Table of ContentsTable of ContentsSamsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: specsSamsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: design and displaySamsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: performanceSamsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: battery and chargingSamsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: camerasSamsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: software and updatesSamsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: price and availabilitySamsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: which should you buy?Its a new year, so its time for Samsung to release new phones. For 2025, this includes the Galaxy S25 series. Lets look at how the top model, the Galaxy S25 Ultra, compares to Apples iPhone 16 Pro Max.Though we have not yet spent time with a Galaxy S25 Ultra, we still know much about it to begin the comparison. Heres how the Galaxu S25 Ultra compares to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, at this early stage.Recommended VideosSpecsSamsung Galaxy S25 UltraiPhone 16 Pro MaxSize162 x 77.6 x 8.2mm163 x 77.6 x 8.25mmWeight218 grams227 gramsScreen6.9-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X1440 x 3120 pixelsSuper Smooth 120Hzrefresh rate (1~120Hz)2,600 nits brightness6.9-inch Super Retina XDR OLED1320 x 2868 pixelsProMotion with 120Hz dynamic refresh rate2,000 nits brightnessOperating systemAndroid 15One UI 7iOS 18RAM and storage256GB, 512GB, 1TB12GB RAM256GB, 512GB, 1TB8GB RAMProcessorQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for GalaxyApple A18 ProCameraRear:200-megapixel primary50MP ultrawide50MP telephoto, 5x optical zoom10MP telephoto, 3x optical zoomFront:12MPRear:48MP primary48MP ultrawide12MP telephoto, 5x optical zoomFront:12MPConnectivityWi-Fi 7Bluetooth 5.4Wi-Fi 7, dual-bandBluetooth 5.3Water resistanceIP68 (maximum depth of 1.5m up to 30 minutes)IP68 (maximum depth of 6m up to 30 minutes)Battery & charging5,000mAh battery45W fast chargingFast Wireless Charging 2.0Wireless PowerShareQi wireless charging4,685mAh battery45W fast charging25W wireless charging via MagSafe15W Qi2 wireless chargingColorsTitanium Silverblue, Titanium Black, Titanium Whitesilver and Titanium GreyBlack Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, Desert TitaniumPriceStarting at $1,299Starts at $1,199ReviewTo be publishediPhone 16 Pro MaxNirave Gondhia / Digital TrendsRelatedThe Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra features a sleek, sophisticated design characterized by rounded corners and a thinner, lighter profile than its predecessor, the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It boasts a large 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED display, providing vibrant colors, deep blacks, and an immersive viewing experience. Like the previous model, the S25 Ultra offers a display with an impressive refresh rate of 120Hz, ensuring smooth scrolling and fluid animations. Peak brightness is 2600 nits. Additionally, it includes an in-display fingerprint sensor for secure and convenient unlocking.It is also important to note that the Galaxy S25 Ultra includes an S-Pen, a feature unique to Samsung devices. While this pen has lost some functionality compared to previous models, it will continue to be a significant reason for many users to choose Samsung.Andy Boxall / Digital TrendsThe iPhone 16 Pro Max features a refined design characterized by a titanium frame, contributing to its durability and lightweight nature. This choice of material enhances the devices appearance while offering protection against everyday wear and tear. The phone maintains a flat-edged design, a recognizable Apple aesthetic aspect.The iPhone 16 Pro Max also has a 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR display. This OLED screen provides vibrant colors, deep blacks, and clarity due to its high resolution (2868 x 1320 pixels). It also includes ProMotion technology with adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz for smoother scrolling and animations. With a peak brightness of up to 2000 nits, the display remains visible in bright conditions, and it is safeguarded by Apples Ceramic Shield for increased scratch and drop resistance.On paper, Samsungs phone is slightly lighter than Apples and has an ever-so-slightly smaller body, even though both phones have a 6.9-inch display. Does this make the newer phone easier to carry? Well know once weve had a chance to review it.Winner: TieNirave Gondhia / Digital TrendsWhile we have not yet had the opportunity to test the Galaxy S25 Ultra, we have preliminary compared its processor, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite, and the A18 Pro chip used in the iPhone 16 Pro Max.At first glance, the Snapdragon 8 Elite has a distinct advantage due to its innovative architecture thats slightly newer. It has more CPU cores with enhanced multi-core performance and a more powerful Adreno GPU. This combination significantly boosts capabilities in demanding tasks such as gaming, 3D rendering, and multitasking. Users can expect smoother gameplay and noticeably faster processing speeds when navigating resource-intensive applications.In contrast, the A18 Pro shines in single-core performance. This makes it exceptionally efficient for everyday tasks such as web browsing, messaging, and using productivity apps. Users who value quick responsiveness in day-to-day activities may find the A18 Pro more appealing. The Snapdragon 8 Elite suits mobile gamers and users who regularly engage in demanding multitasking scenarios. Its higher core count and advanced GPU ensure that even the most graphically intense games run smoothly, providing an immersive experience without lag.Conversely, if you are deeply embedded in the Apple ecosystem and appreciate the seamless hardware and software integration, the A18 Pro remains an exemplary pick. It provides efficient performance and a user-friendly interface, making it a strong contender for those who prioritize optimization and ease of use in light computing tasks.Ultimately, our hands-on testing of the Galaxy S25 Ultra will be the real determining factor. Once we delve into its performance metrics in real-world scenarios, we will gain more insight into how the Snapdragon 8 Elite compares to the A18 Pro, paving the way for a clearer choice based on users unique needs and preferences.Winner: Samsung Galaxy S25 UltraChristine Romero-Chan / Digital TrendsThe Galaxy S25 Ultra, like last years model, features a 5,000mAh battery. Samsung claims this will provide up to 31 hours of video playback on a single charge, one hour longer than the Galaxy S24 Ultra. We got up to two days of battery life with the S24 Ultra, which is quite impressive, and we anticipate similar performance from the newer model.The Galaxy S25 Ultra promises a 65% charge in about 30 minutes when using a 45W adapter. It also supports Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 and Wireless PowerShare. We expect to learn more details on battery charging in the coming days, and when we do, well adjust this post.The iPhone 16 Pro Max offers impressive features when it comes to battery life and charging. It is equipped with a 4,685mAh battery, which is a significant upgrade from the iPhone 15 Pro Max. This larger battery plays a key role in providing excellent battery life.Apple claims that the device can deliver up to 33 hours of video playback and up to 105 hours of audio playback. This means it can easily last through a full day of regular use, even with heavy activity. In our tests, we found that the iPhone 16 Pro Max could last between a day and a half to two days on a single charge.Regarding charging capabilities, the iPhone 16 Pro Max supports a maximum of 30W with a MagSafe charger. It can reach up to 50% battery in just 30 minutes when using a 20W adapter or higher with a wired USB-C connection. Additionally, the phone offers wireless charging at up to 25W with MagSafe and 15W with accessories that use the more common Qi2 standard. Both the iPhone 16 Pro Max and its predecessor can also wirelessly charge accessories like AirPods.Winner: Tie (for now)Nirave Gondhia / Digital TrendsSamsung has made a significant change to the Galaxy S25 Ultras quad-camera system compared to the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The ultrawide camera has been upgraded from 12-megapixels to 50MP, which should enhance clarity and vibrancy in photos. The wide-angle camera remains at 200MP, while the telephoto lens features 50MP and 10MP.In addition to the hardware upgrades, various software enhancements have been implemented for the Galaxy S25 Ultras cameras, many of which benefit from the improved chipset on the phone. These updates will enhance both photo and video quality. New camera features include improved low-light performance, advanced AI processing, and a virtual aperture. This virtual aperture allows users to adjust the depth of field after taking a photo, offering greater control over the background blur, similar to portrait mode but with more flexibility. In particular, w e cant wait to test the enhanced zoom capabilities and improved night mode.The iPhone 16 Pro Max features a comprehensive camera system that aims to capture high-quality photos and videos in various environments. The rear setup includes a triple-lens configuration, highlighted by a 48MP primary camera equipped with a larger sensor and second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilization. This combination is intended to enhance image clarity, particularly in low-light conditions. Accompanying the primary lens is a 48MP ultrawide camera that offers a generous 120-degree field of view, making it suitable for photographing expansive landscapes or large group shots. The third component of the camera system is a 12MP telephoto lens featuring 5x optical zoom, allowing for detailed close-up shots without losing quality.Apple has incorporated a range of computational photography advancements into the camera system, including an upgraded Photonic Engine designed to enhance image quality across various lighting scenarios. The iPhone 16 Pro Max also allows for ProRAW capture, providing users with more editing options and flexibility in post-processing. Regarding video capabilities, the device supports recording in Dolby Vision HDR, which has resolutions up to 4K and frames reaching 120 frames per second. For self-portraits, the front-facing camera presents a 12MP sensor with autofocus and supports the Photonic Engine, contributing to improved image quality for selfies.The iPhone 16 Pro Max, like the other phones in the iPhone 16 series, includes a Camera Control button on one side to make it easier to take photos and videos in horizontal form.Until we can test the Galaxy S25 Ultras camera system and compare and contrast it with the iPhone 16 Pro Max, we consider the systems a tie.Winner: TieAndy Boxall / Digital TrendsThe Samsung Galaxy S25 series becomes the first Samsung devices to support Android 15 and include the companys new One UI 7 on the top. This combination should provide an improved user experience with enhanced privacy features, a redesigned quick settings panel, improved multitasking, and more. There are also enhanced AI capabilities and fresh or updated productivity and creativity tools.In terms of software upgrades, Samsung has extended to seven years of guaranteed OS and security updates. Yes, seven years, which is impressive.The iPhone 16 Pro Max operates on iOS 18, introducing various new features and enhancements, including improved personalization options, upgraded communication tools, and a more advanced Siri. A key addition is Apple Intelligence, an AI-powered feature providing systemwide writing tools to help refine your writing style, check for grammar errors, and summarize text.Unlike Samsung, Apple does not guarantee specific years for operating system updates. However, Apple has a strong history of providing software updates for its devices, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max is expected to receive several years of iOS updates. This ensures your phone remains current with the latest features, security enhancements, and performance improvements. These updates are delivered wirelessly and are easy to install, keeping your iPhone 16 Pro Max running smoothly and securely for years.Both the Galaxy S25 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro Max are packed full of software features and should only get better over time as improvements are made. In particular, both offer the latest AI features from their respective companies. Its safe to say even before testing Samsungs newest phone, it will be next to impossible to pick a winner here. Assume that iPhone fans will stick with the iPhone 16 Pro Max, while Android fans will pick the Galaxy S25 Ultra.Winner: TieChristine Romero-Chan / Digital TrendsAt launch, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is available with 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of storage starting at $1,299. Like in past years, you can expect discounts directly from Samsung that will bring prices down.Everywhere, the phone is available in Titanium Silverblue, Titanium Black, Titanium Whitesilver and Titanium Grey. On Samsungs website, the phone is also available in Titanium Jadegreen, Titanium Jetblack, and Titanium Pinkgold.The iPhone 16 series has been on the market since last fall. Therefore, these models are easy to find for purchase. The iPhone 16 Pro Max starts at $1,199 for a 256GB model. You can also purchase the phone with 512GB ($1,399) or 1TB ($1,599) of storage. Its offered in all-new Desert Titanium, plusBlack Titanium, White Titanium, and Natural Titanium.Andy Boxall / Digital TrendsThe Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro Max are powerhouse smartphones vying for the top spot. Under the hood, Samsungs new phone uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, while Apple relies on its own A18 Pro chip both promising blazing-fast performance. Samsung continues its megapixel race in the camera department, while Apple has improved its system with enhanced telephoto capabilities. A key differentiator remains the S Pen stylus, exclusive to the S25 Ultra, providing a unique advantage for productivity and creativity. The iPhone, however, boasts its Dynamic Island for fluid multitasking and interactive notifications.Software-wise, its Android with One UI versus iOS 18 a classic battle of personal preference. Ultimately, the better phone depends on your needs and priorities. The S25 Ultra appeals to those seeking cutting-edge camera tech, the versatility of the S Pen, and the flexibility of Android. The iPhone 16 Pro Max attracts users entrenched in the Apple ecosystem, valuing iOS simplicity and the raw power of Apple silicon.Editors Recommendations

OpenAI said its Operator agent went live for some users on Thursday, creating the ability for artificial intelligence to automate tasks such as buying groceries and filing expense reports.

The contenders for the top prize, whose winner will be announced on March 2, include the sweeping epics The Brutalist and Dune: Part Two, the magical musical Wicked, and the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown.

"Better late than never" Court rules FBIs warrantless searches violated Fourth Amendment Rights groups demand lawmakers add a warrant requirement to Section 702. Ashley Belanger Jan 23, 2025 12:50 pm | 12 Credit: domoyega | iStock / Getty Images Plus Credit: domoyega | iStock / Getty Images Plus Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreIt's official: The FBI's warrantless searches of communications seized to protect US national security have at last been ruled unconstitutional and in violation of the Fourth Amendment.In a major December ruling made public this week, US District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall settled one of the biggest debates about feared government overreach that has prompted calls to reform Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for more than a decade.Critics' primary concern was whether the FBI needed a warrant to search and query Americans' communications that are often incidentally, inadvertently, or mistakenly seized during investigations of suspected foreign terrorists.The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a digital rights group that has long said a warrant is needed to conduct such invasive searches, celebrated the ruling as "better late than never." The EFF noted that the FBI conducted 3.4 million warrantless searches of US persons' 702 data in 2021, describing it as a "routine practice" and calling out Section 702 as a "finders keepers" rule that for years has seemingly given feds' unfettered access to many Americans' private and sensitive communication data.DeArcy Hall agreed with an appeals court that ruled that "the government cannot circumvent application of the warrant requirement simply because queried information is already collected and held by the government," as the US unsuccessfully tried to argue."To hold otherwise would effectively allow law enforcement to amass a repository of communications under Section 702, including those of US persons that can later be searched on demand without limitation," DeArcy Hall wrote. "While communications of US persons may nonetheless be intercepted, incidentally or inadvertently, it would be paradoxical to permit warrantless searches of the same information that Section 702 is specifically designed to avoid collecting," she said. And likely equally important, "public interest alone does not justify warrantless querying," she said.But she declined to issue harsh sanctions and denied a request to suppress evidence in the casewhich involved a permanent US resident, Agron Hasbajrami, who was arrested in 2011 partly based on FBI queries of 702 data, for providing material support to a terrorist organization. According to DeArcy Hall, the government conducted these searches in "good faith" and "objectively" believed "those queries did not require a warrant."Specific exceptions may applyThe ruling ends what DeArcy Hall described as the government's attempts to seek a broad general exception to search Americans' data that was accidentally collected without a warranteven when there is no timely reason to rush the queries. DeArcy Hall noted that the government searched Hasbajrami's communications for months without ever seeking a warrant and provided no evidence that seeking a warrant would have hindered their investigation."It is simply inconceivable that the government's aims would have been frustrated by securing a warrant at any time over the course of many months," DeArcy Hall wrote, and further, "there can be no argument that these queries were harmless."But she stopped short of ruling that all warrantless 702 searches of Americans' data are unconstitutional, noting that in certain cases where the feds need "timely" access to information to address a national security emergency, specific exceptions allowing warrantless searches may apply. Otherwise, "querying a Section 702 database in connection with a US person generally requires a warrant, even where the initial interception was lawfully conducted," DeArcy Hall ruled, partly because US persons maintain "a legitimate expectation of privacy.""Certainly, the Court can imagine situations where obtaining a warrant might frustrate the purpose of querying, particularly where exigency requires immediate querying," DeArcy Hall wrote. "This is why the Court does not hold that querying Section 702-acquired information always requires a warrant."Ruling renews calls for 702 reformsWhile digital rights groups like the EFF and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) cheered the ruling as providing much-needed clarity, they also suggested that the ruling should prompt lawmakers to go back to the drawing board and reform Section 702.Section 702 is set to expire on April 15, 2026. Over the years, Congress has repeatedly voted to renew 702 protections, but the EFF is hoping that DeArcy Hall's ruling will perhaps spark a sea change."In light of this ruling, we ask Congress to uphold its responsibility to protect civil rights and civil liberties by refusing to renew Section 702 absent a number of necessary reforms, including an official warrant requirement for querying US persons data and increased transparency," the EFF wrote in a blog.A warrant requirement could help truly end backdoor searches, the EFF suggested, and ensure "that the intelligence community does not continue to trample on the constitutionally protected rights to private communications."The ACLU warned that reforms are especially critical now, considering that unconstitutional backdoor searches have been "used by the government to conduct warrantless surveillance of Americans, including protesters, members of Congress, and journalists."Patrick Toomey, the deputy director of the ACLUs National Security Project, dubbed 702 "one of the most abused provisions of FISA.""As the court recognized, the FBI's rampant digital searches of Americans are an immense invasion of privacy and trigger the bedrock protections of the Fourth Amendment," Toomey said. "Section 702 is long overdue for reform by Congress, and this opinion shows why.Ashley BelangerSenior Policy ReporterAshley BelangerSenior 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. 12 Comments

News distortion complaints Trumps FCC chair gets to work on punishing TV news stations accused of bias Chairman Brendan Carr revives bias complaints against CBS, ABC, and NBC stations. Jon Brodkin Jan 23, 2025 11:52 am | 111 FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. Credit: Getty Images | Bloomberg FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. Credit: Getty Images | Bloomberg Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreFederal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr has revived three complaints against broadcast stations accused of bias against President Donald Trump.Outgoing Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel last week directed the FCC to dismiss the complaints against CBS, ABC, and NBC stations, along with a fourth complaint about Fox, in what she called a stand for the First Amendment. Rosenworcel said the "threat to the First Amendment has taken on new forms, as the incoming President has called on the Federal Communications Commission to revoke licenses for broadcast television stations because he disagrees with their content and coverage."But in three orders issued yesterday, the FCC Enforcement Bureau reversed the CBS, ABC, and NBC decisions. "We find that the previous order was issued prematurely based on an insufficient investigatory record for the station-specific conduct at issue," each new order said. "We therefore conclude that this complaint requires further consideration."The revived complaints target WNBC in New York, WCBS in New York, and 6 ABC in Philadelphia (also known as WPVI-TV). The complaints were filed by the Center for American Rights and supported Trump's claims of bias regarding ABC's fact-checking during a presidential debate, the editing of a CBS 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, and NBC putting Harris on a Saturday Night Live episode. The complaints against CBS and ABC were made under the FCC's news distortion rules, while the complaint against NBC alleges a violation of the FCC's Equal Time rule.We must respect the First AmendmentCommissioner Anna Gomez, one of two Democrats on the commission, criticized the Carr FCC's decisions. "As I stated last week, we cannot allow our licensing authority to be weaponized to curtail freedom of the press," Gomez said yesterday. "The First Amendment is a pillar of American democracy, and our country needs a press free from interference from regulators like me. In fact, the Communications Act explicitly prohibits the Commission from censoring broadcasters. We must respect the protections of the First Amendment and the restrictions in the Communications Act."The previous decisions were easy to reverse. There's an FCC rule saying that the agency "may, on its own motion, set aside any action made or taken by it within 30 days from the date of public notice of such action."Carr has made it clear that he wants the FCC to punish news broadcasters that he perceives as being unfair to Trump or Republicans in general. He claimed that NBC putting Harris on Saturday Night Live before the election was "a clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC's Equal Time rule," even though NBC gave Trump two free 60-second messages in order to comply with the rule.Carr also told Fox News that he is interested in investigating the complaint against CBS when the FCC reviews a pending deal involving Skydance and Paramount, which owns and operates 28 local broadcast TV stations of the CBS Television Network. "I'm pretty confident that news distortion complaint over the CBS 60 Minutes transcript is something that is likely to arise in the context of the FCC's review of that transaction," Carr said.Carr intends to weaponize the FCCAfter Rosenworcel dismissed the complaints, the Center for American Rights said it would keep fighting. "We fundamentally believe that several actions taken by the three major networks were partisan, dishonest and designed to support Vice President Harris in her bid to become President," the group said in a statement provided to Ars last week. "We will continue to pursue avenues to ensure the American public is protected from media manipulation of our Republic. The First Amendment does not protect intentional misrepresentation or fraud."In a statement applauding Carr's reversal today, the group said that Rosenworcel's "last-minute actions were political, not based on a principled defense of the First Amendment."Networks have denied allegations of bias. "Former President Donald Trump is accusing 60 Minutes of deceitful editing of our Oct. 7 interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. That is false," CBS said. "60 Minutes gave an excerpt of our interview to Face the Nation that used a longer section of her answer than that on 60 Minutes. Same question. Same answer. But a different portion of the response."Rosenworcel last week also rejected a petition to deny a license renewal for WTXF-TV in Philadelphia, a station owned and operated by Fox. The Media and Democracy Project petition alleged that Fox willfully distorted news with false reports of fraud in the 2020 election that Trump lost.Rosenworcel said the complaints and petition she dismissed "come from all cornersright and leftbut what they have in common is they ask the FCC to penalize broadcast television stations because they dislike station behavior, content, or coverage." Yesterday, advocacy group Public Knowledge said that "in reinstating just those complaints that suit his partisan agenda, Chairman Carr has made it plain he intends to weaponize the FCC to threaten political speech and news coverage he disagrees with."Jon BrodkinSenior IT ReporterJon BrodkinSenior IT Reporter Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry. 111 Comments

After weeks of buzz, OpenAI has released Operator, its first AI agent. Operator is a web app that can carry out simple online tasks in a browser, such as booking concert tickets or filling an online grocery order. The app is powered by a new model called Computer-Using AgentCUA (coo-ah), for shortbuilt on top of OpenAIs multimodal large language model GPT-4o. Operator is available today at operator.chatgpt.com to anyone signed up with ChatGPT Pro, OpenAIs premium $200-a-month service. The company says it plans to roll the tool out to other users in the future. OpenAI claims that Operator outperforms similar rival tools, including Anthropics Computer Use (a version of Claude 3.5 Sonnet that can carry out simple tasks on a computer) and Google DeepMinds Mariner (a web-browsing agent built on top of Gemini 2.0). The fact that three of the worlds top AI firms have converged on the same vision of what agent-based models could be makes one thing clear. The battle for AI supremacy has a new frontierand its our computer screens. Moving from generating text and images to doing things is the right direction, says Ali Farhadi, CEO of the Allen Institute for AI (AI2). It unlocks business, solves new problems. Farhadi thinks that doing things on a computer screen is a natural first step for agents: It is constrained enough that the current state of the technology can actually work, he says. At the same time, its impactful enough that people might use it. (AI2 is working on its own computer-using agent, says Farhadi.) Dont believe the hype OpenAIs announcement also confirms one of two rumors that circled the internet this week. One predicted that OpenAI was about to reveal an agent-based app, after details about Operator were leaked on social media ahead of its release. The other predicted that OpenAI was about to reveal a new superintelligenceand that officials for newly inaugurated President Trump would be briefed on it. Could the two rumors be linked? OpenAI superfans wanted to know. Nope. OpenAI gave MIT Technology Review a preview of Operator in action yesterday. The tool is an exciting glimpse of large language models potential to do a lot more than answer questions. But Operator is a work in progress. Its still early, it still makes mistakes, says Yash Kumar, a researcher at OpenAI. (As for the wild superintelligence rumors, lets leave that to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to address: twitter hype is out of control again, he posted on January 20. pls chill and cut your expectations 100x!) Like Anthropics Computer Use and Google DeepMinds Mariner, Operator takes screenshots of a computer screen and scans the pixels to figure out what actions it can take. CUA, the model behind it, is trained to interact with the same graphical user interfacesbuttons, text boxes, menusthat people use when they do things online. It scans the screen, takes an action, scans the screen again, takes another action, and so on. That lets the model carry out tasks on most websites that a person can use. Traditionally the way models have used software is through specialized APIs, says Reiichiro Nakano, a scientist at OpenAI. (An API, or application programming interface, is a piece of code that acts as a kind of connector, allowing different bits of software to be hooked up to one another.) That puts a lot of apps and most websites off limits, he says: But if you create a model that can use the same interface that humans use on a daily basis, it opens up a whole new range of software that was previously inaccessible. CUA also breaks tasks down into smaller steps and tries to work through them one by one, backtracking when it gets stuck. OpenAI says CUA was trained with techniques similar to those used for its so-called reasoning models, o1 and o3. Operator can be instructed to search for campsites in Yosemite with good picnic tables.OPENAI OpenAI has tested CUA against a number of industry benchmarks designed to assess the ability of an agent to carry out tasks on a computer. The company claims that its model beats Computer Use and Mariner in all of them. For example, on OSWorld, which tests how well an agent performs tasks such as merging PDF files or manipulating an image, CUA scores 38.1% to Computer Uses 22.0% In comparison, humans score 72.4%. On a benchmark called WebVoyager, which tests how well an agent performs tasks in a browser, CUA scores 87%, Mariner 83.5%, and Computer Use 56%. (Mariner can only carry out tasks in a browser and therefore does not score on OSWorld.) For now, Operator can also only carry out tasks in a browser. OpenAI plans to make CUAs wider abilities available in the future via an API that other developers can use to build their own apps. This is how Anthropic released Computer Use in December. OpenAI says it has tested CUAs safety, using red teams to explore what happens when users ask it to do unacceptable tasks (such as research how to make a bioweapon), when websites contain hidden instructions designed to derail it, and when the model itself breaks down. Weve trained the model to stop and ask the user for information before doing anything with external side effects, says Casey Chu, another researcher on the team. Look! No hands To use Operator, you simply type instructions into a text box. But instead of calling up the browser on your computer, Operator sends your instructions to a remote browser running on an OpenAI server. OpenAI claims that this makes the system more efficient. Its another key difference between Operator, Computer Use and Mariner (which runs inside Googles Chrome browser on your own computer). Because its running in the cloud, Operator can carry out multiple tasks at once, says Kumar. In the live demo, he asked Operator to use OpenTable to book him a table for two at 6.30 p.m. at a restaurant called Octavia in San Francisco. Straight away, Operator opened up OpenTable and started clicking through options. As you can see, my hands are off the keyboard, he said. OpenAI is collaborating with a number of businesses, including OpenTable, StubHub, Instacart, DoorDash, and Uber. The nature of those collaborations is not exactly clear, but Operator appears to suggest preset websites to use for certain tasks. While the tool navigated dropdowns on OpenTable, Kumar sent Operator off to find four tickets for a Kendrick Lamar show on StubHub. While it did that, he pasted a photo of a handwritten shopping list and asked Operator to add the items to his Instacart. He waited, flicking between Operators tabs. If it needs help or if it needs confirmations, it'll come back to you with questions and you can answer it, he said. Kumar says he has been using Operator at home. It helps him stay on top of grocery shopping: I can just quickly click a photo of a list and send it to work, he says. Its also become a sidekick in his personal life. I have a date night every Thursday, says Kumar. So every Thursday morning, he instructs Operator to send him a list of five restaurants that have a table for two that evening. Of course, I could do that, but it takes me 10 minutes, he says. And I often forget to do it. With Operator, I can run the task with one click. Theres no burden of booking.

Erik Buhrow bought a home in Japan for $26,000 while he was still living in the US.Buhrow, who grew up in Japan, plans to return at some point when his career is over.In the meantime, he plans to rent out his home to the Americans looking to move to Japan.This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Erik Buhrow, who bought a house in Japan's Niigata Prefecture through AkiyaMart, a site that helps foreigners buy abandoned Japanese homes known as akiyas. Buhrow, 39, runs a construction business outside Minneapolis.A lot of people born and raised in Minnesota stay here forever. I've only been here about 10 years.It can feel like anybody who has any sort of money bought a cabin in northern Minnesota back in the day when you could. Now, if you want to buy a cabin up north, you're spending $300,000 for a starter shack in the tundra.Would I rather spend $300,000 on a cabin in northern Minnesota or $30,000 for a cabin in Japan a country I'm from, I'm accustomed to, and I actually enjoy going to?I purchased an akiya in Japan this year. I closed on it in July and I did everything remotely over the course of three months.I did not visit Japan to see the house or do anything. I worked with a real-estate agent who went there and FaceTimed me. Because I'm in construction and I am used to Japan, I was like, "Yeah, I'm willing to pull the trigger without going there." An outdoor walkway on Buhrow's property. Courtesy of Erik Buhrow. It's roughly 3,000 square feet and about 150 years old. The Japanese would classify it as eight bedrooms, but I would classify it as six. There are two extra rooms that they would consider bedrooms, but because of their lack of closets, I'm going to call them bonus rooms. There's a two-car garage, one bathroom, and multiple really open living room spaces in an old-school style.All in with the taxes and the real-estate fees and everything, it was $26,000.A lot of people say, "The prices are really good, but the insurance and the taxes are going to get you." They don't. My insurance for $200,000 of replacement costs me a little under $500 a year. I actually bought five years' worth of home insurance at once.My taxes are $183 a year. In Japan, homes over 22 yearsoldare depreciated, so that $183 is just on the land. There's no tax on the house because it's ancient.I own my home in Burnsville, Minnesota. It's very similar 3,000 square feet, a garage. I bought it in 2017 for $300,000, and my taxes have gone from 2017 to now from $3,000 a year to about $5,000 a year.I may be a little bit cavalier about the situation. I knew that no matter how bad the house is, it's nothing that I haven't seen. I just felt like, if I don't go visit it, but it's in the location that I want, that's what real estate is about. That's what these houses are really about. You can fix things, you can make the house better or worse, but you can't move it.I grew up in Japan and long to move back for retirementI grew up in Japan, so it helped makeI grew up on a US military base in Misawa, Japan, in the Aomori Prefecture. My mom was a government teacher, so I lived there for an extended amount of time.I officially moved to the United States when I went to college. But when I grew up in Japan, I had a huge desire to own property there, but it was always seen as impossible. My mom, my sister, and my brother-in-law, who's half Japanese, just always accepted it as something you can't do that it's too complicated, or you have to get residency.I reached out to AkiyaMart for a consultation. They pitched me on being the pilot person for their buyer program. I think it worked out perfectly. Buhrow's yard in Japan. Courtesy of Erik Buhrow. My biggest aimwas to be surrounded bythe culture of Japan.I grew up on a military base, so I know what it's like to be around foreigners in Japan. Tokyo and Osaka are very tourist-driven, and it can be really difficult to learn the language and truly learn the customs.The Sea of Japan, or western, side of the country is known for not being very heavily touristed or westernized. The house I bought is on the southern portion of the Tohoku region of Japan. You still get snow, but the architecture as you get further south in Japan gets to be, in my opinion, more beautiful. You have tile roofs and things of that nature. If you go north, you get more flat metal roofs.Because I'm in construction, I care about home design. So this was a beautiful in-between spot where I could enjoy a southern-style home, but in a snowy northern climate, and also still be close to Tokyo.The closest city-slash-train stop for the bullet train is 20 minutes away. I can hop on the bullet train and be in Tokyo 90 minutes later.The prices in that area are lower because it is more remote. It allows you to explore in this adventure of buying a foreign property without having to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars.I plan to rent out my akiya to other Americans weighing moves to JapanI'm also in the process of buying another akiya property two minutes down the street. The original premise to buy the second home is based on my sister and brother-in-law, who both grew up in Japan.In the meantime, I'm hoping that I can turn the second home into a long-term-stay place. I can allow people thinking about doing the same thing that I'm doing to stay there one to three months while they try and figure out is this something that might be a fit for them. The front of Buhrow's home in Japan. Courtesy of Erik Buhrow. Because people are curious and they're interested in living in Japan, but they don't know if it would work. Somebody could go, "Hey, Erik, I want to stay in your house for a month, use your car, use your Wi-Fi, and figure out if this area fits my goals."Or maybe my renters will want to work remotely in Japan for an extended amount of time.My life goal would be to retire in Japan. However, because of visas and complications, it's not that easy.I look at buying the akiyas as a new adventure in life, a new chapter. If you're not continuing to write new chapters in your book, then it gets kind of boring to read.

Ina Garten's chicken pot pie soup was inspired by a dish she spotted at an airport.Garten's chicken pot pie soup was inspired by a dish she saw in an airport. Jeff Neira/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Garten shares the origin story for chicken pot pie soup in her 2020 cookbook, "Modern Comfort Food.""This was a little crazy," she writes in the recipe's intro. "I was walking through an airport once and spotted chicken pot pie soup on a restaurant menu. What a good idea!""It was actually harder to make than it sounded my first few attempts just tasted like chicken pot pie filling, not soup," she added. "This one, though, hit all the right comforting notes, with good chicken stock, roasted chicken, and puff pastry croutons."Garten's chicken pot pie soup is packed with colorful veggies.Garten's chicken pot pie soup features carrots, leeks, and fennel. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider To make Garten's soup for a serving of 6, you'll need:3 chicken breasts, skin-on, bone-in (2.5 to 3 pounds total)7 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade5 medium-sized carrots, peeled and chopped or diced3 leeks, white and light-green parts chopped3 garlic cloves, minced2 fennel, tops and cores removed, chopped1 cup frozen whole pearl onions1 10-ounce bag frozen peas cup cream sherry cup Wondra flour cup fresh parsley, minced6 tablespoons unsalted butter1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves, chopped1 piece of Italian Parmesan cheese rind (Garten recommends 2-inch x 3-inch)The soup is served with easy puff pastry croutons, which only require a few ingredients.My homemade puff pastry croutons. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider To make 12 croutons for the chicken pot pie soup, you'll need:1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, such as Pepperidge Farm, defrosted1 extra-large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon heavy cream for the egg washAll-purpose flourKosher salt and freshly ground black pepperBefore starting my soup, I needed to roast the chicken.Garten says to roast the seasoned chicken breasts for 35 minutes. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider I preheated the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, then placed my three chicken breasts on a sheet pan with the skin side up.I rubbed the skin of each chicken with olive oil, then generously seasoned them with salt and pepper.Garten says to roast the chicken for 35 minutes, until the thermometer registers 130 to 140 degrees, then set it aside until the meat is cool enough to handle.I also prepped my veggies.My chopped fennel and tarragon. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider I chopped the fennel, tarragon leaves, and carrots and minced my garlic.Per Garten's instructions, I took extra care with the leeks.I washed the chopped leeks in a bowl and made sure to dry them well. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider Garten says you should cut off the leeks' dark green leaves at a 45-degree angle. Then, chop the white and light green parts from each leek and wash them well in a bowl of water.She notes that wet leeks will steam rather than saut in the soup and recommends drying them in a salad spinner. If you don't have one at home, you can just pat them dry in a paper towel it did the trick for me.Once all my veggies were ready, I threw them in a big pot with melted butter.I sauted the fennel, carrots, and leeks over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider I melted the butter over medium heat before throwing in the leeks, fennel, and carrots.I sauted the veggies over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Garten notes that the leeks should be tender but not browned.After sauteing the carrots, leeks, and fennel, I added the garlic and tarragon and cooked everything together for an additional minute.I sprinkled the flour over my aromatics and let everything cook for two more minutes.Adding Wondra flour to the vegetables. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider Garten says you should be stirring the pot constantly during this step.Then, I added half a cup of sherry.Adding sherry to the vegetables. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider While cooking, I didn't realize that I was using dry sherry instead of cream sherry, which Garten specifies in her recipe. Truthfully, I haven't cooked with sherry much and just grabbed the first bottle I saw at the supermarket.But the soup still tasted fantastic, so I wouldn't stress too much if dry sherry is all you have on hand.I also threw in the chicken stock and Parmesan rind.Don't forget to season the broth with salt and pepper. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider I seasoned the broth with 4 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoons of pepper.As I brought the soup to a boil, my kitchen filled with the most incredible smell.I brought my soup to a boil before letting it simmer. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider My boyfriend's roommates returned from a trip while we were cooking and immediately came into the kitchen to see what was on the stove.I then lowered the heat and let my soup simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes.Garten says to let the soup simmer while partially covered. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider While the soup was simmering, I removed the meat from the chicken bones and diced it into 1-inch pieces.As my soup continued to simmer, I made my puff pastry croutons.I used one sheet of puff pastry to make the croutons. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider I first preheated the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and lined a sheet pan with parchment paper.Then, I lightly dusted my cutting board with flour and unfolded a sheet of puff pastry on the board. Make sure you've properly thawed your puff pastry beforehand. You can defrost it overnight in your refrigerator or let it sit on the counter for 45 minutes before you whip up the croutons.I dusted the puff pastry with flour and lightly rolled the sheet to smooth out any folds. You can use a rolling pin for this step, or just use your bottle of sherry!Whatever rolling tool you pick, just make sure to dust it with some flour so it doesn't stick.I used a fluted cookie cutter to make 12 croutons.Cutting out my homemade croutons from the puff pastry. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider Garten recommends using star-shaped or fluted round cookie cutters, but next time, I might try dicing the puff pastry instead so I can have bite-sized croutons that are easier to eat with each spoonful.I placed the croutons on my sheet pan and brushed each top with the egg wash.It took about 10 minutes for my croutons to bake. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider I had plenty of dough left over after I cut my 12 croutons, so I made extra there's no need to waste good puff pastry!I seasoned each crouton with salt and pepper and then threw my pan into the oven for 10 minutes.Every oven is different, so I recommend checking on them around the 8-minute mark. You'll know the croutons are ready when they're puffed and golden brown.While my croutons were baking, I added the chicken, peas, and pearl onions to my soup.Adding pearl onions to the broth. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider I let the soup simmer, uncovered, for an additional five minutes.Then, I took my soup off the heat, removed the Parmesan rind, and added another cup of sherry.My chicken pot pie soup had a lovely golden hue and smelled incredible. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider This is also when I added the minced parsley.I took my croutons out of the oven and served them on top of each bowl of soup, which genuinely resembled chicken pot pie.Garten's chicken pot pie soup is full of rich flavors. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider I'm truly thankful to whatever airport had chicken pot pie soup on its menu because Garten's recipe is the comfort meal of dreams.Her homemade chicken stock is so silky, delicious, and rich that I've already come to terms with the fact I'll never be able to use store-bought stock again. All the veggies made each sip deliciously hearty and kept the soup in line with the spirit of pot pie, and I loved how much tender chicken I got with each spoonful. The fluffy and buttery croutons were such a fun and indulgent addition and were even more delicious after soaking up all that broth.My boyfriend Peter loved this dish so much he declared it's the best soup we've made all winter and we've made a lot.Garten's chicken pot pie soup has earned a permanent spot in my soup rotation.Garten's chicken pot pie soup will help you get through the rest of winter. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider I've discovered a real love for making homemade soups, and this Barefoot Contessa recipe is easily one of my favorites.While it takes some time and prep, Garten's chicken pot pie soup is worth the extra effort. It's hearty, comforting, and truly soothes every inch of the soul. It's perfect for a nice winter dinner or as a gift to a friend or family member under the weather.It's the kind of soup that core memories are made from.

MALCOM, IOWA When Carolyn Bittner moved to Malcom, Iowa, in 2008 to serve as a pastor at two churches, she had no idea the town was also home to millions of egg-laying chickens. Three miles from her home, those chickens which now total around 7.5 million are raised in massive warehouses on a sprawling complex run by Fremont Farms, which from the outside looks more like a maximum security prison than an egg farm.Fremont is an egg factory, Bittner told me when I visited her late last year. Its not a farm. The US Environmental Protection Agency categorizes egg farms with 82,000 or more hens as large; Fremont has over 90 times as many birds, all packed into about 100 acres. Despite living three miles from the egg operation, Bittner is regularly reminded of its presence: When they move manure, the stench is sickening. They will be moving manure now for the next few days, and it will be bad. An egg farm that houses 7.5 million hens generates hundreds of millions of pounds of manure each year. The stench affects her in seemingly mundane ways that accumulate to degrade her overall quality of life. She cant hang her clothes out to dry for fear the wind will shift and make them smell terrible. She often cant open the windows, lest the smell invades her home. And the staggering amount of manure attracts tons of flies to the town, which spread their own manure around.I had a new garage built while I was here, and it looked new for three days, and then there were so many fly specks [excrement] on the white edging and around the windows that it looked like it had been here for a decade, she said.Joe Gough for VoxThe same week I visited Bittner, I also visited other factory farm towns in the region and quickly grew sick of the odor; I couldnt imagine what it would be like to live with it every day. Bittner told me that years ago, during a permit hearing at the local county board of supervisors meeting, the Fremont Farms CEO at the time asserted that the operation doesnt smell and that no one ever complains. From that day on, I have complained every time it smells, she said. This morning, before you came, I was on the phone. Both the former and current CEOs have met with Bittner at her home, and while the meetings were cordial, she told me, neither seemed particularly sympathetic to the problems their company had wrought.Bittner also worries about whats in the air she breathes. Hog and poultry barns are equipped with giant exhaust fans that push pollutants, such as ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter, out into the atmosphere.Air pollution from animal farms is linked to almost eight times more premature deaths than coal-fired power plants, a 2021 study from Johns Hopkins University found. Other research has found that living near a factory farm is positively associated with risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia, and people who live near them report higher rates of headaches, depression, anger, and respiratory symptoms, such as asthma. Owned by a group of family farms with a long legacy in egg production, our team makes environmentally conscious decisions each day to protect the land, air and water around our farm, reads part of a statement provided to Vox by Fremont Farms, which declined an interview request for this story. We are committed to responsible farming and we will continue to support the Malcom community as we have for decades.Over the last 65 years, the US has nearly tripled annual meat production, and the number of animals raised for food each year surpassed 10 billion in 2022. At the same time, the number of farms has plummeted, as small- and mid-sized operations have given way to large factory farms and increasingly, mega factory farms, like Fremont Farms that now produce the vast majority of Americas meat, milk, and eggs.These massive facilities can far exceed the threshold for what the EPA considers a large animal farm by orders of magnitude. Their enormous scale enables them to produce more food on less land with a smaller carbon footprint on a per-pound basis, and at a lower price point, compared to traditional farms. But they also push environmental and public health boundaries with little to no repercussions. The mega factory farm is the inevitable consequence of decades of federal and state agricultural policy that has incentivized growth at all costs, with few guardrails in place to protect the people who live near them, like Carolyn Bittner, many of whom feel their health and quality of life has been sacrificed for corporate profit and cheap meat, milk, and eggs. With unceasing domestic and international demand for animal products, theres no limit to how big the countrys factory farms will get and how much damage theyll do.How a mega factory farm could end up in your backyardHow so many animals, and the voluminous manure and noxious fumes they produce, can exist so close to peoples homes is the result of a complex web of federal, state, county, and local regulations or lack thereof. In Iowa, for example, the nations top egg- and pork-producing state, agricultural operations are exempt from county zoning ordinances, and there are no limits on how many animals can be crammed inside a factory farm. Large farms can set up shop half a mile from homes, businesses, churches, and schools. Iowas agricultural zoning and permitting laws are written by the state legislature and carried out by the states Department of Natural Resources, each of which have close ties to Iowas powerful agribusiness lobby as does Iowas governor and secretary of agriculture. Some environmentalists call Iowa a sacrifice state, where the health and well-being of its residents has been sacrificed to enrich large meat, milk, egg, and grain corporations.This is the fourth in a series of stories on how factory farming has shaped, and continues to impact, the US. Find the rest of the series and future installments here, and visit Voxs Future Perfect section for more coverage of Big Ag. The stories in this series are supported by Animal Charity Evaluators, which received a grant from Builders Initiative.While Iowa produces more animal waste than any other state, many arent far behind, and every major agricultural state has similar policy regimes, political dynamics, and air and water quality issues.If there were regulations in place to prevent factory farms from polluting so much, their staggering animal populations and close proximity to people might be less of a concern, but there arent. The deregulation starts at the top, with the US Environmental Protection Agency, which enforces the Clean Air Act. But the agency has long said it doesnt know how to measure pollutants on animal farms, so its authority there has barely been put to use.In 2005, the EPA said it would study the issue and finalize pollution measurement models in 2009, which it could then use to issue Clean Air Act permits in 2010 and get factory farm air pollution under control. Over 15 years later, it still hasnt delivered.The agency declined an interview request for this story and didnt answer several detailed questions. Over email, a spokesperson said that in November 2024, the agency posted draft air emission models for dairy, swine, and poultry operations. On its website, the EPA says it will finalize its emissions models by spring of this year. The agency didnt provide insight as to when it will begin issuing Clean Air Act permits to animal farms.Factory farms are exempt from other federal air pollution laws, due to actions taken by the EPA and Congress.The factory farm industry also benefits from sweeping exemptions under the Clean Water Act, which has helped make agriculture the leading source of US water pollution. Much of the near 1 trillion pounds of manure produced each year by animal farms is applied to cropland as fertilizer, and when it rains, the manure along with chemical fertilizers and pesticides can leach into groundwater and contaminate the wells that people depend on for drinking water. It also runs off into rivers and streams, some of which water utilities source their water from, causing them to spend significant taxpayer resources to filter out pollutants.More recently, theres been concerns over longer-term health impacts that can develop through long-term exposure to nitrate [from manure and chemical fertilizers] in drinking water, David Cwiertny, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Iowa, told me, pointing to studies on the potential links in association between nitrates in drinking water and bladder cancer, thyroid disorders, colorectal cancer, and birth defects.Joe Gough for VoxThose potential health effects worry Jennifer McNealy in Decatur County, Indiana, who lives 1.5 miles from Hulsbosch Dairy Farm, which has 8,000 cows around 11.5 times the threshold for what the EPA considers a large dairy. Her tap water comes from wells, and while she hasnt tested it for nitrate levels, she doesnt drink it out of an abundance of caution.I do not feel comfortable drinking my well water, McNealy told me. She has reason to worry; a 2022 report by the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project found that Indiana leads the country in polluted waterways, with agriculture as the top cause. In recent years, the EPA appears to have modestly increased its oversight of agricultural water pollution; in a few states its either sued individual factory farms or directed state officials to take action. But the agency has much more work ahead if its to see meaningful progress. While McNealy said the stench of manure from 8,000 cows is bad enough, there are also three hog farms with around 4,400 pigs apiece within a 2.5-mile radius of her home. The EPA considers a hog farm to be large if it houses 2,500 pigs. About three years ago, McNealy was diagnosed with asthma. I cant say that any one or the combination of these facilities has caused it; I can say that it aggravates it, she told me.Pigs at Fair Oak Farms in Indiana (this is not the facility near McNealys home). AP Photo/M.L. JohnsonDairy cows at Fair Oak Farms in Indiana (this is not the facility near McNealys home). Fair Oak raises 36,000 cows, about 50 times the size of what the EPA considers a large farm. AP Photo/M.L. JohnsonLike Carolyn Bittner in Iowa, the smell of the factory farms near McNealys home erodes her quality of life. She takes the long way to work to avoid driving by the dairy and hog operations, and some days when she gets home, the stench is so bad she has to cover her mouth and nose with the top of her shirt or a scarf and run to the door. She bought a grill but ended up giving it away because she couldnt host outdoor cookouts due to the unpredictability of the odors. Hulsbosch Dairy Farm didnt respond to a request for comment.McNealyss situation illustrates another problem of factory farm expansionism over the last few decades: Rural communities dont only have to contend with the rise of mega factory farms, but also with increasing factory farm density, with numerous large farms concentrated in one area that ultimately has the same impact of living near one massive facility. Agricultural permitting regimes dont adequately look at the cumulative impacts of all of the surrounding operations, so theres a huge gap there, said Holly Bainbridge, a staff attorney with FarmSTAND, a legal advocacy organization that works to reduce the harms of industrialized agriculture. Other people I spoke with in Ohio, Minnesota, and Iowa complained of similar factory farm density in their community. The smell just made you want to throw up, Kim Gearhart, who formerly lived within a three-mile radius of around nine cattle operations each of which he estimates had a little under 1,000 steer each at the time in Edon, Ohio, told me.Cattle at a Schmuckers operation in Williams County, Ohio. This photo is from a source whose name is being withheld due to fear of retaliation.The operations are run by the Schmuckers, an Amish family with a beef empire of nearly 100,000 cattle concentrated around the Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio tri-state border. They raise the cattle for JBS, the worlds largest meat company, and the region 85 miles west of the manure-imperiled Lake Erie has been plagued with farm pollution as the family has expanded its empire.About 10 years ago, Gearhart and his wife moved several miles away to another part of Edon. We moved over here, and I just thought Its out of sight, out of mind. But about a year ago, the Schmucker family started a new cattle operation a quarter-mile from his new home, and theyre building two more, he said. I have to keep the windows closed year-round. Its just disgusting again. Schmucker Family Farms didnt respond to a request for comment. The right to farm, or the right to harm?With few policymakers or regulators looking out for them, people who live near factory farms might naturally take livestock operations to court, but even that right has been taken away. Every state has whats called a Right to Farm law on the books, which protect farms from lawsuits over nuisances like odor, noise, and dust. Most of the laws came about in the 1970s and 80s as city dwellers moved to the country, sometimes bringing complaints of agricultural pollution with them. Right to Farm laws have long been invoked as a means to protect small, independent farms and conserve a rural way of life, but food system reform advocates have nicknamed them Right to Harm laws, as theyve been instrumental in both factory farm operators and large meat corporations efforts to beat back nuisance lawsuits. Everyone has a right to use and enjoy their property under common law, said David Muraskin, managing director for litigation at FarmSTAND. What the Right to Farm laws have done is basically say, If you move next to a farm, no, you dont that farm can screw you over however it wants. Almost two-thirds of states Right to Farm laws supersede municipal ordinances, meaning towns cant implement their own regulations to limit factory farm pollution, such as placing a cap on the number of animals allowed per farm. I dont think its a good thing for states to strip communities of their capacity to self-govern, Loka Ashwood, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Kentucky and co-author of a book on Right to Farm laws, told me. I think its undemocratic.While there are ongoing, long-term efforts to regulate farm pollution at the federal and state levels, campaigning on the ground against proposed factory farms before they can be built seems to be one of the few approaches thats actually worked.As executive director of Jefferson County Farmers & Neighbors, Diane Rosenberg has been running local campaigns to oppose factory farm construction in southeast Iowa, and elsewhere in the state, for almost two decades. When a factory farm is proposed in her county, she sends out a letter to people living within a couple miles of where itll be built explaining the potential impact it might have on them and, if they have concerns, how to make their voice heard.Diane Rosenberg, executive director of Jefferson County Farmers & Neighbors, at Lake Darling State Park speaking about factory farming in Iowa. The lake has long been polluted by livestock manure and other farm runoff. Sam Delgado/VoxTruthfully, [factory farms] are hard to stop, because Iowa does not give us a whole lot to work with, Rosenberg told me. We come up with a strategy to exert public pressure and that can look like a lot of different things: phone calls to the meat company or potential factory farm owner, letters to the editor, organizing public meetings, attending hearings, or placing local ads. That the county in which she primarily works Jefferson County has far fewer hogs than most surrounding counties is a testament to the power of community organizing, she says.Such campaigns may ultimately result in the proposed factory farm being built elsewhere, making it somebody elses problem what some would criticize as a form of NIMBYism. But after spending a few days in Iowa and Minnesota touring factory farm communities and hearing and smelling what its like to have millions of chickens or thousands of pigs as neighbors, I cant blame them for using the only tool left at their disposal.Stopping factory farms isnt easy, Rosenberg said, but its possible and its possible when people work together and they dont give up.Sam Delgado contributed reporting to this story.Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

Its no secret that the video game industry is struggling. The last two years have seen more than 25,000 redundancies and more than 40 studio closures. Thanks to game developments spiralling costs (blockbuster titles now cost hundreds of millions to make), overinvestment during the Covid-19 pandemic, and a series of failed bets to create the next money-printing forever game, the pressure for blockbuster games to succeed is now higher than ever.Its a predicament that feels especially pertinent for Ubisoft. Employing in the region of 20,000 people across 45 studios in 30 countries, its most recent big licensed games Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Star Wars Outlaws underperformed commercially. It has had two expensive, failed live-service experiments in the past year, Skull and Bones and X-Defiant. With Ubisoft share prices plummeting and investment partners circling like sharks, rarely have the fortunes of a massive games company relied so heavily on a single release. It has already been delayed multiple times, to ensure its quality.Against this gloomy backdrop, I find myself roaming the glistening halls of Ubisoft Quebec for the worlds first hands-on of Assassins Creed: Shadows. The companys series of historical action games is back after a two-year break, and this time it takes us to feudal Japan. This has been the most requested setting by fans, according to creative director Jonathan Dumont, but ironically some of those purported fans have turned on Ubisoft over the course of this games development.Shadows stars Yasuke, a documented historical figure known as the black samurai, and a female shinobi named Naoe. This ignited a mini culture war, as X posters and YouTube commenters seethed over historical inaccuracy and the wokefication of video games. (Oddly enough, these complaints of historical inaccuracy have never been levied at the series before, despite the fact that it stars a secret order of essentially time-travelling assassins doing side quests for Karl Marx and Leonardo da Vinci.)When I ask nervous Ubisoft developers about the deluge of unpleasant comments and online harassment directed their way over the past year, they look understandably scared. Nobody is willing to address it directly. We like to make games, this is what we wake up to do every morning, offers Dumont. So obviously if the criticism [we receive] is nuanced or if its good feedback, its always taken.When I pick up the controller, Yasuke is the first character to take the stage. After an engrossing opening cutscene, Portuguese missionaries introduce their African slave Diogo to the Oda clans ruler, Lord Nobunaga. The influential warlord takes a shine to Diogo, employing him as a samurai and renaming him Yasuke. As he wanders silently across Harimas cobbled streets, he is greeted by the kind of dumbfounded looks youd expect for an African man arriving in 16th-century Japan. Kids and adults alike scramble to take a look. Its a clever and attention-grabbing opening, reminiscent of 2024s Emmy-award winning Shogun series; here Yasuke echoes the TV shows John Blackthorne character, a cipher for players to experience this era of Japan through a foreigners eyes.Naoe the shinobi in Assassins Creed Shadows. Photograph: UbisoftAfter a so-so hour-long prologue, this war-torn world finally opens up. I gallop across the green fields of the Iga province, and Shadows Sengoku period adventure truly begins. There is pleasing visual variety and attention to detail. Reeds sway in the wind convincingly as workers toil the rice fields beside the road; fishing boats float across the horizon line while villagers chatter by bustling markets.With open worlds, its the little details that really bring the simulation to life, and in Shadows, I am told, there are more than 1,000 different situational behaviours directing its 16th-century characters. Roaming the port town I see a fishmonger chopping his fish, a woman cleaning a firearm and a shiba inu gleefully hopping around as merchants and villagers haggle over their wares. Wild deer frolic in the tall grass, fleeing skittishly as I ride past, and noble ladies gather idly at Buddhist shrines. Weather and seasons change dynamically too, adding a welcome layer of unpredictability as a sunny countryside walk suddenly becomes an ominous, rain-drenched affair. As I ride valiantly into battle, scale Osaka castle and gallop my way across serene landscapes, I forget all about the difficulties surrounding this games development and lose myself in the feudal fantasy.The Quebec studios of Ubisoft, where the game had its launch. Photograph: Tom ReganIts hugely enjoyable to play. In recent years, Assassins Creed has strayed from its stealth roots, embracing RPG-esque inventories and swapping infiltration for all-out action. Yasuke embodies this, yet in Shadows, players who prefer their Creed on the sneakier side can step into the tabi boots of shinobi Naoe, swapping lumbering might for agile parkour and stealthy takedowns.In a Grand Theft Auto V-esque touch, youre free to switch between Yasuke and Naoe as you please, approaching each new quest as either protagonist: sneaky shinobi or murderous samurai. On main missions, this plays out as the pair splitting up to divide and conquer, with Naoe silently running across rooftops and slitting throats while Yasuke charges brazenly through the front door. Yasukes heft leaves him unable to perform aerial assassinations or do much in the way of the series trademark acrobatics, but he can wield katanas, bows and rifles. Having the freedom to swap between protagonists and their vastly different play styles keeps things fresh, providing a welcome antidote to the mission-repetition fatigue that so often plagues open-world games.On first impressions, Shadows marks itself as the most overtly violent Assassins Creed to date: heads are sent flying by Yasukes katana; arms are severed from bodies by the force of a spear; and skulls caved in with a mace. An explosion of blood and viscera accompanies each of Yasukes cinematic executions (these gory animations can be turned off for the more squeamish player). At key moments during Shadows 700 cutscenes, players can decide which lords they will pledge allegiance to, how they navigate Japanese/ Portuguese relations and which romances they chase.Strength and stealth each play their part in the game. Photograph: UbisoftShadows also takes surprise inspiration from the other AC: Animal Crossing. Once you unlock a hideout for your characters, you can adorn it with furniture and decorations, and people you recruit along the way will relocate themselves there. I became entranced with setting out a tea room and laying a beautiful bamboo forest around a pond. It was a welcome contrast to all the bloodshed.skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Pushing ButtonsFree weekly newsletterKeza MacDonald's weekly look at the world of gamingPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionYou can also hang paintings of wildlife in your hideout because instead of hunting and skinning animals, Naoe and Yasuke respectfully sketch Japans wildlife. Crouching out of sight, you edge yourself quietly into the perfect viewpoint, allowing you to paint two deer clashing horns or capture a heron mid fish-dive. This made me feel like an ancient Japanese Attenborough.Despite Shadows recent second delay, I find myself pleasantly surprised by just how polished and bug-free my six hours of playtime are a marked improvement over the enjoyable but bug-ridden Star Wars Outlaws. It is shaping up to be an immersive and enjoyably slick adventure, offering perhaps a more detailed and varied simulation of feudal Japan than Sonys Ghost of Tsushima.Assassins Creed Shadows trailerBrooke Davies, the games associate narrative director, talks me through the teams painstaking efforts to create relatable and endearing characters. We had the great privilege of working with consultants, historians and experts at every stage in the production, she says. That gave us lots of interesting ideas about how to tell stories about very ordinary people caught at this very extraordinary moment in history.One of our core narrative themes is community and about people coming together to make the world a better place, and despite loss and difficulty, really persevering and having the courage to start over. Its a really uplifting message to me, imagining and learning about the courage of these people and being able to explore that alongside our protagonists Naoe and Yasuke.With a series as big as Assassins Creed, its all too easy to forget that these pieces of fiction are made by very real people people who just want to entertain their audience. Games made by humans, and no one wants to make something bad, says art director Thierry Dansereau. Were working hard. We want to make the best Assassins Creed we can So I think [people] should just keep that in consideration. The people that are making video games, they just want to have fun and to create great products.