Court upholds a U.S. ban on TikTok A federal appeals court agreed that the viral video app must be sold off by its China-based parent company, rejecting TikTok's claim that the crackdown violates the free speech rights of millions of Americans. Bobby Allyn
At a desert festival for space robots, engineers envision a busy future in space At the Robopalooza festival in the California desert, engineers are stress-testing space robots, which they say could someday build the infrastructure needed to settle the moon and beyond. Kira Wakeam
Writer Thoreau warned of brain rot in 1854. Now it's the Oxford Word of 2024 The term brain rot first appeared in Henry David Thoreau's famous Walden, according to the Oxford University Press. How did he use it — and what might he have made of its modern meaning? Bill Chappell
Aerogel is meant to make EV batteries safer — but what is this special substance? The Department of Energy is focusing on aerogels to reduce the severity of lithium battery fires. a lab that creates the substance shares the pros and cons of this technology in creating safer EVs. Ari Daniel
All I want for Christmas is ... help getting this song out of my head The Earworm Eraser is a 40-second audio track specifically designed to banish "Jingle Bells," "All I Want For Christmas Is You" and other much-too-catchy seasonal tunes. Chloe Veltman
A social media ban in Australia for children under 16 is first in the world A social media ban for children under 16 will be the first law in the world to levy fines on TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram for allowing youth accounts. The Associated Press
Zuckerberg dines with Trump in Mar-a-Lago A spokesperson for Meta confirmed that Zuckerberg and Trump met on Wednesday, saying he was invited for dinner with the president-elect to talk about the incoming administration. The Associated Press
A TikTok sale under Trump? Experts say it could actually happen this time Will TikTok be sold? The question has been asked before, during Trump's first term. But now, the situation has changed considerably. Bobby Allyn
DOJ wants Google to sell Chrome It's among the changes the Justice Department is pushing for months after a court declared Google an "illegal monopoly" in the online search business.
