Richard Lawler

Usually buying new hardware ahead of a revision is a bad thing, but some Mac Mini orders are getting a free upgrade as a result, probably due to RAM and other component shortages.

At about the same time Rockstar Games released a statement about leaked Grand Theft Auto VI videos, saying they’re “heartbreaking for our team,” another clip appeared on the internet from the source of the leaks, although it may have been posted before Rockstar’s statement. In this one, while what sounds like a Bad Bunny song plays in the background, the Jason character carjacks a vehicle with a “Rideout Customs” logo across the back window and attempts to evade the police, before the other main character, Lucia, appears briefly in a cutscene.

The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg report that Chris Malone, a “key executive” leading OpenAI’s massive build-out plans, left the company last week. The WSJ reports that Malone, who held similar roles at Meta and Google before joining OpenAI in early 2025, had previously reported directly to OpenAI president and cofounder Greg Brockman, but that changed earlier this year amid other reshuffling.

In contrast to Threads, Bluesky’s active user growth has trailed off lately, and as it looks to expand its big tent, it’s making one part of the experience better: video.

Her family announced that Parton died peacefully at home today in Nashville, TN. A singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, among a long list of other titles, she released over 3,000 songs and has sold over 100 million records.

A new round of leaked video clips has surfaced, and they appear to show that the well-populated areas from Rockstar’s trailers will be featured in the actual game. Like all of the leaked gameplay before, they feature only the Jason character, walking through a crowded nightclub, and cycling down a beach.

The Wall Street Journal has a rundown on the behind-the-scenes wrangling that led to the baffling settlement agreement earlier this year, and left state AGs to pursue their own case. In an unusual twist, the settlement talks happened at the White House, with the AG and the White House lawyer, before giving the states a day to decide whether to join the deal. None did.

Despite Rockstar and Microsoft’s push to find the source, the GTA VI leaks continue to flow. These short clips show a player going on a mission to steal a conspiracy theorist’s truck with a bathtub full of gas, visiting a strip club and nudist town, and flying over Vice City at night.

The Wall Street Journal and New York Times are both reporting on politicians like Greg Abbott and Josh Shapiro suddenly bashing types of projects they once championed. The Washington Post has a chart showing how online posts about data centers from both Democrat and Republican politicians have shifted from being mostly positive in early 2025 to being mostly negative.

The Beats by Dre pair spoke to the New York Times briefly, with former Interscope head Iovine saying AI companies have terrible communication skills but that “I’m very pro-A.I. in music creation. I don’t see the downside at all. There will be some crappy music. There’s crappy music now.”