Tech&Science · Important news for 15 August 2026

Google ordered by judge to ease third-party app store installation

Ars Technica · Engadget · The Verge

A federal judge has ordered Google to make it easier for users to find and install alternative app stores within a week.

Judge issued an order against Google regarding alternative app stores
Google has one week to comply with the directive

Tech&Science

US could exhaust domestic phosphorus reserves within 40 years

Phys.org

Tech&Science

FDA Approves Bristol Oral Treatment for Advanced Multiple Myeloma

STAT News

Tech&Science

Jane Street suffers $15B hit after meltdown at Situational Awareness

Fortune · Hacker News

Tech&Science

Active exploitation of macOS screen-sharing vulnerability allows remote unauthorized access

Ars Technica

Tech&Science

Waymo permitted to offer rides in Sacramento and San Diego

Engadget

Tech&Science

Researchers clone wheat gene providing Hessian fly resistance

Phys.org

Tech&Science

Google applies homomorphic encryption to make private AI practical

Hacker News

Tech&Science

Meta releases open-weight Glimmer AI model

TechCrunch

Tech&Science

Large study links regular stair climbing to lower risk of heart disease and death

ScienceDaily

Tech&Science

French Tax Authority Admits Data Breach Affecting Millions

The Register

Tech&Science

US courts to begin publishing data on government spyware use

TechCrunch

Tech&Science

Police-tech giant Flock tightens rules on officer access to license plate readers

MIT Technology Review · TechCrunch · The Hill · 4 sources

Tech&Science

Scientists solve mystery of brain switch triggering weight loss in opposite ways

ScienceDaily

Tech&Science

Home battery boom in Australia helps cut wholesale power prices in half

Hacker News

Tech&Science

Self-driving trucks begin official highway testing in California

TechCrunch

Tech&Science

ChainDrop worm infects 444 npm packages in supply chain attack

The Register

Tech&Science

Trump administration enacts flurry of national security policies

Engadget · Foreign Policy · The Hill

Tech&Science

Firefox becomes last major browser supporting uBlock Origin

Hacker News

Tech&Science

X Releases Algorithm Source Code Detailing Viral Formula

Business Insider

Tech&Science

OpenAI and Anthropic launch cheaper models amid competition from Chinese AI rivals

Ars Technica

Tech&Science

Alibaba releases Qwen 3.8 27B open-weights model

Hacker News

Tech&Science

Tiny DNA Rotor Enables Microscopes to Track Gene Transcription at Base-Pair Resolution

Phys.org

Tech&Science

Utility-Scale Solar and Batteries Dominate US Power Plant Additions

Ars Technica

Tech&Science

RingCentral Data Dumped Following ShinyHunters Extortion Attack

The Register

Tech&Science

Going dark and the era of law enforcement hacking

Hacker News

Tech&Science

Wildfires destroy over 4 million hectares of protected tropical forest since 2001

Phys.org

Tech&Science

Stable viral RNA elements discovered to boost mRNA therapeutics

Phys.org

Tech&Science

OpenAI talent exodus raises concerns ahead of planned IPO

Axios · CNBC

Tech&Science

Apple proposes 15 percent commission on external app store purchases

Engadget · TechCrunch

Tech&Science

Google Permits Removal of Visible Watermarks from AI Content

Engadget · TechCrunch · The Verge

Tech&Science

Anthropic Releases Redacted Risk Report for August 2026

Hacker News

Tech&Science

State judge orders prediction market Kalshi to halt sports betting in Washington

Ars Technica

Tech&Science

Flock Safety announces changes following backlash over license plate readers

Al Jazeera · The Independent

Tech&Science

Stanford Researchers Find Immune Cells Flood the Aging Brain

ScienceDaily

Tech&Science

THC May Reduce Nightmares in PTSD Patients

New Scientist

Tech&Science

NASA COFFIES Uses AI to Predict Solar Storms

NASA · Phys.org

Tech&Science

Sediments reveal sudden changes in Atlantic heat transport

Phys.org · ScienceDaily

Tech&Science

First test flight of largest all-electric aircraft highlights low operational costs

Ars Technica · Engadget

That's all the important news for now

Everything above cleared the significance threshold. You're free.