Technologies
Virgin Galactic Opens Space Ticket Reservations to General Public
Richard Branson’s company is looking for deep-pocketed passengers to carry to the edge of space.

If you watched Richard Branson’s participation in the billionaires-in-space race, thought «I want that to be me!» and have an extra half million US dollars kicking around, then your time has come. Virgin Galactic is opening up spaceflight ticket reservations to the general public starting Wednesday.
«We plan to have our first 1,000 customers on board at the start of commercial service later this year, providing an incredibly strong foundation as we begin regular operations and scale our fleet,» said Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier in a statement Tuesday.
The total cost of a spaceflight reservation is $450,000 ( 330,000, AU$630,000). The initial deposit required to hold a slot on a future spaceplane journey is $150,000 ( 110,000, AU$210,000).
Virgin Galactic’s 90-minute spaceflight experience takes off from Spaceport America in New Mexico and promises amenities like luxury accommodations during the several days of training leading up to takeoff. The spaceship reaches the edge of space, rather than an orbital journey like visitors to the International Space Station go through. For Virgin Galactic’s guests, it works out to several minutes of out-of-seat weightlessness during the flight.
Branson tested his own product in July 2021 and declared it «the dawn of a new space age.» With Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin ferrying celebrities and others to the edge of space and SpaceX’s commercial space missions ramping up, Branson may be right. Space is in reach of more people that ever before… if you have the money.
Technologies
Yes, Trump’s New 25% Apple Tariff Could Drive Up iPhone Prices Even More. Should You Buy One Now?
Technologies
Trump to Apple: Build iPhones in the US or Face 25% Tariffs
The president is putting pressure on the world’s biggest tech company to move manufacturing stateside.

Even as Apple has been shifting some of its manufacturing and supply-chain strategies in recent months in response to US-imposed tariffs against China, the world’s biggest tech company has another tariff issue it may need to content with.
President Donald Trump posted on TruthSocial Friday that a tariff of «at least 25% must be paid by Apple» if the company doesn’t manufacture and build iPhones in the US.
The post reads in full:
I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the UnitedStates of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else. If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S. Thank your for your attention to this matter!
The post follows previous comments made by the president about Apple CEO Tim Cook in which he said, «I said to him, Tim, you’re my friend, I treated you very good. You’re coming here with $500 billion but now I hear you building all over India. I don’t want you building in India.»
Trump said at the time that Cook promised to increase iPhone manufacturing in the US, but experts have said that full iPhone production based in the US would take years and would probably not apply to some of the company’s more advanced iPhone models, which would still be primarily made in China.
Earlier this year, the US imposed steep tariffs against exports from China, but rolled back some of them for 90 days. An exemption was made for smartphones and computers, but it’s unclear if that will hold and for how long.
A representative for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Technologies
Why Amazon Is Giving Surprise Refunds for Years-Old Purchases (And If You’ll Get One)
Recent internal reviews at Amazon unleashed a wave of new refunds: Some are getting more than $1,000 back from purchases made up to 7 years ago.

Amazon buyers are reporting an influx of unexpected refunds from products they ordered months or even years ago, with one customer on LinkedIn saying he received a refund of $1,800 for a smart TV bought seven years ago. Others made similar comments about products bought long ago.
According to Bloomberg, the new refunds are because of changes Amazon made after an internal review. That review may be related to a 2023 consumer lawsuit by a group of Amazon shoppers who claimed that Amazon had reversed their legitimate return-related refunds.
A representative for Amazon told CNET that only a small number of customers would be affected.
«Following a recent internal review, we identified a very small subset of returns where we issued a refund without the payment completing, or where we could not verify that the correct item had been sent back to us so no refund was issued,» an Amazon representative said. «There is no action required from customers to receive the refunds, and we have fixed the payment issue.»
In its latest earnings call, Amazon reported a one-time expense of $1 billion connected to refunds that the company had not yet sent out. These earmarked funds could be responsible for the sudden updates that shoppers are now seeing regarding purchases as far back as 2018.
Read more: I’ve Been Tracking Tariff Price Impacts Every Day and Here’s What I’ve Found So Far
If you receive an email about a surprise refund from Amazon orders, it may be related to these changes Amazon has made behind the scenes. You may still want to confirm it’s not fraud by logging into your Amazon account or making a quick service call, especially if it’s a larger amount like a payment for a TV. Scammers may be taking advantage of this news, too, so be wary of any notification that asks you for financial information, which Amazon should already have.
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