2 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Thomas Ricker

Thomas Ricker

Deputy Editor

Deputy Editor

    More From Thomas Ricker

    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    Google fined over $450 million for location data failures.

    Features like Web & App Activity, Location History, and Location Accuracy were found to violate GDPR privacy rules in Europe from 2018 to 2020.

    “As a result of Google’s failures, individuals ‌could ⁠have been unaware that their location was being used to, for example, influence them with ads or to infer their interests, and could lose control over their personal data,” DPC Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said in a statement. “The retention of users’ location data for longer than necessary aggravated ⁠this loss of control.”

    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    The winners of Nikon’s microscopic video competition.

    The annual Small World in Motion Competition has yielded another five bangers. The first place entry used a 100X magnification to capture the abnormal airway cilia inside a child with a genetic disorder affecting respiratory function. Sad, but beautiful. ABC News (Australia) has a roundup.

    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    Behold the Carhartt WIP x Omnium Mini-Max.

    This cargo bike is meant to get your workman juices flowing by fitting “bear trap” pedals to a limited edition Omnium Mini-Max with a stainless-steel frame, left raw (but clear coated) to revel in the heat discoloration of its welds. There’s no motor here — if you need one, this collab isn’t for you. Just 150 units will be sold in Europe for €4500 starting September 24th.

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    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    Tim Cook and Sam Altman are also having dinner with China’s president.

    They’ll be joining Nvidia’s Jensen Huang next week at a White House state dinner for Xi Jinping. It’s the first chance for Tim Cook to earn that $47 million pay package in his new role as Apple’s dedicated Trump whisperer: You is smart, you is strong, you is important.

    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    Two Google Deepmind researchers lend voices to the AI apocalypse.

    Bilal Chughtai and Josh Engels, who both worked on Deepmind’s AI safety team, left to join organizations dedicated to AI safety. “I now think that there’s a terrifying chance that AI systems cause immense harm in the next five years,” said Engels. “I earnestly believe that AI has the potential to kill us all,” wrote Chughtai.

    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    EU proposes banning kids under 13 from social media, online games, and AI chatbots.

    The EU Kids Act will be formally unveiled tomorrow where it will eventually be put to a vote by the 27-nation bloc. Parent-chaperoned “mini accounts” are proposed for children 13 to 15.

    “I am aware that many perceive the power of Big Tech as overwhelming and impossible to roll back. I disagree,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “We do not have to accept addictive features. We do not have to accept children being drawn into ever more extreme content. We do not have to accept that girls have their photos used for AI-generated sexualized images.”

    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    Starship set for September 22nd flight.

    The mission will include two firsts if regulators approve the launch window and the weather holds: send Starship into orbit, and insert a few dozen of SpaceX’s larger and more capable V3 satellites into the Starlink constellation for the first time. The 26 satellites on Flight 14 will each add 1 Tbps of capacity to the constellation, boosting total network capacity by about 3 percent on just this one flight.

    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    Aqara’s do-it-all FP400 presence sensor is now available globally.

    For $79.99 you get a sensor compatible with Thread and Zigbee networks that’s a more private alternative to cameras. It uses mmWave radar to track occupants in real time, and knows if they’re standing, sitting, or lying down. It can also detect falls and count the number of occupants, how long they’ve hung around, and the distance they’ve traveled.

    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    Guy getting super rich off unfettered AI development says it doesn’t need regulation.

    Nvidia’s Jensen Huang says AI safety is important, but agrees with Trump — the “STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT” that removed the word “safety” from the AI Safety Institute — that capitalism’s invisible hand is enough to protect us:

    “The fact that we need new laws, new antitrust laws, or new regulations, so that these companies could do their fundamental engineering and do it properly before they release products, that is just completely unnecessary. We have plenty of laws. We have plenty of regulations that govern the reliability and the functionality of products.”