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“The intentions, of course, were never to cross over to Venezuela, he was just accompanying her,” said Henry Martínez, Hernández’s brother. The men told Hernández that if they wanted to enter Venezuela, he had to pay $100. Hernández told them he was not trying to enter the country and did not have $100. The U.S. has not had a diplomatic presence in Caracas since 2019, so access to jailed Americans has been limited since then. “Sometimes I can hear his voice weak and just frustrated and anxious,” said Henry Martínez.

☆ French quantum computer startup PASQAL raises 100 million euros
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Jane Lanhee Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

OAKLAND, Calif. Jan 24 (Reuters) - Paris-based quantum computer startup PASQAL on Tuesday said it had raised 100 million euros ($109 million) and aims to deliver major commercial advantages over classical computers by next year using the fresh funds. The investment is the biggest private funding round for a quantum computer startup in Europe, according to Georges-Olivier Reymond, CEO and co-founder of PASQAL. It comes as the stock price collapse of three New York-listed quantum computer makers, IonQ Inc (IONQ.N), Rigetti Computing , and D-wave Quantum has made funding for the sector challenging. Scientists expect quantum computers could one day make certain calculations millions of times faster than the fastest super computers today. The number of qubits, or quantum bits, is an indication of the power of the quantum computer.

☆ I've tested 15 electric cars — these 6 blew me away with game-changing features
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Tesla's Model Y is incredibly easy to charge, while Pininfarina's Battista packs mind-bending acceleration. The Tesla Model Y's Supercharging abilityThe Tesla Model Y. Tim Levin/InsiderTeslas are known for a lot of things — their minimalist interiors, their sporty performance, and, for better or worse, their boisterous mastermind, Elon Musk. But the one part of testing a Tesla Model Y that stuck with me more than any of that was Supercharging. The Tesla Model Y. Tim Levin/InsiderOnce you have a payment method set, Supercharging is as simple as pulling up to an available stall and plugging in. The Polestar 2's screensThe 2022 Polestar 2.

“Now, we have a better understanding of the kind of benefits that operating in cislunar space can bring countries back home.”Though definitions sometimes differ, cislunar space generally refers to the space between Earth and the moon, including the moon's surface and orbit. In 2021, Holzinger co-authored a report titled “A Primer on Cislunar Space“ to help U.S. government officials understand the ins and outs of cislunar space. That interest is apparent: Last year, the Space Force identified cislunar operations as a development priority, and in April established the 19th Space Defense Squadron to oversee cislunar space. In November, the White House released its own strategy for interagency research on "responsible, peaceful, and sustainable exploration and utilization of cislunar space." Together, these factors could make it difficult to manage traffic in cislunar space, particularly if adversaries intentionally try to mask their activities there.

☆ Who is Shou Zi Chew? Mounting scrutiny on TikTok could put new spotlight on its CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Months later, when TikTok was grilled by Congress over privacy and security concerns, Pappas was the TikTok executive in the hot seat fielding questions. But Chew, who took over as TikTok CEO in April 2021, has largely stayed out of the spotlight at a time when the app he leads can’t seem to avoid it. He eventually went on to become the CFO of Chinese tech giant Xiaomi, which he helped take public in 2018. While Chew is not a Chinese national, Quint noted Chinese tech companies and leaders that have drawn too much attention to themselves have faced tough government crackdowns. Ultimately, Quint said, “I don’t think the CEO of TikTok has much relevance at all” for US lawmakers scrutinizing its ties to China.

☆ Netflix insiders applaud new co-CEO Greg Peters, 'the only real visionary' in the C-suite, but scratch their heads over what other exec changes mean for the company
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Elaine Low | Lucia Moses | Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Netflix's elevation of Greg Peters to co-CEO shows the importance of its advertising sales effort. But Bela Bajaria's rise to content chief has caused some confusion about the future of the TV and film organization. The Netflix veteran now shares the role with current co-CEO Ted Sarandos, as company cofounder Reed Hastings steps down and settles into an executive chairman position. The move made a lot of sense to industry insiders, and even publicly, Netflix had been signaling the ascension for some time. Netflix insiders said Bajaria's new title underscored the importance of TV versus film in the streaming wars.

☆ The biggest universities in Texas are blocking students from accessing TikTok on campus WiFi
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Austin have blocked TikTok from campus WiFi. Texas A&M University — thought to be the state's biggest university with close to 70,000 students — is blocking TikTok from its IT network under a directive by Governor Greg Abbott, local news outlets reported on Tuesday. Lamar University and the University of Texas at Dallas told students that TikTok would continue to work at its residence halls. Even then, access would only be granted on devices connected to cellular services, not to the university's WiFi or wired network. Do you study or work at a US university that has banned the use of TikTok on campus WiFi?

☆ Fact Check-False claims about the sun and clouds at night shared online
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Contrary to online claims, the earth is 93 million miles from the sun, is not flat and there is plenty of night-time footage of the planet taken from space, experts told Reuters. It also says the earth is flat and questions why clouds can’t be seen in nighttime images of the earth taken from space. Orsola de Marco, an astrophysicist at Macquarie University in Sydney, told Reuters that visibility of clouds at night could also depend on camera angle and the light source. Rather than a spacecraft looking directly through a cloud, shooting from an angle makes clouds more visible because more light can be reflected off the clouds, she said. Photos shared by the European Space Station at night showing clouds can be seen (here), (here), and (here).

☆ If you still aren't sure what ChatGPT is, this is your guide to the viral chatbot that everyone is talking about
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Open AI, the AI company behind the AI art generator DALL·E, released the viral bot Chat GPT. Other researchers seem to be taking more measured approaches with generative AI tools. He told Insider he's helping to experiment with a chat bot called "Rentervention," which is meant to support tenants. Linna said he's experimenting with Chat GPT to help "Rentervention" come up with better responses and draft more detailed letters, while gauging its limitations. "I think there's so much hype around Chat GPT, and tools like this have potential," said Linna.

☆ Exxon predicted global warming with remarkable accuracy years ago, study shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"We now have airtight, unimpeachable evidence that ExxonMobil accurately predicted global warming years before it turned around and publicly attacked climate science and scientists. Our findings show that ExxonMobil's public denial of climate science contradicted its own scientists' data," Supran told CNBC. They were surprised to discover is the extent and accuracy of Exxon's knowledge of climate science. That gave me pause, seeing quantitatively that Exxon didn't just know some climate science, they helped advance it," Supran told CNBC. "They didn't just vaguely know 'something' about global warming decades ago, they knew as much as independent academic and government scientists did.

There's a new heavy hitter in the hunt for planets beyond our solar system. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope — the next-generation observatory that has already beamed back some of the clearest and most stunning views of the universe — was used for the first time to confirm the existence of an exoplanet, scientists announced Wednesday. The exoplanet confirmation marks an important milestone for the $10 billion Webb telescope, which launched into space in December 2021 and began science operations less than a year ago. “These first observational results from an Earth-size, rocky planet open the door to many future possibilities for studying rocky planet atmospheres with Webb,” Mark Clampin, director of the astrophysics division at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., said in a statement. “Webb is bringing us closer and closer to a new understanding of Earth-like worlds outside our solar system, and the mission is only just getting started.”

☆ Fact Check-Moon visible during daytime is not proof of flat Earth
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The moon visible during the day is not proof that the Earth is flat, despite claims shared online. The moon is commonly visible during the day, however, and it is not always directly opposite the sun, experts told Reuters. At full moon, the moon rises as the sun sets and at the end of that night the moon sets at sunrise. During this lunar phase, we see part of the moon illuminated because only a part of the moon that is being illuminated by the sun is visible to us, he said. “However, the best argument against flat Earth (using the moon) is that during a lunar eclipse, the moon enters Earth shadow,” Fe McBride, assistant professor in the Physics and Astronomy department at Bowdoin College told Reuters.

☆ Walter Cunningham, last surviving Apollo 7 astronaut, dies at 90
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Walter Cunningham, the last surviving astronaut from the first successful crewed space mission in NASA’s Apollo program, died Tuesday in Houston. It was NASA’s first crewed space mission since the deaths of the three Apollo 1 astronauts in a launch pad fire Jan. 27, 1967. “We never even knew that there were astronauts when I was growing up,” Cunningham told The Spokesman-Review. After retiring from NASA in 1971, Cunningham worked in engineering, business and investing, and became a public speaker and radio host. Although Cunningham never crewed another space mission after Apollo 7, he remained a proponent of space exploration.

☆ Being in a Tesla helped save the 4 people who plunged 250 feet off a cliff, expert says. That and a lot of luck.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Four people emerged almost unscathed from a car crash off a 250-foot cliff on Monday. Professor Jahan Rasty cited several Tesla safety features that likely helped. If too much of a moving car's energy is suddenly directed into people's bodies, they will die. Car safety design is all about dissipating that energy away from the passengers. Tesla roofs "are about 30% stronger in terms of crash resistance" than a regular car, Rasty said.

☆ There's no GPS on the moon. NASA and ESA have to fix that before humans return in 2 years.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Space agencies are working to put satellite navigation, or satnav, on rockets traveling the 239,000 miles between Earth and the moon. That means that most of the satellites' signal is blocked and only a little spills over. They were 116,300 miles away — about halfway to the moon, Ventura-Traveset said. So the plan is to give the moon its very own fleet of communication and navigation satellites, called the Moonlight initiative. Moon settlers will need high-speed internetSatellites could help future moon astronauts navigate on the moon, as can be seen in this artist's impression.

☆ The ultimate insider's guide to the dramatic downfall of Sam Bankman-Fried, Caroline Ellison, and FTX
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Sam Bankman-Fried is facing criminal charges and is expected to enter a plea on Jan. 3. Read Insider's coverage of Bankman-Fried:FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried gets by on 4 hours' sleep and multitasks on 6 screens. Now hit with 7 criminal charges, Ellison has pleaded guilty and expressed contrition before the New York federal court presiding over the criminal cases involving Bankman-Fried. Sam Bankman-Fried is in jail, but legal watchers are wondering: Where's ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison? Sam Bankman-Fried hit with 8 criminal charges, including fraud and conspiracy for allegedly 'misappropriating' FTX customer fundsThe SEC has charged Sam Bankman-Fried and accused him of 'orchestrating a massive, years-long fraud'The criminal charges against Sam Bankman-Fried carry big penalties and jail time if proven, legal experts sayRead the CFTC complaint against FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried and his associates Caroline Ellison and Gary WangThe charges against Caroline Ellison, SBF, and FTX cofounder Gary Wang — in 60 seconds

☆ Time travel is theoretically possible, calculations show. But that doesn't mean you could change the past.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Susie Neilson | Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Time travel is possible based on the laws of physics, according to researchers. Put simply: It's theoretically possible to go back in time, but you couldn't change history. Thomas Peter/ReutersThe grandfather paradoxPhysicists have considered time travel to be theoretically possible since Albert Einstein came up with his theory of relativity. The most famous example is known as the grandfather paradox: Say a time-traveler goes back to the past and kills a younger version of his or her grandfather. Applied to the grandfather paradox, then, this would mean that something would always get in the way of your attempt to kill your grandfather.

☆ Chatty AI and Protein-Predicting Algorithm Defined the Year in Emerging Tech
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Angus Loten | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

They also built supercomputers designed to handle the growing influx of data needed for evermore complex AI applications. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CIO Journal The Morning Download delivers daily insights and news on business technology from the CIO Journal team. Using an AI algorithm called AlphaFold, the London-based lab said it had expanded its database of predicted protein structures to 214 million, up from 1 million as of December 2021, representing all proteins known to science, including proteins found in animals, plants, bacteria and other organisms. Though researchers say the commercial application of nuclear fusion likely remains years and perhaps decades away, the technology might one day help fight climate change. In March, Sandbox AQ, a software startup developing quantum-computing and artificial-intelligence tools for commercial use, officially spun off from Alphabet’s Google to become a stand-alone company.

☆ In recent years, investors have poured billions into the burgeoning region of central and eastern Europe. Here's why they're so excited about this startup hotbed.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

VCs have flocked to central and eastern European startups for their efficiency and technical talent. Central and eastern Europe includes countries like the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine, according to the World Atlas. The promise of central and eastern Europe starts with a surplus of strong engineering talent, Vaswani said. "Eastern Europe is the former Communist Bloc, and during communism, one of the dangerous things for the communist regimes were humanistic subjects," Bartos said. Additionally, central and eastern European startups are often more capital-efficient due to lower personnel and living costs, an advantage that founders like Jendruszak have leveraged firsthand.

☆ Navigating the e-bike boom with America's outdated infrastructure
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Liam Mays | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Electric bikes are becoming increasingly popular around the world. This speed is often blamed for the increased dangers that are seen with e-bikes compared with those of traditional bikes. "E-bikes are three times more likely to result in a hospitalization if an injury occurs compared to traditional bikes," DiMaggio said. "Whether that's pedestrians, regular cyclists or electric bikes." "The big difference that you see here in the Netherlands compared to most other places, with very few exceptions, is that everybody cycles here.

☆ On Pluto you could throw a baseball over the Great Pyramid of Giza, a scientist's animation reveals
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An astronomer's animation reveals how far the average person could throw a ball on different worlds. On Pluto, your baseball could clear the Great Pyramid of Giza. Watch a ball throw on each planet in our solar system, plus Pluto and the moon, below. At just two-thirds the diameter of our moon, Pluto has such weak gravity that your baseball could clear the 455-foot-tall Great Pyramid of Giza — with room to spare. The video plays out in "real time," showing how long each ball throw would take, O'Donoghue said.

☆ 'I work just 4 hours a day': This 29-year-old's side hustle brings in $2 million a year—a look at her typical day
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Kat Norton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

I posted the first video on my account, Miss Excel, in June 2020. Today, at 29, I've built Miss Excel into a business that generates more than $2 million a year. My boyfriend, Mike, quit his corporate sales job and became my chief financial officer and vice president of sales in April 2022. My business has helped me live my dream lifeMike and I have the best time working on Miss Excel and traveling the world together. Miss Excel has changed my mom's lifestyle, too.

☆ Inside Sergey Brin's Busy Social Schedule: Parties, Festivals, Burning Man
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Rob Price | Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In late August this year, Sergey Brin headed to Burning Man. The 49-year-old tech titan traveled to the festival in style, island-hopping across the Pacific Ocean in a modified seaplane. Brin has been spotted more than once at house parties at NeoGenesis, a coliving space for entrepreneurs in the Bay Area. As for the bigger psychedelic party, when Burning Man reopened in August after its pandemic hiatus, Brin stayed at First Camp, a VIP community frequented by festival organizers and their friends. Rob Price is a correspondent at Insider, writing features and investigations about the technology industry.

U.S. scientists have achieved “ignition” — a fusion reaction that produced more energy than it took to create — a critical milestone for nuclear fusion and a step forward in the pursuit of a nearly limitless source of clean energy, Energy Department officials said Tuesday. The process imploded a tiny capsule inside the hohlraum that is filled with deuterium and tritium, creating a fusion reaction. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory"We have taken the first tentative steps toward a clean energy source," said Jill Hruby, the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration. The Inflation Reduction Act provided millions in new funding for fusion projects and the White House this year convened the first fusion summit and developed a 10-year plan to commercialize fusion technology. A technician reviews an optic inside the preamplifier support structure at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif., in 2012.

☆ Nuclear fusion breakthrough: Scientists generate more power than used to create reaction
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Fusion is the way that the sun makes power, but recreating a useful fusion reaction here on earth has eluded scientists for decades. The National Ignition Facility target chamber at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is where scientists shoot lasers and watch and measure what happens when those lasers collide on a fuel source. Reaching ignition means the fusion experiment produced more energy from fusion than the laser energy that used to drive the reaction. "For the first time on Earth, scientists have confirmed a fusion energy experiment released more power than it takes to initiate, proving the physical basis for fusion energy. But it's proven extremely challenging to sustain a fusion reaction here on earth, and scientists have been trying for decades.

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