Fortnite raised $144 million for Ukraine relief

In two weeks, Fortnite has raised a total of $144 million for Ukraine relief efforts. Ahead of its most recent season, developer Epic Games said that it would be donating all of its proceeds from the game, along with those from Microsoft, to humanitarian efforts following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for a period of two weeks.

The game raised $36 million in its first day alone, and today, Epic revealed the final total of $144 million. The funds are being put towards several aid groups, including Direct Relief, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children’s Fund, and the World Food Programme.

Epic’s efforts are just one of several Ukraine-related fundraising initiatives from game developers. Last month, L...

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How to get a refund from the PlayStation Store

Getting a refund from the PlayStation Store isn’t difficult, but you can’t do it on your console. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

So you bought something from the PlayStation Store, and you changed your mind? Whether you purchased a game by mistake or just decided that you’d rather have your money back, getting a refund is now as simple as chatting with a representative for a few minutes. Sony’s refund policy, which it established in 2019, covers preorders, games, DLC, subscriptions, and movies and allows 14 days from the date of the purchase to request a return.

Even though the refund policy is fairly comprehensive, there’s still a big caveat: once you’ve downloaded your purchased content, you’re ineligible for that refund. If you’ve preordered a title more than 14 days before its release, you can get a refund any time until the release of the product. If you’ve...

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Hertz says it will purchase 65,000 electric vehicles from Polestar

Image: Hertz | Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.

Rental car company Hertz announced plans to purchase up to 65,000 electric vehicles from Polestar, a sub-brand of Volvo and its Chinese parent company Geely. The announcement follows a similar move by Hertz to purchase 100,000 Tesla vehicles in a bid to electrify its global fleet.

The new vehicles will be acquired over a period of five years. The Polestar vehicles will available in Europe in spring 2022 and in North America and Australia in late 2022. Neither company disclosed the financial terms of the deal, but the EV maker’s Polestar 2 sedan starts at $49,000, making the deal worth around $3.18 billion if Hertz pays full price for the vehicles.

Hertz reported having around 500,000 vehicles in its global fleet last year

Hertz...

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Google offers employees free electric scooters to get them back to the office

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge

Google is preparing to bring its employees back to the office this week, and as an added bonus, it’ll be offering them free electric scooters to help ease the transition.

The tech giant is teaming up with e-scooter maker Unagi to launch a new program called “Ride Scoot,” in which most of Google’s US-based workers can get reimbursed for the full cost of a monthly subscription to Unagi’s stylish Model One scooter. The Model One, which retails for $990, is a lightweight dual-motor scooter with a top speed of 20mph and a range of 15.5 miles.

Unagi founder and CEO David Hyman said the idea was to help Google employees get to work — or even just to the closest bus stop. (Google famously provides free shuttle bus service to its employees in...

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How to use Apple TV’s picture-in-picture mode to view a HomeKit camera feed

With Apple TV’s picture-in-picture mode, you can keep a live feed of your HomeKit security camera running in a small screen while watching a show on your big screen. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Picture-in-picture mode has been an option on Apple’s streaming media device, the Apple TV, for a couple of years now. But with the recent tvOS 15.4 update, Apple has made it easier to view a live feed from HomeKit cameras in a small window on top of any other content you’re playing on your Apple TV.

This is a useful feature if you want to keep an eye on the baby’s room while you’re watching a movie, or watch over the front door for that special delivery during a big game.

Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

You can view a live feed of a HomeKit camera in picture-in-picture mode on an Apple TV.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to enabling and using Apple TV’s picture-in-picture mode to view a live feed of...

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Alphabet’s Wing kicks off drone delivery service in Dallas on April 7th

Wing, the drone delivery company operated by Google-parent Alphabet, will launch its first commercial service in the US on April 7th. The company’s quadcopters will be available to “tens of thousands” of homes in the suburban towns of Frisco and Little Elm, both of which are part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, the company said.

Customers can order items from a limited number of stores that are partnering with Wing, including Walgreens, Blue Bell Creameries, Easyvet, and Texas Health. Wing’s operational model involves parking small shipping containers next to participating stores to act as tiny hangers from which Wing’s drones will be deployed. After receiving orders online, employees at each partnering store take the items outside...

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Elon Musk buys 9.2 percent of Twitter amid complaints about free speech

Elon Musk at the opening of Tesla’s German factory. | Photo by Christian Marquardt - Pool/Getty Images

Tesla CEO Elon Musk now owns 9.2 percent of Twitter according to a 13G filing released today, Bloomberg News reports. According to the filing, Musk purchased the stake on March 14th. Musk has long been one of Twitter’s highest profile users and recently polled his over 80 million followers about the platform’s adherence to free speech. Twitter’s share price was up over 25 percent in pre-market trading on the news.

CNBC notes that Musk’s Twitter stocks were worth $2.89 billion based on Friday’s closing price. Musk’s shares are classified as a passive stake, but Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told CNBC that the purchase “could lead to some sort of buyout.”

Musk had been publicly calling into question Twitter’s approach to free speech via a poll...

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NASA delays dress rehearsal of new megarocket

Image: NASA/Joel Kowsky via Flickr

Today, NASA suspended the last major test of its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket after pressurization issues prevented technicians from safely loading propellants into the rocket. The test — known as a wet dress rehearsal — has been postponed until Monday, April 4th at the earliest, NASA announced in a post on the Artemis I live blog.

“Teams have decided to scrub tanking operations for the wet dress rehearsal due to loss of ability to pressurize the mobile launcher,” NASA explained. Some fans on the mobile launcher — the platform that provides support for the rocket up until launch — were unable to maintain positive pressure, which is crucial in warding off hazardous gases. As a result, NASA technicians couldn’t “safely proceed” with...

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A Kirby song cover just won a Grammy

Nintendo

Kirby is officially a Grammy award winner — well, at least in spirit. The pink, spherical creature helped earn Charlie Rosen and Jake Silverman a Grammy for the best arrangement, instrumental, or acapella for their take on Meta Knight’s Revenge from the 1996 classic Kirby Superstar. The cover was originally performed by the aptly-named 8-Bit Big Band, a 30 to 65-member orchestra that specializes in putting its own spin on video game music.

In the past, the 8-Bit Big Band has performed Zelda’s Lullaby from the Ocarina of Time, Fourside from Earthbound, Big Blue from F-Zero, and much more. You can listen to the group’s performance of the reimagined Meta Knight’s Revenge in the embed above — it’s a real jazzy take on the original track,...

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Data leak from Russian delivery app shows dining habits of the secret police

A Yandex Food leak exposed the data of 58,000 users, including those associated with the Russian government. | Image: Getty Images

A massive data leak from Russian food delivery service Yandex Food revealed the delivery addresses, phone numbers, names, and delivery instructions belonging to those associated with Russia’s secret police, according to findings from Bellingcat.

Yandex Food, a subsidiary of the larger Russian internet company, Yandex, first reported the data leak on March 1st, blaming it on the “dishonest actions” of one of its employees and noting that the leak doesn’t include users' login information. Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor has since threatened to fine the company up to 100,000 rubles (~$1,166 USD) for the leak, which Reuters says exposed the information of about 58,000 users. The Roskomnadzor also blocked access to an online map...

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Tesla’s Shanghai factory stays closed as COVID restrictions remain in place

Tesla’s Shanghai factory has been closed since March 28th. | Photo by Xiaolu Chu/Getty Images

Tesla’s Shanghai factory will remain closed for another day as the city deals with strict lockdown measures brought on by an uptick in COVID-19 cases, as first reported by Bloomberg. In a company memo obtained by Bloomberg, Tesla reportedly told employees on Sunday to stay home to comply with the city’s COVID restrictions.

A previous report from Reuters indicated that Tesla would resume production at the Shanghai plant on Monday, April 4th, as some stay-at-home orders were expected to end. However, workers in the eastern portion of the city — where Tesla’s factory is located — are still facing COVID-related movement restrictions, and there’s no word on when the city plans to lift them.

Tesla first shuttered its Shanghai plant on March...

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Snapchat now lets you share YouTube videos as a sticker in your snap

Image by Snapchat

Snapchat is making it easier to share YouTube videos within your snap or story, letting you bypass the process of copying, pasting, and attaching the video as a link (via Android Police). The feature is available on both Android and iOS.

Now all you need to do is navigate to YouTube, hit the “Share” button, and then select “Snapchat.” Snapchat will open, and the video will automatically appear in your camera as its own sticker, showing the name, thumbnail, and creator of the video. After you take your picture or video, you can play around with the size of the sticker, rotate it, and place it anywhere on the screen. Anyone who views your snap or story can click on the link and view the video within the YouTube app or in their web browser.

...

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Tesla delivered over 310,000 vehicles despite ‘exceptionally difficult quarter’

Photo by Sean O’Kane / The Verge

Tesla delivered 310,048 vehicles in the first quarter of 2022, despite what Tesla CEO Elon Musk says was an “exceptionally difficult quarter,” citing global supply chain issues and a brief closure at Tesla’s Shanghai factory, as reported by CNBC.

In a press release, Tesla said the Model 3 and Y made up 295,324 of these deliveries, while 14,724 were for the Model S and X. Deliveries increased slightly from the previous quarter’s 308,600 deliveries and outpaced the 184,800 shipments Tesla made in the first quarter, representing a 68 percent year-over-year increase. On the production side of things, Tesla managed to build a total of 305,407 vehicles.

This was an *exceptionally* difficult quarter due to supply chain interruptions & China...

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DJI Mini 3 Pro leak shows obstacle avoidance sensors and a slightly bigger battery

Photo by Ryan Loughlin

The rumored DJI Mini 3 Pro may come with some substantial upgrades over its non-Pro predecessor, including obstacle avoidance sensors and a larger battery, as indicated by leaked images and a video of the new drone (via TechRadar).

Self-described DJI investigator Jasper Ellens posted the leaked pictures and video to Twitter. There are two large sensors on the front of the device to help avoid obstacles, as well as two downward-facing sensors to prevent ground collisions. If true, this is a welcome addition to the beginner-friendly drone series — the DJI Mini 2 only has ground detection sensors.

This is the new #DJI#Mini3Pro. It has a bigger 2453 mAh battery. Improved 3-axis gimbal and camera E24 F1.7. Huge front and ground sensors and...

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Russia says it will suspend ISS cooperation until sanctions are lifted

Russia says it will end cooperation with other nations on the International Space Station until the sanctions put on the country are lifted. Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russian space agency Roscosmos, announced in a thread on Twitter that the “restoration of normal relations between partners” on the ISS and other projects is only possible with the “complete and unconditional lifting of illegal sanctions.”

In translated versions of his tweets, Rogozin says he appealed the sanctions in letters to NASA, the European Space Agency, as well as the Canadian Space Agency. Rogozin also posted images of what appears to be each country’s response — The Verge reached out to NASA, the ESA, and the CSA to confirm their authenticity but didn’t...

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Fortnite brings back building

The new parkour feature in Fortnite Chapter 3: Season 2. | Image: Epic Games

Building has returned. This morning, Fortnite has re-enabled queues for its signature building feature; it was temporarily removed as part of the game’s latest season, which launched on March 20th.

However, while building is back, the combat-focused spirit lives on in the previously-introduced Zero Build mode. For now, the two versions of the game live side-by-side with queues for both regular and Zero Build available for Solo, Duos, Trios, or Squad battle royale combat.

Image: Epic Games

Building Is Back - Play Your Way!

Sprint, climb, and smash your way to a Victory Royale whether you choose to build up in Fortnite Battle Royale or go no-builds in the new Fortnite Zero Build. pic.twitter.com/4qay0vm17x

— Fortnite...

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Samsung’s M8 smart 4K monitor comes with a $100 gift card

Note that the white-colored model is $699.99, while the other three are $729.99. | Samsung

One of the best deals of the week is on a product that isn’t even out yet. If you preorder Samsung’s 32-inch M8 4K smart monitor, starting at $699.99, before April 17th, you’ll get a $100 Samsung credit to use on future purchases. Just a heads-up, though, that the white-colored model that costs $699.99 is currently set to deliver in early May. Other colors, like green and pink (which cost $30 more) will ship by April 18th. There’s a blue option, but it’s not available for preorder yet.

The M8 monitor has some features that many others don’t. I wrote about them all here, but if you want the skinny, here goes: it can run smart TV apps, like Apple TV Plus, Netflix, and more, even if you don’t have a computer or streaming device to connect...

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Twitch’s new boost feature puts porn on the homepage

Oops. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Twitch has paused its Boost Train feature, which launched last month and let people pay to promote streams, after porn ended up on users’ homepages with the label “promoted by the streamer’s community” slapped onto the NSFW thumbnails (via Kotaku).

SeveralTwitter and Reddit users (NSFW links, by the way) shared screenshots of pornographic thumbnails that showed up at the front of their “Live channels we think you’ll like” sections. The thumbnails indicate that the streams showed up there thanks to an experimental feature that Twitch first announced last year. The feature has changed since it was first introduced, but the basic concept remains the same — users can spend money to get a stream in front of people’s eyes. In this case, it...

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The real magic mouse is made by Logitech, not Apple

Apple’s Magic Mouse doesn’t deserve the name. | Photo by Nick Statt / The Verge

And it hasn’t changed since 2017

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Activision Blizzard confirms vaccine mandate is over, employees will walk out April 4th

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Activision Blizzard is officially lifting its vaccine mandate for US corporate employees, and workers have announced they plan to walk out in protest. The company confirmed to The Verge that it has already ended the mandate, and A Better ABK, an organization of Activision Blizzard employees advocating for better working conditions, announced Friday that employees will walk out of work on April 4th at 1PM ET in protest.

Jessica Gonzalez, a former Activision Blizzard employee and a founder of A Better ABK, originally revealed that the company was changing its vaccine policy on Twitter Thursday evening. In a series of screenshots, she shared the text of an email sent by Brian Bulatao, the company’s chief administrative officer. “Effective...

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Google crackdown means you won’t be able to buy Barnes & Noble ebooks on Android

Illustration by William Joel / The Verge

Starting next week, users of Barnes & Noble’s Android app will no longer be able to buy digital books in the app, and it seems to be due to a Google Play policy deadline that’s been more than a year and a half in the works. And it’s not just Barnes & Noble that’s affected; you aren’t able to buy Amazon’s Audible titles with a debit or credit card in the latest version of its Android app, either.

The changes appear to stem from Google’s insistence that apps use Google Play’s billing systems. Developers have long criticized Apple and Google for requiring the use of their own billing systems, in large part because of the so-called “app store tax” on many transactions.

Google updated its policies in September 2020 to clarify which types of...

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The government is investigating Amazon’s severe weather event rules following deaths

The Oversight Committee is demanding answers. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform has launched an investigation into Amazon’s labor practices around severe weather events, focusing on the company’s Illinois warehouse where six people died in a tornado strike last winter.

The committee is seeking documents and communication records from Amazon within the next two weeks, according to a letter signed by Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Cori Bush (D-MO) and sent Thursday to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.

The letter cites reports that Amazon threatened to fire employees if they left work as the tornado bore down on the area and that delivery dispatchers weren’t allowed to call drivers back without Amazon’s approval, even when there was an active...

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The best smartphone you can buy for under $500

The iPhone SE (2022) and Google Pixel 5A are our two top picks under $500, but a range of devices from Motorola, TCL, and Samsung make for great choices at every price.

You can get a great smartphone at this price, whether you want an iPhone, a 90Hz screen, or 5G support

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The best deals on true wireless earbuds right now

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

When it comes to true wireless earbuds, there are a ton of brands and products to choose from. Whether you need something with basic noise cancellation for your daily commute like the second-gen Echo Buds or a fitness-focused pair like the Beats Powerbeats Pro, there’s now a pair of wireless earbuds well suited for nearly every occasion. Some, like the UE Fits, even conform to the shape of your ear to provide a secure fit that’s uniquely yours.

Regardless of the brand or model that speaks to you, however, we’ve scoured the internet to find the best deals currently available on true wireless earbuds. Of course, if you’re still trying to find the right make and model for you, make sure to check out our guide to the best wireless earbuds,...

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Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker’s next chapter starts on April 12th

Square Enix

If you’re like me and still recovering from the emotional devastation of Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker, take heart; it’s time for a Newfound Adventure. Patch 6.1 Newfound Adventure is the first major content patch for Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker. In a Live Letter developer presentation, game director Naoki Yoshida revealed details about the patch, including new mounts, new hairstyles, new PvP battles and, of course, a new story.

Newfound Adventure picks up where Endwalker left off. Your friends, the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, have scattered across Eorzea doing their own thing now that they’ve prevented the end of all life in the galaxy. Events conspire to reunite the gang for some good old-fashioned low-stakes adventuring.

While I’m...

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NASA to conduct elaborate dress rehearsal with new megarocket this weekend

NASA’s Space Launch System on the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center | Photo by Loren Grush / The Verge

For the next three days, NASA is staging an elaborate dress rehearsal with its massive new rocket, the Space Launch System — practicing all of the major steps the agency will have to perform when the vehicle launches for the very first time. It’s a major milestone for the rocket’s development and one of the last major tests it must undergo before the vehicle can be cleared to fly sometime this summer.

The Space Launch System, or SLS, is the agency’s new flagship rocket, designed to carry people and cargo into deep space. It’s meant to play a lead role in NASA’s Artemis program, the agency’s initiative to send the first woman and the first person of color to the Moon by the mid-2020s. Capable of lifting nearly 60,000 pounds of cargo to...

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The US House of Representatives has voted to decriminalize marijuana

Cannabis bill to decriminalize gets a vote in the House | Photo by Antonio Masiello/Getty Images

The US House of Representatives voted Friday to approve a bill that would decriminalize cannabis at the federal level. It’s a first step toward making the drug legal and attempting to undo some of the damage caused by punitive drug laws, particularly among communities of color. The voting happened along party lines, with 220 votes in favor and 204 opposed. The bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate, but advocates say with Democrats controlling both houses of Congress, they’re more hopeful that the legislation will finally become law.

The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (or MORE Act) would remove marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances and add a federal tax on cannabis products. It would also...

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Amazon workers vote to unionize Staten Island warehouse

Workers at Amazon’s Staten Island fulfillment center voted whether to unionize | Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

With a few dozen votes left to count, workers at an Amazon warehouse in New York City appear to have enough votes to unionize. The final tally was 2,654 yes votes, and 2,131, with 67 challenges. The JFK8 fulfillment center in Staten Island will join the Amazon Labor Union, as the number of challenges is not sufficient to affect the outcome.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) determined in January that unionization efforts at the facility had “reached a sufficient showing of interest” to hold an election. The facility employs roughly 5,000 people.

The ALU has been trying to unionize Amazon workers in New York for nearly two years. In October 2021, it filed with the NLRB to hold a union election for two Amazon facilities on Staten...

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Writing Google reviews about patients is actually a HIPAA violation

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

In the past few years, the phrase “HIPAA violation” has been thrown around a lot, often incorrectly. People have cited the law, which protects patient health information, as a reason they can’t be asked if they’re vaccinated or get a doctor’s note for an employer.

But asking someone if they’re vaccinated isn’t actually a HIPAA violation. That’s a fine and not-illegal thing for one non-doctor to ask another non-doctor. What is a HIPAA violation is what U. Phillip Igbinadolor, a dentist in North Carolina, did in September 2015, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. After a patient left an anonymous, negative Google review, he logged on and responded with his own post on the Google page, saying that the patient missed...

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Samsung’s Galaxy S22 is $100 off at Best Buy today only

Save $100 on the Samsung Galaxy S22 at Best Buy for today only | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

We’re kicking off April Fools’ Day with a deal that’s dead serious. For today only, Best Buy is knocking $100 off the price of the unlocked Samsung Galaxy S22. The 128GB and 256GB models of the S22 are currently discounted to $699.99 and $749.99, respectively. Just note that this discount only applies to the standard model of the S22, not the S22 Plus or Ultra. You don’t have to activate this phone when you purchase it either, just make sure to select “activate later” before adding it to your cart. This is the first discount we’ve seen on the latest model of Samsung’s smartphone since its release, making this a prime opportunity to upgrade.

The S22 features an impressive array of specs, including a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, a 50MP main...

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