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Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

National Public Data (NPD), a company that resells collected personal data for background checks, has confirmed that a data breach leaked names, Social Security numbers, physical addresses, and more. As reported by Bleeping Computer, dark web forum posters have advertised and shared supposedly stolen data from a breach of the company’s systems for months without a statement or response from NPD.
Finally, this week, it published a Security Incident page confirming a few details but leaving many other questions unanswered.

The incident is believed to have involved a third-party bad actor that was trying to hack into data in late December 2023, with potential leaks of certain data in April 2024 and summer 2024.
The information that was suspected of being breached contained name, email address, phone number, social security number, and mailing address(es).

The massive leak reportedly included 2.9 billion rows of data for a still-unknown number of people, and analysis of files posted to hacking forums by Have I Been Pwned operator Troy Hunt showed inconsistencies in how the data is linked to specific people.
NPD says it “cooperated with law enforcement and governmental investigators and conducted a review of the potentially affected records and will try to notify you if there are further significant developments applicable to you.”
Its website does not report how many people have been affected, offer any compensation to the people whose information has been linked, or provide any avenues of direct contact for more information. It warns people to keep an eye on their credit reports, but that’s just about it.

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

National Public Data (NPD), a company that resells collected personal data for background checks, has confirmed that a data breach leaked names, Social Security numbers, physical addresses, and more. As reported by Bleeping Computer, dark web forum posters have advertised and shared supposedly stolen data from a breach of the company’s systems for months without a statement or response from NPD.

Finally, this week, it published a Security Incident page confirming a few details but leaving many other questions unanswered.

The incident is believed to have involved a third-party bad actor that was trying to hack into data in late December 2023, with potential leaks of certain data in April 2024 and summer 2024.

The information that was suspected of being breached contained name, email address, phone number, social security number, and mailing address(es).

The massive leak reportedly included 2.9 billion rows of data for a still-unknown number of people, and analysis of files posted to hacking forums by Have I Been Pwned operator Troy Hunt showed inconsistencies in how the data is linked to specific people.

NPD says it “cooperated with law enforcement and governmental investigators and conducted a review of the potentially affected records and will try to notify you if there are further significant developments applicable to you.”

Its website does not report how many people have been affected, offer any compensation to the people whose information has been linked, or provide any avenues of direct contact for more information. It warns people to keep an eye on their credit reports, but that’s just about it.

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A new stipulation in the Team Pixel influencer program is causing a stir among creators. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

The tech review world has been full of murky deals between companies and influencers for years, but it appears Google finally crossed a line with the Pixel 9. The company’s invite-only Team Pixel program — which seeds Pixel products to influencers before public availability — stipulated that participating influencers were not allowed to feature Pixel products alongside competitors, and those who showed a preference for competing phones risked being kicked out of the program. For those hoping to break into the world of tech reviews, the new terms meant having to choose between giving up access or keeping their integrity.
The Verge has independently confirmed screenshots of the clause in this year’s Team Pixel agreement for the new Pixel phones, which various influencers began posting on X and Threads last night. The agreement tells participants they’re “expected to feature the Google Pixel device in place of any competitor mobile devices.” It also notes that “if it appears other brands are being preferred over the Pixel, we will need to cease the relationship between the brand and the creator.” The link to the form appears to have since been shut down.

Screenshot: 1000heads
The new stipulation has upset many creators in the Team Pixel program.

Screenshot: The Verge
The Verge obtained a link to the survey, but it appears to have since been shut down.

When asked, Google communications manager Kayla Geier told The Verge that “#TeamPixel is a distinct program, separate from our press and creator reviews programs. The goal of #TeamPixel is to get Pixel devices into the hands of content creators, not press and tech reviewers. We missed the mark with this new language that appeared in the #TeamPixel form yesterday, and it has been removed.”
Those terms certainly caused confusion online, with some assuming such terms apply to all product reviewers. However, that isn’t the case. Google’s official Pixel review program for publications like The Verge requires no such stipulations. (And, to be clear, The Verge would never accept such terms, in accordance with our ethics policy.)
So then, what is Team Pixel, exactly? Officially, it’s a program handled by PR agency 1000heads that seeds early units to influencers and superfans to drum up interest as brand ambassadors. While Google partners with 1000heads, it doesn’t directly run the program, and there are distinct differences from the traditional reviews program. For example, journalists and influencers in the official reviews program often get briefed and given products under embargo before or during an event. Team Pixel participants get the devices shortly after launch but before the public — all in exchange for some coverage on social media. For smaller creators, this can be a big leg up in terms of access.
“I joined the program over five years ago because it was a great way to get a phone and either relatively early or on time, which, in the review world, is big,” says creator Adam Matlock, who reviews tech on his TechOdyssey YouTube channel. Matlock says previously, there was no obligation, other than to use hashtags #teampixel or #giftfromgoogle to comply with FTC disclosure requirements. Matlock and others saw Team Pixel as a means to grow their channels or a pathway to becoming future reviewers and journalists, but the new Team Pixel terms seem aggressive in a new way that many found uncomfortable — especially since Google’s approach to defining “press,” “tech reviewer,” and “content creator” appears arbitrary.

From the outside of #TeamPixel, looking in: pic.twitter.com/a3BWeEqQvv— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) August 16, 2024

Popular tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee posted on X clarifying that he wasn’t part of the Team Pixel program and was not beholden to those terms. Meanwhile, The Verge spoke with other independent reviewers and freelance tech journalists who say that they were grouped into the Team Pixel program for review units in the past. For those in the latter group, the new stipulation is a threat to their integrity and livelihood. Matlock says he’s since quit the Team Pixel program over the new terms.
YouTuber Kevin Nether, who runs The Tech Ninja channel, also says the clause led him to quit the Team Pixel program. “As someone who reviews technology for a living, I work with many brands. To be cornered into using one product — that doesn’t work for me, and that’s nothing I want to participate in.”

I’m formally removing myself from team pixel. It’s been a good run but the program is no longer in line with my ethics or in the best interest of my channel and the content that I provide to my viewers. I emailed them today and quit. #NoLongerTeamPixel— TechOdyssey | #TechRejects (@AdamJMatlock) August 15, 2024

Nether echoes that he’s never seen this kind of stipulation in previous Team Pixel surveys. Usually, he says, the survey gauges a creator’s interest in various topics, like sports or fashion, to identify areas for collaboration. In the past, he says he’s made it clear to Team Pixel representatives that outside an obligatory post, he will review the device as normal. Nether also says this exclusivity term is atypical. Usually, when brands demand exclusivity from creators or brand ambassadors, they’ll offer payment, have clear disclosure rules, and have limited timelines.
Influencer is a broad term that encompasses all sorts of creators. Many influencers adhere to strict ethical standards, but many do not. The problem is there are no guidelines to follow and limited disclosure to help consumers if what they’re reading or watching was paid for in some way. The FTC is taking some steps to curtail fake and misleading reviews online, but as it stands right now, it can be hard for the average person to spot a genuine review from marketing. The Team Pixel program didn’t create this mess, but it is a sobering reflection of the murky state of online reviews.

A new stipulation in the Team Pixel influencer program is causing a stir among creators. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

The tech review world has been full of murky deals between companies and influencers for years, but it appears Google finally crossed a line with the Pixel 9. The company’s invite-only Team Pixel program — which seeds Pixel products to influencers before public availability — stipulated that participating influencers were not allowed to feature Pixel products alongside competitors, and those who showed a preference for competing phones risked being kicked out of the program. For those hoping to break into the world of tech reviews, the new terms meant having to choose between giving up access or keeping their integrity.

The Verge has independently confirmed screenshots of the clause in this year’s Team Pixel agreement for the new Pixel phones, which various influencers began posting on X and Threads last night. The agreement tells participants they’re “expected to feature the Google Pixel device in place of any competitor mobile devices.” It also notes that “if it appears other brands are being preferred over the Pixel, we will need to cease the relationship between the brand and the creator.” The link to the form appears to have since been shut down.

Screenshot: 1000heads
The new stipulation has upset many creators in the Team Pixel program.

Screenshot: The Verge
The Verge obtained a link to the survey, but it appears to have since been shut down.

When asked, Google communications manager Kayla Geier told The Verge that “#TeamPixel is a distinct program, separate from our press and creator reviews programs. The goal of #TeamPixel is to get Pixel devices into the hands of content creators, not press and tech reviewers. We missed the mark with this new language that appeared in the #TeamPixel form yesterday, and it has been removed.”

Those terms certainly caused confusion online, with some assuming such terms apply to all product reviewers. However, that isn’t the case. Google’s official Pixel review program for publications like The Verge requires no such stipulations. (And, to be clear, The Verge would never accept such terms, in accordance with our ethics policy.)

So then, what is Team Pixel, exactly? Officially, it’s a program handled by PR agency 1000heads that seeds early units to influencers and superfans to drum up interest as brand ambassadors. While Google partners with 1000heads, it doesn’t directly run the program, and there are distinct differences from the traditional reviews program. For example, journalists and influencers in the official reviews program often get briefed and given products under embargo before or during an event. Team Pixel participants get the devices shortly after launch but before the public — all in exchange for some coverage on social media. For smaller creators, this can be a big leg up in terms of access.

“I joined the program over five years ago because it was a great way to get a phone and either relatively early or on time, which, in the review world, is big,” says creator Adam Matlock, who reviews tech on his TechOdyssey YouTube channel. Matlock says previously, there was no obligation, other than to use hashtags #teampixel or #giftfromgoogle to comply with FTC disclosure requirements. Matlock and others saw Team Pixel as a means to grow their channels or a pathway to becoming future reviewers and journalists, but the new Team Pixel terms seem aggressive in a new way that many found uncomfortable — especially since Google’s approach to defining “press,” “tech reviewer,” and “content creator” appears arbitrary.

Popular tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee posted on X clarifying that he wasn’t part of the Team Pixel program and was not beholden to those terms. Meanwhile, The Verge spoke with other independent reviewers and freelance tech journalists who say that they were grouped into the Team Pixel program for review units in the past. For those in the latter group, the new stipulation is a threat to their integrity and livelihood. Matlock says he’s since quit the Team Pixel program over the new terms.

YouTuber Kevin Nether, who runs The Tech Ninja channel, also says the clause led him to quit the Team Pixel program. “As someone who reviews technology for a living, I work with many brands. To be cornered into using one product — that doesn’t work for me, and that’s nothing I want to participate in.”

Nether echoes that he’s never seen this kind of stipulation in previous Team Pixel surveys. Usually, he says, the survey gauges a creator’s interest in various topics, like sports or fashion, to identify areas for collaboration. In the past, he says he’s made it clear to Team Pixel representatives that outside an obligatory post, he will review the device as normal. Nether also says this exclusivity term is atypical. Usually, when brands demand exclusivity from creators or brand ambassadors, they’ll offer payment, have clear disclosure rules, and have limited timelines.

Influencer is a broad term that encompasses all sorts of creators. Many influencers adhere to strict ethical standards, but many do not. The problem is there are no guidelines to follow and limited disclosure to help consumers if what they’re reading or watching was paid for in some way. The FTC is taking some steps to curtail fake and misleading reviews online, but as it stands right now, it can be hard for the average person to spot a genuine review from marketing. The Team Pixel program didn’t create this mess, but it is a sobering reflection of the murky state of online reviews.

Read More 

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Instagram is testing a potentially major change to profile pages: making the squares in your profile grid vertical rectangles. Some users recently spotted the test, and there have been indications from at least 2022 that the company has toyed with a rectangular grid.
“The vast majority of what is uploaded to Instagram today is vertical,” Mosseri says in an Instagram story from Friday discussing the test. “It’s either 4 by 3 in a photo or 9 by 16 in a video, and cropping it down to square is pretty brutal.”
Mosseri notes that “squares are from way back in the day when you can only upload square photos to Instagram,” a limitation Instagram removed all the way back in 2015. Mosseri also knows that this profile change might be annoying for people who have spent a lot of time “curating and making sure everything lines up” but says that “I would really like to do better by the content today.”
“We’re testing a vertical profile grid with a small number of people,” Instagram spokesperson Christine Pai says in a statement to The Verge. “This is a limited test, and we’ll be listening to feedback from the community before rolling anything out further.”
Still, if you’ve meticulously planned out your profile grid around squares, you might want to prepare for those squares to someday change into rectangles.
Here’s a transcription of Mosseri’s story:
We’re actually testing a vertical grid, for those of you who haven’t seen it yet, for your profile, instead of squares. Now, squares are from way back in the day when you can only upload square photos to Instagram. I know this can be annoying for some of you who really spent a lot of time curating and making sure everything lines up, but I would really like to do better by the content today. The vast majority of what is uploaded to Instagram today is vertical. It’s either 4 by 3 in a photo or 9 by 16 in a video, and cropping it down to square is pretty brutal. So, I’m hoping we can figure out a way to manage this transition.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Instagram is testing a potentially major change to profile pages: making the squares in your profile grid vertical rectangles. Some users recently spotted the test, and there have been indications from at least 2022 that the company has toyed with a rectangular grid.

“The vast majority of what is uploaded to Instagram today is vertical,” Mosseri says in an Instagram story from Friday discussing the test. “It’s either 4 by 3 in a photo or 9 by 16 in a video, and cropping it down to square is pretty brutal.”

Mosseri notes that “squares are from way back in the day when you can only upload square photos to Instagram,” a limitation Instagram removed all the way back in 2015. Mosseri also knows that this profile change might be annoying for people who have spent a lot of time “curating and making sure everything lines up” but says that “I would really like to do better by the content today.”

“We’re testing a vertical profile grid with a small number of people,” Instagram spokesperson Christine Pai says in a statement to The Verge. “This is a limited test, and we’ll be listening to feedback from the community before rolling anything out further.”

Still, if you’ve meticulously planned out your profile grid around squares, you might want to prepare for those squares to someday change into rectangles.

Here’s a transcription of Mosseri’s story:

We’re actually testing a vertical grid, for those of you who haven’t seen it yet, for your profile, instead of squares. Now, squares are from way back in the day when you can only upload square photos to Instagram. I know this can be annoying for some of you who really spent a lot of time curating and making sure everything lines up, but I would really like to do better by the content today. The vast majority of what is uploaded to Instagram today is vertical. It’s either 4 by 3 in a photo or 9 by 16 in a video, and cropping it down to square is pretty brutal. So, I’m hoping we can figure out a way to manage this transition.

Read More 

Image: Marvel

After dismissing X-Men ’97’s former showrunner, Beau DeMayo, just before the show’s season 1 premiere, the studio seemed ready to move on with a new creative team. But following DeMayo’s recent claims that Marvel unfairly pulled his credits from X-Men ’97’s upcoming second season, the company says he was fired over the “egregious” findings of an internal investigation.
Though DeMayo was fired before X-Men ’97 aired, his name was still going to be included in the show’s upcoming second season because of the preproduction work he contributed to the project. But in a thread posted to his X account on Thursday, DeMayo accused Marvel of stripping his season 2 credits away due to his posting fan art of himself. DeMayo, who is openly gay, implied that Marvel’s decision was driven specifically by the fan art, which depicts him as the X-Men Cyclops without his signature blue spandex and was posted during Pride Month on June 4th. DeMayo also said that his firing was “the latest in a troubling pattern I suffered through” while working for Marvel on X-Men ’97 and the embattled Blade movie.

Firstly, I’m so grateful to have worked on #XMen97, collaborating with some amazingly talented folks. Creating this revival was a dream come true and the support fans have shown is so touching. However, I felt it pressing for me to speak up in the wake of leaving the show… pic.twitter.com/kbOTL3IQJj— Beau DeMayo (@BeauDemayo) August 16, 2024

But in a concise statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel said that DeMayo’s firing came as the result of an investigation that found him to have engaged in “egregious” behavior toward other employees. According to anonymous sources cited by THR, “sexual misconduct” was part of why DeMayo was fired from season 1, and Deadline reports that the removal of his credits is a consequence of his breaching a separation agreement with Marvel.
Following Marvel’s assertion that it had ample reason to let DeMayo go, DeMayo’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, put out a statement defending his client, claiming that Disney is “secretly attempting to plant illegal unconscionable items in contracts that silence the truth.”
The statement continues: “As we will explain through detailed examples which we will roll out in detail one by one, Disney’s model is very clear and a repetitive illegal pattern. Once it gets challenged or exposed, the gaslighting and redirection of the blame toward anyone willing to tell the truth starts through an international well oiled publicity machine.”

Image: Marvel

After dismissing X-Men ’97’s former showrunner, Beau DeMayo, just before the show’s season 1 premiere, the studio seemed ready to move on with a new creative team. But following DeMayo’s recent claims that Marvel unfairly pulled his credits from X-Men ’97’s upcoming second season, the company says he was fired over the “egregious” findings of an internal investigation.

Though DeMayo was fired before X-Men ’97 aired, his name was still going to be included in the show’s upcoming second season because of the preproduction work he contributed to the project. But in a thread posted to his X account on Thursday, DeMayo accused Marvel of stripping his season 2 credits away due to his posting fan art of himself. DeMayo, who is openly gay, implied that Marvel’s decision was driven specifically by the fan art, which depicts him as the X-Men Cyclops without his signature blue spandex and was posted during Pride Month on June 4th. DeMayo also said that his firing was “the latest in a troubling pattern I suffered through” while working for Marvel on X-Men ’97 and the embattled Blade movie.

But in a concise statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel said that DeMayo’s firing came as the result of an investigation that found him to have engaged in “egregious” behavior toward other employees. According to anonymous sources cited by THR, “sexual misconduct” was part of why DeMayo was fired from season 1, and Deadline reports that the removal of his credits is a consequence of his breaching a separation agreement with Marvel.

Following Marvel’s assertion that it had ample reason to let DeMayo go, DeMayo’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, put out a statement defending his client, claiming that Disney is “secretly attempting to plant illegal unconscionable items in contracts that silence the truth.”

The statement continues: “As we will explain through detailed examples which we will roll out in detail one by one, Disney’s model is very clear and a repetitive illegal pattern. Once it gets challenged or exposed, the gaslighting and redirection of the blame toward anyone willing to tell the truth starts through an international well oiled publicity machine.”

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Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge

A federal judge in New York blocked the upcoming live sports streaming service from Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery, siding with streamer Fubo that the package likely violates antitrust law. Fubo argued in an antitrust complaint that the partnership was the culmination of “a years-long campaign to block Fubo’s innovative sports-first streaming business.”
The three entertainment companies had sought to create a new streaming service called Venu Sports that would launch this fall and charge $42.99 a month for access to networks across their portfolios, including ESPN, Fox Sports, and TNT. Bundling the sports content from all three companies would put other distributors like Fubo at “an extreme competitive disadvantage,” Fubo said at the time. DirecTV and Dish sided with Fubo in the case.

The deal also raised alarms for lawmakers like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), who recently asked federal enforcers to investigate. They warned the joint venture (JV) could put the companies “in a position to exercise monopoly power over televised sports” and effectively require competitors to negotiate with the JV companies “for access to over half of the major sporting licensing rights while simultaneously competing against these companies to offer the best product to broadcast or stream these programs.”

Southern District of New York Judge Margaret Garnett said Fubo would likely succeed on the merits in arguing the deal violates the Clayton Act, which governs mergers and acquisitions, and granted a preliminary injunction blocking it.
“Put simply, the antitrust problem presented by the JV is as follows: if the JV is allowed to launch, it will be the only option on the market for those television consumers who want to spend their money on multiple live sports channels they love to watch, but not on superfluous entertainment channels they do not,” Garnett wrote. “And the JV’s corporate owners—the JV Defendants—are the same players that (1) used their longstanding bundling practices to create the void in the pay TV market tailor-made for the live-sports-only JV to fill, and also (2) exercise near-monopolistic control over the ability for a different live-sports-only streaming service to exist and compete with the JV.”
Fubo co-founder and CEO David Gandler called the decision a victory for both Fubo and consumers. “This decision will help ensure that consumers have access to a more competitive marketplace with multiple sports streaming options,” he said in a statement. “But our fight continues. Fubo has said all along that we seek equal treatment from these media giants, and a level playing field in our industry. The proposed joint venture was only the latest example of anticompetitive practices that The Walt Disney Company, FOX Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery have consistently engaged in for many years. We believe these practices monopolize the market, stifle competition and cheat consumers from deserved choice.”
Venu Sports did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge

A federal judge in New York blocked the upcoming live sports streaming service from Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery, siding with streamer Fubo that the package likely violates antitrust law. Fubo argued in an antitrust complaint that the partnership was the culmination of “a years-long campaign to block Fubo’s innovative sports-first streaming business.”

The three entertainment companies had sought to create a new streaming service called Venu Sports that would launch this fall and charge $42.99 a month for access to networks across their portfolios, including ESPN, Fox Sports, and TNT. Bundling the sports content from all three companies would put other distributors like Fubo at “an extreme competitive disadvantage,” Fubo said at the time. DirecTV and Dish sided with Fubo in the case.

The deal also raised alarms for lawmakers like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), who recently asked federal enforcers to investigate. They warned the joint venture (JV) could put the companies “in a position to exercise monopoly power over televised sports” and effectively require competitors to negotiate with the JV companies “for access to over half of the major sporting licensing rights while simultaneously competing against these companies to offer the best product to broadcast or stream these programs.”

Southern District of New York Judge Margaret Garnett said Fubo would likely succeed on the merits in arguing the deal violates the Clayton Act, which governs mergers and acquisitions, and granted a preliminary injunction blocking it.

“Put simply, the antitrust problem presented by the JV is as follows: if the JV is allowed to launch, it will be the only option on the market for those television consumers who want to spend their money on multiple live sports channels they love to watch, but not on superfluous entertainment channels they do not,” Garnett wrote. “And the JV’s corporate owners—the JV Defendants—are the same players that (1) used their longstanding bundling practices to create the void in the pay TV market tailor-made for the live-sports-only JV to fill, and also (2) exercise near-monopolistic control over the ability for a different live-sports-only streaming service to exist and compete with the JV.”

Fubo co-founder and CEO David Gandler called the decision a victory for both Fubo and consumers. “This decision will help ensure that consumers have access to a more competitive marketplace with multiple sports streaming options,” he said in a statement. “But our fight continues. Fubo has said all along that we seek equal treatment from these media giants, and a level playing field in our industry. The proposed joint venture was only the latest example of anticompetitive practices that The Walt Disney Company, FOX Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery have consistently engaged in for many years. We believe these practices monopolize the market, stifle competition and cheat consumers from deserved choice.”

Venu Sports did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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Why does it look so mean? | Image: Acura

Acura has a new EV concept debuting today at Monterey Car Week, featuring an all-new electric vehicle platform developed by parent automaker Honda. Dubbed the Acura Performance EV concept, the vehicle is a crossover SUV with a boat-like front end that resembles the Precision EV concept from 2022, but with a sportback-style rear.
The new Acura concept is a representation of an upcoming electric model that is planned for production next year at Honda’s new manufacturing “EV hub” in Ohio. At a media event today, Honda’s global executive VP, Shinji Aoyama, told Motor1 that there’s also a new “NSX-type” electric sports car in the works for “2027 or 2028.”
So far, Acura’s only EV in the market is the ZDX, which, like Honda’s Prologue, is built on GM’s Ultium EV platform.

As first teased last week, Acura says its new concept is “dynamically styled,” and today, it explains it as having a “powerful, athletic stance” with its long wheelbase and beefy wheel arches. The concept as shown has 23-inch rims that have spokes with variable spacing designed to “evoke a sense of movement even while still.”

Image: Acura
Another beefy electric SUV.

When looking at the side profile of Acura’s EV concept, it looks sort of like a Mustang Mach-E with a proper sport hatch for a coupe-style look (instead of the Mach-E’s fake roofline swoop illusion trick). From the front, however, you’ll notice aggressive hood and side vents, plus some squinty headlights that add an overall angry vibe to the Acura.
Meanwhile, Honda is working on a new EV series dubbed Honda Zero that so far includes a funky sloping-shaped EV concept along with a larger “Space-Hub” concept.

Why does it look so mean? | Image: Acura

Acura has a new EV concept debuting today at Monterey Car Week, featuring an all-new electric vehicle platform developed by parent automaker Honda. Dubbed the Acura Performance EV concept, the vehicle is a crossover SUV with a boat-like front end that resembles the Precision EV concept from 2022, but with a sportback-style rear.

The new Acura concept is a representation of an upcoming electric model that is planned for production next year at Honda’s new manufacturing “EV hub” in Ohio. At a media event today, Honda’s global executive VP, Shinji Aoyama, told Motor1 that there’s also a new “NSX-type” electric sports car in the works for “2027 or 2028.”

So far, Acura’s only EV in the market is the ZDX, which, like Honda’s Prologue, is built on GM’s Ultium EV platform.

As first teased last week, Acura says its new concept is “dynamically styled,” and today, it explains it as having a “powerful, athletic stance” with its long wheelbase and beefy wheel arches. The concept as shown has 23-inch rims that have spokes with variable spacing designed to “evoke a sense of movement even while still.”

Image: Acura
Another beefy electric SUV.

When looking at the side profile of Acura’s EV concept, it looks sort of like a Mustang Mach-E with a proper sport hatch for a coupe-style look (instead of the Mach-E’s fake roofline swoop illusion trick). From the front, however, you’ll notice aggressive hood and side vents, plus some squinty headlights that add an overall angry vibe to the Acura.

Meanwhile, Honda is working on a new EV series dubbed Honda Zero that so far includes a funky sloping-shaped EV concept along with a larger “Space-Hub” concept.

Read More 

The Gaming Pillow features a cushioned base supporting a device mount on top. | Image: Mechanism

Doomscrolling isn’t going away any time soon, but there’s no reason you can’t be comfortable while doing it. Mechanism’s $59 Gaming Pillow is designed to shift the weight of gadgets like handheld consoles, tablets, XL smartphones, and e-readers from your arms to your lap.
With a 12-inch pillow made from lycra fabric filled with foam granules as its base, the Gaming Pillow looks like a miniature bean bag chair and should be malleable enough to stay upright even when plopped down on uneven surfaces.
It’s primarily designed for use on your lap to keep an attached console in arm’s reach and playable, but if even lifting your arms feels like a Herculean task, you can prop the pillow up on its own next to you in bed and go truly hands-free to read or watch devices that require minimal physical interactions.

Image: Mechanism
An additional mount allows a portable charger to be attached to prolong a gaming session.

The squishy base is topped with a pair of mounts. One can be used to securely hold a portable charger upgraded with one of the company’s adhesive mounts, while the other features a short articulated arm that ends in a ball joint. The company sells custom clamp-on grips for the Valve Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, ROG Ally, and the PS Portal, or you can get a universal grip for other devices (you get one grip free with the base).
Although succumbing to a hands-free device mount like the Gaming Pillow can make you feel like you’re maybe spending a bit too much time escaping through a device, a quick Amazon search reveals hundreds of similar solutions. What sets the Gaming Pillow apart is that it positions a handheld where gamers would naturally hold it while sprawled out on a couch or bed, but with enough portability so that when company arrives unannounced, you can quickly hide it away in a closet.

The Gaming Pillow features a cushioned base supporting a device mount on top. | Image: Mechanism

Doomscrolling isn’t going away any time soon, but there’s no reason you can’t be comfortable while doing it. Mechanism’s $59 Gaming Pillow is designed to shift the weight of gadgets like handheld consoles, tablets, XL smartphones, and e-readers from your arms to your lap.

With a 12-inch pillow made from lycra fabric filled with foam granules as its base, the Gaming Pillow looks like a miniature bean bag chair and should be malleable enough to stay upright even when plopped down on uneven surfaces.

It’s primarily designed for use on your lap to keep an attached console in arm’s reach and playable, but if even lifting your arms feels like a Herculean task, you can prop the pillow up on its own next to you in bed and go truly hands-free to read or watch devices that require minimal physical interactions.

Image: Mechanism
An additional mount allows a portable charger to be attached to prolong a gaming session.

The squishy base is topped with a pair of mounts. One can be used to securely hold a portable charger upgraded with one of the company’s adhesive mounts, while the other features a short articulated arm that ends in a ball joint. The company sells custom clamp-on grips for the Valve Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, ROG Ally, and the PS Portal, or you can get a universal grip for other devices (you get one grip free with the base).

Although succumbing to a hands-free device mount like the Gaming Pillow can make you feel like you’re maybe spending a bit too much time escaping through a device, a quick Amazon search reveals hundreds of similar solutions. What sets the Gaming Pillow apart is that it positions a handheld where gamers would naturally hold it while sprawled out on a couch or bed, but with enough portability so that when company arrives unannounced, you can quickly hide it away in a closet.

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

OpenAI has banned a string of ChatGPT accounts tied to an Iranian influence campaign that generated and shared content related to the US presidential election, among other topics. The operation mainly used ChatGPT to create longform articles and social media comments for platforms like Instagram and X, according to OpenAI.
OpenAI linked the accounts to Storm-2035, a covert Iranian influence operation that has attempted to engage US voters by launching websites disguised as political news outlets. In addition to commentary about the US election on both sides of the political spectrum, OpenAI says the operation generated content about the Israel-Hamas war, Israel at the Olympic Games, politics in Venezuela, and “the rights of Latinx communities” in the US.

Image: OpenAI
These posts on X show how the operation generated content on both sides of the US political spectrum.

OpenAI says that its investigation found the campaign “does not appear to have achieved meaningful audience engagement.” The AI company says most social media posts it tracked down received “few or no likes, shares, or comments.” In May, OpenAI and Meta announced they’d disrupted a social media campaign that used AI to post pro-Israel messages on Instagram and Facebook.
With the US presidential election just months away, we may see more attempts to interfere with its outcome. Last week, former President Donald Trump confirmed his campaign was hacked and linked the incident to a phishing email sent by an Iranian hacking group. In June, the FBI opened an investigation into the purported hack on Trump’s campaign as well as alleged hacking attempts on the Biden-Harris campaign.

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

OpenAI has banned a string of ChatGPT accounts tied to an Iranian influence campaign that generated and shared content related to the US presidential election, among other topics. The operation mainly used ChatGPT to create longform articles and social media comments for platforms like Instagram and X, according to OpenAI.

OpenAI linked the accounts to Storm-2035, a covert Iranian influence operation that has attempted to engage US voters by launching websites disguised as political news outlets. In addition to commentary about the US election on both sides of the political spectrum, OpenAI says the operation generated content about the Israel-Hamas war, Israel at the Olympic Games, politics in Venezuela, and “the rights of Latinx communities” in the US.

Image: OpenAI
These posts on X show how the operation generated content on both sides of the US political spectrum.

OpenAI says that its investigation found the campaign “does not appear to have achieved meaningful audience engagement.” The AI company says most social media posts it tracked down received “few or no likes, shares, or comments.” In May, OpenAI and Meta announced they’d disrupted a social media campaign that used AI to post pro-Israel messages on Instagram and Facebook.

With the US presidential election just months away, we may see more attempts to interfere with its outcome. Last week, former President Donald Trump confirmed his campaign was hacked and linked the incident to a phishing email sent by an Iranian hacking group. In June, the FBI opened an investigation into the purported hack on Trump’s campaign as well as alleged hacking attempts on the Biden-Harris campaign.

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Image: Walmart

Walmart is ending drone deliveries made with partner DroneUp in Phoenix, Arizona, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Tampa, Florida, because the services in those cities weren’t sustainable, according to Axios. This is after Walmart and DroneUp announced in 2022 that they would be bringing drone delivery to those states as part of a broader expansion.
Right now, it costs about $30 to use a drone to deliver a package, but DroneUp wants to bring the cost down so that it’s less than $7, DroneUp CEO Tom Walker told Axios.
DroneUp will be closing 18 Walmart delivery hubs in the cities, and 17 percent of DroneUp’s workforce (70 staffers) will lose their jobs, Axios reports. Following the cuts, there will only be 15 Walmart locations — “11 in Dallas, 3 near Walmart’s Bentonville, Ark., headquarters and one in Virginia Beach,” according to Axios — where you can take advantage of DroneUp’s delivery program.
Walmart and DroneUp didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
In addition to DroneUp, Walmart partners with Alphabet’s Wing and Zipline on drone deliveries in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area and with Flytrex on deliveries in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Amazon has also recently adjusted its drone plans, announcing in April that it would be shutting down its drone delivery service in California.

Image: Walmart

Walmart is ending drone deliveries made with partner DroneUp in Phoenix, Arizona, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Tampa, Florida, because the services in those cities weren’t sustainable, according to Axios. This is after Walmart and DroneUp announced in 2022 that they would be bringing drone delivery to those states as part of a broader expansion.

Right now, it costs about $30 to use a drone to deliver a package, but DroneUp wants to bring the cost down so that it’s less than $7, DroneUp CEO Tom Walker told Axios.

DroneUp will be closing 18 Walmart delivery hubs in the cities, and 17 percent of DroneUp’s workforce (70 staffers) will lose their jobs, Axios reports. Following the cuts, there will only be 15 Walmart locations — “11 in Dallas, 3 near Walmart’s Bentonville, Ark., headquarters and one in Virginia Beach,” according to Axios — where you can take advantage of DroneUp’s delivery program.

Walmart and DroneUp didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

In addition to DroneUp, Walmart partners with Alphabet’s Wing and Zipline on drone deliveries in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area and with Flytrex on deliveries in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Amazon has also recently adjusted its drone plans, announcing in April that it would be shutting down its drone delivery service in California.

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Image: Apple

The multiverse of Apple TV Plus’ Dark Matter is about to get bigger as the show heads into its second season. Apple announced on Friday that Dark Matter, Blake Crouch’s adaptation of his own 2016 novel about a physicist who gets sucked into multiple alternate realities, has been renewed for a new batch of episodes.
In a statement about the renewal, Crouch thanked the city of Chicago (where the series is set and was filmed) and described how “in the process of writing and filming season one, we discovered that there’s so much more story to tell.”
Especially with more seasons of shows like Severance and Silo on the way, the renewal is yet another sign of Apple really leaning into science fiction for its streaming platform. Though Dark Matter’s first season covered a significant amount of the book’s plot, the show introduced a number of original plot points that opened up possibilities for new stories down the line. Apple has yet to announce a projected premiere date for season 2, but the entire first season is available to stream now.

Image: Apple

The multiverse of Apple TV Plus’ Dark Matter is about to get bigger as the show heads into its second season. Apple announced on Friday that Dark Matter, Blake Crouch’s adaptation of his own 2016 novel about a physicist who gets sucked into multiple alternate realities, has been renewed for a new batch of episodes.

In a statement about the renewal, Crouch thanked the city of Chicago (where the series is set and was filmed) and described how “in the process of writing and filming season one, we discovered that there’s so much more story to tell.”

Especially with more seasons of shows like Severance and Silo on the way, the renewal is yet another sign of Apple really leaning into science fiction for its streaming platform. Though Dark Matter’s first season covered a significant amount of the book’s plot, the show introduced a number of original plot points that opened up possibilities for new stories down the line. Apple has yet to announce a projected premiere date for season 2, but the entire first season is available to stream now.

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