Today's NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, July 2

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for July 2. [...]

Starbucks is paying baristas to make TikToks. Expect more brands to follow.

Starbucks' new TikTok program highlights a broader shift toward employee-generated content as brands look for more ways to reach Gen Z. [...]

Google says it has passed its $1bn Africa investment target

Google has exceeded a five-year pledge to invest $1 billion in Africa, the company said on Wednesday at the first Africa Cloud Summit in Johannesburg, alongside a batch of new infrastructure and AI in [...]

Garmin Forerunner 70 review: Substantial upgrades that come at a cost

Wondering which new Garmin Forerunner watch to buy? After putting the 70 through its paces, I think it's a better buy than the 170. [...]

Meta Is Charging a Subscription for Smart Glasses Features. Welcome to the New Era of Consumer Tech

You bought the hardware. Now you’ll need to subscribe for “expanded access” to the most advanced features. [...]

I tried Brave's new stripped down Origin browser, and now it's my top Chromium-based pick

If you like the idea of Brave's browser security, but all of the other features just get in your way, the developers have created a solution for you. [...]

Inside the Luddite Festival Harnessing Gen Z’s Rage Against Big Tech

New York City’s Summer of Ludd festival is teaching people how to live offline amid the suffocating presence of Big Tech. [...]

China and US risks leave Europe’s chip sector facing a bleak future, report warns

A new report from the EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) and the French think tank Institut Montaigne warns that Europe’s semiconductor sector faces a bleak future, squeezed between Chinese e [...]

Microsoft joins Lightstorm-led consortium to build an India-Southeast Asia subsea cable

Microsoft has joined a consortium led by Singapore-based Lightstorm to build a new subsea cable connecting India with Singapore and Malaysia, the companies announced on Thursday. T he I-2SEA system wi [...]