The Saturday, July 18, 2026 Edition
DHS Threatens Election Funds, China's AI Closes Gap, and Shatner's Metal Band
4 min read
Science & Technology
$3.75 million
The auction price for Luke Skywalker's lightsaber — severed prop hand included — from the famed Darth Vader duel, a record for any on-screen Star Wars prop. Not bad for a movie prop originally cobbled together from cast-off camera shop parts.
Source: Smithsonian
Sunday: The Open concludes Sunday at Royal Birkdale, with Bryson DeChambeau trying to recover from a two-stroke penalty that stalled his second-round surge.
Sunday: Spain and Argentina meet in the World Cup final Sunday in New Jersey, with President Trump attending and FIFA staging championship rings and a Super Bowl-scale halftime show. Wildfire smoke remains a lingering wildcard.
Sunday: Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' closes its opening weekend Sunday, tracking toward a $200 million global debut despite months of online backlash.
Monday: Monday marks the 57th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, capping a week of commemorations and memorabilia auctions.
- 64The Great Fire of Rome breaks out, burning much of the city
- 1918Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid leader and future South African president, is born
- 1969Ted Kennedy's car plunges off a Chappaquiddick bridge, killing Mary Jo Kopechne
- 1976Nadia Comaneci earns the first perfect 10 in Olympic gymnastics history
Moroccan intelligence insider reveals widespread use of Pegasus hacking software
How a Moroccan intelligence insider exposed the country's widespread use of Pegasus hacking software.
The Guardian · Sam Jones, José Bautista and Hicham Mansouri
The Soccer Surveillance State
How the World Cup became a stage for US surveillance and immigration enforcement under the Trump administration.
Foreign Policy · John Klopotowski$ Subscription
PsiQuantum has a plan to make a massive quantum computer out of light
How PsiQuantum plans to build a massive quantum computer out of light.
MIT Technology Review · James O'Donnell$ Subscription
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