Whether you have been together for years, just made it official, or maybe you’re just shopping for your brother, one thing remains certain: he is going to claim he doesn’t need anything. The special guys in our lives often default to what they’ve always used and loved, from threadbare T-shirts to melted spatulas.

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This season, give him the gift of novelty. Introduce him to a new gadget he hasn’t thought of for his man-cave (yes, our respondents still have those). Show him that it’s OK to cry with a personalized keepsake commemorating your shared history. Introduce a little color into his life if his year has been a bit bleak.

We tapped several guys to hear about the unexpected gifts they now couldn’t live without – and we heard from some of the givers, too. From headphones to keep him plugged into his favorite podcast to personalized artwork that tugs at his heartstrings, here is exactly what to get the lucky guy in your life this holiday season.

Plufl Human Dog Bed

Photograph: Courtesy of Plufl$275 at Plufl

Whether he’s a family man or a dog dad, the Plufl human-sized dog bed is about to take center stage in his living space. Not only does it feature deep bolsters and orthopedic foam to support his joints and give his pup a soft place to rest, but it’s a breeze to store when not in use.

“I didn’t expect to love this human doggy bed as much as I do, but honestly, it’s become one of my favorite spots in the house,” says Amir A, a software developer. “My dog curls up in it, my kids join him, and half the time I end up climbing in there with them too. It’s so comfortable that I’ve actually fallen asleep in it a few times. This bed was supposed to be for the dog, but now we’re basically sharing it.”

Ridge Wallet

Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon$68.99 at Amazon$69 at Ridge

If his wallet is currently disintegrating in his pocket, with cash and cards peeking out from under its frayed edges, it’s time to upgrade him to the Ridge, made of near-indestructible materials and RFID-blocking technology that defies chip readers. “I had been complaining about my slim wallet for a while, so my wife got me the top-of-the-line one with an AirTag attachment so I never lose it,” says Jamie Gewurz, a financial planning associate.

Apple AirPods Pro 3 Wireless Earbuds

Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon$219.99 at Amazon$249 at Apple

He’s got to tune out the world somehow. Let him do it in style with Apple’s new AirPods Pro 3 earbuds, which pair effective noise-cancellation with crisp sound quality. “I listen to music and podcasts all the time. When I’m engaged in a project at work, they help me lock in,” says James Anderson, a structural engineer. They can also double as hearing aids and allow live translation when paired to newer iPhones.

Custom ‘Met, Engaged, Married, Live’ map print

Photograph: Courtesy of EtsyFrom $90.38 at Etsy

Matthew K, an e-commerce manager, recently received this puzzle from his wife to commemorate his first-year anniversary. It depicted exact pinned locations of their first date, their engagement spot, wedding venue, and honeymoon. “I thought it was a cool way to remember our history. It was definitely an interesting way to present our relationship milestones on paper, which happens to be customary for the first anniversary,” says Matthew.

HexClad 4.5qt deep sauté pan with tempered glass lid

Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon$189 at Amazon$189 at HexClad

Robert Hartry, an architectural designer, received this HexClad pan from his partner for Christmas last year. “Its side walls are higher than a normal sauté pan, so it makes it very versatile,” says Hartry. “I also love that it’s fairly indestructible. Emily has tried, and this pan has yet to fail.”

Photograph: Courtesy of REI$119.95 at Global Industrial $119.95 at Amazon

With 18 built-in tools from scissors to pliers, any guy with a knack for DIY projects will start to consider this Leatherman an extension of his hand. “I got it for my brother for Christmas,” says Elizabeth Tomaras, a quality manager. “He’s always outdoors for work and even for play, and I knew he had [a multitool] but definitely not as nice as this one. I don’t think he would necessarily spend that much on a tool for himself. He likes its sleek design and that there are so many options. It’s not just the basic model.”

Saxx Stretch Cotton Boxer Briefs

Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon$68 for three-pack at Zappos

Noticing his underwear could use a little TLC? Run this thoughtful errand for him with this pack of three supportive cotton-blend pairs. “A classic gift Jamie has gotten for me, and something no guy actually buys for himself, is Saxx underwear,” says Lukas Snyder, a trader. “I get all of my underwear over the holidays, and only from the women in my life.”

Jumbo playing cards

Photograph: Courtesy of Walmart$3.54 at Walmart$3.99 at CVS

Snyder’s girlfriend got a standard deck of cards and kicked it up a notch for serious sentimental value. “She bedazzled a deck of cards into a ‘52 things I love about you’ gift. She cut out small squares of paper and glued them on to each card and wrote on it,” says Snyder. “She also drew on the cards, then put a keychain around the corner to bind it all together.”

Crocs clogs

Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon$34.99 at Crocs $38.87 at Amazon

Crocs are a lot cooler now than they once were, making them a practical gift for your brother who’s hard to shop for. “When they first came out, I thought they were ugly and I didn’t get the hype,” says Shawn Thicke, a children’s musician and performer. “As I performed for more and more kids, they started showing me their Crocs and some even told me I should get some. Funny enough, a parent let me try theirs and I was immediately sold. They were so comfy.

“My sister remembered how much I enjoyed them, so she surprised me with a pair. I now wear them all the time! I love them. So comfy! I even wear them to gigs.”

Amazfit Bip 6 smartwatch

Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon$79 at Amazon $79 at Walmart

For a guy who values fitness but doesn’t want all the distractions of an Apple Watch, this Amazfit smartwatch is a smart alternative. “It’s really good quality and has a lot of features you don’t need to pay monthly for, unlike other smartwatches,” says Reza T, an IT specialist. That includes GPS run tracking, more than 140 workout modes, AI fitness coaching and more.

Meater Pro Duo Wireless Smart Meat Thermometer

Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon$199.95 at Amazon$199.95 at Meater

Jennifer Orleans got her grill-enthusiast brother this heavy-duty wireless smart meat thermometer, and there is so much your favorite carnivore is going to love about it too. “He likes how it enables a perfect cook every time,” says Orleans, a project manager. “He can go inside and will get a notification on his phone when it’s ready.”

Loop Quiet 2 Ear Plugs

Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon$20.95 at Amazon $24.99 at Target

Chantal Stafford-Abbott, a model, considers these viral reusable earplugs the ultimate gift for a guy who might need a little extra shuteye in less-than-quiet circumstances. “They actually work, you don’t have to buy loads from the pharmacy, and they come in the cutest little case,” she says. Four tip sizes in a comfortable, flexible silicone material ensure he finds the perfect fit, and there are no batteries to charge or replace.

Target Darts Corona Vision Dartboard Lighting System

Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon$89.84 at Amazon$106.49 at Walmart

If you know a guy trying to recreate his favorite watering hole at home, there’s a gift for that. When they were just dating, Matthew’s then girlfriend gifted him this ringlight for his dartboard to increase visibility and up his game. “It gives you that professional at-home setup, illuminating your space if you’re playing in the dark,” says Matthew.

Custom family trading card

Photograph: Courtesy of EtsyFrom $3.46 at Etsy

Jacqueline Hopmeyer, a marketing director, gifted her husband this custom trading card as “a super cute Father’s Day present that could double as a holiday gift”. You can customize the sport, number of kids, hair color, jersey and more. It’s set in transparent acrylic that stands upright on its own, ready to display proudly on his shelf. “He was so moved by this,” she says.

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This week, President Donald Trump announced that he would allow US chipmaker Nvidia to sell its advanced H200 chips to China, describing the move as overturning a failed Biden administration policy that he says “slowed innovation and hurt the American worker.”

He continued, “That era is over.”

The first notable thing about the decision is that it’s a clear victory for Nvidia and its allies in the administration over Washington’s China hawks, who have pushed to block China’s access to the chips needed to develop the most advanced AI models. (Nvidia’s even more cutting edge B200 chips are still off the table.)

The second notable thing is that if this is the end of an era, it’s an era that began during Trump’s own first term. “The original person who pivoted the US away toward a chip control strategy was Trump,” said Steven Feldstein, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment, who studies technology and geopolitics. This era began in earnest with Trump’s bans on supplying US-origin components to the Chinese tech giants ZTE and Huawei in 2019, citing those companies’ links to the Chinese government and military.

Feldstein says it was these moves that first got Chinese leaders thinking seriously about how to escape their vulnerabilities to US-controlled chokepoints in the chip supply chains. (While China has semiconductor manufacturing of its own, the most advanced chips are overwhelmingly designed by US companies — namely Nvidia — and produced in Taiwan with equipment made in the Netherlands.)

This was an area of continuity between the first Trump and Biden administrations. Biden tightened the restrictions on Huawei and also expanded the policy, restricting not only equipment used by Chinese companies to make chips but also exports of the most advanced chips themselves. This happened in the context of Russia’s war in Ukraine, during which Chinese companies have been accused of supplying tech components to Russia, defying US sanctions as well as the AI boom that kicked off in earnest with ChatGPT’s release in 2022.

In the view of some Biden administration officials, the US and China were in a new arms race to develop superintelligent AI, and America’s control of the chip supply chain gave it a head start in that race. This culminated in a wide-ranging rule, dividing the world’s countries into three tiers of access to American chips. America’s closest allies could buy the chips, adversaries like China and Russia could not, and most of the world was in the middle, facing heightened scrutiny.

Since Trump’s return, though, there’s been an active debate over the strategy of restricting chip exports. On one side are China hawks in both parties who largely support these measures; there are proposed bipartisan bills to codify the Biden restrictions into law. Their argument is that restricting the most advanced AI chips, like Nvidia’s H200, will preserve the US advantage in the AI race, which is particularly important given China’s efforts to develop AI-related military capabilities. AI developers, in particular Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, have also been outspoken in support of the restrictions.

The most influential voice on the other side of the debate has been the world’s most valuable company, Nvidia, whose CEO Jensen Huang argues that the best way for the US to maintain AI supremacy is to keep the rest of the world dependent on American chips. (Chinese companies have also been skirting the restrictions by importing black market chips or operating out of data centers in third countries.)

The Taiwanese-born Huang had long been scrupulously apolitical, which was easier to pull off in the days when Nvidia was better known for making the graphics cards that made games like Doom and Quake possible. But his company is now deeply tied to the AI boom and all the geopolitical entanglements that come with that, and Huang has lately been an inescapable presence at Trump’s side, arguably replacing Elon Musk as the tech CEO closest to the White House. It surely doesn’t hurt his cause that the AI boom is keeping the stock market afloat; Nvidia itself accounts for about 8 percent of the S&P 500. The prospect of the US taking a cut of Nvidia’s revenue no doubt sweetened the deal.

The chipmaker also has allies in the administration, notably the investor, influential podcast host, and White House AI czar David Sacks, who has made the case that US interests are better served by loosening restrictions to help US companies maintain their market share. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, too, has argued that the US should try to keep China “addicted” to US chips. It’s been a great week for this tech-aligned faction of Trumpworld, between this announcement and Trump’s teasing of an executive order blocking state-level AI regulation over the objections of some of his MAGA allies.

Notably, though Huang and Sacks often frame their arguments in terms of maintaining the US edge over China, it’s not even clear Trump is very interested in that. His statement made clear that “President Xi responded very positively!” to the announcement.

Backing out of “great power competition”?

Back in 2017, the Trump administration proclaimed in its National Security Strategy that “great power competition” had returned, a framework the Biden administration also enthusiastically embraced. The chip restrictions were part of an overall strategy to maintain a technological and military edge over a great power rival. This Trump administration seems less interested in competing with China than cutting deals with it, a reality underlined by a new 2025 National Security Strategy, released last week, which prioritized security concerns in the Western Hemisphere and culture war conflicts with Europe over great power competition.

Trump’s decision puts Republican China hawks in an awkward spot. “The CCP [Chinese Communist Party] will use these highly advanced chips to strengthen its military capabilities and totalitarian surveillance,” said Rep. John Moolenaar, co-chair of the Select Committee on Competition with China. And it’s another example of the degree to which personal relationships and business interests often guide this administration’s foreign policy more than ideology or traditional national security concerns.

However, it’s also possible that Nvidia may have won over the wrong government. Despite Trump’s announcement, China is reportedly planning to limit domestic access to the H200 chips, as part of a strategy to encourage its own companies to make products that compete with the Americans.

Trump may have declared a truce in the chip war, but nobody told Beijing.

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By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

Published: 15:52 EST, 10 December 2025 | Updated: 16:11 EST, 10 December 2025

Several of Apple’s most popular services are currently down, leaving iPhone users unable to stream music or watch shows.

According to Apple’s service dashboard, Apple Music, Apple TV, and Apple TV Channels are experiencing outages, which began around 3pm ET.

Downdetector, a site that tracks online disruptions, also received reports of a glitch with the App Store, though Apple’s status page indicates the store is running normally.

Apple users reported on X that App Store Connect, Apple’s web-based hub for developers to manage, and TestFlight, a beta testing platform that lets developers distribute pre-release versions of their apps to a group of testers, are also down. 

TestFlight supports up to 10,000 external testers per app, with millions of developers using it across the vast Apple ecosystem, making it a widely used platform.

‘Some users are affected. Users may be experiencing intermittent issues with this service,’ Apple’s alert reads.

Earlier today, Game Center also experienced an outage, but the issues were fixed about 30 minutes later.

This is a developing story… More updates to come. 

Apple fans are outraged after several of their favorite iPhone services stopped working on Wednesday afternoon

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Spotify announced on Wednesday that, for the first time, it’s giving users more control over the streaming service’s algorithm. That’s at least how the company is framing the launch of its new “Promoted Playlists,” a feature that will initially be available to Premium subscribers in New Zealand.

The feature, which is currently available in English only, is still in beta and will evolve before rolling out to other markets, according to Spotify.

The new tool allows users to describe what they want to hear in a personalized playlist that reflects the “full arc” of their tastes, according to the company. That means the playlist focuses not only on the songs you like now, but your entire Spotify listening history from day one — something that differentiates the feature from other playlists, the company says.

The feature is an evolution from Spotify’s existing AI playlist option, which debuted last year, and also works through written prompts. As with AI playlists, the new Prompted Playlists allow users to request what they want to hear with written instructions. However, they can now write much longer prompts with more specific instructions. That’s because the new AI feature factors in world knowledge, a rep from Spotify explained to TechCrunch.

In addition, the ability to go further back in your listening history and schedule how often the playlist refreshes makes it different from Spotify’s other AI playlist offerings.

For instance, Spotify suggests subscribers can use the new feature to ask for something like, “music from my top artists from the last five years,” then amend the prompt to include a request for “deep cuts I haven’t heard yet.”

Image Credits:Spotify

In another example of a longer prompt, Spotify said you could ask for “high-energy pop and hip-hop for a 30-minute 5K run that keeps a steady pace before easing into relaxing songs for a cool-down” or “music from this year’s biggest films and most-talked-about TV shows that match my taste.”

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In addition, you can continue to fine-tune the prompt to make it even more specific, and can set how often you want it to refresh, like daily or weekly. The idea is that users can essentially make their own version of something like Spotify’s flagship playlist, Discover Weekly, but one that’s focused on a type of music, genre, or time period they’d like to track, or their own version of something like Spotify’s genre-focused Daily Mixes.

The company says the playlist will include descriptions and context so you know why you’re getting the recommendation. Plus, it will offer a set of prompts to help users get started.

Spotify isn’t the only social app pitching how it’s letting users take control of its algorithm. Instagram today also introduced a new feature that lets users control what type of reels they see. Bluesky, a decentralized X competitor, also lets users swap out its algorithm for one of their own.

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ChatGPT may dominate the AI chatbot market, but a new report suggests popularity does not equal trustworthiness. A December 2025 study examining how leading AI chatbots perform in everyday work scenarios has ranked ChatGPT as the least reliable option for professional tasks. The findings raise fresh concerns for businesses that increasingly depend on AI tools for daily operations.

The study, conducted by Relum, didn’t just look at specs on paper; they stress-tested ten major AI chatbots in real-world professional scenarios. The results? A massive disconnect between hype and reality.

The study assessed each chatbot across four key criteria. These were hallucination rate, customer product ratings, response consistency across tasks, and downtime frequency. Each factor contributed to a composite reliability risk score, with higher scores indicating greater potential workplace issues.

Here is the stat that should keep business leaders up at night: Despite controlling a massive 81% of the market and boasting high user ratings, ChatGPT recorded a hallucination rate of 35%.

In plain English, that means more than one out of every three answers it gives contains fabricated or incorrect information. If you are using it to draft a fantasy novel, that’s fine, but if you are using it for compliance reports or financial decision-making, that is a recipe for disaster. Consequently, the study slapped ChatGPT with a reliability risk score of 99 out of 99, the worst in the group.

ChatGPT

Google didn’t fare any better. While Gemini had better uptime, it actually performed worse on pure accuracy, registering the highest hallucination rate of the entire group at 38%. It highlights a weird paradox in the current AI market: the tools we use the most are often the ones struggling the hardest to keep their facts straight.

Claude and Meta AI occupy a murky middle ground. Claude, despite being a favourite for its writing style, ranked as the second least reliable due to frequent downtime and a 17% hallucination rate. Meta AI was more accurate (15% hallucination), but users seem not to like the experience, giving it the lowest satisfaction rating of the bunch (3.4 out of 5).

The “underdogs” – Grok and DeepSeek steal the show from ChatGPT

If the big names are dropping the ball, who is actually doing the work? Surprisingly, the study points to Grok and DeepSeek as the most reliable tools for professional use. They don’t have the massive marketing budgets or brand recognition of OpenAI, but they simply worked better. DeepSeek recorded zero service outages and kept hallucinations to a minimum.

Kimi also scored well, finding a sweet spot between consistency and uptime. Meanwhile, paid options like Perplexity AI were solid but raised questions about whether the subscription cost is worth it when cheaper, lesser-known alternatives are outperforming them.

Relum’s Chief Product Officer, Razvan-Lucian Haiduc, warned that reliability should be a central factor in AI adoption decisions. He noted that around 65% of US companies now use AI chatbots in daily workflows. Nearly 45% of employees admit to sharing sensitive company information with these tools.

As AI becomes more embedded in routine work, the risks of misinformation multiply. Haiduc emphasised that the most widely used chatbot is not always the best fit for every industry. Accuracy, uptime and task-specific performance should outweigh brand familiarity.

The report serves as a reality check for the industry. Trust shouldn’t be given just because a chatbot is famous; it should be earned through consistent, verifiable truth. Right now, it looks like the market leaders have some serious catching up to do.

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A colorful fresco depicting the ‘Good Shepherd Jesus’ has been uncovered on the wall of an ancient tomb in Turkey, aligning with one of the most significant verses in the Bible.

Found on the north wall of an underground chamber tomb, the third-century artwork shows Jesus walking through a field surrounded by goats.

He appears as a young, beardless man wearing a simple tunic, a goat draped across his shoulders.

The fresco confirms that early Christians were using the same imagery and titles for Jesus found in the New Testament, including the ‘Good Shepherd’ motif referenced in John 10:11: ‘I am the good shepherd.’

Turkish officials said the discovery is exceptional, noting it is the only known early Christian-era example of its kind outside Italy.

The fresco emerged during ongoing excavations at the Hisardere Necropolis in the Iznik district of Bursa, one of the region’s largest ancient burial grounds.

Dating from the 2nd to 5th centuries AD, the site preserves a remarkably varied landscape of burials, including İznik’s signature terracotta-roofed chamber tombs, heavy stone sarcophagi, upright-slab cist graves and expansive hypogea carved deep into the earth.

Along the north wall sits a raised platform, or kline, lined with square terracotta slabs where the deceased were placed. Directly behind it, the rare Good Shepherd fresco remains intact.

Experts said the ‘Good Shepard Jesus’ fresco represents a transition from pagan to Christian beliefs

The tomb, constructed when the region was called Anatolia, featured three preserved walls and a ceiling also covered in frescoes.

What sets this tomb apart from others in the region is its depiction of human figures, a rare feature in local funerary art. 

On the west wall, a married couple, presumably the tomb’s occupants, is portrayed as aristocrats, their status conveyed through fine attire and adornments. 

The accompanying symposium scene, despite the tomb’s Christian context, continues pagan traditions depicting the afterlife as an everlasting feast. 

Before the cross became Christianity’s defining symbol, early believers relied heavily on the Good Shepherd motif to express their faith. 

Portraying Jesus with a sheep across his shoulders conveyed themes of protection, salvation and divine guidance, allowing Christians to communicate their beliefs subtly at a time when overt religious imagery was still uncommon. 

Experts told Middle East Eye that the image of Jesus painted inside the tomb represents a transition from pagan to Christian beliefs.

Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor, served as a crossroads for many civilizations due to its strategic location between Asia and Europe. 

Along the north wall sits a raised platform, or kline, lined with square terracotta slabs where the deceased were placed. Directly behind it, the rare Good Shepherd fresco remains intact

Found on the north wall of an underground chamber tomb, the third-century artwork shows Jesus walking through a field surrounded by goats

It was home to numerous ancient peoples, including the Hittites, and was later part of empires like the Roman and Byzantine Empires, eventually becoming the heartland of modern Turkey. 

The earliest known forms of worship in Anatolia were centered on a pagan system, but started adopting Christianity early in the first century, following Jesus’s crucifixion.

Turkey has produced a treasure trove of religious artifacts, as it was the cradle of early Christianity.

Some of the Apostles traveled to the region following the crucifixion and built churches and ministered to the locals. 

Notably, the first distinct Christian church and the first recorded use of the term ‘Christian’ appeared in the ancient city of Antioch, now Antakya in modern Turkey. 

After Jerusalem fell in AD 70, the region became a central hub for the growth of Christianity. 

On the west wall, a married couple, presumably the tomb’s occupants, is portrayed as aristocrats, their status conveyed through fine attire and adornments

Archaeologists said the newly discovered fresco will offer valuable insights into Early Christian iconography, Roman-era burial practices and the spread of Christianity in Anatolia. 

The find also reinforces İznik’s status as a major religious and historical center, already renowned for hosting the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, which shaped foundational Christian doctrines.

As excavations continue, researchers hope the Hisartepe Necropolis may yield additional frescoes, inscriptions or artifacts, shedding further light on the multicultural and religious history of ancient Nicaea.

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Reddit is starting a limited test of verified profiles, which places a grey checkmark beside the username of a notable person or business.

“This feature is designed to help redditors understand who they’re engaging with in moments when verification matters, whether it’s an expert or celebrity hosting an AMA, a journalist reporting news, or a brand sharing information,” Reddit wrote in a blog post.

Believe it or not, there used to be a time on the internet where a verification checkmark simply just confirmed that a notable figure is who they say they are, and was not a signifier that you are paying a monthly fee to Elon Musk and/or Mark Zuckerberg. But Reddit has decided that perhaps it is, actually, a good idea to verify the accounts of public figures in an attempt to mitigate the spread of misinformation.

Reddit acknowledges that pseudonymity is a key part of its culture, allowing users to express themselves more openly than they would if their real name was attached to everything they say. But Reddit says that this feature is completely voluntary and opt-in. The verification feature is less so about denoting a special elite status, but making it easier for both ordinary users and subreddit moderators to quickly verify that someone is being truthful about their identity.

The absence of a checkmark doesn’t mean someone is a fraud, though. Reddit is piloting this feature with a small batch of profiles, and even if the checkmarks get a full rollout, it’s still possible that some famous Redditors won’t get a check.

Tony Hawk, for example, posts very casually on skateboarding subreddits, simply chatting about his favorite sport with likeminded fans. He’s just like us! But he does blow up his spot a bit when he shares his own skating videos on r/OldSkaters, because there probably aren’t many 57-year-olds doing heel flips.

While Reddit’s checkmarks are in their alpha rollout, users will be eligible if they’re active contributors in good standing and “trusted partners,” which Reddit did not specify. Having a checkmark doesn’t give a user any special privileges. However, users will not be eligible for a checkmark if they are an NSFW profile, or if they primarily engage in NSFW communities.

For now, Reddit is manually verifying profiles, but says it will use a third-party process in the future.

It’s probably not a coincidence that Reddit is exploring verification at the same time that its co-founder Alexis Ohanian is launching a reboot of the social aggregator, Digg. Digg’s founders have expressed concern that the internet is becoming flooded with bots and AI agents, and they want Digg to be a place where people can connect with actual humans. They’ve said they’re looking into using zero-knowledge proofs as a potential way to verify that users are human.

Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, has also been exploring means of verifying people’s humanity online. World, Altman’s human verification project, is expected to release an app this week that also focuses on keeping out bots.

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itel has once again reinforced its leadership in accessible innovation with the itel SUPER 26 Ultra winning the prestigious “Best Curved Display and AI-Powered Smartphone of the Year” at the 2025 Nigeria Technology Awards (NiTA).

The awards ceremony organized by Beta Media Group, held on December 6, 2025, at the VirginRose Resort, Victoria Island, Lagos, brought together top players in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem to celebrate excellence, creativity, and industry growth.

This recognition highlights the SUPER 26 Ultra’s groundbreaking curved display design and its next-generation AI capabilities, which elevate the smartphone experience across photography, performance, personalization, and security. As consumer expectations continue to rise, the SUPER 26 Ultra stands out for delivering premium, flagship-level features at an accessible price point, strengthening itel’s position as a trusted technology empowerment brand.

Winning at NiTA perfectly aligns with itel’s strategic ambition to sustain consumer interest, increase brand visibility, and enhance credibility in the market. It also reinforces the brand’s commitment to designing high-quality devices that suit the lifestyle and aspirations of young, dynamic, and value-driven consumers.

Speaking about the achievement, Dolapo Olorun-nimbe, ATL Marketing Manager at itel Mobile Nigeria, expressed excitement and appreciation:

“This award is a testament to itel’s dedication to making cutting-edge technology available to everyone. The SUPER 26 Ultra, with its stunning curved display and intelligent features, reflects our commitment to blending style, innovation, and affordability. We are grateful to consumers who believe in our vision, and this recognition motivates us to keep raising the bar in design and user experience.”

Also reflecting on the milestone, Terngu Simeon Shagba, PR Supervisor at itel Mobile Nigeria, emphasized the significance of the recognition on brand trust and market positioning:

“Winning at NiTA is not just an award for us, it is proof that our efforts to stay ahead in innovation and deliver value-driven smartphones are being acknowledged at the highest level. This achievement strengthens our credibility, energizes our brand presence, and reaffirms our promise to help consumers enjoy better life through technology.”

With this milestone, itel continues to push boundaries within Africa’s tech landscape. The SUPER 26 Ultra represents the brand’s continuous drive to enhance the digital experience for millions through devices that combine top-tier design, intelligent features, and reliability.

Recall that, on November 13, 2025, itel SUPER 26 Ultra received the prestigious award for “The Best Curved Display Phone Under ₦260,000 (Top 1 Recommended Curved Display Phone Under ₦260,000)” at the Africa Tech Alliance Excellence (ATAEx) Awards 2025.

As itel celebrates this major win, the brand remains focused on future-forward innovation and delivering products that empower individuals, connect communities, and accelerate technological advancement across emerging markets as a Tech Empowerment Brand. For itel, the NiTA 2025 award is not just an accolade; it is a beacon for even greater breakthroughs ahead.

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GCHQ has released its annual Christmas challenge, with seven puzzles aimed to put the nation’s codebreaking skills to the test.

Devised by in-house puzzlers at the UK’s intelligence agency, the challenge is geared towards testing a range of skills to unlock a festive message.

This year, for the first time, extra puzzles feature on the front of the card. These were designed by three schoolchildren, after more than 500 children entered the agency’s competition to hunt down the best budding spies.

Some challenges involve codebreaking, maths and analysis, while others test skills including lateral thinking, ingenuity and perseverance – the same blend of skills GCHQ said are used every day to keep the country safe.

However “no one will find them easy”, the agency’s chief puzzler – known only as Colin – said.

Image:
Pic: GCHQ

Image:
Pic: GCHQ

Image:
Pic: GCHQ

The Christmas card competition tasked schoolchildren with answering the question: ‘What do you think GCHQ looks like on Christmas Day?’ as well as putting hidden codes and puzzles into their designs.

The winning designs came from Haoran, a year 8 student from Wilson’s School in London, Mariia, a year 10 student at the Henry Beaufort School in Winchester, and year 12 student Amelie from South Wilts Grammar School in Salisbury.

GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler, was one of those tasked with picking the winners. She said she hopes the challenge will “inspire the next generation to explore STEM subjects and consider the rewarding careers available in cybersecurity and intelligence”.

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This year’s Christmas cards – and challenges – are available to download from GCHQ.gov.uk.

Answers will be published by the intelligence agency at 9pm on Wednesday 10 December.

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The polar vortex flooding into the US is set to deliver the coldest air on Earth to the northern half of the country, threatening millions with more dangerous winter conditions.

Both snow and bitterly cold winds are set to move across the Midwest and Northeast this week, triggering official warnings from Montana and the Dakotas to New York, Pennsylvania, and the New England states today.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued winter weather advisories in 17 states on Wednesday, and forecasters compared the cold air moving down from Canada and Greenland to a ‘wrecking ball.’

The polar vortex, which floods into the US when the stable stream of cold air over the North Pole weakens, will send December highs that are normally in the 30s or 40s dropping by as much as 30 degrees by this weekend. 

Weather Trader meteorologist Ryan Maue said the Arctic blast was a ‘textbook ‘Polar Vortex’ mega-dump of western Canadian cold pool,’ adding that Minneapolis and Chicago could see temperatures fall 40 degrees below normal averages by Sunday.

Wind chills in the Dakotas could reach -45°F, while Chicago is expecting -20°F wind chills, and New York City will struggle to climb out of the 20s for their daily highs.

Meanwhile, AccuWeather has predicted more snowfall through Wednesday night in North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Some isolated areas could see up to 12 inches.

Around Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, and Cleveland, Americans should expect to see a messy mix of snow, sleet, freezing rain, and ice that could make roads hazardous between Wednesday and Thursday.

Major cities from Chicago to New York City (Pictured) could see bitter cold temperatures this week, falling up to 30 degrees below historical averages

Meteorologists have warned that multiple Alberta clipper storms will bring snow to the Midwest and Northeast through this weekend

The prolonged Arctic conditions have been blanketing the northern half of the US since the first week of December, and meteorologists have predicted that multiple waves of cold air will keep flooding into the country through next week.

The polar vortex is like a giant, spinning whirlpool of cold air high up in the atmosphere above the North Pole, normally held in place by strong winds that act as a barrier, keeping the extreme cold locked away in Greenland and Canada.

However, strong storms and high-pressure systems in the lower atmosphere have sent ripples of warmer air upward that knocked this vortex off balance, allowing the icy air to plunge south and send the US into a deep freeze.

That cold air from the north has been colliding with warmer air moving north from the Gulf Coast, creating the perfect conditions to create rain and sleet in the South and heavy snow everywhere north of Missouri this month.

Climatologist Judah Cohen, a research scientist at MIT, told USA TODAY: ‘Some of the coldest, if not the coldest, temperatures across the entire globe will cover the central and eastern US over the weekend and into early next week.’

AccuWeather meteorologists added that this weekend’s frigid forecast could be the best chance for major cities such as New York, Boston, and Philadelphia to see significant snowfall.

However, forecasters warned that the fast-moving system may also lead to widespread travel disruptions throughout the Northeast and dangerous driving conditions for anyone in the Plains, Midwest, and Ohio Valley.

AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham warned: ‘Fast-moving snow squalls moving across interstates can rapidly reduce visibility and coat the asphalt in a matter of minutes, creating dangerous driving conditions.’

More snow and freezing temperatures are expected to come next week, as the polar vortex collapse lasts through December

Wind chills in the US and Canada are expected to fall well below zero, with northern Canada seeing life-threatening winter conditions

In Canada, Maue revealed that the early winter chill has been even more severe, with wind chills in the country’s northern territories reaching a staggering -80°F, which the meteorologist compared to a ‘cryogenic deep freeze.’

AccuWeather noted that the ongoing waves of bitter cold air from Canada are being carried by Alberta clippers, fast-moving winter storms that form in western Canada and race southeast across the US.

They bring quick bursts of snow, strong winds, and sharp cold.

These clippers are directly tied to the ongoing polar vortex collapse, as the cold air moving down from Canada spawns these storms as they collide with the milder air over the US.

Each clipper lasts only one to two days, but forecasts predict that a series of them will keep hitting through this weekend, with the coldest air peaking on Monday.

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