The XPRIZE Wildfire competition concluded without awarding either of its two $11 million grand prizes, though finalists were recognized for progress in space-based fire detection and autonomous firefighting drones. One track required teams to detect all fires across a wide area of Australia within 10 minutes, while another challenged autonomous systems to locate and extinguish a target fire in rural Alaska within the same timeframe, avoiding decoy fires. Program director Andrea Santy said the competition drew hundreds of teams proposing solutions ranging from sound-based suppression to robotic dogs and lasers before judges narrowed the field to more practical detection and response systems.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-23
Google is rolling out new trip-planning tools inside AI Mode, including a price-tracking feature from Google Flights that emails users when fares change, and the ability to view flight and hotel costs in miles or points. The company is also enabling in-chat hotel booking via Google Pay, starting in the US with partners like Expedia, Marriott and Priceline.
engadget.com
· 2026-08-27
During a nearly 12-hour livestream from the Alaskan wilderness, streamers Maya Higa and FaZe Adapt were filmed sitting near a massive grizzly bear as it charged past them into a river to catch fish. The pair, aware that moving could provoke the animal, stayed still and narrated the moment for viewers rather than retreating to safety.
futurism.com
· 2026-08-27
With 2026 primaries mostly wrapped up, Democrats are eyeing several paths to retake the Senate majority beyond their original four-state plan targeting Alaska, North Carolina, Ohio and Maine. Strategists point to President Trump's approval rating dropping below 40 percent—and even near 30 percent in one poll—amid an unpopular Iran conflict and rising gas and grocery costs. In Alaska, former Rep. Mary Peltola leads incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan by over 5 points, while a same-named candidate, Dan J. Sullivan, also made the general-election ballot, potentially confusing voters.
wired.com
· 2026-08-26
Several companies are developing small nuclear reactors compact enough to be transported by aircraft or shipped in standard containers, each carrying roughly a decade's worth of fuel. Backers envision deploying these units directly from factories to isolated locations like rural Alaska, remote mining operations, or even future space outposts, where conventional power infrastructure is costly or impractical.
nature.com
· 2026-08-26
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