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Reddit sues Anthropic, says AI company exploited user data

Reddit Inc. sued artificial intelligence firm Anthropic, saying it has used the social media company’s content without permission to train its AI models.

The lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday in San Francisco Superior Court, alleges that Anthropic attempted to access Reddit data more than 100,000 times since last July. Reddit said this “...Read more

Manitoba Government/Xinhua via ZUMA Press/TNS

Smoke from Canadian wildfires brings air quality alert, hazy conditions to NYC

NEW YORK — An air quality alert was issued for New York City, as well as parts of New York State, New Jersey and Connecticut on Wednesday in response to southern-drifting, hazy smoke from Canadian wildfires and rising ozone levels.

The smoke is coming from fires in the central Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

The National ...Read more

Arcade/Arcade/TNS

Tech review: Great gift ideas for dad

Father’s Day is coming up, and I’ve been testing a few things that dads would love.

You could get dad another tie or bottle of after shave, but he’s probably got too many ties, and how much aftershave does one man need?

Here are three suggestions to surprise your dad.

Arcade belt

Belts were an area of my wardrobe that I knew could be ...Read more

Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Bay Area tech workers endure grim 2025 as big companies reveal layoffs

The Bay Area has lost more than 11,000 tech jobs so far in 2025, a slump in hiring punctuated by disclosures of fresh layoffs in the region by some big players such as Google, Walmart and Microsoft.

The protracted hiring slump is a reminder that the tech industry is no longer a robust engine that helps to power the Bay Area economy.

The tech ...Read more

Minnesota emergency rooms see uptick in patients due to wildfire smoke

MINNEAPOLIS — Canadian wildfire smoke has become so intense that even young, healthy Minnesotans are experiencing symptoms similar to allergies.

“This morning I woke up and I was just like, oh, I have COVID,” said Cameron Dailey-Ruddy, 34, of Minneapolis.

He took two COVID tests Tuesday morning — both negative — and everyone at his ...Read more

Scott Olson/Getty Images North America/TNS

Air quality alert issued for all of Wisconsin due to Canadian wildfires

Officials issued an alert Wednesday as air quality was expected to reach unhealthy levels in all of Wisconsin until noon Thursday.

Sensitive groups should consider moving all activities inside especially those with asthma or people with heart disease. Officials asks those with health conditions to keep outdoor activities shorter and less ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

California freshwater fish found to be teeming with parasites. How to keep from getting sick

LOS ANGELES — More than 90% of popular freshwater fish in Southern California are carrying human-infecting parasites, researchers say. This poses a significant danger for those who like to eat freshly caught freshwater fish. But there are ways to protect yourself.

The parasites are called trematodes. Two species of the flatworms were ...Read more

UBISOFT/TNS

Preview: ‘Anno 117: Pax Romana’ may satisfy Roman Empire obsessions

One of the most pivotal decisions I made as a gamer happened in a Software Etc. in 1996. Back then, I was armed with $60 and had visions of a new video game, but I was unsure of what to buy. The clerk gave me two recommendations: “Wave Race 64” and “Sid Meier’s Civilization II.”

I wavered between the two. I trusted Nintendo titles ...Read more

Handout/Jim Rossman/TNS

Jim Rossman: Planning is the key to buying the right portable power station

This week a reader writes concerning portable power stations. I mentioned my mom has one at her home.

“I am a senior dependent on medical devices, i.e. oxygen concentrator, nebulizer. Whole house generators are just too much money. The internet is full of (suggestions), but I don't know which or if any of them would meet my needs. Would ...Read more

SwamCam/SwamCam/TNS

Gadgets: Pool safety device

When it comes to pool safety, you can never be safe enough. And, like any accident, you never know. According to the American Red Cross, 69% of young children who drowned were not expected to be in or near water.

That brings me to the SwamCam, touted by the company as a first-of-its-kind AI-powered drowning detection system designed to help ...Read more

Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Racing to save NJ island before it's swallowed by rising seas

STONE HARBOR, N.J. -- Lenore Tedesco doesn’t need to venture far to witness sea-level rise. She tracks its relentless advance from her window at work.

Tedesco, executive director of the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor, stood by the nonprofit’s large conference room window in late May, surveying an expanse of salt marsh known as Scotch ...Read more

Leila Navidi/Star Tribune/TNS

Minnesota issues 'rare' air quality alert as Canadian wildfire smoke spreads

MINNEAPOLIS — Air quality alerts remain in effect for yet another day for the entire state of Minnesota with concentrations of wildfire smoke so thick the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has issued a rare hazardous warning.

The MPCA uses a color-coded scale when issuing alerts, with purple and maroon signaling when the air is the ...Read more

Another Colorado wolf dies after relocation as federal officials investigate circumstances

Another of Colorado’s gray wolves has died after state wildlife officials brought it to the state from Canada for the state’s historic reintroduction.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced Monday that the agency received a mortality notification from a male wolf’s collar on Saturday. The wolf, labeled wolf 2507, was in northwest Colorado ...Read more

Southern California eaglet Sunny flies the nest

LOS ANGELES — First she hovered, and now she’s flown!

Eaglet Sunny stretched her wings on Monday and flew out of the family nest for the first time, thrilling fans of the live webcam that monitors the Big Bear family of eagles that includes mom Jackie, dad Shadow and sibling Gizmo.

Video showed that, as the eaglet took off at 10:46 a.m., ...Read more

Bob Wick/Bureau of Land Management/TNS

Administration moves to lift recent curbs on Arctic oil drilling

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is moving to repeal Biden-era curbs blocking oil drilling across most of the mammoth petroleum reserve in Alaska that’s home to an estimated 8.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced the planned policy shift late Sunday at a town hall in Utqiagvik, a village on the...Read more

Rfzoom/Dreamstime/TNS

Man kills over 20 bald eagles, hawks – gets 1 day in jail, Virginia officials say

A Virginia man was sentenced to one day in jail and a fine of nearly $10,000 after officials say he admitted to killing over 20 bald eagles and hawks.

William Custis Smith pleaded guilty to unlawful taking of a bald eagle, according to court records.

McClatchy News reached out to Smith’s attorney for comment but did not immediately hear back...Read more

7,100-year-old skeleton reveals origins of 'ghost' lineage in Tibetan Plateau

For tens of thousands of years, the people and cultures of southeast Asia have intertwined, moved around and diversified through time.

The region, primarily encompassing modern-day China, is brought together today by shared language and culture, reflected now in their genetic makeup.

But one group remains genetically isolated, separated ...Read more

Matt Stone/Boston Herald/TNS

Wildfire smoke could bring hazy skies to Massachusetts, possible air quality issues

BOSTON — When the heat arrives this week, air quality may be dropping.

Wildfire smoke from Canada is expected to move into the region in a couple days — in an unfortunate repeat of last spring and summer.

“There could be a gradual increase in smokier skies over the next few days, with Wednesday having the greatest amount of haze,” ...Read more

Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

Quarantined ahead of 5th trip to space, Whitson inducted with trailblazer Harris to Astronaut Hall of Fame

MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. — Four-time spaceflight veteran Peggy Whitson had a good excuse for not showing up Saturday for her own induction ceremony to the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.

She’s in quarantine to go to space again.

Whitson is slated to command the private Axiom Space Ax-4 mission flying in a new SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft set to ...Read more