Recent News from The Verge

Defense secretary Pete Hegseth designates Anthropic a supply chain risk

US President Donald Trump (R) looks on as US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks to the press following US military actions in Venezuela | AFP via Getty Images Nearly two hours after President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he was banning Anthropic products from the federal government, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth […]

Warner Bros. Discovery agrees to $110 billion Paramount merger

Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance’s merger agreement is now official. On Friday, the two companies announced plans to merge into a massive media company that will fold WBD’s studio, linear channels, streaming service, and gaming segment into Paramount. Though WBD initially signed onto an $83 billion agreement to merge part of Warner Bros. with […]

Trump orders federal agencies to drop Anthropic’s AI

On Friday afternoon, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, accusing Anthropic, the AI company behind Claude, of attempting to “STRONG-ARM” the Pentagon and directing federal agencies to “IMMEDIATELY CEASE” use of its products. At issue is Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s refusal of an updated agreement with the US military agreeing to “any lawful use” of […]

The Trump phone sure looks a lot like this HTC handset

The HTC U24 Pro may not be gold, but its design is otherwise awfully similar to the Trump phone’s. | Image: HTC Where’s the Trump phone? We’re going to keep talking about it every week. We’ve reached out, as usual, to ask about the Trump phone’s whereabouts, and have stopped getting a response. This week, […]

CISA is getting a new acting director after less than a year

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, is getting a new acting director, as reported by ABC, less than a year after Madhu Gottumukkala took charge of the agency as deputy director and acting director in May 2025. CISA’s executive assistant director for cybersecurity, Nick […]

AI deepfakes are a train wreck and Samsung’s selling tickets

On Thursday morning, I attended a Q&A panel with four top Samsung smartphone executives. Until 2025, Samsung was the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer, and by association, the world’s largest maker of cameras. It’s still the second largest after Apple. Samsung handed me the microphone first. I asked: We see a divide in society between people […]

FedEx promises to refund customers for ‘illegal’ tariffs

FedEx plans to pass along any refunds resulting from the Supreme Court’s ruling that some of President Donald Trump’s tariffs are “illegal.” In a statement on its website, FedEx notes that while “no refund process has been established by the courts,” the company will reimburse shippers and consumers impacted by tariffs if it gets its […]

Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K Plus gets a better interface and a 40 percent discount

Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K Plus is on sale for $29.99, which is $5 shy of its best price. | Image: Amazon When Amazon first showed off its redesigned Fire TV OS at CES, we were impressed. It’s faster, better organized, and feels similar to Google’s top-notch TV interface. The update is now finally rolling […]

AI vs. the Pentagon: killer robots, mass surveillance, and red lines

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 29: U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (C) speaks during a meeting of the Cabinet as U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (R) listen in the Cabinet Room of the White House on January 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump is holding the meeting as […]

Woot’s ‘Video Games for All’ sale features some of our favorite games

There’s a sale happening at Woot that’s delivering Black Friday-esque deals on video games through March 5th. The “Video Games for All” sale includes discounts on physical games for most modern consoles, making it a great time to treat yourself (or a pal) to some titles that you’ve been waiting to see big price drops […]