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Photo: Getty Images

Almost a year since the horrifying crash in which one of its driverless vehicles ran over and dragged a woman 20 feet, Cruise is planning its return to the Bay Area. The company said in a post on X that it is deploying “several” manually driven mapping vehicles in Sunnyvale and Mountain View, with the goal of progressing to “supervised testing” with five autonomous vehicles later this fall.
“Resuming testing in the Bay Area is an important step forward as we continue to work closely with California regulators and local stakeholders,” the post reads. “This will allow our local employees to engage directly with our product as they refine and improve our tech through R&D.”

Starting today we will deploy several manual mapping vehicles in Sunnyvale and Mountain View with the intent to progress to supervised testing with up to 5 AVs later this fall. Resuming testing in the Bay Area is an important step forward as we continue to work closely with… pic.twitter.com/OlDkv74r34— cruise (@Cruise) September 19, 2024

Driverless Cruise vehicles were once a common sight on the streets of San Francisco, but they all vanished after the incident on October 2nd of last year, in which a hit-and-run driver crashed into a woman, sending her flying into the path of one of the company’s robotaxis. The Cruise vehicle also collided with the woman, but rather than remain stationary until emergency services arrived, it pulled over to the side of the road with the victim stuck underneath.
In the immediate aftermath, the California DMV accused Cruise of withholding key information, including the fact that the vehicle was responsible for dragging the victim, and suspended its permit to carry passengers.
Cruise grounded its fleet nationwide and began the long process of reckoning with its mistakes. That included a total reshuffling of the leadership team, including the ouster of CEO Kyle Vogt. Around 20 percent of the company’s employees were laid off, and Cruise was later ordered to pay $112,500 to the California Public Utilities Commission.
Since then, Cruise has restarted testing in a number of cities, including Phoenix, Houston, and Dallas. It also scrapped its plans for a purpose-built autonomous shuttle called the Origin. GM, which is Cruise’s parent company, recommitted to the project by dumping $850 million into Cruise.
In returning to the city where the inciting incident took place, Cruise is taking a big risk. But if it’s going to compete with its main rival Waymo, it needs to be back driving on its own home turf where both companies have a lot at stake.

Photo: Getty Images

Almost a year since the horrifying crash in which one of its driverless vehicles ran over and dragged a woman 20 feet, Cruise is planning its return to the Bay Area. The company said in a post on X that it is deploying “several” manually driven mapping vehicles in Sunnyvale and Mountain View, with the goal of progressing to “supervised testing” with five autonomous vehicles later this fall.

“Resuming testing in the Bay Area is an important step forward as we continue to work closely with California regulators and local stakeholders,” the post reads. “This will allow our local employees to engage directly with our product as they refine and improve our tech through R&D.”

Driverless Cruise vehicles were once a common sight on the streets of San Francisco, but they all vanished after the incident on October 2nd of last year, in which a hit-and-run driver crashed into a woman, sending her flying into the path of one of the company’s robotaxis. The Cruise vehicle also collided with the woman, but rather than remain stationary until emergency services arrived, it pulled over to the side of the road with the victim stuck underneath.

In the immediate aftermath, the California DMV accused Cruise of withholding key information, including the fact that the vehicle was responsible for dragging the victim, and suspended its permit to carry passengers.

Cruise grounded its fleet nationwide and began the long process of reckoning with its mistakes. That included a total reshuffling of the leadership team, including the ouster of CEO Kyle Vogt. Around 20 percent of the company’s employees were laid off, and Cruise was later ordered to pay $112,500 to the California Public Utilities Commission.

Since then, Cruise has restarted testing in a number of cities, including Phoenix, Houston, and Dallas. It also scrapped its plans for a purpose-built autonomous shuttle called the Origin. GM, which is Cruise’s parent company, recommitted to the project by dumping $850 million into Cruise.

In returning to the city where the inciting incident took place, Cruise is taking a big risk. But if it’s going to compete with its main rival Waymo, it needs to be back driving on its own home turf where both companies have a lot at stake.

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You can save well over $1,000 on LG’s vibrant 65-inch C4 OLED TV. | Image: LG

Amazon’s October Prime Day event is just a few weeks away, but if you can’t wait until then, eBay’s taking 20 percent off select new and refurbished items as part of its fall sale when you apply code FALL20OFF at checkout. The promotion will last through 11:59PM PT on September 30th, offering you an excellent chance to save on a wide range of gadgets if you can’t wait until October.

The sale includes deals on a lot of products we’re fans of, including Eufy’s 11S Max robot vacuum, which you can buy refurbished for just $87.99 instead of $249.99 — about a third of the price it sells for new. Anker’s Soundcore Sleep A20 Earbuds are also down to just $95.99, saving you $54 over buying them new. And if you’re in the market for a pair of over-ears, Sony’s WH-1000XM5, our favorite noise-canceling headphones, are down to $279.99 ($120 off) via Electronic Express Store’s eBay storefront — their second-best price to date.
One of the better deals available, however, is on LG’s 65-inch C4 OLED TV, which is down to a new all-time low of $1,357.59 ($1,341 off) with a one-year manufacturer warranty once again via Electronic Express Store’s eBay store. That’s a new all-time low on LG’s C4, which sports the deep inky blacks and vibrant picture quality that OLED TVs are famous for. It also boasts a few improvements previous models lack, including a brighter display, better picture quality, and even powerful AI processing. Like its predecessor, the TV remains a fantastic option for gamers, too, with an even higher 144Hz refresh rate than LG’s C3 lineup while retaining perks like support for Dolby Vision, AMD FreeSync Premium, and Nvidia G-Sync.

A few more deals and discounts:

If you’re planning on picking up the new iPhone 16 when it hits stores this week, Amazon is already discounting Apple’s official iPhone 16 series cases. You can, for instance, buy a MagSafe-compatible silicone case designed to accommodate the iPhone 16’s new Camera Control feature for $41.99 ($7 off). A wide range of colors are on sale, too, and Amazon’s also offering the same discount for the higher-end Plus, Pro, and Pro Max model cases. Read our iPhone 16 preorder guide.

Google’s Pixel Buds A-Series are on sale for around $64 ($36 off) from Amazon, Best Buy, and directly from Google. They don’t offer noise cancellation like Google’s new and more capable Pixel Buds Pro 2, but they do deliver impressive sound quality and multiple sizes of ear tips for a more comfortable fit. Plus, they grant easy access to Google Assistant and other helpful perks, ranging from in-ear detection to real-time language translation. Read our Google Pixel Buds A-Series review.
This isn’t a deal per se, but the Nintendo Switch OLED plus Mario Kart 8 Deluxe bundle we recently wrote about is now available from GameStop for $349.99. Along with the Switch OLED, which features a larger seven-inch OLED display and better kickstand than the standard Switch, the bundle includes a digital copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and a free year of Nintendo Switch Online, saving you an extra $79.98.

You can save well over $1,000 on LG’s vibrant 65-inch C4 OLED TV. | Image: LG

Amazon’s October Prime Day event is just a few weeks away, but if you can’t wait until then, eBay’s taking 20 percent off select new and refurbished items as part of its fall sale when you apply code FALL20OFF at checkout. The promotion will last through 11:59PM PT on September 30th, offering you an excellent chance to save on a wide range of gadgets if you can’t wait until October.

The sale includes deals on a lot of products we’re fans of, including Eufy’s 11S Max robot vacuum, which you can buy refurbished for just $87.99 instead of $249.99 — about a third of the price it sells for new. Anker’s Soundcore Sleep A20 Earbuds are also down to just $95.99, saving you $54 over buying them new. And if you’re in the market for a pair of over-ears, Sony’s WH-1000XM5, our favorite noise-canceling headphones, are down to $279.99 ($120 off) via Electronic Express Store’s eBay storefront — their second-best price to date.

One of the better deals available, however, is on LG’s 65-inch C4 OLED TV, which is down to a new all-time low of $1,357.59 ($1,341 off) with a one-year manufacturer warranty once again via Electronic Express Store’s eBay store. That’s a new all-time low on LG’s C4, which sports the deep inky blacks and vibrant picture quality that OLED TVs are famous for. It also boasts a few improvements previous models lack, including a brighter display, better picture quality, and even powerful AI processing. Like its predecessor, the TV remains a fantastic option for gamers, too, with an even higher 144Hz refresh rate than LG’s C3 lineup while retaining perks like support for Dolby Vision, AMD FreeSync Premium, and Nvidia G-Sync.

A few more deals and discounts:

If you’re planning on picking up the new iPhone 16 when it hits stores this week, Amazon is already discounting Apple’s official iPhone 16 series cases. You can, for instance, buy a MagSafe-compatible silicone case designed to accommodate the iPhone 16’s new Camera Control feature for $41.99 ($7 off). A wide range of colors are on sale, too, and Amazon’s also offering the same discount for the higher-end Plus, Pro, and Pro Max model cases. Read our iPhone 16 preorder guide.

Google’s Pixel Buds A-Series are on sale for around $64 ($36 off) from Amazon, Best Buy, and directly from Google. They don’t offer noise cancellation like Google’s new and more capable Pixel Buds Pro 2, but they do deliver impressive sound quality and multiple sizes of ear tips for a more comfortable fit. Plus, they grant easy access to Google Assistant and other helpful perks, ranging from in-ear detection to real-time language translation. Read our Google Pixel Buds A-Series review.
This isn’t a deal per se, but the Nintendo Switch OLED plus Mario Kart 8 Deluxe bundle we recently wrote about is now available from GameStop for $349.99. Along with the Switch OLED, which features a larger seven-inch OLED display and better kickstand than the standard Switch, the bundle includes a digital copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and a free year of Nintendo Switch Online, saving you an extra $79.98.

Read More 

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft is launching a Windows app today for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, web browsers, Android devices, and even Windows PCs. The Windows app is essentially a hub for streaming a copy of Windows from a variety of sources, including Windows 365, Azure Virtual Desktop, Remote Desktop, and more.
This new unified app has been in testing for nearly a year and includes a customizable homescreen, multi-monitor support, and USB redirection so you can use local devices like webcams, storage devices, and printers as if they were plugged directly in to a cloud PC.

Image: Microsoft
The Windows app interface.

This Windows app is limited to Microsoft work and school accounts, as it’s primarily designed for existing users of Remote Desktop clients for Windows and other operating systems to move to. Microsoft has had similar apps for connecting to PCs remotely in Windows for decades, including the Remote Desktop Connection app that still ships as part of Windows 11. These apps, including the new Windows one, are useful for connecting to work PCs from a personal laptop or PC.
There are no signs that Microsoft plans to support consumer accounts with its new Windows app, though. Last year, it was revealed that Microsoft has a long-term goal of moving Windows fully to the cloud to “enable improved AI-powered services and full roaming of people’s digital experience.”
Windows users can grab the Windows app from the Microsoft Store. It’s also available from Apple’s App Store for macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. An Android version enters public preview mode today.

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft is launching a Windows app today for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, web browsers, Android devices, and even Windows PCs. The Windows app is essentially a hub for streaming a copy of Windows from a variety of sources, including Windows 365, Azure Virtual Desktop, Remote Desktop, and more.

This new unified app has been in testing for nearly a year and includes a customizable homescreen, multi-monitor support, and USB redirection so you can use local devices like webcams, storage devices, and printers as if they were plugged directly in to a cloud PC.

Image: Microsoft
The Windows app interface.

This Windows app is limited to Microsoft work and school accounts, as it’s primarily designed for existing users of Remote Desktop clients for Windows and other operating systems to move to. Microsoft has had similar apps for connecting to PCs remotely in Windows for decades, including the Remote Desktop Connection app that still ships as part of Windows 11. These apps, including the new Windows one, are useful for connecting to work PCs from a personal laptop or PC.

There are no signs that Microsoft plans to support consumer accounts with its new Windows app, though. Last year, it was revealed that Microsoft has a long-term goal of moving Windows fully to the cloud to “enable improved AI-powered services and full roaming of people’s digital experience.”

Windows users can grab the Windows app from the Microsoft Store. It’s also available from Apple’s App Store for macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. An Android version enters public preview mode today.

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Oooo, pretty! | Image: Microsoft

Before Sony went all-in with a pricey mid-cycle console refresh by announcing its upcoming PlayStation 5 Pro, Microsoft laid out plans for a premium console with aesthetics at the forefront. The 2TB “Galaxy Black” special-edition Xbox Series X is mostly the same as the standard Series X, but it features a double-capacity SSD and a slick paint job. We’re inching toward its October 15th release, and interested parties willing to pony up the $599.99 asking price can already preorder one at Best Buy and directly from Microsoft.
Those who crave the pricier Xbox are primarily getting three unique things for their money:

2TB of built-in storage, which is twice the amount available on the standard, $500 Xbox Series X (which can still be expanded with proprietary storage add-ons).
A fresh paint job, if black is your thing, that’s reminiscent of the star-filled darkness of space. It shares some vibes with Microsoft’s previous limited edition console, the Halo-themed Xbox Series X, and features green accents on its bottom stand.
A unique controller with matching speckles on the D-pad and a splash of green on the bottom.

Those changes aren’t nearly as drastic as the new hardware on the PS5 Pro (which features a new GPU, among other performance benefits), but I must admit the new Xbox looks sick.

Outside of the above features, the Galaxy Black Xbox Series X will play all the same games as other Xbox Series X / S models and match the standard edition with its 4K resolution and 120fps frame rate (though it’s locked at 4K / 60fps or lower in most games). It features a Blu-ray drive, too, unlike the compact Series S and discless Series X, the latter of which launches alongside Microsoft’s limited edition console in October for $449.99.

While the previous generation of Xbox One consoles saw the release of the mid-cycle Xbox One X, the upcoming PS5 Pro seems to be the lone spec-bumped premium console this generation. Documents revealed during the FTC vs. Microsoft case showed a very different take on a refreshed Xbox Series X, complete with a cylindrical design and a new controller with a lift-to-wake feature. These new Xbox consoles are obviously not that, but Microsoft calling an audible on that plan is not terribly surprising as recent times have been tough for the Xbox division with studio closures, layoffs, and plenty of strategy shifts.

Image: Microsoft
The Galaxy Black Xbox Wireless Controller features a unique D-pad and green undercoating.

Oooo, pretty! | Image: Microsoft

Before Sony went all-in with a pricey mid-cycle console refresh by announcing its upcoming PlayStation 5 Pro, Microsoft laid out plans for a premium console with aesthetics at the forefront. The 2TB “Galaxy Black” special-edition Xbox Series X is mostly the same as the standard Series X, but it features a double-capacity SSD and a slick paint job. We’re inching toward its October 15th release, and interested parties willing to pony up the $599.99 asking price can already preorder one at Best Buy and directly from Microsoft.

Those who crave the pricier Xbox are primarily getting three unique things for their money:

2TB of built-in storage, which is twice the amount available on the standard, $500 Xbox Series X (which can still be expanded with proprietary storage add-ons).
A fresh paint job, if black is your thing, that’s reminiscent of the star-filled darkness of space. It shares some vibes with Microsoft’s previous limited edition console, the Halo-themed Xbox Series X, and features green accents on its bottom stand.
A unique controller with matching speckles on the D-pad and a splash of green on the bottom.

Those changes aren’t nearly as drastic as the new hardware on the PS5 Pro (which features a new GPU, among other performance benefits), but I must admit the new Xbox looks sick.

Outside of the above features, the Galaxy Black Xbox Series X will play all the same games as other Xbox Series X / S models and match the standard edition with its 4K resolution and 120fps frame rate (though it’s locked at 4K / 60fps or lower in most games). It features a Blu-ray drive, too, unlike the compact Series S and discless Series X, the latter of which launches alongside Microsoft’s limited edition console in October for $449.99.

While the previous generation of Xbox One consoles saw the release of the mid-cycle Xbox One X, the upcoming PS5 Pro seems to be the lone spec-bumped premium console this generation. Documents revealed during the FTC vs. Microsoft case showed a very different take on a refreshed Xbox Series X, complete with a cylindrical design and a new controller with a lift-to-wake feature. These new Xbox consoles are obviously not that, but Microsoft calling an audible on that plan is not terribly surprising as recent times have been tough for the Xbox division with studio closures, layoffs, and plenty of strategy shifts.

Image: Microsoft
The Galaxy Black Xbox Wireless Controller features a unique D-pad and green undercoating.

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Amazon is using generative AI to create tailored product recommendations based on user’s shopping history. | Image: Amazon

Amazon has introduced a batch of new generative AI tools that aim to improve the retail experience for both customers and sellers on the platform. One of the more notable features announced at the Amazon Accelerate event on Thursday will use customers’ preferences, search, browsing, and purchase history to create personalized product recommendations on Amazon’s homepage.
Instead of the “more like this” feature that suggests similar, specific items, the new recommendations will be offered as larger categories based on a customer’s shopping habits — such as those catering to holiday events or sporting activities. The company says it’s leveraging a large language model to recommend products with specific features, but it’s not clear how different this will be from the current user experience.
The feature will also curate more relevant product descriptions around user interests. Terms like “gluten-free” will appear more prominently in the descriptions of relevant products for customers who regularly search for gluten-free items, for example.

Image: Amazon
If your search history reveals you shop for furniture that sits two people, Amazon will make that feature clearer on relevant item listings.

Some new tools being released for third-party sellers on the platform include a free video generator tool that references a product’s image and features to produce AI-generated clips. The company says this feature was developed to make video marketing more accessible and cost-effective, citing a study from animated video firm Wyzowl that found 89 percent of consumers want to see more videos from brands.

A new live image feature is also being added to the image generator that Amazon introduced last year, allowing users to partially animate still images — such as adding steam to mugs or a breeze that makes plants sway. Amazon says that both the live image and new video generator are available now in beta to select US advertisers, where they’ll be fine-tuned before wider release.
Also launching in beta is “Project Amelia,” a chatbot that provides personalized recommendations, insights, and troubleshooting assistance, geared at improving business performance for third-party Amazon retailers. For example, when sellers ask Project Amelia how their business is doing, the chatbot will respond with a summary of sales data, website traffic, and year-over-year performance comparisons. Amazon says the beta, which is currently limited to a small group of US retailers, will expand to additional US sellers “in the coming weeks” and roll out to additional countries later this year.

This is a sizable batch of generative AI updates for Amazon, which has otherwise been lagging behind larger players in the industry like Meta and Google. According to Reuters, Amazon will be using Anthropic’s Claude AI to power upcoming Alexa improvements after finding its own AWS models struggled with words and responding to user prompts.

Amazon is using generative AI to create tailored product recommendations based on user’s shopping history. | Image: Amazon

Amazon has introduced a batch of new generative AI tools that aim to improve the retail experience for both customers and sellers on the platform. One of the more notable features announced at the Amazon Accelerate event on Thursday will use customers’ preferences, search, browsing, and purchase history to create personalized product recommendations on Amazon’s homepage.

Instead of the “more like this” feature that suggests similar, specific items, the new recommendations will be offered as larger categories based on a customer’s shopping habits — such as those catering to holiday events or sporting activities. The company says it’s leveraging a large language model to recommend products with specific features, but it’s not clear how different this will be from the current user experience.

The feature will also curate more relevant product descriptions around user interests. Terms like “gluten-free” will appear more prominently in the descriptions of relevant products for customers who regularly search for gluten-free items, for example.

Image: Amazon
If your search history reveals you shop for furniture that sits two people, Amazon will make that feature clearer on relevant item listings.

Some new tools being released for third-party sellers on the platform include a free video generator tool that references a product’s image and features to produce AI-generated clips. The company says this feature was developed to make video marketing more accessible and cost-effective, citing a study from animated video firm Wyzowl that found 89 percent of consumers want to see more videos from brands.

A new live image feature is also being added to the image generator that Amazon introduced last year, allowing users to partially animate still images — such as adding steam to mugs or a breeze that makes plants sway. Amazon says that both the live image and new video generator are available now in beta to select US advertisers, where they’ll be fine-tuned before wider release.

Also launching in beta is “Project Amelia,” a chatbot that provides personalized recommendations, insights, and troubleshooting assistance, geared at improving business performance for third-party Amazon retailers. For example, when sellers ask Project Amelia how their business is doing, the chatbot will respond with a summary of sales data, website traffic, and year-over-year performance comparisons. Amazon says the beta, which is currently limited to a small group of US retailers, will expand to additional US sellers “in the coming weeks” and roll out to additional countries later this year.

This is a sizable batch of generative AI updates for Amazon, which has otherwise been lagging behind larger players in the industry like Meta and Google. According to Reuters, Amazon will be using Anthropic’s Claude AI to power upcoming Alexa improvements after finding its own AWS models struggled with words and responding to user prompts.

Read More 

The United States Environmental Protection Agency building is seen on August 21st in Washington, DC. | Photo by Tierney L. Cross / Getty Images

Implementing Project 2025, the conservative manifesto written by ex-Trump officials, could have serious repercussions on public health, former Environmental Protection Agency employees warn.
Air quality protections issued over the past four years are supposed to cut down pollution and associated health risks, preventing premature deaths and hospital visits for years to come. A group called the Environmental Protection Network (EPN), created by hundreds of former EPA employees during an exodus of scientists from the agency under the Trump administration, counted up the benefits in a recent report.
But that outcome isn’t guaranteed. Many of the policies recently enacted under the Biden administration could be in jeopardy if Donald Trump is elected president again and ushers in another period of turmoil at the EPA. Project 2025, guided in part by alumni of the Trump administration, lays out a blueprint for drastically remaking the agency.
“They would turn it into a shell of what its true mission is.”
“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,” says Stan Meiburg, executive director of the Sabin Center for Environment and Sustainability at Wake Forest University. Meiburg worked at the EPA for nearly four decades until 2017 when he left his post as acting deputy administrator and is now on the board of directors for EPN.
“From ambient [air quality] standards to regulations on greenhouse gas emissions from cars and from power plants — all of those are things that Project 2025 recommendations and the Trump administration in its previous iteration went right after,” Meiburg says.
Trump rolled back more than 100 environmental regulations during his single term in office. He appointed fossil fuel insiders to key posts within federal agencies, including the EPA, and attempted to slash the EPA’s budget. Amid the turmoil, 550 environmental protection specialists — one of every four — left the agency between 2016 and 2020.
The Biden administration has tried to reverse course, updating and issuing new policies to limit air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. Those policies could spur immense public health benefits if they survive past the presidential election in November, the EPN report forecasts.
The group analyzed the potential impact of 16 major air pollution rules issued since 2021, estimating that they could prevent 200,000 premature deaths and result in 100 million fewer asthma attacks in the US through 2050. Taking healthcare costs into consideration, the net annual benefits would add up to $250 billion through 2050, the report estimates.
“It’s hard to envision 200,000 people … it’s equivalent to a convoy of buses stretching along the highway from Philadelphia to New York City. Think of the families waiting for those people to disembark,” says Jeremy Symons, an EPN senior advisor who coauthored the report and previously served as a climate policy advisor at the EPA before leaving in 2001.
The EPN’s estimates are limited to just 16 measures the EPA has taken to clean up the air — a fraction of the agency’s work considering the EPA is also tasked with preventing land and water pollution. Those policies range from stricter standards for cars and trucks and power plants to limiting emissions from oil and gas wells, appliances, and manufacturing.

Project 2025, crafted by the right-wing think tank Heritage Foundation, takes aim at some of those policies specifically. The EPA’s embattled Good Neighbor Plan, meant to keep smog-forming pollutants from upwind states from drifting toward its neighbors, is one example. Project 2025 says the next president should “review Biden-era regulations to ensure that they do not ‘overcontrol’ upwind states.”
The Supreme Court, with its three Trump-appointed members, has already dealt a blow to the Good Neighbor Plan. In June, SCOTUS granted Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, and industry groups a temporary stay on the plan while they challenge the legal merit of the policy in court. A series of SCOTUS decisions since the Trump administration has propelled conservatives’ deregulatory agenda, making it trickier for the EPA to craft new regulations regardless of whoever is elected president next.
Vice President Kamala Harris says she’ll “tackle the climate crisis” and points to suits she filed against polluters as California’s attorney general, even though she has simultaneously touted record US oil production under Biden’s leadership. She’s expected to defend Biden era environmental policies like the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest spending package on clean energy ever passed in the US, from which Donald Trump said he would rescind funds. The sheer amount of funds the IRA tasks the EPA with spending or disbursing adds to its workload as it still recovers from the Trump-era brain drain.

Project 2025, meanwhile, pushes for a “major reorganization” at the EPA that would further reduce the number of full-time positions and eliminate entire departments and any programs deemed “duplicative, wasteful, or superfluous.” The lead author of the chapter dedicated to the EPA is Mandy Gunasekara, who was chief of staff at the EPA during the Trump administration. She served under Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist Trump tapped to lead the agency.
“The authors of the Project 2025 EPA chapter have used their years working at EPA under Trump as a scouting mission and a training ground for the even more reckless plans,” Symons says. “We’ve seen the impact that these kind of plans can have from President Trump’s term in office previously. We have to take it seriously when they set out to basically take EPA out of the game and hand the keys over to polluters.”
The Heritage Foundation didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The EPA didn’t comment on Project 2025, but spokesperson Remmington Belford said in an email that “EPA remains committed to protecting public health and the environment by implementing science-based pollution standards that address climate change and improve air quality for all Americans.”

The United States Environmental Protection Agency building is seen on August 21st in Washington, DC. | Photo by Tierney L. Cross / Getty Images

Implementing Project 2025, the conservative manifesto written by ex-Trump officials, could have serious repercussions on public health, former Environmental Protection Agency employees warn.

Air quality protections issued over the past four years are supposed to cut down pollution and associated health risks, preventing premature deaths and hospital visits for years to come. A group called the Environmental Protection Network (EPN), created by hundreds of former EPA employees during an exodus of scientists from the agency under the Trump administration, counted up the benefits in a recent report.

But that outcome isn’t guaranteed. Many of the policies recently enacted under the Biden administration could be in jeopardy if Donald Trump is elected president again and ushers in another period of turmoil at the EPA. Project 2025, guided in part by alumni of the Trump administration, lays out a blueprint for drastically remaking the agency.

“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,” says Stan Meiburg, executive director of the Sabin Center for Environment and Sustainability at Wake Forest University. Meiburg worked at the EPA for nearly four decades until 2017 when he left his post as acting deputy administrator and is now on the board of directors for EPN.

“From ambient [air quality] standards to regulations on greenhouse gas emissions from cars and from power plants — all of those are things that Project 2025 recommendations and the Trump administration in its previous iteration went right after,” Meiburg says.

Trump rolled back more than 100 environmental regulations during his single term in office. He appointed fossil fuel insiders to key posts within federal agencies, including the EPA, and attempted to slash the EPA’s budget. Amid the turmoil, 550 environmental protection specialists — one of every four — left the agency between 2016 and 2020.

The Biden administration has tried to reverse course, updating and issuing new policies to limit air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. Those policies could spur immense public health benefits if they survive past the presidential election in November, the EPN report forecasts.

The group analyzed the potential impact of 16 major air pollution rules issued since 2021, estimating that they could prevent 200,000 premature deaths and result in 100 million fewer asthma attacks in the US through 2050. Taking healthcare costs into consideration, the net annual benefits would add up to $250 billion through 2050, the report estimates.

“It’s hard to envision 200,000 people … it’s equivalent to a convoy of buses stretching along the highway from Philadelphia to New York City. Think of the families waiting for those people to disembark,” says Jeremy Symons, an EPN senior advisor who coauthored the report and previously served as a climate policy advisor at the EPA before leaving in 2001.

The EPN’s estimates are limited to just 16 measures the EPA has taken to clean up the air — a fraction of the agency’s work considering the EPA is also tasked with preventing land and water pollution. Those policies range from stricter standards for cars and trucks and power plants to limiting emissions from oil and gas wells, appliances, and manufacturing.

Project 2025, crafted by the right-wing think tank Heritage Foundation, takes aim at some of those policies specifically. The EPA’s embattled Good Neighbor Plan, meant to keep smog-forming pollutants from upwind states from drifting toward its neighbors, is one example. Project 2025 says the next president should “review Biden-era regulations to ensure that they do not ‘overcontrol’ upwind states.”

The Supreme Court, with its three Trump-appointed members, has already dealt a blow to the Good Neighbor Plan. In June, SCOTUS granted Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, and industry groups a temporary stay on the plan while they challenge the legal merit of the policy in court. A series of SCOTUS decisions since the Trump administration has propelled conservatives’ deregulatory agenda, making it trickier for the EPA to craft new regulations regardless of whoever is elected president next.

Vice President Kamala Harris says she’ll “tackle the climate crisis” and points to suits she filed against polluters as California’s attorney general, even though she has simultaneously touted record US oil production under Biden’s leadership. She’s expected to defend Biden era environmental policies like the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest spending package on clean energy ever passed in the US, from which Donald Trump said he would rescind funds. The sheer amount of funds the IRA tasks the EPA with spending or disbursing adds to its workload as it still recovers from the Trump-era brain drain.

Project 2025, meanwhile, pushes for a “major reorganization” at the EPA that would further reduce the number of full-time positions and eliminate entire departments and any programs deemed “duplicative, wasteful, or superfluous.” The lead author of the chapter dedicated to the EPA is Mandy Gunasekara, who was chief of staff at the EPA during the Trump administration. She served under Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist Trump tapped to lead the agency.

“The authors of the Project 2025 EPA chapter have used their years working at EPA under Trump as a scouting mission and a training ground for the even more reckless plans,” Symons says. “We’ve seen the impact that these kind of plans can have from President Trump’s term in office previously. We have to take it seriously when they set out to basically take EPA out of the game and hand the keys over to polluters.”

The Heritage Foundation didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The EPA didn’t comment on Project 2025, but spokesperson Remmington Belford said in an email that “EPA remains committed to protecting public health and the environment by implementing science-based pollution standards that address climate change and improve air quality for all Americans.”

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Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images

Top policy executives from Meta, Microsoft, and Google testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday about what they’re doing to protect US voters from foreign election threats in 2024. But the elephant in the room was the pressure campaign social media companies have faced from the right to take a more hands-off approach when it comes to labeling or demoting misinformation.
With 48 days until the US presidential election, Committee Chair Mark Warner (D-VA) called in tech companies to discuss the threats they’re seeing so far and how they’re responding. Warner took pains to emphasize that his chief concern was with foreign malicious activity, not domestic — seemingly in an effort to find common ground with his Republican colleagues. He stressed the bipartisan interest in preserving election integrity, pointing to bipartisan funding for election-related upgrades and election-related AI deepfake laws that have passed in both red and blue states.
But Vice Chair Marco Rubio (R-FL) said the issue of foreign influence online is “complicated” by the fact that foreign agents often seek to amplify preexisting views that Americans hold. He worried that taking down those who amplify legitimate American viewpoints casts a stigma on people who truly hold those beliefs. Rubio pointed to the lab leak theory, for example, a minority hypothesis about the origin of the virus that causes covid-19. The theory was widely panned by the scientific community in the early days of the pandemic but came to be taken more seriously with more time and information, even if it wasn’t wholly adopted.
Foreign actors are often amplifying views real Americans hold — just very fringe ones
Platforms like Meta have historically tended to follow the lead of the scientific community and government in these sorts of cases. Now, some are making a show of pushing back. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently told House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) he regretted not being more “outspoken” about “government pressure” around covid content, though he acknowledged that taking down content is ultimately the company’s decision. The Elon Musk-owned X was invited to today’s hearing but didn’t bother sending anyone — Warner said the company failed to provide an adequate replacement after the one they offered left the company a couple of weeks before the hearing. (Warner said TikTok had been another potential participant, but there’d been concerns about timing due to recent oral arguments in its case against the government’s divest-or-ban efforts.)
Warner said he agreed with Rubio that Americans can say whatever they want “no matter how crazy.” But, he said, “there’s a difference when foreign intelligence services cherry-pick and amplify it.”
The line between unconstitutional government coercion and permissible pressure was at issue in a recent Supreme Court case, Murthy v. Missouri. Republican attorneys general had accused the Biden administration of coercing tech platforms to remove or demote speech like covid-19 disinformation, leading to temporary restrictions on the White House’s communication with tech platforms.
The Supreme Court decided the AGs didn’t have standing and questioned whether companies were really responding to government pressure, and its decision cleared the path for the government to communicate with tech companies about misinformation and other election threats. Warner told reporters after the hearing that communication between the government and tech companies is already “much better.” But he lamented during the hearing that “we are less safe today because many of those independent academic reviewers have been litigated, bullied or chased out of the marketplace,” referring to institutions like the Stanford Internet Observatory.
In their responses to lawmakers, the tech executives were mindful of the political minefield they faced. Microsoft president Brad Smith, for example, said that two key principles in the approach to election threats should be preserving the right to free expression and defending the public from the deceptive tactics of foreign nation-states. Meta president of global affairs Nick Clegg told Rubio that when it came to their handling of covid content, “I think we learned our lesson” that when governments exert pressure, they need to act “independently.” Google president of global affairs Kent Walker told Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) that the company kept the controversial New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s laptop up after an independent investigation.
Meanwhile, the executives feared the true challenges of this election cycle are still to come. Several executives and lawmakers acknowledged there hasn’t yet been the major AI bombshell many anticipated, but they predicted the days right before and after the election will prove to be the biggest test of foreign influence protections. Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Warner said he doubts the “visibility” the public has into the robustness of corporate trust and safety teams, amid earlier reports about waves of layoffs that impacted them. And looking to the days and hours right after polls close, Warner said, “presuming it’s a close election, what a vulnerable time.”

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images

Top policy executives from Meta, Microsoft, and Google testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday about what they’re doing to protect US voters from foreign election threats in 2024. But the elephant in the room was the pressure campaign social media companies have faced from the right to take a more hands-off approach when it comes to labeling or demoting misinformation.

With 48 days until the US presidential election, Committee Chair Mark Warner (D-VA) called in tech companies to discuss the threats they’re seeing so far and how they’re responding. Warner took pains to emphasize that his chief concern was with foreign malicious activity, not domestic — seemingly in an effort to find common ground with his Republican colleagues. He stressed the bipartisan interest in preserving election integrity, pointing to bipartisan funding for election-related upgrades and election-related AI deepfake laws that have passed in both red and blue states.

But Vice Chair Marco Rubio (R-FL) said the issue of foreign influence online is “complicated” by the fact that foreign agents often seek to amplify preexisting views that Americans hold. He worried that taking down those who amplify legitimate American viewpoints casts a stigma on people who truly hold those beliefs. Rubio pointed to the lab leak theory, for example, a minority hypothesis about the origin of the virus that causes covid-19. The theory was widely panned by the scientific community in the early days of the pandemic but came to be taken more seriously with more time and information, even if it wasn’t wholly adopted.

Platforms like Meta have historically tended to follow the lead of the scientific community and government in these sorts of cases. Now, some are making a show of pushing back. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently told House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) he regretted not being more “outspoken” about “government pressure” around covid content, though he acknowledged that taking down content is ultimately the company’s decision. The Elon Musk-owned X was invited to today’s hearing but didn’t bother sending anyone — Warner said the company failed to provide an adequate replacement after the one they offered left the company a couple of weeks before the hearing. (Warner said TikTok had been another potential participant, but there’d been concerns about timing due to recent oral arguments in its case against the government’s divest-or-ban efforts.)

Warner said he agreed with Rubio that Americans can say whatever they want “no matter how crazy.” But, he said, “there’s a difference when foreign intelligence services cherry-pick and amplify it.”

The line between unconstitutional government coercion and permissible pressure was at issue in a recent Supreme Court case, Murthy v. Missouri. Republican attorneys general had accused the Biden administration of coercing tech platforms to remove or demote speech like covid-19 disinformation, leading to temporary restrictions on the White House’s communication with tech platforms.

The Supreme Court decided the AGs didn’t have standing and questioned whether companies were really responding to government pressure, and its decision cleared the path for the government to communicate with tech companies about misinformation and other election threats. Warner told reporters after the hearing that communication between the government and tech companies is already “much better.” But he lamented during the hearing that “we are less safe today because many of those independent academic reviewers have been litigated, bullied or chased out of the marketplace,” referring to institutions like the Stanford Internet Observatory.

In their responses to lawmakers, the tech executives were mindful of the political minefield they faced. Microsoft president Brad Smith, for example, said that two key principles in the approach to election threats should be preserving the right to free expression and defending the public from the deceptive tactics of foreign nation-states. Meta president of global affairs Nick Clegg told Rubio that when it came to their handling of covid content, “I think we learned our lesson” that when governments exert pressure, they need to act “independently.” Google president of global affairs Kent Walker told Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) that the company kept the controversial New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s laptop up after an independent investigation.

Meanwhile, the executives feared the true challenges of this election cycle are still to come. Several executives and lawmakers acknowledged there hasn’t yet been the major AI bombshell many anticipated, but they predicted the days right before and after the election will prove to be the biggest test of foreign influence protections. Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Warner said he doubts the “visibility” the public has into the robustness of corporate trust and safety teams, amid earlier reports about waves of layoffs that impacted them. And looking to the days and hours right after polls close, Warner said, “presuming it’s a close election, what a vulnerable time.”

Read More 

Chrome users will need to either unlock their Android screen or use the Password Manager PIN feature to use passkeys on new devices. | Illustration: The Verge

Google is improving passkey support in Chrome by making it easier to use the passwordless sign-in credentials across different devices. The search giant is introducing a Google Password Manager PIN that allows users to securely save and synchronize passkeys for use across Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android devices. These updates are available in beta on ChromeOS as well, with iOS support “coming soon.”
Passkeys needed to be saved to Google Password Manager on Android prior to this update and required users to scan a QR code on their Android device to access them on other platforms. The new PIN replaces the need to scan the QR code while ensuring that your saved passkeys remain protected by end-to-end encryption, so not even Google can access them. Users will need to either unlock their Android screen or use their Password Manager PIN to use passkeys on a new device.

Image: Google
Users can set up a six-digit PIN by default or create a longer alphanumeric PIN under the “PIN options” settings.

Chrome users will need to either unlock their Android screen or use the Password Manager PIN feature to use passkeys on new devices. | Illustration: The Verge

Google is improving passkey support in Chrome by making it easier to use the passwordless sign-in credentials across different devices. The search giant is introducing a Google Password Manager PIN that allows users to securely save and synchronize passkeys for use across Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android devices. These updates are available in beta on ChromeOS as well, with iOS support “coming soon.”

Passkeys needed to be saved to Google Password Manager on Android prior to this update and required users to scan a QR code on their Android device to access them on other platforms. The new PIN replaces the need to scan the QR code while ensuring that your saved passkeys remain protected by end-to-end encryption, so not even Google can access them. Users will need to either unlock their Android screen or use their Password Manager PIN to use passkeys on a new device.

Image: Google
Users can set up a six-digit PIN by default or create a longer alphanumeric PIN under the “PIN options” settings.

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Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will officially launch on November 19th, 2024. | Image: Microsoft

Preorders are now open for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 through the Microsoft Store. The next installment of the franchise will launch on Xbox and PC on November 19th, with updates that include new aircraft like hot air balloons and a more realistic-looking simulated earth. But the most welcome upgrade could be a much smaller installation size.
The current version of Microsoft Flight Simulator needs over 130GB of storage, but that’s just for the base version of the game. Players can enhance their experience by downloading additional aircraft or installing world updates that bring more details to local scenery and airports, but that can gobble up even more storage. Those playing on the Xbox Series S, which only offers players 364GB of storage, could potentially see almost all of that disappear on one game.
Microsoft says the installation size for MSFS 2024 has been reduced to “about 30GB” by “tapping into the latest cloud streaming technology” and “streaming in the higher detailed areas that are only necessary for your flight path.” The game will no longer require players to download hefty world updates, but not at the cost of the game looking worse. That data will instead be streamed on demand with higher-resolution graphics being swapped in as players soar closer to landmarks like airports and cities.

Image: Microsoft
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will accurately depict how hot air balloons inflate and fly.

Aspiring pilots still can’t use Flight Simulator 2024 as a way to earn their license, but it does introduce a new career system that will mimic an aviation career. Players start off by taking flying lessons that include more preflight procedures like route planning based on weather forecasts. As their skills improve, they’ll be able to take on jobs like search and rescue missions, aerial firefighting, and commercial flights, before eventually earning enough virtual money to start and manage their own companies within the game that includes maintaining a private fleet.
New aircraft coming to MSFS 2024 include the Boeing 747-400 LCF Dreamlifter, a custom variation of the plane that Boeing uses to help manufacture the 787. For pilots who prefer something less stressful than flying airplane parts around a simulated world, the game will feature hot air balloons powered by a realistic “soft body simulation.” Turning on the burners will actually cause the balloons to inflate and gain altitude.

Image: Microsoft

Improved ground detailing in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will also affect where and how some aircraft can land.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will be available in several editions, ranging in price from $69.99 to $199.99 depending on the number of planes and airports that come bundled. The Standard Edition will also be available through Xbox Game Pass starting on launch day.
Those who’ve been playing the previous version of the game for four years will have a chance to put their piloting skills to good use earning a simulated salary, and MSFS 2024 will potentially let them free up some storage space so they can try another game.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will officially launch on November 19th, 2024. | Image: Microsoft

Preorders are now open for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 through the Microsoft Store. The next installment of the franchise will launch on Xbox and PC on November 19th, with updates that include new aircraft like hot air balloons and a more realistic-looking simulated earth. But the most welcome upgrade could be a much smaller installation size.

The current version of Microsoft Flight Simulator needs over 130GB of storage, but that’s just for the base version of the game. Players can enhance their experience by downloading additional aircraft or installing world updates that bring more details to local scenery and airports, but that can gobble up even more storage. Those playing on the Xbox Series S, which only offers players 364GB of storage, could potentially see almost all of that disappear on one game.

Microsoft says the installation size for MSFS 2024 has been reduced to “about 30GB” by “tapping into the latest cloud streaming technology” and “streaming in the higher detailed areas that are only necessary for your flight path.” The game will no longer require players to download hefty world updates, but not at the cost of the game looking worse. That data will instead be streamed on demand with higher-resolution graphics being swapped in as players soar closer to landmarks like airports and cities.

Image: Microsoft
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will accurately depict how hot air balloons inflate and fly.

Aspiring pilots still can’t use Flight Simulator 2024 as a way to earn their license, but it does introduce a new career system that will mimic an aviation career. Players start off by taking flying lessons that include more preflight procedures like route planning based on weather forecasts. As their skills improve, they’ll be able to take on jobs like search and rescue missions, aerial firefighting, and commercial flights, before eventually earning enough virtual money to start and manage their own companies within the game that includes maintaining a private fleet.

New aircraft coming to MSFS 2024 include the Boeing 747-400 LCF Dreamlifter, a custom variation of the plane that Boeing uses to help manufacture the 787. For pilots who prefer something less stressful than flying airplane parts around a simulated world, the game will feature hot air balloons powered by a realistic “soft body simulation.” Turning on the burners will actually cause the balloons to inflate and gain altitude.

Image: Microsoft

Improved ground detailing in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will also affect where and how some aircraft can land.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will be available in several editions, ranging in price from $69.99 to $199.99 depending on the number of planes and airports that come bundled. The Standard Edition will also be available through Xbox Game Pass starting on launch day.

Those who’ve been playing the previous version of the game for four years will have a chance to put their piloting skills to good use earning a simulated salary, and MSFS 2024 will potentially let them free up some storage space so they can try another game.

Read More 

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

A few months ago, I was driving my 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 when, seemingly out of nowhere, my driver-side door made several unusual clicking noises and then popped open.
“That’s not good,” I thought, as I quickly shut the door while also attempting to keep my hands on the wheel. And apparently, I wasn’t the only one experiencing this problem. Hundreds of other VW owners were also struggling to keep their doors closed while driving.
The issue culminated this week with VW halting production of the all-electric ID.4 at its factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, as it scrambles to find a fix for the faulty electronic door mechanism. According to the recall, water was seeping into the door and shorting out the electronics, causing the circuitry to issue a faulty “open command.”
The issue culminated this week with VW halting production of the all-electric ID.4
As a fix, VW said it would replace the door handles at no cost to the owners and would issue a software update to improve the “door parameters.”
Earlier this week, VW recalled nearly 100,000 ID.4 vehicles, as well as issued a stop-sale order for the electric crossover. Starting September 23rd, around 200 workers at the Tennessee factory will be furloughed as a result of the production pause, a spokesperson for the company said.
“While we address the issue, we are focused on doing right by our employees, dealers and consumers through this disruption,” said VW spokesperson Mark Gillies in a statement.

And it comes as a pretty bad time for the German company, which is struggling to stay competitive in the face of the looming threat from China. Earlier this month, VW signaled it could close several factories in Europe for the first time ever in a bid to cut 10 billion euros from its balance sheets.
Like most other automakers, VW has walked back from its EVs-only strategy in recent months, saying it will rely more on plug-in hybrids to achieve its climate goals. But Gillies said that the stop-production order shouldn’t be misconstrued as an abandonment of the company’s EV commitments.
“This disruption in no way changes our commitment to the ID.4 and our growing BEV portfolio,” he said. “The ID.4 remains one of America’s best-selling electric vehicles.”

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

A few months ago, I was driving my 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 when, seemingly out of nowhere, my driver-side door made several unusual clicking noises and then popped open.

“That’s not good,” I thought, as I quickly shut the door while also attempting to keep my hands on the wheel. And apparently, I wasn’t the only one experiencing this problem. Hundreds of other VW owners were also struggling to keep their doors closed while driving.

The issue culminated this week with VW halting production of the all-electric ID.4 at its factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, as it scrambles to find a fix for the faulty electronic door mechanism. According to the recall, water was seeping into the door and shorting out the electronics, causing the circuitry to issue a faulty “open command.”

As a fix, VW said it would replace the door handles at no cost to the owners and would issue a software update to improve the “door parameters.”

Earlier this week, VW recalled nearly 100,000 ID.4 vehicles, as well as issued a stop-sale order for the electric crossover. Starting September 23rd, around 200 workers at the Tennessee factory will be furloughed as a result of the production pause, a spokesperson for the company said.

“While we address the issue, we are focused on doing right by our employees, dealers and consumers through this disruption,” said VW spokesperson Mark Gillies in a statement.

And it comes as a pretty bad time for the German company, which is struggling to stay competitive in the face of the looming threat from China. Earlier this month, VW signaled it could close several factories in Europe for the first time ever in a bid to cut 10 billion euros from its balance sheets.

Like most other automakers, VW has walked back from its EVs-only strategy in recent months, saying it will rely more on plug-in hybrids to achieve its climate goals. But Gillies said that the stop-production order shouldn’t be misconstrued as an abandonment of the company’s EV commitments.

“This disruption in no way changes our commitment to the ID.4 and our growing BEV portfolio,” he said. “The ID.4 remains one of America’s best-selling electric vehicles.”

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