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Image: OpenAI

On Wednesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted a simple URL on X: chat.com. It automatically routes to OpenAI’s popular chatbot, ChatGPT.
Prior to this, the domain was owned by Dharmesh Shah, the founder and CTO of HubSpot. In early 2023, Shah purchased the chat.com domain for $10 million. However, just a few months later, he announced that he had sold the domain, though he wouldn’t disclose the details of the sale or the buyer. Notably, he did confirm that he sold the domain for more than he had originally paid for it.
“The reason I bought chat.com is simple: I think Chat-based UX (#ChatUX) is the next big thing in software. Communicating with computers/software through a natural language interface is much more intuitive. This is made possible by Generative A.I,” Shah wrote in a LinkedIn post announcing the purchase — which chat.com briefly redirected to before he resold it. After the sale, Domain Name Wire noted that Shah had mentioned another buyer had been interested in the purchase and speculated he’d flipped it to them.
While the domain’s full ownership history remains unclear, domain sales database NameBio reports that chat.com sold for $15.5 million on March 28, 2023. This timing aligns with Shah’s LinkedIn post from May 25, 2023, announcing his sale after two months of ownership. OpenAI declined The Verge’s request for comment; Shah didn’t reply to a request for comment in time for publication. TechCrunch reported that OpenAI confirmed it acquired the domain.
The drop of “GPT” from the chat.com domain aligns with OpenAI’s recent rebranding efforts. In September, the company announced a new series of reasoning models starting with “o1.” At the time, former chief research officer Bob McGrew told The Verge he hoped that the o1 series would mark “the first step of newer, more sane names” to better communicate the company’s work. Still, as TechCrunch reported, the company isn’t hosting ChatGPT on chat.com, so this likely doesn’t represent an official name change.
People hoarding “vanity domains” is a tale as old as the Internet itself. Just a few months ago, AI startup Friend spent $1.8 million on the domain friend.com after raising $2.5 million in funding. For OpenAI, more than $10 million is a drop in the bucket — the startup just raised $6.6 billion.

Image: OpenAI

On Wednesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted a simple URL on X: chat.com. It automatically routes to OpenAI’s popular chatbot, ChatGPT.

Prior to this, the domain was owned by Dharmesh Shah, the founder and CTO of HubSpot. In early 2023, Shah purchased the chat.com domain for $10 million. However, just a few months later, he announced that he had sold the domain, though he wouldn’t disclose the details of the sale or the buyer. Notably, he did confirm that he sold the domain for more than he had originally paid for it.

“The reason I bought chat.com is simple: I think Chat-based UX (#ChatUX) is the next big thing in software. Communicating with computers/software through a natural language interface is much more intuitive. This is made possible by Generative A.I,” Shah wrote in a LinkedIn post announcing the purchase — which chat.com briefly redirected to before he resold it. After the sale, Domain Name Wire noted that Shah had mentioned another buyer had been interested in the purchase and speculated he’d flipped it to them.

While the domain’s full ownership history remains unclear, domain sales database NameBio reports that chat.com sold for $15.5 million on March 28, 2023. This timing aligns with Shah’s LinkedIn post from May 25, 2023, announcing his sale after two months of ownership. OpenAI declined The Verge’s request for comment; Shah didn’t reply to a request for comment in time for publication. TechCrunch reported that OpenAI confirmed it acquired the domain.

The drop of “GPT” from the chat.com domain aligns with OpenAI’s recent rebranding efforts. In September, the company announced a new series of reasoning models starting with “o1.” At the time, former chief research officer Bob McGrew told The Verge he hoped that the o1 series would mark “the first step of newer, more sane names” to better communicate the company’s work. Still, as TechCrunch reported, the company isn’t hosting ChatGPT on chat.com, so this likely doesn’t represent an official name change.

People hoarding “vanity domains” is a tale as old as the Internet itself. Just a few months ago, AI startup Friend spent $1.8 million on the domain friend.com after raising $2.5 million in funding. For OpenAI, more than $10 million is a drop in the bucket — the startup just raised $6.6 billion.

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The all-electric CLA. | Image: Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz is showing off its all-electric CLA prototype and sharing a few new details planned for the upcoming 2025 production version. The CEO of Mercedes-Benz Group, Ola Källenius, provides a limited tour of the car, in which he talks to its new AI assistant, and takes it for a spin in a new video posted by the automaker.
The CLA is camouflaged like the one spotted in September, but now we’re getting a look at the likely final version of Mercedes’ star logo headlights and a small look at the CLA’s interior. Mercedes-Benz says much of the tech from the EQXX Concept revealed in 2022 is incorporated into the CLA.

Källenius says this CLA “ushers in an era of a whole generation of new vehicles from Mercedes” that uses its newest platform: the Mercedes Modular Architecture, or MMA. In an interview on Decoder in 2022, he noted that we’d see a new EV platform in 2025, and it looks like the automaker is on track to meet its deadline.

Image: Mercedes-Benz
Not gonna lie, that’s a cool headlight.

Mercedes-Benz first showed off the CLA concept last year, and many of the features are trickling down to this prototype, including the Porsche Taycan-like two-speed transmission and 800V battery architecture that enables fast 250kW charging.
Interestingly, the automaker is also making a hybrid combustion version of the CLA — still part of the MMA family — that runs on a 48-volt system along with the electric transmission.
The CLA has the “first full version” of the new Mercedes Benz Operating System, or MB OS, that the automaker first shared at CES earlier this year, Källenius says. In the video demonstration he asks, “Hey Mercedes, how are you?” and it responds, “All the better for hearing your voice.”

The all-electric CLA. | Image: Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz is showing off its all-electric CLA prototype and sharing a few new details planned for the upcoming 2025 production version. The CEO of Mercedes-Benz Group, Ola Källenius, provides a limited tour of the car, in which he talks to its new AI assistant, and takes it for a spin in a new video posted by the automaker.

The CLA is camouflaged like the one spotted in September, but now we’re getting a look at the likely final version of Mercedes’ star logo headlights and a small look at the CLA’s interior. Mercedes-Benz says much of the tech from the EQXX Concept revealed in 2022 is incorporated into the CLA.

Källenius says this CLA “ushers in an era of a whole generation of new vehicles from Mercedes” that uses its newest platform: the Mercedes Modular Architecture, or MMA. In an interview on Decoder in 2022, he noted that we’d see a new EV platform in 2025, and it looks like the automaker is on track to meet its deadline.

Image: Mercedes-Benz
Not gonna lie, that’s a cool headlight.

Mercedes-Benz first showed off the CLA concept last year, and many of the features are trickling down to this prototype, including the Porsche Taycan-like two-speed transmission and 800V battery architecture that enables fast 250kW charging.

Interestingly, the automaker is also making a hybrid combustion version of the CLA — still part of the MMA family — that runs on a 48-volt system along with the electric transmission.

The CLA has the “first full version” of the new Mercedes Benz Operating System, or MB OS, that the automaker first shared at CES earlier this year, Källenius says. In the video demonstration he asks, “Hey Mercedes, how are you?” and it responds, “All the better for hearing your voice.”

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Illustration: The Verge

Apple has released iOS / iPadOS 18.2 into public beta, as spotted by MacRumors. It includes access to the second wave of Apple Intelligence features that were already available to developers, like the AI-generated custom emoji feature Genmoji and the Image Playground feature that generates pictures.
It also adds ChatGPT integration, Visual Intelligence for searching using iPhone 16 cameras, a more robust Siri with improved responses to queries, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT is an option to step in and answer instead. ChatGPT access is free and doesn’t require an account to use it.

Access to some of the Apple Intelligence features is still behind a secondary waitlist — if you already had access to test them, you will immediately be able to use the Writing Tools, ChatGPT, and Visual Intelligence. The Genmoji, Image Wand, and Image Playground features will require another wait until Apple notifies you that your account is in.
The company also released the public beta for macOS 15.2, adding many of the same features as those coming to iPhones and iPads. It won’t have Visual Intelligence, nor do Macs get Genmoji, which only works on iPhones and iPads for now, MacRumors notes.

Illustration: The Verge

Apple has released iOS / iPadOS 18.2 into public beta, as spotted by MacRumors. It includes access to the second wave of Apple Intelligence features that were already available to developers, like the AI-generated custom emoji feature Genmoji and the Image Playground feature that generates pictures.

It also adds ChatGPT integration, Visual Intelligence for searching using iPhone 16 cameras, a more robust Siri with improved responses to queries, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT is an option to step in and answer instead. ChatGPT access is free and doesn’t require an account to use it.

Access to some of the Apple Intelligence features is still behind a secondary waitlist — if you already had access to test them, you will immediately be able to use the Writing Tools, ChatGPT, and Visual Intelligence. The Genmoji, Image Wand, and Image Playground features will require another wait until Apple notifies you that your account is in.

The company also released the public beta for macOS 15.2, adding many of the same features as those coming to iPhones and iPads. It won’t have Visual Intelligence, nor do Macs get Genmoji, which only works on iPhones and iPads for now, MacRumors notes.

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Striking New York Times tech workers have created a custom Connections puzzle so fans can get their daily fix without crossing the digital picket line.
The “Strike Edition” puzzle was made on a website that lets people create their own Connections. The workers, part of the New York Times Tech Guild, specifically asked NYT readers not to play NYT games when the strike began on Monday, so the custom puzzle offers a way to play while still respecting the Guild’s wishes.
“We have seen a groundswell of support from subscribers who have been proudly tweeting about purposely breaking their game streaks to support our strikers,” says Jen Sheehan, spokesperson for the NewsGuild of New York.
The Guild didn’t make the website themselves; the site was made by Anthony Salazar, a freelance web developer who operates a creative studio named Swellgarfo. Salazar tells The Verge that he made the app after Connections launched last summer. “My friends couldn’t get enough and began making their own grids, jankly texting group chats with 4×4 word squares,” he says. Programming the site took about two hours. He didn’t expect anyone besides his friends to use it, but the creator tool has now been used 7 million times.
“I wasn’t aware that the Tech Guild was using my app, but I’m honored,” Salazar says.

There are aspects of the website that it’s easy to imagine The New York Times could take issue with, though. In addition to custom puzzles, the site also has a recreation of the NYT Connections archive that’s available to play for free — offering a way to get around NYT’s own Connections archive that it just launched as a feature for paid subscribers.
The New York Times targeted Wordle clones by filing copyright takedown notices earlier this year, including against at least one shared on GitHub that was strikingly similar to the NYT’s version of the game. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the publication would do something similar for this Connections site.
Salazar says he would “happily take down the archive” if asked. He also says that the site uses the NYT’s publicly available API to create the archive, so “there would be many easy ways to completely dismantle that part of my app without even talking to me.” However, Salazar says that he wouldn’t take down the puzzle creator because “there is no NYT intellectual property contained there.”
The Guild, whose members help build these games, ultimately sees it as a form of support. “What we posted today and will post throughout our strike are fun ways people can support us,” says Sheehan, the NewsGuild spokesperson. “Generally speaking, we hope that The Times is more focused on getting back to the bargaining table than coming for our games.”
The New York Times didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

Striking New York Times tech workers have created a custom Connections puzzle so fans can get their daily fix without crossing the digital picket line.

The “Strike Edition” puzzle was made on a website that lets people create their own Connections. The workers, part of the New York Times Tech Guild, specifically asked NYT readers not to play NYT games when the strike began on Monday, so the custom puzzle offers a way to play while still respecting the Guild’s wishes.

“We have seen a groundswell of support from subscribers who have been proudly tweeting about purposely breaking their game streaks to support our strikers,” says Jen Sheehan, spokesperson for the NewsGuild of New York.

The Guild didn’t make the website themselves; the site was made by Anthony Salazar, a freelance web developer who operates a creative studio named Swellgarfo. Salazar tells The Verge that he made the app after Connections launched last summer. “My friends couldn’t get enough and began making their own grids, jankly texting group chats with 4×4 word squares,” he says. Programming the site took about two hours. He didn’t expect anyone besides his friends to use it, but the creator tool has now been used 7 million times.

“I wasn’t aware that the Tech Guild was using my app, but I’m honored,” Salazar says.

There are aspects of the website that it’s easy to imagine The New York Times could take issue with, though. In addition to custom puzzles, the site also has a recreation of the NYT Connections archive that’s available to play for free — offering a way to get around NYT’s own Connections archive that it just launched as a feature for paid subscribers.

The New York Times targeted Wordle clones by filing copyright takedown notices earlier this year, including against at least one shared on GitHub that was strikingly similar to the NYT’s version of the game. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the publication would do something similar for this Connections site.

Salazar says he would “happily take down the archive” if asked. He also says that the site uses the NYT’s publicly available API to create the archive, so “there would be many easy ways to completely dismantle that part of my app without even talking to me.” However, Salazar says that he wouldn’t take down the puzzle creator because “there is no NYT intellectual property contained there.”

The Guild, whose members help build these games, ultimately sees it as a form of support. “What we posted today and will post throughout our strike are fun ways people can support us,” says Sheehan, the NewsGuild spokesperson. “Generally speaking, we hope that The Times is more focused on getting back to the bargaining table than coming for our games.”

The New York Times didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

Read More 

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Nintendo’s next console is going to have a kickass library of games to start. Last night, when there was absolutely nothing else of note happening in the world, Nintendo announced that its still-unannounced Switch successor would be backward-compatible with existing Switch games. The announcement is an early sign that Nintendo might be able to avoid the painful transition between consoles and better unify its growing ambitions.
Backward compatibility is not a guarantee of success. The Wii U could play most Wii games, and it still ended up being a failure. But it’s a feature that benefits both consumers and the industry at large. In Nintendo’s case, its inclusion was never a sure thing. While bestselling hardware like the Wii and DS were able to play games from their predecessors, Nintendo often started over from scratch with a new console generation — which meant that players did, too.

The library of games you had built up over the lifespan of the Nintendo 64 or SNES stayed with that console. This is what has allowed Nintendo to resell Super Mario Bros. 3 across countless devices; if you want to play the classics on the newest console, you usually have no choice but to buy it again. Otherwise, you’re forced to keep a Wii U around in order to enjoy that copy of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD. It sucks for consumers and it sucks for video game preservation, given how quickly older titles can become inaccessible.
Backward compatibility for the Switch is especially notable given what an incredible library it has accumulated. In fact, while the Switch is Nintendo’s second-bestselling piece of hardware, it has sold more games than any other Nintendo platform. During an investor presentation, the company said that the Switch’s “cumulative software sales have reached 1.3061 billion units, setting a new record for a Nintendo gaming platform. More software has been played on Nintendo Switch than on any other Nintendo hardware.”

Image: Nintendo
Mario & Luigi: Brothership.

That’s not a surprise when you think about the games that have come out since 2017: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and a whole lot of Pokémon. Ironically, the Switch was helped in a way by its lack of backward compatibility; Nintendo was able to keep up a steady stream of releases by putting out a number of Wii U ports. The Switch’s bestselling game is an enhanced version of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
The decision to support backward compatibility means that all of those games will immediately be available to anyone who picks up the next console. For existing Switch owners, it imbues their collection with more value; for newcomers, it means they have a huge library to dive into from the jump.
The decision also helps explain why Nintendo has barely slowed down with releases, even as the Switch approaches the end of its life. The first-party games that came out in 2024 — Mario & Luigi: Brothership, Princess Peach: Showtime, and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom — will likely have a lifespan well beyond the final years of the Switch. That’s also why there are still more big Switch games in the works, like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, and Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition. Nintendo is even making services that exist beyond a single console, like the just-launched Nintendo Music streaming app.
Signs have been pointing to this kind of more unified Nintendo for some time. The company’s account system links together various services and games, and more than a decade ago, Nintendo merged its console and portable game development divisions so that everyone was focused on the Switch. It has created more cohesiveness across the company’s offerings, which has become increasingly important as Nintendo branches out in new directions. This has led to at least one sensible decision that sets up the Switch’s successor for a strong start — now we wait to see what oddball decision will make the new console distinctly “Nintendo.”

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Nintendo’s next console is going to have a kickass library of games to start. Last night, when there was absolutely nothing else of note happening in the world, Nintendo announced that its still-unannounced Switch successor would be backward-compatible with existing Switch games. The announcement is an early sign that Nintendo might be able to avoid the painful transition between consoles and better unify its growing ambitions.

Backward compatibility is not a guarantee of success. The Wii U could play most Wii games, and it still ended up being a failure. But it’s a feature that benefits both consumers and the industry at large. In Nintendo’s case, its inclusion was never a sure thing. While bestselling hardware like the Wii and DS were able to play games from their predecessors, Nintendo often started over from scratch with a new console generation — which meant that players did, too.

The library of games you had built up over the lifespan of the Nintendo 64 or SNES stayed with that console. This is what has allowed Nintendo to resell Super Mario Bros. 3 across countless devices; if you want to play the classics on the newest console, you usually have no choice but to buy it again. Otherwise, you’re forced to keep a Wii U around in order to enjoy that copy of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD. It sucks for consumers and it sucks for video game preservation, given how quickly older titles can become inaccessible.

Backward compatibility for the Switch is especially notable given what an incredible library it has accumulated. In fact, while the Switch is Nintendo’s second-bestselling piece of hardware, it has sold more games than any other Nintendo platform. During an investor presentation, the company said that the Switch’s “cumulative software sales have reached 1.3061 billion units, setting a new record for a Nintendo gaming platform. More software has been played on Nintendo Switch than on any other Nintendo hardware.”

Image: Nintendo
Mario & Luigi: Brothership.

That’s not a surprise when you think about the games that have come out since 2017: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and a whole lot of Pokémon. Ironically, the Switch was helped in a way by its lack of backward compatibility; Nintendo was able to keep up a steady stream of releases by putting out a number of Wii U ports. The Switch’s bestselling game is an enhanced version of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

The decision to support backward compatibility means that all of those games will immediately be available to anyone who picks up the next console. For existing Switch owners, it imbues their collection with more value; for newcomers, it means they have a huge library to dive into from the jump.

The decision also helps explain why Nintendo has barely slowed down with releases, even as the Switch approaches the end of its life. The first-party games that came out in 2024 — Mario & Luigi: Brothership, Princess Peach: Showtime, and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom — will likely have a lifespan well beyond the final years of the Switch. That’s also why there are still more big Switch games in the works, like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, and Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition. Nintendo is even making services that exist beyond a single console, like the just-launched Nintendo Music streaming app.

Signs have been pointing to this kind of more unified Nintendo for some time. The company’s account system links together various services and games, and more than a decade ago, Nintendo merged its console and portable game development divisions so that everyone was focused on the Switch. It has created more cohesiveness across the company’s offerings, which has become increasingly important as Nintendo branches out in new directions. This has led to at least one sensible decision that sets up the Switch’s successor for a strong start — now we wait to see what oddball decision will make the new console distinctly “Nintendo.”

Read More 

Image: Square Enix

The game’s final episode also teases a larger Life is Strange universe to come. At one point in Life is Strange: Double Exposure’s third episode, Max Caulfield tried to discuss the well-being of a student named Reggie with Loretta, another student on campus. Loretta became somewhat bewildered, asking Max who exactly she was referring to. That was when Max realized, much to her chagrin, that she had gotten the two parallel realities of Loretta mixed up. Turns out, one Loretta has met Reggie, but the other hasn’t. (Don’t ask me which; I can’t remember offhand, either.)
This moment is emblematic of how rapidly Double Exposure flits between its two universes. There’s the “Living World,” in which her best friend Safi was alive, and the “Dead World” where she wasn’t. Several puzzles in the game follow this trajectory: to circumvent certain obstacles when investigating Safi’s death, Max would tear a massive rift into the other reality to gather information she would otherwise not be privy to or grab some useful object as if pulling off a magician’s hat trick before returning to the first.
While this gimmick is a nifty mechanic that adds a fascinating dimension to Max’s sleuthing, it can also get confusing and tedious, especially as events are spun off in wildly different directions. Even Max’s fastidious note-taking does little to assuage this frustration. Ultimately, while the power does offer a look into the otherwise unseen facets of Max’s life, it’s also troublesome as a mechanic, at times reducing interactions to fetch quests.
This piece contains spoilers about Life is Strange: Double Exposure, its finale, and the first Life is Strange.

Image: Square Enix

This tedium is why, as Max shuttles back and forth between the two realities with the flourish of a seasoned illusionist, there’s a sense that her inner turmoil is only growing. Her interactions vary between realities, and so do the myriad events that take place, leaving ripples in the way her relationships develop between universes. For instance, Max is close friends with the school’s administrative assistant in one universe but merely acquaintances in another. It’s no wonder she often engages in moments of quietude and self-reflection, such as pondering her decision to bombard a friend with relentless questions or ruminating over the dirty laundry of a disgraced colleague.

Thus it’s no surprise that as Max starts using her powers more, Double Exposure picks up from the largely languid pace of the first two episodes. The melodrama has significantly ramped up from episode two’s astonishing cliffhanger, with major twists hinted at and then audaciously delivered with a sleight of hand. While it’s easy for these to become contrived, and for Double Exposure to lose the emotional core of its tale — that is, the game’s smaller, more tender moments of affection — Double Exposure hardly falters, persisting without drowning in these bombastic reveals.
The good news is that Max is learning to live with her grief from the first game. Small yet crucial choices, such as retaliating against a self-absorbed colleague by interrupting his class, using her supernatural powers to unravel clues, and even choosing which love interest to kiss (or none at all), paint a portrait of Max’s identity. Then there’s the pivotal scenario in which Max is seemingly confronted with the prospect of making yet another impossible decision but realizing that she can simply choose not to choose at all. Double Exposure is also at its most confident narratively when it’s chronicling her growth, with the game deftly bringing together the grandiose plot twists and the quieter, more intimate scenes with incredible sentiment.

Image: Square Enix

But the final episode is where Double Exposure seems to run out of space for such ruminations. Episode five is eventually reduced to a series of rooms, with Max simply jogging from one door to the next to rescue the cast from their ghastly predicament. Familiar artifacts from her past life in Arcadia Bay, like the steel chair used by her ex-professor Jefferson, resurface, creating the macabre quality of a strange lucid dream sequence. A massive bowling alley mascot leers menacingly at Max as she struggles to break out of her restraints again. Binders full of photographs — the centerpiece of Jefferson’s twisted portfolio — taunt Max into perusing them once more. It’s a throwback to Max’s meltdown in the final episode of the original Life is Strange, but it felt like such an obligatory nod that it was more repetitive than inventive.
More disappointing still is that, in its conclusion, Double Exposure has opted to clumsily reconstruct the series — one beloved for exploring the emotional depths of everyday life — into a sci-fi story featuring a cast of troubled superheroic teens. It fails to understand that these powers, like Daniel’s telekinetic abilities in Life is Strange 2, are merely a lens with which to examine the anxieties of life at a heightened level. Without a stronger emotional hook, this development feels like a ham-fisted attempt to expand Life is Strange into an endlessly repeatable formula, set in another cinematic universe. A bigger failure is how Max is being established as the face of this new direction, with the credits announcing that “Max Caulfield Will Return.”
Perhaps an ending where Max gets a reprieve from the slew of misfortunes that the world seems to enjoy hurling at her is too idealistic. After all, reality can be just as perverse for the rest of us. But the idea that Life is Strange will present Max’s powers as somehow extraordinary feels a bit discordant. This isn’t the conclusion that Double Exposure deserves.
All episodes of Life is Strange: Double Exposure are available now on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.

Image: Square Enix

The game’s final episode also teases a larger Life is Strange universe to come.

At one point in Life is Strange: Double Exposure’s third episode, Max Caulfield tried to discuss the well-being of a student named Reggie with Loretta, another student on campus. Loretta became somewhat bewildered, asking Max who exactly she was referring to. That was when Max realized, much to her chagrin, that she had gotten the two parallel realities of Loretta mixed up. Turns out, one Loretta has met Reggie, but the other hasn’t. (Don’t ask me which; I can’t remember offhand, either.)

This moment is emblematic of how rapidly Double Exposure flits between its two universes. There’s the “Living World,” in which her best friend Safi was alive, and the “Dead World” where she wasn’t. Several puzzles in the game follow this trajectory: to circumvent certain obstacles when investigating Safi’s death, Max would tear a massive rift into the other reality to gather information she would otherwise not be privy to or grab some useful object as if pulling off a magician’s hat trick before returning to the first.

While this gimmick is a nifty mechanic that adds a fascinating dimension to Max’s sleuthing, it can also get confusing and tedious, especially as events are spun off in wildly different directions. Even Max’s fastidious note-taking does little to assuage this frustration. Ultimately, while the power does offer a look into the otherwise unseen facets of Max’s life, it’s also troublesome as a mechanic, at times reducing interactions to fetch quests.

This piece contains spoilers about Life is Strange: Double Exposure, its finale, and the first Life is Strange.

This tedium is why, as Max shuttles back and forth between the two realities with the flourish of a seasoned illusionist, there’s a sense that her inner turmoil is only growing. Her interactions vary between realities, and so do the myriad events that take place, leaving ripples in the way her relationships develop between universes. For instance, Max is close friends with the school’s administrative assistant in one universe but merely acquaintances in another. It’s no wonder she often engages in moments of quietude and self-reflection, such as pondering her decision to bombard a friend with relentless questions or ruminating over the dirty laundry of a disgraced colleague.

Thus it’s no surprise that as Max starts using her powers more, Double Exposure picks up from the largely languid pace of the first two episodes. The melodrama has significantly ramped up from episode two’s astonishing cliffhanger, with major twists hinted at and then audaciously delivered with a sleight of hand. While it’s easy for these to become contrived, and for Double Exposure to lose the emotional core of its tale — that is, the game’s smaller, more tender moments of affection — Double Exposure hardly falters, persisting without drowning in these bombastic reveals.

The good news is that Max is learning to live with her grief from the first game. Small yet crucial choices, such as retaliating against a self-absorbed colleague by interrupting his class, using her supernatural powers to unravel clues, and even choosing which love interest to kiss (or none at all), paint a portrait of Max’s identity. Then there’s the pivotal scenario in which Max is seemingly confronted with the prospect of making yet another impossible decision but realizing that she can simply choose not to choose at all. Double Exposure is also at its most confident narratively when it’s chronicling her growth, with the game deftly bringing together the grandiose plot twists and the quieter, more intimate scenes with incredible sentiment.

But the final episode is where Double Exposure seems to run out of space for such ruminations. Episode five is eventually reduced to a series of rooms, with Max simply jogging from one door to the next to rescue the cast from their ghastly predicament. Familiar artifacts from her past life in Arcadia Bay, like the steel chair used by her ex-professor Jefferson, resurface, creating the macabre quality of a strange lucid dream sequence. A massive bowling alley mascot leers menacingly at Max as she struggles to break out of her restraints again. Binders full of photographs — the centerpiece of Jefferson’s twisted portfolio — taunt Max into perusing them once more. It’s a throwback to Max’s meltdown in the final episode of the original Life is Strange, but it felt like such an obligatory nod that it was more repetitive than inventive.

More disappointing still is that, in its conclusion, Double Exposure has opted to clumsily reconstruct the series — one beloved for exploring the emotional depths of everyday life — into a sci-fi story featuring a cast of troubled superheroic teens. It fails to understand that these powers, like Daniel’s telekinetic abilities in Life is Strange 2, are merely a lens with which to examine the anxieties of life at a heightened level. Without a stronger emotional hook, this development feels like a ham-fisted attempt to expand Life is Strange into an endlessly repeatable formula, set in another cinematic universe. A bigger failure is how Max is being established as the face of this new direction, with the credits announcing that “Max Caulfield Will Return.”

Perhaps an ending where Max gets a reprieve from the slew of misfortunes that the world seems to enjoy hurling at her is too idealistic. After all, reality can be just as perverse for the rest of us. But the idea that Life is Strange will present Max’s powers as somehow extraordinary feels a bit discordant. This isn’t the conclusion that Double Exposure deserves.

All episodes of Life is Strange: Double Exposure are available now on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.

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Image: Hugo Herrera / The Verge

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump said a lot of things about electric vehicles. He said he would “end the electric vehicle mandate on day one,” that EVs “don’t work,” and that they benefit China and Mexico while hurting American autoworkers.
But he has also closely aligned himself with Elon Musk, who runs the biggest EV company in the US. And he will likely have Musk continuing to whisper in his ear on important policy matters moving forward, even going so far as to promise to appoint the mercurial billionaire to a role in his administration.
So now that he’s the president-elect, what will he actually do that will affect the auto industry and its tenuous shift to electric vehicles?
First off, he said he would “rescind all unspent funds” in President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which includes many of the administration’s efforts to incentivize EV production in the US. Trump is likely to kill these incentives, everything from the EV tax credit to incentives for battery factories and mining.

What will he actually do that will affect the auto industry and its tenuous shift to electric vehicles?

It could prove to be an unpopular move, as the tax credits have been shown to work. The Biden administration claims that the tax credits have been successful, saving car buyers $1 billion in 2024 alone. The credit can now be applied at the point of sale, meaning shoppers can accept a discount on their EV purchase directly from dealers. And EV sales are continuing to increase, growing 11 percent year over year in the third quarter of 2024, according to Cox Automotive.
Eliminating these tax credits and incentives will make EVs more expensive to buy for many Americans, which will likely result in fewer vehicles sold. Manufacturers will have to adjust their plans to account for the less generous tax environment. Any factory that has yet to break ground is in jeopardy.
But making cars is expensive, and development cycles last for years. Automakers will be lobbying hard for regulatory certainty — whether Trump pays heed is entirely up in the air.
“Depending on how much [the individual tax credit] would be changed, it could be very detrimental to the North American automotive industry,” Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, told Automotive News. “A lot of the demand for EVs currently is driven by that incentive, and that incentive feeds the manufacturers.”
Trump could also kill the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program to install more EV chargers. However, at least 14 percent of NEVI funds have gone directly to Tesla, which is the largest provider of EV charging in the US. It’s unclear whether Trump would axe a program that benefits his new BFF. But Musk has spoken disparagingly of NEVI, so it’s certainly a possibility.
Some Tesla investors say that while the new Trump administration is likely to be a negative for the auto industry, it could end up working out for Musk, who famously went all in for Trump, spending over $119 million to support his campaign.
“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched in the EV industry and this dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, “coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players (BYD, Nio, etc.) from flooding the US market over the coming years.”
Eliminating these tax credits and incentives will make EVs more expensive to buy for many Americans
Trump is likely to attempt to roll back or weaken the Biden administration’s new tailpipe emission standards, which would slash greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2032. This is likely what he’s talking about when he rails against the “EV mandate.” Republicans have falsely portrayed the new standards as a ban on gas-powered cars. EVs would need to account for over half of new vehicle sales for automakers to meet these strict mandates.
If that happens, expect automakers to tap the brakes on EV production. That will likely result in Detroit’s Big Three — Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis — becoming less competitive globally, as the rest of the world continues to innovate and produce more EVs. It could also open the door for foreign automakers to come in and snap up the market. Tariffs could deter countries like China from flooding the US with cheap EVs, but that could be short-lived if China keeps making cheaper and cheaper EVs.
Trump’s plan to slap tariffs on a variety of imported goods, including foreign-made cars, could make many vehicles more expensive to buy. Shares in BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche all fell on Germany’s stock market on the news of Trump’s victory on Wednesday. Meanwhile, stock prices in the Big Three, as well as Tesla, surged in early trading.
California’s right under the Clean Air Act to enact stronger emission standards is also likely to fall in Trump’s crosshairs, as it did last time he was in office. This could become another rat’s nest of lawsuits and counter lawsuits. Trump will be spoiling for a fight.
Fighting — over tax credits, emission standards, federal spending, state’s rights, and more — will become a hallmark of this presidency and its approach to the auto industry, just as it was last time. But this time around, EVs are becoming mainstream, and a lot of the investments can’t just be unspooled. Climate change is a looming threat, and EVs are seen as an important tool to fighting it. This time, there’s just a lot more at stake.

Image: Hugo Herrera / The Verge

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump said a lot of things about electric vehicles. He said he would “end the electric vehicle mandate on day one,” that EVs “don’t work,” and that they benefit China and Mexico while hurting American autoworkers.

But he has also closely aligned himself with Elon Musk, who runs the biggest EV company in the US. And he will likely have Musk continuing to whisper in his ear on important policy matters moving forward, even going so far as to promise to appoint the mercurial billionaire to a role in his administration.

So now that he’s the president-elect, what will he actually do that will affect the auto industry and its tenuous shift to electric vehicles?

First off, he said he would “rescind all unspent funds” in President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which includes many of the administration’s efforts to incentivize EV production in the US. Trump is likely to kill these incentives, everything from the EV tax credit to incentives for battery factories and mining.

It could prove to be an unpopular move, as the tax credits have been shown to work. The Biden administration claims that the tax credits have been successful, saving car buyers $1 billion in 2024 alone. The credit can now be applied at the point of sale, meaning shoppers can accept a discount on their EV purchase directly from dealers. And EV sales are continuing to increase, growing 11 percent year over year in the third quarter of 2024, according to Cox Automotive.

Eliminating these tax credits and incentives will make EVs more expensive to buy for many Americans, which will likely result in fewer vehicles sold. Manufacturers will have to adjust their plans to account for the less generous tax environment. Any factory that has yet to break ground is in jeopardy.

But making cars is expensive, and development cycles last for years. Automakers will be lobbying hard for regulatory certainty — whether Trump pays heed is entirely up in the air.

“Depending on how much [the individual tax credit] would be changed, it could be very detrimental to the North American automotive industry,” Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, told Automotive News. “A lot of the demand for EVs currently is driven by that incentive, and that incentive feeds the manufacturers.”

Trump could also kill the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program to install more EV chargers. However, at least 14 percent of NEVI funds have gone directly to Tesla, which is the largest provider of EV charging in the US. It’s unclear whether Trump would axe a program that benefits his new BFF. But Musk has spoken disparagingly of NEVI, so it’s certainly a possibility.

Some Tesla investors say that while the new Trump administration is likely to be a negative for the auto industry, it could end up working out for Musk, who famously went all in for Trump, spending over $119 million to support his campaign.

“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched in the EV industry and this dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, “coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players (BYD, Nio, etc.) from flooding the US market over the coming years.”

Trump is likely to attempt to roll back or weaken the Biden administration’s new tailpipe emission standards, which would slash greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2032. This is likely what he’s talking about when he rails against the “EV mandate.” Republicans have falsely portrayed the new standards as a ban on gas-powered cars. EVs would need to account for over half of new vehicle sales for automakers to meet these strict mandates.

If that happens, expect automakers to tap the brakes on EV production. That will likely result in Detroit’s Big Three — Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis — becoming less competitive globally, as the rest of the world continues to innovate and produce more EVs. It could also open the door for foreign automakers to come in and snap up the market. Tariffs could deter countries like China from flooding the US with cheap EVs, but that could be short-lived if China keeps making cheaper and cheaper EVs.

Trump’s plan to slap tariffs on a variety of imported goods, including foreign-made cars, could make many vehicles more expensive to buy. Shares in BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche all fell on Germany’s stock market on the news of Trump’s victory on Wednesday. Meanwhile, stock prices in the Big Three, as well as Tesla, surged in early trading.

California’s right under the Clean Air Act to enact stronger emission standards is also likely to fall in Trump’s crosshairs, as it did last time he was in office. This could become another rat’s nest of lawsuits and counter lawsuits. Trump will be spoiling for a fight.

Fighting — over tax credits, emission standards, federal spending, state’s rights, and more — will become a hallmark of this presidency and its approach to the auto industry, just as it was last time. But this time around, EVs are becoming mainstream, and a lot of the investments can’t just be unspooled. Climate change is a looming threat, and EVs are seen as an important tool to fighting it. This time, there’s just a lot more at stake.

Read More 

Google’s Pixel Watch 3 is an excellent upgrade over its predecessor, with a wealth of new fitness features and smarts. | Image: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

If you thought you needed to wait until Black Friday to score a steep discount on the new Google Pixel Watch 3, we’ve got some good news: right now, Wellbots is giving readers of The Verge an exclusive $75 discount, dropping the wearable down to a new all-time low price until November 12th. The 41mm, Wi-Fi-enabled configuration starts at $274 ($75 off) from Wellbots when you apply code VERGEBF75, while the same code drops the price of the 45mm Pixel Watch 3 with Wi-Fi down to $324 ($75 off).

Google managed to pack an impressive number of noteworthy features into its latest wearable, which is why it’s our favorite fitness smartwatch for Android users. It’s an even better fitness and health tracker than before, with custom running workouts, AI-generated workout suggestions, and a Cardio Load metric that takes into consideration how hard your heart is working during a training session. European users can even take advantage of a new Loss of Pulse Detection feature, which connects you emergency services if a lack of pulse is detected. Sadly, though, the feature has yet to receive FDA clearance in the U.S.
Along with offering even more advanced fitness features, the Pixel Watch 3 is also an even more capable smartwatch with offline Google Maps and better integration with other Google services. It can even now double as Google TV remote, while you also now view your Nest Doorbell or Camera feed straight from your smartwatch. As if that’s not impressive enough, the wearable also now sports an ultra wideband chip that enables remote unlocking for Pixel devices and even some BMWs.
Read our Google Pixel Watch 3 review.

More ways to save this morning

The JBL Clip 5 is down to a new all-time low price of $49.93 ($30 off) at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy. The tiny portable Bluetooth speaker continues to deliver impressive sounds for its size along with perks like IP67 water and dustproofing. However, unlike its predecessor — the JBL Clip 4 — it can now connect multiple audio devices to a single source and offers slightly longer, 12-hour battery life.
You can buy the M2-powered MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $799 from Amazon. That’s $400 less than the $1,199 price the laptop originally launched at as well as a new low price. The last-gen Air remains an excellent laptop, even if it’s not as snappy as the M3 MacBook Air and can only power one external monitor with the lid closed as opposed to two. It’s M2 chip is still more than powerful enough for everyday work and play, while it offers a lot of helpful perks of its own including all-day battery life, a MagSafe port for charging, and even a few AI-powered features via Apple Intelligence. Read our review.

The Keurig K-Express Coffee Maker is on sale for $59.99 ($30 off) from Amazon and Keurig. The small coffee maker isn’t anything fancy, but for the price it does the job well. It’s controls are easy to use, letting you quickly brew a delicious eight, 10, or 12-ounce cup of coffee within seconds with just a push of a button. It’s also compact, rendering it a nice option for those living in small spaces like a dorm.

Google’s Pixel Watch 3 is an excellent upgrade over its predecessor, with a wealth of new fitness features and smarts. | Image: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

If you thought you needed to wait until Black Friday to score a steep discount on the new Google Pixel Watch 3, we’ve got some good news: right now, Wellbots is giving readers of The Verge an exclusive $75 discount, dropping the wearable down to a new all-time low price until November 12th. The 41mm, Wi-Fi-enabled configuration starts at $274 ($75 off) from Wellbots when you apply code VERGEBF75, while the same code drops the price of the 45mm Pixel Watch 3 with Wi-Fi down to $324 ($75 off).

Google managed to pack an impressive number of noteworthy features into its latest wearable, which is why it’s our favorite fitness smartwatch for Android users. It’s an even better fitness and health tracker than before, with custom running workouts, AI-generated workout suggestions, and a Cardio Load metric that takes into consideration how hard your heart is working during a training session. European users can even take advantage of a new Loss of Pulse Detection feature, which connects you emergency services if a lack of pulse is detected. Sadly, though, the feature has yet to receive FDA clearance in the U.S.

Along with offering even more advanced fitness features, the Pixel Watch 3 is also an even more capable smartwatch with offline Google Maps and better integration with other Google services. It can even now double as Google TV remote, while you also now view your Nest Doorbell or Camera feed straight from your smartwatch. As if that’s not impressive enough, the wearable also now sports an ultra wideband chip that enables remote unlocking for Pixel devices and even some BMWs.

Read our Google Pixel Watch 3 review.

More ways to save this morning

The JBL Clip 5 is down to a new all-time low price of $49.93 ($30 off) at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy. The tiny portable Bluetooth speaker continues to deliver impressive sounds for its size along with perks like IP67 water and dustproofing. However, unlike its predecessor — the JBL Clip 4 — it can now connect multiple audio devices to a single source and offers slightly longer, 12-hour battery life.
You can buy the M2-powered MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $799 from Amazon. That’s $400 less than the $1,199 price the laptop originally launched at as well as a new low price. The last-gen Air remains an excellent laptop, even if it’s not as snappy as the M3 MacBook Air and can only power one external monitor with the lid closed as opposed to two. It’s M2 chip is still more than powerful enough for everyday work and play, while it offers a lot of helpful perks of its own including all-day battery life, a MagSafe port for charging, and even a few AI-powered features via Apple Intelligence. Read our review.

The Keurig K-Express Coffee Maker is on sale for $59.99 ($30 off) from Amazon and Keurig. The small coffee maker isn’t anything fancy, but for the price it does the job well. It’s controls are easy to use, letting you quickly brew a delicious eight, 10, or 12-ounce cup of coffee within seconds with just a push of a button. It’s also compact, rendering it a nice option for those living in small spaces like a dorm.

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Photo by Vlad Savov / The Verge

You can now buy a USB-C charger that finally hits the promised power spec for beefy laptops at a max rate of 240W. You probably do not need this charger, and you may not have a device that even supports its peak power, but it’s here now if you want one to future-proof your office setup.
Delta Electronics’ ADP-240KB charger is an AC power supply that supports the maximum charge speeds possible on the USB-C Power Delivery (USB-PD) standard. It’s available from US component distributor Mouser Electronics for $126.37 plus shipping, or slightly less if you want at least 10. It’s advertised as a desktop AC adapter and comes as a dull black brick with a standardized three-prong AC in port (the AC cable is not included).

Image: Delta
Bring your own sticker.

Delta isn’t exactly a household name, but you may already own something made by the company. It’s an Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) — which is a company that makes products purchased by an OEM for rebranding.
In Delta’s case, it makes power supplies, fans, and other components for computer makers like Dell or Lenovo. Your laptop charger may have the branding of the OEM; however, they’re likely made by an ODM.
Last year, the CEO of laptop maker Framework Nirav Patel told The Verge that top-spec USB-PD 3.1 adapters are on the way. The Framework Laptop 16 charger supports up to 180W, while Apple’s MacBook Pro maxes out at 140W using a MagSafe charging cable. It’s been a long wait, and we even got testers before we got 240W chargers.

Photo by Vlad Savov / The Verge

You can now buy a USB-C charger that finally hits the promised power spec for beefy laptops at a max rate of 240W. You probably do not need this charger, and you may not have a device that even supports its peak power, but it’s here now if you want one to future-proof your office setup.

Delta Electronics’ ADP-240KB charger is an AC power supply that supports the maximum charge speeds possible on the USB-C Power Delivery (USB-PD) standard. It’s available from US component distributor Mouser Electronics for $126.37 plus shipping, or slightly less if you want at least 10. It’s advertised as a desktop AC adapter and comes as a dull black brick with a standardized three-prong AC in port (the AC cable is not included).

Image: Delta
Bring your own sticker.

Delta isn’t exactly a household name, but you may already own something made by the company. It’s an Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) — which is a company that makes products purchased by an OEM for rebranding.

In Delta’s case, it makes power supplies, fans, and other components for computer makers like Dell or Lenovo. Your laptop charger may have the branding of the OEM; however, they’re likely made by an ODM.

Last year, the CEO of laptop maker Framework Nirav Patel told The Verge that top-spec USB-PD 3.1 adapters are on the way. The Framework Laptop 16 charger supports up to 180W, while Apple’s MacBook Pro maxes out at 140W using a MagSafe charging cable. It’s been a long wait, and we even got testers before we got 240W chargers.

Read More 

Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Scott Olson, Getty Images

Donald Trump clinched a presidential victory, ushering in another term of environmental rollbacks that’ll make it more difficult to safeguard our air, water, and climate.
“Environmental [regulation] is the biggest tool for stopping growth … it costs much more to do things environmentally clean,” Trump said in a rambling three-hour interview with Joe Rogan on October 25th, when he falsely claimed the US had “the cleanest air and cleanest water” under his watch.
The last time he was president, Trump slashed air and water protections, replacing them with weaker rules that, over time, were expected to lead to thousands more deaths from pollution. Now, his administration could take even more extreme action if it follows eye-popping proposals laid out in Project 2025, a right-wing manifesto written by many former Trump officials. Health and environmental groups are already gearing up for battle.
“It costs much more to do things environmentally clean”
“We really, really need to focus on building more power at the local, tribal, and state and regional levels — understanding that because things are going to be moving much faster this time around, we really need to ramp up,” says KD Chavez, executive director of the Climate Justice Alliance. “We’re just really going to have to lean into our collective power.”
They know what to expect after Trump rolled back more than 100 environmental regulations when he was last in office. That included repealing the Obama-era Clean Power Plan (CPP), a landmark rule that would have set limits to carbon pollution from power plants for the first time, had it been implemented. While it was designed to fight climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it had the added benefit of cleaning up other kinds of pollution from power plants.
The opposite is also true — delaying action on climate change comes with health risks from the soot and smog that come from burning fossil fuels. The Environmental Protection Agency estimated that the Trump administration’s weaker alternative to the CPP could lead to 1,400 more premature deaths and 48,000 “exacerbated” asthma cases a year by 2030.
Since taking office, President Joe Biden has tried to clean up his predecessor’s mess. Air quality protections the EPA has issued since 2021 are projected to prevent 200,000 premature deaths and result in 100 million fewer asthma attacks in the US through 2050, according to a recent report by a group founded by hundreds of former EPA employees. Those gains are in peril now.
“One of the other things that we’re going to be looking out for is corporate capture”
“With the election of Donald Trump, we know that environmental justice policies that have been hard fought wins over decades are going to be in jeopardy,” Chavez says. “One of the other things that we’re going to be looking out for is corporate capture … We’re probably going to see appointments of industry operatives in key positions of his cabinet makeup and etc., and just giving polluting industries even greater access to our federal agencies.”
On the campaign trail, Trump said he’d create a new role for billionaire backer Elon Musk as “secretary of cost-cutting.” Musk’s companies — SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI — have faced a slew of accusations that they’ve violated environmental regulations when it comes to hazardous waste, water pollution, and air pollution.
The last time Trump was in the White House, he pushed seasoned scientists out of federal agencies and put fossil fuel lobbyists in charge of the EPA. Now, Project 2025 calls for a “major reorganization” of the EPA that would slash the number of full-time positions and eliminate entire departments and any programs deemed “duplicative, wasteful, or superfluous.” While Trump tried to distance himself from Project 2025 on the campaign trail, the lead author of the chapter dedicated to the EPA was written by the former chief of staff at the agency during the Trump administration, Mandy Gunasekara.
“Project 2025 is just full of recommendations that would essentially eviscerate EPA. They would turn it into a shell of what its true mission is,” Stan Meiburg, executive director of the Sabin Center for Environment and Sustainability at Wake Forest University and former acting deputy administrator of the EPA during the Obama administration, previously told The Verge.

It’s difficult to imagine that the US will stay in the Paris climate accord, considering Trump abandoned the international agreement to stop global warming once before and has vowed to do so again. The Biden administration managed to pass the biggest spending package on climate and clean energy, the Inflation Reduction Act, which is supposed to reduce US greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 40 percent compared to 2005 levels by 2030. Trump has also said, however, that he would “rescind all unspent funds” from the Inflation Reduction Act, stalling the nation’s transition to cleaner energy. When it comes to energy policy, the Republican platform says simply, “We will DRILL, BABY, DRILL.”
“Donald Trump was a disaster for climate progress during his first term, and everything he’s said and done since suggests he’s eager to do even more damage this time,” Sierra Club executive director Ben Jealous said in a statement. Sierra Club’s legal team filed more than 300 lawsuits against the Trump administration challenging its environmental rollbacks. “Trump has put profits over people time and again, prioritizing the bottom line of the Big Oil CEOs who bought and paid for his campaign above communities across the country who face the threat of pollution and the devastating impacts of the climate crisis.”

As gloomy as the forecast is come Inauguration Day, environmental advocates are undeterred. They’ve been through this before, after all. Many state and local leaders stepped up and formed a coalition to fill in the gaps in federal leadership on climate change after Trump was first elected in 2016. That kind of work will be crucial again moving forward.
On top of that, prominent environmental groups are already discussing potential legal actions they can take. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) says it filed 163 cases against the Trump administration and won in close to 90 percent of cases that have been resolved so far.
“If he tries to roll back urgently needed climate gains, or follow his radical Project 2025 roadmap to environmental ruin, we’ll stand up for the environment and public health – in the court of public opinion and in our courts of law,” Manish Bapna, NRDC president, said in an emailed statement. “If Trump tries to turn our government against the people it serves, we’ll stand with the people. If he tries to purge the professional civil service we depend on for sound governance, we’ll stand by those who face political attack.”

Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Scott Olson, Getty Images

Donald Trump clinched a presidential victory, ushering in another term of environmental rollbacks that’ll make it more difficult to safeguard our air, water, and climate.

“Environmental [regulation] is the biggest tool for stopping growth … it costs much more to do things environmentally clean,” Trump said in a rambling three-hour interview with Joe Rogan on October 25th, when he falsely claimed the US had “the cleanest air and cleanest water” under his watch.

The last time he was president, Trump slashed air and water protections, replacing them with weaker rules that, over time, were expected to lead to thousands more deaths from pollution. Now, his administration could take even more extreme action if it follows eye-popping proposals laid out in Project 2025, a right-wing manifesto written by many former Trump officials. Health and environmental groups are already gearing up for battle.

“We really, really need to focus on building more power at the local, tribal, and state and regional levels — understanding that because things are going to be moving much faster this time around, we really need to ramp up,” says KD Chavez, executive director of the Climate Justice Alliance. “We’re just really going to have to lean into our collective power.”

They know what to expect after Trump rolled back more than 100 environmental regulations when he was last in office. That included repealing the Obama-era Clean Power Plan (CPP), a landmark rule that would have set limits to carbon pollution from power plants for the first time, had it been implemented. While it was designed to fight climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it had the added benefit of cleaning up other kinds of pollution from power plants.

The opposite is also true — delaying action on climate change comes with health risks from the soot and smog that come from burning fossil fuels. The Environmental Protection Agency estimated that the Trump administration’s weaker alternative to the CPP could lead to 1,400 more premature deaths and 48,000 “exacerbated” asthma cases a year by 2030.

Since taking office, President Joe Biden has tried to clean up his predecessor’s mess. Air quality protections the EPA has issued since 2021 are projected to prevent 200,000 premature deaths and result in 100 million fewer asthma attacks in the US through 2050, according to a recent report by a group founded by hundreds of former EPA employees. Those gains are in peril now.

“With the election of Donald Trump, we know that environmental justice policies that have been hard fought wins over decades are going to be in jeopardy,” Chavez says. “One of the other things that we’re going to be looking out for is corporate capture … We’re probably going to see appointments of industry operatives in key positions of his cabinet makeup and etc., and just giving polluting industries even greater access to our federal agencies.”

On the campaign trail, Trump said he’d create a new role for billionaire backer Elon Musk as “secretary of cost-cutting.” Musk’s companies — SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI — have faced a slew of accusations that they’ve violated environmental regulations when it comes to hazardous waste, water pollution, and air pollution.

The last time Trump was in the White House, he pushed seasoned scientists out of federal agencies and put fossil fuel lobbyists in charge of the EPA. Now, Project 2025 calls for a “major reorganization” of the EPA that would slash the number of full-time positions and eliminate entire departments and any programs deemed “duplicative, wasteful, or superfluous.” While Trump tried to distance himself from Project 2025 on the campaign trail, the lead author of the chapter dedicated to the EPA was written by the former chief of staff at the agency during the Trump administration, Mandy Gunasekara.

“Project 2025 is just full of recommendations that would essentially eviscerate EPA. They would turn it into a shell of what its true mission is,” Stan Meiburg, executive director of the Sabin Center for Environment and Sustainability at Wake Forest University and former acting deputy administrator of the EPA during the Obama administration, previously told The Verge.

It’s difficult to imagine that the US will stay in the Paris climate accord, considering Trump abandoned the international agreement to stop global warming once before and has vowed to do so again. The Biden administration managed to pass the biggest spending package on climate and clean energy, the Inflation Reduction Act, which is supposed to reduce US greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 40 percent compared to 2005 levels by 2030. Trump has also said, however, that he would “rescind all unspent funds” from the Inflation Reduction Act, stalling the nation’s transition to cleaner energy. When it comes to energy policy, the Republican platform says simply, “We will DRILL, BABY, DRILL.”

“Donald Trump was a disaster for climate progress during his first term, and everything he’s said and done since suggests he’s eager to do even more damage this time,” Sierra Club executive director Ben Jealous said in a statement. Sierra Club’s legal team filed more than 300 lawsuits against the Trump administration challenging its environmental rollbacks. “Trump has put profits over people time and again, prioritizing the bottom line of the Big Oil CEOs who bought and paid for his campaign above communities across the country who face the threat of pollution and the devastating impacts of the climate crisis.”

As gloomy as the forecast is come Inauguration Day, environmental advocates are undeterred. They’ve been through this before, after all. Many state and local leaders stepped up and formed a coalition to fill in the gaps in federal leadership on climate change after Trump was first elected in 2016. That kind of work will be crucial again moving forward.

On top of that, prominent environmental groups are already discussing potential legal actions they can take. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) says it filed 163 cases against the Trump administration and won in close to 90 percent of cases that have been resolved so far.

“If he tries to roll back urgently needed climate gains, or follow his radical Project 2025 roadmap to environmental ruin, we’ll stand up for the environment and public health – in the court of public opinion and in our courts of law,” Manish Bapna, NRDC president, said in an emailed statement. “If Trump tries to turn our government against the people it serves, we’ll stand with the people. If he tries to purge the professional civil service we depend on for sound governance, we’ll stand by those who face political attack.”

Read More