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The future of robot farming is here

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:00:29 GMT

LOS ANGELES - A startup named Plenty is pioneering a new way to grow leafy greens - inside a high-tech indoor farm run almost entirely by robots!I recently got to tour their facility in Compton, California to see how it works and sample the produce. Spoiler alert: it was some of the freshest and most flavorful lettuce I've ever tasted!Follow Tech Reporter Rich DeMuro for more tech news, tips and reviews!So how does Plenty grow vegetables without sun, soil, or even human hands touching the plants? It's a highly automated process that looks more like a factory than a traditional farm.It starts with seeds being robotically planted and moved into a giant eight-story nursery room to germinate. The rooms are lit by LEDs and optimized for each specific crop.Once the seedlings are mature enough, they are transplanted by more robots into vertical frames that are then placed by more robots into giant vertical growing rooms.Since no pesticides are used and no human contact during the growing p...

Today is National Cheeseburger Day: Here's where you can get cheap or free burgers

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:00:29 GMT

Burger fans can treat themselves to free or discounted food this coming Monday thanks to a made-up, quasi-holiday that was almost certainly conceived by a PR firm.In honor of National Cheeseburger Day on Sept. 18, fast-food chains including McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King (among others) are offering deals and discounts on their signature cheeseburgers. And, in some cases, those same offers are being extended to customers for several days afterward.Looking to sink your teeth into a few cheap cheeseburgers in the coming days? Stop by one of the restaurant chains below to celebrate National Cheeseburger Day, just as that PR firm likely intended.Burger KingBurger King is celebrating National Cheeseburger Day with a whole week of deals. On Sept. 18, customers who belong to the brand’s Royal Perks rewards club (which is free to join) can get a free cheeseburger with the purchase of any other items valued at $1 or more, The Daily Meal reported. Guests can check the app for additional d...

Person Of Interest Detained In Sheriff’s Deputy Killing

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:00:29 GMT

A person of interest has been detained in connection to the killing of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer.Clinkunbroomer was shot and killed inside his police cruiser on September 16, in what detectives believe was a drive-by style shooting.LASD said the deputy was ambushed near the Sheriff’s station in the city of Palmdale, where Clinkunbroomer served since 2018.“… We’re angry because Ryan came to work yesterday, he donned his uniform, he got in a sheriff’s black and white to come out and serve our community and unfortunately he’s not going to go home,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said during a Sept. 17 candlelight vigil. “That’s not the way things are supposed to happen.”The Sheriff’s Dept. said the deputy was found in “medical distress” between Sierra Highway and Avenue Q at approximately 6 p.m. He was then taken to Antelope Valley Medical Center where h...

Meet Stained Glass Dreamlander Amanda Maccagnan

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:00:29 GMT

Artist Amanda Maccagnan works primarily in stained glass — an unusual choice for a young, unconventional talent whose aesthetic is more a blend of street, Pop, gothic and Queer than anything traditional to the medium. Experimenting with imagery and inventive techniques to create new kinds of texture, color, and gesture playing on the luminosity and emotional pull of chromatic glass, Maccagnan sometimes practices her craft in homage portraits to her favorite cultural figures — for example, characters from John Waters films, whose outrageous, ungovernable style has inspired her since forever.So when the Academy Museum was deep in exhibition design mode for their just-opened career survey John Waters: Pope of Trash, an idea was fleshed out to pay homage to the fact that Waters’ early films were often screened in Baltimore’s progressive churches. The entrance to the show is conceived as a darkened gothic chapel, with pews for watching an extended highlight reel before going on to the fu...

Fancy Bay Area mocktails are here to stay, as Gen Z embraces nonalcoholic living

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:00:29 GMT

Sons & Daughters is a one-starred Michelin restaurant in San Francisco that offers, in addition to its $225 tasting menu, a $95 beverage pairing. Sounds reasonable? Well, consider the nine beverages are all nonalcoholic.Cured Mount Lassen trout might come with a coriander shrub with white and purple currants. Maine lobster is paired with lactic-fermented green strawberries, raw carrots and strawberry vinegar, and Umpqua Valley lamb has beetroot juice with blackberries smoked over applewood.The spirits-free pairing is actually one of the less expensive options in the Bay Area. San Francisco’s Kiln offers pairings designed by a former lead sommelier at Atelier Crenn for $125, and Healdsburg’s SingleThread mixes another for $150 to accompany 10 courses of Michelin-starred cuisine.Sprouted and toasted buckwheat with chanterelles and summer stems and a nonalcoholic drink made of roasted stone fruits from K&J Orchards with kombu and housemade peach vinegar is served at...

Top 10 sailing destinations around the world include a California island

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:00:29 GMT

If your idea of the perfect vacation involves sea breezes and flapping sails, you’ve got a fellow sailing aficionado over at the travel advice site, TripsToDiscover.com. The site offers travel tips and “best of” lists for destinations around the world, from luxury beach house rentals in California to beautiful beaches in the South of France and top sailing adventure destinations.The latter is written by California native K.C. Dermody and offers 17 enticing possibilities from French Polynesia to Turkey, Croatia and Zanzibar. You’ll find destinations where you can hire a barefoot charter or cruise aboard a traditional dhow, snorkel, dive or simply sail.The Grenadines, a chain of tiny Caribbean islands, tops the list, thanks to their beautiful views, pristine beaches, friendly harbors and plentiful sailboat charter options. (If you’re a fan of “The Crown,” Princess Margaret’s getaway spot was on Mustique, which is part of this island chai...

DC leads for artificial intelligence job openings (including ‘Scrum Masters?’)

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:00:29 GMT

There will be a wave of job opportunities in the artificial intelligence field in coming years, but the wave is already hitting the shores in the D.C. region.The D.C. metro ranks No. 2 in the nation for artificial intelligence-related job openings, behind only the San Francisco Bay Area, and ahead of the third-ranked AI market, the greater New York City area. At the end of August, there were almost 1,800 job postings in the D.C. area for very specific AI job skills, according to JLL.Demand for artificial intelligence skills in the D.C. region is being driven by two big industries on both sides of the Potomac.“Artificial intelligence in the defense and biotech industries is what is really driving jobs in this field for this region. These industries primarily serve Northern Virginia for defense and suburban Maryland for biotech,” said Michael Hartnett, JLL senior director of research for the Mid-Atlantic.JLL flags several area companies where demand for AI talent seems mos...

After first 2-0 start since 2011, Commanders fans say they’re optimistic

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:00:29 GMT

toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's John Domen reports on how the Commanders' 2-0 start has fans thinking Super Bowl $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); The Washington Commanders are off to a 2-0 start — their best start since 2011 — and even though the wins were ugly, and against bad teams, fans who spoke with WTOP aren’t struggling to find reasons for optimism.“I feel like coach Rivera has them locked in as far as far as th...

Attack on Turkish-backed opposition fighters in Syria kills 13 of the militants, activists say

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:00:29 GMT

IDLIB, Syria (AP) — A Kurdish-led force attacked Turkish-backed opposition fighters in northern Syria on Monday, killing at least 13 of the militants, activists said.The opposition activists blamed the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces for carrying out the assault, though the U.S.-backed group did not claim responsibility.Turkey says Syria’s main Kurdish militia is allied with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, that has led an insurgency against Turkey since 1984 that has killed tens of thousands of people.Turkey since 2016 has conducted three major incursions into northern Syria to clear areas under Kurdish control and create a buffer zone near its border. Since then, the two groups have routinely clashed, while Turkey has also conducted airstrikes and drone attacks on targets in Kurdish-controlled areas.According to opposition activists, SDF forces tried to infiltrate the opposition-controlled city of Tal Battal in northern Aleppo province, attacking positions belon...

Microsoft’s chief product exec to step down. Panos Panay was behind Surface devices and Windows 11

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:00:29 GMT

REDMOND, Wash. (AP) — A top product executive at Microsoft who launched its Surface line of computers and Windows 11 is leaving the company. Panos Panay is stepping down after nearly 20 years at Microsoft, most recently as chief product officer, according to a staff memo Monday. “Under Panos’ leadership, the team created the iconic Surface brand with loved products,” said the message to employees from Rajesh Jha, executive vice president of Microsoft’s experiences and devices group.Another longtime executive, Yusuf Mehdi, will take lead on the Windows and Surface businesses and products, Jha said. The note said Panay would be helping with the transition. Source