This week at CES, Google presented an early look at new software and hardware upgrades coming to Google TV devices. The new features include the integration of Gemini, Google's AI model, to the Google Assistant, as well as a new ambient experience. New smart TVs with Google TV will also gain far-field mics and proximity sensors to support the new software perks. If you've used a Google TV or Google streaming device, you may have already used the "hey Google" prompt to search for shows to watch. With the addition of Gemini, those "conversations" should now feel more natural. Asking follow up questions or even changing topics to ask about something else won't require you to say the prompt again. You should also be able to search for content more intuitively, saying things like, "What are the newest movies from Disney?" Interacting with your connected smart home devices should be easier as well, letting you say, for example, "Who's at the front door?" to view your video doorbell feed. The new Google TV experience will include YouTube videos to supplement answers to your queries. So if you ask, "what are the best pizza places in Chicago?" your TV will give you a list of videos to check out. To facilitate the new AI-fueled Assistant capabilities, Google TV sets will now come standard with far-field microphones so you can talk to the Google Assistant without the remote. Google is also working on a new ambient experience that will rely on proximity sensors to trigger an on-screen hub that shows personalized widgets like weather, news, traffic and so on. And when you're not viewing the hub or actively watching TV, an always-on mode can display art or even AI-generated screensavers, again enabled by Gemini's smarts. We've seen versions of some of these features before. Amazon's Echo Show smart displays rely on proximity sensors to display personal details. Supplementing your queries with YouTube videos and creating AI screensavers with voice prompts are both features we saw with the new Google TV Streamer from last year. And of course, AI integration has been an unofficial mandate for every tech company throughout 2024 and it's everywhere at CES this year. If the new smarts makes finding something good to watch an easier endeavor, it'll be a welcome use of the technology. Google demonstrated the new features at CES this week and has said the technology will be available on new Google TV devices sometime this year, but we don't have a firm date for when the new devices will be available. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/gemini-ai-is-coming-to-google-tv-devices-in-2025-making-them-easier-to-talk-to-160003805.html?src=rss

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The Walt Disney Company may have been experiencing a bit of FOMO when it came to streaming live sports, despite its stable of ESPN networks. Today, it announced that it will bolster its offerings by combining with another streaming provider, Fubo, which is perhaps best known for its sports streaming options.The short and sweet of itDisneys Hulu + Live TV businesses are combining with Fubo, and Disney will control 70% of the new service. Fubos management team will lead the new operation, which will operate under Fubo, and both Fubo and Hulu + Live TV will remain available as separate services to customers.In effect, Hulu + Live TV and Fubo will have more than 6.2 million customers in North America, and become the second largest live-TV streaming service behind YouTube TV. The new service will not include access to Hulus on-demand library, and will facilitate an enhanced choice of programming packages and address a variety of consumer preferences at attractive price points, according to a Disney news release.Shares of Fubotv Inc (NYSE: FUBO) were up well over 120% in early trading on Monday after the markets opened. The stock had already taken off in premarket trading after Bloomberg reported that the deal was in the works.The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) saw its stock rise 1.21% as of this writing.What does this deal mean?This combination will allow both Hulu + Live TV and Fubo to enhance and expand their virtual MVPD offerings and provide consumers with even more choice and flexibility, said Justin Warbrooke, Disneys executive vice president and head of corporate development, in a statement. We have confidence in the Fubo management team and their ability to grow the business, delivering high-quality offerings that serve subscribers with the content they want and offering great value.Warbrookes enthusiasm was echoed by Fubo CEO David Gandler, who said that the agreement allows us to scale effectively, strengthens Fubos balance sheet and positions us for positive cash flow.The deal also means that Fubo is dropping litigation and legal claims against Disney and a few others, which were planning to launch a sport-centric streaming service called Venu Sports. The basis of the lawsuit was that the new service would violate antitrust laws and increase prices for consumers. That, however, has been squashed, and now, Fubo and Disney will create a new sports and broadcast service, which will feature a ton of sports content, including ESPNs stable of networks.

Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel filed a federal lawsuit challenging a Biden administration decision to block Nippons proposed $15 billion acquisition of the Pittsburgh company and said that the head of the Steelworkers union and a rival steelmaker worked together to scuttle the buyout.Biden said Friday that U.S. companies producing a large amount of steel need to keep leading the fight on behalf of Americas national interests, though Japan, where Nippon is based, is a strong ally.In separate lawsuits filed Monday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the steelmakers allege that it was a political decision made by the Biden administration that had no rational legal basis.Nippon Steel and U. S. Steel have engaged in good faith with all parties to underscore how the Transaction will enhance, not threaten, United States national security, the companies said in a prepared statement Monday.Nippon Steel had promised to invest $2.7 billion in U.S. Steels aging blast furnace operations in Gary, Indiana, and Pennsylvanias Mon Valley. It also vowed not to reduce production capacity in the United States over the next decade without first getting U.S. government approval.Biden on Friday decided to stop the Nippon takeover after federal regulators deadlocked on whether to approve it because a strong domestically owned and operated steel industry represents an essential national security priority. Without domestic steel production and domestic steel workers, our nation is less strong and less secure, he said in a statement.While administration officials have said the decision was unrelated to Japans relationship with the U.S. this is the first time a U.S. president has blocked a merger between a U.S. and Japanese firm.Biden departs the White House in just a few weeks.The presidents decision to block the deal comes after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, known as CFIUS, failed to reach consensus on the possible national security risks of the deal last month, and sent a long-awaited report on the merger to Biden. He had 15 days to reach a final decision.In a separate lawsuit filed in the District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the companies accused steel-making rival Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and its CEO, Lourenco Goncalves, in coordination with David McCall, the head of the U.S. Steelworkers union, of engaging in a coordinated series of anticompetitive and racketeering activities to block the deal.In 2023 before U.S. Steel accepted the buyout offer from Nippon, Cleveland-Cliffs offered to buy U.S. Steel for $7 billion. U.S. Steel turned down the offer and later accepted a nearly $15 billion all-cash offer from Nippon Steel, which is the deal that Biden nixed Friday.The companies allege that Goncalves, in collusion with the head of the United Steelworkers, maneuvered to prevent any party other than Cleveland-Cliffs from acquiring U.S. Steel and to damage the Pittsburgh manufacturers ability to compete.United Steelworkers President David McCall on Monday called the allegations baseless.By blocking Nippon Steels attempt to acquire U.S. Steel, the Biden administration protected vital U.S. interests, safeguarded our national security and helped preserve a domestic steel industry that underpins our countrys critical supply chains, McCall said in a prepared statement.Ohios Ohios Cleveland-Cliffs did not immediately to a request by The Associated Press for comment.Nippon and U.S. Steel said in the lawsuit that they submitted three draft national security agreements to CFIUS in the fall to address any concerns.The companies allege that CFIUS was told not to offer any counterproposals or hold discussions with them. Nippon and U.S. Steel argue that the review process was manipulated so that the outcome would support a decision they say Biden had already made.The companies say that Biden used undue influence to advance his political agenda.Nippon, however, will face an incoming administration that has also vowed to block the acquistion.President-elect Donald Trump last month underscored his intention to block the deal, and pledged to use tax incentives and tariffs to strengthen the iconic American steelmaker.Shortly after the lawsuits were filed, Trump cemented that stance on his Truth Social platform.Why would they want to sell U.S. Steel now when Tariffs will make it a much more profitable and valuable company? the post said. Wouldnt it be nice to have U.S. Steel, once the greatest company in the World, lead the charge toward greatness again? It can all happen very quickly!Shares of United States Steel Corp. rose more than 4% before the opening bell Monday.Fatima Hussein, Associated Press

By blocking a Japanese companys takeover of U.S. Steel, President Joe Biden said he was protecting good jobs in the American heartland. He may be putting them at risk instead.In making its nearly $15 billion bid for the storied Pittsburgh-based steelmaker, Nippon Steel had promised to invest $2.7 billion in U.S. Steels aging blast furnace operations in Gary, Indiana, and Pennsylvanias Mon Valley. It also vowed not to reduce production capacity in the United States over the next decade without first getting U.S. government approval.They were going to invest in the Valley, said Jason Zugai, an operating technician and vice president of the United Steelworkers union local at a U.S. Steel plant in the Mon Valley. They committed to 10 years of no layoffs. We wont have those commitments from anybody.Zugai and some other Mon Valley steelworkers supported the Nippon deal in defiance of the unions national leadership, which pressured the Biden administration to kill it.Losing the Nippon-U.S. Steel deal will be a disaster for Pennsylvania, said Gordon Johnson, who follows U.S. Steel stock on Wall Street as founder of GLJ Research. I really dont understand. This is not in the interest of the workers. Its not in the interest of the shareholders of U.S. Steel.On Friday, Biden said he was stopping the Nippon takeoverafter federal regulators deadlocked on whether to approve itbecause a strong domestically owned and operated steel industry represents an essential national security priority. . . . Without domestic steel production and domestic steel workers, our nation is less strong and less secure.U.S. Steel stock dropped 6.5% on the news Friday.The decision, announced less than three weeks before the president leaves the White House, reflects a growing bipartisan shift away from free trade and open investment.President-elect Donald Trump had already come out against the Nippon takeover. As President, he wrote last month on his Truth Social platform, I will block this deal from happening. Buyer Beware!!!In a joint statement, Nippon and U.S. Steel called Bidens decision a clear violation of due process and the law and suggested they would sue to salvage their deal: We are left with no choice but to take all appropriate action to protect our legal rights.U.S. Steel was founded in 1901 in a merger that involved American business titans J.P. Morgan and Andrew Carnegie and instantly created the largest company in the world. As the U.S. grew to world dominance in the 20th century, U.S. Steel grew with it. In 1943, at the height of the World War II manufacturing boom, U.S. Steel employed 340,000 people.But foreign competitionfrom Japan in the 1970s and 80s and later from Chinagradually eroded U.S. Steels position and forced it to close plants and lay off workers. The company now employs fewer than 22,000 in an industry dominated by the Chinese.The U.S. government has sought over the years to protect U.S. Steel and other American steelmakers by imposing taxes on imported steel. During his first term, Trump slapped 25% tariffs on foreign steel, and Biden kept them or converted them into import quotas. Either way, the trade barriers kept the price of American steel artificially high, giving U.S. Steel and others a financial boost.U.S. Steel is profitable and is sitting on $1.8 billion in cash, though that is down from $2.9 billion at the end of 2023.United Steelworkers President David McCall declared Friday that U.S. Steel had the financial resources to go it alone. It can easily remain a strong and resilient company, he told reporters.But U.S. Steel has said it needs the cash from Nippon Steel to keep investing in blast furnaces like the ones in Pennsylvania and Indiana.Without the Nippon Steel transaction, U. S. Steel will largely pivot away from its blast furnace facilities, putting thousands of good-paying union jobs at risk, negatively impacting numerous communities across the locations where its facilities exist, U.S. Steel warned in September. The company also threatened to move its headquarters out of Pittsburgh.On its own, U.S. Steel seems poised to focus on newer electric arc furnaces, such as its Big River plant in Arkansas, which can make high-quality steel products more efficiently and at lower prices compared to blast furnaces, said Josh Spoores, the Pennsylvania-based head of steel Americas analysis for commodity researcher CRU.I dont know if they dont have the will, but they seem to have seen that its a much better investment, a much better rate of return if they look to invest in an electric arc furnace rather than a blast furnace, Spoores said. He noted that no steelmaker has built a blast furnace in North America for decades.One possibility is that another company will step in and make a bid for U.S. Steel.In 2023, arch-rival Cleveland-Cliffs offered to buy U.S. Steel for $7 billion. U.S. Steel turned the offer down and ended up accepting the nearly $15 billion all-cash offer from Nippon Steel, which is the deal that Biden nixed Friday. Perhaps, analysts say, Cleveland-Cliffs will try again.In a statement, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro warned U.S. Steel management against threatening the jobs and livelihoods of the Pennsylvanians who work at the Mon Valley Works and at U.S. Steel HQ and their families.Shapiro also said companies that put in bids to buy U.S. Steel in the future must make the same commitments to capital investment and protecting and growing Pennsylvania jobs that Nippon Steel placed on the table.Paul Wiseman and Marc Levy, Associated Press

A bestseller in Japan, this electric-assist screwdriver with a ball-shaped handle is by Japan's Vessel Tools. (That company, formed in 1916, was Japan's first mass-manufacturer of screwdrivers.)Aimed at installers and tradespeople working in tight spaces, it offers the convenience of a powered driver without the bulky form factor. It's also lightweight at just 0.6 lbs, reducing fatigue for those doing overhead work.It offers three adjustable speeds (Low: 280 RPM, Medium: 340 RPM, High: 400 RPM), and can of course also be locked and used manually. It can be recharged via USB-C. These are now distributed in the 'States, by Lowes as well as online retailers. They run $80 to $86.