During his campaign, President Trump promised to stem migration to the United States. And since taking office his administration has deported plane loads of people, some of whom were in the U.S. legally. Hundreds of deportees have been sent to prison in El Salvador. And President Trump has essentially closed the door to immigrants seeking to enter the country through the border with Mexico. These policies have provoked so-called reverse migration, where people go back to the places they once fled. And that has knock-on effects for other countries. We go to a tiny island in Panama to see the effects of U.S. immigration policy.
The case was brought by a chapter of Catholic Charities in Wisconsin, which says that it should be able to opt out of the mandatory state unemployment compensation system.
(Image credit: Win McNamee)
The staff of the Institute of Museum and Library Services was placed on administrative leave Monday morning, following a meeting between IMLS leadership and DOGE staff.
(Image credit: Shannon Finney)
Plugable, an American brand known for USB flash devices, has introduced the USBC-7400H4, a new graphics adapter which connects up to four 4K displays at 60Hz from a single USB-C port.
This is the first adapter to feature the DisplayLink DL-7400 chipset, providing extensive screen space for demanding workloads, making it one of the best docking stations in the market.
It works with both Windows and macOS, including base models of M1, M2, M3, and M4 MacBooks. It can also be paired with the best monitor for MacBook Pro or the best monitor for Mac Mini.
High-resolution output with integrated power deliveryThe adapter also introduces a virtual 8K monitor powered through a single USB Type-C connection, allowing even Apple M4 laptops, which have limited built-in multi-display support, to create an extended workspace.
Unlike many competing adapters that are limited to 1080p resolution or fewer displays, this device supports multiple high-resolution screens via four HDMI outputs, enabling users to expand their display setup beyond what most business laptops natively support.
With 100W pass-through Power Delivery, the adapter allows users to charge their laptops while expanding their display setup, delivering 90W to the host. If external power isn’t needed, it can operate in a bus-powered mode, drawing power directly from the host computer.
The USBC-7400H4 is available from Plugable and Amazon for $124.95, with a 10% launch discount, and is also offered for bulk and business purchases through affiliate partners
You may also likeSpaceX is planning a launch as early as Monday evening. If successful, it will mark the first crewed mission to polar orbit and the first mission to cultivate mushrooms as a crop
(Image credit: SpaceX)
Last week, the White House said the National Security Council, the White House counsel office and President Trump adviser Elon Musk were all looking into the mishap. But now, that probe has wrapped
(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)
The 22nd Amendment bans a person from being elected U.S. president more than twice. But some legal experts point to plausible strategies that President Trump could try to serve a third term.
(Image credit: Brendan Smialowski)
A new survey has revealed nearly half of businesses worldwide are dissatisfied with their websites, even after substantial financial investments.
Despite these significant investments, 36% of ecommerce businesses admitted that their website had caused embarrassment in front of customers or stakeholders.
This highlights a growing gap between spending and satisfaction, suggesting that even with the best website builder or the best web hosting for small businesses, many businesses struggle to maintain a site that meets their expectations.
The growing impact of website inefficienciesStoryblok surveyed 300 senior business leaders across the US and Europe, finding companies spent an average of $550,688 on marketing technology over five years, with 18% exceeding $1 million.
96% of those surveyed still claimed their website met all or most of their expectations, suggesting that while companies acknowledge website shortcomings, they may underestimate their impact on customer experience and revenue.
Losses due to poor website performance have risen from $72,000 in 2023 to $94,500 per year, demonstrating the financial consequences of neglecting site optimization.
“When we conducted this research two years ago, we were surprised to find so many businesses were embarrassed by their website and believed it was losing them vast sums of money. What made it more puzzling is that the majority of businesses said they received good ROI on their marketing technology,” said Dominik Angerer, Storyblok's CEO and co-founder.
“Fast forward to today, and we are genuinely shocked to find the situation has become worse. Businesses are losing a lot more money, maintenance times are increasing, and costs are soaring. Yet, satisfaction with marketing solutions has increased.”
European businesses are seeing the largest losses, with an average estimated impact of $101,000 annually, compared to $80,500 for US companies.
Despite investing in the best web hosting solutions, many businesses continue to face website inefficiencies that contribute to these losses.
With cybersecurity threats and accessibility needs rising, maintaining a high-performing website is becoming increasingly complex.
However, Storyblok believes that “a new generation of composable architecture and solutions provides a much more cost and time-effective solution than inefficient legacy tech stacks that are increasingly unfit for their purpose.”
You may also likeRemember that time TikTok shut down and disappeared from app stores? It wasn't that long ago. For roughly 12 hours on January 19, TikTok was stripped away from roughly 175M US users only to be saved by a Presidential executive order decree that extended the ban deadline by 75 days. Don't worry; the White House promised we'll have a sale in place by then.
Guess what? While TikTok has multiple suitors, no US company, and certainly not the White House, has purchased any portion of ByteDance's popular social media content-sharing platform.
Throughout this process, ByteDance – a Chinese company – has yet to comment directly on the potential of a sale to a US firm. TikTok's US leadership and its CEO, Shou Zi Chew, have publicly praised President Donald Trump for his intervention but have been mostly silent since then.
In the meantime, TikTok has spent millions on televised ads and infomercial segments touting TikTok's positive impact on people and US businesses, specifically small businesses. The company currently says it has roughly 7.5M businesses on the platform. In a recent economic impact report, TikTok claims small businesses drove $15B in revenue in 2023.
There's no question that TikTok has had a significant impact on US business and, especially, culture (remember the pivotal role it played during COVID?). However, the US climate and appetite for a last-minute save of the social media platform may have shifted since January.
After all, that was the literal dawn of President Trump's second term. Since then, there have been dozens of Executive Orders touching almost every part of American life (including technology; see this AI-related order), and there's a chance consumers may have bigger fish to fry.
Even so, the fate of one of the world's most popular social media platforms does hang in the balance. Here's what we know about what comes next:
I did reach out to the White House, Apple, Google, and TikTok about the current state of negotiations and what might happen if the ban does not get another extension. As of this writing, only Google responded, but it had nothing new to share.
While there have been no public indications of any real progress or movement in the TikTok sale negotiation process, we do know that multiple suitors include:
Oracle is already managing TikTok's US data, so it might be the leading prospective buyer.
The White House has often been mentioned as acquiring a partial stake in the US-owned version of the company. here are already legal hurdles involved with a sitting President also running a private or non-public-sector business.
Perplexity AI is the most interesting suitor. In a lengthy blog post, the AI search company made an impassioned case for "Rebuilding TikTok in America."
While ByteDance and the White House remain mum on deal details or progress, multiple US senators are still urging the White House to extend the ban postponement to October of this year.
The White House stated this week that a deal would be done before the April 5 deadline but has yet to offer any further details beyond reiterating that there are "lots of potential buyers" and they have "tremendous interest."
What's next? (Image credit: Future)If the deal does not happen by then, TikTok could face a new ban, and that might mean the removal not only of TikTok but all of ByteDance's US apps, including Lemon8 and the popular video-editing app CapCut.
Apple and Google removed the apps, and even after the US president extended the ban, they remained unavailable on the app stores for weeks.
Apple did not respond to my request for comment. As I noted above, Google told me it had nothing new to share at this time.
So, the current state of play is that while there's a lot of sale chatter from some major US business players and investors, there is nothing solid. There are not even leaks of a deal being close. All we have is Trump's promises and mostly silence from TikTok and ByteDance.
What this boils down to is that you can't buy something that isn't for sale. ByteDance has never publicly stated that it is open to a sale. TikTok in the US, which has publicly appreciated the extension, may not have control of the situation without a sale agreement from its parent company. TikTok might be out of options.
With five days left, anything could happen, but realistically, it's been almost a year since Former President Joe Biden signed the bill that triggered the ban countdown.
Nothing material has changed, and time is running out.
You might also likeIf you’re a fan of Google Flights, especially for the price tracking data and how the current prices you’re seeing rank against other days, you’re in for a treat. As part of a drop of features fit for upcoming summer travel, Google aims to do for hotels what it’s done for flights.
And yes, it’s as good as it sounds. Now, when you search for hotels on Google, you’ll have the option to ask the search giant to track prices. Essentially, you turn on the feature and then get an alert if there is a price drop.
Similar to flights, you can be a bit descriptive, setting a price range or a 'don’t bother me if it doesn’t fall' here. It will even factor in a star rating if you have one selected and the general area where you were searching for a hotel.
(Image credit: Google)Google is rolling out this new hotel price tracking feature globally on desktop and mobile. Once it’s available, you’ll find it right in search, complementing the historical knowledge of hotel pricing history.
This hotel-focused feature is launching alongside some other new functionality from Google, all billed under getting ready for summer travel. The ability to set up price alerts for hotels is undoubtedly the most user-friendly feature and could have the most significant impact. It could potentially help you save on a stay.
Another new feature that could help you better prepare for a trip is screenshot support within Google Maps. If you enable it, Google Maps will look through photos and deliver a list of places you've screenshotted.
So, if you've been screenshotting TikToks about the best places to eat in New York City or maybe a list of the best ice cream spots in Boston, you won't need to dig through all of them to find every place mentioned.
Instead, with some AI help, Google Maps will look through your screenshots, find those spots, and list them well in a handy list for you. It'll live in the app in a list titled "Screenshots," and this feature is entirely optional.
(Image credit: Google)This feature could prove helpful, but considering that screenshots aren’t just used for travel or remembering specific spots, this could also be a bit of a privacy concern.
It is opt-in only and not on by default, but it is rolling out now to mobile devices with U.S. English on iOS first, with Android following shortly.
You might also likeYesterday morning, I logged into Facebook and saw an image of the Colosseum turned into a water park. On LinkedIn, everyone was busy transforming their headshots into Studio Ghibli characters, courtesy of ChatGPT’s latest update. Threads showed me a video reimagining the cast of Severance crawling around Lumon as babies. And X kindly served up a Grok-generated image of Elon Musk and Donald Trump in a pose I wish I could unsee.
It’s not just me, right? Social media has become a swirling mess of synthetic content. We’ve written about the rise of AI slop before – part cringe-inducing art gallery, part uncanny valley fever dream. And sure, the algorithm is feeding me stuff it thinks I care about – Severance babies, travel inspo, a healthy dose of Musk mockery. That checks out.
But I keep thinking: has AI officially ruined social media? And is this just harmless chaos or is it quietly rewiring how we see truth, trust, and reality?
The four horsemen of the AI slopocalypseOne of the biggest problems with AI content is the sheer volume – and it’s coming from all sides. AI evangelists. Your coworkers. Your friends. Your gran (who probably doesn’t even realize what she’s reposting). And brands that absolutely should know better.
To make sense of the mess, I spoke to Joe Goulcher, a creative director and social media expert. He works with brands on this stuff daily and has a front-row seat to the AI slop flood. According to Joe, AI content tends to fall into four distinct “strains” – “like a virus,” he tells me.
Functional AI slop
“Crudely, badly made stuff that is basically stock imagery used to fill a hole where an image should be,” Goulcher explains. “It's bottom of the barrel, and barely any conscious thought has gone into why or what it is.” This is the lowest-effort tier. Bland visuals slapped onto posts just to have something there. Placeholder content that somehow became the content.
Clickbait slop
“Stuff that makes us stop scrolling and think ‘god this is disgusting and bad,’ but it’s by design to generate conversation,” Goulcher says. This one’s the most insidious. It’s not trying to be good, it’s trying to be just bad enough to go viral.
The ‘look what I made!’ post
“This is where people use AI to create something that looks like LOTR, Star Wars or another behemoth IP because it’s trained on it,” Goulcher tells me. “They say things like ‘look what I did in ten mins!! this is going to change the industry and you should be scared and using it now instead of spending thousands with artists.’ It usually goes down like a sack of bricks.” This is the hype-fuelled, tech-bro theatre of generative content. The tone is always breathless, and the results are always underwhelming.
The genuinely good stuff
“There are actually good AI campaigns, with purpose, permission, and laced with incredible VFX, handcrafted where AI couldn't do the job,” Goulcher says. Yes, some brands are doing it well, with thought, care, and actual artistry. But it’s rare. And usually buried under a steaming pile of junk.
Breaking it down like this might feel bleak – like we’ve gone full epidemiology on the most cursed content – but it’s actually useful. Categorizing the chaos helps explain why AI content feels inescapable, and why it hits so many different shades of dystopian.
AI for the sake of AIWe’re in an era of AI content being made simply because it can be. People, brands, entire businesses are churning it out. Not necessarily because they have something to say, and not because it’s better than the alternatives, but because the tools exist, they're easy to use, and the pressure to use them is enormous.
This speaks to a deeper issue in tech. Just look at Apple’s recent AI missteps. Despite all the hype, AI isn’t delivering the magic it was sold on. It’s being shoved into products not because users need it, but because shareholders want to hear “AI” on earnings calls.
And right now? It’s not revolutionizing much of anything. In fact, in most applications, it’s starting to look like a very expensive gimmick.
“It reminds me of the early days of torrenting or music streaming – a bit of a Wild West,” Goulcher explains. “Even though brands whacked a logo on them, it didn't make it ethically good in any way. They were just trying to ride the waves of legality and dosh until legislation kicked in far too late.”
Like crypto or NFTs, we see there’s innovation, hype, overuse, and then fatigue. “I think we can apply the same tech hype graph to AI content,” Goulcher says. “There's always something in my gut that’s like, ‘this bubble will burst.’ And I still think that will happen. When AI data sets start eating themselves, and the innovative wow factor wears off – what’s left?”
And he’s asking the question more of us probably should be: “How are any of these billion-dollar tools actually making our lives better? Because the novelty is wearing off, the ethics (or lack of them) are becoming clearer, and the shock value is beginning to wane.”
AI hasn’t just broken social media, it’s broken the truthIt’s not like social media was perfect before this. AI didn’t start the rot, things were already slipping. But this latest wave of generative content has pushed it straight into uncanny, derivative, brain-melting chaos.
And if AI is flooding our feeds with pointless slop, it’s also doing something more dangerous: weaponizing it. It’s easy to laugh at AI-generated celeb babies or cringe at a brand ad that crawled out of the uncanny valley. But that reaction misses the bigger, scarier picture.
Because AI can fuel misinformation at scale. For example, across Europe, far-right groups are using AI-generated images to provoke outrage, spread conspiracy theories, and stoke division. And these aren’t just fringe trolls – they’re coordinated campaigns, designed to manipulate public opinion.
That’s just one example. Election misinformation. Deepfake porn. Fake war footage. Yes, it's the kind of content that has always existed online. Only now, the rules have changed. You don’t need skills. You don’t need a team. You don’t even need a budget. Just a narrative and a willingness to abandon reality. And on social media, the rest takes care of itself.
That’s the real horror story. Not just that we’re drowning in junk, or that brands think we want AI-generated ads, but that we’re slipping into a world where what’s fake moves faster than what’s true. And the algorithm doesn’t care if it’s real – just that it’s getting your clicks, your likes, your attention.
You might also likeWe recently reported Microsoft had cancelled leases with at least two private data center operators in the US, totaling “a couple hundred megawatts,” and how the company was also not converting “so-called statements of qualifications into leases,” according to claims from TD Cowen analysts.
Shortly after that news broke, Microsoft pulled out of a $12 billion deal with CoreWeave (the "WeWork of AI"), passing on buying more data center capacity from the AI hyperscaler. That option was snapped up by OpenAI, but as it counts Microsoft as its biggest backer, it was essentially paying CoreWeave with Microsoft money!
Microsoft appears to be taking a more tactical approach to AI spending, a move that is echoed in a new Bloomberg report quoting TD Cowen analysts saying Microsoft has walked away from additional data center projects in the US and Europe.
On track to spend $80 billionBloomberg writes, “Microsoft’s retrenchment in the last six months included lease cancellations and deferrals, the TD Cowen analysts said in their latest research note. Alphabet Inc.’s Google had stepped in to grab some leases Microsoft abandoned in Europe, the analysts wrote, while Meta Platforms Inc. had scooped up some of the freed capacity in Europe.”
Responding to the article, Microsoft pointed out that it was still on track to spend about $80 billion investing in growing infrastructure projects.
“Thanks to the significant investments we have made up to this point, we are well positioned to meet our current and increasing customer demand,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement.
“While we may strategically pace or adjust our infrastructure in some areas, we will continue to grow strongly in all regions. This allows us to invest and allocate resources to growth areas for our future.”
Bloomberg adds TD Cowen analysts Michael Elias, Cooper Belanger, and Gregory Williams said, “We continue to believe the lease cancellations and deferrals of capacity points to data center oversupply relative to its current demand forecast.”
You might also likeNews has surfaced this week of a Hyundai Ioniq 5 owner in South Korea who clocked up a staggering 360,000 miles (579,363 km) on their EV's original battery.
Rewind the clock to 2011 and the introduction of the first-generation Nissan Leaf and industry experts were worried that EV batteries wouldn’t last five years before they need replacing… at a huge cost.
However, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 owner, who regularly posts on a Facebook Group called “Mileage Impossible”, claims he covers around 10,000 miles, reaching 360,000 miles before Hyundai offered to replace the battery for free, despite it being well beyond its warranty period.
Perhaps most amazing of all is that the original battery pack was still showing 87% of its original health, despite the owner reportedly only using DC fast charging to top up the battery packs, according to Electrek. This was likely so Hyundai could run tests on the battery pack for its own data records.
Still going strong, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 has now hit 666,255km (413,991 miles) and counting, although it hasn’t been completely free of issues. The owner reported that the Integrated Charging Control Unit (ICCU) broke, meaning it can’t be charged on Level 1 and Level 2 low-powered AC outlets, while standard maintenance and general wear and tear will have likely thrown up some bills.
But the high-mileage Hyundai is a shining example of how robust and reliable a modern EV can be if it is taken care of properly. And it isn't alone...
Electric vehicles keep rolling (Image credit: GearBrain)For data nerds, the high-mileage Hyundai example is an anomaly and it is much better to look at numbers sourced from the wider EV industry to get a more reliable picture on battery and electric motor health after vehicles reach very high mileage.
That said, the news isn’t awash with reports of EV batteries failing after just a few years (you know it would be if that was the case). And there are numerous reports of owners maxing out their mileage in a number of electric vehicles with very little issue.
Here are just a handful of examples...
1. Tesla Model S 70D (Image credit: Tesla)Inside EVs ran a story about how one Tesla owner, who used the vehicle as a taxi service, covered a mammoth 70,000 miles (112,650km) a year. At the last count, the car showed a staggering 424,000-miles on the clock (682,361km).
According to the report, the battery pack was replaced under warranty at 250,000 miles (402,335 km), as well as a new front motor 380,000 miles (611,550 km).
Amazingly, it still uses its original rear motor unit but, like any combustion engine counterpart, it has also received a number of new parts to keep it roadworthy.
Rear axles, suspension components and the AC compressor all required replacing, which is understandable on a vehicle that has gone that sort of distance. We bet this isn't the only example of a Model S managing to out-last combustion engine counterparts.
2. Tesla Model 3 (Image credit: Tesla)Although it lacks the video evidence of the previously mentioned Model S, one Model 3 owner took to Twitter in 2022 to post an image of their Model 3 Long Range Dual Motor hitting 500,000km (or 310,685).
According to the owner, it was still using the original battery pack, motors and even brakes, which is slightly concerning. Although the owner admitted that they drove 90% of the time at highway speeds.
The only maintenance, aside from tires and other commonly replaced parts, was a new drivetrain oil pump at 286,000 miles (460,000 km), which reportedly cost just 250 Canadian Dollars ($194).
3. BMW i3 (Image credit: BMW)BMW put out a press release in 2019 to celebrate Shaun Maidment's achievements, an i3 owner in South Africa who had clocked up 200,000km in a first generation 60Ah model in just three years of ownership.
According to an update in 2022, the vehicle had amassed 187,000 miles (301,998 km). However, it is worth noting that Shaun’s i3 was the range extender variant, so the smaller battery pack is capable of 126 miles on electricity alone, with petrol used to power the range extending system to around 200 miles.
Regardless, it's another great example of a car that wasn't designed to hit such lofty mileage proving the naysayers wrong.
4. Chevrolet Bolt (Image credit: Chevrolet)The Chevy Bolt forums are awash with members trying to outdo each other on mileage, but one video surfaced that showed an owner managing a staggering 138,000 miles (222,089km) on its original battery, with the second still going strong at a further 122,000 miles (196,339km).
The vehicle is still cruising happily at 300,000 miles and counting, with the content owner documenting the life of his 2019 model in various videos on YouTube.
5. Nissan Leaf (Image credit: Nissan)A driver in Washington managed to rack up 150,000 miles in his first-generation Nissan Leaf, with the original battery pack managing to go the distance, despite the owner reporting that the battery fade has been considerable.
But considering the battery technology is now 16 years old, it is amazing that the packs still offer 60% capacity, which is good for around 35 miles of range in warm weather.
Owner Steve Marsh told Inside EVs that he now has a newer 2014 Leaf for everyday use, with the the last few clicks to hit 150,000 miles on his original model more a "proof of capability" than a conscious decision to use the car.
You might also likeWhile Nvidia and AMD's new GPU lineups are at the forefront of PC gaming news, Team Red's processors are on the verge of taking the spotlight: the Ryzen AI Max APUs have mostly been reserved for laptops, providing enough power to run demanding triple-A games, but that could change very soon.
In an interview with DeepSeek Exploded on Bilibili, AMD's CEO Lisa Su hinted at more Ryzen AI Max processors making their way to the desktop space. We've seen the top-end processor (Ryzen AI 395+) in some mini-PCs and laptops, which provide exceptional performance results in games - and we could see the same results for even more desktop PCs.
Thanks to the Ryzen AI Max+ 395's Radeon 8060S iGPU with 40 RDNA 3.5 GPU cores and 16 CPU cores with 32 threads, gaming works great above 1080p. It's evident in ETA Prime's Framework Desktop PC tests on YouTube: a prime example is Cyberpunk 2077, with its frame rate hovering between 55 and 60fps with ultra graphics settings at 1440p.
It's also worth noting that FSR 4 could be making its way to RDNA 3 - it's currently reserved for RDNA 4 - and this could be incredibly beneficial to systems powered by the APUs.
The important thing is that all of this is possible without a discrete GPU, and with a desktop PC, this could work wonders for efficiency. While it won't match high-end desktop GPUs, it still packs a punch and could be the start of something new - or perhaps, the beginning of the end for discrete GPUs.
(Image credit: AMD) If we can get stronger APUs sooner, it may be time up for some discrete GPUsFor a long time, discrete GPUs for both laptops and desktop PCs have been the one-way ticket to great gaming experiences. Now, that's gradually beginning to change with APUs becoming more powerful: it's evident with handheld gaming PCs like the Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and the recent MSI Claw 8 AI+ using Intel's Core Ultra 7 258V processor.
While the high-end Ryzen AI Max chips haven't been used in handheld gaming PCs yet, they're the ideal chips for mini-PC setups. Discrete GPUs (specifically desktop ones) provide fantastic performance across the board but use plenty of power - however, that won't be the case with an AI Max+ 395.
Tech is moving faster than ever, and APUs are the perfect example. If we manage to get more powerful APUs in the foreseeable future, we might just see a slow fade away of mid-range discrete GPUs - and perhaps a strong rival to current consoles (if the prices for the PCs are reasonable, anyway).
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