Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images Thousands of flights were temporarily grounded Friday after a major global IT outage caused airline computers to become inoperable. Some flights were resuming Friday morning, but airlines were warning customers of delays and disruptions throughout the day. The outage apparently stemmed from a software update issued by major US cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which is widely used by businesses for managing security on Windows PCs — including by most major airlines. Long lines were being reported at dozens of airports, including Hong Kong, Berlin, Amsterdam, Denver, and Manchester, according to the New York Times. Departure areas were filling up with distressed travelers as check-out computers were offline. A TikTok from Atlanta’s... Continue reading…

Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge In 2024, it’s always gadget season. But in these hot mid-July weeks, after splashy announcements from Samsung and Motorola and before we see what’s coming from Google and Apple, it’s officially Weird Gadget Season. On this episode of The Vergecast, we dive into the many weird gadgets that surfaced this week: an iPod-y Apple Watch accessory, an AI-powered Canon camera, the extremely tall Essential phone that never made it to market, and more. We talk about them all, always asking the important question: is this anything? But before we get to the weird gadgets, we go through some of the big news of the week. After the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the current state of social media content moderation has revealed itself... and... Continue reading…

The report didn’t mention Ventura, which is rumored to be a more affordable headset slated for 2024. | Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Despite recent layoffs in its Reality Labs division, Meta is still barreling ahead with plans for a Quest 4 in 2026 and a higher-end headset in 2027, The Information reports. While the report didn’t reveal much about hardware, this is the first time we’ve heard about specific timelines for the devices. The Quest 4 will purportedly have a standard and premium version, referred to internally as “Pismo Low” and “Pismo High.” Meanwhile, a higher-end version codenamed “La Jolla” is set for 2027 and is meant to compete with the Apple Vision Pro. Unmentioned in the report is Ventura, a more affordable headset that The Verge previously reported may come out later this year. Aside from Quest headsets, Meta is also expected to launch a pair of AR... Continue reading…

Photo by Anthony Kwan/Getty Images IT admins around the world are scrambling to fix a major issue with Windows computers today, after a faulty update from cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike knocked thousands of PCs and servers offline with a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error. While CrowdStrike has fixed the update that originally caused the problems, many systems are still offline, with banks, airlines, supermarkets, and TV broadcasters struggling to cope without their machines. The fix, for many, won’t be easy. IT admins are still trying to use an initial workaround provided by CrowdStrike, which involves booting Windows systems into Safe Mode and deleting a system file: Boot Windows into Safe Mode or the Windows Recovery Environment Navigate to the... Continue reading…

Image: Microsoft A global IT outage grounded flights and resulted in outages at the London Stock Exchange and other systems early Friday morning. Continue reading…

The Verge A “Trump2024” banner labeled “Promoted by Team Trump” sat atop the What’s Happening summary on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, during the fourth and final night of the Republican National Convention on Thursday. While the #Trump2024 hashtag temporarily showed the American flag, and clicking it caused an animated “hashfetti” effect with flags raining down, it was the icon attached to the number one trending #MAGA topic that caught our eyes. Image: X.com The Trump “hashmoji” attached to #MAGA. It temporarily featured a low-res version of a now-famous image showing Trump with his fist raised while being lifted to his feet by Secret Service agents following an assassination attempt during his campaign... Continue reading…

A large Roman venue hosting horse-drawn chariot races in antiquity has been found in northern Spain at the Iruña-Veleia site. Situated 10 kilometers from Vitoria-Gasteiz, it was found to contain a Roman circus measuring 280 meters (approximately 920 feet) in length, capable of seating around 5,000 spectators! This finding, revealed by the excavation leaders using remote sensing techniques, highlighted the outlines of the stands and the circus. Iruña-Veleia: Roman Circus Town? The discovery suggests that Iruña-Veleia was more significant than previously believed. This announcement was made by Basque institutions and Arkikus archaeology company leaders, brothers Iker and Javier Ordoño, who first identified signs of the circus in 2020 using aerial photographs and helped by their color blindness, reports Arkikus, who’re carrying out the investigation. The researchers explained that:  “It gives an idea of the importance that Iruña-Veleia had. Not just anyone had a circus like this, with 280 meters it's like having three soccer fields lined up one behind the other.” The discovery was enabled through "surface remote sensing of the site via historical and modern aerial photographs, LiDAR laser scanner mapping, and drone images." Read moreSection: NewsHistory & ArchaeologyAncient PlacesEuropeRead Later 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed British government ministers on Friday, a rare appearance by a foreign leader at a cabinet meeting that new Prime Minister Keir Starmer hopes will underline London's support for Kyiv. A day after hosting a forum of European...

The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability released a bipartisan statement calling on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear before the panel to answer questions about the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg has declined to endorse either Donald Trump or Joe Biden and said he does not plan to be involved in the upcoming U.S. presidential election in any way, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Zuckerberg's comments come as several influential...