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Simply the latest news, updated on the hour.

Wed, Mar 25, 2026, 1:22 AM EDT

Tech

AI Summary

  • OpenAI is reportedly shutting down its Sora video generation platform, a move that has raised eyebrows given its previous high-profile demonstrations and potential partnerships.
  • Meta faces significant legal and ethical scrutiny, with a recent New Mexico courtroom defeat concerning child safety and a $375 million fine highlighting ongoing challenges with platform responsibility.
  • AI continues to dominate tech investment, evidenced by Kleiner Perkins' substantial $3.5 billion AI-focused funding round and Databricks' strategic acquisitions to bolster its AI security offerings.
  • Arm is making a significant hardware play by developing its first in-house chip, intended to power AI data centers, signaling a shift in the semiconductor landscape.
  • The drone industry is poised for disruption as startups like one founded by a former Thiel fellow are launching products claiming to rival traditional police helicopters, suggesting a new era of aerial surveillance and intervention.

TechCrunch


Hacker News


Engadget

  • Meta is letting creators fill their Reels with shopping links 6 hours ago by Karissa Bell
    Social & Online Media, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Karissa Bell

    It's about to get a lot easier for creators on Facebook and Instagram to push products to their followers. Meta will now allow creators to include clickable shopping links for products directly in their Reels. Brand partnerships and affiliate links, in which creators earn a portion of sales generated by their recommendations, are central to how creators earn money from Facebook and Instagram. But Meta has limited the ways in which they can direct their followers off-platform. As a result, creators often rely on third-party "link in bio" services for managing links to the stuff they endorse. Now, Meta says it will

  • Jury rules against Meta, orders $375 million fine in major child safety trial 7 hours ago by Karissa Bell
    Society & Culture, Company Legal & Law Matters, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Karissa Bell

    A jury in New Mexico has found Meta liable for violating the state's consumer protection laws in a high-profile civil trial over child exploitation and other safety issues. One day after closing arguments in the weeks-long trial concluded, the jury ruled against Meta on every count and ordered the company to pay $375 million.  The case was brought by New Mexico's attorney general in 2023 and centered around allegations that Meta knew its platform put children at risk of exploitation and mental health harms and failed to put safety measures in place. In the end, the jury ruled that Meta was

  • Sony is reportedly shutting down Dark Outlaw Games, run by former Call of Duty director 8 hours ago by Ian Carlos Campbell
    Media, Video Games, Arts & Entertainment, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Ian Carlos Campbell

    Sony is shutting down Dark Outlaw Games, a first-party game studio led by former Call of Duty producer Jason Blundell, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier reports. Before leading Dark Outlaw Games, Blundell was the head of Deviation Games, which was an independent studio, but also happened to be developing a PlayStation game before it shut down, Schreier says. Dark Outlaw Games had yet to announce what it was working on, but considering Blundell's experience with the Call of Duty franchise, it seems likely the studio was developing a multiplayer project for PlayStation. Blundell was a programmer and producer at Activision before making the

  • Baltimore sues xAI over Grok deepfakes 8 hours ago by Anna Washenko
    Internet & Networking Technology, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Anna Washenko

    Grok has already taken extensive heat after the AI chatbot's image generation tool was used to create an estimated 3 million sexualized images over 11 days, including 23,000 of minors, according to the Center for Countering Digital Hate. Regulators around the world have limited access or launched investigations into the platform's potentially illegal and nonconsensual image generation. The US government hasn't made any moves against xAI or its platform at the federal level, but today, the city of Baltimore began a municipal lawsuit against the company.  The lawsuit takes a different tactic, arguing that Elon Musk's businesses violated the city's Consumer

  • OpenAI is shutting down its Sora video generation app 9 hours ago by Igor Bonifacic
    Software, Technology & Electronics, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Igor Bonifacic

    OpenAI is shutting down its Sora video generation app. "We're saying goodbye to Sora," the company wrote in a X post published Tuesday afternoon. For now, OpenAI has yet to say when the app and its related API service would become unavailable. Instead, promising to share those details at a later date.    "We've decided to discontinue Sora in the consumer app and API. As we focus and compute demand grows, the Sora research team continues to focus on world simulation research to advance robotics that will help people solve real-world, physical tasks," an OpenAI spokesperson told Engadget.   > We’re saying goodbye to


The Verge

  • The BB-777 is the ultimate in boombox nostalgia 4 hours ago by Terrence O’Brien
    Audio, Gadgets, News, Tech

    Scooby Doo. | Image: Bumpboxx Bumpboxx is fully embracing nostalgia with its latest boombox, the BB-777, which is modeled very closely on the legendary Sharp GF-777. A real deal GF-777 will set you back over $2,000 for one in working order. Plus, that vintage unit lacks modern amenities like Bluetooth or a rechargeable battery. Heck, it doesn't even have a CD player. The BB-777 takes the core of the GF, right down to the dual-cassette decks, control layout, and speaker specs printed above the subwoofers. It's undeniably a gorgeous piece of gear with its vintage silver finish and extensive physical controls. But

  • Instagram and Facebook are about to be filled with affiliate content 7 hours ago by Mia Sato
    Creators, Facebook, Instagram, Meta, News, Online Shopping, Social Media, Tech

    Instagram and Facebook content will soon have shopping links baked into posts, essentially cutting out third-party "link in bio"-style tools. Meta announced Tuesday that it's adding commerce features on the two platforms, though the functionality will be slightly different for each. On Facebook, content creators will be able to link their affiliate accounts they have with brands and tag products in Reels and photos. Typically when an influencer wants to send audiences to their affiliate link, they have to comment on a post with a link to the product, or direct audiences toward an affiliate platform like ShopMy or LTK. Now,

  • Meta misled users about its products’ safety, jury decides 8 hours ago by Lauren Feiner
    Law, Meta, News, Policy, Speech, Tech

    Meta willfully violated New Mexico law by misleading users about the safety of its products and engaging in an unconscionable trade practice, a jury found. The company will face a $375 million penalty for the violations, awarding the maximum penalty of $5,000 per violation for 37,500 violations across two counts. The jury decided against Meta on every count, though it declined to award a penalty as high as the state sought, which would have been closer to $2 billion. It's a landmark verdict delivered just one day after closing arguments. New Mexico argued that Meta had flouted state law by misleading

  • NASA wants to put a $20 billion base on the Moon 8 hours ago by Emma Roth
    NASA, News, Science, Space

    NASA's Artemis II Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. | AFP via Getty Images NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has big plans for the future of the agency, including the construction of a $20 billion lunar base that he said will establish an "enduring presence" on the Moon. Isaacman announced the news during NASA's Ignition event on Tuesday, where he also described goals to launch a nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars, as reported earlier by the New York Times. As a result of plans to establish a base on the Moon, NASA announced that it's pausing its Gateway project "in its current form,"

  • What is ICE actually doing at the airport? 8 hours ago by Gaby Del Valle
    Policy, Politics, Report

    I arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport nearly five hours before my domestic flight. This is not my way - usually I roll up to the airport 30 minutes before boarding - but not even I have enough hubris to think that my good luck is more powerful than a partial government shutdown. Congress has yet to pass a bill funding the Department of Homeland Security, meaning thousands of federal employees from TSA to the Coast Guard are working without pay - or, in the case of TSA, calling out of work, causing staff shortages and hourslong security lines


Wired

  • Rover Promo Codes and Deals: Get Up to $50 This Month 42 minutes ago by Julia Forbes
    Gear, Gear / Deals, Coupons

    Looking for reliable pet care? Use a Rover promo code or referral link to save on dog walking, pet sitting, and boarding services this month.

  • Pentagon’s ‘Attempt to Cripple’ Anthropic Is Troubling, Judge Says 7 hours ago by Paresh Dave
    Business / Artificial Intelligence, Bench, Blowback

    During a hearing Tuesday, a district court judge questioned the Department of Defense’s motivations for labeling the Claude AI developer a supply-chain risk.

  • What You Need to Know About the Foreign-Made Router Ban in the US 11 hours ago by Simon Hill
    Gear, Gear / Gear News and Events, Gear / How To and Advice, Gear / Products / Computers, Broad, Banned

    The FCC just banned the sale of new consumer-grade Wi-Fi routers manufactured outside the US. Here’s what it means for you.

  • Our Favorite Turntable Is $51 Off Before Record Store Day 12 hours ago by Brad Bourque
    Gear, Gear / Deals, Gear / Products, Gear / Products / Audio, Deal, of, the, Day

    Audio-Technica is a leading name in home and professional audio, and the AT-LP120XUSB is a great turntable for most listeners.

  • Arm Is Now Making Its Own Chips 13 hours ago by Lauren Goode
    Business, Business / Artificial Intelligence, Arm, Candy

    The chip design firm says Meta, OpenAI, Cerebras, and Cloudflare are among the first customers of its new artificial intelligence hardware.


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