That means breaking waves could be a major source of PFAS pollution in the air, according to a new study. For decades, manufacturers used forever chemicals (AKA PFAS) in everything from food packaging to carpet cleaners to make things water, stain, and heat resistant. We’re just starting to understand how prevalent these chemicals have become in the environment and the health risks that could pose.

Sources tell The New York Times that Sony and investment firm Apollo Global Management are in talks to submit a bid to acquire Paramount. At the same time, reports suggest Paramount is getting closer to making a deal with Skydance.

Josh Dzieza got a rare glimpse at the meticulous work of undersea cable repair — the secretive industry that keeps internet infrastructure around the world up and running. If you haven’t read his excellent feature yet, here’s a quick overview of how cable repair works.

Sales for the game rose by 7,500 percent week-on-week across Europe, according to Gamesindustry.biz, with Steam charts showing a similar spike in players that suggests a wider, global trend. Not bad for a near-decade-old game.

The new Prime Video series is likely driving this as we saw a similar phenomenon with The Last of Us following its own TV adaptation.

While US lawmakers take aim at TikTok, The Wall Street Journal reports that several popular messaging apps were removed by Apple at the request of the Chinese government which will make it harder for people in the country to download the apps for use with a VPN. Reuters notes that Meta apps like Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram are still available.

Here’s Apple’s statement on the matter:

“The Cyberspace Administration of China ordered the removal of these apps from the China storefront based on their national security concerns. We are obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate, even when we disagree.”

The developers of Apex Legends announced a new collection event, the return of the fast-paced Three Strikes mode that brings bad players (like me) right back into the action, and a new “Apex Rumble” asynchronous tournament system.

But most importantly, TechCrunch reports that the hacker behind last month’s ALGS incident says the exploit he used to hack streamers mid-game has been patched.

Apple’s headset doesn’t have an official Netflix app, but MacRumors mentions Best Buy’s app has arrived.

Just put on your Vision Pro, open the Best Buy Envision app and scroll through hundreds of options to see them appear digitally, right in front your eyes, in your physical space.

Now, all we need is a Netflix app for those virtual TVs.

Like Rainbow Six Siege, Call of Duty, and Destiny 2, the developers of Overwatch 2 are going after players who use “unapproved peripherals” to combine the precision of mouse and keyboard controls with the aim assist granted to controller players.

Over the next few weeks, there will be permanent account bans against players who are the most severe abusers of unapproved peripherals. These actions will be targeted towards high-ranked players who have been reported by others and who our data clearly shows are using an unapproved peripheral.

Zhang Yiming founded ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, but previously served as the CEO of 99Fang, a Chinese home finder startup with “very powerful” tech for search, image processing, and recommendations.

Now, The New York Times reports that former contractors suing Susquehanna, an investor in both companies, claim technology they developed for 99Fang was used to create TikTok without compensating them.

Futurism spotted what looks to be AI photo shenanigans in Netflix’s What Jennifer Did, a true crime documentary detailing a murder-for-hire plot. The possible AI-generated images appeared in scenes describing the subject, Jennifer Pan’s personality. Futurism rightly points out that fake AI images in a true crime documentary are controversial, at the least.

In 2020, Apple sued a recycling partner after more than 11,000 pounds of gadgets disappeared. But a Bloomberg report reveals that workers pilfering iPhones isn’t the only problem with Apple’s recycling program.

The company regularly ordered the recycling partner to destroy “tens of thousands” of refurbishable devices, legal filings show. Such waste occurs regularly throughout the globe.

Co-CEO Greg Peters says the streamer doesn’t have a “set position” on a ceiling for its subscription pricing:

You can look at pay TV as a potential markers for where people have spent before but we really actually don’t think of it so much is defined by that... As we add more entertainment value, then of course we can go back to our subscribers and ask them to pay a little bit more to keep that virtuous cycle moving.

If it pushes through, the European Commission could look into whether Microsoft’s $13 billion investment into OpenAI restricts competition, Reuters reports. The commission floated the possibility of an investigation in January.

The partnership between the two companies already drew scrutiny from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority and the Federal Trade Commission in the US.

Eisenberg sent the price of MNGO tokens up, then withdrew $110 million in crypto. He did not testify.

His defense pointed out the was permitted by the crypto’s code. Turns out code isn’t law!

The Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act has been circulating since at least 2020, seeking to close this loophole in constitutional privacy protections. A version of the bill finally passed Wednesday evening, in a 212–199 vote.

Spyra recently sent me its new $54 SpyraGo electric water blaster, so I decided to bring back a literal blast from the past: a 1998 Super Soaker CPS 2500, one of the most effective hosers ever made.

Below, see how they perform against the flagship $179 SpyraThree and the $15 X-Shot Epic Fast Fill, one of the best budget soakers you can buy!

It’s never easy to tell whether M. Night Shyamalan’s about to whip out another banger like Split, or a dud like Old. And the trailer for Trap — Shyamalan’s new thriller about cops luring a killer into the open with a concert — makes it extremely hard to tell which camp it’s going to fall into.

As we saw in the beta release this new version of Adobe Express packs the same creative, editing, and generative AI features that desktop users have into an iOS and Android app.

It’s free to use, but to access Firefly and the full suite of editing tools you’ll need a $10 per month Premium membership.

The Short Stack: a scale model of a Nintendo Wii one-thirteenth the size, with an actual trimmed Wii motherboard inside. Four headset jacks do duty as working GameCube controller ports, attached to custom PCBs that add USB-C power, HDMI output, and microSD storage.

Update: Here’s a video of it working, GameCube pad and all!

“No journalist is going to catch Swift in her sweatpants backstage and write about it.” I loved this profile of Tree Paine, perhaps the most influential celebrity publicist in the game. 

We’ve seen Zuck in his grilling phase (both meat and in front of Congress) as an MMA athlete, a metaverse CEO, and now... announcing AI updates as a middle-aged man wearing a chain.

The good news is that, unlike the “gold” chain I bought on Virginia Beach in the 90s, I doubt it will turn his skin green.

A group of key senators introduced the Future of AI Innovation Act Thursday to promote artificial intelligence research and innovation and create global standards for the technology.

The group’s sponsors include Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Todd Young (R-IN), a member of Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s AI working group, and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and John Hickenlooper (D-CO).

Federal antitrust enforcers are working with the Department of Health and Human Services to collect examples of harm to healthcare competition through a new website. If you think your healthcare provider is keeping you in the dark about the cost of services or is using your health data unfairly, you might be able to submit a complaint.