The White House has taken down Build the Wall, a browser game styled after Tetris that had players stack bricks to construct a border wall, from its online arcade. The removal followed public criticism from The Tetris Company, which said it had no involvement in the game and cited copyright concerns over its close resemblance to Tetris.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-08
The White House quietly removed 'Build the Wall,' a Tetris-inspired browser game from its new WhiteHouse.gov 'Arcade' section, after The Tetris Company publicly disavowed the game and warned it takes copyright infringement seriously. The game had players stack border-wall bricks to block pixelated 'zombies' representing migrants, but unlike real Tetris, completed lines never cleared, making every round end in a 'Border Breached' message. Other games in the same arcade, modeled on Flappy Bird and Snake, remain live.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-08
The White House quietly took down 'Build the Wall,' a Tetris-style browser game framed as stopping a 'zombie border siege,' just days after launching an arcade-themed section of its website. The removal follows criticism of the game's content and comes after Tetris Company said it was reviewing the situation. Other Trump-agenda-themed games, including a Flappy Bird clone and a Tapper-style title, remain live on the site.
theverge.com
· 2026-09-08
The House of Representatives has trimmed its September calendar down to only four voting days, sharply reducing the window for lawmakers to act on pending legislation. Among the bills losing time is the CLARITY Act, considered the crypto industry's top remaining legislative priority in Congress.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-05
The Tetris Company publicly denied any involvement in Build the Wall, an immigration-themed browser game released by the White House that closely mimics Tetris's falling-block mechanics. Instead of clearing lines, players stack bricks to grow a wall meant to block a 'zombie horde' near the Southern Border, evoking Trump's long-standing border wall policy. The company said it never licensed its brand for the game and is reviewing possible copyright infringement.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-04
The White House released a set of browser-based arcade games with names like 'Build the Wall' and 'Rio Run' that closely mimic well-known titles such as Tetris, Snake and Flappy Bird, using immigration-themed imagery including depictions of migrants as 'aliens' fleeing toward the U.S. border. Tetris Company confirmed it had no role in creating the game modeled on its puzzle mechanics and said it is reviewing the situation, while other referenced companies including Sega, Nintendo, Xbox and Flappy Bird's creators have not commented.
theverge.com
· 2026-09-04
New promotional images have surfaced showing Matt Damon in costume as a Power Ranger for the upcoming project 'Thasnagar.' Separately, first details emerged on 'The Waffle House Index,' a film starring Inde Navarrette that mixes crocodiles, aliens and nuclear weapons into its plot.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-04
Billionaire investor Leon Black skipped a scheduled sworn deposition before the House Oversight Committee on Thursday, instead filing a federal lawsuit seeking to block subpoenas tied to the panel's investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Committee leaders responded by saying they would consider holding Black in contempt of Congress.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-03
House Democrats are preparing oversight plans for 2026, including using appropriations power to pressure Trump aides and family members to comply with subpoenas if they retake the majority. Targets reportedly include funding for Trump's West Wing renovations and a proposed triumphal arch in Washington. Rep. Jamie Raskin said Congress controls the purse strings for federal buildings and can block further alterations to the White House.
wired.com
· 2026-09-02
A divided Supreme Court, in a 5-4 order, allowed construction to continue on President Trump's planned $400 million White House ballroom while legal challenges to the project move through lower courts. The majority found the National Trust for Historic Preservation likely lacked standing to sue, citing government claims the project addresses security concerns, while Chief Justice Roberts led a dissent arguing the project is likely unlawful without congressional approval.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-01
Google Street View publicly displays detailed exterior shots of homes, including house numbers, parked cars, and yard layouts, accessible to anyone who searches an address. Google has long allowed users to request blurring of this imagery, but the feature is hidden deep within Google Maps and rarely used because most people don't know it exists.
cnet.com
· 2026-09-01
The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence released a report assessing U.S. counterterrorism progress since the September 11, 2001 attacks, warning that advanced AI systems could help terrorists or hostile actors build weapons of mass destruction and plan deadly attacks. The panel called on intelligence agencies and policymakers to prepare for so-called 'Black Swan' scenarios in which frontier AI models lower the barrier for rogue actors seeking to cause mass casualties.
cnbc.com
· 2026-08-31