| Apple hopes there's no pod like home | | Tired of watching Amazon Echo and Google Home claim spots on countertops and nightstands across America, Apple entered the smart speaker market Monday by unveiling its $349 HomePod. CEO Tim Cook said Apple wants to "reinvent home music" as he introduced the device at the company's World Wide Developers Conference in San Jose . The HomePod is powered by the same chip used by the iPhone, giving it what senior vice president Phil Schiller called "the biggest brains ever in a speaker." But it's not all brains and no boom. With a 4-inch woofer, "it's one of the best-sounding speakers I've ever heard," said Tin Bajarin, an analyst with Creative Strategies. Apple framed the HomePod more as a music-listening platform, with the digital personal assistant Siri included as a bonus. | | Britain is reeling in the wake of terror attacks. And yet ... | | Despite the trauma of Saturday's deadly terror attack, the third on British soil in less than three months, the U.K. doesn't look like a crippled country. To be sure, the news Monday was grim. Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to beef up security, and police released the names of two of the three attackers. But life was moving on. On Sunday, Ariana Grande returned with a host of superstars to Manchester, site of the horrific May 22 bombing, for an emotional but uplifting benefit concert that raised money for the attack victims. A viral photo of a man holding a pint of beer as he fled Saturday night's London attack seemed to capture the British mantra to "keep calm and carry on." And a restaurant customer who fled in panic during the attack returned to pay his bill , saying, "These people shouldn't win." | | Orlando hit by tragedy again | | Orlando, still healing from the Pulse nightclub massacre nearly a year ago, was the scene of another mass shooting Monday. A disgruntled former employee returned to an RV accessory business and fatally shot five people before killing himself. Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said the 45-year-old gunman entered the building about 8 a.m. ET and opened fire. Officers arriving two minutes later found three men and a woman dead. Another victim died a short time later. "It's a sad day for us once again in Orange County," Demings said. In the Pulse shooting, a lone gunman opened fire, leaving 49 people dead and several others wounded before he was fatally shot by police. | | NBA Finals has been a snooze. Just ask Steph Curry. | | The NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors hasn't been much of a contest. The Warriors followed a 113-91 win in Game 1 with a 132-113 effort Sunday, leaving many wondering whether the Cavs are simply outmatched . No surprise, then, that the biggest news from Game 2 had nothing to do with the game. First, cameras caught the Warriors' Steph Curry on the bench in the fourth quarter lying down as if ready for a nap. That set off a storm of tweets labeling the star "disrespectful." After the game when a wild brawl among fans erupted, the Cavs J.R. Smith pushed the team's star LeBron James to safety. There are several reasons the Warriors have been winning big. But remember: Golden State was up 2-0 on the Cavs in last year's Finals, and LeBron and Co. ultimately won it all. |  | | Offensive memes cost 10 kids' shots at Harvard degrees | | Here's more proof that teens still aren't getting the message that what they do online can have real-life ramifications. At least 10 students who planned to attend Harvard University in the fall had their acceptances taken away for sharing offensive memes on a Facebook group page created for the Class of 2021, according to the campus paper "The Crimson." The memes joked about sensitive subjects, including sexual assault, the Holocaust, minority groups and child abuse. Harvard has said it "reserves the right to withdraw an offer of acceptance" if "a student engages in behavior that brings into question his or her honesty, maturity, or moral character." And more bad news for the students and their parents: Harvard said its decision is final. | | This is a compilation of stories from across USA TODAY. | |
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