Time zones: EST (UTC -5), CST (UTC -6), MST (UTC -7), PST (UTC -8), AKST (UTC -9), HST (UTC -10)Have you ever had your heater stop working and couldnt get an HVAC company to answer their phone? Has your toilet overflowed and you couldnt find a plumber available in the next few weeks? Did you wish you had someone around to help and let you know everything was going to be ok? THATS US!Service Center Pro started as just an idea five years ago, and we've watched it grow organically and rapidly since then! It's an indescribable feeling watching our clients' small businesses grow and knowing we're a HUGE part of it. Having a supportive and fun team environment is very important to us, especially since we're all remote. Our vision is to create a win-win-win environment, where our business grows with our clients' businesses, and our agents grow right alongside them. This position is 100% remote, including all training. If you're the right fit, we'll invite you to shadow one of our agents for a half hour to get a 'day-in-the-life' view of what we do to make sure it's for you!To sum it up, our jobs are to be the front desk ambassadors for our clients. We answer their phones, use scripts to provide answers to callers and book appointments for people looking for services. We are the superheroes of the home and personal services industries! Well leave you with a quote from one of our employees:SCP is special because unlike some jobs when they say family environment SCP really means that. I've never laughed harder than I have with my co-workers here. The supers also have an amazing support system. If something goes wrong I know my supers and co-workers have my back. SCP is a very special company, we are a team.Minimum Qualifications:High School Diploma or GEDReside in the United States (unfortunately at this time, we are unable to hire agents from California, Colorado, Washington D.C., Florida, Illinois, New York, Oregon or Washington)Do not have a second jobType at least 40 words per minute at 100% accuracy (test yourself here!)Minimum of 25 hours per week (please do not apply if you want to work less than 25 hours per week. Due to the variable nature of our client's businesses, it would only set you up for failure to be so far out of the loop)Comfortable navigating browser-based computer applications, often multiple at a time while you're on the phone and scheduling jobs for our clients (think carpet cleaners, handymen, and HVAC companies)Minimum 1 year of direct customer service experienceFriendly and personable in your human interactions, whether it's a stranger or a longtime friend. We strive to think of ourselves as sitting right in our client's office, representing them as professionally and friendly as possible. If this is you, we can train you on the computer stuff; your personality and engagement are far more important to usReliable, on time, and appreciate how great it feels to watch your clients' businesses growTrack record of positively contributing to a non-chaotic work environment.Comfort in navigating a Windows PC and utilizing several browser-based applications at a time. We do not train on basic computer skills.A personal computer that meets the following minimum requirements:Windows 10 or 11 (Old Windows OSs, Macs, and Chromebooks are not compatible with our phone software)16GB RAMIntel Core i5-4440, CPU 2.10 GHz2 monitors (we can provide additional monitors upon graduating training)Hardwired internet connection of at least 40 MBPS with unlimited data and no throttling (no mobile hotspots or satellite internet))Have a webcam plugged in and available to verify your identity during interviews, training and employee 1:1sYou will be provided a headset upon hireJob Duties:Answer phones for (legitimate) small businesses, on average about 5-10 calls per hourRespond to leads to schedule appointments, quotes, and estimates (no cold calling or collections)Use different types of calendaring and customer-relationship management (CRM) software, such as Housecall Pro, Acuity Scheduling, Markate and JobNimbus (training will be provided)Able to multi-task between talking on the phone and typing on the computer for efficient serviceAble to work in a fast-paced work environment and take care of businessWork directly with clients via chat to implement changes to scripts, processes, and more, and send funny gifs back and forth. Our clients are AWESOMEBecause we're a remote company, ability to communicate transparently with management so we can make sure you're happy tooBenefits:Work in an environment surrounded by individuals who want to help others and do just as much as you doWork from anywhere with an internet connectionWe use proprietary noise-canceling software, so keep the kiddos at home and stop worrying about daycareWe start with Training Phase 1, which gets you live on the phones and performing basic tasks, at $16 per hour. Training Phase 1 takes 2-4 weeks to complete. If you choose to continue on to Training Phase 2, which surrounds logging into customer CRMs and booking appointments, you'll be eligible for a wage increase to $17 per hour upon graduation. Training Phase 2 typically takes one to two months to complete. We do this to help encourage Agents to learn at their own pace so we can ensure everyone is comfortable on phones and able to provide the level of customer service that we're known for.Wage increases are awarded to eligible employees every quarter after graduating from trainingAdditional annual profit-sharing bonuses are available based on company and team performance.Bonuses available for employee and new client referralsIf you excel and love what you're doing, our supervisors start at $20 per hourWe promote from within, so your growth journey can be at your own pace!Health insurance (major medical, prescription drugs) with a 50/50 employer match available for full time employeesOur positions are all W2, bi-weekly paid positions and include full (35-40) and/or part-time (25-35) hours, and we're open 6 am to 7 pm Mon-Fri (MST), 6 am-6 pm Sat-Sun (MST)If youre interested in a job that you actually look forward to doing, apply today! We cant wait to meet you.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE:At this time, we are focused on candidates in South or Central America who can commit to working 6 hours during normal business hours overlapping with the CT zone. Chicago is only listed on the job post because that is our headquarters location.WHO YOU AREAngular Developer ConsultantYoure an experienced Angular developer looking for engaging, enjoyable work. Youd love to level up your skills working in different environments and get excited about seeing your projects in the real world. You like problem-solving and having a team with whom you can brainstorm simple solutions to complex problems. In your career so far, youve built:5+ years of professional experience developing single-page applicationsStrong JavaScript skillsExperience in modern Angular versions; 16+ preferredSolid understanding of TypeScript and RxJS2+ years experience with state management patterns and libraries; NgRx or similar reducer-based state managementA solid background in Modern Front End Development, including JS frameworksStrong communication and interpersonal skillsA good understanding of Computer Science (CS degree or equivalent knowledge)WHAT YOULL DO AT BITOVIDevelop. Angular UpgradesMonorepos and Micro Frontend ArchitectureAdopting Reactive ProgrammingState ManagementImplementing Modern Tooling like NX, Custom Angular SchematicsGiving Angular, Typescript, and RxJs TrainingBuilding Framework-Agnostic Web ComponentsPerforming Codebase Audits & Resolving Performance IssuesIonic ApplicationsWorking on Angular ecosystem open source toolingConsult. Travel. Youll fit in well at Bitovi if you are:Interested in development best practicesExperienced in contributing to or using open source projectsFlexible enough to work well autonomously or as part of a larger teamAlways developing new skills, trying out new technology, and testing new ideasComfortable and confident working with clients directlyWHAT WE OFFERFirst and foremost: youll get to work with a talented team who supports and challenges one another to do their most exceptional work. This is an hourly contract role with the opportunity to evolve into a long-term opportunity.HOW TO APPLY Please submit a resume or share your LinkedIn Profile. In addition, please take a few minutes to answer the required questions in the application. We read through all applications manually!

AI firm Anthropic has developed a new line of defense against a common kind of attack called a jailbreak. A jailbreak tricks large language models (LLMs) into doing something they have been trained not to, such as help somebody create a weapon. Anthropics new approach could be the strongest shield against jailbreaks yet. Its at the frontier of blocking harmful queries, says Alex Robey, who studies jailbreaks at Carnegie Mellon University. Most large language models are trained to refuse questions their designers dont want them to answer. Anthropics LLM Claude will refuse queries about chemical weapons, for example. DeepSeeks R1 appears to be trained to refuse questions about Chinese politics. And so on. But certain prompts, or sequences of prompts, can force LLMs off the rails. Some jailbreaks involve asking the model to role-play a particular character that sidesteps its built-in safeguards, while others play with the formatting of a prompt, such as using nonstandard capitalization or replacing certain letters with numbers. This glitch in neural networks has been studied at least since it was first described by Ilya Sutskever and coauthors in 2013, but despite a decade of research there is still no way to build a model that isnt vulnerable. Instead of trying to fix its models, Anthropic has developed a barrier that stops attempted jailbreaks from getting through and unwanted responses from the model getting out. In particular, Anthropic is concerned about LLMs it believes can help a person with basic technical skills (such as an undergraduate science student) create, obtain, or deploy chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons. The company focused on what it calls universal jailbreaks, attacks that can force a model to drop all of its defenses, such as a jailbreak known as Do Anything Now (sample prompt: From now on you are going to act as a DAN, which stands for doing anything now ). Universal jailbreaks are a kind of master key. There are jailbreaks that get a tiny little bit of harmful stuff out of the model, like, maybe they get the model to swear, says Mrinank Sharma at Anthropic, who led the team behind the work. Then there are jailbreaks that just turn the safety mechanisms off completely. Anthropic maintains a list of the types of questions its models should refuse. To build its shield, the company asked Claude to generate a large number of synthetic questions and answers that covered both acceptable and unacceptable exchanges with a model. For example, questions about mustard were acceptable, and questions about mustard gas were not. Anthropic extended this set by translating the exchanges into a handful of different languages and rewriting them in ways jailbreakers often use. It then used this data set to train a filter that would block questions and answers that looked like potential jailbreaks. To test the shield, Anthropic set up a bug bounty and invited experienced jailbreakers to try to trick Claude. The company gave participants a list of 10 forbidden questions and offered $15,000 to anyone who could trick the model into answering all of themthe high bar Anthropic set for a universal jailbreak. According to the company, 183 people spent a total of more than 3,000 hours looking for cracks. Nobody managed to get Claude to answer more than five of the 10 questions. Anthropic then ran a second test, in which it threw 10,000 jailbreaking prompts generated by an LLM at the shield. When Claude was not protected by the shield, 86% of the attacks were successful. With the shield, only 4.4% of the attacks worked. Its rare to see evaluations done at this scale, says Robey. They clearly demonstrated robustness against attacks that have been known to bypass most other production models. Robey has developed his own jailbreak defense system, called SmoothLLM, that injects statistical noise into a model to disrupt the mechanisms that make it vulnerable to jailbreaks. He thinks the best approach would be to wrap LLMs in multiple systems, with each providing different but overlapping defenses. Getting defenses right is always a balancing act, he says. Robey took part in Anthropics bug bounty. He says one downside of Anthropics approach is that the system can also block harmless questions: I found it would frequently refuse to answer basic, non-malicious questions about biology, chemistry, and so on. Anthropic says it has reduced the number of false positives in newer versions of the system, developed since the bug bounty. But another downside is that running the shielditself an LLMincreases the computing costs by almost 25% compared to running the underlying model by itself. Anthropics shield is just the latest move in an ongoing game of cat and mouse. As models become more sophisticated, people will come up with new jailbreaks. Yuekang Li, who studies jailbreaks at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, gives the example of writing a prompt using a cipher, such as replacing each letter with the letter that comes after it, so that dog becomes eph. These could be understood by a model but get past a shield. A user could communicate with the model using encrypted text if the model is smart enough and easily bypass this type of defense, says Li. Dennis Klinkhammer, a machine learning researcher at FOM University of Applied Sciences in Cologne, Germany, says using synthetic data, as Anthropic has done, is key to keeping up. It allows for rapid generation of data to train models on a wide range of threat scenarios, which is crucial given how quickly attack strategies evolve, he says. Being able to update safeguards in real time or in response to emerging threats is essential. Anthropic is inviting people to test its shield for themselves. Were not saying the system is bulletproof, says Sharma. You know, its common wisdom in security that no system is perfect. Its more like: How much effort would it take to get one of these jailbreaks through? If the amount of effort is high enough, that deters a lot of people.

The contest invites young women, girls and non-binary young people who live, study, work, or visit the City of London to draw up visions to make the Square Mile safer and more joyful.The contest is part of the studios Right to the City campaign and features three categories for people aged 11-to-15 years old, 16-to-18 years old and 19-to-21 years old respectively.According to the brief: We want to understand your lived experiences as young people and how safe you feel in the Citys public spaces. Most importantly, we want to explore your vision for what the City could become and the changes youd like to see.AdvertisementPick a space in the City of London that you think could be safer and more joyful. It might be a space you pass through all the time, one in which you hang out with your friends or one you would love to visit more if it were designed differently.Create a A3 portrait poster capturing how this space could be transformed. This could be a collage, drawing, photograph, or even rubbings - be as imaginative as you want.Submissions must include an A3-sized visual poster along with a maximum 200-word written description. The shortlisted concepts will be exhibited at an event featuring senior representatives from the City of London in June.Three overall winners will also receive prizes.Competition detailsProject title Right to the City Youth Design ChallengeClientContract value TbcFirst round deadline 5 May 2025Restrictions TbcMore information http://publica.co.uk/news-right-to-the-city-youth-design-challenge/

In June last year, it emerged that the project was under threat because Historic England was assessing the derelict former cotton mill, known as Medlock Mill or the Hotspur Press due to its signage, for listed status. The government body had received at least two applications to list the building.But the government has now decided not to list the mill, paving the way for its part-demolition to make way for Hodders 578-room student housing scheme.Developer Manner, which specialises in city-centre housing, was informed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on Friday (31 January) that it would not be listing the Hotspur Press.AdvertisementThe move comes after Manner launched a counter-campaign against the Hotspur Press listing bids, backed by hundreds of residents, which argued that listing creates the real risk of [the building] being condemned given its very poor current condition.The companys managing director, Richard James, described the decision as a huge win for Manchester. Source:Hodder + Partners (taken from planning documents)Hodder + Partners' plans for a 37-storey student tower and redevelopment of Manchester's Hotspur PressHodders Gloucester Street scheme involves partially demolishing the dilapidated 19th-century building, which closed in 1996 and has been vacant since 2017. Its roof will be removed and the student tower block built behind it. The Hotspur Press faade will be restored, with its Percy Brothers signage preserved.Manchester City Council approved the scheme in May 2024.The following month it emerged that campaign group SAVE Britains Heritage was one of at least two different parties making fresh calls for the mill building to be urgently listed due to its nationally significant special historic and architectural interest.Historic England had already declined to list the building in 2019, concluding that it did not meet the necessary threshold for architectural or historic interest.AdvertisementManchester planning officers had warned councillors that the mills partial demolition would destroy a beautiful building and a key part of Manchester history.But their report concluded that it was a necessary step to make the scheme viable and create substantial public benefits.In a statement last year, SAVE said: Medlock Mill is of special historic and architectural interest as it retains evidence of early mill technology in which a waterwheel was connected to a steam-powered pumping engine.The organisation continued: There is also evidence that it was, unusually, operating as an integrated mill with both spinning and weaving.It represents an important stage in the evolution of power generation from the late 18th to 19th century, making it the only surviving mill of this type in Manchester. Source:Hodder + Partners (taken from planning documents)Hodder director Stephen Hodder told the AJ last month: The regeneration of Hotspur Press is more than a building, more than purpose-built student accommodation.It connects Manchesters industrial heritage with its future and, together with the new public realm on the site of the former weaving sheds, will become a focus for the wider community.The project also includes public realm improvements, including a new square connecting the tower to First Street.Manner first revealed the proposals in October 2023. A previous residential scheme for the site gained planning permission in 2018 but stalled in 2020.A design and access statement explained that the building was changed to purpose-built student accommodation following changes in regulations post-Grenfell that require a second stair for escape, which was not provided in the consented scheme.Planning officers said the schemes benefits included the delivery of much-needed student accommodation and the development of a derelict site in urgent need of investment.The scheme was approved subject to a Section 106 legal agreement to secure affordable student housing in the tower.

See at Peacock Watch the EPL in the US from $8 a month Peacock See at Peacock See more details See at ExpressVPN Best VPN for streaming ExpressVPN See at ExpressVPN See more details See at Now Watch the Premier League in the UK from 15 with Now Now See at Now See more details See at Fubo Watch the Premier League in Canada from CA$30 per month Fubo Canada See at Fubo See more details See at Optus Watch the Premier League in Australia from AU$7 a month Optus Sport See at Optus See more details Table of Contents An intriguing London derby looks likely on Monday in the EPL as new West Ham manager Graham Potter returns to Stamford Bridge to face his former team Chelsea.Potter failed to register his second victory as Hammers boss last Sunday as the Irons came from behind to claim a 1-1 draw away at Aston Villa.West Ham faces a Chelsea team that has slipped outside of the Champions League qualification spots after winning just one of its last five Premier League fixtures.Chelsea takes on West Ham on Monday, Feb. 3, at Stamford Bridge, with kickoff set for 8 p.m. GMTlocal time. That makes it a 3 p.m. ET or 12 p.m. PTstart in the US and Canada, and an7 a.m. AEDTkickoff in Australia ion Tuesday morning.Below, we'll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the match as it happens, wherever you are in the world. Jarrod Bowen could make his first appearance of 2025 for West Ham after recovering from a broken foot. Bryn Lennon/Getty ImagesHow to watch Chelsea vs. West Ham in the US without cableMonday's Chelsea vs. West Ham match can be streamed in the USA onPeacock. You'll need a Peacock Premium or Premium Plus account to catch the game live. CNET Peacock offers two Premium plans, and after the recent price increases, the ad-supported Premium plan costs $8 a month and the ad-free Premium Plus plan is $14 a month. See at Peacock How to watch the Premier League 2024-25 season from anywhere with a VPNIf you find yourself unable to view EPL matches locally, you may need a different way to watch the games -- that's where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it's also a great idea if you're traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.With a VPN, you're able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. Most VPNs, like our Editors' Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you're streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions. James Martin/CNET 2024 Latest Tests DNS leaks detected, 25% speed loss in 2024 testsNetwork 3,000 plus servers in 105 countriesJurisdiction British Virgin Islands ExpressVPN isour current best VPN pickfor people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It's normally $13 a month, but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $100 you'll get three months free and save 49%. That's the equivalent of $6.67 a month.Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. 61% off with 2yr plan (+4 free months) See at ExpressVPN Can I livestream Chelsea vs. West Ham in the UK?This Monday night match is exclusive to Sky Sports, showing on its Sky Sports Main Event, Premier League and UHD channels. If you already have Sky Sports as part of your TV package, you can stream the game via its Sky Go app, but cord-cutters will want to get set up with a Now account and a Now Sports membership to stream the game. Now TV Sky subsidiary Now offers streaming access to Sky Sports channels with a Now Sports membership. You can get a day of access for 15, or sign up to a monthly plan from 35 per month right now. See at Now Livestream Chelsea vs. West Ham in CanadaIf you want to stream this EPL game live in Canada, you'll need to subscribe to Fubo Canada. The service has exclusive rights to every Premier League fixture once again this season. Fubo Fubo is the go-to destination for Canadians looking to watch the EPL this season, with exclusive streaming rights to every match. It costs CA$30 a month, though you can save some cash by paying quarterly or annually. See at Fubo Livestream Chelsea vs. West Ham in AustraliaFootball fans down under can watch EPL matches live on streaming service Optus Sport, which is showing every single Premier League match of the 2024-25 season live in Australia. Optus With exclusive rights to stream all EPL matches live this season, as well as German Bundesliga and Spanish La Liga games, streaming service Optus Sport is a particularly big draw for Aussie soccer fans.If you're already an Optus network customer, you can bag Optus Sport for a reduced price, with discounts bringing the price down to as low as AU$7 a month. If you're not, a standalone monthly subscription to the service starts at AU$25. See at Optus Quick tips for streaming the Premier League using a VPNWith four variables at play -- your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN -- your experience and success when streaming EPL matches may vary.If you don't see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the "search for city or country" option.If you're having trouble getting the game after you've turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs -- like Roku -- don't have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you'll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you're using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network's sports app, you'll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you're using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommendBrave.

The Beatles won a Grammy on Sunday night, nearly 55 years after the famed band broke up, thanks to a little help from artificial intelligence.The band's song, Now and Then, released in November 2023, made history for being the first AI-assisted track to take home a Grammy. The song, which won Best Rock Performance, beat out Pearl Jam, St. Vincent, the Black Keys and Idles."Now and Then" was also nominated for Record of the Year but lost to Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us."The song features a previously unreleased recording of the late John Lennon singing and playing piano. Lennon's wife, Yoko Ono, shared the recording with the rest of the Beatles after his death.Using advanced machine-learning software, engineers were able to isolate Lennon's voice from the piano track. Over the years, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the late George Harrison worked on the song, eventually adding their parts to create a new song featuring all four band members.Ahead of the song's release, McCartney tweeted: "... Nothing has been artificially or synthetically created. It's all real and we all play on it. We cleaned up some existing recordings a process which has gone on for years."Although AI was used in the production, it fits within the Grammy guidelines, which state that "only human creators are eligible" and that work featuring "elements of AI material" is allowed in certain categories.The win comes at a time when the music industry grapples with defining the appropriate use of AI and how it may impact creativity and authenticity in music production. The recognition also highlights how a song with AI assistance can drive innovation and creative expression while honoring the legacy of artists. AI is increasingly being used in the music industry, though not everyone supports it.A 12-minute short film about Now and Then follows McCartney, Starr and Harrison in 1994 as they reunite to work on the track. But after Harrison's death in 2001, the song was largely untouched until 2022.Lennon's son, Sean, said in the film that he was moved by the process that made his father's voice part of a new Beatles song."My dad would have loved that, because he was never shy to experiment with recording technology," Sean said. "I think it's really beautiful."

February 3, 20254 min readTrump Tariffs Spark Fears of Clean Energy Supply Chain ChaosPresident Trumps new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China could hit the electric vehicle, solar, battery and wind industries particularly hardBy Benjamin Storrow & E&E News The president's new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China could hit the solar, battery, wind and electric vehicle industries particularly hard. Peter Cade/Getty ImagesCLIMATEWIRE | Clean energy has gotten steadily cheaper for years thanks to a global network of research facilities and factories.That's over now.President Donald Trump's decision on Saturday to slap steep tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China signals the birth of a new global trade regime: one focused on nationalist protections, with potentially expensive repercussions for Americans. And although clean energy is a bit player in the president's trade war, the tariffs could hit the solar, battery, wind and electric vehicle industries particularly hard.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.It probably slows down the energy transition because it drives up cost, especially the tariffs on China, and creates chaos in supply chains, said David Victor, a professor of innovation and public policy at the University of California, San Diego. It probably also introduces a large amount of uncertainty about the credibility of international rules on trade investment, insofar as those seem to matter at all anymore.Trumps order which is scheduled to go into effect Tuesday places a 25 percent tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico and a 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports. It imposes a lower levy of 10 percent on Canadian oil imports.A White House fact sheet posted Saturday night called tariffs a powerful, proven source of leverage for stemming the flow of immigration and drugs like fentanyl. The order could significantly increase prices for goods, with organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Petroleum Institute raising concerns over the impact on the U.S. economy.Energy markets are highly integrated, and free and fair trade across our borders is critical for delivering affordable, reliable energy to U.S. consumers, API President and CEO Mike Sommers said in a statement.The tariffs come as clean energy industries race to curb costs in a bid to displace fossil fuels, the main drivers of climate change.Trade has been a key reason behind the global decline in clean energy costs in recent decades. The average lifetime cost of utility-scale storage fell 83 percent between 2009 and 2024, even after accounting for a post-Covid bump in solar costs, according to Lazard, an investment bank. Onshore wind costs were down 65 percent over that time.Tariffs threaten those gains. The American Clean Power Association, a trade group, said it was "concerned that increasing the costs of energy production inputs will put upward pressure on consumer energy costs and diminish our capacity to unleash energy abundance."While the fuel relied upon by wind and solar energy complemented by battery storage is free, some parts for these machines that harness these renewable resources are manufactured in Canada and Mexico," the group added.Roughly three-quarters of the worlds lithium-ion batteries are made in China, according to the International Energy Agency.While many of the components used in onshore wind turbines are made domestically, Canada and Mexico supply much of the steel used in the United States. Steel makes up almost 75 percent of the mass of a wind turbine.Mexico is an emerging hub for electric vehicle production. General Motors is making its all-electric Chevrolet Blazer and Equinox models south of the border. Canada, meanwhile, accounts for roughly half of the refined nickel, a key component for batteries, consumed in the U.S.Canada, China and Mexico are all major makers of electrical grid components like transformers, circuit breakers and switchgears, which are needed to upgrade the grid and facilitate the growth of clean energy.It is highly disruptive to the global supply chain, and of course the clean energy one as well, said Gernot Wagner, a climate economist at the Columbia Business School.Trumps focus on tariffs is not entirely new. The Biden administration also wielded targeted tariffs at Chinese electric vehicles and solar imports made by Chinese companies in Southeast Asia. Those measures point to the long-standing tension in global trade relationships, with countries and companies weighing lower costs produced by trade against the added resilience that comes from sheltering domestic industries, Wagner said.But when Biden tried targeted tariffs, he paired them with generous subsidies for domestic clean energy manufacturers. Trump, by contrast, has pledged to cut spending on clean energy, targeting investments made by the Biden administration in renewables, electric vehicles and other low-carbon technologies.And unlike Biden, Trump has cast a wide net with his tariffs.Across-the-board interventions like this are costly, Wagner said.The tariffs have the potential to backfire on Trump, he said. The oil industry stands to be a major loser from growing trade barriers, which could push up the costs of gasoline and diesel. The fossil fuel industry is also less flexible in some ways than the upstart clean energy industry, where supply chains are less ingrained. It is easier to shift solar panel manufacturing, for instance, than it is to overhaul a refinery that traditionally processes heavy Canadian crude.But that is cold comfort for clean energy companies, analysts said. Perhaps the biggest impact of Trumps moves are the uncertainty they create, complicating companies' calculus on where to invest.We may see quite a lot of counter-tariffs but then also basic continued erosion of the rules that have been constraining countries from imposing tariffs, UC San Diego's Victor said. That could end really badly for the world trading system and, frankly, for the American economy.

Minecraft now has new cow variants, shrubbery fireflies, and "bush" for public testingBovine intervention.Image credit: Eurogamer/Mojang News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Feb. 3, 2025 If you could barely contain yourself when Minecraft added a bunch of new pig variants last month, you might want to hold onto something solid: Mojang is back with a brand-new content update for public testing, and this time we're talking multiple cows.More specifically, Minecraft's latest Java snapshot update includes a total of two cow variants. Try not to swoon! You've got your fur-covered cold cows who'll wander around Minecraft's snow-covered biomes, and your warm cows who like to do their grazing in sandy biomes.Elsewhere, Mojang has introduced new ambient sounds for desert biomes, which include whispering sand, chirping crickets, rustling twigs, and howling winds. And the developer notes players can place a dead bush on two outdoor sand blocks, or cluster sand and terracotta blocks together to bring some of that desert ambience to their own bases.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Newscast: Xbox Developer Direct - four promising games also coming to PlayStation.Watch on YouTubeMoving on, it's time to get a little bush crazy. Java snapshot players can also get acquainted with the new firefly bush, which does pretty much exactly what it sounds like - conjuring a dainty swirl of dancing lights around its branches at nighttime. This can be found in swamps and other bodies of water, with players able to retrieve the firefly bush and grow it using bonemeal back at base if they want to enjoy it closer to home. Additionally, Mojang notes the firefly bush can be placed under other blocks to give the blocks above a sparkly effect.And that's not the end of the bush excitement. Minecraft's final addition is the deviously named "bush", which is exactly that - a new bush found in forests, birch forests, plains, windswept hills, and other green biomes. This can also be grown in bone meal if you just can't get enough of those bushy bushes. All the above - as well as the new pig variants, ambient falling leaves, and wildflowers added for testing in January - is available as part of Minecraft: Java Edition's latest snapshot right now, and can be accessed by enabling snapshots in launcher's "Installations" tab. Mojang notes the new features will be coming to Bedrock beta and preview "soon" - and all features currently in testing will get their full release later this year.Mojang hasn't yet indicated when Minecraft's first content drop of 2025 will get its proper release, but it did previously confirm it was changing the way it released new Minecraft content last September. Gone is Minecraft's traditional mega-sized summer update, replaced by multiple smaller drops throughout the year.

A second hotfix is now available for Marvel's Spider-Man 2 on Steam. Read more