Science & Tech
OpenAI Pauses Astra Launch Over Cyberattack Risk
OpenAI paused the launch of Astra, its next-generation autonomous agent, after determining the model may be capable of mounting cyberattacks on its own against hardened targets.
You’re reading the edition from Monday, August 10, 2026. Read today’s
Monday, August 10, 2026 · 4-minute read
OpenAI Pauses Astra Launch, Ukraine Drones Hit Russia, and ‘Odyssey’ Tops $1B
OpenAI hits pause on its Astra agent, Trump turns to economic pressure on Iran, and a SpaceX crash crater shows up on the moon.
Need to know
Politics & World
Ukrainian Drones Kill at Least 12 in Russia
A Ukrainian drone strike on Nizhnekamsk, an oil refining city in Russia’s Tatarstan region, killed…
Sources: BBC World, NPR News, Reuters
Politics & World
Trump Pivots to Economic Pressure on Iran
President Donald Trump told Axios he will rely on mounting economic pressure against Iran instead of…
Sources: CNBC Top News, Financial Times, Axios +1
$1billion
The worldwide gross for ‘The Odyssey,’ which crossed the 10-figure mark this weekend. For scale, the summer’s other juggernaut, ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day,’ earned $144.5 million domestically in its second weekend alone.
Source: USA Today
In the know
Worth a longer read
How the UAE won over Washington
How the United Arab Emirates built its influence campaign and won over Washington. (Read, paywall)
Financial TimesSubscription
How China became the world’s great oil power
How China rose to become the world’s great oil power. (Read, paywall)
The EconomistSubscription
Sasquatch science
How Bigfoot hunters apply surprisingly scientific methods to their search for Sasquatch. (Read)
Aeon · Andrew Bartlett & Jamie Lewis
- Wednesday, Aug. 12
A partial solar eclipse crosses North America on Wednesday — it won’t rival 2024’s Great American Eclipse, but millions across the U.S. and Canada will see the moon take a bite out of the sun.
- Aug. 12-13
The Perseid meteor shower peaks Wednesday night into Thursday, with up to 100 meteors an hour possible under dark Northern Hemisphere skies.
- Friday, Aug. 14
‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ enters its third weekend Friday, with box office watchers eyeing whether it can hold after a $144.5 million second frame.
Etcetera
- How to catch the Perseids, a summer light show promising up to 100 meteors an hour
- Yes, North America gets a solar eclipse Wednesday — here’s where to see it
- Japan’s oldest surviving toilet has been standing for more than 500 years
- What ancient Romans actually watched at the Colosseum (it wasn’t just gladiators)
- Every state’s favorite summer blockbuster, mapped
- Wine, beer, or spirits? A 340,000-person study finds a surprisingly complicated health divide
- Usher shuts down the body-double conspiracy: ‘They can’t clone this’
- Hacky sack is having a genuine moment, and its devotees are plotting what’s next
Today’s clickbait, so you don’t have toFirst a Volcano, Now This: Giant Lobsters Are Taking Over Pompeii
On this day · August 10
The Historybook- 1519Ferdinand Magellan’s five ships set sail from Seville on the first circumnavigation of the globe
- 1793The Louvre officially opens as a public museum in Paris
- 1821Missouri is admitted to the Union as the 24th state
- 1846Congress charters the Smithsonian Institution with funds from James Smithson’s bequest
- 1990NASA’s Magellan spacecraft arrives at Venus to begin mapping its surface
Compiled by the Desk, not linked to a source · Report an error
Quote of the day
“They can’t clone this.”
— Usher, responding to fan speculation that he used a body double onstage at MetLife Stadium
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