German police disarmed a drone carrying explosives after it was discovered near Ukrainian cargo aircraft parked at Leipzig airport—and authorities are looking into the possibility of a second drone after an approaching aircraft collided with something midair.

The drone, first spotted by an airport employee, was hovering close to the ground between two parked An-124 cargo aircraft owned by Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines shortly before midnight on August 4, according to The Guardian. It had apparently been modified to help avoid detection by the airport’s drone defense sensors, said Alexander Dobrindt, federal minister of the interior for Germany, during a press conference.

Dobrindt described the drone as carrying a fist-sized package of a substance believed to be the plastic explosive Semtex. Only a failed detonator prevented the drone from exploding near the Ukrainian cargo aircraft, he said.

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Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. But when it comes to AI slop and hateful content threatening the safety and value of social media platforms, adding more fire—in this case, more AI—can make the problem worse.

At its best, social media can be a haven for people who want to share their experiences and knowledge. It gets closest to this ideal when users contribute authentic, valuable content, whether that’s a uniquely thoughtful blog post or a helpful video on how to build a PC. Relying primarily on AI tools to preserve that authenticity misses what makes social media worthwhile in the first place: the people behind it.

Erroneous erasures

In April, a Slack channel for moderators of the r/AskHistorians Reddit community was usually busy. The channel, which automatically receives links to modmail messages, was flooded with alerts after dozens of comments and posts dating back 10 years were automatically removed from the subreddit.

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Old.reddit.com’s days appear to be numbered.

Reddit has strayed from saying that it will shutter the website, which many long-time Redditors prefer for its layout, navigation, and fewer feed recommendations.

In a blog post today, Reddit made a vague statement about upcoming “changes” to Old Reddit:

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Google got a slow start with generative AI after seemingly being caught flat-footed by Microsoft's Copilot reveal. What a difference a few years make. Now, Google is at the forefront of AI development (for better or worse), but new cracks are beginning to show. The company's string of high-profile personnel departures continues, and DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis has now said he will hand off day-to-day responsibilities to take on an oversight role at parent company Alphabet.

Hassabis was one of the founders of DeepMind, and he maintained a key leadership role after Google acquired it. As the generative AI boom took off, Hassabis has been one of the loudest voices predicting the impending creation of artificial general intelligence (AGI), which is typically described as an AI with human-like capabilities and intelligence.

In his memo announcing his decision to leave DeepMind, Hassabis again leans on the promise of AGI. "I've been working towards AGI my whole life and now, like many of you, I feel it is close at hand," said Hassabis.

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Disney is “exploring a free product” for streaming customers, CEO Josh D’Amaro confirmed in a call with investors today.

D’Amaro, who succeeded Bob Iger as Disney’s chief in March, said that a free Disney-owned streaming service would help Disney reach more “price-sensitive” customers, which is a “strategic priority” for Disney, according to a transcript of the call.

A free streaming service would also generate more ad revenue, which has become increasingly important for streaming services challenged by plateauing subscriber numbers, subscriber churn, and competition from cheaper and free rivals.

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Google Assistant's days have been numbered for a while, but the company has now settled on a date to retire its pre-AI assistant robot. In an email being sent out to users, Google confirms that Assistant on Android devices will be shut down starting on September 4, forcing everyone over to Gemini. Google told us it was coming, but that doesn't make it hurt any less.

The initial plan was to retire Assistant in late 2025, but the service got a brief reprieve as Google shored up some aspects of Gemini. Now that Gemini is ready to take over, Google will begin ending support for the old system on September 4, but the email notes that it may take several weeks for the process to complete. So those stubbornly clinging to Assistant may still be able to use it a bit longer before the option disappears. For those who made the switch already, nothing will change.

By ending Assistant on mobile devices, Google is also killing it on myriad other gadgets that connect to your phone for smart features. So smartwatches, headphones, and cars with Android Auto are also being forcibly moved to Gemini. Most of Google's smart home devices have already transitioned to Gemini.

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Google will reveal the Pixel 11 series later this month, but leaks and teasers so far have painted a picture of phones that have barely changed since last year. One notable exception seems to be the illuminated dot from some of the teasers. This has been rumored as "Pixel Glow," but a new leak all but confirms a different (and less interesting) name. Say hello to HiLight.

A post on Bluesky by WinFuture's Roland Quandt shows the new LED inside the camera module of the Pixel 11 Pro Fold. We can see the actual body of the device rather than a shadowy outline as in Google's teasers, and it does look a bit different than the previous Pixel Fold.

The camera bump on the Pixel 11 Pro Fold is smaller, with no separate section for the flash off to the right. It appears that HiLight is the flash. Presumably, it still works as a flashlight and camera flash, but it can also produce a range of colors.

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We are a month away from the initial rollout of Google's Android developer verification system, which requires developers outside the Play Store to verify their identities, just like it does for devs publishing on its platform. The company contends this policy does not impinge on the platform's open nature. Still, the restrictions will be a big change, and there are still some unanswered questions. An issue that has come up repeatedly in the run-up to verification is what will happen to devs who can't verify because of where they live. It turns out that Google has a cryptic answer for that buried in an FAQ.

Developer verification will soon block the installation of apps from unverified developers on any Android device running Google services, which is functionally all Android phones outside Russia and China. Developers who want to keep releasing software, even if it's not in the Play Store, have to provide Google with their ID and pay a small fee.

But what if you're an Android developer living in a sanctioned nation? Currently, the US sanction list includes Iran, Cuba, North Korea, and occupied areas of Ukraine. Given the current uncertain state of US foreign policy, that list could change in the future. Google doing any business with developers in those places is a thorny issue, and it seems like the company has decided to just leave them hanging.

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Apple saw an excellent and better-than-anticipated Q3 2026 in terms of iPhone sales, but its revenue for services—like Apple TV, Apple Music, AppleCare, or iCloud—slipped downward, disappointing experts who were hoping for more. Further, fears about memory prices and supply constraints slightly soured reception to what could have otherwise been a slightly positive but business-as-usual quarter.

That's the key takeaway from the company's Q3 2026 earnings call today.

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Satellite images have revealed new damage to Amazon data centers in the Middle East along with at least one crucial Saudi oil facility, following missile and drone attacks by Iran and its Houthi allies.

The images from Europe’s Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites provide evidence of a widening war as the United States and several Gulf states exchange military strikes with Iran, the Houthi faction in Yemen, and Iran-backed militias in Iraq. Such satellite images also offer independent verification of claimed war damage, despite the US government having pressured US commercial firms and even Europe to restrict satellite imagery of the region.

Three Amazon data centers in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were already previously damaged by Iranian drone strikes on March 1. Those earlier attacks stuck Amazon with months of expected repairs and forced Amazon Web Services customers in the Middle East to migrate workloads to other cloud regions.

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