California’s last operating nuclear plant just got a $1.1 billion lifeline

Aerial view of the Diablo Canyon, the only operational nuclear plant left in California. | Photo by George Rose / Getty Images The Department of Energy extended a $1.1 billion lifeline to California’s embattled Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. Diablo Canyon has become a major flashpoint over what kinds of energy are considered “clean” and…

Musk: Paid checkmarks won’t return until Twitter can stop impersonation

Enlarge (credit: NurPhoto / Contributor | NurPhoto) When Elon Musk first launched his Twitter Blue subscription service, the whole point was to make it possible to buy the blue checkmark as a coveted status symbol. Now, the billionaire is backtracking (for now, at least), announcing in a tweet that the relaunch of Blue Verified checkmarks…

Musk recruits engineers for “Twitter 2.0” after mass layoffs and resignations

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | NurPhoto ) Having gutted Twitter’s staff, Elon Musk told remaining employees he plans to hire new engineers and salespeople, The Verge reported Monday. “During an all-hands meeting with Twitter employees today, Musk said that the company is done with layoffs and actively recruiting for roles in engineering and sales and that…

Light, shadow, reflections, and terror: How a scary game does scary lighting

Directed by Sean Dacanay. Produced by Justin Wolfson. Edited by Jeremy Smolnik, with Billy Ward. Click here for transcript. (video link) A couple of weeks back, we joined up with Glen Schofield of Striking Distance Studios to have him walk us through some behind-the-scenes previews of his studio’s upcoming game, The Callisto Protocol. In our…

Spider monkey skeleton shows the risks of ancient Maya diplomacy

Enlarge (credit: Michael Schamis/Flickr/CC) Spider monkeys don’t live anywhere near the central Mexican highlands, including the area around what’s now Mexico City, once the home of Teotihuacan. So when University of California, Riverside, archaeologist Nawa Sugiyama and her colleagues found the 1,700-year-old skeleton of one buried alongside other offerings in a pyramid in the city’s…

How Cupra made an electric hot hatch alternative to the Volkswagen ID.3

Enlarge / The Cupra Born is a sporty alternative to the Volkswagen ID.3. (credit: Cupra) Recently, we reviewed Audi’s RS e-tron GT, a handsome four-door electric vehicle that, while closely related to the Porsche Taycan, still manages to feel quite distinctive to drive. As I detailed in that article, the practice of sharing common platforms…

Major tax-filing sites routinely shared users’ financial info with Facebook

Despite the abuse, the financial landscape provides few alternatives. Deposit Photos The annual tax season looms large for Americans just after the holidays, and millions will soon turn to the $11 billion third-party filing industry to help make sense of their most recent finances—but a damning new exposé has revealed that some of the most…