Technology

News brief: Musk to take Twitter private, Paxlovid's availability, Trump civil probe

5:38am April 26, 2022

Elon Musk is buying Twitter for $44 billion. An effective COVID drug will be made available to more pharmacies. Ex-President Trump is held in contempt of court for failing to turn over documents.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks at the Tesla Giga Texas manufacturing "Cyber Rodeo" grand opening party on April 7, 2022 in Austin, Texas.

Twitter reaches deal to sell to Elon Musk for about $44 billion

10:01pm April 25, 2022

The sale caps a dizzying saga for Twitter and Elon Musk, the world's richest man and a prolific user of the social media platform.

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Prashant Baid's search engine finds stores selling half-loaves of bread, in some of India's largest cities.

National

Too many slices in a full loaf of bread? This program helps find half-loaves for sale

8:00am April 24, 2022

by Vanessa Romo

Prashant Baid created halfloafnear.me for himself; he hates throwing out bread that's gone bad. But now, he says, the program has struck a chord with other people seeking to reduce food waste.

World News

The growing demand for clean energy sources could mean a resurgence in mining

5:56pm April 23, 2022

by Willem Marx

Materials like lithium are used in batteries for things like electric vehicles. For Cornwall, England, that's already led to a small mining boom.

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Ronan Farrow on investigating the world's most notorious spyware company: NSO Group

7:27pm April 21, 2022

NPR's Daniel Estrin speaks with Ronan Farrow about his New Yorker investigation into Israeli spyware company NSO Group, and his interview with an employee who quit.

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National

Apple workers in Atlanta become company's 1st retail workers to file to unionize

10:22am April 21, 2022

by Ayana Archie

Communications Workers of America, the retail workers' union, said big tech companies like Apple fail to give employees who don't work in an office equal standing and respect.

A fake cyberwar held in Estonia could help nations prepare for real life threats

4:37pm April 20, 2022

by Jenna McLaughlin

From the tiny Baltic nation of Estonia, some 30 nations are participating in mock cyberwar exercises. While the annual NATO-led exercise may be fiction, the threat emanating from Russia is very real.

Who's checking the fact checkers?

4:38pm April 19, 2022

The latest weapon in the disinformation war: Fake fact checkers. Some channels on the app Telegram look like independent fact checkers, but are pro-Russian propaganda outlets spreading falsities.

A woman on April 8 pulls her baggage past houses damaged during fighting in Mariupol, Ukraine.

World News

A Mariupol native has created a site for residents to find missing loved ones

2:44pm April 19, 2022

by Jaclyn Diaz

Dmitriy Cherepanov, a lifelong Mariupol native, created MRPL.life, a site dedicated to helping residents locate missing loved ones in the besieged Ukrainian city.

A young visitor experiences "A Promise Kept" at the Illinois Holocaust Museum.

Arts

Museums turn to immersive tech to preserve the stories of aging Holocaust survivors

4:54pm April 17, 2022

by Neda Ulaby

Artificial intelligence and virtual reality are among the cutting-edge tools employed by the USC Shoah Foundation and Illinois Holocaust Museum