Cartoonist Paul Pope is more worried about killer robots than AI plagiarism

Paul Pope has written and drawn some of the most gorgeous comics of the twenty-first century — from “Batman: Year 100,” in which Batman challenges a dystopian surveillance state, to “Battling Boy,” with its adolescent god proving his mettle by fighting giant monsters. But it’s been more than a decade since Pope’s last major comics […]

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Week in Review:  Meta reveals its Oakley smart glasses

Welcome back to Week in Review! Lots in store for you today, including Wix’s latest acquisition, Meta’s new smart glasses, a look at the new Digg, and much more. Have a great weekend! Smart specs: Meta and Oakley have teamed up on a new pair of smart glasses that can record 3K video, play music, […]

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Samsung’s entry-level Galaxy Watch 7 has returned to its best price to date

I jumped on the smartwatch bandwagon a bit late, but now I can’t go a day without mine. Beyond delivering helpful notifications, it’s perfect for setting timers, tracking workouts, and monitoring my sleeping habits (which are terrible). If you haven’t yet joined the smartwatch party or you’re looking to upgrade, Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 7 is […]

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Final Fantasy fans, now is the time to get into Magic: The Gathering

The Final Fantasy Magic: The Gathering set is here, and there's never been a more perfect assemblage of Magic cards. The set features cards taken from every mainline Final Fantasy title, including the two MMOs, so there's something for every generation of Final Fantasy lovers. And while Magic has featured other video game crossovers in […]

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The Verge’s guide to Amazon Prime Day 2025

Amazon’s mega sale is nearly upon us. This year, Prime Day will kick off on July 8th and run through July 11th, which, for those counting, is twice as long as previous years. Most everything else will likely be the same — well, aside from Amazon’s so-called “Today’s Big Deals” feature — making it a […]

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2 days left to save up to $210 on your TechCrunch All Stage pass

Time is almost up! Regular bird pricing for TechCrunch All Stage ends this Sunday, June 22, at 11:59 p.m. PT. That means you have just 2 days left to lock in savings of up to $210 on your ticket to one of the ultimate founder events of the summer. TC All Stage lands in Boston […]

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The Nintendo Switch 2 is an awesome upgrade for parents like me

I wouldn't have preordered a Nintendo Switch 2 just for myself. The price is high, there's no new Smash Bros. or Metroid Prime (yet), and I've got a perfectly good original Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck that keep me plenty busy. At first, I could only justify the $450 because I write about gaming tech […]

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The music industry is building the tech to hunt down AI songs

The music industry's nightmare came true in 2023, and it sounded a lot like Drake. "Heart on My Sleeve," a convincingly fake duet between Drake and The Weeknd, racked up millions of streams before anyone could explain who made it or where it came from. The track didn't just go viral - it broke the […]

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Inside the courthouse reshaping the future of the internet

The future of the internet will be determined in one building in Washington, DC - and for six weeks, I watched it unfold. For much of this spring, the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse in downtown Washington, DC, was buzzing with lawyers, reporters, and interested onlookers jostling between dimly lit courtrooms that hosted everyone from the […]

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Meta held talks to buy Thinking Machines, Perplexity, and Safe Superintelligence

At this point, it's becoming easier to say which AI startups Mark Zuckerberg hasn't looked at acquiring. In addition to Ilya Sutskever's Safe Superintelligence (SSI), sources tell me the Meta CEO recently discussed buying ex-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati's Thinking Machines Lab and Perplexity, the AI-native Google rival. None of these talks progressed to the formal […]

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Here are the best robot vacuum deals available right now

We’re in an age where you can realistically delegate tasks to smart hunks of metal, whether it’s a self-driving car or a robot that can clean on your behalf. Most of us probably won’t be able to afford the helpful sentient humanoids being developed in our lifetimes, but robot vacuums are an affordable way to […]

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The best Apple deals you can shop ahead of Amazon Prime Day

If you want to get a head start on back-to-school shopping — or upgrade your Apple gear — there are already some great deals worth exploring ahead of Amazon Prime Day. From earbuds and laptops to tablets, the early deals are already starting to trickle in. Prices might drop even further during Amazon’s four-day sales […]

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‘Wall-E With a Gun’: Midjourney Generates Videos of Disney Characters Amid Massive Copyright Lawsuit

A week after Disney and Universal filed a landmark lawsuit against Midjourney, the generative AI startup’s new V1 video tool will make clips of Shrek, Deadpool, and other famous creations.

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TechCrunch Mobility: Applied Intuition’s eye-popping valuation, the new age of micromobility, and Waymo’s wild week 

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! Waymo might be the largest commercial robotaxi operator — offering 250,000 paid rides per week — but it is hardly smooth.  The past seven days in Waymo’s […]

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28 Years Later is a bleak fever dream with rage pumping through its veins

While it wasn't the first film to feature fast-moving ghouls, there is no denying how much of an impact 28 Days Later had on modern zombie movies. It was a gripping and nauseating wonder, whose action felt uniquely visceral thanks, in part, to director Danny Boyle's inspired use of a digital video camera. And there […]

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Anthropic says most AI models, not just Claude, will resort to blackmail

Several weeks after Anthropic released research claiming that its Claude Opus 4 AI model resorted to blackmailing engineers who tried to turn the model off in controlled test scenarios, the company is out with new research suggesting the problem is more widespread among leading AI models. On Friday, Anthropic published new safety research testing 16 […]

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The new math: why seed investors are selling their winners earlier

Charles Hudson had just closed his fifth fund several months ago – $66 million for Precursor Ventures – when one of his limited partners asked him to run an exercise. What would have happened, the LP wondered, if Hudson had sold all his portfolio companies at Series A? What about Series B? Or Series C? […]

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Apple’s tiny M4 Mac mini has dropped to its lowest price yet

If you’ve been curious about trying out a Mac for the first time or need a small computer powerful enough to be your home media server, we strongly recommend the latest Mac Mini. Thankfully, the step-up M4 model with 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM is on sale at Amazon and B&H Photo for […]

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ChatGPT: Everything you need to know about the AI-powered chatbot

ChatGPT, OpenAI’s text-generating AI chatbot, has taken the world by storm since its launch in November 2022. What started as a tool to supercharge productivity through writing essays and code with short text prompts has evolved into a behemoth with 300 million weekly active users. 2024 was a big year for OpenAI, from its partnership […]

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Applebee’s and IHOP have plans for AI

Applebee’s and IHOP plan to launch an AI-powered “personalization engine” that could help its restaurants provide recommendations and customized deals, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The personalization engine would use a customer’s past purchases — or the orders of customers similar to them — to make recommendations. Justin Skelton, the chief […]

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X app code points to a physical card coming to X Money

X’s plans for a payments service may extend beyond the digital realm, new data suggests. According to findings from mobile app intelligence firm App Sensa, the X app has been updated over the past few weeks with several references related to a physical debit card, which can be customized with your X username. Dozens of […]

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Iran’s government says it shut down internet to protect against cyberattacks

The government cited the recent hacks on Bank Sepah and cryptocurrency exchange Nobite as reasons to shut down internet access to virtually all Iranians.

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Deezer starts labeling AI-generated music to tackle streaming fraud

Deezer announced on Friday that it will start labeling albums that include AI-generated tracks as part of its efforts to combat streaming fraud. The company reports that about 18% of the music uploaded each day — more than 20,000 tracks — is now fully AI-generated. Although most of these tracks don’t go viral, Deezer says […]

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After raising $38M, African e-commerce startup Sabi lays off 20%, pivots to traceable exports

African B2B e-commerce startup Sabi has laid off around 20% of its workforce (~50 employees) as it pivots from its original retail-focused platform to double down on a growing business in commodity exports. The layoffs, confirmed by the company on Thursday, are part of a broader restructuring aimed at aligning resources with what it describes […]

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How to find the best deals during Amazon’s four-day Prime Day sale

Amazon Prime Day is one of the biggest shopping events of the year outside of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and in 2025 it’s even longer than usual. It’s running from July 8th through the 11th. The four-day shopping affair will grant Prime members access to some of the best prices of the year on […]

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After trying to buy Ilya Sutskever’s $32B AI startup, Meta looks to hire its CEO

Mark Zuckerberg’s AI talent hiring spree continues. In recent months, Meta tried to acquire Safe Superintelligence, the $32 billion AI startup co-founded by OpenAI’s former chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever, according to a report from CNBC on Thursday. Sutskever ultimately turned Meta down, according to CNBC, but the company is now in talks to hire Safe […]

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VanMoof is back with a new custom e-bike and rebooted repair network

Dutch e-bike startup VanMoof is back two years after bankruptcy with its first model designed under new leadership. And despite past criticism that VanMoof’s over-reliance on custom parts led to the company’s downfall, the S6 sticks to the brand’s signature bespoke design. 

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Boston Side Events lineup at TechCrunch All Stage with Fidelity Private Shares, Women Tech Meetup, Prepare 4 VC, and more

Get ready to amplify your TechCrunch All Stage 2025 experience with the electrifying lineup of Side Events taking Boston by storm during the week of July 13–19. As the countdown to TC All Stage begins, we’re thrilled to share our Side Events lineup, where you can foster meaningful connections within the vibrant Boston tech community. […]

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Find out how Flexport’s CEO, Ryan Petersen, builds when the rules keep changing at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 is happening October 27–29 at Moscone West in San Francisco, and we’re bringing the big conversations to the Builders Stage. One of the biggest? What it takes to keep building when the rules won’t stop shifting. When global logistics meets startup agility Flexport CEO and founder Ryan Petersen knows a thing or […]

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Startup hiring isn’t just about the pitch, it’s about the package — Pulley, 645 Ventures, and Epigram Legal break it down at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

Startups live and die by their early hires. And in a world where top talent has options — and stock options — you’ve got to offer more than a ping-pong table and a pitch deck to bring in the right people. At TechCrunch Disrupt’s 20th anniversary, happening on October 27-29 in San Francisco’s Moscone West, […]

Continue ReadingStartup hiring isn’t just about the pitch, it’s about the package — Pulley, 645 Ventures, and Epigram Legal break it down at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

Amazon improves Kindle accessibility with new text spacing adjustments

Amazon released a new software update for several recent Kindle models last week. The company’s release notes only mention “performance improvements, bug fixes, and other general enhancements,” but the update includes notable upgrades when it comes to adjusting text and line spacing, improving legibility and accessibility for many users, as spotted by The eBook Reader. […]

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Microsoft is blocking Google Chrome through its family safety feature

Earlier this month, Microsoft’s Family Safety feature, primarily used by parents and schools as a set of parental controls and filters, started randomly blocking Google’s Chrome browser from opening on Windows. The first reports surfaced on June 3rd, with some Chrome users noticing the browser kept closing or wouldn’t open. Microsoft has introduced a bug […]

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3 more days to fuel your next big move — and save up to $210 on your TechCrunch All Stage pass

The countdown is on — you have just 3 days left to save on your pass to TechCrunch All Stage, happening July 15 in Boston’s SoWa Power Station. After Sunday, June 22 at 11:59 p.m. PT, prices go up, and this opportunity to lock in savings disappears. If you’re a founder looking to scale, a […]

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Tesla’s first robotaxi rides will have a ‘safety monitor’ in the passenger seat

Tesla has begun sending out invitations for its highly anticipated robotaxi service, but there’s one significant caveat: it’s installing a “safety monitor” in the front passenger seat, as previously reported by Electrek. The invites, which were sent to Tesla influencers and investors, say the human monitor will “accompany you on your trip” when rides begin […]

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Truth, lies, and the Trump Phone

The idea behind Trump Mobile is relatively straightforward. It's easy to launch a mobile carrier these days, and it can be extremely lucrative - just ask Ryan Reynolds! You should know, though, that Trump Mobile is a pretty bad deal. And the network's supposed flagship phone? We're willing to bet that this $500, made-in-America, coming-soon […]

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Meta announces Oakley smart glasses

Meta is announcing its next pair of smart glasses with Oakley. The limited-edition Oakley Meta HSTN (pronounced “how-stuhn”) model costs $499 and is available for preorder starting July 11th. Other Oakley models with Meta’s tech will be available starting at $399 later this summer.  Like the existing Meta Ray-Ban glasses, the Oakley model features a […]

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You sound like ChatGPT

Join any Zoom call, walk into any lecture hall, or watch any YouTube video, and listen carefully. Past the content and inside the linguistic patterns, you'll find the creeping uniformity of AI voice. Words like "prowess" and "tapestry," which are favored by ChatGPT, are creeping into our vocabulary, while words like "bolster," "unearth," and "nuance," […]

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Astro Bot’s director on making a PlayStation icon

Astro Bot is filled with whimsy and silliness that makes you want to pay attention to the details. But in a presentation at this year's Game Developers Conference, director Nicolas Doucet shared one particular aspect of Astro the robot that I hadn't noticed but blew me away. Doucet talked about how Team Asobi worked hard […]

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Acer Swift 14 AI review: give it up for the ports

The Acer Swift 14 is all over AI the place. It has powerful chip options, exceptional battery life, and loads of ports for such a portable laptop. The keyboard and trackpad are solid, which is not always a given at any price. But the screen and webcam are mediocre, and the speakers are outright terrible. […]

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How Texas’ hands-off approach to autonomous vehicles gave Tesla an opening

Last week, a Tesla Model Y with the word "ROBOTAXI" scratched into its side and no one in the driver seat made a turn off Austin's bustling South Congress Avenue. Another Tesla, described by autonomous vehicle experts as a "chase vehicle," followed closely behind. Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented on the clip, seemingly confirming that […]

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The Robinhood founder who might just revolutionize energy, if he succeeds

When Baiju Bhatt stepped away from his role as Chief Creative Officer at Robinhood last year, only those close to him could have predicted his next move: launching a space company built around technology the aerospace industry has largely dismissed, and that might be more groundbreaking than anyone realizes. If people aren’t paying much attention, […]

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Adobe launches a new ‘computational photography’ camera app for iPhones

Adobe has a new computational photography camera app for iPhones – and one of its creators, Marc Levoy, helped make the impressive computational photography features that made some of Google’s earlier Pixel cameras shine. The new app, called Project Indigo, was released last week by Adobe Labs. It’s free and available for the iPhone 12 […]

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Spotify’s HiFi lossless streaming might really, finally, actually be coming soon

We’ve been waiting for Spotify’s lossless streaming for more than four years, but there are some new and promising hints that the feature might finally arrive sometime soon. The X account for Spicetify, a command-line tool that lets you customize the Spotify client, says that a new version of Spotify includes some hidden mentions of […]

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Eufy’s X10 Pro Omni mopping robovac has returned to its best price to date

Now that warmer weather is here, spring cleaning duties are likely falling by the wayside. But the good news is you can enjoy the outdoors and clean your home with zero effort by letting a robot vacuum do the hard work for you. For that, we recommend a versatile model like the Eufy X10 Pro Omni, which is […]

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Elden Ring Nightreign is getting even harder bosses

The bosses in Elden Ring Nightreign are already pretty tough. But if you’ve gotten good and need a harder challenge, you’ll be able to take on “Everdark Sovereigns,” which are more difficult versions of the game’s Nightlord foes you face to conclude a run. “These limited-time versions of the Nightlords are extremely challenging and pose […]

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Midjourney launches an AI video generator

Midjourney has released the first version of its video generation model to the public. For now, the tool can generate short videos based on images uploaded or created on the platform, but Midjourney plans on rolling out more capabilities in the future. After creating an image using Midjourney, the service will show a new “animate” […]

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Inside Microsoft’s complicated relationship with OpenAI

Beyond the selfies between Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and the friendly conversations between the pair on stage, all is not well with Microsoft's $13 billion AI investment. Over the past year, multiple reports have painted a picture of a Microsoft and OpenAI relationship that is straining under pressure. As OpenAI […]

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DOJ files to seize $225 million in crypto from scammers

The Department of Justice reported yesterday that it filed a civil complaint to seize roughly $225.3 million in cryptocurrency linked to crypto investment scams. In a press release, the DOJ said it traced and targeted accounts that were “part of a sophisticated blockchain-based money laundering network” dispersing funds taken from more than 400 suspected victims […]

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Eero’s speedy Pro 6E mesh system is on sale with a gift card for $200 off

Sluggish Wi-Fi is one of my least favorite tech problems to deal with because it messes with everything: my work, my smart lightbulbs, my online sessions of Mario Kart World. There are many reasons your Wi-Fi may be wonky, but the good news is that you can solve many of them with better routers. One […]

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TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: The Builders Stage agenda is now live and taking shape

Startups don’t build themselves. The Builders Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, taking place October 27–29 at San Francisco’s Moscone West, is where investors, operators, and founders come to talk tactics — the nitty-gritty of getting something off the ground and making it work. This year, we’re bringing some of the sharpest minds in the game […]

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Raising a Series C+? Cathy Gao’s bringing the real playbook to TechCrunch All Stage

Growth-stage fundraising is picking up speed again, but it’s not the same game it used to be. At TechCrunch All Stage 2025 on July 15 in Boston, we’re bringing in someone who knows how the rules have changed and how to win in today’s market: Cathy Gao, partner at Sapphire Ventures. Gao has backed breakout […]

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At TechCrunch All Stage: VC red flags, founder signals, and pre-seed traps — Charles Hudson will tell you what investors really see

At the pre-seed stage, there’s not much for a VC to analyze — no revenue curve, no retention metrics, no CAC. That doesn’t mean they’re guessing. It means they’re watching everything else. At TechCrunch All Stage 2025 on July 15 in Boston, Charles Hudson, managing partner and founder of Precursor Ventures, will walk founders through […]

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FBC: Firebreak is missing Control’s weird charm

With FBC: Firebreak, Remedy Entertainment has entered the world of the first-person co-op shooter. Set in its Control universe - specifically the site of the first game, the brutalist nightmare office called the Oldest House - players control a member of the titular three-person team of the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC), tasked with addressing […]

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4 days left: Lock in your TechCrunch All Stage pass — or miss $210 in savings

If you’re serious about traction, scale, and funding, you have 4 days left to secure your pass to TechCrunch All Stage — and save up to $210 while you’re at it. Prices rise after June 22 at 11:59 p.m. PT. This is not just another startup event. It’s your tactical launchpad and the fuel to […]

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Here are the price-matching policies for Best Buy, GameStop, and others

Nothing is more frustrating than buying a new pair of headphones, an OLED TV, or a laptop just to find out that you could have gotten it for a lot cheaper somewhere else. That’s why, in order to keep customers happy and prevent them from going elsewhere, many retailers offer price-matching policies in which they […]

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Steam is adding screen reader support and other accessibility tools

Valve is introducing accessibility features for players with disabilities in its latest beta for Steam Big Picture Mode and SteamOS. The features — listed in full and explained here — include options to modify the Steam UI, like a high contrast mode, as well as a built-in screen reader for SteamOS. In its post, Valve describes the […]

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AI residencies are trying to change the conversation around artificial art

At a recent exhibition in Copenhagen, visitors stepped into a dark room and were met by an unusual host: a jaguar that watched the crowd, selected individuals, and began to share stories about her daughter, her rainforest, and the fires that once threatened her home - the Bolivian Amazon. The live interaction with Huk, an […]

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