The best Game Pass games to play first in 2026
A bunch of great games leave Game Pass in January. Play these excellent games before they leave Xbox Game Pass this month.
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Greene: Trump threatening troops in Iran 'everything we voted against in ‘24'
Outgoing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Friday slammed President Trump’s threat to intervene in Iran as it cracks down on anti-government protests. Greene said on the social platform X that Trump’s pledge, along with Israeli billionaire Shlomo Kramer telling CNBC that
360-degree panoramas of the interiors of several Star Trek ships (Enterprise, TNG’s...
360-degree panoramas of the interiors of several Star Trek ships (Enterprise, TNG’s Enterprise D, Voyager, Defiant, etc.) 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Texas grandmother, 83, says Wells Fargo heartlessly refused to reimburse her for $15K fraudsters ripped off
An 83-year-old Texas woman says Wells Fargo left her on the hook for nearly $15,000 after fraudsters altered a check she mailed — and now going to the bank induces vomiting and tears.
James Gunn on Making ‘Superman,’ Not Being Interested in ‘Prestige Projects’ and DC Studios’ Future
James Gunn looks tired but energized as he settles into his chair for the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, having just flown in from Atlanta. He’s already into pre-production on “Man of Tomorrow,” the follow-up to this summer’s “Superman.” so exhaustion would be expected. Gunn
The Surprising Reason This Obscure Star Wars Game’s Price Has Quadrupled
Star Wars: Racer Revenge ’s PS4 port has caught the eye of resellers, collectors, and PS5 hackers The post The Surprising Reason This Obscure Star Wars Game’s Price Has Quadrupled appeared first on Kotaku .
Mamdani revokes Adams executive orders supporting Israel
Newly inaugurated New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) has revoked a series of executive orders issued by former Mayor Eric Adams (D), including some aimed at supporting Israel. In one of Mamdani’s first moves as mayor, he issued a directive to undo orders signed by Adams
Stranger Things star talks fan theories, character deaths, and getting 'covered in goop'
Gaten Matarazzo reflects on the Stranger Things series finale and what the show's ending really means.
Microsoft Tells Piggies To Stop Calling It AI Slop
CEO Satya Nadella says people 'need to get beyond' the gen AI slop debate The post Microsoft Tells Piggies To Stop Calling It AI Slop appeared first on Kotaku .
Tommy Lee Jones’ Daughter Victoria Dead at 34
The occasional actress was found dead at a hotel in San Francisco early on New Year's Day
Chevy Chase Says ‘I’m Not Racist’ When Asked About ‘Community’ Exit: The Show ‘Wasn’t a Bad Experience. I Just Didn’t Think It Was That Good’
Chevy Chase recently took part in a joint interview with The New York Times alongside Marina Zenovich, the director of the new CNN documentary “I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not,” and was asked about how the film depicts Chase’s tumultuous stint on “Community.” Chase had a series
Earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 rattles southern and central Mexico
The quake interrupted President Claudia Sheinbaum's first press briefing of the new year as seismic alarms sounded.
Lego fans keep building Nintendo's Game Boy set wrong
Peeved Lego fans keep posting PSAs about the correct way to build Nintendo Game Boy cartridges to young fans who have never handled the portable.
ICE Is Targeting a New Demographic for Recruitment: The Manosphere
The powers that be at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are planning on a massive recruitment drive in 2026—but the people they’re hoping to attract aren’t your typical feds. The deportation agency has earmarked $100 million for online advertisements over the next year,
Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok says it generated sexual images of minors due to ‘lapses in safeguards’
Those posts – which violated Grok’s own acceptable use policy through the sexualization of children – have since been deleted, according to the chatbot.
Trump, 79, Goes on Very Weird Spree Posting About Dead Birds
Just one day after a bombshell Wall Street Journal story on the president’s growing signs of aging, Donald Trump went on a bizarre posting spree about dead birds and wind turbines. Throughout Friday, Trump posted several different photos on Truth Social of dead birds near
‘Stranger Things’ Creators Explain How They Got Two Prince Classics Into the Finale
Matt and Ross Duffer credited the success of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" with helping to convince the Prince estate to license two Purple Rain tracks
Starlink satellites to be moved to lower orbit
SpaceX will be moving around 4,400 satellites to a lower orbit in 2026
Africa: The African Rebirth - Ibrahim Traore and the Audacious Return of a Continent to Itself
[Independent (Kampala)] Africa is not a sleeping giant; it is a suffocated one. Its lungs have long been pressed by the weight of imperial duplicity, its arteries drained by extractive economies masquerading as partnerships, and its political spine bent by postcolonial elites
André Øvredal Horror Movie Gets Title, Release Date from Paramount
'Passenger' will open May 29.
How to Glimpse the Prime Meteor Shower of 2026
The Quadrantids rank among the most spectacular sky shows of the year The post How to Glimpse the Prime Meteor Shower of 2026 appeared first on Nautilus .
Bacteria reveal second 'shutdown mode' for surviving antibiotic treatment
A new study reveals that bacteria can survive antibiotic treatment through two fundamentally different "shutdown modes," not just the classic idea of dormancy. The paper is published in the journal Science Advances.
Flowering plant origins: Dosage-sensitive genes suggest no whole-genome duplications in ancestral angiosperm
Angiosperms, also known as flowering plants, represent the most diverse group of seed plants, and their origin and evolution have long been a central question in plant evolutionary biology. Whole-genome duplication (WGD), or polyploidization, is widely recognized as a key
Evidence of upright walking found in 7-million-year-old Sahelanthropus fossils
In recent decades, scientists have debated whether a seven-million-year-old fossil was bipedal—a trait that would make it the oldest human ancestor. A new analysis by a team of anthropologists offers powerful evidence that Sahelanthropus tchadensis—a species discovered in the
First ancient herpesvirus genomes document their deep history with humans
For the first time, scientists have reconstructed the ancient genomes of human betaherpesvirus 6A and 6B (HHV-6A/B) from archaeological human remains more than two millennia old. The study, led by the University of Vienna and University of Tartu (Estonia) and published in
Wood-derived chemicals offer safer alternative for thermal receipt paper coatings
Every day, millions of people use thermal paper without thinking about it. Receipts, shipping labels, tickets, and medical records all rely on heat‑sensitive coatings to make text appear. More specifically, heat triggers a reaction between a colorless dye and a "developer,"
Earliest Human Ancestor May Have Walked on Two Legs
A fossil belonging to an ancient hominin that lived seven million years ago bears the hallmarks of bipedalism, according to a new study
Nigeria police charge driver in fatal Anthony Joshua car crash with dangerous driving
Joshua will initially stay in Nigeria as he recuperates from injuries sustained after the crash, his promoter said on Thursday.
Drake Hit With Third Lawsuit Over Stake, Accused Of Using Gambling Funds To Inflate Music Streams
Drake’s list of lawsuits continues to grow. The latest is a new RICO class-action filed in Virginia that names Drake, streamer Adin Ross, online casino Stake (Stake.us), and Australian clip farmer George Nguyen as defendants. The suit accuses them of using Stake’s platform to
Directors on Their Favorite Films of 2025: From Janicza Bravo to Paul Thomas Anderson to Barry Jenkins and More
Acclaimed filmmakers pen essays on the current movies that left them inspired — and sometimes envious.
Tesla falls behind China's BYD as top EV maker after second year of declining sales
China's BYD overtook Elon Musk’s Tesla as the world’s leading electric vehicle (EV) seller in 2025, as Tesla faced declining sales for a second year in a row. BYD said Thursday that it sold about 2.26 million EVs in 2025, up nearly 28 percent from the year before. In a release
Sabrina Carpenter Is Twinning With Miss Piggy in ‘The Muppet Show’ Teaser
The pop star will perform with the whole Muppets gang when the musical special premieres on Disney+ and ABC on Feb. 4
Ukraine orders evacuation of 3,000 children and parents from two regions as Russian forces advance
Meanwhile, Russia's battlefield gains in Ukraine last year were the highest since 2022, an analysis by the AFP news agency showed.
New year, new Epstein transparency law, and Trump is already breaking it
Many of us have spent the last two weeks largely checked out and concentrating on happier things than the intimate details of Jeffrey Epstein’s private life. Sadly, that’s all about to change. Come Monday, it’s going to be all Epstein all the time. That’s because the Department
Victoria Jones, Tommy Lee Jones’ Daughter, Found Dead at 34
Victoria Jones, the daughter of Tommy Lee Jones who acted and appeared with her father in two of his films, was found dead at a San Francisco hotel on Thursday, Jan. 1, according to NBC Bay Area. She was 34. The San Francisco Fire Department released a statement to media
Core Memories With the Swiftie Dads
In 2023, Paul Scheer spent a few days talking to fathers who accompanied their daughters to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in LA, either as concert-goers or just chauffeurs. I love this video. One of the dads summed up the vibe of being there for your loved ones, even if it’s maybe
Opportunities in January 2026
Residencies, fellowships, grants, and open calls from Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, and more in our monthly list of opportunities for artists, writers, and art workers.
How I Fell Back In Love With Minecraft After 10 Years Away
Spending much of the winter break in DonutSMP with my son has been truly wonderful The post How I Fell Back In Love With Minecraft After 10 Years Away appeared first on Kotaku .
Why buzzy Silicon Valley startups are enforcing no-shoes policies: ‘I hope they invest in air fresheners’
No-shoes policies are on the rise across offices dominated by younger workers, where employers hope fuzzy socks and slippers on carpeted floors will foster a stress-free workplace.
How Kraft Heinz lost its edge in the mac and cheese aisle — and the brand cooking up competition
The Chicago-based food giant has seen its grip on the category loosen as upstart rival Goodles wins over shoppers with premium “Cheddy Mac” offering.
Zelensky taps military spymaster to replace powerful chief of staff
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday selected Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's intelligence agency, to serve as his chief of staff as negotiations continue to end Russia’s war against the eastern European country. Zelensky wrote on the social platform X that
Salah goals & Hakimi return - six things from Afcon 2025's group stage
BBC Sport Africa takes a look back at some of the key talking points from the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations group stage.
The 12 Best Video Games Of 2025
We downloaded, we installed, we played, and here's what we decided The post The 12 Best Video Games Of 2025 appeared first on Kotaku .
We Bury the Dead review: An acoustic cover of 28 Years Later
This Daisy Ridley-starring zombie drama is surprisingly quiet and contemplative.
Apply for the John Michael Kohler Arts Center’s 2027 Arts/Industry Residency
A collaboration with the Kohler Co. pottery and foundry, this funded industrial residency enables artists to produce ambitious new works in vitreous china, cast iron, and brass.
Reckless breaches of contract will not make America great
The Trump administration has violated the fundamental business principle of honoring legally binding contracts, which will cost both the Treasury and the people dearly and create obstacles to future governmental deal-making.
Forget what you heard, there's plenty of PC hardware to be excited about in 2026
RAM, Shmam. These are things to get genuinely excited about this year.
Silent Hill 2 Remake dev Bloober Team kicks off 2026 by giving us 45 days to figure out what 'RemoSdNeulSerore-hsoOvamCeyerd' is
It's a countdown to... something?
I posted links for donations to families in Gaza. Israelis didn't like it
You'd think all the killing, starving and displacing would dull the hate a little, allay the lust for revenge and even stoke some compassion for the freezing babies and frightened children
