The war on ‘woke science’ comes for space research
The Trump administration is waging a culture war on science, and the latest salvo is in the form of a dry, bureaucratic proposal from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that could threaten the future of US science as we know it.
The proposal would give political appointees unprecedented control over grant funding, the method through which scientists receive federal money to perform groundbreaking space research such as the search for evidence of organic compounds on Mars or the discovery of some of the earliest galaxies in the universe.
A typical proposed rule from the OMB garners less than 100 public comments. This rule has nette …
God Of War TV series is recasting Kratos
Amazon's upcoming God Of War show has hit a major snag - it's now on the hunt for a new Kratos, after an on-set injury put its current lead actor out of commission. Sons of Anarchy star Ryan Hurst was originally cast for the role in January, with Deadline reporting that four episodes of the God Of War production had been fully completed before he tore a bicep performing a stunt.
Production on the show has now been paused, and is eyeing to resume in mid-October. Unfortunately that isn't enough time for Hurst to fully recover from surgery. The completed episodes will now be reshot with a new actor, causing further delays to the show following …
Fortnite is getting a bunch of AI-powered ‘personas’
Get ready for more AI characters in Fortnite. Developer Epic Games is going to let Fortnite creators publish experiences featuring characters with AI-powered voices starting on July 30th, and ahead of that launch, it's created 36 characters with "consistent voices and personas" that creators can use as NPCs. The characters include Fortnite staples like Agent Jonesy, Peely (the banana), Fishstick (a walking fish), and Cuddle Team Leader (who wears a pink bear mascot head).
Epic tested the waters of AI characters with last year's Darth Vader NPC that was powered by James Earl Jones' voice - a collaboration that Jones' estate signed off on. Ev …
Samsung’s 55-inch Frame art TV is $200 cheaper than usual
Samsung’s Frame is different from your average 4K TV. Its biggest selling point involves what it does when you aren’t actively using it. It can display art, turning your living room into a gallery. The Frame has bezels that make it look like — you guessed it — framed art, and its matte finish can replicate paintings more naturally than your typical glossy-coated TV.
Amazon currently has the 55-inch Samsung Frame on sale for $697.99, about $200 lower than its typical price. The deal is on the 2025 model that features a 4K QLED panel, 144Hz refresh rate with variable refresh rate, and HDR10 Plus support.
Samsung The Frame (2025)
Where to Buy:
The Frame connects with a single cable to its included One Connect box, which contains a bunch of inputs. The box has four HDMI ports (two that support 4K at 60Hz, one with eARC for soundbars, and one that supports 4K at 144Hz for gaming), two USB-A ports, a coaxial plug for an HD antenna, Ethernet, and optical audio.
Like other art TVs, the Frame underperforms in a handful of ways that might matter to you compared to other similarly-priced TVs. Our analysis of the Frame and its competitors showed that they generally have lower maximum brightness, lackluster picture quality and color accuracy, and poorer black levels, all of which can have a negative impact on how movies, TV shows and games look. Despite its drawbacks, the Frame might be a nice compromise between dominating your living room with a TV or hanging up a painting.
Netflix says around 300 titles used generative AI
Netflix says roughly 300 titles on its platform used generative AI, most of which occurred in post-production. The streaming service revealed the news in its second-quarter earnings report released on Thursday, saying it's "increasingly leveraging these tools to deliver higher quality output more quickly and at a lower cost."
It also provided some examples of titles that used AI, including The American Experiment, Glory, and Brasil 70: A Saga do Tri. These shows used the technology to "create highly complex sequences," including "enhanced crowds, historical battle sequences, and worldbuilding establishing shots." During Netflix's call with …
Why are people buying so many CDs?
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 …