.

    Anthropic said it expects AI cyberattacks to grow in scale and sophistication as so-called agents become more widely used for a range of services. AI agents are cheaper than professional hackers and can operate quickly at a larger scale, making them particularly attractive to cybercriminals, MIT Technology Review has pointed out.

    Edited by

    Alain Sherter

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  • AT&T reached a $177M data breach settlement. What consumers should know about claiming their money

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    NEW YORK — AT&T has reached a combined $177 million settlement over two data breaches. And impacted consumers have a little over a month left to file a claim for their chunk of the money.

    Several lawsuits emerged across the U.S. — and were later consolidated — after AT&T notified millions of customers that information ranging from Social Security numbers to call records were compromised in these breaches last year. Plaintiffs alleged that the telecommunications giant “repeatedly failed” to protect consumer data. While AT&T has continued to deny wrongdoing, it opted to settle earlier this year.

    “We have agreed to this settlement to avoid the expense and uncertainty of protracted litigation,” AT&T said in a Thursday statement, adding that the company remains “committed to protecting our customers’ data and ensuring their continued trust in us.”

    Eligible consumers have until Dec. 18 to file for a settlement payment — which will still need a judge’s final stamp of approval early next year. Here’s what you should know.

    The settlement covers two different breaches. Both were disclosed in 2024 — but involve data belonging to millions of current and former AT&T customers dating as far back as 2019 or earlier.

    AT&T disclosed the first of these breaches in March 2024, after the company said it found that customer information from 2019 or earlier had been released on the “dark web” weeks earlier. At the time, AT&T said the breach impacted roughly 7.6 million current and 65.4 million former account holders — with leaked data including some sensitive info like Social Security numbers and passcodes.

    The other breach involved call and text records of nearly all AT&T customers from May through October of 2022, as well as a small subset from Jan. 2, 2023. AT&T said it learned that data was “illegally downloaded from our workspace on a third-party cloud platform” in April of last year — and began notifying customers in July 2024, after launching an investigation. The company maintained that the leaked records included information like phone numbers, but not content of the calls or texts, or other personally identifiable information.

    Several lawsuits emerged over both of these data breaches — which were later consolidated. The settlement was reached earlier this year in U.S. District Court in Texas.

    The settlement’s cash funds total $177 million to pay those impacted by both of these breaches — which divvies up to $149 million for the first “settlement class” and another $28 million for the second, per a preliminary approval order filed in June.

    According to the settlement administrator’s website, consumers impacted by the first breach may be eligible to up to $5,000. And those affected by the second breach may be eligible for up to $2,500. It’s also possible to be an “overlap settlement class member,” which would mean you may be eligible for payments from both of these funds.

    Final payment amounts will vary depending on losses documented from each person — as well as the total number of claims received and added costs like attorney fees. And the court still has to give the settlement its final stamp of approval, in a hearing currently scheduled for Jan. 15, 2026.

    In the meantime, consumers have a little over a month left to file a claim online or by mail. The deadline is Dec. 18.

    To learn more, you can visit the website of the settlement administrator, Kroll Settlement Administration. Class members can also opt-out or make an objection before Nov. 17.

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  • A Judge Said Luigi Mangione Could Have a Laptop to View Evidence in Jail. He Still Hasn’t Gotten It

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    The delay, Mangione’s lawyers said in a court filing made public Thursday, is putting the 27-year-old suspect in a time crunch with little more than two weeks before an important hearing in his state murder case.

    Mangione, also facing a federal death penalty case, has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal jail in Brooklyn, since his December 2024 arrest. He has pleaded not guilty.

    A judge approved the defense’s request for a laptop in August, but getting it in his hands has been slow because of modifications required to prevent misuse and the volume of evidence being saved to it.

    The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is prosecuting the state case, didn’t want him to have a laptop. Federal prosecutors didn’t take a position, and their spokesperson declined to comment Thursday.

    “Although the federal court has previously issued a laptop order, there is a lengthy and laborious process that must be completed before Mr. Mangione receives the laptop,” defense lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo wrote.

    To comply with jail regulations, she said, the laptop had to be sent to an outside technology vendor to disable its connections to the internet, printers and wireless networks — a process that took “many weeks to complete.”

    The changes mean the tech-savvy Mangione, a former software engineer, won’t be able to use the laptop to view websites, send messages or post on social media.

    Now, the device is with federal prosecutors, who are loading the computer with some of the more than seven terabytes of evidence that has been collected in the case, Friedman Agnifilo said. The rest will be saved to an external hard drive that also will be provided to Mangione.

    Such evidence sharing, known as discovery, is routine in criminal cases and is intended to help ensure a fair trial. Defendants often assist their lawyers in reviewing evidence and shaping their defense.

    “Once Mr. Mangione receives the laptop and hard drive, he will need time to meaningfully review” the material before a Dec. 1 hearing on evidence and other issues in the state case, Friedman Agnifilo said.

    Mangione’s lawyers are seeking to have prosecutors barred from using certain evidence collected during his arrest, including a 9 mm handgun, a notebook in which authorities say he described his intent to “wack” an insurance executive, and statements he made to police.

    Thompson, 50, was killed on Dec. 4, 2024, as he arrived at a Manhattan hotel for his company’s annual investor conference.

    Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him behind. Police say “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.

    Mangione, the Ivy League-educated scion of a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested five days later while eating breakfast at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of Manhattan.

    As the anniversary of the killing nears, Mangione’s cases are at critical points.

    In the federal case, Mangione’s lawyers want prosecutors barred from seeking the death penalty and want at least some charges dismissed, arguing that authorities prejudiced him by turning his arrest into a spectacle and by publicly declaring their desire to see him executed. A hearing is scheduled for Jan. 9.


    Wait for laptop continues

    They told Carro that the amount of evidence being turned over by prosecutors — including video files, documents and other items — was so voluminous, Mangione couldn’t reasonably view it on the jail’s shared computers for inmates. Nor would they be able to go over it all during jail visits, they said.

    The district attorney’s office disagreed, arguing that instead of giving Mangione a laptop, his lawyers could simply show him key case material instead.

    Carro concluded that he had “no objection” as long as jail officials were on board.

    On Aug. 4, the judge in Mangione’s federal case signed an order approving Mangione for a modified, evidence-only laptop and requiring that the jail give him access to it each day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

    More than 100 days later, still no laptop.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Disney Streaming and Parks Shine in Fourth Quarter, but Some TV Networks, Movies Weaker

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    Disney’s fourth-quarter performance was mixed as a weaker performance from its television networks and some films was buffered by strength in its streaming business and theme parks.

    Disney is still trying to work out a new licensing deal with YouTube after its content went dark on YouTube TV late last month, leaving subscribers of the Google-owned live streaming platform without access to major networks like ESPN and ABC.

    The Walt Disney Co. earned $1.31 billion, or 73 cents per share, for the three months ended Sept. 25. It earned $460 million, or 25 cents per share, in the prior-year period.

    Stripping out one time charges and costs, earnings were $1.11 per share. That’s better than the $1.03 per share that analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research predicted.

    Revenue for the Burbank, California, company totaled $22.46 billion, short of Wall Street’s estimate of $22.86 billion.

    Revenue for Disney Entertainment, which includes the company’s movie studios and streaming service, dropped 6%, while revenue for the Experiences division, its parks, climbed 6%.

    Operating income from linear networks dropped 21% and revenue slipped 16%. Disney said that the operating income decline was driven by the Star India transaction, as Star India contributed $84 million to its year-ago results. Operating income for domestic linear networks fell 7% due to lower advertising driven by declines in viewership and political advertising.

    Disney said that its movie distribution results were weaker when compared with the same period last year, which was buoyed by “Deadpool & Wolverine” and spillover receipts from “Inside Out 2.” Films released during the most recent quarter included “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” “The Roses” and “Freakier Friday.”

    Disney’s direct-to-consumer business, which includes Disney+ and Hulu, posted quarterly operating income of $352 million compared with $253 million a year ago. Revenue rose 8%.

    The Disney+ streaming service had a 3% increase in paid subscribers domestically, which includes the U.S. and Canada. There was a 4% rise internationally, which excludes Disney+ HotStar.

    Total paid subscribers for Disney+ came to 132 million subscribers, up from 128 million in the third quarter.

    Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions totaled 196 million, an increase of 12.4 million from the third quarter.

    The strong streaming results come shortly after the entertainment company saw Disney+ and Hulu subscription cancellations climb in September when ABC briefly cancelled “Jimmy Kimmel Live!. ”

    Walt Disney Co. owns the streaming platforms and ABC. ABC pulled the show off the air for less than a week in September in the wake of criticism over his comments related to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

    Prior to the incident, Disney had said in August that it anticipated that total fourth-quarter Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions would increase more than 10 million compared with the third quarter, with most of the increase coming from Hulu due to the expanded Charter deal. The company had also expected a modest increase in the number of Disney+ subscribers in the fourth quarter.

    Disney also previously announced that it will stop reporting the number of paid subscribers for Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ streaming services because the metric has become less meaningful for evaluating the performance of its businesses. The company will stop reporting the metric for Disney+ and Hulu beginning with fiscal 2026’s first quarter and no longer reports the figure for ESPN+ starting with fiscal 2025’s fourth quarter.

    The Experiences division, which includes Disney’s six global theme parks, its cruise line, merchandise and video game licensing, reported operating income climbed 13% to $1.88 billion. Operating income increased 9% at domestic parks. Operating income surged 25% for international parks and Experiences.

    Disney maintained its forecast for double-digit adjusted earnings per share growth for fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2027.

    Disney’s stock fell 5% before the market open on Thursday.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • 8 innovative gifts you didn’t know you needed

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    There are gifts, and then there are gifts, the ones inventive enough to surprise and delight the recipient. Some are fun; others, practical. They all aim to improve how we do or enjoy things.

    Consider adding these innovative gifts to your shopping list. There’s something here for every budget.

    Elevated luggage

    Invented by a mom of four who sought to cut down on hotel-room chaos, Props carry-on suitcases have luggage racks built right in. Like a folding table, each suitcase has legs that unfold easily to elevate it off the floor. You could even use it as a snack table or laptop stand at the airport.

    Other features include an interior compression packing system, an integrated TSA-approved combination lock, a telescoping handle, two 360-degree spinning wheels at each corner and carry handles on three sides. Available in five colors; 21.5” x 14” x 9.5” (width expandable to 11.5”). $399.

    A smart collar

    Like a fitness tracker for pets, the PetPace V3.0 smart collar is an AI-powered health-monitoring device that tracks pets’ locations via GPS and monitors their vital and biometric signs.

    Using AI analytics and machine learning, the smart collar gets to “know” your dog or cat over time, collecting data on activity, body temperature, pulse rate and so on. The mobile app tracks and displays subtle changes.

    Users also get free access to a veterinarian via 24/7 chat, and the ability to share a link with their own vet to provide historical physiological and behavioral data. $299-$399. plus subscription fees, which start at $13.90 per month.

    Secure shade

    If there’s a beach lover on your list, the AnchorOne Classic Beach Umbrella System will keep them comfortable and safe from the inconvenience — and danger — posed by wind-borne umbrellas.

    Setting up the umbrella takes about five minutes, and an anchor filled with sand keeps it from blowing away in winds up to 25 mph (40.2 kph).

    An adjustable tray keeps snacks, drinks and cellphones off the sand, and the umbrella’s 7-foot (2.1-meter) canopy has an Ultraviolet Protection Factor of 50+. Available in five colors. Carry bags are included for both the umbrella and anchor. $119.99.

    Cuddly calm

    Talking dolls and stuffed animals have been around for decades; some even “read” books and tell stories. But Pause with Panda uses interactivity for more than entertainment, providing kids with exercises designed to help them regulate their emotions and practice mindfulness.

    The cuddly panda’s programming guides children through audible, age-appropriate “pauses,” including ones aimed at reducing anxiety, improving attention, building emotional awareness, developing compassion, and supporting daily routines and transitions, like bedtime. Caregivers can monitor on the accompanying mobile app.

    Topics can be customized for anxiety, sleep and ADHD, and adults can even record their own “pauses” for children to hear.

    Suitable for ages 3 and up. $99, including a storybook and stickers.

    Sparkle anywhere

    Sparkling water and seltzer lovers know they can either pay for the bottled stuff or use a kitchen-counter model to carbonate liter-size bottles at home. Now, Aerflo, a portable soda-maker system, lets them make fizzy drinks on the go.

    Fill the stainless steel and BPA-, lead- and PFAS-free plastic bottle with water, attach a mini capsule to the cap and screw on the lid. Then tap the cap to release beverage-grade carbon dioxide into the water and give the bottle a shake, repeating as desired for more bubbles.

    The set includes a 17-ounce bottle; four refillable capsules, which carbonate four bottles apiece; a three-capsule travel case; and a prepaid shipping box for zero-waste capsule exchanges. $84.

    Airborne audio

    Many in-flight entertainment systems still require users to plug wired headphones into an airplane’s one- or two-pronged audio jack. And the system’s lack of a Bluetooth option leaves most folks with wireless earbuds or headsets with two options: Buy a cheap pair from the flight attendant or sit in silence.

    The JBL Tour One M3 Smart TX headphones change that. You plug the included touchscreen Bluetooth transmitter into the jack, and the device will connect to the headphones, allowing you to listen to high-resolution, 24-bit audio — with or without noise cancellation — and move about freely.

    The system also connects to other audio sources, like computers, cellphones and older TVs, and allows two listeners to connect to one transmitter for shared listening. The Zoom-certified headphones let you control how much of your own voice you hear on calls. Available in three colors. $449.95.

    A frigid friend

    Die-hard cold plungers know that tap water isn’t frosty enough to provide the chilling effects they seek, and standalone cryotubs can take up too much space in small bathrooms.

    Enter HomePlunge, a portable water-cooling unit that can transform any bathtub into an ice bath.

    The wheeled unit rolls up to the tub and has a hose arm that draws in water, cools it and then returns it to the tub, reaching set temperatures as low as 34 degrees F (1 degree C) in 30-60 minutes.

    When you’ve had enough, roll the modular chiller out of the way until the next session, which you can schedule in advance via the accompanying mobile app. $2,999.

    Flushed for the holidays

    Toilet paper — original and inventive? You bet!

    It may get some laughs when they open the box, but Charmin’s new supersize Forever Roll just might be the most practical gift you’ll ever give.

    Although it won’t live up to the “forever” hyperbole in its name, each giant roll — measuring 1 foot (.3 meters) in diameter, weighing 2 pounds (.9 kilograms) and providing 1,700 sheets of 2-ply, septic-safe toilet paper — promises to last a whole month in an average two-person household.

    The starter kit includes two Forever Rolls and a brushed stainless-steel stand, with refills sold separately. $39.99.

    ___

    For more AP gift guides and holiday coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/gift-guide and https://apnews.com/hub/holidays.

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  • A medley of tech gifts for everyone on your holiday shopping list

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    NEW YORK (AP) — It’s the most wonderful time of the year, unless you want to find the perfect gifts for tech lovers.

    There’s a lot of slop to sift through as we get closer to the holidays, many interests to appeal to and a whole bunch of deals-that-aren’t-deals flashing before our screens. So here’s a guide — and some sales — to help you get started on your gift shopping journey.

    For your gamers

    The Nintendo Switch 2 was the biggest and most anticipated console launch of 2025, and if history is any indication, it will be increasingly harder to find as Christmas approaches. But for the gamers in your life — both young and adult — this is the gift to get.

    Nintendo’s Black Friday deals for the console and games have been announced but the best bang for your buck may be the console bundles. The Switch 2 is still available as just the console only for $449 or bundled with Mario Kart World for $499. A new $499 bundle is now available where the console is packaged with Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Games retail for about $70 a piece, so you do save a little with bundles.

    Need a new iPhone?

    The iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro Max captured the headlines this year when the new lineup launched, but the base iPhone 17 received an upgraded camera (telephoto lens), more base storage and a longer battery life. Given the price for this model hasn’t changed, you’re straight up getting more tech for the same price. If your gift recipient’s current iPhone is a few generations behind, this is a good time to consider an upgrade.

    What about AI? The iPhone 17 doesn’t make as many leaps into the technology as its predecessor, but the new iOS and processer prepares the phone for any advancements that may come in 2026. The iPhone 17 retails at $800.

    Or maybe you’d like a foldable phone?

    If you or someone in your life has ever been curious about a foldable phone, consider Samsung’s newest Galaxy Z Fold 7 model. This phone solves many of the issues users have been concerned about since fold phones hit the market: It’s much thinner and lighter than its predecessors — 0.17 inches thick when unfolded and less than half an inch folded — and it weighs slightly less than half a pound, impressive considering they boosted the size of all the screens.

    But the price of a fold phone remains steep compared to the flagship iPhone and Galaxy devices. The Z Fold 7 currently is running a sale on its site but normally retails starting at $1,999.

    Planning to shoot more video or pictures?

    For anyone interested in doing more filming or photography with their mobile device, this supremely portable tripod by SelfieShow offers solid stability even when extended to its max height of 71 inches. The mounting arm also offers a wide array of positioning for shooters on the go. And the rig can collapse into a retractable selfie stick for even more functionality and portability.

    This portable tripod retails for $19.99.

    Recording clearer audio

    For aspiring influencers, podcasters or vloggers in your life, try these wireless microphones by Hollyland. The Lark M2 Wireless Microphone mics are easy to use, have good range and do well in filtering out background noise. You can easily attach these to clothes for interviews or even hold them for the tiny mic lifestyle. Best of all, it comes with two mics per order.

    These mics are currently on sale for $76.

    There’s always someone who wants a TV

    For those TV lovers who just want a little more for their gaming or cinematic experience, consider Samsung’s S90F OLED TV. This higher-end TV offers excellent contrast, colors and Ethernet performance. It also can act as a giant monitor if you want to plug your PC/gaming console into it, offering VRR support up to 144Hz on all four of its HDMI ports. For those who like to add sound systems or other peripherals to their TV, it also offers an additional three USB-A ports and one USB-C port.

    Normally this TV retails around $1,800, but an ongoing holiday promo (until Dec. 1) puts it, at 55 inches, at $1,199.99.

    Typing on the go

    Portability is core to the Logitech Pebble 2 wireless keyboard and mouse combo. This minimalist and highly functional offering by Logitech will satisfy on-the-go users who are looking for a silent, but still tactile, Bluetooth mouse and keyboard. It also offers a one-tap, multi-device switching option if you’ve already paired it with said devices — which include Android tablets and Apple iPads in addition to laptops — a great feature if you’re multitasking.

    The combo comes in several colors and retails for $49.99. If you’re OK with black, Walmart has a deal for $42.

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    For more AP gift guides and holiday coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/gift-guide and https://apnews.com/hub/holidays.

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  • This anti-drone technology is used on the Ukrainian battlefield and in NATO airspace after flyovers

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    AALBORG, Denmark (AP) — In a warehouse more than 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) from Ukraine’s capital, workers in northern Denmark painstakingly piece together anti-drone devices. Some of the devices will be exported to Kyiv in the hopes of jamming Russian technology on the battlefield, while others will be shipped across Europe in efforts to combat mysterious drone intrusions into NATO’s airspace that have the entire continent on edge.

    Two Danish companies whose business was predominantly defense-related now say they have a surge in new clients seeking to use their technology to protect sites like airports, military installations and critical infrastructure, all of which have been targeted by drone flyovers in recent weeks.

    Weibel Scientific’s radar drone detection technology was deployed ahead of a key EU summit earlier this year to Copenhagen Airport, where unidentified drone sightings closed the airspace for hours in September. Counter-drone firm MyDefence, from its warehouse in northern Denmark, builds handheld, wearable radio frequency devices that sever the connection between a drone and its pilot to neutralize the threat.

    So-called “jamming” is restricted and heavily regulated in the European Union, but widespread on the battlefields of Ukraine and has become so extensive there that Russia and Ukraine have started deploying drones tethered by thin fiber-optic cables that don’t rely on radio frequency signals. Russia also is firing attack drones with extra antenna to foil Ukraine’s jamming efforts.

    A spike in drone incursions

    Drone warfare exploded following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russia has bombarded Ukraine with drone and missile attacks, striking railways, power facilities and cities across the country. Ukraine, in response, has launched daring strikes deep inside Russia using domestically produced drones.

    But Europe as a whole is now on high alert after the drone flyovers into NATO’s airspace reached an unprecedented scale in September, prompting European leaders to agree to develop a “drone wall” along their borders to better detect, track and intercept drones violating Europe’s airspace. In November, NATO military officials said a new U.S. anti-drone system was deployed to the alliance’s eastern flank.

    Some European officials described the incidents as Moscow testing NATO’s response, which raised questions about how prepared the alliance is against Russia. Key challenges include the ability to detect drones — sometimes mistaken for a bird or plane on radar systems — and take them down cheaply.

    The Kremlin has brushed off allegations that Russia is behind some of the unidentified drone flights in Europe.

    Andreas Graae, assistant professor at the Royal Danish Defense College, said there is a “huge drive” to rapidly deploy counter-drone systems in Europe amid Russia’s aggression.

    “All countries in Europe are struggling to find the right solutions to be prepared for these new drone challenges,” he said. “We don’t have all the things that are needed to actually be good enough to detect drones and have early warning systems.”

    Putting ‘machines before people’

    Founded in 2013, MyDefence makes devices that can be used to protect airports, government buildings and other critical infrastructure, but chief executive Dan Hermansen called the Russia-Ukraine war a “turning point” for his company.

    More than 2,000 units of its wearable “Wingman” detector have been delivered to Ukraine since Russia invaded nearly four years ago.

    “For the past couple of years, we’ve heard in Ukraine that they want to put machines before people” to save lives, Hermansen said.

    MyDefence last year doubled its earnings to roughly $18.7 million compared to 2023.

    Then came the drone flyovers earlier this year. Besides Copenhagen Airport, drones flew over four smaller Danish airports, including two that serve as military bases.

    Hermansen said they were an “eye-opener” for many European countries and prompted a surge of interest in their technology. MyDefence went from the vast majority of its business being defense-related to inquiries from officials representing police forces and critical infrastructure.

    “Seeing suddenly that drone warfare is not just something that happens in Ukraine or on the eastern flank, but basically is something that we need to take care of in a hybrid warfare threat scenario,” he added.

    Radar technology used against drones

    On NATO’s eastern flank, Denmark, Poland and Romania are deploying a new weapons system to defend against drones. The American Merops system, which is small enough to fit in the back of a midsize pickup truck, can identify drones and close in on them using artificial intelligence to navigate when satellite and electronic communications are jammed.

    The aim is to make the border with Russia so well-armed that Moscow’s forces will be deterred from ever contemplating crossing the line from Norway in the north to Turkey in the south, NATO military officials told The Associated Press.

    North of Copenhagen, Weibel Scientific has been making Doppler radar technology since the 1970s. Typically used in tracking radar systems for the aerospace industry, it’s now being applied to drone detection like at Copenhagen Airport.

    The technology can determine the velocity of an object, such as a drone, based on the change in wavelength of a signal being bounced back. Then it’s possible to predict the direction the object is moving, Weibel Scientific chief executive Peter Røpke said.

    “The Ukraine war, and especially how it has evolved over the last couple of years with drone technology, means this type of product is in high demand,” Røpke said.

    Earlier this year, Weibel secured a $76 million deal, which the firm called its “largest order ever.”

    The drone flyovers boosted the demand even higher as discussion around the proposed “drone wall” continued. Røpke said his technology could become a “key component” of any future drone shield.

    ___

    Stefanie Dazio in Berlin contributed to this report.

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  • Anthropic, Microsoft announce new AI data center projects as industry’s construction push continues

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    Artificial intelligence company Anthropic announced a $50 billion investment in computing infrastructure on Wednesday that will include new data centers in Texas and New York.

    Microsoft also on Wednesday announced a new data center under construction in Atlanta, Georgia, describing it as connected to another in Wisconsin to form a “massive supercomputer” running on hundreds of thousands of Nvidia chips to power AI technology.

    The latest deals show that the tech industry is moving forward on huge spending to build energy-hungry AI infrastructure, despite lingering financial concerns about a bubble, environmental considerations and the political effects of fast-rising electricity bills in the communities where the massive buildings are constructed.

    Anthropic, maker of the chatbot Claude, said it is working with London-based Fluidstack to build the new computing facilities to power its AI systems. It didn’t disclose their exact locations or what source of electricity they will need.

    Another company, cryptocurrency mining data center developer TeraWulf, has previously revealed it was working with Fluidstack on Google-backed data center projects in Texas and New York, on the shore of Lake Ontario. TeraWulf declined comment Wednesday.

    A report last month from TD Cowen said that the leading cloud computing providers leased a “staggering” amount of U.S. data center capacity in the third fiscal quarter of this year, amounting to more than 7.4 gigawatts of energy, more than all of last year combined.

    Oracle was securing the most capacity during that time, much of it supporting AI workloads for Anthropic’s chief rival OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT. Google was second and Fluidstack came in third, ahead of Meta, Amazon, CoreWeave and Microsoft.

    Anthropic said its projects will create about 800 permanent jobs and 2,400 construction jobs. It said in a statement that the “scale of this investment is necessary to meet the growing demand for Claude from hundreds of thousands of businesses while keeping our research at the frontier.”

    Microsoft has branded its two-story Atlanta data center as Fairwater 2 and said it will be connected across a “high-speed network” with the original Fairwater complex being built south of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The company said the facility’s densely packed Nvidia chips will help power Microsoft’s own AI technology, along with OpenAI’s and other AI developers.

    Microsoft was, until earlier this year, OpenAI’s exclusive cloud computing provider before the two companies amended their partnership. OpenAI has since announced more than $1 trillion in infrastructure obligations, much of it tied to its Stargate project with partners Oracle and SoftBank. Microsoft, in turn, spent nearly $35 billion in the July-September quarter on capital expenditures to support its AI and cloud demand, nearly half of that on computer chips.

    Anthropic has made its own computing partnerships with Amazon and, more recently, Google.

    The tech industry’s big spending on computing infrastructure for AI startups that aren’t yet profitable has fueled concerns about an AI investment bubble.

    Investors have closely watched a series of circular deals over recent months between AI developers and the companies building the costly chips and data centers needed to power their AI products. Anthropic said it will continue to “prioritize cost-effective, capital-efficient approaches” to scaling up its business.

    OpenAI had to backtrack last week after its chief financial officer, Sarah Friar, made comments at a tech conference suggesting the U.S. government could help in financing chips needed for data centers. The White House’s top AI official, David Sacks, responded on social media platform X that there “will be no federal bailout for AI” and if one of the leading companies fails, “others will take its place,” though he also added he didn’t think “anyone was actually asking for a bailout.”

    OpenAI CEO Sam Altman later confirmed in a lengthy statement that “we do not have or want government guarantees” for the company’s data centers and also sought to address concerns about whether it will be able to pay for all the infrastructure it has signed up for.

    “We are looking at commitments of about $1.4 trillion over the next 8 years,” Altman wrote. “Obviously this requires continued revenue growth, and each doubling is a lot of work! But we are feeling good about our prospects there.”

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  • These are the 37 donors helping pay for Trump’s $300 million White House ballroom

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    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says his $300 million White House ballroom will be paid for “100% by me and some friends of mine.”

    The White House released a list of 37 donors, including crypto billionaires, charitable organizations, sports team owners, powerful financiers, tech and tobacco giants, media companies, longtime supporters of Republican causes and several of the president’s neighbors in Palm Beach, Florida.

    It’s incomplete. Among others, the list doesn’t include Carrier Group, which offered to donate an HVAC system for the ballroom, and artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia, whose CEO, Jensen Huang, publicly discussed its donation.

    The White House hasn’t said how much each donor is giving, and almost none was willing to divulge that. Very few commented on their contributions when contacted by The Associated Press.

    A senior White House official said the list has grown since it was first released in October, but some companies don’t want to be publicly named until required to do so by financial disclosure regulations. No foreign individuals or entities were among the donors, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that haven’t been made public.

    Here’s a look at the divulged donors:

    Tech giants (8):

    Amazon Background: Trump was once highly critical of company founder Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post, but has been much less so lately. Amazon donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, an event attended by Bezos. Its video streaming service paid $40 million to license a documentary about first lady Melania Trump. Its cloud-based computing operation, Amazon Web Services, is a major government contractor.

    Apple Background: After an up-and-down relationship during Trump’s first term, CEO Tim Cook has sought to improve his standing with the president this time. Before returning to the White House, Trump hosted Cook at his Palm Beach estate, Mar-a-Lago, and said he had spoken with Cook about the company’s long-running tax battles with the European Union. Cook also donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. In the spring, Trump threatened the computing giant with tariffs after Apple announced plans to build manufacturing facilities in India. In August, Cook presented the president with a customized glass plaque with a gold base as the CEO announced plans to bring Apple’s total investment commitment in U.S. manufacturing over four years to $600 billion.

    Google Background: During his first term, Trump’s administration sued Google for antitrust violations. While a candidate last year, Trump suggested he might seek to break up the search engine behemoth. Once Trump won the election, Google donated $1 million to his inauguration, and its CEO, Sundar Pichai, joined other major tech executives in attending the ceremony. Google’s subsidiary, YouTube, agreed in September to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit with Trump after it suspended his account following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. According to court filings, $22 million of that went to the Trust for the National Mall, which can help pay for ballroom construction.

    HP Background: An original Silicon Valley stalwart, the company donated to Trump’s inaugural fund. HP ‘s CEO, Enrique Lores, participated in a White House roundtable event in September. Lores also previously met with President Joe Biden at the White House on multiple occasions as top CEOs endorsed that administration’s economic plans.

    Meta Background: Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg had been critical of Trump going back to 2016, and Facebook suspended Trump for years after the Jan. 6 insurrection. This time around, Meta contributed $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, and Zuckerberg attended.

    Micron Technology Background: The producer of advanced memory computer chips announced an April 2024 agreement with the Biden administration to provide $6.1 billion in government support for Micron to make chips domestically. Then, in June, Micron pledged $200 billion for U.S. memory chip manufacturing expansion under Trump. But at least $120 billion of that involved holdovers first announced during Biden’s administration.

    Microsoft Background: The company donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, twice what it spent for Biden’s or for Trump’s first inauguration. CEO Satya Nadella has also met with Trump numerous times, as Microsoft has supported the administration’s relaxation of regulations on artificial intelligence. He met previously with Biden, too. Trump has called for Microsoft’s president of global affairs, Lisa Monaco, to be fired because she was a deputy attorney general under Biden when the Justice Department led several investigations against Trump.

    Palantir Technologies Background: Co-founded by billionaire libertarian Peter Thiel, the firm concentrates on artificial intelligence and machine learning. It has seen profits soar thanks to lucrative defense and other federal contracts.

    Crypto (5):

    Coinbase Background: The major cryptocurrency exchange was founded by Brian Armstrong, a top donor to a political action committee that helped Trump and other pro-crypto candidates in 2024. Armstrong attended the first crypto summit at the White House in March. Coinbase also hired Trump’s co-campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, to its Global Advisory Council.

    Ripple Background: In March, the Securities and Exchange Commission dropped a lawsuit filed during Trump’s first term, which accused the company of violating securities laws by selling XRP crypto coins without a securities registration. In his second term, Trump has eased regulations on digital assets, repealing an SEC accounting rule and a previous presidential executive order mandating more federal study and proposed changes to crypto regulations.

    Tether Background: A cryptocurrency company and major stablecoin issuer, Tether paid fines for misleading investors. CEO Paolo Ardoino has been to Trump’s White House, and, in April, the company hired former Trump administration crypto policy official Bo Hines to lead its domestic expansion efforts.

    Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss Background: Each Winklevoss twin is listed as a separate donor. Best known as Zuckerberg’s chief antagonists in “The Social Network,” the brothers founded the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange. Biden’s SEC sued Gemini for selling unregistered securities, but the case has been paused under Trump.

    Energy and industrial (4):

    Caterpillar Background: The equipment maker ‘s PAC has donated to candidates from both parties, but given more to Republicans. It has also said publicly that Trump’s tariffs, some of which the administration has now eased, could increase its costs and hurt earnings.

    NextEra Energy Background: NextEra is the world’s largest electric utility holding company. Trump says he’ll work to ensure tech giants can secure their own sources of electricity to power data centers, especially as they expand energy-hogging artificial intelligence operations. Google recently entered into an agreement to buy power from a shuttered nuclear power plant in Iowa owned by NextEra, which the company plans to bring back online in 2029.

    Paolo Tiramani Background: An American industrial designer who has donated to Trump’s political campaigns. Tiramani, with his son, runs BOXABL, a firm specializing in modular, prefabricated homes.

    Union Pacific Background: Trump has endorsed the company’s proposed $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern, which would be the largest-ever rail merger. It also will be up to the president to appoint two more Republican members of the Surface Transportation Board, who will ultimately decide whether to approve the merger. In August, Trump fired one of the two Democratic members of the board.

    Philanthropy (3):

    Adelson Family Foundation Background: Founded to strengthen the state of Israel and the Jewish people, the foundation was created by Miriam Adelson, the majority owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, close Trump ally and longtime GOP megadonor. She’s also the widow of Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire founder and owner of Las Vegas Sands.

    Betty Wold Johnson Foundation Background: Based in Palm Beach, the foundation supports health, arts and culture initiatives, as well as environmental and educational programs. It’s named in honor of the mother of New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, who served as Trump’s ambassador to the United Kingdom during his first term.

    Laura & Isaac Perlmutter Foundation Background: The nonprofit based in Lake Worth Beach, near Palm Beach, focuses on promoting health care, social justice, the arts and community initiatives. Isaac is an Israeli American businessman and financier and former chair of Marvel Entertainment. He and his wife have donated to Trump’s presidential campaigns and affiliated PACs.

    Trump administration officials (3):

    Benjamin Leon Jr. Background: The Cuban American founder of Miami-based Leon Medical Centers is Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Spain.

    Kelly Loeffler and Jeffrey Sprecher Background: A former Republican senator from Georgia, Loeffler heads Trump’s Small Business Administration. Her husband is CEO of the energy market Intercontinental Exchange Inc. and chairs the New York Stock Exchange. The couple faced scrutiny in 2020 for dumping substantial portions of their portfolio and purchasing new stocks, including in firms making protective equipment, after Congress received briefings on the severity of the coming coronavirus pandemic.

    Lutnick Family Background: Howard Lutnick is Trump’s commerce secretary. A crypto enthusiast, he once headed the brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald.

    Communications/entertainment (3):

    Comcast Background: The mass media and telecom conglomerate has often been criticized by Trump, including in April, when the president posted that Comcast was a “disgrace to the integrity of broadcasting.” The company owns NBC and is spinning off MSNBC. It could be interested in acquiring Warner Bros. Discover, and that would leave Comcast looking for government approval.

    Hard Rock International Background: A Florida-based gaming and tourism concern owned by the Seminole Tribe, the company operates a number of casinos, including the former Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Trump has for decades criticized federal exemptions allowing tribes to operate casinos.

    T-Mobile Background: The wireless carrier is indirectly linked to Trump Mobile, which the president’s family controls and offers gold phones and cell service in a licensing deal. Trump Mobile uses Liberty Mobile Wireless, a small, Florida-based network that T-Mobile says runs its operations on T-Mobile’s network. T-Mobile says that is unrelated to its decision to donate to Trump’s ballroom, which it says is meant to “restore and enrich the historic landmarks that define our nation’s capital.”

    Big Tobacco (2):

    Altria Group Background: The tobacco giant controls Philip Morris USA, maker of Marlboro. It has pressed for federal crackdowns on counterfeit and illegal vaping products. The company donated $50,000 to Trump’s inauguration.

    Reynolds American Background: With brands including Lucky Strike and Camel, the company has been active in lobbying to steer the Trump administration away from a Biden-proposed ban on menthol cigarettes.

    Defense/national security (2):

    Booz Allen Hamilton Background: A major defense and national security technology firm with extensive government contracts, it paid fines to settle lawsuits with the Justice Department under Biden. Booz Allen Hamilton agreed to pay more than $377 million in 2023 to settle allegations that it improperly billing costs to its government contracts. In January, it paid nearly $16 million to settle allegations that it submitted fraudulent claims in connection with government contracts.

    Lockheed Martin Corporation Background: The massive defense contractor has huge government contracts. It said in a statement that it “is grateful for the opportunity to help bring the President’s vision to reality and make this addition to the People’s House.”

    Individuals (7):

    Stefan E. Brodie Background: A biotech entrepreneur and co-founder of the chemical manufacturing company Purolite, Brodie and his family donated to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and affiliated committees. Brodie and his brother, Donald, were convicted in 2002 of circumventing U.S. sanctions on Cuba.

    Charles and Marissa Cascarilla Background: Charles Cascarilla is co‑founder of the blockchain firm Paxos. He and his wife are philanthropists who have advocated for financial technology sector deregulation.

    J. Pepe and Emilia Fanjul Background: Longtime Republican donors and Palm Beach residents, the couple controls U.S. sugar refining interests that includes the Domino brand.

    Edward and Shari Glazer Background: Members of the family that owns the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has a controlling stake in the Manchester United football club, the couple donated to Trump’s campaign. Edward is the founder and CEO of US Property Trust, which operates shopping centers, and the car dealership company US Auto Trust.

    Harold Hamm Background: The billionaire oil tycoon and pioneer of hydraulic fracturing heads the oil producer Continental Resources. He’s praised the Trump administration for aggressively moving to purchase oil to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve stockpile.

    Stephen A. Schwarzman Background: A Palm Beach resident and chair and CEO of the Blackstone Group, a global private equity firm he helped establish in 1985. Schwarzman has donated to Trump and his PACs previously and led his first-term President’s Strategic and Policy Forum.

    Konstantin Sokolov Background: Born in Russia, he immigrated to the U.S. and now heads the Chicago-based private equity firm IJS Investments. Sokolov has donated to many educational and charitable causes in the past, and to Trump’s political campaigns.

    ___

    Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

    ___

    This story has been updated to correct the first name of an individual who donated to the White House ballroom. He is Harold Hamm, not Howard Hamm.

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  • Zanzibar’s ‘solar mamas’ are trained as technicians to help light up communities

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    ZANZIBAR, Tanzania — When darkness came, so did the smoke.

    Hamna Silima Nyange, like half of the 2 million people in Tanzania’s semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar, did not have a house connected to the electricity grid. After sunset, she would turn to smoky oil lamps that provided the only light for her eight children to study.

    ”The light was too weak,” Nyange said. “And the smoke from the lamp hurt my eyes.”

    Then one day a neighbor, Tatu Omary Hamad, installed solar panels and bulbs that lit her home with help from the strong sunlight along the Indian Ocean coast.

    “Today we have enough light,” Nyange said.

    Hamad is one of dozens of “solar mamas” trained in Zanzibar by Barefoot College International, a global nonprofit, through a program that brings light to rural communities and provides jobs for local women. So far in Zanzibar, it has lit 1,845 homes.

    The program selects middle-aged women, most with little or no formal education, from villages without electricity and trains them over six months to become solar power technicians. It is one of a small number of programs in Africa including Solar Sister.

    The women return to their communities with at least 50 sets of household solar panel kits as well as the skills and equipment to set them up and keep them running.

    Barefoot College International focuses on middle-aged women because they tend to have the strongest links to their communities while not often involved in intensive child care.

    “We want to train women who become change makers,” said Brenda Geofrey, the director of Barefoot College International Zanzibar.

    The Zanzibar campus is in its 10th year of teaching local women. Before that, it sent women for training in India, where Barefoot College International was founded.

    One was Khazija Gharib Issa, who had been an unemployed widow. Now she is a master trainer.

    “I got a job. I got a place to stay. Before, I didn’t have one,” Issa said.

    Improving health is at the heart of the program’s mission.

    Alongside its flagship solar power course, Barefoot College International offers programs for women in tailoring, beekeeping and sustainable agriculture. Every woman who completes a program is trained in general health knowledge that they are expected to take back to their villages.

    The “solar mamas” are health catalysts in another way, by replacing harmful light sources like kerosene.

    “Using kerosene has many problems,” said Jacob Dianga, a health care worker at a local clinic who is familiar with the group’s work. The fuel can irritate the eyes, while inhaling its smoke can cause long-term lung damage. It’s also a fire hazard in cramped homes and shops, and can poison children who mistake it for a drink.

    “Clean energy is very important,” Dianga said. “It helps protect our health.”

    Barefoot College International has scaled up across Africa, with other campuses in Madagascar and Senegal. In recent years, women have been brought to Zanzibar from Malawi and Somaliland, and this year some are being recruited from Central African Republic.

    Funding remains a challenge as major donors, notably the United States and European ones, cut foreign aid and projects face more competition for money that remains.

    Barefoot College International is run with public and private donations and revenue generated by its social enterprises.

    Another challenge is resistance in local communities, where some people find it hard to accept the women technicians in a radical new gender role.

    While the solar training program recruits with the approval of village leadership, who put forward candidates, some husbands have stopped their wives from training.

    “In most African communities, women are pictured as somebody who is just at home,” Geofrey said.

    But the solar mamas say the results often speak for themselves.

    “People used to say this work is for men. They were surprised and laughed at me,” Issa said. “But now they see how important my work is. I have become an example.”

    ___

    For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

    The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • Capturing the northern lights: How to take the best photos of auroras

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    Multiple parts of the United States were treated to mesmerizing colors from the aurora borealis, or northern lights, in the sky Tuesday night. This is because of a severe geomagnetic storm triggered by solar flares. Related video above: Weather Talk — How do I know if we can see the Northern Lights?The lights can appear faint when looked at with the naked eye, but with the right camera settings, the different colors and waves can be seen in photos.Forecasters say there is still a chance that some regions would get to catch the lights on Wednesday night. Here’s how to take the best photos of them:Using nighttime picture-taking settingsMost newer versions of iPhone and Android phones have a setting for taking pictures in low light. This slows the shutter speed, allowing more light in and taking a clearer picture. Here’s how to adjust settings on iPhone and Android devices like Samsung phones or Google Pixel phones. It’s important to hold your phone steady or use a tripod so your image does not end up blurry.Video below: Check out these dazzling photos of Tuesday night’s northern lights in IowaThere’s an app for that, tooThere are also apps available that are specifically designed to help you take pictures of the northern lights. Check the app stores on your iPhones or Android devices.Be in the right place at the right timeArtificial light pollution can decrease your chances of catching the best colors, so it is best to get away from cities and into rural areas for picture-taking. There will be more visibility the farther north you can get. Any time after it gets dark outside and before midnight will be the best opportunity. Related video below: What causes the colors you see with the northern lights?

    DES MOINES, Iowa —

    Multiple parts of the United States were treated to mesmerizing colors from the aurora borealis, or northern lights, in the sky Tuesday night. This is because of a severe geomagnetic storm triggered by solar flares.

    Related video above: Weather Talk — How do I know if we can see the Northern Lights?

    The lights can appear faint when looked at with the naked eye, but with the right camera settings, the different colors and waves can be seen in photos.

    Forecasters say there is still a chance that some regions would get to catch the lights on Wednesday night. Here’s how to take the best photos of them:

    Using nighttime picture-taking settings

    Most newer versions of iPhone and Android phones have a setting for taking pictures in low light. This slows the shutter speed, allowing more light in and taking a clearer picture. Here’s how to adjust settings on iPhone and Android devices like Samsung phones or Google Pixel phones.

    It’s important to hold your phone steady or use a tripod so your image does not end up blurry.

    Video below: Check out these dazzling photos of Tuesday night’s northern lights in Iowa

    There’s an app for that, too

    There are also apps available that are specifically designed to help you take pictures of the northern lights. Check the app stores on your iPhones or Android devices.

    Be in the right place at the right time

    Artificial light pollution can decrease your chances of catching the best colors, so it is best to get away from cities and into rural areas for picture-taking.

    There will be more visibility the farther north you can get. Any time after it gets dark outside and before midnight will be the best opportunity.

    Related video below: What causes the colors you see with the northern lights?

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  • Capturing the northern lights: How to take the best photos of auroras

    [ad_1]

    Multiple parts of the United States were treated to mesmerizing colors from the aurora borealis, or northern lights, in the sky Tuesday night. This is because of a severe geomagnetic storm triggered by solar flares. Related video above: Weather Talk — How do I know if we can see the Northern Lights?The lights can appear faint when looked at with the naked eye, but with the right camera settings, the different colors and waves can be seen in photos.Forecasters say there is still a chance that some regions would get to catch the lights on Wednesday night. Here’s how to take the best photos of them:Using nighttime picture-taking settingsMost newer versions of iPhone and Android phones have a setting for taking pictures in low light. This slows the shutter speed, allowing more light in and taking a clearer picture. Here’s how to adjust settings on iPhone and Android devices like Samsung phones or Google Pixel phones. It’s important to hold your phone steady or use a tripod so your image does not end up blurry.Video below: Check out these dazzling photos of Tuesday night’s northern lights in IowaThere’s an app for that, tooThere are also apps available that are specifically designed to help you take pictures of the northern lights. Check the app stores on your iPhones or Android devices.Be in the right place at the right timeArtificial light pollution can decrease your chances of catching the best colors, so it is best to get away from cities and into rural areas for picture-taking. There will be more visibility the farther north you can get. Any time after it gets dark outside and before midnight will be the best opportunity. Related video below: What causes the colors you see with the northern lights?

    DES MOINES, Iowa —

    Multiple parts of the United States were treated to mesmerizing colors from the aurora borealis, or northern lights, in the sky Tuesday night. This is because of a severe geomagnetic storm triggered by solar flares.

    Related video above: Weather Talk — How do I know if we can see the Northern Lights?

    The lights can appear faint when looked at with the naked eye, but with the right camera settings, the different colors and waves can be seen in photos.

    Forecasters say there is still a chance that some regions would get to catch the lights on Wednesday night. Here’s how to take the best photos of them:

    Using nighttime picture-taking settings

    Most newer versions of iPhone and Android phones have a setting for taking pictures in low light. This slows the shutter speed, allowing more light in and taking a clearer picture. Here’s how to adjust settings on iPhone and Android devices like Samsung phones or Google Pixel phones.

    It’s important to hold your phone steady or use a tripod so your image does not end up blurry.

    Video below: Check out these dazzling photos of Tuesday night’s northern lights in Iowa

    There’s an app for that, too

    There are also apps available that are specifically designed to help you take pictures of the northern lights. Check the app stores on your iPhones or Android devices.

    Be in the right place at the right time

    Artificial light pollution can decrease your chances of catching the best colors, so it is best to get away from cities and into rural areas for picture-taking.

    There will be more visibility the farther north you can get. Any time after it gets dark outside and before midnight will be the best opportunity.

    Related video below: What causes the colors you see with the northern lights?

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    Source link