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

Richard Lawler

Richard Lawler

Senior News Editor

Senior News Editor

    More From Richard Lawler

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Green light.

    For 24/7 updates on the Elon Musk show, just bookmark our stream of related stories. In non-Elon news, quarterly earnings results are due today from ActiBlizz, Pfizer, Lyft, and Take-Two.

    Now, here are a few weekend updates you may have missed:

    Apple said COVID lockdowns at its factory in China “significantly reduced capacity” and could cause longer waits for new iPhone 14s.

    Mass layoffs may hit Meta this week.

    Lil Nas X brought a holographic Mech to open the League of Legends world championship.

    Everything that Matters for your smart home.

    SEMA’s most interesting electric cars and trucks.

    Elon Musk says Twitter’s adding a new permanent ban policy for impersonationElon Musk says Twitter’s adding a new permanent ban policy for impersonation
    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Hey, who has the keys for this?

    I’m not saying that Elon Musk’s mass layoffs one week into owning Twitter were haphazard, poorly planned, and likely removed teams and individuals who were crucial to continuing development as well as just keeping things running.

    But if that were true, then they’d probably end up asking some of those people to come back less than 24 hours later. Enter Platformer editor and The Verge contributing editor Casey Newton.

    The execs behind the MoviePass debacle are now facing criminal chargesThe execs behind the MoviePass debacle are now facing criminal charges
    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    This might be all it takes to get Verified on Twitter.

    If you pay for Elon Musk’s new $7.99 per month Twitter Blue package, this could be the screen you’ll see offering a verified checkmark to go on your profile.

    Researcher Jane Manchun Wong uncovered this screen for the still-in-development feature, and reports indicate we’ll see it launch as soon as Monday.

    A screengrab of a “Manage Subscription” page in Twitter offering an “Upgrade available” to get a verified account.
    How to get a verified account.
    Image: Jane Manchun Wong (Twitter)
    TikTok is back after a brief outageTikTok is back after a brief outage
    Richard Lawler
    Elon Musk tries to distract from Twitter layoffs by claiming advertisers are fleeing the platformElon Musk tries to distract from Twitter layoffs by claiming advertisers are fleeing the platform
    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Green light.

    The new era of Twitter is... well, you’ve seen how it’s going. Otherwise, keep an eye out this weekend for some news from SEMA, and we’ll see you again on Monday when everyone is verified.

    In non-Elon news:

    This is what it’s like to use Netflix’s new Basic with Ads package.

    The new God of War is worth your time, according to Ash Parrish.

    Cherry’s new keyboard switch is 80s-inspired.

    Steam on ChromeOS is now in beta.

    The new all-shuffle Amazon Music isn’t good for everyone.

    And all the smart home news that Matters.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    First Amazon, now Apple.

    Despite coming off of a quarter where it recorded just over $90 billion in revenue and over $20 billion in profit, Apple is reportedly in the midst of a hiring pause for many non-R&D roles.

    Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman says this escalation over its existing hiring slowdown was already in place before the last report, where Apple noted softness in iPhone sales and warned investors it expects slower growth in the holiday period.

    Earlier today, Amazon announced it has paused corporate hiring heading into next year.

    Apple (AAPL) Pauses Hiring for Roles Outside of R&D in Escalation of Cost Cuts

    [Bloomberg.com]

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Time to roll out the welcome mat.

    Elon Musk has acknowledged his current residence, so Verge EIC Nilay Patel stopped by Vox’s Today, Explained podcast to discuss why social media’s newest CEO is in for a Bad Time as the owner of Twitter.

    Welcome to hell, Elon

    Most Popular

    Most Popular
    1. Here’s what Microsoft is offering long-serving employees to voluntarily retire
    2. Google shuts down Project Mariner
    3. Musk’s biggest loyalist became his biggest liability
    4. Nintendo announces a new Star Fox for the Switch 2
    5. Apple agrees to pay iPhone owners $250 million for not delivering AI Siri