Wednesday, 20 May 2026
77 stories filed.
Spider-Noir final trailer gives us a classic villain
It's never too late to become a hero.
"I'll buy 10 of those"—NASA science chief yearns for mass-produced satellites
"How in the hell do I get more science into space? That is my goal."
Tesla's lithium refinery discharges 231,000 gallons of polluted wastewater a day
Article URL: https://www.autonocion.com/us/tesla-lithium-refinery-texas/ Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48198551 Points: 261 # Comments: 130
Discussion: Hacker News thread →
Plex's 200% Lifetime Pass price hike tries forcing users to another subscription
Plex says that it has considered getting rid of Lifetime Passes.
Minnesota becomes first state to ban prediction markets
Article URL: https://www.npr.org/2026/05/19/nx-s1-5821265/minnesota-ban-prediction-markets Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48197980 Points: 123 # Comments: 43
Discussion: Hacker News thread →
Disney erased FiveThirtyEight
Article URL: https://www.natesilver.net/p/disney-erased-fivethirtyeight Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48197703 Points: 181 # Comments: 81
Discussion: Hacker News thread →
Two AI-based science assistants succeed with drug-retargeting tasks
Both tools generate hypotheses; one goes on to analyze some of the data.
Google's SynthID AI watermarking tech is being adopted by OpenAI, Nvidia, and more
AI content is getting good, but SynthID might be able to help tell truth from fiction.
Google changes its search box
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/business/google-seach-bar... , https://archive.ph/XI1sQ https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/19/google-search-as-you-know-... https://www.theverge.com/tech/932970/google-search-ai-update...
Discussion: Hacker News thread →
Fedora Retiring Its Deepin Desktop Packages
A year after SUSE decided to remove its Deepin desktop packages over ongoing security concerns, Fedora Linux is now also removing their Deepin packages over similar concerns and lack of activity in maintaining the packages...
In stunning display of stupid, secret CISA credentials found in public GitHub repo
SSH keys, plaintext passwords, other sensitive data had been up since November 2025.
Firefox 151 helps you edit PDFs – and switch OSes
Export a profile on Windows, restore it on Linux. Extensions and themes too
RFK Jr. forced to withdraw charter that opened CDC panel to anti-vaccine quacks
Charter would have expanded member eligibility and focused on alleged injuries.
Gemini 3.5 Flash might be fast enough for gen AI to make sense
Google says its more efficient Gemini 3.5 Flash is the key to your agentic AI future.
America's top cyber-defense agency left a GitHub repo open with with passwords, keys, tokens – and incredibly obvious filenames
I wonder what's in 'external-secret-repo-creds.yaml' and 'AWS-Workspace-Firefox-Passwords.csv'?
Gemini Omni
Article URL: https://deepmind.google/models/gemini-omni/ Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48196609 Points: 164 # Comments: 72
Discussion: Hacker News thread →
Gemini 3.5 Flash
https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/models/gemini-3.5-flas... Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48196570 Points: 311 # Comments: 273
Discussion: Hacker News thread →
Shadow AI invades the workplace, up 4x in the last year
Employers increasingly blind to unauthorized AI use and where their staff are sending proprietary files
The era of 1,000 Hz gaming monitors has arrived, but why?
LG's latest hits one frame per millisecond at a full 1080p resolution.
Airbus gets HPC-as-a-service supercomputer from Bull
Aerospace giant rents new system over 5 years to help develop new aircraft
EV drivers will pay $130 a year under Congress' 2026 transportation bill
Politicians say they want EVs to pay "their fair share for the use of our roads."
Civilization VII finally lets you build a civ that stands the test of time
Civ 7 ’s devs talk walking back the game's most controversial decision.
Clear your calendar, Drupal user: You have a critically urgent patch to install
The org’s staying mum on the details, but Wednesday’s fixes reach back to unsupported 8.9 branches
I’ve built a virtual museum with nearly every operating system you can think of
Article URL: https://virtualosmuseum.org/ Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48195009 Points: 434 # Comments: 99
Discussion: Hacker News thread →
SAP customers warned AI agents could put costs on autopilot
Billing will be based on 'actions,' whatever those are, leaving enterprises to wonder how fast the meter might run
AMD Announces The EPYC 8005 Series SKUs From 8 To 84 Cores
Back in late February AMD announced the EPYC 8005 "Sorano" series to succeed EPYC 8004 Siena. At the time details were light while today AMD published the SKU table and more details on the EPYC 8005 series...
I’ve joined Anthropic
https://xcancel.com/karpathy/status/2056753169888334312 https://www.axios.com/2026/05/19/anthropic-openai-karpathy-a... , https://archive.ph/h6T3X Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48194352 Points: 979 # Comments: 390
Discussion: Hacker News thread →
OpenBSD 7.9 Released With Support For Up To 255 x86_64 CPU Cores, WiFi 6
Theo de Raadt announced the release today of OpenBSD 7.9 as the latest feature update to this unique BSD platform...
Microsoft refreshes Surface for Business lineup, starts AI PC upsell at $1,499
Latest hardware adds Intel’s newest AI-focused processors as Redmond continues pushing enterprises toward Copilot+ PCs
X limits hot takes from freeloaders to 50 a day
How will they manage? It's not like anyone can see their posts anyway
Mageia 10 RC1 Released With Newer Packages
Following the ISOs dropping a few days ago, today the Mageia 10 release candidate was officially announced for those fond of this Linux distribution with its roots tracing back to Mageia and Mandrake Linux...
Electrical utility megamerger is all about the data centers
NextEra’s blockbuster deal with Dominion likely means higher bills for consumers.
OpenBSD 7.9
Article URL: https://www.openbsd.org/79.html Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48192882 Points: 335 # Comments: 251
Discussion: Hacker News thread →
Ubuntu Core 26 Released With Live Kernel Patching, Better OTA Updates
Following last month's release of Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, Canonical today released Ubuntu Core 26...
In addition to space stations, Vast says it will now build high-power satellites
"Every single successful space company is diversified in its products."
Shai-Hulud keeps burrowing: 314 npm packages infected after another account compromise
Popular JavaScript modules including size-sensor and echarts-for-react hit as hijacked account closed GitHub warnings
Broadcom finds a VMware customer willing to stick around: London Stock Exchange
LSEG signs up for five more years of Cloud Foundation, but keeps quiet on how much it'll cost
Apple unveils new accessibility features
Article URL: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/05/apple-unveils-new-accessibility-features-and-updates-with-apple-intelligence/ Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48192224 Points: 524 # Comments: 272
Discussion: Hacker News thread →
Indra rides off with £1.96B Transport for London ticketing deal as Oyster heads for back-office overhaul
Nothing says 'future of urban transit' like a defense contractor running your bus, tube, and train pass
Crook leaks 468k+ records, claims they pwned Portugal’s postal carrier
Ordered packages via CTT? Those phishing emails could be tricky to spot
Iran demands Big Tech pay fees for undersea Internet cables in Strait of Hormuz
Iran's claim over subsea chokepoint pushes US tech companies to overland fiber.
1 in 5 Brits think AI layoffs could trigger civil unrest
UK folk increasingly don't believe AI jobs revolution will end in prosperity for anyone outside the boardroom, say researchers
Show HN: Gaussian Splat of a Strawberry
The Setup: https://i.imgur.com/o0hgybh.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/mcNiomp.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/vIjw6pc.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/nzOwmSC.jpeg Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48191602 Points: 436 # Comments: 174
Discussion: Hacker News thread →
UK Typhoon jets fitted with bargain-bin drone busters for Middle East sorties
Low-cost laser-guided rockets offer cheaper way to swat Shahed-style threats than firing pricey air-to-air missiles
SAP's AI strategy: Come for the openness, stay because you have to
Joule Studio 2.0 waves the flag of interoperability, API policy tells enterprises who's really in charge
Linux 7.2 Will Fix The Intel P-State Driver For The New Bartlett Lake CPUs
The fix is set to land in the upcoming Linux 7.2 kernel so the P-core-only Bartlett Lake processors will not report bogus maximum frequency values...
ZTE Showcases AI Interactive Flat Panel at the Broadband User Congress in Brazil
AI interactive flat panel aimed at offices, elder care, and classrooms with built-in conferencing, automation, and monitoring features unveiled
Windows Firewall stands between you and greasy delight
You don't really want that entering your system, do you?
The class of 2026 has heard enough about AI, thanks
From campus ceremonies to Linux communities and academic journals, resistance to LLM evangelism is getting louder
The Linux Kernel Working On A Rust-Based Untrusted Data API
One of the newest interfaces being worked on for the Rust programming language support within the Linux kernel is an Untrusted Data API for data received into the kernel from user-space...
CISA Admin Leaked AWS GovCloud Keys on GitHub
Article URL: https://krebsonsecurity.com/2026/05/cisa-admin-leaked-aws-govcloud-keys-on-github/ Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48190454 Points: 337 # Comments: 146
Discussion: Hacker News thread →
Baidu says the quiet part out loud – you can’t build AI infrastructure, so clouds can cash in
CFO says GPU rentals are ‘structurally higher margin than CPU cloud’
Mini Shai-Hulud Strikes Again: 314 npm Packages Compromised
Article URL: https://safedep.io/mini-shai-hulud-strikes-again-314-npm-packages-compromised/ Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48189368 Points: 337 # Comments: 261
Discussion: Hacker News thread →
Iran hints it could interfere with submarine cables in the Strait of Hormuz
Threatens unspecified ‘fees’ and warns of economic consequences – yet only major kinetic action could stop data flows entirely
OneXPlayer Configuration Driver Destined For Linux 7.2
The latest Linux gaming handheld driver work by Derek Clark of Valve's Linux efforts is the OneXPlayer Configuration Driver that is now set to premiere in the upcoming Linux 7.2 kernel cycle...
The last six months in LLMs in five minutes
Article URL: https://simonwillison.net/2026/May/19/5-minute-llms/ Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48188183 Points: 714 # Comments: 539
Discussion: Hacker News thread →
More Intel Open-Source Projects Formally Sunset: BigDL Time Series Toolkit & Others
Yet more open-source Intel software projects have been formally archived. Over the past year Intel has formally discontinued a number of open-source projects it formally maintained. Many of them were already dormant and not too noteworthy but there were also some more notable ones discontinued like their legendary Clear Linux, Software Defined Silicon, Optane Memory software projects, and then…
Ebola outbreak: WHO declares emergency, US restricts travel, American infected
CDC is working to move the infected American and six others to Germany.
Legal fail: Don’t use AI to sue Facebook users for calling you a bad date
Fake citations dashed a dude’s “Are We Dating the Same Guy” revenge lawsuit.
New Intel Xe Linux Graphics Driver Code Now Cites Multiple Crescent Island SKUs
The latest Intel Xe kernel graphics driver patches for Linux now indicate multiple PCI IDs for the upcoming Crescent Island "CRI" accelerators rather than just a lone model...
One Mars spacecraft, two senators, and a cloud of questions
"I think there's plenty of fire lit under them already."
Australian Aboriginals cared for a dingo's grave for decades
For some ancient Aboriginal Australian communities, dingoes were part of the family.
Elon Musk took too long to sue OpenAI, jury unanimously agrees
Musk plans to appeal after judge immediately affirmed the jury's decision.
Pompeii victim ID'd as a likely doctor
New X-rays and CT scans showed small case with locking mechanism containing metal instruments.
Linux 7.2 Expected To Introduce "OPENAT2_REGULAR" To Avoid Tricking Secure Programs
Among the VFS patches queued into "-next" branches ahead of next month's Linux 7.2 merge window is the code for introducing the new OPENAT2_REGULAR flag for the openat2 system call...
Hanoi’s humble beer glass and the memory of a nation
Article URL: https://sundaylongread.com/2026/05/15/hanois-humble-beer-glass-and-the-memory-of-a-nation/ Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48182872 Points: 104 # Comments: 30
Discussion: Hacker News thread →
Linux 6.6 LTS To Linux 7.1 Bechmarks: Performance Up 13% On AMD Threadripper Over Three Years
The Linux 7.1 kernel performance has been looking quite good on the various Intel/AMD systems I have tested over the past three weeks. Linux 7.1 does bring some solid improvements over Linux 7.0 prior in different workloads and haven't encountered any worrisome regressions compared to the current Linux 7.0 stable kernel. For those wondering the longer-term picture, here are benchmarks of Linux…
Firefox 151 Now Available With Document Picture-in-Picture API
Firefox 151 release binaries are now available as the latest monthly update to Mozilla's open-source web browser...
Linux AF_ALG Crypto Code Removing Zero-Copy Support Out Of Security Concerns
Given all the recent Linux kernel security concerns and new bugs being discovered, the Linux cryptographic subsystem is proactively dropping zero-copy functionality from AF_ALG due to growing security concerns...
Torvalds: AI Tools Great When Not Causing Unnecessary Pain & Pointless Make-Believe Work
With yesterday's Linux 7.1-rc4 release are some additional comments by Linux creator Linus Torvalds around AI tooling and the surge in security bug reporting to the Linux kernel due to said LLM-powered tooling...
The foundations of a provably secure operating system (PSOS) (1979) [pdf]
Article URL: http://www.csl.sri.com/users/neumann/psos.pdf Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48177300 Points: 109 # Comments: 80
Discussion: Hacker News thread →
AMD's Lemonade SDK For AI Promotes macOS To GA Status, ROCm 7.13 Integrated
The Lemonade SDK for "refreshingly fast local AI" that is largely developed by AMD engineers as an open-source project continues advancing quite rapidly for serving optimized LLMs on GPUs and NPUs...
gkh_clanker_t1000 & gkh_clanker_2000 Continue Uncovering Linux Kernel Bugs
As first reported on Phoronix in early April, Linux's second-in-command Greg Kroah-Hartman has been leveraging new AI fuzzing tools for uncovering Linux kernel bugs. Prominent due to his position within the Linux kernel community and also being the primary Linux stable maintainer. His AI-assistance for fixing Linux kernel bugs is based on a Framework Desktop powered by AMD Ryzen AI Max.
Linux 7.1-rc4 Released With Many Fixes, New Documentation For Security/AI Topics
It was another busy week in the Linux 7.1 kernel space that has culminated with the release of Linux 7.1-rc4...
Ubuntu Concept ISOs Published For CIX P1 AI CPU
Similar to Canonical engineers having published "Ubuntu Concept" ISOs for Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite laptops to provide the very latest hardware-specific support that hasn't yet worked its way to the mainline Linux kernel and other packages, Canonical has begun providing Ubuntu Concept ISOs for the CIX P1 as an "AI" focused platform...
Open-Source "low_latency_layer" Brings Reflex & Anti-Lag 2 To AMD & Intel GPUs On Linux
A new open-source project called low_latency_layer is an implicit Vulkan layer that enables AMD Anti-Lag 2 and NVIDIA Reflex 2 to reportedly work in a hardware-agnostic manner so that AMD and Intel graphics cards can both enjoy Reflex or Anti-Lag 2 working on non-AMD graphics cards as well...
I found ultra-pure quantum crystals in an abandoned mine in the Atacama desert
Article URL: https://medium.com/@breid.at/ultra-pure-quantum-crystals-from-an-abandoned-mine-in-a-mysterious-desert-93cc87d12314 Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48165797 Points: 249 # Comments: 98
Discussion: Hacker News thread →