Tech

Xbox boss Phil Spencer to retire; Asha Sharma named CEO

After nearly 40 years with Microsoft, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer is set to retire on Monday, February 23. Xbox's current president Sarah Bond will also resign, after joining the company in 2017. Spencer will be replaced as CEO by Asha Sharma, who is currently serving as the product

Culture

Should I Tell My Housekeeper, ‘I’m Here for You’?

A reader writes that their housekeeper, who has worked for them since 2019 a few hours every other week, has always maintained a professional relationship. The reader worries the cleaner could be profiled if ICE came to the city and wonders whether to offer help outside of work or if

Tech

Hackers Say They Breached Persona, Raising Concerns About Discord Verification

Discord users recently saw prompts to submit personal information to Persona, a third‑party age‑verification service. As Discord moves toward universal age checks, the measures drew scrutiny after earlier security failures. Now three hacktivists say they breached Persona and examined how the company handles submitted biometrics, and they say

Politics

Anti-Trump Republicans Face Divisions and an Uncertain Future

Some of President Trump’s most vocal Republican critics gathered at the Principles First summit near Washington and left with a clear sense of division about the party’s future and their place in it after being pushed to the margins. Attendees disagreed on what should come after the Trump

Crypto

Polymarket Predicts $75,000 Bitcoin Next Week, But Charts Signal Resistance

Polymarket’s largest February outcome — at 17% — currently bets Bitcoin will top $75,000, with volumes for that market exceeding $88 million. Bitcoin itself has traded mostly flat near $68,000 over the past 24 hours and shows a mild seven-day decline; the probability of the $75,000 outcome has

Culture

Virgin River Is the Cozy Binge to Rewatch Before Season 7

Virgin River, one of Netflix’s longest-running series, returns for Season 7 next month. Based on Robyn Carr’s novels, the romantic drama follows nurse practitioner Mel Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge), who moves to a remote Northern California town for a fresh start. Six seasons and 64 episodes in, Mel has

Sports

Guardiola urges City to enjoy 'caipirinhas and daiquiris' after win

Manchester City beat Newcastle 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium, with two goals from Nico O'Reilly, and moved to within two points of table-toppers Arsenal. O'Reilly said: "I'm over the moon with tonight. The win was the most important thing to close the gap

Politics

Historians Confirm: Tomorrow Won’t Be Better Than Today

Living in Berlin under the Nazis combined extremes: tens of thousands of Jews were deported to death camps, non‑Jews endured a police state, and the city was bombed day and night in the war’s final years. Those horrors were often visible — Jews marched from wealthy Grunewald to the

Business

My company's return-to-office mandate is changing my relationship

I loved working from home alongside my partner; we'd built an easy routine together. When my employer announced an RTO mandate, it wasn't just a scheduling change — it disrupted a life we'd spent months building. I hadn't always embraced remote work; at

Culture

Total Chaos adds New Game+ with Alien: Isolation‑style persistent enemy

Total Chaos, Trigger Happy Interactive’s remake of the Doom total conversion, is getting a New Game+ update that introduces a persistent, Alien: Isolation–style enemy — "It does not patrol. It does not follow rules. It adapts." The move draws on elements from Alien: Isolation and Amnesia: The

Business

China overtakes US as Germany’s top trading partner

China has overtaken the US as Germany’s top trading partner, with trade reaching €251bn in 2025, up 2.2% on 2024 when the US was the leading destination. Chancellor Friedrich Merz is preparing for his first visit to Beijing since taking office; he will head to China on Tuesday

Tech

New Xbox CEO vows not to 'flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop'

Asha Sharma, a Microsoft AI executive who joined the company in 2024, will take charge of Xbox as longtime chief Phil Spencer and president Sarah Bond exit. She sent a message to employees outlining her priorities. Sharma previously led Microsoft’s CoreAI, serves on Home Depot’s board, was COO

Tech

Ubisoft confirms two Far Cry projects amid prolonged gap

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot confirmed that two Far Cry projects are in development, saying Vantage Studios has a solid pipeline underway. One project is Far Cry 7, reportedly developed under the codename Project Blackbird, and the other is a multiplayer spin-off that was known as Project Maverick. Both were first

Culture

The Killing: a gripping reboot crime series for true crime fans

The Killing is an American reboot of the Danish series Forbrydelsen, developed by Veena Sud. The four-season series is currently available to stream on Hulu and AMC+ and has been praised as one of the stronger entries in the crime genre. It is not based on a true-crime story but

Culture

Reminiscence: Rebecca Ferguson’s Sci‑Fi Drama Finds New Life on iTunes

Rebecca Ferguson has become one of the more prominent performers in both film and television, standing out in projects from Mission: Impossible to Denis Villeneuve’s Dune and headlining Apple TV’s Silo, which has enjoyed strong seasons. She remains busy with upcoming films and series while her past work

Sports

‘Caipirinhas, daiquiris’: Guardiola tells City to enjoy life amid title chase

Manchester City beat Newcastle 2-1 at the Etihad as Nico O’Reilly scored on 14 and 27 minutes, with Lewis Hall’s strike between his goals. City moved to 56 points and a goal difference of 31, one fewer than Arsenal; Arsenal can widen the gap to five if they

Sports

Arteta warns Arsenal players ahead of Tottenham derby

Mikel Arteta warned his players ahead of Sunday's north London derby with Tottenham after Arsenal threw away a two-goal lead to Wolves and saw their advantage over Manchester City cut to two points. Speaking before the match, Arteta asked, "Do you want to be part of the

World

NATO braces for a 'dangerous' Russian Arctic comeback

Russia has sent much of its Arctic forces to Ukraine, where they have taken a beating in combat. Vice Adm. Rune Andersen, chief of the Norwegian Joint Headquarters, said there is no "clear and immediate military threat" from Russia in the north right now, but warned Moscow plans

Sports

Bergsma, 40, wins mass start to give the Dutch a men's gold

The Dutch expected to shine in speedskating, and while their women had already taken multiple sprint titles, the men had so far finished with silvers and bronzes. That changed in the final event, the mass start, when a veteran stepped forward to secure gold. Jorrit Bergsma, 40 and a gold

Culture

More Viltrumites in Invincible season 4? Kirkman says fans will be 'very happy'

Invincible fans prepare - season 4 of the hit animated streaming series is digging into the Viltrumite Empire more than ever before. As Invincible fans know, the Viltrumites are a race of alien conquerors who sent Omni-Man to Earth, where he fathered Mark Grayson/Invincible. Invincible creator Robert Kirkman tells

Health

Signing bonuses and concierge perks lure family doctors

In 2023 the Alberta town of Stettler faced a sudden collapse in primary care when retirements and departures halved the number of family doctors serving its 12,000 residents. The hospital emergency room began closing on some days, forcing patients to drive 50 miles for care. A summer meeting at

Tech

Original Saints Row Designer Says Franchise Is Dead After Being Ghosted

The original Saints Row was an unexpected hit in 2006, pushing its tomfoolery further than other urban sandboxes. The 2022 reboot, however, was busted from a technical standpoint and tonally out of sync for fans. Chris Stockman, design director for the original game, says the long-running series has a fork

Culture

She looked electric: the moment I knew

It was 2007 and I was driving up Highgate Hill to join an entourage of arts workers heading to Cherbourg for the Indigenous arts festival Stylin’ Up. At sunrise I saw Patty leaning against a yellow ute in a striped 70s men’s T-shirt, a rat’s tail catching the

Culture

Lady Liberty to dramatize the Statue of Liberty's creation

Christian Duguay is confirmed to direct Lady Liberty, a historical drama that will tell the origin story of the Statue of Liberty. The producers behind the French comedy The Intouchables (2011) and 2021's Oscar-winning CODA are attached to the project. The film will trace the artistic audacity of

Culture

10 Marvel Comics Superheroes With the Worst Powers, Ranked

Marvel Comics is full of heroes with impressive abilities, but some characters possess powers that read more like curses than gifts. This roundup spotlights oddball mutants and one-shot figures whose talents range from the impractical to the outright bizarre. ForgetMeNot becomes literally forgotten the moment he leaves someone’s sight,