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Simply the latest news, updated on the hour.

Mon, Apr 20, 2026, 2:33 AM EDT

Tech

AI Summary

  • OpenAI is facing internal upheaval, with key figures like Kevin Weil and Bill Peebles departing, amidst ongoing discussions about the company's future direction and potential existential questions.
  • Blue Origin experienced a setback during its third New Glenn launch, failing to place a customer satellite into the correct orbit, although it did achieve a successful re-flight of its booster.
  • Palantir has ignited controversy with a public manifesto that appears to reject inclusivity and criticizes certain workplace cultures, drawing sharp reactions.
  • The tech industry is seeing significant developments in AI hardware, with Cerebras, a specialized AI chip startup, filing for an IPO, indicating continued investment and competition in this critical sector.
  • Tesla is expanding its Robotaxi service, bringing the autonomous driving venture to new markets in Dallas and Houston, signaling further progress in the autonomous vehicle space.

TechCrunch


Hacker News


Engadget

  • Blue Origin landed its recycled New Glenn booster but failed to put payload in orbit an hour ago by Steve Dent
    Space & Astronomy, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Steve Dent

    Blue Origin has successfully reused its first-stage New Glenn booster for the first time after it landed in a cloud of smoke and fire on a recovery ship. It marks the second flight and reuse of Never Tell me the Odds, after the booster was recovered from New Glenn's previous launch in November last year. However, the rocket company's first commercial mission was marred by a failure to place the communications satellite payload into orbit.  The launch went smoothly to start with, with the first-stage GS1 booster separating from New Glenn after three minutes and landing smoothly 10 minutes after launch

  • The NSA is reportedly using Anthropic's new model Mythos 10 hours ago by Cheyenne MacDonald
    Politics & Government, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Cheyenne MacDonald

    Despite the months-long feud between Anthropic and the Pentagon, the National Security Agency is using the AI company's new Mythos Preview, according to Axios, which spoke to two sources with knowledge of the matter. Anthropic announced Mythos Preview at the beginning of April, describing it as a general-purpose language model that is "strikingly capable at computer security tasks." But back in February, Trump ordered all government agencies to stop using Anthropic's services after the company refused to budge on certain safeguards for military uses during contract talks.  The news comes days after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met with White House chief

  • Beijing's robot half-marathon is back for its second year with far less embarassing results 12 hours ago by Jackson Chen
    Robots, Athletics, Track & Field, Technology & Electronics, Sports & Recreation, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Jackson Chen

    To make up for an incredibly laughable inaugural event, Beijing is running back its humanoid robot half-marathon. Fortunately, the event that pits humanoid robots made by Chinese companies against each other across 13 miles went a lot smoother this year. This year's half-marathon hosted more than 100 competitors, with first place going to Honor, better known for its smartphones, and its red-clad robot named Lightning. Living up to the name, the gold medalist finished the race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds. That's several minutes faster than the human record that was recently set by Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo last month. Honor swept

  • Palantir posted a manifesto that reads like the ramblings of a comic book villain 13 hours ago by Cheyenne MacDonald
    Politics & Government, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Cheyenne MacDonald

    In case you haven't gotten around to reading Palantir CEO Alex Karp and Nicholas W. Zamiska's 2025 book, The Technological Republic, (because why would you do that to yourself?), the company best known for supplying AI-driven defense and surveillance software to the likes of the US Army, ICE and NYPD shared a 1,000-word X post this weekend covering its main points. The entire thing is both bizarre and deeply concerning. "The ability of free and democratic societies to prevail requires something more than moral appeal,” one of the 22 points states. "It requires hard power, and hard power in this century

  • The next Mac Studio and MacBook Pro releases could be postponed by several months 14 hours ago by Jackson Chen
    Technology & Electronics, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Jackson Chen

    Anyone looking to upgrade to the next Mac Studio or MacBook Pro might have to wait a little longer, thanks to the ongoing global memory shortage. As reported by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, "at least two of the company's upcoming machines ... could debut a little later than the company initially planned," referencing the refreshes to Apple's desktop and its laptop that's expected to get a touchscreen. Bloomberg reported that the upcoming Mac Studio, which follows up the current lineup in the M4 Max and M3 Ultra configurations, was first expected to release in the middle of the year. However, Apple is


The Verge

  • Blue Origin successfully reused its New Glenn rocket 11 hours ago by Terrence O’Brien
    Blue Origin, News, Science, Space

    Liftoff. | Anadolu via Getty Images Today's launch of AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7 satellite aboard Blue Origin's reusable New Glenn rocket was a partial success. The New Glenn touched down on its landing pad without incident, making it the second launch and landing for the first stage booster, and officially giving Jeff Bezos a reusable launch vehicle. Unfortunately for AST SpaceMobile, the mission was less successful. Its cell-tower-in-space was delivered to a lower orbit than expected by the second stage of the launch vehicle, rendering it functionally useless. In a statement, the company said: > While the satellite separated from the launch vehicle

  • Cloud development platform Vercel was hacked 11 hours ago by Terrence O’Brien
    AI, News, Security, Tech

    Vercel, a major development platform that hosts and deploys web apps, was compromised, and the hackers are attempting to sell stolen data. A person claiming to be a member of ShinyHunters, which was behind the recent hack of Rockstar Games, posted some data online, including employee names, email addresses, and activity time stamps. Vercel confirmed in a post on X that a "security incident" had occurred, and that it impacted a "limited subset" of its customers. Vercel said that a compromised third-party AI tool was the avenue for attack, though it did not specify which third-party was involved. > We've identified

  • Nothing’s modular CMF Headphone Pro are down to their lowest price to date 17 hours ago by Brandon Widder
    Deals, Gadgets, Headphones, Verge Shopping

    Over the past several years, Nothing’s budget-centric subsidiary, CMF, has built a reputation for producing attractive, inexpensive products with features often reserved for gadgets that cost twice the price. The CMF Headphone Pro — the company’s first pair of over-ear wireless headphones — fit precisely in that lane, especially now that they’re on sale at Amazon in both light gray and a subtle green shade for an all-time low of $69 ($30 off). CMF HEADPHONE PRO WHERE TO BUY: * $99 $69 at Amazon (light gray) * $99 $69 at Amazon (green) Although the Headphone Pro eschew the retro-transparent design found on Nothing

  • The Stars My Destination is classic proto-cyberpunk 17 hours ago by Terrence O’Brien
    Book Review, Books, Column, Entertainment

    Gully Foyle is my name… | Image: Brick Tower Press This might feel like a somewhat obvious recommendation to some, but it flew under my radar until now. Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination (originally published as Tiger! Tiger! in the UK) is a 1956 sci-fi novel that some have cited as a precursor to cyberpunk. It's a work I admit I have some conflicted feelings about, but one I think is well worth reading if you consider yourself a fan of sci-fi. It's also well worth seeking out a physical copy, something I wish I had known before I started

  • Marathon battery life makes Keychron’s Ultra 8K keyboards its best yet 19 hours ago by Antonio G. Di Benedetto
    Keyboards, Reviews, Tech

    Keychron's expansive keyboard catalog covers everything from basic full-size mechanical boards to niche layouts like southpaw Alice or a one-handed half-keyboard for gaming. Its Q and V series are among our go-to recommendations for off-the-shelf keyboards, and the latest iterations - the Q and V Ultra models - are a straightforward upgrade to the lineup, with benefits for regular users and deep-in-the-weeds keyboard nerds alike. I've been testing two Ultra keyboards: the Keychron V5 Ultra 8K and Keychron Q1 Ultra 8K. The $119.99 V5 Ultra is a near-full-size 1800-layout board with a number pad in a plastic case, while the $229.99


Wired


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