The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to order Juul Labs to remove its e-cigarette products from the market as early as today, according to the Wall Street Journal. Juul had applied with the agency to continue selling its e-cigarettes in the U.S. but has faced scrutiny from regulators who argue that the company's marketing efforts and flavors appeal to underage users. More: - In 2020, the FDA banned the sale of sweet and fruit-flavored e-cigarettes. It also launched a two-year review of Juul's U.S. vaping products that year.
- While the agency has allowed two other vaping companies — NJOY Holdings and Reynolds American — to continue selling tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes, Juul is not expected to receive the same clearance for its products, sources told the WSJ.
- The company could appeal the FDA's decision, challenge the order in court, or file a revised application for approval.
- Spun off from Pax Labs in 2017, Juul has seen its market share decline in recent years. The company reported a $259M net loss and an 11% drop in sales in 2021.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 
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 Amazon unveiled its first fully autonomous warehouse robot that's designed to operate alongside human workers. Named Proteus, the robot relies on proprietary "safety, perception, and navigation technology" to move around and avoid running into people. More: - Amazon said it will initially use Proteus to handle its outbound GoCarts — or wheeled trolleys carrying packages — around its fulfillment and sort centers.
- The robot emits a green-colored beam that directs it to stop if a worker steps in front of the light.
- Amazon also announced Cardinal, an AI-powered robotic arm that can lift packages and place them in GoCarts using computer vision. It could be deployed at Amazon warehouses as early as next year.
- In April, the company said it will invest $1B in supply chain, fulfillment, and logistics technologies via a newly formed Industrial Innovation Fund. Initial beneficiaries include the startups Mantis Robotics and Agility Robotics.
- The update comes after a company memo from 2021 suggested that Amazon may run out of U.S. warehouse workers by 2024. Amazon's attrition rate was 159% in 2020. It identified increased automation as one of the six "levers" it could trigger to delay any labor shortages.
THE VERGE
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 A message from INCOGNIA Location is the strongest trust signal to prevent fraud on mobile. How to get high opt-in rates? Location behavior is emerging as the strongest trust signal in mobile. When trusted users share their location with mobile apps supporting Incognia, fraud can be reduced by 90% and the user can experience zero friction. But what is the secret to achieving high opt-in rates for location permissions from mobile users? Join this webinar and learn: - What is the best timing for asking for location opt-in
- What is the messaging that will increase opt-in rates
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Twitter is allowing Shopify merchants to launch virtual storefronts on its platform. The latest social-commerce initiative makes it easier for Twitter users to locate and buy products as they scroll through the platform. More: - Starting today, Shopify's U.S. merchants can use a new sales channel app to onboard onto Twitter’s Shopping Manager and load their products onto the social media platform.
- Sellers can then display their products on a small carousel located under their Twitter bios, or through a larger "Twitter Shop" that supports up to 50 items for sale.
- The sales channel automatically syncs the names and descriptions of products. Users who click on a link are directed to the merchant's own website.
- Twitter previously tested the feature with a small group of users before rolling it out at no cost.
Zoom-out: - In 2015, Twitter and Shopify partnered on a "buy now" button in tweets, which failed to gain traction. The feature was retired in 2017.
- The U.S. social-commerce market is projected to reach $168B by 2027, up from $37B in 2021, according to Piper Sandler.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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Consumer tech startup Nothing will not launch its initial smartphone in the U.S. or Canada, the company confirmed to PCMag. Instead, it's bringing the Phone 1 to the U.K. and other parts of Europe at first, though it will distribute some of the phones to U.S. community investors through a closed beta. More: - In explaining its decision not to launch in North America, Nothing said it "takes a lot to launch a smartphone," including ensuring support by a country's cellular tech and carrier partnerships.
- The phone will not initially work well on U.S. networks, according to reports.
- The company recently shared the first image of the device ahead of its launch event scheduled for July 12.
- Billed as an alternative to the iPhone, the Phone 1 has a transparent back, revealing electronic components such as a wireless charging coil and screws.
- Nothing said it does plan to launch a U.S.-supported smartphone sometime in the future.
- The startup is led by Carl Pei, who co-founded Oppo-owned Chinese smartphone brand OnePlus.
PC MAG
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NASA has awarded contracts to Lockheed Martin, Westinghouse, and IX to develop designs for nuclear fission power systems to be used on the moon. The $5M, 12-month contracts fund the initial design concepts for a 40-kilowatt class fission power system, which NASA could launch and test on the moon by the end of the decade. More: - NASA hopes the project will be capable of 40-kilowatt power generation for at least a decade.
- Once deployed on the lunar surface, it could benefit future long-duration Artemis missions to the moon and eventual human exploration of Mars.
- "Developing these early designs will help us lay the groundwork for powering our long-term human presence on other worlds," NASA's Jim Reuter said.
- The Department of Energy is a partner on the project. NASA has been working on the idea of a fission surface power system for at least 14 years.
- In 2021, the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency granted contracts to Lockheed Martin and others to craft a nuclear-powered spacecraft.
ENGADGET
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Meta, Microsoft, and other companies formed a group to foster the creation of open, interoperable standards for the metaverse. The Metaverse Standards Forum is made up of 35 companies and organizations working to bring "real-world interoperability" to augmented and virtual reality, geospatial, and 3D technologies. Notably absent from the list are Apple and Google, which are reportedly developing their own AR and VR hardware for virtual worlds. More: - The forum is led by AR/VR nonprofit the Khronos Group. Founding members include Nvidia, Epic, Qualcomm, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Unity, Lamina1, WC3, and others.
- Their goal is to support the development of industry standards, consistent terminology, and deployment guidelines for the metaverse. Such initiatives could help make different virtual worlds compatible with one another.
- The forum said it's focused on "pragmatic, action-based projects" such as hackathons and open-source tools to support the eventual adoption of standards.
- In addition to Apple and Google, Roblox, Niantic, The Sandbox, and Decentraland were not listed as members. Any companies are welcome to join, according to forum chair Neil Trevett.
COINDESK
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QUICK HITS - Learn why many SMEs are pivoting away from perimeter-based security to a Zero Trust model.*
- The government of Ukraine sold a donated CryptoPunk NFT for $100,000 to support its war against Russia.
- The Google News desktop site has launched with a redesign that emphasizes local news and personalized content.
- Ikea's latest iOS app scans rooms to generate 3D replicas that allow users to remove and replace existing furniture.
- The GitHub Copilot AI-powered code suggestion tool is now generally available to individual developers.
- Researchers developed an algorithm that they say can diagnose Alzheimer’s disease from a single MRI exam.
- Lucasfilm has partnered with filmmaker David Goyer to work on a new VR experience telling the story of Darth Vader.
- Adobe tools help you create, manage, and distribute personalized content. Take this self-assessment to test your brand’s content velocity.*
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 |  | Beth is a writer and analyst at Inside.com covering artificial intelligence and daily tech news. Since starting work at Inside, she has covered various topics including virtual reality, drones, and e-commerce. Prior to that she was a public policy and investigative reporter for The Arizona Republic, where she won a Pulitzer Prize nomination and First Amendment Award for reporting on the rising costs of pensions. Reach her at Beth.Duckett@inside.com. |   | | Editor | Eduardo Garcia is a writer and editor based in New York. He is the author of "Things You Can Do," an illustrated book about climate action. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade. | |
Incognia is a privacy-first location identity company that provides frictionless mobile authentication for reduced fraud. | |
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