Technology

Officials say a first-of-its-kind project will use a swarm of small, independent submersibles to monitor, protect and provide data on offshore artificial reefs whose purpose is to attract new marine life in otherwise barren sections of sea. The small, autonomous underwater vehicles, or AUVs, will be equipped with sensors and high-definition cameras. Scientists at the Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute will use the AUVs to get a clear picture of the effectiveness of their intricate artificial reefs designed and build using 3D printing.

A Brazilian Supreme Court justice has ordered the suspension of video-sharing platform Rumble in the South American nation for allegedly refusing to comply with court orders. On Thursday, Justice Alexandre de Moraes had given Rumble 48 hours to name a legal representative in Brazil, but he received no answer so far. Moraes said Rumble has “repeatedly, consciously and willingly not complied, and is trying not to submit to Brazil’s legal order and judiciary.” Rumble couldn’t be reached for comment.

Swedish authorities say they are investigating a damaged cable that was discovered in the Baltic Sea, the latest in a string of recent incidents of ruptured undersea cables that have heightened fears of Russian sabotage and spying in the region. The breakage was reportedly found on a cable that runs between Germany and Finland off the island of Gotland, south of Stockholm, in the Swedish economic zone. Swedish police said on Friday a preliminary investigation into sabotage is underway. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the government takes all reports of damage to infrastructure in the Baltic Sea very seriously. The European Commission has named measures for better protection of undersea cables in its region.

Apple says it will stop offering an advanced data security option for British users after the government reportedly demanded that the company provide backdoor access for any data those users have stored in the cloud. The iPhone maker said its Advanced Data Protection encryption feature is no longer available for new users in the United Kingdom and will eventually be disabled for existing users. Advanced Data Protection is an opt-in feature that allows protects iCloud files, photos, notes and other data with end-to-end encryption when they’re stored in the cloud. The Washington Post reported earlier this month that British security officials demanded in a secret order that the U.S. tech giant create so-called backdoor access so that they could view fully encrypted material.

A computerized system that calls balls and strikes is being tested during Major League Baseball spring training exhibition games starting Thursday after four years of experiments in the minor leagues. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is an advocate of the Automated Ball-Strike System, which potentially as early as 2026 could be used to aid MLB home plate umpires, but not replace them. Starting in 2024, MLB focused testing on a challenge system in which the human umpire makes each original call. Data from the spring training test could cause MLB to make alterations to the system for Triple-A games this season.

Apple has released a sleeker and more expensive version of its lowest priced iPhone in an attempt to widen the audience for a bundle of artificial intelligence technology that the company has been hoping will revive demand for its most profitable product lineup. The iPhone 16e unveiled Wednesday is the fourth-generation of a model that’s sold at a dramatically lower price than the iPhone’s standard models. The previous bargain-bin models were called the iPhone SE. The iPhone 16e will boast the souped-up chip needed to run Apple's AI features, one of several upgrades that will translate into a starting price of $600, a 40% increase from the last iPhone SE.

Troubled electric vehicle maker Nikola is filing for for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company, once a rising star on Wall Street, became enmeshed in scandal and its founder was convicted in 2022 for misleading investors about its capabilities.  Nikola filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware and said Wednesday that it has also filed a motion seeking approval to pursue an auction and sale of the business.

“Watson” is an unusual TV medical procedural. The CBS series stars Morris Chestnut as the titular character who leads a team of medical detectives set in a present-day Pittsburgh populated with characters from the Sherlock Holmes universe. “Watson” is not alone among the networks jazzing up the tried-and-true procedural. ABC’s “Doctor Odyssey” puts a medical procedural aboard a luxury cruise ship. CBS has Kathy Bates in “Matlock” playing an underestimated retirement-age lawyer with a twist. CBS' “Elsbeth” and ABC's “High Potential” are heavy on the quirky but competent crime-solvers. Supercharging network procedurals comes as streaming increasingly offers subscribers a highly curated selection of unconventional series with big names and high production values.

Italian prosecutors say they are seeking to drop a tax evasion investigation against Google after the tech giant agreed to pay a 326 million euro ($340 million) settlement. Prosecutors in Milan had opened an investigation into Google for failure to pay taxes on earnings in Italy from 2015-2019. The investigation focused on revenues from the sale of advertising, and cited the presence of servers and other infrastructure in Italy. Google acknowledged the settlement in statement, saying it resolves a tax audit without litigation.