The Verge·Wednesday, January 14, 2026

The Verge - Wednesday, January 14, 2026

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

Inside the White House shitposting machine

Screens at the White House display AI-modified videos of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) that were shared on social media by President Donald Trump. | Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images Hello and welcome to Regulator, a newsletter for Verge subscribers about the technology, broligarchs and brainrot rapidly transforming politics and civic society. Not subscribed to The Verge yet? You should! It can materially improve your life. Last

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WeatherTech founder might be the newest US consumer protection official

President Donald Trump made an unconventional pick for his nomination to the Federal Trade Commission: WeatherTech founder and CEO David MacNeil. MacNeil founded the company, which makes weather-resistant car floor mats, in 1989, according to its website, and he owns 100 percent of the company. WeatherTech has made it a mission to keep its manufacturing and workforce in the US. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson congratulated MacNeil on X and called him an "outstanding businessman and great patriot," sha

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I tested several cases for the Switch 2 and these are the best

Our picks include carrying cases and ones you can leave on during handheld and docked play. | Image: The Verge, Getty Images You might find it kind of sad to put your hard-earned Switch 2 into a protective case. To me, it’s freeing. Sure, it can take away from the slick design. But using a case relieves me of the worry that the console will accumulate tons of little scratches, or worse. I’ve tested several types of cases on the Nintendo Switch 2 since it launched in June, including flimsy shel

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The Bone Temple turns 28 Years Later into a terrifying crisis of faith

Because there was such a long gap between the releases of 28 Weeks Later and 28 Years Later, it was surprising to hear that writer-director duo Alex Garland and Danny Boyle already had plans for their latest collaboration to be the first chapter of a new horror trilogy. Sony seemed keen on fast-tracking the pair's idea, as 28 Years Later and its sequel began shooting back to back. But it also felt like the studio wanted to bring a different kind of energy into the franchise when it tapped Nia Da

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Senate passes a bill that would let nonconsensual deepfake victims sue

The Senate passed a bill that could give people who've found their likeness deepfaked into sexually-explicit images without their consent a new way to fight back. The Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act (DEFIANCE Act), would let victims sue the individuals who created the images for civil damages. The bill passed with unanimous consent - meaning there was no roll-call vote, and no Senator objected to its passage on the floor Tuesday. It's meant to build on the work of the

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The best phone to buy right now

Haven’t you heard? Phones are boring now. And that’s just fine! Most people buying a new phone just want something familiar that works better than the device they’re replacing. If that’s your MO, then you’re sure to find something reliable in my recommendations below. But even if you’re looking for something a little more extra, you’ve got some great options. They’re going to be pretty iterative compared to whatever you’re using now — we’re in more of a software era than a hardware innovation c

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Anthropic shakes up C-suite to expand its internal incubator

Mike Krieger, the Instagram co-founder who joined Anthropic two years ago as its chief product officer, is moving to a new focus at the AI startup: co-leading its internal incubator, dubbed the "Labs" team. The Anthropic Labs team started in mid-2024 with just two members; now, the company has decided to expand it, with a focus on building "experimental products." Krieger's new title will be simply a member of technical staff reporting to Anthropic president Daniela Amodei, and he'll co-lead th

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The best noise-canceling headphones to buy right now

Whether you’re wearing them for the morning commute, while traveling, or if you’re simply trying to find some peace and quiet while working at home, noise-canceling headphones are a more essential piece of kit nowadays than ever before. And you’ve got a slew of great options to pick from; it’s hard to make a bad choice. There are longtime heavyweights like Bose and Sony to pick from. Apple has quickly carved into the market with the luxurious AirPods Max. And if you’ve got an ear that demands th

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RFK Jr.’s new food pyramid could be a disaster for the environment — if Americans actually follow it

The Trump administration announced last week that it wants Americans to consume more protein, churning out a colorful illustration of an inverted food pyramid that prominently features a big, red steak, a wedge of cheese, and a carton of whole milk at the top and claiming it's "ending the war on protein." It may seem like another example of cartoonish propaganda from an administration that essentially runs on memes, but don't be fooled: It signals a marked turn from previous advice that encourag

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Meta is closing down three VR studios as part of its metaverse cuts

Marvel’s Deadpool VR. Meta is laying off about 10 percent of its Reality Labs metaverse division, and the cuts include closing down some of its VR gaming studios. Twisted Pixel Games, the developer of Marvel's Deadpool VR, Sanzaru Games, the developer of the Asgard's Wrath franchise, and Armature Studio, which worked on the Resident Evil 4 VR port, are all being closed down, according to an internal memo viewed by Bloomberg. The team behind the VR fitness app Supernatural will no longer develo

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