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Smuggling podcasts into a Burmese prison

Jailed during the 2021 coup in Myanmar, American journalist Danny Fenster passed the time by meditating and listening to podcasts that had been smuggled in.

Danny Fenster and Amy Kurzweil

Today’s Storystream

Feed refreshed An hour ago

(Not) To the Moon

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Twitter
Terrence O'Brien
A former Trump advisor calls the fight with Anthropic “attempted corporate murder.”

Dean Ball, who worked as a senior AI policy advisor, said on X that designating Anthropic as a “supply chain risk” or threatening to invoke the Defense Production Act could have a chilling effect on the entire industry. Alan Rozenshtein, a former DOJ official specializing in technology law, told Politico this could be the first step toward partial nationalization of the AI industry.

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Dominic Preston
This is Xiaomi and Leica’s new Leitzphone.

I just reviewed the Leitzphone, a special edition of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra with a load of Leica twists: a refreshed industrial design including the iconic red dot, Leica-tweaked software, and a novel rotating camera ring that can control zoom and more. Thanks to great haptics, it’s also a top-tier fidget spinner.

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Youtube
Terrence O'Brien
The US has attacked Iran and is calling for the overthrow of its government.

Early on Saturday, the US and Israel launched a joint military strike on Iran. President Trump said in a video on Truth Social the goal is to “annihilate” the country’s military. He then directly addressed the Iranian people, saying that the country “will be yours to take.” The Iranian government launched retaliatory strikes on Israel and American bases in the area, including in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait.

You can get all the latest updates from The New York Times, NPR, BBC, and Reuters.

TCL’s $7,000+ flagship TV is ready to fight

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Verge Score

The X11L is TCL’s best TV ever, but with RGB LED TVs around the corner, is mini LED a dead end?

John Higgins
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Dominic Preston
This is Xiaomi’s concept EV hypercar.

The Vision GT was designed to split the difference between performance on straights and corners, with a chassis that was “sculpted by the wind.” Apparently it’ll be on display at the MWC show floor, where hopefully I’ll get a better look at it.

Photo of Xiaomi Vision GT being revealed on stage at MWC 2026, showing the car from the side
Photo of Xiaomi Vision GT being revealed on stage at MWC 2026, showing the car from the front
Photo of Xiaomi Vision GT being revealed on stage at MWC 2026, showing the car from the back
Photo of Xiaomi Vision GT being revealed on stage at MWC 2026, showing the car from the top
1/4Photo: Dominic Preston / The Verge
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Dominic Preston
Xiaomi’s super-slim power bank costs extra in orange.

The Xiaomi UltraThin Magnetic Power Bank 5000 is just 6mm thin thanks to its silicon-carbon battery, and only weighs 98g. It’s €59.99 (about $70) in Europe, but there’s a €5 premium if you want it in iPhone orange.

Photo of thin Xiaomi power bank 5000mAh in orange showing the front
Photo of thin Xiaomi power bank 5000mAh in orange showing the back and wireless charging coil
Photo of thin Xiaomi power bank 5000mAh in orange showing how thin it is from below
Photo of thin Xiaomi power bank 5000mAh in orange showing it attached to an iPhone
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In fairness, orange has always been Xiaomi’s logo color.
Photo: Dominic Preston / The Verge
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Dominic Preston
Xiaomi has two new tablets too.

The Pad 8 and Pad 8 Pro have launched alongside the Xiaomi 17 phones. They’re not as thin as Honor’s upcoming MagicPad 4, but I suspect they’ll be good — the Pad 6 has been my go-to Android tablet for two years. Pick the €599.99 Pro ($700) for a faster chip, better cameras, and a matte display option.

Image of man using Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro
Both tablets support Xiaomi’s €99 ($120) Focus Pen Pro stylus.
Image: Xiaomi
Jeffrey Epstein saw promise in Bitcoin — and its far-right supporters

Epstein may not have fully understood crypto, but he helped shape its culture anyway.

David Morris
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Hayden Field
OpenAI reached a new agreement with the Pentagon.

CEO Sam Altman wrote on X that the agreement allowed the US military to “deploy our models in their classified network.” He said the agreement reflects OpenAI’s desire for prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and “human responsibility for the use of force, including for autonomous weapon systems.” Altman also wrote that OpenAI is “asking the DoW to offer these same terms to all AI companies, which in our opinion we think everyone should be willing to accept.” This follows a rollercoaster week of negotiations between Anthropic and the Pentagon.

Sam Altman’s post

[X (formerly Twitter)]

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Richard Lawler
The other connection between Jeffrey Epstein and 4chan.

It’s a posthumous one because, as Buzzfeed reported in 2019, someone on 4chan of all places confirmed Epstein’s death more than half an hour before the first media reports. Now, Business Insider reports that within the files recently released, there are documents showing how the Justice Department and FBI investigated by subpoenaing 4chan, T-Mobile, and AT&T, trying to find the source.

They were unsuccessful.

Trump orders federal agencies to drop Anthropic’s AITrump orders federal agencies to drop Anthropic’s AI
Hayden Field and Richard Lawler
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Jay Peters
Dash those Bloodborne remake hopes.

In his deep dive about PlayStation’s closure of Bluepoint Games, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier says that Bluepoint pitched a Bloodborne remake in 2025, but FromSoftware “didn’t want it to happen.” Bummer.

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Sean Hollister
The 512GB Steam Deck OLED is back in stock in US. Might disappear any second.

The 1TB version also reappeared this morning, but was gone before I could get up a Verge Quick Post. I’m moving faster this time! Here’s the store page. Valve warned on February 16th it’ll be intermittently out of stock because of RAMageddon. Wednesday was the Deck’s fourth anniversary. (Update: 1TB is back too, and hearing Canada has stock as well!)

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

Gotta go fast.
Gotta go fast.
Image: Valve
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Jay Peters
Mishaal Rahman, formerly of Android Authority, has joined the Android team.

Part of Rahman’s new role includes “community engagement,” he says. He’s joining Android after spending 10 years reporting on the platform.

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Andrew Liszewski
Super Pocket’s next handheld is a Rare find.

Evercade has announced a new Rare-themed version of its Super Pocket handheld. It’s compatible with the company’s multi-title cartridges, but the $69.99 Super Pocket Rare Edition, launching in June, also features 14 built-in games from the developer including Battletoads, Conker’s Pocket Tales, and a version of Banjo-Kazooie optimized for the handheld’s D-pad.

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Terrence O'Brien
Spotify launches audiobook charts and a lot of people are still listening to Atomic Habits.

Wuthering Heights being number one makes sense; it just got a blockbuster adaptation. But why is the 8-year-old self-help book from James Clear number two?

Spotify’s new lists also include genre-specific charts, so you don’t have to scroll past 37 steamy thrillers just to find your next dystopian sci-fi.

Spotify’s Audiobook charts showing Wuthering Heights at number 1 and Atomic Habits at number 2.
Image: Spotify / The Verge
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Cameron Faulkner
RESIDE Nintendo Switch 2 VIL req.

Those aren’t typos indicating I should get my head checked. Rather, it’s how the design reads on the new $99.99 Resident Evil Requiem-themed Switch 2 Pro controller. The custom look adds $10 to the already pricey gamepad that lacks more durable TMR joysticks found in great options that are less than half the cost.

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

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Emma Roth
Apple says the UK age verification prompt was an “error.”

Spokesperson Peter Ajemian tells The Verge that Apple has since removed the prompt, which showed up for UK users who downloaded the latest iOS 26.4 beta:

Some users on the beta software in the UK temporarily saw a message suggesting age verification is required to download apps. That message was displayed in error, and has been fixed. Developers may continue to use the Declared Age Range API to provide age appropriate experiences for users.

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Andrew J. Hawkins
Tesla ‘did nothing’ to acquire robotaxi permits in California.

Despite Elon Musk’s public statements that Tesla was close to getting “regulatory permission” to launch a robotaxi service in the Bay Area, the company has yet to apply for any of the required permits, Reuters reports. It also logged zero miles of autonomous test driving on California roads. Seems like a strange position for a company staking its future on robots and self-driving cars.

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Stevie Bonifield
PS5 Pro players are getting an upscaling upgrade.

An improved version of Playstation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) is rolling out on the PS5 Pro “in the coming weeks,” starting with Resident Evil Requiem. In March, “multiple existing games” will also get support for the new version of PSSR, which could deliver upscaling quality similar to AMD’s FSR 4.

Huel tries to solve the ‘burden’ of eating

Technically, it’s food. (It doesn’t taste like it.)

Victoria Song
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