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

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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

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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.