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Richard Lawler

Richard Lawler

Senior News Editor

Richard Lawler joined The Verge as Senior News Editor in 2021 after several years covering news at Engadget. He's been a tech blogger since before the word was invented, and will never log off.

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Saurabh Netravalkar, a legend in two games.

Following a shocking World Cup cricket win by the US over Pakistan, people are learning about players like Super Over hero Netravalkar. Other than being a “zippy left arm quick bowler with an efficient action capable of swinging the ball in both directions,” he’s also an Oracle software engineer.

If you need to become a cricket expert before next Wednesday’s matchup with India, try this explainer.


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F1 2026 tech changes explained.

The FIA’s “nimble” cars will be shorter and lighter, and a new hybrid setup increases battery power from 120kw to 350kw with “manual override” for boosted overtaking. There’s active aero now in the front and back, but DRS is gone.

That’s all great, but I’m still looking through articles and podcasts to find one saying how this adds up to a Lewis Hamilton championship with Ferrari.


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Boeing’s first crewed Starliner mission is about to dock with the ISS.

SpaceX isn’t the only one busy today, as the finally-launched Starliner is closing in on the International Space Station. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have already performed “about two hours of free-flight demonstrations,” and more are planned, despite additional helium leaks detected by flight controllers overnight.

The autonomous docking procedure is scheduled for 12:15PM ET.


Is that supposed to look like that?

SpaceX’s Starship is attempting re-entry over the Indian Ocean, and with the signal going in and out, a live video stream showed some damage and burning on a fin.


View of cracked / burning fin on outside of Starship
Image: SpaceX
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Google appears to be working on a Spotify extension for Gemini.

Google introduced AI extensions last year, letting the bot formerly-known-as Bard connect with other Google apps and services. It’s continued expanding the feature, most recently adding a connection between Gemini and YouTube Music, but now Android Authority has found code in the app indicating Gemini could connect to Spotify, too, eventually.

Hopefully, Gemini works better than our experience with the Rabbit R1.


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TikTok is aware of a ‘potential’ exploit being used to take over brand accounts.

According to Forbes, TikTok accounts for Paris Hilton and CNN have been hijacked recently by a “zero-day” attack in the app’s DMs that could be activated simply by opening the message.

TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek sent us this statement:

Our security team is aware of a potential exploit targeting a number of brand and celebrity accounts. We have taken measures to stop this attack and prevent it from happening in the future. We’re working directly with affected account owners to restore access, if needed.


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Amazon's live-action TV adaptation of Yakuza: Like a Dragon starts streaming in October.

Prime Video has one hit with Fallout, plus a Tomb Raider adaptation on the way, so what’s next? Get ready for six episodes of Like a Dragon: Yakuza that will be released worldwide in 3-episode sets on October 25th and November 1st.

In 1995 and 2005, spanning across two time-periods, Like a Dragon: Yakuza, an original crime-suspense-action series, follows the life, childhood friends, and repercussions of the decisions of Kazuma Kiryu, a fearsome and peerless Yakuza warrior with a strong sense of justice, duty, and humanity. 


Like a dragon title image, with the name of the show and a tattooed man, and the prime video logo
Image: Amazon MGM Studios