The internet advocacy group's proposed purchase would bring TikTok under American ownership and prevent it from being banned in the U.S.

Google becomes the latest tech company to donate to Trump's inauguration fund

Amazon Retail Ad Service will allow sites to show "contextually relevant ads in the right place and at the right time" in search results, the company said.

Early on Wednesday morning, as the Eaton fire quickly grew northeast of Los Angeles, Jess Reynolds was glued to Watch Duty, a fire-tracking app on her phone. Reynolds, [a photo editor at Fast Company] who lives in the neighboring city of La Caada Flintridge, hadnt gotten an evacuation warning yet. But as the app gave detailed updates on the spread of the fire, she decided it was time to leave, pulling out of her driveway at 5:30 a.m. Hours later, her whole city was under a mandatory evacuation order.[Screenshot: Watch Duty]Shes one of hundreds of thousands of L.A. area residents who are relying on the nonprofit app for real-time information as multiple fires blaze. Most of the critical information in the app comes from radio dispatches from first responders. Theres nowhere else that information exists in near-real-time besides radio traffic, says Nick Russell, vice president of operations at Watch Duty. Weve assembled a team of retired and active firefighters, dispatchers, first responders, as well as radio enthusiasts who have been doing this for many years. Weve built a platform to get that information in one place, so communities dont have to piecemeal the story together to understand the danger that they are in or not in.[Screenshot: Watch Duty]The app also shares maps of fires, with the option to turn on a wind layer that shows where the fire is likely to move. The map reveals evacuation zones and roads, along with shelter locations. The app shares photo and video updates of fires, air quality data, and other information, with the option to turn notifications on or off for a particular fire.Watch Duty first launched in Northern California in 2021. John Mills, a tech founder, had moved to rural Sonoma County during the pandemic and soon experienced a major local fire. CalFire, the state fire agency, only had time to give updates once a day, and it was difficult for residents to know what was going on. But Mills saw that some volunteers were following radio scanners and sharing updates on social media. He wanted to make that information easier to find.The app began with all-volunteer citizen information officers, but now has a small number of paid staff as well. (It also has a pro version, because the team realized that first responders were also using the app to get the best information.) During a critical event like the current fires in Los Angeles, the team works around the clock to provide important information as soon as its available.Sharing data this way can help make people more likely to evacuate when its necessary, Russell says. When a police officer or firefighter is coming to your door [to tell you to evacuate], they dont have time to sit there and brief you on all the events and why theyre telling you to leave, he says. So what happens is a lot of people stay in their home and they dont leave because they dont understand the danger that theyre in. Watch Duty, by telling that storyline of reports from the start of ignition until the threat passes, is giving people that full story. Watch Duty users often decide to leave before an official evacuation order is issued, avoiding the chaos of traffic in a mass exodus. Others are willing to leave when the order comes, because theyve been following along.[Screenshot: Watch Duty]The information saves lives. In a fire in Malibu in December, one resident told the nonprofit that the app gave her a 15-minute advance warning as the fire was starting to spread. She was able to grab her dog and leavebefore losing everything else. Another family in Reno, Nevada got a notification about a wildfire near their home while they were out a lunch. They left the diner immediately and went home and gathered pets and some important documents, says Russell. As they left, their home burned down.The app also offers an extra layer of protection when government systems dont work. On Tuesday night, as multiple evacuation orders were issued around the Los Angeles area, some residents had issues accessing official websites. What users were experiencing when they went to go look at the countys evacuation map is an error saying that there were too many requests, and to try again later, Russell says.The Watch Duty app is now available in 22 states. As climate change makes wildfires more likelyextreme fire weather that was once seen every hundred years now happens every seven years, and the frequency of extreme fire risk has grown 20 timesthe app is one example in the quickly-growing space of wildfire tech. (The nonprofit also plans to later expand to other disasters, including floods.) The current fires have boosted demand; when I spoke to Russell on Wednesday afternoon, the app had added more than 750,000 users in the last 12 hours.

A record 24 million people have signed up for insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act, former President Barack Obamas landmark health legislation, as the program awaits an uncertain future under a Republican-controlled White House and Congress.Never have so many people enrolled in health care coverage through the government marketplace, a point of pride for many Democrats but a red flag to some Republicans.President Joe Biden has pushed an expansion of the program, signing into law billions of dollars in tax credits that expanded who qualified for the health insurance and lowered its cost. Millions of additional Americans can now pay monthly premiums of just a few dollars to get coverage.The increased enrollment is no coincidence, Biden said in a statement. When I took office, I made a promise to the American people that I would bring down the cost of health care and prescription drugs, make signing up for coverage easier, and strengthen the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, and Medicaid.But incoming President-elect Donald Trump has maligned Obamacare for years. He unsuccessfully tried to dismantle it during his first term, and has promised changes without offering a concrete plan during his second term. Enrollment dropped during Trumps first term, with his administration investing less money in the program, including for navigators who help people enroll in the coverage.And the tax credits that made the health care coverage more affordable for millions will expire at the end of this year, unless Congress passes a new law.Lawmakers will face a pressure campaign from hospitals and insurance companies, which supply coverage plans for the marketplace, to continue the tax credits. A newly formed coalition of the biggest and most powerful health care entities including the nations top health insurers, largest health care systems and notable medical associations has launched a campaign called Keep Americans Covered to lobby Congress on the issue.Still, its an uphill fight with Republicans, some of whom voted against the Affordable Care Act initially and others who voted to repeal it years later. Still, some might pause at the idea of effectively stripping their constituents of health care coverage.Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski told the Alaska Beacon last week that Congress would need to continue these premium tax credits, in an interview about rising health care costs.But other Republicans have raised questions about the tax credits, especially with continued growth in enrollment. Last year, a group of GOP representatives called for an investigation into Affordable Care Act signups, citing concerns that people are defrauding taxpayers by reporting inaccurate income levels in order to qualify for cheaper health care coverage.In a call with reporters Tuesday, Biden administration officials pushed back on that, saying that automated systems verify a persons income against the previous years tax filings.Trump, meanwhile, has described the Affordable Care Act as costly, and says the health care coverage it offers is lousy.But he has still not offered a full plan for how he would make it better.We have concepts of a plan that would be better, he said during an interview on NBCs Meet the Press last month.Open enrollment on HealthCare.gov ends on Jan. 15.Amanda Seitz, Associated Press

Electric vehicle demand is expected to keep rising this year, but uncertainty over policy changes and tariffs is clouding the forecast.S&P Global Mobility expects global sales of 15.1 million battery electric vehicles in 2025, which would mark a 30% jump. Battery electric vehicles are expected to make up 16.7% of the market share for light vehicles.Tesla, BYD of China, and other manufacturers face big unknowns in 2025. Donald Trumps presidency could mean big policy shifts in tax and other incentives for both electric vehicle makers and consumers. The threat of tariffs on imports and retaliatory tariffs globally, could further complicate production and sales for electric vehicles.Theres just a lot of uncertainty in the air, said Stephanie Brinley, associate director of auto intelligence at S&P Global Mobility. Its not an environment where you want to necessarily go gangbusters.In the U.S., consumers can currently claim a federal tax benefit of up to $7,500 for certain new electric vehicles. Carmakers also benefitted from some federal support for electric vehicle production and infrastructure. Its possible for all of that to get cut under President Trump.Trump condemned the federal tax credit for electric vehicles while campaigning for the presidency. He called it part of a green new scam that would would hurt the auto industry. Still, the incoming administration is expected push for broader deregulation of industries, which could potentially help carmakers.Some of the larger electric vehicle makers had a mixed 2024 even with benefits for consumers and manufacturers. Tesla sales slipped 1.1%, its first annual sales drop in more than a dozen years. Rivians deliveries rose 2.9%.Tariffs are another threat to the industry. Production takes place globally, with parts getting imported and exported throughout the process. Trump has threatened to tax imports from Mexico, Canada, China, and elsewhere, which would likely result in retaliatory tariffs.China is the largest market for electric vehicles, followed by the U.S. Within the U.S., Tesla is the dominant electric vehicle maker, with about 50% of the market share.Automakers are in a wait-and-see position along with many other industries to see whether Trump carries out the threat of rescinding tax credits and implementing tariffs.The broader auto industry is proceeding with caution. Overall, S&P Global Mobility expects that light vehicle production will have slid 1.6% in 2024 and will fall another 0.4% in 2025.Thats a result of automakers better matching production and demand. Overall light vehicle sales are still expected to rise 1.7% in 2025.The ongoing transition to electric vehicles also plays a role in more tempered production. Companies like Ford and General Motors are shifting production capacity to electric vehicles in some cases instead of adding more capacity.Damian J. Troise, AP Business Writer

This eye-catching Nyala Chair is by Jomo Tariku, an Ethiopian industrial designer based in Virginia. "Inspired by the shy and elusive mountain antelope from the Bale Mountains of East Africa, the hand-carved armrests and legs of this chair echo the Nyala's distinctive soaring horns and sturdy hind legs," Tariku writes. "Staying true to the non-territorial nature of the Nyala, the chair blends with the design pallet of modern living spaces while maintaining its individuality." The antelope is in danger of going extinct, as its population has declined from 25,000 down to "around a thousand" over the past several decades. "To heighten awareness of this decline, we will limit lifetime production to 1,000 - One chair to represent each antelope on the Bale Mountain. A portion of sales will be donated to support research or conservation field work in Bale Mountains National Park." The Nyala Chair, one of which is part LACMA's permanent collection, is carried by the Wexler Gallery.

This is a strange invention that demonstrates outside-of-the-box thinking. A startup called Swippitt has developed this Instant Power System, a way to fully charge your smartphone in just two seconds. The system requires you sheathe your phone in their Swippitt Link, a phone case with a built-in battery. To recharge, you place your phone into the slot of their Swippitt Hub, which looks like the offspring of an Atari 2600 and a toaster. After two seconds, you pull it out, and it's fully charged.What's happening inside the Hub is that it's swapping the case's battery:The Hub can store and charge up to five extra batteries. I would think that this system would be aimed at businesses with employees that rely heavily on smartphones to do their work, but this appears aimed at the consumer sector. It's also only compatible with iPhone models 14, 15 and 16. Whether people will pony up $120 per phone case and $450 for the Hub (plus whatever the extra batteries cost, they don't say) remains to be seen.The system is expected to launch in June, with Android compatibility to be added later.

The Core77 Design Awards Home & Living category features consumer products or services designed to enhance comfort, convenience, security, and sustainability in residential spaces. Products and services can integrate digital tools, smart devices, and automation systems, making everyday life more efficient and enjoyable from home management, entertainment to security and energy efficiency. Examples include home accessories, appliances, home electronics, smart home products, security systems.Mitch Heinrich's work spans an incredible range of subject areas, but they contain a unifying principle: the ability to shape new ideas while focusing on holistic design and sustainability. Over two decades in design, Mitch has empowered micro-entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa, developed stratospheric internet balloons and glucose-sensing contact lenses, co-developed Google Glass's bone conduction transducer, gone deep on AI-driven aquaculture, and led a design team working with synthetic biology to create new sustainable materials. His award-winning design and development work has been exhibited at the NYMOMA and Cooper Hewitt museums. Dozens of granted and pending patents bear his name as an inventor, and he founded the Design Kitchen at Google [x]. Today, he leads Design at Copper, a home electrification company that creates battery-equipped induction stoves powered by renewable energy. In addition, Mitch's boutique design studio, What For, advises companies on sustainable material development.Mitch led the design of Charlie, the world's first battery equipped induction range. The product is designed to conveniently replace gas stoves without requiring any electrical work and features walnut analog touchpoints and a unique radiused brow line. In his practice, Mitch is encouraged to see the shift from touch screens on everything back to thoughtful analog interfaces and physical touch points. "Yes, it adds more cost," he says. "No, you can't add a new button after a product has shipped. It is 100 percent worth it."He worries about the dependency of physical products on software, cloud servers, internet connections, and security updates and the effects of investors, share prices, and company solvency on their long-term value and utility. "A car from the 1990s could easily still work today if maintained. Will a Tesla still work in 30 years? Unlikely."From Core77 Design Awards entries, Mitch is seeking products "that have a reason to exist and are not chasing trends or have single use lifespans. An ideal entry is one that combines utility, aesthetics and has a strong point of view."2024 Winner of the Home & Living Category was Charlie by Channing St. Copper Co.Mitch was the 2024 winner in the Core77 Design Awards Home & Living category for Charlie by Channing St. Copper Co., an energy-storage-equipped (ESE) induction range that offers a superior and more sustainable cooking experience to the traditional gas stove.If you've got a home & living design with potential to build a happier, healthier home, submit it to the 2025 Core77 Design Awards. Enter your work in the Core77 Design Awards today.

Rather than months without rain or the effects of climate change, figures like Elon Musk and Donald Trump Jr. are pointing to a familiar scapegoat as entire neighborhoods burn.