'DUNE: PART TWO' SUSTAINS THE DYSTOPIAN DREAM OF 'PART ONE'

Three firm thumps into the Arrakis sand is all you need to summon a sandworm in Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two.” It’s almost as easy as hailing a cab or calling for the check.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN WITHOUT A LEAP DAY? MORE THAN YOU MIGHT THINK

Leap year. It’s a delight for the calendar and math nerds among us. So how did it all begin and why?

BIDEN ACTS TO BETTER PROTECT AMERICANS' PERSONAL DATA SUCH AS HEALTH RECORDS AND FINANCES

President Joe Biden signed an executive order aimed at better protecting Americans’ personal data on everything from biometrics and health records to finances and geo-location from foreign adversaries like China and Russia.

LOWER AUTO PRICES ARE FINALLY GIVING AMERICANS A BREAK AFTER YEARS OF INFLATIONARY INCREASES

Price increases for cars and trucks in the United States, which helped fuel inflation for nearly three years, are slowing and in some cases falling, helping cool overall inflation and giving frustrated Americans more hope of finding an affordable vehicle.

EMERSON COLLECTIVE LAURENE POWELL JOBS' ORG, LOOKS TO LOCAL LEADERS TO BRIDGE DIVIDES

Francine Spang-Willis wishes the landscape of the Crazy Mountains near Livingston, Montana, could speak for itself. But absent that, the oral historian will launch a new project talking to people with a connection to the land.

GOOGLE SAYS ITS AI IMAGE-GENERATOR WOULD SOMETIMES 'OVERCOMPENSATE' FOR DIVERSITY

Google apologized for its faulty rollout of a new artificial intelligence image-generator, acknowledging that in some cases the tool would “overcompensate” in seeking a diverse range of people even when such a range didn’t make sense.

SONY TO CUT ABOUT 900 JOBS IN ITS PLAYSTATION UNIT AS LAYOFFS IN TECHNOLOGY, GAMING SECTOR CONTINUE

Sony will cut about 900 jobs in its PlayStation division, or about 8% of its global workforce, becoming the latest company in the technology and gaming sector to announce layoffs.

ZUCKERBERG MEETS LG, SAMSUNG CHIEFS IN SEOUL AS META RAMPS UP AI AMBITIONS

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg discussed cooperation on extended reality devices with LG Electronics executives on Wednesday as part of his visit to South Korea that highlights Meta’s ambitions in artificial intelligence.

CHATBOTS' INACCURATE, MISLEADING RESPONSES ABOUT US ELECTIONS THREATEN TO KEEP VOTERS FROM POLLS

With presidential primaries underway across the U.S., popular chatbots are generating false and misleading information that threatens to disenfranchise voters, according to a report published this week based on the findings of artificial intelligence experts and a bipartisan group of election officials.

PROPOSED NEW VIRGINIA 'TECH TAX' SPARKS BACKLASH FROM BUSINESS COMMUNITY

Trade associations representing hundreds of companies that do business in Virginia have come out swinging against a proposal to expand the state sales tax to cover digital goods, something Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin proposed and Democrats endorsed in their budget legislation.

Sports APPLE'S HIGH-SCORE GAME IN THE ENTERTAINMENT ARENA

Apple has entered the game with the launch of a custom Sports app. Available for free on iOS, Apple Sports is a new dynamic hub designed to cater to the needs of sports fans, offering real-time scores, comprehensive stats, and a plethora of long-awaited features.

PROJECT TITAN HALTED: APPLE ENDS ELECTRIC CAR DEVELOPMENT EFFORT

In a move that has surprised industry watchers and stakeholders alike, Apple Inc. has officially pulled the plug on its electric vehicle initiative, known as Project Titan, after more than a decade of speculation, investment, and development. This decision marks a significant retreat from what was once considered a groundbreaking venture into the automotive sector by the tech giant.

KIDS ARE USING PHONES IN CLASS, EVEN WHEN IT'S AGAINST THE RULES. SHOULD SCHOOLS BAN THEM ALL DAY?

In California, a high school teacher complains that students watch Netflix on their phones during class. In Maryland, a chemistry teacher says students use gambling apps to place bets during the school day.

AMERICAN AIRLINES IS RAISING BAG FEES AND CHANGING HOW CUSTOMERS EARN FREQUENT-FLYER POINTS

American Airlines is raising the cost of checking bags and it is making other changes to push customers to buy tickets directly from the airline if they want to earn frequent-flyer points.

AMERICANS' RELIANCE ON CREDIT CARDS IS THE KEY TO CAPITAL ONE'S BID FOR DISCOVER

Americans have become increasingly reliant on their credit cards since the pandemic. So much so that Capital One is willing to bet more than $30 billion that they won't break the habit.

FUBOTV FILES LAWSUIT OVER ESPN, FOX, HULU AND WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY SPORTS-STREAMING VENTURE

Streaming service FuboTV has filed an antitrust lawsuit against ESPN, Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery and Hulu, which are planning to launch a sports-streaming venture in the fall.

WALMART TO ACQUIRE SMART TV MAKER VIZIO FOR $2.3 BILLION IN BID TO BOOST ITS ADVERTISING BUSINESS

Walmart is buying the smart TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion as it attempts to expand its rapidly growing advertising business to compete with Amazon.

MICROSOFT IS MAKING 4 EXCLUSIVE XBOX VIDEO GAMES AVAILABLE TO RIVAL CONSOLES

Several exclusive Xbox games will be soon making their way to rival consoles, the video gaming brand and its parent company, Microsoft, announced.

SOME VIDEO GAME ACTORS ARE LETTING AI CLONE THEIR VOICES. THEY JUST DON'T WANT IT TO REPLACE THEM

If you are battling a video game goblin who speaks with a Cockney accent, or asking a gruff Scottish blacksmith to forge a virtual sword, you might be hearing the voice of actor Andy Magee.

BIDEN ADMIN PROVIDING $1.5 BILLION TO GLOBALFOUNDRIES TO MAKE COMPUTER CHIPS IN NEW YORK AND VERMONT

The Biden administration said Monday that the government intends to provide $1.5 billion to the computer chip company GlobalFoundries to expand its domestic production in New York and Vermont.

TECH COMPANIES SIGN ACCORD TO COMBAT AI-GENERATED ELECTION TRICKERY

Major technology companies signed a pact to voluntarily adopt “reasonable precautions” to prevent artificial intelligence tools from being used to disrupt democratic elections around the world.

'SOARING' OVER HILLS OR 'PLAYING' WITH PUPPIES, STUDY FINDS SÉNIORS ENJOY VIRTUAL REALITY

Retired Army Col. Farrell Patrick taught computer science at West Point during the 1970s and then at two private universities through the 1990s, so he isn’t surprised by the progress technology has made over the decades.

5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE BUYING A USED EV

There are good reasons to consider a used electric vehicle. Perhaps you want an EV as an additional household vehicle — for your teenager who just started to drive, perhaps — or as a replacement for a vehicle you already own.

ROBOTS AND HAPPY WORKERS: PRODUCTIVITY SURGE HELPS EXPLAIN US ECONOMY'S SURPRISING RESILIENCE

Trying to keep up with customer demand, Batesville Tool & Die began seeking 70 people to hire last year. It wasn't easy. Attracting factory workers to a community of 7,300 in the Indiana countryside was a tough sell, especially having to compete with big-name manufacturers nearby like Honda and Cummins Engine.

EX-YAHOO CEO MARISSA MAYER DISCUSSES THE CURRENT TECH SCENE FROM VANTAGE POINT OF HER AI STARTUP

Marissa Mayer has long been an inspiration for innovative women battling to break through the gender barriers in a male-dominated technology industry.

The Next Trillion

APPLE’S UNPRECEDENTED JOURNEY TO A MILESTONE VALUATION

STUDENTS AND PARENTS ARE FRUSTRATED BY DELAYS IN HEARING ABOUT FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID FOR COLLEGE

For many students, the excitement of being accepted into their first-choice college is being tempered this year by a troublesome uncertainty over whether they’ll get the financial aid they need to attend.

ONE TECH TIP: READY TO GO BEYOND GOOGLE? HERE'S HOW TO USE NEW GENERATIVE AI SEARCH SITES

It's not just you. A lot people think Google searches are getting worse. And the rise of generative AI chatbots is giving people new and different ways to look up information.

HYUNDAI'S SUPERNAL AND EMBRAER-BACKED EVE AIR MOBILITY SEE FUTURE IN ELECTRIC-POWERED AIR TAXIS

As the aviation sector seeks ways to make air travel less polluting and more sustainable, aerospace company Embraer and South Korean automaker Hyundai are among the companies betting on a new form of air travel -– air taxis.

BIDEN IS BOOSTING CYBERSECURITY AT US PORTS, WHERE ONLINE ATTACKS CAN BE MORE RAVAGING THAN STORMS

President Joe Biden signed an executive order and created a federal rule aimed at better securing the nation’s ports from potential cyberattacks.