Russia's synthetic drug use is skyrocketing as soldiers return from Ukraine with addictions and trafficking supply routes dwindle

Tech Insider
People walk under snowfall in Moscow
Moscow, Russia

Photo by Sefa Karacan/Anadolu via Getty Images

  • Russia's invasion of Ukraine has radically altered the country's criminal underworld, a new report found.
  • Russian drug traffickers have been forced to find new routes into and out of the country.
  • The war has also led to a spike in synthetic amphetamines and opioids in Russia, per the report.

The fallout of Russia's war in Ukraine has revived

You can create your own AI songs with this new Copilot extension

The Verge
Rows of blue headphones floating diagonally against a pink background.
The Verge

Microsoft’s AI chatbot Copilot will now be able to churn out AI songs on demand — thanks to a new plug-in with Suno. The Cambridge-based AI music startup offers a tool on Discord that can compose an original song — complete with lyrics — based on a text prompt. Now, Copilot users will be able to access Suno using the Microsoft chatbot.

In order to start making

Stability AI announces paid membership for commercial use of its models

The Verge
AI Companies And Apps Photo Illustrations
Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Stability AI, the maker of the text-to-image model Stable Diffusion, is now offering a subscription service that standardizes and changes how customers can use its models for commercial purposes.

The company said the membership “redefines” how it grants commercial rights to users, aiming to strike a balance between

Semi-private US carrier JSX inks deals to buy more than 300 hybrid-electric aircraft

Tech Insider
A rendering of the Heart Aerospace ES-30 aircraft in JSX branding.
A rendering of the Heart Aerospace ES-30 aircraft in JSX branding. A contract to buy more than 300 hybrid-electric craft would help the semi-private carrier expand service to smaller communities.

JSX

  • Semi-private air carrier JSX has announced its intent to buy more than 300 hybrid-electric planes.
  • The aircraft are set to come from three different manufacturers and have at least 500-mile ranges.
  • JSX's
Travel

NASA's Webb Space Telescope shows off its most detailed image of Uranus yet, revealing storms and a 21-year-long winter in exquisite detail

Tech Insider
A new image of Uranus taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.
The James Webb Space Telescope's new portrait of Uranus show the planet's rings and polar clouds like never before.

NASA, ESA, CSA, Space Telescope Science Institute

NASA's Ja

Blue Origin is in for a reawakening

Tech Insider
Jeff Bezos is pictured looking out of the window of a Blue Origin New Shepard rocket wearing sunglasses.
Jeff Bezos gestures from inside a Blue Origin New Shepard capsule, similar to the kind he traveled to the edge of space in.

Isaiah J. Downing/Reuters

  • Over a year after a fiery mishap, Blue Origin launched its New Shepard rocket.
  • The 23-year-old company has struggled behind competitors like SpaceX.
  • "Blue Origin needs to be much faster," CEO Jeff Bezos said in a recent podcast interview.

Blue Origin

2023 Was the Weakest Year for Memes in History

Gizmodo

For the last two decades, some of the weirdest and most creative things on the internet played out in images and GIFs. There have always been terrible memes, but for years, memes as a category were consistently funny, useful, inspiring, and even thought-provoking. They crossed over into all of the furthest reaches of…

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