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NEW YORK (AP) — About 429,000 portable power banks are under recall because they can overheat and potentially catch fire while charging phones, posing a burn hazard to consumers. According to a Thursday notice published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Brooklyn, New York-based Casely is recalling some of its “Power Pods” after receiving 51 reports of the chargers’ lithium-ion battery overheating, expanding or catching fire during use — resulting in six minor burn injuries to date. The now-recalled Casely Power Pods, which have a battery capacity of 5000mAh, can be identified by their model number: E33A. The wireless…

A Van Nuys man pleaded guilty Thursday to scheming to market and sell malware that gave purchasers control over computers and enabled them to steal victims’ private communications, login credentials and other personal information. Edmond Chakhmakhchyan, 25, entered his plea to a federal conspiracy charge for advertising a device as an interception device, transmitting a code to intentionally cause damage to protected computers and to intentionally access a computer to obtain information, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. U.S. District Judge Hernán D. Vera set sentencing for Aug. 7, at which time Chakhmakhchyan would face up to five years behind…

By TARA COPP WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot was asked to resign this week, a senior defense official told The Associated Press on Thursday, in the latest shakeup for the Defense Department following firings and other changes under President Donald Trump. Ullyot was one of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s initial hires for the communications office and oversaw some of its most highly visible but controversial moves, including a broad edict to the military services to strip away online images and other content considered a promotion of diversity, equity or inclusion. That directive, given under a wide-ranging Trump…

EL SEGUNDO — When Luka Doncic first arrived in Southern California after the shocking blockbuster trade that sent him from the Dallas Mavericks to the Lakers, he acknowledged that he still has more to accomplish. Despite all of the individual accolades he racked up in his first six full seasons in the league, there’s one major prize that the 26-year-old Slovenian star hasn’t accomplished: winning an NBA title. The urgency to accomplish that goal only grew when Doncic joined a franchise that has already won 17, the second-most in league history, with Larry O’Brien Championship trophies sitting outside of a…

By JOCELYN GECKER The Trump administration is asking Congress to eliminate funding for Head Start, a move that would cut early education for more than half a million of the nation’s neediest children and child care for their families. — The proposal is tucked in a 64-page internal draft budget document obtained by The Associated Press that seeks deep cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees Head Start. It is still in a highly preliminary phase as the White House prepares to send Congress its budget request for the 2026 fiscal year. It is not clear…

By Alex Brown, Stateline.org For the first time in decades, America needs to produce more electricity. In many places, a sharp uptick in power demand has been driven by data centers, the industrial buildings that house huge banks of computer servers and support our increasingly digital society. State lawmakers have long sought to attract such operations with generous tax breaks and incentives. But now, some are concerned that the infrastructure needed to add all those data centers to the electric grid will drive up residents’ utility bills. The growing use of artificial intelligence, which requires massive amounts of computing power,…

By RODRIQUE NGOWI and BEN FINLEY CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — University professors and students led protests on campuses across the U.S. on Thursday against what they say are broad attacks on higher education, including massive cuts to funding, the expulsion of international students and the stifling of free speech about the war in Gaza. Demonstrations were held at schools including Harvard, where President Donald Trump’s administration says it will freeze $2.2 billion in grants and contracts and is threatening to revoke the university’s ability to host international students. Rochelle Sun, a graduate student at Harvard’s Department of Government, said she…

EL SEGUNDO — It might sound like a tired cliche, a trite bit of sports-speak that leaves skeptical observers shaking their heads because it seems like the most obvious way to avoid answering a direct question, but over the years, it’s become a sacred tenet for Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz. The Chargers, Hortiz said Thursday, would pick the best player available when the NFL draft is conducted next Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Hortiz could say that with a smile because of the way the first waves of free agency unfolded for the Chargers, who filled a variety of job…

By JULIE CARR SMYTH COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A federal judge permanently struck down an Ohio law on Thursday that would have required children and teens under 16 to get parental consent to use social media apps. U.S. District Court Judge Algenon Marbley’s decision came in a lawsuit filed by NetChoice, a trade group representing TikTok, Snapchat, Meta and other major tech companies. The organization’s complaint argued that the law unconstitutionally impedes free speech and is overly broad and vague. The state contends the law is needed to protect children from the harms of social media. Marbley said that the…

By BYRON TAU, JOSHUA GOODMAN, GARANCE BURKE and BRIAN SLODYSKO WASHINGTON (AP) — On the rooftop patio of the General Services Administration headquarters, an agency staffer recently discovered something strange: a rectangular device attached to a wire that snaked across the roof, over the ledge and into the administrator’s window one floor below. It didn’t take long for the employee — an IT specialist — to figure out the device was a transceiver that communicates with Elon Musk’s vast and private Starlink satellite network. Concerned that the equipment violated federal laws designed to protect public data, staffers reported the discovery…