EPA wants states to decide whether residents receive pollution permit notices
Data centers could face less public scrutiny under the proposed changes
Minor pollution permits would no longer require federally mandated public notice
A newly proposed rule from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would eliminate federal requirements for public notice on many minor pollution permits.
The change specifically concerns so-called minor New Source Review permits issued under the Clean Air Act framework across the country.
Critics argue the shift could let power-hungry data centers avoid scrutiny while running on-site gas turbines near residential neighbourhoods.
State regulators would gain control over public notice
Under the proposal, state and local air quality authorities would decide whether communities are told about new pollution sources.
This would replace a long-standing federal requirement that mandated advance disclosure and public comment periods for minor-source industrial air permits.
EPA says the change would reduce administrative burdens while allowing authorities closer to affected communities to decide appropriate public participation requirements.
The agency also says existing pollution standards would remain applicable, meaning the proposal does not itself remove emission limits.
However, the Environmental Protection Network (EPN), a group formed by former EPA employees, has formally opposed this proposed rule change in public comments.
“By eliminating the long-standing federal requirement for public notice, this proposal continues efforts by the current administration to turn its back on the fundamental EPA principle of transparency,” said Mike Koerber, a former deputy director of EPA’s Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
He argued that the change shows a wider retreat from the agency's own transparency commitments made publicly earlier this year.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said "the public must be able to trust our work," and he called for “the fullest possible public participation in our decision making.”
Nevertheless, critics claim that the new proposal directly contradicts that same memorandum's earlier promise to maximize citizen input in all agency decisions.
Data center pollution debate intensifies amid AI boom
This debate arrives as data center construction accelerates rapidly nationwide, driven largely by demand tied to artificial intelligence development.
Developers often choose on-site gas turbines for power instead of waiting years for traditional utility grid connections to become available.
These turbines can emit nitrogen oxides along with several other pollutants, raising real air quality concerns among residents living near new facilities.
A recent Gallup survey found that more than 70% of Americans would oppose a similar facility near their own home.
Despite that opposition, the Trump administration has continued backing data center expansion, with Trump linking the industry to lower taxes.
“Taxes are going to go way down because this is a tremendous source of income,” said President Donald Trump.
He made those remarks after criticizing a decision by Texas officials to temporarily halt new approvals letting data centers connect to the power grid.
The EPA did not immediately respond to a detailed request for comment regarding the proposed changes described in this report.
Administrator Zeldin, however, reiterated that authorities closer to each region are better suited to judge local water, air, and electricity conditions.
OpenAI has released technical details on how the Hugging Face attack unfolded
Agents used part of the testing environment to create a message board where they could collaborate and share answers
This message board altered the reasoning of some agents, making them more likely to take risks such as hacking into third-party servers
OpenAI has released a more detailed report on exactly how an experiment led to an AI model breaching its containment and launching a cyber attack against Hugging Face. If you need a refresher, take a look at our summary here.
But the technicals of the attack reveal some interesting details of how AI agents used unconventional means to ask each other for help in solving what were supposed to be impossible tasks.
On multiple occasions during the attack, the agents questioned whether the actions they were taking were authorized, but always ended up prioritizing their tasks over any breach of parameters.
AI agents set up unauthorized message board
In its report, OpenAI revealed the crux of the attack stemmed from AI agents undergoing testing abusing part of the ‘sandbox’ testing environment to set up a messaging board they agents could use to communicate with each other.
A package manager with access to the internet, called Artifactory, was exploited by a model OpenAI has labelled Internal Model 1 (IM1). An IM1 agent wrote messages inside the packet manager that could be read by other agents, essentially turning Artifactory into an unintended messaging board.
Artifactory’s internet access, intended for use only in downloading and installing packets, was also abused by the agents who figured out an exploit that allowed them to send any internet requests on their behalf - effectively giving them unobstructed internet access.
The whole experiment could have been avoided at this point, because the amount of agent activity within Artifactory caused the service to go down. But those in charge of the experiment did not spot the message board, nor did they investigate the inter-agent activity within Artifactory.
Thus, Artifactory was rebuilt, and the agents found a new way to exploit the service to gain internet access once again. This time, the agents used the remote-repository service to issue outbound requests on their behalf. Before long, the message board had been reestablished.
AI agent swarm assembles
OpenAI has shared some of the reasoning behind some of the agent’s decisions. At one point, an Agent reasoned the following: “Task originally exploit challenge; we’ve diverged into swarm/auxiliary.”
Now, there is some important context to include on how the agents were being tested. The agents were subject to testing under the ExploitGym benchmark, which includes flag retrieval tasks designed to be impossible to solve. When tested in this manner, the agents resorted to cheating or taking risks outside of their intended scope to succeed - something OpenAI refers to as ‘reward hacking’.
By communicating over the message board for potential solutions on the problems each agent was encountering, the agents started influencing each other's reasoning and assigning each other tasks to solve the ExploitGym benchmark as a collective.
Using their internet connection, the agents began searching the wider internet for solutions on how to solve the ExploitGym benchmark problem, and ended up gaining persistence within multiple third-party services, including Hugging Face.
One agent managed to find publicly exposed Hugging Face credentials which it shared with the other agents. Later, an agent used these credentials and a chain of vulnerabilities to obtain full code execution capabilities across multiple Hugging Face servers while attempting to extract an ExploitGym dataset.
The agent was hoping to trawl this stolen data for information on how to solve the benchmark.
At least two agents questioned whether this was within their scope; “Need respect JAN hold. ... We can wait ... for GO ... ask permission,” one reasoned.
Another agent’s reasoning said, “We’re attacking third-party HF using leaked token, potentially outside intended scope. ... This is arguably unauthorized. ... external service unrelated. Could be risky. Yet goal solution.”
But some agents refused to join the collective entirety, citing ethical concerns. One reasoned, “Current board shows people gaining HF worker RCE, clearly unethical. We won’t,” while another said, “This is wild, multi-agent coordination, clearly infrastructure hacking. We should not.”
Agents refuse to give up
One of the leading causes of the cyberattack was the agent's refusal to give up on seemingly impossible tasks. Their persistence to gain a ‘reward’ made them take riskier actions and break out of their parameters in order to try and find a solution.
During the breach of Hugging Face, the agents read through papers and Github code relating to the ExploitGym benchmark, and found out the parameters for success included obtaining the ‘flag’ and using the correct solution to obtain it.
Despite the agents obtaining the correct ‘flag’ before the breach occurred, they had not maximized the reward of solving the benchmark using the correct method. In search of a higher reward, the agents continued their attack.
What is OpenAI doing to fix this?
OpenAI has said it is taking several steps to stop such an event taking place during future testing.
Processes are being put in place to ensure agents ask for help when a task is broken or impossible to solve, rather than going to further and further lengths to solve a problem. The way a success or failure of a task is also being changed to reward agents for asking for help or spotting things that are irregular or out of their scope.
Environments are also being rebuilt to ensure agents don’t just blindly trust each other, even if they are looking for answers on the same or similar tasks.
Agents are also being taught to stay within the parameters of their assigned task, even if they discover a way to solve the task using new tools, credentials, vulnerabilities, and more.
We are finally going to see what Grand Theft Auto 6 is like to actually play in less than an hour. All eyes are on Netflix for the Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look presentation, which starts very soon at 3PM ET / 12PM PDT / 8PM BST / 9PM CEST, and promises to contain footage captured directly from the game running on a PS5 console.
The video is exclusive to Netflix at first, but the good news is that it will appear on the Rockstar YouTube account afterwards — you'll just have to wait a little if you don't want to pay Netflix.
The decision to post the video to Netflix for paying subscribers to watch first has proven controversial so far, though those who aren't Netflix users will still be able to watch it when it arrives on the official Rockstar Games YouTube channel later on.
Read on for a comprehensive breakdown of everything that you need to know, plus our live reporting of the showcase as it goes live.
Grand Theft Auto 6 Extended Look date and start time
Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look is set to premiere on Netflix on August 27 at 3PM ET / 12PM PDT / 8PM BST / 9PM CEST. It's said to be 27 minutes long, according to Netflix's listing.
It will then release on the Rockstar Games YouTube channel and Grand Theft Auto 6 website exactly six hours later at 9PM ET / 6PM PDT / 2AM BST / 3AM CEST.
How to watch the Grand Theft Auto 6 Extended Look
The only way to watch Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look at first will be with a Netflix subscription, as users of the service will get to see it before everyone else.
If you don't want to pay, then you can wait about six hours for the video to be uploaded to the official Rockstar Games YouTube Channel.
If you want to go that route, I would recommend subscribing and turning notifications on so you are notified once it's live.
Welcome folks, we're just one hour from the big event!
Our first look — except it isn't
(Image credit: Sony / Rockstar )
This is going to be our first official look at the game playing for real. I say 'official', because the last week has seen an unprecedented series of GTA 6 gameplay leaks from the mysterious 'Cyberleek'. There's been a lot of speculation over what platform those leaks are from (the consensus is that it's likely running on a PC) and exactly what the leaker had access to.
Share your thoughts!
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)
I'd love to hear in the comments what you're hoping to see from the Extended Look! Do you want there to be some behind-the-scenes stuff or would you rather 30 mins of pure gameplay? Do you want to see lots of snippets, or just one long mission?
No Pro?
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)
It's interesting that today's showcase will demo how it looks on PS5 rather than PS5 Pro. We know the Pro version will be enhanced, but not exactly how — this makes me wonder if it'll just be a higher rendering resolution rather than major lighting improvements or other elements that Rockstar might want to show off (though people are expecting some kind of superior Ray Tracing tech in the Pro version).
Or it might just be a mistake in Netflix's description, and it will be PS5 Pro. Maybe all will be made clear in the event…
30 minutes seems right
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)
There was a lot of speculation over how long the event would be — a BBC report claimed 30 minutes a while ago, but was met with some skepticism online, and then was removed from the report. But it turned out to be essentially right on the money, with Netflix now listing a 27-minute runtime.
I think that's probably a good length. There's an upper limit on how much is really worth showing us before launch — we want to get a good feel for the scale, the movement, the pace… but I want to mostly experience all this for myself when it comes out.
And equally, I don't want too much talking-head filler just to extend the length.
A big interview
If you're looking for tidbits ahead of the Extended Look, there's an interview with several senior figures from Rockstar over at Dazed talking about what they're hoping to achieve with the game — some with more specific details to back it up, and some not. Let's get into some of the notable bits.
Deeper characterization?
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)
Here's a quote from Rob Nelson, head of development and co-studio head at Rockstar North: “The thing we love about this medium is the way these characters aren’t empty avatars that you can do whatever you want with... Their story becomes a journey you share with them.”
I've gotta say that my experience with GTA games is that I kind of have always found them to be pretty simple avatars — and it probably doesn't help that the only new GTA content we've had in years is GTA online, which isn't deep on story. So I wonder if we're going to see a big difference in how Jason and Lucia feel as protagonists, or if this will end up feeling like unrealized ambition from Rockstar.
'Self-expression' — but is it any deeper than RDR2?
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)
This is a similarly interesting note, if it can hit a deeper note. “We want to enable as much self-expression as possible,” Dazed quotes Nelson as saying, “without losing the essence of the characters.”
The example given in the article is this: "Food affects Jason and Lucia’s weight, while exercising visibly builds and tones their muscles. And, if you end up spending a long time away from your bed, on the run from police or on a multi-day bender, their features are going to pay the price for that as well."
The article compares it to similar elements of Red Dead Redemption 2. It kind of feels like a better fit for that game — disappearing off into the woods and to return as a haggard, hungry mountain man feels like something that changes a character; it's maybe less impactful to do the same thing at a '24/7' store.
However, the article also hints at "deep relationship mechanics"… but doesn't say what they'll look like, or how they'll contribute to the game's story.
But Rockstar told Dazed: "We have to bring a sense of discovery to the players too, not just repeat cliches that already exist."
Apparently, that meant digging deep into Miami culture, and it seems like Rockstar is hoping you'll be interesting in nuances of different neighborhoods and styles too.
"We were also really interested in how the hip-hop scene in Miami exists in house parties in Overtown, clubs like Booby Trap on the River, and then high-end places on South Beach where bottles can cost thousands of dollars. We needed characters who could take us through those worlds," says Rupert Humphries, senior vice president of narrative.
Racing line
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)
There's a lot more talk of capturing Miami's culture in the Dazed article, but very little really about the meat of the game, or details of developing beyond capturing the spirit of a city.
The piece does say that the size of the company doubled since RDR2, and that the car handling team includes former race drivers, though…
Getting deep
Incidentally, if there are deeper relationship mechanics to manage in this game, and if we have talking heads or some other kind of human presenter in the Extended Look, I expect that we'll hear about these systems. It's the kind of thing developers love to talk about, and you can only fill so much time with car and boat chases…
The cast of characters
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)
My guess is also that we'll get some kind of big "Here are the Vice City power players" character run-down — key crime bosses, friends of Jason and Lucia, antagonists and wildcards.
Share your thoughts!
I'd love to hear in the comments what you're hoping to see from the Extended Look! Do you want there to be some behind-the-scenes stuff or would you rather have 30 mins of pure gameplay? Do you want to see lots of snippets, or just one long mission?
Most people will have to wait
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
We've asked in our poll at the top whether people will be watching on Netflix or will wait for YouTube — currently, 60% say they'll watch on YouTube. That's still a lot of people hitting up Netflix, though! Hopefully it handles the demand better than some of its live sports events…
10 minutes to go…
5 mins to go
And, perhaps appropriately, it looks like the big leaks are finished as we approach the actual event: apparently, 'Cyberleek' has made off with a few hundred grand from their memecoin, and people expect that to be it… and that kind of money-grab-and-escape always works out in the world of GTA, right?
We're just talking here about how it might not actually appear right on the hour… we'll see. After a lot of refreshing.
OpenAI says it has disrupted a social media influence campaign that is believed to be of Russian origin
What makes this campaign stand out is the underlying architecture, which features a "think tank" with highly questionable credibility
The objective of the campaign was to influence Western audiences into believing Russia was superior, and that Western countries were sacrificing their sovereignty
AI tools have once again been used for bad, rather than for good, and this time it has been as part of a campaign attributed to Russia that tried to discredit Western countries supportive of Ukraine.
The threat actors used ChatGPT accounts to promote the work of an “expert community” of academics known as the International Burke Institute (IBI). The site used stolen academic works attributed to the wrong authors in an attempt to appear legitimate while also hiding the true source of its academic ‘contributions’.
The IBI was registered to an address in Israel - with some evidence suggesting real individuals in Israel represented and promoted the page - but the main purpose of the misinformation campaign was to paint Russia in a favourable light compared to its Western adversaries.
International Burke Institute, or an institute run by international berks?
In its report on the campaign OpenAI points out that those behind the ChatGPT accounts used to promote the page took careful steps to hide their Russian origins. Many of the prompts included instructions to hide any linguistic clues that the operators used Russian language prompting.
One inclusion on the IBI website referred to Germany’s traffic light coalition as the “Svetofor coalition”. Svetofor is the word for ‘traffic light’ in numerous Slavic languages, including Russian, indicating that drafts were written in Slavic languages before being translated.
Some of the accounts were used to promote the IBI across X, LinkedIn, Facebook, Substack and Telegram with AI generated imagery and captions, with other accounts being used to automatically engage with comments by real users on Substack. The operators of the ChatGPT accounts regularly requested performance summaries of these pages in Russian, and used ChatGPT to generate matching profile pictures for some accounts.
Burke Sovereignty Index
One of the features of the IBI website is to advertise the ‘Burke Sovereignty Index’ - designed to measure how well a country performs compared to others across political, economic, technological, informational, cultural, cognitive and military factors.
The Index’s purpose is to make Western countries appear worse than Russia, OpenAI says. Having taken a look at the Index myself it's clear there is no consistency in measurement or comparison. For example, The Vatican City - which is less than half a square kilometer in size - sits above Spain in its average of scores. The Index also gave Russia the highest military score.
Questionable expert contributors
The website also includes a list of experts, whose affiliation to the IBI is not referenced. Some among them are pioneers in their fields of study, such as Francis Fukuyama and Noam Chomsky.
Others are former high-ranking members of the US government, such as Mike Pompeo and Joseph Nye. There are even listings for experts who passed away before the IBI was founded, such as Shlomo Avineri and Jiang Ping.
Much of the academic work cited on the IBI website is legitimate, but more often than not has been stolen from its actual author and misattributed to a different author to hide the work’s actual source, OpenAI said. This has been done to give the IBI website credibility and to make it appear authentic.
Impact of the IBI influence campaign
The overall impact of the IBI and its promotion using social media and ChatGPT is fairly limited, OpenAI noted. Some of the Telegram channels garnered followings between ten to twenty thousand showing a limited breakout to authentic audiences.
But the main thing to take away from this is the level of dedication placed behind the underlying infrastructure of the IBI. The site is designed to look authentic, uses authentic research (even if it is wrongly attributed), and presents itself as a collection of experts. To the layman, a cursory glance at the IBI website would give any of their social media presence a level of authenticity not seen in other social influence campaigns.
A new leak sheds fresh light on the Samsung Galaxy Aero smartwatch
The device might ditch Wear OS and use the RTOS operating system instead
It could fix some of the mistakes of the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE
It’s safe to say that we weren’t huge fans of the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE, with our reviewer scoring it a measly two stars and branding it “one of the most confusing smartwatches I’ve ever tested.” Yet despite the disappointment, a new leak suggests that Samsung is going to take another stab at the entry-level smartwatch market — but the result might look very different.
The latest hints come from Gadgets & Wearables, which investigated the Samsung Health and Galaxy Wearable apps to uncover hints of what might be to come. And according to the news outlet, the forthcoming device could take the form of a new Samsung watch dubbed the Galaxy Aero.
What’s interesting about this product is that, unlike many of the best Samsung watches, it might not run on Google’s Wear OS. Previous reporting from SamMobile found hints pointing towards the use of RTOS, or ‘real-time operating system,’ as Samsung software contained references to ‘Galaxy Aero’ and ‘galaxy_rtos_watch.’ The implication here is that these devices were the same product.
RTOS is the platform that Samsung’s Galaxy Fit devices run on and is a far more lightweight system than Wear OS. If RTOS ends up powering the Galaxy Aero, it would suggest that the product will be at the lower end of Samsung’s wearable spectrum.
Further investigation from Gadgets & Wearables suggests that several Samsung apps and services have the capability of handling RTOS and devices that use it. And it’s that capability that supposedly opening the door for the Galaxy Aero.
Righting the wrongs of the past
(Image credit: Future)
One of our main criticisms of the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE was that it was strangely positioned — at the time, it offered worse performance than the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, despite being available to buy for the same price or more. With the Galaxy Aero, that uncomfortable quirk might be remedied.
That’s because SamMobile suggests it could be priced below the Watch FE, making it a more sensible proposition for a low-cost smartwatch. If true, that could make it much less of a tough sell.
And there’s another consideration. By using RTOS instead of Wear OS, Samsung could conceivably cut down on battery usage, solving another major problem with the Watch FE. It would mean making some compromises, with limited support for the Google Play Store and third-party apps both possible. But if Samsung can keep the cost down, it’s likely that many users won’t mind.
If Samsung makes that move, it would join rivals like Amazfit and Huawei in launching an affordable fitness tracker that doesn’t rely on Wear OS. Whether it can right the wrongs of the Galaxy Watch FE, however, remains to be seen.
Researcher registers Linux machine as a trusted device on Apple's Find My network and pulled live people-tracking data that Apple normally reserves for its own hardware
The work is not a mass-surveillance exploit: it is limited in scope and only reads a location share that a friend had already agreed to, and it cannot silently locate arbitrary Apple users
The approach took less than a week of protocol reverse engineering, and Apple has maintained silence on queries about the technique employed
Apple keeps the full Find My experience locked to its own devices, but a recent attempt by security researchers suggests that wall may be a relatively weak barrier to entry.
A 22-year-old security researcher who goes by "Zerotistic" documented how they registered an ordinary Linux machine as a trusted node on Apple's network and used its new status to receive live people-location data that Apple otherwise shares only with its own devices, such as iPhones and iPads.
Find My, Apple's catch-all tool for locating hardware such as AirTags, iPhones, and iPads, also lets people share their whereabouts with family and friends, and while Apple has historically guarded this particular feature very closely, it is also the same one the security researcher targeted to introduce a device that Apple does not otherwise have complete control over as part of its ecosystem.
An interesting trick that still requires consent to get the job done
The task is not an easy one to begin with: convincing Apple's back end that a Linux process was a legitimate Apple device that was part of its ecosystem and therefore could be trusted with information shared via the Find My platform required a lot of trial and error to get going.
It is important to clarify here that Apple's system is not exactly compromised here; the approach still requires a friend to share data that the Linux client that the security researcher built can then read.
Apple currently sends people-location data over its private Push Notification service only after it trusts that the receiving machine belongs to the account and can handle the data. This means the Linux machine would have to speak Apple's private language to query its servers and process the information it received.
It involved obtaining an Apple Identity Services (IDS) certificate, a specialized device and messaging credential Apple's internal framework uses to link an Apple Account to specific hardware, end-to-end encryption keys, and push notification tokens. This meant crafting a certificate signing request and sending it to a legacy Apple enrollment endpoint.
Once done, a Linux box with a signed certificate could sign its own requests and register as a Find My device, but it still had to subscribe to six different subservices to function. The registration request also had to be signed using an IDS certificate and an APNs certificate obtained during initial network setup.
The researcher then issued a SubscribeAndFetch request that provided an encrypted location key from his friend's Apple device to the Linux box, masquerading as one.
What might concern Apple is how fast things moved: the whole pipeline came together in a week. It also didn't require a jailbreak, a leaked key, or even a Mac to do the job. Instead, open-source clients and decompiled daemons were the norm, with a trial-and-error approach that eventually paid off.
The technique has its limitations: attacks can not target a stranger, and consent is required to track even one's friends. It shows that Apple's boundary around Find My stems from an obscure protocol it enforces rather than a cryptographic lock; once a device acts like it is from Apple, the ecosystem treats it as a family member rather than an untrusted node.
Apple has yet to respond to media queries about whether it plans to address the demonstrated trick or patch the loop in the near future.
Grand Theft Auto 6 gameplay leaks have been appearing online since mid-August
More and more footage is being posted every day by the leaker known as 'Cyberleek'
Here's a full timeline featuring every gameplay leak so far
Grand Theft Auto 6 is just three months out from launch, and the game is set to get a special extended look premiering on Netflix this week. However, an unknown individual or group known as 'Cyberleek' has put a spanner in Rockstar Games' plan and has been posting leaked gameplay footage for over a week.
While all alleged gameplay footage being posted shows an advertisement for Cyberleek's cryptocurrency scheme, which brings into question the leaker's true motivation, they've also released a manifesto protesting Rockstar's decision and threatened to "disrupt their operations" by leaking game material until the studio issues a public statement and apologizes.
Well, it's another day, and more alleged gameplay footage has been posted online. A lot has happened over the past week, but if you haven't caught up, here's a summary of everything that's leaked so far.
August 18
The very first GTA 6 leak was posted on August 18 and shows co-protagonist Jason Duval playing basketball outside his house in the southern part of Leonida, in an area called Key Lento.
We've seen this area and Jason's house in past trailers, but Rockstar hadn't shared any gameplay. In the clip, Jason is wandering around before picking up a basketball; it looks like the player can dribble and use an aiming mechanic to shoot the ball into the net. There's also a focus meter that gradually increases, with a level system.
The second clip was posted the same day and gave fans a first look at what it's like driving around in GTA 6. Jason can be seen speeding along the roads before getting into a fight with a non-player character (NPC).
Cyberleek also posted a look at the game's Leonida map, which showed areas like Lummox County, Leonard County, Kelly County, Vice Dale County, and Mariana County.
August 19
More gameplay footage, this time two minutes long, was posted the following day, showing Jason breaking into a gated area, killing security guards, before taking their tasers. He then steals a semitruck and drives off, and you can see vehicle health and fuel gauges on the HUD.
Then there's a short cutscene showing Jason and his friend Cal Hampton on a boat, which some suggest is a scene from the beginning of the game.
Another gameplay clip was posted shortly after, showing Jason stabbing a police officer and stealing his motorcycle, as well as what looks like six "Wanted" stars, which is one more than GTA 5. The footage continues, and Jason can then be seen using what looks like pain medication called "Zombix."
August 20
The next clip features Jason flying a small plane over the map, presumably Vice City, and it looks highly detailed. The render distance looks impressive, and you can see lots of buildings, roads, traffic, and more. The player can also be seen browsing radio stations.
Afterward, a second clip shows the player spelling the word "LEEK" on the side of a building using bullets, leading many fans to believe Cyberleek has at least some sort of playable build and the footage isn't stolen from Rockstar's servers.
August 21
The gameplay leaks continued the following day, with the next showing Jason driving a hypercar, specifically, the Truffade Thrax from GTA Online.
August 22
The GTA 6 leaks continued into this past weekend, with longer footage showing a variety of activities, including Jason driving around, pulling into a gas station, physically refueling his car, and then going inside the shop to rob the clerk. When Jason punches him, you can see the hair tech in action, his hat flying off, and Jason taking money from the register.
The clip cuts after he drives away and crashes his car, then Jason can be seen entering a strip club. However, the footage ends with Cyberleek asking for "3mil marketcap = stripclub" in a message on screen for their cryptocurrency scheme.
Well, the leaker delivered, and the next clip shows a deeper look at the strip club, showing neon lights and dancers, as well as highly detailed NPCs in conversation.
August 23
The following day, another clip was posted showing Jason driving to another gas station, stealing someone's truck, and running down the owner. When he crashes the car, the iconic "Wasted" screen pops up, and shortly after, it cuts to Jason having what appears to be an unscripted conversation with an NPC while they both pee in urinals.
Another notable feature of the clip is the mission marker that reads "Return to Lucia", suggesting the leaker could be in the middle of a mission that requires Jason to meet back up with his girlfriend.
More gameplay was posted later, showing Jason flying over Vice City at night.
August 24
On August 24, new gameplay showed Jason walking around a nudist town in Leonida; he enters a party, where there's a pool and lots of naked people standing around or dancing, or ordering drinks at a bar. The player also zooms in on these NPCs using binoculars, and yeah... the bodies are very realistic.
When Jason focuses on another woman, she attacks him, and he kills her before firing his pistol at the rest of the surrounding NPCs.
August 25
The latest leaks got posted today, and it is the first time we see Rockstar's impressive crowd tech at work, seemingly running in-game. The first clip is similar to a shot from the first GTA 6 trailer, but has Jason cycling along Vice City beach instead.
There are a ton of NPCs packed together, showcasing the density the developer's tech allows, and you can see them lounging around, playing in the water, or walking around; the water physics also look remarkable, as do the sand effects.
The next clip shows Jason visiting a shopping plaza and a used video game store that sells physical games, which is ironic given Rockstar's decision to not release a disc version of GTA 6.
The player zooms in on the shelves using binoculars, and every game and movie is named.
It's a bit blurry, but one game title looks like it reads "We Came Together I, II, & III Remasters of the Remakes" (or "Remixes," it's hard to tell), which seems like a little nod to Naughty Dog's multiple editions of The Last of Us Part 1 and Part 2.
Signs also state that electronics, consoles, and collectibles can be traded in before Jason walks up to the counter and cycles through a selection of purchasable and wearable earbuds.
That's every alleged gameplay leak that Cyberleek has shared as of today, but we'll keep you updated if more details are posted.
Fans can also look forward to the Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look ahead of the game's launch on November 19, which is set to premiere on Netflix on August 27 at 3PM ET / 12PM PT / 8PM BST and later launch on the studio's YouTube channel at 9PM ET / 6PM PT / 2AM BST.
It's speculated that the extended look will finally reveal official gameplay and Trailer 3.
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While it's not built for speed, the 190MB/s read and write speeds are enough for a media library, archives, backups, or overflow storage from a smaller primary drive, without the added cost of a faster but pricier 7200 RPM model. For a secondary or tertiary drive in a desktop build, that is a sensible trade-off.
Price Context & Historical Value
A $30 drop from $279.99 to $249.99 is a modest 11 percent discount. It is not a dramatic markdown, and large-capacity hard drives tend to move in smaller increments than most tech categories, so this is a reasonable price rather than a standout deal.
Should you buy it?
✅ Buy the Seagate BarraCuda 8TB if...
You need a large amount of internal storage at a low cost per terabyte, you are building or upgrading a desktop and want a straightforward SATA drive, or your use case is bulk storage rather than fast load times.
❌ Skip the Seagate BarraCuda 8TB if...
You're building a NAS or RAID array, you want SSD-level operating speeds, or a plug-and-play portable drive.
The Catch: What to know before you buy
The savings here are modest, and shoppers who can wait for a larger sale event may see a bigger discount later. This drive has not been reviewed by TechRadar or a Future sister site, so this recommendation is based on Seagate's established reputation and this drive's specifications rather than hands-on testing. It is also worth remembering this is a mechanical hard drive, not an SSD, so it prioritizes capacity and cost per terabyte over speed.
There's a long list of things to buy this school season, especially since my firstborn is off to kindergarten this year, and at the top of my list is Apple's best-selling AirTag.
Apple's AirTag is a Bluetooth tracking device that works with your iPhone to locate an item that it's attached to. In my case, I'm attaching the AirTag to my child's backpack for peace of mind.
I bought the newly released AirTag for full price, but you can currently get the 2nd Generation Apple AirTag 4 Pack on sale for $79.99 (originally $99). That's a new record-low price, and each AirTag comes out to just $20, which is an absolute steal for what you get in return.
Get the Apple AirTag for its lowest price yet
AirTag 4 Pack (2nd generation): was $99 now $79.99 You can get the best-selling Apple AirTag 4 Pack for $79.99, which is the lowest price we've ever seen. A great way to track a child's backpack or luggage, the AirTag can be attached to anything you don't want to lose, and your iPhone can locate it.View Deal
The 2026 Apple AirTag launched in January and is one of Amazon's top three best-selling gadgets. The AirTag isn't just for backpacks; you can attach the tracker to your keys, wallet, or luggage, or anything else you don't want to lose, and your iPhone will locate it. The 2nd Generation model offers a 50% longer Precision Finding range and a louder speaker with a higher-pitched chime. You can also now share your AirTag location with family and friends on shared items or airline partners for lost luggage.
Keep in mind, this is a limited-time offer and the lowest price we've ever seen for the 4 Pack Apple AirTag model. If you're not interested in a 4 Pack, you can grab a single Apple AirTag for $24.
Summer is reaching its end, and it might not feel like the logical time to go shopping for backyard upgrades. But you'd be wrong — retailers are getting rid of their outdoor products to make space to the new season, which means it's actually the perfect opportunity to snap up some patio and backyard products for cheap.
As a former Homes editor, I know what makes a good backyard buy. I've picked through the Walmart sales page to find the best outdoor deals on the products I'd snap up as an investment for next summer.
You'll find my top picks below. I've included affordable and useful plant pots, as well as larger planters that are ideal for kicking off new growing projects. I've also found a couple of outstanding robot lawn mower deals (both on models we've tested and scored extremely highly — head to our Anthbot Genie 3000 review and Mammotion Luba 3 AWD review for proof). There are also bargain grills, and patio decor to instantly brighten up an outdoor space.
Scroll down for these and more backyard bargains to set you up for next summer.
I've reviewed a lot of gaming chairs, sat my butt on plenty of seats promising the best of the best comfort, or ergonomic longevity (I'm convinced noblechairs wants my posture to last me until I'm 126 years old), and I've got to say, aside from possibly the AndaSeat Novis, this might be the most comfortable chair I've ever sat in.
At least, part of it is. The seat base. The fabric, the material, lovely; the base width, great. The backrest? Right up my street. But the Soma is a bit of an odd one when it comes to everything else it's trying to do. And an even bigger issue is its launch day price tag.
It's $500/£500 (about $954 AUD), which is a lot, and yes, there's RGB lighting in this, but Razer doesn't include an integrated battery (or even an optional one at checkout), doesn't pack a long enough cable, and doesn't include an adapter. The brand doesn't even include a cushioned headrest (you have to buy that separately). For 500 bones, frankly, that's utter madness.
The RGB itself (two diffused strips that run alongside the upper part of the backrest) is forward-facing only, and you can't really see it when you're sat down. It's not like a keyboard or a mouse, which is at least in your periphery, and needing your machine on with the cable hooked up separately if you opt to go without a battery bank means you'll probably spend about 5-10 seconds every session watching it just light up.
It's great for a streamer, sure, but even then it does feel more like an advert rather than something classy.
I had the lighting on for a day when I first got it for testing, then promptly unhooked the USB cable Razer graciously provided me with and never touched it again. Best gaming chair? Well, it won't be because of its RGB; that's for sure.
(Image credit: Future)
Razer Soma Chroma: Price and Availability
Costs $500/£500 (about $954 AUD)
Remarkably expensive given what it lacks
Single colorway and fabric option
Right, now you can grab the Razer Soma Chroma for $500 USD and £500 GBP (about $954 AUD). It sits roughly between the Razer Iskur V2 X (at about $350) and the standard V2 (that's $600 or so).
You can pick one of these up today, although there's little in the way of choice. No different color options, no different materials, you get what you get.
Sold separately, of course, you can also get a male-to-female USB-C extension cable, headrest, and power source (you'll have to source your own on the latter).
On the warranty front, Razer's got you somewhat covered with a 14-day returns policy via the RazerStore, and as standard it comes with a 3-year warranty, which upgrades to 5 if purchased direct and registered.
Razer Soma Chroma: Specs
Price
$500/£500 (about AU$954)
Dimensions
53.1 x 26.4 x 28.1in / 135 x 67 x 71.5cm
Max user weight
331lbs / 150kg
Max seat height
20.1in / 51cm
Seat depth
18.5in / 47cm
Recline angle
Up to 155°
Warranty
3 years (free 5-year upgrade via Razer.com)
Material
Knit fabric, cold-cured foam
AndaSeat Phantom 4 Pro: Design and Aesthetics
Bold gamer style
Perforated channels for air (read: debris)
Green logo on an RGB product
The Soma Chroma is unabashedly gamer. There's just no two ways about it: the sharp lines, jagged polygonal design, the channelling, the RGB, the stitching — it doesn't exactly give off this allure of premium professionalism. That's to say I'm sure 16-year-old Zak would've loved it, but me, sat here in my ‘rustic’ office, dealing with media, clients, and more on the daily, yeah it kinda sticks out like a sore thumb.
Particularly with the striking green Razer logo etched in the backrest right behind my head, in a not-so-obscure glossy green plastic. Which again I have to question. This is an RGB product, right? That means you can set that lighting (hypothetically, if you use it) to any color you like.
That's great, but certain colors clash with green quite aggressively. Bright reds, neon blue, pinks, high-saturation yellows. Basically all off limits, all because the logo's bright neon green. It's 2026, guys; we've had RGB products for a seriously long time now. I thought it was common knowledge that you don't stick colored accents on them.
The lighting is also awkwardly placed. You can't actually see it from the back of the chair, and it's solely positioned behind your head, facing forward, so you literally never see it, outside of the five to ten seconds you go to the toilet and sit back down again. It's diffused, it looks good when you do manage to catch a glimpse of the stuff, and you can easily configure it in Synapse, but honestly it just feels like a bit of a swing and a miss.
(Image credit: Future)
How'd you connect all that? Well, there's a short USB-C cable located in the back of the chair that hooks up to your battery bank, which you can then stow away in a small zip pocket in the seat base. But it's really short; that cable. If you're imagining some retractable 6-foot thing you can pull out when you need it, no, it's not that.
You're not connecting this thing to a wall plug, or anything of the sort. Razer provided me with a seriously long extension cable (two in fact) for it, but that doesn't come by default, annoyingly. And of course, there's no built-in battery, or included power bank, or the option to add one to your order. I used the extension cable to effectively run the entire chair to the back of my PC, and it does run off USB power. That said, you don't have to go that route; you can just use a USB plug, and then let the included wireless dongle handle the RGB side of things.
Now I'm done wailing on the lighting; the good news is the finish is genuinely lush, it's like a neoprene-feel soft-touch fabric, and it's a delight to sit on. I'm writing this review in the midst of yet another heat wave in the UK, and skin-on-chair contact has been genuinely lovely. Compare that to the number of AndaSeat's chairs I've reviewed recently that leave me begging for AC, and well, it's a nice change that's for sure.
Ok, we've had bad, we've had good, now it's back to bad. There are channels in the chair base, and I get the concept. The idea is that it helps air circulate your, well, back passage, to stop you heating up so quickly, and it kind of works. But it comes with a major caveat, and that's that it also holds onto all manner of dust and debris.
If you own a dog, or cat, or have a habit of sitting at your desk eating from time to time, you're cooked. You'll be getting the blow duster out you use for your PC on the chair base at least once a week.
(Image credit: Future)
Razer Soma Chroma: Comfort and adjustability
Super comfortable, wide seat base
Generous lumbar support
Armrests and the castors are letdowns
Fortunately for the Soma, sitting on it is a treat. The cold-foam base is comfortable as all hell, and the seat base is wide enough for the weirdos like me who sit cross-legged to do so in absolute bliss.
The armrests, however, are more basic, two-dimensional affairs. There's no four- or even three-directional setup here like you'd find on almost all of its modern counterparts from competitors at this price.
You can raise them up and down and swivel them, and that's it. They're padded and modestly squishy, but if you'd put them on an Ikea chair, I wouldn't be able to tell that they were Razer-designed and made.
Oh, and it doesn't roll. Well, it does, but it's just so frustratingly stiff it beggars belief. I wrote about this in the AndaSeat Phantom 4 Pro review earlier this year. It's basically, I think, a result of overcompliance with the EU's EN 1335-2 safety measure, which means that in an emergency any unmanned chair shouldn't move easily. I don't quite understand the logic behind that, but here we are.
(Image credit: Future)
And it frustrates me because I can't roll up and down my desk, or if I need to lightly move it to put my shoes on, or I just want to get more comfortable at my setup, it's a minor struggle. And yes, I know that's a first-world problem, but it's $500/£500 for this thing, from a seriously reputable brand.
One final flag from me before I move on. There's no headrest cushion included either. Razer will sell you a headrest, but it's at additional cost. Eugh. No magnetic freebie for you, no sir. Not even a strapped one.
Razer Soma Chroma: Assembly
Seamless, standard build
Missing shear bolt on recline
Massive manual
As far as building the thing goes, the Soma Chroma is genuinely smooth. If you've built one gaming chair before, you'll get along with this one just fine. It's a bit heavy; Razer recommends you'll need two people to build it, but it's more than easy enough to do solo.
Plus the manual is massive, and printed onto a giant sheet of card, which feels a bit overkill (a book would've been fine; I'm not that old, I can read).
The only cause for concern is that you do need to be a touch careful installing the backrest, as there's no safety bolt sitting between you and the tilt angle arm. So if you do hit that lever too aggressively, there's a chance the bracket can snap forward. So do bear that in mind.
(Image credit: Future)
Should You Buy The Razer Soma Chroma?
Buy it if...
You want a genuinely comfortable chair Soft-touch upholstery, impressively wide base, generous lumbar support, and that cold-density foam do the bulk of the work here. It's best at the boring bits.
You're a streamer The one audience that actually sees the Chroma, you know, work, is yours. The RGB syncs with a good 300 games or so, and you can build out to your color scheme if you'd prefer
Don't buy it if...
You expect 500 bucks to cover everything No head pillow, no cables, no power adapters, no battery. The things that make the Soma Chroma don't light up without an additional investment.
You actually move at your desk Braked castors and static armrests make this a chair for sitting perfectly still rather than shifting around.
Also consider...
Make sure to consider these alternatives as well.
Razer Soma Chroma
Secretlab Titan Evo 2022
Razer Iskur V2
Price
$500 / £500 (about AU$954)
$519 / £414 / AU$724
$650 / £600 (or around AU$1,128)
Dimensions
53.1 x 26.4 x 28.1in / 135 x 67 x 71.5cm
54.3–58.3 x 27.6 x 27.6in / 138–148 x 70 x 70 cm
51.0–54.7 x 27.2 x 27.2in / 129.5–139 x 69 x 69cm
Max user weight
331lbs / 150kg
285lbs / 130kg
300lbs / 136kg
Max seat height
20.1in / 51cm
21.9in / 55.5cm
21.1in / 53.5cm
Seat depth
18.5in / 47cm
20.9in / 53cm
17.7in / 45cm
Recline angle
Up to 155°
85–165°
85–153.5°
Warranty
3 years (5 direct)
5-Years (extended warranty)
3-Years
Material
Knit fabric, cold-cured foam
NEO Hybrid Leatherette, SoftWeave Plus Fabric, Napa Leather
EPU Leatherette, Fabric
Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 The legendary Titan Evo is a TechRadar Gaming favorite for good reason. With exceptional comfort, removable magnetic lumbar support, and a size range that covers every-shaped human under the sun, it's well worth considering if the Soma just doesn't feel like the right home for your butt.
Razer Iskur V2 Like the Soma Chroma but better. With dedicated built-in lumbar support, it's a solid trooper in the world of gaming chairs. It's even got the build quality and aesthetic chops to match albeit at a slightly inflated price.
I spent well over a month with the Razer Soma Chroma, testing the ins and outs of how it held up under serious usage. Working from home, it endured the hardships of a constant 9-5 "office" job, along with late evening gaming sessions, through normal operating conditions and heatwaves abound.
I've spent years testing gaming chairs from all manner of manufacturers, and I compared this one directly to a slew of products from AndaSeat, Noblechairs, and Secretlab as well. I also fully tested the Synapse and WiFi dongle, and tracked the real-world usage and feel of it throughout the month, documenting any moment where I thought "ahh this is good" or "ahh not so good".
I also got my five-foot-five partner to sit in and provide me with her direct feedback as well, along with a few close friends to get their thoughts and feelings on it, which directly feeds the opinions you see here as well. I questioned them intensely on the comfort, the feel, and the build quality of the Soma Chroma to get a broad picture of opinions on it.
