Verizon replaces consumer unit chief Manon Brouillette, who joined in July 2021, with CEO Hans Vestberg; Verizon stock is down 29% in 2022 (Drew FitzGerald/Wall Street Journal)

Drew FitzGerald / Wall Street Journal: Verizon replaces consumer unit chief Manon Brouillette, who joined in July 2021, with CEO Hans Vestberg; Verizon stock is down 29% in 2022  —  Consumer division leader Manon Brouillette departs after less than a year amid weak wireless subscriber growth  —  Verizon Communications Inc. VZ …

Filing: US bank Silvergate acknowledges processing wire transfers for traders on Alameda, saying it conducted “extensive due diligence” on FTX and Alameda (Joshua Oliver/Financial Times)

Joshua Oliver / Financial Times: Filing: US bank Silvergate acknowledges processing wire transfers for traders on Alameda, saying it conducted “extensive due diligence” on FTX and Alameda  —  Federal Reserve-regulated company says it performed ‘significant due diligence’ on FTX and Alameda Research

Sources: the US Department of Agriculture is probing Neuralink for potential animal welfare violations after complaints that its animal testing is being rushed (Rachael Levy/Reuters)

Rachael Levy / Reuters: Sources: the US Department of Agriculture is probing Neuralink for potential animal welfare violations after complaints that its animal testing is being rushed  —  Elon Musk’s Neuralink, a medical device company, is under federal investigation for potential animal-welfare violations amid …

Google’s latest Pixel drop brings VPN by Google and Clear Calling to Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, automatic speaker labels in the Recorder app to Pixel 6 and up, and more (Paul Thurrott/Thurrott)

Paul Thurrott / Thurrott: Google’s latest Pixel drop brings VPN by Google and Clear Calling to Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, automatic speaker labels in the Recorder app to Pixel 6 and up, and more  —  Google today announced the latest Pixel drop, which brings new features to Pixel phones, Pixel Watch, and Pixel Buds.

Unlike Bernie Madoff, SBF has not confessed to any criminal conduct, arguing FTX’s collapse was purely sloppiness, meaning a US prosecution could take some time (Ankush Khardori/New York Magazine)

Ankush Khardori / New York Magazine: Unlike Bernie Madoff, SBF has not confessed to any criminal conduct, arguing FTX’s collapse was purely sloppiness, meaning a US prosecution could take some time  —  On December 11, 2008, Bernie Madoff was arrested and criminally charged with one of the biggest financial frauds in history …

Survey of 8,000 young people in nine European countries finds 34% have pirated content, 27% reported trolling someone, 22% reported inciting violence, and more (Dan Milmo/The Guardian)

Dan Milmo / The Guardian: Survey of 8,000 young people in nine European countries finds 34% have pirated content, 27% reported trolling someone, 22% reported inciting violence, and more  —  EU-funded survey of people aged 16-19 finds one in four have trolled someone – while UK least ‘cyberdeviant’ of nine countries

Rackspace confirms a “security incident” impacted its hosted Microsoft Exchange services, leading to an “extended outage”; customers complain of poor support (Simon Sharwood/The Register)

Simon Sharwood / The Register: Rackspace confirms a “security incident” impacted its hosted Microsoft Exchange services, leading to an “extended outage”; customers complain of poor support  —  Warns recovery could take several days and pledges better support after customer complaints

In an interview, SBF admits involvement in Alameda’s largest uses of funds: spending $3B to buy out Binance’s stake in FTX and pouring $4B into venture capital (Joshua Oliver/Financial Times)

Joshua Oliver / Financial Times: In an interview, SBF admits involvement in Alameda’s largest uses of funds: spending $3B to buy out Binance’s stake in FTX and pouring $4B into venture capital  —  Exchange’s former CEO says he was close to key decisions at nominally separate trading firm  —  Speaking from his bed in Nassau […]

An interview with Max Levchin on Affirm, the US CFPB’s inquiry into BNPL services, problems with credit cards, the current economic environment, and more (Lauren Goode/Wired)

Lauren Goode / Wired: An interview with Max Levchin on Affirm, the US CFPB’s inquiry into BNPL services, problems with credit cards, the current economic environment, and more  —  The PayPal cofounder on why his “buy now, pay later” company Affirm is a healthier way to borrow, what caused the techlash, and Elon Musk’s Twitter.

Kuo: mass shipments of Apple’s AR/VR headset may be delayed until H2 2023, from previously estimated Q2 2023, due to “software-related issues” (Joe Rossignol/MacRumors)

Joe Rossignol / MacRumors: Kuo: mass shipments of Apple’s AR/VR headset may be delayed until H2 2023, from previously estimated Q2 2023, due to “software-related issues”  —  Mass shipments of Apple’s long-rumored AR/VR headset may be delayed until the second half of 2023 due to unspecified “software-related issues …

Autonomous trucking software company Embark lost ~98% of its market value, or ~$5B, since going public a year ago via a SPAC merger, amid a sector-wide downturn (Joanna Glasner/Crunchbase News)

Joanna Glasner / Crunchbase News: Autonomous trucking software company Embark lost ~98% of its market value, or ~$5B, since going public a year ago via a SPAC merger, amid a sector-wide downturn  —  Out of all the beaten-down public companies in the autonomous driving space, Embark Technology stands out as a conspicuously terrible stock market […]

Boston- and London-based Zoe, a nutrition and health tracking app, raised £25M led by Accomplice at a £209M valuation, after closing a £48M Series B in May 2021 (Ingrid Lunden/TechCrunch)

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch: Boston- and London-based Zoe, a nutrition and health tracking app, raised £25M led by Accomplice at a £209M valuation, after closing a £48M Series B in May 2021  —  Zoe, a startup founded by doctors and researchers out of London and Boston, made its name during the pandemic …

A look at FORM, a 1980s software used for the hardest particle physics problems, as it risks obsolescence while being maintained almost entirely by a retiree (Matt Von Hippel/Quanta Magazine)

Matt Von Hippel / Quanta Magazine: A look at FORM, a 1980s software used for the hardest particle physics problems, as it risks obsolescence while being maintained almost entirely by a retiree  —  Maintenance of the software that’s used for the hardest physics calculations rests almost entirely with a retiree.

A look at virtual currencies like Roblox’s Robux, which have become many kids’ preferred way to be paid for chores or receive an allowance (Wall Street Journal)

Wall Street Journal: A look at virtual currencies like Roblox’s Robux, which have become many kids’ preferred way to be paid for chores or receive an allowance  —  Virtual currencies have become many families’ preferred way to pay allowance.  And Roblox’s currency is king.  —  Like many parents …

Elon Musk thinks the “Twitter Files” show that Twitter staff nefariously helped Joe Biden, but all they show is a team debating a difficult moderation decision (Jacob Kastrenakes/The Verge)

Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge: Elon Musk thinks the “Twitter Files” show that Twitter staff nefariously helped Joe Biden, but all they show is a team debating a difficult moderation decision  —  Free-speech crusader Elon Musk isn’t happy with Twitter’s years-old decision to suppress a news story …

Tim Cook was able to placate Elon Musk within two days, but the chaos at Foxconn’s “iPhone City” may become the greatest test of Cook’s diplomatic skills yet (Patrick McGee/Financial Times)

Patrick McGee / Financial Times: Tim Cook was able to placate Elon Musk within two days, but the chaos at Foxconn’s “iPhone City” may become the greatest test of Cook’s diplomatic skills yet  —  Apple chief placates Elon Musk but faces bigger questions over iPhone supply chain  —  Tim Cook was already battling …

Elections in India’s Gujarat have become a WhatsApp spam war, as the main political parties push content across thousands of groups to influence voters (Samriddhi Sakunia/Rest of World)

Samriddhi Sakunia / Rest of World: Elections in India’s Gujarat have become a WhatsApp spam war, as the main political parties push content across thousands of groups to influence voters  —  10,000 volunteers, 50,000 WhatsApp groups, and the intense fight to “control people’s feed” in Gujarat.  —  • AHMEDABAD, GUJARAT, INDIA

A look at Apple’s efforts to reduce dependence on Foxconn; sources: Apple wants other suppliers in China, Vietnam, and India to actively plan product assembly (Wall Street Journal)

Wall Street Journal: A look at Apple’s efforts to reduce dependence on Foxconn; sources: Apple wants other suppliers in China, Vietnam, and India to actively plan product assembly  —  Burned by Covid lockdowns and worker protests at Foxconn plants, the iPhone maker is looking to diversify the supply chain that has powered its growth

A profile of Duolingo, which has almost 15M DAUs, up 51% YoY, and 3.7M paying subscribers, as it expects its 2022 revenue to surpass $365M, up 45% from 2021 (Bill Gifford/Bloomberg)

Bill Gifford / Bloomberg: A profile of Duolingo, which has almost 15M DAUs, up 51% YoY, and 3.7M paying subscribers, as it expects its 2022 revenue to surpass $365M, up 45% from 2021  —  After dinner on Aug. 23—a date he will never forget—Tobi Fondse pulled out his phone to do his daily Duolingo.

Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital agrees to buy high-security custodian GK8 from bankrupt crypto lender Celsius; Celsius acquired GK8 for $115M in late 2021 (Adam Morgan McCarthy/The Block)

Adam Morgan McCarthy / The Block: Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital agrees to buy high-security custodian GK8 from bankrupt crypto lender Celsius; Celsius acquired GK8 for $115M in late 2021  —  – Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital agreed to buy GK8 from Celsius.  — GK8 was originally acquired by Celsius for $115 million in late 2021.

China is using phone trackers and other tools to track protestors, the first time mass surveillance has been directed at middle-class people in affluent cities (New York Times)

New York Times: China is using phone trackers and other tools to track protestors, the first time mass surveillance has been directed at middle-class people in affluent cities  —  After a weekend of protests, the authorities in China are using the country’s all-seeing surveillance apparatus to find those bold enough to defy them.

Sources: ex-FTX US President Brett Harrison is raising money for a startup to build crypto trading software for big investors, seeking $6M at a $60M valuation (Aidan Ryan/The Information)

Aidan Ryan / The Information: Sources: ex-FTX US President Brett Harrison is raising money for a startup to build crypto trading software for big investors, seeking $6M at a $60M valuation  —  Brett Harrison, the former president of FTX’s U.S. arm, is trying to raise money for a new crypto startup focused …

A healthy wind

Nearly 10 percent of today’s electricity in the United States comes from wind power. The renewable energy source benefits climate, air quality, and public health by displacing emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants that would otherwise be produced by fossil-fuel-based power plants. A new MIT study finds that the health benefits associated with wind […]