North Carolina lawmakers advanced a wide-ranging budget bill Wednesday that would create a new tax on prediction market operators while leaving those platforms outside the state’s gambling regulatory framework. The Senate approved the budget on second reading in a 37-19 vote early Wednesday afternoon. The House followed later in... Read more

A voluntary potato chip recall has been classified as a Class I recall by the Food and Drug Administration due to possible salmonella contamination. Class I is considered the health agency’s most serious recall level and means there’s a “reasonable probability” that the item “will cause serious adverse health... Read more

The Drug Enforcement Administration plans to temporarily ban 7-OH, a component of kratom that has opioid-like effects and is sold in gas stations and smoke shops around the country in the form of gummies, drinks, and capsules. In a draft notice of intent in the Federal Register, scheduled to... Read more

Presented by Splunk Agentic AI is making IT and security teams dramatically more efficient. But it’s also removing the apprenticeship that has long produced experienced operators. As organizations automate more of the work once performed by junior analysts and engineers, they’re confronting a challenge that’s as much about workforce... Read more

The 2026 iPhone Photography Awards, announced Wednesday, showcase stunning photos captured with iPhone cameras, anchored by this year’s Grand Prix-winning night photo of a volcano, taken with an iPhone 15 Pro by Robyn Jensen.  Enlarge Image The 2026 iPhone Photography Awards grand prix winning photo. Captured with an iPhone 15 Pro. Robyn... Read more

Surrounding the cylinder are four arms that help the device float and stay upright. One of the arms contains the power port and on/off button, plus a Bluetooth button used to initiate pairing with the Bublue mobile app. The only additional component is a mesh filter that sits underneath... Read more

Z.ai, the Beijing-based artificial intelligence lab formerly known as Zhipu AI, on Wednesday officially launched ZCode, a free desktop application it describes as an “Agentic Development Environment” purpose-built for its flagship GLM-5.2 large language model. The move marks the company’s most aggressive push yet into the fast-growing AI-powered coding... Read more

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on for all the answers. And if you... Read more

The ground literally shook after the two goals that secured Mexico’s victory over Ecuador in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday. Mexico’s Digital Platform for Early Warning and Comprehensive Risk Management (SASSLA) reported that fan celebrations following goals by Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez... Read more

Square is launching a new ChatGPT app and Claude plugin, enabling consumers to discover restaurants and seamlessly place orders directly within these AI platforms — and allowing restaurants, in turn, to accept orders from users and their AI agents without any technical capabilities. Even more helpfully for businesses, Square... Read more