Will Leto’s next big foray in the makeup chair help us forget his Joker?
FBI arrests alleged member of prolific neo-Nazi swatting ring
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
A man loosely linked to violent neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen has been charged with participating in a swatting ring that hit hundreds of targets, potentially including journalists and a Facebook executive. John William Kirby Kelley supposedly picked targets for swatting calls in an IRC channel, then helped record the hoax calls for an audience of white supremacists. He was allegedly caught after making a bomb threat to get out of classes.
The Justice Department unsealed the case against Kelley late last week, and he was arrested and appeared in court on January 10th. He’s charged with conspiracy to transmit a threat, which carries up to five years in prison. The Washington Post writes that his attorney didn’t comment on the allegations.
GTA IV has disappeared from Steam because of Games for Windows Live
Image: Rockstar Games
Rockstar has confirmed that the reason Grand Theft Auto IV is no longer available to purchase from Steam is its reliance on the Games for Windows Live (GFWL) platform, which it says Microsoft is “no longer supporting.” Although people who already own the game on Steam can continue to play it, the game’s “Add to Cart” button has disappeared from its Steam page, preventing users from buying a new copy.
“Grand Theft Auto IV was originally created for the Games For Windows Live platform,” a spokesperson from Rockstar told The Verge. “With Microsoft no longer supporting Games For Windows Live, it is no longer possible to generate the additional keys needed to continue selling the current version of the game. We are looking at other options…
God Struggling To Feign Happiness After Jesus Announces He Marrying Exotic Dancer From Place Off I-95
THE HEAVENS—Straining to react to the surprising engagement announcement with a measure of enthusiasm, God, Our Heavenly Father and the Creator of the Universe, reportedly struggled to feign happiness Monday after Jesus Christ informed Him that He would be marrying an exotic dancer from a place off I-95. “I should…
100 Thieves streaming star Valkyrae is leaving Twitch for YouTube
The Verge
Yesterday, streamer Rachel “Valkyrae” Hofstetter posted a short, animated clip to Twitter — of a young girl playing a game that looks a little like Snake — that ended in a date and a time. By now, we know that when a streamer does this, it means they’ve signed (or resigned) a contract to stream on a platform exclusively; for Hofstetter, it means she’s going from Twitch to YouTube. The indefatigable e-sports consultant Rod Breslau had the scoop, which he tweeted an hour before Hofstetter’s official announcement.
100 Thieves streamer and influencer @Valkyrae will announce today she has signed an exclusive multi-year deal to stream on YouTube instead of Twitch, sources said
— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) January 13, 2020
Breslau also r…
Meet Hillary Peterson, the CEO of Transformative Skincare Line True Botanicals
Welcome to Second Life, a podcast spotlighting successful women who’ve made major career changes—and fearlessly mastered the pivot. Hosted by Hillary Kerr, co-founder and chief content officer at Who What Wear, each episode will give you a direct line to women who are game changers in their fields. Subscribe to Second Life on iTunes, and stay tuned.
Skincare is undoubtedly dominating wellness trends in 2020. Now, more than ever, the consumer demands transparency and education when it comes to ingredients being used in their everyday beauty products. Hillary Peterson, the founder and CEO of True Botanicals, a Made Safe–certified, organic skincare line, sought out to do just that six years ago. Following a thyroid cancer and melanoma diagnosis, Peterson became determined to take a deeper look into her most beloved beauty products, realizing they all contained detrimental toxins. The mission of True Botanicals quickly formed—her goal was to formulate transformative skincare products that wouldn’t compromise an individual’s health or the environment. “The line was built around problem-solving. And we started very simple, which I think was a good thing,” explained Peterson during her Second Life interview.
Today, the renowned company has grown revenue by 200% since last year while focusing on a direct-to-consumer model with plans to expand the company’s real-life presence beyond the San Francisco flagship store. Not to mention True Botanicals holds both the prestigious Elle magazine Genius Award and Allure‘s Best of Beauty Award. While Peterson has fulfilled her mission of creating not only a trustworthy skincare brand but also a lifestyle, her past career life was—surprisingly—not one of skincare at all.
Perhaps less shocking, Peterson’s career path is one of fearless transitions and constant problem-solving, similar to the foundation of which she built her company. From working at Union Bank to Levi’s for over seven years, Peterson’s passions have shifted, but her work ethic and contagious drive remained stagnant. Head to iTunes to subscribe to Second Life, and listen to this brand-new episode to hear all about how True Botanicals transpired and the one blind trial that changed everything.
Keep scrolling to shop some of True Botanicals’ best sellers.
Animals starving due to Australia fires munch on airdropped veggies – CNET
The Australian government flew in tons of vegetables to save the brush-tailed rock wallaby from starvation.
Away co-founder will remain CEO, after announcing plans to step aside
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Away co-founder Steph Korey will become co-CEO of her company, rather than moving to its board of directors, according to The New York Times. Last month, following a Verge report that described a “toxic work environment” within the company, Away announced that the CEO position would be taken over by Lululemon COO Stuart Haselden, effective today, January 13th, while Korey would become executive chairman of Away’s board. Now, Korey and Haselden will share the CEO position.
Korey tells the Times that Away “let some inaccurate reporting influence the timeline of a transition plan that we had.” (The article does not specify what Korey claims those inaccuracies are.) Haselden was initially supposed to become Away’s COO and later transition to…
Samsung brings back rugged Galaxy phones with new XCover Pro – CNET
A rugged new Galaxy designed for work.
