Last week Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) paid contracting giant Palantir tens of millions of dollars to make modifications to a powerful ICE database and search tool to allow “complete target analysis of known populations” and to update the tool’s targeting and enforcement priorities, according to procurement records reviewed by 404 Media.The records show that Palantir is actively working on, and making updates to, the technical infrastructure underpinning the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts. The news comes after ICE agents arrested a green card holding student at his interview to become a U.S. citizen; plainclothes officers picked up a student on the street for deportation despite the State Department finding no evidence she was linked to antisemitism or Hamas as claimed; and the American and El Salvadorian presidents deflecting when asked who was going to return a man who was mistakenly deported to a foreign mega prison. Trump has also called for deporting U.S. citizens to El Salvador.At the same time, Palantir is running adverts at U.S. colleges which say “a moment of reckoning has arrived for the West. Our culture has fallen into shallow consumerism while abandoning national purpose. Too few in Silicon Valley have asked what ought to be built—and why. We did.”💡Do you work at Palantir? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at joseph.404 or send me an email at joseph@404media.co.“As a whole, extending Palantir's services with intentionally vague corporate-speak phrasing coupled with ICE's recent public escalation of violating people's rights via harassment, deportation without a basis, and terrorizing immigrants paints a clear picture: Palantir's engagement with ICE is facilitating and enabling abuses and violation of rights—rights like due process which, I want to note, extend to all in the US, regardless of citizenship status,” Calli Schroeder, senior counsel and global privacy counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), told 404 Media in an email after reviewing screenshots of the records.

In Brief Posted: 4:08 PM PDT · April 16, 2025 Chapter, a Medicare startup with links to Vance, Thiel, and Ramaswamy, just raised a round at $1.5B valuation Chapter, a Medicare advisory startup co-founded by former Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, has closed a $75 million funding round at a valuation of $1.5 billion led by private equity and venture firm Stripes. The startup helps seniors choose Medicare health plans analyzing doctors, hospitals, and prescription drug coverage. Unlike many other Medicare insurance brokers, Chapter claims to prioritize client needs over insurer profits. Naraya, the VC firm founded by Vice President J.D. Vance, led Chapter’s Series A round in 2020. Peter Thiel, who also invested in the company, assumed Vance’s board seat when Vance resigned to run for Senate in 2021. While Thiel has since resigned from Chapter’s board, Democrat Donna Shalala, who served as Secretary of Health and Human Services during the Clinton administration and was later a U.S. Congresswoman, has filled the vacancy. Shalala told Bloomberg that Ramaswamy’s role and investments from Republicans Vance and Thiel were not an issue. “I don’t think of the company as political.” Topics

ZDNET's key takeaways OnePlus 13R costs $599 and features a bright display, powerful performance, and fast charging. It doesn't have a flagship camera system and wireless charging. But for the money, you won't find a more balanced handset. more buying choices For a limited time, you can purchase the OnePlus 13R off the company's online store and Best Buy for $499.99, a $100 discount. This deal applies to both color options: Neubla Noir (black) and Astral Trail (white). The OnePlus 13R follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, delivering flagship performance at a not-so-flagship price. It's got a big battery, decent camera upgrades, a flagship processor (even if it's from last year), and a more ambitious software update policy. Plus, it has one of the best displays I've tested in the segment, with Aqua Touch technology and a durable build quality. Also: I avoid pricey flagship phones, but this OnePlus 13 deal has me reconsideringThis all comes with a $100 price hike -- bringing the once $500 model to $600 now -- positioning it well above the Google Pixel 9a. So, should you opt for Google's more affordable offering, spend more on a Samsung phone, or pick up the OnePlus 13R? I spent weeks with the device, and here's my verdict. details View at Oneplus Big, bold, and brightThe first thing I noticed when using the OnePlus 13R was its flatter sides, especially compared to the 12R. While this gives the phone a sharper, bolder look, it's not as comfortable to hold due to its edges despite being thinner and lighter. On the other hand, the design feels more ergonomic when held in landscape orientation, making it ideal for gaming and watching movies.Also: Slash up to $400 off the OnePlus Open with this new Best Buy dealThe Astral Trail (read: white) variant I tested stands out with etched glass rings, offering a stylish and elegant look. I recommend this model over the Nebula Noir variant, which features a dull, uninspiring black finish. The phone has a power button and volume rockers on the right side, an Alert Slider on the left, and an IR blaster on top for controlling smart appliances. Prakhar Khanna/ZDNETThe OnePlus 13R is rated IP65 for dust and water resistance, which is not as durable as the OnePlus 13's IP69 rating. Still it handles splashes fairly well. Just don't drop the device into the toilet or washing machine. Compared to the 13, the OnePlus 13R still has an optical fingerprint scanner that works fast and accurately. You wouldn't notice a difference if you hadn't used an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor before.On the front, you get the best display in its class -- both in terms of specs and usability. It has a 6.78-inch AMOLED panel with support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+ for media consumption and a dynamic 1Hz-120Hz refresh rate for smooth use and efficiency. That's all protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, which keeps the phone more resistant to scratches.Also: This $300 Motorola has a better display and battery life than iPhone 16e - at half the priceThe display is bright, with a peak brightness of 1,600 nits, and can reach 4,500 nits when watching supported HDR content. The colors look pleasing to the eye; they're bright and vivid, even without any display adjustments on my end.I'm particularly a fan of the OnePlus 13R's Aqua Touch technology. This allows you to use the phone in the rain or shower without registering water droplets as taps. The display can also read your touches when wearing gloves, which is handy during the winter.A performance champion for $600 Prakhar Khanna/ZDNETThe OnePlus 13R is powered by the same processor as last year's OnePlus 12 -- and that's a good thing. With it, you get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor paired with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The OnePlus 13R runs smoothly in day-to-day use. My usage involved jumping between social media apps like X and Instagram, work apps like Slack and Teams, and WhatsApp for messaging. I also used the camera quite a lot during my testing period. The animations look and feel faster than before, too. I faced no lag or stutter in my usage.  Gaming on the phone has been very enjoyable despite the lack of on-device 120fps support. Instead, titles like Battlegrounds Mobile can go up to 120fps using frame interpolation. If you're able to settle with 60fps, most games will play with little to no jitters. The phone can get warm to the touch during extended gaming sessions, but I never received any notifications to quit games or apps to stabilize things.Also: The best Android phones to buy in 2025The OnePlus 13R runs Android 15-based OxygenOS 15 and is promised to get the same number of updates as the OnePlus 13: four years of OS updates and six years of security updates. I find the OnePlus software to be fairly clean, with only a few pre-installed apps. You get a handful of AI features, like AI Detail Boost, AI Unblur, AI Eraser, and AI Reflection Eraser, to enhance subjects or remove distractions in your photos. There are also Google's AI fix-ins, like Circle to Search and Gemini.For my usage, the phone lasted an entire day with ease. And when it comes time to top up the 6,000mAh battery, the OnePlus 13R can be fast charged at 80W with the in-box charger. That means you can go from zero to full in a little more than half an hour. Unfortunately, there's no wireless charging.Improved camerasLast year's OnePlus 12R had a decent primary camera with below-average auxiliary sensors. But the company has upgraded the camera system this year. The OnePlus 13R sports a 50MP Sony LYT-700 sensor for the primary camera, a 50MP telephoto sensor with 2x optical zoom, and an 8MP ultra-wide angle lens. The trio supports shooting 4K60fps videos. Plus, you get a new live photos toggle to capture the emotions behind your shots. Prakhar Khanna/ZDNETThe main camera captures good-looking photos in broad daylight. You get plenty of detail, good dynamic range, and decent white balance. The 2x telephoto isn't as versatile as the OnePlus 13's 3x sensor but offers a much-improved output compared to the OnePlus 12R. The photos are full of details, and the color is consistent with the primary camera, which is great to see at this price point. The ultrawide camera, however, delivers a more saturated look.Also: This OnePlus phone is a solid alternative to the flagships - and it's over 30% offFor portraits, you get decent edge detection and good-looking shots most of the time. When you're in a dimly lit environment, however, the pictures struggle with details and have a soft look to them. Overall, the OnePlus 13R has an improved camera setup and delivers great results for the price. While I'd have preferred having a 3x optical zoom, the upgrade to a telephoto sensor is a welcome change.ZDNET's buying adviceAt $600 for the OnePlus 13R, you get the best display in its class with quality-of-life features, excellent performance, an all-day battery life, and a smooth software experience.Its closest market competitor, the Google Pixel 9a, sits comfortably below the $500 mark and is a decent phone for most people. But it's a much smaller device and is inferior in almost every way in terms of hardware.If you compare the OnePlus 13R to flagship smartphones, the sheer value of the device really shines. Wireless charging might be a big miss for some people, but the longer endurance on a single charge might make up for it. When will this deal expire? As per OnePlus, this deal will end on April 27, 2025.Deals are subject to sell out or expire at any time, though ZDNET remains committed to finding, sharing, and updating the best product deals for you to score the best savings. Our team of experts regularly checks in on the deals we share to ensure they are still live and obtainable. We're sorry if you've missed out on a deal, but don't fret -- we constantly find new chances to save and share them with you on ZDNET.com.  Show more What are the tariffs in the US? The recent US tariffs on imports from countries like China, Vietnam, and India aim to boost domestic manufacturing but are likely to drive up prices on consumer electronics. Products like smartphones, laptops, and TVs may become more expensive as companies rethink global supply chains and weigh the cost of shifting production.Smartphones are among the most affected by the new US tariffs, with devices imported from China and Vietnam facing steep duties that could raise retail prices by 20% or more. Brands like Apple and Google, which rely heavily on Asian manufacturing, may either pass these costs on to consumers or absorb them at the expense of profit margins. The tariffs could also lead to delays in product launches or shifts in where and how phones are made, forcing companies to diversify production to countries with more favorable trade conditions. Show more Looking for the next best product? Get expert reviews and editor favorites with ZDNET Recommends.Featured reviews

Anonymous strikes again—what to know.

Through the looking glass: Pixelation and blur filters are often used used for censoring sensitive or explicit content. However, tools capable of reversing these effects have recently become widely accessible. While the reconstructed images aren't perfectly clear, they can still reveal hidden details from almost any censored video. Viewers of a recent YouTube video by developer Jeff Geerling demonstrated how free software can unmask information hidden behind mosaic censorship. The experiment showed that anyone attempting to obscure content in a video should either block it entirely or avoid recording it in the first place. After a commenter warned Geerling against using pixelation to conceal part of a video, he uploaded a test clip offering $50 to anyone who could identify the contents of a pixelated file window. Within 24 hours, multiple viewers submitted blurry but accurate reconstructions – proving the risks of relying on mosaic filters. GitHub user KoKuToru details how tools like FFmpeg and GIMP can automatically reverse-engineer a pixelated image. The key lies in motion: as the censored area moves across frames, the distorted pixels shift, allowing software to compile bits of information from each frame into a reasonably complete image. Pixelation acts like a fence with many small gaps. If either the filter or the censored content moves, different parts of the hidden information become briefly visible. Over time, enough fragments can be gathered to reconstruct the original. This means that reversing mosaic censorship is likely more difficult (or perhaps not possible) for still images. In his first attempt, KoKuToru manually analyzed pixelated frames, producing a barely legible result. In the second iteration, he used FFmpeg to automatically extract 200 censored frames and applied edge detection techniques to produce a clearer image. His method closely resembles temporal anti-aliasing technologies in video games – such as TAA, FSR, DLSS, and XeSS – which upscale low-resolution frames using motion data. Geerling also mused over whether blur filters would be more resilient, but commenters suggested otherwise. Astronomers have spent decades developing techniques to correct the blurring caused by Earth's atmosphere – techniques that could, in theory, also be used to reverse blur filters in videos. As Geerling notes, solid color filters that reveal zero information behind them are probably the safest option.

Photographer extraordinaire Don Pettit is about to return to Earth following a seven-month stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS). During his time in orbit some 250 miles above Earth, Pettit has been sharing breathtaking photos and videos of Earth and beyond, featuring everything from star trails and aurora to rocket launches and cityscapes. Recommended Videos To mark Pettit’s successful mission, we’ve pulled together some of his best social media posts from the last seven months. Enjoy! Related Pettit is the master of star trail exposures. Here’s one of his best: Next up, a striking shot of the Betsiboka River in Madagascar, which Pettit said reminded him of “the arteries in your retina.” The bright red color is due to the high concentration of iron-rich sediments carried by the waterway. Another remarkable shot captured from the space station, this infrared image (converted to black and white) shows sunlight glinting off the Mediterranean Sea. Astronauts on the space station are often treated spectacular aurora displays, caused by solar particles hitting Earth’s atmosphere. Here’s a video of one that Pettit shared earlier this month. Pettit’s photo of Earth and the Milky Way features “cosmic colors at sunrise.” “Star trail from ISS,” Pettit says of this image showing star trails, city lights, and parts of the ISS. “I think these are a blend of both science and art. There is so much techno-geek stuff to see, or you can simply sit back and think, ‘How cool.’” An incredible view of boats anchored off the coast of Van Hung, Vietnam. A stunning image of the Grand Canyon. An “earthly eyeball,” as seen through the station’s seven-window Cupola module. Here we can see Pettit setting up some of his cameras inside the Cupola module. Watch the star trails stretch out. The U.K.’s capital city “sparkling at night.” Pettit even managed to photograph the second stage of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket heading to space on its inaugural flight in January 2025. He also got to see a test launch of SpaceX’s Starship, the most powerful rocket ever to fly. A view of a large Magellanic Cloud. Another amazing ride over an aurora. Las Vegas at night. A view of Mongolia, here looking more like a work of art. More “art,” including rivers that resemble “flowing silver snakes.” Pettit also caught an image of a passing comet. Beautiful colors at the start of the year. Can you spot Everest? Star trails, city lights … and Starlink satellites! Pettit using microgravity for an easy lens swap. A time-lapse showing a Crew Dragon spacecraft approaching the station. The Milky Way seen through the window of a docked Crew Dragon capsule. The so-called “Thai aurora” is the result of green lights on fishing boats. A Dragon cargo spacecraft heading back to Earth. A finally, a bit of fun in microgravity conditions. Editors’ Recommendations

"Okay, so no more support?" Disgruntled users roast X for killing Support account X will soon remove Support account suspended users viewed as a lifeline. Ashley Belanger – Apr 16, 2025 4:34 pm | 29 Credit: Bloomberg / Contributor | Bloomberg Credit: Bloomberg / Contributor | Bloomberg Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more After X (formerly Twitter) announced it would be killing its "Support" account, disgruntled users quickly roasted the social media platform for providing "essentially non-existent" support. "We'll soon be closing this account to streamline how users can contact us for help," X's Support account posted, explaining that now, paid "subscribers can get support via @Premium, and everyone can get help through our Help Center." On X, the Support account was one of the few paths that users had to publicly seek support for help requests the platform seemed to be ignoring. For suspended users, it was viewed as a lifeline. Replies to the account were commonly flooded with users trying to get X to fix reported issues, and several seemingly paying users cracked jokes in response to the news that the account would soon be removed. "Lololol your support for Premium is essentially non-existent," a subscriber with more than 200,000 followers wrote, while another quipped "Okay, so no more support? lol." On Reddit, X users recently suggested that contacting the Premium account is the only way to get human assistance after briefly interacting with a bot. But some self-described Premium users complained of waiting six months or longer for responses from X's help center in the Support thread. Some users who don't pay for access to the platform similarly complained. But for paid subscribers or content creators, lack of Premium support is perhaps most frustrating, as one user claimed their account had been under review for years, allegedly depriving them of revenue. And another user claimed they'd had "no luck getting @Premium to look into" an account suspension while supposedly still getting charged. Several accused X of sending users into a never-ending loop, where the help center only serves to link users to the help center. When users visit the help center, there's a "contact us" link in the upper-right corner, dumping users into an area where they can pick a topic that best describes their issue. Users can theoretically seek help for things like locked and suspended accounts, issues with account access, and reporting content or bots. It's also where Premium users can get help with paid features, law enforcement can submit requests, and rights holders can initiate takedown notices. But many users suggested in the X thread that the help center feels like a dead-end. It seems possible that X may have taken steps to improve its help center ahead of disabling the Support account, but user optimism about the help center did not exactly dominate the thread in the hours after the announcement was posted. Instead, several users asked for X to hire more support workers, while one user with more than 130,000 followers drily joked, "Anything's better than the nothing we've had so far." X did not immediately respond to Ars' request to comment on the decision to remove the Support account or on any recent updates to the help center. Ashley Belanger Senior Policy Reporter Ashley Belanger Senior Policy Reporter Ashley is a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica, dedicated to tracking social impacts of emerging policies and new technologies. She is a Chicago-based journalist with 20 years of experience. 29 Comments

Artist’s impression of the planet K2-18b and its host starESA/Hubble, M. Kornmesser Astronomers claim to have seen the strongest evidence so far for life on another planet. But other astronomers have urged caution until the findings can be verified by other groups and alternative, non-biological explanations can be ruled out. “These are the first hints we are seeing of an alien world that is possibly inhabited,” Nikku Madhusudhan at the University of Cambridge told a press conference on 15 March. Advertisement Astronomers first discovered the exoplanet K2-18b in 2015, and soon established that it was a promising place to look for life. About eight times as massive as Earth and orbiting a star 124 light years away from us, the planet sits in the habitable zone of its star, where liquid water can exist. Further observations, in 2019, found evidence of water vapour, which led to suggestions that the planet may be covered in oceans sitting under a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, though not all astronomers agreed. In 2023, Madhusudhan and his colleagues used the instruments on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to look at K2-18b’s atmosphere in near-infrared light, and again found evidence of water vapour, as well as carbon dioxide and methane. But they also found a tantalising hint of dimethyl sulphide (DMS), a molecule that, on Earth, is produced only by living organisms, mainly marine phytoplankton. The signs for DMS were extremely weak, however, and many astronomers argued that we would need much stronger evidence to be certain about the molecule’s presence. Now, Madhusudhan and his colleagues have used a different instrument from JWST, the mid-infrared camera, to observe K2-18b. They found a much stronger signal for DMS, as well as a possible related molecule called dimethyl disulphide (DMDS), which is also produced on Earth only by life. Voyage across the galaxy and beyond with our space newsletter every month. Sign up to newsletter “What we are finding is an independent line of evidence in a different wavelength range with a different instrument of possible biological activity on the planet,” Madhusudhan said. The team claims that the detection of DMS and DMDS is at the three-sigma level of statistical significance, which is equivalent to a 3-in-1000 chance that a pattern of data like this ends up being a fluke. In physics, the standard threshold for accepting something as a true discovery is five sigma, which equates to a 1-in-3.5 million chance that the data is a chance occurrence. Nicholas Wogan at the NASA Ames Research Center in California says the evidence is more convincing than the 2023 results, but it still needs to be verified by other groups. Once the data is made public next week, other researchers can start to confirm the findings, but this could take weeks or months due to the difficulty of interpreting JWST data. “It’s not just like you download the data and you see if there’s DMS – it’s this super complicated process,” says Wogan. Other scientists are more sceptical about the findings. “These new JWST observations do not offer convincing evidence that DMS or DMDS are present in K2-18b’s atmosphere,” says Ryan MacDonald at the University of Michigan. “We have a boy-who-cried-wolf situation for K2-18b, where multiple previous three-sigma detections have completely vanished when subject to closer scrutiny. Any claim of life beyond Earth needs to be rigorously checked by other scientists, and unfortunately many previous exciting claims for K2-18b haven’t withstood these independent checks.” Madhusudhan and his team estimate that between 16 and 24 hours of further observations with JWST could help them reach the five-sigma level, but the difficulty of observing the planet’s atmosphere means they can’t guarantee this. “The relative size of the atmosphere compared to the size of the planet is pretty close to the thickness of an apple skin on top of an apple. That’s what we’re trying to measure,” says Thomas Beatty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who was not part of the study team. Wogan adds that getting to five sigma might be fundamentally impossible due to the amount of noise in the data. But if further observations can prove this is a real discovery, it would be a “tremendous advance”, says Beatty. “Ignoring whether or not it actually is produced by life for a second, it’s something that, a decade ago, people said would be evidence for life in the atmosphere of a planet that could feasibly host it.” Madhusudhan and his colleagues calculate that the possible concentrations of DMS and DMDS on K2-18b appear to be over 10 parts per million, thousands of times greater than the concentrations in Earth’s atmosphere. This could indicate a far greater amount of biological activity than on Earth, if the signal proves to be correct, but establishing that the chemicals have a biological origin will take more work, he says. “We have to be extremely careful,” said Madhusudhan. “We cannot, at this stage, make the claim that, even if we detect DMS and DMDS, that it is due to life. Let me be very clear about that. But if you take published studies so far, then there is no mechanism that can explain what we are seeing without life.” Ruling out alternative mechanisms could take some time, says Wogan. “Something like this hasn’t really been studied. DMS in a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, we don’t know a tonne about it. There would have to be a lot of work.” The difficulty in proving that it couldn’t have a non-biological explanation could put K2-18b in the category of a viable biosignature candidate for a long time, says Sara Seager at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “It may remain in that category for decades, since the question may never be fully resolved with the limited data exoplanets offer,” she says. Madhusudhan, however, says the finding is important regardless of whether it came from life or not. “This is a revolutionary moment, fundamentally to me as an astronomer, but also to our species – that we have been able to come from single cellular life, billions of years ago, to an advanced technological civilisation which is able to peer through the atmosphere of another planet and actually find evidence for possible biological activity,” he said. Journal reference:Astrophysical Letters DOI: TK Mysteries of the universe: Cheshire, England Spend a weekend with some of the brightest minds in science, as you explore the mysteries of the universe in an exciting programme that includes an excursion to see the iconic Lovell Telescope. Find out more Topics:

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau headquarters in Washington, DC. A new internal memo from the CFPB told employees to "deprioritize" student loans and medical debt. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images 2025-04-17T03:02:08Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? A new internal memo from the CFPB told employees to "deprioritize" student loans and medical debt. It said that the focus of the CFPB will shift from supervision of companies to giving money back to consumers. This memo comes as millions of student-loan borrowers are expected to default this year. The nation's top consumer watchdog is getting a major reshaping under President Donald Trump.On Wednesday, Mark Paoletta, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's chief legal officer, sent a memo to all employees outlining the agency's new priorities for 2025.The memo, a copy of which was obtained by Business Insider, stated that the "Bureau will focus on its enforcement and supervision resources on pressing threats to consumers, particularly service members and their families, and veterans.""To focus on tangible harms to consumers, the Bureau will shift resources from enforcement and supervision that can be done by the States," Paoletta wrote.Paoletta said that moving forward, the CFPB will "deprioritize" areas including oversight over student loans, medical debt, consumer data, and digital payments.Under former President Joe Biden, the CPFB returned billions of dollars to student-loan borrowers after the agency found that some student-loan servicers engaged in predatory behavior. For example, the CFPB reached a settlement with lender Navient in September over claims the company mishandled payments, giving back $100 million to affected borrowers.A CFPB employee told BI that these new priorities come at a financially precarious time for student-loan borrowers, especially with the New York Federal Reserve estimating that millions of borrowers are set to default this year due to some protections expiring."In the face of this unprecedented financial catastrophe, CFPB has given the student loan industry advanced notice that it will not be watching out for borrowers and it will not hold companies accountable when they break the law," Mike Pierce, executive director of the advocacy group Student Borrower Protection Center, said in a statement.Paoletta's memo also said that the CFPB will focus on getting money back to consumers rather than "imposing penalties on companies in order to simply fill the Bureau's penalty fund." The CFPB employee said that supervising companies "is literally the reason the agency was created" and is not something states can do themselves.This is the latest move in the Trump administration's efforts to restructure the government and slash the federal workforce. In February, BI reported that CFPB employees were told to "not perform any work tasks," and the agency has since dropped major lawsuits against companies, including Capital One.Wednesday's memo confirmed that supervision — a core part of the agency's responsibilities over the past decade — will decrease.The CFPB did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.Have a tip or story to share? Contact this reporter via email at asheffey@businessinsider.com or Signal at asheffey.97. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely. Recommended video

When it comes to noise-canceling headphones, Bose wrote the book – literally, they invented the technology. The QuietComfort series represents decades of acoustic engineering excellence, delivering what many consider the most comfortable and effective noise-canceling experience available. These aren’t just headphones; they’re your personal sanctuary in a noisy world, wrapped in plush cushions and powered by cutting-edge technology. Amazon has dropped the price of the Bose QuietComfort headphones from $349 to just $249, offering a substantial $100 discount. At 29% off, this matches the lowest price we’ve seen for these premium cans. See at Amazon Hear only the music and sound you want to hear The noise cancellation technology remains Bose’s crown jewel. Two modes – Quiet and Aware – let you either completely shut out the world or maintain awareness of your surroundings without removing your headphones. The transition between modes is seamless and intuitive. Sound quality impresses with high-fidelity audio and adjustable EQ. Unlike some competitors that lock you into preset sound profiles, Bose gives you complete control over bass, mid-range, and treble levels. This means you can fine-tune your listening experience for different genres or personal preferences. Battery life hits the sweet spot at 24 hours with noise canceling enabled. A quick 15-minute charge provides 2.5 hours of playback – perfect for those times you forget to charge overnight. The included audio cable lets you keep listening even when the battery runs dry. Comfort sets these headphones apart from competitors. The plush ear cushions and padded headband are designed for extended listening sessions, while the lightweight frame prevents fatigue during long flights or workdays. See at Amazon Smart features enhance the experience. Multipoint Bluetooth connectivity lets you seamlessly switch between devices without disconnecting and reconnecting. The Bose app provides software updates and additional features, ensuring your headphones keep getting better over time. At $249, these represent exceptional value for premium wireless headphones. While there are cheaper options available, few can match the QuietComfort’s combination of noise cancellation effectiveness, comfort, and sound quality. For anyone seeking a peaceful listening experience or frequent travelers looking to make flights more bearable, this deal offers access to industry-leading technology at a significant discount. With the weather warming up, now’s the time grab headphones! Make sure you have a great pair without having to break the bank. It doesn’t matter if you’re a pop fan or country fan, you’ll be thrilled with the outcome. Plus, take all your calls and meetings while on the go and you’ll have crystal clear sound. See at Amazon