Z.Love's Entertainment Blog

Barn Owls Nest in Manhattan for the First Time in Modern History — Inside the Upper West Side's Newest Celebrity Family

2026-10-14T16:44:12.429-05:00

A barn owl in flight. Photo: Luc Viatour / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).

The newest celebrity family couple or a pop star — it's a family of barn owls that moved into a water tower on the Upper West Side. Experts say these owls are the first in modern history known to have nested in Manhattan, and their arrival has turned a quiet neighborhood into a nighttime gathering spot for birders. For a species in steep decline across New York, the nest is a small miracle — and a reminder of the dangers waiting for them in the big city.

How Scotty the Barn Owl Was Discovered

It started with screeches. Back in September, Upper West Side resident Elisabeth Williams and her husband kept hearing a loud, raspy sound from the patio of their apartment — night after night, the same call. Using the Merlin bird ID app, they identified the source: a barn owl. On October 3, Williams finally snapped a photo of the noisy neighbor, confirming it. She named him Scotty.

Barn owls don't hoot like storybook owls. They are ghostlike predators that fly in near-total silence, and their calls are harsh, drawn-out shrieks that can sound downright eerie echoing between apartment buildings. That otherworldly screech is what gave the family away.

Eight Owls in a Water Tower

Scotty wasn't alone. As many as eight barn owls — two adults and up to six juveniles — have been spotted coming and going from a hole in a neighborhood water tower, where the family has set up house. The nocturnal residents have drawn crowds of birdwatching enthusiasts who gather after dark hoping for a glimpse, with sightings tracked on social media accounts like Manhattan Bird Alert, run by birder David Barrett.

"It's a truly special experience... that people can come out to a public space like this and look at these owls at night," Barrett told CBS News. For New York City wildlife lovers, it's the kind of moment that doesn't come around twice.

Why This Manhattan Nest Matters

Barn owls are considered an extremely rare sight in New York City, with only occasional sightings in recent years. New York sits at the northern edge of the species' range, and their habitat has shrunk dramatically as land development has swallowed the open fields and old barns they favor. State wildlife officials list the species as in rapid decline.

That's what makes this nest so significant. "The presence of a nest right in the middle of the country's biggest city is really exciting," said Jessica Wilson, executive director of the NYC Bird Alliance. To Paul Sweet, an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History, the Upper West Side owls are a sign that "some environments in New York City are becoming more raptor-friendly" — proof that even Manhattan can still make room for wild things.

The Rodenticide Danger Facing the Owls

But the celebration comes with a warning. Barn owls feast on rodents, and New York's rats are routinely poisoned with rodenticide. The poison doesn't stay in the rat — it travels up the food chain into the predators that eat them. "Rats in New York City are often poisoned by rodenticide, meant to kill the rats. But actually, what it does is kill the predators that feed on those rats," Wilson told CBS News. "And if barn owls are eating several rats a day, they are likely to fall prey to this horrible death."

The city knows this story all too well. In 2024, Flaco, the beloved Eurasian eagle-owl who escaped the Central Park Zoo and captivated the city, died after striking a building. The necropsy revealed a severe case of pigeon herpesvirus — and four different types of rodenticide in his system, which likely contributed to the fatal crash. In response, the city passed "Flaco's Law," including a pilot program to control rats with contraception rather than poison. Whether that shift comes fast enough to protect Scotty's family is an open question.

A Welcome Distraction for New Yorkers

For now, the owls are pure joy. Wildlife photographer and author David Lei called the nest "something to be celebrated," adding that it "should also galvanize people to do more to protect our wildlife." And for residents worn down by the daily news cycle, the owls are a gift. "You wake up in the morning and wonder what kind of new hell are we going to have today," neighbor Lydia Sugarman told the New York Times. "And now we have this wonderful distraction."

Eight barn owls in a water tower, shrieking over the Upper West Side — the first Manhattan nest in modern history, and a reminder that nature keeps finding its way back, even in the country's biggest city.

Arby's Coupon Deal Sheet for October 2026

2026-10-13T21:46:17.235-05:00

Arby's has dropped a fresh sheet of Arby's coupons for October 2026, and this batch is stacked. The new flyer advertises over $40 worth of coupons, covering everything from 4-for-$12 roast beef sandwiches to $1 fries — plus the return of a fan favorite and a free sandwich offer for rewards members. Every coupon on the sheet is good through October 31, 2026, at participating U.S. locations. Here is the full breakdown of these fast food deals so you know exactly what to clip before they expire.

Arby's Sandwich Coupons for October 2026

The sandwich deals are the heart of this month's sheet. The headline offer is 4 Classic Roast Beef Sandwiches for $12 — the classic roast beef stack that built the brand, at $3 apiece. Right behind it: 2 Classic Beef 'N Cheddar Sandwiches for $7, pairing the signature roast beef with cheddar cheese sauce and Red Ranch.

Deli-style lovers get the Corned Beef Reuben Sandwich for $6, loaded with corned beef, Swiss, sauerkraut and Thousand Island on toasted marble rye. The 2 Ham & Swiss Melts for $6 deal covers the toasted ham-and-Swiss option, and slider fans can grab 3 Sliders for $5, choosing any three. Rounding out the sandwich lineup: the French Dip & Swiss Sandwich for $5, with roast beef, melted Swiss and au jus for dipping.

Arby's Meal Deal Coupons

If you want the full meal, the sheet has you covered. The 2 Can Dine for $11.99 deal bundles two Classic Roast Beef Sandwiches, two medium fries and two medium soft drinks — one of the best per-person values on the page. The Turkey Ranch & Bacon Meal for $8.99 pairs the turkey, ranch and bacon sandwich with medium fries and a medium drink, and the Double Roast Beef Meal for $8.99 does the same for double-meat fans.

Two more meals land at $7.99: the Gyro Meal (Greek gyro with medium fries and a medium drink) and the Chicken Cordon Bleu Meal (the crispy chicken, ham and Swiss sandwich with medium fries and a medium drink). And the budget pick of the bunch: the Chicken Tenders Snack for $3.99, with three-piece chicken tenders and small fries.

Arby's Snack Coupons: $1 Fries, $2 Shakes and More

The side of the flyer holds the cheapest thrills. Small Fries for $1 — your choice of crinkle or curly — is the kind of deal that barely exists in fast food anymore. A Small Shake for $2 in any flavor makes dessert nearly free, and 4-piece Mozzarella Sticks for $2.29 round out the snack lineup. Each of these allows up to three offers per visit, so the family can all get in on it.

Arby's Steak Nuggets Are Back

The front of the flyer makes the big announcement: steak nuggets are back. The "They're Back" banner sits over a photo of the seared steak bites that have become a cult item every time they return. They are available for a limited time only at participating U.S. locations — so if you missed them last time around, this is your window.

Free Sandwich With Arby's Loaded Rewards

The sheet's other big play is a new-member offer: a free sandwich with a $5 or more purchase when you join Arby's Loaded Rewards. The program pitches a "Double Welcome" (free sandwich now, double points next visit), "Large-Size Rewards" ($1 earns 10 points) and a "Monthly XL Boost" with a new offer every month. Heads-up on the fine print: the free sandwich reward requires new enrollment plus a qualifying $5 pre-tax food purchase, and it expires if not redeemed within 14 days of enrollment.

How Much You Can Really Save

Do the math and the "over $40 worth" claim checks out. Between the sandwich bundles, the meal deals and the $1 fries and $2 shakes, a family of four using a few of these coupons in one visit could easily save $15 to $20 off regular menu prices — and since most offers allow up to three redemptions per visit, the savings stack fast. The 2 Can Dine for $11.99 bundle alone covers two full meals for less than the price of one combo at some competitors.

Fine Print: How to Use These Arby's Coupons

A few things to know before you head out. All of these restaurant deals are valid through October 31, 2026, at participating locations, and most allow up to three offers per visit. They can't be combined with other discounts or offers, and they're not valid with delivery or online ordering — these are in-store, show-the-coupon deals, and tax and fees are extra. Clip the ones you want, check that your local Arby's is participating, and get there before Halloween, because when these coupons expire, they're gone.

New Charitable Tax Break Lets Standard Deduction Filers Deduct Up to $2,000 in Donations

2026-10-13T20:41:30.479-05:00

Accountants at work during tax season.

For years, giving to charity only lowered your tax bill if you itemized your deductions — which left roughly 90 percent of American households out in the cold. That just changed. A new charitable tax deduction created under the 2025 Trump tax bill lets people who claim the standard deduction write off cash donations for the first time in years. According to Kiplinger, the provision reaches an estimated 144 million taxpayers. If you give to charity and take the standard deduction, here is what the new tax break 2026 means for your wallet.

What the New Charitable Tax Deduction Is

Under the new law, taxpayers who don't itemize can deduct qualified cash contributions to charity directly — no Schedule A required. The deduction sits on top of the standard deduction, so you get both. It is a return to something that briefly existed during the pandemic years, when a temporary above-the-line charity deduction was available, but this version is written into the new tax law rather than being a short-term relief measure.

How Much You Can Deduct: $1,000 Single, $2,000 Joint

The caps are straightforward. Single filers can deduct up to $1,000 in qualified charitable donations, and married couples filing jointly can deduct up to $2,000. Those are hard annual ceilings — if you give more than the cap, the extra does not roll over. Unlike some other tax benefits, there is no carryforward for donations above the limit, so timing your giving within the tax year matters.

Who Qualifies for the Charitable Tax Break

The key qualifier is simple: you must claim the standard deduction instead of itemizing. Since about nine in ten households take the standard deduction, that is why the provision touches an estimated 144 million filers. If you itemize, you already deduct charitable donations the old way, so this particular break isn't for you — though the new law changed some rules for itemizers too, as explained below.

Cash is King with the new Charitable Tax Donation Deduction

Not every gift qualifies. The IRS rules for this deduction are narrow:

Only cash counts. That means donations made by check, credit or debit card, or electronic transfer. Non-cash gifts — donated stock, clothing, cars, household goods — are excluded from this particular break.

The recipient must be a qualified 501c3 public charity. Gifts to donor-advised funds and private foundations do not qualify, even though those are legitimate charitable vehicles in other contexts.

There is no carryforward. Give $2,500 as a single filer and only $1,000 is deductible this year; the remaining $1,500 simply disappears for tax purposes.

How Much You'll Actually Save

An important detail: this is a deduction, not a credit. A credit reduces your tax bill dollar for dollar; a deduction reduces your taxable income, and your savings equal the deduction times your marginal tax rate. Kiplinger's example: a married couple with $200,000 of adjusted gross income in the 22 percent bracket would save $440 on a $2,000 donation. The same $2,000 as a hypothetical credit would have been worth the full $2,000.

Estimated federal savings run from roughly $100 to $120 for single filers in the 10 to 12 percent brackets up to about $700 for top-bracket taxpayers claiming the full amount. Modest, but for the 144 million households that previously got zero tax benefit from their giving, it is found money.

The Paperwork: IRS Rules for Claiming It

The IRS applies the same substantiation rules here as it does for itemized charitable deductions. Keep your receipts, bank records, or credit card statements showing the donation. For any single contribution of $250 or more, you need a formal written acknowledgment from the charity. And hang onto your records — the IRS generally recommends keeping tax records for up to seven years. When tax filing season arrives, make sure your donation records are organized before you sit down with your return or your preparer.

What Changed for High-Income Itemizers

The new law didn't only create a break for standard deduction filers — it also tightened the rules at the top. High-income taxpayers who itemize now face a 0.5 percent of adjusted gross income floor before their charitable gifts become deductible. In plain terms, a portion of their giving at the bottom no longer counts. It is a reminder that this tax break 2026 was aimed squarely at ordinary households, not wealthy donors.

What to Do Before You File

If you take the standard deduction and give to charity, a few steps now will pay off at tax filing time. First, confirm your charities are qualified 501c3 public charities — the IRS's online exempt-organization search can verify that in seconds. Second, give in cash-equivalent ways (check, card, electronic transfer) rather than goods if you want this deduction. Third, get written acknowledgments for any gift of $250 or more, and keep every receipt. Finally, remember the caps: $1,000 single, $2,000 joint, no carryforward. With 144 million filers newly eligible, this is one of the broadest tax benefits in the new law — and it rewards the simple act of giving.

Walmart Employee Gets Flowers After 44 Years: The Lost Profit-Sharing Perk That Sparked Outrage

2026-10-13T15:24:24.617-05:00

Gayle holding the flowers given to her for 44 years of service at Walmart's Owensboro, Kentucky store.

A photo of a Walmart employee holding a bouquet of flowers has set the internet on fire — and not in a positive way for a big corporation.

The image shows Gayle, a worker at Walmart's Frederica Street store in Owensboro Kentucky, smiling with her flowers after reaching an almost unheard-of milestone: 44 years with the same company. The store's Facebook page posted the photo to congratulate her, calling it "a huge accomplishment." Instead of warm wishes, the post was flooded with criticism. To millions of viewers, a bouquet looked like a painfully small thank-you for four and a half decades of loyalty. But the story has a deeper layer: when Gayle started at Walmart, the company offered a benefit today's workers can only dream about — company-funded profit sharing. That is the Walmart profit sharing perk the headlines are talking about, and it has been gone for years.

How the Walmart 44-Year Flowers Photo Went Viral

The original post was simple enough: a smiling employee, a vase of flowers, and a caption reading, "Congratulations Gayle on 44 years with the company!! What a huge accomplishment! We appreciate everything you do!" The store has since removed the post, but screenshots had already spread across Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and beyond, where the reaction was brutal.

Commenters called the flowers an underwhelming reward for someone who gave the retailer nearly half a century. One person joked that the arrangement came from one of the store's own display cases. Another wrote that the look on Gayle's face "says it all." The angriest responses aimed at the bigger picture: one commenter wrote that employees used to get "pensions, bonuses," and "now it's pizza parties and poverty." The photo became a symbol of how corporate recognition has shrunk even as workers' loyalty hasn't.

The Perk Gayle Started With: Walmart's Profit-Sharing Plan

Here is the part of the story most people missed. When Gayle Walmart began her career in the early 1980s, the company automatically contributed to a profit-sharing retirement plan for eligible workers — no employee contribution required. At its peak, Walmart put up to 4 percent of a worker's pay into the plan every year, funded entirely by the company. For a career employee who stayed decades, that benefit compounded into a serious retirement nest egg. It was one of the things that made Walmart employee benefits genuinely competitive back then, and it rewarded exactly the kind of long-term loyalty Gayle gave.

Why Walmart Ended Profit Sharing in 2011

In early 2011, Walmart announced it would stop making profit-sharing contributions, replacing the program with matching contributions to employees' 401k retirement plans. The company framed it as a modernization: instead of the company automatically funding retirement, workers would now fund their own 401(k) accounts and Walmart would match contributions up to 6 percent of eligible pay. The switch cut the company's benefits costs — and quietly shifted the burden of saving for retirement from the employer to the employee.

The change was written into the plan documents for good. Walmart's own proxy filings note that the 401(k) plan was amended in 2011 to eliminate the profit-sharing component, and a related executive retirement supplement was frozen to new contributions in early 2013. The company-funded profit-sharing era was over.

What Walmart Employees Get Instead Today

Today's Walmart employee benefits package looks very different from what Gayle signed up for. Workers now get the 401k match — but only if they contribute their own money first, which is a meaningful ask for hourly retail workers living paycheck to paycheck. The company has added other perks over the years, including an associate stock purchase plan and education benefits, but the old deal — show up, work hard for decades, and the company builds your retirement for you — is gone. That contrast is exactly why the flowers photo stung so many people.

Why the Flowers Sparked Such a Backlash

The outrage was never really about one bouquet. It was about the math. Forty-four years of early mornings, holidays, and hard work, recognized with flowers that cost less than an hour of labor. Set against the vanished profit-sharing plan, the photo reads like a before-and-after picture of American retail work: the "before" was a company that shared its profits with the people who generated them, and the "after" is a social media post.

Defenders of the store point out the obvious — Gayle herself was smiling, her coworkers clearly care about her, and a local store's Facebook post was never going to include a retirement package. Nobody knows what Gayle actually received privately. But viral news doesn't run on nuance, and the image tapped into a frustration far bigger than one store in Kentucky.

What Gayle's Story Says About Retail Loyalty

There is a quiet irony at the center of this story. Gayle is part of a generation of retail workers who stayed because the deal was worth staying for — steady work plus benefits that built real security. She got in under the wire on profit sharing, which means her loyalty was, at least in part, rewarded the old way. The workers hired after 2011 will never get that version of the deal, no matter how many decades they give.

So was a bouquet enough for 44 years? The internet has rendered its verdict. But maybe the better question is the one the moneywise piece that started this conversation asked: what happened to the perk that made 44 years worth it in the first place — and what would it take to bring that kind of loyalty deal back?

Why Mike Tomlin was Frustrated Watching 'Disgusting' Giants vs. Commanders NFL Game

2026-10-13T10:44:40.335-05:00

Cam Skattebo watching the final play of the Giants-Commanders game

Sunday's NFL Week 5 slate gave us one of the strangest finishes in recent memory. The New York Giants and Washington Commanders played 75 minutes of football at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, and neither team could win it. The Giants Commanders tie ended 27-27 in overtime, but the score tells only a fraction of t could win it. The Giants Commanders tie ended 27-27 in overtime, but the score tells only a fraction of the story. Cam Skattebo's crushing overtime fumble, Washington's clock-management meltdown, and Mike Tomlin's viral disgust turned this game into the most talked-about finish of the weekend. Here is how it all fell apart — twice.

How the Giants Commanders Overtime Tie Happened

Washington looked like it had the game in hand. The Commanders built a 27-13 lead with 11:05 left in regulation behind quarterback Jayden Daniels, who was playing his first game back after missing two weeks with a dislocated left elbow. But the Giants refused to go away. Quarterback Jameis Winston threw two late touchdown passes, including a 17-yard strike to Malik Nabers with 1:43 to play, and the game went to overtime knotted at 27.

Overtime only made things weirder. The Giants got the first possession and drove into range, but kicker Dominic Zvada — who had already missed from 50 and 57 yards — missed again from 46. Washington punted with about five minutes left, and New York marched back past the Washington 30 with roughly two minutes on the clock. A win was sitting right there for the taking.

Cam Skattebo's Overtime Fumble at the Washington 24

On the first play after the two-minute warning, the Giants handed the ball to rookie running back Cam Skattebo on first-and-10. Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne punched the ball free, and Shy Tuttle recovered it for Washington with 1:55 remaining. Just like that, the Giants' game-winning field goal attempt vanished.

The turnover stung even more because it fit a pattern. Skattebo, a 2025 fourth-round pick out of Arizona State, has now fumbled four times in five games this season — a ball-security problem that keeps showing up at the worst possible moments.

Jayden Daniels and the Commanders' Clock Management Disaster

Washington got the gift and gave it right back. Daniels, who had been brilliant all day — 17 of 25 passing for 199 yards plus 103 rushing yards and two touchdowns on runs of 38 and 26 yards — drove the Commanders 53 yards into field-goal range, including a 16-yard scramble. After a two-yard run by Rachaad White moved the ball to the Giants' 24 with 55 seconds left and no timeouts remaining, all Washington had to do was stop the clock and send out kicker Drew Stevens for a 42-yard game-winner.

Instead, chaos. The Commanders snapped the ball with 12 seconds left on a play designed for a quick throw toward the sideline. Daniels tucked it, was tackled for no gain with 8 seconds left, and Washington scrambled to line up for a spike — but couldn't get another snap off before time expired. Stevens never got on the field. The game ended in a 27-27 tie, and Commanders head coach Dan Quinn ripped his headset off and threw it to the ground.

Mike Tomlin's Viral Reaction to the Giants Commanders Finish

If you watched NBC's Football Night in America, you saw the moment that launched a thousand memes. Former Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, now a studio analyst, did not hide his disgust. "I'd describe it as disgusting," Tomlin said. "Division wins are too precious in the National Football League. I was disgusted by the Skattebo fumble. I threw up in my mouth a little bit at the end of the game."

Tomlin was careful to note he wasn't laughing at his close friend Quinn's expense — having been in that chair himself, he was just glad he wasn't the one dealing with the fallout. But his revulsion summed up how the football world felt watching both teams fumble away a win. One former NFL scout went even further, calling the ending one of the worst moments in the history of the league.

Cam Skattebo Takes the Blame for the Giants Commanders Tie

To his credit, Skattebo didn't dodge anything after the game. "First of all, I fumbled the ball. We can't have that," he said. "I understand that. I'm going into the film room and get it fixed." The rookie explained his mindset on the play: "I felt like I had good protection on it. The kid made a hell of a play. I think in that situation what I think I could do differently is try not to get the extra yards because we're already in a good position and continue to take care of the ball... I'm the player that tries to fight for as many yards as possible for this team. It kind of bit me in the ass there."

Skattebo also admitted the obvious: Washington's even bigger blunder took some of the heat off him. He called the Commanders' final sequence "insane" and acknowledged it would lessen the criticism coming his way. "There's 11 guys on the other team who are screaming at you, telling you you messed up, it's your fault, you sold the game... it sucks," he said. Still, he put the result on his own shoulders: "We win that game if I do."

Dan Quinn "Furious" After the Commanders' OT Blunder

Quinn's anger didn't fade overnight. At his Monday press conference, he summed up his feelings in one word: "Furious." "Furious about our execution in the crucial moments of the game," he said. "We work really hard on things and it didn't look like it. Pissed about it."

The coach took full responsibility, absolving Daniels of blame for the final play. "The sequencing of that does not fall on him," Quinn said. "It's an outside throw or a clock — an out-of-bounds throw, or a clock. That has to come from me. I have to put him in that spot." He admitted the right call was to clock the ball early rather than chase extra yards: "We don't need to gain more yards." After the game, he had put it more simply: "Leaving tonight with a tie feels like a loss."

Daniels owned his part too. "We have to stop the clock. We have to know the situation," the quarterback said. "We got to relay that as an offense. It starts with everyone, top down. Ultimately, you know, it's on me."

They weren't the only ones stunned. Commanders co-owner Magic Johnson posted that he was in "total disbelief" over the clock management, writing, "All we had to do was kick the field goal and we would have won the game." In the radio booth, Bram Weinstein and London Fletcher were equally dumbfounded — "You've got to be kidding me," Fletcher muttered as the clock hit zero.

What the 27-27 Tie Means for the NFC East

The standings barely moved — the Giants sit at 3-1-1 and remain undefeated in divisional games, while the Commanders fell to 1-3-1 — but the vibes could not be more different. It was the third overtime tie between these two teams, matching the Packers and Vikings for the most since the NFL added overtime in 1974. The Giants host the Saints on Sunday, and Washington visits the 49ers on Monday night. Both teams will spend the week trying to forget a finish neither of them will ever live down.

RJ Mitte Dies at 34: Breaking Bad's Walter White Jr. Remembered as an Actor and Disability Rights Champion

2026-10-13T10:27:15.395-05:00

RJ Mitte in 2014 (Wikimedia Commons)

The Breaking Bad family has lost one of its own.

RJ Mitte, the actor who played Walter White Jr — better known to fans as Flynn — in all five seasons of the landmark AMC drama, died on Monday, October 12, 2026. He was 34. His representatives confirmed his death in a statement and later confirmed to PEOPLE that he died by suicide in Brownsville, Texas. In the hours after the news broke, his on-screen family led an outpouring of tributes remembering him not just as a co-star, but as a pioneering disability advocate who changed how television casts and portrays people with disabilities.

Who Was RJ Mitte? Breaking Bad's Walter White Jr.

Roy Frank Mitte III was born on August 21, 1992, in Jackson, Mississippi. Delivered by emergency caesarean section and not breathing at birth, he suffered a permanent brain injury that led to a cerebral palsy diagnosis at age three. He spent six months with his legs in casts as doctors tried to straighten his feet and relied on leg braces and crutches for much of his childhood. Through sports and exercise, his body grew stronger, and by his teenage years he no longer needed walking aids.

In 2006, the family moved to Los Angeles after his younger sister landed work in film production. Working with a talent manager who sought roles where his disability could help educate audiences, Mitte started as an extra on Everybody Hates Chris and Hannah Montana and took acting lessons. Then came the role of a lifetime: at just 14, he was cast as Walter White Jr., the son of Bryan Cranston's chemistry-teacher-turned-drug-kingpin and Anna Gunn's Skyler White, on AMC's Breaking Bad. Like Mitte himself, his character lived with cerebral palsy and used crutches — a rare case of a disabled character played by a disabled actor.

RJ Mitte's Acting Career Beyond Breaking Bad

Mitte appeared in 56 episodes of Breaking Bad across its 2008–2013 run, and he was part of the cast that won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2014. After the series ended, he kept working steadily. He had a recurring role as Campbell Bingman in season three of ABC Family's Switched at Birth, and his credits include Who's Driving Doug (2016), the thriller Time Share (2018), the comedy Standing Up for Sunny (2019), The Oak Room (2020), and the coming-of-age drama Triumph (2021), which he also executive produced. He also appeared in Netflix's The Guardians of Justice (2022) and in series like Now Apocalypse, This Close, Chance, and Vegas.

He was still actively promoting his work in the weeks before his death. Earlier this month he appeared on The Joe Vulpis Podcast to discuss his original Breaking Bad audition, and his latest film, Talking to Strangers, had screened in Beverly Hills on September 30, with several other projects in development or production.

RJ Mitte's Disability Advocacy and the Mitte Foundation

Mitte's impact went far beyond acting. He became one of the most visible disability rights advocates in entertainment: a Screen Actors Guild spokesman for actors with disabilities, a celebrity ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and Shriners Children's, and president of the nonprofit Mitte Foundation, which provides grants and scholarships to people in need. In 2013 he received the SAG-AFTRA Harold Russell Award for his advocacy on behalf of performers with disabilities. He also presented part of Channel 4's coverage of the 2016 Rio Paralympics and served on SAG-AFTRA's Performers with Disabilities Committee.

In a 2024 interview with the Associated Press, he reflected on how his experiences with disability, physical therapy, family struggles, and medical expenses had informed his work. "You develop a different mentality and you develop a different look at how the world sees you and how you see the world," he said. "You're able to use that. And I think it's an asset instead of something that would hinder."

Breaking Bad Cast Tributes to RJ Mitte

The tributes that followed his death showed how deeply his co-stars loved him.

Bryan Cranston's Tribute to RJ Mitte

Bryan Cranston, who played his on-screen father, posted an emotional message on Instagram hours after the news broke, writing that he was "in deep despair." Cranston recalled meeting Mitte when the boy was only 14: "Born with cerebral palsy, he never - ever - allowed that challenge to be an excuse for anything. He met the demanding shooting schedule head on with great determination." He praised Mitte for becoming a vocal advocate for performers with disabilities and said, "All that promise and potential now is such a loss." Cranston revealed they had been texting just a few weeks earlier about meeting for lunch, and he signed off with four words: "I'll miss you, son." He also included information for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Aaron Paul Remembers RJ Mitte

Aaron Paul, who played Jesse Pinkman, shared a statement with The Hollywood Reporter: "I am at a loss. I am heartbroken over this news. RJ, I love you my friend. You will be missed. And to whoever happens to be reading this, please know you are loved, and you are not alone. Always remember that."

Dean Norris on RJ Mitte's Death

Dean Norris, who played Hank Schrader, wrote on Instagram: "I am heartbroken. Though RJ didn't play my TV son, I always looked out for him as a young kid on set. He was a sweetheart of a young man and will be greatly missed. This is so heartbreaking, I can't believe it. Thinking of him and his family."

RJ Mitte's Cause of Death

Mitte's representatives announced his death on Monday without initially disclosing a cause. They later confirmed to PEOPLE that he died by suicide at his home in Brownsville, Texas, where police had responded to a call that afternoon. Some outlets reported that the investigation into his death was ongoing. His representatives asked for privacy for his family.

A Legacy of Authentic Representation

RJ Mitte's most lasting contribution may be the door he opened. At a time when disabled characters were routinely played by non-disabled actors, his casting as Walter White Jr. — and his insistence on bringing his lived experience to the role — helped push the industry toward authentic representation. He spent the rest of his life making sure others got the same chance.

If you or someone you know is struggling, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 in the United States by calling or texting 988.

Bears Kicker's Trip Attempt and Jaylen Waddle's Sideline Meltdown: The 2 Viral NFL Moments From Week 5 Everyone Is Talking About

2026-10-13T07:20:19.000-05:00

Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers (Wikimedia Commons

Sunday, October 11, 2026 gave football fans something the box scores barely hint at. Beyond the touchdowns and final scores, NFL Week 5 produced two NFL viral moments that exploded across social media before the afternoon games had even kicked off. One came from the Packers Bears rivalry at Lambeau Field, where a sideline incident between Cairo Santos and Matthew Golden set off a furious debate. The other came from Denver, where Broncos star Jaylen Waddle wore his frustration for the cameras to see. Here is what happened in both games, and why nobody can stop talking about them.

Bears Kicker Cairo Santos Caught Trying to Trip Packers Receiver Matthew Golden

The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears have one of the oldest rivalries in football, and Sunday's 31-7 Packers win at Lambeau Field added a new chapter to it. But the moment everyone is replaying didn't come from a touchdown. It came from the Chicago sideline, just before halftime, and it involved two players who rarely share the spotlight: a kicker and a rookie receiver.

The Punt Return That Started the Packers Bears Sideline Incident

Late in the first half, Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden dropped back to field a Bears punt. The 23-year-old Texas product, who Green Bay took in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, brought the kick back 17 yards before being forced out of bounds on the Chicago sideline. The problem was that Golden was still running at full speed when he crossed the boundary, and he plowed straight into an unsuspecting Bears coach, sending the coach tumbling to the ground after a blindside collision he never saw coming.

Cairo Santos's Trip Attempt on Matthew Golden Caught by the Broadcast

What happened next is the part that turned the play into a viral moment. Bears kicker Cairo Santos had a clear view of the collision, and as Golden started jogging back toward the field of play, Santos stuck his leg out in an apparent attempt to trip the young receiver. The try failed — Golden kept his footing and made it back between the white lines — but the broadcast cameras captured the entire sequence, from the coach getting decked to the kicker's leg swinging out. Within hours, the clip had spread across social media, with fans on both sides weighing in.

Fans Debate Which Play Was Dirtier in the Bears Packers Sideline Scuffle

The reaction online quickly split into two camps, and you can probably guess where each fanbase landed. Some viewers argued that the attempted trip was a cheap move and the real story. Others countered that Golden running full speed into a coach on the sideline was the reckless part, and the kicker's reaction was born out of frustration. The debate over which action crossed the line became its own spectacle, with Packers and Bears fans talking past each other exactly the way rival fanbases do.

No Flags Thrown, and Matthew Golden Takes the High Road

Perhaps the most surprising part of the whole episode is that the officials never reached for their flags. Neither the sideline collision nor the trip attempt drew a penalty, and the half simply came to an end. After the game, Golden confirmed what the cameras had shown, but he refused to make a federal case out of it. "Yeah, he did. He did. But it's all good. I ain't got nothing to say to him," the rookie said when asked about Santos's leg. On a day when Golden also hauled in six passes for a career-high 123 yards, including a 50-yard grab that helped Green Bay run away with the game, he chose to let his play do the talking.

Packers Teammates Sound Off on the Bears After the Win

Golden may have taken the high road, but not everyone in a Packers uniform felt like being gracious. Linebacker Zaire Franklin aimed some pointed comments at Bears receiver Luther Burden III after the game, suggesting the young pass catcher "ain't wanna play anymore" and claiming he "quit today." Between the sideline dust-up and the postgame barbs, the rivalry between these two teams feels as heated as it has been in years.

Broncos Star Jaylen Waddle's Sideline Frustration Goes Viral

While the Packers and Bears were providing the afternoon's drama, the Denver Broncos gave fans their own viral moment during their win over the Los Angeles Chargers. This one didn't involve any physical contact. It was all body language — and Jaylen Waddle's said everything.

The Third-and-9 Play That Set Jaylen Waddle Off

Early in the second quarter, CBS cameras caught Waddle's visible frustration with a 3rd-and-9 call. Quarterback Bo Nix shouted "alert" at the line — a signal some fans and analysts took as Nix changing the play — then took the snap and handed the ball to Tyler Badie, who was tackled well short of the line to gain. The drive ended in a punt, and Waddle's reaction told the story. He tilted his head back toward the sky, ripped off his chin straps, and shook his head as he trotted to the bench, where he exchanged a few words with head coach Sean Payton. Clips of the sequence drew more than a million views on X alone.

Waddle's Reactions Continue: Chin Straps Off, Then a Helmet Slam

The frustration didn't end there. Later in the game, Waddle was wide open on a play where Courtland Sutton couldn't come down with a contested catch. As the receiver walked off the field after another three-and-out, he was visibly animated and slammed his helmet on the sideline. Whether the anger was aimed at himself, the offense, his quarterback, or some combination of all three, it made for must-watch television.

Jaylen Waddle's Slow Start by the Numbers

The numbers help explain the mood. Waddle finished the day with just two catches for 19 yards on five targets, plus a nine-yard run. He also had another drop — his second of the young season — and Pro Football Focus now credits him with four drops through five games. For a 27-year-old who is supposed to be one of Denver's most explosive weapons, the production hasn't matched the talent, and Sunday's sideline scenes showed exactly how he feels about it.

Why NFL Sideline Moments Keep Going Viral

There is a reason these clips travel further than most highlight reels. A great catch is beautiful, but a sideline meltdown or a kicker's sneaky trip attempt is human. It gives fans something to argue about, something to meme, and something that feels unscripted in a sport that is choreographed down to the second. The Santos-Golden incident and the Waddle frustration montage will both be forgotten by the playoffs, but for a few days they are the heartbeat of the NFL conversation — and that is exactly why moments like these keep racking up millions of views.

Crossroads Trading Data Breach Settlement: Last Chance to Claim Up to $5,000 Before the October 13 Deadline

2026-10-12T15:01:45.948-05:00

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

If you love hunting for vintage denim, barely-worn designer bags, or one-of-a-kind jackets at Crossroads Trading, stop scrolling for sixty seconds — you could be owed real money, and the clock is almost out.

A data breach settlement involving the popular resale chain is about to slam its claim window shut. The deadline to file is tomorrow — Tuesday, October 13, 2026. If you shopped at Crossroads and your personal information was caught up in the breach, this is your final call to claim up to $5,000.

No, this is not a drill, and no, you do not want to “do it later.” Settlement claim sites famously crawl in the final hours as thousands of last-minute filers pile on. File today while the site is fast and your paperwork is fresh.

Crossroads Trading Data Breach Settlement Deadline: October 13, 2026

Here is the short version: Crossroads Trading, the clothing resale chain many shoppers treat as a trendier rival to Goodwill, has agreed to pay $600,000 to resolve claims tied to a data breach discovered in February 2025.

The breach exposed sensitive personal information belonging to customers — including Social Security numbers. The people who filed the lawsuit claimed the company failed to use reasonable cybersecurity protections, failed to spot the intrusion quickly, and took too long to warn the people affected. Crossroads Trading has not admitted any wrongdoing, which is standard in these agreements, but it agreed to the payout to put the dispute behind it.

The company runs stores in Colorado, New York, Illinois, California, Oregon, Washington, and Texas, so if you have ever sold a closet cleanout or scored a deal at one of those locations, pay attention. The October 2026 claim deadline is the single most important date in this entire story: Tuesday, October 13, 2026. Miss it and you get nothing — no check, no second chance.

How Much Can You Claim From the Crossroads Trading Settlement

Under the Crossroads Trading settlement, there are three ways to get paid, depending on your situation and your paperwork. Read carefully, because picking the right lane matters.

Up to $5,000 for Documented Losses

If the breach cost you actual money, you can claim reimbursement of up to $5,000. Think about everything you spent cleaning up the mess: fees for pulling your credit reports, credit monitoring services you paid for out of pocket, extra phone or internet charges tied to dealing with the breach, and financial hits from identity theft — unauthorized charges, replacement document fees, and similar damages.

You will need to prove it. Receipts, bank statements, invoices, or similar documents all work. Dig through your email for order confirmations and your banking app for statements now, while you still have a full day to file.

A $25 Cash Payment With No Receipts Required

No paperwork? No problem. Class members who do not have documented losses can still claim a $25 alternative cash payment. Twenty-five dollars is not life-changing money, but it is twenty-five dollars you are leaving on the table if you ignore the deadline — and it takes only a few minutes to claim.

Who Qualifies for the Crossroads Trading Class Action Settlement

This class action settlement covers people whose personal information was exposed in the February 2025 breach. If you received a breach notice from the company — by mail or email — that is your sign that you are likely included.

A Social Security number breach is the serious kind. Unlike a credit card number, which your bank can cancel and reissue in a day, your Social Security number does not change. Once it is out there, criminals can try to open accounts, file fake tax returns, or drain benefits in your name for years. That is exactly why settlements like this one include money for monitoring and out-of-pocket costs.

Not sure whether you got a notice? Check your email spam folder and any old mailing addresses. The notice usually includes instructions and any login credentials for the claim site.

Why This Thrift Store Settlement Matters to Bargain Hunters

Let us be honest: when you hand your ID to a cashier to sell a bag of clothes, you are not thinking about cybersecurity. But resale shops collect exactly the kind of personal details criminals love. This thrift store settlement is a reminder that bargain hunters deserve the same data protection as shoppers at any big-box retailer — and when companies fall short, customers can get paid.

How to File Your Crossroads Trading Settlement Claim

Filing is straightforward, but there is one golden rule: file only on the official court-appointed administrator’s website. Your breach notice should point you to the official settlement website and include any login credentials you need.

Do not file through random third-party sites that promise to “help” you claim for a cut of your payment. Those operations are unnecessary — the real claim form is free — and some are outright scams. If a site asks for a fee or a percentage, walk away.

Gather your documents first: receipts, bank or credit card statements, and anything showing what the breach cost you. Then complete the claim form, attach your proof, and submit before the deadline. Screenshot your confirmation page or save the confirmation email so you have proof you filed on time.

California Residents Get an Extra $100 Payment

Live in California? There is a bonus with your name on it. California class members can receive an additional $100 statutory cash payment on top of either the documented-loss payment (up to $5,000) or the $25 alternative payment.

That means a California shopper with solid documentation could walk away with up to $5,100, while someone filing the simple no-receipt claim gets $125 instead of $25. If you moved recently, your eligibility is generally based on where you lived when your information was exposed, so check the settlement’s fine print.

When Will the Money Actually Arrive?

Do not expect a check next week. Payments go out only after the court gives the deal its final stamp of approval at a hearing scheduled for January 13, 2027. If the judge approves it then — and assuming no appeals drag things out — the administrator will start cutting checks and sending payments after that date. File now, get paid later.

File Today — Do Not Gamble on the Last Hours

Here is your game plan, and it starts right now.

First, check whether you received a breach notice. Second, pull together any receipts or statements tied to the breach. Third, go straight to the official settlement website and submit your claim today — not tonight at 11:58 p.m., when the site might be crawling under the weight of every other procrastinator in America.

Then do one more thing: tell a friend who shops at Crossroads. Text your thrifting buddy, your sister, your coworker with the amazing vintage blazer collection. Most people who qualify for settlements like this never file, simply because they never heard the deadline was coming. Do not let free money expire in someone else’s inbox.

The deadline is tomorrow. The form takes minutes. The money is real. Go file.

Jason Mraz Turned a San Diego Avocado Grove Into a 17-Acre Regenerative Farm — and His Avocados End Up at Chipotle

2026-10-12T14:45:21.750-05:00

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

When Jason Mraz bought a worn-out avocado grove outside San Diego in 2004, he wasn't shopping for a business. He was shopping for quiet. Two decades later, that retreat has become Mraz Family Farms — a 17-acre working farm growing organic avocados, California-grown coffee, and a whole cast of specialty crops. And if you've ever ordered guacamole at Chipotle, there's a real chance you've tasted the harvest of a two-time Grammy winner. This is the story of how a pop star's hideaway became one of the most talked-about small farms in Southern California — and what two decades of patience can grow.

Jason Mraz Avocado Farm: From 2004 Retreat to Mraz Family Farms

Mraz purchased the property in 2004 from a man in his eighties. The grove itself was old growth — tall avocado trees planted in the early to mid-1970s, well past their prime but still standing. At the time, the Grammy-winning singer behind "I'm Yours" just wanted a place to live close to nature, spend time outdoors, and look after the existing trees. For more than a decade, that's exactly what it was: a home, not a commercial operation. The shift came in 2015, when the family decided the aging grove needed a serious reset and formally launched Mraz Family Farms. What followed was a slow, deliberate rebuild — the kind of project measured in growing seasons, not quarters. Today the farm is run by Mraz, his wife Christina, and other family members, with a full-time staff handling the day-to-day work of a real agricultural operation.

What Is Regenerative Farming at Mraz Family Farms

The guiding philosophy at Mraz Family Farms is regenerative farming — agriculture that tries to leave the land better than it found it. Instead of simply extracting from the soil year after year, regenerative practices focus on rebuilding soil health, encouraging biodiversity, and making the whole system more resilient to drought, heat, and disease. Putting that philosophy into practice on a grove of fifty-year-old trees took guts. Many of the original avocados were nearing the end of their productive lives, so the family turned to a technique called "stumping" — cutting trees back aggressively so they push out vigorous new growth from the stump. It's a dramatic haircut that looks alarming in the moment but gives tired trees a second life. Where stumping wasn't enough, old trees came out entirely to make room for new plantings — not just avocados, but an experimental mix of crops. Farming, as the family tells it, is a long game: an avocado tree doesn't hand you a harvest the season after you plant it. Some of their newer crops took years before producing anything worth selling.

Organic Avocados and California-Grown Coffee

The farm's headline crops are its organic avocados and its California coffee — yes, coffee grown in California, a rarity that has made Mraz Family Farms something of a curiosity in specialty food circles. Around those anchors, the family grows passion fruit, herbs, flowers, and bananas, leaning into variety rather than betting everything on a single harvest. Everything is raised under organic, fair-trade, and regenerative standards. Mraz has spoken about seeing firsthand how careful farming can benefit the earth while careless practices contribute to pollution and the climate crisis — and his farm is his answer, built around growing resilience in the soil as well as good food on the trees.

Jason Mraz Farm Avocados Supplied to Chipotle

Here's the detail that stops most people mid-scroll: Mraz Family Farms has supplied its organic avocados to Chipotle. Out of the millions of cases of avocados the chain goes through, only a tiny fraction comes from the Mraz grove — but it's real, verified, and exactly the kind of partnership Chipotle seeks out as it leans into sustainably grown ingredients from local farmers. For the farm, it's validation that small-scale regenerative growing can plug into a national supply chain. For Chipotle customers, it's a fun bit of trivia: the guacamole in your bowl might have started its journey on a pop star's family farm in San Diego County.

How Mraz Family Farms Sells Fruit Locally

Beyond the Chipotle connection, much of the farm's fruit stays close to home. Produce is sold seasonally — avocados and coffee when they're ready, not on a factory schedule — through the farm's own online shop and through local San Diego-area shops, restaurants, and vendors. That local-first approach is part of the point. Short supply chains mean fresher fruit, and selling directly to neighborhood businesses keeps the farm woven into the community around it rather than shipping everything to distant warehouses.

"Mranch" and a Greener Life Beyond the Farm

Mraz affectionately calls the property "Mranch," and the sustainability mindset doesn't stop at the farm gate. The singer eats mostly plant-based and follows a dairy-free diet — partly, he's said, because his ear, nose, and throat simply handle life better without dairy, which matters quite a bit when your voice is your livelihood. He's carried the same thinking onto the road, working to make touring less wasteful with biodiesel, refillable water bottles, and reusable or biodegradable cutlery. For Mraz, the farm and the tour bus are part of the same project: living a little lighter on the planet.

Why Celebrity Farmers Like Jason Mraz Matter

Celebrity farmers are easy to roll your eyes at — another star playing in the dirt for the cameras. But twenty years is a long time to play pretend. The Mraz farm story stands out because of its duration and its direction: two decades of pruning, replanting, experimenting, and waiting, all in service of soil that will outlast any album cycle. There's a quiet poetry in the timeline. Mraz has noted that the trees he plants today will be roughly the age of those 1970s trees by the time he's in his eighties — the same age as the man he bought the grove from. Sustainable farming, at its best, is an act of imagination about a future you won't fully see. An old avocado grove outside San Diego, bought as a retreat in 2004, turned out to be the perfect place to practice it.

WWE Money in the Bank 2026 Results: Penta and Tiffany Stratton Win the Briefcases as Liv Morgan Takes the Women's Title

2026-10-12T11:14:10.294-05:00

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

WWE Money in the Bank 2026 will be remembered as the night the calendar - and the championship picture - got turned upside down. On Saturday, October 10, 2026, WWE brought its high-stakes ladder-match spectacular to the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans for the first Money in the Bank ever held in October, and the first to stream live on ESPN in the United States. For fans of professional wrestling, it was a genuinely historic broadcast. For the superstars who climbed those ladders, it was a career-defining opportunity. Here are the complete WWE results from a show that crowned new briefcase holders in Penta and Tiffany Stratton, delivered a stunning title change for Liv Morgan, and saw Roman Reigns turn back a determined LA Knight.

WWE Money in the Bank 2026 Results

If you just want the quick hits before the deep dive, here is how everything shook out in the Smoothie King Center: Roman Reigns retained the World Heavyweight Championship over LA Knight in the opener, Penta outlasted five rivals to win the men's Money in the Bank ladder match, Tiffany Stratton climbed to victory in the women's ladder match, Oba Femi toppled Bronson Reed, and Liv Morgan dethroned Stephanie Vaquer - with Becky Lynch also in the mix - to capture the Women's World Championship. Now, the full story behind each result.

Roman Reigns Retains World Heavyweight Championship vs LA Knight

WWE wasted no time giving the New Orleans crowd a big-fight feel, opening the show with Roman Reigns defending the World Heavyweight Championship against LA Knight. From the opening bell, Knight fought like a man who knew opportunities like this do not come around often, matching Reigns strike for strike and feeding off a crowd that was split right down the middle. Reigns, as always, carried himself like the final boss of the industry, slowing the pace whenever Knight built momentum and punishing every mistake with ruthless precision.

Penta Wins Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Six of WWE's most dangerous competitors - Penta, Bron Breakker, Je'Von Evans, Trick Williams, CM Punk, and Kevin Owens - spent the better part of a half hour turning ladders into weapons and the ringside area into a crash pad. Breakker tossed bodies around like they weighed nothing. Evans and Williams defied gravity with dives that had the crowd gasping. Punk and Owens, the wily veterans, tried to outthink everyone by letting the younger stars destroy each other. Ladders bent and snapped, bodies piled up, and the briefcase dangled above it all like the most valuable prize in the sport.

How Penta Outlasted Five Rivals to Claim the Briefcase

In the end, timing beat toughness. With Breakker and Owens brawling on the floor and Punk laid out across a fallen ladder, Penta scaled the rungs while Evans and Williams were still recovering from a punishing double-team spot. He unhooked the briefcase to a thunderous ovation, and just like that, the luchador holds a contract for a world championship match at any time over the next year. Whoever holds WWE's top titles just started sleeping a little less soundly.

Tiffany Stratton Wins Women's Money in the Bank

The women's ladder match was every bit as chaotic as the men's. Tiffany Stratton, Lola Vice, Jacy Jayne, Lash Legend, Sol Ruca, and Roxanne Perez threw caution out the window from the opening minutes. Ruca soared through the air. Legend used her size to dominate long stretches. Vice and Jayne brought a nasty edge, and Perez came within fingertips of the briefcase more than once. Stratton absorbed punishment that would have ended a lesser competitor's night - and she kept getting back up.

Tiffany Stratton's Star-Making Moment

The finish will live on highlight reels for years. With three rivals climbing three separate ladders, Stratton tipped the chaos in her favor, battled her way to the top of the tallest ladder in the ring, and ripped down the briefcase. She now owns a contract for a women's championship match, good for one full year. The women's division has a new power broker, and every champion on the roster was just put on notice.

Oba Femi Defeats Bronson Reed

When Oba Femi and Bronson Reed lock up, the ring itself feels like it is in danger - and their singles clash delivered exactly the heavyweight war fans wanted. Reed, all raw power and bad intentions, bullied Femi early and looked poised to steal the win. But Femi weathered the storm, and once he got rolling there was no stopping him. A devastating power-based finish put Reed down for the count, giving Femi a statement victory over one of the most physically imposing superstars in WWE.

Liv Morgan Wins WWE Women's World Championship

The most shocking moment of the night came in the Women's World Championship triple threat, as champion Stephanie Vaquer defended against Becky Lynch and Liv Morgan. All three women had a legitimate claim to being the best in the division, and the match showed it - shifting alliances, breathtaking near falls, and a crowd that could not sit still. Vaquer looked every bit the fighting champion, and Lynch came agonizingly close to reclaiming glory on multiple occasions.

What Liv Morgan's Title Win Means for the Women's Division

But this was Liv Morgan's night. In the match's frantic closing sequence, Morgan capitalized on the chaos, striking at the perfect moment to steal the pin and capture the Women's World Championship. New Orleans erupted. Morgan's journey from underdog to champion is complete, while Vaquer is left to process a defeat she never saw coming and Lynch is left wondering what might have been. The women's division has a new queen, and the road to Crown Jewel just got fascinating.

What's Next After WWE Money in the Bank 2026

Beyond the results, this show will be remembered for its place in history: the first Money in the Bank ever staged in October, and the first to stream on ESPN in the United States - a landmark moment for WWE's new broadcast era. The Smoothie King Center crowd witnessed a changing of the guard and the start of several stories that will dominate WWE programming for months.

All Eyes on Crown Jewel 2026 in Riyadh

The next stop on WWE's premium live event calendar is Crown Jewel on November 7, 2026, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - and the title picture has never been more volatile. Penta and Tiffany Stratton now hold briefcases that could be cashed in at any moment, which means every champion walks into Riyadh looking over their shoulder. Will either briefcase holder strike in Saudi Arabia? Will Liv Morgan's first challenger emerge? And how does Roman Reigns' continued dominance reshape the road ahead? Keep it locked here - the fallout from New Orleans is only getting started.

Apple Just Raised Mac and iPad Prices — Found Out the Reason Why

2026-10-12T08:48:08.000-05:00

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

October 2026 just got expensive for Apple shoppers. If you have been holding out for a new MacBook or iPad, your procrastination just cost you real money — because this month Apple quietly pushed through a sweeping Mac price increase, lifting the cost of Macs and iPads around the world.

The reason is not tariffs, inflation, or a fancier chip inside the box — it is artificial intelligence. AI data centers are consuming memory and storage chips at a pace the industry has never seen, and the shockwave has finally reached your shopping cart. What makes this moment remarkable is not just the size of the increase, but Apple's own admission about it — and what it hints is still coming.

Apple Mac Price Increase 2026: The New Prices, Model by Model

Let us start with the numbers, because they are stark. Apple's new MacBook Neo — the company's budget laptop — jumps from $599 to $699. The MacBook Air, long the default recommendation for students and everyday users, climbs from $1,099 to $1,299. The 14-inch MacBook Pro rises from $1,699 to $1,999.

That is a $100 increase on the entry-level machine, a $200 jump on the Air, and a $300 leap on the Pro. Across the lineup, some models are now 20 to 42 percent more expensive than they were a week ago. For a company that usually nudges prices by fifty dollars here and there, these are seismic moves.

iPad Price Hike: iPad Pro and iPad Air Cost More Too

The iPad price hike reached tablets as well. The 11-inch iPad Pro now starts at $1,199, up from $999 — a $200 increase on Apple's flagship tablet. The iPad Air moves from $599 to $749, a $150 climb that makes the midrange tablet a noticeably tougher sell.

Notably absent from this round: the iPhone. Apple's most important product kept its pricing this time, but analysts widely expect iPhone price increases to follow, with Pro models the most likely candidates. If you were planning an upgrade cycle that includes a new phone, the clock may already be ticking.

Memory Chip Shortage: Why AI Is Swallowing the World's Memory

So why is this happening? In short, a memory chip shortage unlike anything the industry has faced. The memory inside your MacBook and iPad — DRAM and NAND flash — is suddenly far more expensive to buy, because someone else is buying it first: AI data centers.

Apple blamed the increases on an unprecedented surge in memory and storage chip costs, saying it had "never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly." The company said it had shielded customers from rising costs until now — but had finally reached the point where raising prices was unavoidable.

AI Data Center Chip Demand Is Reshaping the Whole Supply Chain

Here is the chain reaction. AI data centers are buying up memory chips at extraordinary rates to feed the servers training and running large AI models. The AI chips at the heart of those servers need enormous amounts of high-bandwidth memory, and chipmakers like Micron are prioritizing those AI customers — think Nvidia and the giant cloud builders — because that is where demand, and profit margins, are exploding.

That leaves less supply for consumer electronics, and basic economics takes over. By some accounts, DRAM prices have nearly doubled — up almost 100 percent — as data center orders crowd out everyone else. When the memory inside a MacBook costs far more than it did a year ago, Apple either eats the difference or passes it on. With the new prices taking effect on October 1, 2026, it chose the latter.

Micron Chip Shortage 2028: Don't Expect Relief Anytime Soon

Now for the part Apple would probably rather you not dwell on: this may be just the beginning. Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra has said supply will not catch up with demand until 2028 — and he expects conditions to be even tighter in 2027 and 2028 than they are today.

Read that again: tighter, not looser. If memory costs keep climbing, more price hikes are likely coming — not just from Apple, but across the whole industry. The increase you see today could look like a bargain compared with what is on the horizon. Keep scrolling, because what this means for your own buying plans matters more than the sticker shock.

The Fine Print:
AppleCare Now Costs a Bit More Too

Buried in the announcements was one more increase: AppleCare. AppleCare+ for Mac and iPad went up by $0.50 per month — about $5 per year. Existing subscriptions are unaffected, so if you are already covered, your rate is locked in. New buyers, though, will pay slightly more for peace of mind.

Should You Buy a Mac or iPad Now? Smart Moves Before Prices Climb Again

So what should you actually do? If you are in the market for a Mac or iPad, buying sooner rather than later may save you real money — especially with 2027 and 2028 expected to bring even tighter supply. Prices are unlikely to drift back down while memory costs keep rising.

Still, do not panic-buy. Ask yourself whether you genuinely need the upgrade now. If your current machine still does the job, waiting is a legitimate strategy. And take a hard look at refurbished or older models, which are unaffected by the hike and can be hundreds of dollars cheaper for nearly the same experience.

One more thought for the tech news watchers: this story is bigger than Apple. When the world's most supply-chain-savvy company can no longer absorb component costs, every other manufacturer is feeling the same squeeze. Expect more announcements, more increases — and one more reason to buy before the next one lands.

Resident Evil Just Became a $250M Horror Hit — and It's About to Pass a Spielberg Blockbuster

2026-10-11T23:09:34.175-05:00

Something strange is happening at the box office this fall, and it is the kind of story Hollywood loves to pretend is impossible.

A scrappy mid-budget horror reboot, one that plenty of industry watchers wrote off before a single ticket was sold, has become one of the biggest movie news stories of the year. And it is about to do something genuinely wild: pass a blockbuster directed by Steven Spielberg, the most successful filmmaker in the history of the medium.

The movie is Resident Evil, director Zach Cregger's reboot of the long-running zombie franchise, starring Austin Abrams. It arrived in theaters on September 18, 2026, carrying modest expectations and an enormous amount to prove. Three weekends later, it is not just surviving. It is thriving, and the numbers are getting harder to believe with every passing day.

Resident Evil cosplay; Photo via Wikimedia Commons

The numbers

Let us start with the headline figure. Resident Evil has now crossed $253.9 million worldwide. That breaks down to roughly $132.5 million domestically and another $121.4 million from international markets, a remarkably balanced split that shows the film connecting with audiences far beyond North America.

Domestically, the film sits at No. 2, trailing only Verity. But the raw total is only half the story. On its third Thursday in release, Resident Evil pulled in about $1 million, down just 41.6 percent from the Thursday before. For horror movies, that kind of hold is extraordinary, because the genre typically collapses after opening weekend. Instead, this one keeps finding new audiences week after week.

That staying power is what separates a front-loaded opener from a genuine phenomenon. While most genre films fade fast, Resident Evil is behaving like an event picture, stacking consistent grosses deep into its run and building the kind of momentum that analysts dream about.

A $75 million movie outpacing a $175 million one

Here is where the story gets truly wild. Resident Evil is now less than $6 million away from passing $137.7 million domestically, the lifetime North American total of Ready Player One, Steven Spielberg's 2018 science-fiction spectacle. Read that again: a Resident Evil reboot is about to outgross a Steven Spielberg movie.

The comparison becomes even more lopsided when you look at the budgets. Ready Player One cost a reported $175 million to produce, the kind of mega-budget figure that pays for sprawling digital worlds and a legendary director. Resident Evil reportedly cost just $75 million, about $100 million less. A mid-budget horror reboot made for a fraction of the price is about to surpass a nine-figure sci-fi epic. It is the kind of David-versus-Goliath result the industry almost never sees.

This is not a knock on Ready Player One, which earned its success. It is a testament to efficiency. Resident Evil did not need an army of effects artists and a bottomless budget to become a quarter-billion-dollar grosser. It needed a clear creative vision, a committed cast, and a story that gave horror fans exactly what they came for.

Cregger's biggest hit yet

For Cregger, this weekend brings a personal milestone. Resident Evil is poised to pass Weapons to become the director's highest-grossing movie worldwide, and it is not slowing down. If current trends hold, the film could leg its way toward $300 million globally, a number that would have sounded like pure fantasy when the project was first announced.

The franchise records are falling too. This is the only Resident Evil movie ever to cross $100 million in North America, a benchmark that eluded every previous installment. Anchored by Abrams' grounded lead performance, the reboot has pulled off the rare trick of satisfying longtime devotees while winning over newcomers who simply wanted a great night at the theater. That is the recipe for long legs, and it is playing out in real time.

What it means for horror

Zoom out and Resident Evil's run is part of a much larger story. Horror is on an absolute heater right now. Modest budgets, fiercely loyal audiences, and long theatrical legs are consistently beating bloated tentpoles that cost two or three times as much to make. The math is brutally simple, and studios are finally paying attention.

A $75 million horror film that grosses more than $250 million is a far better business than a $200 million spectacle that needs half a billion just to break even. Horror fans show up on opening weekend, they return with friends, and they generate the kind of word of mouth that marketing budgets cannot buy.

October 2026 is shaping up to be a defining month for the genre, with this reboot leading the charge. It is living proof that you do not need the biggest budget in the room to win the weekend. You just need to give audiences something they actually want to see.

So the next time someone declares the mid-budget movie dead, point them to the zombie reboot that ate a Spielberg blockbuster's lunch. In entertainment news, this is the ultimate underdog story, and a reminder of why we fell in love with going to the movies in the first place.

As the film marches toward $300 million, one thing is certain: the landscape of horror movies, and the business of films in general, looks very different than it did a month ago.

5 Class Action Settlements With October Deadlines: File Your Claim Before Time Runs Out

2026-10-11T20:59:34.000-05:00

October Is Crunch Time to Cash in on Class Action Settlement Claims

Every year, millions of dollars in class action settlement money goes unclaimed — not because people don't qualify, but because they never hear about the deadline until it's too late. October 2026 is one of those months where the calendar is packed. Five separate settlements, covering everything from a popular period-tracking app to the bacon in your grocery cart, all have claim deadlines hitting within the next few weeks.

Some of these payouts are small. Some are worth thousands. But here's the thing most people don't realize: filing a claim usually takes less than ten minutes, and several of these settlements pay cash with no proof of purchase required. If you've ever used a period tracker app, bought pork at the grocery store, or had your personal information caught up in a data breach, keep reading — one of these could have your name on it.

The deadlines below are firm. Miss the date, and the money is gone for good.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

1. Flo Period Tracker Privacy Settlement — $59.5 Million (Deadline: October 15, 2026)

The clock is ticking fastest on this one. The Flo class action settlement resolves claims that sensitive health information entered into the Flo app — including details about menstruation and pregnancy — was shared with third parties like Google and Flurry without proper consent.

Who qualifies? If you used the Flo app in the United States between November 1, 2016 and February 28, 2019, and you entered menstruation or pregnancy information into the app, you're in the class. California residents who meet those same criteria may fall into a separate subclass with doubled payments.

How much can you get? Cash payments will be distributed on a pro-rata basis, meaning the final amount depends on how many valid claims are filed. The fewer people who file, the bigger each check — which is exactly why you shouldn't assume your share would be pennies.

What proof do you need? A valid claim form is required, but you don't need receipts or screenshots. If you used the app during that window and entered the relevant health information, you can attest to it on the form.

With the deadline landing on October 15, this is the single most urgent item on this list. Don't wait until the last day — settlement websites have a habit of slowing to a crawl when thousands of procrastinators all show up at once.

2. Dairy Farmers of America Data Breach Settlement (Deadline: October 14, 2026)

Data breach settlements don't usually make headlines, but this one deserves your attention. Back in June 2025, the Dairy Farmers of America suffered a data breach that compromised the personal information of people across the country. Before you do anything else, dig out the settlement notice that was mailed to you about it — filing a claim online requires the Login ID and PIN printed on that notice, and without those credentials you can't submit through the website.

The payout here is an either-or choice, not a stack of bonuses. Take a $55 cash payment — no extra paperwork needed beyond the login credentials from your mailed notice — or, if you have documented out-of-pocket losses tied to the breach, claim up to $4,500 instead. It's one or the other, not both. Either way, class members can also enroll in two years of credit monitoring backed by $1 million in financial fraud insurance.

The claim deadline is October 14, 2026 — one day before the Flo deadline, so if you qualify for both, knock them out in the same sitting. The $55 no-proof payment alone is worth the few minutes it takes to fill out the form.

3. Globe Life and American Income Life Data Breach Settlement (Deadline: October 19, 2026)

Insurance companies hold some of the most sensitive personal data there is, which is why breaches in that industry tend to produce meaningful settlements. The Globe Life and American Income Life settlement covers individuals whose information was exposed in the companies' data breach.

Affected individuals can claim up to $5,000 for documented losses stemming from the breach, plus $72 for time spent dealing with its fallout — a recognition that cleaning up after a breach costs you hours you'll never get back. Credit monitoring is also included.

If you got a breach notification letter from either company, don't toss it in the drawer. That letter is essentially a ticket to compensation, and the October 19 deadline will arrive faster than you think.

4. Lands' End Data Incident Settlement (Deadline: October 22, 2026)

Holiday shoppers, take note. The Lands' End data incident from December 2024 exposed names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, driver's license and passport numbers, and even limited medical information. That's just about the full identity-theft starter kit, which is why this settlement offers some of the more generous terms on this list.

Class members can choose two years of credit monitoring, claim up to $5,000 for documented losses with receipts or bank statements, or take an estimated $60 alternative cash payment. That last option is the sleeper pick — sixty bucks for filling out a short form, with no extra receipts or documentation to track down. One catch, though: filing online still requires the Login ID and PIN from your breach notice, so keep that letter handy.

The deadline is October 22, 2026. If you shopped at Lands' End around the end of 2024, search your mail and email for the breach notice first — you'll need the Login ID and PIN printed on it to file your claim online.

5. Pork Price-Fixing Settlement — $117.065 Million (Deadline: October 29, 2026)

This is the big one — the largest fund on this list by a wide margin. Six pork producers, including household names like Tyson, Hormel, Seaboard, and Clemens, along with the data firm Agri Stats, agreed to a $117.065 million settlement over claims they conspired to limit supply and artificially raise pork prices.

Who qualifies? Consumers who bought raw pork or bacon at a grocery store between June 28, 2014 and June 30, 2018, in one of 24 covered states or Washington, D.C. Think about that for a second — if you bought bacon at any point during those four years, there's a real chance you're in the class.

The payout will be distributed pro-rata, so the final amount per person depends on total claims filed. But with a fund this large, even a modest per-person share adds up — and filing costs you nothing but a few minutes.

The deadline is October 29, 2026, giving you the most breathing room on this list. But don't let the later date fool you into waiting. File early, and you're done.

How to File Before the Deadlines Hit

A few parting tips. First, deadlines are firm — an online claim must be submitted by the date shown, and paper claims generally must be postmarked by the deadline (and mail isn't always postmarked the day you drop it off, so don't cut it close). Second, always file on the official settlement website run by the court-appointed administrator, never through a third-party site that asks for a cut of your payout. Legitimate claims are always free to file.

Finally, tell someone. Settlement money goes unclaimed every year because people assume they don't qualify or never hear about it in time. If any of these five sound like they might apply to a friend or family member, send them the link. The worst thing that happens is they check and find out they don't qualify.

What's the best thing in the world?

A check in the mail.

Odd: Montana Moose Trapped in a Skate Park is Rescued

2026-10-11T11:01:03.000-05:00

Photo by Traci Mark

You know it's an odd news day when the local skate park 's toughest obstacle is a moose . On Wednesday morning, October 7, 2026, a big bull moose wandered into the concrete bowl at Hellroaring Skate Park in Red Lodge , Montana — and got stuck with no way out.

Stuck in the bowl

The moose had apparently dropped into the deep bowl overnight, and once inside, he was out of luck. His antlers couldn't reach the rim, and the steep concrete walls were far too slick for climbing. For about five hours, he just milled around the bowl while a crowd of curious locals gathered — the first onlookers had spotted the flashing emergency lights and came to see what all the fuss was about.

The rescue

Wildlife officials first tried the easy option: clear some space and let the moose climb out on his own. But the concrete was far too slick, and after hours of slipping, it was obvious the big guy needed a full-on animal rescue operation.

Around 2 p.m., Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks tranquilized the moose. Then came the heavy lifting — literally. About a dozen people rigged the sleepy giant in a harness and carried him out of the bowl. Red Lodge Police, the Carbon County Sheriff's Office, and Red Lodge Fire Rescue all pitched in, while surrounding streets and the park itself were shut down for the duration of the rescue.

Happy ending

The good news: the moose — a familiar face locals lovingly call "our local moose" — was completely uninjured. Officials loaded him up and relocated him outside of town, back where he belongs. If this story goes viral (and it absolutely should), it does so with the happiest ending of all: safe, sound, and back in the woods. October 2026 just got its strangest headline yet.

KFC Is Giving Away a Free Bucket With $15 Orders: Code KFSPEED Ends Sunday

2026-10-10T19:15:00.787-05:00

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

KFC has a brand-new weekend offer for chicken fans. Members of KFC Rewards — which is free to join — can grab a free bucket with any online order of $15 or more by entering the code KFSPEED at checkout. This October 2026 offer ends tomorrow, October 11, so it will not stick around.

The Deal: Place $15+ Order Online, Get Free Bucket

Place a $15+ online order at a participating store and you can add one free bucket to your cart. The free choices are an 8-piece dark meat bucket, 8-piece Tenders, 10-piece Wings, or 24-piece Nuggets. The promo is limited to one free bucket per account, and no substitutions are allowed. It is one of the better food deals running this month.

How to get it Online

This fast food bargain is easy to claim. Build an online cart of at least $15, apply KFSPEED in the coupons field before paying, and your free bucket will be added. These kinds of freebies from big chains rarely last long, so check the latest deals before the deadline.

McDonald's Is Giving Away Free Pickle Juice in Chicago for Marathon Weekend: How to Get Pickle Boost

2026-10-10T10:39:38.492-05:00

If free food is your love language, lace up: the fast food giant McDonald's has bottled its own pickle brine — yes, really — and it's handing out free Pickle Boost pickle juice in Chicago this marathon weekend. The limited-edition drink is timed to the 48th Bank of America Chicago Marathon, when cramps are every runner's nightmare. And it's one of the funkiest freebies of October 2026.

Image via Fox News

Whether you're running 26.2 miles or just cheering from the sidelines, here's everything to know about scoring a bottle.

What is Pickle Boost?

Pickle Boost is a tiny 2-ounce bottle of McDonald's pickle brine, made from the same brine supplied by the chain's longtime pickle partner, Mr. Chips, Inc. The giveaway was announced October 5–6 as a marathon-weekend exclusive — and Chicago is the only city getting it. No national rollout has been announced.

Where and when to grab it

The Friday preview is already history: on Oct 9, the Lakefront Trail stop at 2401 N. Lake Shore Dr. handed out bottles from 7am to 1pm CT. Sunday is the big day. On race day — Sunday, October 11, 2026 — five Chicago McDonald's restaurants will double as “Pickle Boost Pit Stops,” serving free bottles from 7am to 3pm CT. The deal: two bottles per person, free, while supplies last. And here's the best part — you don't have to be a runner. Runners and spectators are both welcome. The five pit stops, each on or near the marathon course: 2635 N Clark St; 1563 N Wells St; 600 N Clark St; 203 N LaSalle St; and 207 E 35th St.

Why pickle juice works for cramps

Athletes have sworn by pickle juice for years — sideline staffs keep it on hand for muscle cramps. A 2010 study found that about a third of a cup of pickle brine relieved cramps faster than plain water. The twist? Some researchers credit the effect not to the electrolytes, but to a nerve reflex triggered by the vinegar that tells a cramping muscle to stand down.

One weekend, one city, and a whole lot of brine. If you're in Chicago on Sunday, swing by a pit stop and grab your free Pickle Boost — your calves may thank you by mile 20.

3 Weekend Sales Worth Your Money: Home Depot Appliance Deals, Harbor Freight Parking Lot Sale, and Target's Stock Up Run

2026-10-10T08:18:39.793-05:00

This weekend brings some of the strongest weekend sales we've seen lately, with real deals at Home Depot, Harbor Freight, and Target covering appliances, tools, and everyday essentials. Here's what's worth your money before each event wraps up.

Photo by Ajay Suresh via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Home Depot: Appliance Discounts and a Bath Event

Home Depot's appliance sale is live with up to $500 off select appliances on purchases of $998 or more, plus free delivery. The fine print puts the offer window at October 1 through October 21, 2026, with refrigerators and washers and dryers marked down up to 35% and other select appliances up to 40% off.

Running alongside it, the retailer's Bath Event takes up to 40% off select online bath vanities and faucets, with bathtubs up to 25% off — a solid excuse to finally refresh that tired bathroom.

Tip: If a big appliance is on your list, bundle it with smaller add-ons to clear the $998 threshold and unlock the top-tier discount and free delivery.

Harbor Freight: Parking Lot Sale

Harbor Freight's Parking Lot Sale runs Friday, October 9 through Sunday, October 11, 2026, with more than 150 tool deals in the mix. Standouts spotted on the sale page include 30% off select floor jacks and 40% off tarps and select socket sets.

Tip: This one rewards early birds — the best tool deals tend to sell out at local stores, so shop Saturday morning rather than Sunday afternoon.

Target: Stock Up and Save with BOGO Deals

Target's homepage is spotlighting a stock-up event with buy-one-get-one offers of 25% to 50% off (that's BOGO savings) across select grocery, beauty, health, and household essentials categories — the kind of sale built for pantry and cleaning-supply restocking.

Tip: A free Target Circle membership can stack extra savings and same-day pickup perks on top of these BOGO offers.

That's the weekend lineup — appliance markdowns at Home Depot, a three-day tool blowout at Harbor Freight, and BOGO savings at Target. All three events are live this October 2026, and every detail above was checked against the retailers' own sites on October 10, 2026. Before you check out, scan each store's coupons page for stackable offers.

Turnstile to Play Free Benefit Concert at the Washington Monument for Palestine, Sudan, and Lebanon

2026-10-09T21:28:41.850-05:00

Photo by DAVID ILIFF via Wikimedia Commons

Baltimore hardcore band Turnstile will play a benefit concert at the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. Organized in partnership with the charity Human Concern International, the show will raise money for humanitarian relief in Palestine, Sudan, and Lebanon.

The show

Admission is free, making this a free concert for everyone who attends. Fans are encouraged to donate, with organizers aiming to raise $100,000 through LaunchGood, and supporters can RSVP online ahead of time. The event was announced in early October 2026 and is billed as the final date of the band's "Never Enough Tour Pt. 2."

The cause

Donations will go toward food, water, medical care, and shelter for families affected by crises in the three countries. Hassan Wadi, the global director of Human Concern International, who is from Gaza, said he is proud of the band and the community coming together to support people in Gaza, Lebanon, and Sudan.

A band on a roll

The concert caps a standout year for Turnstile. The group made its Saturday Night Live debut on October 3 — the first hardcore band to appear on the show in more than four decades — and earlier this year won two Grammys for the album "Never Enough": Best Rock Album and Best Metal Performance for "Birds." A remix companion, "Never Enough: Versions," was released in September. The band also has a tradition of free performances: a free park show in Baltimore in 2025 drew roughly 10,000 people.

Stay tuned for more music news as the concert date approaches.

LEGO Is Giving Away a Free Botanicals Flowerpot Set This Weekend: How to Get It

2026-10-09T15:53:05.242-05:00

LEGO just brought back a popular gift with purchase: a free gift for brick-flower fans. The Botanicals Mixed Flowerpot set is free with qualifying orders, and if you've been hunting for a solid LEGO deal, this weekend is the perfect moment — this freebie is only around for a short time, and it's one of the better deals for builders right now.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

The Mixed Flowerpot Freebie

The returned offer is the Mixed Flowerpot (set 40762), a 253-piece kit from the Botanicals collection. It builds a small arrangement of brick-built flowers in a decorative flowerpot — a sweet little display piece that pairs nicely with the larger Botanicals flower sets.

How to get it

US shoppers get it free with any order of $150 or more, either at LEGO.com or in LEGO Stores. There's no code to enter — once your cart crosses the $150 threshold, the set is added automatically. Just note that pre-orders don't count toward the minimum spend.

What to know before you buy

This one's only running for a limited time in October 2026 — expect it to wrap up around the 10th–12th, or whenever supplies run out, so don't wait too long. Stock at these thresholds tends to go fast.

One more heads-up so nobody's confused: LEGO also brought back a second gift this week, the Celebration Series: Luminous Ghost (40772), but that one is reserved for shoppers in the UK and Europe — US buyers get the flowerpot instead.

Keep an eye on the blog for more shopping deals as the holiday season approaches.

Alabama Power Data Breach Exposes 100,000 Customers: What Was Taken and How to Protect Yourself

2026-10-09T15:15:21.686-05:00

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

About 400,000 utility customers received unsettling news this week: an unknown intruder slipped into their online accounts in a data breach first reported in October 2026.

What happened

Southern Company, the parent firm behind utilities across the Southeast, says an unauthorized party accessed customer accounts through its online customer portal. Roughly 300,000 Georgia Power accounts and 100,000 Alabama Power accounts were caught up in the incident, and Mississippi Power customers were named as well. The company has not disclosed when the intrusion took place or how the attacker got in.

What information was exposed

The customer data that may have been exposed includes names, home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers. Southern Company says bank account numbers, payment card numbers, and driver's license numbers were not accessed. The company is offering affected customers one year of free credit monitoring.

What to watch for now

Here is the consumer alert angle: with names, phone numbers, and email addresses in the wrong hands, customers should watch for follow-up phishing calls, texts, and emails pretending to come from their power company. This phishing warning matters because a utility scam often begins with a fake urgent message pressuring you to pay immediately or hand over personal details. Your real utility will never demand instant payment or sensitive information by phone. If a message feels off, hang up and call the number printed on your bill, and keep an eye on your credit reports to guard against identity theft.

3 Weekend Sales Worth Your Money: Best Buy Techtober, Walmart Deal Days, and Amazon's Leftover Prime Day Deals

2026-10-09T14:27:29.877-05:00

Three major sales overlap this weekend (October 9–11, 2026) — Best Buy Techtober, Walmart October Deal Days, and leftover Amazon deals from October's Prime Day — and the tech deals and discounts in this October 2026 weekend sales lineup are worth a look before they end.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Best Buy Techtober Sale (ends Sunday, Oct 11)

Best Buy's Techtober sale takes up to 50 percent off a wide range of tech, including phones, earbuds, laptops, and video games.

One standout is the Bose QuietComfort Headphones for $169 — down from $359, which saves you $190.

Apple fans get a break too: every iPhone Air model is $260 off, with the 256GB unlocked version going for $839.99.

AirPods are marked down as well: the AirPods Pro 3 are $179.99 (down from $249.99), the AirPods 4 are $109.99, and the AirPods Max 2 are $429 (down from $599).

Walmart October Deal Days (through Oct 11)

Walmart's October Deal Days run through October 11, and there is a strong patio deal in the mix: the Lofka four-piece patio furniture set — a loveseat, two chairs, and a coffee table — is $80, half off the usual $160.

Amazon's Leftover October Prime Day Deals

Even though October's Prime Day event has wrapped, plenty of discounts are still live on Amazon.

Apple's 11th-generation iPad is $50 off, with prices starting at $399.

The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is down to $170 — roughly 32 percent off.

The just-released Apple Mac Mini M6 is on sale for the first time ever: from $780 with $119 off.

And the 11-inch iPad Air with the M4 chip is up to $100 off, priced at $649.

A quick note before you shop: prices can change and stock is limited, and these sales end on October 11 — so don't wait too long if you see something you like.

97.1 FM WDRV The Drive What's That Noise Contest

2026-10-08T21:36:15.000-05:00

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Chicago's Radio Contest With a Growing Cash Prize

Chicago's classic rock station 97.1 The Drive (WDRV) is running a What's That Noise contest on the Sherman & Tingles morning show — and the cash jackpot keeps climbing every time a caller gets it wrong. The game plays twice each weekday morning, at 6:45 AM and 8:45 AM Central. When you hear the mystery sound (the "Sounder"), be the designated caller at 312-642-9378. The DJ replays the sound for you, and if you name it correctly, you take home the jackpot.

Are you keeping up with the guess list?

How the Jackpot Grows

The jackpot starts at $100 — and here's the fun part: every wrong guess adds $25 to the pot for the next round. Once somebody nails it, the jackpot resets to $100 and a brand-new sound goes into play. One warning from the official rules: your guess has to match the station's answer exactly. Close doesn't count — the rules even give the example that a near-miss answer won't win while the precise one will. You get one guess per caller per round, but there's no limit on how many times you can call in or how many times you can win.

Who Can Play

You need to be 18 or older and live in the Chicago area: Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, or Will counties in Illinois; Kenosha County in Wisconsin; or Lake and Porter counties in Indiana. If you've won $599 or less from WDRV in the last 30 days, or $600 or more in the last 60 days, you're sitting this one out. The contest has been running since January 2025 and, per the station's rules, continues until a to-be-announced date in 2026 — so check 97.1 The Drive for the current jackpot before you call. This October 2026 contest is a classic listen-to-win setup, and the growing pot makes every wrong guess good news for the next caller.

NASA Is Shopping for Rockets in Bulk to Build a $30 Billion Moon Base as the Falcon 9 Era Winds Down

2026-10-08T16:18:23.663-05:00

NASA is serious about getting mankind back on the moon, and they aren't playing around.

Image via Wikimedia Commons (NASA)

NASA's Bulk Rocket Shopping Spree

NASA is getting ready to buy rockets the way warehouses buy paper towels: in bulk. According to Bloomberg, the space agency is close to announcing a big batch purchase of rocket launches to power its roughly $30 billion push to build a permanent moon base where humans can live and work. Carlos García-Galán, who runs NASA's moon base program, said the agency is looking at bulk buys of launchers that could cover all of the base's needs — and that the first round could be announced in the near future. The idea is to order four or five different rocket types at once, pair each one with a commercial lunar lander, and let any leftover capacity go to other government agencies.

Why SpaceX's Falcon 9 Is Stepping Back

The timing isn't a coincidence. SpaceX plans to stop taking new dedicated Falcon 9 bookings after 2028, meaning the workhorse rocket that has dominated launches for years is being eased out of new long-range business. That opens the door for a new generation of rockets: Rocket Lab's Neutron, Blue Origin's New Glenn, United Launch Alliance's Vulcan, plus contenders like Relativity Space, Firefly Aerospace, and Stoke Space.

Investors noticed — Rocket Lab's stock jumped about 4% on the news. (Note: The author does hold shares in Rocket Lab stock at the time of publication.)

With the whole industry facing a shortage of rockets while demand keeps booming, NASA wants to lock in its rides before the bottleneck hits its own schedule.

The Moon Base Timeline

Here's how the plan unfolds. Through 2028, NASA will send landers and rovers to scout landing spots and hunt for resources. Then the heavy lifting starts: in 2029, the agency expects to begin hauling as much as 60 metric tons of equipment to the lunar surface — power systems, habitats, and other infrastructure for a real outpost. The announcement landed right during World Space Week (October 4, celebrated in more than 100 countries), this year's theme fittingly called the "Rocket Revolution." This October 2026 space news story is one giant leap for bulk buying.

No Cab, No Steering Wheel, No Driver: Driverless Electric Trucks Now Haul Freight Daily in Ohio

2026-10-07T06:59:43.000-05:00

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

The Trucks With No Cab Up Front

Freight is moving through central Ohio with one thing missing: a driver. Two fully driverless trucks are now making daily runs between warehouses at the 33 Innovation Park in Marysville, Ohio — and these aren't ordinary semis with a robot at the wheel. They have no cab, no steering wheel, and no driver compartment at all. The Swedish company Einride built them, and they're hauling real freight for logistics company EASE Logistics, which has been running the pair since this past summer.

How It Works

The battery-electric trucks shuttle back and forth between two EASE warehouses on roads inside the industrial park, cruising at around 30 MPH. Nobody rides along — instead, the trucks are monitored remotely by operators in Austin, Texas. Each vehicle is loaded with sensors: laser technology on all four corners, more than 10 cameras, and radar in the lower body. The companies say the daily runs are gathering real-world data on safety and efficiency to help shape the future of autonomous vehicles in freight. EASE says it wants a seat at the table as the industry changes — and a chance to feed real supply-chain data back into how the technology develops.

What Drivers Think

Out on the roads, opinions are split. Some drivers told 10TV News they're uneasy, pointing to accidents involving driverless cars and questioning whether the technology is fully tested. Others are converts — one driver who watched Teslas steer themselves down the highway from Buffalo called it simply the way of the future. Love it or fear it, the future of freight is already rolling through Marysville with nobody behind the wheel — because there is no wheel. This October 2026 technology news story is one to watch.

What Does This Mean for the Future of Truck Drivers?

Let's keep this in perspective: these trucks run short, low-speed loops inside one industrial park — not 600-mile highway hauls through the night. Nobody is suggesting long-haul drivers are getting replaced tomorrow. But the direction of travel is hard to miss. Every daily run these cab-less trucks complete is another batch of data proving the concept, and the companies involved say that's exactly the point.

The honest answer is that driving jobs will change shape before they disappear. Someone still has to watch these trucks — right now that's remote operators in Austin, Texas. Tomorrow it could be fleet technicians, safety supervisors, and logistics coordinators managing dozens of autonomous rigs at once. The steering wheel may be going away, but the need for humans who understand freight isn't.

Truck drivers who start learning the technology side now will be the ones best positioned for whatever comes next.

Target Circle Deal Days 2026: 11 Best Deals to Shop Before Wednesday

2026-10-07T06:38:03.887-05:00

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Target Circle Deal Days Is Here — But Only Until Wednesday

Target just fired the starting gun on its biggest fall sale of the year. Target Circle Deal Days kicked off today, Tuesday, October 6, and runs through Wednesday, October 7 — just two days to grab some of Target's deepest discounts before the holidays. The timing is no accident: the sale lines up directly with Amazon's Prime Day event, so it's a perfect week to compare prices and get a head start on holiday shopping.

Most of the deals are open to everyone, but signing up for the free Target Circle loyalty program unlocks extra savings and member-only offers. Here are the 11 best Target deals worth your attention before the sale ends Wednesday night.

The 11 Best Target Circle Deal Days Offers

1. Buy 2, get 1 free — select music and books. Stock up on gifts or your own reading list.

2. Buy 1, get 1 25% off — Halloween candy. With Halloween just weeks away, this is the time to load up on trick-or-treat candy at a discount.

3. Buy 1, get 1 50% off — fall candles. Half off the second candle when you grab two autumn scents.

4. 30% off — select Lego toy sets. A standout for early holiday toy shopping.

5. Buy 1, get 1 25% off — coffee and tea. A nice everyday staple discount.

6. Save $120 — KitchenAid 5-Quart 10-Speed Stand Mixer. One of the biggest single-item markdowns of the sale.

7. 3-in-1 outdoor fire pit table for $99 (marked down $121). A big-ticket patio deal.

8. Save $240 — stylish media console. Furniture shoppers, take note.

9. Buy 2, get 1 free — personal care and grooming items. Stock up on the essentials.

10. 40% off — women's and kids' activewear. Workout gear at a steep discount.

11. Buy 1, get 1 free — Liquid I.V. The hydration packets are BOGO.

How Long Does the Sale Last?

Target Circle Deal Days runs Tuesday, October 6, through Wednesday, October 7, 2026 — the same dates as Amazon's fall Prime Day event. When the clock runs out Wednesday night, these prices are gone, so don't sleep on it. Happy deal hunting!