The best deals on MacBooks right now

The 2020 MacBook Air, one of the best laptops you can get, is frequently on sale. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

With multiple configurations and various models to choose from, finding a deal on a Mac equipped with an M-series chip is not all that difficult. It’s sometimes a slightly different story for the MacBook Pros with beefier M1 Pro and M1 Max CPUs, but with a little luck, you can score those excellent laptops for as much as $500 off. As for the most recent batch of M2-powered 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, they, too, get their fair share of modest savings with some regularity. And with the recent introduction of M2 Pro and M2 Max 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros, it’s probably just a matter of time until you can save some money on those refreshed models, too.

Here, we’ll run through the discounts that are currently available for Apple’s...

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International police just made a huge dark web bust

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Law enforcement agencies from around the globe arrested 288 people suspected of buying or selling drugs on the dark web. In a pair of press releases posted on Tuesday, the US Department of Justice and Europol said the joint effort also resulted in the shutdown of the dark web marketplace, Monopoly Market.

The operation, codenamed SpecTor, was done in collaboration with nine countries, including the US, UK, Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Brazil, and Switzerland. While 155 of the arrests took place in the US, authorities seized $53.4 million in cash and digital currencies, 850kg (or 1,873 lbs) of drugs, and 117 firearms worldwide.

288 dark web vendors arrested in major marketplace seizure.

Operation #SpecTor led to...

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Google still profits from climate lies on YouTube

| Photo by Sean Gallup / Getty Images

Google is still turning a buck on climate disinformation on YouTube. The company pledged not to sell ads on content that rejects mainstream climate science more than a year ago. And yet, in April, researchers were able to find hundreds of videos promoting misinformation about climate change that Google monetized with ads.

The Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD) coalition, a group that includes more than 50 nonprofit organizations, published the report today. It points to 100 different videos spouting lies about climate change on which Google ran ads, violating its own policy on disinformation. These are videos that outright deny what mountains of evidence tell us about climate change: that it’s caused by greenhouse gas...

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Democrat sounds alarm over AI-generated political ads with new bill

Image: Álvaro Bernis / The Verge

A phony AI-generated attack ad from the Republican National Committee (RNC) offered Congress a glimpse into how the tech could be used in next year’s election cycle. Now, Democrats are readying their response.

On Tuesday, Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) introduced a new bill to require disclosures of AI-generated content in political ads. Clarke told The Washington PostTuesday that her bill was a direct response to the RNC ad that launched last week. The video came out soon after President Joe Biden announced his 2024 reelection campaign, depicting a dystopian future where Biden reinstates the draft to aid Ukraine’s war effort and causes China to invade Taiwan if reelected.

“The upcoming 2024 election cycle will be the first time in U.S....

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Ford reopens orders for Mustang Mach-E at a lower price and higher range

Photo by Sean O’Kane / The Verge

Ford is reopening orders for its all-electric Mustang Mach-E while also bumping up the crossover’s EPA-estimated range and slashing prices all the way down the lineup. The move comes as EV prices remain in flux amid Tesla’s own price cuts and ongoing uncertainty around the federal tax credit.

The Mustang Mach-E is currently Ford’s bestselling electric vehicle and third best in the overall category, which has helped propel the automaker to its status as the No. 2 seller of EVs in the US. Ford recently said it was aiming to double the number of Mach-Es built per hour in 2023 to hit a run rate of 210,000 by the end of the year.

Orders for the Mach-E were briefly closed as the company completed renovations at its plant in Mexico. And to...

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Here are the best Kindle deals right now

The latest Kindle Paperwhite is on sale at Amazon with a power adapter and a fabric cover starting at $169.97. | Photo by Chaim Gartenberg / 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 phone, 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 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 looks to be moving...

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Laya’s Horizon on Netflix makes flying both exhilarating and soothing

Image: Snowman

The latest game release on Netflix manages to capture the thrill of flying — while somehow also turning it into something chill.

Laya’s Horizon is the newest game from Snowman, the studio best known for serene snowboarding games like Alto’s Odyssey. And in many ways, it’s an experience that builds on what the team has done in the past. Instead of boarding through procedurally generated 2D worlds, in Laya’s Horizon, players are soaring through a handcrafted 3D open-world island full of secrets to uncover. It’s one of the best games to hit Netflix’s fledgling gaming service to date.

In Laya’s Horizon, you don’t exactly fly but, rather, glide around using a wingsuit. You start out from a perch that oversees much of the idyllic island where...

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Nanoleaf’s new Matter light bulbs are an essential part of the smart home

The first Matter-over-Thread smart lighting line, Nanoleaf’s new lights promise a lot and mostly deliver.

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Amazon’s latest Matter update brings support for Thread

The fourth-gen Echo smart speaker is now a Thread Border Router. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge

Today is a make-or-break day for Matter as Amazon rolls out a big update to its support for the new smart home standard. The company has now switched on Matter in over 100 million Echo smart speakers, Thread support has arrived, and the Alexa iOS app now works with Matter. All of which should make it easier to connect any device to your smart home, no matter who made it.

Amazon had opted for a slow and steady approach to Matter, which launched late last year, wanting to make sure it actually worked before unleashing it on its ginormous customer base. But starting today, Amazon’s Alexa smart home platform is Matter-ready. The fourth-gen Echo smart speaker is now a Thread border router, supporting Thread devices such as Eve smart plugs...

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I tried Logitech’s Project Ghost video chat booth, and work calls on my laptop just can’t compare

It feels like you’re making genuine eye contact with the person you’re talking to.

The chic videoconferencing experience was built in collaboration with Steelcase and provides lifelike scale, natural eye contact, and no distractions. Sure beats my work-from-home setup.

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The best Xbox controller to buy right now

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Basic, premium, affordable, and customizable — lots to pick from.

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Pornhub goes dark in Utah to protest age verification law

Photo by Adrien Fillon / NurPhoto via Getty Images

Pornhub has blocked all users in Utah in protest of the state’s online age verification law that’s set to go into effect on Wednesday, as reported earlier by Vice. Users trying to access Porhub from Utah won’t be able to access any content and will instead see a message read by adult performer Cherie Deville explaining why the site has shut down in the state.

“While safety and compliance are at the forefront of our mission, giving your ID card every time you want to visit an adult platform is not the most effective solution for protecting our users and, in fact, will put children and your privacy at risk,” Deville says. “Until a real solution is offered, we have made the difficult decision to completely disable access to our website in...

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What’s after the social media era in news?

Former BuzzFeed News editor-in-chief Ben Smith on what’s next — and his new book, Traffic.

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Microsoft’s new Xbox Game Pass referral program lets you invite PC friends to try Game Pass

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft is launching a new Xbox Game Pass friend referral program that lets you invite friends to try out PC Game Pass. The friend referral offer is available for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members to invite up to five friends for free 14-day trials of PC Game Pass.

The friend referral invitations are available on the Game Pass homescreen and are only available to be sent to friends who are new to Game Pass. Microsoft is launching this offer just as Redfall debuts on Xbox and PC today, allowing Game Pass members to get friends playing the co-op vampire shooter.

Microsoft has been focusing on PC Game Pass growth recently

If a friend that’s new to Game Pass does accept this offer, then it means they cannot use another...

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Gran Turismo’s first trailer makes it seem like the movie hates gamers

Sony

There have been a number of video games that made for fantastic cinematic adaptations, but everything about the first trailer for Sony’s upcoming Gran Turismo film from director Neill Blomkamp makes the movie seem like a showcase of reasons why racing sims don’t need to be turned into movies.

Caught somewhere between being a video game adaptation and a coming-of-age narrative, Gran Turismo tells the true story of how teenage Gran Turismo player Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) actually became a professional race car driver after winning a series of driving game competitions. The trailer introduces Jann pre-fame while he’s still living at home with his father Steve (Djimon Hounsou) and his mother Lesley (Geri Halliwell) and spending...

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T-Mobile discloses its second data breach so far this year

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

T-Mobile has experienced another data breach, reporting that personal information belonging to hundreds of account holders was exposed in an attack between late February and March 2023. The company disclosed in notification letters issued to impacted customers on April 28th that a hacker managed to access information such as full names, dates of birth, addresses, contact information, government IDs, social security numbers, and T-Mobile account pins.

The company has not revealed how the hacker managed to access its systems. According to a data breach notification posted to the Maine attorney general’s office, 836 customers were impacted before T-Mobile discovered the breach on March 27th.

T-Mobile has reset the account pins of the users...

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Abode’s Google Nest integrations are back

Security system Abode now works with all Google Nest cameras and thermostats. | Image: Abode

Starting today, users of the smart home security system Abode can now control and automate Google Nest products natively inside the Abode app. This new feature will let you do things like set your alarm system to arm automatically when your Nest Thermostat switches to “away” and have your Google Nest Cam with floodlight send an alert to a professional monitoring service if it spots someone lurking on your property.

Long-term users of Abode will note that some of these features aren’t strictly new. They used to be able to have their Nest Thermostat’s mode control their security system — and more — before Google disabled its popular Works With Nest (WWN) program way back in 2019. (Some legacy connections still work, but those will be shut...

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Apple and Google are working together to limit AirTag stalking

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge, Shutterstock

Apple and Google have teamed up on a proposed industry specification aimed at combatting the safety risks associated with AirTags and other Bluetooth-enabled tracking devices. The companies announced Tuesday that the new standard requires the implementation of “unauthorized tracking detection and alerts” across Android and iOS devices.

The proposed specification lists a number of best practices for the creators of Bluetooth tracking devices, which are supposed to help prevent the “misuse” of location trackers that put users at risk for stalking, harassment, and theft. As outlined in the document, the unwanted tracking detection should “detect and alert individuals” when a tracker that’s separated from its owner is traveling with them and...

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How a cleaning app tricked me into taking care of myself

I will be tackling all six of those Tody to-do’s later. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge

By the end of 2021, my apartment looked like a tornado had run through it. The messiness made me anxious, but keeping a tidy home hadn’t been my priority that year. My mom was fine in February, and by November, ALS had robbed her of quite literally everything. After her funeral, I came home to my disaster apartment, looked at my mountains of clutter, and realized I didn’t even have a comfortable place to cry.

I threw myself a pity party and then downloaded the Tody app — a to-do app dedicated solely to cleaning — the next day.

The Tody app (Get it? To-do, tidy, Tody) came recommended by a friend with an immaculate house. Looking at their spotless home reminded me of something a college friend told me when she first saw my pigsty of a...

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How Bluesky should capitalize on its viral success

The logo for Bluesky’s AT Protocol. | Bluesky

Last week, we talked about how BeReal missed its moment. This week, let’s discuss how Bluesky might avoid the same fate.

Bluesky, of course, is the decentralized social network that surged in popularity over the weekend as the app opened up invitations to more beta testers and quickly sped past its first 50,000 users. Suffice to say it has been a long time coming: I first wrote about the company here in 2019, when Jack Dorsey woke up one day and decided he would try to rebuild Twitter on an open protocol and funded a team to do just that.

Elon Musk’s reign of error over the past six months has led to a flood of talent and money into social networking companies. Among the apps attempting to capitalize on Twitter’s decline are Post, T2,...

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Motorola is finally bringing a real flagship contender to the US

This year’s Edge Plus boasts all the right specs to take it to Samsung and Google. | Image: Motorola

We asked, and we received: Motorola is bringing its newest slab-style flagship to the US as the Motorola Edge Plus (2023). It’s priced at $799 for a base model with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, undercutting the $899 Google Pixel 7 Pro and $999 Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus by a significant margin, and it’s equipped with plenty of things you might expect from a flagship Android phone in 2023: a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, a big, smooth 165Hz screen, a stabilized main camera, a robust IP68 weather resistance rating, and wireless charging.

Weirdly, though, none of the three major US wireless carriers will sell the device — Motorola’s carrier partners for the Edge Plus include Boost Infinite (yep, that one) and Consumer Cellular. It’ll be...

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Amazon’s latest Echo Dot is on sale for as low as $29.99

Amazon’s current $20 discount applies to both the standard and clock-equipped models. | Image: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Right now, you can get Amazon’s latest Echo Dot smart speaker, which has some good sound for such a tiny device, for just $29.99 ($20 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. The LED-equipped model is also on sale at Amazon and Best Buy for $39.99 ($20 off), matching the smart speaker’s best price to date.

The fifth-gen Dot is as versatile as the prior model but features better sound and a new temperature sensor that’s capable of triggering Alexa Routines — meaning you can program it to turn on your air conditioner when it gets too hot in the kitchen. It also functions as a Wi-Fi extender, much like the last-gen model, allowing you to boost your internet coverage if you own an Eero Wi-Fi system. This is on top of a host of Alexa-enabled tasks,...

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Hyundai Ioniq 6 review: a Tesla Model 3 fighter with art deco style

Photo by Patrick George for The Verge

The Ioniq 6 looks more interesting than it drives. That’s not a bad thing.

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Hollywood writers are striking over low wages caused by streaming boom

The 2007 writers' strike (pictured above) lost California an estimated $2.1 billion and was credited with tipping the state into a recession. | Photo by Stephen Chernin/Getty Images

As of today, thousands of Hollywood television and movie writers are going on strike for the first time in 15 years.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) voted unanimously to strike on Tuesday after contract negotiations with the major Hollywood studios collapsed. The WGA is attempting to secure higher wages and better working conditions from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) — a group representing around 350 major studios and streaming services like Netflix, Disney, Amazon, Apple, and Sony — for the thousands of movie and television writers the union represents. Picket lines are expected to form starting Tuesday afternoon.

The last WGA strike in 2007 and 2008 lasted 100 days and was credited with tipping...

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AI is being used to generate whole spam sites

Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images

AI chatbots are being used to generate news stories and blog posts for online content farms in the hopes of attracting a trickle of ad revenue from the stray clicks of web users.

Experts have been warning for years that such AI-generated content farms will soon become commonplace, but the wider availability of tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT has now made these warnings a reality. NewsGuard, a for-profit organization that rates the trustworthiness of news sites, highlighted the problem in a recent report identifying 49 sites “that appear to be almost entirely written by artificial intelligence software.”

Said NewsGuard:

The websites, which often fail to disclose ownership or control, produce a high volume of content related to a variety of...

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Samsung tells employees not to use AI tools like ChatGPT, citing security concerns

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Samsung has banned the use of generative AI tools like ChatGPT on its internal networks and company-owned devices over fears that uploading sensitive information to these platforms represents a security risk, Bloomberg News reports. The rule was communicated to staff in a memo which describes it as a temporary restriction while Samsung works to “create a secure environment” to safely use generative AI tools.

The biggest risk factor is likely OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT, which has become hugely popular not only as toy for entertainment but as a tool to help with serious work. People can use the system to summarize reports or write response to emails — but that might mean inputting sensitive information, which OpenAI might have access too.

“...

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Redfall is playable on Steam Deck — with the right settings

The Redfall intro screen, with the Steam Deck’s performance hud above it. | Screenshot by Sean Hollister / The Verge

Nearly four hours in, I am not at all convinced that Redfall is a good game — unless there’s a lot of hidden depth, it feels like a rare miss from Arkane.

But unlike that other recent big release, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, you can make it playable on Steam Deck with a few easy tweaks.

I’m not saying it’ll look good, but it’s a heck of a lot better than the default setting!

Before: 24fps for this grainy mess below.

Tap here for full image.

After: 43fps, and things look smoother, too!

Tap here for full image.

Before:

Tap here for full image.

After:

Note: the time of day was changing as I was taking screenshots, sorry! Tap here for full image.

S...

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BeReal is making a feed of just famous people

Photo by Fabian Sommer / picture alliance via Getty Images

BeReal is releasing another feature that seems to counter the purpose of the app: a feed dedicated to famous people. Instead of exchanging daily photos with your friends, now you’ll get to see what the top athletes, artists, and activists of the world are up to.

BeReal, the app that markets itself as “Your friends for real,” gives you different windows of time each day to take a selfie and front-facing photo that gets shared with friends. The whole point of the app is to randomly share what you’re up to with friends, whether you’re doing something as boring as laying in bed or sitting in front of your computer at work.

But now, BeReal is throwing strangers into the mix. Its new feed, called RealPeople, is a “curated timeline of the...

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DC says that ‘if’ Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Superman movie is made, it’s going to be an Elseworlds

Val Zod punching an enemy. | DC Comics / Bruno Redondo, Alejandro Sánchez, Juan Albarran

With all of the reorganization of priorities that came with Warner Bros. Discovery tapping James Gunn and Peter Safran to oversee DC Studios, it felt like some of the studio’s previously announced projects might have been taken off the table. News of Gunn writing and directing Superman: Legacy, for example, seemed like a bad sign for the Ta-Nehisi Coates-written Superman film, but according to DC Studios’ co-CEO, that may not be the case just yet.

Back in 2021, it was reported that We Were Eight Years in Power author Ta-Nehisi Coates was penning a new Superman script described as “a 20th century period piece” that would revolve around a Black version of the Man of Steel. While details about the project were thin at the time, J.J. Abrams...

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FAA faces lawsuit over SpaceX’s damage to local environment

Debris litters the ground on April 22nd, 2023, after the SpaceX Starship liftedoff on April 20th for a flight test from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. | Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images

Environmental groups and the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas have filed suit against the Federal Aviation Administration after SpaceX’s Starship blew up during a launch at its Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, last month.

The explosion obliterated the launch pad, sending dust and debris flying for miles. Ash scatted over areas where endangered species live, according to the complaint filed in federal district court in Washington, DC, today. The explosion also sparked a 3.5-acre blaze, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

The suit alleges that the FAA failed to “take a hard look” at the environmental risks posed by SpaceX’s operations in Boca Chica, as it was required to do under the National Environmental Policy Act. The groups...

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