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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.

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 

The Apple Watch SE is on sale via Amazon for $169. This is a discount of $80, which represents a savings of over 30 percent. If you’ve been on the fence regarding Apple’s entry-level smartwatch, this could be the perfect excuse to, uh, get off that fence. Or climb it. I’m not exactly sure how that idiom works.

The Watch SE easily found a place on our list of the best Apple smartwatches. Despite being the company’s bare-bones model, it still offers plenty of bang for the buck. It can do crash detection, heart rate monitoring, emergency calling and more. There’s a reason why we called it “the best smartwatch for the money” in our official review.

It uses the same chip as the original Ultra and the Series 8, so the performance is on point. It’s covered in durable Ion-X glass and offers 50 meters of water resistance. The screen isn’t quite as bright as with the pricier models, but we still found the display to be “crisp and easy to read.” The watch is also lightweight and comfortable.

There are some trade-offs here when compared to Apple’s more extravagant smartwatches. The SE doesn’t support the new Double Tap feature for Siri requests and it doesn’t include a blood oxygen monitor or a temperature sensor. The final caveat? This watch came out in 2022, so a refresh is likely on the horizon.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-apple-watch-se-is-80-off-right-now-162845944.html?src=rss