“The letters are sent by the thousands to people across the country who have written bad checks, threatening them with jail if they do not pay up. They bear the seal and signature of the local district attorney’s office. But there is a catch: the letters are from debt-collection companies, …

Does Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars look like News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch? Does Dr. Evil from Austin Powers (played by Mike Meyers) look like Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein? Does Boris Badenov from Rocky and Bulwinkle look like Telmex CEO Carlos Slim? Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur break down …

“Forbes magazine released its list of the 400 richest Americans Wednesday, and (drum roll, please) the rich have gotten richer. As a group, the 400 saw their net worth rise by about 13 percent to some $1.7 trillion…The Forbes list is rolling out alongside recent news that about 1 in …

“A U.S. soldier who fled to Canada to avoid the war in Iraq has been arrested and detained at the U.S. border after losing her deportation case. Kimberly Rivera, who lived in Canada for five years with her husband and four children, was issued a deportation order last month and …

It’s a Friday night and magic is in the air. Maybe it’s the excitement from the release of the iPhone 5. Maybe it’s all the extra LTE waves flying through the air. Or, maybe it’s that special type of magic that only comes from a Friday night Vergecast. We’ll let …

“…Rick Perry, who is still Governor of the State of Texas for reasons that modern science cannot explain, would still like to be Commander in Chief of something, even if it’s not the United States. In a teleconference with wingnut pastor Rick Scarborough, Perry called on “Christian warriors” to engage …

Well, it took us four times as long as normal to find our way to the Verge Studios today (thanks a lot, iOS Maps), but we made it. And just in time, because it turns out there’s lots to talk about. Like all the news you missed while you waited …

“Sarah Silverman isn’t taking the voter ID laws complicating the 2012 election lightly. After all, who’s going to look out for black people, poor people, old people and students if not America’s potty-mouthed comedic sweetheart? Making it illegal to vote without a photo ID is supposed to prevent voter fraud, …

“A contractor from Plaquemine monitoring hurricane cleanup in Grand Isle was spit on and called the “N” word, and captured the entire assault on her cell phone. “It was humiliating,” Brandi Worley told News 2. “It was just so hurtful.” Worley said two of her other coworkers were also hit …

“Fiona Apple was arrested at a border stop in Sierra Blanca, Texas on Wednesday, after authorities claim they found hashish on the singer’s tour bus, reports TMZ. According to the website, when Apple’s bus was stopped for inspection officers uncovered the hashish, which is a concentrated form of cannabis. The …