131 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Richard Lawler

Richard Lawler

Senior News Editor

Senior News Editor

    More From Richard Lawler

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Meta says Threads account deletion is coming this year.

    Soon after Meta’s Instagram-based Twitter competitor launched, some of the millions of people who activated Threads noticed a small issue. Once you create an account on Threads, the only way to delete it is to delete your Instagram account, too.

    However, Meta chief privacy officer Michel Protti said during the TechCrunch Disrupt event that Meta will launch individual deletion for Threads accounts by December. Another situation it’s working on handling is fediverse support for situations like “what happens when a Threads post goes to another server and is then deleted by the author.”

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Yes, I would like a battery-powered Dreamcast ornament that plays the Sonic Adventure theme.

    It’s early, sure, but for this, I’m ready to skip Techtober and go straight to the holiday season (via Polygon). Amazon’s preorders for $16.32 ship October 23rd, and it will also be available from Hallmark for $22.99 starting October 14th.

    For fellow believers in blast processing, there’s a Sega Genesis charm from 2022’s set that you can get now on Amazon, in addition to Nintendo-themed 2023 options like Mario Cat, Samus, Link, and Donkey Kong, all for around or under $20.

    Note: If you buy something from these links, we might get affiliate revenue.

    1/6Image: Hallmark
    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    The stans have discovered facial recognition.

    This report by 404 Media discusses an unnamed Taylor Swift fan TikTok account with 90,000 followers that finds people in viral videos and releases their information, like name, occupation, and social media profiles. It does this using PimEyes, one of several facial recognition search engines. And at least so far, TikTok has declined to remove it.

    One target told me he felt violated after the TikTok account using facial recognition tech targeted him. Another said they initially felt flattered before “that promptly gave way to worry.” All of the victims I spoke to echoed one general point—this behavior showed them just how exposed we all potentially are simply by existing in public.

    All the big tech events coming this fallAll the big tech events coming this fall
    Umar Shakir and Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    The Windows 11 update with its new AI Copilot is now available to more testers.

    Now that the update’s launch on September 26th was announced during Thursday’s Surface, Windows, and AI showcase event, Microsoft released Windows 11 Build 22621.2361 (KB5030310) to the Release Preview Channel of its Insiders test program.

    This version 22H2 update adds the Copilot AI sidebar to Windows, the Windows Backup dedicated app, managing saved Passkey authentication under account settings, and more. Check out our video below as Tom Warren explains the biggest news from Microsoft’s event and what changes Copilot is bringing to Windows.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Listen to NASA talk about the asteroid sample that’s coming back to Earth on Sunday.

    We’re a couple of days away from the OSIRIS-REx mission dropping off a capsule containing pieces of the asteroid Bennu that it snatched in 2021.

    Right now, a NASA press conference is letting the media ask questions of the project’s leaders about what to expect this weekend.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Explaining the lossless, low-latency audio link between the USB-C AirPods Pro and Apple Vision Pro.

    In an interview with Brian Tong on the Apple Blitz XL podcast, Apple VP of sensing and connectivity Ron Huang explains that while the second-gen AirPods Pro earbuds also have the H2 chip just like its new USB-C model, the new ones are capable of communicating at 5GHz instead of just 2GHz.

    He says that’s why the new USB-C AirPods Pro earbuds have enough bandwidth to do lossless audio wirelessly when combined with the upcoming Vision Pro.

    Apple:

    The H2 chip in the latest AirPods Pro and Apple Vision Pro, combined with a groundbreaking wireless audio protocol, unlocks powerful 20-bit, 48 kHz Lossless Audio with a massive reduction in audio latency

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    The Ayaneo Slidekick is almost here.

    Better known as the Ayaneo Slide, the company’s first handheld gaming PC with a keyboard (despite GPD filling the gap with many, many QWERTY-equipped entries, including the upcoming Win Mini) is among a slew of Steam Deck rivals with AMD’s 7000-series chip built-in, as well as a 6-inch 1080p screen, and Hall effect joystick / trigger setup.

    The full details and price haven’t been revealed yet, but Ayaneo’s Indiegogo page is taking sign-ups for people who want alerts to lock in the lowest price possible right away.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    How to be 5 percent wrong about NFTs.

    This Rolling Stone article sourcing some kind of report claiming 95 percent of NFTs are worthless almost feels like the sunshine of reality peeking into the world of crypto mania.

    The only problem? Even people who sell NFTs have long said almost all of them will be worthless (usually, the person who says this implies their own NFTs are in the special 5 percent), and the article still includes NFT promoters’ claims the tokens might be useful for concert tickets or games.

    It also doesn’t mention Rolling Stone hyping BAYC with a limited edition issue in 2021, followed by a second collaboration just last year.

    A Rolling Stone Shop page advertising the “Rolling Stone x Bored Ape Yacht Club Limited-Edition Zine” which is now sold out.
    “Sold out.”
    Image: Rolling Stone
    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Watch the whole Amazon hardware presentation or just the highlights — it’s your choice.

    Amazon has posted the video of its fall 2023 hardware showcase on YouTube so you can watch Dave Limp & Co. reveal new updates for Alexa, Echo, Fire TV, and other Amazon products for about an hour and fifteen minutes.

    However, if you’re in a hurry, then you can scroll through the stream linked above which includes hands-on impressions, or our video edit that will take less than 60 seconds.