Science & Technology
Scam centers in southeast Asia are on the rise despite crackdowns to root out the illegal industry
5 minute read Friday, Nov. 7, 2025BANGKOK (AP) — It often starts with a text message asking if you are available on weekends, looking for a part-time job or you get a simple “hello” from an unknown number. Halfway across the world, a laborer is usually pulling in 12-16 hour days, sending non-stop messages, hoping someone will take the bait.
The ultimate goal is always to take your money — victims have lost tens of billions to scams and hundreds of thousands of people are in forced labor to keep the schemes going. These workers are often housed in massive complexes scattered across southeast Asia, where the industry has flourished.
Here is why rooting out the scamming industry is such a complex issue:
The crackdown in Myanmar
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CBO confirms hack, says it has implemented new security measures
2 minute read Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025WASHINGTON (AP) — The Congressional Budget Office on Thursday confirmed it had been hacked, potentially disclosing important government data to malicious actors.
The small government office, with some 275 employees, provides objective, impartial analysis to support lawmakers during the budget process. It is required to produce a cost estimate for nearly every bill approved by a House or Senate committee and will weigh in earlier when asked to do so by lawmakers.
Caitlin Emma, a spokeswoman for the CBO said in a written statement that the agency “has identified the security incident, has taken immediate action to contain it, and has implemented additional monitoring and new security controls to further protect the agency’s systems going forward.”
The Washington Post first wrote the story on the CBO hack, stating that the intrusion was done by a suspected foreign actor, citing four anonymous people familiar with the situation.
Man accused of economic espionage tells court he was unhappy at Hydro-Québec
4 minute read Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025MONTREAL - A former researcher with Quebec's hydro utility who is facing economic espionage charges said Thursday he was applying for work at universities in China as a contingency plan because he was unhappy at Hydro-Québec.
Yuesheng Wang, 38, maintained under cross-examination that there was nothing nefarious about his interest in moving back to China. He explained that it was tied to Hydro-Québec's unwillingness to extend his work visa for more than year at a time and his experience at the institute around 2017 and 2018.
“At that time, my thinking was if I’m not happy at Hydro-Québec, going back to China to be a full professor was one of my options," Wang testified.
The Crown argued that Wang, while he was working at Hydro-Québec, applied to work at Chinese universities under the framework of the Thousand Talents program, a recruitment tool used by the Chinese government to attract foreign-trained scientists to return to work in China.
Winnipeg elementary school shoots for moon with stuffie design
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025Green chemist and musician on fighting climate change
6 minute read Preview Saturday, Jul. 19, 2025AtkinsRéalis sells stake in 407 highway, rounding off turn to pure-play engineering
2 minute read Preview Thursday, Mar. 13, 2025Ducks were once a conservation bright spot. Now they’re declining in the US, new report shows
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Mar. 13, 2025One Tech Tip: Wasting too much time on social media apps? Tips and tricks to curb smartphone use
7 minute read Preview Thursday, Mar. 13, 2025Don’t click on those road toll texts. FBI issues fresh warning about the smishing scam
2 minute read Preview Thursday, Mar. 13, 2025Living longer can mean more dementia but there are ways to reduce the risk
4 minute read Monday, Jan. 13, 2025WASHINGTON (AP) — About a million Americans a year are expected to develop dementia by 2060, roughly double today’s toll, researchers reported Monday.
That estimate is based on a new study that found a higher lifetime risk than previously thought: After age 55, people have up to a 4 in 10 chance of eventually developing dementia -- if they live long enough.
It’s a sobering number but there are steps people can take to reduce that risk, such as controlling high blood pressure and other bad-for-the-brain health problems. And it’s not too late to try even in middle age.
“All of our research suggests what you do in midlife really matters,” said Dr. Josef Coresh of NYU Langone Health, who coauthored the study in the journal Nature Medicine.
Living longer can mean more dementia but there are ways to reduce the risk
4 minute read Monday, Jan. 13, 2025WASHINGTON (AP) — About a million Americans a year are expected to develop dementia by 2060, roughly double today’s toll, researchers reported Monday.
That estimate is based on a new study that found a higher lifetime risk than previously thought: After age 55, people have up to a 4 in 10 chance of eventually developing dementia -- if they live long enough.
It’s a sobering number but there are steps people can take to reduce that risk, such as controlling high blood pressure and other bad-for-the-brain health problems. And it’s not too late to try even in middle age.
“All of our research suggests what you do in midlife really matters,” said Dr. Josef Coresh of NYU Langone Health, who coauthored the study in the journal Nature Medicine.
Britain’s leader unveils AI strategy, including vow to rip up red tape hindering AI projects
2 minute read Monday, Jan. 13, 2025LONDON (AP) — The British government pledged on Monday to rip up the red tape hindering construction of data centers that underpin artificial intelligence while promoting its “pro-innovation” approach to regulating the technology.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed the potential of AI as he outlined wide-ranging plans to harness the technology, indicating that it will be a key part of his government’s efforts to “turn around the economy” and jump-start lackluster growth.
Starmer said he wanted to Britain to become “one of the great AI superpowers” that can keep up with other countries like the United States and China that have led advances in the technology.
Under the 50-point plan, which provided few details on investment amounts, the government plans to massively expand public computing power, including by building a new national supercomputer and setting up AI “growth zones” with “streamlined” building approval process.
Britain’s leader unveils AI strategy, including vow to rip up red tape hindering AI projects
2 minute read Monday, Jan. 13, 2025LONDON (AP) — The British government pledged on Monday to rip up the red tape hindering construction of data centers that underpin artificial intelligence while promoting its “pro-innovation” approach to regulating the technology.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed the potential of AI as he outlined wide-ranging plans to harness the technology, indicating that it will be a key part of his government’s efforts to “turn around the economy” and jump-start lackluster growth.
Starmer said he wanted to Britain to become “one of the great AI superpowers” that can keep up with other countries like the United States and China that have led advances in the technology.
Under the 50-point plan, which provided few details on investment amounts, the government plans to massively expand public computing power, including by building a new national supercomputer and setting up AI “growth zones” with “streamlined” building approval process.
Britain’s leader unveils AI strategy, including vow to rip up red tape hindering AI projects
2 minute read Monday, Jan. 13, 2025LONDON (AP) — The British government pledged on Monday to rip up the red tape hindering construction of data centers that underpin artificial intelligence while promoting its “pro-innovation” approach to regulating the technology.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed the potential of AI as he outlined wide-ranging plans to harness the technology, indicating that it will be a key part of his government’s efforts to “turn around the economy” and jump-start lackluster growth.
Starmer said he wanted to Britain to become “one of the great AI superpowers” that can keep up with other countries like the United States and China that have led advances in the technology.
Under the 50-point plan, which provided few details on investment amounts, the government plans to massively expand public computing power, including by building a new national supercomputer and setting up AI “growth zones” with “streamlined” building approval process.
Britain’s leader unveils AI strategy, including vow to rip up red tape hindering AI projects
2 minute read Monday, Jan. 13, 2025LONDON (AP) — The British government pledged on Monday to rip up the red tape hindering construction of data centers that underpin artificial intelligence while promoting its “pro-innovation” approach to regulating the technology.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed the potential of AI as he outlined wide-ranging plans to harness the technology, indicating that it will be a key part of his government’s efforts to “turn around the economy” and jump-start lackluster growth.
Starmer said he wanted to Britain to become “one of the great AI superpowers” that can keep up with other countries like the United States and China that have led advances in the technology.
Under the 50-point plan, which provided few details on investment amounts, the government plans to massively expand public computing power, including by building a new national supercomputer and setting up AI “growth zones” with “streamlined” building approval process.
Biden’s administration proposes new rules on exporting AI chips, provoking an industry pushback
5 minute read Monday, Jan. 13, 2025WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is proposing a new framework for the exporting of the advanced computer chips used to develop artificial intelligence, an attempt to balance national security concerns about the technology with the economic interests of producers and other countries.
But the framework proposed Monday also raised concerns of chip industry executives who say the rules would limit access to existing chips used for video games and restrict in 120 countries the chips used for data centers and AI products. Mexico, Portugal, Israel and Switzerland are among the nations that could have limited access.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on a call with reporters previewing the framework that it's “critical” to preserve America's leadership in AI and the development of AI-related computer chips. The fast-evolving AI technology enables computers to produce novels, make scientific research breakthroughs, automate driving and foster a range of other transformations that could reshape economies and warfare.
“As AI becomes more powerful, the risks to our national security become even more intense,” Raimondo said. The framework “is designed to safeguard the most advanced AI technology and ensure that it stays out of the hands of our foreign adversaries but also enabling the broad diffusion and sharing of the benefits with partner countries.”
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