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Polestar is building a zero-emissions car without ‘cop-out’ carbon offsets

Swedish electric performance automaker Polestar says it will build the world’s first truly zero-emissions vehicle without relying on carbon offsets, which it described as a “cop-out.” The company, which was spun out of Volvo and Volvo’s parent company Geely, framed its effort to cut carbon emissions by changing the way its cars are made as… Read more

Signal is testing a payments feature that lets you send cryptocurrency to friends

Signal announced on Tuesday it’s now testing a new peer-to-peer payments system in the beta version of its apps. Appropriately called Signal Payments, the new feature right now supports only one protocol: the MobileCoin wallet and its companion cryptocurrency MOB. MobileCoin has a close relationship with Signal co-founder and CEO Moxie Marlinspike, who advised the… Read more

Wisk Aero accuses rival flying taxi firm Archer Aviation of ‘brazen theft’ in a new lawsuit

Wisk Aero, a joint venture between Boeing and Kitty Hawk, is suing rival air taxi firm Archer Aviation for allegedly stealing its trade secrets and infringing on its patents. Wisk is seeking unspecified monetary damages and an injunction against Archer to prevent it from using the allegedly stolen technology. In response, Archer says it has… Read more

One Medical charged some patients a fee for the COVID-19 vaccine

Health care company One Medical charged administration fees to some people receiving COVID-19 vaccines in Washington, DC, according to bills reviewed by The Verge. The company runs the COVID-19 vaccination site at DC’s Entertainment and Sports Arena. People vaccinated at this site were also prompted to sign up for a trial account with One Medical… Read more

A cable company that prided itself on no data caps says you’re getting data caps because pizza

Internet data caps are not like pizza — where taking a slice could mean fewer slices for everyone else. I don’t think Verge readers have trouble understanding this concept? It’s been well-established that ISPs have no trouble delivering unlimited data, even during — say — a global pandemic when vast throngs of the population have… Read more

Amazon apologizes for lying about pee — and attempts to shift the blame

Amazon has issued a rare public apology — but not to its workers, and with no real admission of guilt. Over a week ago, the company was caught publicly lying to Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) that its workers never feel the need to pee in water bottles (which is, in fact, a well-documented issue at… Read more

CDC says fully vaccinated people can travel safely in the US

People who are fully vaccinated “can travel safely within the United States,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in new guidance issued today. Until now, the agency advised people to “delay” both domestic and international travel even if they had been vaccinated. The CDC’s new recommendations also allow fully vaccinated travelers to avoid… Read more

Herring vs Frampton live stream: start time, full fight, how to watch the boxing for free in UK, US and more

Jamel Herring will mix it up with Carl Frampton this Saturday in Dubai as two of the fighters at 130lbs battle it out for the WBO super-featherweight title. Incumbent Herring has already made two successful defences of the belt but can 34-year-old Belfast-native Frampton stop a third? UK fans can watch the blockbuster bout free… Read more

COVID-19 vaccine ‘passports’ aren’t exactly like yellow fever certifications

Businesses and governments are developing COVID-19 vaccine certifications that let people prove they’ve been immunized so they could enter spaces or travel without as much worry that they’d get sick or pass the virus to others. Conservative politicians recently seized on these efforts as evidence of government overreach, while other people argued the certifications a… Read more

YouTube is relaxing some rules about ads on drug-related videos

From this month, Google is updating some of its YouTube ad guidelines about drug-related videos. In a support document spotted by Gizmodo, Google says it’s “expanding monetization on educational, documentary or news content that may include violent interactions with law enforcement, recreational drugs and drug-related content, or sensitive events.” The update means more drug-related videos… Read more

Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine highly effective in adolescents

The Pfizer / BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective in 12- to 15-year-olds, the companies announced today in a press release. None of the children who received the vaccine in a clinical trial developed COVID-19, and they all developed strong antibody responses. There were no serious side effects. The study included 2,260 participants. Around half… Read more

Real-world evidence shows that the COVID-19 vaccines work

Three months after the United States’ COVID-19 vaccination campaign began, researchers are starting to collect data showing that the vaccines are just as good in the real world as they were in the clinical trials testing them. Recent studies have consistently shown that the vaccines don’t just protect against symptoms — they reduce the risk… Read more

Meet Beoplay Portal, Bang & Olufsen’s first ever wireless gaming headset

Home News (Image credit: Bang & Olufsen) Great news for high-end audio lovers and gamers alike: Bang & Olufsen has just announced its first-ever wireless gaming headphones, the Beoplay Portal. The high-end Danish firm promises that the Beoplay Portal brings the hallmarks of its design to a gaming headset. Whether you plan on using them… Read more

Volkswagen is really rebranding as ‘Voltswagen’ in the US

Volkswagen is changing the name of its American brand to Voltswagen, in a not-so-subtle nod to the German automaker’s multibillion-dollar effort to become the biggest electric vehicle manufacturer in the world. The company was apparently planning to make the announcement at the end of April but accidentally published a press release about the name change… Read more

Entercom rebrands to Audacy, plans to launch exclusive podcasts on its own app

Entercom, a company mostly associated with its hundreds of US radio stations, is losing its old name in an effort to signify its broader interest and investments in audio — specifically, podcasts. Today, Entercom becomes Audacy. The company, which owns podcast networks Cadence13 and Pineapple Street Studios, as well as ad network Podcorn, is looking… Read more