Multiple deaths confirmed after tornado hits Amazon warehouse

Photo by TIM VIZER/AFP via Getty Images

An Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois collapsed following a bout of severe weather and tornados that ripped across the Midwest and South on Friday night. According to a report from Reuters, at least two deaths have been confirmed, and a number of workers are still unaccounted for.

A post on Illinois’ Collinsville Emergency Management Agency’s Facebook page called the collapse a “mass casualty” incident. It later posted an update with a photo of the event’s aftermath, showing a large portion of the warehouse completely torn away by the storm.

Workers killed in Amazon warehouse collapse following severe weather in #edwardsville#amazon#stlwx#tornadohttps://t.co/q9HTdgEJFa

— FOX2now (@FOX2now) December 11, 2021

During a press...

Continue reading…

Keanu Reeves doesn’t get the NFT hype either

Keanu Reeves owns crypto, but thinks the concept of NFTs is just funny | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

By now, you’ve probably heard of NFTs enough to have an opinion about them, and, as it turns out, so has Keanu Reeves.

Keanu Reeves doesn’t get the NFT hype either. Watch our full interview here: https://t.co/ea0NInhtBOpic.twitter.com/UuUNFMtfmf

— The Verge (@verge) December 11, 2021

In our interview with him and fellow The Matrix icon Carrie-Ann Moss, Alex Heath asked the actors about their feelings on cryptocurrency, NFT collectibles, and the concept of digital scarcity. Keanu — described in this 2019 _Vox_profile of his Keanaissance as a “relatable geek” — had, of course, a relatable response (tweeted earlier by David Zhou).

He laughed.

And not just a little either, as the idea of digital trinkets conveying ownership even...

Continue reading…

Watch these Excel pros duke it out in a financial modeling competition

Diarmuid Early competes in the second round of the Financial Modeling World Cup. | Image: Financial Modeling World Cup | YouTube

Microsoft is sponsoring an esports competition with prizes totaling $10,000. The game? Well, it’s not exactly a game — it’s Microsoft Excel.

Every year, the top Microsoft Excel users (players?) from around the world face off in the Financial Modeling World Cup (FMWC) (via PCWorld). The qualifying rounds already took place, leaving just eight Excel masters to compete for the FMWC crown. The quarter-finals, semifinals, and final round all take place today at 12PM ET via a YouTube livestream and the ESPN app.

Tomorrow, December 11, is the day for the FMWC Open finals!

8 quarter-finalists will showcase their Excel wizardry to earn the Excel master title and a share of the $10,000 prize fund.

We go live at 5:00 PM UTC+0 on our Youtube...

Continue reading…

Blue Origin launches Michael Strahan, Laura Shepard Churchley and others to space and back

Image: Blue Origin via YouTube

This morning, space tourism venture Blue Shepard successfully launched its third crew of passengers to space and back on the company’s New Shepard rocket, the first time a group of six people has flown together on the vehicle. The crew included GMA host Michael Strahan and Laura Shepard Churchley, the eldest daughter of Alan Shepard — the first American in space and the namesake for the New Shepard rocket.

New Shepard lifted off just after 10AM ET on Saturday morning from Blue Origin’s launch facility in Van Horn, Texas. The entire flight lasted just over 10 minutes from liftoff to touch down. Riding inside a crew capsule on top of the New Shepard rocket, the six-person crew climbed to an altitude of 351,225 feet, or more than 66 miles...

Continue reading…

Apple’s Invasion feels like the first chapter of a sci-fi epic

Image: Apple

The first season of Invasion on Apple TV Plus feels a little incomplete. Across its 10 episodes, which chart a handful of humans grappling with an alien invasion, the story slowly teases out the reality of what’s happening. There are hints here and there — a haunting artificial voice, a mysterious alien-killing weapon, a kid with seizures that may or may not show the future — but the biggest reveal of all doesn’t even happen until the very last shot in the final episode. It still managed to pull me in — but that pull has a lot to do with potential. Rather than standing on its own, the initial season of Invasion feels like the first chapter of a much grander science fiction epic.

Invasion gets off to a slow start. Unlike most stories...

Continue reading…

Apple’s latest AirPods are selling for just $140 at Amazon

Things have chilled out considerably this week, both in terms of how cold it has become in parts of the US and how few deals there are compared to the hectic Black Friday and Cyber Monday extravaganza. However, that’s not to say there aren’t some fantastic offers happening both in-store and online. We’ll be keeping a close eye on deals in the next few weeks to make sure you get what you’re looking for ahead of the holidays.

Alright, let’s get to the deals.

Save $40 on the third-gen AirPods

I can’t remember the last time an Apple product was discounted so swiftly. That’s what is happening to the third-gen AirPods, which debuted at $179, but are now just $139.99 at Amazon (the correct price will reflect at checkout). While they resemble...

Continue reading…

Halo Infinite’s creators say your wildest stunts are part of the series’ DNA

YouTuber “Mint Blitz” found a way to soar through the air in_Halo Infinite._ | Image: Mint Blitz on YouTube

On Monday, a jaw-dropping Halo Infinite video kept showing up on my Twitter feed that looked like something out of a Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild speedrun.

The video, from Australian YouTuber “Mint Blitz,” begins with Master Chief armed with a massive hammer behind a Warthog vehicle. In an impressive sequence taking place over a matter of seconds, Mint Blitz swings the hammer to send the Warthog flying while almost simultaneously using Master Chief’s new grappling hook on the vehicle to slingshot himself into the air like Spider-Man. As he’s soaring high above Zeta Halo’s treetops, he uses the thruster powerup — and then, inexplicably, just keeps flying forward. After 39 seconds in the air, he finally lands, gracefully setting...

Continue reading…

LG C1 OLED vs. Samsung Odyssey Neo G9: the perfect monitor doesn’t exist

Still searching for endgame

Continue reading…

Watch as Blue Origin plans to launch its first crew of six to space, with Michael Strahan on board

This morning, Jeff Bezos’ spaceflight company Blue Origin is slated to launch another crew of customers to the edge of space and back. The crew cabin will be a little more crowded than usual: a total of six passengers will ride to space inside Blue Origin’s New Shepard tourist rocket, the largest group the company has ever sent up on one flight.

That makes this flight a bit unusual. The launch also comes after an FAA investigation into the safety of Blue Origin’s rockets came to an inconclusive resolution.

On board are a mixture of celebrity guests and paying spaceflight enthusiasts. Notably, Michael Strahan, a host for Good Morning America and former NFL rusher for the New York Giants, will be flying, along with Laura Shepard...

Continue reading…

The Matrix Awakens didn’t blow my mind, but it convinced me next-gen gaming is nigh

_The Matrix Awakens_single-handedly proves next-gen graphics are within reach of Sony and Microsoft’s new game consoles. It’s unlike any tech demo you’ve ever tried before. When we said the next generation of gaming didn’t actually arrive with Xbox Series X and PS5, this is the kind of push that has the potential to turn that around. And it’s free to download on those consoles right now, so you should really give it a go.

Just don’t expect it to make you question your reality — the uncanny valley is still alive and well.

I jacked into _The Matrix Awakens_today after watching our exclusive interview with Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss — they play Neo and Trinity, I’m sure you know — and hearing breathless praise around...

Continue reading…

Here are the best Amazon Echo deals right now

The Echo Show 5 (left), Echo Show 8 (middle), and the Echo Show (right). | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge

When it comes to smart speakers, Amazon has a slew of voice-enabled Echo devices to choose from, one for practically every occasion. Maybe you want to add Alexa to a spare bedroom, for example, or you’re looking for an Echo device that will allow you to easily manage your lighting or other smart home devices. Regardless of the reason, this is one of the best times of the year to pick up an Echo device, even if Black and Cyber Monday are behind us. Below, we’ve curated a list of some of the very best Amazon Echo deals available right now, from the last-gen Echo Dot to Amazon’s latest Echo Show 10.

The best Echo Dot deals

Last year, Amazon released the fourth generation of the Echo Dot, which looks more like a sphere than an actual dot....

Continue reading…

Adam Mosseri explains how Instagram is bringing back the chronological feed

The return of a proper feed could come soon. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Instagram head Adam Mosseri used his story to answer people’s questions about the company’s plan to bring back the much-missed chronological feed, which he promised during his appearance at a Senate hearing on Wednesday. In a Q&A on Friday, he said that the company is testing out two versions of the feature and that it’s “targeting early next year” as a release window.

One version of the chronological feed would let you “pick your favorites and they show up at the top in chronological order,” he said. The other would let you see the posts from everyone you’re following in chronological order, though he didn't mention how recommended posts would be interspersed.

Images: Adam Mosseri

Instagram wants to release the...

Continue reading…

Apple’s concessions in China reportedly include a secret $275 billion deal and one odd change in Maps

Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook attends China Development Forum (CDF) 2018 | Photo by Visual China Group via Getty Images/Visual China Group via Getty Images

Tim Cook has pushed Apple’s value within close range of $3 trillion, and a lot of that has to do with the former operations lead’s ability to manage a relationship with China, where many of its products are made and, increasingly, many of them are sold. A report this week from The Information relies on unnamed sources and internal documents to peel back some of the details about Apple’s ties with China.

A 1,250-word MOU between Apple and China’s National Development and Reform Commission reportedly runs for five years and accounted for $275 billion in spending

That includes a request Apple reportedly received in 2014 or 2015 about a small group of uninhabited islands that China and Japan apparently have a dispute over in terms of who...

Continue reading…

Here are the best Kindle deals right now

The fourth-gen Kindle might not be Amazon’s latest e-reader, but it’s down to just $55 right now. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

When it comes to finding a device to use to read your ebooks, you have a few options to choose from. You can always buy a tablet or use your smartphone, but those devices are multipurpose and can be used for a ton of things, like surfing the web or doom-scrolling on Twitter. 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 Kindle lineup, which consists of several unique models with their own pros and cons.

Below, we’ve listed each model currently available for purchase. Sometimes, there isn’t a deal for one, or any, of the...

Continue reading…

OnePlus pulls buggy OxygenOS 12 update

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

OnePlus released the Android 12-based OxygenOS 12 to the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro this week, but the company has already pulled it following reports of bugs and issues from users.

“We are aware of the issues caused by the OxygenOS 12 update and our software team is fixing them,” OnePlus said in a statement to Android Police. “We will suspend this software update and roll out a new iteration as soon as possible.”

The release has been widely panned. Android Police called it “just awful,” highlighting the need to toggle settings to get the 120Hz display to work again and that some menus “straight-up crash” as examples of issues. 9to5Google agreed: “For a so-called ‘stable’ release, OxygenOS 12 is riddled with bugs and issues that honestly make...

Continue reading…

Sony was bringing PlayStation Now to mobile phones, according to a confidential Apple presentation

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

In 2017 — long before Apple declared that cloud gaming could only exist on the iPhone if it jumped through gigantic hoops — Sony was preparing to launch its PlayStation Now cloud gaming service on mobile phones, a confidential document reveals.

It could have been the single biggest expansion of Sony’s PS Now game service in years. Originally, the service streamed PS2 and PS3 games to smart TVs, Blu-ray players, and the PS3 and PS Vita, but cut off all those original platforms in late 2017 (coincidence?) to focus on the PlayStation 4 and Windows PC instead. While it recently added 1080p streaming and a PS5 client, it’s never been offered on Android, iOS, or Mac.

But according to a confidential document unearthed by The Verge from the...

Continue reading…

Go read this story explaining in detail the scary Teams bug that blocked a 911 call

Photo by Vlad Savov / The Verge

Sometimes when technology bugs out, I like a good and heavy analysis on why something didn’t work as intended. Mishaal Rahman, former editor in chief at XDA Developers, wrote an excellent explainer on why a 911 call on a Google Pixel 3 with Microsoft Teams failed during a real emergency — aptly titled: “How a bug in Android and Microsoft Teams could have caused this user’s 911 call to fail.”

Rahman’s story explains the recent situation of a Pixel 3 user frantically trying to call 911 but attempts kept freezing the phone.

New: How a bug in Android and Microsoft Teams could have caused this user’s 911 call to fail.

This is a high-level technical analysis explaining that weird Android 911/Microsoft Teams bug.https://t.co/hjFIm7GGn3

Tip @...

Continue reading…

Google tells employees it won’t raise everyone’s wages to keep up with inflation

The company won’t be doing a company-wide pay raise to match rising prices. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Google parent company Alphabet announced its fifth quarter in a row of record profits ($18.9 billion) and second straight quarter of record revenue ($65.1 billion) in October, but a company executive told employees that Google wouldn’t automatically adjust their salaries to account for inflation. According to CNBC, Google’s VP of compensation Frank Wagner told employees at a company all-hands meeting on December 7th that Google doesn’t “have any plans to do any type of across-the-board type adjustment” when asked about the inflation rate in the US.

Wagner did hint that the company’s compensation budgets “reflected” the higher cost of labor that comes with increased prices, according to CNBC. However, he said that the company would...

Continue reading…

My quest to find the ‘alligator brides’

Last night’s Game Awards had some really cool surprises. We got a new Alan Wakeannouncement, we got the slit scared out of us by Slitterhead, and an adorable pot friend (like an actual friend in a pot, not a cannabis companion) dropped some Elden Ring lore on us. But there was one surprise that left me and my colleagues at The Verge confused, curious, and breathless for more: what game has alligator brides in it and how can we get our hands on it?

Ming-Na Wen, savior of China and Boba Fett’s right hand, appeared during the Game Awards to present the award for Best Narrative (which, by the way, went to the very well-deserving Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy). During her speech, she mentioned that as the mother of a gaming-obsessed kid,...

Continue reading…

Nintendo will sell you the Switch OLED’s dock with built-in ethernet

You can now get the Switch OLED dock without the Switch OLED | Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge

If you’ve wanted to get your hands on the Nintendo Switch OLED’s dock, you’re in luck — Nintendo is now selling it on its online store for $70, $10 more than the original dock. The newer version of the dock has a slightly more rounded design, comes in white, and (most importantly for some gamers) trades one of its USB 2.0 ports for an ethernet jack.

It’s nice to have the option to buy a second dock for your Switch OLED, should you need an extra or a replacement. You could also pick one up if you’ve got a non-OLED Switch and your dock is getting to the point where it needs a replacement. Nintendo’s own FAQ says the OLED’s dock is compatible with the regular Switch, though you may need to do a software update to get full functionality.

If...

Continue reading…

‘Extremely bad’ vulnerability found in widely used logging system

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Security teams at companies large and small are scrambling to patch a previously unknown vulnerability called Log4Shell, which has the potential to let hackers compromise millions of devices across the internet.

If exploited, the vulnerability allows remote code execution on vulnerable servers, giving an attacker the ability to import malware that would completely compromise machines.

The vulnerability is found in log4j, an open-source logging library used by apps and services across the internet. Logging is a process where applications keep a running list of activities they have performed which can later be reviewed in case of error. Nearly every network security system runs some kind of logging process, which gives popular libraries...

Continue reading…

Ford reportedly delays Explorer EV in favor of Mustang Mach-E

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Ford is delaying the launch of its forthcoming all-electric Explorer SUV from mid-2023 to at least December 2024, according to Automotive News. The rollout of an all-electric Lincoln Aviator built on the same shared Ford EV platform is also being delayed along that same timeframe.

Ford also no longer plans to build the two EVs at its factory in Cuautitlan, Mexico, where it makes the Mustang Mach-E, according to the report. The company confirmed the vehicles in May.

Emma Bergg, Ford’s director of EV communications, declined to confirm the delay but said that Ford now plans to use the entire plant in Cuautitlan for Mach-E production.

“We have unprecedented demand for Mustang Mach-E and we are going to scale production quickly to meet...

Continue reading…

Activision exec asks employees to ‘consider the consequences’ of unionizing

Brian Bulatao, former Trump admin and current chief administrative officer for Activision Blizzard, sent a letter to his colleagues that doesn’t outright discourage them from unionizing but also kind of discourages them from unionizing. The letter was sent after workers engaged in their fifth straight day of work stoppage in response to layoffs at Activision Blizzard subsidiary Raven Software; the creation of a strike-fund to support those who walked out; and employees collaborating with the Communications Workers of America.

The letter, shared on Twitter by Jessica Gonzalez, reaffirms in bold letters that Activision supports workers’ right to choose whether to join a union (as interference with unionizing is a violation of federal law)....

Continue reading…

Peloton really wants you to know that what happened to Big isn’t because of its bike

A Peloton Bike was at the center of a shocking plot twist in HBO’s Sex and the City reboot. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

The punches keep coming for Peloton. Its treadmills were recalled after a series of injuries and a child’s death, people are returning to gyms, and now — spoiler alert — its stock is down 11 percent overnight after its iconic Bike was a key part of a major character’s death in the inaugural episode of And Just Like That..., HBO Max’s new _Sex and the City_reboot. However, Peloton is now saying its product isn’t to blame — it’s extravagant living.

Spoiler warning: the following discusses a major plot point from the first episode ofAnd Just Like That...

The brouhaha centers around the death of Mr. Big (Chris Noth) following a 45-minute Peloton class led by fictional instructor Allegra (who is portrayed by actual Peloton instructor Jess...

Continue reading…

This is BTS’s Twitter world, and we are living in it

Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for iHeartRadio

The most-liked tweet of 2021 was a note from Joe Biden on the day of his inauguration. The fourth and fifth most-liked tweets are messages from Barack Obama and Kamala Harris, respectively, also celebrating Biden’s inauguration. In second place, sandwiched right in there with 3.2 million likes, is a photo of BTS member Jungkook sitting on a bed and making a kissy face at the camera.

Such is the absolute chokehold that the South Korean band held over global social media in 2021. Twitter has detailed its top tweets, emojis, and hashtags of 2021 in a new blog post, and the running theme is clear: BTS ruled the platform. The members, who tweet from a single group account rather than individual handles, receive multiple millions of likes on...

Continue reading…

‘No easy solution’ for Tesla Cybertruck’s comically large windshield wiper, Elon Musk says

New drone footage of a prototype Tesla Cybertruck being tested on the company’s track in Fremont, California, was published Friday, prompting Elon Musk to address the vehicle’s hilariously oversized windshield wiper.

The Cybertruck’s massive, flat windshield, blending seamlessly into the hood, was one of the electric truck’s most distinctive features when it was first unveiled in 2019. But keeping a clean windshield was something Tesla’s design team didn’t even consider, as evidenced by the original prototype’s lack of a working windshield wiper.

But now that the truck is getting closer to production, we’re starting to see the compromises that Tesla will have to make in order to accommodate the Cybertruck’s polarizing design — the need...

Continue reading…

Mercedes-Benz fixes error that let drivers watch TV while in motion

Photo by Andrew Hawkins / The Verge

Mercedes-Benz has fixed a server issue that made it possible to browse the internet and watch TV on the 56-inch “hyperscreen” in the new electric EQS and newer S-Class sedans. While the oversight is already resolved, the German automaker filed for a recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in “an abundance of caution.”

The company says in a document filed with the NHTSA (which was spotted by Consumer Reports’ Keith Barry) that, in November, it found an “incorrect configuration was available on Mercedes-Benz’s backend server and might have been installed on vehicles in the field.” Very few cars were affected (the EQS only just started hitting city streets here), around 227 by Mercedes-Benz’s count. The S-Class sedans...

Continue reading…

Moderna data shows mRNA isn’t a quick fix for the flu vaccine

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The first data from clinical trials of Moderna’s mRNA-based seasonal flu vaccine, released by the company Friday morning, were underwhelming — a finding that shows gene-based vaccines might not be a fix for all the problems with vaccine development.

The overwhelming success of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, made by Moderna and Pfizer / BioNTech, supercharged interest in that strategy for developing shots. The shots inject people with tiny snippets of the gene for a virus, which the body builds and then uses to learn how to fight the virus. Current flu shots contain inactivated copies of the influenza virus. mRNA vaccines are faster to design and produce because manufacturers don’t have to grow copies of the virus, which is why experts have...

Continue reading…

Meta adds Quest 2, Portal, and Ray-Ban Stories to its bug bounty program

Meta added some hardware products to its bug bounty program | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Facebook parent company Meta is updating its bug bounty program to add hardware products from its metaverse division Reality Labs, including its Quest 2, Portal, and Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses, the company announced Friday. The work will play an important role in its “journey to help build the metaverse,” according to a press release.

The press release emphasized that verified Ray-Ban Stories bug submissions are eligible for awards, which it’s hoping will incentivize more researchers to “analyze the glasses and our other hardware devices.” The minimum award for discovering a bug is $500, and the amounts increase depending on the device and the potential impact of the bug discovered. The biggest payout listed is $30,000 but could go...

Continue reading…

Tesla leak reveals all-in-one ‘Superhorn’ for Model 3 and Y

Image: Tesla

Tesla may be adding new hardware components to its upcoming 2022 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles — including a new all-in-one “Superhorn” that combines a horn, alarm, and loudspeaker. This feature and more was revealed (via Electrek) in a leaked document on German-speaking Tesla forum TFF.

The listed component changes presented in the document appear to be meant for the eyes of European regulators. Tesla generally does not line up new features with model years as closely as most other manufacturers. For instance, the company started adding its new full self-driving computer (HW3) to cars in April 2019. Then, in September of that year, it began including an external speaker under Model 3 bumpers (to comply with legislation requiring electric...

Continue reading…