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Your Android Auto calls are broken because of these hidden settings
Anyone who has ever used Android Auto has likely experienced this issue at some point: you get a call on your phone, pick it up, and then... nothing. You can't hear the person talking, or perhaps you can hear them, but they can't hear you.
Court ruling deals Kashi major setback
Nevada can ban the prediction market platform Kalshi from operating in the state, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
In March 2025, the Nevada Gaming Control Board sent a cease-and-desist letter to Kalshi, arguing that the company operated a sports betting platform in the state, in violation of Nevada gaming regulations.
Kalshi disagreed, characterizing itself as a "designated contract market" (DCM) that offers legal sports event contracts, or "swaps." Nonetheless, its own marketing copy advertised Kalshi as "the first app for legal sports betting in all 50 states," according to the ruling.
SEE ALSO: New York sues Kalshi, claiming it's 'unlicensed gambling'"The substance of the sports event contracts offered on Kalshi’s DCM is sports gambling, regardless of whether Kalshi calls them swaps," Judge Ryan D. Nelson wrote in the opinion.
The judges' unanimous 3-0 decision spells trouble for Kalshi and other prediction market companies that allow people to effectively gamble on sports.
"This completely vindicates what we have been saying all along," Mike Dreitzer, Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman, said in a statement. "This is sports betting and needs to be properly regulated by the state."
Kalshi spokeswoman Dani Lever said the company will seek further review, according to the Nevada Independent.
At the heart of the matter is whether, as Kalshi argued, the Commodity Exchange Act, a federal law that regulates the trading of commodity futures, preempts state gaming regulations as they apply to swaps.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded the CEA didn't preempt state regulation. Still, a separate earlier decision from Philadelphia's Third Circuit backed Kalshi's position.
Zach Fulton, a spokesman for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal regulatory agency for the industry, told the New York Times that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals "erred" in its decision.
"The Ninth Circuit has now teed up a circuit split that calls out for resolution by the Supreme Court," he said.
Heres how to watch NASAs Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launch live
If the weather plays nice, NASA plans to launch its next flagship space observatory this Sunday, and viewers can watch the coverage live online from home.
NASA and SpaceX are targeting the launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope no earlier than 7:26 a.m. ET on Aug. 30 at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The infrared telescope's ride, a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, will lift off from the historic Launch Complex 39A pad, the same that sent Apollo 11 and the maiden voyage of the Space Shuttle into orbit.
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Roman, with a lifecycle cost of about $4.3 billion, combines Hubble-like sharpness with a field of view at least 100 times larger, allowing scientists to map billions of galaxies, probe dark energy and dark matter, and discover exoplanets at an unprecedented scale.
The telescope sees the universe in infrared light, which human eyes cannot see. Its wide surveys let astronomers track how structures, such as stars, galaxies, and galaxy clusters, grow over time, as well as measure how the universe expands.
Mission planners expect Roman images from a major survey to include more than 2 billion galaxies and, over time, reveal tens of thousands of supernova explosions and many new planets.
SEE ALSO: NASA's Roman telescope is built to find what Hubble and Webb missOn launch day, NASA plans a full suite of coverage. The U.S. space agency will stream commentary and views of the rocket on NASA TV and its Youtube channel, beginning at 6:20 a.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 30. Simultaneously, viewers can monitor live updates on the Roman launch blog.
Or, you can bookmark this story, and watch the event unfold live at the broadcast below:
Members of the public can also sign up to be "virtual guests" of the launch. The program sends launch information, notices about schedule changes, and a digital stamp for the NASA virtual guest passport afterward.
As the launch provider, SpaceX also plans to provide live launch coverage from its website and on X, the social platform also owned by SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
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After separation from the rocket, Roman heads for the second sun–Earth Lagrange point, or L2, about 1 million miles away from Earth. This is also the James Webb Space Telescope's home. From there, the mission teams plan a five-year primary science phase, with a goal of operating for 10 years.
Each launch window for the mission is instantaneous, meaning the rocket must lift off at an exact second. Even a minor delay on the launch pad requires a complete cancellation for the day. That strict time constraint is based on orbital geometry and physics.
If for any reason NASA must postpone or scrub the launch, there is a backup opportunity at 7:22 a.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 31.
This is how quickly hackers can find an open port on your router
You've probably opened ports on your router on more than one occasion, maybe for remote access, maybe for a game. And although opening ports isn't necessarily the safest thing to do, many people treat it as something super harmless, because hey, how's anyone going to find that one port?
3 shocking HBO Max documentaries to watch this weekend (August 28-30)
Even as we squeeze every last drop out of the summer, HBO Max still doesn't do things in moderation when it comes to documentaries and docuseries, even if they do start blurring the line into reality-TV territory.
5 overlooked Pixel apps I added to my home screen because I kept forgetting to use them
Saying that Pixel phones are filled to the brim with exclusive features would be, well, quite an appropriate way to describe the amount of stuff Google has packed into its phones. The catch is that many of them are hidden in plain sight, which is why a number of handy Pixel apps and features fly under many people's radar.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s controversial Sam Altman dinner is on hold
The Hamptons’ most talked-about dinner party of the summer will have to wait a little bit longer.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s closely watched dinner honoring OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been postponed, according to The New York Times. The private gathering was originally scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 29, at Paltrow’s home in Amagansett, New York.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.No reason for the postponement was given, so it is unclear whether the online backlash surrounding the event had anything to do with the change. Sources told the Times that the dinner is still expected to happen within the next few weeks, although a new date has not been set.
Still, the delay adds another twist to a dinner that became an internet spectacle before anyone had even taken a seat.
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As Mashable reported Aug. 21, Journalist Matthew Belloni first shared the invitation in his Puck newsletter, revealing that Paltrow planned to host a private, off-the-record conversation” with Altman, followed by dinner.
SEE ALSO: Welcome to the Hamptons, where every day is another sponsored brand activation"I guess summers in the Hamptons just aren’t complete these days without sucking up to our new A.I. overlords," Belloni wrote. "Luckily, Gwyneth Paltrow has you covered."
From there, the backlash arrived quickly. The combination of a wellness mogul, one of the world’s most prominent AI executives, and an off-the-record Hamptons soirée struck some people as "tone-deaf." Other users criticized Paltrow for honoring the head of a company they say threatens the livelihoods of writers, actors, and other creative workers.
Paltrow, however, did not ignore the pile-on. Instead, she responded with an (apparently) AI-generated parody. In a cheeky Instagram carousel, she shared a series of fake invitations to dinners honoring M3GAN, Shrek, Jessica Rabbit, Sex and the City character Samantha Jones, and viral meme character Chanty Beluga. "We’re serving swordfish burritos, Cheddar foam lattes on request," Paltrow wrote in the caption.
View this post on InstagramAs strange as the original invitation may have seemed, the pairing did not come entirely out of nowhere. Paltrow already has ties to both OpenAI and the broader tech world. She reportedly backed OpenAI through Kindred Ventures in 2023 and is friends with Charles Porch, the company’s vice president of global creative partnerships, who helped arrange the dinner.
Paltrow has also recently shown that she knows how to turn a corporate controversy into internet content. After the viral Coldplay kiss-cam scandal involving Astronomer’s former CEO and chief people officer, the company temporarily hired Paltrow as a spokesperson for a tongue-in-cheek ad.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.So, no, the internet did not permanently scare AI away from the Hamptons. It just has to wait a few more weeks to find out whether Paltrow was serious about those cheddar foam lattes.
Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says AGI is already here — and the milestone is senseless
Some AI industry leaders, such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, are obsessed with artificial general intelligence, or AGI. While the term has no universally agreed-upon definition, it generally refers to AI that can match or even surpass human cognitive abilities across a large range of tasks.
In a recent interview, Altman shared that OpenAI believes it will achieve AGI by the end of the year.
However, according to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, AI has, in some respects, already achieved AGI — and it's really no big deal.
Nvidia has become the darling of the tech industry in recent years. The company is an invaluable part of the AI industry because it produces many of the high-performance chips that power the technology.
During an earnings call on Aug. 26, Huang was asked about AGI in light of OpenAI's recent claims.
"For many tasks, we could say that we’ve already achieved AGI," Huang said. "I think of all of those milestones…they’re kind of senseless at this point."
Huang said the focus should be on whether AI is "doing productive and useful work." From a company perspective, Huang added that the concern should be about "generating profitable tokens."
It's unclear exactly what Huang meant when saying Nvidia has already achieved AGI. He pointed to AI’s evolution beyond simply responding to prompts, arguing that agents can now reflect on their performance, learn new skills, and improve their future output.
This is not the first time the Nvidia CEO has claimed the company has achieved AGI.
In a March 2026 interview, podcaster Lex Fridman asked whether an AI that could start, build, and run a billion-dollar company would be achievable within the next 20 years.
"I think it’s now. I think we’ve achieved AGI," Huang replied.
SEE ALSO: NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang says AGI is here — sort ofHowever, Huang then qualified that claim, saying AI might be able to create a billion-dollar viral app but could not build a company like Nvidia. "The odds of 100,000 of those agents building Nvidia," he added, "is zero percent."
3 great new-to-Netflix shows you need to binge this weekend (August 28-30)
August is limping towards the finish line, but apparently Netflix didn’t get the memo about winding down, because in addition to the final season of Outer Banks, three new additions landed on the streamer within the last week, and two of them are already parked in the Top 10.
My DIY server was overheating for months before I found this ridiculous fix
Summer is never particularly kind to technology, and my home server is no exception. Like most homelabbers, I run mine 24/7, and while Ubuntu Server was perfectly happy to keep chugging along, the hardware was starting to give up in the extreme heat. Thankfully, I found a solution, and it was way simpler than you'd think.
What happened to that Wi-Fi blocking paint we were supposed to get?
When it comes to Wi-Fi, most of the time our concerns are related to the signal not going far enough, but the opposite problem also exists. What if you don't want a Wi-Fi signal leaving a room? Or, alternatively, what if you don't want people within a room to receive any radio signals?
This distro nobody talks about is more popular than Ubuntu and Fedora—here's 3 reasons why
Most people shortlisting distros completely skip over MX Linux. There’s no glossy marketing campaign behind it, most YouTube channels don’t cover it, and you probably won’t see it trending on social media. However, at the time of writing, MX Linux ranks number three on DistroWatch, beating popular names like Ubuntu, Fedora, and even Zorin OS—which recently got a million downloads. Here are three reasons that justify its dominant position.
Welcome to the Hamptons, where every day is another sponsored brand activation
On a Friday afternoon in July, Kendall Jenner’s tequila brand 818 transformed The Surf Lodge’s waterfront beach club into a tequila lover’s paradise.
Guests sipped on one-too-many frozen 818 margaritas (made in Ninja SLUSHi machines) and cans of creator Alix Earle-backed cocktail brand SIPMARGS, cooled off with Shark’s new ChillPill handheld fans, and snacked on Popeyes chicken tenders — part of the fast-food chain’s summer-long partnership with The Surf Lodge. Creators including Halley Kate McGookin, Lilly Sisto, and Carly Weinstein mingled with media, customers, and friends of the brand as DJ duo Two Friends performed against the Montauk sunset.
Credit: Sansho Scott/BFA Credit: Sansho Scott/BFAThe party marked National Tequila Day, but it was only one piece of 818’s "Best Summer Ever" campaign. Throughout the season, the brand served tequila and frozen slushies at bars out East and wrapped a jitney in 818 branding. The Hampton Jitney is the coach service that shuttles passengers between New York City and eastern Long Island. The brand also brought influencers and members of its online community to Montauk for a getaway that included two nights of accommodations — designed to look every bit as enviable online as it felt in person.
Credit: Sansho Scott/BFA Credit: Sansho Scott/BFAElaborate as that may sound, 818 was hardly an outlier. Spend a summer weekend in the Hamptons, and there’s a decent chance you’ll encounter a brand activation before you find a parking spot.
SET Active took over Amagansett’s iconic Clam Bar for one night, promising lobster rolls, games, custom keychains, and early access to its Coastline collection. (More than 200 people marked themselves as attending.) Cowboy Colostrum brought several newly famous Love Island USA contestants to both Sag Harbor and Montauk for one of their first brand trips after leaving the villa. Armani Beauty gathered celebrities and creators at The Surf Lodge to introduce its new Dolci Blush. WashWise invited female founders, executives, and creators to a morning of yoga, cold plunges, saunas, and mini therapy sessions in Montauk.
View this post on Instagram View this post on InstagramThe list of activations goes on.
Of course, branded events in the affluent zipcode(s) are nothing new. This summer, however, the Hamptons calendar felt more saturated than ever. So how — and why — did this small stretch of Long Island become such a powerful stage for creator marketing?
"Consumers, creators, tastemakers, and media in one place"The creator marketing industry is expanding quickly. U.S. spending on creator advertising is expected to reach $44 billion in 2026, up from $29.5 billion in 2024. Nearly half of the advertisers surveyed by IAB described creators as a "must buy," placing them behind only social media and paid search.
Sarah Janetti had a front-row seat to that packed calendar. The creator behind @sjeaats and author of the Substack Dish and Tell estimated that she attended at least 15 Hamptons brand events this summer, sometimes squeezing three into a single weekend.
Views from the Reunited Beauty yacht event Credit: Sarah JanettiJanetti rattled off events from Kith and Vivrelle, Fleur du Mal, Creed, ORA Method, and Evolv, but the invitations varied almost as much as the brands. Some leaned into the Hamptons’ built-in glamour: Clean cosmetics label Reunited Beauty celebrated its launch aboard a yacht in Sag Harbor.
View this post on InstagramOthers were more family-friendly. Frozen-treat brand JonnyPops staged a pop-up at Amber Waves Farm, handing out complimentary pops and take-home boxes to visitors. "So many invitations centered on fitness," Janetti told Mashable, with brands using workout classes as a natural setting for creators to try activewear, wellness products, drinks, and beauty items.
Merchandise from Gurney's Montauk Credit: Sarah JanettiTaken together, her schedule resembled a circuit: A creator could spend the morning at a branded workout, the afternoon at a pop-up, and the evening aboard a sponsored yacht, producing several distinct pieces of summer content before the weekend was over.
There’s clear intention behind this strategy. "The Hamptons is uniquely powerful because it brings together consumers, creators, tastemakers, and media in one place," Jenny Brown, executive creative director at 818, told Mashable. "It’s one of the few destinations where people aren’t just experiencing culture—they’re actively documenting it."
Other factors explain why it has become such a hot spot. The most obvious is the audience already there: wealthy residents and vacationers, celebrities, creators, media figures, etc. I mean, the median Hamptons home sold for $2.5 million in the second quarter of 2026, up nearly 32 percent from a year earlier. Brands also get an instantly recognizable backdrop, from beaches and farm stands to sprawling houses and waterfront restaurants. Venues like The Surf Lodge and Gurney’s bring their own cultural cachet and experienced event teams, while the East End sits close enough to New York City for brands to shuttle guests out for an afternoon, a weekend, or the entire summer.
Evolv and OneSkin dinner at Shou Sugi Ban House Credit: Sarah Janetti"You’re meeting people when they’re relaxed and making memories, rather than trying to capture their attention in the middle of a busy weekday," Brown added.
Brown also pointed to a renewed interest in East Coast summer traditions after years of "Euro Summer" dominating social media. "This summer, we’ve seen a real shift toward celebrating iconic American summer destinations," she said.
Has the Hamptons reached activation overload?The obvious drawback is that seemingly every brand has arrived at the same conclusion. In 2025, an executive at event-production company LDJ Productions told Vogue Business that approximately 90 percent of the luxury events the company worked on that summer were held in the Hamptons.
Executing those events is expensive. Companies must account for venue fees, transportation, shipping, production, seasonal staffing, and accommodations in an area with limited housing and punishing weekend traffic. Rain can derail an outdoor activation, while an invitation may be competing with several other events scheduled on the same afternoon that can blur together.
The crowding has already pushed some fashion companies to look elsewhere. A July Business of Fashion report found brands opening stores and hosting events in Nantucket, Newport, and other affluent coastal destinations where there may be less competition. One handbag founder told the publication that cutting through the Hamptons’ noise had become nearly impossible.
But moving the activation circuit somewhere else can bring the new tensions to a new place. Back in July, a Nantucket craft store sparked controversy by displaying a sign that read "No influencers," reviving a broader debate over the rise of creator culture and how disruptive it can be to independent businesses and communities.
SEE ALSO: Nantucket's 'No influencers' sign reignites debate over social media tourismStill, all that backlash is unlikely to bring the influencer era to an end. With creator ad spending on track to reach $44 billion in 2026, these events offer companies more than a single sponsored post. One weekend can generate days of content, introduce products to several audiences, and build an entire aspirational world around a brand.
At their best, these events do more than give creators something to post; they give everyone there something to remember. And it seems the Hamptons is hard to beat — at least this summer.
Is the Ninja HydraSense a miracle water filter? The internet seems to think so.
Another week, another Ninja product gone viral.
This time, however, the viral videos are spurring awe rather than abject horror (please clean your Creami correctly, folks). Following the release earlier this month of the Ninja HydraSense — the brand's first ever water filter — the internet has done what it does best and stress tested the product with liquids that are definitively not water. In goes pickle juice and Sunny D, out goes clear water that users swear tastes like the real deal.
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Our sister site CNET (also owned by Ziff Davis) posted their own HydraSense transformation on TikTok after a rep from Ninja poured red Kool-Aid mix into the HydraSense. Clear water came out of the dispenser, and CNET Managing Editor David Watsky confirmed the result tasted like clean water.
TikTok user Michael DiCostanzo used the HydraSense to create a spin on the blind soda guessing game. In his version, he guessed which non-water drink (a word used generously here) yielded which water, featuring everything from fruit punch to hot dog water. Spoiler: He was able to correctly identify four out of six of the beverages, but he did maintain that the taste got awfully close to water, especially considering the source material.
I reached out to SharkNinja for their official guidance on pouring anything that's not water into the filter, and will update this article once I hear back. That said, they aren't exactly discouraging it in their own promo materials. A TikTok on the official SharkNinja page shows a product developer pouring green soda into the filter and dispensing clear water out of it.
So what makes this filter so effective? According to Ninja, the HydraSense uses its Precision Pressure Technology, which removes up to 80 contaminants (compared to eight by other brands), while preserving minerals like calcium, magnesium, and potassium. And yes, Shark does have the certification from the National Sanitation Foundation to prove these claims.
The countertop filter can hold up to 96 ounces of water, filters water quickly, and lets you know when to change your filters thanks to a built-in monitor. It's not the basic Brita you used in your college dorm. It's also priced to match, at $199.99, with replacement filters going for $39.99. But hey — can your standard reverse osmosis filter turn shelf-stable orange juice into water?
Ninja HydraSense $199.99 at AmazonShop Now at Amazon
Could GTA 6 teach Gen Z how to be in a relationship?
Grand Theft Auto VI will present players with no shortage of unfamiliar challenges, from elaborate robberies to its revamped police system. But for a generation increasingly reaching adulthood without much dating experience, the game’s most novel mechanic may be answering a partner’s goodnight text.
Following Netflix’s GTA 6 Extended Look, IGN published details from an additional gameplay demonstration at Rockstar’s studio. The preview revealed that GTA 6 includes an optional relationship system that allows players to shape the bond between its protagonists, Jason and Lucia. Maintaining their relationship requires more than completing missions together, though: Players can explore Leonida as a couple, plan activities, communicate over text, and make small choices that affect how close they become.
Many online have realized the implications.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed."This may just be some gamers’ first experience of putting effort into a relationship," one Instagram commenter wrote. Another predicted that Lucia would become some players’ first-ever girlfriend at all. Many X users imagined taking Lucia on dates "while my IRL relationship falls apart."
The joke isn’t coming out of nowhere. For many Gen Z adults, dating simply wasn’t a standard part of adolescence. Only 56 percent said they had a boyfriend or girlfriend as teenagers, compared with roughly seven in 10 millennials and more than three-quarters of Gen Xers and baby boomers.
For some, that delayed start has continued into adulthood. A 2025 survey found that three in 10 Gen Z adults had never gone on a romantic date, including one-third of Gen Z men.
SEE ALSO: Why Gen Z is ditching mainstream dating apps for 'hyper-niche' spacesThat doesn’t mean young people have given up on love. In fact, the disconnect between wanting a relationship and feeling prepared for one may help explain why GTA 6’s system has struck such a chord. A nationally representative survey found that 86 percent of single Gen Z respondents wanted a committed relationship, but only 55 percent felt ready to pursue one.
How does GTA 6’s relationship system work? This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.Rockstar’s new system turns the basic work of maintaining a relationship into something players can practice — or avoid — inside one of the most anticipated games ever made. According to IGN’s preview, Jason and Lucia can spend time together by shopping, playing pool, kayaking, working out, visiting the zoo, or buying each other food. They can hold hands and help one another choose outfits. Robbing a gas station together also builds their bond, because every couple needs shared interests.
When the protagonists are apart, players can also call or text the other character. Rockstar North co-studio head Rob Nelson said one might message to say they are going to bed and ask whether everything is OK. Sending a quick response will apparently suffice. Ignoring the message, however, "may impact your relationship a bit."
SEE ALSO: 'GTA 6' Netflix extended look: Everything we learned about the plot in the 26-minute revealFor some players, the idea of managing both sides of a virtual relationship raised an obvious question: Isn’t that just texting yourself? Some Instagram commenters wondered the same, comparing the mechanic to playing chess against yourself.
Still, the relationship appears to be less about choosing the correct dialogue response and more about doing the ordinary things that keep a relationship going: answering texts, running errands, trying new activities, and choosing to spend time together (even when no mission requires it).
That approach also aligns with what young audiences increasingly want to see onscreen. A 2025 survey of 1,500 people ages 14 to 24 found that nearly 61 percent wanted romantic relationships in entertainment to emphasize the friendship between a couple over sex. So far, that sounds a lot like Jason and Lucia’s story, which seems built as much around everyday companionship as romance in this "Bonnie and Clyde" type tale.
Don’t worry, though: Players can opt out of the romance if they aren’t interested. Jason and Lucia will remain partners in crime regardless of how close they become and will continue working together and having each other’s backs, but Nelson said that completing story missions together may not be enough to keep them romantically involved. He told IGN that Rockstar did not want to "foist" a relationship on players.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.Players have spent years preparing to survive Leonida. They may not have expected to practice being a good partner there, too.
Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to the latest Connections.
My phone case now measures things, and it's thanks to one clever mechanism
Recently, I had the realization that phone cases are underdeveloped real estate. Few things are with us as often as our phones, and that includes anything attached to them. So, why not have a phone case that can also be used as a tool?
Trump administration acted illegally in fight against Anthropic, judge rules
The Trump administration's dramatic decision to mark Anthropic's AI models as a "supply chain risk" earlier this year was illegal, a federal judge has ruled.
"The empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics," wrote Judge Rita Lin in a 59-page ruling. The judge determined the federal government unlawfully retaliated against Anthropic despite its engaging in "constitutionally protected expressive activities."
SEE ALSO: Elon Musk's SpacexAI faces another lawsuit from child sexual abuse survivorLin pointed to renewed conversations between Anthropic and the federal government, as well as the government's decision to back away from national security allegations, as corroboration that the designation was an attempt to make a public example of the company, the New York Times reported.
"We welcome the court’s ruling that this supply chain risk designation was unlawful. We remain focused on working productively with the government to harness A.I. for our national security so all Americans benefit from this technology," Anthropic said in a statement following the decision.
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Anthropic filed a series of lawsuits in March, amid a heated back and forth between the developer, the Department of War, and President Donald Trump himself over the government's potential use of Anthropic's AI models for nationwide surveillance or lethal autonomous weapons.
The complaint accused the federal government of engaging in a targeted campaign against the company following the contract disagreement. Anthropic argued that the government's designation, typically reserved for foreign companies and national security risks, was an overly broad interpretation and "ideologically motivated."
Trump himself directed an immediate blacklisting of Anthropic products across federal offices, calling the developers "leftwing nut jobs" and Anthropic itself a "radical left, woke" AI company.
Following the fallout, which received widespread attention, Anthropic and the federal government reentered negotiations.
Then, in June, Anthropic was forced to pull its latest Claude Fable 5 and Claude Mythos 5 models under an export control directive from the federal government, citing security concerns about foreign nationals' access to the technology.
SEE ALSO: Claude Fable 5 vs GPT 5.5: Is this why the Trump admin banned one and not the other? What does the decision mean for AI companies?Civil society groups see the ruling as a win for free speech proponents amid a government that is increasingly pushing back against dissenters.
"Yesterday’s ruling is a vindication of the First Amendment and a clear reminder that the government isn’t allowed to use national security designations to punish companies or individuals for public criticisms or business disagreements," said Greg Nojeim, senior counsel at the Center for Democracy & Technology. "Procurement policy can’t be an end run around the Constitution. The Pentagon can pick and choose which products it wants to buy. It can’t use the power of its size and position to stamp out disagreement."
GTA 6 Cyberleek update: Everything leaked so far, what might be coming next
Over the past week or so, someone (or perhaps a group of people) called Cyberleek has been very busy sharing short gameplay clips of Grand Theft Auto 6. On Aug. 20, Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of GTA-maker Rockstar Games, filed subpoenas against Microsoft and Discord to try to unmask the leaker, followed soon after by subpoenas against Google and X Corp. Those filings specifically cited "stolen content," seemingly confirming that at least some of the Cyberleek videos are legitimate.
Prior to Thursday's "Extended Look" on Netflix, the GTA 6 leaks represented the first real glimpse of gameplay from the hotly anticipated title. In addition, countless AI-generated videos posing as "leaks" have been circulating widely on social media. So, we've put together a quick list of everything Cyberleek released before seemingly throwing in the towel. We're not going to embed or link to any of these clips; however, they're easy enough to find on X or Reddit if you look hard enough.
SEE ALSO: What is Cyberleek? Everything we know about the alleged GTA 6 leakers. Every GTA 6 leak from Cyberleek so farAt the time of publication, 16 gameplay clips and three map screenshots have been posted by Cyberleek that show different aspects of GTA 6, including glimpses of cutscenes. The leaker did post some minor story spoilers in the most recent release, so be careful if you want to avoid them.
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Here are the GTA 6 leaks Cyberleek has shared so far:
Map sneak peek 1: A small, cropped portion of the in-game world map, showing a location called Dalton Island.
Map sneak peek 2: Another cropped portion of the map showing locations called Tequesta Retreat, Gloriana Key, and Catalan Key.
Basketball video: A clip of protagonist Jason Duval throwing a basketball into a hoop in a mini-game.
Full map: An alleged view of the entire in-game map.
Random video 1: A clip of Jason driving around for a little bit before beating up a truck driver.
Taser video: A clip of Jason driving at night, stealing a security guard's taser, and using it on him. Jason then repeatedly kicks the guard while he is on the ground.
Junkies video: A clip that appears to show a healing drug called Zombix. A tooltip indicates that Zombix's effects will weaken over time if the player uses it too much.
Plane video: A clip of Jason flying a plane over Vice City, with much of the game world visible below. At the end, whoever is playing the game in the clip shoots the word "LEEK" into a wall with bullets, suggesting the leaker has a playable build of the game.
Hypercar part 1: A clip of Jason driving a high-end sports car around Vice City.
Hypercar part 2: A clip of Jason driving the sports car some more, before committing armed robbery.
Strip club: Jason wanders around a strip club, then a short clip of an in-game cutscene is shown.
Gas station: Jason causes trouble at a gas station, steals a truck with a bed full of gasoline, and crashes and dies; more of the previous cutscene is shown.
Plane video 2: Jason flies a plane over Vice City at night.
Nudist colony: Jason explores a nudist hangout spot (where the NPCs are, obviously, nude) and attacks NPCs.
Nightclub: A pretty uneventful video of Jason walking around the interior of a nightclub.
Beach cycling: Jason riding a bicycle on a beach full of NPCs.
Video game store: Jason walking around a video game store with shelves full of fake video game boxes.
How does Cyberleek drive?: Jason steals a hotrod and evades the police; the clip ends with a cutscene showing Lucia Caminos, the game's second playable character, for the first time. Caminos talks about someone who "drives like a bitch."
Lucia prologue: A four-and-a-half-minute video of a prologue introducing Caminos; the clip includes minor story spoilers.
Cyberleek was running polls on its website that allowed people to pay in cryptocurrency to vote on what should be leaked next. In recent days, Cyberleek teased footage featuring the Lucia Caminos character, in particular. On Wednesday, Cyberleek made good on those promises and released a short cutscene with Caminos, followed by an extended look at the character's prologue.
However, that appears to be the end of it. Cyberleek's crypto meme coin appears to have been completely cashed out for about $250,000, and its value has cratered to a tiny fraction of its former value. Additionally, since before Thursday's official trailer on Netflix, Cyberleek has gone completely silent. No new leaks have appeared since Wednesday.
You can see the game officially nowSpeaking of the Netflix trailer, it's now on YouTube in all of its 26-minute glory. There were plenty of little details that Cyberleek never showed, such as gameplay footage of Lucia, among many other things. If you want a real idea of how GTA 6 works, you're probably better off watching the Netflix video than anything Cyberleek posted at this point.
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Updated on Friday, Aug. 28 at 1:30 p.m. ET — We've updated this story with additional details.
Updated on Wednesday, Aug. 26 at 3:20 p.m. ET — We've updated this story with details on Rockstar's statement and additional GTA 6 leaks.
Updated on Tuesday, Aug. 25 at 11:40 a.m. ET — We've updated this story to reflect the latest Cyberleek videos.
Updated on Monday, Aug. 24 at 1:30 p.m. ET — We've updated this story to reflect the latest Cyberleek leaks.
Updated on Friday, Aug. 21 at 3:00 p.m. ET — Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., the parent company of Grand Theft Auto-maker Rockstar Games, has filed two subpoenas naming Microsoft and Discord as it hunts the leaker known as Cyberleek. The legal filings specifically cite "stolen content," seemingly confirming that the leaks are legitimate. Take-Two is also requesting the removal of leaked material that violates its copyrights, as well as information that could unmask the leakers. Read more about the Microsoft and Discord subpoenas.
The latest Apple price hike: Apple TV streaming service
One of the last remaining Apple products to avoid a price hike so far this year just got more expensive.
On Friday, Apple bumped the price of its Apple TV streaming service to $14.99 per month or $119 per year.
And if you were hoping to renew your subscription before the price hike at the previous rate of $12.99 per month or $99 annually, it's too late. The Apple TV price hike took effect immediately.
Those who subscribe to the Apple One Individual bundle will also pay more as a result, as the price jumped from $19.95 per month to $21.95 per month. Apple One bundles Apple TV, Apple Music, Apple Arcade, and 50GB of iCloud storage into one subscription.
Guess what Apple will release in September in our Big Guessing Game: Apple edition. Enter now for a chance to win an Apple Watch!
Apple previously raised Apple TV prices last August, bumping the price from $9.99 to $12.99, back when the service was still called Apple TV+. Apple dropped the "plus" from the branding in October 2025. Apple's streaming film and TV service now costs $10 per month more than it did when it launched in 2019 at an affordable rate of $4.99 per month.
SEE ALSO: Apple TV+ just got more expensive. Again.However, Apple TV has a lot more to offer now than when it first launched. Unlike other streaming services that focus on distributing third-party movies and TV shows, Apple has focused entirely on original series and films. It seems to have paid off, as Apple TV is the exclusive streaming home of Ted Lasso, Severance, The Studio, Pluribus, and more. Apple TV also includes all Major League Soccer (MLS) games, which could be another draw for the service, especially after the World Cup.
Apple has been hiking prices for all of its products and services this year. Devices such as MacBooks and iPads went up by as much as $500 in June. Just one month later, Apple raised the price of another one of its streaming services, Apple Music, from $10.99 to $11.99 per month. Now, it's Apple TV's turn.
This leaves the iPhone as the last remaining major price hike holdout. But, that won't be the case for long. Apple is reportedly planning to raise iPhone prices at its big annual September event in just a few weeks.
It seems like there isn't any major Apple product that will avoid a price hike this year — unless you count the Apple Polishing Cloth, which dropped from $19 to $9.
TikTok has a new question: Can your boyfriend read?
First, TikTok wanted to know whether your boyfriend would peel an orange for you. Then, whether he cared that you saw a bird. Now, users on the app have arrived at a more fundamental question: Can your boyfriend read?
In the latest relationship trend spreading across TikTok, women hand their boyfriends or husbands lists of words and ask them to read each one aloud. The lists vary, but each version includes words that are tricky to pronounce based on their spelling, yet common enough that most adults would recognize them: "epitome," "hyperbole," "colonel," "quinoa," and "niche," among others.
Then the boyfriends have a go — and, in many of the videos, get nearly all of them wrong. And viewers have found it increasingly difficult to blame every answer on the English language being notoriously quirky.
"This trend has unearthed a fear of mine that I didn’t know existed before this past week," creator Isabella Von Ghoul said in a response video, adding: "The state has failed your man, and I’m scared." Influencer Christina Najjar, also known as Tinx, asked women, "Why are you guys boasting that your boyfriends can’t read?" and creator Daniel Bennett was even more direct: "In the videos, the girlfriends are giggling. But we aren’t laughing with you. We’re laughing at you."
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.On Reddit, where a post asking “Why can’t Gen Z read?” attracted hundreds of comments, some users viewed the sheer number of boyfriend videos as evidence of a generational problem. Many on X encouraged girlfriends to "either dump or immediately begin to get [your boyfriends] to start educating themselves."
The reaction reflects a larger conversation that had already been building online before the challenge emerged. Earlier this summer, viewers treated the vocabulary of the Love Island USA Season 8 cast as evidence that America’s literacy crisis had reached the villa. Islanders mispronounced words, mixed up common expressions, and, in one episode, even floated using ChatGPT to help write a love letter.
Contestant Sincere received particular attention after pronouncing "epitome" incorrectly (yes, a word featured in the TikTok challenge), saying that he wanted to "emerge" himself in the experience, and describing someone as a "ball" of fresh air. He wasn't alone, fellow Islander Jen pronounced "compromise" as though it contained the word "promise."
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.Of course, a few verbal flubs on reality television cannot diagnose someone’s literacy, much less prove the existence of a national crisis. But the numbers help explain why viewers are so ready to interpret them that way.
According to the latest federal data, the percentage of American adults ages 16 to 65 performing at the lowest literacy level rose from 19 percent in 2017 to 28 percent in 2023. Men performed slightly worse at the bottom of the scale: The share of male adults at Level 1 or below increased from 19 to 29 percent, compared with an increase from 18 to 26 percent among women. (However, NCES found no statistically significant gender gap in overall literacy scores.)
Those scores are only one part of the growing concern. Federal data shows that the share of adults who read at least one book fell from 54.6 percent in 2012 to 48.5 percent in 2022, while daily reading among 13-year-olds nearly halved. College professors have responded by shortening reading lists as students struggle to finish full books, and some now use ChatGPT to bypass difficult texts entirely. In July, The Atlantic described this shift as "The End of Reading," arguing that the country may be becoming "post-literate": Most people can read, but sustained reading is increasingly treated as an unnecessary burden.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.Boyfriends have become their own recurring category of TikTok content, often in genuinely charming ways. Last year, the "my boyfriend wants to show you" trend encouraged men to proudly explain their plants, Lego sets, golf clubs, and other interests while their partners demanded that viewers pay attention and leave supportive comments.
There are also tests: The orange peel theory instructed women to ask their partners for an orange and treat their willingness to peel it as a measure of devotion. The bird theory judged whether a partner responded enthusiastically when told about a bird sighting. In the "name a woman" challenge, girlfriends asked their partners to name any woman and reacted with mock horror when they received an answer other than their own name.
SEE ALSO: TikTok trend features women protecting soft-spoken boyfriends showing off their special interestsAs people have previously warned about TikTok relationship tests, a single recorded interaction cannot reliably determine whether a relationship is loving, healthy, or built to last. Not that that has ever stopped TikTok from trying.
Nevertheless, trends don't emerge in a vacuum. As more information arrives through short videos, podcasts, and AI-generated summaries, it appears these days you may not know how your partner processes the written word...until a TikTok list forces him to try.


