Hot dog and eagle, sold separately. | Image: Micro
Micro — maker of those electric bubble cars found in some European cities — has a new Microlino especially for Americans. The all-electric Microlino Spider is dubbed the “anti-pickup truck” and is meant to be a golf cart replacement. No, not for use on fairways, but at expansive resorts and so-called golf cart communities where well-heeled urbanites can retire in the relative safety of walkable villages with low-speed roads.
“Americans don’t just drive large cars. In fact, the US is the world’s biggest market for golf carts, where they’re often used for personal transport within neighborhoods,” says Wim Ouboter, founder and chair of Switzerland-based Micro. “That’s exactly why we created the Microlino Spider.”
“Consider it the antithesis to massive electric pickup trucks — not built for the 5 percent of trips where you need to haul a lot,” says Ouboter, “but for the 95 percent of trips where you are alone.”
The Microlino Spider features an open-door and roof design to make it easy to jump in and out from the sides. That’s a marked departure from the highway-legal Microlino Dolce I reviewed last year, or the slower Lite version that only requires a moped license — both of which you enter through the vehicle’s hinged face to the delight of onlookers.
For the moment, Micro is calling the Microlino Spider a “concept,” but says it’s intent on bringing the micro car to the US “as a more stylish and safer alternative to golf carts, ideal for personal errands or commuting.” It’s now gauging interest from partners such as “dealer groups, leasing companies, and other entrepreneurs interested in bringing this new vehicle category to the country.”
Unfortunately for Micro, Americans are increasingly drawn to larger and more dangerous vehicles. Just about every truck and SUV sold today is bigger than they were 20 years ago. And those behemoths make up about 80 percent of vehicles sold in the US. Experts have warned that the bigger the vehicle, the bigger the risk to pedestrians and cyclists of injury or death.
Micro’s anti-pickup truck may not solve this particular problem. But more small car options is undeniably a good thing in a society overrun by rolling land yachts.
Google is partnering with The Linux Foundation to launch an initiative meant to “fund open development and enhance projects” in the Chromium ecosystem, according to an announcement on Thursday. The fund, called Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers, is billed as a “neutral” space to support Chromium projects.
Google launched Chromium alongside its Chrome web browser in 2008. It’s the open-source infrastructure that powers Chrome and many other browsers built on it, including Microsoft Edge, Opera, and Brave.
In addition to Google, there are already several notable companies on board with the initiative, including Meta, Microsoft, and Opera. Microsoft said joining will help “provide clear and open governance that directs funds towards community-driven needs.”
Image: Google
Google’s contributions to Chromium.
Google also highlighted the more than 100,000 commits it made to Chromium last year, as well as its efforts to “invest heavily” into the open-source project:
Google also continues to invest heavily in the shared infrastructure of the Open Source project to ‘keep the lights on’, including having thousands of servers endlessly running millions of tests, responding to hundreds of incoming bugs per day, ensuring the important ones get fixed, and constantly investing in code health to keep the whole project maintainable.
The creation of the Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers initiative comes months after the US Department of Justice demanded that Google sell Chrome as part of its proposed remedies following the ruling that Google is a monopolist. In response, Google proposed eliminating exclusive deals that make Google the default search engine on web browsers like Safari and Mozilla for three years.
Even if Google is attempting to show the DOJ how much it contributes to Chromium, the creation of the Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers suggests the open-source project would still have backing without the company’s involvement.
I’m not saying I want to buy one. I’m just very curious to see where this is going.
Honda released one of the more interesting concepts at last year’s CES with two Honda Zero prototypes: the Saloon and the Space-Hub. It promised to come back in a year with something a little closer to production. But rather than temper those space-age design elements, Honda leaned into them. Way in.
The Honda 0 Saloon and Honda 0 SUV retain a lot of what made the concepts so weird and different — and not necessarily in an off-putting way. But it’s definitely not the electric CR-V that customers have been begging the company to make for years. In fact, Honda seems to be saying to all those people who want normie-looking EVs, “We see you. We hear you. We don’t care.”
My theory is that Honda is reaching for these design inspirations as a way to offset the future shock of an ultra-minimalist interior and all the marketing speak about “software-defined vehicles.” After all, Honda’s real announcement this year was the operating system it developed in-house, named after its iconic Asimo robot.
The Zero EVs mostly feel like a lot of window dressing for the actual product, which is software. What better way to draw people into listening to a TED talk about “high-performance system-on-a-chip” than to stand in front of a car that looks like it should be floating in low orbit?
Honda 0 Saloon
One of the things I noticed about the Saloon was the lack of a rear window — that rounded rectangle in the back isn’t transparent. The depth effect is very impressive, but it’s not obscuring an incognito window. It’s just the taillight.
Something else that caught my attention was the lack of sideview mirrors. Honda is using cameras instead. Drivers who want to check their blind spots will need to use two screens embedded at either end of the long piece of glass that spans the length of the dashboard. Of course, US safety regulations require regular old sideview mirrors, so this seems mostly aspirational.
Honda 0 SUV
The SUV is less “out there” than the Saloon, and that probably means we’re likely to see some version of it on US roads before the sedan. There’s definitely a rear window, and the airiness of the greenhouse seems to allude to Honda Zero’s design principles of “thin, light, and wise.”
We don’t have any specs for either vehicle, though Honda has said that its Zero EVs will draw from the automaker’s Formula 1 racing experience. The automaker is also aiming for optimum battery efficiency through its e-Axle system consisting of a motor, inverter, and gearbox that convert electric power into energy for driving. Each EV is expected to have around 300 miles of range, which translates to an 80–90kWh battery.
Other important details include an effort to consolidate electronic control units, similar to Rivian’s recently relaunched R1 vehicles. By reducing the number of components and wiring, Honda is clearly trying to limit its costs in an environment where the price of production seems to be on the rise.
Interior
The absence of anything remotely resembling a physical knob or dial inside either vehicle is a pretty good sign that automakers continue to ignore the pleas of customers to stop porting every last bit of functionality through its digital interfaces. Yes, I’m an old man yelling at clouds, but for the love of god, give me something to twist or push. Trying to adjust the heat by tapping blindly at a smooth pane of glass while careening down a highway at 75mph isn’t exactly my idea of a good time.
The yoke is... a yoke. Automakers love their steering yokes! But when it comes time to actually put something into production, they mostly retreat back to wheel shapes. The moonroof is another one of those features that suggest “thin” principles. And obviously, Honda’s promise that its Zero vehicles will come with Level 3 autonomy, also known as “hands-off, eyes-off” driving, needs a lot more explanation. What’s the handoff between autonomous system and driver look like? And how will it account for our very human tendency to zone out when we’re not actively engaged in driving?
There are a lot of questions swirling around these vehicles! Will they ever go into production? There’s a nonzero chance.
Amazon’s second-gen Kindle Scribe is already receiving a $75 discount at several retailers, including Amazon. | Photo: Sheena Vasani / The Verge
When it comes to finding a device to read ebooks, you have a few options to choose from. You can always buy a tablet or use your phone, but those devices are multipurpose and can be used for a ton of things, like surfing the web or doom-scrolling on X. If you are looking for something to strictly read books, e-readers, while niche, are designed to store all of your books in a virtual library with limited functionality.
Amazon, one of the pioneers of the e-reader, has dominated the space for years with its ever-expanding Kindle lineup, which consists of several unique models with their own pros and cons. The bulk of the devices function as simple ebook readers; however, with the Kindle Scribe, Amazon is moving beyond books and into the realm of writing — something that should make future Kindles function more akin to physical paper.
Below, we’ve listed each model currently available. Sometimes there isn’t a deal for one or even any of the products, but in those cases, we’ve listed the most recent sale price.
Image: Amazon
The entry-level Kindle remains the smallest e-reader Amazon offers, one that’s available in either black or green.
The best Kindle (2024) deals
In case you missed it, Amazon announced a new entry-level Kindle in October, one that was designed to replace the outgoing 2022 model. The latest Kindle — which starts at $109.99 — boasts a brighter 94-nit display, improved contrast levels, and slightly faster page turns. It also comes in a “matcha” green instead of “denim,” just in case you’re not a fan of the default black color. Otherwise, though, it’s nearly identical to its predecessor, with the same six-inch 300ppi screen, support for USB-C, and 16GB of base storage.
In the past, Amazon’s newest ad-supported Kindle has dropped to as low as $84.99 ($25 off) with three months of Kindle Unlimited. Right now, however, you can only buy the Kindle at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target for its full retail price of $109.99.
The best Kindle Kids (2024) deals
Amazon also updated its kid-friendly Kindle in late 2024. The new Kindle Kids is identical to the standard model but comes with several accessories and provides age-appropriate content for younger readers who prefer digital books. Like the last-gen Kindle Kids, the latest model retails for $20 more than the base model, bringing the MSRP to $129.99.
In terms of add-ons, the new Kindle Kids edition consists of four items: the device, a protective case, a two-year extended replacement guarantee (in the event the device breaks), and six months of Amazon Kids Plus. The latter is the biggest selling point of the device aside from the kid-friendly patterns and lack of ads, as it allows parents to grant their child access to games, videos, and books — including those in the Percy Jackson and Harry Potter series — at no additional cost.
In the past, we’ve seen the new Kindle Kids sell for as low as $94.99 ($35 off). Right now, however, you can only buy the e-reader at its full price of $129.99 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target.
The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is identical to the standard model but features wireless charging and a sensor to automatically adjust the backlight.
The best Kindle Paperwhite (2024) deals
The latest Kindle Paperwhite, which launched last year, is Amazon’s 12th-gen model. Considering it’s one of the company’s higher-end configurations, it offers all the features found in the entry-level Kindle, including USB-C charging and a crisp 300ppi display. That being said, it’s noticeably faster than Amazon’s base ebook reader and features IPX8 waterproofing, a larger seven-inch display, and longer battery life.
Like other Kindles, the new Paperwhite is available in a few different configurations. There’s an ad-free Signature Edition for $199.99, which is identical to the standard model but comes with 32GB of storage, Qi wireless charging, and a backlight that will automatically adjust when needed. There’s also a Paperwhite Kids for $179.99, which comes bundled with a kid-friendly cover, a two-year extended replacement guarantee, and six months of Amazon Kids Plus.
In the past, we’ve seen the Paperwhite drop to as low as $129.99. Unfortunately, the standalone model is currently only available at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target starting at $159.99 (its full retail price). If you’re okay with purchasing a bundle, you can also grab it at Amazon with a power adapter and a black, green, or pink fabric cover for $196.97 ($20 off) or with a plant-based black, green, or pink leather cover for $202.97 ($20 off).
As for the ad-free Signature Edition, it’s available at Amazon and Best Buy right now for $199.99 — its regular retail price. You can also grab it at Amazon with a wireless charging dock and a black, green, or pink fabric cover starting at $251.97 ($25 off) or with a plant-based black, green, or pink leather cover for $257.97 ($25 off).
You can write in the Kindle Scribe and use its AI features to clean up the handwriting or summarize your notes.
The best Kindle Scribe (2024) deals
Like its predecessor, the second-gen Kindle Scribe is Amazon’s biggest e-reader. It packs a 10.2-inch display with 300 dpi, along with the same great battery life for which Kindles have become known. What separates the Scribe from other Kindles, however, is that it comes with a stylus, which can be used to jot down notes or doodle in the ebook reader’s built-in notebook. With the latest Scribe, Amazon also introduced a new Active Canvas feature, so you can scribble notes directly on ebook pages, as well as a suite of AI-powered features that can summarize your notes and refine your handwriting.
The new Kindle Scribe starts at $399.99 with 16GB of storage, but right now, you can buy it at Amazon and Best Buy. for an all-time low of $324.99 ($75 off).
Photos by Andrew Liszewski / The Verge
The Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition is Amazon’s only color e-reader.
The best Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition deals
In October, Amazon announced its first color e-reader, the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition. Like the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, it boasts a seven-inch display with a crisp 300ppi resolution, IPX8 water resistance, wireless charging, and 32GB of storage. However, unlike the Paperwhite, the e-reader offers a color mode, which cuts the resolution in half. Thankfully, it’s still vibrant for a color E-Ink screen despite the lower resolution, rendering it particularly ideal for reading comic books and manga.
We have yet to see the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition go on sale. Right now, you can only buy the standalone e-reader at Amazon and Best Buy for its full retail price of $279.99. However, you can save some money if you buy it as a part of a bundle for $327.97 ($35 off), which nets you a wireless charging dock and plant-based leather cover in black, pink, or green. You can also buy it with a “premium” leather cover in red or black for $349.97 ($35 off).
xAI has released an iOS app in the US for its Grok chatbot, as spotted earlier by TechCrunch. The standalone app version of the chatbot, which xAI calls a beta, can perform the same functions as the one built into X, as it can field real-time information, answer questions, and generate images.
xAI started testing Grok’s standalone iOS app in December in a handful of countries. There’s no word on when it may come to Android.
Though Grok was initially only available to X Premium subscribers, the platform started letting all users access the chatbot last month, bringing it in line with other free-to-use chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot.
As pointed out by TechCrunch, it seems xAI is also working on a dedicated Grok.com website that currently has a “coming soon” message on it. After raising $6 billion in June, xAI reported another $6 billion funding round, including from “strategic investors” like Nvidia and AMD.
LaCie’s new Rugged SSD Pro5 will be available in 2TB and 4TB capacities. | Image: Seagate
Following the arrival of the first Thunderbolt 5 cables last July and the first Thunderbolt 5 dock last September, it might finally be time to start upgrading your external storage to take advantage of the increased performance. It’s been a slow rollout for Thunderbolt 5 hardware following its official reveal in September 2023, but companies like Seagate, OWC, and Sabrent finally have SSDs en route supporting the new standard.
Seagate announced its new Thunderbolt 5 LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5 external drive at CES this week. The company says it will be available sometime this month in a 2TB version for $399.99 and a 4TB version for $599.99. They’ll offer read and write speeds of 6,700MB/s and 5,300MB/s, respectively.
Image: Seagate
Like previous LaCie rugged drives, the new SSD comes in a rubber enclosure in blue, black, and orange color options, helping it survive drops from heights of up to three meters. It’s also waterproof with an IP68 rating, so it can survive a complete dunking to depths of one meter.
Image: Sabrent
There are a few other choices that have been announced, too, though with varying levels of availability. Sabrent, for example, was actually one of the first companies to announce a Thunderbolt 5 SSD last August, but the SSD isn’t out yet. The Rocket XTRM 5 comes in a silicone sleeve for extra protection from falls, and the company says it can reach read and write speeds of 6,000MB/s and 5,000MB/s, respectively. It’s expected to be available in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities but is still listed as only being available for preorder through Sabrent’s website.
Image: OWC
OWC announced its Envoy Ultra Thunderbolt 5 SSD last September. The company says the external drive is water-resistant, dust-resistant, and crushproof, and offers read speeds of over 6,000MB/s. When it was announced, OWC said the Envoy Ultra would be available in a 2TB version for $399.99 and a 4TB version for $599.99, with shipping starting in late October. The first shipments of the drives sold out, but it’s still available for preorder through OWC’s website with an expected ship date of mid-January 2025.
However, despite the promised performance improvements, and the yearlong wait for hardware to finally materialize, upgrading your setup to Thunderbolt 5 might still have a few speed bumps. That’s what Mark Hachman, the senior editor of PCWorld, discovered when trying to get a Maingear ML-17 laptop, Kensington’s Thunderbolt 5 dock, OWC’s Envoy Ultra SSD, and Acer’s Nitro XV5 displays to play nice. The setup was plagued by laggy performance and slow transfer speeds.
It all still felt not quite ready for primetime, Hachman found. “When you buy (or test) bleeding-edge hardware, sometimes you’re the one that ends up with the cuts,” Hachman said.
I can juuuust stretch my fingers far enough to grasp this wide boy.
The PC handheld space continues to grow, and the biggest of all isAcer’s new Nitro Blaze 11. As soon as I saw it announced at CES, I knew I had to try and get it in my hands, at least for the sheer curiosity of “Will this thing even fit in my hands?” The answer is yes — though kind of just barely.
I brought a Steam Deck OLED with me for a quick size and feel comparison.One of the first things I noticed is that it’s much more precarious to pick up the Blaze 11 the way I’m used to grabbing the Steam Deck: by gripping it on the top and bottom edges. My fingers just barely stretch far enough for this position. Once in hand, the 2.3-pound Blaze 11 actually feels lighter than you’d expect, making it not too unwieldy if you do most of your “portable” gaming at home on the couch like I do. (Playing it in bed may be a hazardto your face.)
While the Blaze 11 isn’t as heavy as I feared, the Steam Deck OLED’s 1.41 pounds feel like a featherweight in comparison. The Deck also feels a little more solidly built. Acer’s handheld isn’t flimsy, but it did seem cheaper.
But credit where credit’s due: playing games on such a big screen in your hands is a treat, and the kickstand felt solid for propping it up in tablet mode with detached controllers, which the Steam Deck can’t do. Acer also gets points for using Hall effect sticks and triggers.
We’ll have to wait and see how this jumbo $1,099 handheld fares when it launches in Q2 2025, as the competition heats up with the impending arrival of the Lenovo Legion Go S and the constantlyleakingNintendo Switch 2. In the meantime, here are a bunch of pictures of the Blaze 11 and the Steam Deck OLED.
Maybe if we one day get 13- or 14-inch handhelds, a Steam Deck will be able to fit within the screen itself.The Steam Deck OLED’s screen is 7.4 inches, compared to the 10.95 inches of the Blaze 11.I only held the Blaze 11 for a short time, but I can say I did find the Steam Deck more ergonomic.Acer’s launcher looks and feels a bit spartan. It sits atop Windows, while Valve’s SteamOS is Linux-based.I didn’t know what these pins on the bottom of the Blaze 11 were for, and I still don’t. Acer’s Ruth Rosene, PR Consultant for Acer America, tells The Verge in an email, “The pins on the bottom and the sliding switch on the top are for potential future upgrades or accessories. But we have no more details on those to share at this time.”The top of the Blaze 11 has dual USB 4 ports, a USB-A 3.2 port, a microSD card slot, and a 3.5mm headset jack. On the left is a sliding switch that, as the above quote from Acer indicates, does not yet have a function.Don’t talk to me or my son ever again.The rear feels like a wall of black plastic.The Blaze 11 has detachable controllers and a kickstand, which the Steam Deck does not.The Blaze 11’s tablet mode. With a screen this big, it actually seems fairly usable in this configuration.A handheld this big isn’t likely to be something you take on the road very much.
Update, January 9th: Added information from Acer about the bottom pins and top-mounted sliding switch of the Blaze 11 to their respective image captions.
Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge
You can pay the same price for the pictured 8Bitdo Ultimate Wired or the PlayStation-like 8Bitdo Pro 2. | Photo: 8Bitdo
Xbox gamers have a growing list of options among the best Xbox controllers, but even expensive ones like the Xbox Elite Series 2 can develop stick drift and other issues.
If you’re tired of shelling out for unreliable controllers, 8Bitdo’s latest wired Xbox models with Hall effect analog sticks and triggers can offer affordable relief, as you can get them for 33 percent off right now. That includes the 8BitDo Ultimate controller, which has dropped to a record low $29.99 ($15 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and 8BitDo. The DualShock-like 8BitDo Pro 2 is also on saleat Amazon and 8BitDo starting at $29.99 (about $15 off), which is only $2 more than the lowest price to date.
8BitDo’s wired Xbox controllers have been on the market for a few years now, so even if you already have one, you may have missed the refreshed Hall effect models. The older ones have ALPS-based sticks, which are commonly used in the standard controllers that ship with major consoles. They use mechanically moving parts and sensors to read the sticks’ positioning, which can eventually degrade and cause misreads to the point that your in-game characters can move even when you’re not touching the controller.
Hall effect sticks, instead, use magnetism and the sensors don’t have moving parts, and while they aren’t completely immune to eventually getting stick drift, they should last much longer. That doesn’t mean you can’t still break a controller from excessive sweaty rounds of Marvel Rivals. The triggers on both controllers benefit from similar technology and also include dedicated vibration motors.
The 8BitDo Ultimate and 8BitDo Pro 2 offer other perks that are nice to have at this price point, too, like dual rear buttons, software-based remapping (the 8BitDo Ultimate supports on-the-fly switching between three profiles using a dedicated button), and configurable sensitivity and vibration settings. In addition to Xbox One, Series X, and Series S, you can also use the controllers on Windows PCs, Android, and iOS devices by plugging them in using the detachable USB-C cable.
On Monday, Fubo announced that, as part of its plan to merge with Hulu + Live TV, it would also drop its lawsuit against Disney, Fox, and WBD alleging that their collaboration on Venu Sports violated US antitrust laws. The settlement outlines how Hulu + Live TV and Fubo can create a new multichannel video programming distributor that Disney would own 70 percent of. But the lawsuit’s dismissal also lifted the injunction to halt Venu’s launch which US District Judge Margaret M. Garnett passed down last August.
Because Venu Sports now has a much more realistic chance of coming to market, DirectTV and EchoStar are voicing concerns about how Fubo’s proposed Hulu deal may exacerbate, rather than properly address, the core issue of sports streaming anticompetitiveness. In a letter to Garnett, DirectTV argued that while Venu’s venture partners have paid Fubo “to ensure cooperation from an aggrieved competitor,” they have also restored “an anticompetitive runway for the JV Defendants to control the future of the live pay TV market.”
DirectTV is just one of several non-parties that expressed “grave concerns” about the impact Venu would have on competition for sports programming, given that Venu would “offer content in a manner that [the Defendants] do not allow DirectTV or other distributors to offer to consumers,” DirectTV’s lawyers said.
In its own letter to Garnett, EchoStar’s legal team insisted that the original injunction blocked Disney, Fox, and WBD’s “scheme to monopolize the pay-TV market and, once accomplished, charge inflated prices to millions of Americans.”
“The parties’ settlement appears designed to eliminate court jurisdiction over this multifarious harm by effectuating the preliminary injunction’s expiration, rather than addressing the underlying competition issues,” EchoStar said. “Now, with the injunction undone by voluntary dismissal, DISH, Sling, and other distributors will suffer antitrust injury.”
As fires rage across Los Angeles and tens of thousands flee their homes, the usual suspects have decided to blame the blazes on their political enemies. In a series of posts on Truth Social, President-elect Donald Trump claimed firefighters’ inability to get the fires under control was due to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s water policies, including an effort to “protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!).” Meanwhile, on X, Elon Musk suggested that the fires were spreading due to the city fire chief’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. “DEI means people DIE,” Musk wrote in a Wednesday night post.
Five people have indeed died in the Eaton fire thus far, and upward of 130,000 Los Angeles County residents are under evacuation orders, according to the Los Angeles Times. But the rampant spread of the fires isn’t due to the delta smelt, DEI, or even — as Trump, Musk, and scores of mainstream publications have falsely claimed — cuts to the Los Angeles Fire Department’s budget. These claims aren’t without consequence. Last year, FEMA workers received threats on TikTok and other social media platforms as rampant disinformation spread in the wake of the devastation caused by hurricanes Milton and Helene.
The first wave of disinformation focused on fire hydrants in the Pacific Palisades, which abruptly ran out of water on Tuesday night as firefighters attempted to put out the initial blaze. The hydrants, Trump said, were running dry because of Newsom’s water policies. “I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA!” Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday. “He is the blame for this. On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster!” In a separate post, Trump claimed Newsom had “refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way.”
Newsom’s office responded on Wednesday, clarifying that the declaration Trump referred to in his post didn’t exist. “There is no such document as the water restoration declaration – that is pure fiction,” Newsom communications director Izzy Gardon told CalMatters. “The Governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need.”
Mark Gold, a board member of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, told the outlet that statewide water management policies, including efforts to protect the delta smelt, had nothing to do with the lack of water in the hydrants. “Tying Bay-Delta management into devastating wildfires that have cost people’s lives and homes is nothing short of irresponsible, and it’s happening at a time when the Metropolitan Water District has the most water stored in its system in the history of the agency,” Gold said. “It’s not a matter of having enough water coming from Northern California to put out a fire. It’s about the continued devastating impacts of a changing climate.”
The lack of water in the Pacific Palisades hydrants was instead due to a reduction in water pressure caused by increased demand, the LA Times reported. Janisse Quiñones, the chief executive and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, told the paper that so much water was being used that the utility wasn’t able to fill the tanks quickly enough. The demand for water at lower elevations was also preventing the utility from refilling tanks at higher elevations, according to the LATimes.
Wednesday night, as powerful Santa Ana winds spread the fires to Altadena, Pasadena, and the Hollywood Hills, right-wing influencers accused city officials of slashing the fire department’s budget and prioritizing diversity programs over sound fire prevention policy — which Musk reposted on X.
But as Politico pointed out, Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass didn’t cut $23 million from the fire department’s budget, a claim that has been repeated by critics on both the right and the left, some of whom said Bass cut fire department funding to pay for a new police contract. The fire department’s budget actually increased by more than $50 million over the previous year, according to Politico, though others have noted that LA fire chief Kristin Crowley criticized Bass’ decision to cut $7 million from the department’s overtime budget just a few weeks before the Palisades fire. “The reduction … has severely limited the department’s capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires,” Crowley wrote in a December 4th memo.
The following instructions are for the web version of Facebook, but you can follow pretty much the same sequence on the mobile app.
Download your archives
Your Facebook archives contain just about all of the pertinent information related to your account, including your photos, active sessions, chat history, IP addresses, facial recognition data, and which ads you clicked. That’s personal information you should save.
Click on your personal icon in the upper-right corner.
Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings.
Click on the Accounts Center box on the left.
Screenshot: Meta
The Accounts Center is where you can both download your info and delete your account.
Go to Your information and permissions on the left, and then Download Your Information > Download or transfer information.
You can choose to transfer information from your Facebook or Instagram account (or both).
Google and Microsoft are the latest tech companies to donate to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. Each company contributed $1 million to the fund — the same amount pledged by Meta, Amazon, Sam Altman, and Tim Cook.
In a statement to CNBC, Karan Bhatia, Google’s global head of government affairs and public policy, said the company is supporting the inauguration “with a livestream on YouTube and a direct link on our homepage,” as well as with a financial contribution. The donation may be part of Google’s larger strategy to win over Trump, who has threatened to break up the tech giant or shut it down altogether.
Microsoft, which is also giving $1 million, previously contributed $500,000 to Trump’s first inauguration and donated the same amount to President Joe Biden’s inauguration fund, a company spokesperson told CNBC. Per CNBC, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has met with Trump multiple times, and was involved in negotiations over acquiring TikTok in 2020, when Trump tried to ban the app in the US.
The Last of Us Part 2 remasteris joining the PlayStation Network club. That means you’ll need to link a PSN account if you want to play the game after buying it on Steam, Epic Games, and other PC platforms when it launches in April, as spotted earlier by Video Games Chronicle.
It’s still not clear why Sony requires a PSN account to play The Last of Us Part 2, as it doesn’t have any multiplayer features, and the requirement may also prevent people across dozens of countries where PSN isn’t supported from playing the game.
The Last of Us Part 2 remaster launches on PC on April 3rd for $49.99.
Oh hey, another full-frontal light bar design. | Image: Cochespias1
Pictures posted on social media give us a look at a facelifted Tesla Model Y “Juniper” refresh that lets go of the original Model 3 headlight style in favor of a new front lightbar setup that reminds me of the Chevy Equinox EV. As reported by InsideEVs, Instagram car spy account Cochespias1 and X user DominicBRNKMN posted spy shots of the updated Model Y as it drove around on snowy grounds.
Although the images are a bit blurry, they also show a new rear end with a Cybertruck-ish lightbar similar to the one seen in a July leak.
After this exciting journey it’s time to unveil the secrets… Here is the 2025 Tesla Model Y Juniper pic.twitter.com/prRhQlSP7M
Reuters first reported Tesla was working on a Model Y redesign in early 2023 before a purported mule was seen in the wild last year with the front and rear camouflaged. The Model Y is one of the top-selling vehicles in the world, and it’s also the last vehicle Tesla makes that still has stalks for changing gears and activating turn signals.
As it’s essentially unchanged since launching in 2020, barring a center console refresh, it’s about due for a makeover. Tesla’s most recent redesign was for the Model 3 “Highland” that made its US debut last year, which also mainly changed the front and rear, along with other tweaks to make it quieter and improve the ride quality.
It’s unknown when Tesla might plan to launch the new Model Y, but previous reports suggested the automaker is getting set to build a redesigned six-seater Model Y in China for late 2025.
New day, new Nintendo Switch 2 leaks. Nintendo is getting ever-closer to its April 2025 deadline to reveal its Switch successor, but thanks new renders from OnLeaks and 91Mobiles, we may now have an even better idea of what the new console might look like.
If you’ve been following our coverage of otherSwitch 2leaks, these renders shouldn’t look too surprising. According to the new renders, the console will resemble the original Switch, but it will be bigger, with an 8.4-inch screen. Interestingly, OnLeaks and 91Mobiles report that the screen will “most likely” be an “OLED panel” — previous reports have said the console would have an LCD screen.
The renders show that the top of the Switch 2 will feature a power button, a volume rocker, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a game card slot, and, new for the Switch 2, a USB-C port. OnLeaks and 91Mobiles also say that “there also seems to be a sensor of sorts” and they speculate that “this might be an ambient light sensor or something else.” These renders also have a U-shaped kickstand that has appeared in other leaks.
As for the Joy-Cons, OnLeaks and 91Mobiles’ renders show the mysterious second new button on the right Joy-Con. However, they say the new button is above the Home button; other leaks have included the new button below it. The Joy-Cons in the renders have the large buttons in the back that are apparently used to detach the controllers from the console, which are apparently attached magnetically.
The renders also show an interesting color scheme for the Joy-Cons: they are mostly black but have color accents — light blue on the left one and orange on the right — under the joystick pads and on the bumped-out part of the controllers with the SL and SR buttons. A similar design popped up earlier this month for an alleged Switch 2 left Joy-Con with light blue accents. I love it, personally.
Hopefully, given the tidal wave of recent leaks, we don’t have to wait too much longer for Nintendo to officially announce the new console. But whenever the console actually launches, it’s going to have some stiff competition.
The company’s new Retail Ad Service beta will let other online stores “Deliver contextually relevant ads by leveraging Amazon’s two decades of ad tech expertise, driven by machine learning models trained on trillions of shopping signals” across their product, search, and browsing pages.
It also plugs the retailers into Amazon’s existing advertising customers, as brands already using Amazon’s ad system can choose to place their ads on third-party sites. The setup also allows Amazon to pull more profit from “retail media” (ads you see in stores or while shopping online) even when the shopping isn’t happening on its site, and could give it access to more data — which is something the FTC may have questions about.
The path of this business is similar to the launch of Amazon Web Services, which the company built to keep its online marketplace running and loading quickly 24/7 before selling access to the servers as a backbone for other companies’ operations, as noted by CNBC.
If there were some common themes among the chargers and portable power solutions announced at CES this year, it would be more power and more convenience through built-in cables. It’s not a new idea, but with most devices now being USB-C-compatible, it’s easier for companies to integrate charging cables without having to accommodate competing charging standards.
Here are some of the standout charging solutions making their debut at CES this year.
If you’ve got a desk overflowing with laptops and a power strip overpacked with adapters, Ugreen has upgraded its Nexode desk charger with 500W of power output. That’s shared across five USB-C ports and a single USB-A port. The topmost USB-C port delivers up to 240W of power, while the other five share 260W. That’s enough power to charge five laptops simultaneously, assuming four of them don’t need more than 60W. It’s expected to be available as soon as March 2025.
As the size and power output of Anker’s wall chargers increased, they had a tendency to succumb to gravity and not stay plugged in. Anker’s latest solution to that problem is a redesigned wall charger that positions three USB-C plus a single USB-A port on the underside, improving its center of gravity. Two of the USB-C ports can output up to 140W, but only one at a time, as that’s the charger’s maximum power output. It’s available now for $89.99 and includes a small screen showing how much power each port is drawing.
Sharge debuted another eye-catching power bank with a transparent design and an aluminum case at CES. The Shargeek 300 can deliver up to 300W of power to four devices simultaneously from its 24,000mAh battery and up to 140W to two devices simultaneously, so you can fast-charge a pair of laptops. It’s got a color screen showing the power draw on each port and how much battery life it’s got left. When it’s dead, it can recharge at up to 140W speeds, replenishing its battery from zero to 50 percent in just 20 minutes. Sharge will be launching it through Kickstarter in April for under $300.
Your car might feature a couple of USB ports on the dashboard for charging devices, but did you remember to grab a charging cable on your way out the door? With the Baseus PrimeTrip VR2 Max car charger, you don’t have to. It features a pair of retractable USB-C cables over 31 inches in length plus an additional USB-A and USB-C port. It provides a total of up to 240W of power across all four ports and up to 105W through a single port, letting you charge a power-hungry laptop on the road. It’s expected sometime in April 2025 for $44.99.
Anker’s new soda can-sized 25,000mAh power bank includes a few welcome conveniences. It can deliver up to 165W of power shared across a USB-C port, a USB-A port, a short 8.6-inch USB-C cable that can be used as a carrying strap, and a 27.2-inch USB-C cable that fully retracts. Maximum output to a single USB-C port is 100W, so you can fast-charge a laptop, and you can monitor how much power each port is drawing on a small screen. It’s available now for $99.99.
Charging cables excel at mysteriously going missing, which is the most compelling reason to consider the Enercore CJ11 wall charger. Available as early as April 2025 for $69.99, it features two retractable USB-C cables, each over 32 inches long, that can’t be swiped. The charger has an additional USB-C port for connecting cables with other connectors and can deliver up to 67W of power with a single device connected or share a maximum of 65W with two or three ports in use.
In need of a power bank that delivers more than just power? Baseus’ EnerGeek MiFi incorporates a 20,000mAh battery that can deliver up to 67W of power to two USB-C ports, a single USB-A port, and through an integrated USB-C cable that serves as a carrying strap. The power bank also doubles as a mobile hotspot, allowing up to 10 devices to wirelessly connect to the internet over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi at 4G speeds. Baseus hasn’t announced how much mobile data plans will cost, but the power bank is expected to release in April 2025 for $89.99.
While we’re all waiting for official news about the Switch 2, Nintendo has gone ahead and announced a very different kind of console. The company is teasing a collaboration with Lego that will see the original grey brick known as a Game Boy rendered in Lego blocks. There are no details yet, aside from the fact that it’ll be out in October, but it’s likely an official reveal is coming soon.
Ubisoft announced a “strategic update” today, and the changes include a delay for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the upcoming entry in the franchise that takes place in feudal Japan, from February 14th to March 20th.
“As part of the renewed focus on gameplay quality and engaging Day-1 experiences, it has been decided to provide an additional month of development to Assassin’s Creed Shadows,” Ubisoft writes in a press release. “This additional time will allow the team to better incorporate the player feedback gathered over the past three months and help create the best conditions for launch by continuing to engage closely with the increasingly positive Assassin’s Creed community.”
This is the game’s second delay — it was previously scheduled to launch on November 15th before getting pushed.
Ubisoft also says it has “appointed leading advisors to review and pursue various transformational strategic and capitalistic options to extract the best value for stakeholders.” The company says that it will “inform the market in accordance with applicable regulations if and once a transaction materializes.”
Ubisoft has had a bit of a rough go of things as of late. Star Wars Outlaws didn’t sell as well expected and the company also announced that it would be shutting down XDefiant, a live-service shooter.
Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case against the TikTok divest-or-ban bill on Friday, which will determine the future of the app in the US.
