Why are CD sales suddenly growing again?
CD sales are apparently going up, reportedly thanks to fans realizing they're an affordable way to support their favorite artists. According to a new report from research firm Luminate, 16.3 million CDs were sold in the first half of 2026 in the US, a 16 percent increase year-over-year. The growth in CD sales was driven by "collection building, price accessibility, massive albums such as BTS' ARIRANG and a strong K-pop release schedule," Luminate says.
Even if you remove K-pop sales from the data, CD sales still went up in the US, increasing 6.7 percent. And it appears that some people aren't even buying the CDs to listen to them, as Lumina …
Kalshi says it caught Trump’s teleprompter operator insider trading
Kalshi users betting on what President Donald Trump would say during his speeches were reportedly up against tough competition: the president's teleprompter operator.
ABC News reports that federal investigators believe Gabriel Perez - Trump's teleprompter operator since 2016 - used inside information to make bets on Kalshi, a major prediction market platform that allows users to bet on just about everything. One category that Kalshi offers is "mentions" markets, in which users try to predict what an individual will say during high-profile events.
Perez is accused of betting on what Trump would say during more than a dozen events, including …
New York governor says she’s using AI to analyze ‘every single rule’ in the state
New York Governor Kathy Hochul might have just signed a moratorium on new AI data centers in the state, but she's not against using the technology herself. During an interview with Bloomberg's Odd Lots podcast, Hochul said that her team is using "AI to analyze every single rule, regulation, [and] policy" to check for outdated legislation.
Some of the antiquated laws mentioned by Hochul in the interview include a $25 fee required to take a dog hunting, or a stipulation that pregnant people need a permit to work after midnight. Hochul added that it "probably would have taken five years at the staff level" to review all of the laws in the stat …
Ecovacs’ self-cleaning Deebot X11 has hit a new low price
Sometimes it feels like keeping your floors clean is one of those never-ending chores, which is why it's nice to have a versatile robot vacuum take it off your hands. The Ecovacs Deebot X11 robovac / mop hybrid is designed to do just that, and it's now $699 ($400 off) at Amazon and directly from Ecovacs, which is a new low price.
The Deebot X11 is the latest version of one of our former top picks for the best robot vacuum / mop. While the Matic has since taken its place in our rankings, the X11 remains an excellent option, especially at nearly half the price. It combines powerful 19,500Pa suction along with a handful of features that make …
Google is better than Apple at playing the AI regulations game
Today, the European Union ordered Google to give its AI rivals greater access to Android, the open-source operating system that powers billions of devices worldwide. The demand is hardly surprising. It may look like a defeat on paper for Google, which has spent years resisting exactly this kind of access, but it is a regulatory win. It's also a sign that Google may have outmaneuvered Apple by playing Brussels' regulatory game far more shrewdly.
In one of two decisions handed down on Thursday, the European Commission - the EU's executive arm and the principal enforcer of the bloc's competition rules - said Google must give rival AI assistan …
Roblox will let people use AI to make games on their phone
Roblox is about to let people make games with AI right inside its mobile app, which could make a platform that's already filled with content of questionable quality feel even more overloaded. The company has embraced AI with open arms, including a preview of an ambitious take on AI world models similar to Google's Project Genie, an AI foundation model that developers can use to generate 3D game assets, and an AI assistant chatbot that can help developers while they're building games. The tools announced today will make using AI for Roblox game development far more accessible, though the company is starting small at first.
The new feature is …
Google is renaming NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook
Google is giving its AI note-taking app a new name. The company announced on Thursday that NotebookLM is becoming Gemini Notebook, but will remain a standalone app even as it integrates more deeply across Gemini and Google Search.
Google first revealed Gemini Notebook - then called Project Tailwind - in May 2023 before widely releasing the app just months later. Over the past few years, Google has been adding new features to the app to help organize and make sense of your notes, such as the ability to summarize them as AI podcasts, narrated slideshows, and TikTok-style clips. It recently started letting users connect their notebooks to the …
Time’s running out to save $10 on Splatoon Raiders physical preorders
Splatoon Raiders’ July 23rd launch day is almost here, so your window to preorder the physical version at a $10 discount is about to close. The digital version is $49.99, and so is the game on cartridge if you preorder at Walmart. Amazon previously honored the preorder discount, but it’s selling the game at full price ($59.99), at least for the moment.
Nintendo announced in March that certain digital Switch 2 games will be $10 cheaper than the physical versions. However, releases like Yoshi and the Mysterious Book and Star Fox both had lengthy preorder phases where both editions sold at the same price. It’s worth jumping on these limited-time offers if physical media means a lot to you.
While Amazon isn’t currently honoring the $10 preorder discount, there’s always a chance it will again before launch day. If you choose to preorder at Amazon, you’ll pay the lowest price offered between when you preorder and when the game releases.
Splatoon Raiders is a new Switch 2-exclusive title with a single-player focus. That’s great because I could never get enough of the campaigns in the mainline Splatoon titles, and its competitive multiplayer is harder to excel at than it seems. However, Raiders has a co-op multiplayer component, so you can team up with up to four players locally or online.
Other Verge-approved deals
- If you’re the kind of person who refuses to cancel their HBO Max subscription because it’s their sole way to watch The Sopranos, I have good news: there’s a 28-disc 4K Blu-ray limited edition set coming in December. It’s available to preorder at Gruv for $149.99, and new customers to the site can save 15 percent on their first order with the code FIRSTGRUV15. It knocks the cost down to $127.50 for the set, which is a good price to have the definitive versions of the classic TV show (plus a ton of special features) on your shelves.
- Over-ear wireless headphones that have active noise cancellation and are worth your attention are typically expensive, but there are exceptions. The CMF by Nothing Headphone Pro look slick, have noise cancellation, and come in some cool colors for just $69 right now at Amazon (originally $99). This matches the previous lowest price that we’ve only seen happen twice before. The headphones’ equalizer can be adjusted in Nothing’s app, but they also feature an “energy slider” that lets you find the right mix between a treble-heavy sound or a bass-forward delivery.
- For the remainder of Thursday, July 16th, Wellbots is knocking 13 percent off many already-discounted products in celebration of the site’s birthday. Just use the code BDAY13 at checkout to get the savings on the products included on this page. If you’re in the market for a palm-sized color e-reader that’s also a phone like Boox’s Palma 2 Pro, the code drops the price from $399 — the current price at Amazon — to $348. That said, the device isn’t perfect, so read our review before buying it. The sale includes several robot vacuums from Dreame, some DJI drones, Xgimi projectors, and more.
Tesla driver in fatal Texas crash overrode FSD by pressing accelerator ‘100 percent,’ investigators confirm
The Tesla driver who fatally struck a woman after crashing into her home "manually overrode" the vehicle's Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology by pressing the gas pedal to 100 percent, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed in a preliminary report on Wednesday. After examining the car's electronic data, investigators found that the Tesla Model 3 reached speeds greater than 70mph during the crash.
In June, 44-year-old Michael Butler's vehicle plowed into a Katy, Texas home, killing 76-year-old Martha Avila inside. The home is located on a two-lane road with a 30mph speed limit, the NTSB's report says, adding that "the weath …
Apple’s OLED iPad Mini upgrade is on the way as prices continue to rise
The iPad Mini could get an OLED display upgrade as soon as October, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. It would be the most significant refresh for the Mini since its 2021 redesign. An OLED iPad Mini has been rumored for months now, with Gurman previously reporting last year that it will also come with a price increase, and earlier this week he said the price of AppleCare Plus for Macs and iPads is going up.
That iPad Mini price hike is even more likely now after Apple raised prices across its product lineup last month - including the current iPad Mini, which now costs $100 more. According to Tim Cook, the price hikes were in response t …