Science & Technology
How Russian drones targeting civilians are turning one Ukrainian city into a ‘human safari’
Hanna Arhirova, The Associated Press7 minute readUpdated: 8:25 AM CSTKHERSON, Ukraine (AP) — When Olena Horlova leaves home or drives through town outside the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, she fears that she's a target. She believes that Russian drones could be waiting on a rooftop, along the road or aiming for her car.
To protect herself and her two daughters, the girls stay indoors, and she stays alert — sometimes returning home at night along dark roads without headlights so as not to be seen.
After living through the occupation, refusing to cooperate with Russian forces and hiding from them, Horlova, like so many other residents, found that even after her town was liberated in 2022, the ordeal didn't end.
Kherson was among the first places where Russian forces began using short-range, first-person view, or FPV, drones against civilians. The drones are equipped with livestreaming cameras that let operators see and select their targets in real time. The tactic later spread more than 300 kilometers (185 miles) along the right bank of the Dnipro River, across the Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Mykolaiv regions.
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News publishers’ copyright lawsuit against OpenAI cleared to go ahead in Ontario
Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press3 minute readPreviewNews publishers’ copyright lawsuit against OpenAI cleared to go ahead in Ontario
Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press3 minute readUpdated: Yesterday at 1:32 PM CSTOTTAWA - An Ontario court has decided a copyright lawsuit filed by Canadian news publishers against OpenAI will proceed in that province.
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, had put forward a jurisdictional challenge and argued the case should be heard in a U.S. courtroom instead.
OpenAI said the company isn’t located in Ontario and doesn’t do business in the province, and that the alleged conduct — the AI model training and crawling of web content — took place outside of Ontario.
But the decision by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice concludes the court does have jurisdiction to hear the case.
ReadThe Chat GPT app icon appears on a smartphone screen on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)
French soccer federation hit by cyber-attack, member data stolen
The Associated Press2 minute readYesterday at 10:41 AM CSTPARIS (AP) — The French soccer federation has been hit by a cyber-attack that resulted in the theft of data relating to members, it said on Thursday.
The FFF said the software used by clubs for their administrative management, particularly for handling their registered members, had been targeted by “a cyber-malicious act and a data theft.” It did not say how many members were affected.
According to the federation, the issue was resolved after the unauthorized access, carried out using a compromised account, was detected.
“The FFF’s services took the necessary steps to secure the software and the data, notably by immediately disabling the account in question and resetting all user-account passwords,” it said.
European Space Agency boosts budget to catch up in space race
The Associated Press2 minute readPreviewEuropean Space Agency boosts budget to catch up in space race
The Associated Press2 minute readUpdated: Yesterday at 11:04 AM CSTBERLIN (AP) — The European Space Agency said Thursday it would increase its budget for the next three years to almost 22.1 billion euros ($25.6 billion).
Ahead of two-day agency conference starting Thursday in the German city of Bremen, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher had expressed concern that Europe could be left behind in space travel if it didn't invest more money, German news agency dpa reported.
On Thursday, Aschbacher thanked ESA's 23 European member states for their contributions.
“I think the message that Europe must catch up and get involved in order to literally give wings to Europe’s future through space travel was taken very seriously by our ministers,” he said.
ReadFILE- A view of the control room at the European Space Agency in Darmstadt, Germany, on Sept. 30, 2016.(AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
US-Russian crew of 3 starts 8-month mission on the International Space Station
The Associated Press2 minute readPreviewUS-Russian crew of 3 starts 8-month mission on the International Space Station
The Associated Press2 minute readUpdated: 2:54 AM CSTMOSCOW (AP) — A U.S.-Russian crew of three began a mission on the International Space Station after being launched there on a Russian spacecraft Thursday.
A Soyuz booster rocket lifted off at 2:27 p.m. from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan to put the Soyuz MS-28 into orbit.
The spacecraft carried NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Russian crewmates, Sergei Mikaev and Sergei Kud-Sverchkov. The craft docked at the International Space Station at 5:34 p.m.
The three are expected to spend about eight months at the orbiting outpost. NASA said this is the first spaceflight for Williams, a physicist, and Mikaev, a military pilot. This is the second flight for Kud-Sverchkov.
ReadIn this photo taken from video released by Roscosmos space corporation, the Soyuz-2.1 rocket booster with Soyuz MS-28 space ship carrying NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev, a new crew to the International Space Station, ISS, blasts off in Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (Roscosmos space corporation, via AP)
Shopify lays off staff to keep team ‘fast, sharp and focused’
Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press2 minute readPreviewShopify lays off staff to keep team ‘fast, sharp and focused’
Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press2 minute readWednesday, Nov. 26, 2025Shopify Inc. says it has laid off some of its staff to help streamline the e-commerce software giant.
Spokesperson Ben McConaghy would not provide a number of workers losing their jobs but says in an email to The Canadian Press that the cuts impact a "fraction of a per cent" of Shopify's team.
Financial markets firm LSEG Data & Analytics counted 8,100 Shopify employees as of December 2024. One per cent of that figure amounts to about 81 staff.
McConaghy says the layoff is meant to remove from the organization layers of complexity that don't add merchant value.
ReadShopify Inc. signage is shown in Ottawa on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. Shopify Inc. reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Telescope in Chile captures stunning new picture of a cosmic butterfly
Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press2 minute readPreviewTelescope in Chile captures stunning new picture of a cosmic butterfly
Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press2 minute readUpdated: Yesterday at 1:34 PM CSTCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A telescope in Chile has captured a stunning new picture of a grand and graceful cosmic butterfly.
The National Science Foundation’s NoirLab released the picture Wednesday.
Snapped last month by the Gemini South telescope, the aptly named Butterfly Nebula is 2,500 to 3,800 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius. A single light-year is 6 trillion miles.
At the heart of this bipolar nebula is a white dwarf star that cast aside its outer layers of gas long ago. The discarded gas forms the butterflylike wings billowing from the aging star, whose heat causes the gas to glow.
ReadThis image provided by NSF NOIRLab shows NGC 6302, a billowing planetary nebula that resembles a cosmic butterfly. (NSF NOIRLab via AP)
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A foot-tall elephant? ‘Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age’ on Apple TV reveals surprising creatures
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press6 minute readPreviewA foot-tall elephant? ‘Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age’ on Apple TV reveals surprising creatures
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press6 minute readWednesday, Nov. 26, 2025NEW YORK (AP) — If you’ve seen any of the “Ice Age” animated Disney movies, we have some bad news: You don’t know the real ice age.
It was an incredible time when the Earth was going through immense systemic changes and was filled with often nightmarish creatures — carnivorous kangaroos, 14-foot-tall bears and armadillos bigger than cars. Sid the sloth's eyes would bulge even more.
A hyper-realistic picture of life during that Pleistocene era emerges with Apple TV's five-part, computer-driven “Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age,” which takes place millions of years after the dinosaurs’ extinction.
“Nobody’s made a natural history representation of these creatures behaving and interacting in the way that we have in this series,” says Mike Gunton, co-executive producer and senior executive at the storied BBC Natural History Unit.
ReadThis computer generated image released by Apple TV shows the Arctotherium angustidens, the biggest bear to ever live, in a scene from “Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age." (Apple TV via AP)
South Korea’s largest satellite launched on Nuri rocket in ambitious space mission
Kim Tong-hyung, The Associated Press3 minute readPreviewSouth Korea’s largest satellite launched on Nuri rocket in ambitious space mission
Kim Tong-hyung, The Associated Press3 minute readWednesday, Nov. 26, 2025SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea launched its largest satellite yet on its nationally developed space rocket early Thursday in the fourth of six launches planned through 2027.
The three-stage Nuri rocket lifted off from a spaceport on an island off the southwestern coastal county of Goheung. Aerospace officials said the rocket placed a 516-kilogram (1,137-pound) science satellite and 12 microsatellites into a target orbit about 600 kilometers (372 miles) above Earth.
The Korea Aerospace Administration said the main satellite made contact with a South Korean ground station in Antarctica about 40 minutes after liftoff at 1:55 a.m., confirming normal function and deployment of its solar panels. The satellite later established links with ground stations in South Korea’s central Daejeon city and Svalbard, Norway, as well as further contact with the King Sejong Station in Antarctica.
Five of the 12 microsatellites had contacted ground stations as of Thursday afternoon, and the rest were expected to do so in a scheduled sequence.
ReadThe Nuri rocket lifts off from a launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (Kim Sung-min/Yonhap via AP)
Scientists capture the crackling sounds of what they believe is lightning on Mars
Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press4 minute readPreviewScientists capture the crackling sounds of what they believe is lightning on Mars
Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press4 minute readUpdated: Yesterday at 1:35 PM CSTCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Scientists have detected what they believe to be lightning on Mars by eavesdropping on the whirling wind recorded by NASA's Perseverance rover.
The crackling of electrical discharges was captured by a microphone on the rover, a French-led team reported Wednesday.
The researchers documented 55 instances of what they call “mini lightning” over two Martian years, primarily during dust storms and dust devils. Almost all occurred on the windiest Martian sols, or days, during dust storms and dust devils.
Just inches (centimeters) in size, the electrical arcs occurred within 6 feet (2 meters) of the microphone perched atop the rover’s tall mast, part of a system for examining Martian rocks via camera and lasers. Sparks from the electrical discharges — akin to static electricity here on Earth — are clearly audible amid the noisy wind gusts and dust particles smacking the microphone.
ReadFILE - This image provided by NASA, shows a selfie of their Perseverance Mars rover, on July 23, 2024. The image is made up of 62 individual images that were stitched together. (NASA via AP, file)
Mexico plans to build Latin America’s most powerful supercomputer
The Associated Press2 minute readPreviewMexico plans to build Latin America’s most powerful supercomputer
The Associated Press2 minute readWednesday, Nov. 26, 2025MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico unveiled plans Wednesday to build what it claims will be Latin America’s most powerful supercomputer — a project the government says will help the country capitalize on the rapidly evolving uses of artificial intelligence and exponentially expand the country’s computing capacity.
Dubbed “Coatlicue” for the Mexica goddess considered the earth mother, the supercomputer would be seven times more powerful than the region’s current leader in Brazil, José Merino, head of the Telecommunications and Digital Transformation Agency.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said during her morning news briefing that the location for the project had not been decided yet, but construction will begin next year.
“We’re very excited,” said Sheinbaum, an academic and climate scientist. “It is going to allow Mexico to fully get in on the use of artificial intelligence and the processing of data that today we don’t have the capacity to do."
ReadMexican President Claudia Sheinbaum present a new security strategy against violence for Michoacan state, at the National Palace, in Mexico City, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Claudia Rosel)
Australia will enforce a social media ban for children under 16 despite a court challenge
Rod Mcguirk, The Associated Press3 minute readPreviewAustralia will enforce a social media ban for children under 16 despite a court challenge
Rod Mcguirk, The Associated Press3 minute readUpdated: Yesterday at 4:57 AM CSTMELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian government said young children will be banned from social media next month as scheduled despite a rights advocacy group on Wednesday challenging the world-first legislation in court.
The Sydney-based Digital Freedom Project said it had filed a constitutional challenge in the High Court on Wednesday to a law due to take effect on Dec. 10 banning Australian children younger than 16 from holding accounts on specified platforms.
Communications Minister Anika Wells referred to the challenge when she later told Parliament her government remained committed to the ban taking effect on schedule.
“We will not be intimidated by legal challenges. We will not be intimidated by Big Tech. On behalf of Australian parents, we stand firm,” Wells told Parliament.
ReadA logon screen for Facebook and the new Meta policy are photographed in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Concerns raised about AI-powered toys and creativity, development as holiday shopping peaks
Nicole Ireland, The Canadian Press7 minute readPreviewConcerns raised about AI-powered toys and creativity, development as holiday shopping peaks
Nicole Ireland, The Canadian Press7 minute readWednesday, Nov. 26, 2025TORONTO - As parents hunt for gifts that will wow their kids this holiday season, Canadian child development and psychology experts say they should be wary of AI-powered toys because of possible harms, ranging from privacy and security violations to interference with children's creativity and development.
"Early childhood is a time where the developing brain is a little sponge. It's taking everything in and it is so malleable," said Dr. Nicole Racine, an Ottawa child psychologist and scientist at the CHEO Research Institute.
"I think about what kind of inputs do I want my kids to be having? And to be honest, it's not the inputs of an AI algorithm," said Racine, who also has two young children.
Her comments follow an advisory for parents issued last week from Fairplay, a U.S.-based organization aiming to protect children from potential technology harms. It was endorsed by dozens of experts, including child advocacy groups, pediatricians, educators and psychologists.
ReadAn AI-powered toy named Gabbo is pictured in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Fairplay, Rachel Franz (Mandatory Credit)
Alberta minister reportedly putting together first AI-generated legislation in Canada
Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press4 minute readPreviewAlberta minister reportedly putting together first AI-generated legislation in Canada
Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press4 minute readWednesday, Nov. 26, 2025EDMONTON - The Alberta government is about to take the next logical step in artificial intelligence — using it to draft a proposed law.
Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally says the plan is to use AI to develop and introduce the Alberta Whisky Act when the house sits next spring.
"AI is a tool that is being leveraged across many sectors in Canada," Nally said in a statement Tuesday.
"In sectors such as health care, it can be a useful tool to assist health professionals in diagnostics, helping them find abnormalities during screening procedures for patients."
ReadA man uses a computer keyboard in Toronto in a Sunday, Oct. 9 photo illustration. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy
Ambitious plan to store CO2 beneath the North Sea set to start operations
James Brooks, The Associated Press5 minute readPreviewAmbitious plan to store CO2 beneath the North Sea set to start operations
James Brooks, The Associated Press5 minute readWednesday, Nov. 26, 2025NORTH SEA, Denmark (AP) — Appearing first as a dot on the horizon, the remote Nini oil field on Europe’s rugged North Sea slowly comes into view from a helicopter.
Used to extract fossil fuels, the field is now getting a second lease on life as a means of permanently storing planet-warming carbon dioxide beneath the seabed.
In a process that almost reverses oil extraction, chemical giant INEOS plans to inject liquefied CO2 deep down into depleted oil reservoirs, 1,800 meters (5,900 feet) beneath the seabed.
The Associated Press made a rare visit to the Siri platform, close to the unmanned Nini field, the final stage in INEOS’ carbon capture and storage efforts, named Greensand Future.
ReadThe INEOS Energy's Siri platform seen from a helicopter above the North Sea, Denmark, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/James Brooks)
Judge’s footnote on immigration agents using AI raises accuracy and privacy concerns
Claudia Lauer, The Associated Press5 minute readPreviewJudge’s footnote on immigration agents using AI raises accuracy and privacy concerns
Claudia Lauer, The Associated Press5 minute readWednesday, Nov. 26, 2025Tucked in a two-sentence footnote in a voluminous court opinion, a federal judge recently called out immigration agents using artificial intelligence to write use-of-force reports, raising concerns that it could lead to inaccuracies and further erode public confidence in how police have handled the immigration crackdown in the Chicago area and ensuing protests.
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis wrote the footnote in a 223-page opinion issued last week, noting that the practice of using ChatGPT to write use-of-force reports undermines agents’ credibility and “may explain the inaccuracy of these reports.” She described what she saw in at least one body camera video, writing that an agent asks ChatGPT to compile a narrative for a report after giving the program a brief description and several images.
The judge noted factual discrepancies between the official narrative about those law enforcement responses and what body camera footage showed. But experts say the use of AI to write a report that depends on an officer’s specific perspective without using an officer’s actual experience is the worst possible use of the technology and raises serious concerns about accuracy and privacy.
An officer's needed perspective
ReadFILE - A Federal Patrol agent's badge is seen near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Ill., Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)
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