US accuses American of allegedly wiping his phone using a 'duress' password during border search

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this weekend

View this email online in your browser  July 26, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 US accuses American of allegedly wiping his phone using a 'duress' password during border search: A U.S. citizen has asked a court to throw out the government's claim that he gave over a passcode to border authorities that wiped his phone's data, opening up fresh questions about a person's constitutional rights at the U.S. border. Read More The hacker who humiliated spyware makers and was never caught: An awe-inspiring hacktivist who hacked two controversial government spyware makers may be the most prolific hacker to have never gotten caught. What do we know about Phineas Fisher? Read More SpaceX launches new V3 Starlink satellites but suffers another booster failure: The company ticked off a few more boxes on the second Starship V3 flight, but appears to have had another issue relighting the booster's rocket engines. Read More A message from TechCrunch Events Your PC refresh strategy is already behind - free webinar, July 29 Thinking about stretching your PC fleet to wait out the price spike? The research says that's backward. Organizations that handle AI PC transitions best refresh consistently — not with a one-time buy. Join us for a free online webinar on July 29th at 10am PT/1pm ET to learn how to spec smarter for what's coming. Register Now Sunday Must-Reads Volkswagen engineers charged with insider trading tied to Rivian joint venture: The indictment, which was unsealed Friday, alleges the Volkswagen engineers used confidential insider information to buy stock in Rivian. Read More Kalshi demands Netflix take down trailer for ‘Prediction Games’ documentary: Kalshi claims the trailer is “defamatory” and contains “both fabricated documents and false and misleading statements.” Read More One fallen power line exposed a growing AI data center problem. Here's how to fix it.: A close call in Northern Virginia revealed just how poorly data centers respond to grid disruptions. Here's how to fix the problem. Read More I tried out OpenAI's new AI keypad — which will be fun for some coders and slightly mystifying to everyone else: OpenAI's fancy new AI keypad will be a lot of fun for some, while many others are probably not going to touch it. Read More Elon Musk’s Boring Company reportedly raising funding at a $20 billion valuation: Elon Musk's tunneling startup is reportedly in talks for a major new funding round. Read More Disrupt 2026: Where deals and ideas ignite Oct 13–15 at San Francisco's Moscone West, 10,000 founders, investors, and operators gather for high-signal insights, curated connections, and real momentum. Register Now! Last but Not Least Anthropic launches Opus 5: Opus 5 will be both cheaper and less restrictive than Fable, likely making it preferable in most use cases. Read More Check out some of our other newsletters: StrictlyVC TechCrunch Events TechCrunch Mobility Want to adjust your daily newsletter schedule? You can do it right here Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Unsubscribe Member Center Privacy Policy Copyright © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107

Anduril reportedly in talks to raise funding at $100B valuation, more than 3x last year's mark

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  July 24, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Anduril reportedly in talks to raise funding at $100B valuation, more than 3x last year's mark: Anduril is said to be raising a new round of funding that may push its valuation up to about $100 billion, per Reuters. Read More US accuses American of allegedly wiping his phone using a 'duress' password during border search: A U.S. citizen has asked a court to throw out the government's claim that he gave over a passcode to border authorities that wiped his phone's data, opening up fresh questions about a person's constitutional rights at the U.S. border. Read More Anthropic launches Opus 5: Opus 5 will be both cheaper and less restrictive than Fable, likely making it preferable in most use cases. Read More A message from CAST New: Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for tech debt AI agents are not only accelerating software delivery, but the creation of architectural technical debt. Learn how leading organizations are tackling it. Download your full complimentary copy.  Download here Afternoon Must-Reads Volkswagen engineers charged with insider trading tied to Rivian joint venture: The indictment, which was unsealed Friday, alleges the Volkswagen engineers used confidential insider information to buy stock in Rivian. Read More Rivian sues the US government for 'full refund' of Trump tariffs: The automaker joins a long line of companies seeking such refunds. In April, Rivian CFO Claire McDonough said she expected the company stood to reap a refund in the "tens of millions of dollars." Read More Waymo reportedly mulling a breakup with Uber: The contract between the two companies ends in May 2028, Uber told TechCrunch. Read More OpenAI's new voice mode makes it to the ChatGPT desktop app: ChatGPT Voice on desktop can work with both ChatGPT Work and Codex to complete tasks and control agents. Read More Vietnam is looking to restrict social media for kids; here are the growing number of other countries doing the same: Australia was the first country to issue a ban in late 2025, aiming to reduce the pressures and risks that young users may face on social media, including cyberbullying, social media addiction, and exposure to predators. Read More A message from ThoughtSpot Who’s leading analytics and BI in 2026? Gartner evaluated every analytics platform so you don't have to. See why ThoughtSpot was named a Leader in the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Analytics and BI. Read full report Last but Not Least Sam Altman's biometric startup World raises $52.5M via crypto sale: Sam Altman's side project — which seeks to scan the world's eyeballs and turn them into unique digital identifiers — has raised some fresh cash through a crypto sale. Read More Check out some of our other newsletters: StrictlyVC TechCrunch Events TechCrunch Mobility Want to adjust your daily newsletter schedule? You can do it right here Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Unsubscribe Member Center Privacy Policy Copyright © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107