The Verge

Image: Canoo EV startup Canoo is moving its headquarters from California to Walmart’s hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas — though it didn’t announce any deal with the retail giant. Canoo said it will open a new manufacturing facility in Bentonville but didn’t say much about what will be done there or who will build it. The startup also said Monday that it is moving up its timeline for making its first electric vehicles to “before Q4 2022.”Canoo CEO Tony Aquila said it will use the Arkansas facility to make “vehicles for unique use cases” and accelerate its pre-production testing program. It still plans to build a factory outside Tulsa, Oklahoma, which it announced in June. Moving forward, Canoo said it will have parts of its R&D, software... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge TikTokers have demonstrated that Disney’s text-to-speech TikTok voice, meant to sound like Rocket the Raccoon, would refuse to read words like “gay,” “lesbian,” or “queer” out loud. This decision seems to have been reverted — you can now get the voice to read out those words, but it’s unclear why it was happening. The change, however, is very recent — The Verge confirmed that the voice wouldn’t say the words, but it started to do so in a subsequent test minutes later on Monday afternoon. TikTok hasn’t commented on why this happened, but videos posted to highlight the issue still have the words blanked out.Rocket’s voice was introduced to TikTok’s text-to-speech feature as part of a Disney Plus Day promotion last week. Other voices, like... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon has been ordered to pay a fine of $500,000 for hiding the number of COVID-19 cases at its California workplaces from employees. First reported by the Los Angeles Times, the company agreed to pay the fine and improve the way it tracks cases and notifies workers and local health agencies. Amazon must also inform its warehouse workers in California of the “exact number of new COVID-19 cases in their workplaces” when cases arise.This is the first fine related to California’s COVID “right to know” legislationCalifornia attorney general Rob Bonta said in a press release that the penalty comes after a complaint filed against Amazon alleged that the company didn’t properly notify warehouse workers and local health agencies about new... Continue reading…

Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/The Mercury News via Getty Images We met an investor who won’t take a hint — or even a command Continue reading…

Faraday Future is launching an investigation into recent allegations of financial fraud at the startup, including claims from a recent short-seller report by J Capital. The EV startup’s board of directors has formed a “special committee of independent directors,” which has hired a law firm to perform the investigation.J Capital had accused Faraday Future of lying about the number of reservations it had collected for its ultra-expensive electric SUV, the FF91. It also accused Faraday Future’s founder Jia Yueting of unfairly benefitting from the startup’s recent public listing, which it accomplished after merging with a special purpose acquisition company.“Faraday Future seeks to do business in the most ethical and transparent way,” the... Continue reading…

A worker carries bags of used drink cans and bottles for recycling at a collection point in Brooklyn on October 18, 2021. | Photo by ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images The Environmental Protection Agency announced a new national recycling strategy today, the agency’s first ever such commitment, according to the Washington Post.It’s a roadmap for the US to achieve a goal of recycling at least half of its municipal waste by the end of the decade. That’s a steep rise considering the US’ recycling rate has actually declined since 2015, and was only at about 32 percent of all municipal waste in 2018 (the most recent year for which there’s EPA data).The recycling plans the EPA announced today are just the first piece in “a series” of forthcoming documents the agency plans to release to work towards a “circular economy,” or an economy where resources are recovered and reused to make new products rather... Continue reading…

Image: Hyundai As someone who only dabbles in car culture, I usually find concepts to be more weird than enticing — but this is absolutely not the case for Hyundai's Heritage Series Grandeur EV, which goes with an incredible retro aesthetic, rather than an alien future one. While Hyundai says that the car is made to celebrate the anniversary of its flagship sedan launched in the mid-‘80s, there’s only one thing that springs to mind when looking at it: that it would be the perfect vehicle for a supervillain.To be clear, I don’t mean a Marvel-style antagonist with supernatural powers. I mean a Gordan Gekko-esque SOB; someone rich enough to shape the future or bend the ear of bought-off politicians. The car’s blacked-out windows, solid hubcaps, and... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Over the last couple of years, Netflix has refined a one-button solution that picks something for you based on your tastes and starts playing it right away. It first called the feature names like Shuffle and eventually landed on Play Something. The button has top positioning in its TV and mobile apps, but now things are even easier to activate, as Netflix has linked its automatic selector to Amazon’s voice-controlled AI and streaming hardware. Image: Amazon If you’re in the US or Canada, just say “Alexa, Play Something,” and if you have an Echo speaker or app listening in, plus a Fire TV device with Netflix activated, then that’s what will happen. In a post mentioning the feature, Netflix director of marketing... Continue reading…

On Monday, President Biden signed a historic $1 trillion infrastructure bill aimed at repairing the nation’s roads and bridges along with investing billions into expanding access to broadband internet and bolstering the electrical grid.“For too long, we’ve talked about having the best economy in the world. We’ve talked about asserting American leadership in the world with the best and safest roads, railways, ports, and airports,” Biden said at Monday’s signing ceremony. “But today, we are finally getting it done. And my message to the American people is: America is moving again. And your life is going to change for the better.”“America is moving again”The legislation is the largest federal investment in infrastructure in over a... Continue reading…

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images On Monday, progressive tech critic Zephyr Teachout announced that she will run for New York attorney general in 2022. A law professor at Fordham University and a scholar on corruption and antitrust laws, Teachout could push for more strenuous penalties in several major tech antitrust cases.Teachout said earlier this year that she would run for attorney general if the incumbent, current attorney general Letitia James, decided to run for governor. In October, James announced that she would be running for the New York gubernatorial Democratic nomination, leaving the attorney general seat open next year.At a press conference on Monday, Teachout said her priorities as attorney general would include fighting corruption and corporate abuse... Continue reading…

If you’ve dreamt of the day Disney would wake up and see the huge potential in creating its own take on Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. fighting game... that day has not yet come. But Disney may have just taken a step toward that future with Disney Melee Mania, an Apple Arcade exclusive coming this December.While we’ve only gotten the briefest glimpses from the game’s Twitter account (below) and Apple’s press release today, it actually does feature Disney and Pixar characters like Elsa, Moana, and Buzz Lightyear smacking each other around with their powers, laser beams, and one mean oar in search of a win.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge T-Mobile has announced that its “Ultra Capacity” 5G network now covers over 200 million people in the US, a goal the company had previously set to reach before the end of 2021.T-Mobile uses its “Ultra Capacity” 5G label for its mid-band and mmWave networks, both of which offer much faster speeds than its low-band “5G Extended Range” network. The low-band network — which is closer to 4G LTE in actual speed — has an even wider reach, with T-Mobile boasting that it “covers 308 million people across 1.7 million square miles.”The rollout here is particularly notable given T-Mobile’s success with its mid-band network — PCMag crowned the carrier as the fastest in 2021, largely due to the strength and coverage of its mid-band spectrum... Continue reading…

Image: Twitter Twitter’s Top Articles feature, which creates a report of articles popular in Blue subscribers’ networks, is now available on iOS after the company promised last week that it’d be coming “very soon.” It’s been available on Android and the web, but now everyone who subscribes to Twitter’s paid service should be able to see a roundup of what people were reading and tweeting about over the past day.Top Articles is a sort of spiritual successor to a service called Nuzzel, which provided a similar roundup through email. Nuzzel was run by a company called Scroll, and was shut down when Twitter acquired the company earlier this year. Twitter said at the time it planned to bring Nuzzel back, and now its most popular feature is available to... Continue reading…

Rockstar Games After a delay lasting around 72 hours, Rockstar Games finally made Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition playable and purchasable again on PC.

Image: Verge/Alex Castro This morning, Russia destroyed one of its own satellites with a ground-based missile, creating thousands of pieces of debris that have spread out into Earth orbit, according to the US State Department. The US has identified more than 1,500 trackable pieces of debris from the event, and many thousands of smaller ones that cannot be traced, Ned Price, a spokesperson for the State Department, said during a briefing.The news comes amid reports from Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, independently verified by The Verge via NASA’s live feed, that the astronauts living on board the International Space Station had to shelter in place this morning due to a cloud of space debris that seems to be passing by the station every 90 minutes, the time it... Continue reading…

Halo Infinite’s multiplayer beta is here, but the rollout is hitting some snags. Microsoft surprise-launched Halo Infinite’s free-to-play multiplayer beta on Monday, but if you’re having trouble jumping into the game, you’re not the only one.According to Brian Jarrard, Halo community director at 343 Industries, some players playing on Xbox or from the Windows store are “likely hitting some blue screens / errors” while trying to launch the game. “The build is still publishing and rolling out, expected to resolve in due time,” he said.

Amazon Basics new smart switches add simple smart control to existing lighting. | Image: Amazon A new line of Amazon Basics Smart Switches has landed on Amazon.com, bringing the Amazon-branded smart home gadgets count up to seven, including the new smart thermostat and smart indoor air quality monitor. That’s a big leap from the one, lonely Amazon smart plug the company had left after discontinuing its indoor smart security camera last year.Spotted by Dan Wroclawski of Consumer Reports, the four smart switches launched on November 11th and include a single-pole switch ($17.99) and a single-pole dimmer ($19.99) both for controlling one lighting circuit, and a three-way switch ($18.99) and a three-way dimmer ($20.99), which can control one circuit from two locations.A smart switch turns existing hardwired lighting into smart... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Twitter’s new API is finally official, which could mean good things for third-party clients Continue reading…

The long-in-the-works Halo TV series finally has its first — very brief — teaser trailer, revealed today at Microsoft’s 20th anniversary Xbox event, giving a first glimpse at the live-action adaptation of the iconic games.The teaser is very short, offering just a few close-up shots of Master Chief’s Mjolnir armor (set to be filled by American Gods’ Pablo Schreiber in the live-action show), before a voice that sounds a lot like Cortana (Jen Taylor, reprising her role from the games) says “Hello, Master Chief.”

Microsoft is surprising Xbox fans today with an early launch for Halo Infinite multiplayer. Rumors of the early Halo Infinite multiplayer drop appeared over the weekend, and Microsoft is now making it official as part of today’s 20-year Xbox anniversary.Halo Infinite’s multiplayer mode will be available for everyone on Xbox One, Xbox Series S / X, and PC to try out in beta today, and it’s already live on Windows PC via Steam. This beta includes access to season one with all the core maps and battle pass features. Any progress in the multiplayer mode will also carry over to launch day on December 8th.If you’re looking for it on Xbox or via the Windows Store, you may have a bit longer to wait: right now, it’s only showing up as part of... Continue reading…

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Better late than never, as they say: Amazon today launched a Prime Video app for macOS that’s available as a free download in the Mac App Store. Prime Video for Mac includes support for offline downloads, and you can choose your preferred video quality both for regular streaming and downloads. (At the “best” setting, Amazon estimates around 5.8GB of data usage per hour when streaming. The figure is slightly lower for downloads, with Amazon quoting 2.9GB per hour of downloaded video.)When you first open Prime Video for Mac, the app asks whether you want to receive notifications for content recommendations and other alerts. But from there, it’s much the same experience as on other platforms. Oddly, the Prime Video app itself can’t be made... Continue reading…

Xbox chief Phil Spencer basically confirmed that The Elder Scrolls VI will be an Xbox exclusive in an interview with GQ.The news comes up in a section about Bethesda, which officially joined Microsoft in March. Starfield, Bethesda’s upcoming sci-fi game, has already been confirmed to be an Xbox and PC exclusive, and “Spencer says he sees the same for The Elder Scrolls VI,” according to GQ.A quote in the article from Spencer elaborates a bit more. “But in order to be on Xbox, I want us to be able to bring the full complete package of what we have. And that would be true when I think about Elder Scrolls VI. That would be true when I think about any of our franchises.”That all leaves open the possibility that The Elder Scrolls VI might... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft is bringing its Xbox FPS Boost mode to the cloud. The Xbox maker is rolling out FPS Boost to 33 games on Xbox Cloud Gaming (xCloud) today, as part of a big push for Xbox backward compatibility that sees 76 new game additions for modern Xbox consoles. FPS Boost will be enabled on Xbox Cloud Gaming titles like Fallout 4, Fallout 76, and The Evil Within 2.Up until today, the Xbox FPS Boost feature, which makes existing games run better, was exclusive to Xbox Series X and Series S consoles. It’s being extended to Xbox Cloud Gaming because the service is now fully powered by custom Xbox Series X hardware.While Microsoft has improved frame rates with some backward-compatible games, the FPS Boost feature improves older games... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft is enabling its Xbox FPS Boost mode on 37 more games today, bringing the total well beyond 100 games. Titles getting FPS Boost include the entire Gears of War franchise, the original Assassin’s Creed, Alan Wake, Fallout 3, and Fallout: New Vegas (the full list of games getting FPS Boost is available below).The FPS Boost feature for Xbox Series X and Series S consoles is designed to make existing games run better. While Microsoft has improved frame rates with some backward-compatible games, the FPS Boost feature improves older games without developers having to make changes.The 37 games getting FPS Boost today include 11 new additions to the Xbox backward compatibility library, with F.E.A.R., F.E.A.R. 3, Binary Domain, and N... Continue reading…

Microsoft put its Xbox backward compatibility program on hold two years ago, but it’s returning today for a final update to the catalog. To celebrate 20 years of Xbox, Microsoft is now adding 76 new games (full list below) to the backward compatibility library today. It’s a surprisingly long list of additions, including the entire Max Payne series, Skate 2, Dead or Alive Ultimate, and Star Wars Jedi Knight II.“This latest and final addition of 70+ titles to the backwards compatibility program was only possible through the passion and feedback from the community,” explains Peggy Lo, compatibility program lead at Xbox. “[Xbox fans’] constant requests for specific titles and enhancements encouraged the backwards compatibility team to... Continue reading…

Hundreds of deaths were linked to blackouts during the Texas freeze. As power outages worsen across the country, experts are sounding the alarm about the potentially catastrophic impacts on human health.Last week, the Energy Information Administration reported that the average person in the US spent over eight hours without power in 2020 — the worst year for outages in records going back to 2013. Some of those outages were deadly: dozens of people died in Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, which knocked out power just before a heat wave, while hundreds of people were killed in Texas during a blackout triggered by a deep freeze. But there are also more subtle ways electricity intersects with health, like if people with underlying health conditions are put in stressful, too-hot environments that... Continue reading…

Microsoft’s latest consoles, the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Four generations and a surprising amount of redesigns Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Charging your Tesla isn’t the most exciting experience — especially if you’re not paying for the cellular data plan that comes with a Premium Connectivity subscription — but a report from Electrek finds that may be about to change. According to the report, a user on Reddit noticed a Starlink dish, which goes by the official name Dishy McFlatface, at a Supercharger station in Lake City, Florida. So far, it remains unclear where else Tesla has deployed (or plans to deploy) Starlink satellite dishes and what purpose they’ll serve.It’s possible the dish will provide complimentary Wi-Fi to customers without Tesla’s Premium Connectivity plan — those with the $10 per month subscription can take advantage of Tesla’s built-in entertainment apps,... Continue reading…

Dan Seifert / The Verge When Samsung dropped the bombshell that it was ditching Tizen for Wear OS 3, it promised not to leave older Galaxy Watch models in the dust. Now Samsung has announced that the Galaxy Watch, Galaxy Watch 3, Galaxy Watch Active, and Galaxy Watch Active 2 will get new watchfaces and health features as part of One UI 4.Fall detection isn’t new on Samsung’s smartwatches, but today’s update will give you the option to tweak the feature’s sensitivity. According to Samsung’s press release, it says you can “choose to detect a fall when you are standing still.” Previously, Samsung’s fall detection feature was designed to detect hard falls when you’re running or moving. Triggering the feature will automatically send an SOS message to pre-selected... Continue reading…

Photo by Avery White / The Verge If you’re after a great bargain on truly wireless earbuds that we really like, check out Best Buy’s deal on the Jabra Elite 75t. These usually cost $150, but the black-colored model is back down to just $80 — matching the lowest price yet. Best Buy says that this is its best deal of the season, and it’ll price match retailers if you find a better price. Consider this a great early Black Friday deal that you can take advantage of to get ahead with your holiday shopping.The Verge’s Chris Welch enjoyed the several improvements that the Elite 75t made to the already-winning Elite 65t formula. They’re smaller, with a more comfortable design. And the sound quality should please those who are looking for thumping bass. The Elite 75t can... Continue reading…

Photo by Rachel Murray/Getty Images for Casper Sleep Inc. Casper Sleep is being acquired by private equity firm Durational Capital Management, which will take the boxed mattress company private, the companies announced Monday. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.Founded in 2014, Casper was one of a handful of companies whose ads were ubiquitous on podcasts and that sold its products directly to consumers.The company went public in February 2020, with plans to expand from its primary business of direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales of boxed mattresses into products that “promote the ideal ambience for sleep,” according to its S-1 prospectus. That list of products included sleep tracking devices, bedside clocks, sleep services like digital apps and counseling, and even sleep... Continue reading…

Image: Microsoft The limited-edition Halo Infinite Xbox Series X is coming to select Best Buy stores across the US today. The console includes a digital copy of Halo Infinite, which will be playable on December 8th — or possibly sooner, if you believe internet rumors about a countdown ending today.You can check for participating stores near you on Best Buy’s Xbox in-store event page. It looks like the page was just posted around 6AM ET today, in line with a tweet from restocking tipster Lord Restock. The same account, as well as other console trackers, indicates the consoles will be available today from BestBuy.com. They expect to see the Halo Infinite Xbox Series X restocked along with a number of PS5s and Nintendo Switch OLEDs, however, those sales... Continue reading…

As is often the case with new technology, under-display cameras didn’t make a great first impression. It’s a nice idea in theory, of course — you don’t need a notch or a hole-punch if you can put a selfie camera under the display — but the earliest efforts had some issues.ZTE’s Axon 20 last year was the first phone to ship with one, and it was bad. The camera quality was incredibly poor, and the area of the screen looked more distracting than a notch. Samsung followed up this year with the Galaxy Z Fold 3, which had similar issues.But things are actually getting better. Two newer phones on the market, Xiaomi’s Mix 4 and ZTE’s Axon 30, use a different approach to the technology, and it’s an improvement on the previous generation.... Continue reading…

Illustration by Richard Parry Gift ideas that go beyond the flower bouquet Continue reading…

Illustration by Richard Parry Spruce up your digs with some clever gadgets Continue reading…

Iceberg Interactive Video games have taught me that hacking mainly involves two things: capturing little computer-shaped nodes and typing in a command line. Midnight Protocol is no exception. Released last month by Iceberg Interactive, it joins a glut of cyberpunk games from the past couple of years, and it doesn’t add any single standout innovation to a pretty familiar formula. But it’s one of the best iterations of that formula I’ve seen: mechanically elegant, narratively economical, and crafted with care.Midnight Protocol is noir cyber-crime by way of turn-based roleplaying games and spatial puzzles. When you log into its slightly airspace-looking simulated computer desktop, you’ll learn that your pseudonym is Data, and you’re a master hacker who just... Continue reading…

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Everybody loves bags. They are essential in our day-to-day lives, and there are a million styles out there to suit everyone’s individual tastes. Do you know how bags can get even better, though? When The Verge loads them with free tech and gives them away to one of our lucky readers!Here at The Verge, we are always checking out the latest in tech — reviewing and trying out the latest gadgets — and sometimes we end up with extra stuff that we know someone out there is going to love. This is your shot to win the stylish bag you see in the picture above along with whatever mystery tech we managed to cram into its inner depths.The bag is an older model of the Nomatic 40L Travel Bag. It’s a large backpack valued at $280 on its own, and... Continue reading…

Microsoft is holding a special Xbox anniversary event today to celebrate 20 years to the day since the original Xbox debuted alongside Halo: Combat Evolved. “While we won’t announce any new games, this broadcast will be a special look back at all the memories we’ve shared with the Xbox community over the past two decades,” says Microsoft.While the event is designed as a celebration rather than a news event, that doesn’t mean there won’t be news. Rumors suggest we may well see an early beta of Halo Infinite multiplayer to mark 20 years of Halo, and plenty of Xbox fans have spotted suspicious updates to existing original Xbox and Xbox 360 games.We’re expecting the event to run for around 30 minutes in total.WHAT TIME IS THE XBOX 20th... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft has already made it more difficult to switch default browsers in Windows 11, and now the company is going a step further by blocking apps like EdgeDeflector. Third-party apps like EdgeDeflector and even Firefox have offered workarounds to Microsoft forcing people to use Edge in Start menu search results, even if their default browser is not Edge.Microsoft has been forcing Windows 10 and Windows 11 users into Edge and its Bing search engine in the Start menu search results, and now with the new Widgets panel in Windows 11. It’s a frustrating part of Windows that doesn’t respect your default browser choice. EdgeDeflector lets you bypass these restrictions, and open Start menu search results in your default browser of choice.The... Continue reading…

There are eight Pac-Man-themed wallpapers installed. OnePlus has announced a special Pac-Man Edition of the Nord 2. It’s a new version of the company’s latest mid-range smartphone with design tweaks inspired by the classic ‘80s arcade game. But underneath the new theme this is fundamentally the same hardware as the excellent OnePlus Nord 2 released in July this year.The Pac-Man enhancements made to the phone are mostly cosmetic. Its back has a small Pac-Man logo on it and glows in the dark to reveal a Pac-Man maze, and there’s also a semi-translucent themed case featuring the titular character alongside ghostly antagonists Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde. Boot up the phone and you’re presented with a dynamic Pac-Man-themed wallpaper, one of eight in total. There’s a Pac-Man themed... Continue reading…

One UI 4 includes redesigned widgets. | Image: Samsung Samsung is making its One UI 4 software update available for the Galaxy S21, S21 Plus, and S21 Ultra starting today, the company has announced. The update is based on this year’s Android 12, was released in public beta in September, and adds new theming options, keyboard tweaks, and privacy settings.The new features coming with the latest version of Samsung’s software should look familiar to anyone who’s been keeping up with Android 12’s upgrades. First up is a Material You-style overhaul, including the ability to change the operating system’s color scheme based on your chosen wallpaper, and there are also redesigned widgets. New privacy-focused features include a Privacy Dashboard that keeps track of how often apps are requesting... Continue reading…

Image: Geoffrey Short / Netflix Two perspectives on the live-action series Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon’s fleet of delivery drivers may be detached from Amazon warehouses, but the company still monitors its drivers; it installed always-on cameras in its delivery trucks and even asked drivers to consent to yawn-detecting AI surveillance. However, it’s that very surveillance system that puts Amazon in the crosshairs of a lawsuit that claims Amazon is at fault for a life-altering car accident.This Bloomberg report describes the details of the accident, as well as how one lawsuit may change the way legal teams approach similar situations in the future. The accident happened earlier this year, when 24-year-old Ans Rana was riding in the backseat of a Tesla Model S on a bustling Atlanta highway. After the car came to a stop behind a... Continue reading…

Apple Business Essentials | Image: Apple This week Apple unveiled another beta program, but instead of offering early previews of software for your Mac, iPhone, or iPad, it’s a new initiative called Business Essentials. In line with Apple’s recent shift toward selling services, it’s a subscription package aimed at small businesses with three different plans and a move that has been anticipated since it acquired the device management platform Fleetsmith a little over a year ago.Starting at $2.99 per device per month, they can cover employees across a single device, more than one device, or a more expensive plan that covers multiple devices and adds more cloud storage. An AppleCare+ package will be available when it launches full in spring 2022, adding 24/7 phone support,... Continue reading…

Image: Apple Apple will soon let users in participating states digitally store their driver’s licenses or state IDs on their iPhone’s wallet, but according to a report by CNBC, the initiative will be partially funded by the states — and their taxpayers.CNBC got ahold of contracts signed by Georgia, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Kentucky, and found that Apple will maintain tight control over its deployment. It reports that Apple gets “sole discretion” over a number of aspects of the program, including its device compatibility, the service’s launch date, states’ marketing campaigns, as well as how states report on the initiative's performance.Apple gets “sole discretion” over a number of aspects of the programThe contract also says that each state will... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Hackers targeted the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) email servers, sending out thousands of phony messages that say its recipients have become the victims of a “sophisticated chain attack,” first reported by Bleeping Computer. The emails were initially uncovered by The Spamhaus Project, a nonprofit organization that investigates email spammers.The emails claim that Vinny Troia was behind the fake attacks and also falsely state that Troia is associated with the infamous hacking group, The Dark Overlord — the same bad actors who leaked the fifth season of Orange Is the New Black. In reality, Troia is a prominent cybersecurity researcher who runs two dark web security companies, NightLion and Shadowbyte.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Twitter launched its new subscription product, Twitter Blue, in the US this week — it’s a $2.99 per month service that promises to make Twitter “more customizable, more frictionless, and simply put — better.”Let’s start just by looking at what’s actually included in a Twitter Blue subscription.

Speedy smart alerts and good lighting control make up for an odd design Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Intel’s efforts to speed up chip production in China have reportedly been contested by the Biden administration, according to a report from Bloomberg. Sources close to the situation told Bloomberg that Intel proposed making silicon wafers in a Chengdu, China factory, which could start production towards the end of 2022. However, Intel’s plans were “strongly discouraged” by White House officials due to potential security issues.Since Intel needs to secure funding from the government in order to ramp up production, the administration’s opinion holds some weight on Intel’s path forward. As Bloomberg notes, Intel said it currently has “no plans” to produce silicon wafers in China after discussing it with government officials, and that it... Continue reading…