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Makena Kelly

Makena Kelly

Policy Reporter

Makena Kelly is the politics reporter where she covers ground-breaking investigative news at the intersection of tech, politics and business for Vox Media's leading technology news brand. Kelly joined The Verge in 2018, and has since reported on topics including the emergence of a "fandom" style of American politics, Nextdoor's 'Karen Problem,' and Facebook's tech regulation hearings. Kelly has also appeared on programs including NPR's 1A and WNYC's "On the Media."

Before joining Vox Media, Kelly served as an editorial intern at CQ Roll Call, where she covered live congressional hearings, and a reporting intern at the Lincoln Journal Star, reporting on breaking news in local crime and politics. She graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan University with a Bachelor of Arts in English.

What’s at stake in Epic Games’ fight to open up the Google Play Store?

Epic v. Apple has come and gone, but now it’s Google’s turn to face the Fortnite maker.

Verge senior editor Sean Hollister is reporting from the courthouse, but I sat down with David Pierce earlier this week to discuss what all this could mean for the Play Store.


The Senate has two big AI meetings today.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has been holding a series of information sessions called “AI Insight Forums” for the last few weeks.

The third and fourth installments of these meetings are set to take place on Wednesday, focusing on effects AI could have on the workforce and the financial and health sectors.

Elon Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg attended the first meeting in September, but we won’t see any huge names like these today. Microsoft and Indeed are planning to send representatives, but mostly civil society groups will be in attendance.


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TikTok
Ayo CornPop, pass the aux.

The White House’s cable management truly sucks, according to GreazyWil, an audio engineer on TikTok. Soundboards litter the hallways with cables and dongles strewn across desktops.

Honestly, I can’t decide if this total mess at the White House is charming or just alarming.


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External Link
You can now tour the White House from your house.

First Lady Jill Biden and Google partnered up to create a new virtual tour of the White House today.

Here’s the First Lady’s communications director, Elizabeth Alexander, on the tour:

Since day one of this Administration, the First Lady has worked to open the doors of the White House wider and wider, using technology and digital platforms to bring the ‘People’s House’ to as many people as possible. Not everyone can make the trip to Washington, DC to tour the White House, so she is bringing the White House to them.

By using Google Street View tech, the tour displays panoramic images of everything from the North and South Lawns to the White House’s movie theatre.