This digest compiles the latest from The Verge.
Today’s The Verge Roundup
Parenting in ICE-occupied Minneapolis
30 Jan 2026, 2:00 pm by Scott Meslow
Last Saturday, I received an email from the Children’s Theatre Company of Minnesota. They explained that they were canceling the weekend’s performances of Go, Dog. Go! “for the safety of our patrons, staff, and artists.” Earlier that morning, federal agents had killed Alex Pretti in the streets, about nine blocks away from the theater’s doors.
The tickets were a Christmas gift to my four-year-old daughter from her grandparents. She has never been to the theater before. In the ever-expanding list of consequences from ICE’s violent occupation of the Twin Cities metro area, this disappointment hardly merits a mention. But it still made me sad, …
I wear lots of technology for a living, ask me anything
30 Jan 2026, 2:00 pm by Victoria Song
Hello, friends.
It’s time for another exclusive AMA for Verge subscribers, and this time, I’ll be your host. I cover everything from wearables to dystopian cursed tech like at-home urine labs and belligerent AI companions. At times, my job calls for flirting with Grok’s AI girlfriend for 24 hours or coercing weird AI video apps to generate odd French-kissing videos. Other times, I’m making personas of myself in the Vision Pro. I also do normal things, like testing the latest smart glasses, smart rings, and smartwatches. Once in a while, I get away with shitposting about the black Apple Watch Ultra 2. Oh, and I also write the Optimizer newsl …
Melania documentary creators say its big price tag wasn’t bribery
30 Jan 2026, 1:10 pm by Jess Weatherbed
The makers of Amazon’s Melania documentary have defended its exorbitant cost following accusations of bribery to appease the Trump empire. Amazon paid $40 million to Melania Trump’s production company for the film rights and another $35 million for marketing – making it one of the most expensive documentaries ever produced.
“I think it’s silly because there’s a feature film and three episodes,” director Brett Ratner told Deadline at last night’s premiere. “We spent more money on music in this than I did on Rush Hour. I mean, top of the line, three best cinematographers in the world, at the highest level. Eighty people on the first day of sh …
The small film that answers the big questions
30 Jan 2026, 12:00 pm by Robyn Kanner
Anna and Magnus built a life together. They had a home with three kids and a dog. Then they separated. This is where The Love That Remains begins, but as time passes and the reality of their divorce sets in, they’re left to move through a future strained by their unraveling.
Icelandic director Hlynur Pálmason’s latest film echoes the radiant visual language of his previous, the 19th-century period piece Godland and contemporary drama A White, White Day. And though its subject matter is heavy, the tone here is admittedly lighter. The aforementioned dog, Panda, even took home the Palm Dog Award at Cannes this year, which – and I’m being very …
Microsoft is experimenting with a top menu bar for Windows 11
30 Jan 2026, 11:22 am by Tom Warren
Microsoft’s PowerToys team is contemplating building a top menu bar for Windows 11, much like Linux, macOS, or older versions of Windows. The menu bar, or Command Palette Dock as Microsoft calls it, would be a new optional UI that provides quick access to tools, monitoring of system resources, and much more.
Microsoft has provided concept images of what it’s looking to build, and is soliciting feedback on whether Windows users would use a PowerToy like this. “The dock is designed to be highly configurable,” explains Niels Laute, a senior product manager at Microsoft. “It can be positioned on the top, left, right, or bottom edge of the scree …
One of the biggest manga piracy networks has been shut down
30 Jan 2026, 10:31 am by Jess Weatherbed
Japan’s anti-piracy coalition says that one of the world’s largest manga piracy networks has been shut down following a coordinated investigation between Japanese publishers and Chinese authorities. The Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA) announced the arrest of an individual on suspicion of copyright infringement on November 19th, who “has admitted to operating” Bato.to and approximately 60 related sites, such as xbato.com and mangapark.io.
Bato.to launched in 2014, growing to be one of the most recognizable online platforms for “scanalation” – in which manga, manhwa, and other comics are scanned, edited with translated text, …
End of today’s The Verge roundup.
