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  • Get $800 off the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 gaming monitor with this stunning Black Friday deal

    Get $800 off the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 gaming monitor with this stunning Black Friday deal

    SAVE $800: The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 is on sale for $1,499.99 in the Amazon Black Friday sale. That’s 35% off the list price for a total saving of $800.


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  • Google says it isn’t using your Gmail to train AI

    Google says it isn’t using your Gmail to train AI

    You may have seen the now-viral warnings that Google is snooping around your Gmail account and using your emails to train its AI models.

    “IMPORTANT message for everyone using Gmail,”…

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  • AirPods 4 Hit New Low Prices for Black Friday

    AirPods 4 Hit New Low Prices for Black Friday

    Black Friday is usually the best time of the year to pick up Apple products, as that tends to be when they hit their lowest-ever prices. Apple’s official Black Friday sale begins November 28 and includes up to $250 in gift cards with select…

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  • Toyota has recalled more than 1 million cars over faulty backup cameras. What to know if your vehicle is affected

    Toyota has recalled more than 1 million cars over faulty backup cameras. What to know if your vehicle is affected

    America’s most popular car brand is recalling more than one million vehicles (1).

    On Oct. 30, Japanese vehicle manufacturer Toyota announced a sweeping recall of several models released between 2020 and 2023 as a result of malfunctioning backup cameras (2). The Toyota Newsroom stated that drivers of some Toyota and Lexus models could experience a blacked out or frozen camera when reversing, a violation of federal car safety standards (3) .

    Some of the impacted models include the Camry, Highlander, and Prius. Toyota says affected drivers will be notified of the recall by late December 2025.

    A faulty backup camera may not sound like a serious enough issue to send your car into the shop, but companies only issue recalls after receiving customer complaints and when there’s a verified safety risk (4). A malfunctioning backup camera can fail to alert drivers to obstacles, animals, or children in the rear of the car, and creates an additional blind spot for drivers of newer vehicles who aren’t used to having to look behind or check their mirrors when backing up (5).

    It’s a hassle to deal with a vehicle that has been recalled, but it’s important to get the issue fixed. Here’s what drivers need to know.

    Recalls are not uncommon: nearly 30 million vehicles in the U.S. were impacted by nearly 1,100 different recalls in 2024, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (6) .

    If a driver is alerted to a recall, they should schedule service with the car dealership as soon as possible, especially if the issue presents a severe safety risk. Some recalls, like a faulty camera, may not present immediate risks. In this case, Toyota isn’t issuing notices to impacted drivers until December. But sometimes, your car might need an urgent fix.

    Fortunately, it’s the manufacturer’s responsibility to pay for the fix. But returning your car to the road isn’t always smooth.

    Car makers may announce a fix is needed before they are actually ready to make the repairs.

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    According to Michael Crossen, lead auto technician at Consumer Reports, “Automakers may announce a recall before they’ve figured out how to handle the problem, because of federal reporting requirements. “

    “If that happens, you’ll have to wait for a second notice to tell you that a repair is ready.”

    Plus, since hundreds of thousands of vehicles will at least theoretically be going into dealerships for the same issue, there’s a chance the required part won’t be available, or that the next open appointment time isn’t as soon as you’d prefer.

    What’s most inconvenient to impacted drivers, however, is when a dealership purposely drags their heels on repairs. Raymond Roth, director and automotive recalls practice leader at analysis firm Stout, says that since dealers don’t stand to make money from the recall repair, they might prioritize other work first.

    “We have observed some instances of dealers telling vehicle owners that parts are not available when they actually were, because (the dealerships) viewed other repair work as being more profitable,” Roth told Consumer Reports (7).

    If you have an impacted vehicle, the notice will probably come in the mail, and you may get more than one. If you receive a recall notice, call your car dealership to schedule the fix. Make sure it’s an authorized dealership that works directly with the recall issuer, and bring the recall letter with you.

    And remember, the only cost to you is likely to be the time out of your day. You should consider asking the dealership for a loaner vehicle, especially if the issue has rendered your car undriveable or the repair will take hours or even days.

    If your model is listed on a recall but you haven’t received a notice, don’t assume it’s not affected, as manufacturers have 60 days to issue notices (8). If you want to check whether your car has a current recall, you can enter your vehicle identification number (VIN) on the NHTSA’s recall checker (9).

    We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.

    Experian (1); USA Today (2); Toyota (3); NHTSA (4); Arnold & Itkin Trial Lawyers (5); NHTSA (6); Consumer Reports (7); Lehigh Valley Acura (8); NHTSA (9)

    This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.

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  • Cold weather brings dengue season to an end

    Cold weather brings dengue season to an end


    RAWALPINDI:

    The cold weather has decisively brought an end to the dengue…

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  • New Yorkers react to Zohran Mamdani’s charm offensive on Trump, saying they remain cautiously optimistic

    New Yorkers react to Zohran Mamdani’s charm offensive on Trump, saying they remain cautiously optimistic

    New Yorkers know better than to be overly positive.

    A day after Zohran Mamdani got a surprisingly warm reception at the White House from President Donald Trump, who has spent the last few…

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  • Parents welcome crackdown on costly school items

    Parents welcome crackdown on costly school items

    CCP issues show-cause notices to 17 major private schools for selling logo-branded items at inflated prices


    RAWALPINDI:

    The Competition Commission of Pakistan has initiated action against major private schools across the country that sell notebooks, textbooks, uniforms, school ties, girls’ scarves and registers at extremely high prices by simply placing their school logos on them.

    The Commission has issued show-cause notices to owners of 17 major private schools, seeking replies within two weeks. The move has been widely welcomed by private school associations, parents, citizen action groups, the District Bar Association, and stationers.

    They said issuing notices alone is not enough; the action must be implemented strictly.

    They demanded a complete ban on the sale of textbooks, notebooks, uniforms, shoes, ties, and school canteen items through specific shops only.

    They stressed that stationery and uniforms for all government and private schools should be available at every open-market shop, which would encourage competition and reduce prices.

    The competition commission has summoned the 17 schools within 14 days for selling school-logo textbooks, copies, uniforms and stationery at 200-300 per cent higher prices than the open market.

    President of the All Pakistan Private Schools and Colleges Association, Irfan Muzaffar Kayani, said he fully supports the government’s action. He added that franchise schools are forced to sell logo-branded books and uniforms, as it is the decision of the owners, not the franchisees.

    The association supports making all textbooks, copies and uniforms available in the open market. He said they provide some relief to students by offering 10 per cent of seats with free education and books.

    President of the District Bar Association, Sardar Manzar Bashir, said the Bar and lawyers are taking the matter directly to the Rawalpindi Bench of the High Court, challenging excessive fees, registration charges, and the sale of logo-branded books and uniforms.

    The Bar will request the court to set a strict timeline for creating a uniform national policy in consultation with all stakeholders.

    Parents Chaudhry Shaukat and Haji Ibrahim said education and health have already become too expensive, and major private schools worsen the burden by selling logo-branded books and uniforms at prices up to 300 per cent higher. Parents, they said, are forced to bear this burden by cutting household expenses.

    They warned that if the government limits itself to issuing notices without enforcement, it would also be considered complicit.

    Stationer Waseem Ahmed said that just as meat, clothing, lentils, ghee, sugar, chicken, milk, and yoghurt are available in the open market, school textbooks, notebooks, and uniforms must also be sold openly.

    This will encourage competition and reduce prices. “We are booksellers and sell items with minimal profit,” he said. Terming it a positive step by the Punjab government, he added that it would bring relief to people already crushed by inflation.

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  • RISC-V Testing Lapse Resulted In Wrong MIPS RISC-V Vendor ID Landing In Linux 6.18

    RISC-V Testing Lapse Resulted In Wrong MIPS RISC-V Vendor ID Landing In Linux 6.18

    An interesting anecdote from this week’s batch of RISC-V fixes for the Linux 6.18 kernel exposed that the MIPS RISC-V/JEDEC vendor ID was wrong for code merged at the start of the kernel cycle. The testing hadn’t caught it either as the QEMU…

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