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In Washington, D.C., the federal government is closed – as are most of the schools in the area. That's because the first major snow storm in about three years barreled in Sunday night.

Meanwhile, the Southern U.S. is preparing for another storm that could paralyze parts of Texas, Arkansas and Northern Louisiana.

And Southern California is preparing for "life threatening, destructive gusts" driving wildfires.

That's a lot of wild weather...so what's going on?

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(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla)

From cute but bizarre to high-tech and practical, here are some of the most interesting AI-powered gadgets we've come across so far at this year's CES.

• Lenovo ThinkCentre neo 50q QC comes equipped with Snapdragon X or Snapdragon X Plus CPU
• It offers up to 16GB of RAM and has a small footprint
• However I am puzzled by the decision to offer USB 2.0 ports though

Lenovo has introduced the ThinkCentre neo 50q QC, a compact desktop designed for SMBs seeking powerful performance and AI-driven productivity in a minimalistic form factor.

Announced at CES 2025, this tiny 1-liter desktop is powered by the Snapdragon X and Snapdragon X Plus 8-core processors, bringing the latest Copilot+ PC features and advanced AI capabilities to small workspaces.

The ThinkCentre neo 50q QC is designed for multitasking and efficient data handling, with up to 45 TOPS dedicated to AI tasks, making it well-suited for AI-assisted workloads and business productivity tools. Its Qualcomm Adreno GPU provides efficient graphics performance for everyday tasks, while up to 16GB of LPDDR5x memory ensures smooth multitasking. Storage options include up to two SSDs, allowing for a potential capacity of 2TB.

Plenty of ports

(Image credit: Lenovo)

Measuring just 7.2 x 7.05 x 1.44 inches (182.9 x 179 x 36.5mm) and weighing 2.45 lbs (1.113 kg), Lenovo says the ThinkCentre neo 50q QC will fit seamlessly into any professional workspace.

Despite its tiny size, the ThinkCentre neo 50q QC offers a decent selection of ports. The front panel includes one USB 3.2 Gen 2, a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, and a combo audio jack.

The rear panel provides two additional USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, two USB 2.0 ports (no, I don’t know why either), HDMI 2.1 TMDS, DisplayPort 1.4a, and an RJ-45 Ethernet port. Wireless connectivity is provided in the form of Wi-Fi 6E.

Sustainability is a key focus for Lenovo, as it is for all PC makers, and the ThinkCentre neo 50q QC has a thermal shell that incorporates 60% recycled plastic. 30% Ocean Bound Plastic is used in both the thermal shell and system bag. The device is also TCO Certified, ENERGY STAR-rated, and EPEAT Gold registered.

Along with most of the other new products announced at this year's CES, ThinkCentre neo 50q QC, will be available to buy from February 2025. It will have an expected starting price of $849.

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L'Oreal's new Cell BioPrint device knows your skin better than you do.

According to Mark Zuckerberg, Meta trust and safety workers will be relocated to Texas to prevent them from “censoring” users. Experts point to other advantages.

This year, it’s shaping up to be AI, all the time.

Check out the most compelling laptops launched in Las Vegas this week.

This indoor smart garden is giving us San Francisco vibes at CES 2025. We watched how Plantaform uses "fogponics" to grow fresh veggies and herbs indoors year-round.

The highly decorated soldier who exploded a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas used generative AI including ChatGPT to help plan the attack, Las Vegas police said Tuesday.

(Image credit: Las Vegas Police Department)

The launch will be available to stream live should you want to watch.

A Louisiana patient is the first person in the United States to die as a result of H5N1 infection. One expert likens what happens next to Russian roulette.

The X50 Ultra robot vacuum from Dreame has two little legs it can deploy to clear some small obstacles.

Mesh routers are the best solution for whole home connectivity, and you can score big savings right now with these deals.

As the South prepped for snow and more cold starting Wednesday, residents in Southern California faced off with hurricane-strength winds.

(Image credit: Julio Cortez)

Here's when to stream Abbott Elementary's highly anticipated season 4 installment, Volunteers.

My home has almost 100 houseplants, and this pot is nightmare fuel to me.

It's rare to find a router with this combination of speed and range for under $100.

President-elect Donald Trump has said multiple times that the U.S. should buy Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. The sparsely populated island is geopolitically important and mineral-rich.

(Image credit: Claire Harbage)

Reveals from OnePlus, TCL and Samsung arrive during the show, alongside mobile concepts that might turn up in new devices down the line.

• Security researchers from Cofense spot multiple phishing emails impersonating the US Social Security Administration
• The goal was to deploy the ConnectWise Remote Access Trojan
• The email frequency increased in the days leading up to the 2024 US presidential elections

Cybercriminals are impersonating the US Social Security Administration in an attempt to install a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) malware on people’s devices, experts have warned.

Cybersecurity researchers at Cofense observed a phishing campaign, slowly picking up pace in the days and weeks leading up to the 2024 US presidential elections.

The goal of the campaign was to distribute the ConnectWise RAT - a tainted and malicious use of otherwise legitimate software called ConnectWise Control (formerly ScreenConnect).

ConnectWise RAT

In an in-depth analysis, Cofense said it observed multiple variants of the same phishing campaign, in which the crooks would spoof the Social Security Administration and claim to provide an updated benefits statement. Most of the time, the fake statement would come in the form of a mismatched link (a link that doesn’t lead where it says it will lead). Sometimes, the threat actors would try to hide the link behind a “View Statement” button.

The campaign most likely started in or around mid-September 2024, when it was first observed by Cofense. The second sample came in a month later, after which the frequency gradually increased until mid-November.

“While additional emails were seen in late November, this campaign reached peak volume on November 11th and 12th, a week after Election Day,” Cofense concluded.

ConnectWise Control is a legitimate remote desktop and support tool, but in this scenario, it is used to gain unauthorized access to victims' devices. Cybercriminals exploit the software's legitimate capabilities by deploying it stealthily, often bundling it with malware or phishing schemes. Once installed, the RAT allows threat actors to control systems remotely, steal sensitive data, deploy additional malware, and monitor the victim’s computer activity.

Legitimate software is often used for malicious purposes, since endpoint security and malware removal services often don’t recognize them as a threat.

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