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

Nilay Patel

Nilay Patel

Editor-in-Chief

Editor-in-Chief

    More From Nilay Patel

    Nilay Patel
    Nilay Patel
    The OpenAI negotiations are being fueled by boba tea and McDonalds.

    The NYT has been updating its piece on the OpenAI negotiations all day — the paper of record has a reporter staked out in front of the building, so we know what delivery is being ordered. It is very funny that a bunch of people concerned with existential AI risk are ordering McDs!

    As deliberations continued on Sunday, executives at OpenAI called in resources. At 12:45 p.m., a deliveryman with a dozen drinks from the Boba Guys chain showed up on a motorbike outside with two bags. Another deliveryman followed later with a half dozen more drinks.

    At 6:15 p.m., a food delivery driver pulled up at the rear entrance and jumped out with four bags from McDonald’s. Two employees from OpenAI loaded them on carts and wheeled them inside for what looked to be a long night.

    Talks to Bring Sam Altman Back to OpenAI Stretch Through Weekend

    [The New York Times]

    Nilay Patel
    Nilay Patel
    It’s the endgame for Sam Altman’s potential return to OpenAI.

    Sam Altman is back in the building at OpenAI for the final stretch of negotiations for his potential return as CEO after being unceremoniously fired by the four-member board on Friday. A source close to Altman says he has once again set a 5PM PT deadline to resolve the situation, as he did yesterday — that big show of heart emoji support last night was meant to demonstrate how many people would leave for a new company with him.

    One big condition of Altman’s return is that the existing board (who fired him!) has to step down. The existing board has to make some hard decisions about who will replace them, which appears to be the sticking point. Microsoft’s Satya Nadella is reportedly mediating the discussion between Altman, former OpenAI president Greg Brockman, and the four current board members as they attempt to select a new board. We’re also told Microsoft would very much like to wrap this up before the stock market opens tomorrow morning. (Microsoft declined to comment; OpenAI’s communications team isn’t returning calls.)

    Today’s 5PM deadline is meant to be a hard deadline, per the source close to Altman. If a deal isn’t reached, things will take “a different path,” we’re told, and extend through tomorrow and perhaps much longer.

    Updates to come!

    Nilay Patel
    Nilay Patel
    The OpenAI drama will drag on until Sunday.

    We’d heard there was a threat of mass resignations at 5PM PT. Then OpenAI employees began mass-quote-tweeting Sam Altman saying he loved them with heart emojis, leading everyone to assume he indeed was coming back as CEO. But it’s still not a done deal, and we still don’t know exactly what all that meant. What we do know is that talks appear to be done for today, so we’re going to bed, Las Vegas Grand Prix be damned. We’ll try this all again tomorrow.

    Nilay Patel
    Nilay Patel
    The OpenAI board is waffling on resigning, and that might push Sam Altman to start a new company after all.

    Big update to our scoop from earlier: a key 5PM PT deadline for the OpenAI board to strike a deal to resign and Sam Altman to return has passed, and mass resignations at OpenAI may come soon, unless this thing gets done.

    OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO

    Alex Heath and Nilay Patel
    OpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEOOpenAI board in discussions with Sam Altman to return as CEO
    Do Pixel 8 AI-edited photos have to be labeled as synthetic content on YouTube? YouTube is still figuring it out.Do Pixel 8 AI-edited photos have to be labeled as synthetic content on YouTube? YouTube is still figuring it out.
    Nilay Patel
    Nilay Patel
    Help us figure out what new products to build at The Verge!

    We have big ideas for the future of The Verge — and lot of them involve expanding our business into more subscription offerings like Command Line and Hot Pod. We’re going to take it slow, and we want to make sure we hear from our audience as clearly as possible, so if you’ve got a moment, please take our little survey! We are not going to paywall the entire site, I promise — but there are lots of other ideas floating around, and we’d like to narrow them down.

    The Verge Subscription Survey

    [voxmedia.iad1.qualtrics.com]

    Taylor Swift fans used record amounts of data during the Eras Tour in North AmericaTaylor Swift fans used record amounts of data during the Eras Tour in North America
    Nilay Patel
    Nilay Patel
    Here I am on CNBC talking about Meta’s decision to allow election denial in political ads.

    You don’t have to take the money!

    Nilay Patel
    Nilay Patel
    Trump’s rhetoric is getting scarier — and openly fascist.

    Zack Beauchamp, in Vox:

    There’s been a long-running debate among American political observers as to whether Trump can reasonably be described as a fascist. Between his increasingly fascist rhetoric and increasingly fascist second-term policy proposals, the debate should now be considered settled. A political leader who vows to destroy opponents he calls “vermin,” to weaponize the Justice Department against his critics, and to conduct political purges in the federal government is in fascist territory.

    This is important no matter what, but you’re reading this in The Verge so here’s a tech angle: the big social platforms are facing a 2024 content-moderation nightmare. Emboldened by Elon Musk’s teardown of Twitter, they all want to pull back on moderation costs in various ways, but this election cycle will feature some of the most heated and dangerous rhetoric from a major party candidate any of us have ever experienced. It’s going to be incredibly messy all around.

    When Trump tells you he’s an authoritarian, believe him

    [Vox]

    Most Popular

    Most Popular
    1. Valve launches the Steam Controller without the Steam Machine
    2. Trump fires the entire National Science Board
    3. The perfect successor to Lost has been hiding from me for years
    4. Valve’s new Steam Controller isn’t perfect, but I’m buying one anyway
    5. Samsung’s first smart glasses have leaked