Trump demands ABC fire Jimmy Kimmel
President Donald Trump is calling for Disney to fire Jimmy Kimmel. On Thursday, Kimmel joked that Melania Trump had looked like an "expectant widow" in a skit about the upcoming White House Correspondents' Dinner. The skit aired days before an armed gunman made an assassination attempt at the event, which President Trump and Melania Trump attended, on Saturday. They and other administration officials were evacuated from the ballroom.
Trump - who has faced significant speculation over his health in recent months - interpreted the comment as an incitement to attack him. "I appreciate that so many people are incensed by Kimmel's despicable cal …
Google employees ask Sundar Pichai to say no to classified military AI use
Over 600 Google employees signed a letter to CEO Sundar Pichai demanding that Google block the Pentagon from using its AI models for classified purposes, reports the The Washington Post. Its organizers claim many of the signers work in Google's DeepMind AI lab, and include more than 20 principals, directors, and vice presidents.
According to the Post, the letter says that "The only way to guarantee that Google does not become associated with such harms is to reject any classified workloads. Otherwise, such uses may occur without our knowledge or the power to stop them." Anthropic is currently in a legal battle with the Pentagon over being …
Conspiracy theories are swirling about the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting
On Saturday evening, a room full of journalists, media personalities, and senior members of Donald Trump's administration descended into chaos as gunshots rang out at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Nobody was hurt, and the suspect was taken into custody - but it didn't take long for a narrative of doubt to take hold online.
There is no evidence that the attack at the WHCD was staged - but the conspiracies echo an increasingly common belief held even by some former Trump loyalists that the president is faking assassination attempts. Many people online appear to earnestly believe this attack is just the latest iteration.
On X, Threa …
Why the Steam Controller is (and isn’t) a big deal
Most PC gamers already have a controller they love using with Steam - a Sony DualSense, a 8BitDo Ultimate, a Nintendo Switch Pro, or something else. Part of that love comes from Steam treating them like "native" controllers. They can do the things that made the first Steam Controller worth buying. Namely, they offer a level of customizable control never before seen on PC and that you still can't get on a console.
With Steam Input, any of those controllers can have multiple control schemes for different game scenarios (flight, on-foot, in menus), and you swap between them with a button press. You can also create onscreen menus that bloom whe …
Valve’s new Steam Controller isn’t perfect, but I’m buying one anyway
After my brief hands-on last year with Valve's new Steam Controller, I said it might be my dream controller. I've been looking for a controller with the customization and sheer function available on Valve's Steam Deck while I'm playing games on the TV. You, me, and a lot of other people have been waiting for this.
I've had the new controller in my hands for more than two weeks, and it's already changing how I play at home. I used to make the Steam Deck handheld my go-to couch gaming experience because of how good it feels to hold, but the Controller has me docking my Deck to play on the TV because it feels even better.
I've spent hours cr …
Valve launches the Steam Controller without the Steam Machine
Last November, Valve introduced the world to its new vision of living room gaming: the Steam Machine and Steam Controller. Then, RAMageddon. Memory shortages forced Valve to delay all its hardware and reset expectations.
Now, Valve is releasing the Steam Controller without the Steam Machine.
The Steam Controller is officially going on sale May 4th at 1PM ET for $99 USD, $149 CAD, $149 AUD, £85 in the UK and €99 in the EU. We've already spent two weeks with the pad paired to our Steam Decks and gaming desktops, and you can read reviews from my colleagues Jay Peters and Cameron Faulkner right now. It's pretty great!
What about the Steam Ma …
We reviewed Valve’s new Steam Controller, ask us anything
Hey hey, it's Jay Peters, senior reporter at The Verge. Today, Valve finally announced that the second version of the Steam Controller - and the first piece of Valve's slate of new gaming hardware set to launch this year - is finally going on sale for $99 on May 4th.
My colleague Cameron Faulkner and I have had the new Controller in our hands for more than two weeks, and we've each written reviews of it. For Verge subscribers, we have a treat: if you have any questions about the new gamepad, we'd be happy to answer them for you in the comments of this article.
Valve hasn't shared any new information about when the Steam Machine PC and Stea …
Samsung’s first smart glasses have leaked
The upcoming Samsung Galaxy Glasses look nearly identical to Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses in leaked images from Android Headlines. The glasses, which could be announced at Google I/O next month, are code-named "Jinju" and will reportedly cost between $379 and $499, on par with the display-free Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2. They'll reportedly include a Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 processor, a 12-megapixel Sony IMX681 camera, a 155mAh battery, and bone conduction speakers; however, this pair won't have a built-in display.
Samsung is reportedly saving a micro-LED display for a more premium pair of glasses, code-named "Haean," which it plans to launch in 20 …
Microsoft and OpenAI’s famed AGI agreement is dead
OpenAI and Microsoft's partnership-turned-situationship just got even less committed. And a clause about artificial general intelligence, which has for years dictated the future of their deal, has officially been dropped.
On Monday morning, Microsoft announced a handful of big changes to its long-standing OpenAI deal. Microsoft will remain OpenAI's "primary cloud partner, and OpenAI products will ship first on Azure, unless Microsoft cannot and chooses not to support the necessary capabilities." But OpenAI can "now serve all its products to customers across any cloud provider." That lets OpenAI pursue its goals of courting enterprise custom …
The Philips Hue Sync Box 8K is 30 percent off
The Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K is a great gadget to buy if you want to put your Hue lights to good use while watching a movie or playing video games. It syncs with your lights to mirror the colors on your TV, and it’s steeply discounted right now to a slightly more accessible price. You can currently get the box for $269.49 via the Philips Hue store, which is $115 off the going price at most other retailers (including Best Buy). This is part of the company’s ongoing “Bright Days” sale, which includes deals on a host of other lighting products.
The sync box is an HDMI hub that can accept up to four devices (gaming consoles, a PC, streaming devices, etc.), and it supports up to 8K passthrough at 60Hz to your TV, or 4K with a higher 120Hz refresh rate. It also offers passthrough support for HDR10 Plus and Dolby Vision HDR, as well as immersive Dolby Atmos audio.
One important note is that the Sync Box needs a Philips Hue Bridge to communicate with other Hue lights (including the gradient light strips that stick behind your TV). If you don’t have a Bridge, the standalone entry-level model typically costs about $65. However, I actually recommend opting for the discounted bundle on Philips Hue’s site, which nets you both products for $301.93, effectively halving the cost of the Bridge.
Read more about the Philips Hue 8K sync box.
Other deals to know about
- GameStop is running a sale on pre-owned games that stacks savings depending on how many you buy. You’ll save 10 percent on the total cost when buying two or three games, 20 percent with four or five games, and 30 percent off with six or more games. Whether you have the budget for some pricey games or just want to flesh out your collection of older, cheaper titles, you can save quite a bit by buying discs in bulk.
- The Logitech G435 is a good, affordable headset for people who aren’t too picky about features or high-end build materials. The black model with minimal neon green details and a beamforming mic is down to $37.49 (about $43 off) on Amazon, which is the lowest price so far this year. The gaming headset was a favorite of mine when it came out in ’21, and it’s solid for use with a PC or PS5 via its 2.4GHz USB-A dongle. It also supports Bluetooth and includes a button to easily toggle between wireless modes. Read my hands-on impressions.
- Baseus’s AM52 is a slim, 10,000mAh MagSafe battery that claims to support 25W wireless charging speeds for the iPhone 16 and newer phones. It’s listed at $59.99 (down from $79.99) at Amazon for Prime members, but Slickdeals users have shared a promo code (BASEUSAM52) that knocks the price down to $39.29. The power bank lacks a built-in USB-C cable, but when paired with one, it can supply devices with up to 45W. Its small capacity isn’t a great fit with charging gaming handhelds or a laptop, but it can give you a little juice if that’s all you need.