202 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
Skip to main content

Wes Davis

Wes Davis

Former Weekend Editor

Former Weekend Editor

    More From Wes Davis

    Wes Davis
    Wes Davis
    Google pays an Australian woman after failing to remove defamatory ‘Ripoff Report’ results — twice.

    ABC News in Australia reported that Dr. Janice Duffy settled with Google after winning two lawsuits alleging defamation — one in 2015 and one earlier this year.

    The judge found Google liable for publishing snippets from the site Ripoff Reports, which profits by allowing people to post unvetted “complaints” about others on the site and surfacing them in Google Search. As the judge in Duffy’s last lawsuit noted, would change URLs to keep pages visible.

    A 2021 New York Times report about the site noted that Google began downranking Ripoff Reports and similar sites.

    Wes Davis
    Wes Davis
    The Pico 4 store is getting VRChat soon.

    UploadVR spotted a “coming soon” listing for VRChat, the virtual reality social platform, in the app store for the ByteDance-owned Pico 4 headset.

    I wonder if that Four Seasons Total Landscaping hangout is still around.

    Wes Davis
    Wes Davis
    Instagram’s latest AI feature test is a way to make stickers from photos.

    Spotted by Engadget, Meta’s newest sticker feature is a lot like the one built into the iPhone Messages app in iOS 17 — Instagram detects and cuts out an object from a photo so you can place it over another.

    According to Instagram head Adam Mosseri, who shared the test on his IG Updates broadcast channel, when the feature rolls out, you can make stickers from your own images or “eligible images” from others. Sounds like a fun new way for me to annoy The Verge’s Alex Cranz.

    Three screenshots showing the sticker feature in action.
    Creating stickers from photos on Instagram.
    Screenshot: Wes Davis / The Verge
    Wes Davis
    Wes Davis
    Get ready to italicize some old notes in Google Keep.

    When Google Keep got the ability to format notes, it only applied to new notes — you couldn’t format pre-update notes. 9to5Google reported today that Google is rolling out the ability to format your older notes as well.

    I’m not seeing the feature on my Pixel 6, but the Google Workplace blog says the feature will be dispensed over potentially more than 15 days this month.

    I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to format my old notes.

    Wes Davis
    Wes Davis
    Striking screen actors will resume talks with Hollywood executives.

    In a series of posts on X, the Screen Actors Guild announced yesterday evening that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers invited it back to negotiations.

    AMPTP walked away from talks earlier this month over its demand for two percent of streaming revenue. According to Variety, the union has amended that to 57 cents per year, per subscriber.

    Yesterday marked the 100th day of the strike.

    Wes Davis
    Wes Davis
    You know, this wouldn’t happen if y’all didn’t insist on those pop quizzes.

    Michigan State is “deeply sorry” for the 40-foot-tall (my quick estimate) picture of a certain WWII-era genocidal dictator on the gigantic digital scoreboard at Spartan Stadium during Saturday night’s football game against Michigan University.

    The picture showed up during a pre-game pop quiz the school may have been streaming from a YouTube channel. The channel’s owner commented today that they weren’t aware the school was using their content, calling it “unsolicited and unauthorized use.”

    According to The Washington Post, associate athletic director Matt Larson said it was “inappropriate content by a third-party source,” and the school promises to better vet content for the screen going forward.

    Update October 22nd, 3:12PM ET: Added comment from TheQuizChannel owner.

    Wes Davis
    Wes Davis
    Foxconn is under investigation in China.

    The Financial Times writes that China has reportedly been inspecting the iPhone supplier’s sites in different provinces of the country as it investigates the company “over tax and land use.”

    The outlet says it has not verified the reports, which come from Chinese state media outlet The Global Times, but points out that Foxconn founder, Terry Gou, is running for President of Taiwan.

    Beijing has in the past targeted local subsidiaries of Taiwanese companies with regulatory probes and political pressure at sensitive or tense times. Chinese officials frequently urge Taiwanese companies to help promote “peaceful development” between the two sides.

    Wes Davis
    Wes Davis
    Hey fancy upcoming Las Vegas hotel Fontainebleu, what’s on your desktop?

    The under-construction Fontainebleau has a big, fancy LED sign jutting up into the sky. What’s it for?

    Well, last night, it was apparently there to show off the hotel’s desktop. And not for the first time, either.

    Wes Davis
    Wes Davis
    Paddy Cosgrave, Web Summit’s CEO, has resigned.

    Several high-profile speakers and companies withdrew from the Web Summit conference after Cosgrave posted and liked critical messages about Israel’s government and its handling of the war in Gaza.

    CNN quoted Cosgrave in a statement about his decision to step down.

    “Unfortunately, my personal comments have become a distraction from the event, and our team, our sponsors, our start-ups and the people who attend,” Cosgrave said in a statement to CNN. “I sincerely apologise again for any hurt I have caused.”

    According to CNN, despite losing participation from companies like Alphabet, Meta, and Amazon, a Web Summit spokesperson told the outlet the Lisbon conference “will go ahead as planned.”

    Wes Davis
    Wes Davis
    Yes, but is the windshield wiper bulletproof?

    Tesla Owners Silicon Valley posted a video of an apparently bullet-pocked Cybertruck driving on a highway at night.

    Musk replied to a repost of it, claiming that the dents were from “the entire drum magazine of a Tommy gun” and “no bullets penetrated into the passenger compartment.”

    I’m going back to sleep.