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The loss of the federal EV tax credits may have been a huge blow to prospective buyers, but California wants to fill that gap for its residents. Governor Gavin Newsom's proposed budget for 2026-2027, which was released on Friday, includes a "light-duty zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) incentive program" that details a one-time infusion of $200 million.
According to the budget summary, this incentive program is "a critical part of the Administration's strategy to keep ZEVs affordable and accessible for all." The proposed budget still has to make it through the state's legislature later this year, but if passed, the new incentive would help continue the momentum of EV adoption across California. In the third quarter of 2025, the state saw almost 30 percent of auto sales being EVs, according to the California Energy Commission.
There are no details in the budget summary outlining how exactly the $200 million would break down on a per-vehicle basis, but USA Today reported that the rebate would be an "on the hood" instant discount for EVs. Previously, buyers would get up to $7,500 back in federal tax rebates on new EV
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Check out some of the most impressive home-centric robots featured at CES 2026 so far.
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 X may soon provide more insight into how its algorithm works. On Saturday, Elon Musk posted on the platform to say that the company "will make the new X algorithm, including all code used to determine what organic and advertising posts are recommended to users, open source in 7 days."
X's recommendation algorithm has been the subject of investigations by France and the European Commission, the latter of which recently extended through 2026 a retention order that it sent to the company at the beginning of last year. And scrutiny into the platform, along with demands for accountability, have only increased after its chatbot, Grok, was caught generating CSAM at users' requests and continues to be used to digitally undress women nonconsensually.
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If you received a bunch of password reset requests from Instagram recently, you're not alone. As reported by Malwarebytes, an antivirus software company, there was a data breach revealing the "sensitive information" of 17.5 million Instagram users. Malwarebytes added that the leak included Instagram usernames, physical addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and more.
The company added that the "data is available for sale on the dark web and can be abused by cybercriminals." Malwarebytes noted in an email to its customers that it discovered the breach during its routine dark web scan and that it's tied to a potential incident related to an Instagram API exposure from 2024.
The reported breach has resulted in users receiving several emails from Instagram about password reset requests. According to Malwarebytes, the leaked information could lead to more serious attacks, like phishing attempts or account takeovers. Meta hasn't released an official statement about the latest incident, but it's not the first time Instagram's parent company has been in hot water for data breaches. If you haven't already, it's always a good idea to turn on two-factor authentication and change your password. Even better
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The Federal Communications Commission has approved SpaceX's request to deploy an additional 7,500 Gen2 Starlink satellites, allowing the company to launch 15,000 in all. It has also allowed SpaceX to upgrade its Gen2 satellites with "advanced form factors and cutting-edge technology," to operate across more frequencies and to add more orbital shells to optimize coverage and performance. This approval will give the company's fleet a boost and will allow it to offer internet and mobile services to more parts of the globe. The satellites will also enable SpaceX to offer "direct-to-cell connectivity outside the United States and supplemental coverage" within the US.
In the United States, SpaceX has a partnership with T-Mobile, which gives its subscribers access to satellite-to-phone services. It enables subscribers to send texts and access compatible apps even in remote locations. The companies are also planning to roll out voice calls over satellite in the future.
As Ars Technica notes, the FCC's announcement comes after SpaceX revealed that it was moving 4,400 satellites from an altitude of 341 miles down to 298 miles to reduce the risk of collision.
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Every third booth at CES showed off some new AI product or other. If you wanted to find a robotic lawn mower, throw a rock. Humanoid robots, smart locks and super thin TVs were everywhere. But if you went looking for sustainability products, you're going to have to hunt a bit.
Last year, the Sustainability section at the Las Vegas Convention Center had 20 booths. This year, there were 38, but that's in part due to the combination of the energy and sustainability categories. So exhibitors like South Korea's largest electric utility company, a nuclear power company from the same country and lots of battery manufacturers. There was also an AI data platform booth in the section that had nothing to do with sustainability as far as I can tell. Guess the organizers just ran out of room for all the AI.
Within the sustainability section, and at other CES venues, I found a few encouraging displays of sustainable products — organizations and devices that were trying to address the
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 Apple CEO Tim Cook earned $74.3 million in 2025, down slightly from $74.6 million in 2024, Apple said in its annual proxy filing released today.
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But as some reviewers have noted, the boosts from DLSS aren't always as impressive in real life as they are in marketing materials. And it's often less powerful systems—like gaming laptops—that see the most modest benefits. So, I decided to test it out myself.
Here are my Nvidia DLSS 4 results on a gaming laptop. Keep reading for the exact laptop I used and the various gains (or lack thereof) I saw in a handful of different high-profile games.
The laptop I used for these tests
When Nvidia boasted about the awe-inspiring eight-fold improvement in Cyberpunk 2077 performance, those tests were done under ideal conditions. According to the fine print, it was achieved on a PC with an RTX 5090 at 4K resolutions with all the graphical bells and whistles turned on, and in DLSS performance mode.
But that's far from your typical gaming PC. Most modern gaming PCs are budget laptops—like the Lenovo LO
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Take that, iPhone thieves — Apple is about to make it even more difficult to use its smartphones when you have no right to do so. In the upcoming iOS 17.3, it is testing out a new security system called "Stolen Device Protection."
Here's a look at what this is, and what it does.
Stolen Device Protection explained
Apple's beta notes explain: "Stolen Device Protection adds an additional layer of security in the unlikely case that someone has stolen your iPhone and also obtained your passcode."
The company explains the features this way:
Accessing your saved passwords requires Face/Touch ID to be sure it's you.
Changing sensitive settings like your Apple ID password is protected by a security delay.
No delay is required when iPhone is at familiar locations such as home and work.
The idea is that Stolen Device Protection introduces another obstacle that makes it difficult for thieves to gain access to your data, erase it, or delete the device to factory fresh status for resale.
To read this article in full, please click here
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