At next week's event, we're looking forward to Samsung's Galaxy S25 lineup, new AI features, perhaps a Galaxy Ring 2, smart glasses - and more. See what's coming.

CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 13: Patricio Pitbull (Photo by Amy Kaplan/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesOn Tuesday, Donn Davis, the owner of the Professional Fighters League, made a statement. He granted Patricio Pitbull what appears to be his unconditional release.How Did Pitbull Wind Up Getting His Release From the PFL?On the same day the PFL issued a statement about their removal of the Bellator brand from its main rotation of events and title designations, Pitbull took to social media with his latest anti-PFL rant.Pitbull used the UFCs recent release of Holly Holm as an example of how an organization should treat a legend of the sport. Pitbull did what was best for him, and he got what he wanted. It was smart for him to put pressure on the PFL, and it was subsequently wise for the PFL to rid themselves of the negative element Pitbull had become.Pitbull is Expected to Sign With the UFCAs it stands, most expect Pitbull to land with the UFC. He has made it clear thats where he would like to be. Dana White was asked about the potential of Pitbull joining his organization, and he seemed open to the concept, though he didnt speak specifically about the Brazilian legend.MORE FOR YOUAt 37 years old, it seems unlikely Pitbull will go on a tear that would lead to him becoming a UFC world champion. However, he is as tough and respected as they come in mixed martial arts.Based on his reputation and aura, he could have some fun fights with the UFC over the next three years.5 Ideal Opponents for Pitbull in His UFC DebutMichael ChandlerNEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 16: Michael Chandler of the United States of America looks on during a ... [+] lightweight fight against Charles Oliveira of Brazil during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)Getty ImagesLike Pitbull, Chandler is a former Bellator champion and legend with the promotion. They never fought while both were with the organization, mostly because Pitbull is a featherweight and Chandler a lightweight.That said, is it out of the realm of possibility for Pitbull to fight at 155 pounds? If not, this fight would have a special vibe because of the Bellator history, and both men bring an all-action style.Jose AldoSALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - OCTOBER 05: Jose Aldo of Brazil is seen in his locker room prior to his fight ... [+] during the UFC 307 event at Delta Center on October 05, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC)Zuffa LLCBoth Aldo and Pitbull are Brazilian legends. At one point, this was a dream fight we thought wed never see because Aldo was a UFC champion and Pitbull a champ in Bellator.Aldo would have to come back up to featherweight, but that wouldnt seem like a major issue for him. If Pitbull lands with the UFC, this fight seems like a no-brainer.Max HollowayABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 25: Max Holloway poses on the scale during the UFC 308 ... [+] ceremonial weigh-in at Etihad Arena on October 25, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)Zuffa LLCHolloways next fight will be his debut as a full-time lightweight. Again, Pitbull would have to come up in weight, but in this instance, hed be doing it against a fellow legend who has spent the majority of his career at 145 pounds.Pitbulls team has suggested he would covet the BMF title. How good of a BMF Title fight would this be?Alexander VolkanovskiSYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 17: Alex Volkanovski poses during a UFC media opportunity at Hickson ... [+] Road Reserve, on October 17, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Zuffa LLC)Zuffa LLCPitbull has already called Volkanovski out.Volk has a championship on his mind, and it feels like he is in line to get another crack at Ilia Topuria when he returns. However, if Volk doesnt get the rematch with Topuria, he might be the perfect guy to welcome Pitbull to the UFC.Cub SwansonTAMPA, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 14: Cub Swanson reacts after a knockout victory against Billy Quarantillo ... [+] in a featherweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Amalie Arena on December 14, 2024 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)Zuffa LLCSwanson flirted with retirement after his highlight-reel KO of Billy Quarantillo in December 2024, but he seemed open to another fight if it was against an intriguing opponent.Pitbull would seemingly qualify. If Pitbull comes in and handles Swanson impressively, it might be enough to land a spot in the featherweight rankings. If he loses to Swanson, itll tell the UFC something about where he is at this stage of his career. In any case, this fight could be epic.Bonus - Josh EmmettPHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 30: Josh Emmett reacts after knocking out Michael Johnson in their ... [+] featherweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at Wells Fargo Center on March 30, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesI decided to add Emmett as the last and perhaps most practical option. Emmett is looking to make a statement so he can restart his ascent up the featherweight rankings, and Im sure Pitbull would like to start his UFC career off as a ranked fighter.A win would put Pitbull a win or two away from a title shot, and thats got to be an attractive concept for him.

TL;DR: USB-C support on the latest iPhones gives users one less proprietary cable to worry about, however, it could also pave the way for future security vulnerabilities. Although no hacking incidents targeting the device's USB-C controller have been reported yet, early research suggests that accessing the controller's firmware and executing code is technically feasible. Security researcher Thomas Roth recently uncovered several vulnerabilities in Apple's ACE3 USB-C controller for the iPhone 15 and 16. Although no immediate action is required from users, and these vulnerabilities don't affect Android devices, Roth's findings underscore the possibility of future attack methods being developed.At the 38th Chaos Communication Congress in Hamburg last month, Roth demonstrated two advanced techniques side-channel analysis and electromagnetic fault injection on Apple's USB-C controller. Notably, he successfully dumped the firmware.While extracting the firmware alone won't directly enable cyberattacks, it provides malicious actors with an opportunity to analyze the code, identify vulnerabilities, and potentially develop malware to exploit them. Apple has opted not to take action at this time, citing the complexity of Roth's methods. However, if attackers use the dumped firmware as a foundation for discovering security flaws, the company may be forced to respond.One potential response could involve revising the hardware in future iPhone models. Any emerging issues would likely impact iPhones expected in the next few years, including the rumored iPhone SE 4, which is expected to debut this March, and the iPhone 17 family anticipated later this year. More radical hardware revisions, such as the long-rumored foldable iPhone, could include enhanced security measures to address such risks.Apple was forced to add USB-C support on the iPhone to comply with recent European regulations mandating all mobile devices to include USB-C charging ports. Formal standardization benefits consumers by eliminating the need for proprietary cables, though in this instance it could be argued it's opened the door to new security challenges for Apple to pay attention to.New X-ray scanning techniques have revealed that USB-C cables could contain a surprising amount of hidden hardware. Cables produced by disreputable manufacturers could be used to distribute malware or steal data, and distinguishing these from legitimate cables might require advanced tools that average consumers do not have. Exposing the firmware for Apple's USB-C controller could facilitate similar attacks in the future. // Related StoriesHowever, there is a silver lining. Dumping the firmware has also produced positive outcomes. Independent repair specialists have already used Roth's research to gain valuable insights into diagnosing and repairing Macs.Apple and other tech companies have faced criticism in the past for obstructing user or third-party repair efforts, often requiring customers to pay exorbitant fees for authorized service. Roth's findings could help shift the balance toward greater repairability and transparency.

Digital TrendsA malware originating from China has now been contained after the FBI gained a court order to have the harmful code deleted from thousands of Windows PCs.The agency has successfully put an end to the reign of the PlugX malware in the U.S., which has affected over 2.5 million devices globally by infiltrating infected USB drives, PCMag noted.Recommended VideosWorking with the FBI, the Justice Department has confirmed that it has been granted court sanction to remove the malware from nearly 4,260 computers and networks in the U.S. as of Tuesday. With the resolution announced, the FBI is set to notify owners of infected machines via their internet service providers. This is just one instance of federal departments getting control of a serious cybersecurity risk. However, its resolution notes the importance of ongoing cybersecurity research. The Justice Department detailed that the actors behind the attack are a private group of Chinese state-sponsored hackers called Mustang Panda that developed a unique version of PlugX malware for the ongoing mission.PlugX first surfaced in 2008 when it was used as a backdoor vulnerability for bad actors to secretly control Windows machines. By 2020, the malware had been updated to allow it to infiltrate USB drives as well as connected PCs. This is described as a wormable malware that can transfer between computers via infected peripherals.French cybersecurity vendor Sekoia observed that Mustang Panda eventually lacked the resources to support the number of machines it had infected with the PlugX malware and ultimately abandoned the project.Similarly, antivirus provider Sophos observed several PlugX infections originating from a single IP address source. In September 2023, collaborating with Sekoia, the cybersecurity vendor paid just $7 to gain access to the IP address and the infected machines. Further research uncovered a self-delete command within the PlugX code.In July 2024, law enforcement in France allowed the self-deleting mechanism to be used to remedy the infected machines. Since then, 22 other countries have also followed suit.While it is not clear how the U.S. entities plan to remove the malware from domestic PCs, the FBI testified in an affidavit that it has tested this self-delete command, confirming that it only removes the malware and does not affect any other device functions or transfer any other unwarranted code.

Jharrel Jerome and Jennifer Lopez star in a formula-bound biopic that depicts the rise of wrestler Anthony Robles, who despite being born with one leg became a Division I champion.

Cleaning house After CEO exit, Sonos gets rid of its chief product officer, too Sonos won't replace Maxime Bouvat-Merlin in "redundant" role. Scharon Harding Jan 14, 2025 5:37 pm | 26 Credit: Sonos Credit: Sonos Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreA day after announcing that CEO Patrick Spence is departing the company, Sonos revealed that chief product officer Maxime Bouvat-Merlin is also leaving. Bouvat-Merlin had the role since 2023.As first reported by Bloomberg, Sonos will not fill the chief product officer role. Instead, Tom Conrad, the interim CEO Sonos announced yesterday, will take on the role's responsibilities. In an email to staff cited by Bloomberg (you can read the letter in its entirety at The Verge), Conrad explained:With my stepping in as CEO, the board, Max, and I have agreed that my background makes the chief product officer role redundant. Therefore, Maxs role is being eliminated and the product organization will report directly to me. Ive asked Max to advise me over the next period to ensure a smooth transition and I am grateful that hes agreed to do that.In May, Sonos released an update to its app that led to customers, many of them long-time users, revolting over broken features, like accessibility capabilities and the ability to set timers. Sonos expects that remedying the app and Sonos' reputation will cost it at least $20 million to $30 million.As head of the company, Spence received a lot of blame and has also been criticized for not apologizing for the problems until July. However, numerous reports have also attributed blame to Bouvat-Merlin.Today, The Verge noted that "some employees" have told it that Bouvat-Merlin is largely responsible for the reputation loss associated with the app and for the decision to rush the app's release. Former and current employees have said that the app was pushed out prematurely so that it could be available for Sonos' first wireless headphones, which came out in June. Spence admitted in August that after Sonos released the app "it became evident that there were stubborn bugs we had not discovered in our testing."In September, two former employees told Bloomberg that ahead of what would be a disastrous app launch, Bouvat-Merlin forced chaotic reorganizations that separated people who had worked together for years.Bouvat-Merlin also failed to assuage customer frustrations when he responded to customer complaints in May by telling The Verge that it "takes courage to rebuild a brands core product from the ground up and to do so knowing it may require taking a few steps back to ultimately leap into the future."With Sonos committed to using the new app and expanding its products, including mobile audio devices that rely on the cloud, more changes are expected for the brand. So far, that has meant removing two company leaders from their positions.Scharon HardingSenior Technology ReporterScharon HardingSenior Technology Reporter Scharon is a Senior Technology Reporter at Ars Technica writing news, reviews, and analysis on consumer gadgets and services. She's been reporting on technology for over 10 years, with bylines at Toms Hardware, Channelnomics, and CRN UK. 26 Comments

Songbirds such as canaries were among the most popular wild importshanif66 via ShutterstockNearly 3 billion plants and animals have been imported into the US over the past two decades, most of which were taken from the wild.The numbers are absolutely massive, says Alice Hughes at the University of Hong Kong. She says that estimate still probably falls short, as it only includes legal exchanges, and there is no comprehensive way to track the total trade of wildlife around the world. We are just scratching the surface, she says.

Small businesses are struggling to stay afloat in the wake of the deadly Los Angeles fires.Many structures have been destroyed, but others left standing are damaged, with no foot traffic driving business.For some industries with slim margins, just days without business has forced permanent closures.As deadly fires continue ripping through Los Angeles, leveling residential and commercial districts alike, even small business owners whose storefronts have been left standing aren't out of the woods.Though more than 12,300 structures have been destroyed by the fires, commercial buildings that haven't been totaled are still struggling with costly damages to repair and with no foot traffic driving business.For some industries with slim margins like bars and restaurants going just days without business has begun to force permanent closures.AccuWeather estimates the damages and economic loss from the wildfires totals between $250 billion and $275 billion, making it one of the costliest wildfire disasters in modern US history."We have come to the heartbreaking decision that at this time, operating The Ruby Fruit is no longer possible due to financial impact from the current natural disaster," Emily Bielagus and Mara Herbkersman, owners of The Ruby Fruit, a lesbian wine bar in the Silver Lake neighborhood, posted Sunday on the bar's Instagram page."Sadly, along with all the feelings of grief and shock that we have experienced over the last few days, also came this undeniable reality: that running our small business is no longer sustainable. The hospitality industry functions on a day-by-day basis and right now, as they say the math just isn't mathing," they wrote.The announcement was met with an outcry from fans and devoted patrons of the bar one of the city's only bars catering specifically to lesbians and "those who fall under the sapphic umbrella," according to the bar's website.Some customers, in the comments of the bar's closure announcement, begged Bielagus and Herbkersman to create a community fundraiser to save the business. The Ruby Fruit's GoFundMe campaign, raising money to provide wages for the bar's staff has raised about half its $15,000 goal in three days.Bielagus and Herbkersman did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.Financial aid is available for small businesses trying to recover from the aftermath of the wildfires. The Small Business Administration's disaster loan program offers up to $2 million in loans with low interest rates for eligible businesses suffering economic losses and physical damage due toOn Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced extended tax filing deadlines and relief from interest and penalties for businesses impacted by the fires. However, tax breaks and interest-accruing loans are nothing compared to regular business, and the costs accrued from being closed stack up quickly."Thankfully we are safe and, as of now, able to operate," Betsy Martinez, owner of Fan Girl Cafe in West Hollywood, told BI. "However, business has definitely been impacted by the situation and we are navigating it the best we can."Martinez, who runs Fan Girl Cafe with her wife, said the pair lost roughly $5,000 in just two and a half days of closures, in addition to the slow business in the days since. As a new restaurant in its first year of operations, margins were already tight. They're now considering debt consolidation and taking out a new loan and have contacted their existing lenders asking for extensions on their bills.Some business owners are turning to the local community for financial support, but such funds are inconsistent and largely targeted toward businesses that have been destroyed. Restaurants, including Fox's Restaurant, The Little Red Hen Coffee Shop, and The Reel Inn, have allburned down andhave started GoFundMe campaigns to raise money to rebuild.Martinez said she and her wife aren't comfortable starting a GoFundMe, given how tight funds are for everyone else and that other businesses are dealing with more severe losses."It's just a heavy time right now for everyone," she said. "Right now, we're just looking at who we can help, even those of us who need help."For now, many small business owners in the Los Angeles area are white-knuckling it through another costly disaster just a few short years after the COVID-19 pandemic saw more than 7,500 small businesses shutter across the county, the California Business Journal reported."We closed last week and are closing this week. We hope to reopen next week," the owners of Honey's at Star Love, a queer bar in Little Armenia, told BI in an email. "We're taking it all day by day."

By Matthew Gault Published January 14, 2025 | Comments (1) | Pioneer Natural Resources equipment near Midland, Texas, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. Michael Ciaglo/Bloomberg via Getty Images AI is power hungry and the companies behind the tech are striving to stand up nuclear reactors to feed it. But nuclear reactors take a long time to build and AI will need massive amounts of power years before theyre ready. So where will it come from? In the U.S., natural gas. The AI revolution will pump a lot more carbon into the air. A new report from the Financial Times detailed the coming natural gas boom. As climate change worsened, the world turned away from polluting sources of energy like coal and natural gas. The U.S. power grid was making progress on renewables and gas-based power production had slowed down over the past half decade.In 2024 it exploded thanks to data centers and AI. According to the Financial Times, the U.S. power grids reliance on gas will only go up. America will add upwards of 80 new gas power plants by 2030. Thats 20 percent more than was added in the last five years. On January 14, President Biden issued an executive order that cleared the way for even greater AI and energy infrastructure expansion. The order directed the Pentagon and the DOE to lease federal land to private companies looking to build gigawatt scale AI data centers.As part of the bargain, companies looking to build on federal land have to do it with so-called clean energy. To support these efforts, the Department of Interior will identify lands it manages that are suitable for clean energy that can support data centers on DOE and DOD sites, while enhancing permitting processes for geothermal projects, the order said. DOE will take further steps to promote distributed energy resources, advance siting of clean generation resources at existing points of interconnection, and support the safe and responsible deployment of nuclear energy.According to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Energy, data center energy usage is expected to triple by 2028. This surge in data center electricity demand, however, should be understood in the context of the much larger electricity demand that is expected to occur over the next few decades from a combination of electric vehicle adoption, onshoring of manufacturing, hydrogen utilization, and the electrification of industry and buildings, the report said. Meta is researching nuclear energy, but it needs power now. The tech company is spending $10 billion in Louisiana on a data center and $3.2 billion on three new gas plants to power it. Microsoft is teaming up with Constellation to bring reactor unit three of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant back online. Last week, Constellation announced it was buying Calpine, an enormous gas power company, for $27 billion.American gas plants pumped more than 1 billion tonnes of carbon into the air last year. Thats the highest value ever recorded. There are ways to mitigate the carbon produced by natural gas plants, but many of the 80 slated for construction wont be equipped with carbon capture systems.According to the DOE, gas power plants and data centers are black boxes. While U.S. data centers are increasingly engaging in onsite electricity generation, power purchase agreements, and trade in various carbon credits, the lack of transparency around the details of these activities for all U.S. data center operators prevents including in the overall analysis, the DOE report said. Along with limiting the scope of this report, this lack of transparency highlights that data center growth is occurring with little consideration for how best to integrate these emergent loads with the expansion of electricity generation/transmission or for broader community development.In the announcement about Metas Louisiana data centers, Entergythe companys energy partnersaid it would add clean, efficient power plants to its system to meet growing power demands. It wasnt big on the exact details of its gas plants. Meta has pledged to match its electricity use with 100% clean and renewable energy and will be working with Entergy to bring at least 1,500 MW of new renewable energy to the grid through its Geaux Zero program, the press release said. The Geaux Zero program is a local tariff that encourages the purchase of solar power. Buying some renewable energy doesnt mean the carbon will stop being pumped into the sky, only that Meta has promised to buy some solar to go along with it.The dream, of course, is for all these new data centers and AI systems to run on renewable and nuclear energy. The reality is that nuclear energy moves slowly. It can take a decade to spin up a traditional reactor and many of the smaller cutting-edge systems are untested, undeployed, and unproven. Its possible that big tech is at the cusp of a nuclear revolution thanks to incentives created by AI. But itll have to burn a lot of natural gas to get there before the reactors come online.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Kyle Barr Published January 14, 2025 By Thomas Maxwell Published January 13, 2025 By Matthew Gault Published January 13, 2025 David T. Marshall, Auburn University; Teanna Moore, University of Kansas, and Timothy Pressley, Christopher Newport University Published January 12, 2025 By Todd Feathers Published January 10, 2025 By Kyle Barr Published January 10, 2025

If youve ever had a bad experience with a particular place and, in the future, physically feel anxious as you approach it again, theres a good reason: our brains may record and physically map that experience for future reference, a new study in PLOS Biology suggests.This has implications for mental health, because it helps us understand how worry works.The more that we understand how the mechanisms by which cognition works, the better we can help people who have problems with their cognition, says David Redish, a University of Minnesota neuroscientist and an author of the study. Anxiety and worry are very prevalent in humanity these days.Understanding Imagination Underneath AnxietyIn the study, scientists devised a scenario where rats would have to encounter something very negative to them a scary Lego robot scorpion to reach a treat.Imagination is a physical thing, says Redish. And that includes not just imagination about positive things, but also about negative things.They monitored different place cells neurons in their brains associated with memories of different specific locations. They followed which such cells were activated during different points in the encounter and also recorded which of those location-specific neurons reacted when the rat made different decisions. We're now able to, as I like to say, read rats' minds, says Redish.While other scientists have intimidated rats in similar experiments with the original involving a Robot Lego alligator this one takes it to another level, because the rat doesnt just encounter the scary robot, it must decide whether to pass it to reach its reward.By having them run past the robot, we were able to determine what the cells looked like when the animal was at that location, says Redish. We could then read when the animal thought about that location, and that was the key insight.Different Anxious BehaviorsWhen the rat rounded a corner for the first time, it would encounter the robot scorpion. The Lego creature sported a pincher on its head and brandished a whip-like tail. It would come out, it would screech, and it would do its little pincher thing, and the tail would come out," says Redish. The rat would back away in terror. They'd be scared and they'd go hide in the structure.During subsequent attempts, things got really interesting. The rats showed different behaviors associated with anxiety, depending on the situation. By examining which place cells activate at different locations and situations of the experiment, they could associate them with either the food or the robot.In one scenario, the rat would encounter the robot, hesitate, appearing to want to get the treat, but eventually retreat. The rats in these situations appeared to be thinking I'm going, no, I can't do it, says Redish. In these cases, they recorded electrical activity in place cells related to the robot, not the reward.In the second behavior, the rat would run forward, then pause in front of the robot. In these situations, they recorded impulses directed both toward parts of the brain associated with both the food and the robot, appearing to show the rat thinking about both and, perhaps weighing the risks versus the rewards.Finally, they monitored tentative rats peaking around the corner, catching a glimpse of the robot, appearing to think Am I gonna go, am I not, am I gonna go? says Redish. In these instances, they recorded short bursts of electrical activity in the place cells associated with the robot. Importantly, the place cells associated with the robot often remained active when the rats were in retreat, or when they were approaching the corner behind which the robot hid.What Does this Mean for Humans? Even though these experiments were with rats, there are obvious human parallels. For instance, someone walking up to an area where they were once attacked by a dog might have similar neural activity of that past event, because their brain once stuck the equivalent of a pin in that Google Maps part of the brain. The study boils anxiety down to the tension between approaching and avoiding conflict. Resolving that conflict involves imagining a positive future outcome. Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.