US President Trump signed an executive order on Monday to create a sovereign wealth fund, with the potential to buy TikTok. Learn what it is here.
US President Trump signed an executive order on Monday to create a sovereign wealth fund, with the potential to buy TikTok. Learn what it is here.
Uber rolled out a new set of features on Monday that could remove some friction for people with service animals. The company now lets handlers automatically notify drivers that they ride with a service animal.
In a blog post, Chris Yoon, an Uber Product Manager, wrote that he “joined Uber with a singular mission: to help expand accessibility in rideshare, including for those who rely on service animals.” He says he and other blind travelers often message drivers in advance to let them know about their service animals. Today’s new features can automate that for them if they choose.
Drivers who consider refusing rides will have to think twice — and then some. If the driver requests a cancelation after learning about the service animal, Uber will automatically send an in-app reminder that doing so is against not only company policy but also the law. Uber says drivers refusing rides with service animals “may permanently lose access to the platform.”
Passengers who opt into the new features will automatically receive a message after a driver cancels, asking what happened and offering additional support. Those who don’t use the feature can contact the company through the app or over the phone.
Riders can set up the feature through the Uber app. Go to Account > Settings > Accessibility, and tap Service Animal. It will then prompt you to fill out an eligibility form and pick which parts of the feature (like notifying the driver in advance) you want to turn on.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/uber-wants-to-make-rides-easier-for-people-with-service-animals-210958456.html?src=rss
Nuance Audio, new “hearing glasses” from EssilorLuxottica, have received FDA clearance and “a CE marking under the Medical Devices regulation in the EU,” making them officially ready to sell in the US and Europe.
The smart glasses are essentially prescription frames with an over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid built-in. Using open-ear speakers and a beamforming microphone array, Nuance Audio can raise the volume of whoever you’re speaking to, while attempting to cancel out whatever noise is going on around you. You can control the glasses with a companion app or a dedicated remote.
The glasses come in only two shapes, two colors and three sizes, far fewer options than EssilorLuxottica’s traditional glasses brands, or the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, but the tech seems like it could be ported to new frames down the road. Engadget deputy editor Cherlynn Low was able to try on Nuance Audio during CES 2025 and found them to be very comfortable and lightweight, though she wasn’t able to adequately test their capabilities as a hearing device.
Nuance Audio is just the latest in a wave of new hearing aid-like devices that have been released since the FDA introduced its ruling on OTC hearing aids in 2022. Similar to Nuance Audio, Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 now offer software-enabled hearing aid functionality, along with a built-in hearing test and a hearing protection feature for loud environments. While turning every pair of AirPods Pro 2 into a hearing aids is great from a cost-saving perspective, getting a pair of Nuance Audio frames that can also double as your prescription glasses seems potentially even more convenient.
EssilorLuxottica says Nuance Audio will be available in the US in Q1. “Certain European countries” will also get the glasses in the first half of 2025, starting with Italy in Q1, and then France, Germany and the UK. The company hasn’t shared official pricing for the Nuance Audio.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/the-fda-and-eu-clear-nuance-audio-smart-glasses-with-built-in-hearing-aids-for-sale-211053856.html?src=rss
Mason Gooding is returning to the ‘Scream’ franchise for the seventh film. Here are five things to know about the actor.
Mason Gooding is returning to the ‘Scream’ franchise for the seventh film. Here are five things to know about the actor.
Find out more about the movement that has businesses across the United States closing their doors.
Find out more about the movement that has businesses across the United States closing their doors.
Did Drake attend music’s biggest night? Find out!
Did Drake attend music’s biggest night? Find out!
Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario and a former staunch supporter of President Trump, has announced that the Canadian territory will be “ripping up” a $100 million contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink. The contract was signed in November of last year and tasked Starlink with providing internet service to remote parts of the province.
This comes after Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on nearly all Canadian imported goods. This spurred Canada to announce its own 25 percent tariff on American imported goods. It looks like we are heading into a trade war for, uh, reasons? Trump says it’s about fentanyl, even though less than one percent of the drug arrives in this country via Canadian routes. This is data that has been confirmed by both Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the US Drug Enforcement Administration.
Starting today and until U.S. tariffs are removed, Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts.
Every year, the Ontario government and its agencies spend $30 billion on procurement, alongside our $200 billion plan to build Ontario. U.S.-based businesses will…
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) February 3, 2025
So where do Musk and Starlink come in? The richest man in the world is a close confidant of Trump and now has control over the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, a group within the administration tasked with cost-cutting and deregulation. Musk, who was not elected and is essentially just some guy, has access to the federal payment system and some of the levers of the US Treasury.
In the eyes of Ford, this is enough to link Musk to Trump’s tariffs. He said that Ontario “won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy” and that Musk wants to “take food off the table” of hard-working Canadians. The premier indicated that the contract will remain null and void until “US tariffs are removed.” Additionally, Ontario is banning all American companies from provincial contracts, which will cause domestic businesses to “lose out on tens of billions of dollars in new revenues.”
Ford also commanded the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) to remove American-made spirits from store shelves. He joins several other premiers across the country in this effort.
“Every year, LCBO sells nearly $1 billion worth of American wine, beer, spirits and seltzers. Not anymore,” he said in a statement. Ontario has a population of over 16 million people and includes cities like Toronto and Niagara Falls. Musk responded to Ford’s decision by posting “oh well” on X.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/ontario-cancels-100-million-starlink-contract-as-a-response-to-those-tariffs-192310546.html?src=rss
EA is ready to take the wraps off the next Battlefield early. The publisher shared a brief glimpse of footage from an alpha version of the game as part of an announcement video for Battlefield Labs, a new early access program that will give fans a taste of in-development Battlefield before it launches.
Battlefield Labs is designed to let Battlefield’s developers “test concepts and experiences” before the next Battlefield game is released, according to a press release announcing the program. Developers hope to collect feedback on what the release describes as a critical part of the game’s development. Anyone participating in Battlefield Labs will be under NDA and will “test (almost) everything” in the game. That includes “core combat and destruction,” things like “weapons, vehicles and gadgets” and “maps, modes, and squad play.”
EA is running a similar playtesting program for the next Skate game — appropriately dubbed “Skate Insiders” — ahead of that game’s early access release in 2025.
Battlefield is currently being developed by a collection of EA studios under the umbrella of “Battlefield Studios,” including DICE, the creators of the franchise, Criterion, a former Need for Speed developer that was shifted to Battlefield in 2023, Ripple Effect and Motive, the developer of Star Wars Squadrons and the recent Dead Space remake.
There’s not a ton to go off of in the footage EA shared, but the game’s developers did confirm that the next Battlefield will include a single player campaign, a notable omission from multiplayer-only Battlefield 2042.
You can sign-up to participate in Battlefield Labs right now on EA’s website if you’re in Europe or North America. The test will be limited to “a few thousand participants” to start, but the company plans on expanding the program to other regions and players in the future. Even if you’re not playing the early access version of the game, EA says you’ll also be able to track Battlefield’s development through “work-in-progress public updates” and the game’s Discord.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/ea-is-giving-fans-a-chance-to-test-the-next-battlefield-early-192527209.html?src=rss
Here’s a look at President Trump’s reasoning behind imposing heavy tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China.
Here’s a look at President Trump’s reasoning behind imposing heavy tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China.
Who hasn’t sat up at night, pondering what it would be like to play a musical mobile game about peanut butter and jelly, performed in faux Shakespearean verse and animated in the style of Terry Gilliam’s Monty Python shorts? Well, wonder no more: The absurdist PBJ – The Musical (first previewed at Day of the Devs ’24) heads to the App Store on March 26.
Kamibox’s PBJ – The Musical is a collaboration between studio founder Philipp Stollenmayer and English musician and comedian Lorraine Bowen, famous for the delightfully whimsical “The Crumble Song.” “When I saw Lorraine performing on Britain’s Got Talent in 2015, getting the Golden Buzzer from David Walliams, I knew I wanted to make something with her,” Stollenmayer said. “The quirkiness of her songs totally resonated with the vibe of my games,” which include Sometimes You Die and the thematically similar Bacon – The Game.
PBJ – The Musical borrows elements of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, blending it with musical theatre (performed mostly by children!) and animated paper landscapes from actual cutouts. (When he isn’t designing deceptively zany games, Stollenmayer is also a papercraft artist.) Peanut Boy, hailing from a black and white post-war America, steps in for Romeo, while Strawberry Girl, from a colorful and sweet world that raves of royalty, tackles the game’s equivalent of Juliet. You control characters through simple taps and drags as you push and pull cutout figures through the diorama.
The developer says that, unlike the Bard’s version, this is no tragic play culminating in dual suicides. (Or, at least, not the kind to be sad about.) Kamibox says the game’s happy ending involves — surprise! — the creation of the beloved peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which a modern-day Shakespeare may have called “The brightest heaven of invention” as he packed little Susanna’s lunchbox.
You can catch a snippet of the zany PBJ – The Musical in the trailer below. It arrives for iPhone and iPad on March 26 for $4. You can preorder it now in the App Store.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-weirdly-whimsical-pbj—the-musical-hits-the-app-store-on-march-26-175725209.html?src=rss
