N.C. farm rents out miniature donkey to crash video calls

"It's always going to be a human that manages the airspace in America,” Duffy said.

Ads shaped by artificial intelligence are everywhere on the campaign trail, even as AI data centers become a major midterm issue and a potential liability for Republican candidates.  In the Texas Senate race, Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton’s campaign put out a new ad earlier this month depicting his Democratic opponent James Talarico as...

Major cryptocurrency super PAC Fairshake plans to spend $30 million in Ohio opposing former Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D) bid to return to the Senate, the group confirmed to The Hill. Brown, who spent nearly two decades representing the Buckeye State before being ousted in 2024, is facing off against incumbent Sen. Jon Husted (R) in...

The strengthening Korean won is emerging as a fresh earnings risk for chipmakers, display firms and other electronics companies that rely heavily on dollar-denominated transactions, prompting brokerages to cut earnings estimates for the third quarter. According to data from the Bank of Korea, Sunday, the Korean currency traded at 1,480 won against the dollar on July 16, before strengthening to 1,413 won on Aug. 17 and 1,382 won on Sept. 17. This represents a 6.6 percent narrowing in the dollar-won exchange rate over the two-month period. The change in the dollar-won exchange rate accelerated particularly from August, with the Korean currency gaining value to 1,336 won per dollar on Sept. 9. This prompted brokerages that had based their earnings forecasts at 1,450 won per dollar to begin cutting their estimates, causing the third-quarter earnings consensus for major companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to drop. According to market tracker FnGuide, brokerages’ consensus on Samsung Electronics’ third-quarter operating profit stood at 122.35 trillion won ($88.27 billion) o

The global popularity of Korean food has reached a point where convenience store meal boxes, known as “dosirak,” have become part of a new market trend where signature Korean flavors and traditional recipes have become a hit with international visitors and popular in new markets. Min Jung-hwan, who plans and oversees dosirak production for GS25 at GS Retail’s Merchandise Headquarters, is seeing the shift firsthand. Rather than creating separate products for foreign customers, the retailer is increasingly offering the same dosirak that appeal to Korean consumers, reflecting growing interest in authentic Korean flavors. “We don’t make dosirak that are specially for foreigners because many of them like what Koreans enjoy. Even at GS25 stores in Vietnam and Mongolia, visitors are interested in authentic Korean-style dosirak. We try to meet such expectations so that they can feel they are inside a Korean convenience store,” Min said in an interview with The Korea Times. “To serve the rising number of foreigners coming to Korea, we are boosting a pipeline for those with banchan

Samsung Electronics held a groundbreaking ceremony for a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) production line in the southwestern city of Gwangju on Monday. The company plans to invest approximately 240 billion won ($173 million) to build a 21,500-square-meter HVAC production line at its Gwangju operations site. The new production line, scheduled to begin operations in 2028, will manufacture HVAC products from FlaktGroup Holding GmbH, a Germany-based ventilation company that Samsung Electronics acquired last year. "The launch of the new FlaktGroup production line will serve as another milestone in advancing our HVAC business, a key growth driver for the company," Roh Tae-moon, co-chief executive officer of Samsung Electronics and head of its device experience (DX) division, said at the ceremony. Samsung said the new production line will strengthen its global production capabilities for advanced cooling equipment and centralized HVAC solutions as demand for cooling and HVAC solutions for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers continues to grow rapidly.

A research team at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) has developed a new cathode technology that could help batteries store more energy without increasing their size or weight, the institute said Monday. The team, led by senior researchers Moon San and Suk Jung-don, developed a new dry thick cathode technology that improves the movement of lithium ions inside electrodes. The research was featured as the cover article of the international academic journal Exploration in August, with post-master's researcher Eun Hye-ji as the first author. The technology uses graphitic carbon nitride as an additive in dry cathodes for the first time, helping the electrolyte penetrate deeper into the electrode and reducing the energy required for lithium ions to enter the cathode material. One way to produce high-energy-density batteries is to make electrodes thicker, as this allows more active material to be packed into the same area. However, as electrodes become thicker, lithium ions have more difficulty moving through them, preventing the battery from fully utilizing the energ

State-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) said Monday it will keep electricity rates unchanged in the fourth quarter despite higher raw material prices and its financial difficulties. The adjusted fuel cost, a key component of electricity rates, will remain at the maximum level of 5 won per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the October-December period, KEPCO said. KEPCO has kept the adjusted fuel cost at 5 won per kWh for 18 consecutive quarters since the third quarter of 2022. The adjusted fuel cost is set before each quarter within a range of plus or minus 5 won per kWh, based on energy prices, including coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG), over the previous three months. KEPCO said rates were due to rise by 7.3 won per kWh in the fourth quarter under the fuel cost adjustment formula. The decision to freeze rates is expected to further weigh on the company's finances. The company's financial difficulties began after it continued to supply electricity at prices below production costs as global energy prices surged between 2021 and 2023 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. KEPCO and its power

For many in Korea, the end of a major holiday means back to business — literally. In the days immediately following a major festive break, job seekers across the country launch into an intense hunt for their next career move, according to data released Monday by the hiring platform JobKorea, operated by Worxphere. Looking at resume postings and job applications around the last two years of Chuseok and Seollal — Korea's autumn harvest and Lunar New Year holidays, both multiday breaks when many workers return to hometowns — JobKorea found new resume registrations consistently spike on the first Monday after each holiday. The sharpest jump came after Chuseok 2024, when resume postings on Sept. 23 that year more than doubled the average weekday rate, and ran about 3.7 times the average daily rate during the holiday itself. Similar patterns followed: resume postings rose 46 percent above the weekday average on Feb. 3, 2025, the Monday after that year's Seollal; 20 percent after Chuseok 2025; and 29 percent after Seollal 2026. Job applications followed the same pattern, peaking on the fi

LG Energy Solution has completed the establishment of its energy storage system (ESS) production network in North America, accelerating its push to capture growing demand in the rapidly expanding ESS market. Following the opening ceremony for LG Energy Solution Michigan-Lansing on Aug. 18, the plant is now ramping up operations. The Lansing plant serves as a combined manufacturing hub for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for ESS applications and nickel cobalt manganese batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), with an annual battery cell production capacity of more than 35 gigawatt-hours. The plant began producing pouch-type LFP batteries for ESS applications this year and plans to begin mass production of prismatic LFP batteries next year, marking LG Energy Solution's first prismatic battery production in North America. The company has also secured orders to supply EV batteries to Toyota. LG Energy Solution Michigan operates two production sites in the state, in Holland and Lansing. LG Energy Solution Michigan President Choi Dae-sik said that operating two plants in different locatio

Peugeot’s signature 308 Hybrid hatchback stands out with its impressive fuel efficiency and remarkably agile performance, offering a distinctive alternative in the compact hybrid segment. Powered by a 1.2-liter gasoline engine paired with a 48-volt battery system, the 308 Hybrid hatchback is capable of operating in electric mode for roughly half of typical city driving conditions. The vehicle delivers an official fuel economy rating of 15.2 kilometers per liter, boasting its efficiency-focused engineering. During a round-trip drive of approximately 400 kilometers between Seoul and Daejeon, the vehicle demonstrated exceptional real-world efficiency, with the fuel tank remaining more than half full upon completion of the journey. Some may question whether a 1.2-liter gasoline engine can provide sufficient performance. However, the moment the gas pedal is pressed, the electric motor intervenes instantly, delivering brisk and responsive acceleration that exceeds expectations. Depending on the battery’s state of charge, the 308 Hybrid can travel short distances using only the electric mot

Starbucks Korea has launched a customer-participation campaign to donate up to 1 million cups of coffee to people and communities in need. Under the “My Star Coffee” campaign, for every cup of Today’s Coffee purchased at Starbucks stores nationwide on Mondays, beginning Sept. 28, the company will donate an equivalent amount of coffee. The campaign is based on the idea of giving a cup of coffee to a personal “star” — someone who has offered quiet support and encouragement. For every cup of brewed coffee purchased by a customer, Starbucks will donate one additional cup of coffee to people and communities in need, allowing customers and the company to jointly build up the donations. The accumulated cups of “My Star Coffee” will be delivered to people serving local communities, welfare facilities, disaster and emergency sites, farms and other places in need. Starbucks said the initiative is intended to allow customers to take part in sharing activities through everyday coffee purchases, while extending support to people who contribute to their communities. The company’s mobi