16 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Terrence O'Brien

Terrence O'Brien

Weekend Editor

Weekend Editor

    More From Terrence O'Brien

    Terrence O'Brien
    Terrence O'Brien
    Spotify launches audiobook charts and a lot of people are still listening to Atomic Habits.

    Wuthering Heights being number one makes sense; it just got a blockbuster adaptation. But why is the 8-year-old self-help book from James Clear number two?

    Spotify’s new lists also include genre-specific charts, so you don’t have to scroll past 37 steamy thrillers just to find your next dystopian sci-fi.

    Spotify’s Audiobook charts showing Wuthering Heights at number 1 and Atomic Habits at number 2.
    Image: Spotify / The Verge
    Terrence O'Brien
    Terrence O'Brien
    Qobuz is automatically detecting and labeling AI music now, too.

    Deezer started labeling AI content last year. Now Qobuz is doing the same. It’s also enacting an AI charter promising “The heart of Qobuz is and will remain human,” saying curation and editorial won’t be AI-driven. It stopped short of banning AI content, which some customers have been asking for.

    Terrence O'Brien
    Terrence O'Brien
    The Avalanches built a synthesizer from e-waste.

    Australian mobile carrier Telstra launched Second Life Sounds to raise awareness of the discarded electronics in landfills and collecting dust. I don’t know how much of an impact this box of repurposed mobile phones, game consoles, and old cables is going to have, but it’s a good reminder to revisit Since I Left You.

    Terrence O'Brien
    Terrence O'Brien
    Crew-11 returned early because astronaut Mike Fincke had a “medical event.”

    Fincke expressed gratitude to his crewmates and clarified that, while it was determined the best course of action was to return early for medical imaging, it was not an emergency. He said he’s “doing very well” now and going through standard post-flight recovery at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

    “On Jan. 7, while aboard the International Space Station, I experienced a medical event that required immediate attention from my incredible crewmates. Thanks to their quick response and the guidance of our NASA flight surgeons, my status quickly stabilized.” - Mike Fincke

    Terrence O'Brien
    Terrence O'Brien
    Researchers at the University of Maryland built a Fartbit, a Fitbit for farts.

    The team is constructing the Human Flatus Atlas, bringing modern wearable monitors to bear on digestive health, measuring the frequency and intensity of farts. The team even had to create an artificial butt that could pass gas on command while developing the prototype. According to the Wall Street Journal:

    In the current study, the Human Flatus Atlas app asks participants to take a picture of everything they eat and drink. Researchers could analyze that data, seeking correlations between diet and the sensor’s main metric: the total volume of gas passed in a day.

    Terrence O'Brien
    Terrence O'Brien
    DOJ reportedly begins antitrust investigation into Netflix’s merger with Warner Bros.

    Bloomberg and Deadline are both reporting that the DOJ has officially begun looking into whether the combination of Netflix and Warner would create a monopoly and hurt competition. Netflix, Warner Bros., and the DOJ have not publicly confirmed the investigation, but Deadline obtained a copy of the Civil Investigative Demand, which reads:

    “This civil investigative demand is issued pursuant to the Antitrust Civil Process Act …in the course of an antitrust investigation to determine whether there is, has been, or may be a violation of the antitrust laws by conduct, activities, or proposed action of the following nature: the proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. by Netflix Inc, that may substantially lessen competition, or tend to create a monopoly in violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act, or Section 2 of the Sherman Act.”

    Terrence O'Brien
    Terrence O'Brien
    Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu is getting a biography this fall.

    Uematsu has created music for countless Square Enix games, including classics like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, and Final Fantasy VII. Now he’s going to be the subject of a biography by James Mielkem, Nobuo Uematsu: On the Record.