Americans do not like masked secret police. There is really no other way to put it. The reasons why are manifold: accountability, trust in law enforcement, and just plain overall vibes. More concretely, not being able to tell who's a cop and who's not is dangerous. An assassin masquerading as law enforcement killed Minnesota legislator […]

The Sony LinkBuds Clip are the company's first clip earbuds. They follow the innovative donut-hole LinkBuds and LinkBuds Open and, like their predecessors, allow you to listen to music or podcasts, make phone calls, or be active outdoors while still maintaining awareness of your surroundings. The clip design has become more popular over the past […]

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on the e-bike movement, follow Andrew J. Hawkins. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started Last week, I did something I don't typically do, which […]

Steven Garcia, as told to Gaby Del Valle: I was in the middle of a frozen lake when I got the notification from the Minnesota Star Tribune that there had been a shooting. I was on assignment at a pond hockey event, and someone who was supposed to play later that evening said he probably […]

The FBI went to Microsoft last year with a warrant, asking them to hand over keys to unlock encrypted data stored on three laptops as part of an investigation into potential fraud involving the COVID unemployment assistance program in Guam - and Microsoft complied. Typically, companies resist handing over encryption keys to authorities. Most famously, […]

Welcome to the weekend, friends! We’re still in a bit of a deals lull before the Presidents Day and V-Day sales begin, the bulk of which we anticipate kicking off the first week of February. However, for now, we’re still seeing some solid discounts on a few newer gadgets and some old, Verge-approved favorites. Anker’s […]

Some Gmail users have noticed that promotional emails that normally go to their own siloed tab have started flooding their inbox. Reports have been hitting the Google forums and Reddit that messages are bypassing the Updates and Promotional filters and going straight to Gmail inboxes. Some are also reporting seeing a banner at the top […]

Federal agents in Minneapolis repeatedly punched a man, forced him to the ground, and then shot him multiple times. The man was later pronounced dead. This is just the latest incident of deadly violence involving ICE, which has grown increasingly frequent, especially on the streets of Minneapolis. It's been less than three weeks since an […]

Every month, Circana video game analyst Mat Piscatella posts fascinating data about video game sales on Bluesky, highlighting trends like November's historically bad month for game hardware and Battlefield 6's big launch in October. But he doesn't just share data about what is selling the most; as of late, he's also posted delightful lists of […]

I'll confess, with no shame whatsoever, that I really love ads. Artsy ones, funny ones, weird ones, emotional ones - TV commercials were my childhood TikTok before any of us were using terms like "short-form video." But like most creative things in my life, AI is sucking the joy out of it. And it's only […]