The Biden administration has selected the recipients of its funding for the seven regional “hydrogen hubs,” or clean hydrogen producers. All regions will receive funds from a $7 billion investment made available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The hubs are collectively expected to produce more than three million metric tons of clean hydrogen per year and help put the US on track to produce 50 million metric tons of clean hydrogen fuel by 2050.

The initiative is a crucial step towards achieving President Biden’s goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. But it is also expected to bolster the economy, creating thousands of jobs for the states involved in the project. Collectively, the hubs will create more than 300,000 direct jobs.

The seven hubs named include: the Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Hub, Appalachian Hydrogen Hub, the California Hydrogen Hub, the Gulf Coast Hydrogen Hub, Heartland Hydrogen Hub, Midwest Hydrogen Hub and the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub. Some regions that applied for the hub program together through the Department of Energy will require cross-state collaboration. For example, the Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Hub is made up of Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey.

The Biden administration said that it expects two-thirds of total project investments will be associated with green (electrolysis based) production. The hydrogen hubs are expected to eliminate 25 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions through its projects—which the Biden administration likens to the annual emissions of over 5.5 million gasoline-powered cars. The hubs will focus on offsetting and creating alternatives to heavy-duty transportation, chemical, steel and cement manufacturing.

This program is just one part of the Biden administration's efforts to slow climate change and make a lasting impact on the nation’s carbon footprint. The White House has previously pushed similar initiatives, including an executive order that requires half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 to have some form of zero-emissions driving and its plans to allocate billions in funding to decarbonize the country’s power grid by 2035.

The EPA is withdrawing its plan to require states to assess the cybersecurity and integrity of public water system programs. While the agency says it continues to believe cybersecurity protective measures are essential for the public water industry, the decision was made after GOP-led states sued the agency for proposing the rule.

In a memo that accompanied the new rules in March, the EPA said that cybersecurity attacks on water and wastewater systems “have the potential to disable or contaminate the delivery of drinking water to consumers and other essential facilities like hospitals.” Despite the EPA’s willingness to provide training and technical support to help states and public water system organizations implement cybersecurity surveys, the move garnered opposition from both GOP state attorneys and trade groups.

Republican state attorneys that were against the new proposed policies said that the call for new inspections could overwhelm state regulators. The attorney generals of Arkansas, Iowa and Missouri all sued the EPA – claiming the agency had no authority to set these requirements. This led to the EPA’s proposal being temporarily blocked back in June.

While it's unclear if any cybersecurity regulations will be put in motion to protect the public moving forward, the EPA said it plans to continue working with the industry to “lower cybersecurity risks to clean and safe water.“ It encourages all states to “voluntarily review” the cybersecurity of their water systems, nothing that any proactive actions might curb the potential public health impacts if a hack were to take place.

Ever since the highly publicized Solarwinds hack in 2020 that exposed government records and the 2021 Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack that temporarily shut down operations for the oil pipeline system, it's been abundantly clear that government entities and public agencies are hackable and prime targets for bad actors. The Biden administration has initiated a national strategy focused on public-private alliances to shift the burden of cybersecurity onto the organizations that are “best-positioned to reduce risks for all of us.”

Progress Software disclosed that it has received a subpoena from the SEC to share information relating to the vulnerability in its file transfer software, MOVEit, which became the subject of a massive exploit beginning last May. According to the filing, the investigation is presently a "fact-finding inquiry," and there's no indication at this time that Progress has "violated federal securities laws." The company intends to cooperate with the SEC.

One report by cybersecurity software company Emsisoft estimates that the MOVEit breach exposed the information of at least 64 million individuals through 2,547 affiliated organizations. Among the organizations impacted by the zero-day vulnerability are the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles and the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. Sony confirmed its employee data was compromised in the exploit earlier this month. And Michigan-based financial services provider, Flagstar Bank, sent its customers a notice that said records had been stolen (they'll now receive free identity monitoring services for two years.)

The culprits of the attack — the CL0P ransomware gang — "helped pioneer the practice of double-extortion," according to Reuters. In this sort of scheme, the ransomers both encrypt the target's data and threaten to leak said data (unless they're paid.) The group have since made clearweb sites to leak some of the data they've exfiltrated in the MOVEit hack, from companies like Kirkland and TD Ameritrade. The FBI have since offered up to $10 million to anyone with information that could link CL0P to any particular foreign government.

The true cost (both to victims and Progress Software) remain unknown at this time. But some of the affected customers have begun seeking restitution for the breach. Progress disclosed in the same regulatory filing that it is a party to 58 class action lawsuits at this time. Many of those may be consolidated as they progress, but they still present the possibility of enormous civil penalties.

It’s taken three years, but Polar is finally ready with a new iteration of the Vantage watch: the Polar Vantage 3. The V3 can track more than 150 sports. That includes tools that cater to more serious athletes, and not just the run of the mill consumer, like triathlon training.

There are also unique metrics like Training Load Pro, which tells you how much strain you place on both your cardiovascular and musculoskeletal system during your workouts. There is also Wrist-Based Running Power, which calculates how much “power” you need to fight gravity and friction during a run. Lastly, Energy Sources tells you how the food you eat, from fats to carbohydrates, are being utilized during each workout session. Which kind of sounds like a glorified calorie tracker.

The company has also focused on improving the specs sheet for the one-size fitness multisport watch. CPU speed is now at 275 MHz, up from the V2’s 120 MHz. The manufacturer claims it will have 129% faster speeds when compared to its predecessor. Plus, it has 37 MB of RAM, which is dramatically up from the V2 and has roughly 32 GB of storage, squashing the V2’s 32 MB cap.

The case is still aluminum and the top Gorilla Glass, but the screen is bigger now at 1.39 inches. The AMOLED display has a resolution of 454 × 454, nearly double the V2’s MIP display, which had a 240 × 240 resolution. Oddly enough, the waterproof ranking was downgraded to WR50, the V2 had a WR100 mark on the other hand. Other changes to the watch’s overall function include: Bluetooth 5.1 and USB-C connectivity and a 488 mAh battery that will supposedly deliver up to 140 hours of training time.

The Vantage 3 also features new biosensors that are worth mentioning. There’s now a skin temperature sensor and Polar says the sensors are better at measuring blood oxygen levels. Plus there’s ECG function, along with what the company claims is the “most advanced optical heart rate” in its wearables to date.

The tracker that can be pre-ordered in sky blue, night black or sunrise apricot for $600. You can also buy the watch in a bundle set with the Polar H10 heart rate strap monitor for $50 more. Deliveries will begin on October 25.

Sony’s Crunchyroll is introducing an around-the-clock streaming channel that features English-dubbed programming of various anime shows. Animated television programs like Code Geass and PSYCHO–PASS will be available to stream on third-party platforms like Amazon Freevee, LG Channels, The Roku Channel and VIZIO WatchFree+.

The new channel is a collaboration between Crunchyroll and GSN, or the Game Show Network, which is also owned by Sony Pictures Television. The expansion comes as the company recently announced its efforts to dabble with online gaming with a One Punch Man PC and mobile game. More importantly though, Crunchyroll’s move can be seen as an attempt to fend off streaming giants like Netflix, which is continuously expanding its anime offerings. Though Crunchyroll dominates the anime streaming space, the company is likely hoping the free ad-supported offering will attract more premium subscribers.

Last year, Crunchyroll lowered its fees for its premium subscription program in select countries. That strategic play that might have made the company’s offerings more attractive to anime fans hesitant to sign up for yet another streaming service. From the outside looking in, it may have worked. When Sony bought out Crunchyroll in 2021, it had roughly five million subscribers and 120 million registered users when the deal closed. As of March this year, the number of paying subscribers on Crunchyroll more than doubled to 10.7 million, according to Sony’s full-year 2022 fiscal report.

While other niche services like Curiosity Stream and AMC's Shudder are continuing to make inroads, the latter despite significant layoffs late last year, Crunchyroll likely sees an opportunity for growth. Especially as other more mainstream services that don't serve the anime community as well continue to raise prices.

During Amazon's Prime Day this year, Google is offering some of the most enticing deals on its phones and products, including the Google Pixel 7a. The Google Pixel 7a, which we crowned “the best midrange Android phone,” is now available for just $399. This price represents a new all-time low, making it even more affordable than it was during July’s Prime day when it was $450.

Although the Pixel 7a is only slightly over a year old and has recently been upstaged by the newly launched Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro at last week's Made by Google event, it still offers impressive features like wireless charging and a 64-MP camera, making it a worthwhile purchase at its current price point.

The Google Pixel 7a offers 8 GB of RAM that helps the phone operate both smooth and fast, with internal storage up to 128 GB. Our review suggests that the Pixel 7a has outperformed competitors in its category, including the 3rd generation Apple iPhone SE and the Samsung Galaxy A54. The Pixel 7a boasts a 90Hz OLED screen and a powerful Tensor G2 processing chip, setting it apart from earlier Pixel models. Unless you're determined to splurge on the latest model, this Prime Day offer could be a great fit for you.

Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for the best Amazon Prime Day tech deals. Learn about Prime Day trends on In the Know. Hear from Autoblog’s car experts on must-shop auto-related Prime Day deals and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

Unity game developer said that John Riccitiello will step down as president and CEO of the company after nine years in leadership, effective immediately. James Whitehurst, who previously served as senior advisor and president at IBM, will fill in as interim CEO. The leadership transition comes during a turbulent time for the company.

Just a month ago, Unity rolled out some significant concessions to its developer pricing model after widespread backlash over its plan to charge developers for game installations. The move will directly impact developers, publishers and distributors. The upheaval of Unity’s business model came at the same time as a series of massive layoffs. In 2023, the company reduced its headcount three times in an attempt to cut costs.

Despite the recent controversy, Unity said it expects third-quarter revenue to fall somewhere between $540 million to $550 million, which is up 67 to 70 percent from last year.

Meta’s Threads app, the social media platform that rivals X (formerly Twitter), may get a trending topics section. The potential new feature has come to light after an app developer reposted screenshots of the feature in use that were originally shared by a Meta employee.

The developer that reposted the screenshots, William Max, said that, “Just to be clear: I'm not a “leaker” or anything like that,” in a post. He continued, “I simply follow many engineers and employees working at Meta, and one of them accidentally posted a screenshot that was meant to be private. Fortunately for us, I happened to see it at the right moment. I will not disclose who posted the screenshot for obvious reasons.”

One user, @eddygraphic1, commented, “Is this a concept or real screenshot?” The employee, @willianmax, replied, “It’s real. An employee just posted by accident. 🤫” Another, @brian.g.holm said, “Please god, let this be real, AND SOON.” Max responded, “It’s real. I just don’t know if it’s coming soon (probably not).”

In the screenshots, the feature appears to list trending topics according to the number of threads it received. However, the topics don't appear to necessarily rank from most popular to least. For example, Drake’s new hit “For All the Dogs” ranked first with 59.4K threads while “Loki Season 2” which had 91K threads, got slotted in fourth. So it's not exactly clear how the rankings are listed.

According to the screenshots, the trending topics were showcased near the search tab. A trending tool seems like a straightforward embed for any social media app that thrives off of user-generated content. However, it's for that very reason that trending topics can be a bit problematic. In the past, similar tools have been a place for messy contention on platforms like Twitter and Facebook. In 2018, Facebook killed its trending topics feature due to controversy over it repeatedly resurfacing conspiracy theories and misinformation. Meanwhile, X notoriously had to deal with bots that spammed the trending section with specific agendas.

Biotech company 23andMe, known for its DNA testing kits, confirmed to BleepingComputer that its user data is circulating on hacker forums. The company said the leak occurred through a credential-stuffing attack.

A credential-stuffing attack involves user information that has already been compromised (usernames and passwords, for example) from one organization, which a hacker obtains and attempts to reuse with a second organization — in this case, 23andMe. Because of the nature of credential-stuffing, it does not appear this was a breach of the company's internal systems. Rather, accounts were broken into piecemeal. The perpetrators of this attack appear to have obtained quite sensitive information from the compromised accounts (genetic testing results, photos, full names and geographical location, among other things).

The initial leak comprised “1 million lines of data for Ashkenazi people,” according to BleepingComputer. By October 4, data was being offered for sale in bulk, in increments of 100, 1,000, 10,000 or 100,000 profiles. The scale of the attack is as yet unknown, but the scope of its impact has likely been exacerbated by 23andMe's 'DNA Relatives' feature. "Relatives are identified by comparing your DNA with the DNA of other 23andMe members who are participating in the DNA Relatives feature," the company states. After accessing an unknown number of profiles via credential-stuffing, the threat actor behind this breach apparently scraped the 'DNA Relatives' results for those profiles, netting much more sensitive data. According to the same FAQ page, "The number of relatives listed [..] grows over time as more people join 23andMe." For the fiscal year 2023, the company reported it “genotyped” around 14 million customers.

Ever since 23andMe went public in 2021, the company has faced extra scrutiny for its data protection practices — rightly so, since it deals with sensitive medical data derived from saliva sampling, including predispositions for diseases like Alzheimer's, Type 2 diabetes and even cancer. On its website the company claims it "exceeds" data protection standards for its industry.

Car dealers can give buyers an instant rebate for purchasing certain electric vehicles starting in January of 2024, according to new guidance released by the IRS. The memo says eligible vehicles may qualify for a tax credit of up to $7,500. However, the credit amount will depend on whether an EV and its buyer meet certain requirements, and when a car is actually purchased. 

For an electric car to qualify, it needs to have a minimum battery capacity of seven kilowatt hours. Buyers can’t claim the credit if their adjusted gross income exceeds certain thresholds – $300,000 if married and filing jointly, and $150,000 for the majority of single taxpayers. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the EV also can not exceed specific price points. For sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks, the cap is $80,000, for example. But for average electric vehicles to qualify, they can't be more than $55,000, which really narrows the benefit for cheaper car makers. While it’s a bummer that you can't get the rebate for an $81,000 Porche Taycan, you can probably get the benefit for something like the Nissan Leaf S that goes for $27,400.

Some EVs bought before 2024 might qualify for the rebate too, if they were bought and weren't intended for resale. For vehicles placed in service on or after April 18, 2023, the IRS says the potential rebate will depend on a variety of factors including the vehicle’s make and battery capacity. There are also requirements in place for length of ownership to prevent unscrupulous buyers from snapping up an EV, reselling it and pocketing the rebate.

The IRS lists eligible vehicles, including battery electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell vehicles on FuelEconomy.gov. It says the list will be updated as more vehicle eligibility requirements take effect.

All in all, the proposed guidance by the IRS is in line with the Biden administration’s goal of having 50 percent of new car sales be driven by EVs before 2030. The hope is an instant rebate will incentivize more buyers to purchase an electric car rather than having to wait to see any tangible reward for their purchase when they file their taxes. Albert Gore, executive director of the Zero Emissions Transportation Association, commends the IRS’ memo stating, “This guidance makes it easy for everyone to access the IRA’s new and used electric vehicle tax credits at the point of sale.”