WATCH: Harris Campaign Staffer Confirms to CNN Kamala HAS NOT Changed Her Mind on Banning Fracking

The best experiences you can have in gaming are side by side with your friends. As it turns out, there are thousands of co-op titles on the market, but there are plenty of stinkers you'll want to avoid.

Illustration: The Verge Google will soon let Gemini subscribers create custom chatbots that can serve as a gym buddy, cooking partner, writing editor, and more. Users can give the chatbots — called Gems — distinct personalities and specialties by simply describing a set of instructions. Google first introduced Gems during I/O in May. In an example prompt shown by Google, users can create a “knowledgeable, casual, and friendly” Gem that can help people plan low- or no-water gardens. For users who don’t want to create a custom chatbot right away, Google is offering some premade Gems, including a learning coach, an idea brainstormer, a career guide, a coding partner, and an editor. GIF: Google You can give Gems a name and a set of... Continue reading…

Google’s Imagen 3 is capable of generating photorealistic images of people. | Image: Imagen 3 Google is letting its users generate images of people through its Gemini AI chatbot again after pulling the feature earlier this year amid reports of historically inaccurate images, like racially diverse Nazis. In an announcement, Google says it will roll out an early access version of the capability to Gemini Advanced, Business, and Enterprise users in English “over the coming days.” This upgrade will be powered by Imagen 3, the latest version of Google’s AI text-to-image generator. Google quietly launched Imagen 3 through its AI Test Kitchen earlier this month, and now it’s coming to Gemini across all languages. The upgraded tool is capable of generating anything from photorealistic landscapes to textured oil paintings with a... Continue reading…

Where to Watch shows you all the sports on ESPN — and elsewhere. | Image: ESPN ESPN’s newest feature will be a welcome bookmark for sports fans everywhere: the company just launched “Where to Watch,” which aims to be a universal guide for streaming sports all over the internet. When you open the page on ESPN’s website or in its app, Where to Watch looks like a typical schedule of games, the kind of thing ESPN has had forever — it’s sortable by sport and able to show your favorite team at the top. But next to each listing, it now shows where you can watch the game, even when it’s not on ESPN. ESPN says Where to Watch has data from more than 250 streaming services. On Wednesday morning, it offered me a baseball game on MLB.TV, a college soccer game on ACC Extra, some MLS on Apple TV Plus, and five different ways to... Continue reading…

Brilliant, maker of smart switches and smart control panels, is back in business. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Brilliant is back in business. Three months after laying off its staff, shutting down its support center, and ceasing sales, the maker of smart home control panels has reemerged with a new name, new focus, and a new product on the way. The good news for Brilliant customers is that existing products never stopped working during the transition period and will continue to operate going forward. Now called Brilliant NextGen, the company was bought by two investment firms — Almeida Strategic Investments and Cullinan Holdings — in late July. (No sale price was disclosed.) Earlier this month, they appointed Lisa Petrucci as CEO, Brilliant’s former VP of business development and sales. In the last week or so, the web store came back online, and... Continue reading…

First previewed at Google I/O, Google is releasing its long-expected custom Gems feature today. With that, you can create your own personal AI expert on any topic you want. According to Google, Gemini Advanced, Business, and Enterprise subscribers can start creating and chatting with Gems over the coming days. They can be customized to be experts on topics or refined toward specific goals. After giving it a name and instructions, users can start talking with them so people can take advantage of brainstorming ideas and more. Google says these Gems remember detailed instructions to help you save time on tedious, repetitive, or difficult tasks. Some of the premade Google Gemini Gems available are: Learning coach helps you break down complex topics, making them easier to understand. Brainstormer gives you easy inspiration — from fresh ideas for a themed party to the perfect gift for an upcoming birthday. Career guide unlocks your career potential with detailed plans to refine your skills and achieve your career goals. Writing editor can elevate your writing through clear, constructive feedback on everything from grammar to structure. Coding partner levels up your coding skills and can help you build projects and learn as you go. Besides that, Google is also upgrading its creative image generation capabilities with Imagem 3. It's a "new standard for image quality, generating images with just a few words" that can also be offered in different styles. Image source: Google Over the coming days, Google will roll out the generation of images of people, with an early access version starting in English for those on Gemini Advanced, Business, and Enterprise. Google warns: "With Imagen 3, we’ve made significant progress in providing a better user experience when generating images of people. We don’t support the generation of photorealistic, identifiable individuals, depictions of minors, or excessively gory, violent, or sexual scenes (...) We'll gradually roll this out, aiming to bring it to more users and languages soon." Google Gemini's Gems and Imagem 3 are available on desktop and mobile devices in more than 150 countries in most languages. Don't Miss: Google’s Gemini upgrades put the pressure on OpenAI’s GPT-5 The post Google’s custom Gemini AI chatbots are now live appeared first on BGR. Today's Top Deals Today’s deals: $199 Apple iPad 9, $30 Crest 3D Whitestrips, $298 Sony XM5 ANC headphones, more Today’s deals: 10% off new Sony ULT WEAR headphones, gaming laptops, Samsung OLED TVs, more Today’s deals: Crazy-fast mini PC for $670, $45 Ninja blender, $34 Roku Streaming Stick 4K, more Today’s deals: $35 in Amazon credits, $179 Sonos soundbar, $60 Keurig coffee maker, $99 Bose speaker, more

The iPhone 16 event takes place on September 9th, as Apple sent out invitations for the press conference earlier this week. Assuming Apple doesn't change its iPhone launch playbook, the iPhone 16 release date should be September 20th. Preorders will likely start on September 13th. If you're thinking about upgrading to one of the four iPhone 16 models coming our way, the good news is that Apple won't raise prices. There's no sign that a price hike is in the cards. However, the iPhone is still expensive, especially if you go for a Pro model. You might want to trade in your current iPhone to make the iPhone 16 purchase easier on the wallet. New data from SellCell suggests that you might want to trade in or sell your device even before the iPhone 16 comes out to make the most of it. The company operates its own used device marketplace where phones can be sold. SellCell says that the best time to trade in your iPhone is about 14 days before the next model's release. Continue reading... The post Buying an iPhone 16? Here’s when to trade in your current iPhone for the best payout appeared first on BGR. Today's Top Deals Today’s deals: Crazy-fast mini PC for $670, $45 Ninja blender, $34 Roku Streaming Stick 4K, more Exclusive deal: Get GEEKOM’s ultra-fast GT13 Pro Mini PC for only $549 Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales Today’s deals: Pixel 9 preorder offers, $20 waterproof speaker, $225 HP laptop, $89 Sony earbuds, more

Ashkelon, one of Israel's oldest cities, has just unveiled a remarkable archaeological discovery—two Roman-era vaulted tombs adorned with stunning wall paintings. These artworks, depicting Greek mythological characters, plants, animals, and other vibrant scenes, offer a rare glimpse into the region's history. Found in a public area near Ashkelon's marina, the tombs are over 1,700 years old, and will soon be accessible to the public, showcasing the city's celebration of its ancient heritage. Aquincum: Exploring the Ancient Roman City Under Modern-day Budapest Roman Tombs Found in Egyptian Oasis Reflect Cultural Blending Evident in Burial Practices Dr. Elena Kogan-Zehavi, Israel Antiquities Authority, who uncovered one of the tombs about 30 years ago, standing in the tombs after the recent restoration work. (IAA) Read moreSection: ArtifactsOther ArtifactsNewsHistory & ArchaeologyAncient PlacesAsiaRead Later 

Sarah Palin on Wednesday won her bid for a new trial against the New York Times over an editorial that the former Alaska governor said was defamatory.