レアジョブ英会話 Daily News Article Podcast

One viral video shows what appears to be four sharks swimming in a Jamaican hotel's pool as floodwaters allegedly brought on by Hurricane Melissa swamp the area. Another purportedly depicts Jamaica's Kingston airport completely ravaged by the storm. But neither of these events happened; they’re just AI-generated misinformation circulating on social media as the storm churned across the Caribbean several weeks ago. These videos and others have racked up millions of views on social media platforms, including X, TikTok, and Instagram. Some of the clips appear to be spliced together or based on footage of old disasters. Others appear to be created entirely by AI video generators. "I am in so many WhatsApp groups, and I see all of these videos coming. Many of them are fake," said Jamaica's Education Minister Dana Morris Dixon. "And so we urge you to please listen to the official channels." Although it's common for hoax photos, videos, and misinformation to surface during natural disasters, they're usually debunked quickly. But videos generated by new artificial intelligence tools have taken the problem to a new level by making it easy to create and spread realistic clips. In this case, the content has been showing up in social media feeds alongside genuine footage shot by local residents and news organizations, sowing confusion among social media users. Experts noted that Hurricane Melissa is the first big natural disaster since OpenAI launched the latest version of its video generation tool Sora last September. "Now, with the rise of easily accessible and powerful tools like Sora, it has become even easier for bad actors to create and distribute highly convincing synthetic videos," said Sofia Rubinson, a senior editor at NewsGuard, which analyzes online misinformation. AI expert Henry Ajder said most of the hurricane deepfakes he's seen aren't inherently political. He suspects it's "much closer to more traditional kind of click-based content, which is to try and get engagement, to try and get clicks." This article was provided by The Associated Press.

The most widely used COVID-19 vaccines may offer a surprise benefit for some cancer patients—revving up their immune systems to help fight tumors. People with advanced lung or skin cancer who were taking certain immunotherapy drugs lived substantially longer if they also got a Pfizer or Moderna shot within 100 days of starting treatment, according to preliminary research reported in the journal Nature. And it had nothing to do with virus infections. Instead, the molecule that powers those specific vaccines, mRNA, appears to help the immune system respond better to the cutting-edge cancer treatment, concluded researchers from MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and the University of Florida. The vaccine “acts like a siren to activate immune cells throughout the body,” said lead researcher Dr. Adam Grippin of MD Anderson. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has raised skepticism about mRNA vaccines, cutting $500 million in funding for some uses of the technology. But this research team found its results so promising that it is preparing a more rigorous study to see if mRNA coronavirus vaccines should be paired with cancer drugs called checkpoint inhibitors—an interim step while it designs new mRNA vaccines for use in cancer. A healthy immune system often kills cancer cells before they become a threat. But some tumors evolve to hide from immune attack. Checkpoint inhibitors remove that cloak. It's a powerful treatment—when it works. Some people’s immune cells still don’t recognize the tumor. Messenger RNA, or mRNA, is naturally found in every cell, and it contains genetic instructions for our bodies to make proteins. While best known as the Nobel Prize-winning technology behind COVID-19 vaccines, scientists have long been trying to create personalized mRNA “treatment vaccines” that train immune cells to spot unique features of a patient's tumor. Dr. Grippin and his Florida colleagues had been developing personalized mRNA cancer vaccines when they realized that even one created without a specific target appeared to spur similar immune activity against cancer. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

A decade after a landmark study proved that feeding peanut products to young babies could prevent the development of life-threatening allergies, new research finds the change has made a big difference in the real world. About 60,000 children have avoided developing peanut allergies after guidance first issued in 2015 upended medical practice by recommending introducing the allergen to infants starting as early as 4 months. “That’s a remarkable thing, right?” said Dr. David Hill, an allergist and researcher at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and author of a study published in the medical journal Pediatrics. Hill and colleagues analyzed electronic health records from dozens of pediatric practices to track diagnoses of food allergies in young children before, during, and after the guidelines were issued. The researchers found that peanut allergies in children ages 0 to 3 declined by more than 27% after guidance for high-risk kids was first issued in 2015 and by more than 40% after the recommendations were expanded in 2017. The effort hasn't yet reduced the overall increase in food allergies in the U.S. in recent years. About 8% of children are affected, including more than 2% with a peanut allergy. Peanut allergy is caused when the body’s immune system mistakenly identifies proteins in peanuts as harmful and releases chemicals that trigger allergic symptoms, including hives, respiratory symptoms, and, sometimes, life-threatening anaphylaxis. For decades, doctors had recommended delaying feeding children peanuts and other foods likely to trigger allergies until age 3. But in 2015, Gideon Lack at King’s College London published the groundbreaking Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) trial. Lack and colleagues showed that introducing peanut products in infancy reduced the future risk of developing food allergies by more than 80%. Later analysis showed that the protection persisted in about 70% of kids into adolescence. Advocates for the 33 million people in the U.S. with food allergies welcomed signs that early introduction of peanut products is catching on. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

The Trump administration has agreed to resume student loan forgiveness for an estimated 2.5 million borrowers who are enrolled in certain federal repayment plans following a lawsuit from the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Under the agreement reached on October 17 between the teachers' union and the administration, the Education Department will process loan forgiveness for those eligible in certain repayment plans that offer lower monthly payments based on a borrower's earnings. The government had stopped providing forgiveness under those plans based on its interpretation of a different court decision. The agreement will also protect borrowers from being hit with high tax bills on debt due to be forgiven this year. “We took on the Trump administration when it refused to follow the law and denied borrowers the relief they were owed,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement. “Our agreement means that those borrowers stuck in limbo can either get immediate relief or finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.” The Education Department said the Trump administration is reviewing forgiveness programs to identify ones that were not affected by court rulings that blocked much of the Biden administration's efforts to cancel student debt. “The Administration looks forward to continuing its work to simplify the student loan repayment process through implementation of the President’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” the department said in a statement. According to the deal, the Trump administration must cancel student debt for eligible borrowers enrolled in the following plans: income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, income-contingent repayment plans, Pay As You Earn (PAYE), and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) plans. If borrowers have made payments beyond what was needed for forgiveness, those payments will be reimbursed. The Education Department must also continue to process IDR and PSLF “buyback” applications. Balances forgiven before December 31 will not be treated as taxable income, as they will be in 2026 due to a recent change in tax law. The administration must also file progress reports every six months with the court to show the pace of application processing and loan forgiveness, according to the AFT. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Millions of Indians celebrated Diwali in October as lamps illuminated homes and streets across the country to mark the Hindu festival symbolizing the victory of light over darkness. Diwali, derived from the word “Deepavali,” meaning “a row of lights,” is typically celebrated by socializing and exchanging gifts. The dates of the festival are based on the Hindu lunar calendar, typically falling in late October or early November. Shoppers crowded markets to buy flowers, lanterns, and candles. The celebrations were most visible in Ayodhya city in Uttar Pradesh state. Hindus believe the deity Lord Rama was born there and returned after 14 years in exile. People light earthen lamps to mark his homecoming. As dusk fell, more than 2.6 million lamps were lit on the banks of the Saryu River in Ayodhya, retaining the Guinness World Record set last year. At least 2,100 Hindu priests performed prayers in unison, their chants echoing across the shimmering riverfront. The holy city was also decked with fairy lights, and a laser and fireworks show illuminated its lanes and riverbanks. Thousands of residents lit lamps at houses and temples. Officials said more than 33,000 volunteers helped light the lamps. Nearly 40 families from nearby villages produced 1.6 million lamps. At least 73,000 liters of oil and 5.5 million cotton wicks were used to light the city. “It is hard work lighting diyas (oil lamps) one by one,” said 19-year-old volunteer Rachit Singh, his face glowing in the firelight. “But when you see the whole ghat (stairs to the river) light up, every bit of effort feels worth it.” In recent years, Diwali celebrations in New Delhi have been clouded by concerns over air pollution, as smoke-emitting firecrackers cause toxic smog that can take days to clear. On the day of the event, the level of the tiniest particulates surged to 347 on the air quality index in parts of the city—about 14 times the World Health Organization’s daily recommended maximum exposure—according to SAFAR, the federal government’s air quality monitoring agency. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

A large mushroom farm near the Kenyan capital of Nairobi is one of a kind. It grows fungi on an industrial scale—not as food for restaurants but as a building material that some Kenyans say could make more people homeowners. The farm produces mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms that a local company then uses to make building materials, which it says are more sustainable than regular brick and mortar. The company, MycoTile, combines the roots with natural fibers and agents to make panels that can be used for everything from roof and wall insulation to interior decor, at a fraction of the cost of building with standard clay bricks. It currently produces about 3,000 square meters of such materials every month. Street vendor Jedidah Murugi, whose house was made with fungi-based construction materials, said she believes "there is no huge difference in the quality of the houses made from brick and these boards." MycoTile's work could be a boon for Nairobi, where local leaders cite a housing crisis that has left many homeless or living in informal settlements and dwelling enclaves, prone to fires and sanitary issues. Official figures say there is a housing deficit of at least two million units in this metropolis of over five million people. Most Kenyans are renters, and those who are homeowners build from the ground up over many years instead of hiring contractors. It is common to find people living in badly finished or incomplete homes to avoid paying rent elsewhere. "Introducing affordable materials like ours taps into an existing huge market and contributes to providing affordable housing solutions," said Mtamu Kililo, MycoTile's founder. Kililo said his company's insulation products cost roughly two-thirds of the price of standard materials. Building a one-bedroom unit in Nairobi using materials such as brick, timber, and tin sheets typically costs up to 150,000 Kenyan shillings (about $1,000) for a simple structure, and the figure can double depending on the quality of finishes, according to estimates from builders. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Robotaxi pioneer Waymo plans to expand to London next year, marking the company’s latest step in rolling out its driverless ride service internationally. Waymo said that it will start testing its self-driving cars on London streets—with a human “safety driver” behind the wheel—as it seeks to win government approval for its services. In a blog post, Waymo said it will lay the groundwork for its London service in the coming months. The company said it will “continue to engage with local and national leaders to secure the necessary permissions for our commercial ride-hailing service.” Waymo’s self-driving taxis have been operating in the United States for years, and currently serve the cities of Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Austin. This year, the company made its first move to expand internationally by teaming up with local partners in Japan for testing, though no launch date has been set for commercial service there. The company began as a secret project within Google and was then spun out from the tech giant. Waymo will have to follow new U.K. regulations on self-driving cars that pave the way for autonomous vehicles to take to the country's roads. They require self-driving cars to have a safety level “at least as high as careful and competent human drivers” and meet rigorous safety checks. The company will be able to take part in a pilot program for “small-scale” self-driving taxi and bus services that the government plans for spring 2026. Waymo will also have to stick to rules from Transport for London, the city's transport authority, which oversees licensing for its famous traditional black cabs as well as other taxi operators like Uber. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

OpenAI introduced its own web browser, Atlas, on October 21, putting the ChatGPT maker in direct competition with Google as more internet users rely on artificial intelligence to answer their questions. Making its popular AI chatbot a gateway to online searches could allow OpenAI, the world's most valuable startup, to pull in more internet traffic and the revenue made from digital advertising. It could also further cut off the lifeblood of online publishers if ChatGPT so effectively feeds people summarized information that they stop exploring the internet and clicking on traditional web links. OpenAI has said ChatGPT already has more than 800 million users, but many of them get it for free. The San Francisco-based company also sells paid subscriptions but is losing more money than it makes and has been looking for ways to turn a profit. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called it a "rare, once-a-decade opportunity to rethink what a browser can be about and how to use one." But analyst Paddy Harrington of market research group Forrester said it will be a big challenge "competing with a giant who has ridiculous market share." OpenAI's browser is coming out just a few months after one of its executives testified that the company would be interested in buying Google's industry-leading Chrome browser if a federal judge had required it to be sold to prevent the abuses that resulted in Google's ubiquitous search engine being declared an illegal monopoly. But U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta last September issued a decision that rejected the Chrome sale sought by the U.S. Justice Department in the monopoly case, partly because he believed advances in the AI industry already are reshaping the competitive landscape. OpenAI's browser will face a daunting challenge against Chrome, which has amassed about three billion worldwide users and has been adding some AI features from Google's Gemini technology. Chrome's immense success could provide a blueprint for OpenAI as it enters the browser market. When Google released Chrome in 2008, Microsoft's Internet Explorer was so dominant that few observers believed a new browser could mount a formidable threat. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Hospitals and doctors' offices in the U.S. are inviting singers and musicians to help patients manage their pain. No one is suggesting that a catchy song can completely eliminate serious pain. But several recent studies, including those in the journals PAIN and Scientific Reports, have suggested that listening to music can either reduce the perception of pain or enhance a person’s ability to tolerate it. Nurse Rod Salaysay works with all kinds of instruments in the hospital: a thermometer, a stethoscope, and sometimes his guitar and ukulele. In the recovery unit of UC San Diego Health, Salaysay helps patients manage pain after surgery. Along with medications, he offers tunes on request and sometimes sings. His repertoire ranges from folk songs in English and Spanish to Minuet in G Major and movie favorites like “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Patients often smile or nod along. Salaysay even sees changes in their vital signs: lower heart rate and blood pressure, and sometimes reduced requests for fewer painkillers. He is passionate about using music “as a holistic tool to help them get better because we just don't heal their physical and medical needs, but also the emotional and the spiritual needs of patients.” Salaysay is a one-man band, but he’s not alone. Over the past two decades, live performances and recorded music have flowed into hospitals and doctors’ offices as research grows on how songs can help ease pain. The healing power of song may sound intuitive, given music’s deep roots in human culture. But the science of whether and how music dulls acute and chronic pain—technically called music-induced analgesia—is just catching up. Researchers at Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands conducted a study on 548 participants to see how listening to five genres of music—classical, rock, pop, urban, and electronic—extended their ability to withstand acute pain, as measured by exposure to very cold temperatures. They found that all music helped, but there was no single winning genre; what's important is that you enjoy it. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

The Australian government has begun a public education campaign with tips on how to wean children off social media ahead of a world-first national 16-year age limit taking effect in December. Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said that information on her agency's website, esafety.gov.au, explained the new laws and how to navigate them. Starting December 10, platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X, and YouTube could be fined up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) if they don’t take reasonable steps to prevent Australians younger than 16 from holding accounts. Messages raising awareness will also be shared across digital channels, television, radio, and billboards. “We want children to have childhoods. We want parents to have peace of mind, and we want young people—young Australians—to have three more years to learn who they are before platforms assume who they are,” Communications Minister Anika Wells told reporters, referring to the current de facto 13-year age limit for social media accounts based on U.S. privacy legislation. The Australian age restrictions have already proved polarizing, with some experts warning the changes will harm as well as protect children. More than 140 Australian and international academics signed an open letter to the government last year opposing a social media age limit as “too blunt an instrument to address risks effectively.” Despite that warning, the laws passed with resounding support last year. The platforms had a year to figure out how to comply without foolproof technology available to verify ages. Inman Grant said the social media age restriction would be a “very monumental event for a lot of young people.” Her agency offered checklists and conversation starters about ways to make the transition, such as following an online influencer through a website rather than a social media account, she said. Australia’s move is being watched closely by countries that share concerns about social media's impacts on young children. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

The J.M. Smucker Co. is suing Trader Joe's, alleging the grocery chain's new frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are too similar to Smucker's Uncrustables in their design and packaging. In the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Ohio, Smucker’s said the round, crustless sandwiches Trader Joe's sells have the same pie-like crimp markings on their edges that Uncrustables do. Smucker’s said the design violates its trademarks. Smucker’s also asserted that the boxes Trader Joe's PB&J sandwiches come in violate the Orrville, Ohio-based company's trademarks because they are the same blue color it uses for the lettering on "Uncrustables" packages. Trader Joe's boxes also show a sandwich with a bite mark taken out of it, which is similar to the Uncrustables design, Smucker’s said. "Smucker’s does not take issue with others in the marketplace selling prepackaged, frozen, thaw-and-eat crustless sandwiches. But it cannot allow others to use Smucker's valuable intellectual property to make such sales," the company said in its lawsuit. Smucker’s is seeking restitution from Trader Joe's. It also wants a judge to require Trader Joe's to deliver all products and packaging to Smucker’s to be destroyed. Michael Kelber, chair of the intellectual property group at Neal Gerber Eisenberg, a Chicago law firm, said Smucker's registered trademarks will help bolster its argument. But Trader Joe's might argue that the crimping on its sandwiches is simply functional and not something that can be trademarked, Kelber said. Trader Joe's sandwiches also appear to be slightly more square than Uncrustables, so the company could argue that the shape isn't the same, Kelber said. Uncrustables were invented by two friends who began producing them in 1996 in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Smucker’s bought their company in 1998 and secured patents for a "sealed, crustless sandwich" in 1999. But it wasn't easy to mass-produce them. In the lawsuit, Smucker’s said it has spent more than $1 billion developing the Uncrustables brand over the last 20 years. Smucker’s spent years trying to perfect Uncrustables' stretchy bread and developing new filling flavors like chocolate and hazelnut. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Conditions aren’t friendly in the Faroe Islands for growing food. Raked by North Atlantic winds and nibbled by thousands of sheep, the nearly treeless islands have poor soil and little room for planting. Potatoes and rhubarb are local staples. But some residents have had enough of importing almost all their food from the rest of Europe and beyond. Many products are stamped with the flag of Denmark, under which the islands are self-governing. There are efforts to grow more adventurous crops like kale, seen as hardy elsewhere in the world, and to promote local products—from seaweed to meat and fish “fermented” by the salty air. That work can be seen in the Faroese capital of Torshavn, where the tiny farmers’ market is held one Sunday a month for much of the year. In September, a few stalls offered meats, bags of kale and cabbage, and seasoned salt next to the overcast harbor. The vegetables were priced at around 40 Faroese krona (over $6) per bag, a reminder of the high prices for food in the remote islands whose closest neighbors are Iceland, Scotland, and Norway. Cups of soup made from fermented local radishes—and imported beans—sold for 75 krona (over $11), with a piece of bread. The farmers’ market is part of Matkovin, a project set up by a local couple to promote food producers. It notes the growing international interest in Faroese food, including a Michelin-starred restaurant and a network of home-cooked meals for tourists called “heimablidni.” “There is a divide, though, between this romantic vision of the Faroese food culture and the everyday state of things, where the majority of our food is imported from faraway countries,” the project says. It adds, “Few Faroese foods are available in the shops, and we are never told where the producer of these foods is located. The Faroese food producer is invisible.” Some Faroese said the COVID-19 pandemic and its shocks to the supply chain raised serious questions about food security, along with a large labor strike in May 2024 in the islands that led to rationing. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Injuries are an inevitable part of the NFL with all the high-speed collisions, crushing hits, and high exertion necessary on every play. Success each season often comes down to which teams can be the healthiest at the end, and a string of injuries has already hampered preseason contenders like Baltimore, San Francisco, and Cincinnati. With teams investing hundreds of millions of dollars every season into their rosters, keeping those players available to play is crucial, and any small edge has the potential to lead to better results on the field. To help achieve that, the NFL has turned to technology in recent years, partnering with Amazon Web Services (AWS) on an injury prediction tool that uses data and artificial intelligence to help teams manage the health of their players. "Fans want their favorite players on the field. The team owners certainly want those players on the field. The athletes themselves want to be on the field," said Julie Souza, the global head of sports at AWS. "Anything we can do to improve that and keep players healthy, that's sort of a noble endeavor." The Digital Athlete tool takes video and data from players on all 32 teams from training, practice, and games, giving every team information on how hard its players have worked, whether they are at risk for more injuries, as well as helping them track leaguewide trends and benchmarks. Digital Athlete uses sensors in the shoulder pads, cameras, and optical tracking to gather information from practice and games for every player on all 32 teams, similar to what NextGen stats does to determine who's the fastest ball carrier or how much separation a receiver generates on his pass routes. Teams have used it to help determine practice schedules for training camp, how hard they work the players in a given week of a season, and what players or position groups have been pushed so hard that dialing back their work might prevent nagging soft-tissue injuries. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Nestlé is cutting 16,000 jobs globally as the Swiss food giant cuts costs as part of its efforts to revive its financial performance. Nestlé, which makes Nescafé, KitKats, pet foods, and many other well-known consumer brands, said that the job cuts will take place over the next two years. The Swiss company also said that it is raising targeted cost cuts to 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.76 billion) by the end of next year, up from a planned 2.5 billion Swiss francs ($3.13 billion). It has been a turbulent year for the company based in Vevey, Switzerland. In September, Nestlé dismissed CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a subordinate. Freixe had only been on the job for a year. He was replaced by Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive. Nestlé is also fighting a host of external headwinds like other food makers, including rising commodity costs and U.S.-imposed tariffs. The company announced price hikes over the summer to offset higher coffee and cocoa costs. President Donald Trump has implemented a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods like coffee and orange juice. The Trump administration imposed a 40% tariff on Brazilian products in July, which was on top of a 10% tariff imposed earlier. Coffee habits in the U.S. are almost exclusively fueled by imports. Official U.S. government data shows Brazil, the world’s top coffee producer, supplies about 30% of the American market, followed by Colombia at roughly 20% and Vietnam at about 10%. Tariff negotiations are ongoing. The price of cocoa soared to record highs last year after inclement weather in areas where it is grown constrained supply and hit companies like Nestlé hard. While cocoa costs began to fall in 2025 as supply increased, cocoa is vastly more expensive than it was just two years ago. Nestlé said that it will eliminate 12,000 white-collar positions in multiple locations. The job cuts are expected to achieve annual savings of 1 billion Swiss francs ($1.25 billion) by the end of next year. The company will cut 4,000 jobs as part of ongoing productivity initiatives in its manufacturing and supply chain. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Dozens of reporters turned in access badges and exited the Pentagon rather than agree to government-imposed restrictions on their work, pushing journalists who cover the American military further from the seat of its power. The nation's leadership called the new rules “common sense” to help regulate a “very disruptive” press. News outlets were nearly unanimous in rejecting new rules imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that would leave journalists vulnerable to expulsion if they sought to report on information—classified or otherwise—that had not been approved by Hegseth for release. Many of the reporters waited to leave together at a 4 p.m. deadline set by the Defense Department to get out of the building. As the hour approached, boxes of documents lined a Pentagon corridor, and reporters carried chairs, a copying machine, books, and old photos to the parking lot from suddenly abandoned workspaces. Shortly after 4, about 40 to 50 journalists left together after handing in their badges. “It’s sad, but I’m also really proud of the press corps that we stuck together,” said Nancy Youssef, a reporter for The Atlantic who has had a desk at the Pentagon since 2007. She took a map of the Middle East out to her car. It is unclear what practical impact the new rules will have, though news organizations vowed they’d continue robust coverage of the military no matter the vantage point. Images of reporters effectively demonstrating against barriers to their work are unlikely to move supporters of President Donald Trump, many of whom resent journalists and cheer his efforts to make their jobs harder. Trump has been involved in court fights against The New York Times, CBS News, ABC News, The Wall Street Journal, and The Associated Press in the past year. Several reporters posted on social media when they turned in their press badges. “It’s such a tiny thing, but I was really proud to see my picture up on the wall of Pentagon correspondents,” wrote Heather Mongilio, a reporter for USNI News, which covers the Navy. “Today, I’ll hand in my badge. The reporting will continue.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Restoring France's priceless artifacts is delicate and painstaking work, but now experts at the Louvre in Paris are using the same lasers used by top dermatologists to rejuvenate skin. Conservators at the world-famous museum say the lasers are now an essential tool, and they're giving us a rare look inside their laboratories. The restoration is carried out by experts at the Centre for Research and Restoration of the Museums of France (C2RMF). Cleaning sculptures takes months, but it would have taken much longer if the technicians did not have access to the latest laser technology. They are the same advanced lasers that are used on human skin in cosmetic procedures, and they've been funded by the French cosmetics giant L’Oréal. Delphine Kerob, dermatologist and Scientific Director of La Roche-Posay at L’Oréal, says lasers such as the Infinito and Erbium lasers being used by the technician here are the same ones used for delicate skincare. Curator Laetitia Barragué-Zouita says there is a fine balance between deep cleaning and conserving as much as possible of the artifacts. She says, “For us, it is extremely important because in the sculpture field, many pieces we have to restore were displayed outdoors and have black crust or thick grime on the surface. And sometimes, the limestone is more fragile than the black crusts. And we have to find a way to clean them up without damaging the original material. And a laser, which has only thermal and mechanical action, helps us not to damage the original surface. So it's a lifesaver, in fact, for us.” Barragué-Zouita says the technology has helped them get through painstaking and delicate work far quicker than they would with other methods. She says the technology “helps us to operate on a wider range of materials. But also to work faster because, particularly with the Infinito laser, it is more powerful. It is very helpful when we have thick black crust or grime, and it helps the workshop to be more efficient for the museums.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.

California will phase out certain ultraprocessed foods from school meals over the next decade under a first-in-the-nation law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The law seeks to define ultraprocessed foods, the often super-tasty products typically full of sugar, salt and unhealthy fats. The legislation requires the state’s Department of Public Health to adopt rules by mid-2028 defining “ultraprocessed foods of concern” and “restricted school foods.” Schools have to start phasing out those foods by July 2029, and districts will be barred from selling them for breakfast or lunch by July 2035. Vendors will be banned from providing the “foods of concern” to schools by 2032. Newsom signed the measure at a local middle school in Los Angeles. Newsom issued an executive order earlier this year requiring the Department of Public Health to provide recommendations by April on limiting harms from ultraprocessed foods. The Democratic governor signed a law in 2023 banning certain synthetic food dyes from school meals. Legislatures across the country have introduced more than 100 bills in recent months seeking to ban or require labeling of chemicals that make up many ultraprocessed foods, including artificial dyes and controversial additives. Americans get more than half their calories from ultraprocessed foods, which have been linked to a host of health problems, including obesity, diabetes and heart disease. However, studies haven’t been able to prove that the foods directly cause those chronic health problems. Some school districts in California are already phasing out foods the law seeks to ban. Michael Jochner spent years working as a chef before taking over as director of student nutrition at the Morgan Hill Unified School District about eight years ago. He fully supports the ban. Now they don’t serve any ultraprocessed foods, and all their items are organic and sourced within about 50 miles (80 kilometers) of the district, Jochner said. They removed sugary cereals, fruit juices and flavored milks, and deep-fried foods such as chicken nuggets and tater tots from their menus, he said. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

North America’s last wooden hockey stick factory is facing uncertainty as shifting US tariffs and global competition squeeze production. The operation has roots going back more than a century and continues to make traditional sticks, even as the industry has largely moved overseas and embraced new composite materials. The factory in Ontario is the only remaining large-scale producer of these sticks in North America, an industry that once thrived in Canada and the United States. Today, it turns out about 400,000 sticks a year, but rising costs, shrinking demand, and trade disputes are putting pressure on production. US tariffs on Canadian exports have led to delays and unexpected duties at the border, adding to wider uncertainty. Managers say the challenge is keeping prices fair for players while covering the costs of trade barriers. General manager Bo Crawford says, "Like we see here in the news every day from our prime minister and our premiers that you never know, we just have to roll with it and the president of the US can change his mind day to day, week to week, hour to hour, so yeah, we have to deal with it the best we can and continue doing business and try to take care of our customers the best we can without raising the cost too much. Because the more they sell, the more we sell. So we got to work together and just get through it all as a team, basically." The United States has repeatedly signaled tariffs on Canadian exports as part of President Donald Trump’s protectionist trade agenda. The stated goal is to encourage more manufacturing in the United States, but for Canadian businesses, it has introduced added costs and uncertainty in cross-border trade. The company estimates around a quarter of its sticks are sold in the United States, including custom orders for professional teams. Tariffs act as a tax on imported goods, and when shipments are flagged at the border, the added cost is passed directly into the final price. For US buyers, that can mean a sudden increase of as much as 30 percent on an order. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Britain’s antitrust watchdog labeled Google a “strategic” player in the online search advertising market, paving the way for regulators to force the company to change its business practices to ensure more competition in that market. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said its investigation found that the U.S. tech giant has “strategic market status” because it has “substantial and entrenched market power” in general search and search advertising. It marks the first time the watchdog has issued the designation since the new U.K. digital rules took effect at the start of the year. The label doesn't imply any wrongdoing. But the regulator said it means it has the power to consider using “proportionate, targeted" measures to make sure “general search services are open to effective competition” and that consumers and businesses are treated fairly. Online search ads appear alongside results from Google's search engine, usually tagged as “Ad” or “Sponsored"—versus online display ads, which appear on a company's website. The CMA says Google accounts for more than 90% of the U.K.'s online searches, and more than 200,000 of the country's businesses rely on Google search ads to reach customers. Google said it expects to face new rules and regulations on how its search service works. The CMA didn’t announce any immediate fixes, saying it plans to begin discussions later this year. The watchdog has previously outlined possible remedies, including giving users “choice screens” for rival search services when they use products like the Chrome browser and Android mobile operating system. Another proposal is forcing Google to make search results ranking and presentation fair and non-discriminatory, and give businesses an effective way to complain if they’ve been treated unfairly. “Many of the ideas for interventions that have been raised in this process would inhibit UK innovation and growth, potentially slowing product launches at a time of profound AI-based innovation,” Google's senior director for competition, Oliver Bethell, said in a blog post. “Others pose direct harm to businesses, with some warning that they may be forced to raise prices for customers.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Federal regulators have opened yet another investigation into Tesla's self-driving feature after dozens of incidents in which the cars ran red lights or drove on the wrong side of the road, sometimes crashing into other vehicles and causing injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a filing that it is looking into 58 incidents in which Teslas reportedly violated traffic safety laws while using the company's so-called Full Self-Driving (FSD) mode, leading to more than a dozen crashes and fires and nearly two dozen injuries. The new probe adds to several other open investigations into Tesla technology that could upend Elon Musk's plans to turn millions of his cars already on the road into completely driverless vehicles with an over-the-air update to their software. "The ultimate question is, 'Does the software work?'" asked Seth Goldstein, a Morningstar analyst with a "sell" rating on the stock. Added money manager Ross Gerber, "The world has become a giant testing ground for Elon's concept of full self-driving, and it's not working." The probe comes as Musk, whose fortune as the world's richest man derives partly from Tesla's levitating stock, has promised to roll out hundreds of thousands of driverless taxis in cities around the U.S. by the end of next year. The new investigation covers 2.9 million vehicles, essentially all Teslas equipped with full self-driving technology, or FSD, a misnomer criticized for lulling drivers into handing full control over to their cars. Tesla has argued to regulators and in court cases that it has repeatedly told drivers the system cannot drive the cars by itself and whoever is behind the wheel must be ready to intervene at all times. In the new probe, regulators reported that many of the Tesla drivers involved in accidents said the cars gave them no warning about the unexpected behavior. This article was provided by The Associated Press.