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Simply the latest news, updated on the hour.

Sat, Jul 18, 2026, 6:48 PM EDT

Tech

AI Summary

  • Waymo has resumed its autonomous ride-hailing service in San Francisco following a brief, one-hour operational pause.
  • The AI landscape continues to evolve with discussions around the return of AI investment, exemplified by Databricks reaching a $188 billion valuation, and concerns about AI's impact on various sectors, including India's smartphone market.
  • Apple and Google are facing pressure from San Francisco authorities to remove 'nudify' applications from their respective app stores, highlighting ongoing debates about content moderation and app store policies.
  • EVs are making a comeback in consumer perception, with a 600-mile road trip demonstrating improved charging infrastructure, while also noting a list of previously discontinued EV models in the U.S.
  • The U.S. federal government is relaxing its stance on TikTok, allowing federal employees to download the app on their work phones again, a notable shift in policy.

TechCrunch


Hacker News


Engadget


The Verge

  • Dave Eggers told OpenAI staff that ChatGPT was ‘silencing an entire generation’ 2 hours ago by Terrence O’Brien
    AI, Books, Entertainment, News, OpenAI

    Dave Eggers attends the "The Turning Point: To Be Destroyed" premiere. | Image: John Lamparski/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival Last year, Sam Altman invited author Dave Eggers to give a talk to around 200 OpenAI staffers. The man has written countless novels , screenplays, pieces of journalism, started McSweeney's , and founded multiple schools and nonprofits that support writers and the arts more broadly. So one might expect he'd roll into the company's offices and offer tips on being relentlessly prolific, or how to excel in multiple fields. Instead, he apparently laced into the company. According to the Financial Times

  • Google might not kneecap the Pixel 11a with an old processor 5 hours ago by Terrence O’Brien
    Google, Google Pixel, News, Tech

    The Pixel 10a shipped with a last gen processor. | Photo: Dominic Preston / The Verge Mystic Leaks suggests that the Pixel 11a will return to featuring a flagship-grade processor with the Tensor G6. Rather than the Tensor G5 found in the Pixel 10 and 10 Pro , the Pixel 10a shipped with the previous generation Tensor G4. That was a huge disappointment since, typically, the Pixel a lineup kept the modern processor, but cut corners in other places to keep costs down. The Tensor G6 is rumored to feature the same PowerVR DXT-48-1536 GPU as the G5, but it

  • Google is open-sourcing its 3D emoji 6 hours ago by Terrence O’Brien
    Design, Google, News, Tech

    Now, if you want to, you can use Google's 3D emoji in your own creations. The company shared some details about how it went about designing the little pictograms and why, as part of World Emoji Day on Friday. Things you might not necessarily worry about in a 2D illustration suddenly become very important when you're talking about a 3D model. Is a smiley face a sphere? A mask? A flat disc? In addition to offering a behind-the-scenes look at Google's design process, it also announced that it would be completely open-sourcing the emoji set: We're handing over raw .OBJ

  • GoPro’s discounted Max 2 bundle includes $100 worth of accessories 8 hours ago by Brad Bourque
    Cameras, Deals, Gadgets, Verge Shopping

    The GoPro Max2 can use your earbuds as a microphone over Bluetooth. A 360-degree camera is a great way to ensure you capture every bit of the action, but prices tend to be on the high end for models worth your attention. That’s why it’s notable that the GoPro Max 2 accessory bundle is discounted to $369 at Amazon (a dollar more at Best Buy and GoPro ). The bundle is stuffed for being just $70 more than the base camera , containing everything you need to shoot the best angles during all-day adventures. The capable camera can shoot 360-degree

  • The Guardian’s Carter Sherman fondly remembers being terrified by Ocarina of Time 9 hours ago by Terrence O’Brien
    Books, Entertainment, Interview, Report

    Carter, there’s a couch RIGHT THERE. | Image: Carter Sherman has been covering sex, gender, and the complex personal and national politics that accompany them for years. She was a senior reporter for Vice and has written for Elle , Ms. magazine, and Los Angeles magazine as well. Along the way, she's garnered a Scripps Howard Award, a National Press Club Journalism Award, and four Emmy nominations. She's also the author of The Second Coming: Sex and the Next Generation's Fight Over Its Future . That book looks at how the internet and our polarized political landscape have changed sex


Wired

  • 4 Best Walking Pads for Small Spaces and Standing Desks (2026) 12 hours ago by Boutayna Chokrane
    Gear, Gear / Buying Guides, Gear / Products, Gear / Products / Health and Fitness, Gear / Products / Home Office, Gear / Products / Lifestyle, Tread, Lightly

    Our remote team clocked serious hours walking, working, and sometimes jogging to find the best under-desk treadmills for home offices and small spaces.

  • The Best Motion Sensors and Home Security Gadgets Without Cameras 13 hours ago by Simon Hill
    Gear, Gear / Products / Home, Gear / Products / Smart Home, Gear / Buying Guides, Buying, Guide

    If you prefer not to have cameras in and around your home, try one of these more private, WIRED-tested security devices.

  • Your Period Tracker Is (Probably) Spying on You 13 hours ago by Andy Greenberg, Dell Cameron, Lily Hay Newman
    Security, Security / Security News, Roundup

    Plus: Russian cyberspies turn to infrastructure hacking, DHS repeatedly fails to realize it’d been hacked, a breach exposes an AI music generator’s scraping ways, and more.

  • FIFA Doesn’t Have a Plan to Deal With Climate Change 13 hours ago by Tik Root
    Science, Science / Environment, Red, Flag, Card

    This year’s World Cup has faced sweltering heat and humidity. Now it may need to deal with wildfire smoke.

  • How Google’s New Gemini Rates Work and How to Track Your Usage 13 hours ago by David Nield
    Gear, Gear / How To and Advice, Meter, Running

    Now that Google has changed how its usage quotas are tallied, you might not get as many AI responses as you did before.


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