Workers at Grand Theft Auto VI developer Rockstar Games have submitted a request for their union, the IWGB Game Workers Union, to be voluntarily recognized, according to a press release. The request follows Rockstar firing more than 30 staffers last year in a move accused of being "union busting." According to the release, IWGB members have been "actively" organizing since 2019 and "claim they now represent a significant proportion of the workforce across each of the studio's sites in Edinburgh, Dundee, Lincoln, Leeds and London." As the union has grown, "Rockstar has already made improvements to workers' conditions including unprecedented … Read the full story at The Verge. View the full article

An anonymous reader quotes a report from 404 Media: On June 26, the County Manager of Henrico County, Virginia, John Vithoulkas, sent an email to thousands of county employees asking them to help the local government conserve electricity. "Beginning July 1st, the rate we pay for electricity used in all Henrico County government and school facilities will increase dramatically -- by 25%, increasing costs by an estimated $5 million next fiscal year. We anticipate more rate increases for electricity in the years ahead," a copy of the email obtained by 404 Media said (emphasis his). Henrico County is a community of more than 350,000 people in eastern Virginia just outside of Richmond. It also hosts 37 data centers and there are plans to build 17 more, including plans to convert hundreds of acres of Civil War battlefields into data centers. Thanks to its proximity to DC and vast amounts of land, Henrico County became a data center hub seemingly overnight and its services clients big and small. Meta built a data center there in 2017. "To mitigate the impact of higher electric costs, I am asking that we, collectively, make slight adjustments to conserve electricity across our individual workspaces," Vithoulkas wrote in the email. "Turn off your lights when leaving your workspace, including when you leave for the day. Turn off your computers/laptops at the end of each workday. If your workspace has windows, adjust the blinds to manage heat from sunlight. Unplug any appliances, chargers, or other electrical items when they are not in use. Please limit use of (or refrain altogether from using) space heaters. A typical space heater alone can cost the county from $150 to $300 per year in electricity costs." "Each dollar we can save by conserving electricity is another dollar the county can reinvest into staff and the services we provide our residents," Vithoulkas email said. Read more of this story at Slashdot. View the full article

New Jersey Republican Tom Kean Jr, told fellow lawmakers that depression was the reason he had been away since March. View the full article

The GIF-picking interfaces in some of your favorite online platforms might look different going forward, as Google prepares to shut down the Tenor API today. While the Tenor website, along with its searchable GIF library, will remain live, platforms like X, Discord, Bluesky, and WhatsApp that previously integrated the API are now having to migrate to alternative GIF picker services. Google acquired the Tenor GIF platform in 2018. Both its website and API allow users to search for GIFs using keywords, similar to competing services like Giphy and Klipy. Google will continue using Tenor across its own services, including Google Messages and Gb … Read the full story at The Verge. View the full article

LeBron James will be in a new destination when his 24th NBA season commences. The NBA's all-time leading scorer reportedly told the Los Angeles Lakers that he would leave the team in free agency after eight seasons with the organization. James joined the Lakers in 2018 after a second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers in which he finally brought a championship to the Ohio city. CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM With Los Angeles, James won the 2020 NBA title, his fourth, and passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most points scored in NBA history -- he is at 43,440 and counting. This past season James, who will turn 42 in December, scored 20.9 points per game, the lowest mark of his career, but still managed 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds per contest. The Golden State Warriors are reportedly looking to pair James with Stephen Curry, which would turn one of the NBA's greatest rivalries into two of the game's greatest stars fighting for their fifth title together. The Cavaliers could also be in the mix, but Draymond Green already reportedly opted out of a deal to eventually take even less money with Golden State to make room for James. Meanwhile, Los Angeles will now fully be Luka Doncic's team. The Lakers acquired him in a blockbuster deal with the Dallas Mavericks last year that is widely regarded as one of the most lopsided trades in the history of the league. ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON'T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW! The Lakers reportedly wanted James back, but the four-time MVP was all set -- even with his son, Bronny, on the team. The Jameses became the first father-son duo to not only be teammates in the NBA but also to be active at the same time. If it is Golden State, it would be the fourth team for James. He and Curry teamed up in the 2024 Olympics to bring gold back to the United States for the fifth time in a row. Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter. View the full article