A long list of electronic products got a reprieve for now from at least some of the levies on China, which had been expected to take a toll on tech giants like Apple.

The creators of Halo and Destiny are finally ready to show off their next big project: Marathon. It’s a long-awaited title from Bungie and revives the classic Marathon IP in the form of a PvPvE extraction shooter. After a teaser nearly two years ago, the Sony-owned studio just spent an hour showing off Marathon gameplay and game mechanics and revealed the game will launch on September 23rd on PS5, Xbox Series S / X, and PC, with full cross-play and cross-save. There’s even an alpha test for fans to try out the game later this month, ahead of its full debut this year.Marathon is set in a sci-fi universe in 2850, in the remains of Tau Ceti IV, which Bungie describes as a lost colony whose inhabitants disappeared without a trace. Rival factions have hired Runners to scavenge for what’s left behind, and anyone who signs up to be a Runner has given up their human form for a biosynthetic shell with unique abilities and stats.As a Runner, you fight in a crew of up to three players across a variety of zones and points of interest. You can face rival runners in maps of up to 18 players, so up to six teams, in a bid to grab as much loot as possible and get out. While Marathon is designed to be played in crews, with contextual pings and shared objectives, you can also play solo instead of having to form a dedicated three-person team.In Marathon, you play as a Runner who has to loot the map and get out quick. Image: BungieIn Marathon runs, there will be what Bungie calls security forces, PvE enemies that roam the world. There are also creatures on these planets that are a threat when you’re navigating toward points on a map. You’ll have to choose whether it’s worth engaging with these enemies and risk revealing your location to rival teams or use a strategy of avoiding these threats in this PvPvE environment.The maps are filled with bold and vibrant artwork and weapons, materials, and equipment that can be scavenged. Before a run, you build a loadout and select the Runner that fits your play style. In the alpha test, which starts on April 23rd, there will be four runners to choose from, including the stealthy Void character that can go invisible much like a Hunter from Destiny 2.There are a variety of runners to pick from with different abilities and play styles. Image: BungieThere’s also a Glitch runner that has fast-paced abilities and, like its name implies, can glitch out enemies. If you’re more of a run-and-gun type of player, Locus has a shield ability and looks similar to the slide and shotgun play of a Titan from Destiny 2. The final runner in the alpha test is Blackbird, designed for recon and scanning the area around you. While there are four runners in the alpha test, there will be six to choose from when Marathon launches in September.During its livestream, Bungie published a nearly 20-minute video of highlights from 40 creators it says it recently invited to try the game.If you die, you’ll drop your gear. But if you survive, your loot moves with you to future runs so you get more powerful gear and level up. Teammates can also revive you if you fail a mission.Bungie isn’t putting a limit on team compositions, so that means everyone on a three-person team can select the same runner. There will be end-game challenges, ranked play, seasonal storytelling, community events, and more.Bungie has even produced an original short cinematic that’s set in the Marathon universe. Written and directed by Alberto Mielgo (Love, Death, and Robots), this nearly nine-minute short will have Bungie fans poring over it for days to discover every little detail about the Marathon universe.While Marathon is very slick-looking, there’s a lot riding on this game. It’s entering a crowded market of shooters and live-service games that have tried and failed to break through in recent years. Concord, also from a PlayStation studio, was the biggest example of a shooter that failed to take off recently, forcing Sony to take the game offline less than a month after launch and eventually shut down the studio behind it.Spectre Divide, a Valorant-like free-to-play shooter, also shut down just months after its launch, with the developer behind the ambitious shooter shutting down, too. These high-profile failures add to the pressure that Marathon is already under on the back of Bungie’s success with Halo and Destiny and Sony’s ambitious live-service game effort that it has been scaling back recently.The Marathon alpha test will be an opportunity for Bungie to show the world exactly how its latest game will stand out from the competition, and whether it does enough to tempt people away from hero shooters or Call of Duty and Fortnite into the extraction shooter genre that Escape from Tarkov has popularized.The big question left for Bungie to answer is how much Marathon will cost. It’s not a free-to-play game, but the studio isn’t ready to talk about exact pricing just yet. Destiny 2 is technically free-to-play with an optional season pass, but a lot of additional content requires payment for access to raids, dungeons, and even some of the story content. It’s been a confusing model for new players over the years, so I’m hoping Bungie lands on a clear pricing structure for Marathon.Marathon debuts on PS5, Xbox Series S / X, and PC on September 23rd. You can sign up for the Marathon closed alpha test on Bungie’s website or on Discord.See More:

The Lion King ride headed to Disneyland Paris has received new exciting images, details, and a construction start window of Fall 2025. As detailed by Disney Parks Blog, the first-ever land and attraction themed to The Lion King will be one of the biggest draws of the reimagined Walt Disney Studios Park that will be known as Disney Adventure World. Alongside this new water ride that will take guests through the biggest moments of the 1994 classic, the land will feature a 120-foot-high Pride Rock and tons of dining, shopping, character meet-and-greets, and more.Disney shared a new concept image from the ride, which you can see above, that shows Audio-Animatronics of young Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa chowing down on some grubs in a beautiful jungle setting. This will be just one part of the ride that will also send guests down a 52-foot drop, which is two inches taller than Tiana's Bayou Adventure.While we don't have a date yet, it will be arriving after the grand opening of World of Frozen in 2026. This will also be one piece of the puzzle that is Disney Adventure World, which will be double the current park's footprint.Alongside World of Frozen, The Lion King ride, and the previously announced Raiponce Tangled Spin ride that will see Mandy Moore returning to voice Rapunzel, guests will get to look forward to the first-ever attraction themed after Up. This ride will be a "spinning carousel" that will offer a "bird's eye view of the park's stunning scenery." World Premiere will also be one of the stars of Disney Adventure World when it opens on May 15, 2025, as it will be a brand-new park entrance that will aim to recreate a "glamorous premiere in the heart of Hollywood." There will also be World Premiere Plaza, which is inspired by Broadway and the West End district and will have theaters with such shows as TOGETHER: A Pixar Musical Adventure, Mickey and the Magician, and Frozen: A Musical Invitation.For more in the world of Disney, check out our 30th anniversary retrospective of The Lion King, when you can get your tickets for Destination D23: A Journey Around the World of Disney and our recently updated top 25 Disney animated movies list.Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.o

SummaryBungie has shared new gameplay for Marathon, a new team-based FPS extraction shooter.Players work in crews of three to take down rival Runner teams, scavenge for resources and gear, and extract safely.Marathon launches on Xbox Series X|S on September 23, 2025. Bungie has unveiled a first look at Marathon, its upcoming sci-fi extraction shooter, as well as some brand-new details about the game. In a showcase today, the studio debuted gameplay, as well as a stylish cinematic short about the Marathon universe. Even better – Bungie shared that there’s not much longer to wait – Marathon releases on Xbox Series X|S on September 23, 2025. Become a Runner In Marathon, you are a Runner, a mercenary who has traded your human form for a host of enhanced cybernetic abilities. Each playable Runner features a loadout of unique skills to compliment how you play – whether you want to run in guns blazing or take a more tactical approach. You’ll also be able to customize your Runner with implants and weapons at the start of the game, and with resources you’ll find during runs. In teams of up to three players, you’ll drop into a zone where the goal is to loot as much as possible and get out alive. You’ll be up against several threats, including AI security forces and other teams, that you’ll need to deal with in some way. If you survive, everything you’ve collected is yours to keep for future runs. For extra challenge seekers, there’s also an option to run a match solo, take down teams alone, and extract with all the loot by yourself. Bungie brings decades of satisfying FPS shooter experience to the table in Marathon from its previous work on Halo, and its ongoing work on Destiny 2. Marathon seeks to blend a dynamic, tactile FPS experience with seasonal content, giving you and your friends new mysteries to unravel about Tau Ceti IV and the abandoned Marathon ship that hangs above. The World of Marathon The studio also shared a cinematic short that gave us a deeper look at the cutthroat world of Tau Ceti IV where Marathon is set, directed by award-winning director Alberto Mielgo (“Love, Death & Robots”, “The Witness” episode). The short features several playable characters from the Marathon roster and sets the stage for the lost colony where your runs will take place. Check out the short here. Marathon is heading to Xbox Series X|S on September 23, and you can wishlist it today. To keep up to date on news and  sign up for your chance to join the Closed Alpha Test this April, head to the official Marathon community Discord server. Marathon Bungie ☆☆☆☆☆ ★★★★★ Get it now From the creators of Halo and Destiny… A massive ghost ship hangs in low orbit over a lost colony on Tau Ceti IV. The 30,000 souls who call this place home have disappeared without a trace. Strange signals hint at mysterious artifacts, long-dormant AI, and troves of untold riches. Become a Runner in Bungie’s upcoming sci-fi PvP extraction shooter, Marathon. You are a cybernetic mercenary venturing into the unknown in a fight for survival and fortune where any run can lead to greatness. Add Marathon to your wishlist now to get the latest updates and news.

In Harlan Ellison's disturbing 1967 short story "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream," a sentient superintelligence named AM has taken over the earth's resources and exterminated humanity after combining the powers of three US, Soviet, and Chinese supercomputers into one. A small group of survivors has been kept alive for AM's amusement, forced to roam the supercomputer's endless electronic innards.It's a grim setting, but evidently one that billionaire tech tycoon and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt imagines for the future of humanity, if his comments to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce are any indication."What we need from you," Schmidt told lawmakers, "is we need the energy in all forms, renewable, non-renewable, whatever. It needs to be there, and it needs to be there quickly."The wannabe tech overlord was appearing in front of the government panel to talk AI — specifically, what the future holds for it."Many people project demand for our industry will go from 3 percent to 99 percent of total generation... an additional 29 gigawatts by 2027 and 67 more gigawatts by 2030," he asserted. "If [China] comes to superintelligence first, it changes the dynamic of power globally, in ways that we have no way of understanding or predicting," Schmidt said, even echoing the backstory of Ellison's cautionary tale.Schmidt's American exceptionalism — the idea that the US is superior to all other global interests — is nothing new, and neither is his wild-eyed brand of AI hype. In 2023, CNN reported that "42 percent of CEOs say AI could destroy humanity in five to ten years." Yet if today's tech is any indication, AI has a long trek through the slop before it can even think of destroying humanity, let alone siphoning 99 percent of the earth's energy.What is new is Schmidt's insistence to Congress that Chinese "superintelligence" is coming to get us, a claim Energy committee chair Brett Guthrie called a "sober assessment."That's a troubling response, given that many AI researchers believe that type of computer intelligence is highly unlikely to hit anytime soon.So why tell lawmakers the opposite?Like many other tech billionaires, Schmidt has a personal interest not only in growing the AI industry, but also in scaring lawmakers into handing over the keys to the kingdom. It's a strategy known as "corporate capture," and it's been a particularly effective move for Silicon Valley giants like Uber, which has been given almost complete authority to write its own rules.When it comes to AI, tech tycoons are particularly anxious about energy, as the data centers powering their soon-to-be-superintelligent algorithms eat megawatts for breakfast. As the race to develop the most advanced AI model heats up, companies like Elon Musk's xAI are resorting to less-than-legal means to avoid waiting for pesky EPA rulings and bothersome power grid assessments.Late last year, Schmidt was caught hiding direct investments in AI startups throughout his tenure as chairman of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence — no doubt a huge conflict of interest, but "technically legal," according to ethics experts.Eat your heart out, Ellison.Share This Article

The Trump administration has spared iPhones, laptops and other electronics from its reciprocal tariffs, but it's unclear if that'll last.

House Speaker Mike Johnson defended cuts to Medicaid, insisting it would "return the dignity of work to young men who need to be at work instead of playing video games all day.” Kayla Bartkowski; Yan Krukau/Getty Images; Pexels House Speaker Mike Johnson defended Republican efforts to attach work requirements to Medicaid, suggesting that young American men are wasting their lives "playing video games all day" instead of working.Johnson's remarks came as House Republicans pushed forward a budget framework that would help finance President Donald Trump's tax cuts, with plans to slash federal spending by trillions. GOP leaders are eyeing $880 billion in reductions to Medicaid, a move critics warn could gut health coverage for millions of low-income Americans.Johnson attempted to sidestep claims of direct benefit cuts, instead blaming "able-bodied young men" for taking advantage of a program he said was meant for single mothers, the elderly, and people with disabilities."They're draining resources from people who actually do [need it]," Johnson said. "So if you clean that up... you save a lot of money and you return the dignity of work to young men who need to be at work instead of playing video games all day."Despite Johnson's insistence that, "No one has talked about cutting one benefit in Medicaid," the work requirement would threaten health care access for millions, including Americans that are temporarily unemployed after being laid off.A report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that as many as 36 million of the 72 million enrolled in Medicaid could be stripped of coverage under work requirements.Trump has been promised a quick turn around on the bill, putting the pressure on Johnson and House Republicans to make significant cuts that can be rationalized to voters who stand to lose access to services, or—in Johnson's view—video game time.© 2025 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

The Trump administration is carving out big tariff exemptions for the tech industry. While President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would delay many of the market-shaking tariffs that he’d announced the previous week, he kept a universal baseline 10% tariff in place, while also increasing tariffs on Chinese goods to 125% (on top of a 20% tariff that he’d already imposed on goods from China). There’s been plenty of speculation about what the tariffs will mean for the tech industry, which manufactures many consumer electronics in China and elsewhere abroad. One of Trump’s stated goals is to bring manufacturing back to the United States, but others believe the dream of an American-made iPhone is a fantasy. Those debates may be paused after Friday evening, when U.S. Customs and Border Protection posted a list of product categories that are “excluded from the reciprocal tariffs imposed under Executive Order 14257,” with the exclusions backdated to April 5. Those categories appear to include smartphones, laptops, hard drives, and semiconductors. Those products will all be exempt from both the 125% tariff on goods from China, as well as the universal baseline tariff. (Other tariffs, such as the previous 20% tariff on Chinese goods, would presumably still apply.) Notable Silicon Valley figures led by Elon Musk have joined the Trump administration, while other tech CEOs have been courting Trump, most visibly with millions of dollars donated to his inauguration. Those efforts seemed to bear little fruit — until last night’s announcement, which Daniel Ives, global head of technology research at Wedbush Securities, described as “a dream scenario for tech investors.” Tech giants like Apple and Nvidia are likely celebrating the news, as are U.S. consumers who will avoid a big markup on their next iPhone. But the industry could still be hit with more targeted tariffs and other restrictions. For example, The New York Times reports that the Trump administration is preparing a national security-related investigation into semiconductors.

Kosen Ohtsubo, “Linga München” (2025), 300 Basket willow branches, candle, metal frame, plastic and metal ties, scrap metal, soil, various flowers and leaves. All photos by Maximilian Geuter, courtesy the artists and Kunstverein München, shared with permission An Ikebana Artist and His Student Sow an Unconventional Approach to Flower Arranging April 12, 2025 ArtNature Grace Ebert “I want to explode the idea of beautiful ikebana,” says Kosen Ohtsubo, one of the foremost conceptual artists working in the Japanese tradition. Since the 1970s, Ohtsubo has been unsettling the ancient art of flower arranging. Incorporating atypical botanicals like cabbage leaves or weaving in unconventional materials like bathtubs and scrap metal, the artist approaches making with the mindset of a jazz musician, a genre he frequently listens to while working. Improvisation and experimentation are at the core, along with an unquenchable desire for the unexpected. Detail of Kosen Ohtsubo, “Linga München” (2025), 300 Basket willow branches, candle, metal frame, plastic and metal ties, scrap metal, soil, various flowers and leaves An exhibition at Kunstverein München in Munich pairs Ohtsubo with Christian Kōun Alborz Oldham who, after discovering the ikebana icon’s work in a book in 2013, became his student. Titled Flower Planet—which references a sign that hangs outside Ohtsubo’s Tokorozawa home and studio—the show presents various sculptures and installations that invite viewers to consider fragility, decay, and the elusive qualities of beauty and control. Given the ephemeral nature of the materials, photography plays an important role in most ikebana practices as it preserves an arrangement long after it has wilted. This exhibition, therefore, pairs images of earlier works with new commissions, including Ohtsubo’s standout orb titled “Linga München.” Nested in a bed of soil and leaves, the large-scale sculpture wraps willow with metal structures and positions a small candle within its center. Similarly immersive is “Willow Rain,” which suspends thin branches from the ceiling. Subverting the way we typically encounter fields of growth, the work is one of many in the exhibition that seeds questions about our relationship to the natural world and the limits of human control. Flower Planet is on view through April 21. Explore Ohstubo’s vast archive on Instagram. Detail of Kosen Ohtsubo, “Linga München” (2025), 300 Basket willow branches, candle, metal frame, plastic and metal ties, scrap metal, soil, various flowers and leaves Kosen Ohtsubo, “Willow Rain” (2025), 800 basket willow branches, metal frame Christian Kōun Alborz Oldham, “Corruption” Christian Kōun Alborz Oldham, “Penny Waking up from a Dream” (2025), carrot, Chinese long bean,reflecting sphere, Japanese woven bamboo basket Detail of Christian Kōun Alborz Oldham, “Penny Waking up from a Dream” (2025), carrot, Chinese long bean, reflecting sphere, Japanese woven bamboo basket Detail of Kosen Ohtsubo, “Linga München” (2025), 300 Basket willow branches, candle, metal frame, plastic and metal ties, scrap metal, soil, various flowers and leaves Kosen Ohtsubo, “怪芋III / Strange Callas III” (2025), Calla lily, willow, custom-designed iron box Next article

The White House announced a temporary exemption for smartphones, laptops, and other consumer electronics from the steep tariffs that would hike up prices for many products.