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Jason Hiner/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET’s key takeawaysApple has reportedly launched an AI chatbot for its retail staff.Asa is intended to be an automated digital sales assistant.The chatbot arrives just weeks before the launch of iPhone 17.Apple has reportedly launched a new AI chatbot — for its employees, not for its customers.Nicknamed Asa, the chatbot is designed to serve as an automated digital assistant for the company’s retail staff, making them better equipped to sell iPhones and other products, according to screenshots posted to X on Sunday by MacRumorsanalyst Aaron Perris.Apple did not immediately respond to a…

Test your knowledge of the drama on these real and fictional courts.

A new study finds that technologies installed to remove forever chemicals from drinking water are also doing double-duty by removing harmful other materials—including some substances that have been linked to certain types of cancer.The study, published Thursday in the journal ACS ES&T Water, comes as the Trump administration is overhauling a rule mandating that water systems take action to clean up forever chemicals in drinking water.Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), colloquially referred to as forever chemicals, are a class of thousands of chemicals that do not degrade in the environment and have been linked to a slew of worrying health…

Ski and snowboard season is just around the corner, and Ikon Pass is making it even easier to plan a snowy European getaway with five new mountains added to its lineup.  Holders of the popular pass will now have access to five new mountains within the Valle d’Aosta region of the Italian Alps for the winter 2025/2026 season, Ikon shared with Travel + Leisure. These include Courmayeur Mont Blanc, Cervino Ski Paradise, La Thuile Espace San Bernardo, Monterosa Ski, and Pila. “This partnership opens the door to U.S. skiers and riders, offering the opportunity to discover the breathtaking scenery and…

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) and Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa shake hands at the Carondelet presidential palace in Quito, Ecuador, on Thursday. Jacquelyn Martin/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Jacquelyn Martin/AFP via Getty Images QUITO, Ecuador — The United States will designate two of Ecuador’s most powerful gangs — Los Lobos and Los Choneros — as foreign terrorist organizations, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced during a one day visit to the South American country on Thursday. The move allows Washington to freeze assets, target associates and share intelligence with Ecuador for what Rubio described as…

Donald Trump has asked the US supreme court to overturn a lower court decision that most of his sweeping trade tariffs were illegal.The US president filed a petition late on Wednesday to ask for a review of last week’s federal appeals court ruling in Washington DC, which centred on his “liberation day” border taxes introduced on 2 April that imposed levies of between 10% and 50% on most US imports and sent shock waves through global trade and markets.The court found in a 7-4 ruling last Friday that Trump overstepped his presidential powers when he invoked a 1977 law designed…

US health secretary and ardent anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. went before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday amid turmoil at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and widespread chaos over access to COVID-19 vaccines. In the combative three-hour hearing, Kennedy defended his dramatic firing of the CDC director last week, less than a month after her confirmation, which he effusively supported. Today, he repeatedly called her a liar and made the extraordinary claim that she openly confessed to him that she cannot be trusted. Kennedy went on to reiterate the dangerous claim that the CDC is corrupt.…

NPR’s Emily Kwong and Regina Barber of Short Wave talk about an innovation in plastic recycling, the link between smartphones and hemorrhoids and what Mars’ structure and ice cream have in common.

NEW YORK — Before Aryna Sabalenka reached the US Open semifinals for the fifth straight year, she was just a relatable 20-something-year-old who fell in love with a rescue dog.Editor’s Picks1 RelatedDuring Fan Week, held during qualifying on the grounds at the tournament, Muddy Paws Rescue brought some of their New York-based dogs to the player garden. Sabalenka, the world No. 1 and defending champion, met one very good boy appropriately named Wilson — and she was immediately smitten.She quickly took to her Instagram story to share a picture of herself with Wilson outside of Arthur Ashe Stadium and asked…

Fine-particulate air pollution can drive devastating forms of dementia by triggering the formation of toxic clumps of protein that destroy nerve cells as they spread through the brain, research suggests.Exposure to the airborne particles causes proteins in the brain to misfold into the clumps, which are hallmarks of Lewy body dementia, the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease.The finding has “profound implications” for preventing the neurodegenerative disorder, which affects millions worldwide, with scientists calling for a concerted effort to improve air quality by cutting emissions from industrial activity and vehicle exhausts, improving wildfire management and reducing wood…