The Drug Enforcement Administration has quietly ended its body camera program barely four years after it began, ProPublica reports, citing an internal email. From the report: On April 2, DEA headquarters emailed employees announcing that the program had been terminated effective the day before. The DEA has not publicly announced the policy change, but by early April, links to pages about body camera policies on the DEA’s website were broken.

The email said the agency made the change to be “consistent” with a Trump executive order rescinding the 2022 requirement that all federal law enforcement agents use body cameras. But at least two other federal law enforcement agencies within the Justice Department — the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — are still requiring body cameras, according to their spokespeople.

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The Golden Globes is expanding beyond film and TV with a new category. It will dole out an award for the best podcast of the year starting at next January’s ceremony. Organizers told Variety that the idea was to recognize the influence and reach of podcasts within the spectrum of entertainment.

Six finalists will be selected from the 25 most popular podcasts across audio and video formats (sorry, middle-aged dads who spent hundreds of dollars on recording gear to grouse about their team in their basement studios). So it’s likely that more celebrities could appear on the show.

Amy Poehler and Trevor Noah have podcasts that are among the 25 largest in the US on Spotify. SmartLess — the show hosted by actors Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes — is on the list too. As such, the best podcast award feels like a ploy by the Golden Globes to get more stars on the show, which would make it quite funny if, say, The Daily won instead.

It feels like an odd move for the Golden Globes (which started handing out an award for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement last year) to wade into the podcasting world. Still, it’s nice to see a mainstream awards ceremony shining a spotlight on podcasts. There are dedicated awards shows for podcasts, but the Golden Globes is putting them on a bigger stage.

Other awards shows have been refining their category lineups. We’ll soon start seeing a long-overdue category for stunt work at the Oscars. On the other hand, it was a little disappointing to see the Emmy for short-form animated program being cut last year due to a drop in submissions.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/the-golden-globes-will-start-giving-an-award-to-the-best-podcast-of-the-year-154905589.html?src=rss

Summer brings sunshine, vacations, outdoor concerts—and the inability to leave your house without accidentally spending 20 bucks. Your budget is never a truly fixed thing. It changes with the state of the economy (hello, tariffs), your paycheck, and even the changing of the seasons. With a bit of planning, you can enjoy all the summer season has to offer without the financial stress. Here are my hacks to create a practical summer budget that lets you make the most of these warmer months without breaking the bank.

Plan around events, not calendar dates

One of the biggest summer budgeting mistakes is thinking in terms of months rather than specific activities. Instead of creating a general “July budget,” break down your summer into the actual events you plan to attend:

• Family beach vacation

• Wedding weekend

• Local festivals

• Holiday celebrations

• Back-to-school shopping

By organizing your budget around specific events, you can allocate funds more precisely and avoid the “where did my money go?” feeling at the end of the month.

Set a weekly “spontaneous spend” cap

Summer weekends often bring impromptu invitations—a backyard BBQ where you need to bring something, a last-minute beach day, or an outdoor concert you just heard about. Rather than letting these spur-of-the-moment activities derail your budget, create a dedicated “spontaneous spend” allowance each week.

Whether it’s $30 or $100, having this pre-approved fun money gives you the freedom to say “yes” to unexpected opportunities without guilt, while still maintaining financial boundaries.

Embrace “themed” savings accounts

I’ve said before that dividing your money into multiple accounts helps you see all your saving goals separately, so they’ll be easier to track. Similar to cash stuffing (where you can only spend money in a certain category from its designated envelope), this approach forces you to be more intentional and disciplined about where your money is going.

Create separate digital envelopes or savings accounts for your major summer expenses: summer travel, kids’ camp costs, recurring happy hour appointments, and so on.

Most online banks let you create multiple savings buckets at no extra cost. By keeping these funds separate from your regular checking account, you’ll resist the temptation to dip into your vacation money for everyday expenses.

Implement the 24-hour rule for summer purchases

When temperatures rise, so does impulse spending on seasonal items like new patio furniture, outdoor gear, or summer fashion. Combat this by instituting a 24-hour waiting period for any non-essential purchase over $50.

Often, the cooling-off period reveals that you don’t actually need that inflatable pool flamingo or designer sunglasses. For larger purchases, extend this to a 48-hour or even 72-hour rule.

Create a summer-specific meal plan

Food costs typically increase during summer months due to social gatherings, vacation eating, and, you know, the temptation of ice-cream trucks. Some ways you can combat this:

• Planning picnic-friendly, portable meals that work for beach days or park outings

• Researching grocery stores at your vacation destination and planning a “first day” shopping trip

• Setting a specific “dining out” budget for vacation days

• Taking advantage of seasonal produce that’s cheaper during summer months

A summer-focused meal plan acknowledges that your eating patterns change with the season while keeping food expenses in check. Plus, it gives you an excuse to get into some new recipes! Check out my colleague Allie Reinmann’s tips for making the most of summer berries, or whipping up a budget-friendly summery shrimp roll.

Audit your subscription services before vacations

Before heading out on summer trips, take inventory of your subscription services. Are you paying for streaming services you won’t use while traveling? Consider pausing memberships like:

• Gym memberships

• Meal kit deliveries

• Beauty box subscriptions

• Digital subscriptions you won’t have time for

Many services offer pause options rather than full cancellations, making it easy to temporarily reduce monthly expenses during your heaviest travel periods.

Build in budget buffer zones

Even the best budget needs flexibility, especially during summer. As you’re estimating travel costs and setting spend caps, add a 15% buffer. Gas prices, summer storms, and all other kinds of unexpected costs always emerge. This buffer creates financial breathing room and prevents minor overages from snowballing into major budget problems.

The bottom line

Summer should be about creating memories, not financial stress. A little preparation now means you can focus on sunshine and fun later—without the looming dread of post-summer credit card bills.

Remember that the best summer budget isn’t necessarily the tightest one, but rather the one that aligns with your priorities and gives you permission to enjoy what matters most to you this season.

Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom says AI companies are trying too hard to “juice engagement” by pestering their users with follow-up questions, instead of providing actually useful insights. From a report: Systrom said the tactics represent “a force that’s hurting us,” comparing them to those used by social media companies to expand aggressively.

“You can see some of these companies going down the rabbit hole that all the consumer companies have gone down in trying to juice engagement,” he said at StartupGrind this week. “Every time I ask a question, at the end it asks another little question to see if it can get yet another question out of me.”

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One major surprise in the Trump administration’s “skinny budget” proposal for NASA, released last Friday, was a demand that the US space agency reduce its activities on the International Space Station.

“The Budget reduces the space station’s crew size and onboard research, preparing for a safe decommissioning of the station by 2030 and replacement by commercial space stations,” stated the budget request for fiscal year 2026. “Crew and cargo flights to the station would be significantly reduced. The station’s reduced research capacity would be focused on efforts critical to the Moon and Mars exploration programs.”

The budget proposal estimates this would save $508 million from a budget of about $3 billion annually to support the International Space Station.

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Apple’s latest diminutive desktop, the M4 Mac mini, is on sale via Amazon for more than $100 off. That brings the price of the entry-level model down to just $495. This version includes 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. The 16GB/512GB model costs $743 and the 24GB/512GB model is down to $906. Even some of the versions with the slightly more powerful M4 Max chip are on sale.

The M4 Mac mini is a nice little upgrade. We called it “shockingly small” and “incredibly powerful” in our official review of the Pro model. Both of those descriptors stand. The mini is still cute and teensy and the M4 chip is still more than enough for everyday computing tasks and fully capable of more intensive applications.

There are some front-facing USB-C ports, which is always handy with a desktop, and support for up to three external displays. Even the entry-level version offers 16GB of RAM, which is great. The chip is faster than ever, making this an extremely budget-friendly way to get in on the Apple Silicon party.

There are a few more USB-C ports on the back, which is useful, but this unit offers no USB-A ports. The 256GB of storage offered by the base model could get a bit tight, but it’s certainly doable for more casual users. Plus, those ports are always available for an external SSD.

One curious design choice here is that the power button is along the bottom of the rear end. This can lead to some awkward movements when trying to turn it on, as it basically has to be tipped over. Otherwise, this is a great device.

Check out our coverage of the best Apple deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/apples-m4-mac-mini-is-more-than-100-off-at-amazon-151509626.html?src=rss

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Microsoft announced a pair of ultraportable Surface devices yesterday, both of which differ significantly from their predecessors. There’s the creatively named Surface Laptop 13-inch, which is shrunken down from the previous model’s 13.8-inches, as well as a new version of the Surface Pro, which is down from 13-inches to a 12-inch chassis. Like the rest of the Surface lineup, both are positioned to compete in the same space as Apple’s MacBook Air, which comes in 13-inch and 15-inch varieties, and the latter could even potentially come for the iPad Pro, which hovers around a similar price point. The trick this time around? Aside from being smaller, they’re also cheaper.

The compromises

Along with shrinking the sizes and prices on these new Surface devices, Microsoft has also cut down the specs a bit to match. The 13-inch laptop, available in ocean (a metallic blue), violet, or platinum finishes, slashes the resolution of the previous iteration down from 2304 x 1536 to 1920 x 1280, to accommodate the smaller display. The panel also lacks HDR, and the refresh rate has dropped from 120Hz down to 60Hz. 

The 12-inch Pro model also, notably, doesn’t include a keyboard by default, although this isn’t entirely unique for the Surface Pro. The Surface keyboard has been redesigned, too, and while it still connects magnetically, it lays flat rather than at an angle. Additionally, Microsoft has ditched the included slot for the Surface Pen, which will now attach to, and charge directly on, the back of the Surface Pro itself. Finally, the Pro’s display has also dumped some refresh rate overboard, dropping to 90Hz from 120Hz, although it maintains a 2196 x 1464 resolution.

Also gone from both Surface models are the handy Surface Connect ports with their magnetic attachment points, replaced with standard USB-C 3.2 ports. While this means fewer proprietary cables, it also means that there’s a danger of tripping on the cord and, instead of having the cable easily disconnect, pulling your entire laptop onto the floor. 

Finally, for internals, both of the new Surface devices are built around the 8-Core Snapdragon X Plus chip from Qualcomm. These lose two cores off the default of prior models. Both also default to a respectable 16GB of RAM, though a fairly scant 256GB of storage, with the option to double it to 512GB (the default on prior models) if you’re willing to pay for the privilege. 

Can these budget Surface models hold up against Apple?

Generally, when it comes to raw specs, Apple’s alternatives outclass these new Surface releases, with one caveat. Let’s start with displays.

Here, Apple has more features and supports higher resolutions. The Liquid Retina panel in the MacBook offers HDR with a resolution at 2560 x 1664, although it’s also limited to a 60Hz refresh rate. Meanwhile, despite being smaller then the 12-inch Surface Pro, the iPad Pro 11-inch model sports a sharp 2420 x 1668 resolution (which can go up to 2752 x 2064 on the 13-inch version), plus it’s OLED and has a variable refresh rate that tops out at 120Hz. 

As for performance, while the Snapdragon chip in the new Surfaces is certainly efficient, it doesn’t compare favorably to Apple’s M4 chip, which is at the heart of both the latest iPad Pro and MacBook Air. It falls behind in both single-core and multi-core performance, so Apple’s devices have a clear advantage for those that prioritize horsepower.

But one significant difference between the two Surface devices is how they’re cooled, which sees at least one improvement over prior Surface iterations. Like the MacBook Air and iPad Pro, the smaller 12-inch Pro is completely fanless, and the more thermally efficient processor has also allowed Microsoft to remove the vents present in the previous version of the Pro. Sadly, the same can’t be said of the 13-inch Surface Laptop, which still includes fans.

Lower prices

Microsoft’s goal with these new models seems to have been to keep prices as low as possible, so these compromises do come with savings, and here is one spot where PC beats Mac.

Starting prices for these models fall below $1,000 and, most importantly, below the MSRP of the MacBook Air and iPad Pro. The Surface Laptop 13-inch starts at $899 and the Surface Pro 12-inch at $799, while the base MacBook Air retails for $999 for the 13-inch model and $1,199 for the 15-inch model. The iPad Pro, meanwhile, starts at $999 for the 11-inch version and $1,299 for the 13-inch upgrade. If cost is king, the new Surface lineup may be the best fit for you, but bear in mind that there’s only a $100 margin between the base price of the Surface Laptop and the MacBook Air.

That said, upgrades are costly on both sides. Again, adding the keyboard to the 12-inch Pro will add another $150 to your price tag, and bumping the storage up to 512GB will inflate the price another $100, meaning you’re looking at $1,049 for the full package. Similarly, the 13-inch laptop jumps another $100 if you want to increase the storage to 512GB, totaling $999. But upgrading nearly any facet of one of the Apple devices adds up quickly as well; for instance, jumping from 256GB to 512GB of storage on the Air will immediately add $200 to the price tag. 

So, as is common when looking at PC vs. Mac, the question ultimately comes down to price vs. performance. Surface is now more budget-friendly than ever, but there are compromises to keep in mind with those savings. Luckily, the rest of Microsoft’s Surface lineup is still as available as ever, so if you pay up, you can find more performant alternatives to Apple’s machines.

The Surface Laptop 13-inch is available to preorder from Amazon, Microsoft, and other retailers. The Surface Pro 12-inch is also available for preorder from Best Buy, Microsoft, and Amazon, and both models will begin shipping on May 20th. 

Netflix has been gradually culling its library of interactive content for a while now, but Black Mirror’s Emmy award winning Bandersnatch was one of the few survivors. Until now. As spotted by What’s on Netflix, the choose-your-own-adventure film set in a fictional game development studio will be leaving the service globally on May 12.

At the beginning of December 2024, only four of Netflix’s “Interactive Specials” remained, of which Bandersnatch was one. As of today there are only two left. The other is Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend, which first debuted back in 2020 and is also being removed imminently.

Netflix’s first interactive effort was 2017’s Puss in Book: Trapped in an Epic Tale, but Bandersnatch, which arrived the following year, was the first to be targeted at an adult audience, and arguably the company’s most successful of these experiments. Set in the UK in the mid-80s, it follows a young programmer who sets out to adapt a dark fantasy novel into a story-driven video game, before things inevitably take a dark turn. The film featured multiple endings and branching paths based on the decisions you made, and went on to win two Primetime Emmy Awards.

Which probably leaves you wondering why Netflix is getting rid of it. Back in December, company spokesperson Chrissy Kelleher told The Verge that the technology had “served its purpose, but is now limiting as we focus on technological efforts in other areas.”

Actual video games still feature prominently in the overhauled Netflix TV app, which the company has been working on since last year and will roll out over the coming weeks and months. It is also experimenting with a vertical video feature on mobile that will include clips and trailers, presumably to appeal more to the native TikTok audience. Just don’t expect to see Bandersnatch in there.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/black-mirrors-bandersnatch-is-leaving-netflix-for-good-144518207.html?src=rss

Waymo’s autonomous vehicles operating on Uber’s platform in Austin are completing more trips per day than over 99% of human drivers in the market, according to Uber’s Q1 2025 earnings report [PDF] released Wednesday. The fleet of approximately 100 autonomous Waymo vehicles, launched exclusively on Uber in March, has “exceeded expectations,” CEO Dara Khosrowshahi stated in the report.

He cited the performance to “Waymo’s safety record and rider experience coupled with Uber’s scale and reliability.” Uber has rapidly expanded its autonomous vehicle operations, reaching an annual run-rate of 1.5 million mobility and delivery AV trips across its network. The company plans to scale to hundreds of vehicles in Austin in the coming months, while preparing for a launch in Atlanta by early summer. Khosrowshahi said that autonomous vehicle technology represents “the single greatest opportunity ahead for Uber.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.