6 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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News

All the news you need to keep up with the latest developments in the tech world, from product announcements and live events to tariffs, policies, and regulations. Tech touches every aspect of daily news, and our experts are here to keep you informed on what happens and how it all affects you.

Cameron Faulkner
Cameron Faulkner
Turtle Beach’s new flagship gaming headset seems a lot like that other one.

Remember the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless that launched in 2022? It has swappable batteries, ANC, a wireless hub for transmitting audio from multiple sources, simultaneous 2.4GHz and Bluetooth audio — the works. So does the new Stealth Pro II that’s up for preorder now. Notably, it also supports Hi-Res Audio over wireless, an impressive feat at $349.99.

Image: Turtle Beach
Lauren Feiner
Lauren Feiner
Some Pennsylvania poll workers will be barred from prediction market election betting.

Delaware County is updating poll workers’ oath to bar election bets on platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket, Spotlight PA reports. “I think they’re a pernicious, horrible factor and I don’t think elections should be bet on in one shape or form,” the county’s elections director Jim Allen said.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
The Call of Duty movie has a release date, but it’s far away.

The movie, which Activision and Paramount announced last year, is scheduled to hit theaters on June 30th, 2028. It’s set to be written, directed, and produced by Peter Berg, with Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan also onboard to write and produce.

Graphic showing the Call of Duty logo and a message “in theaters June 30th 2028”
Image: Activision
Emma Roth
Emma Roth
It’s getting easier for Android devs to code with AI agents.

Along with an upgraded Android CLI, Google is launching a new Android skills GitHub repository and an Android Knowledge base, which can provide AI agents with the information and resources they need to perform coding tasks.

Android CLI.
Android CLI.
Image: Google
OpenAI’s big Codex update is a direct shot at Claude Code

Codex can now use your macOS apps on its own.

Robert Hart
Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
Google is reportedly in talks to let the Pentagon use Gemini in clasified settings.

The company is apparently reversing course in its approach to military dealings. Google currently has a contract that allows the DOD to use Gemini for “all lawful purposes,” but only in unclassified settings. According to The Information:

Google’s proposed contract language appears to mirror the terms OpenAI secured in an agreement it struck with the Pentagon over the use of its AI earlier this year… However, lawyers also said at the time that language in OpenAI’s contract that seemed to preclude the use of its AI for fully autonomous lethal weapons and mass domestic surveillance wouldn’t necessarily prevent those applications because OpenAI also agreed that its technology could be used for “all lawful purposes.”

Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
Former NBC News anchor Brian Williams is hosting Netflix’s latest original podcast.

We’re Back! With Brian Williams is among a handful of new shows coming to the platform including Allegedly, Shut Up Evan, The Puzzle Room with David Kwong, and The Rotten Files. They’ll join the streamer’s growing library of video “podcasts,” which are only available on Netflix, with no RSS feed downloads.

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Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Battlefield 6 is getting bigger maps.

As shown in a 2026 roadmap video, alongside the third season in May, EA will add a reimagining of Battlefield 4’s Golmud Railway to the game, which will apparently be “the biggest map” yet. In July, season four will bring a new naval-focused map that’s even bigger.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Kuxiu’s new slimmer semi-solid state 10K power bank also has an upgraded display.

The new S4 looks like a major redesign of the 10,000mAh S3 power bank we tested last December. The S4 is over a millimeter thinner and 31 grams lighter while still capable of wirelessly charging phones at 25W Qi2.2 rates. The S3’s built-in USB-C cable is gone, but the S4 is cheaper as a result at $89.99.

<em>The Kuxiu S4 is available now in black and cosmic orange color options.</em>
<em>The power bank still features a fold-out kickstand and positions a better screen on the back showing more info about battery life and charging rates.</em>
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The Kuxiu S4 is available now in black and cosmic orange color options.
Image: Kuxiu
Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
SpaceX is buying a lot of Cybertrucks.

Reporting from Bloomberg on how many Cybertrucks Elon’s other companies have been buying:

SpaceX, the Musk-led rocket and satellite maker, accounted for 1,279 — or more than 18% — of the 7,071 Cybertrucks registered in the US during the fourth quarter, according to registration data that S&P Global Mobility provided to Bloomberg News. The billionaire’s other ventures acquired another 60 vehicles during those months.

Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
AMD is bringing power saving settings from Windows to Linux.

An update to the AMDGPU kernel graphics driver for Linux adds a “power module” that Windows uses to manage display features like backlight and self-refresh, Phoronix reports. The patch should improve power management for displays on Linux devices, potentially leading to fewer display issues and better battery life, especially on laptops.

Thomas Ricker
Thomas Ricker
Plug-in solar gains traction in the US.

So-called balcony solar systems that feed energy back into the home over a standard AC wall jack, have already helped Europeans (Germans especially) cut their energy bills — gaining some independence at a time when prices are skyrocketing. Now the dominos are falling in the US. Utah was first, followed by Maine and Virginia, with Maryland and Colorado likely joining soon.

Here’s my review of EcoFlow’s solution from two years ago to show you what all the fuss is about with these DIY systems.

Balcony-mounted solar panels feed the sun’s energy through a microinverter and back into a battery and / or the home over a regular AC outlet.
Balcony-mounted solar panels feed the sun’s energy through a microinverter and back into a battery and / or the home over a regular AC outlet.
Image: EcoFlow
Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
The EU isn’t happy with WhatsApp’s AI fee.

The European Commission says it will order Meta to roll back its policy to only allow rival AI assistants on WhatsApp for a year if they pay an access fee, which appears to violate EU competition rules. Meta’s conduct “risks blocking competitors from entering or expanding in the rapidly growing market for AI assistants,” according to the Commission.

Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Are AI data centers coming to your area?

This free, crowd-sourced tracker website is one of the most comprehensive attempts we’ve seen to keep tabs on where new data centers are being proposed. Maps are currently available across 18 states, with data compiled from public sources. You can read about the Data Center Proposal Tracker creator’s methodology here.

A screenshot from trackdatacenters.com showing data center proposals around NYC.
Here’s a screenshot from the tracker showing sites around NYC.
Image: trackdatacenters.com
Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Altman attack suspect proposed “Luigi’ing some tech CEOs.”

The message was shared by Daniel Moreno-Gama in an online chat in January, months before he was arrested for allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at the OpenAI CEO’s home. Moreno-Gama added that his words shouldn’t be taken literally, but he’s one of many that have venerated the United Healthcare CEO murder.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Data centers will soon have to complete “mandatory” energy usage surveys.

The plans, which were revealed in a letter seen by Wired, come in response to a bipartisan push to find out how much energy data centers are sucking up. The Energy Information Administration reportedly plans to launch the nationwide surveys after it wraps up pilot surveys in data center-heavy areas, such as Texas, Washington state, Washington DC, and northern Virginia.

Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
Netgear and the FCC have not responded to our emails.

It’s been 24 hours. I tried them again five hours ago too. Note that we did not ask if Netgear “bribed the government” to escape the router ban as readers keep suggesting, or anything like that. We simply asked if Netgear followed the FCC’s own rules by submitting a detailed plan for US manufacturing.

Gaby Del Valle
Gaby Del Valle
Looks like they aren’t going to decide today.

The House was supposed to have a procedural vote on renewing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act today, ahead of the program’s April 20th expiration. Speaker Mike Johnson delayed the debate — again. There’s still a chance the House may vote later today, but it’s unlikely.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Fortnite’s Rock Band-like mode is getting support for mics and drums.

While playing Fortnite Festival, if you want to sing along to songs, you’ll be able to use “any microphone that works in Fortnite on PC and Console,” while drummers can plug in “a Rock Band 4 or compatible MIDI drum kit,” according to Epic Games. The features launch on Thursday.

Screenshots of Fortnite Festival’s mic and drum modes.
Image: Epic Games