Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the would-you-look-at-that department: An anonymous reader quotes a report from 404 Media: Late last night, House Republicans introduced new language to the Budget Reconciliation bill that will immiserate the lives of millions of Americans by cutting their access to Medicaid, and making life much more difficult for millions more by making them pay higher fees when they seek medical care. While a lot of attention will be justifiably given to these cuts, the bill has also crammed in new language that attempts to entirely stop states from enacting any regulation against artificial intelligence.

"...no State or political subdivision thereof may enforce any law or regulation regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems during the 10 year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act," says the text of the bill introduced Sunday night by Congressman Brett Guthrie of Kentucky, Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The text of the bill will be considered by the House at the budget reconciliation markup on May 13.

That language of the bill, how it goes on to define AI and other "automated systems," and what it considers "regulation," is broad enough to cover relatively new generative AI tools and technology that has existed for much longer. In theory, that language will make it impossible to enforce many existing and proposed state laws that aim to protect people from and inform them about AI systems. [...] In theory none of these states will be able to enforce these laws if Republicans manage to pass the Budget Reconciliation bill with this current language.

Posted by Zack Zwiezen from Kotaku
Later this week, Marvel Rivals developers NetEase will bring back the free-to-play online shooter’s very first cosmetic battle pass. However, if you didn’t buy it the first time around, you’re now going to have to pay a higher price. And the developer confirmed this is how it will work moving forward for all returning…

< This article continues on their website >

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the up-next department: New submitter Synonymous Homonym writes: This year's USENIX ATC will be the last, but other USENIX conferences will keep happening.Since USENIX's inception in 1975, it has been a key gathering place for innovators in the advanced computing systems community. The early days of meetings evolved into the two annual conferences, the USENIX Summer and Winter Conferences, which in 1995 merged into the single Annual Technical Conference that has continued to evolve and serve thousands of our constituents for 30 years.USENIX recognizes the pivotal role that USENIX ATC has played in the shaping of the Association itself as well as the lives and careers of its many attendees and members. We also realize that change is inevitable, and all good things must come to an end:
The last ATC will include both a celebration of USENIX's 50th anniversary on the evening of Monday, July 7, and a tribute to USENIX ATC on the evening of Tuesday, July 8.

Posted by George Yang from Kotaku
Doom: The Dark Ages introduced semi open-world areas of the kind found many Halo games. The first of these appears in “The Siege Part One,” which is the sixth mission in the game.

< This article continues on their website >

Posted by Ethan Gach from Kotaku
“Next-gen” upgrade fees are coming to Switch 2. Ahead of the console’s launch in June, more and more publishers are sharing new details about the Switch 2 versions of games that are already on Switch, and many will require a $10 fee in order to unlock them. But what exactly are you paying for?

< This article continues on their website >

Posted by Justin Clark from Kotaku
When you reconnect with Sciel in the Gestral Village, she’s been champion at their local arena tournament for a while, and absolutely dominant at that, like a sexy, French Roman Reigns or something. It’s not till you finally get around to using her in your party that you really figure out why. She obviously took it…

< This article continues on their website >

Posted by from MMO Champion
Feral Druid 3% Damage Buff Now Live

Originally Posted by Blizzard
(Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Despite the recent blue post stating that Feral Druids were set to receive a 3% buff to their damage output, this change hasn’t actually been implemented as confirmed by the latest datamining results. Many in the community, myself included, were hopeful this small buff might help alleviate some of the performance gaps we’ve experienced lately, but it’s disappointing to see that even this small adjustment hasn’t been implemented yet.

Missing no longer!

This adjustment decided to come with maintenance a week later than all the others.

Wrecking Throw and Shattering Throw PvP Changes

Originally Posted by Blizzard
(Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

With an intended adjustment made during maintenance today,

Player versus Player

Warrior

Wrecking Throw’s damage increase to shields is now 75% less effective in PvP combat (was 30% less effective).

Shattering Throw’s damage increase to shields is now 75% less effective in PvP combat (was 30%).

We’ll have these and all other changes listed in today’s hotfixes update.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the gaining-traction department: An anonymous reader shares a report: During the Android Show leading up to Google I/O, Google on Tuesday offered a brief update on the adoption of the RCS (Rich Communication Services) protocol, an upgrade to SMS that offers high-resolution photos and videos, typing indicators, read receipts, improved group chat, and more. The company shared that the messaging standard now supports over a billion messages per day in the U.S.

This metric is based on an average of the last 28 days, Google noted. The stat is notable because Google fought for years to get Apple to adopt support for RCS on iOS, allowing for better communication between Android and Apple devices. Previously, iPhone users who received texts from friends on Android had to deal with blurry videos and images, and couldn't as easily manage group chats when their green-bubbled friends joined. Unlike with iMessage, group chats with Android users couldn't be renamed, nor could people be added or removed, and you couldn't exit when you wanted. Emoji reactions also didn't work properly, leading to annoying texts to let you know how an Android user reacted, instead of just displaying their emoji reaction directly.

Posted by George Yang from Kotaku
Doom: The Dark Ages wouldn’t be a Doom game without Secret Paths, Dolls, Codexes, and more scattered throughout its levels. There are 22 levels throughout The Dark Ages’ campaign, and here’s where to find all of the secrets and collectibles for the second level: “Hebeth.”

< This article continues on their website >

Posted by Kenneth Shepard from Kotaku
I don’t go here (Magic: The Gathering, that is), but I’m obsessed with the new MTG and Final Fantasy collaboration. I swore off trading card games when I realized how much money people dump into cracking packs, but I can still appreciate some good Final Fantasy art when I see it. Something I also appreciate is a good…

< This article continues on their website >

Posted by Zack Zwiezen from Kotaku
Sinners is a bona fide blockbuster. It has now earned over $215 million domestically and a total of around $285 million globally. That makes it one of the most successful original live-action films in many, many years.

< This article continues on their website >

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the PSA department: Microsoft has quietly extended support for Office applications running on Windows 10 well beyond the operating system's October 14, 2025 end-of-support deadline. Microsoft 365 subscribers will now receive updates through October 2028, while perpetual license versions will follow their standard lifecycle policies -- Office 2021 until October 2026 and Office 2024 until October 2029.

Windows Defender malware definitions will also continue "through at least October 2028" despite Windows 10's imminent retirement. This reverses Microsoft's previous stance that all Office applications would become unsupported when Windows 10 reaches end-of-life.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the how-about-that department: The Department of Commerce officially rescinded the Biden administration's Artificial Intelligence Diffusion Rule on Tuesday, just days before its May 15 implementation date. The rule would have imposed first-ever export restrictions on U.S.-made AI chips to dozens of countries while tightening existing controls on China and Russia.

Instead of implementing blanket restrictions, the DOC signaled a shift toward direct country-by-country negotiations. The department released interim guidance reminding companies that using Huawei's Ascend AI chips anywhere violates U.S. export rules and warned about consequences of allowing U.S. chips to train AI models in China. Commerce Secretary for Industry and Security Jeffery Kessler criticized the previous administration's approach, calling it "ill-conceived and counterproductive."

Posted by Zack Zwiezen from Kotaku
Black Mesa, the fan developed remake of the original Half-Life, is currently only $2 on Steam. This is the cheapest the fantastic reimagining of Valve’s first game has ever been on the store, the big sale in honor of Black Mesa being on Steam for 10 years.

< This article continues on their website >

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the smoother-future department: Intel has certified Shell's lubricant-based method for cooling servers more efficiently within data centers used for AI. From a report: The announcement on Tuesday, which follows the chipmaker's two-year trial of the technology, offers a way to use less energy at AI facilities, which are booming and are expected to double their electricity demand globally by 2030, consuming as much power then as all of Japan today, according to the International Energy Agency.

So far, companies have largely used giant fans to reduce temperatures inside AI data centers, which generate more heat in order to run at a higher power. Increasingly, these fans consume electricity at a rate that rivals the computers themselves, something the facilities' operators would prefer to avoid, Intel Principal Engineer Samantha Yates said in an interview.

Posted by Chris from Tokunation
Our friends at Tokusatsu Republic have posted their latest newsletter for May 2025!  Check it out to pre-order the latest items, to order previously released items, and to find that missing piece to your tokusatsu collection. Check out Tokusatsu Republic today!

The post Tokusatsu Republic Newsletter For May 2025 appeared first on Tokunation.

Posted by George Yang from Kotaku
Doom: The Dark Ages is here and the game has plenty of collectibles including Secret Paths, Dolls, Codexes, and more. There are 22 levels throughout The Dark Ages’ campaign, so there’s a healthy amount of items to grab and hidden stuff to find. Here’s where to find every secret and collectible for the first level:…

< This article continues on their website >

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the ticket-closed department: Linux creator Linus Torvalds has abandoned his six-month experiment with a quieter low-profile keyboard in favor of his old mechanical one with Cherry MX Blue switches. In a post about Linux 6.15-rc6 on LKML.org, Torvalds explained that his typing accuracy suffered without the tactile feedback.

"It seems I need the audible (or perhaps tactile) feedback to avoid the typing mistakes that I just kept doing," Torvalds wrote. The famously outspoken developer couldn't recall why he initially switched to the quieter keyboard, as he doesn't work in a shared office where the noise would disturb others. After the failed experiment with the unnamed quiet keyboard, Torvalds has now returned to what he describes as a "noisy clackety-clack" input device. He joked that since he can no longer blame his keyboard for typos, "going forward, I will now conveniently blame autocorrect."

Posted by Kenneth Shepard from Kotaku
Looks like we’re getting a new Persona game soon. No, not the long-awaited Persona 6, but another Persona 5 spin-off. Well, it’s not even “new,” per se; it’s just finally getting a proper worldwide release. I’m talking about Persona 5: The Phantom X, a mobile spin-off of the series set in an alternate timeline to the…

< This article continues on their website >

Posted by Ethan Gach from Kotaku
Fans are collectively shitting their pants and racing back to defend Super Earth as one of Helldivers 2's most consequential updates since launch hits the galactic airwaves. The latest content drop adds weapon customization options, new enemies, and a bunch of fresh fixes, as everyone prepares to defend against a new…

< This article continues on their website >