White House blasts Elon Musk for X post about Biden and Harris assassination

The White House has condemned Elon Musk for tweeting “no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala” in response to an X user asking “Why they want to kill Donald Trump?”The president’s office issued a statement Monday criticizing the “irresponsible” post, which was accompanied by an emoji face with a raised eyebrow. The White House said: “Violence should only be condemned, never encouraged or joked about. This rhetoric is irresponsible.” The statement added that there should be “no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country”.The Secret Service also said on Monday it was aware of a post by the billionaire on the X social network

Amazon mandates five days a week in office starting next year

Amazon said on Monday it would require employees to return to the office five days a week, effective 2 January.“We’ve decided that we’re going to return to being in the office the way we were before the onset of COVID. When we look back over the last five years, we continue to believe that the advantages of being together in the office are significant,” Andy Jassy, the CEO, said in a note sent out to employees globally.The e-commerce giant’s previous office attendance requirement for its workers was three days a week. Amazon workers can claim “extenuating circumstances” or request exceptions from senior leadership, according to Jassy’s memo

Threatened US ban against TikTok ‘unconstitutional’, platform argues

TikTok took its case against a threatened US ban to a federal court on Monday where it contended that a law targeting the video platform was “unconstitutional”.TikTok argued its case to a three-judge panel at an appeals court in Washington DC on Monday. An attorney for TikTok and ByteDance, Andrew Pincus, said TikTok was entitled to a right to freedom of speech: “The speech here that is being banned, we would say, or at a minimum burned, is the speech of the US speaker.”In April, Joe Biden formally introduced a law that gives TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance, until 19 January to sell its stake in the platform to an approved buyer, due to concerns that the app poses a national security threat.In the lawsuit contesting the threatened ban, TikTok and ByteDance argue that the law is unconstitutional and impossible to implement

iOS 18 release: everything you need to know about Apple’s big updates

Apple will release software updates for its iPhone, iPad, Mac and smartwatch on Monday, adding new features and designs for compatible devices.Announced at the company’s developer conference in June, iOS 18, iPadOS 18, watchOS 11 and macOS Sequoia add extensive new home screen and control centre customisation options, smart handwriting and maths tools for Notes and new watch faces, among other new features.Here’s what you need to know about the updates.Downloads for iOS, iPadOS, watchOS and macOS updates usually start at about 6pm UK time (1pm in New York; 3am Tuesday in Sydney). Unlike other manufacturers, all eligible Apple devices will be able to download and install the update the moment it is released rather than in a staggered fashion

Musk says humans can be on Mars in four years. Many laugh, but some see purpose

Almost buried beneath a recent avalanche of rightwing invective posted by Elon Musk on the platform he owns, X, was one eye-popping statement that made space watchers sit up and take notice: an assertion that humans could land on Mars within four years and be living there in a self-sustaining city in 20.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.It seemed a fanciful boast, even by the standards of the SpaceX founder and world’s richest man, who transformed the logistics and cost of shorter-duration, near-to-Earth orbit space travel with his fleet of reusable Falcon rockets

What’s so funny about getting an AI app to give you a roasting?

A friend recently shared a comment someone had made about her online. Sophie was a middle-aged, never-was influencer, in this stranger’s estimation, who exploited her children and alienated everyone she met. As I debated whether “liking” the post would read as support or broad agreement, I noticed a strange watermark. The vicious words had been generated not by a bitter stranger, but an AI roast app. My demented friend had asked for this