Tesla is facing an unusual security problem in the US, and it is happening before many of its batteries even make it onto the road. According to an investigation by WIRED, multiple truckloads of Tesla batteries have allegedly been stolen directly from the company’s Nevada Gigafactory, highlighting a growing wave of organised cargo theft targeting high-value technology shipments.

Cargo theft is becoming a serious problem for Tesla

The report claims that at least nine major suspected cargo thefts took place at Tesla’s Nevada battery factory in January alone. Investigators say the issue is much larger than those incidents, with authorities tracking at least 17 cargo theft cases involving Tesla and other businesses in Nevada’s Storey County this year.

Storey County Sheriff’s Detective Sam Hatley described the situation as “an epidemic,” suggesting the recorded cases likely represent only a fraction of the total number of thefts. Industry researchers estimate cargo theft losses in the US have nearly doubled between 2022 and 2024, costing businesses close to $18 million every day. Electronic components and batteries have become especially attractive targets because of their high resale value.

The investigation also reveals that some of the early thefts exploited weaknesses in transport verification procedures. Authorities believe organised groups took advantage of fake identities, illegitimate freight carriers, and gaps in logistics security to collect shipments before legitimate transport companies arrived.

Tesla has reportedly responded by tightening security at its Nevada Gigafactory, including stricter driver identity verification at facility gates. Investigators say the changes have reduced the frequency of successful theft attempts.

Powerwall batteries, GPS trackers and multiple arrests

One of the biggest incidents reportedly involved two trailers carrying Tesla Powerwall residential battery systems worth more than $475,000 each. The trailers were allegedly collected by an illegitimate logistics company before later being recovered hundreds of miles away, although the cargo had already disappeared.

Investigators also uncovered several additional cases involving trailers carrying roughly half a million dollars’ worth of Powerwall batteries. In some instances, GPS trackers helped authorities locate stolen trailers, while detectives even installed their own tracking devices in an effort to catch suspects returning for abandoned cargo.

The investigation eventually led to the arrest of three suspects following another attempted theft in late January. Prosecutors allege the group travelled from California using forged commercial driver’s licences to collect Tesla shipments.

The report also notes that lawmakers are beginning to respond to the broader rise in cargo theft. A bipartisan bill recently passed the US House of Representatives aims to strengthen enforcement against organised retail and cargo theft while improving coordination between law enforcement agencies.

For Tesla, the incidents underline that protecting electric vehicle batteries no longer ends at the factory floor. Increasingly, securing the supply chain has become just as important as building the batteries themselves.

Verizon will pay BT an equalisation payment of $625m for the joint venture.

UK’s BT Group and US’ Verizon have decided to combine their international units into a joint venture aimed at multinational connectivity. The parent companies would be better able to focus on their domestic markets, while providing support to the new venture, they said.

The 50:50 joint venture between the communication giants will serve more than 3,000 customers across 180 countries, representing some $4bn in combined annual revenue. Verizon will pay BT an equalisation payment of $625m, the companies said in a joint statement.

The two companies aim to support local compliance and sovereignty needs with their joint venture. Customers are promised “secure and resilient” connectivity, designed for data, operational and regulatory requirements.

The joint venture will be led by Martijn Blanken; former CEO at Neo Space Group and Exa Infrastructure, and a current non-executive director at the Cordiant Capital-owned Irish investment vehicle Speed Fibre Group.

Clive Selley, appointed to his position in April, will continue to lead BT International as CEO, while Verizon’s leadership also remains unchanged.

Speed Fibre Group purchased BT’s Irish wholesale and enterprise business unit in a €22m deal last year.

“Customers will benefit from new, secure and resilient connectivity platforms, which are designed for the age of AI and sovereign where it matters,” said BT Group CEO Allison Kirkby.

“It will create new opportunities for our people and long-term value for our owners. Today’s announcement marks a major milestone for BT International, and an important step forward for BT as a whole, as we deliver on our UK-focused strategy.”

Dan Schulman, the CEO of Verizon, added: “Our international customers require secure, flexible connectivity that works seamlessly across borders and cloud environments.

“When we thought about how to best support them, this joint venture was the clear answer: a cutting-edge, AI-ready and secure platform run by a single global organization dedicated to their needs.

“At the same time, our relationship with those customers will stay equally strong as we continue to directly provide them with the connectivity they need in the US”

Verizon shares fell 5.2pc yesterday (29 June) following the news, rising marginally in after-hours trading, while BT share prices rose 0.6pc.

Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? I thought 5-Across was actually an interesting fact, and one I didn’t know. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Big party
Answer: BASH

5A clue: Pricey variety of beef that translates to “Japanese cow”
Answer: WAGYU

6A clue: Unwelcome sound at 7 a.m., perhaps
Answer: ALARM

7A clue: Really make excited
Answer: REVUP

8A clue: Get ready (for)
Answer: PREP

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Farm machine that bundles hay
Answer: BALER

2D clue: Plant used to make mezcal
Answer: AGAVE

3D clue: Pancake topper
Answer: SYRUP

4D clue: Prominent feature of a camel
Answer: HUMP

5D clue: Bend out of shape, as wood
Answer: WARP

Swift has watched the sky since 2004, catching some of the universe’s biggest explosions. Now it is sinking, and time is short. NASA is paying Katalyst Space Technologies about $30mn to save it, the Associated Press reported. Liftoff could come as early as Tuesday.

The plan sounds simple and is anything but. Reach a satellite nobody designed for capture, grab it, and lift it higher.

Why Swift is falling

Every satellite in low orbit fights a slow drag from the thin air up there. The Sun makes it worse. Intense solar activity has puffed up the atmosphere, and the extra drag now pulls Swift down faster than NASA expected.

The telescope now orbits at about 360km. Left alone, it would drop below 300km by October, past the point where a rescue could still work. After that comes re-entry and a fiery end for a working observatory. NASA has already switched off Swift’s instruments to slow the fall, and science observations stopped in February.

That would be a real loss. Swift ranks among the fastest eyes on the sky, swinging within minutes onto gamma-ray bursts, the brief, violent flares that mark dying stars and colliding neutron stars. “If we let Swift reenter, we would lose that telescope,” NASA science chief Nicky Fox told the AP. “We don’t currently have the budget to build another one to replace that.”

The grab

Katalyst’s answer is Link, an autonomous spacecraft about the size of a small fridge with a 12-metre solar wingspan. It carries three arms, each tipped with two pinching grippers. It rides up on an air-launched Pegasus rocket, dropped from a plane over the Marshall Islands in the Pacific.

From there it has to chase down its target. NASA expects Link to take about a month to reach the 1.4-tonne observatory and grab it, then a further couple of months to raise the orbit from roughly 360km to about 600km. If it works, Swift could be back at work by September.

The catch is the hard part. Swift has no docking port and no grip points, because nobody designed it for servicing. Astronauts once fixed Hubble by hand, but that took the space shuttle and a crew. This time a robot works alone.

A new kind of mission

The speed of it is striking. NASA signed the contract only last September with two instructions: hurry, and do not make things worse. Nine months later, Katalyst is ready to fly.

It is also a first for the US. China nudged a dead satellite into a higher graveyard orbit in 2022, but catching a working telescope that was never built to be caught is a harder job. “No one thought it was going to be possible,” said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, NASA’s astrophysics director.

That matters far beyond Swift. A young industry wants to service, refuel and move satellites in orbit rather than let them die. A real rescue, on a real deadline, is the proof such firms have been waiting for.

Why it matters

The maths is part of the appeal. Thirty million dollars is a fraction of the cost of building and launching a fresh space telescope. If a tug can add years to a healthy instrument, the case for saving hardware over scrapping it gets stronger.

Hubble could be next. Katalyst says a bigger robot, due to fly next year, could reach satellites far higher up and give the ageing Hubble its own boost around 2028. Further out, the firm imagines fleets of orbital robots fixing, fuelling and even building in space.

There is a tidier future hiding in this too. Today most spacecraft simply fall and burn when they reach the end of their lives. A working tug fleet could lift the valuable ones, deorbit the dead ones on purpose, and start to clear the junk crowding low orbit.

For now, all of that rests on one launch and one delicate grab. NASA and Katalyst will know within months whether Swift keeps watching the cosmos or becomes a cautionary tale. The countdown has already started.

Rockstar Games has confirmed several new combat features for GTA 6, making the game’s weapon system more detailed than ever before. Official trailers and promotional material have already revealed more than 30 weapons across different categories, including pistols, assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, launchers, melee weapons, and throwables. This guide covers all the GTA 6 weapons revealed so far and highlights the new gameplay features that make combat more immersive.

GTA 6 Handguns List

Handguns play an important role in GTA 6, offering a balance of speed, accuracy, and convenience. Rockstar has already showcased multiple sidearms through official trailers and screenshots, including both pistols and revolvers. Here’s a complete list of the confirmed handguns in GTA 6.

GTA 6 Shotguns List

GTA 6 includes powerful shotguns for close-quarters combat. These weapons are useful during indoor fights and high-action missions. Rockstar has already showcased two shotguns in official trailers and screenshots. Below are the confirmed shotgun weapons in GTA 6.

GTA 6 Assault Rifles List

Assault rifles are among the most versatile weapons in GTA 6. They perform well in both close- and long-range combat. Rockstar has confirmed several rifles through trailers and screenshots. Here’s every confirmed assault rifle in the game.

GTA 6 Machine Guns and SMG List

GTA 6 includes several SMGs and machine guns for intense firefights. These weapons are useful during missions, chases, and vehicle combat. Rockstar has already showcased multiple models in official trailers and screenshots. Below are all the confirmed weapons.

GTA 6 Sniper Rifles List

Players who prefer long-range combat will find several sniper rifles in GTA 6. These weapons are designed for precision and serious damage. Official gameplay footage has showcased multiple sniper rifle models. Here’s every confirmed sniper rifle revealed so far.

GTA 6 Launchers List

Launchers deliver the most serious explosive damage in GTA 6. They are the best choice for destroying vehicles and heavily armored targets. Players can also use them during large-scale combat. Below are all the confirmed launchers in GTA 6.

GTA 6 Throwable Weapons List

Not every combat situation requires a gun in GTA 6. Throwables give players another way to attack enemies or create an opening. Each weapon has its own strengths and uses. Below are all the confirmed throwable weapons in GTA 6.

GTA 6 Melee Weapons List

Melee weapons remain an important part of combat in GTA 6. They offer a quiet and reliable way to deal with nearby enemies. Different weapons suit different combat styles. Here’s every confirmed melee weapon revealed so far.

• Baseball Bat
• Crowbar
• Golf Club
• Hammer
• Knife
• Pool Cue
• Fists (Unarmed)

GTA 6 Equipment and Utility Item List

GTA 6 includes more than just guns and melee weapons. Players can use different equipment to complete missions in creative ways. These items add more flexibility to gameplay. Here’s the complete list of confirmed equipment.

• Auto Dialer
• Backpack
• Binoculars
• Body Armor
• Cigarettes
• Cut-off Tool
• Flashlight
• Food & Drinks
• Immobilizer Bypass
• Lock Pick
• Loot Bag / Duffel Bag
• Painkillers
• Slim Jim
• Soda
• Taser
• Torch Flashlight
• Tracker Jammer
• Trauma Kit
• USB Drive
• Wine
• Zipties

Apple’s largest memory suppliers are being sued in California, with consumers and small businesses alleging Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and Micron coordinated DRAM production cuts that drove up memory prices.

Apple isn’t accused of wrongdoing in the lawsuit. Samsung, SK hynix and Micron supply memory used across Apple’s hardware lineup, putting the dispute much closer to customers than it might first appear.

The company has already raised prices on several Mac, iPad and other products after saying higher RAM and storage costs had become too expensive to absorb. Court filings argue coordinated DRAM production cuts contributed to those higher costs, though the plaintiffs still have to prove that claim.

Court filings argue the shift reduced supplies of mainstream DRAM, including DDR3 and DDR4, and drove prices higher across the market. The allegations haven’t been proven, and Micron denied the claims and said it will defend itself, according to Investor’s Business Daily.

The lawsuit targets the AI memory shift

The complaint centers on DRAM, the working memory used in computers, smartphones, tablets, servers and many other electronic devices. Samsung, SK hynix and Micron dominate the global DRAM market, giving them enormous influence over memory supply.

Counterpoint Research said Samsung held a 38% share of global DRAM revenue during the first quarter of 2026, followed by SK hynix at 29% and Micron at 22%. Plaintiffs argue that concentration is central to the lawsuit because a competitive commodity market would normally encourage at least one supplier to expand production as prices rise.

Instead, the complaint alleges Samsung, SK hynix and Micron shifted manufacturing capacity toward HBM, which commands much higher prices from AI companies. Companies are free to pursue more profitable products, and that business decision isn’t illegal by itself.

The lawsuit ultimately turns on whether Samsung, SK hynix and Micron coordinated those production decisions or reached the same conclusion independently. Antitrust law prohibits agreements among competitors, not similar business decisions driven by the same economic incentives.

Why Apple customers should care

Apple has spent months navigating the same memory market pressures described in the lawsuit. Industry analysts have widely attributed rising RAM and storage prices to AI demand, and the company cited higher component costs when it raised prices on some hardware.

Industry analysts have widely attributed rising RAM and storage prices to AI demand

Plaintiffs argue coordinated supply restrictions offer a competing explanation for those higher memory costs. The companies maintain they independently responded to the same market conditions.

Court-ordered discovery could become the most important stage of the case if the lawsuit survives early legal challenges. Emails, production plans and other internal records could show whether Samsung, SK hynix and Micron coordinated production decisions or acted independently.

The DRAM industry has faced price-fixing cases before

The lawsuit arrives against the backdrop of earlier DRAM antitrust cases. Samsung and Hynix pleaded guilty in the 2000s to participating in a DRAM price-fixing conspiracy investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Samsung agreed to pay a $300 million criminal fine in 2005, and Hynix agreed to pay a $185 million criminal fine that same year. Several executives also received prison sentences for participating in that conspiracy.

The earlier convictions don’t establish that Samsung, SK hynix or Micron violated antitrust law in this case. The earlier cases do show the DRAM industry has faced similar allegations before, adding context as the current lawsuit moves through the courts.

A new Supreme Court ruling will require police to have probable cause before using sweeping geofence warrants that rely on people’s personal location data to find criminals.

Police subpoena Apple, Google, and other tech companies for precious user location data using so-called “geofence warrants,” which can serve as a dragnet to catch a single criminal while implicating many others. The Supreme Court says this method is no longer an option without probable cause.

According to SCOTUSblog, breaking down the ruling, a geofence warrant meets the criteria of a “search” as defined by the Fourth Amendment. Simply put, this means that anyone included in a warrant must be there with a reason.

In short, dragnet-style searches with no suspects identified by other evidence will no longer be an option except in very specific circumstances.

That isn’t to say user location data is off-limits for law enforcement. A subpoena to Apple or Google with an individual’s identity that is reasonably suspected of a crime with evidence gathered from other sources remains legal and viable.

There’s also the option of using geofence warrants when tracking a group of criminals or trying to find associates of a known criminal. Of course, warrants will need to be provided on a case-by-case basis.

Previously, law enforcement would simply ask for the location data of everyone that was within an area for a select period of time even when a suspect wasn’t known. If you happened to be passing by, you could be implicated for no reason other than being there with a smartphone.

The Supreme Court has ruled 6-3 that this violates the Fourth Amendment.

Justice Elena Kagan wrote that “an individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy in records about his cell phone’s location, and police intrude on that constitutionally protected interest when they demand the information — even though for only a limited time, and from a third-party tech company.” In other words, suspects will have to be identified using other means.

According to Harvard Law Review, Google was served with more than 11,500 warrants across 2020 for sweeping geofence searches. With this ruling, that number will now be zero without cause for every individual affected by the search.

Robbing a bank with a smartphone

The reason the Supreme Court shared this ruling today is due to a case from 2019 involving a bank robbery. A man escaped with nearly $200,000 and the police had zero suspects. The “zero suspects” bit is key to the ruling.

A geofence warrant was sent to Google, and the company provided 19 accounts that were within 150 meters of the bank robbery spanning that hour. Law enforcement narrowed it down to 9 accounts and requested location information for 2 hours surrounding the robbery.

The results were narrowed to three individuals — one was a man named Okello Chatrie. The location data led police to a residence with nearly $100,000, a gun, and demand notes.

The individual was arrested and pled guilty. However, Chatrie still argued that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated. After two escalating appeals on opposite sides of the issue, the case was pushed up to the Supreme Court.

With Monday’s ruling, Chatrie’s case isn’t over. It is being passed back down to the Circuit Court to determine if the police had reason to access the location data.

Regardless of that outcome, know that your location data is protected by a constitutional right. Police will need more than “wrong place, wrong time” tactics to find suspects in the future.

Apple is contesting a ruling that would force it to pay Optis $502 million for LTE patent infringement, but the UK Supreme Court has yet to reach a verdict.

The legal battle between Apple and Optis goes back to February 2019, and there’s still no end in sight all these years later. Apple was accused of infringing upon Optis’ LTE patents, which ultimately led to lawsuits in both the United Kingdom and the United States.

The latter case resulted in Apple’s victory, as it avoided paying Optis $300M in damages in February 2026. The outcome of the UK lawsuit, however, isn’t quite as clear-cut.

As spotted by 9to5mac and reported by The Financial Times, Apple now wants the UK Supreme Court to overturn a 2023 Court of Appeal ruling that would force it to pay Optis $502 million.

Initially, Apple was only supposed to pay $56 million, as decided by the High Court in London. Later, the Court of Appeal increased that amount to $502 million by using Optis’ deal with Google as a baseline and adding royalties dating back to 2013.

Apple, however, claims the increase was “arbitrary” and that the Court of Appeal “erred in law.” The outcome of the UK lawsuit remains to be seen, but the case could drag on for years to come.

Apple vs. Optis: The progression of the UK lawsuit

Back in 2020, the UK Supreme Court ruled that UK courts can set the payment rate for patents worldwide, even though the court can only consider the infringement of UK patents. This was good news for Optis, as it was free to seek more damages from Apple.

Optis claims that Apple violated its patents on LTE technology.

Advertisement

In July 2021, Optis wanted to force Apple into paying $7 billion in damages, along with a global royalty rate. Apple called the fee “commercially unacceptable” and threatened to leave the UK market if it was forced to pay such a high amount.

Later, in March 2022, the London High Court declared that Apple infringed two 4G patents held by Optis, which it described as “standard essential patents.”

Apple tried to argue that none of the patents were essential, and said it hadn’t committed any infringement. Still, its appeal was ultimately denied in July 2023.

Instead of the $7B sought by Optis, the London High Court said Apple had to pay only $56.43 million. However, Optis filed an appeal, which was ultimately successful. A $502 million fine was imposed by the UK Court of Appeal in May 2025.

This amount represents a lump sum covering 2013 to 2027, and was supposed to serve as a global license to use Optis LTE patents in the iPhone, Apple Watch, and other devices.

“[We are] pleased the UK Court of Appeal has recognized and corrected a clearly flawed prior ruling,” an Optis spokesperson told AppleInsider at the time, “and has made meaningful progress toward affirming the true value of our patents to Apple devices.”

Now, however, it’s up to the UK Supreme Court to decide just how much Apple will have to pay.