Meta removes controversial AI feature on Instagram after backlash

TechCrunch

Meta removes controversial AI feature on Instagram after backlash | TechCrunch

"Our intent was to provide a useful creative tool and to give people control over whether their public content could be referenced in this way," th...

Meta has axed a controversial feature that allowed users to modify photos from public Instagram accounts using AI. The feature, which was rolled out earlier this week along with a batch of other AI tools, “missed the mark” and is no longer available, according to the company.

Stacker News

Meta removes controversial AI feature on Instagram after backlash \ stacker news

Meta has axed a controversial feature that allowed users to modify photos from public Instagram accounts using AI. The feature, which was rolled ou...

Apple sues OpenAI alleging trade secret theft, says scheme was 'at every level'

CNBC

Apple sues OpenAI alleging trade secret theft, says scheme was 'at every level'

The two companies entered into a high-profile partnership in 2024 when ChatGPT was integrated into the iPhone's operating system.

Apple on Friday sued OpenAI in federal court in Northern California, alleging trade secret theft, saying that the artificial intelligence lab took the iPhone maker's intellectual property in order to develop its own consumer hardware.

Stacker News

Apple sues OpenAI alleging trade secret theft, says scheme was 'at every level' \ stacker news

Apple on Friday sued OpenAI in federal court in Northern California, alleging trade secret theft, saying that the artificial intelligence lab took ...

GhostLock (CVE-2026-43499) kernel privilege escalation: Call for testing

AlmaLinux OS

GhostLock (CVE-2026-43499) kernel privilege escalation: Patch released

Update: The fix is now in productionThe patched kernel for GhostLock (CVE-2026-43499) has been released to the production repositories for every af...

A new Linux kernel local-privilege-escalation flaw has been disclosed, and we are shipping patched kernels for it. GhostLock (CVE-2026-43499) is a use-after-free in the kernel’s real-time mutex (rtmutex) priority-inheritance code. An unprivileged local user can exploit it to gain root, and it works from inside a container to escape to the host. No special capabilities are required. Every supported AlmaLinux release (8, 9, and 10) is affected. Patched kernels are available in the testing repository today, and we would like your help verifying them before we push them to production.

Stacker News

GhostLock (CVE-2026-43499) kernel privilege escalation: Call for testing \ stacker news

A new Linux kernel local-privilege-escalation flaw has been disclosed, and we are shipping patched kernels for it. GhostLock (CVE-2026-43499) is a ...

Physicists created a tiny universe where time emerged without a clock

ScienceDaily

Physicists created a tiny universe where time emerged without a clock

What if time doesn't actually exist until something changes? Scientists at the University of Birmingham created a tiny "mini universe&quo...

What if time doesn't actually exist until something changes? Scientists at the University of Birmingham created a tiny "mini universe" using 24,000 ultracold atoms and showed that the flow of time can emerge naturally from changes inside a quantum system, without relying on any external clock.

Stacker News

Physicists created a tiny universe where time emerged without a clock \ stacker news

What if time doesn't actually exist until something changes? Scientists at the University of Birmingham created a tiny "mini universe" using 24,000...

EasyJet pops 13% as airline weighs $7.7 billion rival takeover bid from Apollo

CNBC

EasyJet pops 13% as airline weighs $7.7 billion rival takeover bid from Apollo

A bidding war has broken out for budget carrier easyJet after Apollo and Castlelake have both submitted takeover offers.

EasyJet stock soared Friday after the budget carrier said it is considering a $7.7 billion takeover bid from Apollo Global Management, putting the airline at the center of a private equity bidding war.

Stacker News

EasyJet pops 13% as airline weighs $7.7 billion rival takeover bid from Apollo \ stacker news

EasyJet stock soared Friday after the budget carrier said it is considering a $7.7 billion takeover bid from Apollo Global Management, putting the ...

GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code, June 2026 releases

The GitHub Blog

GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code, June 2026 releases - GitHub Changelog

This changelog covers VS Code v1.123 through v1.127, shipped throughout June and early July 2026. The latest VS Code releases build on the Copilot ...

This changelog covers VS Code v1.123 through v1.127, shipped throughout June and early July 2026. The latest VS Code releases build on the Copilot experience developers use every day, making it easier to manage agent work, understand usage, choose the right models, and stay in the flow. From a smarter integrated browser to parallel sessions, clearer cost visibility, Marketplace model discovery, and sharper Autopilot behavior, these updates help developers move faster while staying in control.

Stacker News

GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code, June 2026 releases \ stacker news

This changelog covers VS Code v1.123 through v1.127, shipped throughout June and early July 2026. The latest VS Code releases build on the Copilot ...

Tether puts $20M behind Mercado Bitcoin amid Latin America's tokenization boom https://www.theblock.co/post/407463/tether-20-million-behind-mercado-bitcoin-latin-america-tokenization-boom Tether is investing $20 million in Brazilian crypto platform Mercado Bitcoin as part of a strategic financing round meant to help accelerate onchain financial infrastructure across Latin America.

Stacker News

Tether puts $20M behind Mercado Bitcoin amid Latin America's tokenization boom \ stacker news

Tether is investing $20 million in Brazilian crypto platform Mercado Bitcoin as part of a strategic financing round meant to help accelerate onchai...

15yo GhostLock Flaw Enables Root and Container Escape on Most Linux Distros

The Hacker News

15-Year-Old GhostLock Flaw Enables Root and Container Escape on Most Linux Distros

GhostLock (CVE-2026-43499), a 15-year-old use-after-free in Linux's futex code, gives any local user root.

Researchers at Nebula Security have disclosed GhostLock (CVE-2026-43499), a 15-year-old Linux kernel flaw that lets any logged-in user take full root control of a machine that has not been patched.

Stacker News

15yo GhostLock Flaw Enables Root and Container Escape on Most Linux Distros \ stacker news

Researchers at Nebula Security have disclosed GhostLock (CVE-2026-43499), a 15-year-old Linux kernel flaw that lets any logged-in user take full ro...

Rust language rises to top 10 in Tiobe popularity index

Rust language rises to top 10 in Tiobe popularity index | InfoWorld

A strong focus on memory safety and speed accounts for Rust’s growing popularity, while competitors C and C++ continue to struggle with memory management challenges, Tiobe said.

Stacker News

Rust language rises to top 10 in Tiobe popularity index \ stacker news

A strong focus on memory safety and speed accounts for Rust’s growing popularity, while competitors C and C++ continue to struggle with memory ma...

Evidence Mounts for Hierarchical Black Hole Mergers https://physics.aps.org/articles/v19/96 Different analyses of gravitational-wave observations are converging on evidence for a distinct population of massive black hole binaries produced through repeated mergers.

Stacker News

Evidence Mounts for Hierarchical Black Hole Mergers \ stacker news

Different analyses of gravitational-wave observations are converging on evidence for a distinct population of massive black hole binaries produced ...

Confidential computing's core trust mechanism is broken. The fix may not exist

theregister

Confidential computing

Attested TLS: the handshake that can

Vendors are trying to position "confidential computing" as the technical backbone of Europe's sovereign cloud ambitions. But new research shows that a security protocol used to prove cryptographic trust in the system may have a fundamental architectural flaw.

Stacker News

Confidential computing's core trust mechanism is broken. The fix may not exist \ stacker news

Vendors are trying to position "confidential computing" as the technical backbone of Europe's sovereign cloud ambitions. But new research shows tha...

EasyJet reaches 'agreement in principle' over takeover bid

EasyJet agrees 'in principle' to £5.2bn takeover deal

The low-cost airline had previously rejected four takeover offers from US investment firm Castlelake.

EasyJet has reached an agreement in principle with a US investment firm over a potential takeover offer worth around £5.2 billion.

Stacker News

EasyJet reaches 'agreement in principle' over takeover bid \ stacker news

EasyJet has reached an agreement in principle with a US investment firm over a potential takeover offer worth around £5.2 billion.

Google loses fight over record $4.7 billion EU antitrust fine

CNBC

Google loses fight over record $4.7 billion EU antitrust fine

In 2018, the European Commission slapped Google with the record-breaking penalty on the grounds that it abused Android's mobile dominance.

Europe's top court on Thursday upheld Google's fine of around 4.1 billion euros ($4.67 billion) over alleged anti-competitive practices. In 2018, the European Commission slapped Google with the record-breaking penalty on the grounds that it abused Android's mobile dominance to give unfair advantage to its own apps via pre-installation deals with smartphone makers.

Stacker News

Google loses fight over record $4.7 billion EU antitrust fine \ stacker news

Europe's top court on Thursday upheld Google's fine of around 4.1 billion euros ($4.67 billion) over alleged anti-competitive practices. In 2018, t...

OpenAI proposes 5% stake to Trump administration to ease Washington pressure

CNBC

OpenAI proposes 5% stake to Trump administration to ease Washington pressure: Report

Trump said in June that the U.S. taking an ownership stake in AI giants would be "a beautiful thing" and make American public "partners in this rev...

OpenAI has proposed handing the U.S. government a 5% stake in the company, the Financial Times reported Thursday, as the artificial intelligence startup seeks to defuse mounting political pressure in Washington.

Stacker News

OpenAI proposes 5% stake to Trump administration to ease Washington pressure \ stacker news

OpenAI has proposed handing the U.S. government a 5% stake in the company, the Financial Times reported Thursday, as the artificial intelligence st...

Apple’s entry-level MacBook Pro could be up for a redesign

The Verge

Apple’s entry-level MacBook Pro could be up for a redesign

A new look for the laptop.

Apple is working on a “revamped” version of its entry-level MacBook Pro that it could launch as soon as the first half of 2027, Bloomberg reports. The company is also testing four new iPad Pros that are set to launch in the spring with a focus on “internal improvements.”

Stacker News

Apple’s entry-level MacBook Pro could be up for a redesign \ stacker news

Apple is working on a “revamped” version of its entry-level MacBook Pro that it could launch as soon as the first half of 2027, Bloomberg repor...

Why Post-Quantum Cryptography Starts With Credentials

The Hacker News

Why Post-Quantum Cryptography Starts With Credentials

Quantum computers will eventually break today’s encryption. Learn why credentials are most at risk and how to start migrating for a post-quantum ...

Today’s encrypted data, such as credentials, may no longer remain confidential in the future because the public-key cryptography protecting it will soon be broken by quantum computers. Although no machine today can break elliptic curve cryptography or RSA, quantum hardware is advancing rapidly and will inevitably change how organizations protect their data. Ciphertext and credentials captured by attackers can now be stored and decrypted as soon as quantum computing catches up.

Stacker News

Why Post-Quantum Cryptography Starts With Credentials \ stacker news

Today’s encrypted data, such as credentials, may no longer remain confidential in the future because the public-key cryptography protecting it wi...

Deadly heatwave grips Italy and Balkans as wildfire fears grow

Al Jazeera

Deadly heatwave grips Italy and Balkans as wildfire fears grow

Older people remain most at risk as the heatwave drives up excess deaths across Europe.

A record-breaking heatwave has tightened its grip on Italy and the Balkans, killing hundreds of people, fuelling wildfire fears and disrupting daily life across Europe. In Italy, authorities placed 22 cities under red heat warnings on Monday, from Bolzano in the north to Palermo on the southern island of Sicily.

Stacker News

Deadly heatwave grips Italy and Balkans as wildfire fears grow \ stacker news

A record-breaking heatwave has tightened its grip on Italy and the Balkans, killing hundreds of people, fuelling wildfire fears and disrupting dail...

Brain activity under anesthesia challenges what we know about consciousness

ScienceDaily

Brain activity under anesthesia challenges what we know about consciousness

The unconscious brain appears to be far more capable than scientists once believed. Researchers found that patients under general anesthesia could ...

The unconscious brain appears to be far more capable than scientists once believed. Researchers found that patients under general anesthesia could still process language at a sophisticated level, distinguishing nouns, verbs, and adjectives while listening to stories. Even more remarkably, neural activity showed signs of predicting upcoming words before they were heard. The results challenge traditional ideas about consciousness and hint at new possibilities for brain-computer interfaces.

Stacker News

Brain activity under anesthesia challenges what we know about consciousness \ stacker news

The unconscious brain appears to be far more capable than scientists once believed. Researchers found that patients under general anesthesia could ...

South Korea announces more than $1 trillion AI, chip investment drive

Al Jazeera

South Korea announces more than $1 trillion AI, chip investment drive

South Korean president frames the push as a race against time to secure the country's domination in AI boom.

South Korean president frames the push as a race against time to secure the country’s domination in AI boom.

Stacker News

South Korea announces more than $1 trillion AI, chip investment drive \ stacker news

South Korean president frames the push as a race against time to secure the country’s domination in AI boom.

Consciousness is not an object we can observe

Consciousness is not an object we can observe | Manfred Frank » IAI TV

Materialism misses the self-awareness built into consciousness

Physicist Carlo Rovelli recently proclaimed that consciousness is just another physical thing, while materialist philosophers argue that consciousness is simply one brain state observing another. What such views miss, argues Manfred Frank, a leading figure in contemporary German philosophy, is that consciousness comes with a built-in awareness of itself—an awareness that exists prior to any introspection or observation. Consciousness does not observe itself in the way we observe objects; rather, it dissolves the distinction between observer and observed altogether. This is why consciousness cannot be simply another object in the world, but instead exists in an entirely different dimension.

Stacker News

Consciousness is not an object we can observe \ stacker news

Physicist Carlo Rovelli recently proclaimed that consciousness is just another physical thing, while materialist philosophers argue that consciousn...