The voice of Mario is stepping away from games after nearly three decades

It's Tuesday, August 22, 2023.

After voicing Mario for 27 years, Charles Martinet will no longer play the plumber. Nintendo announced in a tweet yesterday that he'll move into a newly created Mario Ambassador role and "continue to travel the world sharing the joy of Mario," the company said. Martinet also voiced Luigi, Wario, Waluigi and several other Nintendo characters over the years, with a few cameo roles in the recent Mario movie, where Chris Pratt voiced Mario.

Nintendo has confirmed to Kotaku that he is not involved in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which comes out on October 20. It’s the end of a gaming mascot era.

– Mat Smith

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Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft crashes into the Moon

The country's last attempt to reach the moon was in 1976.

Roscosmos

Over a week after its August 10 launch, Russia's state-run space agency, Roscosmos, confirmed its Luna-25 spacecraft had spun out of control and rammed into the Moon. "The apparatus moved into an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the Moon," Roscosmos explained in a statement. Luna-25 was heading to the south pole to find water ice and spend a year analyzing how it emerged there, and if there was a link with water appearing on Earth.

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Tesla says data breach was an inside job

The leaks detail thousands of Autopilot complaints over the past years.

A Tesla data breach earlier this year affecting more than 75,000 people was caused by "insider wrongdoing," according to a notification on Maine's Attorney General website. The 75,735 people impacted were likely current or former Tesla employees. In the employee letter, Tesla provided more information about the incident, confirming the May 10 breach date and that Handelsblatt had obtained Tesla confidential information. "The investigation revealed that two former Tesla employees misappropriated the information in violation of Tesla’s IT security and data protection policies and shared it with the media outlet."

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Hard sail test aims to reduce cargo ship emissions by 30 percent

With 123-foot solid sails.

BAR

A cargo ship equipped with rigid sails, each the height of a 10-story building, has departed on its inaugural journey. The Pyxis Ocean vessel will test WindWings sails, designed to harness old-school air power to help reduce fuel use — and the shipping industry’s CO2 emissions. The sail’s creators estimate the technology could decarbonize cargo ships by about 30 percent. The rigid sails are made from the same materials as wind turbines and can be added to cargo ships’ decks, providing an option for upgrading older, less fuel-efficient vessels.

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YouTube wants to benefit from AI-generated music without the copyright headaches

The platform and Universal have unveiled principles for handling the emerging category.

YouTube and partners like Universal Music Group (UMG) have unveiled a set of principles for AI music. In theory, the aim is to encourage adoption while keeping artists paid. YouTube also says AI music must include "appropriate protections" against copyright violations and provide "opportunities" for partners who want to get involved. While the video giant hasn't detailed what this will entail, it suggests it’ll build on the Content ID system that helps rights holders flag their material. It’s all rather vague at the moment, but at least the video service is aware of the incoming challenges of AI. Even if others aren’t quite getting it.

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