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A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is headed for its 50th rendezvous with the International Space Station bringing cargo and a new reboost capability after having launched from the Space Coast early Sunday.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 2:45 a.m. on the CRS-33 mission, the 33rd resupply flight to the station with a spacecraft filled with more than 5,000 pounds of supplies.

The first-stage booster for the mission flew for the seventh time and made a recovery landing downrange on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas stationed in the Atlantic.

Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/aD3fKAZeHN

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 24, 2025

Unlike other flights, this Dragon will stay docked to the station for more than four months because of a newly installed ability to propel the station to higher altitudes.

Located in the trunk of the Dragon is an independent propellant system to fuel two Draco engines that will help sustain the lab’s altitude beginning in September and continuing through fall. This is a full demonstration, although the Dragon on CRS-31 in November 2024 did a smaller test of the capability. read more

By Summer Ballentine, The Detroit News

Michael MacGillivray had planned for months to replace his gas-powered Ford Bronco with an electric vehicle.

As a certified public accountant, he followed congressional debate over President Donald Trump’s sprawling spending and tax legislation, which would end $7,500 tax credits for some first-time EV buyers. When Trump signed the legislation into law July 4, MacGillivray knew he needed to act.

“I was leaning toward the EV regardless, but the tax credit pushed me over the edge,” MacGillivray told The Detroit News while driving his new Tesla Model Y back from a road trip to Toronto.

The 25-year-old Ann Arbor resident is among a surge of what analysts call “fence sitters” buying EVs in the final weeks before the tax credit expires Sept. 30. And automakers are taking advantage of the short-term boost to clear inventory in anticipation of at least a temporary drop in interest once the credits end.

Hyundai’s electrified sales jumped 50% compared to July 2024. Combined sales of electrified Toyota and Lexus models rose 6.7% to 90,426. July was General Motors Co.’s best-ever month for its electrified fleet, according to the company, which said it sold more than 19,000 EVs, a 115% increase from July 2024. read more

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City is allowing the robotaxi company Waymo to test a few of its autonomous vehicles in Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn, officials said Friday as the technology picks up in popularity in other metro areas.

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The company will start with a pilot program to test up to eight autonomous vehicles in the city until late September, officials said. The vehicles won’t be picking up passengers, since that’s not currently allowed by local rules, and are required to have a test vehicle operator behind the wheel while they zip around the city’s busy streets.

Waymo’s robotaxis are already in place in U.S. cities such as Austin, Texas; Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. Annabel Chang, a policy head for the company, said the company is “pleased to have reached this next step in New York City.” read more

By MICHELLE L. PRICE and MICHAEL LIEDTKE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday announced the U.S. government has secured a 10% stake in struggling Silicon Valley pioneer Intel in a deal that was completed just a couple weeks after he was depicting the company’s CEO as a conflicted leader unfit for the job.

“The United States of America now fully owns and controls 10% of INTEL, a Great American Company that has an even more incredible future,” Trump wrote in a post.

The U.S. government is getting the stake through the conversion of $11.1 billion in previously issued funds and pledges. All told, the government is getting 433.3 million shares of non-voting stock priced at $20.47 apiece — a discount from Friday’s closing price at $24.80. That spread means the U.S. government already has a gain of $1.9 billion, on paper.

The remarkable turn of events makes the U.S. government one of Intel’s largest shareholders at a time that the Santa Clara, California, company is i n the process of jettisoning more than 20,000 workers as part of its latest attempt to bounce back from years of missteps taken under a variety of CEOs. read more

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN, Associated Press

China’s Pop Mart says it is rolling out a mini version of its popular Labubu plush toys this month, along with a new long-fur version of the toothy little monster.

The Labubu, by artist and illustrator Kasing Lung, first appeared with pointed ears and pointy teeth, in three picture books inspired by Nordic mythology in 2015.

In 2019 Lung struck a deal with Pop Mart, a company that caters to toy connoisseurs and influencers, to sell Labubu figurines. But it wasn’t until Pop Mart started selling Labubu plush toys on key rings in 2023 that the toothy monsters suddenly seemed to be everywhere.

Pop Mart said Friday that the mini-sized Labubu vinyl plush pendant, which is part of The Monsters Pin For Love series, will be available in various colors corresponding to letters of the alphabet. They will cost $22.99 each.

The series also includes 30 letter pendant blind boxes, each with a unique pattern and Monsters charm. They will be priced at $18.99 a piece. read more