A Rutgers-led study using advanced computational modeling reveals that expanding solar power by just 15% could reduce U.S. carbon emissions by over 8.5 million metric tons annually, with the greatest benefits concentrated in specific regions like California, Texas, and the Southwest. The study has been published in Science Advances. From the report: The study quantified both immediate and delayed emissions reductions resulting from added solar generation. For example, the researchers found that in California, a 15% increase in solar power at noon was associated with a reduction of 147.18 metric tons of CO2 in the region in the first hour and 16.08 metric tons eight hours later. The researchers said their methods provide a more nuanced understanding of system-level impacts from solar expansion than previous studies, pinpointing where the benefits of increased solar energy adoption could best be realized. In some areas, such as California, Florida, the mid-Atlantic, the Midwest, Texas and the Southwest, small increases in solar were estimated to deliver large CO2 reductions, while in others, such as New England, the central U.S., and Tennessee, impacts were found to be minimal -- even at much larger increases in solar generation. In addition, the researchers said their study demonstrates the significant spillover effects solar adoption has on neighboring regions, highlighting the value of coordinated clean energy efforts. For example, a 15% increase in solar capacity in California was associated with a reduction of 913 and 1,942 metric tons of CO2 emissions per day in the northwest and southwest regions, respectively. "It was rewarding to see how advanced computational modeling can uncover not just the immediate, but also the delayed and far-reaching spillover effects of solar energy adoption," said the lead author Arpita Biswas, an assistant professor with the Department of Computer Science at the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences. "From a computer science perspective, this study demonstrates the power of harnessing large-scale, high-resolution energy data to generate actionable insights. For policymakers and investors, it offers a roadmap for targeting solar investments where emissions reductions are most impactful and where solar energy infrastructure can yield the highest returns."

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A new paper from Bangor University outlines the "bizarre phenomenon" known as the transparency paradox: that transparency is needed to foster public trust in science, but being transparent about science, medicine and government can also reduce trust. The paper argues that while openness in science is intended to build trust, it can backfire when revealing uncomfortable truths. Philosopher Byron Hyde and author of the study suggests that public trust could be improved not by sugarcoating reality, but by educating people to expect imperfection and understand how science actually works. Phys.org reports: The study revealed that, while transparency about good news increases trust, transparency about bad news, such as conflicts of interest or failed experiments, decreases it. Therefore, one possible solution to the paradox, and a way to increase public trust, is to lie (which Hyde points out is unethical and ultimately unsustainable), by for example making sure bad news is hidden and that there is always only good news to report. Instead, he suggests that a better way forward would be to tackle the root cause of the problem, which he argues is the public overidealising science. People still overwhelmingly believe in the 'storybook image' of a scientist who makes no mistakes, which creates unrealistic expectations. Hyde is calling for a renewed effort to teach the public about scientific norms, which would be done through science education and communication to eliminate the "naive" view of science as infallible. "... most people know that global temperatures are rising, but very few people know how we know that," says Hyde. "Not enough people know that science 'infers to the best explanation' and doesn't definitively 'prove' anything. Too many people think that scientists should be free from biases or conflicts of interest when, in fact, neither of these are possible. If we want the public to trust science to the extent that it's trustworthy, we need to make sure they understand it first." The study has been published in the journal Theory and Society.

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An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: Anthropic revoked OpenAI's API access to its models on Tuesday, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell WIRED. OpenAI was informed that its access was cut off due to violating the terms of service. "Claude Code has become the go-to choice for coders everywhere, and so it was no surprise to learn OpenAI's own technical staff were also using our coding tools ahead of the launch of GPT-5," Anthropic spokesperson Christopher Nulty said in a statement to WIRED. "Unfortunately, this is a direct violation of our terms of service." According to Anthropic's commercial terms of service, customers are barred from using the service to "build a competing product or service, including to train competing AI models" or "reverse engineer or duplicate" the services. This change in OpenAI's access to Claude comes as the ChatGPT-maker is reportedly preparing to release a new AI model, GPT-5, which is rumored to be better at coding. OpenAI was plugging Claude into its own internal tools using special developer access (APIs), instead of using the regular chat interface, according to sources. This allowed the company to run tests to evaluate Claude's capabilities in things like coding and creative writing against its own AI models, and check how Claude responded to safety-related prompts involving categories like CSAM, self-harm, and defamation, the sources say. The results help OpenAI compare its own models' behavior under similar conditions and make adjustments as needed. "It's industry standard to evaluate other AI systems to benchmark progress and improve safety. While we respect Anthropic's decision to cut off our API access, it's disappointing considering our API remains available to them," OpenAI's chief communications officer Hannah Wong said in a statement to WIRED. Nulty says that Anthropic will "continue to ensure OpenAI has API access for the purposes of benchmarking and safety evaluations as is standard practice across the industry."

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Longtime Slashdot reader AmiMoJo shares a report from Electrek: Peak Energy shipped out its first sodium-ion battery energy storage system, and the New York-based company says it's achieved a first in three ways: the US's first grid-scale sodium-ion battery storage system; the largest sodium-ion phosphate pyrophosphate (NFPP) battery system in the world; and the first megawatt-hour scale battery to run entirely on passive cooling -- no fans, pumps, or vents. That's significant because removing moving parts and ditching active cooling systems eliminates fire risk. According to the Electric Power Research Institute, 89% of battery fires in the US trace back to thermal management issues. Peak's design doesn't have those issues because it doesn't have those systems. Instead, the 3.5 MWh system uses a patent-pending passive cooling architecture that's simpler, more reliable, and cheaper to run and maintain. The company says its technology slashes auxiliary power needs by up to 90%, saves about $1 million annually per gigawatt hour of storage, and cuts battery degradation by 33% over a 20-year lifespan. [...] Peak is working with nine utility and independent power producer (IPP) customers on a shared pilot this summer. That deployment unlocks nearly 1 GWh of future commercial contracts now under negotiation. The company plans to ship hundreds of megawatt hours of its new system over the next two years, and it's building its first US cell factory, which is set to start production in 2026.

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Aurora Innovation has expanded its autonomous trucking operations with nighttime driverless runs between Dallas and Houston and a new Phoenix terminal. "Efficiency, uptime, and reliability are important for our customers, and Aurora is showing we can deliver," said Chris Urmson, co-founder and CEO of Aurora, in a press release. "Just three months after launch, we're running driverless operations day and night and we've expanded our terminal network to Phoenix. Our rapid progress is beginning to unlock the full value of self-driving trucks for our customers, which has the potential to transform the trillion-dollar trucking industry." FreightWaves reports: The expansion allows for continuous utilization, shortening delivery times and serving as part of its path to autonomous trucking profitability. Aurora notes that the unlocking of nighttime autonomous operations can also improve road safety. It cited a 2021 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration report on large truck and bus crashes that noted a disproportionate 37% of fatal crashes involving large trucks occurred at night. This comes despite trucks traveling fewer miles during those hours. Aurora's SAE L4 autonomous driving system, called the Aurora Driver, can detect objects in the dark more than 450 meters away via its proprietary, long-range FirstLight Lidar. The lidar can identify pedestrians, vehicles, and debris up to 11 seconds sooner than a traditional driver, according to the company. In addition to the fleet and operations expansion, the new terminal in Phoenix, which opened in June, is part of an infrastructure-light approach. Aurora notes this design will closely resemble how the company plans to integrate with future customer endpoints, optimized for speed to market. This expansion of the more than 15-hour Fort Worth to Phoenix route opens up opportunities to showcase the autonomous truck's ability to cut transit time in half compared to a single driver, who is limited to the 11-hour hours-of-service limitation. Aurora is piloting the autonomous trucking Phoenix lane with two customers, Hirschbach and Werner.

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Longtime Slashdot reader Mr_Blank shares a report from Autoblog: Once a new OTA update becomes available, owners of GM vehicles have 45 days to install the update. After this date, the company will not cover any damages or issues that are caused by ignoring the update. "Damage resulting from failure to install over-the-air software updates is not covered," states the warranty booklet for 2025 and 2026 models. This same rule applies to all GM's brands in the USA: Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC. However, if the software update itself causes any component damage, that will be covered by the warranty. Owners coming from older GM vehicles will have to adapt as the company continues to implement its Global B electronic architecture on newer models, which relies heavily on OTA updates. Similar policies appear in the owner's manual for Tesla. Software-defined vehicles are here to stay, even if some of them have far more tech glitches than they should -- just ask Volvo.

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An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: An airline leaving all of its passengers' travel records vulnerable to hackers would make an attractive target for espionage. Less obvious, but perhaps even more useful for those spies, would be access to a premium travel service that spans 10 different airlines, left its own detailed flight information accessible to data thieves, and seems to be favored by international diplomats. That's what one team of cybersecurity researchers found in the form of Airportr, a UK-based luggage service that partners with airlines to let its largely UK- and Europe-based users pay to have their bags picked up, checked, and delivered to their destination. Researchers at the firm CyberX9 found that simple bugs in Airportr's website allowed them to access virtually all of those users' personal information, including travel plans, or even gain administrator privileges that would have allowed a hacker to redirect or steal luggage in transit. Among even the small sample of user data that the researchers reviewed and shared with WIRED they found what appear to be the personal information and travel records of multiple government officials and diplomats from the UK, Switzerland, and the US. Airportr's CEO Randel Darby confirmed CyberX9's findings in a written statement provided to WIRED but noted that Airportr had disabled the vulnerable part of its site's backend very shortly after the researchers made the company aware of the issues last April and fixed the problems within a few day. "The data was accessed solely by the ethical hackers for the purpose of recommending improvements to Airportr's security, and our prompt response and mitigation ensured no further risk," Darby wrote in a statement. "We take our responsibilities to protect customer data very seriously." CyberX9's researchers, for their part, counter that the simplicity of the vulnerabilities they found mean that there's no guarantee other hackers didn't access Airportr's data first. They found that a relatively basic web vulnerability allowed them to change the password of any user to gain access to their account if they had just the user's email address -- and they were also able to brute-force guess email addresses with no rate limitations on the site. As a result, they could access data including all customers' names, phone numbers, home addresses, detailed travel plans and history, airline tickets, boarding passes and flight details, passport images, and signatures. By gaining access to an administrator account, CyberX9's researchers say, a hacker could also have used the vulnerabilities it found to redirect luggage, steal luggage, or even cancel flights on airline websites by using Airportr's data to gain access to customer accounts on those sites. The researchers say they could also have used their access to send emails and text messages as Airportr, a potential phishing risk. Airportr tells WIRED that it has 92,000 users and claims on its website that it has handled more than 800,000 bags for customers. [...] The researchers found that they could monitor their browser's communications as they signed up for Airportr and created a new password, and then reuse an API key intercepted from those communications to instead change another user's password to anything they chose. The site also lacked a "rate limiting" security measure that would prevent automated guesses of email addresses to rapidly change the password of every user's account. And the researchers were also able to find email addresses of Airportr administrators that allowed them to take over their accounts and gain their privileges over the company's data and operations. "Anyone would have been able to gain or might have gained absolute super-admin access to all the operations and data of this company," says Himanshu Pathak, CyberX9's founder and CEO. "The vulnerabilities resulted in complete confidential private information exposure of all airline customers in all countries who used the service of this company, including full control over all the bookings and baggage. Because once you are the super-admin of their most sensitive systems, you have have the ability to do anything."

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Palantir has secured a massive $10 billion contract with the U.S. Army to unify 75 contracts into a single AI-focused enterprise framework, streamlining procurement and enhancing military readiness. CNBC reports: The agreement creates a "comprehensive framework for the Army's future software and data needs" that provides the government with purchasing flexibility and removes contract-related fees and procurement timelines, according to a release. Palantir co-founder and CEO Alex Karp has been a vocal proponent of protecting U.S. interests and joining forces on AI to fend off adversaries. Earlier this year, Palantir delivered its first two AI-powered systems in its $178 million contract with the U.S. Army. In May, the Department of Defense boosted its Maven Smart Systems contract to beef up AI capabilities by $795 million.

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Atlassian laid off 150 employees via a pre-recorded video. "While not specifically outlined, the affected staff seem to be from the company's European operations, with The Australian saying that Cannon-Brooke's overshared that it would be difficult to axe its European staff due to contract arrangements, but that the company had already begun moving in that direction," reports CyberDaily. While the company claims the cuts weren't directly caused by AI, it has simultaneously rolled out AI-enhanced customer service tools and emphasized automation as a key part of its digital transformation strategy. From the report: Atlassian CEO and co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes sent the video titled "Restructuring the CSS Team: A Difficult Decision for Our Future" to staff on Wednesday morning (30 July), informing them that 150 staff had been made redundant. The video reportedly did not make it seem that the decision was difficult, but rather said it would allow its staff "to say goodbye." The video itself did not announce who was leaving, but it told employees they would have to wait 15 minutes for an email about their employment. Those who were terminated had their laptops blocked immediately. They reportedly will receive six months' pay. "AI is going to change Australia," [said former co-CEO and co-founder Scott Farquhar]. "Every person should be using AI daily for as many things as they can. Like any new technology, it will feel awkward to start with, but every business person, every business leader, every government leader, and every bureaucrat should be using it." He also said that governments should be implementing AI more broadly. [...] Commenting on the termination, Farquhar said the mass termination was due to the customer service team no longer being needed in the same capacity, as larger clients required less complex support following a move to the cloud.

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An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Amazon CEO Andy Jassy sees an opportunity to deliver ads to users during their conversations with the company's AI-powered digital assistant, Alexa+, he said during Amazon's second-quarter earnings call Thursday. "People are excited about the devices that they can buy from us that has Alexa+ enabled in it. People do a lot of shopping [with Alexa+]; it's a delightful shopping experience that will keep getting better," said Jassy on the call with investors and Wall Street analysts. "I think over time, there will be opportunities, as people are engaging in more multi-turn conversations, to have advertising play a role to help people find discovery, and also as a lever to drive revenue." [...] Amazon has made Alexa+ free for Prime customers (who pay $14.99 a month) and added a $20-a-month subscription tier for Alexa+ on its own. Jassy suggested on Thursday that Alexa+ could eventually include subscription tiers beyond what's available today -- perhaps an ad-free tier. Up until now, ads have only appeared in Alexa in limited ways. Users may occasionally see a visual ad on Amazon's smart display device, the Echo Show, or hear a pre-recorded ad in between songs on one of Alexa's smart speakers. But Jassy's description of an AI-generated ad that Alexa+ delivers in a multistep conversation, which could help users find new products, is uncharted territory for Amazon and the broader tech industry. Marketers have expressed interest in advertising in AI chatbots, and specifically Alexa+, but exactly how remains unclear. [...] Jassy is betting that users will talk to Alexa+ more than Alexa, which could drive more advertising and more shopping on Amazon.com. However, early reviews of Alexa+ have been mixed. Amazon has reportedly struggled to ship some of Alexa+'s more complicated features, and the rollout has been slower than many expected. There's a lot to figure out before Amazon puts ads in Alexa+. Like most AI models, Alexa+ is not immune to hallucinations. Before advertisers agree to make Alexa+ a spokesperson for their products, Amazon may have to come up with some ways to ensure that its AI will not offer false advertising for a product. Jassy seems enthusiastic about making advertising a larger part of Amazon business. Amazon's advertising revenue went up 22% in the second quarter, compared to the same period last year. Delivering ads in AI chatbot conversations may also raise privacy concerns. People tend to talk more with AI chatbots compared to deterministic assistants, like the traditional Alexa and Siri products. As a result, generative AI chatbots tend to collect more information on users. Some users might be unsettled by having that information sold to advertisers and having ads appear in their natural language conversations with AI.

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India's national university ranking will start penalizing institutions if a sizable number of papers published by their researchers are retracted -- a first for an institutional ranking system. Nature: The move is an attempt by the government to address the country's growing number of retractions due to misconduct. Many retractions correct honest mistakes in the literature, but others arise because of misconduct. India has had more papers retracted than any country apart from China and the United States, according to an analysis of the public database maintained by Retraction Watch of retractions over the past three decades. But whereas less than 1 paper is retracted for every 1,000 papers published in the United States, more than 3 are retracted for every 1,000 published in China, and the figure is 2 per 1,000 in India. The majority in India and China are withdrawn because of misconduct or research-integrity concerns.

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An anonymous reader shares a report: Yesterday, when Epic won its Google antitrust lawsuit for a second time, it wasn't quite clear how soon Google would need to start dismantling its affirmed illegal monopoly. Today, Google admits the answer is: 14 days. Google has just 14 days to enact major changes to its Google Play app store, and the way it does business with phonemakers, cellular carriers, and app developers, unless it wins an emergency stay (pause) from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals as it continues to appeal. It must stop forcing apps to use Google Play Billing, allow app developers to freely steer their users to other platforms, and limit the perks it can offer in exchange for preinstalled apps, among other changes.

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An anonymous reader shares a report: Apple CEO Tim Cook appears unfazed by concerns that advancements in AI could topple the iPhone's dominance. During Thursday's earnings call, Wamsi Moen, an analyst with Bank of America, asked Cook directly how Apple is preparing for a world where dependence on screen-based devices "significantly diminishes," thanks to advances in AI. Cook didn't seem to see an imminent threat to Apple's hero product. "When you when you think about all the things an iPhone can do, from connecting people to bringing app and game experiences to life, to taking photos and videos, to helping users explore the world and conduct their financial lives and pay for things and so much more, you know, it's difficult to see a world where iPhone's not living in it," Cook said. "And that doesn't mean that we are not thinking about other things as well," Cook added, "but I think that the devices are likely to be complementary devices, not substitution." Apple said yesterday it had sold 3 billion iPhones since the product's launch in 2007

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A Brussels court has issued an unusually broad site-blocking order targeting Internet Archive's Open Library alongside shadow libraries including Anna's Archive, Libgen, and Z-Library. The order, requested by publishing and author organizations, directs an unprecedented range of intermediaries to take action beyond traditional ISP blocks. Search engines, DNS resolvers, advertisers, domain name services, CDNs, hosting companies, and payment processors -- including Google, Microsoft, Cloudflare, Amazon Web Services, PayPal, and Starlink -- must restrict access to the targeted sites. The court found "clear and significant infringement" in the ex parte proceeding.

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BrianFagioli writes: Google is changing its mind about killing off all goo.gl short links. The company had originally planned to shut them down entirely by August 25, 2025. That decision sparked concern among developers, educators, journalists, and everyday users who rely on these links across the web. Now, just weeks before the deadline, Google is taking a softer approach. It turns out the company is only going to disable goo.gl links that haven't seen any activity since late 2024. If your link is still being used or clicked, it should keep working. This adjustment comes after what Google describes as community feedback.

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Verizon has confirmed it will raise customer fees despite announcing a three-year price lock in April. The carrier said the "vast majority" of customers will see increases of "less than 30 cents." A Reddit thread cited by The Verge suggests the Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge will rise 28 cents to $3.78 per voice line, while data-only plan charges could increase $2.37 to $3.97 per line. The changes may take effect September 1.

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Major video game publishers have abandoned plans to sell new releases at $80 after initially signaling support for the elevated price point earlier this year, according to Bloomberg. Microsoft reversed course in late July, announcing The Outer Worlds 2 and other holiday titles including Call of Duty will sell for $70 instead of the previously planned $80. Take-Two Interactive's Borderlands 4 and Sony's Ghost of Yotei were also priced at $70 after initial $80 expectations. Electronic Arts said it will not adjust prices for the near future, with the upcoming Battlefield 6 selling for $70. Production costs have grown tenfold over the past decade while sales have not increased proportionally.

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Microsoft researchers have identified 40 occupations [PDF] with the highest exposure to AI, ranking jobs by how closely their tasks align with AI's current capabilities. The study analyzed 200,000 real-world conversations from Copilot users and compared AI performance against occupational data. Interpreters and translators top the list, followed by historians and passenger attendants. Customer service and sales representatives, comprising about 5 million U.S. jobs, also face significant AI competition. Knowledge workers performing computer, math, or administrative tasks showed high vulnerability, as did sales positions involving information sharing and explanation. The research found occupations requiring Bachelor's degrees demonstrate higher AI applicability than those with lower educational requirements. First, the top 10 least affected occupations by generative AI: 1. Dredge Operators 2. Bridge and Lock Tenders 3. Water Treatment Plant and System Operators 4. Foundry Mold and Coremakers 5. Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators 6. Pile Driver Operators 7. Floor Sanders and Finishers 8. Orderlies 9. Motorboat Operators 10. Logging Equipment Operators Now, the top 40 most affected occupations by generative AI:1. Interpreters and Translators 2. Historians 3. Passenger Attendants 4. Sales Representatives of Services 5. Writers and Authors 6. Customer Service Representatives 7. CNC Tool Programmers 8. Telephone Operators 9. Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks 10. Broadcast Announcers and Radio DJs 11. Brokerage Clerks 12. Farm and Home Management Educators 13. Telemarketers 14. Concierges 15. Political Scientists 16. News Analysts, Reporters, Journalists 17. Mathematicians 18. Technical Writers 19. Proofreaders and Copy Markers 20. Hosts and Hostesses 21. Editors 22. Business Teachers, Postsecondary 23. Public Relations Specialists 24. Demonstrators and Product Promoters 25. Advertising Sales Agents 26. New Accounts Clerks 27. Statistical Assistants 28. Counter and Rental Clerks 29. Data Scientists 30. Personal Financial Advisors 31. Archivists 32. Economics Teachers, Postsecondary 33. Web Developers 34. Management Analysts 35. Geographers 36. Models 37. Market Research Analysts 38. Public Safety Telecommunicators 39. Switchboard Operators 40. Library Science Teachers, Postsecondary.

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Financial Times: The UK's highest court has partially overturned a landmark motor finance judgment that threatened to leave banks on the hook for tens of billions of pounds in compensation for allegedly deceiving consumers with hidden commissions on car loans. The Supreme Court's decision has been keenly awaited by investors as well as millions of consumers who were poised to claim redress from the banks. The government has been considering legislation to limit the fallout. The controversy over car finance shot to prominence after a bombshell Court of Appeal judgment in October that awarded compensation to three people who claimed they were misled by banks concealing the payment of commissions to dealerships. The $58.3 billion car finance scandal centers on hidden commissions paid by lenders to car dealers who arranged loans without disclosing the payment amounts and terms to borrowers. Under discretionary commission arrangements, dealers received larger payments when they persuaded car buyers to accept higher interest rates on loans. The practice affected roughly 90% of new car purchases and many secondhand vehicles, potentially exposing millions of motorists to mis-selling.

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Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Bill Long said the agency will end its Direct File program after a limited pilot and one full filing season. From a report: President Donald Trump's massive spending and policy bill includes funding to research and "replace any direct e-file programs run by the Internal Revenue Service." Already, the program is "gone," Long said at a tax professional summit on July 28, Bloomberg Law reports. "You've heard of Direct File, that's gone," Long said. "Big beautiful Billy wiped that out. I don't care about Direct File. I care about direct audit."

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