4 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
YouTube has a new way to protect hacked channels.

When unusual activity is detected on an account, the platform will now temporarily pause features for 24 hours, including uploading or updating videos, livestreaming, creating or adjusting playlists, uploading thumbnails, and making private videos public. Full feature access will be restored once the account’s security is verified.

Tom Warren
Tom Warren
Xbox is experimenting with a blades dashboard.

Xbox CTO Scott Van Vliet has been “cooking up retro vibes” as part of Microsoft’s new Xbox Labs effort. The result is what looks like a vibecoded option to pick your dashboard on an Xbox console. This is simply an experiment right now and it’s not clear if we’ll ever see such an option, but Xbox CEO Asha Sharma asks “blades on the web. Do we like this experiment?”

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Twitch’s new Stream Recaps let you catch up on a stream you missed.

Twitch describes the recaps as a “highlight reel.” By default, they include clips made by a streamer and their editors, but Twitch says streamers can add, remove, or edit clips.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Elon Musk believes Starlink connectivity could generate “several hundred billion dollars a year” in revenue.

During today’s Q3 SpaceX earnings call, Musk also said the company should “probably” do a “longer presentation on the game plan” for the business.

In Q3, SpaceX’s Connectivity business reported $5.2 billion in revenue, and the company recently acquired low-band spectrum as part of a plan to become a “major mobile carrier” that competes with T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon.

You can read more about SpaceX’s earnings in our story here.

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Who slowed down Ukraine’s Starlink? Trump and Musk call not-it.

After Ukraine said a Starshield slowdown had interrupted its military operations, Elon Musk claimed any limits “are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.” Then the president told reporters, “It wasn’t me... and I don’t think it was Elon.”

Now WSJ sources are pointing the finger back at Musk, with some claiming “Musk acted unilaterally.”

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
OpenAI has acquired Orchestra Bio, a biotech startup.

OpenAI describes Orchestra Bio as “a platform that helps biopharma teams coordinate the complex process of drug development.” The company will bring Orchestra’s team and tech “together with Rosalind, our AI models and tools for life sciences research.”

David Pierce
David Pierce
Today’s Vergecast: AI is dividing the math world in two.

Over the last several months, the AI industry has set its sights on some of the problems that have stymied mathematicians for years. In some cases, AI models have made huge progress — though exactly how much isn’t always obvious. The Verge’s Robert Hart explains what OpenAI and others have actually accomplished, the disastrously bad ways the companies have interacted with researchers, and whether there’s a future left for human mathematics.

Can you see everything?

What three hours of a documentary looks like to someone who spent four months at the Holmes trial.

Elizabeth Lopatto
Andrew J. Hawkins
Andrew J. Hawkins
VW tells ID.4 owners to limit charging to 80 percent or risk ‘thermal propagation.’

Charging the vehicle over 80 percent “may trigger thermal propagation within the high-voltage battery,” VW says. “If thermal propagation occurs, it may result in a vehicle fire.” If owners opt out, VW may decide to limit the charging through a remote vehicle setting. The recall affects 22,524 ID.4 vehicles built between January 2023 and February 2025.

Justine Calma
Justine Calma
Texas is still permitting data centers despite a supposed statewide moratorium.

Governor Greg Abbott announced a permitting pause for data centers in September. But state agencies are still processing permits, according to an analysis of public records by advocacy groups Public Citizen and FracTracker. The governor’s office, however, denies approving any data center-related permits.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Here’s more of Time’s John Ternus interview.

I highlighted a couple of Time’s clips last week, but it published a nine-and-a-half-minute video today from a conversation with Apple’s new CEO. He doesn’t say anything earth-shattering, but it’s an opportunity to see and hear more from the person now steering Apple forward.

Time also published a written profile last week.

Lauren Feiner
Lauren Feiner
Meta’s longtime policy chief Joel Kaplan is leaving.

After 15 years at Meta, the George W. Bush White House alum is exiting, Axios reports, amid a midterm election where Democrats are expected to win back more control in Washington. Kaplan will stay through 2027 to help with the transition, though, which will include bipartisan external affairs executives.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Elon Musk, USB-C fan.

Wonder why he tweeted this yesterday, maybe he suddenly had to charge his phone?

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Zoom is launching a new “deepfake risk detection” tool for video calls.

The feature analyzes video and audio signals to determine whether they “may have been altered outside of Zoom.” The video conferencing app is also launching a tool that uses AI to make presenters “appear more engaged,” as well as an AI-powered feature that smooths out voices and accents in real time.

The new features are launching in December 2026.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige is returning to theaters in 70mm film and on IMAX.

The re-release debuts on January 29th.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Pioneer’s retro stereo brings modern features to vintage cars.

The company’s new Heritage Collection is targeted at classic car collectors wanting modern stereo features like Bluetooth and support for HD Radio and SiriusXM while also preserving the vintage look of their vehicles. The $499 SXT-C10PS head unit and matching $299 TS-X40SXT speakers are both available for preorder now.

1/4Image: Pioneer
The Gospel according to Peter (Thiel)

We have Peter Thiel’s secret lectures about the Antichrist.

David Gibson
Robert Hart
Robert Hart
Meta’s Muse AI hits 10 million US downloads.

The AI assistant, which launched in September, is only the 12th app to have reached this milestone within 40 days, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. Part of its success is likely down to what Sensor Tower describes as a sizable “advertising push by Meta.”