August 14, 2026

What we know about the alleged Iranian hacks on US water utilities: Over the last couple of weeks, hackers have targeted and broken into the systems of several water plants in the United States. Here’s what we know and don’t know about this wave of attacks allegedly carried out by the Iranian government. Read More

Apple proposes to take a 15% cut of purchases made outside the App Store: Apple is asking a federal judge to allow it to charge commissions of up to 15% on purchases made through external links in iOS apps. Read More

If Apple sends you a push notification alerting you to a spyware attack, take it seriously: Apple now sends out push notifications to iPhone lock screens when the company identifies government spyware targeting someone's devices. Read More

Self-driving trucks are officially testing on California highways: Aurora Innovation and Kodiak AI, two companies developing self-driving trucks, have received permits from the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Read More

Hyperscalers might regret embracing natural gas if new forecast proves correct: Natural gas prices could triple in some parts of the U.S., which could saddle hyperscalers with massive bills to power their AI data centers. Read More

US courts will start publishing how often the government uses spyware: The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts told TechCrunch that it will start disclosing how many times judges authorized the use of spyware to wiretap suspected criminals. Read More

Google will now allow users to remove visible watermark from its AI generations: Turning off this setting won't affect invisible benchmarks used to identify an AI generated file. Read More

Investors sue Selena Gomez alleging fraud tied to her mental health startup: The plaintiffs say they invested nearly $1.2 million in the company, and are accusing Gomez of failing to build and market the startup. Read More

Thrive's Joshua Kushner chides Silicon Valley VCs over AI euphoria: The AI opportunity is huge, but "it would also be a grave error in our minds to let excitement weaken our investment discipline," Kushner warns in his first-ever investment letter. Read More

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August 14, 2026

If Apple sends you a push notification alerting you to a spyware attack, take it seriously: Apple now sends out push notifications to iPhone lock screens when the company identifies government spyware targeting someone's devices. Read More

Apple proposes to take a 15% cut of purchases made outside the App Store: Apple is asking a federal judge to allow it to charge commissions of up to 15% on purchases made through external links in iOS apps. Read More

US courts will start publishing how often the government uses spyware: The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts told TechCrunch that it will start disclosing how many times judges authorized the use of spyware to wiretap suspected criminals. Read More

Alumni Ventures is giving readers early access to high-potential startup opportunities across today’s most active sectors, co-invested alongside name-brand VC firms like Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Bessemer, & Y Combinator. You Get: Curated deal flow of high-potential startups, Investing alongside name-brand vc firms, No cost to see deals, No obligation to invest.

Anthropic set AI agents loose on the same task. They started a turf war.: Anthropic researchers found AI agents can clash, collude, and coordinate in unexpected ways, raising new questions about whether today’s safety tests capture the risks of multi-agent systems. Read More

Hyperscalers might regret embracing natural gas if new forecast proves correct: Natural gas prices could triple in some parts of the U.S., which could saddle hyperscalers with massive bills to power their AI data centers. Read More

OpenAI introduces 'Ultrafast,' a new mode that makes GPT-5.6 Sol work at 14x the speed: OpenAI is launching a preview of a sped up version of its latest, most powerful model, in an effort to court enterprise users. Read More

Uber and Pony.ai plan to bring 2,000 robotaxis to Europe: The partnership is expanding beyond the initial market of Zagreb, Croatia to four additional European cities. Read More

Investors sue Selena Gomez alleging fraud tied to her mental health startup: The plaintiffs say they invested nearly $1.2 million in the company, and are accusing Gomez of failing to build and market the startup. Read More

OpenAI hires new CRO as executive shake-up continues: OpenAI has replaced chief revenue officer Denise Dresser after just nine months on the job, tapping Wiz president and chief operating officer Dali Rajic to take on frontier lab's top sales job. Read More

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