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Illustration: Kristen Radtke / The Verge

Combatting “cyber and other threats posed by the People’s Republic of China” (PRC) is a top priority for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through the end of 2025, according to a guidance document the department released last Thursday. The document describes a “whole-of-society effort” to protect critical infrastructure from outside threats, and China is at the top of the list.
Other priorities include managing the “evolving risks” of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, mitigating supply chain vulnerabilities, preparing for climate change-related risks to critical infrastructure, and addressing dependency on satellite-based services and communications.
“From the banking system to the electric grid, from health care to our nation’s water systems and more, we depend on the reliable functioning of our critical infrastructure as a matter of national security, economic security, and public safety,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.
Per the memo, the federal government and intelligence community see China as one of the biggest risks to national security and are particularly concerned about China’s ability and “willingness” to conduct cyberattacks on US infrastructure. The memo also warns about potential threats from “other malign ‘gray zone’ activities,” including financial investments, “traditional espionage,” and insider threats.

This April, FBI Director Christopher Wray said hackers linked to the Chinese government had accessed critical US infrastructure and were waiting “for just the right moment to deal a devastating blow.” In a speech at the Vanderbilt Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats, Wray said hackers with the cyber group Volt Typhoon had breached several American companies in the telecom, energy, and water sectors.
DHS established a China Working Group in 2020 to address the “intensifying threat” of China’s “malign activity in the trade, cybersecurity, immigration, and intellectual property domains,” then-acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf said at the time.

In 2022, DHS published a “strategic action plan” on combatting China’s threats to national security, looking at everything from immigration violations to intellectual property rights violations. Action items included looking into ways to expand trade “with fledgling chip sectors and like-minded economic partners, including India and Taiwan” and prioritizing efforts to protect US infrastructure from “malicious PRC cyber activity.” And last year, Mayorkas announced a departmentwide 90-day “PRC Threats Sprint.” Like the 2022 plan, the sprint emphasized the need to defend critical infrastructure against potential cyberattacks, as well as a commitment to using DHS’s immigration enforcement apparatus to identify “illicit travelers” from China who come to the US to “collect intelligence, steal intellectual property, and harass dissidents.”
Congress has also become increasingly hawkish on China. In 2013, the House Homeland Security Committee’s subcommittee on cybersecurity held a hearing on the threats China, Russia, and Iran posed to US infrastructure. The congressional effort to ban TikTok unless it divests from its Beijing-based parent company is largely rooted in national security concerns. Earlier this month, the House Committee on Homeland Security advanced a bill that would block DHS from buying batteries from six Chinese companies.

Illustration: Kristen Radtke / The Verge

Combatting “cyber and other threats posed by the People’s Republic of China” (PRC) is a top priority for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through the end of 2025, according to a guidance document the department released last Thursday. The document describes a “whole-of-society effort” to protect critical infrastructure from outside threats, and China is at the top of the list.

Other priorities include managing the “evolving risks” of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, mitigating supply chain vulnerabilities, preparing for climate change-related risks to critical infrastructure, and addressing dependency on satellite-based services and communications.

“From the banking system to the electric grid, from health care to our nation’s water systems and more, we depend on the reliable functioning of our critical infrastructure as a matter of national security, economic security, and public safety,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.

Per the memo, the federal government and intelligence community see China as one of the biggest risks to national security and are particularly concerned about China’s ability and “willingness” to conduct cyberattacks on US infrastructure. The memo also warns about potential threats from “other malign ‘gray zone’ activities,” including financial investments, “traditional espionage,” and insider threats.

This April, FBI Director Christopher Wray said hackers linked to the Chinese government had accessed critical US infrastructure and were waiting “for just the right moment to deal a devastating blow.” In a speech at the Vanderbilt Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats, Wray said hackers with the cyber group Volt Typhoon had breached several American companies in the telecom, energy, and water sectors.

DHS established a China Working Group in 2020 to address the “intensifying threat” of China’s “malign activity in the trade, cybersecurity, immigration, and intellectual property domains,” then-acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf said at the time.

In 2022, DHS published a “strategic action plan” on combatting China’s threats to national security, looking at everything from immigration violations to intellectual property rights violations. Action items included looking into ways to expand trade “with fledgling chip sectors and like-minded economic partners, including India and Taiwan” and prioritizing efforts to protect US infrastructure from “malicious PRC cyber activity.” And last year, Mayorkas announced a departmentwide 90-day “PRC Threats Sprint.” Like the 2022 plan, the sprint emphasized the need to defend critical infrastructure against potential cyberattacks, as well as a commitment to using DHS’s immigration enforcement apparatus to identify “illicit travelers” from China who come to the US to “collect intelligence, steal intellectual property, and harass dissidents.”

Congress has also become increasingly hawkish on China. In 2013, the House Homeland Security Committee’s subcommittee on cybersecurity held a hearing on the threats China, Russia, and Iran posed to US infrastructure. The congressional effort to ban TikTok unless it divests from its Beijing-based parent company is largely rooted in national security concerns. Earlier this month, the House Committee on Homeland Security advanced a bill that would block DHS from buying batteries from six Chinese companies.

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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Multiple photographers are complaining that Meta is wrongly adding its “Made by AI” label to real photos they’ve taken, TechCrunch reports.
Several photographers have shared examples over the past few months, with Meta recently marking a photo former White House photographer Pete Souza took of a basketball game as AI-generated. In another recent example, Meta incorrectly added the label to an Instagram photo of the Kolkata Knight Riders winning the Indian Premier League Cricket tournament. Interestingly, like Souza’s photo, the label only shows up when viewing the images on mobile, not on the web.
Souza says he tried to uncheck the label but was unable to. He theorizes that using Adobe’s cropping tool and flattening images before saving them as JPEG images may be triggering Meta’s algorithm.

However, Meta has also incorrectly marked real photos as AI when photographers use generative AI tools like Adobe’s Generative Fill to remove even the smallest of objects, PetaPixel reports. The publication tested this out for itself using Photoshop’s Generative Fill tool to remove a speck from an image, which Meta then marked as AI-generated on Instagram. Strangely, though, Meta didn’t add the “Made with AI” label when PetaPixel uploaded the file back into Photoshop and then saved it after copying and pasting it into a black document.
Multiple photographers have voiced their frustrations that such minor edits are unfairly being labeled as AI-generated.
“If ‘retouched’ photos are ‘Made with AI’ then that term effectively has no meaning,” photographer Noah Kalina wrote on Threads. “They might as well auto tag every photograph ‘Not a True Representation of Reality’ if they are serious about protecting people.”
In a statement to The Verge, Meta spokesperson Kate McLaughlin said that the company is aware of the issue and is evaluating its approach “so that [its] labels reflect the amount of AI used in an image.”
“We rely on industry standard indicators that other companies include in content from their tools, so we’re actively working with these companies to improve the process so our labeling approach matches our intent,” added McLaughlin.
In February, Meta announced it would start adding “Made with AI” labels to photos uploaded across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads ahead of this year’s election season. Specifically, the company said it would add the label to AI-generated photos made with tools from Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, Adobe, Midjourney, and Shutterstock.
Meta hasn’t disclosed what exactly triggers the “Made with AI” label, but all of these companies have — or are working on — adding metadata to image files to signify the use of AI tools, which is one way Meta identifies AI-generated photos. Adobe, for example, started adding information about a content’s origins into the metadata with the release of its Content Credentials system last year.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Multiple photographers are complaining that Meta is wrongly adding its “Made by AI” label to real photos they’ve taken, TechCrunch reports.

Several photographers have shared examples over the past few months, with Meta recently marking a photo former White House photographer Pete Souza took of a basketball game as AI-generated. In another recent example, Meta incorrectly added the label to an Instagram photo of the Kolkata Knight Riders winning the Indian Premier League Cricket tournament. Interestingly, like Souza’s photo, the label only shows up when viewing the images on mobile, not on the web.

Souza says he tried to uncheck the label but was unable to. He theorizes that using Adobe’s cropping tool and flattening images before saving them as JPEG images may be triggering Meta’s algorithm.

However, Meta has also incorrectly marked real photos as AI when photographers use generative AI tools like Adobe’s Generative Fill to remove even the smallest of objects, PetaPixel reports. The publication tested this out for itself using Photoshop’s Generative Fill tool to remove a speck from an image, which Meta then marked as AI-generated on Instagram. Strangely, though, Meta didn’t add the “Made with AI” label when PetaPixel uploaded the file back into Photoshop and then saved it after copying and pasting it into a black document.

Multiple photographers have voiced their frustrations that such minor edits are unfairly being labeled as AI-generated.

“If ‘retouched’ photos are ‘Made with AI’ then that term effectively has no meaning,” photographer Noah Kalina wrote on Threads. “They might as well auto tag every photograph ‘Not a True Representation of Reality’ if they are serious about protecting people.”

In a statement to The Verge, Meta spokesperson Kate McLaughlin said that the company is aware of the issue and is evaluating its approach “so that [its] labels reflect the amount of AI used in an image.”

“We rely on industry standard indicators that other companies include in content from their tools, so we’re actively working with these companies to improve the process so our labeling approach matches our intent,” added McLaughlin.

In February, Meta announced it would start adding “Made with AI” labels to photos uploaded across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads ahead of this year’s election season. Specifically, the company said it would add the label to AI-generated photos made with tools from Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, Adobe, Midjourney, and Shutterstock.

Meta hasn’t disclosed what exactly triggers the “Made with AI” label, but all of these companies have — or are working on — adding metadata to image files to signify the use of AI tools, which is one way Meta identifies AI-generated photos. Adobe, for example, started adding information about a content’s origins into the metadata with the release of its Content Credentials system last year.

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Image: Paramount

Just like it did last summer, Paramount Plus is getting ready to hike the prices on some of its streaming service subscriptions.
Paramount announced today that, beginning August 20th, the monthly costs for its Paramount Plus with Showtime, Paramount Plus Essential, and Paramount Plus with limited commercials plans will increase for all new subscribers. Paramount Plus with Showtime will now cost $12.99 a month ($1 more expensive), Paramount Plus with limited commercials will now cost $7.99 a month, and Paramount Plus Essential will now cost $7.99 a month ($2 more expensive).
Prices for annual Paramount Plus Essential and Paramount Plus with Showtime aren’t changing, and people already subscribed to Paramount Plus Essential on a monthly basis will continue to pay $5.99. But folks already subscribed to Paramount Plus with Showtime will have to start paying the new price either on their next billing date or after September 20th.
Following Paramount’s potential merger with Skydance falling through a few weeks ago, the pivot to price hikes does not exactly come as a surprise and reads very much like parent company Paramount Global looking for an easy way to recoup some of the streamer’s losses. Earlier this month, just before the failed merger, Paramount’s Office of the CEO — George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, and Brian Robbins — told shareholders that they had a plan to get the company in a stable position and recoup $500 million in costs. We knew that plan was going to involve job cuts, and now we know that passing the burden onto consumers is also part of the equation.

Image: Paramount

Just like it did last summer, Paramount Plus is getting ready to hike the prices on some of its streaming service subscriptions.

Paramount announced today that, beginning August 20th, the monthly costs for its Paramount Plus with Showtime, Paramount Plus Essential, and Paramount Plus with limited commercials plans will increase for all new subscribers. Paramount Plus with Showtime will now cost $12.99 a month ($1 more expensive), Paramount Plus with limited commercials will now cost $7.99 a month, and Paramount Plus Essential will now cost $7.99 a month ($2 more expensive).

Prices for annual Paramount Plus Essential and Paramount Plus with Showtime aren’t changing, and people already subscribed to Paramount Plus Essential on a monthly basis will continue to pay $5.99. But folks already subscribed to Paramount Plus with Showtime will have to start paying the new price either on their next billing date or after September 20th.

Following Paramount’s potential merger with Skydance falling through a few weeks ago, the pivot to price hikes does not exactly come as a surprise and reads very much like parent company Paramount Global looking for an easy way to recoup some of the streamer’s losses. Earlier this month, just before the failed merger, Paramount’s Office of the CEO — George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, and Brian Robbins — told shareholders that they had a plan to get the company in a stable position and recoup $500 million in costs. We knew that plan was going to involve job cuts, and now we know that passing the burden onto consumers is also part of the equation.

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Less than a year after its iPhone debut, Blackmagic’s robust camera app is now available for select Android devices. | Image: Blackmagic Design

After launching on the iPhone last September, the robust Blackmagic Camera app is available on Android devices today, with the same professional-grade shooting features and compatibility with Blackmagic Design’s other video production pipeline tools.
“The Blackmagic Camera app for iPhone has been incredibly popular since it was launched last year,” says Grant Petty, the company’s CEO. “We are excited to be able to give customers with Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel phones the same controls for shooting digital film as our professional cameras.”
A Blackmagic Design spokesperson, Terry Frechette, confirmed to The Verge that there is one unfortunate limitation to the Blackmagic Camera app on Android. The app “can be used on phones running Android 13 or later” but is limited to the Samsung Galaxy S23, S24, and Google Pixel 7/8 lineups. The company also had no information to share when asked if the app would eventually be made available on other Android devices.

Image: Blackmagic Design
The Blackmagic Camera app features an overlaid HUD that makes it easier to quickly access various shooting settings.

The native camera apps in iOS and Android focus on simplifying photography with streamlined interfaces and a heavy reliance on automation, and while more capable camera apps that cater to professional photographers and videographers often come with premium pricing, the Blackmagic Camera app will remain completely free on Android.
The Android version of the app will also carry over the same interface as the iPhone version, with an overlaid heads-up display that shows important shooting information such as focus and exposure that also provides quick access to settings by simply tapping on items in the HUD. The Blackmagic Camera can also capture footage directly to the company’s cloud service, making it quickly accessible for editing and post-production work at another facility.

Less than a year after its iPhone debut, Blackmagic’s robust camera app is now available for select Android devices. | Image: Blackmagic Design

After launching on the iPhone last September, the robust Blackmagic Camera app is available on Android devices today, with the same professional-grade shooting features and compatibility with Blackmagic Design’s other video production pipeline tools.

“The Blackmagic Camera app for iPhone has been incredibly popular since it was launched last year,” says Grant Petty, the company’s CEO. “We are excited to be able to give customers with Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel phones the same controls for shooting digital film as our professional cameras.”

A Blackmagic Design spokesperson, Terry Frechette, confirmed to The Verge that there is one unfortunate limitation to the Blackmagic Camera app on Android. The app “can be used on phones running Android 13 or later” but is limited to the Samsung Galaxy S23, S24, and Google Pixel 7/8 lineups. The company also had no information to share when asked if the app would eventually be made available on other Android devices.

The native camera apps in iOS and Android focus on simplifying photography with streamlined interfaces and a heavy reliance on automation, and while more capable camera apps that cater to professional photographers and videographers often come with premium pricing, the Blackmagic Camera app will remain completely free on Android.

The Android version of the app will also carry over the same interface as the iPhone version, with an overlaid heads-up display that shows important shooting information such as focus and exposure that also provides quick access to settings by simply tapping on items in the HUD. The Blackmagic Camera can also capture footage directly to the company’s cloud service, making it quickly accessible for editing and post-production work at another facility.

Read More 

Image: Apple

Apple released new developer betas for iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia on Monday, and spokesperson Fred Sainz confirmed on Friday that the company planned to introduce the ability for users to mirror their iPhone on their Mac. Sainz also said the iOS 18 beta would include new SharePlay screen sharing capabilities.
The new feature, which Apple first announced at its Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month, lets you interact with your iPhone right from your Mac, meaning you can browse apps and even drag and drop files from your Mac to your phone. Your Mac will even show notifications from your iPhone, and when you click on them, your Mac can open them in the mirrored iPhone interface.

Image: Apple

While mirroring to your Mac, your iPhone stays locked. However, if you’re using StandBy while mirroring, what’s shown on your iPhone screen will stay on the iPhone’s screen as you browse your iPhone from your Mac.
The new SharePlay features let you draw on another person’s screen or control their screen. If you want to try the developer betas for yourself, check out our guide.
On Monday, Apple also released new developer betas of visionOS 2 and watchOS 11. The full releases of the OS upgrades are set for this fall.

Image: Apple

Apple released new developer betas for iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia on Monday, and spokesperson Fred Sainz confirmed on Friday that the company planned to introduce the ability for users to mirror their iPhone on their Mac. Sainz also said the iOS 18 beta would include new SharePlay screen sharing capabilities.

The new feature, which Apple first announced at its Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month, lets you interact with your iPhone right from your Mac, meaning you can browse apps and even drag and drop files from your Mac to your phone. Your Mac will even show notifications from your iPhone, and when you click on them, your Mac can open them in the mirrored iPhone interface.

Image: Apple

While mirroring to your Mac, your iPhone stays locked. However, if you’re using StandBy while mirroring, what’s shown on your iPhone screen will stay on the iPhone’s screen as you browse your iPhone from your Mac.

The new SharePlay features let you draw on another person’s screen or control their screen. If you want to try the developer betas for yourself, check out our guide.

On Monday, Apple also released new developer betas of visionOS 2 and watchOS 11. The full releases of the OS upgrades are set for this fall.

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I’ve tried dozens of gaming headsets and still haven’t found one I like more than the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

I’ve run through an alarming number of gaming headsets over the years from almost every brand you can think of — including Razer, Turtle Beach, HyperX, Logitech, and Corsair — but none impressed me more than SteelSeries’. Its latest high-end set is the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, and while not cheap, you can get a refurbished model at Woot until the end of June with a 90-day warranty for $179.99 ($170 off the MSRP).

SteelSeries headsets are widely lauded for their comfort, well-balanced audio, great mic quality, and sleek design. You can get most of these benefits from the brand’s more affordable options since they typically use similar drivers and microphones, but the Nova Pro Wireless is ideal for multiplatform gamers. Its dual USB base allows you to connect it to both your PC and PlayStation 5 (another version specifically supports Xbox, but there’s no equivalent sale right now), and it features Bluetooth support for the Nintendo Switch and various mobile devices. You can even use a USB source and Bluetooth simultaneously.
The base station has a monochromatic OLED display that makes it easy to see which mode you’re in, manage volume levels and chat mix, and fiddle with the EQ, all of which you can control from the headset if you don’t feel like getting up to use the knob. That’s also where you’ll charge the spare battery it comes with, which I personally think is the secondary killer feature. You can pop the removable battery out and swap in a fresh one from the base — no tethering required.

Read our SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless review.

A few more deals to start the week

You can snag a copy of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth for the PS4 / PS5 and Xbox Series X / S for $39.99 ($30 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and GameStop. Infinite Wealth picks up on main character Ichiban Kasuga’s whereabouts across Hawaii directly after the events of Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Unlike the traditional action gameplay from the Yakuza series, the combat here is mostly turn-based in nature, with some subtle action elements that can turn the tides of your fights depending on your approach. There’s a rich story and a ton to do outside of its engaging combat, too, whether you’re running up the scoreboards at arcades, singing a round of karaoke, or putting in extra hours on the fun jobs you can take. Read our review.
A three-pack of TP-Link’s Matter-ready Tapo Mini Smart Wi-Fi Plugs is available for just $24.99 ($25 off) at Amazon and directly from TP-Link, which matches its all-time low. Smart plugs are ideal if you’re starting a smart home makeover, as they allow you to remotely schedule and control the power on older devices plugged in to them. Their support for the newer Matter protocol also means they offer seamless control from your preferred smart home platform, whether that’s Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, or Samsung SmartThings. Read our review.
The Blue Yeti X is down to $129.99 ($40 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. Although there are more attractive options with more impressive acoustics, the Logitech-owned Blue microphones are solid for podcasting, music, and content creation. They can be a little sensitive, and you may find it a challenge to dial in the perfect gain, but it’s easier to find that sweet spot on the Yeti X thanks to a built-in LED gain meter. Its multifunction knob lets you adjust levels, mute the mic, and set your preferred polar pickup pattern. You can also engage other helpful features, such as a “blend” mode that helps you find an ideal balance between your voice and whichever audio source you’re speaking over.

I’ve tried dozens of gaming headsets and still haven’t found one I like more than the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

I’ve run through an alarming number of gaming headsets over the years from almost every brand you can think of — including Razer, Turtle Beach, HyperX, Logitech, and Corsair — but none impressed me more than SteelSeries’. Its latest high-end set is the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, and while not cheap, you can get a refurbished model at Woot until the end of June with a 90-day warranty for $179.99 ($170 off the MSRP).

SteelSeries headsets are widely lauded for their comfort, well-balanced audio, great mic quality, and sleek design. You can get most of these benefits from the brand’s more affordable options since they typically use similar drivers and microphones, but the Nova Pro Wireless is ideal for multiplatform gamers. Its dual USB base allows you to connect it to both your PC and PlayStation 5 (another version specifically supports Xbox, but there’s no equivalent sale right now), and it features Bluetooth support for the Nintendo Switch and various mobile devices. You can even use a USB source and Bluetooth simultaneously.

The base station has a monochromatic OLED display that makes it easy to see which mode you’re in, manage volume levels and chat mix, and fiddle with the EQ, all of which you can control from the headset if you don’t feel like getting up to use the knob. That’s also where you’ll charge the spare battery it comes with, which I personally think is the secondary killer feature. You can pop the removable battery out and swap in a fresh one from the base — no tethering required.

Read our SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless review.

A few more deals to start the week

You can snag a copy of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth for the PS4 / PS5 and Xbox Series X / S for $39.99 ($30 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and GameStop. Infinite Wealth picks up on main character Ichiban Kasuga’s whereabouts across Hawaii directly after the events of Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Unlike the traditional action gameplay from the Yakuza series, the combat here is mostly turn-based in nature, with some subtle action elements that can turn the tides of your fights depending on your approach. There’s a rich story and a ton to do outside of its engaging combat, too, whether you’re running up the scoreboards at arcades, singing a round of karaoke, or putting in extra hours on the fun jobs you can take. Read our review.
A three-pack of TP-Link’s Matter-ready Tapo Mini Smart Wi-Fi Plugs is available for just $24.99 ($25 off) at Amazon and directly from TP-Link, which matches its all-time low. Smart plugs are ideal if you’re starting a smart home makeover, as they allow you to remotely schedule and control the power on older devices plugged in to them. Their support for the newer Matter protocol also means they offer seamless control from your preferred smart home platform, whether that’s Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, or Samsung SmartThings. Read our review.
The Blue Yeti X is down to $129.99 ($40 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. Although there are more attractive options with more impressive acoustics, the Logitech-owned Blue microphones are solid for podcasting, music, and content creation. They can be a little sensitive, and you may find it a challenge to dial in the perfect gain, but it’s easier to find that sweet spot on the Yeti X thanks to a built-in LED gain meter. Its multifunction knob lets you adjust levels, mute the mic, and set your preferred polar pickup pattern. You can also engage other helpful features, such as a “blend” mode that helps you find an ideal balance between your voice and whichever audio source you’re speaking over.

Read More 

Our ideas about vampires have evolved significantly since F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror debuted on the silver screen, but the first teaser trailer for Robert Eggers’ remake makes it seem like it’s going to be a moody, haunting return to the undead basics.
Set in 19th-century Germany, Nosferatu tells the tale of how an unsuspecting woman named Ellen Hutter (Lily Rose-Depp) becomes the latest obsession and target of Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård) — a Transylvanian nobleman and legendary vampire. It’s clear that Orlok already has some degree of influence over Ellen in the teaser as she wonders whether the menacing longing she feels is a sign of evil living within her. But while Ellen is somewhat certain that she’s being stalked by an otherworldly ghoul, very few of the people around her aside from professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz (Willem Dafoe) seem to know just how much danger they’re all in.
With its shots of a foreboding shadow reaching across the sky, the trailer illustrates how, much like the 1922 Nosferatu (which was an unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel), Eggers’ film will dig into the way Orlok’s presence sets off a kind of slow burn hysteria that makes people question their beliefs and faith. And while it does look like the film’s mortal characters will put up a fight, it’s pretty obvious more than a handful of them will be way out of their depth when Nosferatu hits theaters on December 25th.

Our ideas about vampires have evolved significantly since F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror debuted on the silver screen, but the first teaser trailer for Robert Eggers’ remake makes it seem like it’s going to be a moody, haunting return to the undead basics.

Set in 19th-century Germany, Nosferatu tells the tale of how an unsuspecting woman named Ellen Hutter (Lily Rose-Depp) becomes the latest obsession and target of Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård) — a Transylvanian nobleman and legendary vampire. It’s clear that Orlok already has some degree of influence over Ellen in the teaser as she wonders whether the menacing longing she feels is a sign of evil living within her. But while Ellen is somewhat certain that she’s being stalked by an otherworldly ghoul, very few of the people around her aside from professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz (Willem Dafoe) seem to know just how much danger they’re all in.

With its shots of a foreboding shadow reaching across the sky, the trailer illustrates how, much like the 1922 Nosferatu (which was an unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel), Eggers’ film will dig into the way Orlok’s presence sets off a kind of slow burn hysteria that makes people question their beliefs and faith. And while it does look like the film’s mortal characters will put up a fight, it’s pretty obvious more than a handful of them will be way out of their depth when Nosferatu hits theaters on December 25th.

Read More 

Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images

A group of record labels including the big three — Universal Music Group (UMG), Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Records — are suing two of the top names in generative AI music making, alleging the companies violated their copyright “en masse.”
The two AI companies, Suno and Udio, use text prompts to churn out original songs. Both companies have enjoyed a level of success: Suno is available for use in Microsoft Copilot though a partnership with the tech giant. Udio was used to create “BBL Drizzy,” one of the more notable examples of AI music going viral.
The case against Suno was filed in Boston federal court, and the Udio case was filed in New York. The labels say artists across genres and eras had their work used without consent.
The lawsuits were brought by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the powerful group representing major players in the music industry, and a group of labels. The RIAA is seeking damages of up to $150,000 per work, along with other fees.
“These are straightforward cases of copyright infringement involving unlicensed copying of sound recordings on a massive scale. Suno and Udio are attempting to hide the full scope of their infringement rather than putting their services on a sound and lawful footing,” RIAA chief legal officer Ken Doroshow said in a press release.
The plaintiffs say that when they accused Suno of using copyrighted works, the company deflected, saying training data was “confidential business information.” Udio made similar claims in correspondences, according to the suit. “If Suno had taken efforts to avoid copying Plaintiffs’ sound recordings and ingesting them into its AI model, Suno’s service would not be able to reproduce the convincing imitations of such a vast range of human musical expression at the quality that Suno touts,” the complaint reads.
The suits are a significant step in the contentious fight between the music industry and the technology companies offering AI tools. UMG and other music publishers previously sued Anthropic for distributing copyrighted song lyrics when users prompted the Claude 2 system.
Beginning last year with a gimmicky fake Drake song generated using AI, artists and labels have waged a public battle against companies they say unlawfully copied their protected work to train and develop AI tools. Some AI systems are able to reproduce recordings that convincingly sound like known artists — raising questions about how much control a musician has over their AI deepfake likeness.
Platforms like TikTok and YouTube have also been caught in the crosshairs as AI-generated music has proliferated online. Earlier this year, music by UMG artists including Taylor Swift was temporarily removed from TikTok as the two companies failed to reach a licensing deal, in part due to concerns around AI. Last fall, YouTube announced a new system of removing AI-generated music content at the request of rights holders. In May, Sony Music sent letters to hundreds of tech companies warning them of “unauthorized” use of copyrighted work.
Suno executives and investors acknowledged the possibility of being sued in a Rolling Stone profile on the company this March. For some, it’s simply the cost of doing business: Antonio Rodriguez, an early investor in Suno, told the magazine, “Honestly, if we had deals with labels when this company got started, I probably wouldn’t have invested in it. I think that they needed to make this product without the constraints.”
AI companies have been secretive about what data is used to train their models. OpenAI is currently being sued by authors and news publishers like The New York Times who say their works were included in training data. OpenAI CTO Mira Murati has repeatedly dodged questions about whether Sora, the company’s AI video generator, was trained on YouTube content.
Though much of AI-generated music isn’t quite a replacement for songs from human artists, there’s real fear in music and other creative industries that AI content could cut into their ability to make money from their work. In April, a group called the Artist Rights Alliance penned an open letter demanding that AI companies “cease the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists.”

Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images

A group of record labels including the big three — Universal Music Group (UMG), Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Records — are suing two of the top names in generative AI music making, alleging the companies violated their copyright “en masse.”

The two AI companies, Suno and Udio, use text prompts to churn out original songs. Both companies have enjoyed a level of success: Suno is available for use in Microsoft Copilot though a partnership with the tech giant. Udio was used to create “BBL Drizzy,” one of the more notable examples of AI music going viral.

The case against Suno was filed in Boston federal court, and the Udio case was filed in New York. The labels say artists across genres and eras had their work used without consent.

The lawsuits were brought by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the powerful group representing major players in the music industry, and a group of labels. The RIAA is seeking damages of up to $150,000 per work, along with other fees.

“These are straightforward cases of copyright infringement involving unlicensed copying of sound recordings on a massive scale. Suno and Udio are attempting to hide the full scope of their infringement rather than putting their services on a sound and lawful footing,” RIAA chief legal officer Ken Doroshow said in a press release.

The plaintiffs say that when they accused Suno of using copyrighted works, the company deflected, saying training data was “confidential business information.” Udio made similar claims in correspondences, according to the suit. “If Suno had taken efforts to avoid copying Plaintiffs’ sound recordings and ingesting them into its AI model, Suno’s service would not be able to reproduce the convincing imitations of such a vast range of human musical expression at the quality that Suno touts,” the complaint reads.

The suits are a significant step in the contentious fight between the music industry and the technology companies offering AI tools. UMG and other music publishers previously sued Anthropic for distributing copyrighted song lyrics when users prompted the Claude 2 system.

Beginning last year with a gimmicky fake Drake song generated using AI, artists and labels have waged a public battle against companies they say unlawfully copied their protected work to train and develop AI tools. Some AI systems are able to reproduce recordings that convincingly sound like known artists — raising questions about how much control a musician has over their AI deepfake likeness.

Platforms like TikTok and YouTube have also been caught in the crosshairs as AI-generated music has proliferated online. Earlier this year, music by UMG artists including Taylor Swift was temporarily removed from TikTok as the two companies failed to reach a licensing deal, in part due to concerns around AI. Last fall, YouTube announced a new system of removing AI-generated music content at the request of rights holders. In May, Sony Music sent letters to hundreds of tech companies warning them of “unauthorized” use of copyrighted work.

Suno executives and investors acknowledged the possibility of being sued in a Rolling Stone profile on the company this March. For some, it’s simply the cost of doing business: Antonio Rodriguez, an early investor in Suno, told the magazine, “Honestly, if we had deals with labels when this company got started, I probably wouldn’t have invested in it. I think that they needed to make this product without the constraints.”

AI companies have been secretive about what data is used to train their models. OpenAI is currently being sued by authors and news publishers like The New York Times who say their works were included in training data. OpenAI CTO Mira Murati has repeatedly dodged questions about whether Sora, the company’s AI video generator, was trained on YouTube content.

Though much of AI-generated music isn’t quite a replacement for songs from human artists, there’s real fear in music and other creative industries that AI content could cut into their ability to make money from their work. In April, a group called the Artist Rights Alliance penned an open letter demanding that AI companies “cease the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists.”

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Screenshot: WPLG Local 10 News

Elon Musk may have just won approval for a $56 billion pay package from his adoring supporters, but someone in Fort Lauderdale is clearly not a fan of the controversial CEO. Last week, dozens of Tesla Cybertrucks were defaced with the words “Fuck Elon” in black spray paint, according to InsideEVs citing local news reports.
Police say that 34 stainless steel trucks were tagged with the message, which was discovered on Friday. The Cybertrucks were being stored in the public parking lot, without any fencing or security, likely being held because of a previously reported problem with the windshield wiper. Tesla is also experiencing an inventory pileup as a result of cooling demand for its electric vehicles.
Local news reports that the spray paint was easily removed, with a few trucks still showing some black smudges. But thanks to a few social media accounts, we can still experience the uncensored images as much (or as little) as we want.

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The graffiti is either a sign of growing discontent with Musk and, by extension, Tesla, or it’s just the work of a lone crank who saw a bunch of Cybertrucks in a parking lot and was inspired to do some redecorating.
The Cybertruck has certainly been a polarizing addition to Tesla’s lineup, thanks to Musk’s demands that the vehicle look like some sort of postapocalyptic, Blade Runner-inspired fever dream.
In the months since its release, the truck has racked up its fair share of problems, from complaints about build quality to disappointment about its range to a massive recall over a faulty accelerator pedal. The most recent problem — a “containment hold” on deliveries to fix a malfunctioning wiper blade — is just the latest sign that the most hyped vehicle in modern history is going through a lot of growing pains.
My prediction: Musk starts to sell special edition “Fuck Elon” decals for the Cybertruck, much like he did for the infamous broken window demonstration. The guy hasn’t met an insult he can’t monetize.

Screenshot: WPLG Local 10 News

Elon Musk may have just won approval for a $56 billion pay package from his adoring supporters, but someone in Fort Lauderdale is clearly not a fan of the controversial CEO. Last week, dozens of Tesla Cybertrucks were defaced with the words “Fuck Elon” in black spray paint, according to InsideEVs citing local news reports.

Police say that 34 stainless steel trucks were tagged with the message, which was discovered on Friday. The Cybertrucks were being stored in the public parking lot, without any fencing or security, likely being held because of a previously reported problem with the windshield wiper. Tesla is also experiencing an inventory pileup as a result of cooling demand for its electric vehicles.

Local news reports that the spray paint was easily removed, with a few trucks still showing some black smudges. But thanks to a few social media accounts, we can still experience the uncensored images as much (or as little) as we want.

The graffiti is either a sign of growing discontent with Musk and, by extension, Tesla, or it’s just the work of a lone crank who saw a bunch of Cybertrucks in a parking lot and was inspired to do some redecorating.

The Cybertruck has certainly been a polarizing addition to Tesla’s lineup, thanks to Musk’s demands that the vehicle look like some sort of postapocalyptic, Blade Runner-inspired fever dream.

In the months since its release, the truck has racked up its fair share of problems, from complaints about build quality to disappointment about its range to a massive recall over a faulty accelerator pedal. The most recent problem — a “containment hold” on deliveries to fix a malfunctioning wiper blade — is just the latest sign that the most hyped vehicle in modern history is going through a lot of growing pains.

My prediction: Musk starts to sell special edition “Fuck Elon” decals for the Cybertruck, much like he did for the infamous broken window demonstration. The guy hasn’t met an insult he can’t monetize.

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The SwitchBot Universal Remote can control infrared, Bluetooth, and even Matter-compatible smart home devices. | Image: SwitchBot

SwitchBot’s new screen-equipped universal remote can take control of more than just your home entertainment center. With support for Bluetooth and Matter, the remote should also operate smart home devices without users having to reach for their smartphones.
For those who struggle to keep tabs on the myriad remotes now included with everything from ceiling fans to light bulbs, the SwitchBot Universal Remote currently supports “up to 83,934 remote control models” over infrared, with a code library that gets updated every six months.
The remote is also compatible with SwitchBot’s other smart home devices, including its robovacs and curtain controllers and Bluetooth-controlled devices, which is what many standalone smart light bulbs opt for. The Apple TV and Fire TV will be supported at launch, although Roku and Android TV users will have to wait for a future update to make the remote compatible with their hardware.
SwitchBot’s latest accessory isn’t the only universal remote to boast compatibility with smart home devices. The $258 Haptique RS90, being brought to consumers through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, promises similar functionality. But SwitchBot’s offering is more appealing, with a much cheaper $59.99 price tag and support for Matter.

The ability to control Matter-compatible equipment from other smart home brands does require the universal remote to work in tandem with the company’s SwitchBot Hub 2 or Hub Mini, which will add to the price of the remote for those not already running one of the hubs in their home.

Image: SwitchBot
You can’t operate the SwitchBot Universal Remote through its screen, but it does have an iPod-like scroll wheel for navigating menus.

A 2.4-inch LCD screen on the SwitchBot Universal Remote should make navigating a long list of controllable devices more user-friendly, but you can’t touch it. All the controls are handled through physical buttons and a touch-sensitive scroll wheel reminiscent of early iPod models. If you lose it, you won’t have to hunt through all the couch cushions in your home. The SwitchBot app has a “Find My Remote” feature that will make the universal remote emit a sound so it can be located with less hassle.
A 2,000mAh battery promises up to 150 days of battery life, but that’s based on an “average screen use of 10 minutes per day,” which doesn’t seem like a lot. Users may find themselves charging the SwitchBot Universal Remote more frequently, but that’s still more convenient than scrambling to find a fresh pair of AAA batteries when it dies.

The SwitchBot Universal Remote can control infrared, Bluetooth, and even Matter-compatible smart home devices. | Image: SwitchBot

SwitchBot’s new screen-equipped universal remote can take control of more than just your home entertainment center. With support for Bluetooth and Matter, the remote should also operate smart home devices without users having to reach for their smartphones.

For those who struggle to keep tabs on the myriad remotes now included with everything from ceiling fans to light bulbs, the SwitchBot Universal Remote currently supports “up to 83,934 remote control models” over infrared, with a code library that gets updated every six months.

The remote is also compatible with SwitchBot’s other smart home devices, including its robovacs and curtain controllers and Bluetooth-controlled devices, which is what many standalone smart light bulbs opt for. The Apple TV and Fire TV will be supported at launch, although Roku and Android TV users will have to wait for a future update to make the remote compatible with their hardware.

SwitchBot’s latest accessory isn’t the only universal remote to boast compatibility with smart home devices. The $258 Haptique RS90, being brought to consumers through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, promises similar functionality. But SwitchBot’s offering is more appealing, with a much cheaper $59.99 price tag and support for Matter.

The ability to control Matter-compatible equipment from other smart home brands does require the universal remote to work in tandem with the company’s SwitchBot Hub 2 or Hub Mini, which will add to the price of the remote for those not already running one of the hubs in their home.

Image: SwitchBot
You can’t operate the SwitchBot Universal Remote through its screen, but it does have an iPod-like scroll wheel for navigating menus.

A 2.4-inch LCD screen on the SwitchBot Universal Remote should make navigating a long list of controllable devices more user-friendly, but you can’t touch it. All the controls are handled through physical buttons and a touch-sensitive scroll wheel reminiscent of early iPod models. If you lose it, you won’t have to hunt through all the couch cushions in your home. The SwitchBot app has a “Find My Remote” feature that will make the universal remote emit a sound so it can be located with less hassle.

A 2,000mAh battery promises up to 150 days of battery life, but that’s based on an “average screen use of 10 minutes per day,” which doesn’t seem like a lot. Users may find themselves charging the SwitchBot Universal Remote more frequently, but that’s still more convenient than scrambling to find a fresh pair of AAA batteries when it dies.

Read More