Today: 17 June 2026

Apollo 13’s “Successful Failure”: The Epic Journey of Jim Lovell, NASA’s Legendary Commander

Apollo 13’s “Successful Failure”: The Epic Journey of Jim Lovell, NASA’s Legendary Commander

Apollo 13 launched April 11, 1970, with Jim Lovell commanding and Jack Swigert replacing Ken Mattingly days before liftoff. An oxygen tank exploded April 13, crippling the spacecraft and forcing the crew to use the Lunar Module as a lifeboat. The astronauts looped around the Moon and splashed down safely in the Pacific on April 17 after 142 hours in space. Mission Control improvised a CO2 filter fix using onboard materials.
8 August 2025
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GPT-5 Launches Today: OpenAI’s ‘PhD-Level’ AI Ushers in a New Era of ChatGPT

Battle of the AI Titans: GPT-5 vs Grok 4 vs Microsoft Copilot – Who Wins the Next-Gen AI Showdown?

OpenAI launched GPT-5 in August 2025 with a 400,000-token context window, multimodal input, and access for 700 million ChatGPT users. Microsoft integrated GPT-5 across Copilot products, including Windows and Office, with pricing from free to $30 per user monthly. xAI released Grok 4 in July, touting it as the most powerful AI model, but faced criticism after antisemitic responses appeared on X.
8 August 2025
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Satellite Phones: Comprehensive Global FAQ

Iridium 9575 vs Iridium 9555 vs Thuraya XT Lite Comparison. You Won’t Believe Which Satellite Phone Dominates in 2025

Iridium 9575 Extreme, launched in 2011, features MIL-STD-810F durability, IP65 protection, built-in GPS, and a one-touch SOS button, with global coverage via 66 satellites. It measures 14 × 6 × 2.7 cm, weighs 247 g, offers 4 hours talk and 30 hours standby, and costs $1,300–$1,500. The older Iridium 9555 lacks GPS and SOS, weighs 266 g, and costs $900–$1,100. Thuraya XT-LITE covers 160 countries, weighs 186 g, and costs $600–$800.
8 August 2025
Framework Desktop vs Mac Studio vs Intel NUC 13 Extreme. You Won’t Believe Which Tiny PC Wins in 2025

Framework Desktop vs Mac Studio vs Intel NUC 13 Extreme. You Won’t Believe Which Tiny PC Wins in 2025

Framework Desktop (2025) features an AMD Ryzen AI Max CPU, Radeon 8060S iGPU, up to 128 GB LPDDR5x RAM, and modular storage in a 4.5L case starting at $1,099. Mac Studio (M2 Max/Ultra) offers up to a 24-core CPU, 76-core GPU, and 192 GB RAM in a 3.8L chassis from $1,999. Intel NUC 13 Extreme supports Core i9-13900K, RTX 4090, and up to 64 GB DDR5 in a 13–14L case, kit price $1,550–$1,700.
8 August 2025
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Complete Guide to Internet Access in Sri Lanka: Fiber, 4G, and Satellite Expansion

Complete Guide to Internet Access in Sri Lanka: Fiber, 4G, and Satellite Expansion

Sri Lanka reported 29.3 million mobile subscriptions in early 2025, surpassing its population. The government paused Starlink’s nationwide satellite broadband rollout in March 2025, citing security concerns. 4G LTE covers nearly the entire population, while rural internet penetration reached 56% in 2024. Mobile data costs about $0.25 per GB, among the lowest globally.
8 August 2025
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iPhone 17 Leaks Reveal Ultra‑Thin ‘Air’ Model, Big Upgrades & Everything We Know (Mid‑2025)

Battle of 2025’s Best Phones – iPhone 17 Pro Max vs Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Pixel 10 Pro

Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra features a 6.9-inch 3120×1440 OLED display at 120Hz and up to 3000 nits brightness, powered by Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen4 with up to 16GB RAM. Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro Max is expected to keep a 6.7-inch 120Hz OLED, add a nano-texture coating, and upgrade to 12GB RAM with the new A19 Pro chip. Google’s Pixel 10 Pro will offer a 6.7-inch 120Hz OLED, up to 3000 nits, Tensor G5, and 12GB RAM.
8 August 2025
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Apple Vision Pro vs Meta Quest 3: In-Depth Comparison and Review 2025

VR Headset Showdown 2025: Meta Quest 3 & Quest Pro vs Apple Vision Pro vs HTC Vive XR Elite – Which XR Device Reigns Supreme?

Apple Vision Pro features dual micro-OLED displays with 23 million pixels and a 90–100° field of view, powered by an M2 chip and R1 processor. Meta Quest 3 offers 2064×2208 resolution per eye, runs Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2, and weighs 515 g. Battery life averages two hours across models. Prices range from $499 for Quest 3 to $3,499 for Vision Pro.
8 August 2025
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GT3 Supercar Showdown: Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo vs Ferrari 296 GT3 vs Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2

GT3 Supercar Showdown: Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo vs Ferrari 296 GT3 vs Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2

Porsche’s 911 GT3 R Evo (992), Ferrari 296 GT3, and Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 compete in FIA GT3 with engines tuned to 550–600 hp under BoP. Porsche’s 2025 Evo adds vented fenders and revised suspension; Ferrari’s 2026 Evo updates gear ratios and cooling; Lamborghini’s Temerario GT3 debuts in 2026 with a new V8. All three have multiple recent endurance wins and over 90 race victories each.
8 August 2025
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Google Pixel Watch 4: Big Battery Boost, New Features & All the Latest Rumors

2025 Smartwatch Showdown: Google Pixel Watch 4 vs Galaxy Watch 7 vs Apple Watch Series 10 – Which Reigns Supreme?

Pixel Watch 4 launches in 41mm and 45mm sizes with a 3,000-nit OLED display, 50% brighter than its predecessor, and up to 40-hour battery life. Galaxy Watch 7 debuted July 2024 in 40mm and 44mm, with Sapphire Crystal glass, IP68, and FDA-authorized sleep apnea detection. Apple Watch Series 10, released September 2024, offers 42mm and 46mm cases, a 2,000-nit display, and new water sensors.
8 August 2025
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Breakthrough Cures, Big Pharma Shake-Ups & Health Policy Bombshells – Biotech/Health News (Aug 7–8, 2025)

Breakthrough Cures, Big Pharma Shake-Ups & Health Policy Bombshells – Biotech/Health News (Aug 7–8, 2025)

Scripps Research announced T7-ORACLE, a platform that accelerates protein evolution 100,000-fold in living cells, published Aug. 7 in Science. Harvard scientists reported in Nature that lithium reversed memory loss in Alzheimer’s mouse models. The FDA launched “PreCheck” to speed approval of U.S. drug plants. Regulators imposed new safety warnings on Bluebird Bio’s gene therapy Skysona.
8 August 2025
Google’s Genie 3: The AI That Turns Text Prompts Into Interactive Worlds, Changing Gaming and Beyond

Google’s Genie 3: The AI That Turns Text Prompts Into Interactive Worlds, Changing Gaming and Beyond

Google DeepMind announced Genie 3 in August 2025, the first AI model to generate interactive 3D worlds from text prompts in real time at 720p and 24 FPS. Users can navigate with keyboard and mouse, triggering dynamic events like weather changes. The system remains a closed research preview, available only to select testers due to safety and moderation concerns. Public release and broader access have not been announced.
8 August 2025
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Global Business Pulse: Markets Juggle Tariffs, Rate Cuts & Mega-Deals (Aug 7–8, 2025)

Global Business Pulse: Markets Juggle Tariffs, Rate Cuts & Mega-Deals (Aug 7–8, 2025)

The United States imposed 100% tariffs on imported chips and electronics Aug. 7, sending Apple shares up 3%. Dow Jones fell 0.5%, S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, and Nasdaq hit a record, while Eli Lilly dropped 14% on weak drug data. The Bank of England cut rates for a fourth time, lifting the pound 0.7%. Paramount Global and Skydance completed an $8.4 billion merger.
8 August 2025
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AI Stocks Frenzy: Record Highs, GPT‑5 Launch, Soaring Tech Giants and SoftBank’s Big AI Payday (Aug 7–8, 2025)

AI Stocks Frenzy: Record Highs, GPT‑5 Launch, Soaring Tech Giants and SoftBank’s Big AI Payday (Aug 7–8, 2025)

The Nasdaq Composite hit a record by Aug. 7, 2025, as chipmakers and AI stocks surged. AMD fell 5% and SMCI dropped over 18% after disappointing data-center results, while Palantir jumped 9% after raising its revenue forecast. Meta secured $29 billion for AI data centers, and SoftBank soared 13% to a record high in Tokyo after strong earnings and a $30 billion OpenAI stake. China’s robotics stocks rallied ahead of the World Robotics Conference.
8 August 2025
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Don’t Miss This Weekend’s Sky Spectacle (Aug 8–9, 2025): Meteor Showers, a Full Moon, Planetary Dance & Aurora Alerts

Don’t Miss This Weekend’s Sky Spectacle (Aug 8–9, 2025): Meteor Showers, a Full Moon, Planetary Dance & Aurora Alerts

The Perseid meteor shower peaks August 12–13, 2025, but a bright 84% full Moon may reduce visible meteors to about 15 per hour. Venus and Jupiter form a close pre-dawn conjunction around August 11–12. A CME could trigger geomagnetic storms and auroras as far south as Oregon and New York between August 7–9. The Full Sturgeon Moon occurs August 9, with Saturn nearby in the sky.
8 August 2025
Space Race Heats Up – Major Launches, Lunar Breakthroughs, and Billion-Dollar Deals (7–8 Aug 2025)

Space Race Heats Up – Major Launches, Lunar Breakthroughs, and Billion-Dollar Deals (7–8 Aug 2025)

Crew-10 is set to undock from the ISS on Aug. 8, 2025, with splashdown off California on Aug. 9, marking the first crewed Commercial Crew return to the West Coast. China completed a full-scale test of its 'Lanyue' lunar lander, validating engines for a 2030 crewed Moon mission. Firefly Aerospace debuted on Nasdaq at $70 per share, valuing the company at $9.8 billion. Skyrora received the UK’s first domestic space launch licence.
8 August 2025
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AI Just Changed Forever – Here’s Everything That Happened in the Last 48 Hours

AI Just Changed Forever – Here’s Everything That Happened in the Last 48 Hours

OpenAI launched GPT-5 on August 7, making the new AI model available to all 700 million ChatGPT users. The release follows $400 billion in AI data center investments by major tech firms this year. OpenAI is reportedly seeking a $500 billion valuation in a secondary share sale. Google, meanwhile, announced a $1 billion initiative to provide AI tools and training to over 100 U.S. universities and nonprofits.
8 August 2025
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GPT‑5 Has Arrived: OpenAI’s Next‑Gen AI Stuns With Upgrades in Coding, Reasoning, and Safety

GPT‑5 Has Arrived: OpenAI’s Next‑Gen AI Stuns With Upgrades in Coding, Reasoning, and Safety

OpenAI launched GPT-5 on August 7, 2025, making it the default model for all 700 million ChatGPT users. GPT-5 supports text, vision, voice, and real-time translation, and can chain API calls with 97% accuracy on OpenAI's tool-use benchmark. Microsoft is rolling out GPT-5 across its Copilot and Azure AI products. OpenAI reports a 65% drop in hallucinations during intensive reasoning mode.
8 August 2025
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Stock Market Today

  • SpaceX Shares Fall 5% After Fed Signal Dampens Post-IPO Surge
    June 17, 2026, 5:57 PM EDT. SpaceX shares dropped about 5% Wednesday, marking their first full-day loss since the recent IPO, closing near $192. This reversal followed a surge that briefly placed SpaceX above Amazon and Microsoft in market value, peaking around $2.655 trillion. The selloff came amid a broad market decline after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady but signaled a possible hike later this year. Analysts cite overvaluation concerns, with Morningstar cutting SpaceX's fair value estimate amid uncertainties around Starship reusability and a commercial orbital data center. Heavy options trading and upcoming lockup expirations added volatility. Despite setbacks, SpaceX's inclusion in major indexes like Nasdaq 100 may support demand from index funds.

Latest articles

Arm spikes as Bernstein eyes $500 target on AI CPU demand

Arm spikes as Bernstein eyes $500 target on AI CPU demand

17 June 2026
Arm soared 5.69% to $418.88 after Bernstein hiked its price target to $500, citing a CPU “renaissance” driven by agentic AI and Arm’s power-efficient architecture; the rally comes as investors shift focus from graphics chips to CPUs, but risks remain from supply constraints and a reported FTC probe.
ServiceNow falls as software shares retreat on Fed-rate concerns

ServiceNow falls as software shares retreat on Fed-rate concerns

17 June 2026
ServiceNow plunged nearly 6% to $95.48, extending a two-day slide as investors dumped software stocks after the Fed signaled a more hawkish rate path, even as Benchmark raised its target to $130 and called ServiceNow a top large cap value pick; first-quarter subscription revenue jumped 22% but Middle East deal delays and the Armis acquisition pose risks to 2026 cash flow and margins.
SpaceX slides after Fed selloff hits post-IPO gains

SpaceX slides after Fed selloff hits post-IPO gains

17 June 2026
SpaceX tumbled 5% to close near $192 in its first full-session drop since going public, slipping below Amazon in market value as U.S. stocks fell after the Fed signaled a possible rate hike; volatility surged amid heavy options trading and analyst warnings of overvaluation following a $60 billion equity issue.
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