August 25, 2023

IN THIS ISSUE

🆇 Donald Trump posts his first tweet in more than 2 years

🚀 SpaceX calls off crewed launch with just hours to go

📱 T-Mobile to lay off thousands of workers

UP FIRST

Donald Trump returns to X, formerly Twitter, after more than 2 years away

It's too early to say if his post was just a one-off

Donald Trump has returned to X – which was still Twitter when he last used it in January 2021 – posting a mugshot of himself after he surrendered at an Atlanta jail on Thursday on charges that he conspired to overturn his 2020 election loss.

Trump’s post also included a reference to his repeated claims of election interference together with a link to his website, which redirects to a fundraising page.

It was Trump’s first post on the site since January 2021. Shortly after that, Twitter – prior to Elon Musk acquiring the company – suspended his account indefinitely over concerns that the former president might incite further violence following the assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Musk reinstated Trump’s account in November, but it’s taken this long for him to post again.

X's owner appeared to be happy to see Trump back on the platform, reposting the former president's message with the comment: “Next-level.”

Regardless of any controversy, Musk will be hoping that Trump sticks around, as his presence is likely to drive engagement on the social media site.

ASTRONAUT MISSION

SpaceX calls off crewed launch to ISS with just a few hours to go

The team is now aiming to launch in the early hours of Saturday

Just four hours before launch, SpaceX and NASA announced it was stopping the clock on the Crew-7 flight to the International Space Station (ISS) early on Friday morning.

SpaceX didn’t give a reason for the decision, saying only that the crew and vehicle were fine and that the schedule change would give it “additional time to complete and discuss analysis.”

But the four astronauts waiting for their ride to the ISS aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft shouldn’t have too long to wait as SpaceX is now targeting 3:27 a.m. ET (12:27 a.m. PT) on Saturday, August 26, marking a delay of about 24 hours.

A back-up opportunity is available on Sunday at 3:04 a.m. ET (12:04 a.m. PT).

The launch and other parts of the mission will be live streamed by both NASA and SpaceX. Here’s all the information you need to watch.

The Crew-7 astronauts will spend six months living and working aboard the ISS as its orbits about 250 miles above Earth.

MOBILE INDUSTRY

T-Mobile to lay off thousands of workers

The layoffs will take place over the next five weeks

T-Mobile is cutting 5,000 jobs at the company, equal to about 7% of its workforce.

The wireless carrier made the announcement on Thursday in an email to staff, the Associated Press reported.

T-Mobile CEO Michael Sievert said the positions will go over the next five weeks and impact T-Mobile workers across the U.S. with those in corporate and back-office roles particularly affected, along with some tech jobs. Retail and customer service teams are not impacted

“This is a large change, and an unusual one for our company,” Sievert wrote in his message. “Because of this, we do not envision making additional large-scale reductions across the company again in the foreseeable future.”

T-Mobile’s job cuts come in the wake of major layoffs by tech firms such as Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft, with challenging economic conditions prompting many to slash operating costs.

Digital Trends helps readers keep tabs on the fast-paced world of tech with all the latest news, fun product reviews, insightful editorials, and one-of-a-kind sneak peeks.