170 – 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
    Remembering Lance Reddick.

    Following the death of actor Lance Reddick on Friday at the age of 60, a statement from his wife Stephanie thanked fans for their love and support, while specifically mentioning the “thousands of Destiny players who played in special tribute to Lance.”

    Polygon has a report on the in-game tributes from players to the actor who voiced Commander Zavala in Bungie’s series.

    She also asked that donations be made to MOMCares, a program that serves under-supported mothers with NICU experiences in Baltimore, Reddick’s hometown.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Green light.

    This week both Microsoft and Google announced AI features for their business-oriented software suites. Each package’s promise is impressive and — outside of limited tests — generally unavailable, whether that’s because the tech needs more seasoning or because GPU processing capacity is so hard to come by.

    Of course, there’s more to life than AI, so I’ll take this moment to remind everyone that you can still turn off Netflix’s annoying autoplay previews in the main menu. Tell a friend.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    A Pixel 7a prototype has already popped up for sale on eBay.

    Just like the Pixel 7 last spring, Google’s next phone has already appeared in an online auction without being released or even announced (via Android Police).

    This device, which the seller said is not fully functional and could only load to the fastboot screen, appears to be a different one from the Pixel 7A that leaked a few days ago. Bidding reached as high as $2,550 before the auction was, inevitably, pulled.

    Front and rear pictures of a prototype Pixel 7A from an eBay listing.
    Pixel 7A prototype
    Image: eBay (nikoskom-94)
    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Apple has generative AI plans, too.

    Within an article examining the shortfalls of AI voice helpers over the last few years, like Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri, the New York Times has a note about Apple’s internal tech demos:

    At Apple’s headquarters last month, the company held its annual A.I. summit, an internal event for employees to learn about its large language model and other A.I. tools, two people who were briefed on the program said. Many engineers, including members of the Siri team, have been testing language-generating concepts every week, the people said.

    Of course, not everyone’s sure they want these freestyling AI bots taking control of their smart home devices.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Microsoft’s AI shortcut is reaching more Windows taskbars.

    If you hadn’t already installed the Windows 11 update that added a tiny Bing shortcut button to your taskbar (and tabs for Notepad, Phone Link for rudimentary iMessaging from your PC, and AI-powered file recommendations in the Start Menu), it’s now being delivered automatically.

    It’s not quite a Cortana and Master Chief experience; however, clicking it pops up the search bar, and queries simply take you to the Edge browser’s built-in Bing AI chatbot integration.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Quick crypto updates.

    Hey, remember the industry that isn’t the traditional US financial system?

    Binance halted deposits and withdrawals for new customers in the UK after its local partner, Paysafe, said it would drop support because “the UK regulatory environment in relation to crypto is too challenging to offer this service at this time.”

    And federal prosecutors are reportedly looking into Telegram conversations between traders at Jump Trading, Jane Street, and Alameda Research for signs of market manipulation around a possible TerraUSD bailout.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    This Tesla Model S Plaid can actually hit 200 miles per hour.

    When Tesla revealed the Model S Plaid Elon Musk said it was capable of 200 mph “with the right tires,” but as Electrek points out, the cars that people got were limited to 163.

    According to the blog, the issue wasn’t the tires as much as it was the brakes, but Tesla Belgium loaned this driver a model fitted with a $20,000 ceramic brake kit option and the limiter removed. He says he got it up to 217 mph.