Google might have been officially ruled to have a monopoly, but we’re still a long way from figuring out exactly what that determination will change at the tech company. Today, the US Department of Justice filed notice of a plan to cross-appeal the decision last fall that Google would not be required to sell off the its Chrome browser. The agency’s Antitrust Division posted about the action on X. According to Bloomberg, a group of states is also joining the appeal filing. 

At the time of the 2025 ruling, the Justice Department had pushed for a Chrome sale to be part of the outcome. Judge Amit Mehta denied the request from the agency. “Plaintiffs overreached in seeking forced divesture of these key assets, which Google did not use to effect any illegal restraints,” Mehta’s decision stated. However, he did set other restrictions on Google’s business activities, such as an end to exclusive deals for distributing some services and a requirement to share select search data with competitors.

Google has already filed its own appeal over this part of its ongoing antitrust battle. Of course, the tech giant is hoping to get off the hook with fewer penalties rather than the heavier ones the DOJ is seeking.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/doj-and-states-appeal-google-monopoly-ruling-to-push-for-harsher-penalties-against-the-company-235115249.html?src=rss

There is concern that subscribers might be negatively affected if Netflix acquires Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD’s) streaming and movie studios businesses. One of the biggest fears is that the merger would lead to higher prices due to Netflix having less competition. During a Senate hearing today, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos suggested that the merger would have an opposite effect.

Sarandos was speaking at a hearing held by the US Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, “Examining the Competitive Impact of the Proposed Netflix-Warner Brothers Transaction.”

Sarandos aimed to convince the subcommittee that Netflix wouldn’t become a monopoly in streaming or in movie and TV production if regulators allowed its acquisition to close. Netflix is the largest subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) provider by subscribers (301.63 million as of January 2025), and WBD is the third (128 million streaming subscribers, including users of HBO Max and, to a smaller degree, Discovery+).

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An anonymous reader shares a report: Google Home users, your long nightmare is over. The platform has finally added support for buttons. The release notes for a February 2 update state that several new starter conditions for automations are now available, including “Switch or button pressed.”

Smart buttons are physical, programmable switches that you can press to trigger automations or control devices in your smart home, such as turning lights on or off, opening and closing shades, running a Good Night scene, or starting a robot vacuum. A great alternative to voice and app control when you want to control multiple devices, smart buttons are often wireless and generally have several ways to press them: single press, double press, and long press, meaning one button can do multiple things.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Last month, Apple TV released a teaser for the second season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, part of Legendary Entertainment’s MonsterVerse, which brought Godzilla, King Kong, and various other monsters (kaiju) created by Toho Co., Ltd into a shared narrative. But we only got the most fleeting glimpse of the promised new mythical Titan threatening the human race. The full trailer just dropped and rectifies that: it’s a gigantic tentacled undersea being dubbed Titan X—and only Kong and Godzilla can stop it.

(Spoilers for Season 1 below.)

As previously reported, the first season picked up where 2014’s Godzilla left off, specifically the introduction of Project Monarch, a secret organization established in the 1950s to study Godzilla and other kaiju—after attempts to kill Godzilla with nuclear weapons failed. In the S1 finale, Godzilla fights off an Ion Dragon, tossing it through a rift back to the Hollow Earth, and Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell) seemingly sacrifices himself to save his colleagues. Per the official Season 2 premise:

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In September 2025, Nvidia and OpenAI announced a letter of intent for Nvidia to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI’s AI infrastructure. At the time, the companies said they expected to finalize details “in the coming weeks.” Five months later, no deal has closed, Nvidia’s CEO now says the $100 billion figure was “never a commitment,” and Reuters reports that OpenAI has been quietly seeking alternatives to Nvidia chips since last year.

Reuters also wrote that OpenAI is unsatisfied with the speed of some Nvidia chips for inference tasks, citing eight sources familiar with the matter. Inference is the process by which a trained AI model generates responses to user queries. According to the report, the issue became apparent in OpenAI’s Codex, an AI code-generation tool. OpenAI staff reportedly attributed some of Codex’s performance limitations to Nvidia’s GPU-based hardware.

After the Reuters story published and Nvidia’s stock price took a dive, Nvidia and OpenAI have tried to smooth things over publicly. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted on X: “We love working with NVIDIA and they make the best AI chips in the world. We hope to be a gigantic customer for a very long time. I don’t get where all this insanity is coming from.”

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2K owner Take-Two has paused development on Borderlands 4 for the Nintendo Switch 2, the company shared during its Q3 2026 earnings presentation. The Switch 2 port was originally planned to be released on October 3, 2025, a few weeks after the game’s September 12 launch on all other platforms, but was indefinitely delayed on September 23.

“We made the difficult decision to pause development on that SKU,” Take-Two told Variety. “Our focus continues to be delivering quality post-launch content for players on the ongoing improvements to optimize the game. We’re continuing to collaborate closely with our friends at Nintendo. We have PGA Tour 2K25 coming out and WWE 2K26, and we’re incredibly excited about bringing more of our titles to that platform in the future.”

When the Borderlands 4 Switch 2 port was originally delayed, the game’s developer Gearbox shared that the port needed “additional development and polish time” and that it hoped to “better align this release with the addition of cross saves.” In Take-Two’s Q2 earnings presentation on November 6, 2025, the Switch 2 port was still listed as having a “TBA” release date. The lack of mention in the company’s Q3 presentation and Take-Two’s comment to Variety pretty much confirm that if a Switch 2 version happens, it won’t be anytime soon. The official Borderlands 4 post-release content roadmap currently lists plans for paid and free story DLC and raid bosses, but nothing related to additional ports of the game.

Grand Theft Auto VI‘s planned November 19 release date is still on the books, however. Rockstar Games’ next blockbuster title was originally supposed to be released in fall 2025, before it was delayed to May 2026 last May. The game was delayed a second and final time — at least for now — in November 2025, to its current November 2026 release date.

There’s still room for another delay, but in the earnings statement Take-Two projected confidence, sharing that Rockstar would start marketing the game this summer. The franchise remains a cash cow, so it’s only natural the company would want to get the rollout of Grand Theft Auto VI right. As part of its earnings presentation, Take-Two shared that Grand Theft Auto V, which was originally released all the way back in 2013, has sold 225 million units.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/take-two-hit-pause-on-the-switch-2-port-of-borderlands-4-222546776.html?src=rss

This is a video of Youtuber Matt Denton constructing an electric powered, 3D printed parts replica of the 1981 LEGO Technics Dune Buggy set 8845. It’s 10.5x larger than the original, so large Matt is able to sit in it to drive. That’s cool, but you can sit in anything if you put your mind to it. Me? I’m forever sitting in wet spots on the sofa. WAS SOMEBODY LICKING OR DID SOMEBODY PEE? I’m asking the dogs, just to be clear. At least I’m hoping I’m asking the dogs, but if my girlfriend has a Red Bull after 5PM all bets are off.

For Christmas, I got my husband and myself YouTube Premium, and as much as I hate paying for yet another streaming service, it’s pretty dang nice. There’s ad-blocking, sure, but there are also other bonuses, like additional playback speed options and audio that continues to play in the background when you lock your phone. However, some users have developed hacks to get a few of these features without a subscription, believing they should be included with the site’s free tier rather than being locked behind a paywall. Google’s been cracking down on ad blockers for a while, but now it’s coming after another common YouTube hack—free background play.

Performing this hack was simple. In many cases, you simply needed to watch YouTube in a non-Chrome browser (and definitely not the official YouTube app). Samsung Internet, for instance, had free YouTube background play officially built-in, with the company even publishing official tutorials on how to use it. Brave also offered this feature, as did Vivaldi. If your browser didn’t support free background play by default, you could also usually find an extension for it.

Unfortunately, according to reporting from Android Authority, the hack no longer seems to work in most cases. Toward the end of January, the site noticed that users across Samsung Internet, Brave, and Microsoft Edge complained that free background play no longer worked for them, even when enabled in their browsers or through an extension. Now Google has responded to a question sent by the publication, confirming that it purposefully broke free background play in third-party browsers, whether enabled in the browser’s settings or through an extension.

“Background playback is a feature intended to be exclusive for YouTube Premium members,” a spokesperson for the company said. “While some non-Premium users may have previously been able to access this through mobile web browsers in certain scenarios, we have updated the experience to ensure consistency across all out platforms.”

Well, dang. I’ve reached out to Google for additional comment, but it seems the eye of Sauron is upon us. Google is now officially cracking down on more than ad blocking.

That said, while Google’s efforts do seem to be affecting many users, not everyone is unable to access background play without paying. One user said it’s now been re-enabled on Brave, and I can confirm that I’m able to access it on Safari with my iPhone using the Vinegar extension.

It’s unclear how long these efforts will remain operational, but at least we’ve now been able to diagnose a cause. Free YouTube background play didn’t break on accident, and that means developers and users will have to be extra crafty to keep the hack alive in the future.

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have more in common with cigarettes than with fruit or vegetables, and require far tighter regulation, according to a new report. The Guardian: UPFs and cigarettes are engineered to encourage addiction and consumption, researchers from three US universities said, pointing to the parallels in widespread health harms that link both.

UPFs, which are widely available worldwide, are food products that have been industrially manufactured, often using emulsifiers or artificial colouring and flavours. The category includes soft drinks and packaged snacks such as crisps and biscuits. There are similarities in the production processes of UPFs and cigarettes, and in manufacturers’ efforts to optimise the “doses” of products and how quickly they act on reward pathways in the body, according to the paper from researchers at Harvard, the University of Michigan and Duke University.

They draw on data from the fields of addiction science, nutrition and public health history to make their comparisons, published on 3 February in the healthcare journal the Milbank Quarterly. The authors suggest that marketing claims on the products, such as being “low fat” or “sugar free,” are “health washing” that can stall regulation, akin to the advertising of cigarette filters in the 1950s as protective innovations that “in practice offered little meaningful benefit.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

A newborn baby has died in New Mexico from a Listeria infection that state health officials say was likely contracted from raw (unpasteurized) milk that the baby’s mother drank during pregnancy.

In a news release Tuesday, officials warned people not to consume any raw dairy, highlighting that it can be teeming with a variety of pathogens. Those germs are especially dangerous to pregnant women, as well as young children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems.

“Raw milk can contain numerous disease-causing germs, including Listeria, which is bacteria that can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth, or fatal infection in newborns, even if the mother is only mildly ill,” the New Mexico Department of Health said in the press release.

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This is a short but delightful ASMR video of a Black and Rufous Sengi (aka elephant shrew) eating a flying insect at the Hertfordshire Zoo and looking too cute to compute the entire time, even if it does have bug hanging out of its mouth. Just look at that snout! Is that a snout? I didn’t do so hot in biology. If only extra credit had been awarded for drawing wings and penises on all the animals in the textbook instead of having to pay for it and go to summer school I’d probably be a doctor now.

If you’ve had trouble using ChatGPT today, you aren’t alone. The AI chatbot is experiencing a partial outage for many users this afternoon. Down Detector reports of issues with the service leapt from almost nothing to more than 12,000 around 3PM ET. 

Down Detector

OpenAI issued a status update noting that “elevated error rates” are occurring for ChatGPT and Platform users. All 13 components of ChatGPT are marked as having “degraded performance” on the OpenAI status page. “We are working on implementing a mitigation,” the company said, although it didn’t provide an anticipated timeline for when the issue might be resolved.

The story is developing…

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/chatgpt-is-down-for-many-users-this-afternoon-210238573.html?src=rss

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It feels like the year just started, but we’re already approaching the first major retail holiday of 2026, and as Lifehacker’s deals writer, I’m here to tell you how to make the most of the upcoming Presidents Day sales.

Here are my tips on which products are likely to be a great buy, and which ones your better off waiting to pick up during a future sale.

When is Presidents Day 2026?

Presidents Day is a federal holiday that originally started to honor George Washington’s birthday, but eventually evolved to recognize all U.S. presidents. Presidents Day falls on the third Monday of February each year, which means this year, it will take place on Feb. 16, 2026.

Presidents Day sales, then, are usually concentrated on the weekend before the holiday, which means that this year, you’re likely to see the biggest discounts from Feb. 13–16—and I wouldn’t be surprised if some retailers start their sales even earlier.

What should you buy during Presidents Day sales this year?

Presidents Day sales generally bring big discounts to items like home furnishings and mattresses, as well as major appliances like refrigerators and washing machines, and you can expect the same this year. As we’re getting close to the end of winter, you’ll likely also see price drops on winter gear like snow blowers, space heathers, and power generators, plus cold weather clothing like coats, as retailers try to sell down their inventory and make room for next season’s items.

You’ll likely see some tech deals as well, as older model TVs and laptops will see price cuts to make room for newer models (some of which likely debuted at January’s CES show). If you’re planning to shop in one of these categories, start paying attention to prices now, so you’ll be able to spot good discounts come the holiday weekend.

What items aren’t worth buying during Presidents Day sales?

Seasons come and go, and even as retailers push their winter inventory out, they will try to sell you their spring products. You should hold off on picking these items up for now, as you’ll likely be paying a premium price—even items that are “marked down” are likely to see bigger price cuts later, if you can wait.

Who will be holding Presidents Day sales?

All major retailers will be having a Presidents Day sale, including Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and others. The sales will generally be available both online and in-person (except at Amazon, of course).

Should you wait for Amazon’s Big Spring Sale? 

Presidents Day is a time-honored tradition, but in recent years, the biggest sale of the early part of the year has been Amazon’s Big Spring Sale (with other retailers planning their own sales events around the same time). While we don’t know the exact dates, its likely this year’s will take place around the same time as last year—in mid- to late March. Is it worth waiting to shop until then? It depends on what you want to buy.

The online retailer debuted the Big Spring Sale in 2024 with many sales on many different categories, but especially on tech, so if you’re eyeing a specific tech product but haven’t found a great deal yet, it’s worth waiting to see if it is discounted in a month or so. However, if you’re shopping for winter gear, mattresses, furniture, or large appliances, you’ll likely see better discounts during Presidents Day sales.

French law enforcement authorities today raided X’s Paris office and summoned Elon Musk for questioning as part of an investigation into illegal content. The Paris public prosecutor’s office said the yearlong probe was recently expanded because the Grok chatbot was disseminating Holocaust-denial claims and sexually explicit deepfakes.

Europol, which is assisting French authorities, said today the “investigation concerns a range of suspected criminal offenses linked to the functioning and use of the platform, including the dissemination of illegal content and other forms of online criminal activity.” Europol’s cybercrime center provided “an analyst on the ground in Paris to assist national authorities.” The French Gendarmerie’s cybercrime unit is also aiding the investigation.

French authorities want to question both Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino, who quit last year amid a controversy over Grok’s praise of Hitler. Prosecutors summoned Musk and Yaccarino for interviews in April 2026, though the interviews are being described as voluntary.

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A new phishing campaign identified by Malwarebytes Labs targets AT&T customers with text messages about expiring rewards points. Users are urged to claim their rewards ASAP by clicking the included link, which is actually designed to harvest sensitive personal information.

AT&T rewards scam phishes personal information

Targets for this scam have received texts containing a “Rewards Expiration Notice” urging them to redeem points in their AT&T account before they are scheduled to expire. The message includes a specific points balance and expiration date along with two “recommended redemption methods”:

• AT&T Rewards Center: [shorturl link]

• AT&T Mobile App: Rewards section

As Malwarebytes discovered, the short link sends users to a https://att.hgfxp[.]cc/pay/, a spoofed website with AT&T branding, headers, menus, and links out to the real AT&T domain. Users are directed to enter their phone number to verify their account, which leads to a screen warning that their points are set to expire. Further down, you can see redemption options, including an Apple Watch Series 9, Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Headphones, and Amazon gift cards.

In order to claim a reward and arrange delivery, victims are then prompted to enter more personal information—which is transmitted directly to the scammers. Malwarebytes notes that the forms have real-time validation and error highlighting so users are less likely to suspect the fraud.

Rewards scam red flags

This scam relies on social engineering tactics—like a sense of urgency and the fear of missing out—to trick targets into engaging. And while it does have a somewhat believable look and feel as well as a multi-step approach to build user trust, it also has some clear red flags. The text originates from a regular phone number rather than a short code, which is often used for automated messages, and the sender doesn’t appear as a recognized AT&T contact. The thread also includes multiple recipients and a generic greeting. (A legitimate message from AT&T will be sent directly to you.)

Then there’s the shortened URL that leads to a website not owned by AT&T. While the page has some realistic branding and working links, it also has a number of typos and grammatical and formatting errors. Malwarebytes found that if you click the link on different days, the expiration date on the site changes.

As always, don’t click links in unsolicited texts. AT&T does have a rewards program, but you should go directly to that portal via the web or app to manage your rewards.

ClickOnThis writes: NASA has delayed the Artemis II launch to March of this year, after a wet dress-rehearsal uncovered a hydrogen leak. From the NASA article: During tanking, engineers spent several hours troubleshooting a liquid hydrogen leak in an interface used to route the cryogenic propellant into the rocket’s core stage, putting them behind in the countdown. Attempts to resolve the issue involved stopping the flow of liquid hydrogen into the core stage, allowing the interface to warm up for the seals to reseat, and adjusting the flow of the propellant.

Teams successfully filled all tanks in both the core stage and interim cryogenic propulsion stage before a team of five was sent to the launch pad to finish Orion closeout operations. Engineers conducted a first run at terminal countdown operations during the test, counting down to approximately 5 minutes left in the countdown, before the ground launch sequencer automatically stopped the countdown due to a spike in the liquid hydrogen leak rate.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.