Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) flamed President Donald Trump for blaming Ukraine for Russia’s invasion of it on Wednesday .

On Wednesday morning, the president called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator” while claiming he is responsible for the war along with the deaths of “MILLIONS” in a rant on Truth Social.

Schumer reacted to Trump’s recent comments by arguing that the Kremlin must be “overjoyed” by Trump attacking Ukraine amid negotiations to end the war. The Democratic lawmaker called on Republicans to “take a stand for democracy and freedom” during a speech on the House floor.

Rather than speak the truth, rather than acknowledge Vladimir Putin’s role in starting this war. President Trump, amazingly. Blamed Ukraine for Putin’s invasion. To quote the president. You should never have started it, he said. He was saying that to President Zelinsky. This is disgusting! Disgusting. After how this man has fought so hard and so valiantly. And it deliberately distorts the truth. It’s just awful to see an American presidents disgusting to see an American president turn against one of our friends and openly side with a thug like Vladimir Putin. It’s shameful to hear the president repeat Putin’s propaganda while laying the groundwork for negotiations that favor Russia at Ukraine’s expense. The people of Ukraine did not start this war. Vladimir Putin did. Ukrainians have fought and died on the battlefield to defend their home. The suffering and destruction of the Ukrainian country and the Ukrainian people that they have endured is staggering.

All because of Vladimir Putin. And let’s not forget America. Maybe there are some who say enough already. If we give in to Putin now, America will inevitably pay the price later. That’s what history has shown. When you give in to thugs, when you give in to dictators. You pay the price. Hasn’t Donald Trump and his allies learn the lessons of history? This is not just about the security of another nation. This struggle is in every way about the ultimate security of the American people. Make no mistake, right now, the Kremlin is overjoyed by what Donald Trump is saying and what he’s doing. Every single Republican must be put on record for President Trump’s dangerous and false statements about the war in Ukraine. We have an obligation in the Senate to take a stand for the truth and take a stand against autocrats. And we will do it shortly. The American people deserve to know. Will Republicans take a stand for democracy and freedom around the world? Or will they cater to Putin and Russia like Trump is doing with ultimately bad consequences for all of us?

Watch the clip above via CSPAN.

Brit Hume, chief political analyst for Fox News, reacted ominously to President Donald Trump’s latest anti-Ukrainian screed on Wednesday.

On Wednesday morning, Trump followed up his Tuesday rant blaming Ukraine for Russia’s invasion of it with a post about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Truth Social.

“Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and ‘TRUMP,’ will never be able to settle,” wrote Trump. “The United States has spent $200 Billion Dollars more than Europe, and Europe’s money is guaranteed, while the United States will get nothing back. Why didn’t Sleepy Joe Biden demand Equalization, in that this War is far more important to Europe than it is to us — We have a big, beautiful Ocean as separation.”

He continued:

On top of this, Zelenskyy admits that half of the money we sent him is “MISSING.” He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden “like a fiddle.” A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left. In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only “TRUMP,” and the Trump Administration, can do. Biden never tried, Europe has failed to bring Peace, and Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the “gravy train” going. I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died – And so it continues…..

Hume reacted to Trump’s post on X, observing that it must be “Music to the ears of Vladimir Putin.”

The veteran political commentator, who has also been critical of Trump’s campaign against the Associated Press, also shared a scathing piece from conservative columnist John Podhoretz, who denounced Trump’s comments on Tuesday as “utterly despicable.”

“Trump is under no obligation to support Ukraine. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t,” wrote Podhoretz. “But doing so while accusing Ukraine of being the aggressor in the most unjustified, pitiless, and brutal war of aggression in our time is an act of infamy almost without parallel.”

On Wednesday, Apple refreshed its budget iPhone line. However, this isn't the iPhone SE 4; it's the iPhone 16e. It's the first time in a while Apple has added a letter to its current iPhone series (like the iPhone 6S or iPhone 5c), which might have you wondering: Should I buy the iPhone 16, or the iPhone 16E?

The TL;DR: The iPhone 16e is remarkably similar to the iPhone 16. For most people, this is likely the iPhone to buy, and comes with enough of what you're looking for in the iPhone/iOS experience—especially when you consider the money you save. However, in order to make this iPhone more affordable than its other devices, Apple did have to cut some corners. I doubt many of these decisions will be dealbreakers for people looking to buy an iPhone without spending a ton, but there are some key differences hidden underneath the surface of these two sibling devices.

Display

Whether you buy an iPhone 16 or iPhone 16E, you're going to get a 6.1-inch "Super Retina XDR" display. What that really means is you'll be using a bright, colorful, high-res OLED display that's exactly the same size between both phones.

However, while both iPhones have the same sized 6.1-inch display, the 16e's doesn't get quite as bright. Apple says it typically reaches 800 nits of brightness, and 1200 nits for HDR content. The 16's display, on the other hand, reaches 1000 nits of brightness normally, 1600 nits for HDR content, and 2,000 nits when outdoors. The 16's is also a bit higher res, with a resolution of 2556 x 1179 versus the 16e's 2532 x 1170, but both displays are 460 ppi.

The biggest difference you'll notice, besides how these displays look outdoors, is at the top of the screen. The iPhone 16 has Apple's Dynamic Island, which, aside from housing the Face ID camera, also sports digital widgets for different functions on your iPhone. The 16e, on the other hand, has a traditional notch, the same one you'd find on the iPhone 14. If you're used to the notch, it's going to be the same experience here, but you do miss out of the two key perks of the Dynamic Island: those widgets, and the small bump in screen real estate that comes with shrinking this cutout.

Performance

Both iPhones are running the A18 chip, which is Apple latest iPhone SoC. On the 16e, that gets you a six-core CPU, four-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine. That's about the same on the 16, except it gets an extra GPU core. You won't notice that extra core in many simple tasks, but it likely will help during intensive gameplay sessions, as well as for longevity. It's a minor bump, however, and likely not something to base a purchase decision on.

The A18 chip means the iPhone 16e is compatible with Apple Intelligence, which the third-generation iPhone SE (as well as iPhones as new as the iPhone 15) are not. That's a perk if you're really into AI features, but if you're the kind to disable them immediately, you might not care for it.

Camera

Flip the 16 and 16e around, and you'll notice a big difference right away: The 16e only has one camera, while the 16 has two.

That solo camera on the 16e is quite similar to the 16's main shooter: They're both 26mm 48MP "fusion" lenses, with an aperture of ƒ/1.6. The 16e's has optical image stabilization, while the 16's has "sensor‑shift" optical image stabilization, which can offer a quicker stabilization. The 16e has "Hybrid Focus Pixels" while the 16 has "100% Focus Pixels:" That means all the pixels in the iPhone 16 are used to focus the image, while only some are used on the 16e. Both cameras offer "super-high-resolution" photos, in both 24MP and 48MP options. Both cameras also support 12MP "2x telephoto" zoom at 52mm.

You also get a number of perks on both iPhones: 10x digital zoom, night mode, portrait mode, etc. Based on paper specs, you'll probably achieve similar results between both of these cameras. However, what you're missing on the 16e is the 12MP ultra-wide lens. If you're going to pick one camera, you'll want the main shooter, but it is nice to have the ultra-wide for those times it's difficult to get your entire subject in frame at once.

The iPhone 16 also comes with some video perks over the iPhone 16e, including 4K Dolby Vision cinematic mode, 2.8K Dolby Vision Action mode, Spatial video recording, QuickTake video for 4K Dolby Vision at 60 fps, and Macro video recording. But to be clear, you can shoot normal 4K Dolby Vision video on both iPhones.

On the front, you get the same 12MP selfie camera with an aperture of ƒ/1.9. Where the 16 wins here is in its extra Portrait mode controls and "latest generation" Photographic Styles, but for most selfies and FaceTime calls, there won't be much difference.

Buttons

If you're coming from an older iPhone, you might be surprised to see the omission of a ringer switch. In its place is the Action button, just as you'd find on the iPhone 16. While the Action button can still flip your iPhone to silent mode, you can also assign a different function for it instead. Perhaps you'd rather the Action button launch the camera, your flashlight, or a Shortcut, which opens up the possibilities.

However, the iPhone 16 does come with a button the 16e does not: Camera Control. As the name suggests, this button gives you added controls over your iPhone's camera, including the ability to launch the camera from the button, snap photos, or zoom.

Cellular and battery

The iPhone 16e is Apple's first iPhone to ship with a proprietary cellular modem, which the company calls C1. All other iPhones use modems from Qualcomm. You probably won't notice any network gains from Apple's own C1 modem, but there is one benefit: battery life.

Apple says the 16e has the "best battery life ever on a 6.1-inch iPhone." According to the company's stats, that translates to up to 26 hours of video playback, 21 hours of streaming video, and 90 hours of audio playback. Compare that to the iPhone 16, which achieves up to 22 hours of video playback, 18 hours of streaming video, and 80 hours of audio playback. That said, you won't be charging the iPhone 16e with MagSafe, as the device isn't compatible with Apple's magnetic charging standard. If you don't have any MagSafe products already, you won't notice this omission, but if you do, it might be a frustrating downgrade.

Colors

The iPhone 16e only comes in two colors: Black or White. The 16, on the other hand, Black, White, Pink, Teal, or Ultramarine (purple). It's an interesting choice, but considering how most people slap a case on their iPhones as soon as they buy it, the color probably doesn't matter as much here.

Smaller features

There are a number of smaller features here that are exactly the same: The 16e and 16 both have USB-C, which means you can finally ditch your Lightning cables (unless you still have Lightning accessories).

You can also treat both the same around water, since the 16 and 16e are rated IP68 water and dust resistant. That means the phones can handle submersion in six meters of water for up to 30 minutes.

Both the 16 and the 16e come in three storage sizes: 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. They're quite similar in size and weight, too. iPhone 16e is 5.78 x 2.82 x 0.31 inches, and weighs 5.88 ounces, while the iPhone 16 is 5.81 x 2.82 x 0.31 inches and weighs six ounces.

Price

Objectively, the iPhone 16 is a better iPhone than the 16e, since it's essentially a 16e, just with a bunch of added perks (minus the extra battery life, that is). However, the price is what is supposed to make the 16e the bargain here. The iPhone 16 starts at $799, which, while cheaper than the $999 iPhone 16 Pro, is still quite expensive.

The 16e is indeed less expensive, but it isn't cheap. It starts at $599 for the 128GB model. The iPhone SE 3, on the other hand, launched at $429, which itself was $30 more expensive than the iPhone SE 2 before it. "Budget" iPhone clearly means something different now.

Everything is pricey these days, which needs to be taken into consideration here. Yesterday, you could buy an iPhone 16 for $800. Soon, you can pre-order most of the 16's best features in the 16e for $600. If you can live without the brighter screen, the Camera Control button, the ultra-wide camera, and the extra photography controls, that's $200 well saved. Plus, you won't need to run to find a charger as frequently as you would with the iPhone 16.

Pre-orders for the 16e start Feb. 21. The iPhone will be available starting Feb. 28.

DOGE subcommittee member Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) fired off several digs at CNN for always trying to “run down Elon Musk and Donald Trump” in a move that provoked the network’s host Pamela Brown to end the already fiery interview.

The heated exchange came to a head on Tuesday as Brown challenged the congressman on Musk’s influence over federal cuts at DOGE and the extent of his accountability to government oversight.

As the debate raged, the host pressed Burchett on what he knew and if he was properly interrogating DOGE’s actions and access to sensitive data, while he slammed left-leaning networks and Democrats for being so “disturbed” that “their guy” Musk was now helping Trump that they were overlooking DOGE’s achievements in a bid to find fault.

As the on-air joust rounded off, Burchett pointed the finger at CNN and asked why its journalists were “not exposing” the waste that Musk’s teams had.

When Brown argued that CNN’s journalists had been covering government inefficiencies “at length,” the congressman opened up on the network as a whole.

“All y’all do is run down Elon Musk and Donald Trump, and you continuously do this. And that’s why your ratings are in the tank. Ma’am,” he fired.

He added: “You need to jump on board with this thing, America is tired –”

While Burchett continued to speak, Brown cut in to end the interview: “Alright Congressman Tim Burchett, we’re going to leave it there.”

Watch above via CNN.

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If you like the idea of running errands or going for a jog without lugging your phone around, the Apple Watch Series 7 (GPS + Cellular) is down to $249.99 on Woot. That’s a $500 discount on its original $749 price tag, but the deal is only live for two days or until it sells out.

If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you get free standard shipping, while others will have to pay $6 (keep in mind that Woot won’t ship to Alaska, Hawaii, PO boxes, or APO addresses).

Now, if you’re wondering why you should care about the cellular version over the regular GPS model, it's because it doesn’t need to be tethered to your iPhone to have a connection. You can take calls, reply to messages, stream Apple Music, and use Apple Pay without having your phone nearby. That’s especially useful if you like to run without your phone or leave it behind while at the gym.

PCMag called the Series 7 the “Best Smartwatch of the Year 2021” and gave it an Editor's Choice award when it launched, thanks to its larger display (meaning bigger buttons, a full QWERTY keyboard for texting, and an easier-to-read interface) and fast charging capabilities, going from 0 to 80% in about 45 minutes (helpful if you use sleep tracking and don’t want to take it off for long). Of course, it's a couple of years old at this point (the Series 10 is the most recent generation), but the Series 7 is still a solid option if you don't care about having the absolutely newest tech available.

The Series 7 also comes with an IP6X and WR50 rating, offering strong dust resistance for outdoor workouts and water resistance up to 50 meters (so you can wear it in the shower or take it poolside without worry). Additionally, this model comes with Apple’s limited one-year hardware warranty, which is a nice safety net.

Like other Apple Watches, the Series 7 has a full set of health features including heart rate monitoring, ECG, blood oxygen tracking, always-on altimeter, and sleep tracking, among others. It also keeps an eye on your well-being, notifying you if it detects potentially harmful noise levels or irregular heart rhythms, plus fall detection—automatically dialing for help if you take a hard fall and don’t respond. That said, its battery life is around 18 hours, so you’ll need to charge it regularly, which isn’t great, but that’s the Apple Watch standard. If you want something that lasts multiple days, the Ultra models are better, but they cost a lot more.

After five long years, Apple TV has made it to Android phones and tablets, bringing a polished and Apple-like interface to every Android device out there. You can finally binge-watch Severance on your Samsung smartphone (as you very much should), and if you're like me, you might actually prefer it there than on iPhone.

The Apple TV app for Android, it turns out, is a stripped down version of the TV app from iPhone and iPad, not including content from partner streaming services or the ability to buy or rent movies. But it's this stripped down approach that actually makes the Android app better than the iPhone counterpart, at least in my opinion. In the language of Dieter Rams, "good design is as little design as possible".

When you open the Apple TV app on Android, the Apple TV+ tab is the default option, showing your Apple TV+ queue and top TV shows and movies right up top. The only other content option is Apple's MLS sports streaming add-on, which gets its own distinct tab, too.

On the iPhone and iPad, meanwhile, the TV app is actually much bigger than just Apple TV+. It carries subscription add-ons for different services like Disney+, Prime Video, Starz, Hulu, Peacock, and more. Plus, you can also use the app to rent or buy movies. This means that when you open the Apple TV app, you might be greeted by a banner for a new movie you've been wanting to see, thinking it's been added to Apple TV+ for free. However, clicking in will greet you with a big buy button, instead.

Because Apple TV's interface is incredibly simple and there's no sections dividing up services (save for Apple's own), that can get confusing fast.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Compare that to Android, where the Apple TV app still carries the same design language, same polished interface, and the same minimal media player, but just feels better to use because there are no distractions and no hoops to jump through.

On the iPhone or iPad app, I've come to dread the extra step of navigating to the dedicated Apple TV+ tab before I look for streaming content. On Android, that's already the default. Android also has a dedicated Downloads tab, while on the iOS and iPadOS app, you first have to switch to the Library tab to see your Downloads. Everything takes an extra step on the iPhone app.

I sincerely hope that Apple is inspired by this feedback and works on making the iPhone app simpler, but given the nature of the product and all the things that the app does, it might be better to make the Apple TV+ app a separate entity by itself, kind of like the Apple TV app on Android.

The Apple TV app on Android comes with a one-week free trial for Apple TV+, and then it's the same $9.99/month subscription as elsewhere. While the app is quite feature-rich, it does lack the Cast feature, so you can't just stream content to a TV via your Android smartphone. Aside from that, though, everything I need is here, including my watch list, offline downloads and picture-in-picture.

Image by sigckgc on Flickr via Creative Commons license.

President Donald Trump’s announcement that he was ordering the Treasury Department to stop minting pennies was cheered on by a group of Washington Post columnists on the paper’s Impromptu podcast.

Trump posted on his Truth Social account earlier this month that he was ending penny production because each one “literally cost us more than 2 cents,” which he described as “so wasteful!” Unlike some of his other nominations and actions during these first few weeks of his second term, this move has been far less controversial and even garnered bipartisan praise.

Post columnists Drew Goins, Molly Roberts, and Megan McArdle discussed the end of the penny in the latest Impromptu episode, posted on Monday with an article headlined, “Junk the penny. And the nickel and dime, too!”

McArdle commented that if she sees a penny on the street, “I don’t bother to lean down and pick it up.”

“It’s not worth my time,” Goins agreed. “I walk right past it. I try to step on it, like a crunchy leaf.”

“Stopping the production of pennies could actually make some sense,” said Roberts. “No pun intended, I promise. It does cost more to mint one than it’s worth.”

The group of columnists agreed that with people increasingly moving to digital forms of payment and the ongoing march of inflation, the penny had outlived its usefulness.

McArdle noted that many people “do not remember when you could actually buy something with a penny,” with penny candy a thing of the past and pennies mostly being used when retailers deploy “that sad trick” of ending a price with .99 because of the psychological effect on customers.

“I think it’s very difficult to make an unsentimental, logical pro-penny case unless you’re a zinc manufacturer,” said Roberts.

Goins offered a vocabulary lesson with the word “seigniorage,” which means the profit the government makes when it issues currency, calculated in this case as the difference between the face value of a penny and the costs to produce one. Pennies had a “negative utility” for businesses too, because the time it takes to deal with a penny at a cash register was worth more than a penny.

Taking “zinc and a little bit of copper” to make pennies meant diverting these resources to “these teeny, tiny metal discs that have absolutely no use,” Goins continued. “More than two-thirds of pennies that are minted go out of circulation almost immediately because people just don’t use them.” The machines at zoos at other tourist attractions that smash pennies into commemorative tokens could be retooled to smash nickels instead, he argued — “perhaps even more space on which to emboss a little picture of a kangaroo” — or even quarters, since nickels also have a negative seigniorage.

Goins and McCardle took it a step further and argued to “get rid of the penny, the nickel, and the dime,” although Roberts was not on board with that.

“As far as Donald Trump’s policy proposals go,” said Roberts, “abolishing the penny isn’t actually especially outlandish. He’s far from the first politician to want to do it. He’s far from even the first president to want to do it. I’m pretty sure Barack Obama said we should get rid of the penny, too. Why isn’t it gone?”

There had been lobbying by zinc manufacturers, said Goins, but it had spent only about $3 million since the mid-aughts. The real obstacle to eliminating the penny, he said, was “political inertia” and “preference intensity,” where politics are affected by the fact that “a small group of people cares a lot and a large group of people cares a little.” He added that his personal preference would be to drop the penny and nickel, keep the dime, “radically” increase the minting of 50-cent pieces, and make prices be “only to one decimal place.”

Listen to the full podcast here.