LA Post: Top stories on gadgets & technology scams

Yemen's Houthis hit palace in Aden, coalition details attacks on Saudi infrastructure

Yemen's Houthis fired missiles at the presidential palace complex in the southern city of Aden on Thursday,

October 15, 2026

Finance|Health|Science|Technology

States sue AI giant OpenAI, saying its popular chatbot is hurting children and deceiving adults

Eight states are suing the artificial intelligence giant OpenAI, saying the company’s popular chatbot violated consumer protection laws by hurting children and deceiving adults

October 15, 2026

Crime|Europe|Political|Technology|World

Drone strike and fire on ship in Romanian waters raise fears that war in Ukraine is spreading

Romanian authorities have launched search and rescue operations off the Black Sea coast after a drone struck a ship, causing it to catch fire

October 15, 2026

Environment|Science|Technology

A super El Niño winter is coming and the first official forecast is in

October 15, 2026

Science|Technology

How are Yemen’s Houthis attacking Saudi Arabia so effectively?

Houthi militants who control northwestern Yemen have in the past week attacked Riyadh international airport and hit the headquarters of Saudi Aramco, the

October 15, 2026

Business|Political|Technology

Nvidia, Apple each gave $25 million for Trump's ballroom, Washington Post reports

Nvidia and Apple each committed $25 million for US President Donald Trump's planned White House ballroom, according to a Washington Post report on Thursday that showed $

October 15, 2026

Arts|Technology

ASML's 'sold out' outlook forces investors to look beyond demand

In April, computer chip equipment maker ASML's CEO Christophe Fouquet told shareholders

October 15, 2026

Business|Economy|Science|Technology

How the Houthis are helping Iran turn Saudi Arabia into a pressure point

The Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia are about more than Yemen.

October 15, 2026

IEA to speed up oil stocks release including over 20 million barrels of diesel

The International Energy Agency agreed on Thursday to release over 20 million barrels of diesel to the

October 15, 2026

Global stocks flat as AI and rate fears hit tech

Global equity markets were flat on Thursday as concerns about AI spending and higher interest rates fueled a continued selloff in technology and chip

October 15, 2026

Business|Economy|Health|Science|Technology

Pennsylvania secures $4 billion in investments, governor says

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said on Thursday the state had secured more than $4 billion in life sciences and private-sector investment commitments over the past week.

October 15, 2026

Business|Finance|Sports|Technology

Haas signs Formula 2 leader Rafael Câmara to replace Esteban Ocon in F1 next season

American Formula 1 team Haas is going with youth instead of experience for 2027 after signing Formula 2 championship leader Rafael Câmara on Thursday to partner fellow youngster Oliver Bearman next season

October 15, 2026

Technology

Exclusive: Ukraine runs out of Patriot interceptor missiles as Zelensky and Trump clash over war

October 15, 2026

Business|Finance|Science|Technology

Market selloff, rising rates test AI data centre deal boom

A market selloff is forcing companies driving the global AI boom to delay fundraising plans or pay more for capital as investors

October 15, 2026

Finance|Science|Stock Markets|Technology

US chip stocks set to wipe out $2 trillion after latest selloff

US semiconductor stocks were set to lose $2 trillion in market value on Thursday in the steep selloff since last week, driven by rising bets of an interest-rate hike and concerns

October 15, 2026

Economy|Science|Technology

Nasdaq nears one-month low as AI stocks slide on debt concerns

The Nasdaq fell to near one-month lows on Thursday as fears of a hit to artificial-intelligence investments from higher interest rates deepened a rout in AI-linked stocks, while

October 15, 2026

Political|Science|Technology

Trump's AI task force to meet Thursday, FTC spokesperson says

US President Donald Trump's new government task force on AI is scheduled to meet on Thursday, a Federal Trade Commission spokesperson said, as pressure

October 15, 2026

Analysts react to Coreweave debt woes, AI selloff

A selloff in US technology stocks and their bonds intensified on Thursday as high borrowing costs put the financing behind AI’s massive infrastructure buildout under growing

October 15, 2026

US holiday sales growth to speed up as shoppers stay resilient, NRF forecasts

US holiday sales growth is expected to accelerate to 4.2% this year, the National Retail Federation said on Thursday, betting that consumers would remain resilient even as major

October 15, 2026

Arts|Science|Technology

Trump calls off livestream of Fort Hood shooter’s firing squad execution

October 15, 2026

Science|Technology

Israeli firm used online ads to run vast spy operation, researchers say

Israeli digital advertising agency Discover-Tech spied on internet users through a sprawling network of online ads that it used to track targets and

October 15, 2026

Arts|Economy|Europe|Technology

Why are credit default swaps unnerving AI investors?

The cost of insuring against the risk of potential US tech defaults has hit record levels, in the latest sign of credit stress building in the so-called AI

October 15, 2026

Business|Economy|Political|Science|Technology

Microsoft president warns green-card curbs could hurt US tech, Politico reports

Microsoft President Brad Smith warned the Trump administration's move to restrict green-card access for skilled foreign workers could hurt US technological competitiveness and drive

October 15, 2026

Business|Economy|Science|Technology

US Treasury pushes global partners to rename AI as 'super intelligence'

The United States wants its global partners to rename artificial intelligence as "super intelligence," convinced that the new moniker better reflects the

October 15, 2026

Seven sailors missing after drones hit two ships near Romania

Rescuers searched on Thursday for seven missing sailors after drones struck two chemical tankers near Romania's Black Sea coast, setting them ablaze and raising fresh

October 15, 2026

Finance|Science|Technology

NYC Comptroller Levine urges Anthropic to pause US IPO

Anthropic should delay its US IPO until it addresses concerns about safety, governance and the pace of development, urged New York City Comptroller Mark Levine in a letter to the AI

October 15, 2026

Health|Science|Technology

Using light to control brain cells – neuroscientist Karl Deisseroth explains how he made his Nobel-winning discovery

Optogenetics, a field that started with an algae gene, is shedding light on new treatments for eye and neuropsychiatric conditions.

October 15, 2026

Opinion|Science|Technology

As AI takes on more tasks, what happens when people have to jump in to clean up after it?

Having a human “in the loop” overseeing when an AI makes a decision is important, but what happens to that responsible human over time when the AI gets it right over and over again?

October 15, 2026

Education|Science|Technology

Do you think teachers are similar to coaches, pastors or something else? It depends on where you live

Across three countries, people agree that teaching is centered on the teacher-student relationship. But they don’t agree on which profession teaching most resembles.

October 15, 2026

IMF says African economies performing well despite shocks from the Iran war

The head of the International Monetary Fund’s Africa department says African economies have managed to weather the energy crisis brought on by the Iran war

October 15, 2026

Northern Ireland's Donaldson sentenced to 15 years in jail for child sex offences

The former leader of Northern Ireland's largest unionist party, Jeffrey Donaldson, was sentenced to 15 years in jail on Thursday for

October 15, 2026

Oil shipping costs spike, lifting prices from pump to grocery

When the oil supertanker Esteem Explorer sails from the United States to Japan in late November, loaded with about 2

October 15, 2026

Business|Science|Technology

Tesla set to unveil next generation Roadster sports EV after years of delay

Tesla is set to unveil its redesigned Roadster on Thursday, nearly nine years after it first showed a next-generation version of its electric sports car.

October 15, 2026

Warsh's quest for quiet Fed gets vocal pushback

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh’s call for a “quieter” central bank is facing pushback from colleagues who see

October 15, 2026

Economy|Finance|Technology

BoE warns banks to prepare for AI-enabled cyber breaches

The Bank of England is working with banks on deep cyber-recovery options, its deputy governor Sarah Breeden said on Thursday, arguing

October 15, 2026

Science|Technology

China's ByteDance sets up AI safety team, launches global hiring drive

Chinese tech giant ByteDance's AI research unit Seed has created an Alignment & Preparedness team and launched a global drive to recruit 10 researchers,

October 15, 2026

Opinion|Science|Technology

Tech leaders, Wall Street CEOs, governments split over 'AI doom' fears

AI industry leaders are split over how fast companies should develop the increasingly powerful technology, as Anthropic's Dario Amodei, OpenAI's Sam Altman and SpaceX's Elon Musk

September 14, 2026

Business|Economy|Finance|Stock Markets|Technology

AI credit worries send default insurance to record high

The cost of insuring against tech defaults struck record highs on Thursday, as investors rushed to hedge against the risk of

October 15, 2026

Business|Economy|Science|Technology

Taiwan chipmaker TSMC explores Texas investment to expand production in the US

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is exploring potential investments in Texas to expand chip production in the U.S. The company says it is open to collaborating with Elon Musk’s planned “Terafab” chip manufacturing complex in Texas

October 15, 2026

Arts|Science|Technology|World

North Korea holds first underwater-launched missile tests in nearly 3 years

North Korea has conducted its first missile test from underwater in nearly three years, in what experts say likely involved a yet-to-be-deployed submarine that the North had said is designed to launch nuclear weapons

October 15, 2026

Environment|Science|Technology

Scientists knew the Doomsday Glacier was melting. They didn’t realize how ‘aggressively’

October 15, 2026

Science|Technology

Russia builds major new drone attack base in six weeks, satellite images show

Russia has nearly finished building a major new base for launching jet-powered drones in just six weeks, according to defence experts and

October 15, 2026

Arts|Environment|Science|Technology

Indonesia's new disaster mitigation chief plans to assess foreign aid to tackle wildfires

Indonesian authorities said on Thursday they would consider offers of foreign assistance to tackle the country's biggest forest fires in over a decade after President

October 15, 2026

Arts|Europe|Finance|Stock Markets|Technology

European shares hit more than two-week high as sturdy earnings lift sentiment

European shares hit their highest in more than two weeks on Thursday, helped by solid earnings and a surge in healthcare stocks which have emerged as

October 15, 2026

Business|Europe|Technology

Setback for TikTok as EU court adviser backs gatekeeper label

An adviser to Europe's highest court recommended on Thursday that TikTok lose its challenge to its "gatekeeper" status under landmark EU rules, backing

October 15, 2026

Technology

Ukraine says it damaged six Russian military jets in missile strike on airfield

Ukraine's military said on Thursday it had damaged six Russian Su-34M military aircraft in an overnight strike on the Borisoglebsk airfield in Russia's Voronezh region.

October 15, 2026

Business|Science|Technology

Cohere moves to buy AI cybersecurity startup Aisle

Canadian AI lab Cohere said on Thursday it had signed a letter of intent to buy Aisle, a San Francisco-based cybersecurity startup that uses AI to detect

October 15, 2026

Science|Technology

US FTC subpoenas OpenAI and Anthropic over consumer harms, Axios reports

The US Federal Trade Commission has sent civil subpoenas to AI giants Anthropic and OpenAI, seeking documents about safety incidents, Axios reported, citing a person familiar with

October 15, 2026