Vladimir Putin told the Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow that he regularly communicates with Elon Musk to coordinate so Russia's Rassvet satellite internet project and SpaceX's Starlink do not interfere with each other in orbit. Putin called Musk a 'real genius,' while Russia's embassy in South Africa described Rassvet, which has only a few dozen satellites compared with Starlink's roughly 13,000, as Russia's early-stage alternative to Starlink.
bbc.co.uk
· 2026-10-28
Russian President Vladimir Putin called Elon Musk a 'real genius' and said Russia is in close contact with Musk on satellite-related issues. Putin described the contact as part of broader coordination with American partners, without detailing the scope or nature of the cooperation.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-10-28
Cybersecurity startup Cathedral, founded by former DOGE members, says its AI agents exploited vulnerabilities in third-party business software to access Anthropic's meeting transcripts, salary data, job offers and Slack messages within about 12 hours. Anthropic disputes the severity, saying Cathedral only reached a limited set of sales, HR and IT systems after failing to breach Anthropic's own software directly, and that it detected and cut off access the same day.
futurism.com
· 2026-10-28
Real estate agents working on behalf of Elon Musk's xAI have been approaching homeowners in Southaven, Mississippi, offering to purchase their properties in exchange for signing agreements not to sue over noise from nearby data centers, according to The Guardian. One agent said the goal is to acquire 418 homes, and recordings reviewed by the outlet show 18 homeowners have already agreed to sell. Residents near the three data centers built in Southaven and nearby Memphis over the past two years describe constant, jet-engine-like noise disrupting their sleep.
futurism.com
· 2026-10-28
Tesla showed its second-generation Roadster using a compressed-air thruster system for a brief airborne demonstration in mid-October, reigniting interest from buyers who have waited years for the car. Some customers, including EV dealer owner Alex Lawrence, placed new deposits on top of existing ones: $50,000 for the base model and up to $250,000 for the thruster-equipped version, while an invite-only 'Rocket' variant won't be street legal. Tesla first unveiled the Roadster in 2017 promising 2020 delivery, but now says production will begin in 2028 with no confirmed delivery date or final pricing.
wired.com
· 2026-10-28
X has begun showing some users an animated hand that reaches across the screen toward the 'promote' button while composing posts, according to screenshots shared by users including The Verge's Tom Warren. The feature appears limited to verified or X Premium subscribers, and promoting a post extends its reach to non-followers based on location, interests or demographics, with promoted posts labeled 'promoted' or 'ad'.
theverge.com
· 2026-10-28
A Los Angeles non-profit, the Planetary Sunshade Institute, has published a report compiling research from engineers and climate scientists, including contributors linked to NASA, on building a giant sunshade between Earth and the Sun to cool the planet. The report estimates construction could become feasible within 20 to 40 years, contingent on development of heavy-lift rockets capable of carrying millions of tonnes of material into deep space. The study follows a social-media post by Elon Musk suggesting satellites could 'solve global warming' for a billion years, though SpaceX did not confirm any involvement in such research.
nature.com
· 2026-10-28
X Premium subscribers are seeing a brief animation of an arm pointing at the 'promote' button inside the post composer. The feature hasn't rolled out to all accounts, and X has not publicly explained the change. Users have shared screenshots and videos reacting with confusion on the platform.
engadget.com
· 2026-10-27
Cathedral, a cybersecurity startup founded by former Department of Government Efficiency staffers with ties to Trump, says it gained access to Anthropic's internal data and Slack messages. The firm claims it exploited vulnerabilities in third-party business software used by Anthropic, and says the intrusion took less than 12 hours.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-10-27
Jeremy Lewin, a 28-year-old DOGE affiliate, was handed authority over USAID by Secretary of State Marco Rubio on March 18, 2025, despite having no background in government or foreign aid. Internal emails reviewed by WIRED show that for weeks afterward, USAID staff had no documentation of his employment, and security couldn't issue him an ID because no records existed. During this period he nonetheless canceled aid programs and signed off on mass staff terminations.
wired.com
· 2026-10-27
Elon Musk claimed Ukraine's military violated Starlink's terms of service by using the satellite internet system for offensive drone strikes, saying a 'loophole' enabling this was closed last week. Ukrainian officials, including presidential adviser Serhii Beskrestnov, dispute this, saying Starlink terminals can't track fast-moving targets or operate inside Russia, making such use technically impossible. The dispute follows Ukrainian complaints that SpaceX had recently limited Starlink service in ways that disrupted military drone operations.
theverge.com
· 2026-10-27
Labour MP Jess Asato is taking legal action against Elon Musk's xAI, alleging the company's Grok tool used her image without consent to generate explicit deepfakes, including one depicting a sexual assault. Asato says she reported the images to X but the platform repeatedly dismissed her complaints, prompting her to pursue the matter in court instead.
wired.com
· 2026-10-27
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