Breaking Bad creator’s new show streams on Apple TV+ November 7

Apple has announced that Pluribus, a new science fiction drama from Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, will premiere on Apple TV+ on November 7. Gilligan was confirmed to be working on the project back in 2022, when Better Call Saul‘s Rhea Seehorn was also announced as its primary star.

Alongside the premiere date, Apple also released a short (somewhat ominous) teaser for the series that shows a hospital employee mindlessly licking donuts. Pluribus is supposed to follow “the most miserable person on Earth” (presumably Seehorn) as they “save the world from happiness,” but your guess is as good as mine as to how the two tie together.

Apple’s penchant for backing science fiction shows has been well-documented at this point. The company is currently producing a television adaptation of William Gibson’s Neuromancer, and has made three seasons and counting of Foundation, based on the novel series by Isaac Asimov. Toss in things like Severance, Murderbot, Silo and For All Mankind and you’ve got a pretty varied catalog of sci-fi media to choose from.

Just how “science fiction” Pluribus will actually be remains up in the air. When reports went out in 2022 that Apple was ordering two seasons of the show, it was described as “a blended, grounded genre drama.” Apple’s premiere date announcement pitches the show as “a genre-bending original.”

Pluribus’ nine-episode first season will premiere on November 7 with two episodes. New episodes will stream weekly after that, all the way through December 26.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/breaking-bad-creators-new-show-streams-on-apple-tv-november-7-204150489.html?src=rss 

LeBron James is reportedly trying to stop the spread of viral AI ‘pregnancy’ videos

It seems like LeBron James’ legal team has been trying to stop the spread of viral AI videos featuring the basketball star. As 404 Media reported, a law firm representing James has sent a cease and desist letter to a person behind an AI platform that allowed Discord users to make AI videos of James and other NBA stars.

As 404 noted, these videos have been circulating for awhile but it’s one particularly strange clip that seems to have gotten James’ lawyers involved. The video, which reportedly racked up millions of views on Instagram, shows a pregnant James being loaded into an ambulance after telling an AI Steph Curry to “come quick our baby is being born.”

404 reports that at least three Instagram accounts that had shared the clip have since been removed, though the video is available on X. The founder of the AI platform used to make the videos also posted about the cease and desist letter he received. It’s unclear what is in the letter, or if James’ lawyers were also in touch with Meta about the videos. We’ve reached out to the company for more info on its rules. 

Of course, LeBron James is far from the only public figure to grapple with unwanted AI versions of themselves. Social media scammers routinely impersonate celebrities to promote sketchy products and other schemes. We’ve previously reported on such scams involving deepfakes of Elon Musk and Fox News personalities that have proliferated on Facebook. Jamie Lee Curtis also recently had to publicly plead with Mark Zuckerberg to take down deepfaked ads of herself.

A still from a clip created with Google’s Veo (left) and images generated by Meta AI (right)

Screenshots via Veo and Meta AI

But the videos of James are a little different. They don’t feature fake endorsements and seem to be more of a prank meant to go viral in the way that lots of “AI slop” does. And James and other celebrities will likely continue to have a difficult time preventing these kinds of deepfakes from spreading. Some quick testing by Engadget showed that it’s relatively easy to get AI chatbots to create images and video of “pregnant LeBron James.”

We first asked ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot to make such a photo. All chatbots initially refused, saying that such an image could go against their guidelines. But when given an image of James and asked to “make this person eight months pregnant,” Google’s Gemini delivered a 7-second clip of the basketball star cradling a pregnant belly. (We’ve reached out to Google to clarify its rules around such content.)

Likewise, Meta AI seemingly had no reservations about producing images of “pregnant LeBron James” and promptly delivered many such variations. While these creations aren’t as detailed as the initial video that went viral, they do highlight how difficult it can be for AI companies to prevent people from circumventing whatever guardrails may exist.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/lebron-james-is-reportedly-trying-to-stop-the-spread-of-viral-ai-pregnancy-videos-211947871.html?src=rss 

Amazon is developing a Wolfenstein TV show

Following the success of Fallout, Amazon is turning its attention to another video game adaptation. The company is reportedly developing a series based on the Wolfenstein franchise with the help of some of the creative team behind Fallout, according to Variety.

The details of how the Wolfenstein show will adapt the alternate history action of the games are still under wraps, but the subject matter remains unfortunately timely. The show’s logline is “The story of killing Nazis is evergreen,” according to Variety, which seems like a direct acknowledgement of that fact.

Patrick Somerville, the writer and showrunner of Station Eleven, will reportedly serve as the writer of the Wolfenstein adaptation, with Lisa Joy, Athena Wickham and Jonathan Nolan producing the show through their company Kilter Films. The production company also made the adaptation of the William Gibson’s The Peripheral for Amazon, and currently produces Fallout.

While it might make sense to pair a new show with a brand new Wolfenstein game, the series has effectively been on hold since 2019. MachineGames, the Microsoft-owned developer of the last five Wolfenstein games, hasn’t produced a new entry since 2019’s Wolfenstein: Youngblood and Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot. The studio released Indiana Jones and the Great Circle in December 2024.

Given the tumultuous state of Microsoft’s Xbox division, the series could be your best bet for getting more Wolfenstein, assuming Amazon decides to move forward.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/amazon-is-developing-a-wolfenstein-tv-show-190028817.html?src=rss 

Tea app suffers breach, exposing thousands of user images

Tea, an app that claims to help women “make sure your date is safe, not a catfish and not in a relationship,” is experiencing a security breach. 404 Media reports that a database posted on 4chan allowed anyone to access users’ data. (It’s since been removed.) The dataset included thousands of images, including driver’s licenses.

4chan users claimed the data came from an exposed database hosted on Firebase, Google’s app development platform. 404 Media verified that the exposed storage bucket URL matches one found in Tea’s Android app.

The company confirmed the breach. In a statement to 404 Media, Tea said it “identified unauthorized access to one of our systems and immediately launched a full investigation to assess the scope and impact.” The company stated that the exposed information included data from over two years ago. It included 72,000 images, including selfies, photo IDs and pictures from app posts and DMs.

“This data was originally stored in compliance with law enforcement requirements related to cyber-bullying prevention,” Tea said. “We have engaged third-party cybersecurity experts and are working around the clock to secure our systems. At this time, there is no evidence to suggest that current or additional user data was affected. Protecting our users’ privacy and data is our highest priority. We are taking every necessary step to ensure the security of our platform and prevent further exposure.”

Google Play Store

The app allows users to post photos of “red-flag” men. “Already swiping for dates on Tinder, Bumble, Match or Hinge?” the app’s Play Store pitch reads. “Tea is a must-have app, helping women avoid red flags before the first date with dating advice and showing them who’s really behind the profile of the person they’re dating.”

 Its Play Store listing highlights a reverse phone number lookup. It has sections for men’s real names, ages, addresses, social profiles and relationship statuses. Other features include a reverse image search and background checks to help women “get the tea on your date.” Users can poll others about whether they should date new matches.

The app requires new users to submit a verification selfie and a photo of their government-issued ID. Tea told 404 Media that it uses this to verify that new signups are indeed women.

The timing of the breach coincided with the app’s surge in popularity. According to Business Insider, Tea hit the top of Apple’s App Store this week. The app first launched in 2023.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/tea-app-suffers-breach-exposing-thousands-of-user-images-190731414.html?src=rss 

Elden Ring Nightreign is adding two-player co-op next week

Elden Ring Nightreign is finally adding a two-player co-op mode on July 30. Prior to this, FromSoftware’s spinoff could only be played solo or with three players. The so-called Duo Expeditions come as part of patch 1.02.

This is something fans have been asking for, as not everybody has two friends available at once to tackle a tough-as-nails 3D adventure. FromSoftware has released a trailer to accompany this news, so you can see the two-player co-op in action.

Beyond Duo Expeditions, the forthcoming patch will include “quality-of-life UI improvements” and options for filtering Relics. We don’t know what the UI upgrades will look like, but July 30 is right around the corner.

This news comes just two months after the company tweaked the game to make the single-player experience a bit easier. It had been notoriously difficult, even for fans of FromSoftware. That update introduced an automatic revival mechanic and increased rune rewards for solo expeditions.

The flame of thy passion burns ever bright in these shadowed lands.
To all who wander the Lands Between, we offer our deepest thanks. #ELDENRING #ShadowoftheErdtree #NIGHTREIGN pic.twitter.com/TfmtpB9o5e

— ELDEN RING (@ELDENRING) July 24, 2025

There’s no doubt about it. Elden Ring Nightreign is a bona-fide hit. The company also recently shared that the game has reached five million players. The wider Elden Ring universe is slowly but surely becoming a cultural juggernaut. There’s a movie in the works, to be directed by Alex Garland. That’s the guy who made Annihilation, Ex Machina, Civil War and the underrated TV show Devs.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/elden-ring-nightreign-is-adding-two-player-co-op-next-week-182708700.html?src=rss 

VSCO launches dedicated ‘Capture’ app with live previews

VSCO, the photo filter and editing app that spawned an entire culture, has released a dedicated camera app called VSCO Capture. The free iOS‑only app is a camera with live previews where users can choose from over 50 different presets with real‑time film effects and manual settings like shutter speed and exposure for fine‑tuning. The app takes the guesswork out of how your photo will look after you apply VSCO’s iconic filters.

“VSCO Capture is a direct response to our community’s desire to get closer to the lens, to reduce editing fatigue and find more joy in the process of making authentic, stylized photography using their phone,” said Eric Wittman, CEO of VSCO.

The app’s non‑destructive presets retain the original captured image so users can modify them later and change filters after the fact. VSCO Capture supports RAW and ProRAW formats for maximum flexibility when editing. Capture syncs instantly with the main VSCO app for additional edits and sharing.

VSCO Capture is available for download now on iOS.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/vsco-launches-dedicated-capture-app-with-live-previews-184005036.html?src=rss 

Alex Peña Makes Waves in Hollywood with HBO Max Debut

In the heart of Hollywood, very few newcomers achieve significant achievements so quickly. Mexican actor Alex Peña, who arrived in Los Angeles in October 2023, is proving to be a compelling exception, by landing a role in the highly anticipated HBO Max dark comedy “Mountainhead.” Sharing the screen with actors like Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman,…

In the heart of Hollywood, very few newcomers achieve significant achievements so quickly. Mexican actor Alex Peña, who arrived in Los Angeles in October 2023, is proving to be a compelling exception, by landing a role in the highly anticipated HBO Max dark comedy “Mountainhead.” Sharing the screen with actors like Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman,… 

Meta will stop running political ads in the EU

Meta will stop allowing political advertising on its platforms in the European Union as of October 2025, blaming the EU’s new “unworkable” transparency rules for what it called a “difficult decision.” In a statement released by the company on Friday, Meta said the EU’s incoming Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) regulations presented it with “significant operational challenges and legal uncertainties.”

As of early October, users on any of Meta’s platforms in the EU will no longer see political, electoral or social issue ads, which Meta says can currently be placed by advertisers who complete an authorization process proving their identity. Ads of this nature are also required to include a “paid for by” disclaimer, and information about how much was spent on them must be publicly available.

Meta argues that the TTPA rules put extensive restrictions on ad targeting and delivery that create an “untenable level of complexity” for advertisers. The EU introduced the new regulations in order to address widespread concerns over foreign interference in elections, as well as the potential manipulation of important information that might influence how someone votes.

As well as labelling political advertising as such and providing information on its source and intention (which Meta says it already does), the soon-to-be-instated EU rules also list a number of conditions about how personal data is processed. The TTPA regulations will also forbid political ads from sponsors outside the EU sooner than three months before an election or referendum.

Meta said that users of its platforms will see less relevant ads as a result of the restrictions, and that it made its decision after “extensive engagement with policymakers” in which it made its concerns about the threat to the “principles of personalized advertising” clear. The company’s decision only applies to the EU, and Meta users, including politicians, living in member states will still be allowed to discuss and share political content provided it isn’t via paid advertising.

Meta isn’t the only company objecting to the incoming EU rule changes, which are also set to come into effect in October. Last year, Google stopped serving paid-for political ads in the EU, including on YouTube, and the company ultimately avoided fines for its allegedly “abusive” online advertising practices in 2019.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/meta-will-stop-running-political-ads-in-the-eu-162232948.html?src=rss 

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