Minimalist News

Simply the latest news, updated on the hour.

Thu, Apr 2, 2026, 11:22 PM EDT

Tech

AI Summary

  • Amazon is implementing a 'fuel surcharge' for sellers, reflecting the impact of global energy market volatility, particularly due to geopolitical tensions like the situation involving Iran.
  • Tech companies are facing security breaches, with Hims & Hers reporting a customer support system hack and the money transfer app Duc exposing sensitive user data.
  • AI continues to be a major focus, with Microsoft releasing new foundational models, Google enhancing its Vids app with AI-driven avatar control and releasing Gemma 4 open models, and ElevenLabs launching an AI music generator.
  • The space industry is increasingly reliant on private sector tech, highlighted by NASA's Artemis II mission leveraging Silicon Valley contributions and the potential for SpaceX to file the largest IPO in history.
  • Cybersecurity remains a critical concern, evidenced by the acquisition of Paragon's spyware by ICE for drug trafficking cases, a DeFi platform hack resulting in millions in stolen crypto, and Anthropic's accidental takedown of GitHub repos.

TechCrunch


Hacker News


Engadget

  • Look Outside's April 1 update that let you kiss enemies is now a permanent 'smooch mode' 5 hours ago by Cheyenne MacDonald
    Arts & Entertainment, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Cheyenne MacDonald

    For April Fools' Day, the developer of Look Outside released an update that added a new option to your interactions with NPCs: kissing. Instead of just fighting or talking to enemies and surviving neighbors in the cursed apartment building, you could give 'em a smooch. Their dialogue and sprites were updated accordingly, too. Cue stammering eldritch horrors with bright red blushing cheeks. April Fools' Day is (thankfully) over now, but there's good news for anyone who has been enjoying the lovefest or didn't get a chance to try it. Developer Francis Coulombe has built in a way for players to

  • Sony's gaming division just bought an AI startup that turns photos into 3D volumes 6 hours ago by Ian Carlos Campbell
    Technology & Electronics, Game Consoles, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Ian Carlos Campbell

    Sony Interactive Entertainment, owner of the PlayStation brand, has acquired Cinemersive Labs, a UK startup developing tools to convert 2D photos and videos into 3D volumes. The startup team will join Sony's Visual Computing Group, a research engineering team focused on graphical technology, including game rendering, video coding and generative AI models. Cinemersive's most recent product is a virtual reality app called Parallax that works as a viewer for parallax photos — three-dimensional images that you can peer around with natural head movements — captured using traditional smartphones and professional cameras with stereo lenses. The startup developed custom AI tools to

  • VR game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City launches on April 30 7 hours ago by Anna Washenko
    Media, Video Games, Arts & Entertainment, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Anna Washenko

    Everyone's four favorite anthropomorphic turtles are returning to the world of video games. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City will be released on April 30 for the Meta Quest, Steam VR and Pico. It is made by VR game company Cortopia Studios and will retail for $25. Empire City is a first-person action game that you’ll be able to play solo or co-op with up to four people. And yes, that means all four of the turtles are playable. We've seen a lot of the quartet flexing their fighting form in games over the years, but this is their first time appearing

  • OpenAI brings ChatGPT's Voice mode to CarPlay 9 hours ago by Igor Bonifacic
    Software, Mobile Apps, Technology & Electronics, Handheld & Connected Devices, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Igor Bonifacic

    In a surprise release, OpenAI has made ChatGPT's Voice mode available through Apple CarPlay. If you're running the latest version of both iOS and the ChatGPT app, and own a CarPlay-compatible vehicle, you can check out the experience. To get started, download all the necessary software, connect your iPhone to CarPlay and select "New voice chat" from ChatGPT. When the in-app text indicates ChatGPT is "listening," you can start a conversation.          There are some notable limitations to using ChatGPT Voice with CarPlay. For one, OpenAI's chatbot can't control car functions. If you want to adjust the cabin temperature or skip tracks,

  • CFTC sues three states for trying to regulate prediction markets 9 hours ago by Ian Carlos Campbell
    Politics & Government, Business, Finance, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Ian Carlos Campbell

    The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is suing Illinois, Arizona and Connecticut for attempting to outlaw or regulate prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket. The CFTC believes it has sole jurisdiction to regulate these platforms, and that states attempting to classify them as illegal gambling are overstepping their authority. CFTC defines prediction markets as “designated contract markets” where futures contracts are traded, essentially letting people bet on the outcome of events (for example, who will be the Democratic nominee for president in 2028). And because futures contracts are financial instruments distinct from traditional bets, they arguably fall under the supervision of


The Verge

  • AO3 is finally out of beta after 17 years 6 hours ago by Emma Roth
    News, Tech, Web

    Archive of Our Own (AO3) is officially exiting beta. The Organization for Transformative Works - the nonprofit behind the fanfiction site - announced the update on Thursday, which comes 17 years after AO3's launch in 2009. "Since 2009, AO3 has grown and changed a lot," the announcement says. "We've introduced many features over the years through the efforts of our volunteers and coding contributors, as well as the contractors we've been able to hire thanks to generous donations from our users." The post highlights some of the features that AO3 has since its launch, including a tagging system, fanworks downloads, privacy settings

  • PSA: Anyone with a link can view your Granola notes by default 6 hours ago by Emma Roth
    AI, Apps, News, Security, Tech

    If you use the AI-powered note-taking app Granola, you might want to double-check your privacy settings. Though Granola says your notes are "private by default," it makes them viewable to anyone with a link, and also uses them for internal AI training unless you opt out. Granola describes itself as an "AI notepad for people in back-to-back meetings." It integrates with your calendar to capture audio from your meetings, and then uses AI to generate a bulleted list of what you've heard, which it calls a "note." You can edit the AI-generated notes, invite other collaborators to view them, and use

  • Reddit is moving on from r/all 6 hours ago by Jay Peters
    News, Reddit, Tech

    Reddit is deprecating r/all, one of its feeds that shows popular posts on the platform, as part of "ongoing efforts to simplify Reddit and improve Home feed personalization." Reddit has offered both r/popular and r/all as ways to see trending posts, with r/all being a "less filtered feed" where "sexually explicit posts are filtered out but other popular Not Safe for Work (NSFW) posts are included." But in January, Reddit said it had removed r/all from its apps as part of an "experiment" and that, as part of a separate experiment, some desktop users wouldn't see r/all in their sidebar. (The

  • The best AirPods deals you can get right now 7 hours ago
    Apple, Deals, Gadgets, Headphones, Tech, Verge Shopping

    If you know where to look, you can often score deals on Apple’s ever-expanding AirPods lineup. Both the AirPods Pro 3 and the AirPods 4 (with and without ANC) now consistently receive discounts, as do the AirPods Pro 3. And while major shopping events like Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day have delivered some of the biggest price drops, there are still good deals to be found on every model — including the recently released AirPods Max 2. Below, we’ve rounded up the best deals currently available on each set of AirPods, including both iterations of the AirPods 4 and AirPods Max,

  • This bike rack pioneer is selling Bluetooth suction cups to stick bikes to your car 8 hours ago by Sean Hollister
    Gadgets, News, Transportation

    Richard Allen didn't invent the automobile bike rack - his 1967 patent application makes it clear that others came before. But after nearly sixty years selling popular and simple mechanical bike carriers, his company Allen Sports now offers a line of - yes - Bluetooth-monitored suction cups to stick bikes to your car. If you feel stressed just looking at these pictures of the new $299 Smart Suction Go, you're not alone! It's the first thing my colleague Andrew Liszewski said, and I wholeheartedly agree. But apparently some people already swear by the ease and portability of suction-cup bike mounts -


Wired


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