The Trump administration showed no signs of changing its policy of separating children from parents accused of illegally crossing the U.S. border. Trump seems to think the policy will rally voters in the next election. His critics now include Airbnb, one of the few tech companies to speak out on the issue, and Sen. Ted Cruz, who introduced legislation to keep immigrant families together. [The New York Times]
Recode Daily: Trump thinks separating kids from families is good politics
Plus, Trump orders the Pentagon to establish a Space Force as the sixth U.S. military branch; Elon Musk warns Tesla employees of sabotage; how we watch soccer now.
Trump said he has ordered the Pentagon to establish a Space Force as the sixth branch of the U.S. armed forces. Speaking at a meeting of the National Space Council, Trump said, “In defending America, it is not enough to merely have an American presence in space, we must have American dominance in space.” [Katie Rogers / The New York Times]
Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent an email to all employees, alleging that there was a saboteur within the company’s ranks, and referencing “a long list of organizations that want Tesla to die.” Musk said this person had conducted “quite extensive and damaging sabotage” to the company’s operations, including changing code to an internal product and exporting data to outsiders. Tesla is in the midst of sweeping layoffs and a profitability drive. It is also under pressure to produce 5,000 Model 3s per week by the end of this quarter. [Lora Kolodny / CNBC]
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear Apple’s appeal in an antitrust lawsuit over the App Store’s structure and fees. The case, which has been running since 2011, argues that Apple’s App Store monopolizes the distribution of iOS apps. Meanwhile, here’s how Apple CEO Tim Cook has emerged as Silicon Valley’s top diplomat. [Adi Robertson / The Verge]
Online survey company SurveyMonkey confidentially registered for an initial public offering. The company has three million daily users. [Becky Peterson / Business Insider]
Rebel developers are trying to cure our smartphone addiction — with an app. Calling their movement “digital wellness,” some behavioral scientists and former Silicon Valley developers have begun trying to counterprogram all those news alerts, friend requests and updates crowding our waking hours, and they’re using fire to fight fire — creating apps that try to put users back in control. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has classified “gaming disorder” as a mental health condition. [William Wan / The Washington Post]
Meet the Netflix exec to thank for your “Wild Wild Country” binge: Lisa Nishimura, the streaming giant’s head of documentary and comedy programming, is changing the way filmmakers and viewers approach nonfiction TV. [Joy Press / Vanity Fair]
Top stories from Recode
You no longer need to subscribe to Tidal, Jay-Z’s streaming service, to listen. That’s a change.
On the latest episode of Recode Media with Peter Kafka, the former White House communications director under President Obama talks about his new book, “Yes, We (Still) Can.”
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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
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