After a federal agent shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis, the Trump administration found its preferred angle of the incident.
As part of a partnership between TikTok and FIFA, select media partners can livestream “parts of” World Cup matches as well as “post more curated clips and access special content produced by FIFA for TikTok.”
External GPUs are rad but many need work — maybe they’ll take off now we’re throwing AI dollars at them? Gigabyte, Plugable, and newcomer Ugreen aren’t even calling them “eGPUs” anymore here at CES. Guess I can’t complain unless AI companies buy them all up.
As the gap in performance shrinks, and there’s less to separate the best from the rest, how will manufacturers react?
AMD’s Strix Halo is a big, pricey chip with the best integrated graphics we’ve ever seen. The Asus TUF is the brand’s budget-friendly gaming line. So how “affordable” will Asus’s new TUF Gaming A14 laptop with Strix Halo be? We don’t know yet, because Asus hasn’t finalized pricing. But I look forward to testing this TUF.
*To be clear, this was with Intel’s XeSS upscaling, at 1080p resolution, with 4x frame gen — the actual framerate was a quarter of that. But the beefiest integrated GPU in Intel’s new Panther Lake chips never let the true framerate dip below 40fps, even unplugged, with settings that looked and felt good enough for single-player games.
RGB stripe subpixel arrangements are the next big thing in OLED gaming monitors, and my colleague Antonio took some great photos of Asus’s ROG Swift OLED PG27UCWM monitor at CES so you can see the arrangement on a real monitor. Sean snapped a few photos of RBG stripe screens, too.
Apple is stepping up succession planning for CEO Tim Cook, and hardware chief John Ternus could the lead pick, according to a New York Times profile. However, the publication says Cook is “also preparing several other internal candidates.”
[The New York Times]
It made up the towns of “Whata Bod” and “Orangeotild,” for example.
Researchers are figuring out how to use AI to issue forecasts faster. And the National Weather Service has had to find ways to do more with less as DOGE-led staffing cuts took their toll on the agency.
[The Washington Post]
But it’s ‘not intended for diagnosis or treatment.’
Gore Verbinski (The Ring, Rango, and the Budweiser frogs) is apparently not a fan of AI. The second trailer for his upcoming techno-apocalypse comedy focuses on the dehumanizing nature of technology, letting you know this isn’t just a mindless romp and that your smartphone is the beginning of the end for humanity. The movie is hitting theaters February 13th.
7
Verge Score
The company’s best phone camera yet can compete with anything around.
The European Commission extended an order requiring X to keep documents related to Grok through the end of the year so that it can evaluate compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA), Reuters reports. X is facing international scrutiny as its AI chatbot continues virtually undressing images without consent.
Waymo has a new name for its Zeekr-produced autonomous minivans that are set to roll out this year. Ojai, named for the city northwest of Los Angeles, was chosen because most American consumers aren’t familiar with the Geely-owned Zeekr brand, according to InsideEVs. That may be true, but try saying “Waymo Ojai” five times really fast.
A robovac that climbs and cleans stairs, headphones with cameras and AI, and another laptop with an expanding screen.
Podcasts enter the realm of horror with A24’s upcoming flick Undertone, in which “a popular paranormal podcast becomes haunted by terrifying recordings.” Maybe don’t watch the trailer with headphones on. It’s due in theaters on March 13th.
It seemed inevitable given how many alternate versions of the original Switch’s Joy-Cons Nintendo released over the years, but starting on February 12th, 2026, light green (right) and light purple (left) Switch 2 Joy-Cons will be available. Like the standard Switch 2 Joy-Con two-pack, the new colors will be $99.99.
Update, January 8th: Added official pricing.
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Trump wants Venezuela’s oil, Greenland’s minerals, and above all — control.
Cartman, Kenny, Stan, Kyle, and Butters are coming to the island tomorrow for Fortnite’s crossover with South Park, allowing players to explore Cartmanland and try the new Quints 5-person playlist. This event is available until February 5th, and yes — The Simpsons did it first.
Ace Combat in real life? This folding VTOL foam aircraft gives you a first-person view from inside a tiny toy fighter jet cockpit. A head-tracking DJI drone camera beams video to DJI goggles over DJI’s long-range O4 wireless tech; Fly Wing claims 60-minute battery life and nearly 75mph top speed. $2,000, tentatively in March, for the complete kit.
After 2020’s pricey first effort, Asus is trying the Zephyrus Duo formula again.
But this time, it’s added extra space that could make its two-screen laptop setup worthwhile. Here’s Antonio with a closer look at the new Duo.
“The Hulu app is no longer available in the Nintendo Switch eShop with support for the application ending on February 5, 2026,” Nintendo says in a support document. It originally launched way back in 2017.
