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Dark-web market Nexus offered 153 million driver's license scans tied to IDScan.net breach

A dark-web marketplace called Nexus advertised more than 153 million US and Canadian driver's license images, along with millions of ID cards, travel documents and medical cards, before going offline after Krebs on Security exposed it. The listings included not just standard front-and-back scans but infrared and ultraviolet images normally used by businesses to verify document authenticity. The FBI's New Orleans office is reportedly investigating a possible breach at Louisiana-based identity-verification firm IDScan.net, which Nexus claimed as its data source.

Xiaomi previews Fold 18 Pro with wider passport-style design ahead of Sept 7 launch

Xiaomi showed off its Fold 18 Pro foldable at IFA 2026 in a striking red color, letting attendees view but not handle the device. The company revealed the phone will use its own in-house XRING 03 chip, described as a 'Flagship AI SoC' combining CPU, GPU and NPU functions, potentially skipping Qualcomm or MediaTek chips altogether. Full specs and pricing are expected when the phone officially launches in China on September 7.

Essay maps how BM25's Stephen Robertson and Hokusai spent decades refining one core idea

A May 2026 blog post collects examples of people who spent decades iterating on a single idea before reaching their defining work. It traces Stephen Robertson's path from a 1976 probabilistic relevance paper with Karen Sparck Jones to the 1994 BM25 formula still used in search today, and cites Hokusai's decades of studying nature before painting The Great Wave off Kanagawa at 73.

Xiaomi debuts 18 Fold foldable with in-house XRing O3 chip at IFA 2026

Xiaomi officially unveiled the Xiaomi 18 Fold at IFA 2026, giving the public its first real look at the wide-screen foldable in a cherry red finish after weeks of leaked images. The device features a triple-camera setup with a focal range suggesting roughly 3.3x telephoto zoom, and it debuts alongside more than 380 other products at Xiaomi's booth, including its smart home and connected ecosystem lineup.

Xiaomi debuts passport-style foldable and Mijia smart home lineup at IFA 2025

At IFA in Berlin, Xiaomi unveiled a new passport-shaped foldable phone positioned as a rival to Apple's rumored folding iPhone, alongside three Mijia-branded home appliances: a Cryo Fresh refrigerator with air circulation and nano blue light sterilization, a Tri-Drum Washer Dryer Pro claiming 35% better energy efficiency, and a high-power Conditioner Turbo Pro. The launch marks Xiaomi's push to bring its broader Mijia ecosystem brand into European markets, building on smart home products already sold there.

Utah's SB 73 age-verification law now requires ID checks even for VPN users

Utah has enacted Senate Bill 73, an age-verification law requiring adult websites to confirm users' ages regardless of whether they use a VPN or proxy to mask their location. The law, which had been delayed by a court injunction after a challenge from Pornhub owner Aylo, imposes fines up to $2,500 per violation and bars sites from telling users how to bypass verification with a VPN.

Microsoft confirms KB5120998 update wipes desktop wallpaper and theme settings

Microsoft has acknowledged that its optional KB5120998 preview update, released August 27, 2026, causes desktop backgrounds to reset to solid black on Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2 devices. The company says the bug prevents desktop settings like wallpaper, slideshow options, and contrast themes from loading correctly, and affected users cannot manually restore their previous customizations. The same update was already flagged a day earlier for resetting mouse settings with similar restoration problems.

Nvidia agrees to acquire Hugging Face for $12.93 billion

Nvidia announced a deal to purchase Hugging Face, the widely used open-source hub for AI models, datasets and developer tools, for roughly $12.93 billion. CEO Jensen Huang said the platform will stay open to all developers regardless of hardware or cloud provider, and that Nvidia compute won't be a requirement to use it. The acquisition follows weeks of reports that Hugging Face was exploring a sale near this valuation.

Belkin unveils sub-$60 ANC earbuds and kids' headphones at IFA Berlin

Belkin introduced three new SoundForm audio products at IFA Berlin, all featuring active noise cancellation at lower price points than typical. The lineup includes the $59.99 SoundForm Isolate Buds with up to 45dB of noise cancellation and a secure wing-tip design, the $39.99 SoundForm Dot ANC earbuds, and the $49.99 SoundForm Play ANC headphones aimed at children with a volume limiter and focus-oriented soundscapes.

Narwal launches $799 Freo 20 Edge robot vacuum with premium mopping tech

Narwal debuted the Freo 20 Edge at IFA 2026, a $799.99 robot vacuum that keeps the 31,000Pa suction and FlowWash track-mopping system from its pricier $1,099.99 Freo 20 sibling. To hit the lower price, Narwal swapped the flagship's dual RGB cameras and 300-plus object recognition for hidden dToF LiDAR and structured-light sensing that still identifies over 150 object types. Narwal also introduced the lightweight V50 Cube and new flagship wet-and-dry vacuum models at the same event.

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