Month: May 2024

Jury finds Trump guilty on all counts in hush money trial

Photo by Justin Lane-Pool / Getty Images

A Manhattan jury found former President Donald Trump guilty on all counts in a case accusing him of falsifying business records to conceal payments he made to suppress unflattering stories about him.
It’s the first time a former president has been convicted of felony charges.
In remarks shortly after the verdict, Trump called it a “disgrace” and said the trial was “rigged.”
“The real verdict is going to be November 5th by the people,” Trump said. “We didn’t do a thing wrong. I’m a very innocent man.” He also blamed the Biden administration for the trial, even though the charges were not brought by the federal government, but rather the Manhattan district attorney’s office — an independent local enforcer. The X account for Trump’s presidential campaign posted an image Thursday evening, showing him with his fist raised and the words “NEVER SURRENDER,” along with a link to his campaign site.

https://t.co/KojPKxrZl5 pic.twitter.com/0aIY8qYp79— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) May 30, 2024

Reporters in the courtroom from outlets such as CNN and The New York Times noted that Trump’s demeanor quickly changed from lighthearted to more serious when he learned a verdict had been reached.
Though historic, it’s just the first of several separate federal and state cases Trump is currently facing, all while he tries to regain his old seat at the White House. In this case, prosecutors alleged that the Trump Organization reimbursed his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen for hush money payments to porn actor Stormy Daniels to keep her from going public with a story about her and Trump having sex. Witnesses at the trial included Daniels and Cohen as well as David Pecker, the former publisher of the tabloid the National Enquirer, who helped broker the deal with Daniels.
Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records. It was brought as a felony case because Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg alleges he committed the crime with the intent to commit or conceal another crime, like violating federal campaign finance laws or state election law, though he’s not directly charged with those crimes.
Trump has faced a gag order during the trial that he violated multiple times, prompting the judge to threaten him with jail time. At other times, he’s appeared more sedate, with reporters observing that he appeared to fall asleep and jerk awake.
The former president’s future legal battles include challenges over his retention of classified documents in his Mar-a-Lago bathroom and his alleged election interference through a phone call to a Georgia election official imploring them to “find” enough votes for him to win the state.
Trump will face sentencing in the Manhattan case on July 11th.

Photo by Justin Lane-Pool / Getty Images

A Manhattan jury found former President Donald Trump guilty on all counts in a case accusing him of falsifying business records to conceal payments he made to suppress unflattering stories about him.

It’s the first time a former president has been convicted of felony charges.

In remarks shortly after the verdict, Trump called it a “disgrace” and said the trial was “rigged.”

“The real verdict is going to be November 5th by the people,” Trump said. “We didn’t do a thing wrong. I’m a very innocent man.” He also blamed the Biden administration for the trial, even though the charges were not brought by the federal government, but rather the Manhattan district attorney’s office — an independent local enforcer. The X account for Trump’s presidential campaign posted an image Thursday evening, showing him with his fist raised and the words “NEVER SURRENDER,” along with a link to his campaign site.

https://t.co/KojPKxrZl5 pic.twitter.com/0aIY8qYp79

— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) May 30, 2024

Reporters in the courtroom from outlets such as CNN and The New York Times noted that Trump’s demeanor quickly changed from lighthearted to more serious when he learned a verdict had been reached.

Though historic, it’s just the first of several separate federal and state cases Trump is currently facing, all while he tries to regain his old seat at the White House. In this case, prosecutors alleged that the Trump Organization reimbursed his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen for hush money payments to porn actor Stormy Daniels to keep her from going public with a story about her and Trump having sex. Witnesses at the trial included Daniels and Cohen as well as David Pecker, the former publisher of the tabloid the National Enquirer, who helped broker the deal with Daniels.

Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records. It was brought as a felony case because Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg alleges he committed the crime with the intent to commit or conceal another crime, like violating federal campaign finance laws or state election law, though he’s not directly charged with those crimes.

Trump has faced a gag order during the trial that he violated multiple times, prompting the judge to threaten him with jail time. At other times, he’s appeared more sedate, with reporters observing that he appeared to fall asleep and jerk awake.

The former president’s future legal battles include challenges over his retention of classified documents in his Mar-a-Lago bathroom and his alleged election interference through a phone call to a Georgia election official imploring them to “find” enough votes for him to win the state.

Trump will face sentencing in the Manhattan case on July 11th.

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iOS 18 (and AI) will give Siri much more control over your apps

Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

Apple is planning a big AI update for Siri, and it could give you the ability to control specific iPhone app features with your voice, according to a report from Bloomberg. The revamped Siri will reportedly arrive next year as an update to iOS 18.
As noted by Bloomberg, the update will allow Siri to analyze the activity on your phone while turning on Siri-controlled features automatically. You’ll only be able to use Siri to control features in apps made by Apple to start, but the company plans on supporting “hundreds” of commands within its apps, Bloomberg reports.

Siri will reportedly only be capable of processing one command at a time. However, Apple will eventually let Siri handle multiple tasks in a single request, such as asking Siri to summarize a recorded meeting and then send it to a friend, according to Bloomberg.
That sounds a bit like what Samsung promised when it launched Bixby in 2017, saying “anything you can do with touch, you can do with voice” inside Samsung’s apps. It’s unclear how the technology will work exactly, but a recent demo from Microsoft showed how its GPT-4o-powered Copilot assistant could watch the screen to do things like give tips on how to play Minecraft.
Last month, Bloomberg reported that Apple will focus on handling many AI requests on-device. It could process simpler commands on the iPhone, while fetching more complex requests from the cloud. There are rumors that OpenAI has closed a deal with Apple and that Apple will promote the security of its cloud processing by using M2 Ultra chips with its Secure Enclave, telling users that data processed remotely is as secure as when it’s on their device.
This tracks with the multiple reports we’ve seen over the past few weeks. Research papers indicate Apple is getting ready to overhaul Siri, while findings from AppleInsider suggest Apple could add the ability to analyze and summarize texts in Messages. The company is also reportedly planning to bring AI transcription to Voice Memos and Notes.
Even if a new Siri isn’t expected to arrive until next year, we’re bound to get a glimpse of what Apple’s been working on during WWDC on June 10th.

Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

Apple is planning a big AI update for Siri, and it could give you the ability to control specific iPhone app features with your voice, according to a report from Bloomberg. The revamped Siri will reportedly arrive next year as an update to iOS 18.

As noted by Bloomberg, the update will allow Siri to analyze the activity on your phone while turning on Siri-controlled features automatically. You’ll only be able to use Siri to control features in apps made by Apple to start, but the company plans on supporting “hundreds” of commands within its apps, Bloomberg reports.

Siri will reportedly only be capable of processing one command at a time. However, Apple will eventually let Siri handle multiple tasks in a single request, such as asking Siri to summarize a recorded meeting and then send it to a friend, according to Bloomberg.

That sounds a bit like what Samsung promised when it launched Bixby in 2017, saying “anything you can do with touch, you can do with voice” inside Samsung’s apps. It’s unclear how the technology will work exactly, but a recent demo from Microsoft showed how its GPT-4o-powered Copilot assistant could watch the screen to do things like give tips on how to play Minecraft.

Last month, Bloomberg reported that Apple will focus on handling many AI requests on-device. It could process simpler commands on the iPhone, while fetching more complex requests from the cloud. There are rumors that OpenAI has closed a deal with Apple and that Apple will promote the security of its cloud processing by using M2 Ultra chips with its Secure Enclave, telling users that data processed remotely is as secure as when it’s on their device.

This tracks with the multiple reports we’ve seen over the past few weeks. Research papers indicate Apple is getting ready to overhaul Siri, while findings from AppleInsider suggest Apple could add the ability to analyze and summarize texts in Messages. The company is also reportedly planning to bring AI transcription to Voice Memos and Notes.

Even if a new Siri isn’t expected to arrive until next year, we’re bound to get a glimpse of what Apple’s been working on during WWDC on June 10th.

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Fourth of July Sales 2024: What to Expect During the Next Holiday Shopping Event – CNET

Fourth of July is a great chance for you to find sizzling sales this summer and take advantage of holiday bargains.

Fourth of July is a great chance for you to find sizzling sales this summer and take advantage of holiday bargains.

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Windows 11 is finally getting mouse settings that let you avoid the Control Panel

Screenshot by Tom Warren / The Verge

I’ve been waiting years for this. The first thing I do when I configure a fresh Windows 11 PC is disable “enhance pointer precision” inside the ancient Control Panel and reverse my scroll wheel using the registry editor. Soon, I’ll just be able to head into the modern-looking Windows 11 Settings interface to control both of these settings.
Windows watcher PhantomOfEarth has discovered that Microsoft is secretly working on adding these options to the Windows 11 Settings interface. The latest Canary build of Windows 11, released earlier today, includes these options in Settings, but they’re currently hidden behind a flag.

Screenshot by Tom Warren / The Verge

Windows laptop users have been able to reverse the scrolling direction on a touchpad for years, but it’s always puzzled me why desktop PC users have had to resort to registry keys to change something as basic as mouse scrolling direction or rely on a third-party mouse manufacturer to supply software that would enable this. Apple has had this built into macOS for years for mice, typically set to scroll up during a down motion on a mouse wheel.
Likewise, enhance pointer precision is something that PC gamers typically disable. I prefer playing first-person shooters with this setting disabled, but you always had to dig into “additional mouse settings” or head to the dedicated mouse Control Panel with its ancient-looking UI to get to this setting.
As someone who uses their PC for gaming and regularly switches between macOS and Windows, these two mouse settings are certainly a welcome addition to Windows 11. Microsoft hasn’t officially acknowledged these settings are on the way, but given they’re just about to enter testing, I’d expect to see them inside Windows 11 for everyone later this year.

Screenshot by Tom Warren / The Verge

I’ve been waiting years for this. The first thing I do when I configure a fresh Windows 11 PC is disable “enhance pointer precision” inside the ancient Control Panel and reverse my scroll wheel using the registry editor. Soon, I’ll just be able to head into the modern-looking Windows 11 Settings interface to control both of these settings.

Windows watcher PhantomOfEarth has discovered that Microsoft is secretly working on adding these options to the Windows 11 Settings interface. The latest Canary build of Windows 11, released earlier today, includes these options in Settings, but they’re currently hidden behind a flag.

Screenshot by Tom Warren / The Verge

Windows laptop users have been able to reverse the scrolling direction on a touchpad for years, but it’s always puzzled me why desktop PC users have had to resort to registry keys to change something as basic as mouse scrolling direction or rely on a third-party mouse manufacturer to supply software that would enable this. Apple has had this built into macOS for years for mice, typically set to scroll up during a down motion on a mouse wheel.

Likewise, enhance pointer precision is something that PC gamers typically disable. I prefer playing first-person shooters with this setting disabled, but you always had to dig into “additional mouse settings” or head to the dedicated mouse Control Panel with its ancient-looking UI to get to this setting.

As someone who uses their PC for gaming and regularly switches between macOS and Windows, these two mouse settings are certainly a welcome addition to Windows 11. Microsoft hasn’t officially acknowledged these settings are on the way, but given they’re just about to enter testing, I’d expect to see them inside Windows 11 for everyone later this year.

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Xbox Game Pass exclusive Redfall gets one last patch on its way out the door

Redfall, the ambitious, supernatural, and critically panned co-operative shooter from doomed studio Arkane Austin, got one last patch before Bethesda… Continue reading Xbox Game Pass exclusive Redfall gets one last patch on its way out the door
The post Xbox Game Pass exclusive Redfall gets one last patch on its way out the door appeared first on ReadWrite.

Redfall, the ambitious, supernatural, and critically panned co-operative shooter from doomed studio Arkane Austin, got one last patch before Bethesda Softworks and Microsoft sends its developers to the bread line.

The game’s fourth title update most notably includes an offline mode, which allows players to play offline, even if they are in a session and suddenly are disconnected. The inclusion is seen as a means of keeping the game playable should Microsoft/Bethesda Softworks unexpectedly close down Redfall’s servers the same way it closed down Arkane Austin earlier this month. The single-player offline mode means solo players can now pause the game to take a leak, make a sandwich, or whatever.

Redfall’s final patch is live. Months of work by the team on this, the ReVamp version, and a Herculean effort by all involved over the last few weeks. Big systems refactor, more encounter types. Have fun, always. https://t.co/ZOBYXMI8jx

— Harvey Smith (@Harvey1966) May 30, 2024

Additional features introduced with the final patch include a new type of vampire nest to burn out, as well as a “Community Standing” feature that works within Redfall’s network of safehouses. That opens up a new skill tree for the player character, most of which is unlocked by opening Safehouses, completing the missions associated with them, saving civilians, and killing an Underboss. Community Standing has six ranks and 39 different rewards in all for those who are committed to the public service of exterminating the undead.

That’s the assumption, anyway. Arkane Austin said “there will be no full patch notes for this update,” so players are left to figure out the rest for themselves.

Why did Redfall fail?

Redfall launched May 2, 2023 for Windows PC and Xbox Series X. The game pits the player, as a heavily armed paranormal investigator, against a vampire incursion into a New England seaside town. Redfall was supposed to be one of the titles that drove players to Xbox Game Pass, where it launched day one, but it never caught on.

Critics waved off the repetitive nature of Redfall’s single-player campaign, and its gameplay, and torched the incomplete feeling of its story and aesthetics, especially coming from Arkane, the studio behind Dishonored. Phil Spencer, the chief executive for Microsoft’s Xbox division, would later apologize for Redfall, saying even a delay wouldn’t have helped it make a stronger appeal to Xbox players.

The post Xbox Game Pass exclusive Redfall gets one last patch on its way out the door appeared first on ReadWrite.

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Put a Google Pixel 7 in Your Pocket for Just $355 – CNET

Woot is now selling the popular Google Pixel 7 for just $355, a deal that saves you 41%. It won’t be available at that price for long.

Woot is now selling the popular Google Pixel 7 for just $355, a deal that saves you 41%. It won’t be available at that price for long.

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Best Lenovo Laptop for 2024 – CNET

Check out our favorites from Lenovo’s ThinkPad, Slim and Yoga lines, tested and reviewed by CNET’s laptop experts.

Check out our favorites from Lenovo’s ThinkPad, Slim and Yoga lines, tested and reviewed by CNET’s laptop experts.

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