Damien Hoffman: Is China Building The New-and-improved Global Empire?

A new investigation from The New York Times suggests that SpaceX founder Elon Musk has not been reporting his travel activities and other information to the Department of Defense as required by his top-secret clearance. According to the newspaper, concerns about Musk's reporting practices have led to reviews by three different bodies within the military; the Air Force, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, and the Defense Department Office of Inspector General. However, none of the federal agencies cited in the Times article has accused Musk of disclosing classified material.

Grubhub has agreed to pay $25 million and put an end to practices that included misleading customers over the costs of using the food delivery service and listing restaurants without their consent under a proposed settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office, the agencies said on Tuesday. Most of the money from the $25 million settlement with the Chicago-based company is to be returned to customers, drivers and affected businesses nationally, FTC Midwest Region Director Jason Adler said.  The settlement is “the culmination of a multiyear investigation into deceptive and illegal business practices,” Raoul said at a news conference in Chicago. FTC Chair Lina Khan zeroed in on Grubhub’s claims of low or nonexistent delivery fees for users including Grubhub Plus subscribers.

Teen drug use continued to fall in 2024, extending a dramatic decline spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic that experts expected would reverse now that the acute phase of the global crisis is well over. But, according to data released Tuesday, the number of eighth, 10th, and 12th graders who collectively abstained from the use of alcohol, marijuana, or nicotine hit a new high this year.

The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday said it will soon require hotels, vacation rental platforms and live event promoters to disclose any fees up front when they list prices. The FTC said consumers often see advertised prices for hotel rooms, short-term rentals, and tickets to sporting events and concerts only to be surprised later by so-called “junk fees,” including resort fees, cleaning fees, processing fees and other extra charges. “People deserve to know up front what they’re being asked to pay without worrying that they’ll later be saddled with mysterious fees that they haven’t budgeted for and can’t avoid,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement. The rule is scheduled to go into effect in 120 days. Ticketmaster said Tuesday it supports the new rule. “Ticketmaster has long advocated for all-in pricing as a nationwide industry standard, and we’re pleased to see the FTC mandate the necessary changes to make ticket-buying more transparent for fans,” the company said. The Associated Press left a message seeking comment Tuesday with the American Hotel and Lodging Association. Four of the FTC’s five commissioners voted to approve the rule.

When Nvidia replaced the longstanding GeForce Experience App with a new, unified Nvidia App last month, most GPU owners probably noted the refresh and rebranding with nothing more than bemusement (though the new lack of an account login requirement was a nice improvement). Now, testing shows that running the new app with default settings can lead to some significant frame rate dips on many high-end games, even when the app's advanced AI features aren't being actively used. Tom's Hardware noted the performance dip after reading reports of related problems around the web.

Everyone can play the mobile game now before the second season airs on Dec. 26.