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A new report from the group Common Sense Media shows teens are experimenting with AI "companions" designed to provide deep conversations and advice.

The government of the tiny African kingdom of Lesotho has declared a two-year state of disaster, as its once-thriving garment industry unravels in the wake of Trump's tariffs threats.

(Image credit: Per-Anders Pettersson)

It’s been a long seven-ish years since Bethesda presented The Elder Scrolls 6 trailer in 2018 at what was then E3. Yet in the subsequent years, we’ve heard precious little about the next Elder Scrolls game. Of course, we’ve had Starfield to fill that gap, which no doubt ate into the resources Bethesda had to commit to The Elder Scrolls 6.

Yet despite a lot of work on the game, and the Shattered Space expansion, while our Starfield review put a decent amount of praise on the ambitious space exploration game, it failed to have the impact, both initial and lasting, as The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim; that game has been updated, expanded, tweaked, and relaunched on numerous platforms to the extent of being a meme.

And while Bethesda itself evolved more into a publisher, as well as still running its own studio, there’s an argument that we need a new Elder Scrolls game to really pull the developer back into the gaming narrative, rather than see it as a company that’s been absorbed into the behemoth that is Microsoft Gaming.

No sweetroll update

Like BioWare before it, changes in ownership have arguably seen Bethesda lose some of its hefty kudos in the gaming world. Now we have the likes of Larian, FromSoftware, CD Projekt Red, and indie outfits like Team Cherry, all garnering gamer galvanization.

While I feel that Bethesda, as a studio, needs to both revitalize and notably evolve its approach to open world games, there’s no doubt a new TES game would have an impact; The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered made a surprise splash, so there’s a lot of scope for TES 6 to do the same but bigger and better.

Yet we’ve not had any update regarding TES 6; we know it’s being worked on and is past the pre-production stage, going by the odd comment from Bethesda frontman Todd Howard. But we’ve got no idea how far into development TES 6 might be.

Maybe naively, I’d hoped for some TES 6 hints at the Xbox Games Showcase last month, but no such luck.

So my own speculation would put TES 6’s launch date somewhere in 2027.

I'd take an arrow to the knee for an update...

Working back from there, I’d say we could expect to see a trailer with game footage sometime in 2026, possibly during next year's summer showcase.

I feel Microsoft needs such a potential big hitter to enthuse potentially beleaguered Xbox fans; Fable might go some way to doing that, but outside of Halo, which has somewhat withered in the vine lately, and Gears of War, there’s arguably not a lot of heavy-hitting IP for Xbox to draw upon as this console generation matures. I don’t count Call of Duty as that’s more of a multiplatform proposition, and expected year-on-year.

Of course, you could suggest that Microsoft’s approach to making everything playable anywhere is a way to evolve beyond platform/service exclusives. And I’d not argue against that. But I still feel TES 6 has the scope to be one big hurrah for this console generation, even if it comes to PlayStation.

And for Bethesda, if it can innovate beyond the somewhat simplistic mission structure and exploration seen in Starfield, and borrow storytelling-wise from the likes of Baldur's Gate 3 and others, TES 6 could be an exciting return to form for the studio. Just when that return will happen, I have no idea.

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Soaring prices, lagging incomes and burdensome social security payments are the top issues for frustrated, cash-strapped voters. Stricter measures targeting foreign residents and visitors have also emerged as a key issue, with a surging right-wing populist party leading the campaign.

(Image credit: Eugene Hoshiko)

The Paper season 4: key information

- The first four episodes will be released on September 4
- Entirely new cast, except for Oscar Nuñez, who reprises his role
- The plot follows a declining Midwestern newspaper
- There's no official trailer yet

The Paper is Peacock's follow-up to the hit NBC series The Office, a beloved sitcom that is one of my firm favorites. This is our first time diving into this world since 2013, and I am intrigued to see how it will play out.

While set in the same universe as The Office, the creators have confirmed that The Paper is set in a new company, and we've moved out of Scranton, Pennsylvania, to a new location.

The Office's Greg Daniels and Late Night with Conan O'Brien's Michael Koman are the ones behind the series, so it looks like it's in good hands.

With The Office being such a hit and a show I quote daily, it'll be interesting to see if The Paper can reach the same highs or, at the very least, be a highly entertaining entry into the mockumentary genre.

Here's everything we know about The Paper so far.

The Paper release date

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The Paper will be exclusively on Peacock, with the first four episodes dropping on September 4. It will then have a weekly release schedule with two episodes arriving until the season finale on September 10.

So those wanting to binge-watch might be disappointed, but it's definitely nice having a double bill to enjoy each week after the show's four-episode premiere.

The Paper trailer speculation

Right now, we don't have an official trailer for The Paper, but we should expect to see it closer to the release date.

When it does drop, it's likely fans will be hopeful that it'll match the quality of its predecessor, so the pressure is on for the new Peacock show. Only time will tell, as we haven't seen any video footage from the show yet.

The Paper confirmed cast

While we don't have a trailer yet, we do know who will be in the cast, and we've got a very familiar face showing up for a new job.

Oscar Nuñez will reprise his role as The Office’s Oscar Martinez, and he's now working in the accounting department at The Truth Teller.

Speaking about his return at an NBCUniversal Upfront, Nuñez said: “I told Mr. Greg Daniels that if Oscar came back, he would probably be living in a more bustling, cosmopolitan city. Greg heard me, and he moved Oscar to Toledo, Ohio, which has three times the population of Scranton. So, it was nice to be heard.”

Elsewhere, we've got a brand new cast, including Domhnall Gleeson as a new hire and Sabrina Impacciatore, who is described as the "no nonsense managing editor" of The Truth Teller.

The rest of the newsroom includes Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg, Ramona Young, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Alex Edelman, and Tim Key.

The Paper story synopsis

Confirmed to be set in the same universe as The Office, the same fictional documentary crew that once filmed the lives of Dunder Mifflin employees will now be setting their sights on The Truth Teller.

With that in mind, the new series will follow the everyday chaos at this fictional small-town newspaper. There's big work to be done, though, as the paper's publisher begins recruiting volunteer reporters to try and keep the presses running. A plot has teased that we should expect "all the dysfunction, awkwardness, and heart" that we saw in The Office, which should reassure long-term fans.

Will The Paper return for season 2?

Right now, we don't have any details about a potential season 2 but if that changes we'll be sure to update you.

For now, it's up to season one to make a good first impression so this is likely where Peacock's focus lies.

• Hackers didn’t need Paddy Power and Betfair users’ passwords to start building targeted scams using personal betting activity
• Even without card details, stolen emails and IPs can power highly convincing fraud attempts
• Gamblers are now prime targets for phishing messages tailored to their habits

A major data breach affecting up to 800,000 users of two popular online betting platforms has raised concerns about phishing risks and the role of artificial intelligence in exploiting exposed personal data.

The incident, confirmed by Flutter Entertainment, the parent company of Paddy Power and Betfair, compromised user IP addresses, email addresses, and online activity linked to individual gambling accounts.

Although no passwords or payment details were exposed, cybersecurity experts caution the stolen data could still be used to mount highly targeted attacks.

Passwords are safe, but you need to remain vigilant

Flutter, which operates several major gambling brands including Sky Bet and Tombola, acknowledged the breach and described it as a "data incident" that has since been contained.

The company has told users there is, “nothing you need to do in response to this incident,” although they were advised to remain vigilant.

With 4.2 million average monthly players across its UK and Irish platforms, the exposure of even a fraction of its user base could be serious.

Harley Morlet, chief marketing officer at Storm Guidance, warned those who regularly spend large amounts of money on these sites could be at greater risk.

“With the advent of AI, I think it would actually be very easy to build out a large-scale automated attack,” he told the BBC's Today programme.

“Basically, focusing on crafting messages that look appealing to those gamblers.”

Tim Rawlins, director and senior adviser at the NCC Group, echoed those concerns, urging customers to be wary of emails that reflect their personal betting patterns.

“You might re-enter your credit card number, you might re-enter your bank account details, those are the sort of things people need to be on the lookout for and be conscious of that sort of threat.”

“If it's too good to be true, it probably is a fraudster who's coming after your money,” he added.

Rawlins also stated that AI is making phishing attempts harder to detect, noting a rise in the sophistication of fraudulent emails.

The risk is especially acute in spear phishing campaigns, where stolen data is used to tailor messages that closely mimic legitimate correspondence.

For users now wondering how to protect themselves, relying solely on a free antivirus or even a standard Android antivirus app might not be enough.

While an antivirus solution can block known malware, it’s less effective against cleverly written emails that coax victims into handing over sensitive information themselves.

Instead, a layered approach that includes caution, skepticism, and good cyber hygiene remains the best defense.

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Officials in a Texas hill country community pummeled by deadly flooding July 4 said Saturday that just three people remain missing, down from nearly 100, after people who had previously been reported missing have since been accounted for.

(Image credit: Eric Gay)

DuFour Du Jour, cues up the next song in her broadcast at the station in Hot Springs, Va.'/>

Congress voted to claw back federal funding to public media. Some of those hit hardest include community radio stations in areas that voted for the president.

(Image credit: Kristian Thacker for NPR)

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Palestinians were shot dead during a food distribution on Saturday at a center run by a U.S.- and Israeli-backed group in southern Gaza, hospital officials said.

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The latest season of the podcast "Unsettled" from Iowa Public Radio looks at how gender affects people's everyday lives.

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The Tenno are traveling the cosmos to end up in a different star system -- and getting their hands on some sweet new gear along the way.

• The Mowrator S1 is an all-wheel drive lawnbot for tricky yards
• Can also function as a snow plough, trailer hitch and more
• Operates using videogame-style remote control

Lawnbots are great for neat, mostly flat, grass-covered lawns. But what if you have something more challenging? What if your lawn is lumpy, bumpy, overgrown, filled with roots, or super-steep? What if you have a paddock or a field that needs to be kept in check?

Mowrator has come to the rescue. Its Mowrator S1 is not so much a lawnbot as an all-in-one, consumer-grade, yardwork Transformer.

For lawncare, you can think of it like a ride-on mower, but shrunk down, powered by electricity, and operated by remote control. Available in four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive versions, it's equipped with a 21-inch long, straight blade. It can handle thick, tall or wet grass, get into the awkward areas usually off limits to mowers, and scale slopes of up to 85% (about 40 degrees).

When summer is over, the modular design can be reconfigured to deal with the demands of different seasons. There's a snow blade attachment, it can vacuum up dropped leaves in fall, and you can hook up a trailer and use it to transport things like fertilizer.

Yardwork... but make it fun

Most robot lawn mowers navigate independently, but this one is remote-controlled. So while it's a more hands-on choice, it's perfect if your yard has terrain, roots, or foliage that a traditional lawnbot can't handle. And you can still mow, plough snow or clear leaves from the comfort of your sofa, while monitoring the M1's progress out of the window.

It could be a particular game-changer for seniors or anyone struggling with the physical strain of staying on top of yard work – it'll take care of a variety of strenuous pushing and lifting tasks for you.

It also – frankly – looks incredibly fun to use. It's ready to go straight out of the box so there's none of the tedium of mapping the space, and you drive it using a game-style remote. A five-tier obstacle detection and avoidance system provides backup for unexpected hazards.

The Mowrator M1 can mow 1.125 acres on a single charge (an added an extra chassis fan cools the system while mowing, to prevent overheating) and there's fast charging to take the battery back to full in just 90 minutes. It's powered by four independent motors, and Morator says it has the same strength as a gas mower but without the emissions or noise.

The Mowrator S1 is available to buy now, with pricing starting from $2,499 / £2,578.

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• ChatGPT can’t tell if a site was hacked, expired, or repurposed for casino spam
• AI-generated answers may seem reliable, even when they cite completely hijacked and fake sources
• Expired charity domains are reborn as gambling sites and still pass as trustworthy AI sources

ChatGPT is quickly becoming a go-to source for people seeking recommendations, from online services to local businesses, but new evidence suggests its AI-generated suggestions may not always be grounded in trustworthy sources.

In fact, some are being drawn from websites that have either been hacked or whose domains have expired and been repurposed, often to promote online casinos and gambling platforms.

Over the past several months, James Brockbank, managing director and founder at Digitaloft, has been documenting how widespread the problem has become, uncovering examples of ChatGPT citing content from sites that have clearly been manipulated.

Exploiting gaps in AI source validation

In one instance, a functioning legal practice’s website, run by attorney Veronica T. Barton, had pages recommending UK casinos buried within it.

“Their site has been hacked and this page added,” Brockbank noted after reviewing the evidence.

In another case, a site once affiliated with a United Nations youth coalition had been transformed into a platform pushing “casinos not on GamStop.”

Although the listicle it hosted contained only one external link, it led to yet another repurposed domain.

The pattern continued with expired domains, including one that had belonged to a now-defunct arts charity previously linked by the BBC, CNN, and Bloomberg.

That domain, now pushing gambling content, was cited by ChatGPT in response to a query about no-deposit casinos.

These tactics exploit weaknesses in how ChatGPT selects and cites sources, as unlike traditional search engines, the model lacks mechanisms for verifying the legitimacy of a site’s ownership or editorial intent.

As a result, content injected onto compromised websites can surface in its answers without any obvious red flags to the user.

ChatGPT appears to favor recent content and still attributes authority based on legacy domain reputation, even when the domain’s content has no continuity with its past - which opens the door for bad actors to manipulate visibility through means that have little to do with credibility.

The bottom line is that users turning to ChatGPT for recommendations should not assume that every answer is backed by a credible source.

A quick check of the cited site’s authority, its history, ownership, and relevance can go a long way in avoiding misleading or harmful suggestions.

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