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The AI race suddenly looks like Google’s to lose

Three years after being caught off guard by ChatGPT, Gemini appears to have everything it needs to take down OpenAI and everyone else.

David Pierce

Today’s Storystream

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Doomsday

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Elissa Welle
500 dashcams in Minneapolis.

Two days after Nick Benson asked for donated dashcams in order to document the behavior of federal immigration agents flooding his city, Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by federal agent Jonathan Ross.

”It was immediately clear that ICE was lying about it,” Benson told 404 Media. Donations have jumped since then, and Benson distributes the cameras to local community organizers and whoever wants them.

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Jay Peters
The new Digg is launching an open beta.

With the launch, any user can start a community on “on nearly any topic,” according to TechCrunch. That would solve one of my biggest issues with the platform when I tested it last year. The public beta rollout is expected to begin at around 4PM ET.

The Bone Temple turns 28 Years Later into a terrifying crisis of faith

Nia DaCosta’s 28 Years Later sequel turns the franchise on its head with a story about spirituality in the end times.

Charles Pulliam-Moore
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Lauren Feiner
FCC chair Brendan Carr is pressed on removing ‘independent’ from its website.

”Did you decide in the middle of the hearing to officially abandon the FCC’s independence? Or had that decision already been made by you and President Trump prior to the hearing?” Rep. Rob Menendez (D-NJ) asked. Carr said he’s “pleased that the FCC website reflects my views.”

RFK Jr.’s new food pyramid could be a disaster for the environment

New US dietary guidelines promote more protein and beef tallow, potentially moving Americans further away from a low-carbon diet.

Justine Calma
I’ve tested 30 smart locks, and these are the bestI’ve tested 30 smart locks, and these are the best
Buying Guides
Buying Guides
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
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Sean Hollister
The Lego Smart Brick debate has been brewing for decades, David and I agree.

That’s me on The Vergecast, debating the finer points of our CES 2026 Best in Show: the Lego Smart Brick. Why is it smart, and is it an affront to the imagination? Spoiler: my wife isn’t convinced! And did David make the pew-pew sounds when he was a kid? Tune in.

UK digital ID plans will no longer be mandatoryUK digital ID plans will no longer be mandatory
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Emma Roth
Gemini is coming to Google Trends.

Google is launching a revamped “Explore” page in Trends, featuring a new side panel for Gemini that will automatically identify and compare trends related to your search. Along with a refreshed look, you can now compare more terms at once, as well as view double the number of rising queries.

Image: Google
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Jay Peters
Nothing will “inevitably” hike smartphone prices because of rising memory costs.

That’s according to Nothing CEO Carl Pei, who, in a big post on X, also said that:

Memory is fast becoming one of the most expensive smartphone components and potentially the single largest cost driver in the bill of materials by year-end, with estimates suggesting that memory modules which cost less than $20 a year ago could exceed $100 by year-end for top-tier models.

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Andrew Webster
The kids are breaking bad.

Well, they’re not kids anymore, but things are not looking good for the cast of Euphoria in the new season 3 trailer, which sees just about everyone involved in some kind of criminal enterprise or... content creation. The series returns to HBO on April 12th.

Civilization VII is coming to Apple ArcadeCivilization VII is coming to Apple Arcade
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What we learned from CES 2026What we learned from CES 2026
Tech
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Thomas Ricker
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Lauren Feiner
FBI searched a journalist’s home for classified documents.

In a highly unusual move, FBI agents executed a search warrant on Washington Post journalist Hannah Natanson’s Virginia home, the Post reports. Natanson has written about the Department of Government Efficiency’s federal workforce overhaul. Investigators are reportedly probing a system administrator with security clearance accused of removing classified information.

Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed the search on X, saying it was requested by the Department of War after the reporter was allegedly “obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor.” Washington Post spokesperson Olivia Petersen confirmed the Post is monitoring the situation.

Update: Added comment from Bondi and The Washington Post.

Animal Crossing’s 3.0 update dropped a little earlyAnimal Crossing’s 3.0 update dropped a little early
Gaming
Snatching Maduro was all about the spectacle

Real people died while Trump treated war like a meme stock.

Elizabeth Lopatto and Sarah Jeong
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Emma Roth
Airbnb hires Meta’s former AI head as CTO.

Ahmad Al-Dahle, who previously led the team behind Meta’s Llama AI models, is now joining Airbnb as part of plans to revamp search and other features in its app, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky tells Bloomberg:

What that means is moving away from an anonymous customer just searching, and making sure everyone’s search, everyone’s conversation is unique to them and that we take into account all prior conversations we ever had with you, all information we have.

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Jay Peters
Samsung’s redesigned Mobile Gaming Hub is here.

In addition to the new look, available on Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets, the app has “personalized content suggestions, and video integrated directly into the application to help players explore and enjoy the gaming experiences that matter most to them,” according to a press release.

An image of Samsung’s redesigned Mobile Gaming Hub.
Image: Samsung
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Stevie Bonifield
The Trump administration will allow Nvidia to export H200 chips to China, on a few conditions.

Sales of Nvidia’s AI chips to customers in China will be approved on a “case-by-case basis,” as Bloomberg reports. But the chips shipped to China can be “no more than 50% of the total products made for the US market,” and can’t create a shortage in the US.

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Dominic Preston
The glass cloth bottleneck.

Here’s yet another manufacturing pressure we have the AI chip boom to thank for: glass cloth. It’s a key component in the chip substrates for printed circuit boards, and the industry is mostly reliant on a single manufacturer in Japan, which can no longer keep up with demand.

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Dominic Preston
Netflix orders more from the Squid Game creator.

The Dealer will be a crime series following a casino dealer who starts gambling herself to fund her wedding. Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk will produce the show, though he isn’t writing or directing this time.

Photo of cast and crew of Netflix’s The Dealer
Hwang Dong-hyuk (left) will produce the new show, with Jung So-min (third from left) in the lead role.
Image: Netflix
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Dominic Preston
Lightroom or bust.

Apple’s new Creator Studio subscription is pitched as an Adobe alternative, but a lot of Verge commenters made it clear: without a decent equivalent to Lightroom, it won’t work for most photographers.

Nevpaurion:

For the love of god make a lightroom alternative so i can stop giving adobe my money.

Get the day’s best comment and more in my free newsletter, The Verge Daily.

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Robert Hart
AIright, AIright, AIright.

Matthew McConaughey is trying out an untested legal method to protect himself against unauthorized AI clones: trademarking himself.

The WSJ reports the actor has had eight applications approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, including him staring at a camera and saying “Alright, alright, alright.”

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Richard Lawler
Nintendo finally gets into the 2025 wrap-up game.

Long after Spotify’s Wrapped, or other annual data look-back features from PlayStation and Steam (but not Xbox), Nintendo has announced its Switch 2025 Year in Review tracker.

Other than sharing your results with the #NintendoSwitch2025 hashtag, there’s also an option to select GOTY, or go even further back in your Switch / Switch 2 history to the first game you played.

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Icons of familiar items from the Mario gamesl ike a Star and question mark block
Screenshot: Nintendo.com
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Stevie Bonifield
Google is bringing a useful Meet feature for hybrid meetings to iOS and Android.

Google is adding Meet’s automatic conference room detection feature to the Meet and Gmail mobile apps. First launched on laptops last year, it uses silent ultrasound signals that are picked up by your phone’s mic to automatically check you into your conference room and prompt you to join Meet calls with your device in Companion mode, avoiding annoying feedback or other problems.

Screenshots of Google Meet’s automatic conference room detection feature running on the Meet mobile app
Now Android and iOS users will automatically get the “Companion mode” prompt in conference rooms.
Image: Google
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