170 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
Skip to main content
The homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo.
The homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo.

Jess Weatherbed

Jess Weatherbed

News Reporter

News Reporter

    More From Jess Weatherbed

    Jess Weatherbed
    Jess Weatherbed
    Huawei’s newest flagship smartphone is here.

    The Pura 70 lineup has four variants: the 70, 70 Plus, 70 Pro, and the 70 Ultra. Hundreds of fans lined at Huawei stores across China as stock of the top-end models sold out, according to Reuters.

    A resurgent Huawei has reportedly been developing its own advanced chips in spite of US sanctions, but we won’t know what secrets the Pura 70 hides until the first teardown.

    <em>Here’s the front and rear of the Pura 70 Ultra. Each variant of the phone runs HarmonyOS 4.2.</em>
    The Huawei Pura 70 Ultra in brown, against a light blue backdrop.
    The Huawei Pura 70 Ultra camera
    <em>The screen is also made with Huawei’s Kunlun glass, making it scratch and drop-resistant.</em>
    <em>The battery is improved compared to the 4715 mAh rated on the previous Huawei P60 model. The P70 also supports 100W wired charging, 80W wireless charging, and 20W reverse charging.</em>
    <em>It also includes Beidou satellite messaging, allowing users to send text and even picture messages, apparently, when they have no terrestrial connection.</em>
    1/6
    Here’s the front and rear of the Pura 70 Ultra. Each variant of the phone runs HarmonyOS 4.2.
    Image: Huawei
    Boston Dynamics’ new Atlas robot is a swiveling, shape-shifting nightmareBoston Dynamics’ new Atlas robot is a swiveling, shape-shifting nightmare
    NASA has greenlit plans to send a giant drone to Saturn’s largest moonNASA has greenlit plans to send a giant drone to Saturn’s largest moon
    Jess Weatherbed
    Jess Weatherbed
    Snapchat is watermarking its AI-generated images.

    A small, sparkly ghost logo will “soon” feature on saved or exported images created with Snapchat’s generative AI tools.

    More information — including some fairly obvious yet rigorous generative AI dos and don’ts — can be found on Snap’s support page.

    An AI-generated image from Snapchat showing the Snap Ghost watermark.
    Here’s an example of how the sparkly ghost watermark will appear.
    Image: Snapchat
    GTA 6, BioShock publisher Take-Two to lay off hundreds and cut projectsGTA 6, BioShock publisher Take-Two to lay off hundreds and cut projects
    Jess Weatherbed
    Jess Weatherbed
    First crewed Boeing Starliner mission will launch on May 6th.

    The spacecraft is being readied to carry astronauts Barry Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station, with liftoff from Cape Canaveral scheduled for no earlier than 10:34PM ET.

    The crew is expected to spend about a week at the orbiting laboratory before their capsule makes an airbag and parachute-assisted landing in the southwestern United States.

    Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, set to carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station, passes in front of the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
    Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft (pictured) before being placed on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
    Image: NASA/Kim Shiflett
    Jess Weatherbed
    Jess Weatherbed
    Until we meet again, Ingenuity.

    After making its final flight in January, NASA’s Mars helicopter has transmitted its last message to Earth and will now serve as a stationary testbed for collecting up to 20 years’ worth of data. Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity’s project manager, gave it this moving farewell:

    “Whenever humanity revisits Valinor Hills — either with a rover, a new aircraft, or future astronauts — Ingenuity will be waiting with her last gift of data, a final testament to the reason we dare mighty things. Thank you, Ingenuity, for inspiring a small group of people to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds at the frontiers of space.”

    Jess Weatherbed
    Jess Weatherbed
    WhatsApp is making it easier to find chats.

    Meta is launching new filters that will appear at the top of your chat list: All (the default view), Unread (just messages marked as unread), and Groups (group chats and Community subgroups).

    The filters start rolling out today, and will become available to all WhatsApp users “in the coming weeks.”

    An illustrated example of WhatsApp’s new Chat Filters.
    Here’s a mock-up of where you’ll see the new WhatsApp chat filters when you open the mobile app.
    Image: Meta
    Jess Weatherbed
    Jess Weatherbed
    TikTok gives users more in-app ways to buy event tickets.

    Just like its existing partnership with Ticketmaster, TikTok has now teamed up with AXS to allow users to search and purchase the ticket outlet’s offerings directly on the video-sharing platform.

    The feature is currently live in the US, UK, Sweden, and Australia. Performers on TikTok can promote their shows by adding AXS event links to their videos.

    Three phones displaying the stages of purchasing AXS tickets on TikTok.
    Here’s an example of how the ticket offerings will be presented to users in the TikTok mobile app.
    Image: TikTok / AXS
    Jess Weatherbed
    Jess Weatherbed
    Is Meta doing enough to tackle explicit AI-generated imagery?

    That’s the question being raised by its Oversight Board, which today announced two new cases looking into how Meta handled explicit fakes of female public figures posted to Facebook and Instagram. One of which could concern the fake Taylor Swift images that circulated online earlier this year.

    The board’s investigation will take a few weeks before reaching a final non-binding decision.

    Most Popular

    Most Popular
    1. The next Xbox could play every Xbox game ever made
    2. How an OpenAI influencer trip backfired
    3. SpaceX is coming for T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon
    4. Don’t screw this up, Marvel
    5. ‘Not healthy’ LLM use is more common than you think