Newswatch: Sorry, But America Is Still No. 1

Enlarge / The first Ecobee Thermostat, may it rest in peace. (credit: Ecobee) Ecobee is killing off some of its oldest thermostats. The "Ecobee Smart Thermostat" (Model # : EB-STAT-02) and the Ecobee Energy Management System (EMS) business thermostat (Model #: EB-EMS-02) are losing web access on July 31, 2024.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Kirill Kudryavtsev) Google urged a federal court to reject Epic Games' request for an injunction that would reduce Google's control of the Android app distribution and in-app payment markets. "Rather than a judicial injunction against alleged violations of law, Epic asks this Court to create a new global regulatory regime that would set prices, impose ongoing duties to deal, and require the Court to micromanage on an ongoing basis a highly complex and dynamic ecosystem that is used by billions of consumers and millions of app developers and that supports the business of hundreds of OEMs and carriers around the world," stated Google's objections filed yesterday in US District Court for the Northern District of California. In December 2023, the maker of Fortnite won a jury ruling that found Google engaged in anticompetitive conduct in order to maintain monopolies in the Android app distribution market and the Android market for in-app billing.

Enlarge / Mayans built impressive structures and occasionally put interesting items in the construction fill. (credit: Dr. Jürgen Tenckhoff) As civilizations evolve, so do the political regimes that govern them. But the transition from one era to another is not always quiet. Some ancient Mayan rulers made a very fiery public statement about who was in charge. When archaeologists dug up the burned fragments of royal bodies and artifacts at the Mayan archaeological site of Ucanal in Guatemala, they realized they were looking at the last remnants of a fallen regime.

Enlarge / Its unlikely the next electric Jaguar will look much like these extreme coupés, designed by the brand for Gran Turismo. (credit: Jaguar) Jaguar provided flights from Washington to Nice and accommodation so Ars could join it for the Formula E Monaco ePrix. Ars does not accept paid editorial content. MONACO—It may be hard to remember, but not too long ago, Jaguar made a very nice electric vehicle.

Enlarge / The interior or the DIII-D tokamak. (credit: General Atomics) Using nuclear fusion, the process that powers the stars, to produce electricity on Earth has famously been 30 years away for more than 70 years. But now, a breakthrough experiment done at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility in San Diego may finally push nuclear fusion power plants to be roughly 29 years away. Nuclear fusion ceiling The DIII-D facility is run by General Atomics for the Department of Energy.

Enlarge / FX/Hulu's Shōgun is a stunning new adaptation of the bestselling 1975 novel by James Clavell. (credit: FX/Hulu) FX/Hulu's new historical epic series, Shōgun, based on the bestselling 1975 novel by James Clavell, has met with both popular and critical acclaim since its February premiere, drawing over 9 million views across all platforms in the first six days alone.