Riot Games is trying to extricate itself from its League of Legends Championship Series partnership with FTX. On Friday, the studio filed a motion with the court overseeing FTX’s bankruptcy case to end the seven-year sponsorship agreement the two companies signed last August.

In a brief spotted by crypto critic and Web3 is Going Just Great creator Molly White (via PC Gamer), Riot says the exchange still owes half of the 12.5 million it agreed to pay in 2022 for the studio to display FTX branding at LCS events. Riot adds the disgraced firm will owe it another nearly $13 million in 2023, with the first quarterly payment of the year due on January 2nd. FTX’s yearly payments to Riot are scheduled to increase through the end of their agreement in 2028.

Riot also has a personal stake in the case. More than a year before he was arrested on fraud charges, FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried admitted he was “(in)famous for playing League of Legends while on phone calls.” SBF’s gaming habit became something of a joke when it came out that he wasn’t very good at the game.

“Images of Mr. Bankman-Fried playing League of Legends were displayed alongside text describing his cavalier attitude towards investor meetings and irresponsibility with corporate funds. These images created a public narrative that Mr. Bankman Fried’s interest in League of Legends, once relatable and human, was now reckless and juvenile," Riot states. “Even Mr. Bankman-Fried’s ranking in League of Legends has been the subject of online commentary with public figures Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Elon Musk weighing in.”

If you think Riot is ready to swear off crypto because of one high-profile implosion, think again. The reason the studio wants a court to void its agreement with FTX is so that it can move forward with a new sponsorship. “The longer Riot is prevented from commercializing the crypto exchange sponsorship category and the broadcast assets currently owned by FTX, the more damages Riot incurs.” Here's hoping the studio doesn't find itself in a similar situation sometime in the future.

Apple fans disappointed by the Studio Display could soon have a few more options from the company. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is developing “multiple new external monitors,” including a refresh of its 32-inch Pro Display XDR from 2019. Details on the upcoming screens are sparse, but Gurman suggests they’ll incorporate built-in Apple Silicon chipsets like the Studio Display, which features a dedicated A13 Bionic processor. He adds that the updated Pro Display XDR could ship after the M2 Mac Pro arrives (more on the computer in a moment).

It’s unclear if Apple’s slate of new monitors could include a Studio Display refresh. As MacRumors points out, display analyst Ross Young tweeted in October that the company was preparing to release a monitor with a 27-inch mini-LED panel in the first quarter of 2023. Based on the specs Young shared, it looked like Apple was planning to update the Studio Display with its ProMotion technology.

Gurman also provides an update on the long-rumored M2 refresh of the Mac Pro. In October, he reported the computer would ship with an optional “Extreme” variant of the company’s M2 chipset that was reportedly slated to feature a processor with up to 48 cores and 256GB of memory. Since then, Gurman says Apple has abandoned those plans.

“Based on Apple's current pricing structure, an M2 Extreme version of a Mac Pro would probably cost at least $10,000 — without any other upgrades — making it an extraordinarily niche product that likely isn't worth the development costs, engineering resources and production bandwidth it would require," Gurman writes.

As things stand, the remaining model will reportedly feature an M2 Ultra chipset with up to 24 CPU cores, 76 GPU cores and at least 192GB of RAM. Additionally, Gurman says the new Mac Pro retains the current model’s expandability, including the option to add more memory. It will be interesting to see how Apple offers that kind of upgradability since the company’s current chips feature soldered RAM.

Apple was supposed to finish transitioning its computer lineup to Apple Silicon two years after the release of its first M1 chip. According to Gurman, feature tweaks and a change in Apple’s manufacturing plans are among the reasons why it’s taken the company so long to announce a new Mac Pro. Barring any additional delays, the new model will likely arrive sometime next year, though Gurman did not speak to a specific timeline.

While many people were turning to Twitter on Sunday to watch the World Cup finals unfold, the company introduced a new policy banning "free promotion" of competing social media websites. Moving forward, Twitter says it will remove links to Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Tribel, Post, Nostr and Donald Trump's Truth Social from accounts whose "main purpose" is to promote content on those platforms. As a result of the policy, users can no longer use their Twitter bio to link to their other social media profiles, nor can they post tweets that invite their followers to follow them elsewhere. Additionally, the company is restricting the use of third-party aggregators like Linktree and Link.bio.  

Developing... 

If you haven't finished your Christmas shopping yet, look to Amazon. The retailer has discounted Apple's second-generation AirPods Pro. Right now, you can buy the earbuds for $200, down from $249. Not only is that the best price Engadget has seen for the AirPods Pro since they went on sale for Black Friday, but Amazon says it also will deliver the headphones before Christmas for customers who order today. So act fast if you have a friend or family member who you think will appreciate them as a gift.       

The 2022 AirPods Pro may not look different than their 2019 predecessor, but they're a big upgrade.
Engadget Senior Editor Billy Steele awarded the second-generation earbuds a score of 88 when he had a chance to review them earlier this year. They offer improved audio quality, an even better transparency mode and the addition of touch volume controls. Apple also redesigned the accompanying charging case to make it sweat- and water-resistant and add a built-in speaker to make finding the case easier to find if you ever misplace it. About the only area where the 2022 AirPods Pro disappoint is battery life. You can expect about six hours of use from the earbuds on a single charge. That's more than you could get out of the first-generation model, but less than some competing options offer. Still, the AirPods Pro are among the best earbuds you can pair with an iPhone, and a $50 discount makes them even more compelling. 

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Nothing is reportedly preparing to release a pair of true wireless headphones under a new flanker brand. Digging through the company’s latest firmware, developer Kuba Wojciechowski (via 91mobiles) found evidence of an unreleased set of “Particles by XO” earbuds.

91mobiles

Renders of the headphones showcase a unique design that’s reminiscent of a peanut or molecular chain. According to Wojciechowski, the earbuds include LHDC codec support and active noise cancelation. In other words, it looks like Nothing is preparing a product that has traits from both its Ear 1 and Ear Stick wireless buds. There are a few bits of evidence linking the earbuds to Nothing. To start, the company’s internal codename for them is “B154.” Nothing has reportedly used a similar codename, B155, for its upcoming Ear 2 headphones. On Saturday, the US Patent and Trademark Office awarded a shell company called “The Most Unknown LLC” a trademark for “Particles by XO.”

As for why Nothing, a company with only three products to its name, would establish a new brand just to launch another pair of wireless earbuds, it’s probably another marketing scheme by the company’s founder, former OnePlus executive Carl Pei.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) will spend $2.9 billion to accelerate the state’s zero-emission transportation strategy. In an announcement spotted by Reuters, the agency detailed an investment plan it estimated would result in California building about 90,000 new chargers over the next four years, a move that would more than double the number of chargers available across the state.

About $900 million will go toward chargers designed for light-duty EVs, with another $1.7 billion earmarked for infrastructure that supports medium and heavy-duty zero-emissions vehicles, including those powered by hydrogen fuel cells. When you add in funding from utilities and other programs, the commission says it expects California to hit its goal of deploying 250,000 chargers by 2025.

“This transformative investment will deploy charging and refueling infrastructure swiftly and equitably to make sure drivers of zero-emission cars and trucks feel confident they can refuel wherever they go,” said CEC Lead Commissioner for Transportation Patty Monahan. “The plan will increase access to charging and hydrogen fueling for individuals, businesses and public agencies, while supporting our emerging manufacturing ecosystem and creating jobs.”

Building enough charging infrastructure to support a growing number of EVs will be critical to California’s climate change plan. Earlier this year, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), following an order from Governor Gavin Newsom, said it would require all cars sold in the state by 2035 to be either fully electric or plug-in hybrids. More recently, the agency approved a $2.6 billion investment to incentivize consumers and companies to switch to electric vehicles.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but Elon Musk has reportedly laid off more of Twitter’s workforce. According to The Information, the company cut part of its infrastructure division on Friday evening. The scale of the layoffs is unclear, but some engineers took to Twitter yesterday to say they were told over email their contribution was no longer required. The latest cuts come after The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Musk had laid off Nelson Abramson, Twitter’s head of infrastructure, among a handful of other high-ranking employees at the company.

Twitter did not immediately respond to Engadget’s comment request. The company has not had a communications team since it began reducing its workforce. By The Information’s estimate, Twitter’s headcount has shrunk by about 75 percent since Musk’s takeover of the company in late October. The social media website employed approximately 7,500 under former CEO Parag Agrawal. As of a week ago, Twitter’s internal Slack listed around 2,000 employees, according to the outlet. In November, Musk reportedly told what was left of the company’s workforce Twitter would not lay off any more workers. The pledge came after the billionaire’s “extremely hardcore” ultimatum led to at least 1,200 resignations.

Additional casualties among the team responsible for keeping Twitter up and running are likely to add to fears about how unreliable the site may become in the near future. At the same time, the move may further alienate Tesla investors who were already considered how much time Musk was spending on Twitter. According to The Information, Musk tapped Tesla engineer Sheen Austin to run the social media website’s infrastructure team following Abramson’s departure.

The layoffs also point to the seemingly precarious financial position Twitter has found itself in since Musk’s takeover. In recent weeks, Elon and other executives reportedly discussed the potential consequences of denying severance payments to the thousands of people who were let go from the company in recent weeks. The company is also behind on rent for its San Fransisco headquarters and network of global satellite offices.

If you’re looking for a last-minute Christmas gift for a friend or family member who wants to build a streaming channel in 2023, Amazon has your back. The retailer has a great deal on the Logitech StreamCam. After a 41 percent discount, the $170 webcam is currently $100. That’s the best price Engadget has seen for the StreamCam. Moreover, Amazon has discounted both the Graphite and White models. You can also find the webcam on sale for the same price at Best Buy.

The Logitech StreamCam is one of Engadget’s favorite web cameras. With support for 1080p video capture at 60 frames per second and a pair of built-in omnidirectional mics, it will make anyone look and sound great on your Zoom calls and Twitch streams. The StreamCam is also versatile. You can use it in landscape and portrait orientations, making it ideal for Instagram and TikTok videos. Add to that fuss-free autofocus and comprehensive software support for OBS, XSplit and Streamlabs, and you have one of the best all-purpose webcams. The only downside of the StreamCam is its expensive price tag, something this deal helps address.

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In 2021, Apple was considered the frontrunner to secure streaming rights to the National Football League’s Sunday Ticket package. Now, a year later, the company has reportedly dropped out of negotiations. The tidbit comes from a Puck article about Bob Iger’s surprise return to Disney. According to author Dylan Byers, Apple recently said no to the NFL “not because they can’t afford [the package], but because they don’t see the logic.”

With Disney reportedly bowing out of the negations as well, the talks have become a two-horse race between Amazon and Google. “Amazon can use [the deal] to drive Prime subscriptions; Google can use it to fuel its YouTube TV business,” adds Byers. Of the two suitors, Amazon is probably the best fit given that Prime Video is the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football for the next decade.

Last year, The Athletic reported the NFL was asking for more than $2 billion per year for Sunday Ticket rights, a price that was at least $500 million more than what DirecTV had been paying to air Sunday games. In a press conference earlier this week, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Sunday Ticket negotiations were at “a very critical point” for the league. That seems to have been an understatement.

On Monday evening, Bahamian authorities arrested FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried at the request of the US government. The following morning, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Department of Justice (DOJ) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed formal civil and criminal charges against Bankman-Fried in "parallel actions." It was a lot to take in all at once, so below Engadget has broken up current charges against SBF by agency, with some additional context provided.

Those indictments likely represent only the start of Bankman-Fried's troubles. In addition to the charges it announced on Tuesday, the SEC said it was investigating Bankman-Fried for other securities violations. The agency also announced that it’s actively examining the actions of other FTX executives and employees. As more charges are unsealed, Engadget will continue to update this article.

Securities and Exchange Commission

The Securities and Exchange Commission accused SBF of defrauding FTX investors and customers of more than $1.9 billion. Starting as early as May 2019 until as recently as this past November, "Bankman-Fried was orchestrating a massive, years-long fraud, diverting billions of dollars of the trading platform's customers funds for his own personal benefit and to help grow his crypto empire," the SEC said.

All the while, Bankman-Fried portrayed himself as a responsible business leader building a safe trading platform with "sophisticated, automated measures to protect customer assets." In reality, the SEC says, "Bankman-Fried orchestrated a fraud to conceal the diversion of customer funds to his privately-held crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research."

Bankman-Fried told investors and customers FTX's sister company was just another platform on the exchange with no special privileges to speak of. "These statements were false and misleading," according to the SEC. Alameda had access to a "virtually unlimited 'line of credit" unknowingly funded by FTX customers. In May 2022, when Alameda's lenders demanded the firm repay loans worth billions of dollars, Bankman-Fried allegedly directed FTX to divert even more money to the hedge fund.

The SEC seeks to bar Bankman-Friend from trading securities in the future. The agency also wants to seize his ill-gotten gains and bar him from acting as an officer or director at another company.

Current FTX CEO John Ray III testified before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday — SBF had said he would attend the hearing before his arrest. Ray spoke to some of the allegations detailed by the SEC. "This is really old-fashioned embezzlement," he told the panel. "We've lost $8 billion. I don't trust a single piece of paper in this organization."

Department of Justice

In addition to civil charges, Bankman-Fried faces a criminal indictment from the Justice Department. On Tuesday, prosecutors from the Southern District of New York filed eight charges against the former executive, including multiple counts of wire fraud. The Justice Department alleges SBF conspired with other individuals to defraud investors by sharing misleading information about FTX and Alameda's financial condition. Prosecutors further accused him of attempting to commit commodities and securities fraud. On top of that, Bankman-Fried allegedly broke federal election laws by donating more than is legally allowed and in the names of other people.

SBF spoke about his political donations in a recent interview with journalist Tiffany Fong. "I donated to both parties. I donated about the same amount to both parties," he said. "All my Republican donations were dark. The reason was not for regulatory reasons, it's because reporters freak the fuck out if you donate to Republicans."

It's worth emphasizing how serious the criminal charges against Bankman-Fried are. For context, a federal judge recently sentenced Theranos founder and former CEO Elizabeth Holmes to 11 years in prison for defrauding the company's investors and patients. Meanwhile, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, the startup's former chief operating officer, was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison for his role in the scheme. Sam Bankman-Fried stands accused of defrauding investors of almost $2 billion, or about twice what investors lost to Theranos.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Rounding out the current charges against Bankman-Fried, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission accused the former executive of using Alameda Research to "surreptitiously" siphon customer funds. "At Bankman-Fried's direction, FTX executives created features in the underlying code for FTX that allowed Alameda to maintain an essentially unlimited line of credit on FTX," the regulator alleges. It adds that Alameda had other "unfair" advantages, including an exemption from the platform's auto-liquidation risk management process.

As early as May 2019, SBF and "at least one" other Alameda executive directed the firm to use FTX customer funds to trade on competing platforms and buy "high-risk" digital assets. Additionally, the CFTC alleges that Bankman-Fried and his cohorts "took hundreds of millions of dollars in poorly-documented 'loans' from Alameda," which they then used to purchase real estate and make political donations.

For his actions, the CFTC is seeking to ban Bankman-Fried from trading derivatives and impose civil penalties against him. It also wants to bar him from acting as a director or officer in the future.