Retro gaming continues to thrive, with emulation making it easier than ever to revisit the classics. Many operating systems support emulation, but Batocera stands out as one of the best all-in-one solutions. It combines simplicity, flexibility, and a polished design that makes it appealing for beginners while still offering depth for enthusiasts. Whether you’re looking to replay childhood favorites or explore entire libraries of systems you never owned, Batocera delivers a seamless experience that’s hard to match.

In wake of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk’s public killing, around two dozen Republican lawmakers are pushing for House leadership to create a new select committee that would investigate “The money, influence, and power behind the radical left’s assault on America and the rule of law.” The letter amounts to a request for subpoena power to dig into political opponents in the media and funding ecosystem that the right deems unduly hostile. In a letter led by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), the lawmakers urge House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH), and Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) to “take every step to follow the money and uncover the force behind the NGOs, donors, media, public officials, and all entities driving this coordinated attack.” The lawmakers are requesting a new committee composed of members with prosecution and law enforcement backgrounds, who would have subpoena power to carry out investigations to “get to the truth behind the coordinated global network funding and fueling this attack on Americans.” The letter is dated Thursday, prior to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s identification of the suspect behind Kirk’s slaying. Law enforcement officials have yet to declare a motive for the attack as of Friday afternoon. But according to the lawmakers calling for the select committee, “The patterns are undeniable: we are witnessing a sustained breakdown of law and order, fueled not by chance, but by anti-American ideology.” “We can no longer pretend to be bound together by shared ideals”The group says that Kirk was listed on the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)’s “Hate Map” prior to his killing, and claims, “We have seen dangerous networks like Antifa organize, fund, and deploy sophisticated terror campaigns attacking law enforcement and destroying American cities.” It blames “radical organizations” and figures like George Soros for “funding and putting in place District Attorneys and Judges to then coordinate releasing criminals to the streets,” pointing to the recent fatal stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska by a man with a criminal record on a Charlotte light rail car. And it links “coordinated lawlessness and disorder” to the “opening of our borders.” Donald Trump suggested on Fox News on Friday that there could be a racketeering case against Soros, who he accused without presenting evidence of funding “professional agitators” like those who heckled him at a DC restaurant.The push follows a wave of statements from Republican officials promising consequences for people who celebrated or made light of Kirk’s death, though many of those statements are likely protected by the First Amendment. “We can no longer pretend to be bound together by shared ideals when a well-funded, vitriolic cadre of our fellow Americans and foreign interests are at war with the very values of faith in God, fidelity to our Constitution, and respect for the principles of liberty and Western Civilization that define us as Americans,” the group wrote, “including, notably, the free speech practiced and exemplified by Charlie Kirk.”

When I first built my current PC with the Ryzen 9 5900X, I picked up 64GB of DDR4 memory rated to run at 3600MT/s. At the time, this was the sweet spot for Zen 3 processors, and since I wanted enough capacity for gaming, streaming, and multitasking for years to come, I went with four 16GB sticks. I was a little skeptical about using four sticks at first, but fortunately, my kit had no trouble running at its advertised speed. However, that changed when I picked up the Ryzen 7 5800X3D last year.

Tyler Robinson, apprehended last night in connection to the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, allegedly left engraved bullets at the crime scene that were covered in a furry meme, a reference from the video game Helldivers 2, and an extremely online taunt.In an FBI briefing this morning about his arrest, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox described the sequence of events that led to the capture of Robinson, 22, who was turned into the police by his father. They also clarified the nature of the notes engraved on the bullet casings found at the scene, which had been rumored to be slogans relating to antifascist and “transgender ideology.” As it turns out, the messages are a confusing mix of internet memes and pop culture.As described, the bullets read (exact capitalization not confirmed at this point):“Notices bulges OWO what’s this?”“Hey fascist! Catch!” Up arrow symbol, right arrow, three down arrow symbols“Oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao”“If you read this, you are gay lmao”The first bullet casing, which was fired, is a meme referring to furry online roleplay, according to Know Your Meme.It’s not hard to see where the “antifascist” conclusion came from on two of the other bullets: “Bella ciao” is an Italian song adopted by partisans and resistance fighters while Italy was governed by the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Cox said in response to a question during the conference that the “hey fascist” message “speaks for itself.” Three downward-slanting arrows are a symbol used by both historical and contemporary antifascists.But the full arrow sequence was quickly recognized as something else: a combo from Helldivers 2 for calling the Eagle 500kg Bomb stratagem. The world of Helldivers — which evokes Robert Heinlein’s book Starship Troopers and the subsequent movie — concerns fascism thematically; developer Arrowhead has characterized it as a satire where players fight for a fascist state.As for the use of “Bella ciao,” the song has no obvious connection but given its historical significance, unsurprisingly does appear in a Helldivers 2 mod, as well as in at least one other video game, a World War II-themed strategy game called Hearts of Iron IV.The fatal shooting of Kirk on Wednesday led to an intense manhunt across Utah, though it encountered numerous complications along the way. Several leads, publicly teased by FBI Director Kash Patel, quickly petered out. Leaked documents from law enforcement published by MAGA influencers led to false narratives about how markings on the bullet indicated that the shooter was in favor of “transgender ideology.” It was nearly impossible to divorce politics and internet misinformation from Kirk’s death, however. The 31-year-old was a powerful figure in the MAGA movement, as the founder and leader of the right-wing college group Turning Point USA, and a prominent podcaster and MAGA influencer himself, famous for appearing on college campuses to confront liberal students. President Donald Trump credited Kirk and TPUSA as a factor in his return to office, and frequently relied on him as an emissary to youth voters. The messages on the shooter’s bullet casings can best be described as bizarre and extremely onlineIn the aftermath of Kirk’s death, his allies in the MAGA movement, including lawmakers and influencers, promised swift retribution against the left should the killer share their ideology. The themes of Helldivers 2 could have an ideological meaning, albeit not necessarily a straightforward one. But ultimately, the messages on the shooter’s bullet casings can best be described as bizarre and extremely online. According to the FBI, evidence leading to Robinson’s arrest included screenshots from his roommate’s Discord chat, in which he mentioned leaving a rifle wrapped in a towel in some bushes. Law enforcement recovered a Mauser .30-06 from an area near the campus that was wrapped in a towel. Fans of the game immediately noticed. Shortly after the press conference on Friday morning, the Helldivers subreddit was flooded with players who had picked up on what may be references to the game. A thread, now deleted, was titled: “Hey Facist Catch!” with the poster asking, “Did anyone else hear/notice?!” A commenter, responding to the thread, said, “The moment I heard [the arrows] my eyes widened.”Another thread, also apparently deleted by moderators, referenced the arrows that authorities say were on one of the unfired bullet casings recovered at the scene. “It sickens me having people like this playing this game and using it to real violence to tarnish this awesome game and community,” the poster wrote. Other posts implored the subreddit moderators to lock down the forum. Moderators for the subreddit didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A thread in the separate r/Helldivers2 subreddit remains active, with people discussing the apparent parallels.Arrowhead, the maker of the Helldivers games, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Xbox Series consoles have a lot of features that console owners can enjoy. Not only is there a large library of games to play via Xbox Live and through Xbox Game Pass, but the console can be a multimedia device for a variety of applications. However, most of the capabilities of Xbox consoles aren't limited to software that people can engage with, despite the majority of it being incredibly fun. The consoles can have accessories connected to them via USB connection to expand or enhance whatever software is being played. Whether you're going online with your friends for some multiplayer matches or relaxing at home with a good movie and some music, there are many ways to enjoy what your Xbox console is capable of.

Stellantis announced that it was discontinuing its Ram 1500 REV electric truck, citing slowing sales of heavy-duty electric trucks. The name plate, however, will live on. Stellantis said that it was renaming its Range-Extended Electric Vehicle (REEV) Ramcharger pickup to Ram 1500 REV. “This vehicle will set a new benchmark in the half-ton segment, offering exceptional range, towing capability and payload performance,” the company said in its announcement. The Ram 1500 Rev, which made its debut at the 2023 New York Auto Show, was supposed to go on sale in the first half of 2024, but Stellantis delayed it until 2026. At the time, the automaker said it was prioritizing the launch of its gas-extended hybrid Ramcharger truck, which was also delayed. The name plate, however, will live on.The move followed the resignation of Stellantis’ CEO Carlos Tavares following a sharp decline in the automaker’s sales. The company has been accused of degrading its US brands and failing to release more affordable models.The Ramcharger and the Rev were both going to be built on Stellantis’ STLA Frame body-on-frame platform designed to handle electric, gas, hybrid, and hydrogen powertrains. The platform helps stretch the Ramcharger gas-extended EV range up to 690 miles on a full charge and tank.Stellantis became the latest company to delay or cancel its EV plans this year, as the federal government eliminates tax credits and other incentives aimed at driving higher sales. Many automakers are delaying their production plans, in anticipation that sales will slow down after federal incentives disappear. Big, heavy trucks, in particular, were a difficult segment to electrify. These EVs typically require bigger, heavier batteries than the average EV, which comes at a high cost for automakers. Sales of EV trucks like the Ford F-150 Lightning, Rivian R1T, and Tesla Cybertruck have generally been slower than expected. And trucks tend to lose range when towing or hauling heavy loads, which makes them a tough sell for customers who want their electric trucks to do all the truck stuff that’s expected.

The circle is now complete: you can install your Steam copy of Hollow Knight Silksong on an Android phone, play it with your automatically downloaded Steam save games — and today, as of the new GameHub 5.0.4 update, you can easily upload your phone savegame back to Steam to resume on PC.To get save to sync to begin with, you’ll need to flick GameHub out of a “lightweight” Steam mode and pick a numbered version instead. Find it in GameHub under Silksong > hit the three-dot button > PC Game Settings > Steam.To make sure you trigger an upload when you’ve finished, swipe the right edge of the screen left, hit the gear icon and pick Exit. It should say it’s uploading your save to Steam, and it shouldn’t take very long at all before the game exits.

Most of us use one or two M.2 slots on our motherboard to install NVMe SSDs, and call it a day. After all, storage is what M.2 slots are known for. However, that's not all they're compatible with. You can realistically use a vacant M.2 slot on your motherboard to install one of several types of expansion cards, some of which I've already covered in the article about non-SSD devices compatible with an M.2 slot. In this list, I want to cover some other expansion cards you can install instead of wasting your spare M.2 slots.

The AI web search company Perplexity is being hit by another lawsuit alleging copyright and trademark infringement, this time from Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster. Britannica, the centuries-old publisher that owns Merriam-Webster, sued Perplexity in New York federal court on September 10th.In the lawsuit, the companies allege that Perplexity’s “answer engine” scrapes their websites, steals their internet traffic, and plagiarizes their copyrighted material. Britannica also alleges trademark infringement when Perplexity attaches the two companies’ names to hallucinated or incomplete content. The word “plagiarize” illustrates the point of the lawsuit. The court document includes back-to-back screenshots that show Perplexity’s result is identical to Merriam-Webster’s definition. Perplexity positions itself as a Google Search competitor. It has been called a “bullshit machine” that steals and recreates original content without proper citations. The AI company is also accused of “stealth crawling” websites with crawler blockers, a practice used by other AI companies.  Perplexity, backed by investors like Jeff Bezos, has tussled with other media outlets like Forbes, The New York Times, and the BBC. News Corp, the parent company of outlets like The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, sued Perplexity in October 2024.Some media companies joined Perplexity’s ad revenue sharing program, including Time magazine and the Los Angeles Times. Another popular encyclopedia, World History Encyclopedia, joined Perplexity’s publisher program, and on September 8th, it launched a Perplexity-powered AI chatbot that allows users to sift through the encyclopedia’s database of sources and academic articles. View Link

Discord denies that the suspect accused of killing Charlie Kirk used the messaging platform to discuss his crime, following the service getting mentioned by law enforcement in a press conference — and after accusations that it helped radicalize the alleged shooter, Tyler Robinson. In a statement to The Verge, Jud Hoffman, Discord’s vice president of trust and safety, said the company has “found no evidence that the suspect planned this incident or promoted violence on Discord.”During a press briefing on Friday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said investigators spoke with Robinson’s roommate, and that the roommate “stated that his roommate, referring to Robinson, made a joke on Discord.” Investigators then asked to see the Discord messages and proceeded “to take photos of the screen as each message was shown,” Cox said. Cox added that the photos “consisted of various messages, including content of messages between the phone contact named Tyler with an emoji icon.” Some of the messages captured by authorities contained references to “having left the rifle wrapped in a towel” and “engraving bullets,” according to Cox. While Cox’s statement makes it sound like the roommate reported Robinson had, using Discord, made a joke, Discord’s spokesperson says it actually means the roommate had been chatting on Discord with a third party and discussed Robinson making comments somewhere else.“The messages referenced in recent reporting about planning details do not appear to be Discord messages,” Hoffman said. “These were communications between the suspect’s roommate and a friend after the shooting, where the roommate was recounting the contents of a note the suspect had left elsewhere.”It’s a fine distinction, but one that helps Discord downplay any involvement in the killing. The popular platform has been used by multiple mass shooters in past years to discuss violent and hateful rhetoric, and in one case to offer details about the attack itself. That’s earned it scrutiny from figures including New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office probed whether it and streaming service Twitch contributed to violence.Since Kirk’s shooting, Discord has also become a target of right-wing influencers like Andy Ngo, who claim some “young high-profile shooters” are “radicalized and groomed” on the platform. Conservative influencer Laura Loomer similarly linked the suspect’s alleged use of Discord to the man who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump, saying it’s “the same platform the Butler assassin was communicating with people in.” On Friday, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) urged the FBI to look into “radicalization networks,” claiming that online platforms like Discord “are being exploited by extremists for recruitment and radicalization.”Hoffman told The Verge that Discord has since removed Robinson’s account for violating its off-platform behavior policy. “We strongly condemn violence of any kind, including political violence, and we will continue to coordinate closely with law enforcement,” Hoffman said.

If you've ever tried running Windows apps on Linux, you know how challenging it can be. I've been using Wine or WinApps for it, but the results are often hit or miss, and sometimes it raises compatibility issues as well. Similarly, running a whole virtual machine comes with its own challenges, especially on not-so-high-end devices. These often feel like workarounds rather than actual solutions.

Computing is now interwoven in our daily lives, and if I could start my journey all over again knowing everything I knew today, I'd automate the mundane and repetitive tasks I perform every day right off the bat. We're all guilty of performing the same mundane tasks on a loop. Clicking the same sequence of buttons, typing the same corrections, arranging windows in a preferred layout, the list goes on. Saving time spent performing these repetitive actions is merely a byproduct. The true impact is more mental than physical, alleviating the sinking feeling that I'm stuck doing the same thing every day on Windows.