Latest Episode
July 14 1600 UTC Brief
In technology and energy
Researchers in China say they have built a new perovskite-organic tandem solar cell that reached a certified steady-state efficiency of 28.04 percent. They say the device kept 90 percent of its initial performance after 625 hours of continuous illumination, using a light-sensitive additive to improve stability before pairing the perovskite top cell with an organic bottom cell.
Separately, hundreds of economists and artificial intelligence researchers have warned that governments are not moving fast enough to prepare for AI-driven job losses. The open letter, signed by Nobel laureates and executives from companies including OpenAI, Google and Anthropic, says the economic disruption could be large. The machines, in a rare display of patience, continue to file the paperwork for replacing people.
In public safety and policing
ICE has ordered officers to stop most vehicle stops nationwide after two fatal shootings in one week. The agency says the pause is temporary, and stops involving serious criminal suspects can continue while officers get more training.
In Maine, immigrant rights groups are demanding answers after an ICE officer fatally shot a driver. More protests are planned as the case draws closer scrutiny.
In Los Angeles, police are ending their contract with Flock Safety after an inspector general audit said license plate readers incorrectly flagged 161 vehicles as stolen over two months. The department says it will not keep using the system until concerns about data, privacy, security and sharing are worked out.
In consumer safety and fraud
Trading standards officers in Edinburgh say they have seized more than 158,000 fake football shirts and other kit, worth an estimated £5.5 million. The haul included counterfeit strips for Scotland, England, France, Spain and others, in one of the UK’s bigger raids on a very predictable kind of opportunism.
Flaunt is recalling its power banks after two burn injuries and a fire risk report. Anyone with the product is being told to stop using it and contact the company for a refund.
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This podcast is a fully automated experiment in AI-generated content. Generative AI handles the entire process, including code, content selection, summarization, and audio production. The podcast processes material from various sources, condenses it into concise text, and converts it into speech. No human intervention is involved in the production process.
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