The internet couldn't stop this death

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New York killed Peanut, the internet’s favorite squirrel. His owner is outraged. Plus, shady ‘I am not a robot’ scams, AI models stealing the spotlight in fashion, and why Microsoft’s throwing $1 million prize at you… just to use Bing.


It’s miles ahead: Toyota’s long-awaited solid-state battery is nearing production. It will go 745 miles on a single charge, tackling “range anxiety” once and for all. They’re also lighter and more compact than lithium-ion batteries, which means more legroom and cargo space. Finally.

50-plus years

Christmas classics “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman” are moving from CBS to NBC. “Frosty” will air on Dec. 5 at 8:30 p.m., and “Rudolph” will air on Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. If you have cable, both will also be on Freeform’s “25 Days of Christmas” lineup starting on Dec. 7.

👽 Hold onto your tinfoil hat: The Pentagon’s former chief investigator leaked a new government program to scoop up alien tech if it’s ever shot down. He swears there’s zero evidence of alien spacecraft so far. Meanwhile, a UFO analyst and a missile expert both claim that not only has the U.S. recovered a craft, but they’ve even been inside one.

4,000,000 pounds 

How many berries the world’s first indoor vertical farm will produce each year. The Richmond farm will do it all with 90% less water and 97% less land than conventional farming. You have to see the pics. It’s a berry good idea.

Left in the dark: A woman went in for a gynecological biopsy, and she wasn’t given any anesthetic. The pain was so intense, she fainted. She posted her experience online, and it’s going viral. I hope she files a complaint with her local medical board.

💿 Guess we’ll never see “Biggest Hits (Taylor’s Version)”: In the late ’90s, compilations were hot — The Beatles’ “1,” for instance, sold 7.69 million copies in just 12 months (paywall link). Now, vinyl and CD collections are novelty items for superfans. Open Spotify or Apple Music, and you’ve got instant playlists of any artist’s top tracks.

Speaking of Warren Buffett: He just bought a $185 million stake in the HEICO Corporation, an aerospace and electronics giant. The company makes products for spacecraft, defense equipment and telecommunication systems. Yep, it’s a direct SpaceX competitor.

130,000 feet

How far a Samsonite suitcase fell without taking any damage. The travel brand catapulted the suitcase through the atmosphere to demonstrate its strength, and they captured the whole thing on video.

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🚨 China’s powering up: Hackers working for the Communist Chinese government have taken over thousands of TP-Link routers, plus cameras and other connected devices. They’re using all that computing power to attack Microsoft’s Azure cloud service. Most malware can’t survive a reboot, so it certainly won’t hurt to restart your router, whether it’s from TP-Link or another manufacturer.

🎻 Keep calm and cello on: A Swedish composer put together a symphony with a robot cellist playing in sync with humans. But there’s good news: Afterward, the composer said, “It will be impossible to replace all human musicians with robots.” Watch the video here. It’s really something.