It Takes 2 Minutes to Hack the EU’s New Age-Verification App
Plus: Major data breaches at a gym chain and hotel giant, a disruptive DDoS attack against Bluesky, dubious ICE hires, and more.
Science & Tech
463 articles
Robots beat human records at Beijing half-marathon
The winning time is a massive improvement over last year’s race, when the fastest robot finished in two hours and 40 minutes.
Gateway manufacturer finally acknowledges issue, fails to mention "corrosion"
"At this time, further comments would be premature."
Schematik Is ‘Cursor for Hardware.’ Anthropic Wants In
Schematik is a program that aims to help people vibe code for physical devices. Hopefully, it won’t blow anything up.
Blue Origin’s New Glenn put a customer satellite in the wrong orbit during its third launch
The first major failure of Blue Origin's new heavy-launch system could create delays to its ambition to help NASA and the Trump administration return to the Moo
Next El Niño could be tipping point for a hotter climate
Pacific heat pulse is temporary, but scientists warn that its climate impacts are not.
Asus TUF Gaming A14 (2026) Review: GPU-Less Gaming Laptop
A gaming laptop without a discrete graphics card feels revolutionary, but the TUF Gaming A14 doesn't quite take full advantage of AMD's daring new silicon.
TechCrunch Mobility: Uber enters its assetmaxxing era
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, how AI is playing a part.
National Science Board eviscerated; Trump admin fires all 22 members
Members had planned to release report that US is ceding scientific ground to China.
OpenAI Executive Kevin Weil Is Leaving the Company
The former Instagram VP is departing the ChatGPT-maker, which is folding the AI science application he led into Codex.
Palantir posts mini-manifesto denouncing inclusivity and ‘regressive’ cultures
Palantir's ideological bent has come under more scrutiny as it's worked with ICE and positioned itself as a defender of "the West."
Meet the players who lost big money on Peter Molyneux’s failed Legacy
After millions in NFT sales, the hyped “play to earn” game was effectively dead in weeks.
Gazing Into Sam Altman’s Orb Now Proves You’re Human on Tinder
Honestly, what’s hotter than a real person?
Cracks are starting to form on fusion energy’s funding boom
Fusion startups and investors risk deepening fissures if some key disagreements aren't settled amicably.
Strange New Worlds S4 teaser strikes a more serious tone
"I have ever been prone to seek adventure and to investigate where wiser men would have left well enough alone."
Republican Mutiny Sinks Trump's Push to Extend Warrantless Surveillance
A post-midnight revolt in the House sank the White House's efforts to extend Section 702—a spy program the FBI has used to look into members of Congress, protes
Blue Origin successfully re-uses a New Glenn rocket for the first time ever
It's a major milestone for the company's new mega-rocket system, putting it in position to challenge SpaceX's dominance of the global launch market.
Prime Video drops full trailer for Spider-Noir
It's "a detective story, but the detective happens to also have spider powers.”—EP Chris Miller
AI Drafting My Stories? Over My Dead Body
AI-assisted writing is creeping into newsrooms under the guise of efficiency. But the tradeoff may be more profound than publishers are willing to admit.
Tesla brings its robotaxi service to Dallas and Houston
Tesla is expanding its robotaxi service to Dallas and Houston, according to a social media post from the company. The post says simply that “Robotaxi is now rol
New robotic control software avoids jamming their joints
Software lets robots learn from each other even if they have different hardware.
MAGA Is Increasingly Convinced the Trump Assassination Attempt Was Staged
Conspiracy theories about the Butler, Pennsylvania, shooting have ramped up in recent weeks as once steadfast Trump supporters turn on the president.
VC Ron Conway says he has a ‘rare form of cancer’
Conway wrote that he “will be stepping back from some of my usual activities,” but he will “continue to support” founders backed by his firm SV Angel.
Palantir employees are talking about company's "descent into fascism"
Slack messages, interviews with current and former works paint picture of company in turmoil.
How Can Astronauts Tell How Fast They’re Going?
Weirdly, spaceships have no direct way to gauge their own speed. Luckily, we can use some physics tricks to figure it out.
AI chip startup Cerebras files for IPO
In recent months, the company announced an agreement with Amazon Web Services to use Cerebras chips in Amazon data centers, as well as a deal with OpenAI report
Artemis II broke Fred Haise's distance record, but he is happy to pass it on
"It wasn't a big deal. It just coincided with the fact that Moon was farther away from the Earth."
Coolfly Aura Review: More Angles, Fewer Advantages
Coolfly’s Aura is colorful, clever, and flexible, but its signature feature ends up being more hassle than help.
Anthropic’s relationship with the Trump administration seems to be thawing
Despite recently being designated a supply-chain risk by the Pentagon, Anthropic is still talking to high-level members of the Trump administration.
This is who's developing Golden Dome's orbital interceptors—if they're ever built
"If boost-phase intercept from space is not affordable and scalable, we will not produce it."
Canyon Spectral:ON CF 8 Electric Mountain Bike: Beginner-Friendly, Under $5K
The Spectral:ON CF 8 is a do-it-all, full-carbon electric mountain bike with an 800-Wh battery and under $4,500. Yes, please!
The App Store is booming again, and AI may be why
New data from Appfigures shows a swell of new app launches in 2026, suggesting AI tools could be fueling a mobile software boom.
Google will invest as much as $40 billion in Anthropic
This follows a similar, but smaller, investment by Amazon just days ago.
The Best MagSafe Accessories (for Android, Too!): Chargers, Wallets, and More
MagSafe accessories make your phone feel uniquely yours. These are our favorites, including Android-friendly Qi2 picks.
Once close enough for an acquisition, Stripe and Airwallex are now going after each other
For most of its life, Airwallex and Stripe have mostly operated in different geographies, selling to different buyers. That's changing.
Europe—not US—first to authorize Moderna's combo mRNA flu-COVID vaccine
Amid RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine agenda, Moderna withdrew its FDA application last year.
Best Bluetooth Speakers (2026): JBL, Sonos, Bose, and More
These are our favorite portable speakers of all shapes and sizes, from clip-ons to a massive boom box.
Sam Altman’s project World looks to scale its human verification empire. First stop: Tinder.
World, which has raised eyebrows (but also a lot of interest) with its Orb-centered anonymous verification project, is looking to expand its influence via a bev
Soldier won $410K in Polymarket bets on timing of Maduro capture, US alleges
It's like "Pete Rose betting on his own team," Trump says of arrested soldier.
6,000 Meters Under the Pacific, Japan Seeks Independence From China on Rare Earths
Tokyo is succeeding where the rest of the world has failed, reducing its reliance on Beijing for crucial rare earth elements—thanks to an enormous underwater de
Man who hacked US Supreme Court filing system sentenced to probation
Nicholas Moore hacked into three U.S. government networks using stolen credentials, and then bragged about it and posted victims' personal data on Instagram und
FCC: Router ban includes portable hotspots, but not phones with hotspot features
FCC defines consumer routers expansively, updates FAQ to include Wi-Fi hotspots.
The Influencers Normalizing Not Having Sex
From a celibate porn star to an asexual ex-Mormon, the internet is full of people who are abstaining from sex—and it’s not just incels.
Kevin Weil and Bill Peebles exit OpenAI as company continues to shed ‘side quests’
Kevin Weil and Bill Peebles are leaving OpenAI as the company shuts down Sora and folds its science team, signaling a sharp pivot away from consumer moonshots t
Why are top university websites serving porn? It comes down to shoddy housekeeping.
Hundreds of subdomains from dozens of universities have been hijacked by scammers.
Spoofed Tankers Are Flooding the Strait of Hormuz. These Analysts Are Tracking Them
Marine insurers and oil traders want to know what’s going on in one of the world’s most critical waterways. As the volume of disappearing ships in the area incr
Zoom teams up with World to verify humans in meetings
Zoom will show a badge on verified participants' tile.
Meet the 19-meter Cretaceous kraken that swam with mosasaurs
Layer by layer, researchers revealed the jaws of an ancient predator.
The Shocking Secrets of Madison Square Garden's Surveillance Machine
Famously vengeful Knicks owner Jim Dolan has long spied on people at his iconic arenas. WIRED goes deep inside the operation that allegedly tracked a trans woma
“Tokenmaxxing” is making developers less productive than they think
There's a lot more code—but it's a lot more expensive and requires a lot more rewriting.