A kill switch is a VPN feature that watches the encrypted tunnel between a device and a VPN server, cutting internet access the moment that connection weakens or fails. This stops a device's real IP address or DNS requests from leaking during outages or server switches, restoring access automatically once the secure tunnel resumes. The feature comes in two forms: app-level, which blocks only chosen programs, and system-level, which halts all network traffic on the device.
TechCrunch is giving startups until 11:59 p.m. PT on Friday, September 18 to secure a $12,500 exhibit table at Disrupt 2026, warning that tables are limited and sold on a first-come basis. The package includes 10 event passes, Expo Hall access, lead capture through the event app, press-list inclusion and Silver Tier sponsor branding.
A new open-source tool called Panel lets developers run an AI agent alongside a research workspace containing chat, files, PDFs and Jupyter notebooks. The agent, currently built on Claude Code, can generate its own custom viewer panes on request when existing panels can't display something, and can run a literature review tool. It's an early-stage build requiring Node, pnpm, uv and a signed-in Claude Code CLI to run locally.
Apple TV's 'Widow's Bay' dominated the 2026 Emmys, winning 14 awards in a single season, a new record for a comedy series, including best comedy series and best actor for Matthew Rhys, who took home three trophies overall. Meanwhile, HBO Max's 'The Pitt' repeated as best drama series with Noah Wyle again winning best actor, though the show fell short of expectations elsewhere, and Jean Smart made history with her fifth consecutive comedy actress win for 'Hacks'.
Bloomberg forecasts that U.S. AI data centers will consume up to 15 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day by 2035, more than double an earlier projection of 6.9 billion cubic feet. The surge stems from operators turning to onsite gas turbine generators as grid power buildouts lag behind AI compute demand, with data centers expected to draw roughly 194 gigawatts, or 20% of U.S. power, by that year.
President Trump used Truth Social to reject growing calls from AI executives for stronger oversight of the technology, singling out Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei for criticism after Amodei urged a coordinated industry slowdown, independent audits, and international safety standards. Trump argued that the only safeguard AI needs is a competent president, and characterized nationwide protests against AI data centers as a coordinated effort to undermine American tech companies.
The EPA finalized a rule dismantling most of the 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards for power plants, claiming the Clean Air Act doesn't authorize requiring pollution control technology it deems unproven. The agency also proposed eliminating all remaining greenhouse gas emissions requirements for power plants, asserting their emissions have no meaningful climate impact.
The Trump administration's EPA, led by Lee Zeldin, has finalized plans to eliminate federal limits on greenhouse gas emissions from coal and natural gas power plants, rolling back rules established under the Biden and Obama administrations. A companion rule would also try to block future administrations from reinstating such restrictions on power plant emissions.
Almost 5,000 mathematicians, including 25 Fields medalists, signed a declaration titled 'A Severe Misalignment of AI in Mathematics,' arguing that AI's success at solving famous problems is being mistaken for genuine mathematical progress. They contend that solving problems is merely a proxy for the real goal of conceptual insight, and that rapid AI-generated 'true/false' outputs could crowd out the slower work of idea generation rather than advance it.
Users updating to iOS 27 report faster battery drain and warmer devices, but this is a temporary side effect of background processes like re-indexing data, downloading assets, and updating apps. Apple notes this is expected after major updates, and the effect is larger this time due to a full re-indexing needed for Siri AI features, which can take several days.
A developer released Capsule, a tool for building self-contained web apps that embed their own SQLite database within a single file. The apps run without requiring cloud servers, user accounts, or an internet connection, keeping all data stored locally on the user's device.
A new tool called Ordewell breaks down a single stated goal into an ordered sequence of coding-agent tasks, each assigned its own runner, model, thinking effort and execution mode. Users can edit the plan before execution—reordering, adding, removing or rewiring dependencies—without losing finished work or restarting the AI conversation. Task completion is verified by checking for a unique marker in the runner's output rather than trusting the model's self-reported success.
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