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On the Ground in Gaza as Israel Launches a New Offensive

NPR News Headlines - Mon, 05/19/2025 - 15:41

Israel has begun a new ground operation in Gaza in which it says it plans to take territory and hold it. Palestinians are fleeing the intense bombardment. At the same time, Israel and Hamas are holding peace talks. And Israel says it will start allowing food and medicine into Gaza after a nearly three month blockade to pressure Hamas to release hostages. We hear the latest in the new offensive and an interview with a resident in northern Gaza to hear what life has been like.

Categories: News

New book alleges Biden aides hid his decline

NPR News Headlines - Mon, 05/19/2025 - 15:29

Joe Biden has stage four metastatic prostate cancer.

The former president made that announcement Sunday afternoon. It came just days before the publication of "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again."

An explosive book by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson. Original Sin chronicles what the authors say was Biden's steep physical and cognitive decline.

Joe Biden repeatedly insisted he was capable of serving a second term. "Original Sin" argues his advisors and his family went to great lengths to hide that he wasn't.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

(Image credit: (Photo by Chip Somodevilla)

Categories: News

For the first time, the U.S. is absent from WHO's annual assembly. What's the impact?

NPR News Headlines - Mon, 05/19/2025 - 15:05

In the wake of President Trump's decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization, the agency is holding its first major meeting. How will that affect WHO — and the United States?

(Image credit: Fabrice Coffrini//AFP via Getty Images)

Categories: News

ChatGPT's Image Generator Is Now in Microsoft Copilot. Here's What You Can Do With It

CNET News - Mon, 05/19/2025 - 15:01
Microsoft Copilot now supports photorealistic image generation and allows you to customize and edit the visuals it creates.
Categories: Technology

Today's NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for May 20, #239

CNET News - Mon, 05/19/2025 - 15:00
Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 239, for May 20.
Categories: Technology

Today's NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for May 20, #443

CNET News - Mon, 05/19/2025 - 15:00
Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 443 for May 20.
Categories: Technology

Today's NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for May 20, #709

CNET News - Mon, 05/19/2025 - 15:00
Hints and answers for Connections for May 20, #709.
Categories: Technology

Today's Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for May 20, #1431

CNET News - Mon, 05/19/2025 - 15:00
Here are hints and the answer for today's Wordle No. 1,431 for May 20.
Categories: Technology

Federal judge blocks Trump's takeover of U.S. Institute of Peace

NPR News Headlines - Mon, 05/19/2025 - 14:51

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled the USIP president and board members were unlawfully fired by President Trump and should be reinstated.

(Image credit: Anna Moneymaker)

Categories: News

Apple-Alibaba deal raises concerns over data access with US lawmakers

TechRadar News - Mon, 05/19/2025 - 14:00
  • The US has expressed concerns about Apple's AI deal with Alibaba in China
  • Around one in five of Apple's sales are in China – its second-largest market
  • Apple has also been slammed for manufacturing in India, not the US

The Trump administration and Congress are concerned about Apple's deal with Alibaba to power some of the AI features on iPhones in China, noting potential privacy concerns (via The New York Times).

Worries about data sharing and national security implications have been raised, with the potential legal requirements for Apple and Alibaba to adhere to Chinese regulator rules central to the discussion.

Moreover, only Alibaba has publicly confirmed the agreement, with Apple remaining silent – this could indicate potential uncertainty or an unfinished deal, or it could just be a typical Apple move of keeping developments under tight wraps until the final moment.

US worried about Apple's deal with Alibaba for AI tools

The deal is being scrutinized amid ongoing US-China tensions, with concerns about aiding China's AI development and improving Chinese military AI capabilities both noted.

"Alibaba is a poster child for the Chinese Communist Party’s military-civil fusion strategy, and why Apple would choose to work with them on A.I. is anyone’s guess," Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois proclaimed.

Apple has already dropped a deal with Chinese chipmaker YMTC over pressure from the US, and the Cupertino tech giant is also facing challenges from the trade war-induced tariffs and supply chain shifts out of China, with industry experts warning of sharp price hikes for consumers partaking in the next refresh cycle.

However, China is the company's second-largest market, accounting for around one-fifth of its sales, highlighting the importance of a deal so as not to miss out against local smartphone makers.

The US administration has considered restricting US companies from doing business with the likes of Alibaba and other Chinese firms, but no details have been confirmed.

Although the company has sought to diversify its supply chain, President Trump has criticized Tim Cook for increasing production in India, urging domestic US manufacturing instead – one of the President's ultimate goals.

Ultimately, Apple risks issues whichever way the deal swings, either missing out on millions of Chinese sales or potentially serious implications within the US. Apple had a 13% smartphone market share in China during the first three months of 2025 (via Canalys), putting it several paces behind Xiaomi, Huawei, OPPO and vivo.

"The US smartphone market is expected to experience considerable volatility over the next two to three quarters, impacted by inventory corrections and weakening consumer confidence," Canalys Research Manager Le Xuan Chiew explained.

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"The real danger is staying still” - Dell CEO Michael Dell claims AI is "the new electricity"

TechRadar News - Mon, 05/19/2025 - 13:44
  • "AI is the new electricity", Michael Dell declares
  • Opening Dell Technologies World 2025, he highlights importance of AI innovation
  • "AI isn’t your product, but AI can power your purpose" Dell says

The founder and CEO of Dell Technologies has urged businesses of all sizes to fully embrace the potential offered by AI in order to stay competitive and thrive ahead of the competition.

Delivering the opening keynote at Dell Technologies World 2025, Michael Dell warned how, "the real danger is staying still,” as he highlighted several ways AI can benefit firms.

"AI is the new electricity - and Dell is the grid powering this transformation," he declared.

Making AI easier

During the keynote, the founder guided us along “Dell Technologies Way”, where the company’s services and systems power a wide range of businesses, industries and individuals alike.

“Our street is alive with your energy, and yes - your creativity and your data,” he declared, “whether you’re developing cancer treatments, or growing a business, data is at the center of everything, everywhere, all of the time.”

This included the company’s “AI Factory” platform, which saw its second generation unveiled as part of a long-standing partnership with Nvidia.

“For most of us…AI isn’t your product, but AI can power your purpose,” Dell added, “you don’t need your own Colossus, but you do need AI, and we’re taking all the learnings from these massive systems to make AI easier for you.”

“From AI PCs to small, domain-specific models running on the edge to the planetary scale AI data centers, we’ve got you covered.”

(Image credit: Future / Mike Moore)

Dell noted how over 75% of enterprise data will soon be created and processed at the edge - “and AI will follow the data - not the other way around.”

"The future of AI will be decentralized, low-latency and hyper-efficiency - and that's why Dell is pioneering the edge AI revolution, bringing real-time intelligence to wherever the data lives.”

"Here at Dell, we love data,” he added, “we store it, we protect it, we organize it, and we transform it into actions and insights that drive human progress - and turbocharged by AI, that engine of progress is going faster than ever before," he added.

“The pace of innovation is at Mach 3 - we’re creating the future.”

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Categories: Technology

Programmers bore the brunt of Microsoft’s layoffs in its home state

TechRadar News - Mon, 05/19/2025 - 13:30
  • 817 Microsoft software engineers lost their jobs in Washington state alone
  • The redundancies were believed to be targeting inefficient management layers
  • Around a third of Microsoft's code is AI-written, Google and Meta are also in a similar place

Microsoft recently confirmed around 6,000 to 7,000 job cuts globally, including an estimated 2,000 redundancies in its home state of Washington.

It's now come to light that over 40% of the Washington layoffs were related to software engineering (817 roles) (via Bloomberg), with the company previously stating that the layoffs were part of a broader cost cutting effort and a shift in investments into AI.

Together with software engineers, the heaviest affected roles in Washington were product management (373 roles) and technical program management (218 roles), with business program management (55 roles), customer experience program management (44 roles) and product design (31 roles) also on the table.

Over 800 Microsoft software engineers laid off in Washington state

Despite the clear and ongoing need for software engineers in an increasingly software-defined world, it has become apparent that Microsoft deer appropriate to replace human workers with artificial intelligence. CEO Satya Nadella recently confirmed that AI now writes around one third of some projects' code, with the recent layoffs raising concerns about AI's effects on human workers and software developers.

More broadly, this is a trend that we are seeing from other tech companies including Salesforce and Workday. Google's CEO Sundar Pichai and Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg have also noted how much of their code is now written by AI.

However, Microsoft has been criticized for mixed messaging. The company stated that the recent layoffs were primarily designed to reduce inefficiencies in middle management by removing unnecessary layers, and while 17% of the Washington redundancies did relate to managers, the loss of hundreds of software engineers raises alarm bells.

Microsoft Principal Software Engineering Manager Mike Droettboom suggested in a LinkedIn post that Python and open-source remain important roles even though companies are enacting major shifts: "Looking around the room, I saw so many faces – some I have known for almost 25 years – coming together again with the same shared purpose, even as the company names on our badges change."

"My heart goes out to the majority of the team that was laid off," Droettboom added.

TechRadar Pro has asked Microsoft for further transparency into the roles affected by its redundancies.

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Categories: Technology

Pope Leo meets with Vance, who delivers an invitation to visit the White House

NPR News Headlines - Mon, 05/19/2025 - 13:27

The meeting appeared part of an effort to reset relations with the Vatican after Pope Francis repeatedly criticized President Trump's migration policy. Vance also gave Pope Leo a Chicago Bears jersey.

(Image credit: Simone Risoluti)

Categories: News

Millions prepare for severe storms in the Midwest and South

NPR News Headlines - Mon, 05/19/2025 - 13:23
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Millions of people in central and eastern Oklahoma, as well as far northwest Arkansas, are in the path of numerous severe thunderstorms expected on Monday.

(Image credit: NOAA's National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center)

Categories: News

What we know about the Palm Springs fertility clinic bombing

NPR News Headlines - Mon, 05/19/2025 - 13:21

Authorities say they believe their prime suspect in the bombing was also the sole fatality of the attack.

(Image credit: Gabriel Osorio)

Categories: News

The curious case of the missing Alexa+ users – many are still waiting for 'early access'

TechRadar News - Mon, 05/19/2025 - 13:19
  • Amazon's rollout of Alexa+ lacks much public evidence
  • Technical issues may be delaying a wider release
  • Amazon claims Alexa+ is in use by hundreds of thousands of homes

Amazon unveiled Alexa+ with great fanfare more than six weeks ago, but there hasn't been much of a conversation among AI and voice assistant users about it since. My informal check of more than a dozen heavy Alexa users around the U.S. found none with access to it, and a report from Reuters suggests it's far from the explosive event Amazon hyped it up to be at the debut presentation.

Alexa+ is supposed to be Amazon's infusion of AI into the eleven-year-old voice assistant. Using generative AI as a glow-up tool makes Alexa smarter, more useful, better at conversation, and just more intuitive as an assistant. Alexa+ is supposed to give the voice assistant many new and enhanced abilities to carry out your requests, such as processing multiple prompts at once and adapting to personalize its services. For instance, it should remember your dietary preferences while helping you order food.

Invites for early access were meant to start going out in late March. Anecdotally, none have arrived, and a look around social media doesn't reveal any buzz either. Here at TechRadar, Alexa has, for weeks, been telling Editor at Large Lance Ulanoff that he's "on the early access list," but there's still no sign of Alexa+.

Even a Reddit post covered by TechRadar has since been removed from the website. Amazon begs to differ about that conclusion. The company is expressing confidence over the current and future release of Alexa+.

"Early Access to Alexa+ is ramping up. It’s already open to hundreds of thousands of customers, and we expect it to roll out to millions over the coming month," an Amazon spokesperson told TechRadar. "This is no different than other invite programs we’ve run – we scale as we learn."

Alexa+ plans

As Amazon insists there is no slow-walking of Alexa+, the reasons behind an apparent delay aren't official either. That said, the Reuters report cited possible technical issues around the speed and accuracy of the revamped Alexa, as well as higher-than-preferred costs to run the new models. There's a bit of déjà vu here since Amazon made a lot of noise around an AI-enhanced Alexa in the fall of 2023, with an early preview promised in the weeks ahead that never actually happened.

It's a far cry from the 2014 reveal of the original Amazon Echo, which started shipping just a few weeks after it appeared on a stage. Amazon might feel the stakes are too high to prioritize timing over performance this time. If Alexa+ fumbles at launch, it could undercut Amazon’s entire smart home strategy. Worse, it might reinforce the idea that Alexa is more of a talking timer than a true digital assistant.

Amazon also recently made it so Alexa interactions are processed only in the cloud, removing the option for local processing. This change may boost Alexa+’s brainpower, but it also raises privacy flags that may need to be dealt with before a wide release.

So, Alexa+ technically exists, and Amazon swears it’s being used. But you'll have to wait for a review of Alexa+ from someone's home. Until then, Alexa+ is more ghost than AI ghost in the machine.

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Categories: Technology

President of CBS News resigns as Trump lawsuit hovers over network

NPR News Headlines - Mon, 05/19/2025 - 12:56
60 Minutes Executive Producer Bill Owens and two of the show's correspondents, Cecilia Vega and Scott Pelley, at the CBS fall schedule celebration held at Paramount Studios in May 2024.'/>

CBS News President Wendy McMahon says she's resigning because "the company and I do not agree on the path forward." CBS' parent company is trying to settle a lawsuit with President Trump.

(Image credit: Gregg DeGuire/Variety via Getty Images)

Categories: News

Qualcomm isn’t giving us new Snapdragon chips at Computex - but there’s a surprise waiting in September

TechRadar News - Mon, 05/19/2025 - 12:50

2024 was a banner year for Qualcomm at Computex, with the massive launch of its Snapdragon X Elite laptop processors putting it at the forefront of the event. In fact, Qualcomm’s keynote presentation last year was so impressive that I declared them the winners of the event, with guest stars from makes of many of the best laptops including Microsoft, HP, Dell, and Asus appearing alongside Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon.

During today’s keynote at Computex 2025, things were a little more subdued. No exciting chip announcements here; instead, Amon got up on stage and discussed the (admittedly quite good) progress Qualcomm has made with the Snapdragon platform over the past year. A key factor he pointed to was the rapid growth in apps supported on the Snapdragon X Elite platform, along with the now 1,400+ games that are playable on Snapdragon laptops.

CEO Cristiano Amon gave a slightly strange AI-powered Q&A during Qualcomm's keynote presentation. (Image credit: Future)

Much like last year, Amon showcased Qualcomm’s impressive pull in the Windows computing market despite only entering the CPU fight with Intel and AMD last year. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella made a brief appearance in the presentation, along with executives from Asus and HP.

There were also some cheeky jabs at Intel and Apple (the latter regarding the fact that Fortnite is fully playable on Snapdragon hardware), plus the usual slew of corporate drivel about how AI is revolutionizing… something. Honestly, I kind of tuned out for a bit there, until Amon fired up a laptop live on stage which proceeded to ask him (presumably human-curated) questions about Qualcomm’s AI hardware in a synthy robot voice. Pretty cool, I guess, but what really caught my attention was a teaser at the very end of the keynote presentation.

What’s next for Snapdragon

So, while we got no new chips from Qualcomm at Computex, it looks like we now have a tacitly announced date for the next generation of Snapdragon X systems-on-a-chip (SoCs). It’s September 23: the date of Qualcomm’s own event, Snapdragon Summit, which will take place in Hawaii.

What exactly are we getting in September? Amon wouldn’t say, only that “the revolution continues” and “I promise you that you will be impressed”. Still, there are some pretty reasonable assumptions that I’m willing to make here.

Qualcomm's second-gen Snapdragon X chips were something I had hoped to see at Computex, but it seems we'll be waiting a while longer. (Image credit: Qualcomm)

While naming conventions are still a bit up in the air (since we’re only a single generation into Qualcomm’s Windows laptop chips), the current popular assumption is that the next-gen SoCs will use the ‘Snapdragon X2’ moniker, so I’ll just go with that here. I expect the initial launch to feature both X2 Elite and X2 Plus chips for the premium and midrange laptop markets, with broad integration across the majority of productivity laptop manufacturers; Dell’s XPS series, Asus’s Zenbooks, Lenovo’s Yoga line, the works.

A ‘basic’ Snapdragon X2 chip will likely follow a bit further down the line (similar to how the Snapdragon X chip was announced at CES in January this year), providing a more budget-conscious alternative. But I’m most interested in the rumored 2nd-gen Snapdragon X Elite chip for desktops

A desktop revolution?

Will we get a non-integrated Snapdragon X2 Elite? I wouldn’t quite bet on that; so far, we’ve only seen Snapdragon chips in compact PCs from the likes of Lenovo. So don’t expect to see a third option beyond Intel and AMD when it comes to motherboards for DIY PCs - but do expect more mini PCs and systems like the best all-in-one computers.

It's mini PCs that arguably stand to gain the most from a proper desktop-focused Snapdragon chip. (Image credit: Geekom)

While ‘Team Q’ (still workshopping that name, I’m open to suggestions!) might be a relative newcomer to this particular industry arena, it’s made a serious impact. Cristiano Amon’s keynote included a somewhat surprising statistic: as of last quarter, Qualcomm now holds about 9% of the integrated processor market for the US and the top 5 European markets. Considering the fierce competition, it’s a seriously impressive showing.

Given how much Qualcomm changed the game with the arrival of its first X Elite chips last year, I think the use of the word ‘revolution’ might actually be somewhat justified here. I don’t say that lightly; it’s a phrase that I’m frequently annoyed to see used to describe extremely marginal changes. But with Qualcomm finally making Windows on Arm work with the Snapdragon X series, I’ve got high hopes for whatever Team Q does next.

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Categories: Technology

Netflix is picking up Sesame Street and doing something HBO should've done all along

TechRadar News - Mon, 05/19/2025 - 12:48

Sesame Street has a new address. When the iconic children's television program kicks off its 56th season later this year, it will be on Netflix, but, perhaps more importantly, it will also be on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the US.

The pair announced the exclusive deal with a brief and adorable video featuring Cookie Monster, who discovers and then eats the Netflix "N".

A decade ago, when HBO (yes, it was just called "HBO" back then) announced its historic deal with Sesame Street to bring the series to its premium cable programming, it also shifted the show's original home to second-tier status. All first-run episodes appeared first on HBO and then, nine months later, the same episodes would air on the freely available PBS.

Netflix's deal, however, fundamentally changes that equation. New season 56 episodes featuring Grover, Big Bird, Elmo, and the rest of the characters will air on Netflix and PBS at the same time.

Essentially, this is two levels of good news for the beloved show: One, Sesame Street, whose future was no longer certain, has a popular and well-funded new home; and two, all youngsters and homes engaged in the Sesame Street story, regardless of their access or financial status, will have full access to the season's show.

G is for Good News

Neither Netflix nor Sesame Street is revealing the terms of the deal, but without Netflix's support, it was unclear if Sesame Street would survive.

When I spoke to Sesame Street Execs a decade ago as they were inking the HBO deal, they revealed to me that viewers on PBS accounted for a small percentage of their funding.

"What people don’t understand is that PBS only funds less than 10% of production costs of show. The show was funded for many years by licensing income," said Jeff Dunn in 2015, who is now Executive Chairman at Sesame Workshop.

The key to people buying content and products revolving around the Sesame Street franchise and funding the non-profit Sesame Street Workshop, is a bigger audience devoted to its characters and themes. Netflix, which has roughly 310 million subscribers compared to Max's estimated 110 million, should help in that regard.

(Image credit: Netflix) Big changes

The season 56 Sesame Street Netflix subscribers (and those watching on PBS) will encounter later this year will be quite different from previous editions.

  • Characters will be talking directly to viewers.
  • Episodes will take viewers inside the apartment building where the characters live
  • Elmo's World will return, and Cookie Monster will get a cookie cart
  • Viewers will find more on-screen animations
  • Longer story segments

Netflix has also committed to developing games for Sesame Street and Sesame Street Mecha Builders.

The streamer is planning to release Sesame Street Season 56's 35 episodes in three batches on Netflix. It will also add some 90 hours of classic episodes to the platform. As for how many episodes that represents, we'll leave that to The Count to figure out.

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Categories: Technology

Trump to Sign Bill Banning Deepfakes, Nonconsensual Images: What to Know

CNET News - Mon, 05/19/2025 - 12:43
The bipartisan 'Take It Down' Act passed swiftly in both the Senate and the House, and has been championed by First Lady Melania Trump.
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