Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the cease-and-desist department: An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: On Thursday, Telegram announced it had removed two huge black markets estimated to have generated more than $35 billion since 2021 by serving cybercriminals and scammers. Blockchain research firm Elliptic told Reuters that the Chinese-language markets Xinbi Guarantee and Huione Guarantee together were far more lucrative than Silk Road, an illegal drug marketplace that the FBI notoriously seized in 2013, which was valued at about $3.4 billion. Both markets were forced offline on Tuesday, Elliptic reported, and already, Huione Guarantee has confirmed that its market will cease to operate entirely due to the Telegram removal.

The disruption of both markets will be "a big blow for online fraudsters," Elliptic confirmed, cutting them off from a dependable source for "stolen data, money laundering services, and telecoms infrastructure." [...] Elliptic reported that Telegram connected black markets with an audience of a billion users, noting that Telegram tried to remove several Huione Guarantee channels earlier this year, but "the marketplace was ready" with backups and remained online until this week. Wired suggested that Huione Guarantee "operated in plain sight" on Telegram for years. But Telegram suggested it just discovered it. Huione Guarantee is a subsidiary of Huione Group, which was recently sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for supporting "criminal syndicates who have stolen billions of dollars from Americans." According to Reuters, that included allegedly laundering "at least $37 million in crypto from cyber heists by North Korea and $36 million of crypto from so-called 'pig butchering' scams."

Posted by Brandon Morgan from Kotaku
As you explore the lands of Cyrodiil, you’ll find that waiting in the entrance of a cave or renting a room at the local inn doesn’t suffice for very long. You desire more, a place to call your own, a spot to put down roots in this fantasy land. You need a house in Oblivion Remastered for numerous reasons, and it’s not…

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Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the under-control department: Uber's autonomous vehicle chief Andrew Macdonald predicted this week that the company will employ more human drivers in a decade despite aggressively expanding robotaxi operations. Speaking at the Financial Times' Future of the Car conference, Macdonald outlined a "hybrid marketplace" where autonomous vehicles dominate city centers while human drivers serve areas beyond robotaxi coverage, handle airport runs, and respond during extreme weather events.

"I am almost certain that there will be more Uber drivers in 10 years, not less, because I think the world will move from individual car ownership to mobility as a service," Macdonald said. The ride-hailing giant has struck partnerships with Waymo, Volkswagen, Wayve, WeRide, and Pony AI. Robotaxis are already operational in Austin and Phoenix, with CEO Dara Khosrowshahi claiming Waymo vehicles in Austin are busier than "99%" of human drivers.

Posted by George Yang from Kotaku
In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, there are friendly Nevrons that’ll ask you to take on their request. Completing them often provides useful rewards. You can also attack them after finishing their quests, but we don’t recommend that for reasons we’ll get into a little bit.

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Posted by Billy Givens from Kotaku
If you’re considering checking out The Midnight Walk, I sincerely recommend you do so. With its disturbing claymation art style, unique and compelling mechanics, and utterly beautiful soundtrack, it’s one of 2025's must-play indie titles. From beginning to end, this intriguing horror-themed expedition subverts…

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Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the closer-look department: School districts across the United States were woefully unprepared for ChatGPT's impact on education, according to thousands of pages of public records obtained by 404 Media. Documents from early 2023, the publication reports, show a "total crapshoot" in responses, with some state education departments admitting they hadn't considered ChatGPT's implications while others hired pro-AI consultants to train educators.

In California, when principals sought guidance, state officials responded that "unfortunately, the topic of ChatGPT has not come up in our circles." One California official admitted, "I have never heard of ChatGPT prior to your email." Meanwhile, Louisiana's education department circulated presentations suggesting AI "is like giving a computer a brain" and warning that "going back to writing essays - only in class - can hurt struggling learners."

Some administrators accepted the technology enthusiastically, with one Idaho curriculum head calling ChatGPT "AMAZING" and comparing resistance to early reactions against spell-check.

Posted by AzT from TFW2005


Transformers #21 arrives June 11th: Autobots vs. Decepticons! Round one of the face-off you demanded between Optimus Prime and Megatron is here. Sound off with fellow readers on the 2005 boards! The full list of variant covers is below: TRANSFORMERS #21 Cover A by Daniel Warren Johnson & Mike Spicer (Lunar Code: 0425IM419) TRANSFORMERS #21 Cover B by Jorge Corona & Mike Spicer (Lunar Code: 0425IM420) TRANSFORMERS #21 Cover C (1:10 Copy Incentive) (Connecting) by David Nakayama (Lunar Code: 0425IM421) TRANSFORMERS #21 Cover D (1:25 Copy Incentive) by Derrick Chew (Lunar Code: 0425IM422) TRANSFORMERS #21 Cover E (1:50 Copy Incentive) » Continue Reading.

The post Skybound’s Transformers, Preview of Issue #21 appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Posted by Zack Zwiezen from Kotaku
The Epic Games Store is having a big sale. One might even call it “Mega.” In fact, that’s exactly what Epic is calling it. Yup, it’s another Epic Store Mega Sale, featuring a ton of deals on both old and new games across every genre.

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Posted by Kenneth Shepard from Kotaku
Marvel Rivals is still the new hero-shooter hotness, but like most free-to-play live-service games, over its six months NetEase’s Overwatch-like has run into a fair bit of controversy. An entire subset of the playerbase went on strike, the team has added new microtransactions, and now it’s added an item that the…

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Posted by Ethan Gach and Andy Mills from Kotaku
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Posted by from MMO Champion
Player Housing Press Event - Gameplay and Interviews

Several influencers attended a press event for Player Housing! We'll be recapping new information from the videos below, so check back later today.

Preach and Dratnos Interview

Preach and Dratnos had the chance to talk to Toby Ragaini - Lead Designer on WoW and Design Lead on Housing: Neighborhoods and Jay Hwang - Principal Artist and Design Lead on Housing: Decorations.

The team started playing with prototypes early on and using them informed what things that they needed to add or change. They also had played other games with housing such as Wildstar and FFXIV.

Neighborhoods are zone sized social spaces. Some new tech was added to make neighborhoods unique, expressed by the players that live there.

The team worked to accommodate all sorts of players with differing expectations of how their neighborhood would work.

The team wanted to start with the core fantasy for players and expand from there.

When new patches come out, the design team will look through the new assets and pick some to add to housing.

Garrisons were an isolating experience and the team is determined to not recreate that. Neighborhoods exist to bring people together. There will be reasons to leave, come back, and repeat the cycle.

It would be a disaster if players came in, decorated their house, and had no reason to come back to it.

Housing won't be standalone, it needs to synergize with the rest of the game.

The team talked about uprezing old 2004 assets, but decided against it, allowing players to lean in to the nostalgia if they want (Create a house with only Vanilla assets if you want!)

Player shouldn't be forced to go and run old content for rewards and the team is thinking about how that will work. For example, if you have already done a dungeon, maybe there will be a vendor outside that sells the item you would have earned from running the dungeon the first time.

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Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the breakthroughs department: Scientists have successfully treated a 9.5-month-old boy with an ultra-rare genetic disorder using the world's first personalized gene-editing therapy. The patient, identified as KJ, has CPS1 deficiency -- a condition affecting just one in 1.3 million babies that prevents proper ammonia processing and is often fatal.

The breakthrough treatment, detailed in the New England Journal of Medicine, uses base editing technology to correct KJ's specific DNA mutation. The therapy delivers CRISPR components wrapped in fatty lipid molecules that protect them in the bloodstream until they reach liver cells, where they make the precise edit needed.

After three infusions, KJ now eats normal amounts of protein and has maintained stable ammonia levels even through viral illnesses that would typically cause dangerous spikes. His weight has increased from the 7th to 40th percentile. Dr. Peter Marks, former FDA official, called the approach "one of the most potentially transformational technologies" because it could be rapidly adapted for thousands of other rare genetic diseases without lengthy development cycles.

Posted by Tony_Bacala from The Toyark


Back at Toy Fair 2025, McFarlane Toys had some figures out under a new “Elite” tier of branding which featured higher levels of paint details, soft goods, accessories and more.  No pics were allowed then, but now the first is ...

The post Doom Slayer McFarlane Elite Edition #1 Revealed, Live appeared first on The Toyark - News.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the leaving-no-stones-unturned department: Apple has implemented conspicuous warning labels featuring red exclamation marks on EU App Store listings that use external payment systems. The company's new tactic targets apps like Instacar, a popular Hungarian vehicle valuation tool with thousands of positive reviews, displaying ominous warnings that the app "does not support the App Store's private and secure payment system."

The associated support page cautions users that external payments require providing personal information directly to developers and third parties "based on their privacy and security controls." The move also follows the Epic vs Apple ruling that prohibits Apple from interfering with developers linking to alternative payment systems.

Posted by Ethan Gach from Kotaku
The ad-supported tier of Netflix is going to get way worse, starting some time in 2026. That’s when the streaming giant is promising to implement AI-generated ads and pause ad formats in the middle of watching shows and movies, according to a new report by Media Play News. It’s a privilege for which users will be…

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Posted by Zack Zwiezen from Kotaku
Star Wars: Andor, one of the best shows of the year, wrapped up its second and final season earlier this week. And while the series featured some Easter eggs and familiar faces, it didn’t include any main cast characters from the Original Trilogy. However, there were talks at one time about possibly including Leia…

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Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the how-about-that department: Google has overtaken IBM to become the leader in generative AI-related patents and also leads in the emerging area of agentic AI, according to data from IFI Claims. Axios: In the patents-for-agents U.S. rankings, Google and Nvidia top the list, followed by IBM, Intel and Microsoft, according to an analysis released Thursday.

Globally, Google and Nvidia also led the agentic patents list, but three Chinese universities also make the top 10, highlighting China's place as the chief U.S. rival in the field. In global rankings for generative AI, Google was also the leader -- but six of the top 10 global spots were held by Chinese companies or universities. Microsoft was No. 3, with Nvidia and IBM also in the top 10.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the PSA department: The Federal Trade Commission has postponed enforcement of its consumer-friendly "click to cancel" rule from May 14 to July 14, giving businesses two additional months to comply. The regulation requires companies to make subscription cancellations as straightforward as the sign-up process, prohibiting practices like forcing customers who subscribed online to navigate through chatbots or call centers to cancel.

The rule, established under former Democratic Chair Lina Khan, unsurprisingly has garnered support from consumer advocates while facing legal opposition from industry groups. A coalition including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and organizations representing major telecom and media companies -- Charter Communications, Comcast, Disney Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Discovery -- has sued to block implementation, claiming the agency exceeded its authority.

Posted by Kenneth Shepard from Kotaku
After canceling Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link, Square Enix has released some new screenshots of Kingdom Hearts IV to give fans proof of life. The company has been pretty quiet about the fourth entry in its Disney/Final Fantasy crossover RPG series since announcing it in 2022, and if you’ve got to give folks bad news and…

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Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the no-ransom department: Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase said Thursday it is offering a $20 million reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of criminals who attempted to extort the company for the same amount after stealing customer data.

The criminals bribed customer support agents in overseas markets to access records containing addresses, phone numbers, government IDs, and partial bank and Social Security details of more than 80,000 customers. "It sucks but when we see a problem like this we want to own it and make it right," Coinbase Chief Security Officer Philip Martin told Fortune.

The company will reimburse customers who fell victim to subsequent social engineering scams. No login credentials or wallet access were compromised in the breach. The extortionists had threatened to publish the stolen information unless paid $20 million in Bitcoin.