Top stories: SpaceX explosion; ‘The Gnome’ wanted; Wi-Fi improvements

A fiery explosion followed by a sonic boom rattled the South Texas Gulf Coast during a failed test just before 2 p.m. at SpaceX’s rocket testing launchpad near Boca Chica Beach, Texas. The blast was like a wave that shot into the sky and took a few seconds to reach onlookers who were watching from Highway 4, about half a mile away. The blast was so loud that cars shook and car alarms went off before construction workers at a SpaceX hangar ran out to a chain-link fence to see what had happened.

Hunt underway for ‘The Gnome’ in wake of attacks on Juarez police

The COVID-19 pandemic has barely slowed down the violence in this border city, where 195 people have been murdered in the past two months. The bloodshed has spiked the past few days with the arrest of leaders of a gang known as La Empresa. Two police officers and nine gang members died in gun battles following the arrests of Jose Dolores Villegas Soto, a.k.a. “El Iraki,” or “The Iraqi,” and other prominent members of the group only identified by the nicknames “Uncle” and “Goofy.” Other police officers’ homes have been shot at. Chihuahua Attorney General Cesar Augusto Peniche this week told a newspaper that authorities are now after the new leader of La Empresa, the group he believes ordered 14 attacks on police in Juarez. The attacks were carried out by the Aztecas, one of the street gangs it controls.

Faster Wi-Fi on its way to help parents and kids stuck at home

Qualcomm is releasing new Wi-Fi technology that will reportedly provide faster connectivity to smartphones, laptops and other mobile devices. The San Diego based company unveiled new Wi-Fi chips with the capability of boosting speeds and capacity for home and business need