Mass redundancies could have a huge impact on US national security, a House select committee has been told.

MongoDB shares plummeted more than 20% after the database software maker shared weak guidance that signaled a slowdown in growth.

Japans Seven & i, the parent company of the Japanese 7-Eleven convenience store chain, said Thursday it is selling its supermarket store assets to Bain Capital for about $5.4 billion.The company announced the deal a day after naming Stephen Dacus, its board chairman, to be its president and CEO.It also said it plans an initial public offering in the U.S. of 7-Eleven or SEI, its convenience store business in North America, by the end of 2026. Funds from the IPO and the sale to Bain will be returned to shareholders in the form of share buybacks worth 2 trillion yen ($5.4 billion).Seven & is share price jumped 6.1% in Tokyo.The deal follows Seven & is rejection of a takeover bid by Canadas Alimentation Couche-Tard. Dacus said earlier that the offer had undervalued the potential of the convenience store business and failed to fully address U.S. regulatory concerns.The 7-Eleven franchise includes 86,000 stores in the U.S., Japan and other Asian nations.Last year, Seven & i announced a restructuring plan to strengthen its U.S. operations and streamline operations, closing some Ito-Yokado supermarkets in Japan.The omnipresent 7-Eleven convenience stores remain popular in Japan, having replaced many mom and pop shops. Convenience stores are a mainstay in many neighborhoods.Seven & i earlier sold its Sogo & Seibu department stores in Japan to Fortress Investment Group, a U.S. fund, for $1.5 billion. It said it also plans to reduce its share in Seven BankElaine Kurtenbach, AP Business Writer

The U.S. government will stop sharing air quality data gathered from its embassies and consulates, worrying local scientists and experts who say the effort was vital to monitor global air quality and improve public health.In response to an inquiry from the Associated Press, the State Department said Wednesday that its air quality monitoring program would no longer transmit air pollution data from embassies and consulates to the Environmental Protection Agencys AirNow app and other platforms, which allowed locals in various countries, along with scientists around the globe, to see and analyze air quality in cities around the world.The stop in sharing data was due to funding constraints that have caused the Department to turn off the underlying network read the statement, which added that embassies and consulates were directed to keep their monitors running and the sharing of data could resume in the future if funded was restored. The fiscal cut, first reported by the New York Times, is one of many under President Donald Trump, whose administration has been deprioritizing environmental and climate initiatives.The U.S. air quality monitors measured dangerous fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, which can penetrate deep into the lungs and lead to respiratory diseases, heart conditions, and premature death. The World Health Organization estimates that air pollution kills around seven million people each year.News of the data sharing being cut prompted immediate reaction from scientists who said the data were reliable, allowed for air quality monitoring around the world and helped prompt governments to clean up the air.A big blow to global air quality researchBhargav Krishna, an air pollution expert at New Delhi-based Sustainable Futures Collaborative, called the loss of data a big blow to air quality research.They were part of a handful of sensors in many developing countries and served as a reference for understanding what air quality was like, Krishna said. They were also seen to be a well-calibrated and unbiased source of data to cross-check local data if there were concerns about quality.Its a real shame, said Alejandro Piracoca Mayorga, a Bogota, Colombia-based freelance air quality consultant. U.S. embassies and consulates in Lima, Peru, Sao Paulo and Bogota have had the public air monitoring. It was a source of access to air quality information independent of local monitoring networks. They provided another source of information for comparison.Khalid Khan, an environmental expert and advocate based in Pakistan, agreed, saying the shutdown of air quality monitoring will have significant consequences.Khan noted that the monitors in Peshawar, Pakistan, one of the most polluted cities in the world, provided crucial real-time data which helped policymakers, researchers, and the public to take decisions on their health.Their removal means a critical gap in environmental monitoring, leaving residents without accurate information on hazardous air conditions, Khan said. He said vulnerable people in Pakistan and around the world are particularly at risk as they are the least likely to have access to other reliable data.In Africa, the program provided air quality data for over a dozen countries including Senegal, Nigeria, Chad, and Madagascar. Some of those countries depend almost entirely on the U.S. monitoring systems for their air quality data.The WHOs air quality database will also be affected by the closing of U.S. program. Many poor countries dont track air quality because stations are too expensive and complex to maintain, meaning they are entirely reliant on U.S. embassy monitoring data.Monitors strengthened local effortsIn some places, the U.S. air quality monitors propelled nations to start their own air quality research and raised awareness, Krishna said.In China, for example, data from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing famously contradicted official government reports, showing worse pollution levels than authorities acknowledged. It led to China improving air quality.Officials in Pakistans eastern Punjab province, which struggles with smog, said they were unfazed by the removal of the U.S. monitors. Environment Secretary Raja Jahangir said Punjab authorities have their own and plan to purchase 30 more.Shweta Narayan, a campaign lead at the Global Climate and Health Alliance, said the shutdown of monitors in India is a huge setback but also a critical opportunity for the Indian government to step up and fill the gaps.By strengthening its own air quality monitoring infrastructure, ensuring data transparency, and building public trust in air quality reporting, India can set a benchmark for accountability and environmental governance, Narayan said.Adebayo reported from Abuja, Nigeria. Babar Dogar in Lahore, Pakistan, Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, Aniruddha Ghosal in Hanoi, Vietnam, and Steven Grattan in Bogota, Colombia, contributed to this report.The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.Taiwo Adebayo and Sibi Arasu, Associated Press

As we saw with his Smoke Glass, Italian industrial designer Joe Colombo loved smoking and drinking. And, apparently, poker; he designed this Poker Table in 1968. A precursor to the gaming tables of today, the table featured four flip-out wings that allowed players to stack an additional vice on top of gambling. The legs are stainless steel, and the table surfaces are laminated plastic. The ashtrays simply sit in an open hole. Here you can see that you remove them for cleaning by pushing up on the bottom. The wings were reportedly designed to hold both ashtrays and tumblers (Colombo being fond of booze), but in every photo I can find, it's always staged with only the ashtrays.The table originally came with a removable playing surface made of baize, a felt-like fabric, trimmed in leather. With many of the tables you'll see for sale secondhand, the playing surface did not survive. The Poker Table went into production by Italian furniture company Zanotta in 1968. They still feature the table on their website and have it in CAD, so apparently you can still order it.

While there's nothing funny about car accidents or the message behind Gaetano Pesce's UP 5 chair, designed in 1969, this anecdote is worth telling. First off, the UP 5 chair. The curvaceous form is meant to represent the popular idealization of women's bodiesand it's attached to an Ottoman by an umbilical cord. "This object is a commentary on women's condition in our historical moment," Pesce said in an interview with Italian Journal. "Until today women are prisoners of prejudices including in the most evolved countries without mentioning the less evolved ones. It was the first time that a chair was able to express a political content."In addition to the message, what was radical about the chair in 1969 is that it shipped compressed. Which leads us to the aforementioned anecdote from Pesce:"The chair was then sold wrapped and vacuum-packed, reducing its original volume by 8. A truck full of these packaged chairs was traveling from Milan to Rome and got into an accident when another truck hit it in the back."In the accident one of the packages broke open, and the chair inside of it immediately expanded, leading it to break the other packaging and the other chairs to expand."In the end, all these chairs protected the back of the truck from being totally destroyed. Also the chairs ended up falling on the highway, and by doing so transformed it into a domestic landscape." The anecdote aside, Pesce has called the UP 5 chair "One of the most important objects I designed."

The design of kitchen appliances and tools is quickly evolving, transforming into more aesthetic products to match peoples tastes and interior designs. What was once considered to be exclusive to luxury appliances is becoming more common, shifting to products that are not only smarter and more powerful but also more elegant and pleasing to look at. For some reason, however, it seems that most of these designs still lean toward dark or metallic aesthetics, as if black, silver, and an occasional touch of white were the only colors that fit the kitchen.This espresso machine begs to differ and adds more than a splash of color to its design. It is, in fact, full of color and uses plenty of geometric shapes that give it a completely different vibe from your typical coffee machines. In fact, its almost as if its a Fisher Price kids toy, and it definitely adds a more playful ambiance to your kitchen or living space, at least if youre the type that goes for bright and cheerful hues.Designer: Burcu Irmak KuzeyTheres no hard rule about what colors kitchen products should use, of course, but they have to at least match the color scheme of your interior. Most kitchens go with dark or white motifs, which is why the common design is to use safe colors like black, white, and silver. Except for white, these colors also happen to be more forgiving of stains, dings, and discoloration that would lessen their aesthetic value over time.KOIRO is a concept for an espresso machine that throws all that out of the window. Unlike common designs that utilize sleek forms and curved shapes, it embraces blocky geometries that further strengthen the association with childrens toys. It also has very simplified icons for operating the machine, as if it was made for kids.The most striking aspect of its design, however, is the use of bold colors. Together with the simple geometric shapes, KOIRO gives off a Bauhaus art vibe, establishing its presence as a design object more than just an appliance. Its also a bit reminiscent of Sicilian architecture characterized by those same basic shapes and the use of vibrant colors that sometimes contrast and clash rather than complement.The KOIRO espresso machine concept definitely shatters the convention for this type of kitchen appliance, eliciting a sense of childlike joy and playfulness. It doesnt, in any way, detract from its functionality, though you do have to wonder how difficult it will be to clean up once the coffee stains have taken hold of those colorful surfaces.The post Toy-like espresso machine concept adds a joyful atmosphere to your mornings first appeared on Yanko Design.

If you need further proof of how 3D printing is revolutionizing the design and manufacturing industries, you only need to look at what comes out of the hotend nozzle. Yes, we are seeing the use of more sustainable and biodegradable filaments like recycled plastics and wood, but the innovation goes beyond your typical building materials. 3D printing is spreading its advantages to other industries, and that includes the culinary world.3D printed food might still sound far-fetched, but there are already quite a few pioneers blazing a path for the future. Were not just talking about chocolates and confectionery, which seem to be the default presumption. At MWC 2025, we got to feast our eyes on some rather mouth-watering meaty dishes that you would have never thought were actually made from plant-based material that was 3D printed right on the spot.Designer: NovameatGiven processes and pipelines that have been refined for decades, youd definitely think that 3D printed meat is an exercise in inefficiency. However, mass-produced food, even the plant-based kind, still have a lot of flaws that couldnt be easily resolved by those very same mechanisms. For one, theres bound to be a lot of waste along the way, especially if production and supply surpass demand. For another, texture has been a perennial problem, one that Novameats technology has seemingly solved at long last.With its proprietary MicroForce technology, Novameat is able to produce shapes fibers that replicate the strands that give meat its unique texture. This is made possible using 3D printing, but not the 3D printing that youd see in hobbyist workshops or even professional studios. This is a large-scale process that leverages standard industry equipment, providing the efficiency thats needed to quickly supply this special meat in large quantities as needed.The result is meat that is good for humans and the planet as well. The plant-based materials can help save more animals, while the efficient 3D printing process helps lower energy requirements and reduce water waste. The meats also dont rely on complex ingredients to give it texture and can also preserve the nutritional value of the product better, creating a meat treat that doesnt just taste like the real deal but also feels that way for our tongues.The post Novameat serves up scrumptious 3D printed plant-based meat at MWC 2025 first appeared on Yanko Design.

Pure retro joy.

The secret sauce in achieving a premium-quality render is to use render passes and using KeyShot and Photoshop together makes it easy