Listen to this: Armand Hammer’s Snakes & Ladders
I open with this caveat: I haven't had a ton of time to digest the surprise Armand Hammer record that dropped this week. Billy Woods and Elucid rarely miss, though, and my initial reaction is that Snakes & Ladders ranks among their best. It doesn't have the seamless throughline production-wise that their collabs with Alchemist (Haram and Mercy) do, but it's still clearly the singular vision of the two men at its center.
Ominous noises dance in the background, blasts of noise add dashes of industrial rage, bass lines throb, and saxophone bleats call out to the sky. Woods and Elucid have always had excellent taste in production, but here they …
Vulcan rocket fails, destroying 40 Amazon Leo satellites
United Launch Alliance (ULA) suffered what is reportedly its first mission failure in its 20-year history, failing to deliver 40 Amazon Leo satellites to orbit. Leo is Amazon's competitor to SpaceX's Starlink, but it has struggled to get off the ground so far, putting only a small portion of the necessary satellites to challenge Starlink into orbit. Today's launch was supposed to be the first of 38 flights Amazon purchased from ULA.
In a statement posted on X, ULA said, "Based on data received by our Launch Director, we confirm that the Vulcan vehicle launched from Space Launch Complex 41 suffered an anomaly 10 minutes into the flight and f …
Jensen Huang might be plotting a return and more of the latest Nvidia drama
The drama around Nvidia co-founder and former CEO Jensen Huang is evolving quickly. The latest edition of our Stepback newsletter should get you up to speed, but there have already been a number of new developments since this morning. That includes rumors that Jensen Huang might be trying to find a path back to CEO, and a statement from Megaspeed claiming that Alice Huang hasn't worked for the company since August of 2025, which raises more questions than it answers.
- Some big names, including Elon Musk and Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, have publicly thrown their support behind a public letter demanding Nvidia "bring Jensen back."
- The pub …
Congress wants to tighten export rules on AI chips after Nvidia spy scandal
Unsurprisingly, following the scandal involving now-former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and a suspected Chinese spy, Congress is looking to further restrict exports of AI chips. Both Democrats and Republicans have voiced support for various measures and bills that would tighten rules and have demanded that Huang and other Nvidia leaders testify before Congress.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has already said that Huang and the Trump administration need to answer to Congress. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott has also sent letters to both Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick calling on them to publicly testify to the commit …
Fanttik’s S1 Pro electric screwdriver is $40 off in the run-up to Black Friday
Amazon’s early Black Friday promos are already underway, and we’ll be highlighting some of our favorites over the next few days on our Shopping page. Among them is the Fanttik S1 Pro Cordless Electric Screwdriver, which is currently matching its all-time low of $39.99 ($40 off) at Amazon for a limited time.
Fanttik S1 Pro Cordless Electric Screwdriver
Where to Buy:
Fanttik’s rechargeable tool is designed to make everyday household repairs and DIY projects easier, and it does a good job. Verge commerce editor Brandon Widder once called it his go-to electric screwdriver, noting he’s used it to assemble a bed, tighten bike seats, and perform other small- to medium-sized tasks around the house. It offers three adjustable torque settings, so you can use a gentler setting for more delicate jobs like electronics and more power for tougher projects.
Beyond being a capable electric screwdriver, the Fanttik also comes equipped with a few extra conveniences. For example, it features a built-in LED light to help you see screws in darker spaces, such as under a desk or inside a cabinet. The screwdriver also comes with 16 S2 hardened steel bits, including flathead and Torx bits, all of which fit inside an included magnetic storage case. The rechargeable 2,000mAh battery should handle up to 340 screws on a single charge, too, and it supports USB-C so you can quickly charge it between projects.
Apple’s first smart glasses are coming together
Apple's smart glasses are among the worst-kept secrets in the tech world. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says the company's first model, which will lack augmented reality features, will be announced at June's WWDC next year. They likely won't ship right away, however, with Gurman saying only that "glasses shipments would begin before the end of the year."
Key to their success will be the newly revamped Siri AI, which is adding fine-grained control over apps. By adding those features now and letting developers add support on the iPhone first, it's hoping that its smart glasses will be able to hit the ground running.
The prototypes, dubbed N50, are …
Rachelle Hampton won’t admit how long she spent charting the use of ‘murmur’ in Twilight
Rachelle Hampton is a writer and co-owner at Defector Media, and the host of Normal Gossip, a podcast of anonymous listener-submitted stories about everyday drama. Whether that's lies about luxury wool in a literal knitting circle, the impeachment of a hypocritical HOA president, or a COVID outbreak at a destination wedding with an absurd 25 bridesmaids, each story is unique in its absurdity, yet weirdly relatable.
After years as one of the co-hosts of Slate's In Case You Missed It, a podcast that required her to be chronically online, Hampton is enjoying being a little more unplugged these days. And she has perhaps the most interesting an …
LG’s budget-friendly B6E OLED TV is up to 50 percent off this weekend
LG’s B6E was already one of the most affordable OLED TVs you could buy, but it’s an even better deal now that it’s included as part of Best Buy’s latest doorbuster event. Now through the end of today, November 15th, the 55-inch model is 50 percent off, dropping it to an all-time low of $699.99 ($700 off) at Best Buy. If you want a larger 4K set, the 65- and 77-inch models are also discounted, dropping them to $999.99 ($900 off) and $1,499.99 ($1,200 off), respectively.
LG B6E OLED TV
Where to Buy:
Although it’s not as bright as LG’s pricier C6, the B6E still delivers the excellent contrast and deep blacks OLEDs are often praised for. It’s nearly identical to the standard B6, except it comes with a simpler remote that lacks the motion controls and voice features found on LG’s Magic Remote. It supports Dolby Vision and HDR10 for more lifelike colors and detail in bright and dark scenes, along with Dolby Atmos for more immersive audio. And with Apple AirPlay and Google Cast built in, you can easily stream content from your phone or tablet and access a variety of streaming apps, including Netflix, HBO Max, and YouTube via LG’s webOS platform.
The B6 also offers a lot of features gamers will appreciate. It has a 120Hz refresh rate for modern gaming consoles, which is still plenty fast even if it doesn’t rival the 165Hz refresh rate on the C6. It also offers variable refresh rate support — including Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium — to help minimize screen tearing. You also get a zippy Alpha 8 Gen 3 AI processor and four HDMI 2.1 ports, making it easy to connect multiple consoles. It may lack some of the more advanced features found on LG’s more premium OLED TVs, but at 50 percent off, the B6 is a great option if you want the benefits of OLED without spending a fortune.
The Sony Aibo was a robot revolution dressed like a dog
In the 1990s, Sony was absolutely convinced that we were on the precipice of a robot takeover. Pretty soon, the company decided, we'd all be living among countless humanoid robots. Some would be our coworkers; others would be our friends; and at least one would be our pet. And "pet" was exactly what Sony was going for when it created the Aibo. It was supposed to be part of the family.
On this episode of Version History, we go back in time and tell the story of the Aibo. David Pierce is joined by The Verge's Victoria Song and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, and together they discuss the origins of this remarkable robot dog, and its impressive succe …
An overview of Jensen Huang’s messy days
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on Jensen Huang's resignation and the fallout from Nvidia's leadership crisis, follow Terrence O'Brien. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes on Sunday at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here.
How it started
On October 29th, The New York Times reported that Nvidia co-founder and showman CEO Jensen Huang appeared to be the target of a Chinese spy plot. Any major tech CEO potentially being compromised by the Chinese government is concerning - especially Jensen Huang. "If you could draw the network diagram of the entire US AI e …