Elon Musk's chainsaw has been swinging through the federal government over the last few weeks, with his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chopping down budgets and excising staff at a number of agencies. Among those affected is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which is said to be losing about 10 percent of its relatively small headcount through buyouts and firings.According to The Washington Post, between 70 and 80 people are departing the agency, which is responsible for road safety in the US. Those ex-employees are said to have worked in a number of areas, such as safety grant funding and crash test dummies.The DOGE cull also impacted three people from a very small team that was working on the safety of autonomous vehicles, such as those from Alphabets Waymo, Amazons Zoox and hey, look at that! Elon Musk's Tesla. It's probably just a coincidence that an organization headed by the same person who is CEO of a prominent company that's working on self-driving cars has cut federal employees that are evaluating the safety of such technology. Probably.If the question is, will this affect the federal governments ability to understand the safety case behind Teslas vehicles, then yes, it will, one of the fired engineers told The Post. The amount of people in the federal government who are able to understand this adequately is very small. Now its almost nonexistent.The NHTSA expanded from around 600 workers to 800 or so during the Biden administration. The autonomous vehicle oversight team was formed as part of that growth. Since several of its seven or so members were new to the federal government, their employment status was at risk due to a DOGE initiative to cull probationary employees from the federal workforce, as The Post notes. Other agencies that have been impacted include the Federal Aviation Administration, which last week cut around 400 probationary employees.Musk and President Donald Trump pledged in an interview this week that the former, who has been designated as a "special government employee," wouldn't be involved in decisions that would mark a conflict of interest with his businesses.The NHTSA has issued numerous recalls for Tesla vehicles over the years (including a recall of more than 2 million vehicles to fix Autopilot safety controls). In April 2024, the agency released the results of an investigation into 14 deaths linked to driver misuse of the company's Autopilot feature. Last month, Musk said that Tesla will roll out a paid autonomous ride-hailing service in Austin this June.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/elon-musks-doge-reportedly-cuts-staff-at-agency-that-regulates-elon-musks-tesla-173618858.html?src=rss

Apple users in the UK can no longer access one of the company's most advanced data protection tools, reports Bloomberg. The feature, Advanced Data Protection, allows iPhone users to add optional end-to-end encryption to a variety of iCloud data. The move comes amid an ongoing dispute between Apple and the UK over a government order that would require the company to build a backdoor to allow British security officials to access the encrypted data of users globally.Apple did not immediately respond to Engadget's comment request."We are gravely disappointed that the protections provided by ADP will not be available to our customers in the UK given the continuing rise of data breaches and other threats to customer privacy," the company said in a statement it shared with Bloomberg. "ADP protects iCloud data with end-to-end encryption, which means the data can only be decrypted by the user who owns it, and only on their trusted devices.Mathew Smith / Engadget"Apple can no longer offer Advanced Data Protection (ADP) in the United Kingdom to new users," a notification explains when users go to enable the feature on their iPhone, iPad or Mac following Apple's decision. If you live in the UK and have ADP enabled, you will need to manually disable the encryption to keep your iCloud account. Apple told Bloomberg it will provide customers with a grace period to comply, though the company has yet to say how much time it will give. The company added it would provide additional guidance in the future. Due to the nature of end-to-end encryption, Apple cannot automatically disable ADP on behalf of its users. Apple's decision to disable ADP in the UK does not mean the company is removing end-to-end encryption for many of the other services it offers in the country. When it comes to iMessage, passwords, health data and more, those are still protected by end-to-end encryption by default.Developing...This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-disables-iclouds-advanced-data-protection-feature-in-the-uk-173016447.html?src=rss

Millions of victims are affected by flaws in Cocospy and Spyic.

It's the end of the road for the Chromecast with Google TV dongle, with no more stock on the way.

Shares of Hims & Hers tumble 21% after FDA says semaglutide is no longer in shortage

Block was on pace for its worst day on the stock market since 2020 after the company reported an earnings miss.

You can find plastic containers storing food in just about every grocery store. But a new study makes a strong case for never eating out of a plastic container, especially those meant to be heated, ever again.The new study, published in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, found that eating out of plastic containers, even for a short period of time, is alarmingly dangerous for heart health. The research demonstrated that particles from plastic containers were able to leach into food products, and those particles had a clear, and very fast-moving impact on changes that lead to heart failure.The study was performed in two parts. The first polled 3,000 people on their plastic exposure and heart disease status. The second part studied rats after they ingested water that had been boiled in plastic containers.In the first part of the study, researchers found a strong correlation between people who had more exposure to plastic, such as eating out of plastic containers, and a risk for developing congestive heart failure. The subjects with higher plastic exposure were 13% more likely to develop the heart condition.In part two of the study, researchers studied rats feces after ingesting the water for a three-month period. They found that both their gut biome had been altered and their heart tissue was damaged.The water was boiled for different intervals: one minute, five minutes, and 15 minutes. But it didnt seem to matter how long the water had been boiled, either. Even the shorter exposure time heeded the negative results for the rats.The results indicated that ingestion of these leachates altered the intestinal microenvironment, affected gut microbiota composition, and modified gut microbiota metabolites, particularly those linked to inflammation and oxidative stress, the study found. Additionally, this exposure resulted in damage to the heart muscle tissue of the rats, alongside increased markers of myocardial injury, inflammation, and oxidative stress.Past studies have raised concerns about the risks that come with plastic containers. Plastics contain endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) like bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates (PAEs) and plasticizers, which are linked to higher CVD risk, the study researchers cited from an earlier study. However, the new study, which showed just how quickly heart health can be impacted by plastic exposure has the study authors advising to be vigilant about avoiding eating from plastic containers.The authors say more research is needed but noted in the study that in order to prevent ongoing harm from plastic products to human health, it is essential to avoid using plastic containers for high-temperature food, reduce the use of plastic products in daily life, and implement timely plastic pollution control measures.

Wikipedia has faced political threats for years, but this time, it may be at a breaking point.Republicans have ramped up attacks against Wikipedia as yet another woke institution. Leaked documents from The Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank that, show a plan for exposing specific Wikipedia editors. In January, Elon Musk, the billionaire-turned-government-efficiency-czar,called the online library an extension of legacy media propaganda. (He also once offered to pay $1 billion for the site if it changed its name to Dickipedia.)Conservatives have long accused Wikipedia of political prejudice. (And its not just staunch Republicans: Wikipedia cofounder Larry Sanger, who has never publicly identified himself as a Republican, turned on the digital library almost immediately after leaving in 2002, claiming it had a top-down left-wing bias.) In 2006, critic Andrew Schlafly even founded his own iteration of the site, Conservapedia. That conversation of bias continued for the following 20 years, and conservative think tanks have continually pumped out reports about Wikipedias supposed liberal tilt.Musk is in the middle of the latest controversyBut those were complaints, not attacks. Now, Musk and the MAGA movement could effectively kill Wikipedia. This cycle started with Musks inauguration arm-raise, which his Wikipedia page said was compared to a Nazi salute, but added that Musk denied any meaning behind the gesture. That particular entry sent Musk into a tirade on his social media platform X, first posting about Wikipedia as propaganda, and later saying that we should defund it. (Wikipedia is supported by individual and corporate donationsnot federal funds.) Wikipedias cofounder Jimmy Wales shot back: I think Elon is unhappy that Wikipedia is not for sale.While Musk is the public face of the latest crusade, theres been plenty of behind-the-scenes discussion about Wikipedia. According to documents obtained by Forward, The Heritage Foundation aims to target not just Wikipedia, but the sites editors. These individual contributors often work under online pseudonyms but, using strategies like digital fingerprinting and edit-tracking, The Heritage Foundation seems to promote finding these editors real-life identities. Its still unclear how The Heritage Foundation would use the information tracked, but the idea of being targeted itself could spook editors off the platform.These threats have Wikimedia executives worried. According to 404 Media, the leaders hosted a series of calls in the past few weeks about their ongoing political struggles, with Wales saying that hes keeping an eye on the rising noise of criticism from Elon Musk and others. Considering that The Heritage Foundation was behind Project 2025the legislative blueprint that has made its way into the White House during Trumps second termtheir fears may be justified.Wikipedia at the center of language politicsThe left has gotten in some jabs against Wikipedia, too. Liberals have struggled with the sites glacial conversations around potential edits to sensitive subjects. Should Ernest Hemingways trans daughter be referred to as Gloria or their birth name, Gregory? Should the term squaw, which the federal government deemed derogatory, be removed from the names of notable locations? These conversations can take weeks. Pro-Palestine activists have also been frustrated with the sites language surrounding Israel.Our politics has centralized around language. The left and the right have spent years squabbling over just which words are appropriatebut now, under Trump, the right is turning that fight into legislative shutdowns. Any site that traffics in words is under threat, from the online databases that Trump has shut down to the trans terminology Trump scrubbed from the Stonewall Monument.The culture wars have come for our public information sources. And Wikipedia is on the chopping block.

Here's what we looked at this week:Sleek portable cutlery by Zoku, an industrial-designer-led brand.Crowdfunding smash: These Xlaserlab X1 desktop laser welding machines.Breakfast's Billion Dollar Arcade Series are Interactive classic videogame art pieces that reference the stock market.Brompton's hide-away bike toolkit, by industrial design firm Goodwin Hartshorn.The Tool Swing, a heavy-duty disappearing swing mount for fixed tools.The Snackuum, Unnecessary Design Studio's arm-mounted vacuum for neater snacking.Surprise: There's still a huge market for ashtrays.Where to source specialty washers with no additional tooling costs? Boker's.The CenWatch: Yet another attempt at a gesture control device, with a pretty awful form factor.An actually useful application for gesture control: Headlamp activation, as seen in the NightBuddy 230.Design competition: "Redesign Democracy" calls for better voting booth designs.Architect, industrial designer and sculptor Robert Obier's Deco-esque creations.The Brat, an alternative "lo-fi" take on the wallet.Form follows function: Snow Peak's folding butane stove for camping.Industrial design case study: The Rubbish Beam, a smart litter picker-upper by ID consultancy Hatch Duo.

Most people love things that are both functional and decorative. This means that the designers and creators really thought about making something that would look good in your space and also make it highly useful for people as well. The world of interior design is constantly evolving, seeking new ways to blend functionality and aesthetics. The UU Tiles project by Parisian creative studio Unknown, Untitled perfectly embodies this evolution, pushing the boundaries of what we expect from everyday building materials. They are minimalist but beautifully designed tiles that have integrated other functional things like lighting, electrical access, and even airflow directly into the infrastructure. Designer: Unknown, UntitledWithin this innovative project lies the UU Tiles Lamp, a testament to the studios commitment to seamlessly integrating technology and design. It is one of the elements that embodies the philosophy of the UU tiles project of bringing a dynamic, interactive element to your living space through the decorative and functional tiles. Because of the minimalist aesthetic of this lamp, you get a clean look for your tiles as it eliminated the normal visual clutter for traditional lighting solutions. It is able to blend seamlessly not just with your wall but with your entire living space, giving it a warm and inviting glow. More than just a source of light, the UU Tiles Lamp is an integrated part of the wall itself. Rather than being a separate fixture attached to the wall, it is the wall. The wall lamp is colored red so it stands out in contrast to your minimalist wall tiles. You can also probably change the color to match your tiles or your rooms aesthetic. It has a simple hat-styled shade with white light pouring out from it. It has dimensions of 23.714.216 cm and can be used as a standalone lamp or within the UU Tiles system, which is what it is specifically designed for. The lamp and the project itself blurs the lines between object and space, creating a harmonious and functional living environment.While most of the time lighting is just something we take for granted or we just look for the best lighted bulbs or lighting fixtures we can get, the UU Tiles Lamp is an example that they can be more than just about illumination. Its a statement on how design can actually transform our daily experiences and illuminate our spaces with intention. The entire project is able to blur the lines between object and space, creating a harmonious and functional living environment.The post UU Tiles Lamp by Unknown, Untitled brings innovative illumination first appeared on Yanko Design.