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The tech giant claims millions of people were sent a warning before the deadly earthquake earlier this year.

Black widow venom is about 15 times as potent as a rattlesnake's, yet these charismatic spiders generally aren't a threat to humans.

Walmart Inc. is teaming up with a California startup to test technology that removes carbon dioxide from its

Facebook users in the US have just one more month to apply for a share of a $725 million privacy settlement. Meta agreed to pay the fine late last year, but those affected must explicitly ask for it by sending in a form. Those that don’t will miss out on any share of the vast settlement. The payment is part of an agreement, reached with Meta, to settle a lawsuit that alleged it allowed millions of its users’ personal information to be fed to Cambridge Analytica, a firm that supported Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Anyone in the US who has had a Facebook account at any time between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, is eligible to receive a payment. To apply for the settlement, users can fill out a form and submit it online, or print it out and mail it. The deadline is August 25. It’s not clear how much money individual users will receive. The larger the number of people submitting valid claims, the smaller each payment will be since the money has to be divided among them. The case sprang from 2018 revelations that Cambridge Analytica, a firm with ties to Trump political strategist Steve Bannon, had paid a Facebook app developer for access to the personal information of about 87 million users of the platform. That data was then used to target U.S. voters during the 2016 campaign that culminated in Trump’s election as the 45th president. Uproar over the revelations led to a contrite Zuckerberg being grilled by U.S. lawmakers and spurred calls for people to delete their Facebook accounts. Facebook’s growth has stalled as more people connect and entertain themselves on rival services such as TikTok, but the social network still boasts more than 2 billion users worldwide, including an estimated 250 million in the U.S. Beyond the Cambridge Analytica case, Meta has been under fire over data privacy for some time. In May, for example, the EU slapped Meta with a record $1.3 billion fine and ordered it to stop transferring users’ personal information across the Atlantic by October. And the tech giant’s new text-based app, Threads, has not rolled out in the EU due to privacy concerns. Additional reporting by Associated Press Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

Oregon Senator Ron Wyden has asked the Federal Trade Commission, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the

Republican US Rep Byron Donalds has repeatedly echoed other GOP officials in a specious crusade against “critical race theory” and “woke” indoctrination in American schools. But on 26 July, the Florida congressman called on Florida’s Department of Education to “correct” newly approved curriculum guidelines for middle school students to learn how enslaved people “developed skills” that could be “applied for personal benefit”. “The new African-American standards in FL are good, robust, [and] accurate,” he wrote on Twitter, now known as X. “That being said, the attempt to feature the personal benefits of slavery is wrong [and] needs to be adjusted. That obviously wasn’t the goal [and] I have faith that FLDOE will correct this.” In an interview with Florida’s WINK-TV, Mr Donalds, who is Black, suggested the standards need “some adjustments” and that Florida’s Board of Education could “bring refinement” to the curriculum standards for African American history lessons that the board unanimously approved earlier this month. The standards have been widely derided by educators, Democratic officials and the White House; Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to the state last week to condemn “propaganda” and the “extremist, so-called leaders” who support it, a not-so-thinly veiled strike against Governor Ron DeSantis and his 2024 campaign for the Republican nomination for president. After his comments, Mr Donalds felt the wrath of the DeSantis campaign and other state officials. “Did Kamala Harris write this tweet?” replied DeSantis aide Christina Pushaw. Florida’s Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr said that the state standards would not be changed “at the behest of a woke [White House], nor at the behest of a supposedly conservative congressman.” “Supposed conservatives in the federal government are pushing the same false narrative that originated from the [White House],” said DeSantis press secretary Jeremy Redfern. “Florida isn’t going to hide the truth for political convenience,” he added. “Maybe the congressman shouldn’t swing for the liberal media fences like [the vice president].” In March, Mr Donalds joined other prominent Florida Republicans to endorse Donald Trump for president. “The Congressman also calls it like he sees it, and if he thinks something is BS, he’ll tell you. That’s why we like him so much,” said Trump aide Jason Miller, who called attempts to “smear” Mr Donalds “a disgrace”. Mr Donalds responded to the inter-party backlash, stating that “anyone who can’t accurately interpret what I said is disingenuous and is desperately attempting to score political points.” Read More Why Florida’s new curriculum on slavery is becoming a political headache for Ron DeSantis DeSantis will headline barbecue billed as the largest annual gathering of South Carolina Republicans Watch: Diver rescues shark hooked to artificial reef Coast Guard calls off search for man who jumped off Carnival cruise ship

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The US Supreme Court cleared the way for Equitrans Midstream Corp. to resume construction on its controversial Mountain

Ever wondered why people say they can smell rain before it rains? They are not pulling your leg - there is real science behind it. It is all because of petrichor, made up from the Greek words "petra", meaning stone, and '"ichor", which refers to the golden fluid that flows in the veins of the gods in their mythology. It basically means the the "smell of rain" with the phrase coined by Australian scientists Joy Bear and Richard Thomas in 1964. Jeff Weber, a meteorologist with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research Unidata Program Center told the Mirror: "Petrichor is caused by oils derived from plants, primarily leaves, that accumulate over dry periods. These oils settle into soils or onto pavement over time and are released into the atmosphere by being disturbed by rainfall." According to the Met Office, the reason people claim to smell rain because it comes is because "when a higher humidity is experienced as a precursor to rain, the pores of rocks and soil become trapped with moisture forcing some of the oils to be released into the air". Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Despite some being released before it actually rains, the strongest smell is released during. This is when raindrops landing on soil "trap tiny air bubbles on the surface which then shoot upward" and "burst out of the drop throwing aerosols of scent into the air where they are then distributed by the wind". The smell is produced by a soil bacteria which releases a chemical called geosmin, which provides an "earthy", musky or fresh aroma. Before it rains, a person might be able to smell the scent of ozone, or O3, which is a naturally present gas in the atmosphere which gets its name from the Greek word 'ozein', or smell. It sometimes indicate that a storm is on the way because pockets of gas are pushed down to ground level by winds. This means that those who are sensitive to the smells will likely be able to pick them up. So now you know. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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