YouTube is attempting to make it easier for folks to find reliable and high-quality health information on the platform. It's opening up its health product features to certain healthcare professionals and information providers in the US. It started offering those features last year to educational institutions, public health departments, hospitals and government bodies. "This new step will allow us to expand to include high quality information from a wider group of healthcare channels," Dr. Garth Graham, the global head of YouTube Health, wrote in a blog post.

The features include labels under videos that clearly state the information is coming from a healthcare professional or accredited organization. When a user searches for a term such as "bipolar" or "breast cancer," they may see a carousel of videos under the label “From health sources” near the top of the search results.

YouTube says healthcare professionals can apply for the program starting today. They'll need to submit proof of their medical license and for their YouTube account to be in good standing. They'll also need to follow the Council of Medical Specialty Societies, the National Academy of Medicine and the World Health Organization best practices for sharing health information. YouTube plans to expand the program to more markets and other types of medical specialties.

Helping people obtain credible health information from a verified professional is inherently a positive move. YouTube will still have to tread carefully with this program, given the COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation that has been rife on the platform over the last few years. Meanwhile, YouTube points out that people shouldn't consider health-related information they learn from verified professionals as medical advice (and nor will the videos apply to everyone). You'd still be best served to get in touch with a healthcare provider if you have a medical concern and to contact emergency services if the need arises.

The market for wireless earbuds is loaded with quality options, but in the sub-$100 range, the selection is generally a bit spottier. We've found Jabra's Elite 3 to be a standout for those on a budget, though, and as of this writing the earbuds are down to $50 at Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and Jabra's online store. We've seen the Elite 3 hit this price a few times this year, but the discount is still about $15 off the device's average street price in recent months and $30 off Jabra's MSRP.

The earbuds briefly dropped to $47.49 earlier this month, but this matches the lowest price we've seen outside of that. It's also worth noting that Best Buy is marketing this as the Elite 3's "Black Friday price" as part of a wider early Black Friday promotion, so this is likely to be the earbuds' going rate during any upcoming holiday sales.

Our audio expert Billy Steele gave the Elite 3 a score of 88 last year, deeming it "the new standard for affordable wireless earbuds" in the process. We were particularly impressed in the sound department: it's not purely neutral, and it can't match pricier models like Apple's AirPods Pro or Sennheiser's Momentum True Wireless 3, but the overall clarity is greater than what you typically get for less than $100, let alone $50, and the bass-forward profile lends tracks a nice amount of body. 

We found the Elite 3's compact design to be light and comfortable in the ear, with reliable physical control buttons on each earpiece. The buds have an IP55 dust and water resistance rating, which is enough to survive most workouts. Battery life comes in at roughly seven hours of continuous use, which is good, with another 20-ish hours available through the included charging case. A recent firmware update also added the ability to create a custom EQ profile, addressing one of the issues we had in our initial review.

To be clear, these are still Jabra's "budget" earbuds, so their overall feature set is limited compared to more expensive alternatives. There's no active noise cancellation, no wireless charging support, no ability to connect to more than one device simultaneously, and no automatic pausing when you remove an earpiece. Call quality is just average, and while there is a "HearThrough" ambient sound mode, it generally sounds more muffled than the equivalents on higher-end pairs. Anker's Soundcore Space A40 is a good budget-friendly alternative for those who want ANC and other advanced features, though it's still pricier at $100. 

Nevertheless, the Elite 3's overall package remains a strong value when it's discounted to this extent, so consider this a PSA if you're been looking for a quality set of no-frills wireless earbuds without spending a ton.

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Fast Company isn't the only news outlet to suffer a recent, high-profile security breach. As CNBCreports, The New York Post has confirmed it was the victim of a hack. The perpetrators briefly defaced both the newspaper's website and Twitter account with racist and sexist headlines, including ones targeting New York City Mayor Eric Adams and House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. 

In a statement, the The Post said only that it was "investigating the cause." No one has taken credit for the hack as of this writing, and it's not clear if the intruders took any sensitive data.

This isn't the first breach targeting The Post this year. In February, News Corp revealed that hackers compromised email accounts and documents for The Post and Wall Street Journal employees, including some journalists. Mandiant, a security firm working for the media giant, believed China was conducting an intelligence gathering operation. It's not certain if there's any relation between the cyberattacks.

The attack comes just weeks after Fast Company fell victim to hacks that let the culprit send racist notifications to Apple News users. The publication went so far as to shut down its entire website while it addressed the incident. The hacker claimed to have exploited weak password security in WordPress that let them steal employee login info, password hashes and draft articles.

There's no known link between the hacks at present. However, they illustrate the potential dangers of site violations like this. On top of the risks to data, they provide easy ways for hackers to spread toxic and partisan messages. It won't be surprising if there are similar campaigns in the near future, especially with the US midterm elections just weeks away.

It’s been a long road, getting from Lower Decks’ slightly rough-around-the-edges first episode to here. But it hasn’t taken that much time, since Star Trek’s first animated sitcom very quickly found its feet to become my favorite Trek of the streaming era. The second season showed a growing confidence in its own execution, and as the third season concludes, we find it proud to show the world what it’s now capable of.

The clue, really, was in the swift resolution to the Pakled cliffhanger which ended the second year. On one hand, a sitcom like Lower Decks doesn’t need to turn into The Wire to keep you hooked. But it’s also aware that it can sow the seeds of a running plot thread – the story of Rutherford’s implant – into the fabric of so many episodes. And that the payoff was far more interested in the impact on the character than the cliffhanger.

And these strands certainly paid off in “Reflections,” which revealed that a person, or persons unknown, were behind Rutherford’s implant. But even that paid off in a way that you weren’t necessarily expecting it to come back here in the two-ish part finale. And who was the big bad of the season, really? Nothing more than the bete noire of so many Golden Era Trek episodes, the Evil Admiral™. I loved the show’s attempted justification for why Starfleet churns out so many of them – the lack of career development pushes people to extremes – too.

If there was a sore spot, it was that the penultimate episode, “Trusted Sources” wheeled out the hacky Journalist Makes Everyone Look Awful plot. It’s about as hackneyed as the one where a sitcom character has their boss over for dinner yet accidentally forgets to tell their partner. It’s only really a crowbar to get Mariner pushed out of Starfleet in preparation for the finale, and it never looked like it was going to stick given her obvious love of the Cerritos.

Naturally, the season ends with a punch-the-air victory for not just the Cerritos, but the whole California Class. I’ve always loved Lower Decks’ celebration of the painstaking, cautious and fundamentally boring, yet fundamental, work that serving in Starfleet often requires. Its regular rejection of the, uh, more Kurtzmanesque tendencies of the series makes me love it all the more. Because, like science, the best work is often slow, incremental and dull until it marks a fundamental shift in how we understand the universe. And you can’t really do that if you’re spending your whole episode running from an explosion or proving how tough you are.

Another sign of the show’s confidence is in its second crew-lite episode (I’m always a fan of a show that’ll take you elsewhere for an episode or two). This time, it was centered on the fate of the evil Exocomp Peanut Hamper, last seen making a run for it in the first season finale. “A Mathematically Perfect Resolution” allowed the show to both flesh out a previously one-note character, and explore a new corner of the Star Trek world.

Even better, the sparse opening act offered a lengthy showcase for Chris Westlake’s gorgeous score. Star Trek has always been about its music as much as its narrative, and the show is lucky to have both Westlake and Nami Melumad producing virtuoso work on a weekly basis. I can’t wait for a season three soundtrack album, especially since we once again hear the James Horner-parodying Lower Decks Action Theme several times this year.

If I have a concern, it’s that Lower Decks often feels like it’s designed with lasers to milk my nostalgia glands. I’ll often spend a chunk of each episode clapping like a mad seal at the latest Trek deep cut Mike McMahon and Co. throw at viewers each week. The only thing that prevents it from becoming gratuitous fanservice is that these feel mostly earned. And it has been an orgy of references, including an extended visit to Deep Space Nine.

My heart can do nothing but swell when Nana Visitor (Kira), Armin Shimmerman (Quark), JG Hertzler (Martok), Susan Gibney (Leah Brahmas) and George Takei (Captain Sulu!). And the show has the appropriate respect for Trek MVP Jeffrey Combs to bring him back for a quick visit to Agimus, still trapped in Starfleet’s filing cabinet for self-aware, megalomaniacal computers. I didn’t even mention the extended First Contact riff, complete with an appearance by James Cromwell, or the riff on classic TNG episode “Symbiosis” with quite possibly the darkest joke ever seen in a Trek series.

I’m running out of room to heap the usual praise on the cast, all of whom do sterling work on a regular basis. And that’s before we discuss the glorious, last-minute reveal that T’Lyn, the so-called “emotional” Vulcan from last year’s “wej Duj” has transferred to the Cerritos. (Do I want her to join Beta Shift? I have no idea, but I’m looking forward to seeing how she interacts with the gang now she’s here.)

I’m naturally very excited for Lower Decks’ Season 4 but, by my calculations, the next time we’ll see Mariner and Boimler appear in Strange New Worlds. Given that we already know that Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid look like their characters, I can’t wait to see them appear on the Enterprise bridge and stare lovingly at Pike’s Peak. My favorite nü-Trek series merging with my second-favorite? Be still my beating heart.

The United Nations has issued another stark warning that, under current policies, the planet is falling far short of the Paris Agreement goal of keeping the rise in global temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius. That's the threshold scientists say we have to remain under in order to mitigate extreme, life-threatening weather events, such as heatwaves, droughts and tropical storms. Under current policies, the UN suggests we're nowhere close to meeting that climate change target and that there's "no credible pathway to 1.5C in place."

The UN laid out the dire state of affairs in a report it released just a week before the start of the COP27 climate conference in Egypt. It said that pledges made by national policy makers since COP26, which was held in Glasgow last year, "make a negligible difference to predicted 2030 emissions" and that progress over the last 12 months has been "highly inadequate." In fact, the report suggests that current active policies will lead to a 2.8C rise in global temperatures by the end of the 21st century and that implementing pledges that have been made will only limit the rise to between 2.4C and 2.6C. Even that would require perfect implementation of plans, with wealthier countries helping poorer ones to enact them.

"In the best case scenario, full implementation of conditional NDCs [nationally determined contributions], plus additional net zero commitments, point to a 1.8C rise," Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, said. "However, this scenario is currently not credible."

The 13th edition of the Emissions Gap Report argues that major societal and infrastructure changes are required. It lays out the necessary actions for sectors including electricity supply, industry, transport and buildings, along with the food and financial systems. The report notes that, in order to get on course to meet the 1.5C goal, we'd need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a further 45 percent by 2030, compared with projections based on current policies. To limit the rise in temperatures to under 2C, an extra 30 percent reduction in emissions is required.

"Is it a tall order to transform our systems in just eight years? Yes. Can we reduce greenhouse gas emissions by so much in that timeframe? Perhaps not. But we must try," Andersen wrote. "Every fraction of a degree matters: to vulnerable communities, to species and ecosystems, and to every one of us."

It took several months, but Snap's promised video editing suite is finally available. The social network is now rolling out "Director Mode" to all Snapchat users on Android and iOS. As teased in April, the feature lets creators add polish to their Snaps with virtual green screens, camera speed changes and quick editing for multiple clips.

You can also use the BeReal-style Dual Camera functionality within this mode, although it's currently limited to iOS users. Android users will have "limited" access to two-camera recording in the weeks ahead. Dual Camera is also available through the regular Snapchat cam.

Director Mode will be useful for influencers who want to produce videos for Spotlight, Snapchat's home for TikTok-like short videos. It may be particularly helpful for verified users (Snap Stars in company lingo) who want more of the sheen they apply to all their online content.

Snap isn't alone in chasing after TikTok and similar rivals. Instagram has been testing a Candid Challenges feature that mimics BeReal, and it's no secret that social media heavyweights have routinely lifted elements from each other in a bid to remain competitive — to the point where they've occasionally had to walk back their plans after mimicking designs too closely. Like it or not, social networks are harmonizing to the point where differences may only be subtle.

Elon Musk has tweeted a video clip of him entering the Twitter San Francisco headquarters carrying a kitchen sink. "Let that sink in," he captioned. Turns out he may have also talked to staff members and denied reports that he's going let most of them go after he officially takes over as company owner, possibly on Friday. According to Bloomberg, he told Twitter's employees that he doesn't have plans to axe 75 percent of Twitter's 7,500 workers like previously reported by The Washington Post. 

Musk is still expected to order layoffs. During a Twitter Town Hall meeting in June, he said he didn't know why low-performing workers should remain employed. But job cuts were going to happen even if Musk completely backed out of purchasing the website anyway. Based on internal documents obtained by The Post, current company leadership was planning a 25 percent workforce reduction, which translates to 1,900 people losing their jobs. Executives were also planning major infrastructure cuts and data center closures.

Musk's Twitter purchase is on track to close by Friday, but it was in limbo for a long while. The executive had wanted to back out of his $44 billion purchase, accusing the company of withholding data that would give him a clearer picture of how many bots and fake accounts are on the website. Twitter, in turn, sued Musk and accused him of wrongfully breaking the agreement. Earlier this month, though, Musk decided to go ahead with the deal, and Twitter agreed with his proposal before their case could go to trial. 

The Department of Justice is reportedly investigating whether Tesla has misled customers and investors by claiming that its Autopilot technology enables full-fledged self-driving capabilities. According to Reuters, the DOJ launched the probe last year following over a dozen crashes, including fatal ones, in which Autopilot was activated. Prosecutors in Washington and San Francisco are examining if Tesla had made unsupported full self-driving claims about the technology, and they could ultimately pursue criminal charges or seek sanctions. But they could also shut the probe down without doing anything if they determine that Tesla hasn't done anything wrong. 

Back in August, reports came out that the California DMV had filed complaints against the automaker with the California Office of Administrative Hearings. The state's DMV had accused Tesla of using advertising language on its website for its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving products that aren't based on facts and made it seem like its vehicles are capable of fully driverless trips. One example is part of the Autopilot page on Tesla's website that says "All you will need to do is get in and tell your car where to go." In the same page, there's a video that starts with a note that reads "The person in the driver's seat is only there for legal reasons. He isn't doing anything. The car is driving itself."

But at the same time, Tesla explicitly states in its support page that "Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability are intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel." Those currently enabled features, the company added, "do not make the vehicle autonomous." Its sources told Reuters that Tesla's warnings that drivers should keep their hands on the wheel could complicate any case the DOJ may bring. 

Aside from the Justice Department, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is also looking into Tesla's Autopilot system. The agency initiated a probe in 2021 following the report of 11 crashes with parked first responder vehicles since 2018. Those crashes results in 17 injuries and one death. In June this year, the NHTSA upgraded the probe's status and expanded it to cover almost all Tesla vehicles sold since 2014.

Duolingo Math is now available on iOS, over a year since it was first teased. Naturally, the new math app feels a lot like the company’s language app, including colorful animations and interactive exercises all built into gamified lessons.

There are two main components to the app: an elementary-level math curriculum that goes over classroom topics and a brain-training course aimed at adults, with a focus on improving mental math skills. Dr. Kawashima has a lot to answer for. For those anxious about their math skills, it could be a subtle way of brushing up on those multiplication skills. Sadly, mental arithmetic remains not quite as dreamy as learning a second language.

Duolingo’s reputation should help it stand out in a sea of similar apps, and like many rivals, Duolingo Math is free. The app is available on iPhone and iPad, only in English for now. No word yet on when it will be available on Android.

– Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

• Sony's wireless earbuds will support multipoint connections this fall

• Apple's new iCloud web interface is much more useful than before

• Samsung's 2022 The Frame smart TVs are cheaper than ever right now

• OM System unveils the OM-5, its first camera without the Olympus name

• Nintendo's retro controllers now work on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac

• 'The Witcher' is getting an Unreal Engine 5 remake

SpaceX's pricier Starlink internet service for RVs now works on moving vehicles

You'll have to pay $2,500 upfront for the hardware.

Getty

SpaceX has launched a new variant of Starlink for RVs called "Flat High Performance" that you can use on moving vehicles. You will have to be willing to pay almost five times as much for the dish needed to be able to access the service. It’s designed for in-motion use, with a bigger rectangular terminal that can see 35 percent more sky than its standard counterpart. It also has enhanced GPS capabilities, giving the dish the ability to connect to more satellites. SpaceX is already taking pre-orders for the new service and will start deliveries in December. The hardware kit, which includes its dish and mount, will set you back $2,500.

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Nothing's $99 Ear Stick earbuds have a fancy twisting case

But there’s no noise cancellation.

Nothing

Nothing’s second attempt at wireless headphones come in a carry case that tries to combine a cosmetics packaging aesthetic with the glossy white, transparent style of its other devices so far. While the $99 Nothing Ear Stick wireless earbuds are cheaper than its predecessor, these buds lack active noise cancellation. There are no silicone buds this time around, so you can expect more noise bleed-through, too, although some headphone wearers may find them a more comfortable fit. Expect to read our impressions on the buds very soon.

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The best monitors for 2022

HDR, refresh rate, curved screens? Help!

Computer monitors keep evolving rapidly, with new technology like OLED Flex, QD-OLED and built-in smart platforms just in the last year alone. That’s on top of big improvements in things like color accuracy, size and resolution. As there are a lot of products in this market and a lot of features, it can be overwhelming, so we’ve researched the latest models for all kinds of markets, whether you’re a gamer, business user or content creator. Read on to find out which model is the best for you and, especially, your budget.

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'The Callisto Protocol' hands-on

Think ‘Dead Space’, but grosser.

Callisto Protocol

The Callisto Protocol is a new game from a studio with zero releases to its name, but playing it feels familiar - according to Engadget’s Jessica Conditt. It all seems to unapologetically feed off the immersive sci-fi horror concepts of Dead Space. This is the first game out of Striking Distance Studios, a team led by Dead Space co-creator Glen Schofield — so yeah, all the references are coming straight from the source.

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Sony's new high-end camera shoots 8K video with AI-powered autofocus

The high-resolution A7R V uses 'human pose estimation.'

Sony’s $3,900 A7R V is expensive and impressive. Built for shooting portraits, landscapes and other subjects that require as much resolution as possible, it’s plenty capable in other regards, too. The new model carries the same 61-megapixel resolution as the A7R IV, but the key improvement may be in the autofocus. This is Sony's first camera to introduce "human pose estimation." The system can see 20 different points in the human body and thus figure out where the eye is supposed to be, and keep faces in tight focus.

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Google Workspace individual plans jump from 15GB to 1TB of storage

You probably won't run out of Gmail and Drive storage space anytime soon.

Google has some good news for those using its Workspace plans. Users will soon get a significant storage upgrade from 15GB to 1TB at no extra cost. This storage will be accessed through Gmail, Drive and other Google services attached to your Workspace account, and it’s a major space upgrade, and it’ll come at no extra cost.

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On October 25th, Apple started displaying more ads in the App Store, particularly in the "Today" tab and at the bottom of app listings. Since then, multiple developers have complained about getting ads for gambling under their listings' "You Might Also Like" section, when they have nothing to do with their applications. One of those developers was Marco Arment, who posted a screenshot on Twitter showing gambling advertisements on the App Store page for his podcast app Overcast. Other developers reported having the same issue and made it clear that they weren't OK with casino ads in their product pages. Now, Apple has told MacRumors that it has "paused ads related to gambling and a few other categories on App Store product pages."

That's pretty much Apple's whole statement. It's not quite clear if the tech giant intends to resume serving gambling ads after the backlash dies down — Apple didn't expound on its decision, and the word "pause" seems to suggest that the change is only temporary. As MacRumors notes, people have been criticizing Apple for serving casino ads as a whole and not just because they're being served within app listings. Florian Mueller of the FOSS Patents blog also argued that by putting ads in app pages, Apple is forcing developers to pony up money to buy those ad spaces. That's because if they don't purchase them, competitors could use them and take potential customers away. 

Apple has sold ads in the App Store for years, but the ads space in the Today tab used to be reserved for a curated list of recommendations from Apple's editorial team. Meanwhile, the "You Might Also Like" section where ads are now displayed at the bottom of listings contained suggestion cards for similar apps. Since Apple allows advertisers to target categories different than their own, though, casino ads can show up just about anywhere on the App Store.