I have some questions about what Changpeng Zhao gave to the feds

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images

There are a lot of differences between Changpeng Zhao and Sam Bankman-Fried, and now we can add one more to the list: the amount of time they’ll serve for their crimes. Bankman-Fried got 25 years; Zhao got four months.

There’s more. Zhao appeared in court in a tailored navy suit with a light blue tie when he spoke in his own defense. Bankman-Fried was shackled and in prison garb.

Bankman-Fried defrauded people, pleaded not guilty, repeatedly perjured himself in court, got convicted on seven counts, and then gave an absolutely bizarre speech during his own sentencing hearing that made the judge think he’d be likely to re-offend. (This is to say nothing of his pretrial antics.) By contrast, Zhao pleaded guilty in a deal with the government...

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Silicon Valley is enamored with a company that pumps poop underground

Wastewater pipes at a reclamation plant in California on Wednesday, August 4, 2021. | Getty Images

aBig brands are paying startup Vaulted Deep $58.3 million to shoot poop and other organic waste products into underground wells as a way to fight climate change.

The deal was brokered by a group called Frontier Climate, which Stripe, Alphabet, Meta, Shopify, and McKinsey Sustainability launched in 2022 to support emerging climate tech. Specifically, Frontier is interested in trying to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They connect buyers with startups like Vaulted Deep that are developing ways to capture CO2 and sequester it underground so that it doesn’t heat up the planet.

Vaulted Deep’s strategy is to gather sewage, manure, and agricultural and paper mill waste and inject it deep underground to keep carbon in the waste from...

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TikTok seems to be dodging App Store commissions in Epic fashion

It’s unclear how many TikTok users are being prompted in-app to visit its website for cheaper TikTok Coins. | The Verge

TikTok appears to be probing App Store rules that require it to pay the “Apple tax” on in-app purchases. According to Sendit app co-founder David Tesler, some TikTok users are being directed to purchase TikTok coins — digital tokens used to tip creators during live streams — on the company’s website via an in-app link, effectively dodging the 30 percent commission Apple takes on digital purchases.

Screenshots acquired by Tesler show at least two instances where iOS users are encouraged to “recharge” their TikTok coins on TikTok.com to explicitly “avoid in-app service fees.” Tapping the “try now” link on these notifications opens an embedded web view where users can access payment options like Apple Pay, PayPal, or credit/debit cards to...

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Turns out the Rabbit R1 was just an Android app all along

I mean, at least it’s just $200? | Image: David Pierce / The Verge

Since it launched last week, Rabbit’s R1 AI gadget has inspired a lot of questions, starting with “Why isn’t this just an app?” Well, friends, that’s because it is just an app.

Over at Android Authority, Mishaal Rahman managed to download Rabbit’s launcher APK on a Google Pixel 6A. With a little tweaking, he was able to run the app as if it were on Rabbit’s own device. Using the volume-up key in place of the R1’s single hardware button, he was able to set up an account and start asking it questions, just as if he was using the $199 R1.

Oh boy.

Rahman points out that the app probably doesn’t offer all of the same functionality as the R1. In his words: “the Rabbit R1’s launcher app is intended to be preinstalled in the firmware and be...

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iOS 17.5 beta lets you keep Find My on during iPhone repairs

Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge

Pretty soon, Apple might let you send your iPhone in for repair without disabling Find My and Activation Lock. In the fourth iOS 17.5 beta, 9to5Mac and MacRumors found that Apple is planning to introduce a new “Repair State” mode that keeps the anti-theft measures on while your iPhone is getting fixed.

Apple and many authorized repair providers currently ask you to turn off Find My when you’re getting your iPhone repaired. It has this requirement to “prevent anyone else from getting service for your device without your knowledge,” according to Apple’s support page.

But turning off Find My got a little more tricky with the introduction of Stolen Device Protection. When enabled, this feature forces you to wait one hour before performing...

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Apple’s latest AirPods Pro with USB-C have returned to their all-time low

The second-gen AirPods Pro offer a wealth of ecosystem tricks, along with some of the best ANC you can get in a pair of earbuds. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Earlier today, Beats announced the Solo 4 alongside the forthcoming Solo Buds. The latter joins a burgeoning lineup of wireless earbuds under the Beats brand, though, despite being an Apple product, they don’t offer noise cancellation and the kind of deep ecosystem tricks afforded by the latest AirPods Pro with USB-C. Fortunately, Apple’s second-gen earbuds are currently matching their all-time low of $179 ($70 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart.

Whereas the entry-level Solo Buds are geared toward both Android and iOS, the premium AirPods Pro are aimed squarely at Apple users. The refreshed earbuds continue to offer top-tier ANC, refined sound, and the same feature set as the second-gen model from 2022, save for some added dust...

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Fubo drops Discovery networks and blasts WBD for abusing its power

Image: Fubo

The face-off between streaming TV service Fubo and Warner Bros. Discovery is continuing to escalate. Fubo announced via a late afternoon press release that it has dropped Discovery networks effective immediately — “including Discovery, HGTV, Food Network and TLC, among others” — and has been unable to reach a separate deal to bring Turner sports networks TNT, TBS, and truTV to its customers.

The company claims that it had little choice but to drop the batch of Discovery channels after talks with WBD went nowhere, and it’s accusing WBD of bad-faith negotiations and an “abuse of massive market power that ultimately limits consumer choice.”

Fubu says that it offered WBD “market rates” to secure all of this content but that it never received...

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Google is building a fart button into Android

This could be the perfect gas to get Google I/O started this year. | Illustration: The Verge / Shutterstock

I simply don’t know how to feel about an incoming update to the Google Phone app that adds sound effects to the Android dialer. First spotted as part of a beta update by 9to5Google, the app may soon let you tap one of six “Audio Emoji” buttons to play a short sound clip that both sides of the call can hear.

There’s clapping, laughing, crying (a sad, sliding trombone), partying, a drum sting (ba-dum ts) and... poop, which emits a fart sound. You can access the buttons during a call by tapping the option in the dialer’s overflow menu or with a small flag positioned toward the bottom.

The dormant adolescent in me wants to try the poop button at least once with a trusted friend who won’t disown me for having a questionable sense of humor....

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New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, and others sue OpenAI and Microsoft

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images

More news organizations, including the New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, San Jose Mercury News, and four others, are suing OpenAI and Microsoft for alleged copyright infringement.

The publications, all owned by the hedge fund Alden Global Capital, claim that both OpenAI and Microsoft trained on their articles without compensation or permission. The plaintiffs included as evidenceseveral excerpts from conversations with both ChatGPT and Copilotshowing that both chatbots reproduced lengthy excerpts of specific articles on command, indicating that their training datasets included the texts of those articles.

They also showed screenshots of Copilot, which can search the web in real time, reproducing entire news...

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The drinking fountain button is tragically misunderstood

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Buttons feel magical. You press here, and invisible connections make something happen elsewhere. But “magical” is probably not how I’d describe most public drinking fountains.

Who among us hasn’t walked up to a drinking fountain, expecting a bubbling stream of life-giving water, only to experience the crushing disappointment of a measly trickle after smashing in that button?

But I’m beginning to think it’s not the drinking button’s fault; they’re actually some of the most elegant buttons out there. They’re one of the few remaining buttons where your push directly and mechanically controls the result. They’re over a hundred years old. And all the action happens within an inch of the button itself.

Photo by Amelia...

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Google fired a software engineer over an anti-war demonstration — he says he wasn’t even protesting

Illustration: The Verge

A software engineer who was fired from Google in connection to internal protests at the company’s offices says the company retaliated against him for merely watching the demonstration against an Israeli defense contract.

The former employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said he went to the lounge on the 10th floor of Google’s New York City office around lunchtime to check out the protest.

“When I got there, there were probably 20-ish people sitting on the floor. I didn’t talk to any of them, I talked to folks who were standing up, passing out flyers, doing other roles,” he said, adding that the protesters were wearing matching T-shirts.

The worker then went back to his desk before returning to the protest around 5PM. “I chatted with...

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Tesla layoffs hit Supercharger team just as it’s poised to take over EV charging

Photo: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Tesla was on the cusp of taking over electric vehicle charging in the US — then, the layoffs came.

Today, multiple outlets reported that the company has laid off hundreds of employees, just weeks after cutting 10 percent (approximately 14,000 people) of its global workforce. Tesla’s Supercharger division was said to be particularly hard hit, with several soon-to-be-former employees saying that close to the entire team had been cut.

According to The Information, Rebecca Tinucci, Tesla’s senior director of EV charging, is leaving the company, alongside most of the 500-person team she oversaw. Tinucci oversaw the effort to win near universal support from other automakers for Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS), an enormous...

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Amazon expands enterprise AI play with wider availability of its Q chatbot

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Amazon is doubling down on enterprise AI with the release of its AI chatbot Q, even as its competitors angle to offer more consumer-facing products.

Amazon announced Q in November and made it available only to a small number of users. In a post, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy writes that bringing Q to more people will help solve misalignment issues for developers.

The chatbot acts as an assistant for Amazon Web Services (AWS) users, learning from a company’s data and workflows so employees can ask questions about their business. Users can also ask Q questions about coding, HR information, or logistics, Amazon says.

Amazon’s AI focus has been largely turned toward other businesses, with most of its releases falling under the AWS banner. It o...

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Binance founder Changpeng Zhao sentenced to four months in prison

Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison for failing to establish adequate anti-money laundering protections. Zhao, once the head of the largest crypto exchange in the world, pleaded guilty in November 2023.

Judge Richard Jones says that Zhao prioritized “Binance’s growth and profits over compliance with US laws and regulations.” While Jones doesn’t think Zhao is likely to reoffend, the scale of the crime is notable.

Binance “violated US law on an unprecedented scale”

Though Zhao is not as well-known as FTX fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried, he is a more important figure in the crypto world. The Chinese-Canadian entrepreneur founded Binance in 2017. Though he was required to step down as CEO of the exchange as...

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The Rabbit R1’s first software update addresses its dismal battery life

With a dead battery, this is just a nice-looking paperweight. | Image: David Pierce / The Verge

Just a week after its initial launch, the Rabbit R1’s first software update is here — and not a moment too soon. Right on top of the list of improvements in the OTA update is “up to 5x” improved idle battery performance, addressing a major pain point for early R1 adopters. It’s also great news for me, specifically, because my R1 is constantly out of power.

Today’s update consists of two parts: an OTA update pushed directly to R1 devices and a cloud update to Rabbit OS. Battery life is far from the only issue addressed — other highlights include an improved music playback UI, improved Bluetooth reliability, and a fix for a compatibility issue when the device is plugged into a car that seems to have bricked at least one R1.

There’s also...

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CBP is interrogating TikTok employees

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images

Immigration officers have interrogated more than 30 TikTok employees who traveled to the US, Forbes reports. Some workers at TikTok and its China-based parent company, ByteDance, have been pulled aside by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and held for additional questioning, according to the report. Many of the workers who have been singled out are Chinese nationals.

Some of the people who have been interrogated work in machine learning or data engineering. CBP agents have asked them about their access to US users’ TikTok data. The workers have also been asked about the location of TikTok’s US-based data centers and their own individual involvement with Project Texas, a massive corporate restructuring project designed to wall off US...

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Kobo and iFixit partner for OEM parts and repair guides

Here’s what the inside of your Kobo looks like. | Image: iFixit

E-readers might be relatively cheap when compared to your typical smartphone, but it’s still a bummer when they break, given how hard it is to find parts for them. Now, iFixit has announced that it’s offering OEM replacement parts for certain Kobo e-readers, along with detailed guides on how to install them, starting today. The first e-readers being supported are Kobo’s latest: Kobo Clara Colour, the Clara BW, and the Libra Colour.

Kobo owners can buy OEM batteries, motherboards, front and back covers, and screen assemblies for those devices on iFixit’s new Kobo Repair Hub page. iFixit has a detailed guide for installing each part.

We're thrilled to announce our partnership with Rakuten Kobo, starting with their new Colour eReaders!...

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The best laptops you can buy

Illustration by William Joel / The Verge

The best laptops for you, from ultraportables to gaming machines, MacBooks to Chromebooks.

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Assassin’s Creed Mirage trust falls onto the iPhone this June

Image: Ubisoft

Assassin’s Creed Mirage will be coming soon to an Apple device near you. Ubisoft has announced that the latest entry in the Assassin’s Creed series will arrive on select Apple products on June 6th. Said devices include the “iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPad Air and iPad Pro with M1 chip or later,” and you can preorder the game on the App Store here.

Apple has been slowly rolling out higher-end gaming experiences on its mobile devices and macOS. Last year, the Resident Evil 4 remake and Resident Evil Village released on iOS, while Death Stranding debuted earlier this year. According to The Verge’s Jay Peters, who reviewed _RE Village’_s performance on iPhone, AAA games on the iPhone play better than expected but struggle in terms...

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If your iPhone alarm has gone quiet, Apple says it’s working on a fix

Image: Apple

Apple says it’s working on a fix for an issue that’s causing some iPhone owners’ alarms to trigger silently. That’s according to the Today show’s segment this morning about the issue, which has been spreading on social media as users complain that their alarms aren’t waking them up. Vergecast producer Liam James told me he’s been having the same problem since Friday, with an alarm that he set “6 or 7 years ago” and hasn’t touched since.

It’s not clear how widespread the problem is. If you’re going through it, though, it wouldn’t be the worst idea to check a couple of your settings. One is to make sure that the ringtone and alerts volume slider under Settings > Sound & Haptics is turned up. It can be easy to accidentally turn down your...

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Pixel 8A leak reveals $499 starting price

Image: OnLeaks via Smartprix

The Google Pixel 8A might not be getting that rumored price hike after all. Details shared with Smartprixby reliable leaker OnLeaks suggest that the base 128GB model will have the same $499 price as its predecessor.

However, Google could bump the price of the Pixel 8A to $559 for a new 256GB storage option, according to Smartprix. The leak also suggests that the Pixel 8A will come with a larger 4,500mAh battery instead of the 4,385mAh option that came with the Pixel 7A.

So far, Pixel 8A leaked details point to a G3 Tensor chip just like its more expensive siblings, along with a brighter 120Hz display than its predecessors, IP67 water resistance, and seven years of security upgrades. It’s also rumored to come with Google’s AI features...

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Binance founder’s sentencing hearing

Zhao “violated US law on an unprecedented scale,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo. | Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images

Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to money laundering charges.

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Even Walmart thinks American healthcare is too expensive

Image: Getty Images

Walmart isn’t making enough money off its new health centers, so it decided to close up shop. The retail giant announced today that it’ll shutter all 51 health centers it opened up across five states since 2019. Walmart is also getting rid of its virtual care program after acquiring telehealth provider MeMD in 2021.

“We determined there is not a sustainable business model for us to continue,” Walmart said in an announcement today.

“We determined there is not a sustainable business model for us to continue.”

Retail giants like Walmart, BestBuy, and Amazon have each tried to take their own share of Americans’ $3.6 trillion in health spending each year. But while retailer heavyweights thought they could turn a profit by making healthcare...

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Bumble’s app redesign lets women automate conversation starters

Image: Bumble

Bumble’s redesigned dating app has a new “Opening Move” feature that’s supposed to take the legwork out of starting conversations. Women on the app can now choose from a list of prewritten prompts — or come up with their own — that the app will send to all their matches.

Unlike dating apps like Tinder and Hinge, Bumble lets women take the first move when they get a match. The new Opening Move option should at least make it less intimidating (and less time-consuming) to send out those first messages.

Some of the prewritten prompts include questions like “Who’s your dream dinner party guest (real or fictional)?” or “What do you like about my profile?” Once the match responds, women can choose whether or not to carry on the conversation,...

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The Xbox games showcase airs June 9th, followed by a Call of Duty Direct

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft is officially holding its big Xbox summer showcase on June 9th, as The Verge reported earlier this month. The showcase will air on Sunday, June 9th, at 10AM PT / 1PM ET / 6PM UK and will include a deep dive into the next installment of Call of Duty after the main show ends.

Microsoft is only teasing the Call of Duty Direct as “the next installment of a beloved franchise,” but sources familiar with the company’s plans tell me that this is indeed Call of Duty.

This will be the first Xbox showcase featuring games across Activision Blizzard, Bethesda, and Microsoft’s Xbox Game Studios. I understand Microsoft is currently planning to announce a new Gears of War game during the show. The showcase will also include a number of release...

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Roku plans to start showing video ads on your homescreen

Illustration: The Verge

Roku has a plan to boost ad revenue. The company will start showing video ads on your homescreen at some point. Roku CEO Anthony Wood told investors during the company’s earnings call last week that the company will put the video ads in the “premier video app we called the Marquee” where static image ads live now.

It sounds like Wood is referring to the box on the homescreen that sits to the right of your Roku apps, which hopefully means the video ads won’t be full-screened. He said the company is also testing out “other types of video ad units” and looking into other ways to “innovate more video advertising” on the homescreen. The company’s push comes after it performed its third layoff in less than a year last September amid a slower...

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Beats announces Solo 4 headphones and $79.99 Solo Buds

Image: Beats

Beats just announced its new Solo 4, its latest in a long line of on-ear wireless headphones. The latest model, priced at $199.99, offers battery life of up to 50 hours. That endurance is no doubt helped by the fact that these lack active noise cancellation, a feature present in many competing products at the same price point. But Beats says plenty of other improvements await buyers of the Solo 4.

For one, they support wired audio over both USB-C and the 3.5mm jack. And these headphones have passive tuning, meaning they can keep playing when plugged in even when the battery is dead — without any degradation in sound. Beats is also hyping all the custom acoustic architecture that’s gone into the Solo 4. And just like the Beats Studio...

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SteelSeries’ improved Arctis Nova Pro Wireless headset is also great in white

The white Nova Pro in an optional carrying case.

SteelSeries is launching a white version of its excellent Arctis Nova Pro Wireless headset today. While it’s mostly just a white color option for a headset from 2022 that’s packed full of tech, there’s an important change to the ANC mics that could make these even more appealing.

SteelSeries has made the ANC mics within the ear cups slightly smaller overall, with less of a bump so they’re more comfortable to wear. At launch, some Nova Pro owners complained about the ANC bump and SteelSeries quietly redesigned it at some point last year so both the black and new white models benefit from this improvement.

The ANC bump is smaller on the white version than the original launch model.

The $349.99 white version of the Nova...

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Beats Solo 4 review: playing both sides

Beats’ on-ear headphones get an overdue refresh with a more comfortable design, longer battery life, and wired audio over both USB-C and the 3.5mm jack — but no ANC.

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The Arc browser arrives on Windows to take on Chrome and Edge

Arc for Windows includes a powerful sidebar. | Image: The Browser Company

The excellent Arc browser that’s been impressing macOS and iOS users over the past couple of years is finally making its way to Windows today. Arc is designed to change the way you use a browser in many fundamental ways, with a collapsible sidebar that combines vertical tabs and bookmarks into an app switcher-like experience, a command bar for navigation, and useful tools to help you browse the web.

The company behind Arc, aptly named The Browser Company, is betting on its browser being different enough to entice Windows users away from Chrome and Edge. “Arc really is just calming and keeps you organized,” says Hursh Agrawal, co-founder of The Browser Company, in an interview with The Verge. “It helps you handle your tasks during the day...

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