The Trump administration has directed federal agencies to prepare for permanent workforce reductions if the government shutdown persists. The White House and Office of Management and Budget instructed departments to plan for mass layoffs affecting thousands of furloughed employees who anticipated returning to work after funding resumed.
Labor unions representing federal workers filed lawsuits against the OMB and Office of Personnel Management on the grounds that the administration cannot exploit a shutdown to execute terminations. The American Federation of Government Employees claims the strategy violates the Antideficiency Act and amounts to political intimidation.
Union representatives argue the administration seeks to weaponize...
Rapper Nicki Minaj escalated her public disputes on Thursday with social media posts that appeared directed at multiple figures in the music industry. She wrote that a lone wolf surpasses a pack of hyenas in what observers interpreted as criticism of other female rappers. Minaj then claimed she received demands to leave New York and named Matt and Barry Klarberg in her message.
The conflict between Minaj and Cardi B intensified this week, with both artists making personal attacks. Minaj directed comments at Cardi B's family and professional achievements, but Cardi B responded with her statements about Minaj's child. The exchanges also involved The Breakfast Club radio program. Minaj stated she would not depart from New York and...
Rapper 50 Cent addressed Judge Arun Subramanian on Thursday, one day before Sean "Diddy" Combs learns his fate in court. The Instagram post referenced their longstanding feud and urged consideration of public safety in the sentencing decision. Federal agents discovered large quantities of baby oil at Combs' residences after raids connected to the case.
Prosecutors are seeking a prison term exceeding 11 years for Combs, while his legal team requests approximately 14 months, with credit for time served. 50 Cent mentioned Combs allegedly taught a business class titled Free Game with Diddy while incarcerated, but questioned whether sufficient time had passed for rehabilitation. The rapper also promoted his upcoming Netflix documentary...
ASRock introduced a warranty extension program on Friday for owners of Intel and AMD 800-series motherboards in Japan. The manufacturer will add one year to the standard two-year warranty for customers who register eligible products between Sept. 29 and Dec. 31, 2025. The promotion covers Z890, B860, X870, and B850 motherboard models, but excludes B840 series boards.
Customers must create an account on the ASRock Fan Club website and submit product registration information to qualify for the three-year coverage. The program applies only to motherboards purchased through authorized Japanese distributors, regardless of original purchase date. Each serial number can receive registration once, and products must be free of defects at the...
Microsoft restructured Xbox Game Pass on Friday with three subscription tiers at different price points. The Essential plan costs $9.99 monthly, offers 50 games across console and PC, and allows members to earn up to $25 annually through rewards. Premium subscribers pay $14.99 per month for access to more than 200 titles, and Ultimate members receive over 400 games at $29.99 monthly with priority cloud streaming.
The Ultimate tier provides access to 75 day-one releases each year, and members can earn up to $100 through the rewards program. Microsoft added Fortnite Crew membership from Nov. 18 and Ubisoft Plus Classics to the Ultimate package. Core subscribers moved to Essential, while Standard users upgraded to Premium automatically.
Ubisoft formed Vantage Studios to manage Rainbow Six, Far Cry and Assassin's Creed franchises after Tencent invested 1.16 billion euros for a 25 percent stake. Charlie Guillemot and Christophe Derennes serve as co-chief executives of the subsidiary, which employs thousands of developers across Montreal, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Barcelona and Sofia. The company announced plans to create additional creative houses for other major franchises beyond this initial partnership.
Vantage Studios will develop narrative experiences, expand mobile games and enhance live service offerings while maintaining access to Ubisoft resources and technology. The restructuring follows a challenging 2024 for the publisher and marks a shift toward...
Bethesda Game Studios announced Fallout 76: Burning Springs on Friday, marking the largest expansion since 2020 for the online role-playing game. Actor Walton Goggins returns as Cooper Howard, known as The Ghoul from the Amazon television series, to introduce bounty hunting missions across a new Ohio region. The update launches in December ahead of the show's second season premiere on Dec. 17.
The expansion introduces desert terrain reminiscent of Nevada, featuring Deathclaws, Raiders, and a new creature called the Rad Scorpion, which players can tame. Highway Town serves as a social hub where players gather for cooperative missions. Bounty missions are divided into grunt hunts, which are individual player challenges, and headhunts...
Amazon France shipped the ROG Xbox Ally X handheld gaming computer to customers more than two weeks before its scheduled release on October 16. Reddit user Technical_Fun77 posted photographs of the device after receiving early delivery, but the post was later removed. The Verge reporter Tom Warren captured the images before deletion.
Multiple French Amazon customers reported receiving their units ahead of schedule. Technical_Fun77 published a user review that The Shortcut preserved before removal. TheGamer confirmed a second early recipient received the device from the same retailer.
The ROG Xbox Ally carries a $599 price tag, while the ROG Xbox Ally X costs $999. Asus manufactures both models in partnership with Xbox. Customers who...
A modder released version 0.89.6 of the Bloodborne PC Remaster project with visual refinements and technical corrections. Developer fromsoftserve fixed color accuracy issues, enhanced parallax mapping, and resolved bugs from earlier builds. The update arrived with a Reshade preset that applies improved temporal anti-aliasing.
The modification adds dynamic shadows to the PlayStation 4 exclusive by removing baked lighting from the original game. Fromsoftserve published a video demonstration showing how the changes align Bloodborne's appearance with later FromSoftware titles. The remaster functions only through the ShadPS4 emulator because Sony never authorized an official computer port.
