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First Click: Paris, How to be human, and a preview of the week ahead

November 16th, 2015

The world could use more Adele right now. Thankfully, 25 is set for release on Friday after the first single Hello went to number one across the world, becoming the first song ever to sell a million downloads in a single week.

But first we’ll see the release of Star Wars Battlefront on Tuesday, one of the most anticipated games of the year. On Wednesday, both Square (Jack Dorsey’s mobile payment company) and Match (Tinder’s parent company) are expected to price their IPOs before trading on Thursday morning.

The Lumia 950 and 950 XL flagships are expected to go on sale Friday through AT&T and Microsoft stores. Friday will also see several notable premieres including Marvel’s Jessica Jones on Netflix and Amazon's The Man in the High Castle, a Ridley Scott-produced adaptation of Philip K. Dick's alternate history novel. Part 2 of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay will also debut in theaters on Friday alongside Carol, Todd Haynes’ adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s The Price of Salt starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara.

But that’s all yet to come. First let’s take a look back at the weekend that was.

  1. What it was like in Paris during the attacks

    The body count was much lower. None of France's iconic national symbols collapsed into a smoldering heap. Nonetheless, the emotions of 9/11 were present in Paris on Friday night: the horror of...

  2. Facebook explains why it enabled Safety Check for Paris but not other recent attacks

    In the immediate aftermath of the Paris attacks on Friday, many with loved ones living in the city received a new type of notification from Facebook. The social network activated a relatively new...

  3. France Has A Powerful and Controversial New Surveillance Law

    The law authorizes the government to tap phones and computers of terrorism suspects without much oversight.

  4. Turkey blocks access to Reddit under controversial censorship law

    The Turkish government has officially blocked access to Reddit. Users first reported last night that they were unable to access the social media site, and as of Saturday the ban still appears to be...

  5. How to be human: how am I supposed to decide my career in college?

    Leah Reich was one of the first internet advice columnists. Her column "Ask Leah" ran on IGN, where she gave advice to gamers for two and a half years. During the day, Leah is Slack’s user...

  6. Google Maps reviewers can now earn 1 TB of free Drive storage

    Google has updated its Local Guides program for Google Maps, rewarding people who regularly leave reviews, upload photos, or add information for restaurants, tourist spots, and other locations with...

  7. The Empire wasn't supposed to always win The Battle of Hoth in Star Wars: Battlefront

    It only took a few matches of the Star Wars: Battlefront beta to learn a fundamental truth of the Star Wars universe: the Rebels always get creamed at the snowy Battle of Hoth. The epic showdown,...

  8. Tim Cook says Apple won't combine a MacBook and iPad

    Apple CEO Tim Cook declared earlier this week that the iPad Pro "is a replacement for a notebook or a desktop" for lots of people. Apple's iPad Pro mixes together a tablet, keyboard, and stylus...

  9. Rey and Finn man the Millennium Falcon in latest Star Wars TV spot

    Disney is certainly ramping up its marketing push as Star Wars: The Force Awakens gets closer and closer to release. We now have the film's latest TV spot for your viewing pleasure. There's plenty...

  10. The Verge Review of Animals: the capybara

    This column is part of a series where Verge staffers post highly subjective reviews of animals. Up until now, we’ve written about animals without telling you whether they suck or rule. We are now...

Assholery of the day