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A Washington state resident has died from bird flu complications, marking the first such death in the United States in over a year. The Yakima County resident, who had underlying health conditions, contracted avian influenza after exposure to infected cattle at a local dairy. Health officials are monitoring the situation closely.
Turning to AI, millions of Americans are now consulting chatbots for election guidance, and researchers are raising serious concerns. Studies show these tools are getting voting facts wrong and, in some cases, actively recommending candidates. The worry is that a technology people increasingly trust could quietly shape how they cast their ballots.
And in the world of home energy, Tesla has rolled out a feature called Heat Pump Optimization for its Powerwall three system. The technology tells compatible heat pumps when to run harder, essentially storing cheap or surplus solar energy as hot water. For now it is live in Europe only, where the underlying hardware standard already has a foothold.
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