The US’s free COVID test website has more visitors than all other .gov sites combined

The site appears to be handling the traffic. | Image: USPS

The US government’s site to claim free COVID tests, which has started accepting orders a day before it was scheduled to, is drawing in a _lot_of visitors — more than every other government page combined, according to the government’s own analytics site.

Web traffic numbers change by the second, but at 1:32PM ET, when I ran the report to download real-time numbers for all governmental pages, COVIDTests.gov (along with its FAQ page and versions of the site in other languages) had 685,817 visitors. The visitor counts for the 3,853 other pages included in the report totaled 419,615. Traffic doesn’t seem to have dropped since then.

At times, theCOVIDtests.govpage had over 705,000 visitors.

There have been concerns...

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Democrats unveil bill to ban online ‘surveillance advertising’

Photo by Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images

On Tuesday, Democrats introduced a new bill that would ban nearly all use of digital advertising targeting on ad markets hosted by platforms like Facebook, Google, and other data brokers.

The Banning Surveillance Advertising Act – sponsored by Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) – prohibits digital advertisers from targeting any ads to users. It makes some small exceptions, like allowing for “broad” location-based targeting. Contextual advertising, like ads that are specifically matched to online content, would be allowed.

“The ‘surveillance advertising’ business model is premised on the unseemly collection and hoarding of personal data to enable ad targeting,” Eshoo, the bill’s lead sponsor, said...

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YouTube will stop making most original shows

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

YouTube will scale back a significant portion of YouTube Originals, which produced original content including scripted series, educational videos, and music and celebrity programming. Chief business officer for YouTube Robert Kyncl announced the changes today in a statement on Twitter.

Going forward, the company will only fund originals in the YouTube Kids Fund and the Black Voices Fund, a program created in 2020 that committed $100 million to “amplify” Black creators on the platform.

“With rapid growth comes new opportunities and now our investments can make a greater impact on even more creators when applied towards other initiatives, like our Creator Shorts Fund, Black Voices Fund, and Live Shopping programming to name a few,” the...

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Tesla owner is the first to face felony charges for deadly Autopilot crash

California prosecutors filed two felony charges against the owner of Tesla Model S for a deadly crash in 2019 that involved the vehicle’s Autopilot system, marking the first time that a Tesla owner has been criminally charged in the US in a case involving the automaker’s advanced driver assist system. The charges were first reported by the AP.

According to the LA County District Attorney, the incident took place in Gardena, a suburb of LA, on December 29, 2019. Kevin George Aziz Riad, 27, was exiting a highway in his black Model S when he ran through a red light, slamming into a Honda Civic and killing two people.

Riad, a limousine service driver, will now face two charges of vehicular manslaughter, according to charges filed with the...

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Moon Knight’s English accent is its first villain

As you watch the first trailer for Marvel’s _Moon Knight_series, a few things quickly become clear about Oscar Isaac’s take on the titular hero. The first: like his comics counterpart, this Moon Knight will grapple with having multiple personalities. The second: one of those personalities is meant to be believably British, despite his having one of the most ludicrous British accents recently captured on camera.

In Marvel’s comics, Moon Knight — created by Doug Moench and Don Perlin — is both a codename and one of the alternate personalities coexisting within Marc Spector, a former Marine turned mercenary who appears to gain otherworldly abilities after dying and seemingly being resurrected by an Egyptian moon deity known as Khonshu....

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God of War for PC just got its first discount

The PlayStation epic God of War was released to PC a mere four days ago but is currently discounted to just $37.76 at Eneba, an excellent break on the regular $49.99 price tag. This amazing reboot of the classic Sony franchise brings back Kratos in his role as the iconic God of War in a sweeping narrative bedded in the lore of Norse mythology. The RPG-inspired gameplay is made even stronger with the help of an amazing story that adds some much-needed depth to the otherwise one-dimensional diety.

The Gigabyte G32QC 32-inch curved gaming monitor is currently discounted to match its lowest price ever at Newegg. Normally, this curved gaming panel costs $369.99 but has been reduced to just $299.99 when you use the promo code GNLBNA8242 at...

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How to order free rapid COVID tests from the US government

With the rise of the Omicron variant, we’ve been urged to use COVID-19 rapid antigen tests to make sure that we don’t spread the virus to friends and family. However, it’s been very difficult to follow that suggestion, what with long lines at COVID testing stations and high prices for home kits — when you can find them.

To try to alleviate this situation, the US federal government has created a website where you can order four free rapid test kits per month per household. While the site was scheduled to officially open Wednesday, January 19th, it started taking names and addresses a day early.

It’s extremely simple to put in your order. You will not need to submit a credit card or any other financial information.

• Go to C...

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Microsoft’s Activision acquisition would instantly make it a force in mobile gaming

Photo Illustration by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

With its pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft could soon add the likes of Diablo, Warcraft, and Call of Duty to its lineup of big-name franchises, which already includes everything from Halo to Minecraft to Fallout. That’s sure to move more Xbox consoles and bring more subscribers into the increasingly tempting Game Pass ecosystem. But there’s another, less obvious, part of the deal that could be just as important: it instantly gives Microsoft a huge audience in the mobile space.

The biggest video games in the world are largely found on smartphones, and for the last few years, major publishers have been spending lots of money to get into the space. Just this month, Take-Two — the company behind the likes of NBA 2K and G...

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AT&T is limiting C-band 5G expansion around airports even more

The carrier says airlines “have not utilized the two years they’ve had to responsibly plan for this deployment.” | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

AT&T has announced it will push back its plans to activate “a limited number” of 5G towers around “certain airport runways” after airline operators warned that the deployment could cause “catastrophic disruption” to travel and shipping. While AT&T has an agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration to create buffer zones around 50 airports, the carrier has confirmed to The Verge that it’s halting the rollout of even more towers than originally planned.

The company is clearly unhappy with the situation. In a statement to The Verge, it said that it will “continue to work with the aviation industry and the FAA to provide further information about our 5G deployment, since they have not utilized the two years they’ve had to responsibly...

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The best laptop you can buy in 2022

Image: William Joel/The Verge

The best laptops for you, from ultraportables to high-powered editing machines

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Librarians are coming for podcasts

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Well, hi, everyone! You’ve got Aria. Real excited to be here with y’all.

As a reminder, Ashley’s out this week, so if you have things to share, you can send ‘em my way (aria.bracci@voxmedia.com). In the meantime, I’ll share some things with you, which is my job, to share those things.

P.S. Julie, if you’re reading this, tell your 10-year-old we said hey!

Hot Pod Summit is almost here! We’re hosting the invite-only event on February 24th in Brooklyn, New York, as part of On Air Fest. You can see this year’s On Air Fest lineup and buy tickets here. We’ll have more to share on programming and ticketing for Hot Pod Summit in the coming weeks.

EXCLUSIVE: $100K podcast fund launches for upstart shows

Starting today, budding US-based...

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US competition enforcers launch overhaul of merger approval process

Photo by Graeme Jennings-Pool/Getty Images

On Tuesday, the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission launched a joint effort to modernize antitrust enforcement, seeking comment on how the agencies can apply current law in cases against tech companies like Meta (parent company of Facebook) and Google.

The announcement came at a joint press conference from FTC Chair Lina Khan and Justice Department Antitrust Chief Jonathan Kanter, who described the move as a wide-ranging enforcement modernization effort. While the announcement spans markets, it specifically questions how regulators should approach merger approval in digital markets, potentially setting new legal standards around data aggregation, interoperability, and market consolidation that can affect competition.

“We...

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COVIDTests.gov is live now, letting you order four free rapid tests

COVIDTests.gov is now available. | Screenshot: COVIDTests.gov

Last week, the White House announcedCOVIDTests.gov, a site that you can use to order four free at-home COVID-19 rapid antigen tests per household, and it looks like it has gone live ahead of schedule. It was initially set to start taking orders on January 19th, but it appears you can place an order for your free tests now.

Pretty impressive — the free covid test ordering site is taking orders now, a day *ahead* of the announced launch. (I wonder if this is a test for all users or just some users?) https://t.co/aFmwzZ0Eqnpic.twitter.com/uZ0zmVqhXc

— anildash (@anildash) January 18, 2022

Some users have reported not seeing the “Order Free At-Home Tests” button, which connects you to the order page via the USPS website. However, you...

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Coinbase will let you pay with Mastercard in its upcoming NFT marketplace

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Coinbase is partnering with Mastercard to allow card payments on its upcoming NFT marketplace. This means you’ll be able to directly purchase an NFT with fiat currency (also known as a government-issued currency, such as the USD) using your Mastercard credit or debit card, all without having to buy cryptocurrency first.

The cryptocurrency exchange says it’s working with Mastercard to “classify NFTs as ‘digital goods,’” which should, in turn, make NFTs more accessible to someone who might be uncomfortable purchasing and storing cryptocurrency. Most NFT marketplaces require that you purchase cryptocurrency first, add it to a secure wallet, and then connect that wallet to the marketplace, a process that obviously isn’t as simple as your...

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Microsoft and Activision Blizzard: the latest news on the acquisition

A screenshot from Call of Duty: Warzone, Activision Blizzard’s free-to-play FPS game. | Image: Activision

Everything you need to know about gaming’s biggest acquisition yet

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Read Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick’s email to employees about the Microsoft acquisition

Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images for Vanity Fair

Since Activision Blizzard was sued in July by the state of California for a culture of “constant sexual harassment,” among many other troubling issues, the company has been in a state of controversy. There were a pair ofemployee walkouts, and more than 1,500 employees signed a petition to remove CEO Bobby Kotick. An Activision Blizzard spokesperson recently told the Wall Street Journal that 37 people had exited the company, and 44 have been disciplined as part of its investigations.

Kotick will continue as CEO, for now

Kotick himself was the center of another WSJ report saying the publisher’s former CEO was not only aware of but participated in the company’s pervasive toxic culture. Employees called for Kotick to step down not long...

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Daniel Radcliffe’s about to get real weird in Roku’s Al Yankovic biopic

Noam Galai/Getty Images

Today, Roku, Funny Or Die, and Tango announced that they’re partnering up to produce WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story, a biopic written by “Weird Al” Yankovic and director Eric Appel, with Daniel Radcliffe attached to star in the lead role. In a statement about the upcoming film, Yankovic spoke about how he sees _WEIRD_as his making good on a promise to maintain a dedicated presence in the film space over the decades.

“When my last movie UHF came out in 1989, I made a solemn vow to my fans that I would release a major motion picture every 33 years, like clockwork. I’m very happy to say we’re on schedule,” Yankovic said. “I am absolutely thrilled that Daniel Radcliffe will be portraying me in the film. I have no doubt whatsoever that this is...

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Making sense of new TV features in 2022

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Buying a TV can be a confusing ordeal, but it doesn’t need to be

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Read Microsoft Gaming CEO’s email to staff about the Activision Blizzard acquisition

As part of Microsoft’s plan to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, the software giant has created a Microsoft Gaming division. Phil Spencer, former head of Xbox, will now lead this team as it focuses on gaming across Xbox, PC, mobile, and the cloud. It’s a big promotion for Spencer, described as the Xboss by Xbox fans.

Spencer originally took over as the head of Microsoft’s Xbox division in 2014, reporting to former Windows chief Terry Myerson. In a sign of how gaming has changed at Microsoft under Spencer, he quickly moved into Microsoft’s senior leadership team in 2017, reporting directly to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella as the corporate vice president of gaming. After more than 30 years at the company, Spencer is now CEO of...

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How Volkswagen can reinvent itself as an EV company, with CEO Herbert Diess

Photo Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge

A new electric Microbus offers a glimpse at the future of VW

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Netflix’s beautiful Cuphead show gets a new trailer and a February release date

It premieres soon. | Image: Netflix

Netflix announced Tuesday that its years-in-the-making show based on the Cuphead video game premieres on February 18th, and it has debuted an action-packed new trailer ahead of the release to give you an idea of what to expect.

The Cuphead game’s stunning hand-drawn animation inspired by 1930s cartoons made it an obvious candidate for an eventual TV series, and based on the trailer, it looks like the show will be an entertaining ride. People who have played the game might spot a lot of familiar characters from the tough-as-nails sidescroller — there’s Cuphead and his brother Mugman, of course, and some of the game’s iconic bosses make appearances, too. The trailer also reveals that Ms. Chalice, who will join the Cuphead game in the...

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A new use for AI: summarizing scientific research for seven-year-olds

tl;dr papers shows AI’s potential to condense research

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Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service grows to 25 million subscribers

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service now has 25 million subscribers. That’s up from the 18 million Microsoft previously reported in January last year. The Xbox Game Pass all-you-can-eat catalog of downloadable games — or the “Netflix for video games” as it’s often described — continues to attract new subscribers as Microsoft looks to extend the service.

As Microsoft’s subscriber numbers grow, so does the amount of titles available on Xbox Game Pass. In 2021, Xbox Game Pass added iconic Bethesda games, with 20 in total on the service, including Dishonored, Doom, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Wolfenstein.

Microsoft announced the milestone while revealing its planned $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which will have...

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Windows 11 SE laptops arrive to take on Chromebooks in schools

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft’s Chrome OS competitor, Windows 11 SE, is making its way onto a handful of laptops. After detailing Windows 11 SE in November, Microsoft’s OEM partners are now starting to make devices available globally for schools and students. Acer, Asus, Dell, Dynabook, Lenovo, HP, and JP.IK have all created Windows 11 SE laptops, with devices from Fujitsu and Positivo arriving later this year.

Windows 11 SE will only be available on new low-cost devices and only for schools and education customers. It’s designed to really take on Chromebooks in education, and is optimized for Microsoft Edge, Office, and Microsoft’s cloud-based services. Windows 11 SE isn’t limited to just Microsoft apps though, with both Zoom and Chrome part of an...

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Women who drive for Uber and Lyft are being left to fend for themselves

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge

Two dozen women drivers speak out about their experiences with sexual assault and harassment

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Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion

Microsoft is acquiring Activision, the troubled publisher of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Diablo. The deal will value Activision at $68.7 billion, far in excess of the $26 billion Microsoft paid to acquire LinkedIn in 2016. It’s Microsoft’s biggest push into gaming, and the company says it will be the “third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony” once the deal closes.

Microsoft plans to add many of Activision’s games to Xbox Game Pass once the deal closes. With the acquisition of Activision, Microsoft will soon publish franchises like Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Call of Duty and Candy Crush. “Upon close, we will offer as many Activision Blizzard games as we can within Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, both...

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The best free apps for video calling

Illustration by Samar Haddad / Photo by Becca Farsace

Remember last summer, when things were starting to open up and Omicron was just a Greek letter you found in crossword puzzles? Yeah, me too. But now, many of us are still relying on video calls to keep in touch with work colleagues, family, and friends. And for most of us — especially those who are facing financial difficulties — free is best. Zoom continues to top the list of videoconferencing apps, but there are a bunch of applications out there that will allow you to meet others online for free.

We’ve listed a few of the best known videoconferencing apps, along with a couple of popular text chat apps that include video calling features. While most of these already have free versions, some are offering access to additional features...

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Garmin adds touchscreen and flashlight to its best multisport watch

Garmin’s new Fenix 7 series | Image: Garmin

Despite being leaked to hell and back, the Garmin Fenix 7 series was a no-show at CES 2022. That’s because Garmin decided to wait until today to separately announce its revamped multisport GPS smartwatches. On top of an updated flagship Fenix 7 lineup, Garmin is also launching the Epix — a rugged outdoors smartwatch with an always-on color display.

Some things with the new Fenix 7 smartwatches will be familiar to Garmin fans. There are still three sizes: the 42mm Fenix 7S, the 47mm Fenix 7, and the whopping 51mm Fenix 7X. The Fenix 7S and 7 will come in “regular” versions made of fiber-reinforced polymer, but there are also Solar Editions and Sapphire Solar Editions for all three models. Additionally, the Sapphire Solar Editions upgrade...

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Fortnite’s next update adds adorable monsters and brings back Tilted Towers

The next big update for Fortnite brings back something old and adds something new. As fans have long expected, the snow on the battle royale island has slowly melted, revealing the return of Tilted Towers, an iconic urban area that dates back to Fortnite’s first island.

Elsewhere in the v19.10 update is the addition of a new kind of creature: a giant, adorable monster called a Klombo. It looks like something ripped out of How to Train Your Dragon, and developer Epic says that they’re mostly gentle and they appear to add a new way of getting around the map. “Ascend their tails to get to the blowhole on their heads, then get launched a great distance upwards to escape a tricky situation,” Epic wrote in a blog post. There’s also a new item,...

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US airlines warn of ‘catastrophic disruption’ on Wednesday due to 5G activation

United Airlines was among those to issue a warning. | Photo by Daniel Karmann/picture alliance via Getty Images

CEOs from major US airlines including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines have warned that the impending deployment of new 5G spectrum on Wednesday could cause “catastrophic disruption” for flights across the country starting tomorrow. The warning, which was also signed by shipping companies including UPS Airlines and FedEx Express, was issued in a letter from the CEOs seen by Reuters, which said that both commercial and cargo flights could be affected.

The letter was sent to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson, and White House National Economic Council director Brian Deese, Reuters...

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