The Guardian

In 1993, she squeezed a $333m settlement from a Californian energy company in a scandal over contaminated water. Three decades later, she has a new target in her sights – and it’s global When Erin Brockovich woke to find 30 emails from people from the same town, she realised something was going on. People email Brockovich all the time because of what happened in 1993, when she was instrumental in…

Camera, wifi and design updates bring welcome upgrades to Ring’s top model in wired or battery flavour Ring’s recent revamp of its popular video doorbells with a more modern design is led by the top-of-the-line Video Doorbell Pro 3, which gains much-needed upgrades with a 4K camera and better wifi plus new interesting AI features. The new doorbells are sleeker but keep the unmistakable two-tone R…

Value of some chip manufacturers have tripled, or more, driving Asia Pacific stock markets sharply higher Shares in chipmakers have surged in the first half of this year as investors piled into companies that make the hardware underpinning the AI boom, according to analysis. Investors have driven up the value of semiconductor and memory chip manufacturers, whose profits have soared during 2026, a…

Amazon’s annual shopping event ends today. We vetted sales on Our Place’s bestselling pan, Hatch’s sunrise alarm clock, a Ninja Creami ice cream maker and more – our no-junk picks The best anti-Prime Day deals for Amazon skeptics Prime Day is the wild west of online shopping. For every genuinely great deal, there are about seven duds dressed up in “best of” graphics. To prevent you from wasting y…

As temperatures soar across the UK, chill your space – and avoid energy-guzzling aircon – with our pick of the best fans, from tower to desk to bladeless • The best portable neck and handheld fans • Dyson HushJet Mini Cool fan review Our world is getting hotter . Summer heatwaves are so frequent, they’re stretching the bounds of what we think of as summer. Hot-and-bothered home working and sweaty…

Up to 4,000 community banks fear looming legislation to regulate digital cash will deprive rural firms and farmers of $850bn-worth of loans On a quiet summer morning, above a small mid-western town, an American flag is waving in the breeze. The camera cuts to a father helping his son at the wheel of a tractor, and flits to a smiling couple on a grass-lined pavement, moments before flashing to gra…

A niche type of fraud is lucrative enough for criminals to set up fake websites with dodgy software to harvest your data After holding them for a few years, you have decided it is time to cash in your cryptocurrency holdings. The problem is, it is so long since you set up the digital wallet which manages them on your laptop, you have forgotten the lengthy access code. Stressed at the thought of l…

Fire and Rescue NSW uses thermal imaging and a mobile phone red light to quickly locate men who veered off walking track near Jindabyne Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Two hikers who veered off a walking track in Kosciuszko national park have been found within five hours using a drone powered by artificial intelligence, a first-of-its-kind mission, Fire and Rescue NSW…

RJ Scaringe says firms focused on selling fossil fuel engines risk being ‘woefully behind’ on technology by end of decade Carmakers that focus on selling fossil fuel engines are at risk of being “woefully behind” on technology by the end of the decade, according to the boss of Rivian, an Amazon-backed US electric carmaker. RJ Scaringe, Rivian’s founder and chief executive, said the car industry h…

Two men in their 20s were found within five hours thanks to an artificial intelligence-powered drone, which used thermal imaging to locate them. Two hikers veered off a walking track in Kosciuszko national park, New South Wales, on Tuesday, and were found about half a kilometre off the track. It was the first time the FRNSW drone’s AI detection system had been used to rescue missing people Hikers…

Exclusive: Researchers call for urgent investigation of risks to babies of tablets, smartphones and other digital devices Screen time for babies and toddlers under the age of two has been linked with long-term negative effects on health and quality of life and should be avoided, according to a landmark study . It warns that using screens during that period may lead to wide-ranging developmental c…

As a host of countries move to rein in social media use by children, could this be technology’s big tobacco moment? Continue reading...

Sam Altman announces limited preview of GPT 5.6 in move that echoes launch of Anthropic’s Mythos Business live – latest updates OpenAI is staggering the release of its latest AI model after a request from the US government, in a move echoing the launch of Anthropic’s Mythos product. Sam Altman, the chief executive of the company behind ChatGPT, told staff this week that GPT 5.6 would be released …

Normal Golf Game takes a tiresomely easy genre and makes it infernally difficult. Which deserves a round of applause I have always struggled playing golf. I wish I didn’t. It’s a beautiful game in concept. A leisurely walk in the sunshine, slapping a ball around, sandwiches and beer consumed during and after play. Sure, you have to dress like Huggy Bear from Starsky and Hutch, and getting members…

Julie Elie worked out how zebra finches announce who they are, what they are doing and use individual signatures A scientist who decoded the dictionary that a bird uses to communicate has won a $100,000 prize for making progress towards a world in which humans can talk to the animals – without being met with a blank response. Dr Julie Elie at the University of California, Berkeley, was awarded th…