Science & Technology

• Commerce Secretary Aims to Spend $50 Billion Before Trump Takes Office
  
  Outgoing Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is hoping to commit $50 billion in its microchip-subsidy program before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House in January, Politico reported.
• Russia: Blaming Us for Baltic Sea Cable Damage 'Quite Absurd'
  
  It was "quite absurd" to blame Russia for damage caused to two fiber-optic data telecommunication cables in the Baltic Sea, the Kremlin said Wednesday.
• 1 Dead as Pacific Northwest Hit With 'Bomb Cyclone'
  
  A major storm swept across the northwest U.S., battering the region with strong winds and rain, causing widespread power outages and downing trees that killed at least one person.
• Iran Offers to Cap Uranium Stock Amid IAEA Scrutiny
  
  Iran has tried in vain to prevent a Western push for a resolution against it at the U.N. nuclear watchdog's board meeting by offering to cap its stock of uranium just shy of weapons grade, the watchdog and diplomats said Tuesday.
• Trump's Victory Could Ease Regulatory Path for Musk's Robotaxi
  
  As Tesla's electric-vehicle sales have flattened this year, CEO Elon Musk has increasingly staked the company's future on his vision for self-driving robotaxis, despite the massive technological and regulatory obstacles in delivering them.
• JetBlue Halts Haiti Flights Through Dec. 2 After Being Struck by Bullet
  
  JetBlue Airways said late Monday it will extend a halt to all flights to and from Haiti through Dec. 2 after damage from a bullet to a plane returning from Port-au-Prince was discovered.
• Russia Launches Multiple Iranian Satellites Into Orbit
  
  Russia launched two Iranian satellites on Tuesday, in a further demonstration of the scientific and long-term cooperation between the two nations.
• Modern Tech Threatens to Erase Vast Sections of Online History
  
  The internet has transformed life in the digital age, where people share daily moments, news, and culture online.
• Hurricane Rafael Strengthens Quickly, Churns to Cuba, Gulf
  
  Hurricane Rafael was gaining strength as it churned north towards western Cuba early Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said, warning it could approach major hurricane status before slamming into the Caribbean island later in the day.
• Stranded Astronaut Shows Signs of 'Significant' Weight Loss
  
  An American astronaut marooned aboard the International Space Station is showing troubling signs of physical stress, the Daily Mail reported on Tuesday.
• AllSides Sees Left Bias in Google Search for Trump, Harris
  
  Technology research center AllSides has documented political bias in search engine aggregater Google News to favor Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump in the months leading up to Election Day.
• Tropical Storm Rafael Expected to Become Hurricane, Impact US Gulf
  
  Tropical Storm Rafael chugged toward the Cayman Islands on Tuesday and was forecast to strengthen into a hurricane en route to Cuba.
• LA County Sues PepsiCo, Coca-Cola Over Plastic
  
  Los Angeles County has sued beverage makers PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, accusing them of polluting the most populous U.S. county with plastic bottles and misleading the public about the environmental impact and recyclability of their containers.
• Ford Halts EV Truck Production Amid Weak Demand
  
  Ford Motor will halt production of its F-150 Lightning electric vehicle pickup trucks for six weeks from Nov. 18 to Jan. 6, the Dearborn automaker said Thursday.
• Assessment: Almost 40 Percent of World's Trees Face Extinction
  
  At least 40% of tree species on earth are at risk of extinction, according to a release from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), according to a report in The Hill.
• US Facing Short Supplies of Interceptor Missiles
  
  U.S. air-defense interceptor missiles are reportedly in short supply in the wake of the extended conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, leaving questions about the Pentagon's ability to respond to worsening situations in the Middle East and Europe.
• Satellite Photos Show Israeli Strike Likely Hit IRGC Missile Building Site
  
  Israel's attack on Iran likely damaged a base run by the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard that builds ballistic missiles and launches rockets as part of its own space program, satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press on Tuesday showed.
• US Nonprofit to Spend $250M on Electric Trucks to Lease at California Ports
  
  U.S. nonprofit Climate United on Tuesday announced a plan to spend up to $250 million to buy as many as 500 electric semi trucks over three years in what it called the biggest single order of those zero-emissions trucks in the country so far.
• Biden Will Announce $3 Billion to Reduce Carbon Emissions at US Ports
  
  The Biden administration is awarding nearly $3 billion to boost climate-friendly equipment and infrastructure at ports across the country, including Baltimore, where a deadly bridge collapse killed six construction workers in March and disrupted East Coast shipping routes.
• Norway to Buy US Air Defense Missiles for More Than $360 Million
  
  Norway has agreed with U.S. authorities to buy AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM air defense missiles for more than 4 billion Norwegian crowns ($362.91 million), the Norwegian military said Monday.
• Boeing Reports $6 Billion in Quarterly Losses Amid Struggles, Strike
  
  Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg laid out a turnaround plan Wednesday, calling for a "fundamental culture change" at the struggling planemaker as its quarterly losses surged to $6 billion due to a crippling strike.
• Musk Sued by 'Blade Runner 2049' Producers Over Cybercab Event
  
  Elon Musk and Tesla are being sued by a production company for using AI-generated images that resembled those from the 2017 film "Blade Runner 2049," The Hollywood Reporter reported Monday.
• Senators Want Biden Admin Review of Undersea Cable Vulnerabilities
  
  A bipartisan group of eight U.S. senators on Monday urged President Joe Biden to order a review of the security of the global network of undersea communications cables that handle nearly all the world's internet traffic.
• Western Digital Owes $315.7 Million for Infringing Data Security Patent
  
  Data storage provider Western Digital must pay $315.7 million in damages for violating a patent owner's rights in data security technology, a jury in California federal court said on Friday.
• California Gov. Newsom: 'I'm With Elon' on SpaceX Launches
  
  California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, is going against a regulatory commission in his state and supporting billionaire Elon Musk over the use of prime California coastal real estate to host SpaceX launches, Politico reported on Friday.

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