Tag: loss

FCC Proposes Rules for Emergency Broadband Program To Keep Struggling Families Online

The FCC has taken a major step toward offering financial support for people struggling to pay broadband bills during the pandemic. If approved, the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program could provide $50 per month to millions of households, and more in tribal lands. From a report: The EBBP was created in the budget passed by Congress earlier this year, which earmarked $3.2…

Upheaval and extinctions linked to magnetic reversal 42,000 years ago

42,000 years ago, a breakdown in Earth’s magnetic field led to environmental catastrophes and mass extinctions. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/magnetic-field-reversal-42000-years-ago-neanderthal-extinction…

Losses To Romance Scams Reached a Record $304 Million in 2020

The current COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent stay-at-home and social distancing directives might have played a major role in romance scams losses reaching record levels in 2020, the US Federal Trade Commission said in a report last week. From a report: Total losses were estimated at a record $304 million, up about 50% from 2019, with the average loss last year…

Why Some Amazon Delivery Drivers Hate Its Safety Monitoring App

Amazon is using AI cameras to monitor drivers of its delivery vans for safety issues — but also a second driver safety app on their phones. Though it’s named Mentor, Mashable reports that “it doesn’t seem to be helping…” CNBC talked to drivers who said the app mostly invades their privacy or miscalculates dangerous driving behavior. One driver said even though…

Diabetes drug led to dramatic weight loss in large trial

A diabetes drug may also be a promising treatment for obesity — in a new study, people taking the drug lost a stunning 15% of their body weight, which is more than has been seen with any other obesity drug on the market. Source: https://www.livescience.com/diabetes-drug-caused-dramatic-weight-loss-trial.html

ExoMars discovers new gas and traces water loss on Mars

Sea salt embedded in the dusty surface of Mars and lofted into the planet’s atmosphere has led to the discovery of hydrogen chloride—the first time the ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter has detected a new gas. The spacecraft is also providing new information about how Mars is losing its water. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-02-exomars-gas-loss-mars.html…

Facebook Sued for ‘Losing Control’ of Users’ Data

Facebook is being sued for “losing control” of the data of about a million users in England and Wales. From a report: The alleged failings were revealed in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where harvested data was used for advertising during elections. Journalist Peter Jukes, leading the action, claims his data was compromised. Facebook told BBC News there was “no evidence” UK…

Sony Says It Sold 4.5 Million PlayStation 5 Consoles Last Year and Took a Loss on Sales

Sony shipped more than 4.5 million PlayStation 5s from the console’s Nov. 12 launch to the end of the year, but it took a loss on those sales because the PS5’s “strategic price point” is lower than what it cost to manufacture it. From a report: The disclosure was part of Sony’s quarterly report to investors, delivered in Japan earlier today….

A new hands-off probe uses light to explore electron behavior in a topological insulator

Topological insulators are one of the most puzzling quantum materials—a class of materials whose electrons cooperate in surprising ways to produce unexpected properties. The edges of a TI are electron superhighways where electrons flow with no loss, ignoring any impurities or other obstacles in their path, while the bulk of the material blocks electron flow. …