16 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Richard Lawler

Richard Lawler

Senior News Editor

Senior News Editor

    More From Richard Lawler

    The ChatGPT app store is hereThe ChatGPT app store is here
    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    What happens once phones are banned?

    This report from New York magazine follows up after a few months of the state’s bell-to-bell ban:

    At one high school, an entrepreneurial senior even bought a pouch-unlocking magnet on Amazon and tried to charge classmates a dollar per jailbreak. But generally, with phones off-limits, the atmosphere feels different. There’s a pleasant buzz in the lunchroom, chatter in the hallways, and an alphabet of new analog hobbies popping up just about everywhere.

    Trump signs AI executive order pushing to ban state lawsTrump signs AI executive order pushing to ban state laws
    Tina Nguyen and Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Tim Cook’s trip to Capitol Hill.

    As lawmakers consider a slate of bills focused on protecting children on the internet, Apple CEO Tim Cook had a closed-door meeting today to push for his preferred solutions, as reported by Bloomberg:

    During a closed-door meeting with members of the committee, Cook urged lawmakers not to require app store operators to check documentation of users’ ages and instead rely on parents to provide the age of their child when creating a child’s account, according to a statement from Apple.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Trump AI EO.

    There’s some kind of news coming from the White House this week about AI regulations, after a post from the president to Truth Social saying, “You can’t expect a company to get 50 Approvals every time they want to do something. THAT WILL NEVER WORK!”

    Trump post on Truth Social: “There must be only One Rulebook if we are going to continue to lead in AI. We are beating ALL COUNTRIES at this point in the race, but that won’t last long if we are going to have 50 States, many of them bad actors, involved in RULES and the APPROVAL PROCESS. THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT ABOUT THIS! AI WILL BE DESTROYED IN ITS INFANCY! I will be doing a ONE RULE Executive Order this week. You can’t expect a company to get 50 Approvals every time they want to do something. THAT WILL NEVER WORK!”
    Screenshot: Truth Social
    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Apple hardware vp Johny Srouji reportedly tells staff “I don’t plan on leaving anytime soon.”

    After a string of exec departures from Apple, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported a few days ago that Srouji, who oversees the chips that have helped iPhones, Macs, and other devices lead their categories, had discussed leaving for another company.

    Today, Gurman reports the exec sought to calm employees, sending a message to his division that said “I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don’t plan on leaving anytime soon.”

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Google’s Year in Search 2025 is here, but remember: these aren’t the “most searched” topics.

    As usual, Google is back with another set of the year’s top trending searches, as well as archived lists for previous years. Just don’t be too surprised when you see 2025 top spots taken up by Charlie Kirk, KPop Demon Hunters, or Arc Raiders.

    These lists don’t present the most-searched terms; instead, Google is highlighting terms with the “highest spike in traffic over a sustained period in 2025 as compared to 2024.”

    Top trending searches, News, People, and Passings with Charlie Kirk, KPop demon Hunters, Zohran Mamdani, and others.
    Screenshot: Google