Toronto Sees Record Temperatures as Extreme Heat Settles Over Canada
Sweltering temperatures not seen in Toronto in nearly a decade have prompted health alerts, pool closures and warnings to students to expect “uncomfortable conditions.”
Women in Menopause Don’t Care
The “We Do Not Care” club, founded by influencer Melani Sanders, celebrates women who have stopped trying to please everyone.
Noise Pollution Harms Health of Millions Across Europe, Report Finds
More than 110 million people across Europe suffer high levels of health-damaging noise pollution, according to a report. The resulting physiological stress and sleep disturbance leads to 66,000 early deaths a year and many cases of heart disease, diabetes and depression. The Guardian: The report, from the European Environment Agency (EEA), focuses on noise from cars, trains and aeroplanes and found that 20% of the population of the European Economic Area (EEA) were affected. Separate research, using a slightly lower threshold for dangerous noise pollution, found that 40% of the UK population were exposed to harmful transport noise.
Seventeen million people endure particularly high noise pollution -- "long-term, high-annoyance" -- and almost 5 million suffer "severe" sleep disturbance. Fifteen million children live in areas of harmful noise. The harm to health from noise is greater than that from higher-profile risks including secondhand tobacco smoke or lead exposure, and incurs an economic cost of almost $116bn a year, the analysis found.
The damage to health is likely to be an underestimate, the researchers said. Using the World Health Organization's stricter threshold for risky noise pollution gives an estimate of 150 million people across Europe exposed. The EU's target to cut the number of people chronically disturbed by transport noise by 30% by 2030 will not be met without further action, the researchers said.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
How Iran Became Isolated
Christina Goldbaum, a New York Times reporter, and Katrin Bennhold, a senior writer on the international desk, discuss how the power dynamics in the Middle East could change as Iran has become more isolated.
Android Chrome Users Can Now Move Address Bar To Bottom of Screen
Google has begun rolling out a feature that allows Chrome users on Android to move the browser's address bar to the bottom of the screen. This capability has been available to iOS Chrome users since 2023 and aims to improve accessibility for users with larger devices.
Users can relocate the address bar by pressing and holding on it and selecting the move option, or by adjusting the setting through Chrome's settings menu. The feature addresses usability concerns for users of phones with bigger screens, where reaching the top of the display can prove difficult during one-handed operation.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
WD Escapes Half a Billion in Patent Damages as Judge Trims Award To $1
Western Digital has succeeded in having the sum it owed from a patent infringement case reduced from $553 million down to just $1 in post-trial motions, when the judge found the plaintiff's claims had shifted during the course of the litigation. From a report: The storage biz was held by a California jury to have infringed on data encryption patents owned by SPEX Technologies Inc in October, relating to several of its self-encrypting hard drive products.
WD was initially told to pay $316 million in damages, but District Judge James Selna ruled the company owed a further $237 million in interest charges earlier this year, bringing the total to more than half a billion dollars. In February, WD was given a week to file a bond or stump up the entire damages payment. Selna granted Western Digital's post-trial motion to reduce damages, writing that "SPEX's damages theory changed as certain evidence and theories became unavailable" and there was "insufficient evidence from which the Court could determine a reasonable royalty."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
iPhone Customers Upset By Apple Wallet Ad Pushing F1 Movie
An anonymous reader shares a report: Apple customers aren't thrilled they're getting an ad from the Apple Wallet app promoting the tech giant's Original Film, "F1 the Movie." Across social media, iPhone owners are complaining that their Wallet app sent out a push notification offering a $10 discount at Fandango for anyone buying two or more tickets to the film.
The feature film, starring Brad Pitt, explores the world of Formula 1 and was shot at actual Grand Prix races. It also showcases the use of Apple technology, from the custom-made cameras made of iPhone parts used to film inside the cars, to the AirPods Max that Pitt's character, F1 driver Sonny Hayes, sleeps in. However well-received the film may be, iPhone users don't necessarily want their built-in utilities, like their digital wallet, marketing to them.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Philips Hue is Raising Prices in the US
Philips Hue will raise prices across its smart lighting and security products for US customers starting July 1st, with parent company Signify attributing the increases directly to tariffs.
The company initially notified customers that prices would "go up" through a promotional message before confirming the tariff-related reasoning in a statement. Signify has not provided specific pricing details or identified which products will be affected, though the company's statement suggests changes may impact the entire Hue lineup.
Some products already reflect higher US pricing, including the new $219.99 Hue Play Wall Washer light, which costs approximately 10% more than the European price when currencies are converted. The latest $32.99 Smart Button also exceeds the $24.99 launch price of its predecessor, while European pricing remained at 21.99 euro ($25.50) for both generations.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Microsoft Extends Free Windows 10 Security Updates Into 2026, With Strings Attached
Microsoft will offer free Windows 10 security updates through October 2026 to consumers who enable Windows Backup or spend 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points, the company said today. The move provides alternatives to the previously announced $30-per-PC Extended Security Update program for individuals wanting to continue using Windows 10 past its October 14, 2025 end-of-support date.
The company will notify Windows 10 users about the ESU program through the Settings app and notifications starting in July, with full rollout by mid-August. Both free options require a Microsoft Account, which the company has increasingly pushed in Windows 11. Business and organizational customers can still purchase up to three years of ESU updates but must pay for the service.
Windows 10 remains installed on 53% of Windows PCs worldwide, according to Statcounter data.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
OpenAI Quietly Designed a Rival To Google Workspace, Microsoft Office
OpenAI has designed features that would allow people to collaborate on documents and communicate via chat within ChatGPT, The Information reported Tuesday. The features would pit OpenAI directly against Microsoft, its biggest shareholder and business partner, and Google, whose search engine has already lost traffic to people using ChatGPT for web searches.
Whether OpenAI will actually release the collaboration features remains unclear, the report cautioned. The designs would target the core of Microsoft's dominant productivity suite and could strain the companies' already complicated relationship as OpenAI seeks Microsoft's approval for restructuring its for-profit unit. Product chief Kevin Weil first discussed and showed off designs for document collaboration nearly a year ago, but OpenAI lacked sufficient staff to develop the product due to other priorities.
OpenAI launched Canvas in October, a ChatGPT feature that makes drafting documents and code easier with AI assistance, as a possible first step toward full collaboration tools. More recently, OpenAI developed but has not launched software allowing multiple ChatGPT customers to communicate about shared work within the application.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
A.I. Doesn’t Have to Mean a ‘White-Collar Blood Bath’ of Job Loss
Instead of asking which future is coming, we should be asking which future we want.
Putin Has Lost the West. This Was Not the Plan.
The loss is a tragedy for Russia.
Why the Heat Index Makes the Temperature Feel Worse
Some hot days feel even worse thanks to high humidity, trapped heat and dew points. Cities are especially vulnerable.
Trump’s Cease-Fire Announcement Catches His Own Top Officials by Surprise
Before asserting that Iran and Israel had agreed to a cease-fire, President Trump spoke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Iranian officials, with Qatar helping to mediate.
New York Again Embraces Nuclear Power With Plans to Build New Plant
In her announcement, Gov. Kathy Hochul gave few details about where the plant would be built, how much the project would cost or how long it would take to complete.
In a Big Place With Few People, a Minister Needs a Pilot’s License
The Salvation Army’s “Flying Padres” cross the Australian outback by air, dropping in on ranches and small communities — sometimes, just to lend an ear.
Florida Men Accused of Stealing More Than $100 Million Meant for People With Special Needs
Federal prosecutors say the money was used to fly on a private jet, buy real estate and help operate a brewery.
China Smashes Solar Installation Record In May
An anonymous reader quotes a report from OilPrice.com: China installed its highest solar power capacity for a single month in May, according to official data, which showed mind-boggling figures that the country installed more solar capacity in a month than any other nation did for the entire 2024. With 93 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity installed in May, China smashed its own record of 71 GW in December 2024, per data from the National Energy Administration cited by Bloomberg.
China's solar capacity additions in May were rushed ahead of a new government policy -- effective June 1 -- to remove pricing protection for solar power projects. Under these protections, solar projects had all but guaranteed profits when they start operations. Another new rule, effective May 1, made connecting rooftop panels to the grid more difficult. These new policies are expected to moderate the growth in solar power additions this summer, analysts say. A separate report notes that China's cumulative installed solar capacity has surpassed 1 TW, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA). "By the end of May 2025, solar capacity had reached 1.08 TW (1,080 GW), up 56.9% year on year," reports pv magazine.
"NEA data show total power generation capacity stood at 3.61 TW at the end of May, an 18.8% increase from a year earlier."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
What Environmentalists Like Me Got Wrong About Climate Change
Governments and U.S. states committed to climate action now need to persuade the oil industry to protect the world from climate chaos.
Scenes From the Hottest Blocks in New York City
Whatever the temperature is in Central Park, it’s hotter alongside Newtown Creek, the toxic and industrial waterway separating Brooklyn from Queens.