NASA is ready to share its findings of a sample taken from the 4.5 billion-year-old asteroid Bennu with the masses during a livestream at 11 AM ET today, October 11, on its YouTube channel. The reveal comes less than three weeks after the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft parachuted a capsule of Bennu's fragments into a Utah-based Department of Defense training site. NASA then transferred the sample to its Johnson Space Center in Houston for a complete analysis.

OSIRIS-REx set off on its $1.2 billion mission in September 2016, reaching the 1,650-foot wide asteroid two years later. In 2020, the spacecraft burrowed into Bennu much deeper than expected, collecting the largest asteroid surface sample to date. The goal was to bring at least 2.1 ounces back, and initial estimates put the collection at around 8.8 ounces. NASA should reveal the exact specifications and the quality of the substance during its livestream, as well as other interesting tidbits uncovered.

As for OSIRIS-REx, it already has a new name and mission. The now-dubbed OSIRIS-APEX is on its way to asteroid Apophis to examine the impact of a close encounter with Earth in 2029. NASA expects the asteroid to come within 20,000 miles of the Earth's surface — 90 percent closer than the moon.

California is officially the first state to pass a law streamlining personal data removal. On October 10, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 362, known as the Delete Act, into law, requiring the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) to create and roll out a tool allowing state residents to request that all data brokers delete their information. There are nearly 500 registered data brokers in California.

Advocates for the bill painted it as a necessary protection. “Data brokers possess thousands of data points on each and every one of us, and they currently sell reproductive healthcare, geolocation, and purchasing data to the highest bidder,” Senator Josh Becker, author of the bill, said in a statement. “The Delete Act protects our most sensitive information.”

Current privacy laws allow Californians to make this request, but they must contact each company, and it can be denied. The CPPA has until 2026 to build the necessary system and has the authority to charge brokers to use it. Under the Delete Act, each broker must register with the CPPA and fulfill deletion requests every 45 days or risk facing a penalty such as a fine. Third-party compliance audits are set to begin in 2028 and occur every three years moving forward.

The Delete Act met opposition from organizations such as the Association of National Advertisers, which voiced concerns about schemes that charge consumers exorbitant amounts of money to delete their data and small businesses or non-profits being unable to reach their target audience without this detailed information.

There's always something so exciting about the first time a big device goes on sale. In this case, Sony's PlayStation VR2 has its first deal, dropping from $549 to $509.15 — a seven percent discount — right in the middle of October Prime Day. Sure, spending over $500 for a headset when the PlayStation 5 is $499 feels like a lot, but you can put the nearly $40 saved toward an extra game or two. 

Sony released the PS VR2 in early 2023, and it got an 84 in our review despite being priced a bit higher than we'd like. For starters, it's a lot sleeker looking than its predecessor and is very comfortable to wear (it uses the same plastic as the PS5's exterior shell and DualSense controllers). The PS VR2 also has eye tracking, and was the first time we saw haptics for your head. The device is solid, with great OLED displays and well-made Sense controllers.

The world might not be as enthralled with VR headsets as it was a few years ago, but there are still a range of new options on the market. With its current sale, the PS VR2 is close to the same price as Meta's Quest 3 but is still far below the $3,499 necessary to buy Apple's Vision Pro. The Quest 3 and Vision Pro are both mixed reality devices, but the PS VR2 is a good option if you only want virtual reality tailored for a console.

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Thanks to October Prime Day deals on many of Anker's best accessories, you can get a premium charge for a lot less money right now. The sale includes chargers for every need, such as the three-port Nano II 65W USB-C charger with space to juice up your phone, computer and headphones all at once. The small charger is available for 39 percent off, dropping from $56 to $34. Similarly, the slightly larger Prime 67W USB-C Charger with two USB-C ports and one USB-A is 37 percent off, bringing its price from $60 to $38.

The best deal comes courtesy of Anker's fast charging 765 USB-C to USB-C cable, which is down from $35 to $15 — a 57 percent discount. It's compatible with the new iPhone 15 models, along with the MacBook Pro 2021, iPad Pro, iPad Air 4th and Samsung's Galaxy S23+ and Ultra. If you're still loyal to a USB charger but your cords are breaking at the seams, pick up Anker's lightning cable three-pack for 20 percent off, dropping from $25 to $20.

Then there's Anker's portable chargers currently on sale for every time you stay out later than expected or drain your battery playing games. The Prime 20K Power Bank is down to $22.40 from $28 and can juice up an iPhone 12 halfway in 30 minutes using USB and USB-C chargers. For $30 (down from $60), you can pick up Anker's Magnetic Portable Charger 5K for wireless charging. Plus, the Prime Power Bank with 200W Output and a smart display has fallen from $130 to $90 for Prime Day — giving you high-speed charging with enough money left over to buy quality cables.

In the face of record heatwaves and dangerous flooding worldwide, we need all the help we can get to figure out the best environmental technology to buy without breaking the bank. To this end, Google has announced various new and expanded sustainability initiatives around EVs, home energy, city planning and safety.

For starters, Google is providing more insight into if an EV is right for you and, if so, which one. Across 21 countries, an updated Fuel Cost Calculator takes the guesswork out of how much money an EV could save you, estimating a particular model's annual charging cost versus a similar-sized car's gas expenses. Exclusively in the US, searches like "best electric cars" should now provide the option to compare aspects like range and price. You can also see which government incentives are available. Similarly, in the coming weeks, you should be able to explore how far an EV could take you along a specific route in the US based on elevation and charging stations. Google plans to bring the feature to Europe in early 2024.

Your home energy search is getting a similar upgrade. The next time you look for a heater or air conditioner, you should have the option to compare their energy efficiency and see which comes with financial incentives.

In the face of increased natural disasters, Google is expanding tools like its Flood Hub. This platform has been available in 80 countries but will now include over 800 riverside locations in the US and Canada. Google has also teamed up with the US Forest Service to use machine learning for a large-scale update to the organization's fire spread model — it helps train firefighters and plan difficult battles.

Google is further increasing its influence on urban planning decisions with a new Google Earth feature demonstrating the solar flux of each given building per year. At the same time, a Cool Roofs tool should soon be available in 15 cities globally that lays out which areas cool roof integration could be most beneficial.

Another day, another X update that limits what you can do on the site without paying Elon Musk for a verification checkmark. A post from the official X account announced that you can now restrict replies to just verified users — any tagged accounts can also comment. The new restriction is available whether you're verified or not, joining the existing options to allow replies from everyone, only accounts you follow or people mentioned.

Musk launched what is now X Premium in November 2022 — only a few weeks after becoming the company's official owner — providing anyone with a blue checkmark by their name for $8 per month or $84 per year. Verification was initially available on Twitter to confirm the identity of notable figures, but the paid system led to impersonations and the approval of bots. 

Many X Premium users have been shamed for choosing to fork over money for a checkmark and additional features like editing a post for up to an hour and cutting ads in half. As a result, X rolled out the option to hide that once-coveted checkmark and limit other users' awareness of your subscription status. Of course, visible verification or not, now anyone who replies to a restricted post will be outed as a subscriber. 

It appears Telltale Games, known for its popular The Wolf Among Us and excellent The Walking Dead episodic games, hasn't been able to escape the financial pressures hitting video game studios as of late. In a post on X, Former Telltale Games employee Jonah Huang, shared that he and most of his colleagues were let go in September. The news follows a slew of recent layoffs in the gaming industry from companies such as Naughty Dog, Blizzard, Epic Games and Twitch. 

A statement from Telltale Games followed mere hours later, blaming "current market conditions" on the layoffs and that its "projects currently in development are still in production." The layoffs come after a March announcement from Telltale Games that it was pushing the much-anticipated release of The Wolf Among Us 2 to 2024. Huang added that he was unable to comment on the status of The Wolf Among Us 2 due to an NDA. The Wolf Among Us sequel was first announced at The Game Awards back in 2019, with a release date scheduled for 2023. Telltale CEO Jamie Ottilie blamed the delay on needing additional time to shift from Unreal Engine 4 to 5. 

Telltale Games also claimed it is making efforts to support those laid off, though it didn't elaborate further as to what those were. Notably, Telltale Games purchased UK-based studio Flavourworks only weeks before the layoffs. Huang included a call for the game industry to unionize in his initial tweet and subsequently called for gaming industry employees to complete a survey about their rates and conditions.

NASA is planning its first crewed mission to the moon since Apollo 17's 1972 trip, and it's doing so in style. Axiom Space — the company NASA chose last year to create the Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS) spacesuits for 2025's Artemis III mission — has announced it's partnering with luxury Italian brand Prada to design them.   

The two companies will work side by side throughout production. "Prada's technical expertise with raw materials, manufacturing techniques, and innovative design concepts will bring advanced technologies instrumental in ensuring not only the comfort of astronauts on the lunar surface, but also the much-needed human factors considerations absent from legacy spacesuits," Axiom Space CEO Michael Suffredini said in a statement. 

Prada Group marketing director Lorenzo Bertelli added, "It is a true celebration of the power of human creativity and innovation to advance civilization." He also credited the company's "cutting-edge" work to decades of experience with its Luna Rossa Prada sailing team. 

The Artemis III mission is unique not only because of the five decades since Apollo 17 but because it's the first time a woman or person of color will go to the moon, astronauts Christina Koch and Victor Glover. Interestingly, Koch's role in the mission is acknowledged early on in Axiom Space's release, seemingly creating a subtext that the presence of a woman (read: an accomplished, experienced astronaut) is necessary to justify teaming up with a luxury designer. 

Long gone are the days when you needed to swipe a physical credit card, with your phone typically being all you need to complete in-person transactions. PayPal is finally getting on board with the change, announcing that you can now add it and Venmo's credit and debit cards to your Apple Wallet. As part of their motivation for the expansion, the company cites a 2022 Morning Consult survey that found 42 percent of people in the United States have used a mobile wallet.

PayPal has long offered credit cards, while Venmo launched its first in 2020 (and has made sure you know about it anytime you use the app or the company sends you an email). With this further offering, you can pay for in-person transactions with PayPal or Venmo using Touch or Face ID on your iPhone or Apple Watch, as well as use Apple Pay to complete digital purchases on these devices and your iPad or Mac.

Adding a PayPal or Venmo card to your Apple Wallet is the same process as any other card. Visit your Apple Wallet app, choose the option to add a debit or credit card and then scan in or manually enter its details. You can also immediately add your PayPal credit or debit card to your Apple Wallet through PayPal's site. However, the PayPal Business Debit Card and Venmo's credit and debit cards will be available to add through their respective apps "in the coming months." PayPal previously rolled out tap-to-pay support on iPhones and Androids, but it was through the company's apps. 

There's only a week until Amazon's October Prime Day starts, and the pre-sales keep coming. Right now, Amazon's Fire TV Stick Lite is touting a nice 40 percent discount, dropping its price to $18 from $30, and only a few dollars more than its all-time low. Plus, another $4 gets you a two-year protection plan, still taking home a savings of $9.

Amazon's Fire TV Stick Lite is already the cheapest option in the lineup and is a good choice for anyone looking to use Fire TV without any bells and whistles. It has Wi-Fi 5 compatibility, 1GB of memory and Dolby encoded (versus Atmos) audio. It presents media in 1080p full HD and comes with the Alexa Voice Remote Lite, which doesn't have any TV controls but can still take audio commands.

Additional Fire TV devices are also on sale if you're in the market for a higher-quality option. The previous generation 4K Stick is down to $23 from $50, a 54 percent deal — and a reminder that 2-for-1 and better deals are a great way to get your holiday shopping done early and affordably. The Fire TV Stick 4K offers improved picture quality, 2GB of memory and Dolby Vision compatibility. The standard Fire TV Stick is also marked down —to $20 from $40 — and the Fire TV Cube is available for $110 versus its typical $140.