The Daily News — 2026-06-18 Edition

A curated selection of today’s most interesting stories from 61 RSS sources. Business Austin Startup Icon Josh Baer Dies in Plane Crash Josh Baer has died in a plane crash. Tragic. He founded Capital Factory and was a huge part of the Austin startup scene. Thinking of his family and friends, and so many people whose lives he must’ve impacted. Rest in peace. Source: https://www.manton.org/2026/06/17/josh-baer-has-died-in.html OpenAIs milliardenschweres Zuwachs-Dilemma: Einnahmen vs. Verluste OpenAI erzielt beeindruckende zwei Milliarden Dollar Monatsumsatz, doch die Verluste wachsen rasant schneller als die Einnahmen. Trotz der hohen Ausgaben kann das KI-Unternehmen dank umfangreicher Reserven weiter aggressiv investieren. Source: [www.heise.de/news/Open… SpaceX überholt Amazon: Elon Muschs gewagte Wachstumsversprechen Für SpaceX-Aktien ging es am Dienstag zwar nicht mehr nur nach oben, trotzdem überholte das Unternehmen Amazon. Elon Musk verspricht enormes Umsatzwachstum. Source: [www.heise.de/news/Spac… X Accuses Music Publishers of Truncating Elon Musk’s ‘DMCA Plague’ Tweet X Corp has filed a motion to dismiss a music industry piracy lawsuit, revealing that publishers allegedly took Elon Musk’s tweets out of context to support their case. After the Supreme Court’s Cox ruling raised the bar for contributory infringement claims, X argues the publishers’ ‘retrofitted’ inducement theory lacks evidence and misrepresents Musk’s political opinions about copyright terms. Source: https://torrentfreak.com/music-publishers-truncated-musks-dmca-plague-tweet-to-back-piracy-case-x-tells-court/ VW unter Beschuss: Milliarden-Dividende trotz harten Sparmaßnahmen Trotz harter Sparmaßnahmen werden Milliarden an Aktionäre ausgezahlt. Das ruft Kritiker auf den Plan. Im Vorstand hält man die Lage des Konzerns für bedrohlich. Source: [www.heise.de/news/Verb… \n## Technology Massive Fortinet Firewall Breach Exposes 74,000 Network Credentials Researchers have uncovered a massive breach of Fortinet firewalls that has given Russian-speaking attackers near-unrestricted access to some of the world’s largest and most powerful organizations, including Oracle, Chevron, Lenovo, Federal Express, a NATO defense contractor, and Fortinet itself. Nearly 74,000 Fortinet devices from more than 21,000 IP addresses in 194 countries have been compromised and their plaintext credentials exposed online, Bob Diachenko, a security researcher and head of SecurityDiscovery.com, said online and in an interview. He said he found the data after gaining access to the attackers’ command-and-control server and other infrastructure. The exposed data also included the industry, revenue, and employee count for each compromised organization. Source: https://arstechnica.com/security/2026/06/massive-breach-spills-credentials-for-thousands-of-sensitive-networks/ AI Agents Now Train Robots Overnight While Scientists Sleep NVIDIA’s new ENPIRE framework enables AI coding agents to autonomously train robots to perform complex tasks like cutting zip ties and installing GPUs into motherboards. The breakthrough system works tirelessly overnight, with researchers simply reading training reports each morning rather than manually directing robot learning. Source: https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/06/ai-coding-agents-can-autonomously-direct-robot-training/ Advanced AI Models Pose Dual-Use Threat as Government Restrictions Tighten Anthropic has taken its powerful Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 AI models offline following a US government directive barring foreign nationals from accessing the services. The models’ advanced capabilities for both discovering and exploiting software vulnerabilities highlight the dual-use nature of cutting-edge AI—potentially invaluable to cybersecurity professionals and biology researchers, but equally dangerous in malicious hands. Source: https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/06/dangerous-ai-models-are-coming-no-matter-what/ Fortnite Skins Could Soon Work Across Multiple Games Epic Games is taking a major step toward its long-held metaverse vision with Unreal Engine 6, which will let developers enable cross-game skin compatibility. Players could eventually use their Fortnite cosmetics in completely different games, while developers can also create skins that work within Fortnite—creating a more interconnected gaming ecosystem. Source: https://www.theverge.com/games/951785/epic-games-fortnite-unreal-fest-2026-unreal-engine-6-ai-metaverse FortiSandbox: Angriffe auf kritische Schwachstellen beobachtet Schwachstellen in FortiSandbox sind derzeit Ziel von Angriffen im Internet. Patches zum Absichern stehen seit April bereit. Source: [www.heise.de/news/Angr… \n## Health FDA Reverses ‘Truly Evil’ Gene Therapy Rejection A gene therapy for Huntington’s disease has a new path toward approval from the Food and Drug Administration after the ouster of several Trump officials, particularly Vinay Prasad, who rejected the therapy in a shocking move one former FDA official called “truly evil.” Huntington’s disease is an inherited condition that typically strikes in middle age and causes nerve cells in the brain to gradually break down. There are currently no treatments for the disease, and many afflicted die in their 50s and 60s. Gene therapy company UniQure developed a one-time treatment, AMT-130, that aims to lower brain levels of the mutant protein behind the disease, called huntingtin. Data from a small, early trial suggested the drug could slow the progression of the disease up to 75 percent, and patients and advocates have closely watched the drug’s development in hopeful anticipation. Source: https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/06/truly-evil-fda-rejection-of-gene-therapy-overturned-after-trump-official-ousted/ FDA Clears Second Maggot Species for Medical Wound Therapy The FDA has approved Lucilia cuprina, or Australian sheep blowfly, as the second fly species for maggot debridement therapy—expanding medical options for wound treatment. Cuprina Holdings’ MediFly Maggots positions the company to dominate the global maggot therapy market, which previously relied solely on Lucilia sericata since its 2004 approval. Source: https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/06/second-carcass-eating-fly-species-cleared-by-fda-for-maggot-wound-therapy/ Midjourney’s Wild Pivot: From AI Cat Pics to Medical Scanners Midjourney, best known for generating AI cat images, has unveiled its first hardware product: The Midjourney Scanner, an ultrasound-based full-body scanner that aims for MRI-quality imaging. CEO David Holz plans to build a San Francisco spa where people could get scanned annually or even daily to track their body composition. Source: https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/952011/midjourney-medical-ai-ultrasound-scan Medizinische Register: Daten sind “Must-have” für die Forschung Medizinische Register sollen Daten für die Forschung und Versorgung liefern. Wie sich das BMG das vorstellt, erklärt Philipp Müller vom Gesundheitsministerium. Source: [www.heise.de/news/BMG-… Your Grill Brush Might Be Serving Up Dangerous Metal Bristles Wire grill brushes can shed dangerous bristles that wind up in food, causing approximately 1,700 ER visits between 2002-2014. The American Medical Association has called for warning labels, but safer alternatives exist to keep your grill clean without the risk. Source: [www.nytimes.com/wirecutte… \n## Entertainment After 24 Years, Bleach Anime Enters Its Final Era The legendary shonen anime Bleach is officially entering its final era, concluding its 24-year run with the Thousand-Year Blood War arc. As one-third of the iconic ‘Big Three’ alongside Naruto and One Piece, Bleach defined supernatural action storytelling with its unique punk-rock aesthetic and focus on duty and death rather than traditional power-up arcs. Source: https://www.polygon.com/the-best-looking-shonen-on-tv-enters-its-final-era-next-month/ Classic Call of Duty Black Ops Games Return to PlayStation This July Two classic Call of Duty games are getting a rerelease this summer. Treyarch announced Wednesday that Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 are being ported to unspecified PlayStation platforms in July. Developer Iron Galaxy, which has a rich history of game ports and support work, is handling development of the rereleases. Source: https://www.polygon.com/call-of-duty-black-ops-2-2026-ports-ps5-ps4-treyarch/ Epic Games CEO Takes Stand Against Roblox’s Gaming Empire Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, is positioning his company as the defender of traditional AAA gaming against platforms like Roblox. He advocates for a more open gaming ecosystem, ensuring that high-quality games remain competitive against user-generated content platforms. Source: https://kotaku.com/tim-sweeney-pitches-epic-as-a-savior-for-an-aaa-gaming-industry-being-devoured-by-roblox-2000707706 Beloved Call of Duty: Black Ops Games Return to PlayStation The new ports will include Call of Duty: Black Ops and Black Ops 2 multiplayer, zombies, and campaign modes. These fan-favorite titles are making their way back to PlayStation, giving both new and returning players the complete experience with all classic modes intact. Source: https://kotaku.com/fan-favorite-call-of-duty-black-ops-games-are-getting-new-playstation-ports-2000707681 Hidden Gem Screenbound Was Summer Game Fest’s Most Unique Game Screenbound blends genres and dimensions to create something unlike anything else I saw at SGF. This innovative title stood apart from Geoff Keighley’s main stage presentations with its genre-defying gameplay that crosses dimensional boundaries, offering a fresh experience that caught attention despite being outside the spotlight. Source: https://kotaku.com/screenbound-interview-release-date-preview-steam-xbox-ps5-2000707657 \n## Science 2028 Timeline for Useful Quantum Error Correction Promised Amazon and QuEra have committed to delivering useful quantum error correction by 2028, potentially accelerating the timeline for practical quantum computing applications. This breakthrough could enable solving complex problems that require logical qubits rather than current error-prone hardware. Source: https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/amazon-quera-promise-useful-quantum-error-correction-by-2028/ Historic California Launch Complex Cleared for SpaceX Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Space Force Station, once planned for shuttle launches and human spaceflight, has been demolished to make way for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy missions. The demolition marks a modernization of the storied site, replacing decades-old support towers with infrastructure for next-generation rockets. Source: https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/06/towers-once-planned-for-california-shuttle-launches-leveled-for-spacex-rockets/ Europa im Weltraum: Passagier oder Pilot? Ohne Raumfahrt kein Wetterbericht, keine Navigation, schlechteres Internet. Wie abhängig ist Europa von den USA – und wie nehmen wir das Steuer in die Hand? Source: [www.heise.de/hintergru… \n## Travel Why Wirecutter’s Travel Experts Say You Should Check That Bag While most frequent flyers insist on carry-on only, Wirecutter’s travel gear experts actually recommend checking bags. They argue the hype around carry-on luggage is overrated and share surprising reasons why checking bags can make your travel experience better. Source: [www.nytimes.com/wirecutte… How This Newsletter Works This newsletter is automatically generated by an AI-powered workflow that: Aggregates content from 61 RSS feeds Filters articles from the last 24 hours Categorizes each story using AI (GLM-4.5 Air) Detects similarities and combines related stories Selects the top 5 most interesting stories per category Summarizes each story with AI (GLM-4.7) Tech Stack: Built with n8n, powered by Z.AI GLM-4.7 and OpenAI embeddings. Generated with ❤️ by n8n