Amazon introduced a new AI-charged version of Alexa a few weeks ago, and as promised, has finally started rolling out early access to it. Alexa+, as the company likes to call it, is currently limited to a handful of devices. But it seems the preview phase will also skip on some of its most advanced features.According to a report from The Washington Post, which cites internal documents, the ability to identify family members via voice ID and accordingly assign them tasks set by guardians is currently missing.Recommended VideosMoreover, Alexa+ is also currently not in adequate shape to order food from Grubhub based on conversations with users. A handful of other features such as using AI to write stories for kids, and pondering over gift ideas for friends and family are also absent from the early public tests.AmazonOne of the biggest upgrades to Alexa+ is the advanced conversation capability, which allows it to hold a free-flowing conversation similar to other AI chatbots such as Gemini or ChatGPT. However, the ability to hold conversations with Alexa+ on the web is nowhere to be seen during the preview release.RelatedSome of the new features Amazon previewed at the February event wont become available for two months after Mondays launch, and some will take even longer, says the report. Interestingly, Amazon is also running into a technical issue that prevents the deletion of files uploaded for analysis.It already sounds like a privacy risk, though, especially when dealing with sensitive documents. Just like Googles Gemini, users can also upload files and Alexa+ will summarize or provide answers based on those attachments. Amazon is reportedly hoping to patch the functional flaw in the coming weeks.AmazonAlexa+ will be available for free to Amazon Prime customers, but non-subscribers can also opt-in by paying a fee worth $20 per month. As far as the early access goes, priority will be given to customers who own an Echo Show 8, 10, 15, or 21 smart display.Aside from its usual smart home control duties, Alexa+ can also take a peek at your calendar, offer a daily briefing of schedules, handle emails, order groceries, and naturally learn from user experiences over time. Agentic capabilities built atop the Nova Act tool, such as ordering food or simply taking over the web browsing task, are also inherently part of the Alexa+ package.If you have one of the aforementioned devices, Alexa+ support will automatically be extended to other Echo devices in your home. Down the road, it will reach a majority of Echo hardware, except the really old ones such as the first-gen Echo Dot/Plus/Show/Spot, Amazon Tap, and the Echo Show 2nd Gen.Editors Recommendations

SpaceX has just launched its first private crew to orbit since the Polaris Dawn mission in September 2024.A Falcon 9 rocket launched the Fram2 crew from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:46 p.m. ET on Monday, March 31.Recommended VideosSpaceX shared a clip of the rocket leaving the launchpad:Minutes after launch, the first stage of the booster, flying for the sixth time, landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.Aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft is Chun Wang, an entrepreneur and adventurer from Malta who funded the Fram2 mission. Alongside him is Norwegian cinematographer Jannicke Mikkelsen, Australian polar explorer Eric Philips, and German robotics engineer Rabea Rogge. All four crew members are traveling to orbit for the first time.RelatedFram2 is named after the ship that helped explorers first reach Earths Arctic and Antarctic regions about 100 years ago. Scheduled to last up to five days, the mission will explore Earth from a polar orbit and fly over Earths polar regions for the first time.The crew will also carry out 22 research studies designed to help advance humanitys capabilities for long-duration space exploration and to gain a greater understanding of human health in space.Throughout Fram2s time on-orbit, the crew are planning to take the first X-ray in space, perform exercise studies to maintain muscle and skeletal mass, and grow mushrooms in microgravity, SpaceX said. Additionally, after safely returning to Earth, the crew plans to exit from the Dragon spacecraft without additional medical and operational assistance, helping researchers characterize the ability of astronauts to perform unassisted functional tasks after short and long durations in space.The Crew Dragon last flew on the Polaris Dawn mission, which took four private crew members well beyond the altitude of the International Space Station. The spacecraft includes a glass dome that offers passengers incredible views of Earth and beyond.For the latest updates on the Fram2 mission, be sure to check SpaceXs social media feed.Editors Recommendations

SoftBank Group has agreed to lead a funding of up to $40 billion in a for-profit subsidiary of OpenAI, valuing the ChatGPT maker at $300 billion.

Tweets "warrant further discussion" Even Trump may not be able to save Elon Musk from his old tweets Court win for investors may sway SECs probe of Elon Musks Twitter purchase. Ashley Belanger Mar 31, 2025 2:52 pm | 8 This video grab taken from a video posted on the Twitter account of billionaire Tesla chief Elon Musk on October 26, 2022 shows himself carrying a sink as he enters the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, following his takeover. Credit: Photo by -/Twitter account of Elon Musk/AFP via Getty Images This video grab taken from a video posted on the Twitter account of billionaire Tesla chief Elon Musk on October 26, 2022 shows himself carrying a sink as he enters the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, following his takeover. Credit: Photo by -/Twitter account of Elon Musk/AFP via Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreBack in December, Elon Musk accused the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of launching a purely politically motivated probe into his Twitter purchase. In a letter from his lawyer, Alex Spiro, Musk alleged that the SEC gave him 48 hours to accept a settlement or face fraud charges. Musk refused to pay the fine, demanding to know "who directed these actions," suspecting either former SEC Chair Gary Gensler or Joe Biden's White House.Once the SEC lawsuit was filed in January, Musk's condemnation of the settlement was echoed in his claims that the SEC was "totally broken." These comments seemed to further his feud with the agency following a contentious 2018 Tesla settlement over Musk's tweets that resulted in the Supreme Court declining to hear Musk's arguments against his tweets being monitored by the SEC.But after Donald Trump issued a February executive order declaring sweeping powers over independent agenciesincluding the SEC, which was accused of launching politically motivated investigationsit appeared that Musk might instead have been setting up the narrative to possibly get the probe squashed.And while that still appears to be a possibility, it now seems that a persistent lawsuit raised by Twitter investors that's linked to the SEC probe may end up being the hurdle that possibly blocks Musk's efforts to evade the SEC's investigation. And once again, it's perhaps Musk's tweets that may force the billionaire to potentially end up paying fines to settle chargesrecently deemed plausibly showing intent to deceive.On Friday, US District Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr., gave Twitter investors a big win by mostly denying Musk's motion to dismiss. The judge agreed that it seemed plausible that Musk and other defendants concocted a scheme to spend "over $2.6 billion to secretly purchase over 70 million shares" at an artificially lower price. Plaintiffs had argued the scheme saved Musk "over $200 million" while allegedly harming investors whose shares could have sold at higher prices during the time the supposed scheme was in action.At the core of the lawsuit is a claim that Musk "deliberately" or "recklessly" delayed filing notices that would have alerted investors about his plans to take over Twitter before he purchased a large stake in the company. Part of the alleged deceptions included tweets where Musk appears to mislead the public about his intentions to buy Twitter.Two of those tweets, Carter wrote, "warrant further discussion." In one, Musk responds to a user urging him to "just buy Twitter" and "change the bird logo to a doge" icon representing the cryptocurrency Dogecoin. That tweet can be reasonably read as "a statement meant to misdirect the public to think that buying Twitter was just a fantasy," Carter concluded, since Musk perhaps conveniently left out "critical information that he already owned nearly 10 percent of the company."In the other tweet, Musk responded to a user asking if he would consider building his own social media platform, writing, "Am giving serious thought to this." This can be read "as an affirmative representation that Musk had no interest in Twitter, but was rather building out a rival platform," Carter wrote.Musk had hoped to convince the court that these tweets were simply "teasing" and that his allegedly deceptive SEC filings were a "mistake." But Carter suggested that Twitter investors' allegations that the tweets were posted to "deceive the public about, or distract the public from looking further into" the secret trading scheme is "at least as compelling" as Musk's claims of "nonfraudulent intent."And "more compelling" than Musk's claims he made a "mistake," Carter wrote, were investors' claims that Musk and other defendants intentionally delayed filing forms confirming Musk's intent to buy Twitter in order to acquire millions of shares at a lower price. Investors met their burden that the delay sent a "false pricing signal to the market," leading Carter to conclude "that the facts surrounding the trading strategy evince a deceptive act in furtherance of a scheme to defraud."A loss in the investors' and SEC's suits could force Musk to disgorge any ill-gotten gains from the alleged scheme, estimated at $150 million, as well as potential civil penalties.The SEC and Musk's X (formerly Twitter) did not respond to Ars' request to comment. Investors' lawyers declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.SEC purge may slow down probesUnder the Biden administration, the SEC alleged that "Musks violation resulted in substantial economic harm to investors selling Twitter common stock." For the lead plaintiffs in the investors' suit, the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System, the scheme allegedly robbed retirees of gains used to sustain their quality of life at a particularly vulnerable time.Musk has continued to argue that his alleged $200 million in savings from the scheme was minimal compared to his $44 billion purchase price. But the alleged gains represent about two-thirds of the $290 million price the billionaire paid to support Trump's election, which won Musk a senior advisor position in the Trump administration, CNBC reported. So it's seemingly not an insignificant amount of money in the grand scheme.Likely bending to Musk's influence, one of Trump's earliest moves after taking office, CNBC reported, was reversing a 15-year-old policy allowing the SEC director of enforcement to launch probes like the one Musk is currently battling. It allowed the Tesla probe, for example, to be launched just seven days after Musk's allegedly problematic tweets, the SEC boasted in a 2020 press release.Now, after Trump's rule change, investigations must be approved by a vote of SEC commissioners. That will likely slow down probes that the SEC had previously promised years ago would only speed up over time in order to more swiftly protect investors.SEC expected to reduce corporate finesFor Musk, the SEC has long been a thorn in his side. At least two top officials (1, 2) cited the Tesla settlement as a career highlight, with the agency seeming especially proud of thinking "creatively about appropriate remedies," the 2020 press release said. Monitoring Musk's tweets, the SEC said, blocked "potential harm to investors" and put control over Musk's tweets into the SEC's hands.The SEC's enforcement division has drastically fewer resources at its disposal to pursue such creative remedies now. But even while Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is currently overhauling the SEC, and Trump is threatening to tamp down on any investigations deemed politically motivated, the investors' suit perhaps shows how hard it will be for courts and officials to ignore the potential power of Musk's tweets deemed misleading to manipulate markets. With the lawsuits linked, it will be interesting to see how officials navigate the politics.During the prior administration, an SEC lawyer had accused Musk of using delay tactics and supposed gamesmanship that must cease for the case to proceed with urgency. And the current SEC, packed with officials seemingly ready to loosen regulation of tech companies, doesn't seem to think the case against Musk can be dropped, even as experts note that it's not the most egregious case of alleged fraud ever filed. Last week Reuters revealed that the SEC held a closed-door vote to decide if the lawsuit should even be filed, with four out of five commissioners agreeing to move forward with the probe.The sole stand-out, acting head of the SEC Mark Uyeda, could perhaps still hold sway over the probe, though. Following the vote, he apparently took the unusual step of asking enforcement staffreportedly the hardest hit by DOGE cuts and buyoutsto sign pledges denying that the investigation had political motivations, Reuters reported. (Significant cuts in the enforcement and office of general counsel divisions are also expected to delay investigations and constrain litigation.)Under Uyeda, legal experts expect the SEC to reduce fines for infringing activity that companies have long protested as burdening the US economy after the prior regime's fines reached record highs. And incoming SEC Chair Paul Atkins has already praised DOGE's cuts, promising to cooperate with Musk's team and potentially personally warming to Trump's advisor.That could mean that Musk's rejection of the settlement last December, at the very least, may have spared him a higher fine, which was perhaps yet another effective delay tactic in an SEC lawsuit fixated on delay tactics.Ashley BelangerSenior Policy ReporterAshley BelangerSenior Policy Reporter Ashley is a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica, dedicated to tracking social impacts of emerging policies and new technologies. She is a Chicago-based journalist with 20 years of experience. 8 Comments

WAGON! WAGON! WAGON! The 2025 BMW M5 Touring review: Way more power, way too much weight BMW has been making M5s for 40 years, but the latest one has lost its way somewhat. Bradley Iger Mar 31, 2025 1:04 pm | 26 At long last, BMW has brought the M5 Touring to the US. But does the latest M5 match up to the previous iterations? Credit: Bradley Iger At long last, BMW has brought the M5 Touring to the US. But does the latest M5 match up to the previous iterations? Credit: Bradley Iger Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreWhen BMW introduced the original M5 to the European motoring public in 1984, the automaker effectively established a new vehicle segment. By combining the practical and understatedly rakish E28 5-Series with the motorsport-derived six-cylinder engine from the M1 supercar, the automaker had created a do-it-all performance machine, a vehicle that could serve as a tasteful and luxurious sedan one moment and a charismatic sports car the next.Its a concept that has guided the development of not only subsequent generations of the M5 but also all of the other sports sedans that have dared to go toe to toe with it over the past forty years. For decades, its been the benchmark by which all big, fast four-doors have been judged, but after spending a week with the all-new $125,275 G99-generation M5 Touring, I cant help but wonder if that era is coming to a close.A range of factors have contributed to this seismic shift. While other automakers have been chasing the M5s ghost around the Nrburgring, BMW has purposely started to reposition its M Division vehicles as the pinnacle representation of the brand rather than the pinnacle representation of BMW performance. Its a move that has yielded models like the XM, a vehicle that certainly has plenty of firepower under the hood but ultimately prioritizes style over substance. The iconic sport sedan badge returns with a burly hybrid powertrain and an array of high-tech hardware designed to mask its substantial heft, but the end result has me longing for the past. Bradley Iger The iconic sport sedan badge returns with a burly hybrid powertrain and an array of high-tech hardware designed to mask its substantial heft, but the end result has me longing for the past. Bradley Iger Practical but heavy. Bradley Iger Practical but heavy. Bradley Iger The iconic sport sedan badge returns with a burly hybrid powertrain and an array of high-tech hardware designed to mask its substantial heft, but the end result has me longing for the past. Bradley Iger Practical but heavy. Bradley Iger And as BMW contends with customers undying thirst for more, it must also contend with an array of European regulations aimed at quelling everything from emissions to road noise. From an engineering standpoint, this creates a significant challenge: How do you make your new sports sedan more capable and engaging than the last one while still adhering to the rule of law? For BMW, the answer appears to come in the form of a vast array of technologies aimed at convincing you that the experience is more thrilling than it actually is.I dont mean to imply that the new M5 is a bad car, or even bad at executing the mission of an M5. In some respects, theres cause for celebration: For the first time in the M5s history, the Touring model has made its way stateside to do battle with the RS 6 Avant, Audis high-performance wagon. Opting for the longroof not only scores you an arguably more stylish M5; it also expands its cargo capacity to a crossover-like 57.6 cubic feet (1,631 L) with the rear seats down.But the pursuit of more seems to have been a core priority during the development of the new M5, and more doesnt always equate to a better automobile. Credit: Bradley Iger For example, theres quite a bit more power on tap than in the outgoing M5. Under the hood is a 4.4 L twin-turbocharged V8 that dishes out 577 hp (430 kW) and 553 lb-ft (750 Nm) of torque, and for the first time in an M5, its paired up with a permanently excited synchronous electric motor thats integrated into the eight-speed transmission.The electric motor can deliver up to 194 hp (145 kW) and 207 lb-ft (280 Nm) on its own, and with a 14.8 kWh battery pack onboard, it can provide roughly 25 miles (40 km) of all-electric range. All in, the M Hybrid powertrain delivers a grand total of 717 hp (535 kW) and 738 lb-ft (1,000 Nm) of torque to all four wheels.But while gains of 100 hp (75 kW) and 185 lb-ft (250 Nm) over the outgoing M5 Competition are substantial, they come at a significant cost to the M5s curb weight. Now tipping the scales at an almost unbelievable 5,400 lbs (2,449 kg), the latest M5 weighs roughly a thousand pounds more than the outgoing model and is actually heavier than its all-electric counterpart, the i5. That equates to an M5 with a power-to-weight ratio thats worse than its predecessors, along with an official 060 mph time that, at a still furiously quick 3.4 seconds, is two-tenths slower.The hybrid system isnt entirely to blame for the additional heft, though. The latest M5 has also grown in proportion by more than four inches (101 mm) in length and two and a half inches (63 mm) in width. With flared fenders, huge air intakes, and a hunkered-down stance, it gives the M5 significant visual presence on the road, but behind the wheel, it sometimes feels more like youre driving a low-slung SUV than a svelte sports sedan. Credit: Bradley Iger M5-specific front seats, unique lighting treatments, and a flat-bottomed steering wheel with chunky paddle shifters and a pair of bright red M buttons bring a sense of occasion to the cabin, but its the 14.9-inch touchscreen infotainment display that will capture the majority of drivers attention. As weve seen in other recent BMW models, were left with only a small collection of capacitive buttons, a rotary knob, and (mercifully) a volume dial on the center console.Basic functions like adjusting the fan speed of the air conditioning system require taking your attention off of the road to call up the comfort settings on the display, and if you dare to venture further down the rabbit hole to adjust something else, youll find an app drawer-style menu filled with ambiguously named icons that rarely get you where you want to go the first time out.Do I change the damper stiffness by pressing the M Mode button on the center console, or is it in the Drivetrain and chassis submenu under Driving Settings? The answer is neither. (In fact, you should use iDrives excellent voice commands so you can keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the roadEd.)With adjustments for throttle response, brake regeneration, steering weight, brake pedal responsiveness, transmission behavior, all-wheel drive system modes, simulated engine noise volume, and other performance-related features, you can create literally hundreds of different combinations of vehicle settings, but thankfully, the aforementioned M1 and M2 buttons on the steering wheel provide an easy way to call up one of your two favorite presets on the fly. The bigger concern, though, is how all of these augmentations and enhancements seem to conspire to hide the shortcomings of BMWs design decisions but arent successful in doing so. This will be the last generation of BMW iDrive to use a rotary controller, and we'll miss it. Bradley Iger This will be the last generation of BMW iDrive to use a rotary controller, and we'll miss it. Bradley Iger CarPlay is present and correct. And not at an additional upcharge. Bradley Iger CarPlay is present and correct. And not at an additional upcharge. Bradley Iger This will be the last generation of BMW iDrive to use a rotary controller, and we'll miss it. Bradley Iger CarPlay is present and correct. And not at an additional upcharge. Bradley Iger Chassis upgrades are a prerequisite for an M car, and with an M-tuned adaptative suspension, additional structural bracing, massive brake discs with six-piston calipers up front, four-wheel steering, and torque vectoring all on board as standard, the M5 certainly isnt short on them. Given that, its reasonable to expect that an M model will have a firmer ride quality than its garden-variety counterpart.But the vehicle has an additional measure of harshness as compared to previous M5 models, even under normal driving situations with the dampers set to their most relaxed mode, which I theorize is related to the suspension tuning needed to keep body motions controlled and maintain a sport-oriented feel despite the weight involved.Dont get me wrong, this is still a grand tourer of the highest order. Triple-digit speeds can be accessed with a brief stab of the throttle, and thanks to the improved ergonomics of the latest 5-Series and the model-specific sport seats that are both comfortable and supportive, the M5 will still devour highway miles with the best of them. At times when both the electric motor and the V8 are working together, the hybridized powertrain also delivers the kind of instant-on throttle response thats typically reserved for EVs.The realities of physics become harder to ignore when the going gets twisty, though. BMW engineers deserve significant praise for making a vehicle that weighs the better part of three tons handle the way this M5 does, but the car still feels burdened by the additional heft.Even when the array of settings youve chosen indicate that youre ready to roll out of pit lane at Laguna Seca, the steering remains devoid of feedback, mid-corner bumps often result in multiple suspension oscillations before the car fully regains its composure, and the pads that are equipped with optional carbon ceramic brakes get hot enough to smell after just a few minutes of hustling through the canyons. And despite the fact that the M5s various enhancements and augmentations assure you that this spirited drive is going swimmingly, the M2youre chasing down your favorite backroad continues to fade into the distance. Bradley Iger Bradley Iger Bradley Iger Bradley Iger Bradley Iger Bradley Iger Bradley Iger Bradley Iger The M5 seats are easier to get in and out of than the carbon buckets in the M5 CS we tested. Bradley Iger The M5 seats are easier to get in and out of than the carbon buckets in the M5 CS we tested. Bradley Iger The M5's back seats. Bradley Iger The M5's back seats. Bradley Iger The M5 seats are easier to get in and out of than the carbon buckets in the M5 CS we tested. Bradley Iger The M5's back seats. Bradley Iger One could argue that these compromises are unavoidable in the pursuit of more, and in this rapidly evolving automotive landscape, progress can be quantified in a number of different ways. But if youre the kind of enthusiast who values the driving experience over the figures on the spec sheet, you might actually find yourself wishing for less. 26 Comments

In March 2024, a cargo ship smashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, MarylandUPI / AlamyOne year after a container ship ran into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, causing the structures collapse, a study has identified other major US bridges that are surprisingly vulnerable to similar catastrophic ship strikes and their collective risk is so high that such incidents may occur every few years.Modern bridges can reduce the chances of ship collisions with measures like increasing the spacing between support piers and adding

Trump's review of Harvard University puts $8.9 billion in contracts and grants at risk. Brian Snyder/REUTERS 2025-04-01T00:53:54Z SaveSaved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? Harvard faces a federal review, which could jeopardize $8.9 billion in funding.The review follows funding cuts at Columbia, leading to the university conceding to federal demands.Several teacher's unions have sued Trump's attempt to cut funding for crucial research programs.Harvard University just became the latest institution to come under federal scrutiny by the Trump administration.The Department of Health and Human Services announced on Monday that a "comprehensive review" of Harvard's federal funding is underway, putting more than $8.9 billion in contracts and grants at risk.The Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is spearheading the review to "ensure the university is in compliance with federal regulations, including its civil rights responsibilities."The review of Harvard came after the same task force recently cut $400 million from Columbia University. The institution agreed to a set of conditions set by the administration, which included stricter protest regulations, an expanded campus security presence, and increased oversight of its Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies Department, in an attempt to restore funding. The university's interim president also resigned shortly after the concession.Since Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack against Israel, and Israel's ongoing war in Gaza, which has claimed at least 50,000 lives combined, some of the nation's most prestigious colleges have faced allegations of antisemitism following a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that spread across the country.The Trump administration is also seeking to deport pro-Palestinian activists who are permanent residents, several of whom are students of Columbia, which sparked First Amendment concerns.Although Monday's announcement did not detail the administration's exact demands on Harvard, Education Secretary Linda McMahon criticized Harvard for jeopardizing its reputation by "promoting divisive ideologies over free inquiry.""Harvard can right these wrongs and restore itself to a campus dedicated to academic excellence and truth-seeking, where all students feel safe on its campus," McMahon said in a statement on Monday.Funding cuts from schools typically need to go through a lengthy process via the Department of Education. The American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers have sued the administration for holding funding hostage, saying that the cuts have terminated grants for fetal health, Alzheimer's, and cancer research at Columbia.As of the end of March, Columbia did not receive assurance that funding would be restored.Alan M. Garber, the president of Harvard University, said in a statement that the university will "engage with members of the federal government's task force to combat antisemitism" and that he had "experienced antisemitism directly, even while serving as president.""In longstanding partnership with the federal government, we have launched and nurtured pathbreaking research that has made countless people healthier and safer, more curious and more knowledgeable, improving their lives, their communities, and our world," Garber added.Harvard's endowment was $53.2 billion in 2024, and its fiscal year operating expenses were $6.4 billion.Recommended video

Archaeologists have discovered a mysterious new king of ancient Egypt, buried in a network of tombs at Anubis Mountain."Discovering king's tombs, new pharaohs, are few and far between," Josef Wegner, a leader of the team that uncovered the new tomb, told Business Insider.Researchers don't know this pharaoh's identitybecause they think ancient grave robbers damaged the marking of his name on the tomb wall. Still, he could help illuminate a forgotten era ofEgyptian historyfrom about 1640 BCE to 1540 BCE, when warrior pharaohs battled each other for territory."It's a really fascinating period of turmoil, conflict," said Wegner, who teaches Egyptian archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania and curates the Penn Museum's Egyptian section."It gives birth to the new kingdom, the famous golden age of many of the well-known pharaohs like King Tut and the Ramses kings," he added.Take a peek inside this unknown pharaoh's tomb.Wegner's team excavated the 3,600-year-old tomb beneath 23 feet of sand at the necropolis of Anubis Mountain.The tomb was buried under 23 feet of sand. Dr. Josef Wegner for the Penn Museum It's part of Abydos, one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt and once home to the little-known Abydos Dynasty, which archaeologists believe was one of several warring kingdoms across Egypt during the region's Second Intermediate Period."It's a mystery dynasty," Wegner said of the Abydos kings.This is the ninth Abydos tomb Wegner has uncovered. Dr. Josef Wegner for the Penn Museum Today, the ancient city is home to a sprawling archaeological site, where the Abydos kings turned the necropolis into a royal cemetery.Wegner's team had previously discovered a tomb in the area in 2014, housing the remains of a pharaoh named Seneb Kay.Seneb Kay's tomb during excavation. Courtesy of Josef Wegner, Penn Museum Seneb Kaytomb raidersThe walls of Seneb Kay's tomb were adorned with colorful paintings, including hieroglyphs of the king's name.These hieroglyphs recorded the name of Seneb Kay at his tomb. Courtesy of Josef Wegner, Penn Museum Then they discovered seven other undecorated tombs surrounding his, for a total of eight Abydos kings."We believed we had exhausted all the evidence until this last winter season at Abydos, where we began working in a new section of the site," Wegner said. "Lo and behold, there's another one of these tombs which is much larger in size than the ones we had found previously."Like Seneb Kay's tomb, this one was decorated with paintings including hieroglyphs of the pharaoh's name.The unknown king's name was once painted on ancient plastered brickwork leading to the limestone chamber. Dr. Josef Wegner for the Penn Museum To Wegner's dismay, though, ancient tomb robbers had damaged the hieroglyph painting and made the name illegible."It was, of course, a little frustrating that we could see where his name had been preserved," Wegner said.In the tomb, a series of chambers with 16-foot-high vaulted brick ceilings led to the limestone burial chamber.The chambers of the tomb were once capped with unusually large brick vaults. Dr. Josef Wegner for the Penn Museum "It was such a large, impressive structure," Wegner said. He added that the size of the tomb and its vaults "may have ultimately drawn the tomb robbers to this location."This pharaoh was probably a predecessor of Seneb Kay.Passageways led through several chambers to the pharaoh's burial site. Dr. Josef Wegner for the Penn Museum From small dedicated monuments in the region, Wegner knows of two Abydos kings who haven't been found yet, who could be the person in this new tomb. Their names are Senaiib and Paentjeni.Wegner still hopes to confirm the new king's identity.Archaeologists from Egypt and the Penn Museum unearth the new Abydos tomb. Dr. Josef Wegner for the Penn Museum The archaeological team may find clues as it excavates the surrounding area. Wegner said they've finished excavating the tomb's interior since discovering it in January.One detail gives him hope: They haven't yet found this mystery pharaoh's canopic jars, which store a mummy's organs.The resting place of the unknown pharaoh, with its once-decorated entryway. Dr. Josef Wegner for the Penn Museum Sometimes tomb robbers would grab and later discard canopic jars, Wegner said. It's also common for such jars to feature the name of the mummified pharaoh. He hopes to find a fragment of one of those jars with this king's name."That would be an immediate positive identification," Wegner said.Wegner plans to return to the site this summer for further excavation.There could be more tombs and more clues in the surrounding area. Dr. Josef Wegner for the Penn Museum They have a "sizable area" where they want to keep digging, he said, both for further evidence from this tomb and to check for other tombs, too.The Anubis Mountain area has yielded much more history than Wegner expected when he began working there in the 1990s."We've realized it's a full royal cemetery," he said, "like a Valley of the Kings."

Miles Morales is swinging back to the big screen but its going to be longer than originally anticipated. Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, the third film in the award-winning animated series from Sony, was originally scheduled for a 2204 release. It was then taken off the calendar after its predecessor, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, was released. Well, now, its back and will be coming out June 4, 2027. The news was revealed at the end of a teaser trailer shown at CinemaCon 2025. Pulling back through a wild array of colors and shapes like something out of 2001: A Space Odyssey, we see images and hear words from the previous two films. Near the end, a few quick images from the new film played, including Miles fighting the Prowler, the Spot, and entering a completely black area through a yellow hole. Producer Phil Lord, and directors Bob Persichetti and Justin K. Thompson said that Beyond will be bigger and bolder than the first two films. Itll feature new styles and innovations and pick up the next second from the end of the previous film. Basically, they made it clear the long delay was for very good reasons. And we cannot wait. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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