How to mirror your iPhone screen on macOS

Image: Samar Haddad / The Verge

Apple continues to make it easier to use your iPhone with your Mac using the Continuity feature. Introduced with macOS Ventura, Continuity lets you use your iPhone as a webcam for your Mac. It also offers a universal clipboard across devices, call and text syncing, AirPlay streaming — and now, the ability to mirror your iPhone’s display on the screen attached to your Mac.

If you’ve got an iPhone running iOS 18 or later and a Mac with Apple silicon or the T2 security chip running macOS Sequoia 15 or later, then you can use iPhone mirroring. It’s exactly what it sounds like: a real-time copy of your mobile display on your computer display, which you can also interact with. Mirroring means you can check apps and messages while leaving your phone in your pocket or drawer — and of course, you have the advantage of keyboard and mouse (or trackpad) control, too.

Here’s how to set it up. I tried it on an iPhone 15 Pro Max running iOS 18.2.1 and a M1 MacBook Pro running macOS Sequoia 15.2.

Getting started with iPhone mirroring

Besides the software requirements we’ve already mentioned (iOS 18 and macOS 15), there are a few more checks to carry out to make this work. Both the iPhone and...

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Balatro has sold over 1 million copies since December

Playstack

Balatro has crossed a major milestone, selling 5 million copies in its first year. The news was shared on X and featured a shout out to The Game Awards.

“To everyone who picked up Balatro after seeing it at @thegameawards, we hope you’re having an amazing time with it!” the post read. Balatro was featured prominently during The Game Awards, nominated for a number of awards including Game of the Year and winning the best indie, best debut indie, and best mobile categories.

On X, Wout van Halderen, PR manager for Balatro publisher Playstack, added that the game had sold 3.5 million copies by the first week of December. With The Game Awards taking place the second week in December, the implication is that Balatro received a significant 1.5 million unit bump in sales after being featured during Keighley’s Christmas Commercial telethon. Even more impressive, the 5 million figure is total units sold and doesn’t count the number of downloads the game got for being on the Apple Arcade subscription.

Since its launch in February, Balatro has quickly become one of the biggest indie hits of 2024. Developed by a single person over the course of two years, the poker roguelike has garnered a reputation for being a well-crafted “number-go-up” game with its developer leaning in on the joke that it devours players’ free and not-so-free time.

In the 11 months since the game’s release, it’s only gotten small, cosmetic updates but developer LocalThunk has hinted a major gameplay-focused update is forthcoming this year.

Jimbo help us all.

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Microsoft will automatically keep you signed in to your account starting in February

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge

Microsoft is making some changes to the way you sign in to a Microsoft account next month. Starting in February, you will stay signed in to a Microsoft account automatically unless you sign out or use private browsing. It’s a change that people will need to be aware of, especially if they’re using a public computer.

Right now, if you sign in to a Microsoft account you’ll always be asked if you want to stay signed in, so you don’t have to sign in again next time. Microsoft’s change to automatically keeping you signed in means you’ll have to use a private browsing window on public PCs or make sure you remember to sign out once your session ends, otherwise the account will remain signed in.

If you do regularly use public PCs with your Outlook or Microsoft account then it’s definitely time to start getting used to signing out or using a private browsing session (which you should really be doing anyway). If you mistakenly forget to sign out of a Microsoft account in February, you can always force your account to be signed out on all browsers, apps, and anywhere else it’s being used apart from Xbox consoles.

Microsoft’s latest change to its account sign-in process comes months after the company added passkey support to all of its consumer accounts. You can create passkeys for your Microsoft account by following this link, and you can choose your face, fingerprint, PIN, or a security key to use a device to sign in with a passkey.

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Korg’s first record players are designed for DJs, audiophiles, and archivists

The Korg Handytraxx Play is a portable record player designed for scratching on-the-go. | Image: Korg

Korg has announced a new collection of portable record players with each model featuring specialized functionality depending on what you like to do with your vinyl. The Handytraxx Play is designed for DJs who perform with their turntables, the Handytraxx Tube has a more premium build to maximize sound quality, while the Handytraxx 1bit includes additional tools and outputs for digitizing vinyl.

They don’t have release dates yet, but the collection will start at $399 for the Handytraxx Play. It’s a significant jump after that to the $799 Handytraxx Tube, while the 1bit will be even pricier at $999.

If the design of the Handytraxx turntables feel familiar, it’s because you’re probably old enough to remember a similar product from Vestax called the Handy Trax that debuted in the early aughts. Korg’s updated versions were developed in collaboration with Vestax’s former president and co-creator of the original Handy Trax, Toshihide Nakama, before he passed in 2023.

Image: Korg

The Handytraxx Play is designed for DJs who like to scratch or sample vinyls as part of a live performance. It features a built-in crossfader, low-pass, high-pass, and EQ filters, a delay effect, and a built-in variable speed looper for recording samples and creating beats. Its control panel can also be flipped around for right or left-handed use.

The Play can be powered by an AC adapter or six AA batteries and features a pair of 2.5-watt speakers for entertaining a crowd without the need for additional equipment. You can also plug in a pair of headphones for a private performance.

Image: Korg

The Handytraxx Tube upgrades the Play with an aluminium die-cast platter that uses software to monitoring its pitch and speed to maintain a stable rotation and optimize playback. Its tone arm also features an adjustable counterweight so you can swap needles while ensuring you always have the proper pressure on your records to prolong their life.

As the name implies, the Tube uses Korg’s Nutube vacuum tube technology that “operates exactly as a triode vacuum tube” and “creates the same characteristic rich overtones,” the company claims. The tube technology “adds pleasant harmonics characteristic of vacuum tubes for a rich, immersive sonic experience,” while bass and treble controls let you dial in your preferred balance.

Korg is also offering a limited edition version of this turntable called the Tube J as part of a collaboration with a Japanese company called JICO. The J version swaps the Tube’s standard JICO J44A 7 cartridge with JICO’s Clipper MM Cartridge featuring an upgraded design and improved performance. It also boosts the Tube’s price tag to $1,199.

Image: Korg

The Handytraxx 1bit carries forward the hardware upgrades of the Tube but using Korg’s included AudioGate 4 software it can digitize vinyl to the Direct Stream Digital (DSD) format which was originally developed by Sony and Philips for the Super Audio CD (SACD). Instead of capturing 16 audio samples 44,100 times per second as is done with traditional audio CDs, the 1bit and Korg’s software captures single samples 5.6 million times per second, resulting in a much higher quality recordings suitable for archiving.

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Volvo announces pricing for delayed EX30 compact SUV

Image: Volvo

The compact Volvo EX30 is finally arriving in the US — and with it comes some more clarity about its price.

When it was first announced in 2023, the EX30 was positioned as a smaller, more affordable electric vehicle in a market overflowing with expensive, luxury models. And it seemed poised to win over a lot of converts, with a starting price of just $34,950.

At that time, the only other EVs available for a similar price were the utilitarian Chevy Bolt and Nissan Leaf. You could also find a few used EVs, or even a stripped down Tesla Model 3, but the idea of a luxuriously appointed (if bare bones) European model for just under $35,000 was unheard of.

But politics intervened, and Volvo was forced to delay the EX30’s arrival in the US until 2025, citing newly leveled tariffs against vehicles built in China. Volvo is a subsidiary of Geely, and many of its models, including the EX30, are built there. Volvo said it was moving the EX30’s production to its factory in Belgium to address the new restrictions.

Today, Volvo announced that the most popular trim of the EX30 is finally coming to the US. That would be the EX30 Twin Motor Performance with 422 horsepower, starting at $44,900 for the Plus equipment package (not including delivery charges). Upgrading to the Ultra package will cost $46,600.

That’s decidedly more than $34,950 — and unfortunately Volvo didn’t say when we can expect that more affordable version to arrive stateside. Given the political situation here, I can hardly blame Volvo for playing it close to the vest when it comes to EV sales in the US. The Trump administration is promising fewer incentives and more tariffs — both of which likely add up to higher prices for car shoppers.

Still, the EX30 has been a runaway hit in Europe, with Volvo recording over 100,000 sales of the pint-sized SUV. In August, that was only bested by the Tesla Model Y. It stands to reason that US customers will react similarly — once they get their hands on it.

Volvo has two other EVs in the US: the mid-sized EX40, which starts at $52,500 for the single-motor variant and goes all the way up $60,750 with all the bells and whistles; and the full-sized, three-row EX90, which starts at $79,995 and tops out at $89.845. Delivery charges bring these prices up by at least $1,000.

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WhatsApp will let you share your status on Instagram and Facebook

Illustration: The Verge

Meta is integrating WhatsApp into its Accounts Center, as WABetaInfo spotted. The change, which is rolling out globally “over the next few months,” lets WhatsApp users share status updates across Instagram and Facebook, as well as enable single sign-on.

Meta says the link won’t be turned on automatically, so it’s up to you to decide if linking WhatsApp to Accounts Center is something you’re into. If you do so, Meta will start using your WhatsApp information “to do things like provide, personalize, and improve its products and services, including to show you ads,” according to a help page about the change.

Image: Meta

Meta’s other apps won’t use WhatsApp personal data “unless it’s to determine how many people we serve, keep people safe, or to provide optional features that work across Meta products,” the company writes. It also says linking your account won’t change the fact that messages are end-to-end encrypted in WhatsApp.

Down the line, Meta says it will add the ability for users to go to Accounts Center to manage things like Meta AI stickers or AI-generated avatars created using its Imagine Me feature.

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The UK government is launching a digital ID mobile app

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images

The UK government is going to launch an app that will allow citizens to digitize their driver’s licenses. Science Secretary Peter Kyle announced on Tuesday that the GOV.UK Wallet launching for Android and iOS devices later this year will let users securely store government-issued documents on their phone, allowing them to be accessed immediately instead of waiting for physical versions to arrive in the mail.

The wallet will utilize smartphone security features like facial recognition to help protect users' personal data. Veteran cards for former military personnel will be the first documents supported, followed by a pilot for mobile driver’s licenses “later in 2025.” All UK government services that provide paper or card credentials will be expected to offer a digital alternative by 2027. Traditional physical documents will still be available.

“Along with CDs, the Walkman, and flip phones, the overflowing drawer rammed with letters from the government and hours spent on hold to get a basic appointment will soon be consigned to history,” Kyle said in the announcement. “GOV.UK Wallet will mean that every letter or identity document you receive from the government could be issued to you virtually.”

According to Kyle, the new digital wallet app is intended to give UK citizens more control over their own data, making it easier to prove eligibility for welfare benefits and purchase age-restricted products in stores. People in the UK are currently required to present physical identity documents (if assumed to be underage) when clubbing or purchasing alcohol, running the risk of having them lost or stolen.

The UK is also launching a new GOV.UK app in summer 2025 that will allow users to access government information, and, eventually, complete tasks like canceling stolen passports and applying for welfare benefits from their phones.

There are also plans to add an AI-powered chatbot, imaginatively called “GOV.UK Chat,” to the app, which TechCrunch reports was co-developed by OpenAI, and to add “ways to make payments and receive timely notifications” for government services.

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IMDb’s CEO, who founded the site 35 years ago, is stepping down

Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for IMDb

IMDb founder and CEO Col Needham is stepping down after launching the website 35 years ago, the Amazon-owned company announced on Tuesday. Needham will now serve as executive chair. IMDb chief operating officer Nikki Santoro will take over as CEO.

Needham started building the database that later became IMDb in 1990. He remained CEO even after selling the website to Amazon in 1998, overseeing major changes like the rollout of its IMDbPro subscription and an update that lets professionals hide their age.

Santoro joined IMDb in 2016 and became COO in 2021. She has helped expand the site’s database and build out IMDbPro, according to IMDb’s leadership page.

As executive chair, Needham will still “provide strategic guidance, consult on key initiatives, and serve as a global ambassador” for the company, according to IMDb’s press release.

“[Santoro’s] track record of driving growth and enhancing our products and services makes her the ideal person to guide IMDb into a new era,” Needham says in a statement. “I look forward to continuing to work closely with Nikki and the talented IMDb team in my new role as we build on IMDb’s legacy and shape the future of entertainment information.”

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CapCut is back online in the US

Photo credit should read CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

CapCut, the ByteDance-owned video editing app that’s subject to the same ban as TikTok, is working again in the US.

Users who have the app downloaded have seen a notice on Tuesday welcoming them back to the service and thanking them for their “patience and support.” The notice appears to come after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on the night after his inauguration instructing federal enforcers not to take action against service providers subject to the law for 75 days.

Screenshot by The Verge

While the order was meant to quash concerns for service providers that could face billions in fines for violating federal law and maintaining the app now that the sale deadline has passed, legal experts say it does little to actually dispense of the legal risk. Perhaps as a result, even though some of CapCut’s US service providers appear to be cooperating with Trump’s wishes to get the app back online, it still doesn’t appear in Apple or Google’s app stores — similar to TikTok.

Under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, apps owned by China-based ByteDance were required to be sold to a non-adversary entity by January 19th to continue operating in the US. Instead of making a deal, however, the company pursued its legal options and ultimately lost at the Supreme Court. Trump is now trying to broker a “joint venture” that gives the US 50 percent ownership over TikTok to save it from the ban, though that idea also appears to have its own risky legal implications.

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A federal website on reproductive rights has vanished

A screenshot of reproductiverights.gov from the Internet Archive.

A federal website for information on reproductive rights and healthcare access is suddenly down, following Donald Trump’s inauguration yesterday. Reproductiverights.gov seemed to be offline as of last night, CBS reports.

The Biden administration launched the website in 2022 in the wake of the the Supreme Court’s Decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. On top of information about abortion rights, the website also included resources on accessing preventative care including breast and cervical cancer screenings, prenatal care, and HIV screening. (The Internet Archive has a snapshot of what the website looked like as recently as January 15th.)

Scientists, researchers, and health and environmental advocates have been bracing for potential changes to federal websites under the Trump administration. They’ve been worried about federal agencies curtailing publicly-available information about hot-button topics on their websites, particularly when it comes to climate change.

The Department of Health and Human Services, which previously ran the website reproductiverights.gov didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry from The Verge.

So far, federal websites on climate change seem to be up and running. During Trump’s first term in office, access to as much as 20 percent of the Environmental Protection Agency website was removed and there was a near 40 percent decline in the term “climate change” across websites for federal environmental agencies.

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Infinity Nikki’s new season brings the game’s biggest update yet

Image: Infold Games

Clear some room in your closet, stylists: Infinity Nikki’s next update is coming soon bringing with it new content, new locations to explore, and most importantly, new outfits. The Firework Season starts January 23rd. The update will be themed around Lunar New Year celebrations, starting a new Mira Journey battle pass while offering limited-time quests and a new area to explore.

Infinity Nikki’s official website has previews of what outfits will be available as well as a full breakdown of all the new content. Since Nikki is a gacha game, there are a number of premium outfits to try and earn. But developer Infold is also offering three outfits in three colors for a total of nine different outfits all for free. I’m particularly intrigued by the Radiant Night outfit as it looks like as a high-fashion version of Resident Evil VII’s Lady Dimitrescu.

Check it out as the website also has codes players can use to redeem helpful in-game items. Infinity Nikki has also released a trailer for the update showing off the Firework Isles, the new location that will be available during the season. Expect the the area to be chock full of scenic vistas for stylists to take their best pictures including a magical horse-drawn carriage that zooms through the sky.

The game’s also adding a new boss encounter, The Dark Bouquet, which will probably be added to the Realm of the Dark boss list for players to challenge weekly. The Infinity Nikki soundtrack is also launching on select music platforms which is a welcome development considering some of those tracks — especially the one for the Ghost Train dungeon — are incredibly funky for a generally lighthearted dress-up game. Fireworks Season starts January 23rd and lasts until February 25th.

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Today’s the last day to get $50 in credit when you preorder Samsung’s new Galaxy devices

You can get $50 in credit when you preorder Samsung’s new phones, which you can use toward Samsung’s other products.

Samsung’s very likely about to announce the new Samsung Galaxy S25 along with other new devices tomorrow, January 22nd, at its Unpacked event. If you’re at all interested in any of the new gadgets, you might want to jump on Samsung’s preorder deal before it ends. The company’s still offering $50 in credit that you can use toward “additional eligible products” when you later place your preorder, but only until tomorrow, January 22nd, at 1 PM ET.

Getting the discount is easy. All you have to do is sign up with your name and email address at Samsung’s website or the Shop Samsung app, and you’ll get $50 in credit you can use when you later place your pre-order. Samsung’s also offering a $100 credit you can use when you preorder a qualifying 2025 TV (could it be one of the TVs announced at CES?) or audio device. You don’t even need to submit your credit card details, so it’s worth spending a few seconds to sign up if you’re at all curious about the new devices.

To make it clear: you can’t use the credit toward the preorder itself, so if you were hoping to use the credit to offset the price of the Samsung Galaxy S25 or TV, you won’t be able to. However, you can use it toward other eligible Samsung devices or accessories.

As for what’s new in the Galaxy S25, your guess is as good as ours. We won’t know anything for certain until the Unpacked event tomorrow, but rumors suggest Samsung’s adding Qi2 wireless charging to the Galaxy S25 line. The Galaxy S25 Ultra, meanwhile, could feature more rounded corners and we may even see a new Galaxy S25 “Slim.” We’ll confirm whether or not those rumors are true tomorrow, so make sure to check back.

A few more deals and discounts

• Woot is selling JBL’s Clip 5 in multiple colors for $49.95 ($30 off) until February 2nd at 1:59AM ET, which matches the speaker’s all-time low price. The Clip 5 offers Auracast support, so you can pair up multiple Clip 5s or other compatible JBL speakers for a stereo sound experience. Like its predecessor, the speaker also comes with a carabiner so you can easily hook it onto, say, a backpack, while retaining a rugged IP67 rating for dust and water resistance.
• OnePlus is throwing in your choice of either a free $149.99 keyboard case or $99.99 stylus with the OnePlus Pad 2 (12GB RAM / 256GB of storage), which is down to $499.99 ($50 off) when you apply the code WELCOME25 at checkout. If you just a need an Android tablet for entertainment, the tablet offers excellent value with its snappy performance, sharp 12.1-inch 144Hz display, and great speaker system. Read our review.
• Samsung’s white Galaxy SmartTag2 is on sale at Amazon starting at $20.72 ($10 off), which is just $1 shy of its all-time low price. The ultra wideband location tracker works with Samsung’s Galaxy Find network and offers a robust IP67 water and dust resistance rating. The tracker also comes with a user-replaceable battery that lasts up to 700 days, so you don’t need to buy a new tracker when it runs out of battery.

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Fujifilm’s new hybrid instant camera features its widest lens yet

The Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo Hybrid Instant Camera is expected to be available starting in February 2025 for $349.95. | Image: Fujifilm

Fujifilm has announced a new hybrid instant camera coming to its Instax line that doubles as a smartphone printer. The new Instax Wide Evo Hybrid instant camera is similar to the Instax Mini Evo that Fujifilm launched in the US in 2022, but as its name implies, it instead uses Instax’s Wide format instant film that produces prints that are twice as wide.

The Instax Wide Evo will be available starting sometime in February 2025 for $349.95. It will launch alongside a matching black case for $49.99 that allows the camera to be used without removing it completely, and a new version of Fujifilm’s Instax Wide instant film featuring a brushed metallic border effect in a $24.99 10-pack.

In addition to being much larger than the Instax Mini Evo to accommodate the wider film stock, the new Instax Wide Evo features a 15.67mm lens, which is the widest used on any Instax camera to date. It allows you to snap wide-angle images to capture more of a scene, but it can also be turned off using a toggle switch if you prefer a closer crop.

Image: Fujifilm

There’s no viewfinder, so you’ll need to rely on a 3.5-inch screen on the back for framing shots.

There’s no viewfinder, but the back of the camera has a 3.5-inch LCD display for framing shots as well as navigating menus for effects, settings, and editing images. On the front of the camera a small mirror can be used to frame selfies. Fujifilm says the Instax Wide Evo’s battery has enough charge to print up to 100 images, and there’s a microSD card slot to boost the camera’s storage capacity. Out of the box its internal memory can only hold about 45 images.

Image: Fujifilm

The Instax Wide Evo features several dials and a rotating lens for selecting various effects and dialing in the intensity.

Like the Instax Mini Evo, the new Instax Wide Evo offers 10 lens effects and 10 film effects that can be combined (only two at at time) for a wider range of creativity. The intensity of the effects can also be adjusted using a Degree Control, which is controlled by a ring on the lens. Dials on either side of the camera let you scroll through the various lens and film effects.

For photographers feeling a bit nostalgic for film, the Instax Wide Evo also offers five additional film style customizations that add effects like film strip holes, “a retro contact sheet look,” or the date and time superimposed in the corner of an image. The camera even has a small crank with a pop-out handle — similar to what film cameras used to advance exposures — that’s instead used to start printing.

Image: Fujifilm

The Instax Wide Evo wirelessly connects to a smartphone app over Bluetooth and doubles as a portable printer.

The Instax Wide Evo can also be used as a printer when wirelessly connected over Bluetooth to a smartphone running its free iOS or Android mobile app. You can print images from your phone’s camera roll, or use your smartphone as a wireless remote for the Instax Wide Evo, letting you join group shots without the need for a timer. The app even has a Discover Feed featuring images from other users, and lets you share your own if you’re looking for yet another social media fix.

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Donald Trump rescinds Biden-era executive order on AI safety

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

In his executive actions on day one of his presidency, Donald Trump rescinded an executive order Joe Biden signed in 2023 to establish safety guidelines for generative AI.

The Biden-era order required developers of large AI models like OpenAI’s GPT lineup to share the results of safety tests with the US government. It also directed the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop standards for safety testing, and it tasked other federal agencies with assessing any potential chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, cybersecurity, or critical infrastructure risks AI might pose.

Biden’s action also included measures meant to protect workers and consumers. It commissioned a report on how AI might affect the labor market and asked agencies to develop practices for addressing AI-enabled fraud and discriminatory algorithms.

Donald Trump axed all that yesterday as he signed a flurry of new executive orders. One of his first actions was to rescind 78 Biden-era executive actions, including Executive Order 14110 on “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence.”

Trump has made the development of new AI tools a priority for his administration. His inauguration was stacked with tech heavyweights, some of whom donated to the president’s inauguration budget. Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Shou Zi Chew, Sundar Pichai, and Sam Altman were all reported in attendance yesterday.

The stage is now set for a showdown over the European Union’s AI Act that passed last year, which created transparency requirements and bars certain uses of AI.

Other measures the Biden administration put in place to boost AI development in the US may have a better shot at surviving. Before leaving office this month, Biden announced a new regulatory framework restricting some international sharing of AI chips and models. Biden also issued an executive order in January meant to speed the development of AI data centers on federal land.

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Instagram is reportedly trying to attract TikTok creators with large bonuses

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Instagram is taking advantage of TikTok’s absence from app stores by offering creators large cash bonuses to exclusively post Reels on the platform, according to a report from The Information. The bonuses reportedly range from $10,000 to $50,000 per month and require creators to post their short-form videos on Instagram before publishing them to other platforms, like TikTok.

Meta has boosted payouts for creators to compete with TikTok in the past — but the big bonuses don’t seem to last. In 2021, Instagram launched a Reels bonus program, but in 2022, creators said the platform had begun slashing their payments until the program was axed completely in 2023.

The report of new bonuses comes at a chaotic time for TikTok, which went dark in the US to comply with the federal divest-or-ban law that came into force on January 19th. Though the app started coming back online on Sunday, it still hasn’t returned to app stores. President Donald Trump also signed an executive order delaying its ban.

The Verge reached out to Meta with a request for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.

Within the past week, Instagram has announced a series of updates that appear to cater to TikTok creators. Along with changing the format of profile grids from squares to rectangles, Instagram also extended the maximum length of Reels to three minutes. Instagram head Adam Mosseri also revealed that the company is working on a new video editing and creation app designed to compete directly with CapCut, which is owned by TikTok parent company ByteDance.

All this might not be enough to attract TikTok creators, as some aren’t happy with Meta’s reversal on fact-checking and policy changes that seem designed to appease the new administration.

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A24’s Opus blurs the line between fandom and faith in first trailer

A24

While intimate meet and greets with music stars can feel almost like spiritual experiences, the first trailer for A24’s Opus is a reminder to never meet your heroes.

From writer / director Mark Anthony Green, Opus follows music journalist Ariel Ecton (Ayo Edebiri) hunt down the story of a lifetime. Ariel is as shocked as anyone when she hears that eclectic super star Alfred Moretti (John Malkovich) has emerged from his compound for the first time in three decades to share new music with a select group of celebrities like sex symbol Clara (Juliette Lewis) and seasoned entertainment media folks like Stan (Murray Bartlett).

Because she’s a younger writer, Ariel assumes that she’ll be hearing Moretti’s latest once it’s released to the general public. But when Ariel directly receives an invitation to spend the weekend at Moretti’s, it’s clear that he very much wants her specifically to get a taste of what he’s been working on.

Though everyone expects to see some peculiar things on Moretti’s property, Ariel is understandably taken aback in Opus’ new trailer as she sees things that definitely make it seem like one of her idols has been running a cult with himself as its figurehead. Between the trailer’s shots of Moretti’s confused / alarmed house guests and Ariel running in terror, Opus sort of looks like it might be a musical answer to Mark Mylod’s The Menu.

And it feels like the movie might be one of 2025’s first disturbing thrillers when Opus hits theaters on March 14th.

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How the future of sports streaming died

Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge

Venu Sports seemed like such an obvious idea. Instead of spreading all your sports viewing across a million different platforms with a million different interfaces and subscriptions, what if you could watch everything in the same place? It makes perfect sense, until you get to the caveats. It’s not everything. It’s going to be expensive. Some will argue it’s anticompetitive. Maybe this isn’t a good idea after all.

On this episode of The Vergecast, after a brief update on the state of the TikTok ban, we explore the brief life and quiet death of the supposed future of sports streaming. Sportico’s Jacob Feldman joins the show to explain where Venu came from, why its parent companies — ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros.-Discovery — thought it was a good idea, and why Fubo immediately picked a fight over its existence. We also discuss the future of sports streaming now that Venu is gone, and whether ESPN, Amazon, or someone else stands to be the next worldwide leader.

After that, The Verge’s Kevin Nguyen joins the show for the first in our two-part New Year’s Resolution series. If you’re hoping to read more books this year, or just want to replace some of your aimless scrolling with more...

Read the full story at The Verge.

What to expect at Samsung’s Galaxy S25 event

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Samsung is set to announce its Galaxy S25 phones at its Galaxy Unpacked event tomorrow, January 22nd at 1PM ET. The event typically focuses on its next smartphones and software features, which you can bet includes lots of AI, but there should be some other things here and there, too. Here’s what we’re expecting and how you can watch along.

How you can watch Galaxy Unpacked

Samsung will stream the event on YouTube, its website, and its newsroom page, and we’ll post about the announcements as they happen right here on The Verge. We expect the company to reveal the Galaxy S25, S25 Plus, and S25 Ultra.

What we expect Samsung to announce

It sounds like we’re getting more of the same with those phones, except for the S25 Ultra, which is expected to receive design tweaks like slightly rounder corners. That’s at least according to a preview in a set of leaked renders that hit the internet last week. The company has said its 2025 Galaxy devices will have Qi2 wireless charging support, but it’s possible that only means they’re “Qi2 Ready” phones that need a magnetic case to get the full MagSafe-like experience.

Images: Android Headlines

Recently leaked renders showed what you can expect from the next Galaxy S25 phones.

The phones will run Samsung’s tweaked version of Android 15, One UI 7, which launched in beta last month with features like an iPhone Dynamic Island-like “Now Bar,” a redesigned camera app, and the ability to disable HDR content to avoid being ambushed by overly-bright videos in your social feeds. The company said yesterday that One UI 7 “seamlessly integrates AI agents and multimodal capabilities into every touch point.” Expect more along those lines during the event.

It seems unlikely Samsung will unveil a Galaxy S25 “Slim” phone. A recent leak suggested the phone won’t launch in the US. There’s also a chance the company will talk more about the “Project Moohan” VR headset my colleague Victoria Song previewed in December.

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Samsung needs to give us a reason to care about new phones every year

The Galaxy S25 phones will probably look a lot like the S24 and S24 Plus. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

I take no pleasure in saying this, but if the rumors about the Galaxy S25 series are true, then these phones look boring as hell. That would be fine, except that Samsung is asking us all to get very excited about them by hosting a big, loud launch event. And I think it’s time for Samsung — and honestly, the industry as a whole — to look in the mirror and ask: do we really need this?

I’m not saying Samsung or any other tech company should throw a bunch of spaghetti at the wall and cram some questionably useful stuff into their phones just for the sake of it. That helps nobody. It’s just that getting up onstage and declaring that these phones are fundamentally different and new should be a truly special occasion. And that used to be true! But now, it’s just a thing we do every year that feels a lot like the thing we did last year.

Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

This year’s Ultra will probably look a lot like last year’s Ultra, give or take some rounded edges.

In this particular season of mobile innovation, hardware just isn’t as important as it once was. Take the iPhone 16; the launch event centered so much on software features that Apple called...

Read the full story at The Verge.

Marvel Snap is back in the US

Image: Second Dinner

Marvel Snap is back online in the US after access was cut off Saturday night due to the law that banned TikTok and other ByteDance-owned apps. The game’s current publisher, Nuverse, is owned by ByteDance.

In a post published Monday evening, the game’s developer, Second Dinner, says that it plans to bring “more services in-house” and “partner with a new publisher” to prevent a similar situation from happening again. The same message is also showing up when you play the game, as shown in a screenshot posted on Reddit.

The game is still unavailable on the App Store or Google Play. The Steam listing is still live.

WHEW. MARVEL SNAP is back online in the U.S. But to make sure this NEVER happens again, we’re working to bring more services in-house and partner with a new publisher. This is the start of a new era for MARVEL SNAP.

— Ben Brode (@benbrode.bsky.social) 2025-01-21T02:53:28.181Z

TikTok restored service after about half a day of being offline, though the app is still absent from app stores. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday refusing to enforce the law banning TikTok and other apps owned by ByteDance, The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, for 75 days, but companies still may face risks if they don’t follow the law.

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Trump signs executive order to reverse Biden’s electric vehicle policies

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

President Donald Trump signed an executive order signaling his intention to eliminate the Biden administration’s electric vehicle policies, which he has falsely labeled a “mandate.” Trump also signed an order signaling his intent to weaken tailpipe emission standards, which would be a major blow to the environment.

The orders were among a barrage of executive actions taken by Trump in the immediate aftermath of his inauguration Monday, as he set to work undoing some of the accomplishments of the Biden administration. He also declared a “national energy emergency” in his inaugural speech in a move meant to weaken environmental standards and allow corporations to pollute more freely.

Under the title “Unleashing American Energy,” Trump lays out his intention to:

(e) to eliminate the “electric vehicle (EV) mandate” and promote true consumer choice, which is essential for economic growth and innovation, by removing regulatory barriers to motor vehicle access; by ensuring a level regulatory playing field for consumer choice in vehicles; by terminating, where appropriate, state emissions waivers that function to limit sales of gasoline-powered automobiles; and by considering the elimination of unfair subsidies and other ill-conceived government-imposed market distortions that favor EVs over other technologies and effectively mandate their purchase by individuals, private businesses, and government entities alike by rendering other types of vehicles unaffordable;

Later, he says he’ll stop funding for electric vehicle charging:

(a) All agencies shall immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-169) or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58), including but not limited to funds for electric vehicle charging stations made available through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program, and shall review their processes, policies, and programs for issuing grants, loans, contracts, or any other financial disbursements of such appropriated funds for consistency with the law and the policy outlined in section 2 of this order.

And he says he is directing his agency heads to identify regulations that “impose an undue burden” on “consumer choice of vehicles” — a likely reference to tailpipe emission standards:

Immediate Review of All Agency Actions that Potentially Burden the Development of Domestic Energy Resources. (a) The heads of all agencies shall review all existing regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, settlements, consent orders, and any other agency actions (collectively, agency actions) to identify those agency actions that impose an undue burden on the identification, development, or use of domestic energy resources — with particular attention to oil, natural gas, coal, hydropower, biofuels, critical mineral, and nuclear energy resources — or that are otherwise inconsistent with the policy set forth in section 2 of this order, including restrictions on consumer choice of vehicles and appliances.

Trump routinely railed against an imaginary “EV mandate” during last year’s presidential contest, promising to reverse policies aimed at making electric vehicles less expensive for consumers. No such mandate exists, but he’s targeting regulations that incentivized EV sales while slashing greenhouse gas emissions.

Among the policies in Trump’s crosshairs are the federal tax credits for the purchase of a new or used EV. Biden also earmarked over $7 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act for the expansion of EV charging infrastructure, as well as billions in manufacturing credits for companies building EV factories and battery facilities.

In loosening tailpipe emissions, Trump is essentially giving the green light to automakers to produce more polluting vehicles. And it wouldn’t be the first time either. During his first term, Trump directed the Environmental Protection Agency to weaken emissions standards that were put in place by the Obama administration.

In loosening tailpipe emissions, Trump is essentially giving the green light to automakers to produce more polluting vehicles.

But the auto industry has already spent billions of dollars on EV development, and they are likely to continue to do so. EV sales have slowed down over the last few years, but EVs remain popular among shoppers. In 2024, US consumers bought 1.3 million EVs, an increase of 7.3 percent from the prior year, according to Kelley Blue Book and Cox Automotive. The figures do not include hybrids. EV market share was 8.1 percent of sales of US cars and light trucks, an increase of 0.3 percent.

Burning fossil fuels like gasoline and diesel release carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into the environment. These emissions have been proven to cause climate change, which supercharges extreme weather like wildfires, hurricanes, and flooding. Transportation, including personal vehicle usage, accounts for about 28 percent of all US greenhouse gas emissions, according to the EPA.

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Trump signs order refusing to enforce TikTok ban for 75 days

Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge

President Donald Trump has issued an executive order telling the Department of Justice to not enforce a rule that demands TikTok spin off from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or face a ban.

The order, issued on Trump’s first day of office, is meant to effectively extend the deadline for a sale by undercutting penalties on American companies like Apple and Google working with TikTok. It directs the Attorney General “not to take any action to enforce the Act for a period of 75 days from today to allow my Administration an opportunity to determine the appropriate course forward in an orderly way.” The AG is supposed to “issue a letter to each provider stating that there has been no violation of the statute and that there is no liability for any conduct that occurred.”

The order furthermore instructs the Department of Justice to “take no action to enforce the Act or impose any penalties against any entity for any noncompliance with the Act” and says they should be barred from doing so “for any conduct that occurred during the above-specified period or any period prior to the issuance of this order, including the period of time from January 19, 2025, to the signing of this order.”

Trump, who issued an executive order banning TikTok during his first term in 2020, is now trying to circumvent a bipartisan law that took effect January 19th. He posted on Truth Social before taking office that he was “asking companies” to keep working with TikTok, a move that could mean risking hundreds of billions of dollars in fines if Trump’s assurances don’t stand up in court. TikTok briefly went down on Sunday but quickly came back online — though it was removed from Apple and Google’s app stores and has not come back.

It’s unclear whether Trump can legally pause the TikTok ban. The law allowed for a 90-day extension if ByteDance announced a sale to a non-”foreign adversary”-based company before the deadline, but not only has no such sale been announced, it’s legally ambiguous whether the extension can be used after the 19th. Trump, in any case, isn’t so far using the deadline — he’s just attempting to override the law.

Despite that reassurance, it still may not be enough to convince service providers covered by the law to reinstate TikTok. As many legal experts have pointed out, those companies could face up to about $850 billion in potential penalties for violating the law — which was passed by a bipartisan Congress, signed by former President Joe Biden, and upheld by the entire Supreme Court. The government could act on any potential violation even five years after it happens — and an executive order doesn’t change that, though it might help give the companies a slightly better due process defense to fight it. Companies still might not risk litigation over such a large potential fine, though they may also be wary of raising Trump’s ire by refusing to work with TikTok.

On top of all this, the rule the order says it’s “not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States,” which makes it even less reliable as a defense for companies.

Trump also declared on Sunday that the US government will own 50 percent of TikTok through an unexplained “joint venture” with a private company. It remains unclear how this would work.

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Donald Trump pulls US out of Paris climate agreement

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

Donald Trump has once again taken the US out of the landmark Paris climate agreement, abandoning the global effort to limit climate change. Trump signed an executive order today to exit.

The Paris accord was adopted in 2015, committing nearly 200 countries including the US to working together to stop global average temperatures from rising much higher than they have already. 2024 was the hottest year on record, beating the previous record set in 2023.

Scrapping efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the US can have repercussions for Americans and people around the world. The US was already the biggest historical emitter of planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions and the the world’s leading oil and gas producer, giving it big sway in global climate negotiations. Within America’s borders, billion-dollar weather and climate disasters have already grown more prevalent (adjusted for inflation) in recent years.

Exiting the Paris agreement “is in clear defiance of scientific realities and shows an administration cruelly indifferent to the harsh climate change impacts that people in the United States and around the world are experiencing,” Rachel Cleetus, policy director and lead economist for the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in an emailed statement.

Our planet’s climate has stayed relatively stable for the last 11,000 years or so, supporting the rise of agriculture and civilization as we know it, until the industrial revolution. The Paris agreement aims to keep global temperatures within roughly the same temperature range, preventing warming of more than 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius.

It might not seem like a big difference in temperature, but climate change has already become severe enough to supercharge weather-related disasters across the US including wildfires still burning around Los Angeles that leveled entire communities this month.

Trump took the US out of the Paris accord the last time he was in office. Former President Joe Biden recommitted upon stepping into office in 2021. Now, the US will join Iran, Libya, and Yemen as the only countries not on board with the international agreement. It’ll take one year from the date the Trump administration sends notification to the United Nations before US withdrawal from the Paris agreement will be official.

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Brendan Carr is officially in charge of the FCC

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

Brendan Carr is now formally the chair of the Federal Communications Commission, giving him the power to set the agency’s agenda and usher through a host of regulations with major implications for the tech and media industries as soon as he has a Republican majority.

In a statement, Carr named a few areas of focus: “issues ranging from tech and media regulation to unleashing new opportunities for jobs and growth through agency actions on spectrum, infrastructure, and the space economy.”

Carr’s priorities might also be gleaned from a document you might have already heard about: Project 2025. That’s because he authored the FCC chapter of the Heritage Foundation’s wishlist for a Donald Trump presidency. In that chapter, Carr proposes actions including: limiting immunity for tech companies under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, requiring disclosures about how platforms prioritize content, requiring tech companies to pay into a program that funds broadband access in rural areas, and more quickly approving applications to launch satellites from companies like Elon Musk’s StarLink.

Carr also wrote about protecting the US from security threats stemming from China, including by addressing “TikTok’s threat to national security.” Whether that’s something Carr takes up as chair now seems more in doubt, as Trump has changed his tune on the app’s danger to the US. While Trump was the first to try to ban TikTok from the US, he’s now positioning himself as its savior — putting China and TikTok hawk Carr in a tricky position.

The new FCC chair has also indicated that he could use his power to revoke spectrum licenses for networks over their decisions to host speech, when he deems it a violation of the equal time rule. This came up in a scuffle about NBC’s hosting of Kamala Harris on “Saturday Night Live” before the election — though the network seemed to comply with the rules for giving candidates similar time and placement on public airwaves by offering Trump an appearance on air later on.

Regardless, Carr will need a third Republican vote on the commission to approve any measures that are not bipartisan in nature. Trump has nominated Mark Meador, a former staffer to Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), to join the commission, pending Senate confirmation.

Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Trade Commission is also now in place. Andrew Ferguson, who was already serving as a commissioner, has a reported agenda that echoes parts of Carr’s. It includes a desire to “hold big tech accountable and stop censorship,” and also to “protect freedom of speech and fight wokeness.”

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Vivek Ramaswamy steps down from DOGE

Photo by Kevin Lamarque - Pool/Getty Images

Vivek Ramaswamy has stepped down from co-leading President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), according to the Associated Press. The official line as to why Ramaswamy is moving on is that he plans to run for elected office — he reportedly intends to run for Ohio governor.

“Vivek Ramaswamy played a critical role in helping us create DOGE,” spokesperson Anna Kelly says in the statement to the Associated Press. “He intends to run for elected office soon, which requires him to remain outside of DOGE, based on the structure that we announced today. We thank him immensely for his contributions over the last 2 months and expect him to play a vital role in making America great again.”

Trump gave DOGE, which is not a department of the US government, the remit to advise cuts to “wasteful” government spending. Musk and Ramaswamy spelled out their plans in a Wall Street Journal article. But CBS News reported yesterday that Ramaswamy was on the way out:

People close to Musk have privately undercut Ramaswamy for weeks, frustrated with his lack of participation in the heavy lifting, according to sources familiar with the internal dynamics. There has been friction between the incoming rank and file DOGE staff and Ramaswamy, the sources said, and Ramaswamy has been subtly encouraged to exit.

Ramaswamy hasn’t said on X if he’s stepping away from DOGE, but he did post a picture today with Musk. A few days ago, he also quote-tweeted a parody account that “announced” Ramaswamy’s candidacy for Ohio governor, saying that it’s “not a bad idea.”

DOGE is already the subject of at least three lawsuits.

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Dynasty Warriors: Origins is a refreshing take on the legendary series

Image: Koei-Tecmo

After previous games failed to live up to expectations, Origins is a vast improvement.

Read the full story at The Verge.

Fujifilm’s new stabilized binoculars deliver even more zoom

Fujifilm has added two new models to its Techno-Stabi binoculars line with stabilization and increased magnification. | Image: Fujifilm

Fujifilm has announced two new additions to its flagship Techno-Stabi line of binoculars featuring electronic stabilization, as spotted by PetaPixel. The new TS-L2040 and TS-L1640 deliver even more magnification than Fujfilm’s previous top-of-the-line offering — 20x and 16x, instead of just 14x — while also being smaller and lighter without sacrificing features like waterproofing. Both new models can survive a complete dunking to a depth of one meter for 30 minutes.

The Fujifilm TS-L2040, with 20x magnification, will be $1,299.95 when available for purchase starting on January 31st, 2025. The slightly cheaper TS-L1640, which offer 16x magnification, will be $1,199.95.

Using binoculars with more than 10x magnification without a tripod or stable support can result in blurred images because humans are simply incapable of holding them steady enough by hand. Even imperceptible hand movements are exaggerated through a pair of binoculars, making it hard to focus on a distant magnified subject.

Image: Fujifilm

Fujifilm’s new TS-L2040 Techno-Stabi binoculars (right) are smaller and lighter than the company’s previous flagship model (left) which weigh about a pound heavier.

Fujifilm’s new models rely on a gimbal-mounted prism with plus and minus three degrees of electronic stabilization. They’re also noticeably smaller and lighter than the company’s existing Techno-Stabi TS-X14x40 binoculars — weighing 1.88 pounds instead of 2.9 pounds — making them easier for birdwatchers to carry on a hike.

The two new models aren’t entirely replacing Fujifilm’s heavier and bulkier TS-X14x40 binoculars. Although the older model only offers 14x magnification for the same price as the company’s new 20x offering, they feature a more rugged design with plus and minus six degrees of electronic stabilization.

In a video comparing the old and new models, Fujifilm technical expert, Michael Bulbenko, says the older model is still a better choice for boaters given the extra movements while out on the water.

Image: Fujifilm

Fujifilm says both new models run on a pair of AAA batteries that offer up to 30 hours of stabilization.

Other features of the new TS-L2040 and TS-L1640 include 40mm objective lenses on the front that allow more light in to boost brightness. Fujifilm’s cheapest stabilized binoculars, the $749.95 TS12x28WP, feature much smaller front lenses that are just 28mm in size.

Both new binocular models are powered by a pair of AAA batteries that Fujifilm says will keep the image stabilization continuously powered for up to 30 hours. The binoculars will also automatically power themselves off after 60 minutes if you forget to, so if you’re headed out on a weekend birdwatching trip, you probably won’t need to pack an extra set of AAAs.

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Trump declared a ‘national energy emergency’

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

Donald Trump said today he’ll declare a “national energy emergency,” a move meant to speed the development of fossil fuel infrastructure.

The actions taken on his first day in office mark the start of President Trump’s attempts to boost oil and gas and retreat from global climate goals. He campaigned on promises to “drill, baby, drill,” and undo Biden-era policies to reduce pollution and stop climate change.

The US will “fill our strategic reserves up again, right to the top, and export American energy, all over the world,” Trump said in his inauguration speech.

Trump also repeated vague pledges he’s made to throw out environmental policies that haven’t actually been put in place. He said his administration would “end the green New Deal, and we will reverse the electric vehicle mandate, saving our oil industry.” It’s unclear what policies he’s referring to with that statement.

Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law, the most significant piece of climate legislation to date that opened up $369 billion for climate action and clean energy. Trump has previously said that he’d rescind any unspent IRA funds.

“I’m not that worried about having an EV mandate since there isn’t one, but I am concerned that he might take steps to make EVs more expensive for American consumers,” Pete Buttigieg, Biden’s Secretary of Transportation, recently told The Verge. But Trump has said that he’ll eliminate subsidies and tax credits Biden introduced to make electric vehicles more affordable.

Developing...

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X, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube sign EU pledge to tackle hate speech

EU Codes of Conduct are more of a suggestion than legally enforceable rules. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

Meta, Google, TikTok, and X have each pledged to European lawmakers that they will do more to prevent and remove illegal hate speech on their platforms. The European Commission integrated a revised set of voluntary commitments into the Digital Services Act (DSA) on Monday that aim to help platforms “demonstrate their compliance” with DSA obligations regarding illegal content moderation.

Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, X, YouTube, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Dailymotion, Jeuxvideo.com, Rakuten Viber, and Microsoft-hosted consumer services have all signed the “Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech Online Plus” — which is not a terribly named streaming service but an update to a 2016 Code. The revised code commits signatories to transparency around hate speech detection and reduction, to allowing third-party monitors to assess how hate speech notices are reviewed by the platforms, and to review “at least two-thirds of hate speech notices” within 24 hours.

“Hatred and polarisation are threats to EU values and fundamental rights and undermine the stability of our democracies. The internet is amplifying the negative effects of hate speech,” EU Commissioner Michael McGrath said in a statement. “We trust this Code of conduct+ will do its part in ensuring a robust response.”

These EU Codes of Conduct are voluntary commitments and companies face no penalties if they decide to back out of the agreement, as Elon Musk did with X (then known as Twitter) in 2022 when he withdrew the company from the Code of Practice on Disinformation.

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Donald Trump is officially president again

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images

Donald Trump has been officially sworn in as the 47th president of the US. Although we’ve already experienced a Trump presidency beginning in 2016, this term could look far different than the first one, particularly when it comes to tech regulation.

The heads of major tech companies have apparently come to learn how to deal with Trump, following an era of techlash that invited fury against them from both sides. The executives — who mostly stayed at arm’s distance during the beginning of Trump’s first term — have been quick to get into Trump’s good graces, be it with trips to Mar-a-Lago, attendance at the inauguration, changes to their company policies, or notices to millions of users thanking Trump for his (predicted) role in getting their popular social media app back online.

There’s good reason for the CEOs to cozy up to Trump. The next four years could see the president’s choices impact their companies and workers in a laundry list of areas. We’ll be looking at:

• How Trump handles tariffs against countries including China, where tech companies like Apple assemble many of their goods
• Whether Trump deploys the US surveillance state (as well as companies’ own data collection efforts) to carry out promises of mass deportations
• The future of global attempts to fight climate change with likely reduced help from the US
• Environmental regulation within the US
• Export controls on AI chips
• Ongoing (and potential new) antitrust cases against many of the largest tech firms
• The possible end of incentives to buy electric vehicles
• The Federal Communications Commission’s role in attempting to revoke spectrum licenses over speech Trump doesn’t like
• The future of tech’s liability shield Section 230
• Immigration policy, including H-1B visas for high-skilled tech workers
• How Trump shields US tech companies from the EU’s DSA and DMA laws.
• And however the saga over TikTok’s status in the US possibly ends

Trump has said he’ll use his first afternoon back in the Oval Office to sign “dozens of executive orders.” They’re expected to cover border policy, the environment, trade, and possibly even a delay to the TikTok ban. If it’s anything like the first term, we’ll see many of those challenged in court — and the results will indicate just how much of a check Trump will have on his power this time around.

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