Gadgets & Tech Headlines

Beware of online ads with elaborate backstories. They may not be from a real small business

Online ads that appeared before the holidays linked to a website featuring a photo of a woman hand-knitting a Christmas sweater

In a warming world, freshwater production is moving deep beneath the sea

Climate change is driving a global boom in desalination as regions turn to the sea for drinking water

NASA sends 4 astronauts back to Earth in first medical evacuation

An astronaut in need of medical care is on the way back to Earth

Four astronauts depart the International Space Station in NASA’s first medical evacuation from orbit

Free Starlink access for Iran seen as game changer for demonstrators getting their message out

SpaceX's Starlink has dropped fees to help Iranian demonstrators share protest details globally, activists say

Gates Foundation unveils $9 billion budget and plans to cut staff

The Gates Foundation plans to spend a record $9 billion in 2026, focusing on global health and other key areas

Dutch court hears arguments in Nexperia mismanagement case that upset the global auto industry

Lawyers for Nexperia and its Chinese owners have faced off in an Amsterdam courtroom over alleged corporate mismanagement

Sales of a powerful Nvidia AI chip to China gets the greenlight, with conditions

The Trump administration placed new security requirements on Nividia’s semiconductor sales to China, but essentially greenlighted the export of its powerful H200 artificial intelligence chips to Chinese buyers

Music streams hit 5 trillion in 2025. Christian, rock and Latin lead growth in the US

The global music industry hit 5.1 trillion streams in 2025

The UK is watering down plans for mandatory digital ID cards after a backlash

The British government has scaled back plans for mandatory digital ID cards, initially proposed as a way of helping control immigration