An 11-Minute Flight To Space Was Just Auctioned For $28 Million Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos is going up July 20 on a rocket made by his space exploration company Blue Origin. So is his brother. And now a mystery bidder has won an auction to join them. Avie Schneider
Social Audio Began As A Pandemic Fad. Tech Companies See It As The Future Live conversations on Clubhouse and Twitter took off during the pandemic, connecting people online when they couldn't in real life. Now social media companies are scrambling to launch audio features. Shannon Bond
Privacy Experts Ask: Should State-Issued IDs Be Stored On Our iPhones? Apple says it is working with states to digitize government-issued IDs. The announcement has privacy advocates on edge. Bobby Allyn
India And Tech Companies Clash Over Censorship, Privacy And 'Digital Colonialism' India's new social media rules give the government broad powers to block some content and break encryption. It's the latest in a standoff with tech companies over censorship, privacy and free speech. Shannon Bond
Senate-Passed Bill Encourages Tech Competition, Especially With China The bill appropriates nearly $250 billion for science and technology in a bid to counter China's rise. It had strong bipartisan support — a sign of how large the perceived threat from China looms. John Ruwitch
India Demands Social Media Firms Help It Track Misinformation Online India's new social media rules give the government power to block certain content and break encryption. It's the latest in a standoff over censorship, privacy and free speech. Shannon Bond
U.S. Has Recovered Some Of The Millions Paid In Ransom To Colonial Pipeline Hackers The Justice Department says it has seized bitcoins worth millions of dollars that were part of what Colonial Pipeline paid to get control of its systems back from hackers. Vanessa Romo
California Approves A Pilot Program For Driverless Rides California is allowing the company Cruise to offer free rides to passengers in its driverless cars — without safety drivers on board. Dustin Jones
Colonial Pipeline CEO Explains The Decision To Pay Hackers $4.4 Million Ransom NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Colonial Pipeline CEO Joe Blount on the ransomware attack on the pipeline's network and the decision to pay the hackers the $4.4 million ransom. Justine Kenin
Cities Are Weighing The Dangers And Benefits Of Facial Recognition King County, Wash., banned the use of facial recognition by county agencies like law enforcement, following cities such as San Francisco. In most of the U.S., activists are finding bans a tough sell. Martin Kaste