TL;DR: Amazon has the Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution—Perfect Order Booster Bundle available from just $48 through marketplace sellers. The Amazon-shipped listing with slightly faster delivery is also at $49.89, though you can get as low as $39.95 from Walmart and TCGplayer.

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Credit: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Perfect Order Booster Bundle

$48 at Amazon

 

Shop Now

Still the most affordable recent expansion in the Pokémon TCG, you can now grab the Perfect Order Booster Bundle even below market price — depending on your preferences for retailers. 

As of June 5, the Pokémon TCG’s Perfect Order Booster Bundle is available at Amazon for $48, with the lowest-priced listing coming from The Ardor Group and including free shipping. 

For a slightly speedier turnaround, you can pay $49.89 for the listing shipped from Amazon and sold by Collector’s Treasures — with delivery currently listed for June 10. 

Either one gets you six booster packs from Perfect Order, each with 10 trading cards each, but it is a far more budget-friendly way of jumping into the expansion than investing in a much more expensive Booster Display Box. 

Still, you have the chance to pull some valuable chase cards — including Mega Zygarde ex, with Mega Clefable ex, Mega Starmie ex, and Meowth ex. However, these are also available to buy individually on TCGplayer. 

However, you can save even more by purchasing from one of the other big sites in the trading card market. 

TCGplayer has listings starting at $40.34 shipped, while Walmart shows a current listing at $39.95, sold by Realgoodeal and fulfilled by Walmart. The latter makes it even lower than TCGplayer’s market value price of $40.13. 

To save more on recent expansions, though, you can grab the Pokémon TCG’s Chaos Rising Booster Bundle for under $50. You can even grab the Chaos Rising Elite Trainer Box for under $100.

Although currently not available on Amazon, the Pokémon TCG’s newly announced Pitch Black expansion — Booster Packs, ETBs, Display Boxes, and Booster Bundles — is available to preorder at TCGplayer.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, would you rather listen to "Sunny Day" or "Rubber Duckie"?

Would you rather be able to fly or turn invisible?

These are some of the questions Sesame Street's Grover and Elmo answered when they stopped by Mashable's Say More studio to visit with Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko. With their distinct laughs and hilarious banter, Grover and Elmo covered a number of "Would You Rather" topics that taught us a little bit more about the classic Sesame Street icons.

After watching, drop your own answers in the comments. We'd love to hear them!

For more from Grover and Elmo and the whole Sesame Street family, check out new Sesame Street episodes are available on Netflix and PBS Kids June 8.

With Secretary of State Marco Rubio getting a grilling over Donald Trump's apparent mid-day napping habits, Seth Meyers decided to dig into the issue himself on Late Night.

"If there's one thing we know about Trump it's that he's a keen judge of character, he's alway paying close attention to the habits and qualities of the people around him," says Meyers over footage of Trump with his eyes closed in the Oval Office. "We've all seen him in meetings, razor sharp, laser-focussed, locking eyes with everyone around him, carefully scrutinising every word and every gesture, taking the true measure of the men and the soon-to-be-fired women who make up his administration and sure, to you it looks like he's asleep, but everyone looks like they're sleeping when you're so woke."

Cue five minutes of detailed analysis on the president's sleeping habits.

Want more of the best of late night? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter.

SAVE OVER $100: As of June 5, the Sony ULT Wear headphones in black are discounted to $144.95 at Amazon. This is $105.04 off their list price of $249.99.

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Credit: Sony

Sony ULT WEAR Over-Ear Noise Canceling Bluetooth Headphones

$144.95 at Amazon
$249.99 Save $105.04

 

Get Deal

Sony's ULT Wear headphones are a pair we have a lot of love for. Landing on our list of the best noise-canceling headphones, they've actually earned the spot as our favorite pick for bass lovers. If they sound right up your alley, you don't actually have to wait until Prime Day to score a good deal, as they're currently on sale at Amazon.

The black pair of Sony ULT Wear headphones has dropped to $144.95 at Amazon, a discount of just over $100 from their full price of $249.99. They're not the only color on sale, though. For a few dollars extra at $148, you can also save on the off-white pair, if you prefer those.

If big bass is a high priority for you in headphones, the Sony ULT Wear can deliver. Mashable's Miller Kern noted in her original review that the "booming sound makes other (decidedly good) headphones sound flat, and the option to punch the bass up two levels is something I didn’t even know I needed in a pair of headphones."

She does mention that the "design is not as sleek as other headphones I’ve worn or seen, but that’s a fair tradeoff for amazing sound and a more affordable price." They'll last you quite a while through any long journeys you have planned as well, as they offer up to 30 hours of battery life.

Why not treat yourself to a pair of new headphones this summer? Save big on the Sony ULT Wear headphones at Amazon.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

TL;DR: Amazon has dropped the preorder price of Magic: The Gathering’s Marvel Super Heroes Play Booster Box to just $129, a $10 cut from its $139.55 base price. At $10.55 on the 30-pack box, this is its lowest price ever ahead of its June 26 release date.

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Credit: Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering Marvel Super Heroes Play Booster Box

$129 at Amazon
$139.55 Save $10.55

Pre-order Here

As MTG’s Marvel Super Heroes expansion comes ever closer, you and other trading card collectors can now grab its high-value box of 30 packs at a new all-time low price point. 

As of June 5, the Magic: The Gathering Marvel Super Heroes Play Booster Box is available to preorder on Amazon for $129, down from $139.55. This listing is shipped and sold by Amazon directly, with free delivery currently set for Monday, June 29 — shortly after the expansion’s launch on June 26. 

This also includes Amazon’s preorder price guarantee. So, if Amazon drops the price again before release, you should pay the lowest price offered between checkout and launch.

As confirmed by the price-tracking site camelcamelcamel, this $10.55 saving brings the Play Booster Box to its lowest price ever — after dropping to $140 only in late May. Now, you’ll only be paying $4.30 per pack instead of $4.65.

What’s more, this even takes the price of the Marvel Super Heroes Play Booster Box to under market value, also being over $10 lower than TCGplayer’s market price, and undercutting the dedicated trading card platform’s own lowest $140.38 listing.

Inside, you’ll get 30 Magic: The Gathering Marvel Super Heroes Play Boosters, with 14 cards in each pack. Every pack includes one Traditional Foil card and one to four cards of rare or higher rarity, alongside commons, uncommons, and one land. There’s also a small chance of pulling a Foil Borderless Mythic Rare, while a Traditional Foil Land replaces the regular land in 20% of boosters. 

Speaking of preorders, you can also buy the 30-pack Magic: The Gathering Reality Fracture Play Booster Box on sale as well — for only $154.99. If you’re newer to MTG, you can also grab the 24-pack Jumpstart 2025 Booster Box for only $99.62.

If you’re also a Pokémon TCG fan, although currently not available on Amazon, the newly announced Pitch Black expansion — Booster Packs, ETBs, Display Boxes, and Booster Bundles — is available to preorder at TCGplayer.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you're a cinephile.

Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Children's tale

• Green: Breakfast grains

• Blue: An iconic actress

• Purple: Ways to get around

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Associated with Hansel and Gretel

• Green: Bit of cereal

• Blue: Demi Moore movies

• Purple: Ending in methods of transportation

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #1090 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Associated with Hansel and Gretel: BREADCRUMB, FOREST, OVEN, WITCH

• Bit of cereal: CLUSTER, FLAKE, LOOP, PUFF

• Demi Moore movies: DISCLOSURE, GHOST, STRIPTEASE, THE SUBSTANCE

• Ending in methods of transportation: INCUBUS, OSCAR, QUATRAIN, SITUATIONSHIP

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Connections.

Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you're confrontational.

Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There's always a theme linking every solution, along with the "spangram," a special, word or phrase that sums up that day's theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.

By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.

If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.

NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: You wanna go?

The words are related to battling.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe combative words.

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Fighting Words.

NYT Strands word list for June 5

• Clash

• Scuffle

• Scrap

• Melee

• Fighting Words

• Skirmish

• Brawl

Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!

Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Strands.

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you're a good person.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Honorably.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring letters.

Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter N.

The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

NOBLY

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Wordle.

SAVE $100: As of June 5, the Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm) is on sale for $299 at Amazon, marking its lowest price yet at the retailer. This is $100 off its full price of $399.

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Credit: Apple

Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 42mm]

$299 at Amazon
$399 Save $100

 

Get Deal

This year's Amazon Prime Day sale is coming up soon, but there are already quite a few exciting deals available, including on some Apple tech. The Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm) is one discounted item that's crossed our radar, as it's returned to its lowest price so far at the retailer for $299.

If you've had your eye on this Apple smartwatch, this is an excellent deal to jump on. Overall, you're saving $100 compared to paying its full price of $399, which is some excellent savings before Prime Day. It applies to every available color as well, so you can save on your preferred style.

The Apple Watch Series 11 is filled to the brim with health and fitness features, from hypertension notifications and a sleep score to safety features and more. Plus, it also has quite a beefy battery life. Mashable's Stan Schroeder wrote in his review: "After nearly a full week of use, I can say that the Apple Watch Series 11 is easily a one-and-a-half-day smartwatch now, and it's possible to extend that to a full weekend if you carefully use Low Power mode."

This is also how it earned the spot as 'Best Apple Upgrade' in our roundup of the best smartwatches. Mashable's Timothy Beck Werth said in this piece: "OK, so you really, really do want all-day battery life? Then you really do need to upgrade to the $399 Apple Watch Series 11."

Don't wait for Prime Day, save big on the Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm) at Amazon today.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

TL;DR: You can now grab the six-pack Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution — Chaos Rising Booster Bundle on Amazon for $51.98, working out to $8.66 per pack. However, you can also find this bundle for as low as $47 across TCGplayer and Walmart. 

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Credit: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Booster Bundle

$51.98 at Amazon
$59.99 Save $8.01

 

Get Deal

Chaos Rising’s price fluctuations across the Pokémon TCG market continue; as a silver lining, though, this means you can score a lower cost-per-pack if you buy from the right retailer. 

As of June 5, the Pokémon TCG’s Chaos Rising Booster Bundle is on sale at Amazon for $51.98, taking 13% off its usual $59.99 list price. At the time of writing, this listing is shipped and sold by Amazon directly, with free delivery available for June 12-17, or as soon as June 12-15 if you choose the fastest delivery option.

Stock is quite low, with back-up listings from third-party sellers on Amazon slightly more expensive at $57.35. 

Although if you’re willing to shop outside of Amazon, you can get the Chaos Rising Booster Bundle for as low as $47.10 at TCGplayer — which is only 28 cents above its $46.82 market price. Alternatively, Walmart is selling the six-pack box for $49.75 via Cash Cards Unlimited.

With those lower prices, you could be paying as little as $7.85 per pack before taxes, compared to Amazon’s $8.66 based on its lowest price of $51.98. 

Whichever seller you go for, though, each of the Chaos Rising Bundle’s six packs contains 10 trading cards from the new expansion. If you’re after the big-value chase cards — like Mega Greninja ex, Mega Floette ex, Mega Pyroar ex, and Mega Dragalge ex — you can also buy those individually at TCGplayer.  

To get more from this expansion, the Pokémon TCG’s Chaos Rising Elite Trainer Box is also on sale for under $100. Plus, to give you 36 packs at a reasonable price, the Chaos Rising Booster Display is on offer for $265.

Although currently not available on Amazon, the Pokémon TCG’s newly announced Pitch Black expansion — Booster Packs, ETBs, Display Boxes, and Booster Bundles — is available to preorder at TCGplayer.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

If you found yourselves in the Backrooms, the nightmarish liminal space dimension found in Kane Parsons' movie of the same name, how would you survive?

The director himself has some tips. In the Tonight Show interview above, Parsons tells Jimmy Fallon that the three items he'd take with him would be "a hydrogen bomb, a really big magnet, and a toaster."

And as for his advice for anyone who does find themselves trapped in those endless yellow rooms?

"Make peace with it," says Parsons. "Don't give yourself hope."

Yikes.

For anyone who's seen Backrooms and is looking for an ending explainer, we've got you covered.

SAVE OVER $100: As of June 5, the Bluetti AC70 portable power station is on sale for $328.99 at Amazon. This is $100.01 off its full price of $429.

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Credit: Bluetti

BLUETTI AC70 Portable Power Station

$328.99 at Amazon
$429 Save $100.01

 

Get Deal

Whether you're planning to head out into the great outdoors on a camping trip this summer or just want to be prepared at home in case the power goes out, a portable power station is worth considering. If the thought has crossed your mind, the good news is Amazon has some great deals available on select models before its big Prime Day sale even kicks off. As of June 5, the Bluetti AC70 is one of them.

Bluetti's AC70 portable power station has dropped down to $328.99 at Amazon. This is a $100 price cut from its full price of $429, but it's worth noting that it's marked as a "limited-time deal" right now. There's no knowing how long it will stay at this price, so now is as good a time as any to scoop it up and save.

The Bluetti AC70 boasts plenty of power when you need it, too, with a 768Wh capacity, 1,000W AC output, and a 2,000W power-lifting mode, so it can power a wide range of devices. You can also use the Bluetti app to monitor its status, set charge/discharge mode, and update its battery.

Of course, it also has a top handle, making it easy to carry. Especially if you're planning a camping trip, this makes packing it up to take on the go a little more simple.

If you've been searching for a portable power station, this deal on the Bluetti AC70 at Amazon is worth a look.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

SAVE $850: As of June 5, the Eufy Robot Lawn Mower E15 is on sale for $949.99 at Amazon. That's a 47% discount on the list price.

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Credit: eufy

eufy Robot Lawn Mower E15

$949.99 at Amazon
$1,799.99 Save $850

 

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The Eufy Robot Lawn Mower E15 is back on sale at Amazon, and if you're looking for a hands-free way to keep your lawn neat, this is the answer. As of June 5, this robot lawn mower is down to just $949.99 at Amazon, saving you $850 on the list price.

This model uses Pure Vision Navigation, stereo cameras, and AI algorithms to self-navigate your yard. This means there’s no need for boundary wires or an external station. It also uses a 3D obstacle-avoidance system that combines stereo cameras and Vision SLAM to detect and navigate around objects such as rocks, toys, trees, and yard borders.

In rain or low-light conditions, the mower will automatically return to its base and can then resume mowing on schedule. And everything can be controlled via the Eufy app, from scheduling to zone adjustments. 

This model is designed for lawns up to 0.2 acres, grass under 3.5 inches tall, and slopes up to 18°. It is not suitable for St. Augustine or dense Zoysia grass.

You can find this Eufy deal at Amazon now.

Dua Lipa has become a very specific kind of modern pop star. Yes, she’s famous. Yes, she is smart with incredible taste. Yes, she’s beautiful and rich. Yes, she is constantly on vacation. But her version of celebrity leisure doesn’t read as empty in the way a lot of celebrity leisure does.

Lipa's Instagram is basically a mood board for a dream version of adulthood: travel, food, dancing, friends, books, outfits, activism, beaches, museums, a really, really hot fiancé. She doesn’t really seem to be selling luxury, but she does seem to be selling the idea that pleasure is a perfectly fine end-goal. And not just through Instagram — Lipa's editorial platform Service95 positions itself as "the ultimate cultural concierge" through its website, newsletters, podcast, and popular book club.

Right now, the internet is obsessed with a certain fantasy of living beautifully without turning every single part of your life into work. Think Euro summer mood boards. Think Anthony Bourdain nostalgia. Think "it girl" reading culture. Think travel TikTok. Think the creator economy fantasy that your life could be both your job and your art.

Writer Madison Huizinga called this "the Dua Effect": a brand built around abundance and being a student of life. And Lipa's building it at the right time. Because for a lot of young people, the fantasy is to just have enough time, money, and emotional space to pursue curiosity. To read, travel, go to dinner, learn a language, make art and be social. Ultimately, to have a life that doesn’t feel completely consumed by productivity. Gen Z is less likely to be interested in hustle culture than previous generations — "the grind" is losing its appeal. That's not to say Lupa doesn't work extremely hard (she does) — it's just not visible on her Instagram feed.

Lipa's leisure feels different from, say, an influencer posting a sponsored hotel stay or a billionaire giving a tour of their closet — and that's despite Lipa partnering with tech giants like Google for sponsored, curated restaurant lists around the world. Her life is obviously excessive, but it’s framed as enrichment. Of course, that’s also the tension. Lipa's life is not replicable for most people. Most of us cannot casually build an international existence out of beaches, books, parties, and perfectly lit dinners. And the obsession with her probably won’t last — it never does. 

SAVE $20: As of June 5, the Google TV Streamer 4K is on sale for $79.99 at Amazon. That's a 20% discount on the list price.

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Credit: Google

Google TV Streamer 4K

$79.99 at Amazon
$99.99 Save $20

 

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Streaming sticks are a simple way to add apps and streaming services to older TVs that don’t already have them built in. There are lots of options, but if you're looking for access to the Google TV platform, the Google TV Streamer 4K is the right choice.

This streaming device is a great way to get easy access to entertainment from both apps and live TV. You'll get access to over 800 free channels from services such as Pluto TV and Tubi, and you can watch them (and everything else) in 4K HDR with Dolby Vision.

This deal is for a newer generation of the device, with this one featuring a 22% faster processor and double the memory. The redesigned remote also allows voice control for searching content, managing smart home devices, and accessing functions via a customizable button. It even has a feature that helps you locate it if it gets lost, making a ringing sound.

You can also manage other smart home devices through a clever home panel that lets you adjust lighting or view security cameras without interrupting what you're watching.

This streaming deal is available at Amazon right now.

Curious about eharmony but not yet ready to dish out your credit card details? You're not alone, and the good news is that the dating site is reasonably generous in the scope it gives to non-paying members. 

In fact, there's almost no aspect of the user interface that is totally restricted to paid accounts, so if you want to get a sense of how the site operates and the emphasis it places on matchmaking assessments, testing the waters with a free account is a great idea. 

Here's everything you can and can't do with a free eharmony account:

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Credit: eharmony

eharmony

 

Learn More

What you can do with a free account

Create and fill out a profile

With a free account, you can create a profile, upload photos, fill out important facts about yourself, from whether or not you have children to what you like to do in your free time, and even take eharmony's proprietary personality quiz, which the site uses to compare you with other members and assign your potential match a "compatibility score."

Apply (some) search criteria

In the Discover section of the site, eharmony will present you with the profiles of various singles that fit your match criteria, helping you narrow down your search for a significant other. For free members, however, there are only a limited number of filters that you can apply. 

These include height range, age range, and whether or not someone is a smoker or has/wants children. If you upgrade to a premium account, however, you'll unlock many more filter options, including ethnicity, religion, income range, and education level.

And most frustratingly of all, while free account members can select which regions of their country they want to view profiles from, they cannot filter these profiles by distance, whereas paying members can elect to be shown only people within a certain distance of their location. 

Read profile bios

With a free account, you don't get full access to people's profiles, but you can generally get a very thorough understanding of who they are as a person, since key details like their hobbies, marital status, gender, location, height and body type, and even dating preferences are all visible. 

Verify your account

To get your eharmony account verified, follow these steps:

• Click on the SMS Verification button on your profile

• Enter your mobile phone number and click "Start the SMS verification"

• You will receive a verification code via text

• Enter the verification code in your eharmony prompt screen

If you follow the above steps, you'll earn a verification symbol on your profile, which is like a little vote of confidence to help potential matches trust in the authenticity of your account. 

Get matches

Free accounts are every bit as visible in the Discovery section as paid accounts, and they're allowed to like and dislike others, so don't be surprised when you start getting notifications that other people you've liked have returned your interest. 

There is a catch, though … there's still a lot you can't do with a free account.

What you can't do with a free account

View profile photos

If you're into blind dating, this might not be an issue, but the average online dater still wants to see what their match or potential match looks like, and eharmony blurs the profile photos for non-paying accounts, not enough to totally hide the photo — you can usually make out face shape and even hair color, for example — but enough to heighten the mystery. 

Initiate chats

As a non-paying member, you can send a message whenever you like an account, which is a great way to improve your odds of a match, and you can send matches an Icebreaker, eharmony's interactive photo-pairing game to help start a conversation, but you won't actually be able to send back-and-forth messages without giving up your credit card details.  

Worse, still, if you are sent a message by someone who happened to like your profile, you won't be able to read it without upgrading your account, which can be quite tortuous when the person you've been eyeing finally shows up in your inbox.

This is why eharmony's free accounts are really a "trap," because even though there's a fair amount of stuff you can do on the site for free, benefitting from your efforts really requires an upgrade. 

SAVE $270: As of June 5, the Eufy C28 robot vacuum is on sale for $529.99 at Amazon. That's a 34% discount on the list price.

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Credit: eufy

Eufy C28 Robot Vacuum

$529.99 at Amazon
$799.99 Save $270

 

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Prime Day is fast approaching, but if you're looking for a robot vacuum deal now, you're in luck. Amazon's Daily Deals is still offering great discounts, like this latest on the Eufy C28 robot vacuum. As of June 5, this robot vacuum is down to $529.99 from $799.99. That's a savings of $270.

And this is a seriously impressive model. It features an 11-inch HydroJet roller with 24 water ports that spin at 270 RPM for self-cleaning during mopping. It also has a built-in scraper that removes dirt into a separate tank, keeping the roller clean while in use.

And if you have fluffy pets at home, this vacuum can more than cope. The DuoSpiral brush system is designed to handle hair up to 30 cm long without tangling. It also delivers up to 15,000Pa turbo suction, so all kinds of dirt can be picked up easily.

After it's full, the vacuum will return to its all-in-one docking station, where it can provide up to 75 days of hands-free maintenance by emptying dust into a 3L bag, washing the mop, drying it with 120°F hot air, and collecting wastewater. So, there's hardly any work for you to do.

Get this robot vacuum deal at Amazon now.

Prime Day is coming, and if you want to shop all the best deals, you'll need an Amazon Prime account.

Amazon's flagship sale kicks off June 23 and runs through June 26. The now annual four-day event is an exhausting extravaganza of deals. The retailer is likely to drop millions of deals during the sale, but to shop them, you must be a Prime member.

Not yet a Prime member? Want to revive your old Prime account? You can sign up for a free 30-day trial and unlock access to the sale. And nothing is stopping you from canceling before the 30-day promo period ends to avoid paying full price — just saying. Students (and anyone between the ages of 18 and 24) can also sign up for a 6-month trial for $0.

Regardless of whether or not you stick around, here's how you can sign up for Amazon Prime:

What are your Prime membership options?

If you are purchasing a Prime membership subscription, you have four plan options:

• Monthly Prime Membership — $14.99 per month

• Annual Membership — $139 per year or under $12 monthly

• Young Adult Monthly Membership — $7.49 per month (young adults are also eligible for exclusive offers, including a 6-month no-cost Prime trial)

• Prime for government assistance recipients — $6.99 per month (must verify eligibility)

It may have been overshadowed by his extremely expensive ballroom, but did you know Donald Trump is also renovating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool?

He's been banging on quite a bit about it at recent press events, with one notable moment seeing the president using a chart to compare the pool's size to that of the world's tallest buildings.

"What the f*** is happening right now?" asks Daily Show host Michael Kosta in the clip above. "Why did you make that chart? Our pool is bigger than skyscrapers? Those are two totally different things? I'd say you're comparing apples and oranges, but at least those are fruits. This would be like putting up a chart that says 'This sandwich is louder than haircuts.' What the f*** are we talking about?"

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TL;DR: Live stream Arnaldi vs. Cobolli in the 2026 French Open for free on France TV. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

With the women's semi-finals done and dusted at the 2026 French Open, it's time for the men to step onto the clay courts and decide who goes to the grand final.

The big semi-final match is Alexander Zverev vs. Jakub Mensik, with No. 2 seed Zverev a hot favorite to go all the way and win his first Grand Slam. But the other men's semi-final match, the all-Italian showdown of Matteo Arnaldi vs. Flavio Cobolli, could be a sleeper classic.

Both men are entering a grand slam semi-final for the first time, and both have shown serious fire in the tournament. Arnaldi entered Roland-Garros unseeded and has battled his way through, while Cobolli eliminated the No. 4 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime. Both young Italians will now give it their all to reach the final.

If you want to watch Arnaldi vs. Cobolli in the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

How to watch Arnaldi vs. Cobolli for free

Arnaldi vs. Cobolli in the 2026 French Open is available to live stream for free on France TV.

France TV is geo-restricted to France, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in France, meaning you can stream the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream the 2026 French Open for free by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in France

4. Connect to France TV

5. Watch the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window

Credit: ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan)

$12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee)

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The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but they do tend to offer pretty generous money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Roland-Garros without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term strategy, but it gives you enough time to stream the 2026 French Open before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming platforms from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for sport?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream Arnaldi vs. Cobolli in the 2026 French Open for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Live stream Mensik vs. Zverev in the 2026 French Open for free on France TV. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The 2026 French Open continues with one of the most anticipated days of the entire tournament — the men's semi-finals. The first semi-final sees No. 2 Alexander Zverev continue his chase for his first ever Grand Slam title with a match against No. 26 Jakub Mensik.

German superstar Zverev is favorite to win the tournament following the shock early exits of other top seeds — including No. 1 Jannik Sinner — but Mensik will prove tough competition. The 20-year-old Czech has fought hard and already eliminated No. 8 seed Alex de Minaur — and lower-ranked players have repeatedly eliminated top seeds this year at Roland-Garros.

All eyes will be on Zverev, however. Tennis fans are well aware that this is the 29-year-old's big chance to win that all-important first major. However it plays out, this is a match not to miss.

If you want to watch Mensik vs. Zverev in the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

How to watch Mensik vs. Zverev for free

Mensik vs. Zverev in the 2026 French Open is available to live stream for free on France TV.

France TV is geo-restricted to France, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in France, meaning you can stream the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream the 2026 French Open for free by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in France

4. Connect to France TV

5. Watch the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window

Credit: ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan)

$12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee)

Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but they do tend to offer pretty generous money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Roland-Garros without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term strategy, but it gives you enough time to stream the 2026 French Open before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming platforms from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for sport?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream Mensik vs. Zverev in the 2026 French Open for free with ExpressVPN.

June is here, and Apple fans know what that means: It's time for the annual Worldwide Developers Conference, better known as WWDC.

While most of the event is catered to developers, the opening keynote address is traditionally way more consumer-oriented than most of Apple's competitors' developer events. Apple usually saves its big software announcements for WWDC (and also announces some of its most powerful desktop computers, like the Mac Studio, during the event).

So, if you want to watch Tim Cook's final WWDC as Apple CEO — and the potential debut of iOS 27, an all-new Siri, and potentially some new Mac devices — here's how to watch the keynote live.

Watch Apple WWDC 2026 live

WWDC 2026 takes place from June 8 to June 12. The big keynote, however, opens up the show on Monday at 10 a.m. PT (or 1 p.m. ET).

Apple fans will be able to watch the keynote live at Apple.com, on Apple's YouTube channel, and the Apple TV app. You can also join Mashable at the CNET WWDC livestream watch party, where tech editors from Mashable, CNET, and PCMag will break down the biggest announcements after the event wraps.

This will be Tim Cook's final WWDC as CEO

Held in Cupertino, WWDC is shaping up to be even bigger than usual. Apple is expected to announce details of the next operating systems for its entire hardware lineup, which should include iOS 27, macOS 27, iPadOS 27, watchOS 27, tvOS 27, and visionOS 27.

Apple hasn't provided any information about what to expect. However, the long-awaited relaunch of Siri as a full-fledged AI assistant has been rumored to make its debut at this year's WWDC.

Also, beyond Apple's products, this is expected to be Apple CEO Tim Cook's very last keynote as head of the company. Apple's current Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering John Ternus will become Apple CEO just in time for its big iPhone event in September.

VidCon is back again this year in Anaheim, with plenty of new surprises in store for fans and content creators alike.

The event is set to take place from Thursday, June 25, to Saturday, June 27, and includes a full schedule of nonstop meet-and-greets, mentorship sessions, informative talks, and interactive events for attendees.

Last year's VidCon fell on YouTube's 20th anniversary, so the event honored early YouTube legends like Hank Green, Rhett & Link, Grace Helbig, Tyler Oakley, Smosh co-founders Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox, and more. The YouTube pioneers were celebrated and awarded at VidCon’s first annual Hall of Fame ceremony.

This year’s VidCon looks a little different — this time, the event focuses on the wider content-creating industry beyond YouTube. 

The three-day itinerary includes something for everyone: opportunities to meet favorite creators, informative sessions on content creation, interactive events like GorillaCon and pickleball, and more.

GorillaCon

VidCon 2026 promptly kicks off with the first-ever GorillaCon event on Thursday morning. What is GorillaCon, you ask? It’s a live event celebrating Gorilla Tag, described on the VidCon website as the world’s most popular virtual reality game.

At GorillaCon, attendees have the opportunity to celebrate being "Monke" in the 3,000 square foot VidCon Expo Hall. A GorillaCon ticket includes access to Gorilla Tag creators for autographs and photo-ops, and priority position for merchandise, prizes, raffles, and an auction for "crazy rare Monke artifacts."

The event will also include concerts, trivia, cosplay, parades, and more. VidCon attendees need a separate GorillaCon ticket to attend, which can be purchased on the VidCon website.

AI and content creation

This year's VidCon tackles an important elephant in the content creation industry room: how content creators can use AI and AI-powered tools. 

The title sponsor of VidCon is POP.STORE, an agentic AI commerce platform that allows creators to track follower analytics and sell products without relying solely on social media platforms. 

The platform also includes a tool called ECHO-ME, which adapts to an individual content creator’s voice and helps them respond to followers and brand deals authentically. POP.STORE is expected to showcase ECHO-ME at this year’s VidCon.

VidCon's schedule also includes several informative sessions on AI and content creation, ranging from the future of branded content to how content creators could use AI tools and AI authenticity in content creation.

Exclusive perks for VidCon, Creator, and Pro Pass holders

Different ticket tiers include a wide range of new perks this year as well. VidCon Pass holders will experience the new Live Podcast Studio, where featured creators will record live podcasts, and the Community Zone, where fans can gather for meetups and performances.

Creator Pass holders will have access to Creator HQ this year, a new space for collaborating with other creators, as well as a new, exclusive networking tool and creator meetups. 

Pro Pass holders will have access to a VidCon speed networking event, the first VIP Expo Hall party, and Think Tank 20, where attendees can gather in 20-person groups to explore topics in-depth. 

A few Pro Pass holders can also participate in the invite-only VidCon brand match accelerator, which will include one-on-one meetings between top creators and decision-makers. 

All VidCon attendees will have access to the new Sport Court, newly expanded Gaming Zone, as well as VidCon's street fest — aka a massive celebration that will feature food trucks, live music, and dancing.

Attendees can also expect a few familiar favorites events, like the pickleball tour and the Hall of Fame ceremony, which just inducted new members Markiplier, Philip DeFranco, Michelle Phan, and Cassey Ho.

Mashable will be on the ground at VidCon 2026, covering the creators, trends, and conversations driving internet culture, from breaking news and creator interviews to industry insights and live updates.

2026 is full of scary times. But if you like your horror confined to the screen, we've got you covered with a selection of the best that this year has had to offer so far.

Mashable's entertainment team has an insatiable thirst for all things horror. As such, we've not only seen the big flashy releases like Lee Cronin's The Mummy, Kevin Williamson's Scream 7, Nia Dacosta's 28 Year Later: Bone Temple, Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Bride!, and Sam Raimi's Send Help, but also indie offerings like Backrooms, Obsession, Iron Lung, and Hokum.

Whether you like to shiver for zombies, cackle for horror comedy, gleefully gag over gross-out scares, get goosebumps over serial-killer thrillers, or dream of surreal twists that'll ensure nightmares, we've got you covered.

Here are the best horror movies of 2026 so far.

15. Iron Lung

Horror has a rich tradition of trapping characters in claustrophobic spaces and making them suffer, and Iron Lung cranks that premise up to 11. The film follows Simon (Mark Fischbach, aka YouTuber Markiplier), a convict in a post-apocalyptic future forced to trade prison for an exploratory mission down to the bottom of a blood ocean on an alien moon. The stuff of nightmares? Yes! And Markiplier (who also directs) amps up the tension with juddering submarine noises and occasional creepy X-ray photos taken by the submarine of its unpleasant surroundings.

This movie isn't perfect — at over two hours, it feels longer than it needs to be, and the characters aren't particularly fleshed out — but it's worth watching for one sequence near the end alone, which is cosmic horror at its most terrifying and blood-spattered. — Sam Haysom, General Assignment Editor, UK

Starring: Mark Fischbach, Caroline Kaplan, Troy Baker, Elsie Lovelock, Elle LaMont, Mick Lauer, Seán McLoughlin, and Isaac McKee

How to watch: Iron Lung is available to rent or buy on YouTube.

14. Cold Storage

Fungal horror gets the chills in Cold Storage, an infectious film that knows its lineage. Directed by Jonny Campbell (Am I Being Unreasonable?), and written by Jurassic Park co-scribe David Koepp based on his 2019 novel, Cold Storage takes a real event (NASA's Skylab falling out of orbit in 1979) and makes it the catalyst for gruesome events within a U.S. storage facility. Stranger Things' Joe Keery and Barbarian's Georgina Campbell as chatty employees investigating strange noises are a delight. And thanks to the genius of special makeup effects designers Lou and Dave Elsey (the team who brought you the corpiscle of True Detective: Night Country), Cold Storage is full of grisly, festering gore. As I wrote in my review, "Unlike its hazardous fungus (or Koepp's original book), Cold Storage isn't that deep. Instead, the film is a fun body horror comedy that grows on you — or might result in projectile vomiting?" — S.C.

Starring: Georgina Campbell, Joe Keery, Sosie Bacon, Vanessa Redgrave, Lesley Manville, and Liam Neeson

How to watch: Cold Storage is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

13. Primate

From Johannes Roberts, helmer of the uniquely scary shark thriller 47 Meters Down, comes a creature feature that should have you thinking twice about treating a wild animal as a pet.

Set in a remote mansion in Hawaii, Primate begins with college student Lucy Pinborough (Johnny Sequoyah) coming home to her younger sister (Gia Hunter), her hard-of-hearing dad (Troy Kotsur), and their pet chimpanzee, Ben. For added fun (and a higher body count), Roberts and co-writer Ernest Riera loop in some college friends and a couple of hot guys looking to party. What could have been a night of booze and sex becomes one of blood and death because Ben has contracted rabies, and so goes from pet to predator.

It's not deep or remotely sophisticated. But if you seeking something gnarly, Primate has got bite. — K.P.

Starring: Johnny Sequoyah, Jessica Alexander, Gia Hunter, and Troy Kotsur

How to watch: Primate is now streaming on Paramount+.

12. Obsession

Audiences went feral for writer/director Curry Barker's ultra-creepy Obsession. The film turns rom-com expectations on its head by presenting a lovelorn protagonist named Bear (Michael Johnston), who might seem like a nice guy but is actually the movie's villain.

Obsessed with his friend Nikki (a riveting Inde Navarrette), he makes a wish that she'll not only notice him, but will love him more than anyone else. In the way of the mythic monkey's paw, this wish goes horribly wrong, transforming Bear's dream girl into a nightmare. Obsession is thoroughly chilling, especially thanks to Navarrette's harrowing performance. But Barker's exploration of sexual politics ultimately feels juvenile because of a flubbed final act. As I explained more in-depth in my review, "This makes the finale of Obsession unnerving — not so much for what it shows, but for the empathy it ultimately lacks." — K.P.

Starring: Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter

How to watch: Obsession is now in theaters.

11. Undertone

This slow-burn horror story is about the things that go bump in the night. Written and directed by Ian Tuason, Undertone centers on an isolated podcaster named Evy (Nina Kiri), who becomes fixated on a series of mysterious audio clips. As she goes down the metaphorical rabbit's hole on what they could mean, the world around her seems to shift, forcing her to face a horrid reality.*

Trapping audiences in a deteriorating house where Evy is caring for her dying mother, Undertone offers a claustrophobic atmosphere that is enhanced by a spooky soundscape of strange noises and stranger children's songs. It's a terrific concept, and Tuason puts a lot of care into each detail. However, as spooky as this one gets, it never had me full-on scared. — K.P.

Starring: Nina Kiri and Adam DiMarco

How to watch: Undertone is now available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

10. Thrash

I don't want to hear it. Nope. Not a bad word will be said here about Thrash, one of the most rudely welcomed movies on Netflix. Writer/director Tommy Wirkola (Violent Night, Dead Snow) delivers a proper nail-biter of a shark survival movie here, the 24-hour tale of a hurricane that becomes a tsunami that becomes a bona fide shark invasion of a South Carolina small town. It's glorious! We've got nightmarish cinematography; increasingly flooded sets; strong performances from Djimon Hounsou, Whitney Peak, and Phoebe Dynevor; and one wildly foreshadowed shark-infested water birth. The simple task of getting from A to B in this film? Good luck.

The Thrash production team, led by production designer David Ingram, built an entire town and utterly destroyed it with flash flooding, savage marine predators, and director of photography Matthew Weston's unrelentingly stressful camera work, and that's not enough for you? Did you see that bull shark kitchen scene? Well, you have your right to an opinion. This is mine: "If you like shark movies, Thrash is a solid survival thriller with a talented cast and visuals that had me locked in. Wirkola's ability to balance horror, action, and comedy remains a praise-worthy feat. Dive into it." — S.C.

Starring: Phoebe Dynevor, Whitney Peak, and Djimon Hounsou

How to watch: Thrash is now streaming on Netflix.

9. The Bride!

As writer and director, Maggie Gyllenhaal took a big swing with The Bride!, a dizzying reimagining of the Universal monster from Bride of Frankenstein. Critics were mixed on it, and despite starring Academy Award winners Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale as the Bride and her monster mate, this epic horror offering tanked at the box office.

But the world is wrong. Set in 1936 Chicago, The Bride! offers up a gangster's moll (Buckley) who is fatefully possessed by Frankenstein author Mary Shelley, who's long dead but still has things to say. So begins a Bonnie-and-Clyde-style crime spree with a besotted creature who loves movie musicals. The result is fitful, deranged, and uniquely beautiful.

Apparently, The Bride! is not for everyone. But to me, it was sensational. As I wrote in my review, "Gyllenhaal and her cast don't just dust off a classic tale for a safe money grab. (Looking at you, Disney live-action remakes!) They tear various Frankenstein iterations to bits, then create an exquisite corpse of the pieces, festooning it with elements from other films about violence, revolt, and violation. The result is a film that is utterly electrifying, sure to spark something in hearts young and old." — K.P.

Starring: Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Peter Sarsgaard, Annette Bening, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Penélope Cruz

How to watch: The Bride! is now streaming on HBO Max.

8. Backrooms

The concept of the Backrooms began with a 4chan post, which then-teenager Kane Parsons masterfully expanded into a series of extremely viral short horror films. Backrooms is his full-length feature adaptation, and it's about a bitter furniture shop owner (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who discovers the doorway to another world in the basement of his store. So, does Parsons manage to land the jump to feature? For the most part, yes. Backrooms uses uncanny spaces and an ominous soundscape to chilling effect, dragging us into a world that's as unsettling as it is endless. The movie's only real issue is its third act, which loses some tension after we see the face of the thing that's been chasing the characters through this hellish labyrinth.

"Despite this, Backrooms is still well worth a watch. The ending isn't enough to spoil what came before," I wrote in my Mashable review. "If anything, Parsons has managed to prove himself as an incredibly talented emerging filmmaker while also establishing the first chapter in what will surely end up becoming a brand-new horror franchise." — S.H.

Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, and Lukita Maxwell

How to watch: Backrooms is now in theaters.

7. Exit 8

Months after escaping from Exit 8, I remain ensnared in it. Genki Kawamura's haunting adaptation is more than an ode to Kotake Create's acclaimed 2023 game; it's an impeccable thriller that will have you actively participating in its labyrinthine puzzle. You'll genuinely root for Kazunari Ninomiya as a frantic man trapped in a nightmarish looping subway hallway beneath Tokyo, his only chance of escape being his ability to identify "anomalies" within this wretched corridor. A rare triumph among video game adaptations, Exit 8 is a masterpiece of production, from the meticulous sets to the dynamic cinematography and nerve-racking sound design.

As I wrote in my review, "While video game adaptations come in a range of sublime to mediocre, Exit 8 is a triumphant realisation and expansion of the original concept. Kawamura's punctilious direction and his incredibly talented cast and crew amplify this contained hallway in satisfying, chilling ways. You'll remain in this hallway long after you've left the cinema — we're all still staring blankly at that Exit 0 sign." — S.C.

Starring: Kazunari Ninomiya, Yamato Kochi, Naru Asanuma, Kotone Hanase, and Nana Komatsu

How to watch: Exit 8 is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

6. Scream 7

Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, and Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson reunited for Scream 7, marking the highest-grossing sequel this franchise has seen.

With Williamson at the helm and co-writing with Guy Busick (Scream V & VI), this sequel dove into nostalgia. Ghostface is back in action, killing at Stu Macher's house and chasing Sidney around a charming suburb. For good measure, he's also threatening to kill Sidney's eldest kid, who was named after her high school best friend, Tatum!

Critics largely panned this one. But we found it fun. In my review, I cheered, "As someone who has long counted Scream as the best of the batch, I yearned for a sequel that recaptured that feeling of discovery but also shared in my affection for the first film. Scream 7 does that, paying homage without being beholden to audience expectation or constrictive lore. Incredibly, Williams gives us a hearty dose of nostalgia and Easter eggs while providing new ideas, weird reveals, and fresh chills." — K.P.

Starring: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, Isabel May, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Anna Camp, Joel McHale, Mckenna Grace, Michelle Randolph, Asa Germann, Celeste O'Connor, Sam Rechner, Ethan Embry, Timothy Simons, and Mark Consuelos

How to watch: Scream 7 is now streaming on Paramount+.

5. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come

Samara Weaving reteams with Ready or Not filmmakers Radio Silence for a star-studded sequel to their 2019 hit.

Recently widowed by some devilish intervention, newlywed Grace (Weaving) wants nothing more than to light a cigarette and walk away from the bloody mess of the late Le Domas family. But it's time to level up her hide-and-seek skills, as a cabal of the evil and affluent join forces to hunt her down for round two. This time, however, she'll have her estranged sister (Kathryn Newton) at her side, for better or worse.

Ready or Not 2 had a tough act to follow, but Radio Silence satisfies by offering comically quirky caricatures of privilege, eye-popping slaughter scenes, and a pair of vicious twins played by '90s icons Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy. As I wrote in my review, "Not all of these gambles pay off. Yet Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is a winner when it comes to being a totally batshit good time." — K.P.

Starring: Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Néstor Carbonell, Kevin Durand, Olivia Cheng, David Cronenberg, and Elijah Wood

How to watch: Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is available for purchase at Prime Video.

4. Send Help

Some movies are just so weird that it feels like a miracle they exist at all. Send Help is such a wonder, as it pairs A-list actress Rachel McAdams with much, much, much, much glop.

Directed by Sam Raimi, Send Help is a genre mash-up that combines tropes from adventure and romance, horror comedies, and survival thrillers with an eat-the-rich edge. McAdams stars as a mousy office worker whose hotshot boss (Dylan O'Brien) treats like a pimple that needs to be popped. But when they end up stranded on a desert island, the power dynamics are dramatically flipped. There will be blood. And vomit, and muck, and more blood. And it will be hilarious.

As I declared in my review, "It's also a rip-roaring, no-fucks-to-give good time." — K.P.

Starring: Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien

How to watch: Send Help is now on Hulu.

3. Apex

Kayaking solo in the Australian outback already sounds scary enough, but when you throw a sociopathic serial killer into the mix, it reaches a different level entirely. This is the situation that rock climber Sasha (Charlize Theron) finds herself in in Baltasar Kormákur's Apex when she encounters an initially quite charming ranger named Ben (Taron Egerton). The result is a cat-and-mouse survival thriller that's equal parts violent and tense.

"Apex is a relentless, exciting, and nerve-rattlingly scary thriller, wherein Theron and Egerton bring their very best to a brutal face-off," wrote Mashable's Kristy Puchko in her review. "It'll be a fun watch at home, hooking audiences on its gnarly twists and gore. But I pity those who won't get to see the vistas and violence Kormákur has captured on a big screen, where their wonders and horrors can truly overwhelm you." — S.H.

Starring: Charlize Theron, Taron Egerton, and Eric Bana

How to watch: Apex is now streaming on Netflix.

2. Hokum

To date, the scariest movie of the year is Hokum. The latest from Irish filmmaker Damian McCarthy (Caveat and Oddity) stars Adam Scott as a misanthropic American novelist who falls down a rabbit hole of folklore and horror.

You see, Ohm Bauman (Scott) has traveled to a remote hotel in Ireland for some grim business, including scattering the ashes of his deceased parents. But when a bartender who was kind to him goes missing, Ohm can't resist the urge to find her, even if he thinks the talk of a witch plaguing the hotel's honeymoon suite is "hokum."

In my review, I called Hokum "a seriously scary masterpiece," explaining, "It's a nerve-shredding, bone-rattling, scream-pulling good time, and an absolute blast to see in a theater." And in case you're on the fence, know this: This movie made me scream myself hoarse while watching it. — K.P.

Starring: Adam Scott, Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Florence Ordesh, Michael Patric, Will O'Connell, Brendan Conroy, and Austin Amelio

How to watch: Hokum is now playing in theaters.

1. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

One of the great crimes against cinema of 2026 is that 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple flopped at the box office.

Critics went wild for Hedda director Nia DaCosta's bold and brilliant sequel to Danny Boyle's resurrected zombie thriller. But audiences didn't turn out in the droves this heady blend of horror, heart, and heavy metal deserved.

Picking up the story of runaway Spike (Alfie Williams), The Bone Temple plunged us deep into the cult of Jimmy Crystal (Jack O'Connell), whose bizarre introduction at the end of the last film had fans freaking out with theories. A self-styled Satanist with a fixation on torture, Jimmy Savile, and the Teletubbies, Jimmy was an instant icon in horror. But even he was awed by the uncanny stage presence of Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes). The gentle doctor spent most of the movie getting stoned with the Alpha undead Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry), in sequences that were tender and funny. But the climax of this movie had theaters cheering, as Kelson embraced his inner demons with a fiery performance of Iron Maiden's "The Number of the Beast." And it was one of the most riveting and surprising things I've seen in a movie, ever. It was magical, chaotic, and unforgettable.

As I cheered in my review, "This horror offering — like its prequel and also like 2025's other smash horror hit, Sinners — transcends the grimier aspects of the genre to unearth something gnarly and sublime." — K.P.

Starring: Alfie Williams, Ralph Fiennes, Jack O'Connell, Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman, and Chi Lewis-Parry

How to watch: 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is now streaming on Netflix.

TL;DR: Sign up for a 7-day free trial of Apple TV+ through Prime Video Channels to watch select F1 races for free. Watch the Monaco GP for free with the Prime Video app.

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This season of F1 has been really entertaining. I know a lot of fans are not keen on the regulation changes, but the racing has been pretty competitive this season. Yes, Mercedes are winning everything. But McLaren and Ferrari are not totally out of the picture.

You get the feeling that there's a lot to come from this season, and the Monaco GP is always unpredictable. It's the most iconic race weekend on the schedule. The racing can be a little dry, but it's still a unique spectacle that can produce unexpected results.

If you want to watch F1 2026 for free from anywhere in the world, we've got all the information you need.

When is the Monaco GP?

The Monaco GP is the sixth race of the 2026 F1 season. Here's the full schedule from the Circuit de Monaco:

• Practice 1 — 7:30-8:30 a.m. ET on June 5

• Practice 2 — 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET on June 5

• Practice 3 — 6:30-7:30 a.m. ET on June 6

• Qualifying — 10-11 a.m. ET on June 6

• Race — 9 a.m. ET on June 7

Fans can follow all the action from this race weekend without spending anything.

How to watch the Monaco GP for free

I subscribe to Amazon Prime. I hand over my cash for the fast shipping, exclusive Prime Day deals, and access to Prime Video. The access to Prime Video is not the priority for me. I occasionally watch the Champions League and NBA, but that's about it.

That was until I found out about F1 coming to Apple TV.

It is now possible to sign up for a seven-day free trial of Apple TV+ through Prime Video Channels. F1 is exclusive to Apple TV in the U.S., so by accessing this free trial, you can watch select races for free this season. The subscription costs £9.99 per month after the trial ends, but you can cancel this automatic renewal at any time.

By cancelling ahead of the renewal, you can watch the Monaco GP this weekend without spending anything.

I already pay for Amazon Prime, so I understand the argument that I'm not really watching for free. I get that, but Amazon Prime does offer a 30-day free trial period if you're new to the service. By signing up for this free trial and then gaining access to Apple TV through Prime Video Channels, you can truly watch select races for free this season.

Already used this hack to watch a race this season? It's not your only option.

My recommendation is you go direct to Apple TV. This popular steaming service comes with a seven-day free trial for new subscribers. Alternatively, Apple One bundles Apple TV with Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness Plus, Apple News Plus, and 50GB of iCloud Storage for $19.95 per month after a one-month free trial.

The best Apple TV free-trial offer comes with purchases of new Apple devices. New subscribers can get three months of Apple TV for free after purchasing any eligible Apple product. If you're planning on upgrading to something from the Apple lineup in Memorial Day sales, you could gain access to Apple TV for a pretty large chunk of this season. You will obviously need to buy something, but if you were already in the market for an upgrade, this method makes a lot of sense.

How to live stream 2026 F1 for free in 2026

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Apple TV

7-day free trial

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7-day free trial

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TL;DR: Watch the 2026 French Open for free on 9Now and France TV. Access these free streaming platforms from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The world of tennis is focused on clay courts right now. Top players sharpened up in the Barcelona Open and Madrid Open, and now it's time for the main event: Roland-Garros.

Two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz will not defend his title, but this year's tournament is not short of star names. It's always a special tournament filled with huge moments, and we've already seen some shock results as top seeds get dumped out.

If you're interested in watching the 2026 French Open from anywhere in the world, we've got all the information you need.

What is the French Open?

The French Open, also known as Roland-Garros, is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It's the only Grand Slam tournament held on a clay surface, and is the second of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments.

The current singles champions are Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff.

When is the 2026 French Open?

The 2026 French Open is the 131th edition of the competition. This year's event takes place from May 18 to June 7.

How to watch the 2026 French Open for free

The 2026 French Open is available to live stream for free on 9Now and France TV.

9Now and France TV are geo-restricted to Australia and France respectively, but anyone can access these free streaming platforms with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Australia or France, meaning you can stream the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream the 2026 French Open for free by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Australia or France

4. Connect to 9Now or France TV

5. Watch the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world

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ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan)

$12.99 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee)

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The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but they do tend to offer pretty generous money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Roland-Garros without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term strategy, but it gives you enough time to stream the 2026 French Open before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming platforms from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for the French Open?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for streaming live sport on free platforms, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream the 2026 French Open for free with ExpressVPN.

How to live stream 2026 F1 for free at a glance:

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Apple TV

7-day free trial

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Best Prime Video Deal

Apple TV Prime Video Channel

7-day free trial

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Apple One

30-day free trial

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This season of F1 is unlike any other. Every season of F1 has a number of fascinating storylines to follow, but due to a major set of regulation changes, there's so much uncertainty right now. And uncertainty can lead to exciting racing.

Lando Norris secured an incredible title victory on the final day of last season. Now the pressure is on McLaren to defend that title against a long list of talented drivers and motivated teams. Expect the likes of George Russell, Kimi Antonelli, Lando Norris, and Lewis Hamilton to challenge for race wins this season. Mercedes look like the team to beat this season, but there's still a lot of racing to come.

If you are interested in watching F1 2026 for free from anywhere in the world, we've got all the information you need.

What is F1?

Formula One (F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars. A season consists of a series of races (Grands Prix) that take place in multiple countries and continents on either purpose-built circuits or closed public roads.

Lando Norris is the defending champion. McLaren won the Constructors Championship in 2025.

When is F1 in 2026?

The 2026 F1 season is the 77th edition of the championship. This year's championship features 24 Grands Prix events held all over the world between March and December:

1. Australian Grand Prix — March 8

2. Chinese Grand Prix — March 15

3. Japanese Grand Prix — March 29

4. Miami Grand Prix — May 3

5. Canadian Grand Prix — May 24

6. Monaco Grand Prix — June 7

7. Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix — June 14

8. Austrian Grand Prix — June 28

9. British Grand Prix — July 5

10. Belgian Grand Prix — July 19

11. Hungarian Grand Prix — July 26

12. Dutch Grand Prix — Aug. 23

13. Italian Grand Prix — Sept. 6

14. Spanish Grand Prix — Sept. 13

15. Azerbaijan Grand Prix — Sept. 26

16. Singapore Grand Prix — Oct. 11

17. United States Grand Prix — Oct. 25

18. Mexico City Grand Prix — Nov. 1

19. São Paulo Grand Prix — Nov. 8

20. Las Vegas Grand Prix — Nov. 21

21. Qatar Grand Prix — Nov. 29

22. Abu Dhabi Grand Prix — Dec. 6

It's important to note that these dates are only for race days. The Chinese, Miami, Canadian, British, Dutch, and Singapore GPs will host a sprint race.

How to watch F1 for free

In the U.S., F1 is now exclusive to Apple TV. An Apple TV subscription costs $12.99 per month or $99 per year, but it's possible to gain access to Apple TV without spending anything.

Apple TV

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Apple TV (7-day free trial)

Apple TV comes with a 7-day free trial for new subscribers. This is a sneaky trick, but you could sign up to watch the next F1 race and then cancel your subscription before you need to spend anything. This obviously isn't a long-term fix, but it does give you the opportunity to live stream select F1 race weekends for free.

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Apple TV Prime Video Channel

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Apple TV Prime Video Channel (7-day free trial)

Already an Amazon Prime member? You're in luck. You can sign up for a 7-day free trial of Apple TV+ through Prime Video Channels. This lets you watch select F1 races live with the Prime Video app. The subscription typically costs £9.99 per month after the trial ends, but you can cancel at any time. That means you can watch select races without actually spending anything.

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Apple One

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Apple One (30-day free trial)

Apple One bundles Apple TV with Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness Plus, Apple News Plus, and 50GB of iCloud Storage for $19.95 per month after a one-month free trial. Time it right and this trial could provide access to up to four race weekends for free. You do need to be a new or returning subscriber to each of the included services to get the free trial.

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It's worth noting that the best Apple TV free-trial offer comes with purchases of new Apple devices. New subscribers can get three months of Apple TV for free after purchasing any eligible Apple product, including iPhones, iPads, Macs, or Apple TVs. This special offer goes live for 90 days after the new device is activated — that's a good chunk of the season.

Meta has quietly added facial recognition tech for its smart glasses to its Meta AI app.

A Wired investigation discovered that the code has been added to Meta's AI app over "multiple updates this year." The feature is internally called NameTag, and it can reportedly identity people captured by the camera on Meta's smart glasses, including Ray-Bans and Oakleys, as well as alert the wearer when it recognizes someone.

The fact that Meta is looking into this is not new; The New York Times wrote about it last year, with Meta later commenting that it would take a "very thoughtful approach" if it ever were to release something like that.

And while the feature did not, in fact, roll out out to users, the fact that Meta has reportedly added some of the code need for it to run into Meta AI, an app distributed to tens of millions of users, is concerning. The groundwork for the feature includes three AI models – one which detects people's face them, one which crops them, and one which encodes them into biometric data — and all three already reside on the phones of people who have the Meta AI app installed.

Two security researchers who reviewed Wired's findings both noted that the app is nearly ready to go.

A Meta spokesperson reiterated to the publisher that the company is merely "exploring" such a feature, and that these findings are "evidence of that exploration."

"Nothing has shipped to consumers and no final decision has been made on what to do here, if anything. If we do decide to roll something out, we will take a thoughtful approach and do so with full transparency. One decision we can be clear about—we are not building a central face database," said the spokesperson.

Meta has stirred up trouble with facial recognition tech before, most notably when it paid hundreds of millions of dollars in fines due to collecting people's biometric data without prior consent, thus violating privacy laws. The matter was made worse when it was discovered that the facial recognition startup Clearview AI scraped billions of photos from Facebook to build an identity-matching database which was sold to third parties.

The news comes just one month after 70 organizations, including the ACLU and Fight for the Future, sent a letter to Meta, urging the company to "immediately halt and publicly disavow" any plans to add facial recognition to its smart glasses.

SAVE $350: As of June 5, the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 is on sale for $449 at Amazon. That's a 44% discount off the list price.

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Jackery Explorer 1000 v2

$499 at Amazon
$799 Save $300

 

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Prime Day may still be a couple of weeks away, but there are already impressive deals on Amazon. For example, if you're looking for a portable power station, you can find the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 on sale for $350 off right now. As of June 5, this unit is down from $799 to $449.

This portable power station combines a 1,070Wh capacity with a 1,500W AC output and a 3,000W surge peak, making it suitable for powering a range of appliances, including fridges and air conditioners. Despite its capacity, it weighs just 23.8 pounds and features a foldable handle, making it a portable option for camping trips or road trips.

It can also be charged from 0% to 100% in one hour when emergency charging is enabled through the Jackery app. The default charging mode is quick, too, taking just 1.7 hours while optimizing battery health. It uses an LFP battery rated to retain more than 70% of its original capacity after 4,000 charge cycles, with an expected lifespan of over 10 years.

You can find this Jackery deal at Amazon now.

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Friday, June 5, 2026:

Across

Fruity dessert named for its crunch

• The answer is Crisp.

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

Beehive product

• The answer is Honey.

Tree whose wood is used to make Fender guitars

• The answer is Alder.

Log ___ (water park ride)

• The answer is Flume.

English county whose name sounds like the 19th and 24th letters of the alphabet

• The answer is Essex.

Down

Rub the wrong way, perhaps

• The answer is Chafe.

Starts a turn in Monopoly

• The answer is Rolls.

Longest river in South Asia (~2,000 miles)

• The answer is Indus.

Ominous note on a failed exam

• The answer is Seeme.

Oven-safe glassware material

• The answer is Pyrex.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Mini Crossword.

Today's Connections: Sports Edition will require first-aid knowledge.

As we've shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

What is Connections: Sports Edition?

The NYT's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. The sports Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words, and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes before the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

Here's a hint for today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Baseball clubs

• Green: First aid

• Blue: Geographically specific athletics

• Purple: Beginnings of words share a theme

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: MLB teams, informally

• Green: "Rice" method

• Blue: Nicknames of Alabama college teams

• Purple: Starts with a country

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections: Sports Edition #620 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• MLB teams, informally: BUCCOS, CARDS, CUBBIES, YANKS

• "Rice" method: COMPRESSION, ELEVATION, ICE, REST

• Nicknames of Alabama college teams: BLAZERS, CRIMSON TIDE, TIGERS, TROJANS

• Starts with a country: CHILES, CUBARSÍ, INDIANA, MALININ

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Connections.

Apple’s big developers conference keynote is expected to focus updates to Siri and Apple Intelligence. But the software can sometimes give us clues to the direction of Apple’s future hardware. CNET’s Bridget Carey goes through what key areas she’s most interested in for WWDC news.

Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.

Released in August 2025, Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.

Currently, if you're stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move on to the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.

How to play Pips

If you've ever played dominoes, you'll have a passing familiarity with how Pips is played. As we've shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don't necessarily have to match.

The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible — and common — for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.

Here are common examples you'll run into across the difficulty levels:

• Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.

• Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.

• Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.

• Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.

• Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.

If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.

Easy difficulty hints, answers for June 5 Pips

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 3-2, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-2, placed horizontally.

Equal (2): Everything in this red space must be equal to 2. The answer is 3-2, placed vertically; 4-2, placed horizontally.

Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 3-4, placed vertically; 4-1, placed horizontally.

Equal (1): Everything in this space must be equal to 1. The answer is 1-1, placed horizontally; 4-1, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for June 5 Pips

Number (6): Everything in this purple space must add up to 6. The answer is 6-1, placed vertically.

Number (6): Everything in this red space must add up to 6. The answer is 5-3, placed horizontally; 1-3, placed horizontally.

Equal (3): Everything in this light blue space must be equal to 3. The answer is 5-3, placed horizontally; 1-3, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 4-6, placed vertically; 2-3, placed vertically.

Equal (5): Everything in this orange space must be equal to 5. The answer is 5-5, placed vertically.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 4-6, placed vertically.

Equal (3): Everything in this light blue space must be equal to 3. The answer is 2-3, placed vertically; 3-6, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 3-6, placed horizontally.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for June 5 Pips

Number (4): Everything in this purple space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-4, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this red space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-6, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. The answer is 4-6, placed horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this green space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-4, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 2-2, placed horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-3, placed horizontally.

Less Than (4): Everything in this space must be less than 4. The answer is 4-3, placed horizontally.

Equal (3): Everything in this orange space must be equal to 3. The answer is 3-3, placed vertically.

Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 6-6, placed horizontally; 6-2, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 1-1, placed horizontally; 6-2, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-0, placed vertically.

Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 0. The answer is 4-0, placed vertically; 0-0, placed vertically; 0-3, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (0): Everything in this space must be greater than 0. The answer is 0-3, placed horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-5, placed vertically.

Equal (5): Everything in this space must be equal to 5. The answer is 4-5, placed vertically; 5-5, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 1-4, placed horizontally.

Less Than (4): Everything in this space must be less than 4. The answer is 1-4, placed horizontally; 2-4, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 2-4, placed vertically.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.

There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.

An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.

Hurdle Word 1 hint

Christmas.

Hurdle Word 1 answer

NATAL

Hurdle Word 2 hint

Emotional.

Hurdle Word 2 Answer

CRIER

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

Hurdle Word 3 hint

Transplant.

Hurdle Word 3 answer

GRAFT

Hurdle Word 4 hint

To descend.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

SWOOP

Final Hurdle hint

Film.

Hurdle Word 5 answer

MOVIE

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

With clear skies tonight, you'll be able to pick out a few details on the Moon’s surface. But what exactly are you looking at? With the help of NASA's Daily Moon Guide, we have the answers.

What is today’s Moon phase?

As of Friday, June 5, the Moon phase is Waning Gibbous. Tonight, 79% of the moon will be be lit up, according to NASA's Daily Moon Guide.

Without visual aids you should be able to spot the Mares Imbrium and Vaporum as well as the Tycho Crater . If you have binoculars you'll also spot the Grimaldi Basin, and the Gassendi and Alphonsus Craters. And finally, with a telescope you'll also see the Apollo 16 landing spot and the Caucasus Mountains.

When is the next Full Moon?

The next Full Moon will take place on June 29.

What are Moon phases?

NASA explains that the Moon completes one full orbit around Earth in about 29.5 days, during which it moves through a sequence of eight phases. Even though the same side of the Moon always faces us, the amount of sunlight we can see changes as it travels along its path. This shifting light is what produces the lunar shapes, ranging from slim crescents to half-lit Moons and the bright Full Moon. All of these stages together make up the lunar cycle:

New Moon - The Moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it's invisible to the eye).

Waxing Crescent - A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).

First Quarter - Half of the Moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-Moon.

Waxing Gibbous - More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.

Full Moon - The whole face of the Moon is illuminated and fully visible.

Waning Gibbous - The Moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)

Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) - Another half-Moon, but now the left side is lit.

Waning Crescent - A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.

Perhaps Kayla Sims (@lilsimsie) was destined to play The Sims, Electronic Arts' hit life simulation franchise. Yes, that's her real name. But when she uploaded her very first YouTube video in 2015, a playthrough of The Sims 4's Get Together expansion, she probably never expected the game to change her life the way it did.

Sims, now 27, currently counts over 2.2 million YouTube subscribers and more than 954,000 followers on her main Twitch channel, where she streams Monday through Saturday. She occasionally plays other cozy games, but TS4 is her bread and butter.

As one of the biggest "Simmers" in the biz, Sims' influence can be felt in the game's very code. Since 2020, she's teamed up with EA on two expansions and a "Comfy Gamer" pack. Some in-game objects are actually named after her or her characters, including the iconic Cowplants. She's also the mastermind behind several popular player challenges.

Many of Sims' fans have grown up with her. They tune in not just for her helpful tutorials and creative builds, but also for her refreshingly wholesome vibes. "I love how positive and genuine she is, and I respect what she stands for," one fan wrote on Reddit.

Sims hasn't shied away from speaking up about issues that matter to her. She's run an annual charity stream for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital since 2020, raising over $1 million for the cause in 2025, and again in May 2026, she said on YouTube. Separate fundraisers she's organized have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the National Immigration Law Center, the Trans Lifeline, and the Palestine Children's Relief Fund.

In late 2025, Sims announced that she was leaving the EA Creator Network after EA was acquired by Saudi investors. "The values represented by the people acquiring EA are fundamentally at odds with what I stand for and support," Sims wrote at the time. More recently, she's rallied other players to sign a petition calling to block the deal.

Sims isn't done playing TS4, but she's started to post more unrelated content on YouTube — a move that viewers have embraced. "I follow the creator, not the content," said one commenter. Sims' integrity has earned her the kind of community that Simoleons can't buy.

From YouTubers and TikTok stars to streamers and podcasters, Mashable talks to creators about how they built their platforms, the gear they swear by, and the trends they see coming next. Read more of our creator coverage or see more of this year’s Mashable 101 to discover the internet's most exciting voices. 

Update: This story was updated to reflect Sims reporting on YouTube that she raised $1 million for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital again in 2026.

SAVE $40: The Soundcore Sport X10 workout headphones are on sale at Amazon and Best Buy for $39.99, down from the normal price of $79.99. That's a 50% discount and the lowest price we've spotted at Amazon.

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Credit: Soundcore

Soundcore Sport X10

$39.99 at Amazon
$79.99 Save $40.00

 

Get Deal

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Credit: Soundcore

Soundcore Sport X10

$39.99 at Best Buy
$79.99 Save $40.00

 

Get Deal

Not all headphones or earbuds are designed for taking to the gym. Some can't handle getting wet, while others simply fall out unless you stay still. If you've been thinking about getting headphones that are worthy of bringing along to the gym or a pair that can handle a summer evening run, check out this deal.

As of June 4, the Soundcore Sport X10 workout headphones are on sale at Amazon and Best Buy for $39.99, marked down from the normal price of $79.99. That's a 50% discount that shaves $40 off the price. It's the best price we've seen at Amazon.

With an IPX7 waterproof rating and Soundcore's Sweat Guard, the Sport X10 are a great option for summer workouts. The earbuds include comfortable ear hooks that rotate 210 degrees to find the most secure fit possible. Expect to get about eight hours of listening time to a single charge, which increases to 32 hours with the included charging case.

Of course, you can also receive calls on the Sport X10. Soundcore equipped the headphones with six mics and noise cancellation. You can also activate transparency mode to hear your surroundings without taking the earbuds out.

Before you head out on another warm summer run, consider upgrading to the Soundcore Sport X10 workout headphones. They're on sale for under $40 at both Amazon and Best Buy. Since this is the lowest price we've seen, it's probably smart to shop today rather than waiting for Prime Day.

Annual developer conferences aren't always the most engaging events, but the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference tends to be a lot more interesting than, say, Microsoft Build.

WWDC 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most interesting Apple events in years, and we're expecting huge announcements related to Siri, iOS 27, and the future of Apple Intelligence. Not only that, but this is Tim Cook's final WWDC as Apple CEO.

The big event is just days away, and we have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Of course, we don't know what we don't know, and we also have a handful of burning questions.

When is WWDC 2026?

WWDC 2026 is scheduled to take place from June 8-12 at Apple Park in Cupertino, California. WWDC will kick off with a "Special Event" keynote scheduled for June 8 at 10 a.m. PT. You'll be able to livestream the show at Apple's website as well as via YouTube. Most of the big announcements typically take place at this opening keynote, though Apple will be hosting events for developers throughout the week.

You can also join us at the CNET WWDC livestream watch party for a post-keynote breakdown of the biggest news and announcements.

Mashable will be covering all of the announcements on our site and in a dedicated live blog, so check back on Monday for more.

The AI Siri makes its grand entrance (no, really this time)

The long-promised overhaul to Siri — the one Apple has been teasing and delaying since the early Apple Intelligence announcements — is expected to be front and center at WWDC 2026. Apple first promised the AI version of Siri two years ago, and had to settle a class-action lawsuit for $250 million when it failed to deliver (Apple did not admit to any wrongdoing, of course).

AppleInsider reported that the update, codenamed "Campo" internally, will give Siri an interface closer to what you'd expect from ChatGPT or Claude. It's a more conversational, chatbot-style experience that Apple has been quietly building toward. We know that the newer, smarter Siri will be powered by Google Gemini, with Apple tapping Nvidia to power the compute. Given Apple's complicated history with an AI-powered Siri, Mashable's Chris Taylor wonders whether a live demo of the AI Siri is in store for WWDC.

Apple is also heavily rumored to debut a standalone Siri app at WWDC 2026. And Bloomberg's Mark Gurman — the source of virtually all iOS 27 and Siri rumors — predicts that the WWDC 2026 promotional artwork gives us a glimpse of what this new Siri experience will look like. To promote the event, Apple has been using images with glowing, neon lights, along with a dove outline and the phrase "All systems glow."

Could this glowing dove be a hint about the new Siri app logo? Credit: Apple

In addition to a possible app, Gurman says that Siri will have a major presence in the iPhone's Dynamic Island.

So, has a hint to the new AI Siri been hiding in plain sight all along? Will the Dynamic Island light up and glow when Siri is listening or responding to users? We should find out come June 8.

Credit: Apple

Credit: Apple

Big changes coming in iOS 27

In November 2025, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman broke the news that iOS 27 is being positioned internally as Apple's "Snow Leopard" moment — a callback to the 2009 Mac OS X release that famously ran a "no new features" marketing campaign that laid the groundwork for every update since.

As Gurman described it, Apple's engineering teams are "combing through Apple's operating systems, hunting for bloat to cut, bugs to eliminate, and any opportunity to meaningfully boost performance and overall quality." The motivation isn't hard to understand. Since the release of iOS 26, users have reported a lengthy list of grievances, including unexplained battery drain, UI glitches, and keyboard issues. Liquid Glass has also proven very controversial online, even as iPhones are more popular than ever.

So, with iOS 27, we expect Apple to answer some of these issues with UI updates, simplification, and potentially some tweaks to Liquid Glass customization settings. In addition, we're looking for new iOS 27 features such as:

• New AI photo editing and text generation tools

• An Apple Wallet update that lets people split bills easily

• Updates to the Camera and Photos apps

• Custom widgets in the Camera app

• Updates to Image Playground and Genmoji

• A new "Conditions" panel in the Weather app

• The ability to choose third-party AI models to power Apple Intelligence features

What about Apple Intelligence updates?

Beyond the Siri overhaul, Gurman has reported that Apple is weaving more Apple Intelligence features into additional apps throughout iOS 27, and we expect macOS 27, iPad OS 27, and watchOS to get the same treatment.

The most intriguing addition: a health-focused AI agent tied to a Health+ subscription, expected to arrive next fall. There's also reportedly an expansion of Apple's AI-powered web search, which Apple is positioning as a direct competitor to both ChatGPT and Perplexity.

Gurman also revealed that Apple has been internally testing a full chatbot app called Veritas, which is described as a text-based proving ground for the re-architected Siri. Apple reportedly has no plans to release Veritas as a standalone product.

Don't forget about the other OS-es!

Credit: Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images

While the new version of iOS tends to dominate headlines after WWDC, we're also expecting to learn about the latest updates to watchOS 27, tvOS 27, macOS 27, visionOS 27, and iPadOS 27.

Last year, iPadOS 26 introduced major new multitasking features such as windows and task menus. According to Cult of Mac, Apple will also be taking a bug-hunting approach with iPads, improving the multitasking and windows experience. We also expect Liquid Glass to get some light tweaks.

As for macOS, we're expecting the introduction of yet another California-themed name (last year it was Tahoe), and general improvements to the user experience. Rumor has it that Intel-era Macs will no longer be supported with this update, per Mac Rumors.

The first confirmation of the iPhone Ultra?

Perhaps this is wishful thinking, but we're hoping to get the first glimpse (and official confirmation) of the foldable iPhone we all know Apple is building. The phone has leaked heavily online in recent months, and it's rumored to be called the iPhone Fold Ultra. Typically, Apple debuts new smartphones at its September iPhone event, but if Apple does plan to release an iPhone Fold in the fall (and all signs point to yes), then iOS 27 must have been built with a foldable device in mind.

Indeed, according to Gurman, iOS 27 is meant to prepare Apple's software stack for the foldable future. For instance, a leak on Weibo claims that iOS 27 will debut "Parallel View" in landscape mode, allowing users to open two windows or apps at once.

The Tim Cook situation

No WWDC preview would be complete without a word on Apple's leadership.

Apple confirmed earlier this year that Tim Cook will officially pass the CEO torch to John Ternus, Apple's SVP of Hardware Engineering. That means this is the final WWDC of the Tim Cook era. Ternus is best known for shepherding the transition to Apple silicon and the M series processors, among other accomplishments (he's been at Apple for a long time).

It's likely that Ternus will have more visibility at this event, with the future CEO taking the reins for the September iPhone launch event.

We wouldn't be surprised if WWDC includes some sort of tribute or farewell to Cook. The CEO has had an enormously successful run at the helm of Apple, which he took over from Steve Jobs himself in 2011. Apple is now the world's most popular mobile brand, and a lot of Apple fans will be watching closely to see how Cook closes this chapter in Apple history.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

Substack is giving writers expanded control over their comments sections.

The paid newsletter website announced in a blog post on Wednesday that it is introducing a new system called Reply Rules. With Reply Rules, individual writers who open up comments underneath their posts can write out a quick summary of what they'd like to see from said comments. Anyone who wants to write a comment underneath a post, or in response to a Note or in Chat, will see these rules. Examples given included "no AI slop" or "stay on topic," but theoretically, you could also ask people to exclusively reply in limerick form or something, if you felt like it.

Some examples. Credit: Substack

Compliance is not based on an honor system, however. Substack says this new system will learn from whenever you hide any replies that don't abide by the rules, and will automatically hide other replies it thinks you would have hidden before you get to them. The Substack blog post was not highly specific on how this system works, but if it actually is capable of automatic moderation based on natural language prompts, that could be very useful to popular writers on the platform.

The Lost Boys: A New Musical is soaring on Broadway. As we head into the 79th annual Tony Awards, the show boasts 12 nominations, including Best Musical. But the journey to critical acclaim and packed houses roaring with excitement was far from guaranteed when director and co-lighting designer Michael Arden, who is nominated in both Tony categories, got involved. 

In an interview with Mashable, the two-time Tony Award–winning director (Maybe Happy Ending, Parade) recalled how his involvement with The Lost Boys began. He was approached by producers James Carpinello, Marcus Chait, and Patrick Wilson, when the proposed musical had no script and no songs — just the idea that Joel Schumacher's 1987 cult classic about leather-bound teen vampires could be a thrilling theatrical production. 

"It was just, 'We want to do this on stage," Arden recalled,  "That was literally all we knew when we started."

They started in 2021, a time when theaters across the country were shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the future of theater was uncertain, Arden and his collaborators dared to dream of what it could be. "I was like, 'Well, what else am I doing?' But it felt like a real opportunity to have fun — sure, let's make a vampire musical."

How The Lost Boys went from screen to stage

Ali Louis Bourzgui hovers over LJ Benet in "The Lost Boys: A New Musical." Credit: Matthew Murphy

Though a millennial, Arden hadn't grown up with The Lost Boys. But when he watched the movie after being offered the opportunity to adapt it for the stage, he immediately saw its potential.

"I knew that there were these certain moments that were iconic tentpole things we needed to deliver on," he said, adding, "We have a responsibility, when we go to create a piece of theater, to do something a bit more elevated. And so we were chasing themes that were in the movie and expanding [on them], making them more operatic. It was great, because we had these tentpoles to play with, but we really got to build in a more complex story." 

As noted in my review of The Lost Boys, among those changes to flesh out the story was an abusive father for the Emerson family — this unseen force prompted their recent move to Santa Clara, home of the vampire David (Tony nominee Ali Louis Bourzgui) and his blood-sucking lost boys. Speaking of mother Lucy (Shoshana Bean) and her teen sons Michael and Sam, Arden said, "It's a mom and her two kids, and they don't talk about Dad. So we were like, well, that's clearly something. Maybe when we go to the theater, we want to know about Dad." 

Building in this domestic violence element not only gives a sharper understanding of why the Emersons are moving to Lucy's hometown, but also why she and her eldest son are so at odds. Michael (LJ Benet) harbors anger about her failure to protect him from his abusive father. This disconnect urges him to find a new family with David and the beguiling Star (Maria Wirries). Plus, David's fear of his own potential for violence is given a deeper root, as he hallucinates his abusive father beckoning him. 

Exploring the women of The Lost Boys 

Shoshana Bean is Lucy Emerson in "The Lost Boys: A New Musical." Credit: Matthew Murphy

The book — by David Hornsby and Chris Hoch — also added depth to the female characters, such as Star and Lucy. "All hail Dianne Wiest," Arden said of the rightly acclaimed actress's performance in the movie The Lost Boys, before noting that her character was "not on the page; it's definitely in the performance." 

"Watching the movie, I was like, 'Oh, these ladies are, like, glorified costumes,' you know what I mean?" In his production, "Lucy is certainly at the center of our story. We knew that family had to be the key there." 

First suggested by Arden, the L.A. rock band The Rescues wrote The Lost Boys' original music and lyrics, including songs focused on the perspectives of Lucy and Star. Within their Tony–nominated score, "Wild" allows Lucy to sing about her youth and being a hippie, and how she wishes to embraces that free side of herself outside of her role as mother. Sung by Star, "War" offers her a space to express how it feels to have your life's path determined by power-hungry men. Arden called this "one of my favorite songs in the show," adding, "It's not lost on me that if you just look at those lyrics outside of the context of Lost Boys, it is about the moment we are living in right now."

Maria Wirries and LJ Benet play Star and Michael in "The Lost Boys: A New Musical." Credit: Matthew Murphy

The director continued, "We are in a never-ending war, and she has this unbelievable lyric that [The Rescues] wrote: 'Again, the violence of men is what rules us in the end, because in the end, you're either predator or prey.' This idea that these men are deciding things for us all, who lives and who dies, and without a thought of the humanity. Star gets to voice that as a character who is at the mercy of these men. We really wanted to highlight that."

Recalling what he requested from The Rescues, he said, "When we were looking for a song for Star in Act Two, I remember saying to The Rescues, 'If you could say anything, get up in front of a crowd [in] this country, and talk about what it feels like to be an American right now, what would you say?' And they delivered that unbelievable banger, which I think will probably... I hope enters the canon of, like, great songs. What the best musical theater songs can do is they can exist on two planes — one for the story and one for, like, the time we're in."

Expanding the LGBTQ+ representation in The Lost Boys

Benjamin Pajak, Jennifer Duka, and Miguel Gil as Sam Emerson, Alan Frog, and Edgar Frog in "The Lost Boys: A New Musical." Credit: Matthew Murphy

Before there was Challengers and the three-way kiss, there was The Lost Boys. Coming out during the AIDS crisis, Schumacher's movie dealt with a hot teenage vampire love triangle and repressed desires being deadly. So, fans of the film didn't have to work hard to see queer undertones. Arden and his team expanded on this in their musical, making subtext text. 

Sam Emerson, who had a Rob Lowe poster on his wall in the movie, is more directly identified as queer in this musical, culminating in the song "Superpower." In this number, he is flanked by superheroes in spandex costumes that collectively form a rainbow, as he sings about recognizing that what makes him "queer" makes him great. Arden noted the double meaning of "queer" to mean "different" or "gay," depending on its context. Then, he said of Sam's arc, "This isn't about Sam realizing his homosexuality. That might be part of it, but it's not all of it. 'Superpower' is actually an anthem for anyone who has felt like they didn't belong. That is a mirror to Michael's experience. They both [feel like] outsiders... They have that to bond over, that they both have felt like they couldn't quite be themselves. And what's interesting about those characters, it isn't because the world is telling them they're wrong. It's because they themselves think they don't belong. It's actually [a] self-obstacle, which I love... It's a pretty fun journey to go on with those brothers."

Beyond the Emerson brothers, there's also the Frog Brothers. In the movie, both Alan and Edgar Frog were male-presenting boys. In The Lost Boys: A New Musical, Alan Frog is played by Jennifer Duka. Arden spoke on this casting choice, saying, "Well, why do the Frog Brothers both need to be dudes?"

In development, the team discussed what it meant for Alan to be played by a woman. For instance, "How do we deal with the name the Frog Brothers?" He shared, "And I was like, 'Well, why doesn't she just want to be a brother with somebody, because that would allow her to do things that girls [in 1987] don't get to do, and be involved in situations that girls don't get to be involved in?"

He noted the language on gender identity wasn't as developed in the '80s as it is now. So, while he declined to outright describe Alan as a trans or non-binary character, he noted that in the '80s setting, she'd be considered "a tomboy," adding, "She likes to be a Frog Brother, and in the army, you go by your last name. And her last name is Alan."

So, in the play, Alan introduces herself as Alan Frog, and when Sam questions it, she says, "Jessica Alan. But I go by Alan." This change might seem small, but it underscores the aforementioned themes of understanding yourself and found family. As Sam declares in the climax, they are all family. ("Did I stutter?") 

How The Lost Boys took flight

LJ Benet, Ali Louis Bourzgui, Brian Flores, Dean Maupin, and Sean Grandillo fly in "The Lost Boys: A New Musical." Credit: Matthew Murphy

Last but not least, Arden and I talked about the mesmerizing flying sequences in The Lost Boys: A New Musical.

In translating Schumacher's vision from screen to stage, Arden was sure to include such iconic elements as the oiled-up, muscle-bound saxophone player, the '80s rock attitude — complete with David's signature bleach blonde mullet — and the train track sequence, where the lost boys fly. Flight becomes a major element of the spectacle of The Lost Boys as Bourzgui and his fellow vampires (Brian Flores, Sean Grandillo, and Dean Maupin) ascend to menace or awe their prey. Arden explained how he wanted to make The Lost Boys' flight style specific to their story and distinctive from the many Peter Pans who've whimsically flown through theater history. 

When I mentioned my own childlike wonder at the near-invisible wirework, he said, "That's awesome. That's what we want. We want to go to the theater to be fully with the imagination and belief system of a child. In fact, it's called The Lost Boys. We want to stay kids, because we don't want to lose our ability to believe in things that are seemingly impossible."

Arden knew it was crucial that the flight be astounding to the audience. But how to suspend disbelief if the audience can see the wires from which the actors hang? After all, theater doesn't have a visual effects team that can paint out the wires in post-production, as there is no post-production. "How are we gonna make this seem like they are really flying?" He recalled, "We talked about, like, 'Oh, should they  always fly on chains so that we see them? Because it's really going to be impossible to hide the wires.'" However, Arden, who has a background in lighting, decided, "We just gotta fucking figure it out."

This process meant creating a flying rig that Arden told Deadline was tested in Las Vegas a year before the show opened. From there, the custom rig was sent to SUNY Purchase, where the cast would rehearse before moving into the Palace Theatre. But before they even got to that point, the auditions for The Lost Boys demanded performers for certain roles not only be able to sing and dance, but also prove they could learn to fly. The training required the actors discover how to hold their bodies, move around the wires smoothly, and fly not just convincingly but with an awe-striking grace. 

"We did have one flight [in the show] that was kind of funny," Arden recalls of the development, "But we ended up cutting very early on, because it wasn't right. [Flight] needed to be emotional. We did tell the cast, 'This is spiritual.' This is the grandest, most beautiful thing a vampire can do." 

Arden explained how the flight was a necessary foil to the killing the vampires do. "They are the darkness and the light, if you will, of their power," He explained. "It's like flight, because it is the thing that is venerable for everyone. So, it needed to be beautiful enough that you would really consider killing someone to get that power."

Of this masterfully choreographed collision of performance, lighting, and staging, he said, "To be able to achieve that was really difficult, and really has been really rewarding, because people are just — there's something about it. It ignites your inner child, and that's why we knew that the flying needed to be beautiful and needed to represent joy." 

The Lost Boys: A New Musical is now on Broadway. 

Apple may not be the world's most valuable company at the moment — that's Nvidia — but it is still by far the world's most scrutinized.

Thanks to a robust set of supply-chain leakers revealing every aspect of new Apple products before they arrive (catch up on the latest iPhone Fold and iPhone 18 rumors and leaks), an Apple launch event can often lack surprises. And in a normal year, Apple's annual Worldwide Developers' Conference (WWDC) is no exception.

But WWDC 2026 is not a normal year, and an unusual air of mystery still clings to the keynote. That's not just because we expect the AI version of Siri to make its debut, but also because we don't know whether Tim Cook, in his last WWDC as CEO, will pass the baton to CEO-in-waiting John Ternus during the event.

Will Ternus get on-the-job training, keynoting side-by-side with Cook? Or will he take a lesser role, like he did introducing the iPhone Air last September?

Beyond that mystery, here are our three big burning questions for the Apple WWDC keynote, which kicks off at 10 a.m. PT on Monday, June 8, 2026.

Will we see the iPhone Fold (or Ultra) at all?

A hypothetical rendering of the iPhone Fold. Credit: Zain bin Awais / Mashable

The last we heard about the iPhone Fold, Apple's late-to-the-party entry into the foldable smartphone market, its official launch date had been pushed back, likely until the holiday season. Given a global memory chip shortage, analysts have warned that the company may not have enough supply to satisfy demand until 2027.

Still, iPhone Fold prototypes exist (or iPhone Ultra, if one report is to be believed — the dueling names being just one example of Apple exerting an unusual amount of lockdown). Cook may reason that it makes sense to wow us with an early look at one, and end that confusion about the name.

After all, that's what Steve Jobs did with the original iPhone: gave us a sneak peak in January 2007, long before the official summer launch.

The Jobs strategy would make sense here, given that Apple is already late to the foldable game — and is effectively leapfrogging competitors with its larger folding screen. Cook may also want to cement his association with the Fold/Ultra, given that he led the company during its development.

What better way to do that than to bring back, just this once, a Jobs-like "one more thing"? Ternus takes over on September 1, so any future iPhone Fold/Ultra launch event will be his baby. Does Cook want the world's first official look at the Fold/Ultra to be in Ternus' hands?

Then again, Cook's lack of ego has been one of the defining features of his tenure. So he may be perfectly fine letting his chief product guy take the credit (or, if the Fold/Ultra fails in any way, the fall).

Will the new AI Siri surprise us?

Credit: Apple

During the Cook years, Apple has struggled with a delicate balancing act on the subject of AI. On the one hand, Cook is clearly a skeptic about the tech industry's tendency to overhype LLMs — and given that bombshell white papers coming out of Apple's research arm show plainly that even so-called reasoning models can't reason, he has every reason to think that way.

On the other hand, consumers have every right to expect that they could treat Siri, Apple's creaky old AI chatbot, like it has the intelligence of models like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Google's Gemini.

And that's what we're expecting to get: A Gemini-powered Siri voice assistant, along with a new Siri app and an AI agent app store, that fulfills the company's long-deferred promise of Apple Intelligence. Reportedly, you'll be able to choose third-party AI tools too.

Upgraded Siri will also likely feature in the camera app, offering editing options and other forms of "Visual Intelligence." And it will reportedly be ad-free and more focused on privacy than its AI rivals, with features like auto-deleting chat logs.

OK, but how does Cook (or Ternus) effectively demonstrate the AI power of the new Siri? Here the company may run into a boy-who-cried-wolf problem.

Thanks to Apple's, um, overly enthusiastic marketing after the original Apple Intelligence announcement, showcasing features that didn't exist, the company had to settle a class-action lawsuit.

How, then, can an ad within this keynote showcasing Apple Intelligence capabilities not give us skeptical vibes, even if they do exist this time around?

The biggest Siri surprise of all would be a live demo — but given that Apple hasn't done that in keynotes since 2019 (Cook went pre-recorded in 2020), don't hold your breath.

Will we see a 'GenAI' Apple website?

However much we see of Siri, the focus of WWDC 2026 is on Apple's "AI advancements." So how else will that manifest in practice?

One possibility is that a selection of AI apps and services will appear on the web as well as on Apple devices — perhaps at genai.apple.com, a website Apple has reportedly added to its domain name servers but hasn't yet populated.

Apple doesn't tend to do much on the web, but it does do more than you think. All your iCloud backups and services are available when you sign in at iCloud.com, a lifesaver if you've lost your phone.

A website that provides the new Siri, alongside third-party AI chatbots and other Apple Intelligence services, would make a lot of sense, especially given Apple's longtime emphasis on privacy and security.

Such a site could also boost its popularity by offering ChatGPT (Apple has an ongoing deal with OpenAI, despite a potential lawsuit) without the ads that OpenAI has started serving.

Will iOS 27 be lighter... and less Liquid?

Credit: Apple

The real star of the WWDC show, of course, is Apple's latest iteration of its signature iPhone operating system. But iOS 27 has more riding on it than most upgrades.

That's not just because of the new Siri, or the foldable software supposedly stuffed into iOS 27. It's because iOS 26 was a controversial upgrade, to say the least.

Reports of low adoption numbers turned out to be exaggerated. But the unease was undeniable. Many users expressed outrage on Reddit that iOS 26 felt like "bloatware" that slowed down the keyboard, among other features.

Most controversial of all: the Liquid Glass aesthetic that made app icons look like cheap gel stickers, as some saw it. Certainly, the hurried departure of the design chief behind Liquid Glass doesn't suggest it was a hit inside the company.

So, how different will iOS 27 look? Is the cool glowing animation promoting WWDC 2026, reportedly the Siri redesign hiding in plain sight, a harbinger of good things to come?

Did Apple engineers spend the last year effectively filleting the bloat, or making it worse? Will it end support for the iPhone 11?

Join us on the series finale of Tim Cook's Apple keynotes to find out!

Amazon loves to keep us on our toes. We've been covering Prime Day for years, and even though the dates vary slightly, we expect Prime Day to fall in July. So it was quite surprising when the retailer dropped the 2026 dates for Prime Day. Amazon's biggest sale of the year is upon us, and it's sooner than you think.

We're here to lay out all the details because, surprise — the early deals have started.

When is the next Prime Day?

While it may seem like Amazon is holding sales every other month, Prime Day technically only happens once a year in the summer. Prime Day will run from June 23 to 26, 2026. For the second year in a row, the sale will last for four days, up from its original two-day sale.

In addition to Prime Day, Amazon hosts a fall Prime event called Prime Big Deal Days. For all intents and purposes, it's colloquially known as Prime Day 2 or October Prime Day. Amazon has also held a week-long shopping event in the spring, dubbed Amazon's Big Spring Sale, for the past three years. The deals aren't quite at the level of Prime Day, but it is considered Amazon's first major savings event of the year.

Are Prime Day deals worth it?

Prime Day is notoriously full of great deals. Besides Black Friday, it's probably the best time of year to buy Amazon devices, Apple products, robot vacuums, everyday essentials, smartwatches, headphones, and more. If you're in the market for tech, it's certainly worth perusing. Mashable already has a running list of the best Prime Day deals that can give you more in-depth analysis on what products are worth grabbing and which ones are worth passing on.

Summer movies are back! Audiences are turning out in droves to see Obsession and Backrooms. But if your cinematic tastes favor action over terror, you may well relish director Travis Knight's playful He-Man movie, Masters of the Universe.

Nicholas Galitzine stars as Adam Glenn, who comes from the sword-and-sandals land of Eternia, where he was once a prince. But after the villainous Skeletor (Jared Leto) invades Earth, Adam is sent to help out, and while there, he grows big, strong, and empathetic, thanks in part to working in human resources. However, rediscovering the Sword of Power leads him back to his homeland and enables him to become a brawnier, bolder hero known as He-Man.

In my review of the film, I cheered, "Masters of the Universe is a wonderfully entertaining adventure that dodges the pitfalls that makes so much IP adaptations tedious. Knight delivers a colorful film with a point of view, not just a sales pitch."

Nicholas Galitzine in "Masters of the Universe." Credit: Amazon MGM Studios

But as you're ready to see Masters of the Universe in theaters, you might be wondering if this souped-up action movie will take a cue from Marvel films, offering mid-credits scenes or post-credits scenes that might enhance the theatergoing experience. So let's get into it, one at a time.

Does Masters of the Universe have a mid-credits scene?

Yes. Two, in fact. So, hold off the rush to the restroom, lest you miss out on more from the He-Man universe.

Does Masters of the Universe have a post-credits scene?

Yes! So, stay through the credits unless you are fine missing out on the most Masters of the Universe can give you. And hey, bonus — sitting through the credits is a great way to take in the vast amount of human effort that goes into making movies as big and wild as this.

Masters of the Universe opens in theaters on June 5.

Nvidia just announced the RTX Spark, a brand-new ARM-based Windows chip that could finally be the "Apple Silicon moment" PC users have been waiting for. In this video, we break down everything you need to know about this powerhouse processor. We explore what this means for AI power users, creators and gamers.

Best early Prime Day deals

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Best headphone deal

Sony WH-CH720N

$88.58 at Amazon (Save $91.41)

Get Deal

---

Best speaker deal

Sonos Era 300

$379 at Amazon (Save $100)

Get Deal

---

Best portable power station deal

Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station

$749 at Amazon (Save $750)

Get Deal

---

Best TV deal

Hisense 55-inch U6 4K Smart TV

$397.99 at Amazon (Save $150)

Get Deal

No matter what type of shopper you are, whether you use sales to stock up on household essentials like dish soap and paper towels or as a time to splurge, the time is nigh because Prime Day is coming.

Usually taking place in early July, Amazon has decided to shake things up this year and run the sale in June. Amazon's Prime Day runs from June 23 to 26, and while the timing may have changed, we're still expecting the same great savings.

Even though we still have a few weeks until the official start of Prime, the deals kicked off as soon as the sale was announced. While we're not seeing the sheer abundance of deals that we will during Prime Day proper, it's not a bad start.

So if you're eager to start saving, we rounded up the best early Prime Day deals to start shopping now.

Best early Prime Day headphone deal

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Credit: Sony

Sony WH-CH720N

$88.58 at Amazon
$179.99 Save $91.41

 

Get Deal

When Prime Day actually starts, our attention is going to be on the big names in headphones: the Sony WH-1000XM6s and the Bose QuietComfort Ultras. But leading up to it, those big brands still have lots of savings to give. Right now, the best deal on headphones is on the Sony WH-CH720N, an affordable pair of over-ear noise-cancelling headphones. Normally $179.99, the WH-CH720N just dropped under $100 ahead of Prime Day. Snag them now for as low as $88.58 and save $91.41.

Early Prime Day headphone deals

• Sony WH-CH520 — $38 $69.99 (save $31.99)

• Logitech G735 — $141.53 $259.99 (save $118.46)

• Sennheiser Momentum 4 — $219 $299.99 (save $80.99)

• Sony WH-1000XM5 — $278 $399.99 (save $121.99)

• Sonos Ace — $299 $399 (save $100)

• Bose QuietComfort Ultra — $329 $429 (save $100)

• Sony WH-1000XM6 — $398 $459.99 (save $61.99)

• Apple AirPods Max 2 — $499.99 $549 (save $49.01)

Early Prime Day earbud deals

• Soundcore V20i Open-Ear Headphones — $26.99 $49.99 (save $23)

• Technics AZ100-K Earbuds — $247.99 $299.99 (save $52)

Best early Prime Day speaker deal

Opens in a new window

Credit: Sonos

Sonos Era 300

$379 at Amazon
$479 Save $100

 

Get Deal

Whether you're hosting summer movie nights or dinner parties, if you want to upgrade your home's audio, early Prime Day deals are coming in clutch. The advanced Sonos Era 300 is equipped with Dolby Atmos and powered by six drivers for surround sound. Right now, grab it for just $379, saving you $100 off its $479 price tag.

More early Prime Day speaker deals

• Bose Soundlink Flex — $119.99 $139 (save $19.01)

• Sonos Roam 2 — $134 $179 (save $45)

• Sonos Era 100 SL — $169 $189 (save $20)

• Sonos Era 100 — $189 $219 (save $30)

• Sonos Move 2 — $399 $499 (save $100)

Best early Prime Day portable power station deal

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Credit: Anker

Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station

$749 at Amazon
$1,499 Save $750

 

Get Deal

Ready for summer adventures? If you're gearing up to pack the car and head into nature, don't forget to invest in a portable power station to keep your campsite powered. Plus, it can serve as an at-home power backup in an emergency.

Right now, there's an outstanding deal on the Anker Solix C2000, which is 50% off. That takes it from $1,499 all the way down to $749. Ahead of Prime Day, that saves you $750.

More early Prime Day portable power station deals

• Jackery Explorer 1000 — $449 $799 (save $350)

• Anker Solix C1000 Gen 2 — $499 $799 (save $300)

• Bluetti Elite 200 V2 — $799 $1,070 (save $271)

• Anker Solix F3800 Plus — $2,499.99 $2,699.99 (save $200)

Best early Prime Day TV deal

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Credit: Hisense

Hisense 55-inch U6 4K Smart TV

$397.99 at Amazon
$547.99 Save $150

 

Get Deal

Getting ready for the World Cup? If you want to watch every heart-racing moment in 4K and have realized that your TV isn't up to par, then you need to shop the early Prime Day deal on the Hisense 55-inch U6 4K Smart TV. Normally $547.99, it's down to $397.99, saving you $150. It's an exceptionally bright TV (good for summertime viewing) with Dolby Atmos sound and Alexa built in.

More early Prime Day TV deals

• Roku 65-inch QLED 4K Smart TV — $379.99 $449.99 (save $70)

• TCL 75-inch T7 QLED 4K Google TV — $739.99 $899.99 (save $150)

• Hisense 65-inch U7 ULED 4K Google TV — $948.99 $1,499.99 (save $551)

• Samsung 65-inch S90F OLED 4K Smart TV — $1,397.99 $1,697.99 (save $300)

Every year, Apple reveals a big new iOS update at WWDC that brings tons of new features to your iPhone, and we're fully expecting to learn about iOS 27 at WWDC 2026. However, this year, we're expecting big news. Not only is it the final Apple developers conference of the Tim Cook era, but the Gemini-powered AI Siri should finally make its grand debut.

When the iPhone 18 launches in September, we expect it to ship alongside iOS 27, as is usually the case with every new iPhone and every new iOS iteration. Apple still hasn't officially shown off its mobile OS update, but there have been plenty of reports and leaks about iOS 27 in advance of WWDC on Monday, June 8.

Here's everything you need to know about iOS 27 right now.

iOS 27: All about AI Siri

Easily the biggest feature coming to iOS 27 that we know of right now is the long-awaited AI-powered overhaul of Siri, Apple's iconic voice assistant. It was supposed to happen two years and several class-action lawsuits ago, but internal delays have pushed its debut timeline.

On a basic level, what's changing here is that Siri is going to be turned into an AI chatbot with its own standalone app (we think) and the ability to incorporate both what's on the screen and personal context into responses. The new Siri should also have the ability to perform actions in other apps and widgets. It'll be powered primarily by Google's Gemini model, though rumor has it that users will be able to use third-party models for Siri and other Apple Intelligence features, too, if they so desire.

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While Siri is getting its own app, that doesn't mean the way you interface with Siri will change that much, necessarily.

A report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the source of most iOS 27 and iPhone 18 leaks and rumors, indicated that Siri in iOS 27 can still be activated by a wake word or by holding down the power button, same as ever, but there will also be a new interface built into the iPhone's Dynamic Island. You'll be able to make queries by swiping down from the top of the screen, and an additional swipe will bring you straight to the new chatbot interface for Siri.

What's more, Gurman reported that the glowing, neon artwork used to promote WWDC is actually a preview of Siri's new look. Apple has also used a dove motif in promoting WWDC, which could be a hint to the Siri app logo.

Credit: Apple

Credit: Apple

Gurman's report also included some tidbits about how Siri will play with the Photos and Camera apps, too. For instance, iPhone users may finally get some of the AI photo editing tools that have become standard on Android phones.

Users will also be able to snap a photo in Camera and instantly reverse image search it on Google. There will also be a Siri mode in the Camera app that incorporates Visual Intelligence directly into that app, so you'll allegedly be able to do things like scan nutritional labels to log your diet into the Health app, for example.

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In summary, Apple is looking to catch up to the competition when it comes to having a sophisticated AI chatbot that lives in your phone, and it sounds like iOS 27 might finally bring us to that point.

iOS 27: Other AI features

Apple's new iOS revision might focus largely on integrating Siri into the Apple Intelligence ecosystem, but what about the already existing Apple Intelligence features in iOS? It turns out some of those will be improved with iOS 27, too.

For example, a separate Mark Gurman report claimed that Image Playground and Genmoji will both get significant boosts to image quality in iOS 27. There will even be a new feature allowing users to generate custom phone wallpapers with AI. Outside of image generation, it sounds like there will also be a way for users to create custom app shortcuts using natural language prompts with Siri.

Beyond that, Writing Tools will apparently be infused with more AI juice. It'll supposedly be better at offering feedback for things like syntax errors, not just basic spelling mistakes. We'll need to see this in action to truly judge how well it works, though.

iOS 27: What about Liquid Glass?

Last year, the Liquid Glass design language introduced in iOS 26 really ruffled some feathers. That said, you should probably not expect any major changes on that front.

This information comes, once again, from Gurman at Bloomberg. He says Apple is not planning on making any sweeping changes to Liquid Glass, which isn't terribly surprising. While plenty of folks may not be huge fans of the design language, that fact doesn't appear to be driving people away from iPhones to any significant degree. In fact, the opposite is happening; iPhone sales are better than ever right now.

All of that is to say that Apple might add some more customization options to Liquid Glass, but don't expect to be able to turn it off or anything like that.

iOS 27: App changes

As always, iOS 27 is certainly going to bring some other miscellaneous changes to various first-party apps. We don't yet have a comprehensive list of every change to expect, but there are a couple of intriguing reports out there.

For instance, users will apparently be able to create custom widgets within the Camera app, giving them more fine control over which buttons appear on screen by default when opening the app. Weather is also getting a "Conditions" panel when looking at a page for a specific location. You'll be able to flip between information panels on things like wind and rain there.

The Wallet app is also reportedly getting a pretty interesting new feature that will allow users to create custom passes. It's called "Create a Pass," and it will allegedly be able to scan photos of things like movie tickets and gym memberships in order to create a digital pass that lives in the Wallet app. While lots of services have built-in support for the Wallet app, there are also plenty that don't, and this feature could help bridge that gap.

Splitting bills with Apple pay

Speaking of Wallet, Apple is also reportedly cooking up an extremely useful-sounding feature that will let users easily split bills. If you go out to dinner with friends, you'll be able to take a photo of the receipt and assign different things on the receipt to different people. After that, you can send payment requests to people via Apple Cash, with taxes and tips factored in. That sounds a lot easier than doing Venmo math on a napkin...as long as everyone involved uses Apple Cash, anyway.

iOS 27: Which iPhones will support it?

To start, we should establish which iPhones will actually be able to run iOS 27. Every year, Apple phases out an older generation of devices, and a recent leak suggested that the following phones will be phased out this year:

• iPhone 11

• iPhone 11 Pro

• iPhone 11 Pro Max

• iPhone SE (second generation)

That means anything older than an iPhone 12 is probably not going to be able to run iOS 27. It's a tough business, but that's just how it works. Apple can't keep everyone happy forever.

In addition, iOS 27 is sure to bring updates to Apple Intelligence, including a new AI Siri. Keep in mind that not all iPhones support Apple Intelligence, which is only compatible with the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16, and newer Apple smartphones.

iOS 27: Don't forget about the iPhone Fold

Lastly, we'd be remiss not to mention the iPhone Fold. There isn't a lot of concrete information yet about how iOS will adapt to the long-rumored device, but one has to assume that iOS 27 will, to some extent, work a little differently on the foldable iPhone. Actions like app multi-tasking, for example, will probably be possible on the iPhone Fold, meaning iOS 27 will need to natively support that sort of thing.

The good news is Apple is reportedly working on exactly that.

A recent leak from Weibo suggests that iOS 27 will support "Parallel View" in landscape mode on normal iPhones, meaning you might be able to have two windows open onscreen at the same time. This extremely vague leak doesn't specifically call out the iPhone Fold, perhaps suggesting it'll be a standard feature across the iOS 27 ecosystem, but it's hard not to associate split-screen app views with a foldable display. This is speculation on our part, but it seems likely that this is, at least in some way, related to the foldable device.

Not every iOS revision is a big overhaul, but if nothing else, it sounds like iOS 27 will drastically change how users interact with Siri and pave the way for the first foldable iPhone. In that sense, this could be one of the biggest iOS updates in a while.

"Welp, that happened faster than I predicted."

That's what Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince had to say as his company released data finding that there's now more traffic from bots than humans on the internet.

"Thought it would be end of 2027, then early 2027 but agentic traffic growing so fast that bots have now passed human traffic online for the first time in the Internet's history," said Prince.

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Cloudflare is perhaps one of the most integral companies on the web, providing services like CDN (Content Delivery Network) and DDoS mitigation for some of the biggest sites on the internet. Cloudflare basically helps popular sites handle all the traffic they receive, so the company is certainly an expert in this realm.

Cloudflare's data shows that at any given point during a day, between 52 percent and 62 percent of traffic on the internet comes from bots. Over the past seven days, Cloudflare says roughly 57.4 percent of traffic has been the result of bots, which includes search crawlers from companies like Google and AI bots from other AI companies. Around 42.5 percent of internet traffic has been from humans.

Cloudflare's data also breaks down which countries have the most bot-related traffic, which provides even more interesting insight. The island of Gibraltar ranks first in bot traffic with a whopping 92.1 percent. Singapore comes in second with 76.3 percent, closely followed by Iran with 76.2 percent. Rounding out the top five countries in bot traffic are Ireland, with 72.8 percent, and the Netherlands, with 68.8 percent.

Bots such as website crawlers and search indexers have been around since the early days of the internet. But there hasn't been a sudden surge in those types of bots. Cloudflare's data shows that the uptick has been the result of AI agents or agentic AI bots scouring the web to both scrape content for data training and acting on behalf of human users utilizing AI assistants and chatbots.

But, as the tech outlet Tom's Hardware points out, Cloudflare's data only tracks website visits and not what the visitor, bot or human, is actually doing on the page. Humans actually consume the content on the webpages. Humans watch videos and read articles. They don't just scrape or index and move on to the next page as bots do. As a result, AI agents load more web pages than a human visitor, which helps explain the rising bot traffic.

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There's something special about a Polaroid photo. We've all come to rely on snapping pictures with our phones to store in the cloud, but we never seem to get around to printing out any physical memories. And that's where Polaroid shines. The new Polaroid Go gen 3 is a mini instant-film camera that turns any moment into a mini printed photo.

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Credit: Polaroid

Polaroid Go gen 3

$89.99 at Amazon

 

Shop Now

What makes the Polaroid Go Gen 3 great

Polaroid says that the Go Gen 3 is the world's smallest instant analog camera. It weighs just 8.9 ounces without film, which is about half a pound. Its dimensions are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. There's also the impressive range of colorway options with the latest model.

What if we want one of each? Credit: Polaroid

The photos themselves are also tiny, measuring 2.6 inches in height and 2.1 inches wide. The included wrist strap makes it easy to carry the camera on outings, and it comes with some upgraded functions from Polaroid.

The Gen 3 has a selfie timer as well as a built-in selfie mirror for getting the best group shots possible. There's also a double exposure mode for getting creative. A stronger flash is helpful for taking low-light photos.

The small size makes the Polaroid Go gen 3 great for any adventure. Credit: Polaroid

In the brand's press release, Stine Bauer Dahlberg, the chief product officer, said, "We focused on perfecting the optical system, integrating a genuinely powerful flash, and optimizing the camera for great, close-up selfies of you and your friends. Every decision supports how people actually use a camera this small, while delivering strong performance across different lighting conditions."

While the camera itself is analog and perfect for spending less time attached to a phone, you can still use the Polaroid app for more benefits. From the app, scan your Polaroid to share the image with friends.

Keep in mind you'll need to use Polaroid Go film with the new Go camera. A pack of 16 photos sells for $21.99, which means each photo costs $1.32.

With a price of $89.99, the new Polaroid Go Gen 3 makes for a great gift or party accessory. It's already available at both Amazon and Polaroid.

SAVE $9 PER MONTH: Today only, Prime members and Prime Video subscribers can score the Starz streaming add-on for just $2.99 per month for two months. That's $9 per month in savings.

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Credit: Starz

Starz (Prime Video add-on)

$2.99/month for two months (save $9/month)

Get Deal

I've said it once, and I'll say it again: Starz is an underrated streaming service. If you've exhausted the streaming catalog on Netflix and Hulu and need to diversify your movie and TV lineup this season, it's a great time to give it a shot. Today only, the Starz add-on for Prime Video is just $2.99 per month.

Through June 4 only, Prime members and Prime Video subscribers can add the Starz streaming app to their library for $2.99 per month for two months. A quiet price hike will go into effect for the streaming service on June 8, bumping its monthly cost from $10.99 to $11.99. So you'll be saving $9 per month, or a total of $18, by grabbing this deal.

Starz is home to Lionsgate theatrical releases, so you'll be able to watch recent hits like The Housemaid, Now You See Me: Now You Don't, and Greenland 2: Migration. Not to mention, it has its own original series that are pretty epic, including a TV adaptation of Lisa Taddeo's book Three Women, a comedy about a female serial killer called Sweetpea, and the historical fantasy show Outlander, which just wrapped its final season.

Switch up your streaming lineup for the summer and save some money by snagging a two-month subscription to Starz for a grand total of $5.98. That's pretty hard to beat in this economy.

Apple will reportedly lean on Nvidia to fuel the next generation of Siri.

The Information reported that Apple will "tap into Google’s fleet of Nvidia’s Blackwell B200 data center chips" to power requests from the new AI-enhanced Siri, which will allegedly go online with the launch of iOS 27 later this year. It's already been established that the new Siri will be based on Google's Gemini AI model, so Apple utilizing a Google fleet of Nvidia data center chips makes sense.

In layman's terms, the main thing to know about this is that Nvidia's Blackwell architecture allows for large-scale AI usage with high degrees of memory bandwidth and other important things you need to make a popular chatbot work. These chips also have the ability to encrypt data that comes through them, which would help maintain Apple's high privacy standards as it attempts to catch up to the rest of the tech industry with AI features on its devices.

The new Siri hasn't officially been shown off yet, but it's widely expected that it will exist in the form of a chatbot with its own dedicated app once iOS 27 launches. It will be able to remember personal context for the user as well as read anything that's on screen, giving it capabilities far beyond what Siri has been able to do previously.

We should find out come Monday, when Apple hosts its annual developer conference, WWDC 2026.

BUY 4, GET $5: Through 2:59 a.m. ET on June 7, when you purchase four select personal care items at Target, you'll be awarded a free $5 Target gift card.

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Credit: Target

Get a $5 Target gift card when you buy 4 select personal care items

 

Get Deal

Target's anti-Prime Day sale, called Target Circle Deal Days for 2026, is just a few weeks away. But if you're running low on personal care items — think body wash, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. — and can't wait until June 23 to stock up, Target's running a promo to help you out.

Ahead of its Deal Days event, you can get a free $5 Target gift card by grabbing four personal care items you were probably going to buy anyway. Select personal care items in the promo include shampoo and conditioner, body wash, deodorant, toothpaste, electric toothbrushes, razor blades, mouthwash, teeth whitening supplies, bar soap, and more from popular brands like Native, Olay, Dove, OGX, Megababe, Goodfellow, Carpe, Dr. Squatch, and Colgate. There's no price limit or constraint for the deal, and you can mix and match however you see fit. Just grab four products, and you'll receive a free $5 gift card.

The offer expires at 2:59 a.m. ET on June 7, so be sure to do your shopping before Sunday morning if you want a free gift card. You can shop in stores or online, but I recommend referring to the online listings to ensure the four products you choose are included in the promo.

Once you complete your purchase (and qualifying items ship), your gift card will automatically be applied to your Target account. Then you'll have a free $5 to spend on anything you want during Target Circle Deal Days at the end of the month.

Psst: if you want to shop all the best deals during the Deal Days event, you'll want to sign up for Target Circle (it's free) starting on June 14 to save even more.

SAVE $116: The Ninja Slushi is on sale for $233.99 with code SLUSH, marked down from the list price of $349.99. That's a 33% discount.

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Credit: Ninja

Ninja Slushi

$233.99 at Ninja
$349.99 Save $116

use code SLUSH at checkout

Get Deal

It's getting toasty out there, and it's not even summer yet, according to the calendar. If you're looking for ways to stay cool this summer, a window A/C unit could do the trick. But if you're in the market for a refreshingly cool treat, there's a special deal in store at Ninja.

Use code SLUSH at checkout to get the Ninja Slushi on sale for $233.99, marked down from the standard price of $349.99. That works out to a 33% discount for a savings of $116. If you prefer to shop at Amazon, it's on sale for $239.99.

If you have summer hydration goals but don't feel like downing water bottle after water bottle, consider the options the Ninja Slushi brings to the table. With it, you can kick back with a slushy version of nearly any beverage.

Mashable Senior Shopping Reporter Leah Stodart reviewed the Ninja Slushi and found it to be an ideal way to enjoy a frozen treat. Instead of running to the local convenience store or ordering a spendy frosé during dinner out, whip up your own favorites at home.

"The Slushi achieves that chef's kiss chilled consistency via Ninja's RapidChill Technology, which involves an auger spinning around a cooling cylinder," explained Stodart in the review. "This approach can take room temperature ingredients from liquid to, well, slushy, in under an hour."

Stodart tested out the Slushi by Slushi-ing White Claws plus simple syrup, Pepsi, a blueberry vanilla protein milkshake, and electrolyte drink powder. "Past this week of testing, I could totally see the Slushi getting weekly use in my household," she wrote.

If you're looking for a way to jazz up summer beverages, the Ninja Slushi is ready to bring on the fun treats. Remember to use code SLUSH at checkout to score your new favorite kitchen appliance for $233.99.

Motorola released a new Razr Ultra, and it's a lot like last year's model, which earned a CNET Editors' Choice award. But do minimal upgrades, and a $200 price hike make the 2026 Razr Ultra a worthy buy? We tested it to find out.

TL;DR: Amazon has chopped a whole $100 off the ASUS ROG Strix 27-inch 1440P HDR gaming monitor (XG27ACMS), now only $249. With that 29% cut, you’re getting this monitor’s lowest price yet for 320Hz QHD and a speedy 0.3ms response time.

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Credit: ASUS

ASUS ROG Strix 27-inch 1440P USB-C HDR Gaming Monitor (XG27ACMS)

$249 at Amazon
$349 Save $100

Get Deal

A great gaming monitor doesn’t need to take up your entire desk, and Amazon has just knocked a seriously speedy ASUS ROG Strix display down to its best price yet. 

As of June 4, the ASUS ROG Strix 27-inch 1440P USB-C HDR gaming monitor (XG27ACMS) is on sale at Amazon for $249, down from its typical $349 price. This 29% discount means $100 off the 27-inch Fast IPS model, with the listing currently shipped and sold by Amazon itself, free returns included, and faster delivery available for Prime members.

This cut has also taken the monitor to its lowest price ever (as seen on price tracker camelcamelcamel), not hitting a price point this low since December last year.

Along with a 2560 x 1440 QHD display, you’re getting a refresh rate as high as 320Hz when overclocked. This is exactly the kind of spec you want for shooters like Marathon, racing games like Forza Horizon 6, and even single-player games like 007: First Light, where smooth motion can make the gaming experience even better. 

If all those Hz during high-octane titles make you worry about screen-tearing, though, ASUS’ added Extreme Low Motion Blur Sync works to keep that to a minimum — along with ghosting. 

The model in the ROG Strix range also comes with G-SYNC compatibility, DisplayHDR 400 support, USB-C with DisplayPort Alt Mode, and ASUS’ DisplayWidget Center software, so you can tweak monitor settings with a mouse instead of going through trial and error with on-screen buttons.

If you’re open to a monitor that’s a bit bigger, Samsung's 32-inch Odyssey G5 QHD gaming monitor has dropped to a record low price on Amazon, too. 

On the off-chance you may want to make the jump to QD-OLED, you can also save $350 on this 34-inch ASUS ROG Strix Ultrawide QD-OLED gaming monitor.

If you’re also a Pokémon TCG fan, although currently not available on Amazon, the newly announced Pitch Black expansion — Booster Packs, ETBs, Display Boxes, and Booster Bundles — is available to preorder at TCGplayer.

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The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you're an artist.

Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Art supplies

• Green: Pep

• Blue: Rappers

• Purple: Apparition

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Painting media

• Green: Espirit

• Blue: Starts of classic Hip-hop groups

• Purple: Ghost ___

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #1089 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Painting media: ACRYLIC, GOUACHE, OIL, TEMPERA

• Espirit: GUSTO, GANACHE, VERVE, VINEGAR

• Starts of classic Hip-hop groups: BEASTIE, PUBLIC, RUN, SALT

• Ghost ___: KITCHEN, PEPPER, TOWN, WRITER

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Connections.

Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you're graceful.

Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There's always a theme linking every solution, along with the "spangram," a special, word or phrase that sums up that day's theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.

By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.

If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.

NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Smooth moves

The words are related to fluidity.

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe elegance.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Poetry in Motion.

NYT Strands word list for June 4

• Style

• Composure

• Aplomb

• Ease

• Poetry in Motion

• Grace

• Poise

Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!

Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Strands.

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you're a science geek.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Mixed metals.

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

The letter L appears twice..

Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter A.

The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

ALLOY

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Wordle.

SAVE OVER $20: As of June 4, the Lego Art Mona Lisa set (#31213) has returned to its lowest price yet at Amazon, at $79.95. This is $20.04 off its full price of $99.99.

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Credit: Lego

LEGO Art Mona Lisa Building Set (#31213)

$79.95 at Amazon
$99.99 Save $20.04

 

Get Deal

This year's Prime Day sale is a few weeks away, but Amazon isn't stopping its deals until then. If you've been searching for discounted Lego sets in particular, the retailer has quite a few to look through right now. Some are even sitting at their lowest prices. The Lego Art Mona Lisa set (#31213) is back at its lowest price at the retailer, making now an excellent time to buy.

While the Lego Art Mona Lisa set usually costs $99.99, Amazon's knocked just over $20 off, bringing it down to $79.95. Again, this marks a return to its lowest-ever price at the retailer, so now is an excellent time to swoop in and grab it pre-Prime Day.

If you enjoy Leonardo da Vinci’s original work, this brick-built version of the Mona Lisa looks like a fun project to build and display in your home. Recommended for ages 18 and up, it comes with 1,503 pieces to create the Mona Lisa, along with a gold frame for displaying it once you're done. It also comes with blank pieces you can swap the eyes out for if you want a more abstract design.

Who knows how long this Lego Art Mona Lisa set will stay on sale at this price, though. Act fast to take advantage of this Amazon deal while it's still available.

If you're curious about what's new from Lego right now instead, check out our rundown of the best new Lego sets to see what's available.

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Despite being massively unpopular even with Republicans, there's one part of Trump's anti-weaponization fund – a deal Trump struck with the DOJ that would have set up a $1.8 billion slush fund for people claiming political persecution – that he's still fighting to keep: an immunity deal that would protect him and his family from IRS audits.

"I'm sorry, what? He gets permanent immunity from tax crimes?" asks a shocked Seth Meyers in the Late Night clip above. "I've never heard of that. Even if you're acquitted in a murder trial, the jury doesn't say, 'You're free to go, and you'll never be tried again for any murder!

"It's especially insane when you consider what we already know," Meyers continues. "For years Trump did not pay any federal income taxes; in 2016 and 2017 he paid only $750 in income tax; and according to a 2024 report he may owe more than $100 million in back taxes. Now, you might be wondering why Trump owes $100 million in back taxes. The answer is actually very complex. You see, it has to do with long-term depreciation of assets and capital expenditures carried over multiple fiscal years, and itemized deductions from adjusted gross income, and I'm just f***ing with you, he cheated. He cheated on his taxes."

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TL;DR: Amazon has listed the Magic: The Gathering Reality Fracture Play Booster Box to preorder at a new sale price of $154.99, knocking $9.71 off the original $9.71. That’s an immediate 6% discount on the 30-pack box ahead of the set’s Oct. 2 release.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering Reality Fracture Play Booster Box

$154.99 at Amazon
$164.70 Save $9.71

Get Deal

MTG’s Reality Fracture expansion isn’t even out until after the summer; you can already get a deal on securing your new box of trading cards right now by ordering through Amazon. 

As of June 4, Amazon has the Magic: The Gathering Reality Fracture Play Booster Box up for preorder at $154.99, a 6% discount from the $164.70 price it had when listed. A 30-pack box, which means you’ll only be paying $5.16 per pack before tax. 

Better still, this listing is shipped and sold by Amazon directly, with delivery currently listed for Oct. 5 (slight after the expansion’s Oct. 2 release date). It also includes Amazon’s preorder price guarantee, so if the retailer drops the price again before release, you should pay the lowest price Amazon offers between checkout and launch. 

As an expansion, Reality Fracture is already being teased as one of Magic’s bigger story shifts for 2026. For its theme, Jace’s Echoverse is an alternate Multiverse full of twisted versions of familiar characters and spells, with echoed pairs, shattered mirror cards, facet foils, and other collector-friendly treatments. 

Inside the Play Booster Box, you’re getting 30 Reality Fracture Play Boosters, each with 14 Magic cards. Every pack includes a Legendary card and its Echoverse alternative, along with one to five cards of Rare rarity or higher and at least one Traditional Foil card. Traditional Foil Lands can also appear in 20% of packs. 

As for other upcoming expansions, the upcoming Magic: The Gathering Marvel Super Heroes Play Booster Box had a $50 price cut to just under $140. Meanwhile, the newly released Magic: The Gathering Secrets of Strixhaven - Play Booster Box is now only $135, too. 

If you’re also a Pokémon TCG fan, although currently not available on Amazon, the newly announced Pitch Black expansion — Booster Packs, ETBs, Display Boxes, and Booster Bundles — is available to preorder at TCGplayer.

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Google-owned robotaxi company Waymo is giving a new life to its old electric vehicle batteries — by using them to fill energy gaps in local grids.

Instead of recycling the retired batteries, Waymo's initiative will squeeze the last drops of electricity from them, and dispatch that power where it's most needed.

B2U Storage Solutions, which Waymo has partnered with on the initiative, says its EV battery storage systems "act as a vital reservoir." They absorb surplus solar power during midday peaks then send it back to the grid during high-demand periods, typically in the late afternoon. 

To begin with, that extra energy will benefit California and Texas, two states in which the company already does plenty of business. Cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio are all serviced by Waymo. The Waymo/B2U partnership will deploy hundreds of megawatts of storage capacity across the grids, the companies say.

That's not a huge amount — the greater Los Angeles region receives about 8,100 megawatts of electric capacity from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the nation’s largest municipal utility — but it can replace the dirty energy often used to support the grid during periods of high demand, from gas turbines to burning trash.

"Our shared fleet of EVs provide a massive opportunity to support the growth of clean energy on the electricity grid while expanding the circular economy," Adam Lenz, Waymo's Head of Sustainability & Environment, said in a statement. 

SAVE $100: As of June 4, the Sonos Era 300 is on sale for $379 at Amazon. Compared to its full price of $479, this deal saves you $100.

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Credit: Sonos

Sonos Era 300

$379 at Amazon
$479 Save $100

 

Get Deal

Whether it's for playing your favorite tunes or as part of your TV's surround-sound setup, a high-quality speaker can go a long way. The Sonos Era 300 is one we praised as having "Absolutely huge sound" back in its original review, and if you've been hoping to pick it up, the good news is Amazon's knocked $100 off its price tag right now.

Usually, the Sonos Era 300 speaker is listed for $479, but both the black and white models of it are marked down to $379 at Amazon as of June 4. Sure, its lowest-ever price is a bit lower at $359, but it's just a $20 difference between the two. Ahead of Prime Day, it's still a deal worthy of jumping on while it's still available.

Whether you're already part of the Sonos ecosystem or this is your first jump into it, the Sonos Era 300 delivers big, clear sound. In our review, Mashable's Stan Schroeder said of its sound quality that, "Most smart speakers are built from compromises, and I typically want to equalize the sound this or that way, depending on what's playing. Not the Sonos Era 300; it sounds great no matter what you play."

However, he noted that "its design is a little lackluster," but if you care more about what comes out of it than how it looks, it can certainly deliver. Plus, if you already have other Sonos speakers like the Sonos Beam Gen 2 or Sonos Arc Ultra, you can pair them up for one incredible surround sound setup at home.

This discount on the Sonos Era 300 is a great one to jump on before Prime Day. Don't miss out on it at Amazon.

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TL;DR: Live stream Shnaider vs. Chwalinska in the 2026 French Open for free on France TV. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The 2026 French Open semi-finals take to the court today, and the women's field is wide open. Yesterday saw No. 22 seed Diana Shnaider knock out world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and now every woman in the semi-finals bracket has a genuine shot at winning the title.

With the other semi-final sees Marta Kostyuk play Mirra Andreeva, Russian star Shnaider faces unseeded Polish youngster Maja Chwalinska, who has battled her way through the tournament from the qualifiers. Can Chwalinska pull off another stunning win and go all the way to the final?

Shnaider enters the match as the favorite but it's been a tournament full of shocks and upsets so don't be surprised if there's one more twist in the tale.

If you want to watch Shnaider vs. Chwalinska in the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

How to watch Shnaider vs. Chwalinska for free

Shnaider vs. Chwalinska in the 2026 French Open is available to live stream for free on France TV.

France TV is geo-restricted to France, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in France, meaning you can stream the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream the 2026 French Open for free by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in France

4. Connect to France TV

5. Watch the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window

Credit: ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan)

$12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee)

Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but they do tend to offer pretty generous money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Roland-Garros without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term strategy, but it gives you enough time to stream the 2026 French Open before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming platforms from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for sport?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream Shnaider vs. Chwalinska in the 2026 French Open for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Live stream Kostyuk vs. Andreeva in the 2026 French Open for free on France TV. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

What a tournament the 2026 French Open has been so far. Day after day it's served up surprises, twists, and upsets, with top seeded players undone by the Paris heatwave and some gutsy tennis from lower-ranked players.

Now it's about to get even more exciting as the women's semi-final matchups take to the court.

Yesterday saw the shock elimination of World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka at the hands of No. 22 seed Diana Shnaider, and every woman in the semi-final brackets must feel like the prestigious Roland-Garros is within their grasp — including Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk and Russia's Mirra Andreeva, who now face off in a politically-charged semi-final showdown.

Ranked at No. 8, Andreeva is the highest seed remaining in the women's singles but Kostyuk, ranked at No. 15, has been in excellent form, having knocked out No. 3 Iga Swiatek earlier in the torunament. This is truly a can't-miss semi-final match.

If you want to watch Kostyuk vs. Andreeva in the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

How to watch Kostyuk vs. Andreeva for free

Kostyuk vs. Andreeva in the 2026 French Open is available to live stream for free on France TV.

France TV is geo-restricted to France, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in France, meaning you can stream the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream the 2026 French Open for free by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in France

4. Connect to France TV

5. Watch the 2026 French Open for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window

Credit: ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan)

$12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee)

Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but they do tend to offer pretty generous money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Roland-Garros without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term strategy, but it gives you enough time to stream the 2026 French Open before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming platforms from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for sport?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream Kostyuk vs. Andreeva in the 2026 French Open for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Amazon has seen another price slash for the Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution—Chaos Rising Elite Trainer Box from third-party sellers, now starting at $99.72 — over $20 off its base price. A 17 percent discount, which also saves you an extra $2.83 compared to buying from Amazon directly.

Opens in a new window

Credit: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Elite Trainer Box

$99.72 at Amazon
$119.99 Save $20.27

 

Get Deal

While we slowly build up to the Pitch Black expansion’s July release date in the Pokémon TCG, you can increasingly grab products from Chaos Rising closer to market price — especially the ETB. 

As of June 4, Amazon has multiple marketplace listings for the Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution — Chaos Rising Elite Trainer Box under $100. The lowest-priced option is currently $99.72 via Collectors Expedition, with free delivery listed for June 10-11. Meanwhile, Prime Picks has it for $99.79 with free delivery from June 9-11. If you would rather stick with Amazon as both the direct seller and shipper, though, that listing is still available at $102.55. 

What’s more, you can save even more money if you’re open to shopping for trading cards outside of Amazon. Walmart currently has the same box listed for $84.99 through a third-party seller, as well, and TCGplayer’s unopened listings are also starting at $84.99 with shipping included, with both even dipping below its $85.27 market price. 

Of course, you’ll get the same contents no matter which of the three you buy your Chaos Rising Elite Trainer Box from: nine booster packs from the expansion, one full-art foil promo card featuring Fennekin, 65 card sleeves, 40 Pokémon TCG Energy cards, a player’s guide, six damage-counter dice, one competition-legal coin-flip die, one plastic coin, a collector’s box with six dividers, and a Pokémon TCG Live code card.

If you’re unsure of all the valuable cards you can potentially pull, the full selection of the most expensive chase cards is available to buy separately on TCGplayer, as well — including Mega Floette ex, Mega Greninja ex, Mega Pyroar ex, Cinccino ex, and Mega Dragalge ex. 

To get even more boosters for less, the Pokémon TCG’s 36-pack Chaos Rising Booster Display Box is on sale for $265. If you don’t want to spend that much, you can also buy the six-pack Chaos Rising Booster Bundle for under $60. 

Although currently not available on Amazon, the Pokémon TCG’s newly announced Pitch Black expansion — Booster Packs, ETBs, Display Boxes, and Booster Bundles — is available to preorder at TCGplayer.

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Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference is days away. Here's what the iPhone Ultra rumors, Apple's track record and Siri's new Google powers tell us about what to expect.

Donald Trump Jr. has released a honeymoon video following the wedding his father was unable to attend, and it's every bit as ick-inducing as you'd expect.

"They made their blessed union Instagram official, they posted a honeymoon video," says Jimmy Kimmel in the monologue above. "Now this is something that regular people do all the time — for a sitting president's son, I believe this is a first. And hopefully a last."

Kimmel then proceeds to play the video, complete with cheesy music and slow motion. His reaction? Fake projectile vomiting over poor Guillermo, multiple times.

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SAVE OVER $300: As of June 4, the Ecovacs Deebot X11 OmniCyclone robot vacuum and mop has hit its lowest-ever price at Amazon of $799. This is $300.99 off its full price of $1,099.99.

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Credit: ECOVACS

ECOVACS DEEBOT X11 OmniCyclone Robot Vacuum and Mop

$799 at Amazon
$1,099.99 Save $300.99

 

Get Deal

Summer can be a chaotic time for your floors. If you're spending more time outside, there's a greater chance of dirt and other debris making their way inside. Robot vacuums can help make clean-up a bit easier, so you can spend more time enjoying the sunshine. If you've been searching for a model to cover vacuuming and mopping, the premium Ecovacs Deebot X11 OmniCyclone has hit a new low price at Amazon.

Normally, the Ecovacs Deebot X11 OmniCyclone has a high price tag of $1,099.99, but as of June 4, it's dropped to $799 at Amazon. This is just over $300 in savings, and since it marks a brand-new low for this combo cleaner before Prime Day even begins, why not pick it up?

The Ecovacs Deebot X11 OmniCyclone boasts quite a hefty build, and it certainly means business for your floors if you live in a larger home. When it comes to vacuuming, it delivers 19,500Pa of suction to clear debris from your floors. And there's no need to worry about hair tangles, as it even has anti-tangle brushes that keep it from slowing down.

Harder surfaces will also get a deep mopping clean from the Ecovacs Deebot X11 OmniCyclone, thanks to the OZMO Roller 2.0 with TruEdge 3.0, which helps reach tight spots and clean up any spills. It won't take the mopping to your carpets, either, as it has a Triple Lift System that raises the roller mop as the robot moves across carpets so they don't get all wet.

If it's caught your eye, now is the time to save big on the Ecovacs Deebot X11 OmniCyclone robot vacuum and mop at Amazon.

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From Project Solara hardware to "agent-first" operating systems, Microsoft is betting that your future computing experience isn’t tied to one device. Instead, it’s powered by an army of autonomous assistants.

For years, when it'd come up in conversation that I have an automatic litter box, everyone always asked: "Oh, you have a Litter-Robot?"

The product category as a whole really got the Roomba treatment — the automatic assumption that every automatic litter box is a Litter-Robot, just like many people assume that every robot vacuum is a Roomba. So when Whisker released a more apartment-friendly version of the Litter-Robot in fall 2025, it was time to find out firsthand: Is the Litter-Robot actually that much more iconic than all of the other automatic litter boxes?

I retired my Leo's Loo Too litter box to my parents' house and put the Litter-Robot EVO in its place. Here's how it's going after six months.

What's different about the Litter-Robot EVO?

The Litter-Robot EVO is just under two inches slimmer (20.6 inches wide) and almost three inches shallower (24.5 inches sticking out from the wall) than the Litter-Robot 4, making it the most compact Litter-Robot model. Aesthetically, I'm not a huge fan of the super rectangular automatic litter boxes, so I like that the EVO retains the minimalist circular design that makes a Litter-Robot recognizable.

Since the waste drawer is smaller, the EVO is best for one- or two-cat households. Whisker says that the drawer holds waste for between three and seven days for a two-cat household like mine, and up to 10 days for a single cat.

Switching to the Litter-Robot EVO

Out of my two cats, only one uses the EVO. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

My cats ignored the EVO's existence for at least the first month, despite the fact that it's extremely similar in size and noise level to the Leo's Loo Too that they were using without issue. It was literally in the same exact spot in the kitchen, too.

Originally, I suspected that they were thrown off by the difference in size of the entry holes. The 15-inch diameter of the Litter-Robot EVO opening is nearly double the size of the Leo's Loo Too opening. My cats couldn't care less about privacy when they're doing their business in the PetSafe ScoopFree litter box in my bathroom, but maybe a cozier design feels safer when the litter box is in the middle of a common area. (This isn't a design flaw — some cats might be intimidated by the idea of crawling into a tiny hole.)

But in my attempts to coax them to make the switch, I removed the litter guard at the bottom of the hole that's supposed to prevent litter tracking. That made the opening even bigger, but oddly enough, it helped. I couldn't find much advice online about switching from one brand of rotating automatic litter box to another. All I could really do was use the litter that they were already familiar with, sprinkle some litter attractant inside, and wait. Both cats tried it eventually, though Leota uses it far more frequently than Sansa does.

The Litter-Robot EVO works with just about any clumping litter, making it easy to experiment with what your cat likes the best or what feels the cleanest in your home. If you're switching from a pan litter box with clay litter, your best bet is to transition to the Litter-Robot with clay litter. I like the BoxieCat BoxiePro clay litter, which uses probiotics to eliminate stinky bacteria and was designed specifically for automatic litter boxes.

Leota shows off her current litter spread after tracking an unnecessary amount of litter onto the floor. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

Until Whisker makes plastic-free waste liners, I'll be using these corn starch ones. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

I'm always looking to try new natural cat litters — I feel less bad about trashing bags of a biodegradable formula, and I've convinced myself that their dust is less dirty than clay. The Litter-Robot EVO plays very nicely with the grass seed litter I'm currently using, but corn cob litter has also worked. As long as the granules aren't pellets, the clean litter should safely sift through the small grate holes just like clay.

Speaking of my quest for the most eco-friendly litter box setup possible, I ditched the Whisker brand plastic waste drawer liners for biodegradable waste drawer liners made from corn starch. Whisker's plastic waste drawer liners weren't dramatically sturdier or dramatically better-smelling, so I don't see a major pull toward them. And if you know me, you know that single-use plastic doesn't fly in my household. Plus, the official Litter-Robot liners can get pricey. At $25 for 25 liners, assuming I change the bag at least once per week, I'd rack up an extra hundred dollars or two per year.

Litter-Robot EVO self-scooping: Inaudible and reliable

Without my EVO's dutiful record keeping of trips to the bathroom, I'd rarely be able to tell that the Litter-Robot was used at all on any given day. That's how inaudible and unobtrusive the spinning cycle is — literally, the sound of my cat digging around in there is louder. It only lasts for 30 seconds or so, sans any creaking that might spook a skittish cat. If a bedroom is the only place that you have enough room for a litter box, you'd have to be a remarkably light sleeper to notice the EVO scooping in the middle of the night.

I don't pay for Whisker+, so the app doesn't track my cats' weight fluctuation. Credit: Screenshot / Whisker

Leota uses the Litter-Robot at 5 a.m. almost every day. Credit: Screenshot / Whisker

The Whisker app keeps a log of trips to the bathroom, as well as a meter showing how close your waste drawer is to being full. If you have more than one cat, the app will decipher between them based on weight. That could get hairy if both cats are roughly the same size, though you wouldn't be missing out on much important data about either of them. The EVO doesn't have the Litter-Robot 5's WasteID system to differentiate between No. 1 and No. 2 or the Litter-Robot 5 Pro's AI cat recognition cameras. But if you have more than one cat and presumably more than one litter box, metrics from a single litter box can't give a holistic picture of a cat's bathroom habits, anyway.

My EVO's scale and sensors are temperamental from time to time. The app occasionally tells me that a five-pound cat entered, or marks that Sansa (the heavier cat) was the sole user for multiple days when I know she strictly uses the other litter box. I think this happens when I add a fresh scoop of litter and forget to tell the EVO that I did that. It's very finicky about the amount of litter in the barrel, and if you put too much in, it'll drop a ton of clean litter into the waste drawer.

Similarly, the waste drawer tracker gets thrown out of whack if I forget to manually reset the waste once I've emptied it. The EVO tracks waste pileup with infrared sensors rather than by weight, but can't the sensors see that there's nothing in the clean liner?

Litter-Robot EVO odor control: Great, from far away at least

Litter-Robots are praised for their elite odor control — to the point where I'm getting Whisker Facebook ads throwing direct shade at other automatic litter boxes for smelling bad. But that ad fails to mention that the amazing odor masking probably won't last forever.

On one hand, I'll vouch for the Litter-Robot EVO's ability to sequester the stink. I'm not hit with the muggy stench of litter box as soon as I walk in the door, which is impressive given my apartment's crappy ventilation. No one in my household would be shy about letting me know that it smells like litter box in here, so I'm confident that the EVO is keeping things fresh.

But I am hit with the stench just about any time I crouch down there, even if I'm just getting extra cat food out of the credenza nearby. When it actually is time to empty the EVO's drawer, I legitimately have to warn anyone who's home to "not walk over here right now."

I've had cats my entire life and am not prissy about being a foot away from cat shit. What turns me off is that the drawer still stinks after you've replaced the dirty bag with a fresh one. Because plastic is microscopically porous, molecules that cause odor eventually absorb into those tiny holes. A carbon filter or really intense scrubbing doesn't have much power over that.

So while my Litter-Robot EVO has successfully contained the litter box smell for the past six months, I believe that it's only a matter of time until the smell baked into the drawer starts seeping into my living space. That's exactly what happened with my Leo's Loo Too after two years. Which makes me wonder: Why don't brands like Whisker make some longevity-centered design tweaks and switch to a stainless steel drawer?

Hypochlorous acid is non-toxic and great for deodorizing plastic. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

The Dyson PencilVac is skinny enough to reach the whole way back. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

I'm going to hold your hand when I say this: Having a self-scooping litter box does not mean you never have to clean that litter box by hand. If you want to slow down the stink buildup I'm talking about, regular cleaning of a few parts is a must. At least once a week, I wipe down the empty drawer with some dish soap and hypochlorous acid spray (not bleach), then let it air dry. I regularly vacuum the waste drawer slot to ensure no fallen clumps of waste are rotting down there.

Giving the crusty globe a good wash down is crucial here and there, though that's much easier to do with a hose outside than it is in an apartment with no outdoor space. I spray mine down in the bathtub every few months. Between these deep cleans, I grab a scoop to scrape off any waste clumps that are crusted to the inside of the globe.

Litter-Robot EVO build quality: Cute, but a little discombobulated for $600

As I said earlier, the Litter-Robot EVO genuinely has such a delightful little design compared to more robotic-looking litter boxes. But up close, there are a few nooks and crannies that take away from the EVO's overall build quality.

I feel like the pieces should click more seamlessly. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

The liner is quite visible from the front. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

The EVO's plastic feels flimsy, and some large pieces don't click together as sturdily as you'd expect. Mine has a small gap between the bonnet (the big round dome covering the rotating globe inside) and the base, as well as a large gap between the bonnet and the ring around the entry hole. The bonnet latch is also fussy, often giving multiple "bonnet removed" errors when reassembling after washing or gently scooting the machine to vacuum.

The new waste drawer setup is also a bit prone to error. Compared to the older Litter-Robots, whose litter drawer and step were all one piece, the EVO's compact waste drawer is a two-piece design. The parts are held together by a plastic notch system that can get knocked out of place if the drawer isn't pushed in perfectly. It doesn't take much to stir up a "waste cycle interrupted" error in the app, despite the fact that neither cat tried to re-enter during the cycle.

Is the Litter-Robot EVO worth it?

The concept of the Litter-Robot EVO is great. Whisker read the minds of cat parents who don't have a ton of open floor space for a giant litter box, and the EVO's quiet scooping and odor masking work well in an apartment. But I'm not sure that the EVO offers a premium enough experience for its price tag.

Sure, $599 seems cheap compared to a $799 or $899 Litter-Robot, but $599 isn't cheap in the grand scheme of automatic litter boxes. Other popular Litter-Robot alternatives like the Petkit PuraMax 2 or PetSafe SmartSpin perform the same basic self-scooping that the EVO does for far less money. The Petlibro Luma that my fellow shopping reporter, Bethany, tested costs the same $599, but offers waste identification and camera insights that Whisker only offers with the most expensive Litter-Robots.

Litter-Robot EVO

$599 at Best Buy

 

Shop Now at Best Buy Shop Now at Litter-Robot Shop Now at Amazon

VidCon, the world's largest annual celebration of digital culture and its creators, is set to kick off on Thursday, June 25, in Anaheim, and attendees can expect to see both new and familiar content creators at the event.

Last year, creators like Hank Green, Rhett & Link, Grace Helbig, Tyler Oakley, and the Smosh co-founders, Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox, were honored during VidCon's first annual Hall of Fame. Creators Markiplier, Philip DeFranco, Michelle Phan, and Cassey Ho were just announced as this year’s Hall of Fame inductees.

Over 160 content creators are expected to appear at VidCon 2026, ranging from gamers and animators to family and lifestyle bloggers.

Here’s a full list of the featured content creators we can expect to see at VidCon 2026:

• ACookieGod

• Aaron Burriss

• Adam McIntyre

• Adrian Vazquez

• aimsey

• Alberta Tech

• Alex Ojeda

• Alex Wassabi

• Allen Pan

• Andrew Wassabi

• Andrew Wave

• Anna DeGuzman

• Anna G

• Anna McNulty

• Annoying Orange

• Anthony Gomes

• anthpo

• AnythingAlexia

• Audity

• Auntie Charli

• Austin Evans

• Austin Sprinz

• Bailey Sarian

• Beth Cast

• Blaza Plays

• Brandon Rogers

• Brianda Deyanara

• BrodyAnimates

• Carter Sharer

• Cash

• Caylus

• Cenk Uygur

• Chad Wild Clay

• CheapPickle

• Cheeky Boyos

• Christina&Amber

• CircleToonsHD

• Cory Siu

• Coy Piso

• Creebus

• cuptoast

• Doyeong

• DangMattSmith

• Death Battle

• Derek Xiao

• Dimucc

• Doris Jocelyn

• Drex Lee

• Elliott

• Emmy Combs

• Eret

• estabr0k

• Fiizy

• Foltyn

• FunkyFrogBait

• Gabee Girl

• Gianna Marie (@G.Wizzle)

• GingerPale

• GloZell

• Gohar’s Guide

• Haminations

• Hannahxxrose

• Harley Morenstein

• Hew Moran

• IBella

• Inbora

• Infamous Swoosh

• itsjamesseo

• Jeyu

• JT Casey

• Jalin Siu

• Jeffrey Bui

• Jenny Hoyos

• Jeremiah Brown

• Jeremy Hutchins

• Jessica McCabe

• jmancurly

• Joely Live

• John Casterline

• Juju Wonder

• Kaido Lee Roberts

• Kasey Esser

• Kat Buno

• Katarina Mogus

• Kelsi Davies

• Kenzie Yolles

• Kina Siu

• Kyland Young

• LOL Podcast

• Lana’s Life

• Law by Mike

• Let Me Explain Studios, Rebecca Parham

• Lisi Shops

• Lyanna Kea

• MOVIEKIM

• Manny

• Matthew Beem

• McKenzi Brooke

• MeganPlays

• Mellomelt

• Merrick Hanna

• Mikey Angelo

• Muffin Juice

• Nathan Kessel

• Nevaaadaa

• NichLmao

• Nick Kosir

• Nick Wilkins

• Nico

• Nico Grigg

• Nicole O'Rourke

• Old Ball

• Paco de Miguel

• Paultooreall

• Peet Montzingo

• Prajakta Koli

• RJ Siu

• Rachel OCool

• Rae Plays

• Rebecca Zamolo

• Reza & Puja Khan

• Rosanna Pansino

• SML

• SSSniperWolf

• Sambucha

• Samuel Donner

• Sava

• Shut Up I'm Talking

• Siow Wei

• Socksfor1

• Sophi Balerdi

• Stanzi Potenza

• Steak

• Steven He

• Sydney Morgan

• Tayla Santos

• The Aspie World

• The Besties

• The Goddess Boys

• The Mannii

• The Professor

• The Valentine Brothers

• The Yuh Family

• TheOneShu

• Tonio Guajardo

• Tony Talks

• Trixshot

• Tubbo

• Tubby Nugget

• Unsighted

• uwucutesingle

• VMT

• Valerie Lepelch

• Vy Quaint

• Wallibear

• Yikes

• yoangelolo

• ZHC

• Zach Justice

• al1craft

• jacknjellify

• tinymacdude

Mashable will be on the ground at VidCon 2026, covering the creators, trends, and conversations driving internet culture, from breaking news and creator interviews to industry insights and live updates.

Queer horror fans have a complicated relationship to the genre. Horror cinema is a place where we have seen ourselves reflected, but often as villains.

From the flamboyant mad scientists of James Whale's Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein to the sapphic vampires of Dracula's Daughter, to the trans-coded killers of Sleepaway Camp and The Silence of the Lambs, LGBTQ+ characters shimmer throughout the fabric of the horror canon. While such problematic portrayals might feel like antiques, they've nonetheless shaped the genre and generations of queer horror fans. And for these folks, American filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun has made Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.

Written and directed by Schoenbrun, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma celebrates the slashers and, through that, explores the complicated feelings of loving a genre that doesn't reliably love you back. But that's not all. They also offer a radical tonal shift from their moody films We're All Going to the World's Fair and I Saw the TV Glow, delivering a comedy that is part horny psychosexual thriller and part campy parody. The result is a film that is rollicking in queer joy, blood spray, and irreverent humor.

Yes, it's meta, smart, and challenging genre norms. But calling Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma "elevated horror" is to miss its point.

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is a story of love, sex, and perversion.

Credit: MUBI

Hacks' Hannah Einbinder stars as Kris, a 29-year-old queer filmmaker whose Sundance success has earned her a shot at relaunching the long-dead Camp Miasma slasher franchise. Like with I Saw The TV Glow, Schoenbrun creates a deep wealth of lore and fandom merch to flesh out the fictional IP within this story. Where I Saw The TV Glow's central show had shades of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Camp Miasma seems a mix of Sleepaway Camp, Friday the 13th, and Twin Peaks.

The first film was a grimy, ultra-bloody slasher flick that centered on a wide-eyed Final Girl named Billy Preston, who was stalked by a harpoon-carrying killer called Little Death (I Saw the TV Glow's Jack Haven). For Kris, Billy is the key to understanding how to revive Camp Miasma, and so she travels to meet the aging scream queen (Gillian Anderson), who lives at the "haunted summer camp" where the first film was shot.

Red flags like this don't deter Kris, who is eager to walk in the footsteps of Little Death and his victims. But before long, Kris starts to realize that Billy isn't interested in making another movie. She's interested in Kris. Desire blooms between the two women, but inelegantly. And that's the point.

Schoenbrun recognizes how horror can be ludicrous, with kills that turn severed human necks into fountains that shoot blood 30 feet in the sky, as if we are meat sacks full of cherry soda just waiting to explode. Sex they treat as similarly silly from the moment we meet the siren that is Billy Preston.

Anderson plays the reclusive actress as Norma Desmond by way of Dolly Parton in a David Lynch movie. She slinks around the cabins with perfectly manicured, bright red nails, her hair in big, tumbling blonde curls, and her wardrobe silky robes that beg to be stroked. But then, she'll offer Kris a preposterously abundant plate of fried chicken, treating the accompanying dipping sauces as if they were oysters, ripe for vaginal allegory and campy foreplay.

While many might write Billy off as odd and flee this camp of red flags, Kris is drawn in because Billy is fearless, even in her strangeness. Through her influence, Kris not only reconsiders her Camp Miasma movie, but also her understanding of herself. Where Billy is a carnal creature who licks her fingers and speaks candidly of sex to a near stranger, Kris is shy and cerebral, far more capable of talking about "elevated horror" and transphobia in film than she is her own desires.

However, through her relationship with Billy, Kris learns to understand horror not just as her personal obsession, but also as a path to self-acceptance. How does a harpoon-wielding slasher, an avalanche of candy wrappers, and a Southern-fried recluse factor into that? Well, Camp Miasma's killer's name being "Little Death" is a pretty big clue.

We're talking orgasms.

Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder are a perfect match in Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.

Credit: MUBI

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is gloriously irreverent in its approach to its influences. Schoenbrun name-drops or alludes to Sunset Boulevard, Psycho, Mulholland Drive, Bound, Friday the 13th, Sleepaway Camp, and more. But they do so with a rebellious joy that turns a transgressive backstory into a gorgeous portrait of nonbinary beauty, and an iconic final shot into a rebellious echo of pride.

The cinematography of Eric K. Yue manages to weave together tones that go from earnestly amorous to unapologetically loony. A production design that blends a realistic camp setting with forest backdrops that are clearly painted challenges the audience to consider what is real and whether or not that matters. The music offers Psycho-reminiscent stings of strings, sultry synth keyboard, and a chaotic soundtrack that ranges from Counting Crows' "A Long December" to Sade's "No Ordinary Love" and Donna Lewis' "I Love You Always Forever."

It's a bold blend of dark inspirations and cheerful pop. Anderson and Einbinder are entrusted to make it work, and they do. Einbinder steps out of the chaotic bisexual bravado of her Hacks heroine, embracing the timid sapphic who's technically poly but low-key resents her partner's (Jasmin Savoy Brown) boyfriend Thor (Aren Buchholz). Her intellectualizing and her filmmaking are where she feels comfortable, while Anderson's Billy is bored by all that blather. Billy relishes flesh and touch, and so becomes a carnal mentor.

Together, their quirks make sense, building a world that others might see as bizarre, but which the queer (like a gas station attendant with a septum ring) will clock as wondrous. Like Lynch's leading ladies in Mulholland Drive or Todd Haynes' in Carol, these two actresses tug on each other, giving the film a sexual tension and emotional pull that is exhilarating. And then on top of that, they embrace the absurdity Schoenbrun has baked in, which reminds the audience earnestly that sex need not be taken so seriously. It can be silly, messy, sweet, and bloody, and it can shine a light on the most fucked-up desires of our queer little minds. And all of that can be celebrated instead of shame, with the help of a Little Death.

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma explores where queerness, self-acceptance, and horror collide. But it's also a hell of a good time. Schoenbrun and their cast embrace the ghoulish delights of slasher slaughters, the titillating fun of their teen sex and death, and the radiant joy of finding pleasure in your own body. All this makes Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma a knockout, from its first kill to its final thrill.

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma was reviewed out of its North American premiere at Newfest. The film will open in theaters on Aug. 7.

TL;DR: Live stream Spain vs. Iraq in a 2026 International Friendly for free on RTVE. Access this free streaming site from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Spain are undoubtedly one of the favorites to win the 2026 World Cup, but so much can change once the tournament starts. A couple of injuries or unfortunate results and the picture looks very different.

Spain will look to avoid a shock upset to Iraq in this crucial World Cup warm up fixture at the Riazor Stadium. If you want to watch Spain vs. Iraq in a 2026 International Friendly for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Spain vs. Iraq?

Spain vs. Iraq kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on June 4. This fixture takes place at the Riazor Stadium.

How to watch Spain vs. Iraq for free

Spain vs. Iraq is available to live stream for free on RTVE.

RTVE is geo-restricted to Spain, but anyone can access this free streaming service with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Spain, meaning you can access free live streams on RTVE from anywhere in the world.

Lve stream Spain vs. Iraq for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Spain

4. Visit RTVE

5. Stream Spain vs. Iraq for free from anywhere in the world

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Credit: ExpressVPN

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$12.99 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee)

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The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Spain vs. Iraq without actually spending anything. This clearly isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream select games before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming sites from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for RTVE?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on RTVE, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including Spain

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream Spain vs. Iraq for free with ExpressVPN.

Looking for something great to watch at home? Streaming subscribers are spoiled for choice between Hulu, Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Apple TV, Prime Video, Shudder, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. And that's before you even look at the vast libraries of movies and television programs within each streamer!

Don't be overwhelmed or waste an hour scrolling through your services to determine what to watch. We've got your back, whatever your mood. Mashable offers watch guides for all of the above, broken down by genre: comedy, thriller, horror, documentary, and animation, among others. But if you're seeking something brand new (or just new to streaming), we've got you covered there, too.

15. Michael Jackson: The Verdict

Antoine Fuqua's Michael was criticized for moonwalking away from the criminal allegations and scandal that touched the singer's later life. Now Netflix delves into the 2005 criminal trial with a three-part documentary series from David Herman, who previously produced the streamer's true-crime doc series Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story.

At the time of his arrest, Jackson was the globally acclaimed King of Pop. Then came the allegations of child molestation, which challenged the image of the Neverland Ranch owner. According to the L.A. Times, Michael Jackson: The Verdict will look into the case through interviews with defense attorneys, prosecutors, and journalists who covered the trial at the time. Was Jackson a serial sexual predator? Was he falsely accused for a payout? It's a question fans still face. Will this doc change your mind? — K.P.

How to watch: Michael Jackson: The Verdict is now streaming on Netflix.

14. Office Romance

Jennifer Lopez and Ted Lasso's Brett Goldstein team up for a workplace rom-com with a raunchy edge. She's a non-nonsense airline CEO who's being threatened by a rival company. He's the English lawyer, who might be socially awkward in the office but is a shark in the deposition room. Of course, an "office romance" between the two could threaten both of their reputations, and even their careers. But is their blossoming attraction one they can resist?

Written by Goldstein and Joe Kelly, this rom-com plays with a culture clash between the U.S. and UK, as well as dabbling in some bawdy jokes. While Lopez and Goldstein are glossy love interests, they have little chemistry. However, the supporting cast, which includes Betty Gilpin, Amy Sedaris, and Tony Hale, brings in some levity through kooky characters. — K.P.

Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Brett Goldstein, Betty Gilpin, Amy Sedaris, Tony Hale, and Bradley Whitford

How to watch: Office Romance debuts on Netflix on June 5.

13. Earth, Wind & Fire (To be Celestial vs. That's the Weight of the World)

Do you re-mem-bah ... that Earth, Wind & Fire has a story much bigger than their enduring '70s disco floor-filler "September"? Questlove's new HBO documentary journeys through the evolution of one of the best damn bands on the planet — and if you're not turning up "In the Stone" right now, hard recommend.

The film heads back to Earth, Wind & Fire's early days in Chicago, when the late and legendary Maurice White put the band together, then runs through a glittering career of Grammy wins, 90 million albums sold, a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and live performances that blew audiences away. However, Questlove also promises to delve further into White's need to fuse spirituality and philosophy with the band's particular brand of disco, funk, jazz, soul, and R&B, and his strained relationship with the band. Expect interviews with Earth, Wind & Fire bassist Verdine White, singer Philip Bailey, and percussionist Ralph Johnson, as well as former band members, managers, family, music historians, authors, and musicians including Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, H.E.R., and Flea. — Shannon Connellan, UK Editor

How to watch: Earth, Wind & Fire (To be Celestial vs. That's the Weight of the World) debuts on HBO on June 7.

12. Keeper

Osgood Perkins delivered a double whammy to horror fans this year, offering not only his wild adaptation of Stephen King's The Monkey, but also the original horror film Keeper.

Tatiana Maslany stars in this trippy thriller as a painter who reluctantly agrees to go on a weekend getaway to the family cabin of her boyfriend, Malcolm (Rossif Sutherland). But shortly after they arrive, she senses something is just off. Maybe it's the creepy cousin (Birkett Turton) who drops by with a bored party girl (Eden Weiss). Perhaps it's the strange chocolate cake that just appears on a table, inviting yet off-putting. Where this story — from Dangerous Animals screenwriter Nick Lepard — will go is impossible to predict. But that's part of the fun.* — K.P.

Starring: Tatiana Maslany, Rossif Sutherland, Birkett Turton, and Eden Weiss

How to watch: Keeper comes to Hulu on June 5.

11. Kneecap

Capturing the rebelliousness of the Irish hip-hop group for which it's named, Kneecap is a raucous and hilarious origin story starring Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara, and DJ Próvaí themselves. It's a bold move from director/writer Richard Peppiatt, but one that pays off big as the band's charisma translates to the big screen.

Forget those doggedly dramatic, respectful movies about a musician's life and times. Kneecap's tale is one of sex, hard drugs, boneheaded decisions, and bangin' tracks that sparked a cultural resurrection — specifically, helping to preserve the Irish language. As I cheered in my review, "Peppiatt has done a superb job of not only shaking off the oh-so-serious shackles that are musician biopic conventions but also enthusiastically embracing the hip-hop energy of his subjects, allowing them to be both the stars and fuel of their story, propelling them to a climax that deserves its rowdy encore across the credits. 

"Simply put, Kneecap is sensational, silly, sharp, and ultimately sublime."* — K.P.

Starring: Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí

How to watch: Kneecap is now streaming on Hulu.

10. Poor Things

Our favorite film of 2023, Poor Things offered a Frankenstein makeover full of whimsy, wonder, weirdness, and unapologetic horniness. Based on Alasdair Gray's 1992 novel of the same name, Poor Things' resurrected corpse is the beguiling Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), who has a grown woman's body, a child's mind, and a ravenous desire to know the world. This makes her more than her mad scientist/father figure (Willem Dafoe) can handle. So, off she goes on a globe-trekking fling with a devil-may-care — but hot-as-hell — rogue, played by Mark Ruffalo with a winsome gusto. 

Created by The Favourite's writer (Tony McNamara) and director (Yorgos Lanthimos), Poor Things is mercilessly witty while unfurling a tale of human discovery and inhumane realities. A behind-the-scenes team of remarkable artists fills every frame with something beautiful and repulsive, be it costumes whose colors refer to gross anatomy or set designs that are comically phallic. As I wrote in our full review, "Poor Things is an awe-striking visual feast that satisfies the eyes, tantalizes the loins, and feeds the soul."* — K.P.

Starring: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, and Jerrod Carmichael

How to watch: Poor Things comes to Netflix on June 7.

9. Not Suitable for Work

With Never Have I Ever, Mindy Kaling portrayed the perils of high school. With The Sex Lives of College Girls, she dove into the chaos of finding yourself in college. Her new project, Not Suitable for Work, examines yet another defining life stage: your early twenties. Co-created with showrunner Charlie Grandy, Not Suitable for Work follows five work-obsessed twentysomethings as they hunt for professional success — and a personal life, if time allows — in Manhattan's Murray Hill neighborhood.* — B.E.

Starring: Ella Hunt, Avantika, Will Angus, Jack Martin, Nicholas Duvernay, and Jay Ellis

How to watch: Not Suitable for Work is now streaming on Hulu.

8. Legend of Vox Machina, Season 4

Season 3 of The Legend of Vox Machina ended with the titular crew scattering to the winds in search of their own individual goals. But a year later, in Season 4, the call of adventure (and the threat of a growing death cult) will bring them back together. 

Every season of The Legend of Vox Machina has grown darker and stronger, and Season 4 looks to be no exception. This time around, Critical Role's bawdy bands of heroes will come face to face with their most dangerous foe yet: the Whispered One, also known as Vecna in Dungeons & Dragons. (And yes, he's very different from Stranger Things' version.) Don't expect Season 4 to be all doom and gloom, though. It will also feature Critical Role fan-favorites like Taryon Darrington (voiced by Wayne Brady) and his mechanical servant Doty, who are bound to bring some laughs to the fight for Exandria.* — B.E.

Starring: Laura Bailey, Taliesin Jaffe, Ashley Johnson, Matthew Mercer, Liam O’Brien, Marisha Ray, Sam Riegel, Travis Willingham, Wayne Brady, Kevin Michael Richardson, Debra Wilson, and Tom Cardy

How to watch: Legend of Vox Machina, Season 4 is now streaming on Prime Video.

7. Cape Fear

Who's ready for a remake? Apple TV reimagines Martin Scorsese's 1991 film Cape Fear, itself a remake of the 1962 film of the same name. The series centers on married attorney couple Anna and Tom Bowden (Amy Adams and Patrick Wilson), who are about to face a vengeful reckoning from Max Cady (Javier Bardem), the killer they put behind bars. Will the series live up to its source material? Or, at the very least, The Simpsons' "Cape Feare" episode?* — B.E.

Starring: Amy Adams, Patrick Wilson, Javier Bardem, Joe Anders, Lily Collias, Malia Pyles, and Anna Baryshnikov

How to watch: Cape Fear premieres on Apple TV on June 5.

6. Pillion

This week, treat yourself to "dom-com" Pillion, the tremendous debut feature from director Harry Lighton. Harry Melling stars as meek parking attendant Colin, who embarks on a BDSM relationship with domineering bike gang leader Ray (Alexander Skarsgård). While their dynamic is unconventional to onlookers, it offers up heaps of self-discovery and enjoyment for Colin as he dips his toes into this world.

In his review out of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, Mashable contributor Siddhant Adlakha praised the film, saying, "Lighton's electric, modern-day British drama explores a master-slave relationship that's as upsetting as it is invigorating. Led by a pair of fine-tuned performances from Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling, the movie walks a fragile tonal tightrope with remarkable flair, resulting in one of the finest (and most crowd-pleasing) experiences at this year's Cannes Film Festival."* — B.E.

Starring: Harry Melling, Alexander Skarsgård, Douglas Hodge, and Lesley Sharp

How to watch: Pillion comes to HBO Max on June 5.

5. Hoppers

Pixar's Hoppers is an uproarious riff on Avatar, only instead of humans zapping their consciousness into nine-foot-tall blue alien bodies, they're zapping their consciousness into robot animal bodies to get closer to wildlife. When animal lover Mabel Tanaka (voiced by Piper Curda) gets her hands on this technology, she uses it to try to save a local glade from her town's greedy mayor (voiced by Jon Hamm). Along the way, she'll befriend a beaver king (voiced by Bobby Moynihan), start an animal rebellion, and cause more chaos than she could have ever bargained for.

Bursting with charming animation and sweet friendships, Hoppers is Pixar's strongest original film in years. What really takes it over the edge is its astounding third act, which goes to some wonderfully weird (and sometimes even downright frightening) places. In my review, I called it Pixar's "most unhinged film yet," and I mean that as the highest of compliments.* — B.E.

Starring: Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm, Kathy Najimy, Dave Franco, Eduardo Franco, Aparna Nancherla, Sam Richardson, Ego Nwodim, and Meryl Streep

How to watch: Hoppers debuts on Disney+ on June 3.

4. The 79th Tony Awards

It's the most exciting time of year for Broadway fans, as The American Theater Wing presents the Tony Awards, celebrating the best plays and musicals of the year.

Among the nominated productions are Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Titanique, Schmigadoon, Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York, The Lost Boys, Every Brilliant Thing, Giant, and Dog Day Afternoon. This means the show, hosted by P!nk, will be stuffed with stars and teary-eyed speeches. Plus, all the nominated musicals will be offering a nationally televised taste of what they're doing on the Great White Way, as each of these shows will perform one of their numbers live. Jellicle Cats, Celine Dion, and vampires — oh my! — K.P.

How to watch: The Tony Awards will air live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Sunday, June 7, 2026 (8-11 p.m. ET/5-8 p.m. PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S., preceded by Act One on Pluto TV.

3. Hokum

Irish filmmaker Damian McCarthy previously bestowed upon horror fans the folk-flavored terror of Caveat and Oddity. Now he's teamed with Adam Scott for Hokum, which was so scary that I screamed myself hoarse at its SXSW premiere.

Scott stars as a misanthropic novelist named Ohm Bauman, who's flown to a remote Irish hotel to spread the ashes of his parents, who'd honeymooned there decades before. But amid this grim task, he stumbles upon a local legend about a vicious witch who's still said to haunt the hotel. In my review, I called Hokum "a seriously scary masterpiece," explaining, "It's a nerve-shredding, bone-rattling, scream-pulling good time, and an absolute blast to see in a theater. Don't miss it."* — K.P.

Starring: Adam Scott, Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Florence Ordesh, Michael Patric, Will O'Connell, Brendan Conroy, and Austin Amelio

How to watch: Hokum is available to rent or buy on Prime Video.

2. Is God Is

Playwright Aleshea Harris adapts her award-winning play Is God Is into a scorching directorial debut. Twin sisters (Kara Young and Mallori Johnson) go on a twisted road trip in search of the father that left them for dead when they were children. Along the way, they'll be forced to reckon with their family's secrets, their parents' complexities, and their own deep differences.

As you can see from the trailer, Harris' translation of her play is visually dynamic and studded with stars. Trust us. You'll want to see this on the big screen.* — K.P.

Starring: Kara Young, Mallori Johnson, Janelle Monáe, Erika Alexander, Mykelti Williamson, Josiah Cross, Vivica A. Fox, and Sterling K. Brown

How to watch: Is God Is is now available to rent or buy on Prime Video.

Best of streaming this week: The Vampire Lestat

AMC+'s killer Interview With the Vampire series returns this Sunday with Season 3, titled The Vampire Lestat.

Showrunner Rolin Jones tackles the setup of Anne Rice's second novel in her Vampire Chronicles, wherein the Brat Prince becomes a rock star. What does this mean for Louis, Daniel, and Armand? Well, Lestat uses his songs to spill the secrets of vampirism and spill the tea on his side of what went down with all of the above. Without spoilers, I can tell you this season is absolutely outrageous and way off-book. So, my dear readers, prepare to be shocked, as Lestat's relationship with Gabrielle is just the beginning. — K.P.

Starring: Sam Reid, Jennifer Ehle, Jacob Anderson, Eric Bogosian, Assad Zaman, and Delainey Hayles

How to watch: The Vampire Lestat premieres on AMC and AMC+ on June 7, with new episodes each Sunday.

(*) denotes a blurb came from a prior list.

TL;DR: Internxt is offering 100TB of encrypted cloud storage for life for $974.97, replacing recurring storage subscriptions with one long-term payment.

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Credit: Internxt

Internxt Cloud Storage Lifetime Subscription: 100TB

$974.97
$9,900 Save $8,925.03

 

Get Deal

Tired of constantly running out of cloud storage? Every time you need more space, the monthly fees climb higher, keeping you in an expensive, never-ending cycle of upgrades and charges. As we accumulate more data every day, it may be time to consider a more financially responsible approach to keeping your files safe.

With Internxt Cloud Storage, you truly own your space — there’s no more renting your data storage. And right now, you can lock in an ample 100TB of storage for just $974.97 (reg. $9,900) through June 7.

Using iCloud to keep your files safe? The maximum storage Apple allows you to rent is currently just 12TB — and it costs $64.99 a month. If you’re looking for a more affordable way to safeguard your precious data, providing enough space to last a lifetime, it’s time to check out Internxt Cloud Storage.

With Internxt Cloud Storage, you own your storage space. That means you can say goodbye to those hefty monthly fees and rest easy knowing you can keep all your important data in one secure space. You can also rest easy knowing Internxt’s end-to-end encryption is so secure that even the company itself can’t access your data.

It’s also GDPR compliant — adhering to strict European privacy laws — and audited and verified by Securitum. That’s a major improvement over other cloud storage services, which not only access your data but also make money from it through targeted ads and data sharing.

If you’re making the switch, Internxt offers cross-platform compatibility so you can easily integrate it across all your devices and operating systems via a desktop app, web browser app, and iOS or Android app.

Never pay for cloud storage again with this 100TB Internxt Cloud Storage lifetime subscription for just $974.97 (reg. $9,900) through June 7.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Microsoft Office Home & Business for Mac 2021 is $44.97 (reg. $219) and includes lifetime access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and OneNote.

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Credit: Microsoft

Microsoft Office Home & Business for Mac 2021: Lifetime License

$44.97
$219 Save $174.03

 

Get Deal

Subscriptions are everywhere — including your productivity tools. But if you’re just trying to write documents, build spreadsheets, or send emails without a monthly charge hanging over your head, this offer keeps things simple.

Microsoft Office Home & Business 2021 for Mac is available for a one-time $44.97 (reg. $219), giving you long-term access to the core apps many people use every day.

That includes Word for documents, Excel for spreadsheets, PowerPoint for presentations, and Outlook for email, along with Teams and OneNote. It’s the familiar Office experience with the tools you already know how to use.

The biggest advantage here is the pricing model. You install it once on your Mac, and that’s it. No renewals, no upgrades required to keep using it, and no subscription reminders popping up at the worst time.

It’s also a practical fit for a range of users — students, remote workers, or small business owners who need reliable software without ongoing costs. You get the full functionality of desktop Office apps, which means you’re not dependent on internet access or browser-based tools to get work done.

Don’t miss updating to Microsoft Office Home & Business 2021 for Mac for a one-time $44.97 (reg. $219) through June 14.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: The Riley RS1 Plus Electric Scooter combines a foldable commuter-friendly design, removable battery, 25 mph speeds, and fast charging for $389.99.

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Credit: Riley Scooters

Riley RS1 Plus Electric Scooter

$389.99
$499.99 Save $110

 

Get Deal

A lot of city travel ends up feeling strangely inefficient. Drive somewhere five minutes away, spend ten minutes finding parking, then carry half your life with you because you can’t leave anything in the car.

That’s part of the appeal behind the Riley RS1 Plus Electric Scooter for $389.99 (reg. $499.99).

The RS1 Plus is new to the U.S. market and feels designed for people who want a simpler way to get around on everyday trips without fully committing to bike ownership or to public transit schedules.

The biggest convenience feature might actually be the removable battery.

Unlike many scooters that require dragging the entire frame indoors to recharge, the RS1 Plus lets riders detach the Panasonic battery pack and charge it separately at home, at work, or wherever there’s an outlet nearby. Add in the fast two-hour charging time, and the scooter feels much easier to live with day to day.

Performance-wise, it’s built for real commuting rather than novelty rides. The 350W motor with 700W peak output supports speeds up to 25 mph with up to 15 miles of range, while puncture-resistant 10-inch pneumatic tires help smooth out rougher city streets.

The foldable frame also matters more than expected. Folded down, the scooter is easy to store in apartments, offices, trunks, or public transit spaces where full-size mobility gear becomes awkward fast.

And for just $389.99 instead of $499.99, you save about $110 while getting a brand-new commuter scooter backed by a two-year warranty.

An ideal earth-friendly option for commuters, apartment dwellers, students, and anyone trying to make short-distance travel less annoying, this electric scooter feels less like a gadget purchase and more like a practical upgrade to your daily living.

Get the Riley RS1 Plus Electric Scooter for just $389.99 (reg. $499.99).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Intel's CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, and industry partners present the company's transition to its 18A process technology across consumer PCs, handheld gaming devices, and data centers built to handle multiagent AI workloads.

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Thursday, June 4, 2026:

Across

It takes you from E to F (and starts with G!)

• The answer is Gas.

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

Animal that has a symbiotic relationship with green algae, which grows in its fur

• The answer is Sloth.

Societal no-no

• The answer is Taboo.

"Sorry, unavailable then"

• The answer is I can't.

Color associated with passion

• The answer is Red.

Down

Turn in the fridge, maybe

• The answer is Go bad.

Lots and lots

• The answer is A ton.

Something a bartender or basketball player might make

• The answer is Shot.

Mix, as a sauce

• The answer is Stir.

Frilly material

• The answer is Lace.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Mini Crossword.

Today's Connections: Sports Edition will require in-depth basketball knowledge.

As we've shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

What is Connections: Sports Edition?

The NYT's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. The sports Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words, and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes before the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

Here's a hint for today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Arena arrival views

• Green: Performance tracking for a particular sport

• Blue: English football selections

• Purple: First part of word most relevant

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Seen at a stadium entrance

• Green: Volleyball stats

• Blue: Members of England's World Cup squad

• Purple: Starts with a part of a basketball hoop

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections: Sports Edition #619 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Seen at a stadium entrance: METAL DETECTOR, TICKET SCANNER, TURNSTILE, WILL CALL

• Volleyball stats: BLOCK, DIG, KILL, SERVICE ACE

• Members of England's World Cup squad: BURN, KANE, MAINOO, STONES

• Starts with a part of a basketball hoop: BASE RUNNER, GLASS HOUSES, NETMINDER, RIMINGTON TROPHY

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Connections.

If the sky is clear where you are tonight, you’ll likely be able to make out some surface features on the Moon. But what are they? Keep reading to find out.

What is today’s Moon phase?

As of Thursday, June 4, the Moon phase is Waning Gibbous. Tonight, 87% of the moon will be be lit up, according to NASA's Daily Moon Guide.

You don't need fancy gear to spot craters or other features on the Moon's surface, if it's a clear enough night, your naked eye should be enough. In fact, without visual aids you should be able to spot the Mare Serenitatis, Aristarchus Plateau, and the Mare Tranquillitatis. If you have binoculars you'll also spot the Grimaldi Basin, Alps Mountains, and the Posidonus Crater. If you have a telescope, set this up to see all this plus the Apollo 15 and 16 landing spots and the Caucasus Mountains.

When is the next Full Moon?

The next Full Moon will take place on June 29.

What are Moon phases?

NASA explains that the Moon completes one full orbit around Earth in about 29.5 days, during which it moves through a sequence of eight phases. Even though the same side of the Moon always faces us, the amount of sunlight we can see changes as it travels along its path. This shifting light is what produces the lunar shapes, ranging from slim crescents to half-lit Moons and the bright Full Moon. All of these stages together make up the lunar cycle:

New Moon - The Moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it's invisible to the eye).

Waxing Crescent - A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).

First Quarter - Half of the Moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-Moon.

Waxing Gibbous - More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.

Full Moon - The whole face of the Moon is illuminated and fully visible.

Waning Gibbous - The Moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)

Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) - Another half-Moon, but now the left side is lit.

Waning Crescent - A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.

Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.

Released in August 2025, Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.

Currently, if you're stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move on to the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.

How to play Pips

If you've ever played dominoes, you'll have a passing familiarity with how Pips is played. As we've shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don't necessarily have to match.

The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible — and common — for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.

Here are common examples you'll run into across the difficulty levels:

• Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.

• Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.

• Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.

• Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.

• Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.

If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.

Easy difficulty hints, answers for June 4 Pips

Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 4-2, placed horizontally.

Number (8): Everything in this space must add up to 8. The answer is 4-2, placed horizontally; 4-5, placed vertically.

Number (15): Everything in this space must add up to 15. The answer is 4-5, placed vertically; 5-6, placed vertically; 5-1, placed horizontally.

Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 5-6, placed vertically; 6-2, placed horizontally.

Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 6-2, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for June 4 Pips

Number (15): Everything in this space must add up to 15. The answer is 6-6, placed vertically; 3-0, placed vertically.

Equal (1): Everything in this space must be equal to 1. The answer is 0-1, placed horizontally; 1-1, placed horizontally.

Less Than (3): Everything in this space must be less than 3. The answer is 4-0, placed horizontally; 0-5, placed vertically.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 0-5, placed vertically.

Number (5): Everything in this green space must add up to 5. The answer is 4-5, placed vertically; 5-6, placed vertically; 5-1, placed horizontally.

Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-4, placed horizontally; 2-5, placed horizontally.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for June 4 Pips

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 1-1, placed horizontally.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 1-1, placed horizontally.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 0-4, placed vertically.

Greater Than (10): Everything in this space must be greater than 10. The answer is 5-6, placed horizontally.

Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 0-4, placed vertically; 6-1, placed vertically.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 6-1, placed vertically.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 0-6, placed vertically.

Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 6-4, placed horizontally.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 0-6, placed vertically; 2-1, placed horizontally.

Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 0-6, placed vertically; 2-1, placed horizontally; 2-6, placed vertically.

Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 2-6, placed vertically; 6-6, placed horizontally.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 1-4, placed vertically.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 1-3, placed vertically.

Equal (4): Everything in this red space must be equal to 4. The answer is 1-4, placed vertically; 4-4, placed vertically.

Equal (3): Everything in this light blue space must be equal to 3. The answer is 6-3, placed vertically; 3-3, placed horizontally; 1-3, placed vertically.

Equal (5): Everything in this orange space must be equal to 5. The answer is 5-5, placed horizontally.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.

There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.

An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.

Hurdle Word 1 hint

Worn on the neck.

Hurdle Word 1 answer

CHAIN

Hurdle Word 2 hint

Prank.

Hurdle Word 2 Answer

ANTIC

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

Hurdle Word 3 hint

A type of underwear.

Hurdle Word 3 answer

THONG

Hurdle Word 4 hint

Student.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

PUPIL

Final Hurdle hint

It's famous in Norway.

Hurdle Word 5 answer

FJORD

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Minecraft is one of the most popular games on the planet. So, of course, that makes Minecraft players a prime target for hackers.

In a new cybersecurity report, researchers from McAfee Labs describe new malware that has already logged more than 116,000 hits. When the report was published on June 2, McAfee Labs found that the campaign logs between 2,000 and 3,000 malicious hits every day.

Dubbed WeedHack, the malware is being offered as a malware-as-a-service (MaaS). Rather than being shared on the dark web, McAfee reports that WeedHack is readily available on the open web. This means that bad actors don't need any real technical knowledge to deploy the malware. For as low as $5 per month, would-be hackers can access WeedHack, infect a target of their choice, and deploy a range of tools against that victim.

McAfee Labs also uncovered a Telegram channel for WeedHack customers made up of more than 850 members. Inside the Telegram channel, McAfee found that many of the attackers appeared to be teenagers and young adults who used the malware-as-a-service to cyberbully other young people. WeedHack customers discussed utilizing the remote access capabilities to threaten, harass, and spy on their victims.

WeedHack is spreading through YouTube and Google, report says

The report finds that WeedHack is primarily spread through YouTube videos promoting Minecraft mods, clients, and other game-enhancing third-party add-ons. In reality, the Minecraft mods and clients are really the WeedHack malware in disguise.

McAfee's report includes a screenshot of a YouTube comments section of a video promoting the malware. It shows a viewer informing the video creator that his computer warned about potential malware when downloading the file in the video description. The bad actor then assures the user that the file is definitely not malware.

In addition, the bad actors reportedly use SEO poisoning tactics to rank fake websites and pages that pose as real Minecraft clients. McAfee Labs listed the following legitimate clients as targets for WeedHack:

• Meteor Client

• Radium Client

• Wurst Client

• Aristois

• LiquidBounce

• Impact Client

• Future Client

• Inertia Client

• Cornos Client

• WWE Client

• 3arthh4ck

• Salhack

• Phobos

• Gamesense

Some of these Minecraft mods and clients don't have official websites and are just hosted on file-sharing websites, which makes it easier for hackers to manipulate search results with fake websites, the report says.

According to McAfee, players can protect themselves when downloading Minecraft mods and clients by watching out for red flags and using antivirus protection tools. If you are a young person contacted by bad actors who say they have hacked your system — especially if they are trying to blackmail you — talk to a trusted adult. You can also visit the Internet Crime Complaint Center for more information.

What happens when a target is infected with WeedHack malware?

That depends on how much the attacker paid for the malware, which has different subscription tiers.

WeedHack even provides a free tier, which promises to give attackers an infostealer that can target Minecraft session IDs, collect system information, search for files, take screenshots of the target's system, and steal cookies and passwords from 36 different web browsers. The free tier also claims the attacker can target 56 browser-based crypto wallets, 12 desktop crypto wallets, as well as credentials for platforms such as Discord, Steam, and Telegram.

An attacker can also subscribe to the $5 per month premium tier to get additional remote-access capabilities, including "webcam access, keylogging, reverse shell execution, screen sharing with keyboard and mouse access, and file management features for uploading and downloading files," according to McAfee.

The hacker can view all the stolen information via an enterprise-level dashboard. 

As McAfee reports, many malware-as-a-service tools cost as much as hundreds of dollars per month, putting them out of reach for many malicious actors. However, WeedHack's pricing makes it readily accessible to anyone looking to deploy these dangerous tools.

McAfee's report on WeedHack serves as a warning, showing that not only is malware becoming more powerful, but it's also becoming more accessible, too.

Teens on Snapchat frequently encounter unwanted or dangerous content on the platform, according to a new survey.

A third of the poll's 1,016 respondents said they'd seen or received unsafe content or messages in the past week. More than half said they'd had at least one such experience in the past year.

The findings suggest that Snapchat, a platform where messages vanish once viewed by the recipient, is far less safe than parents may assume, said Sarah Gardner, CEO of The Heat Initiative, the advocacy group responsible for the research.

Top dangerous experiences on Snapchat

The top three types of dangerous experiences reported by up to a third of teens were unwanted contact, bullying, and sexually suggestive content and messages. Roughly 1 in 6 respondents said they'd seen content related to hate speech and drugs or alcohol. Smaller percentages of teens confirmed they'd encountered graphic violence and self-harm on the platform.

More than 40 percent of respondents who'd received unwanted messages believed the sender was an adult.

Gardner said the survey results contradict Snap's assertion that its safety features prevent strangers from sending minors unsolicited messages.

"These findings directly go against that claim and show that it is absolutely not happening," Gardner said.

A Snap Company spokesperson contested the report's findings.

“We share the goal of keeping young people safe online and continuously invest in protections designed to reduce potential harmful interactions on Snapchat," the spokesperson said in a statement to Mashable. "While we respect the role of advocates in raising important issues, we believe this report does not fully reflect the significant investments Snap has made to help protect young people."

Legal action against Snap

Last December, the Heat Initiative, which focuses on online safety and corporate accountability, surveyed Snapchat users between the ages of 10 and 17. The advocacy groups Anxious Generation, ParentsTogether Action, and Design It 4 Us partnered with Heat Initiative on the research.

As major social media companies scramble to defend their youth safety record, the survey results illustrate the prevalence of harmful content on one of the most popular platforms in the U.S. In 2024, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said in Congressional testimony that more than 20 million American teens use Snapchat.

In January, Snap settled a lawsuit brought by a teenager who claimed that Snapchat's design features, like algorithmic recommendations, led to addictive use and mental health harms. Soon after, Snap introduced new parental controls for teens.

A separate poll of teens conducted last fall by the Pew Research Center painted a different picture of Snapchat as a platform that strengthened their friendships and didn't negatively affect their mental health. The Snap Company spokesperson described the poll as independent research showing that Snapchat supports user well-being and helps them stay connected with close friends and family.

How teens handle harmful content on Snapchat

Snapchat's community guidelines prohibit many of the experiences reported by teens in the survey, including the sale and glorification of illicit drugs, the depiction of graphic violence, hate speech, and bullying.

Forty-four percent of survey respondents said they had not seen unsafe content or messages in the past year.

Two in 5 of teens who did responded by closing the app or ignoring the experience, according to the survey. More than half of those who did so said they'd grown "used to it."

Gardner told Mashable that she finds it "alarming" that so many minors have become desensitized to these encounters.

"Right now, Snap is putting the onus on the kids themselves to navigate a minefield of unwanted content," Gardner said. "What you see in the poll is that kids have sort of succumbed to it."

While Snapchat allows users to block and report content they deem harmful or unsafe, teens were far more likely to block a user than report them to the platform. Past research conducted by the nonprofit organization Thorn has found that minors typically prefer to block instead of report a user after a harmful online experience.

Dr. Mitch Prinstein, co-director of the Winston Center on Technology and Brain Development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told Mashable that the survey should be a wake-up call for parents.

"It’s really important for parents to know that kids’ social media looks very different from their own," said Prinstein. "The survey tells us what kids have been informally telling us about for a long time: social media is not simply a safe place to hang out with friends."

Prinstein has served as a witness in cases against Meta and other social media companies, though not Snap. He was not involved in the Heat Initiative's research.

Adults may be contacting teens on Snapchat

Dr. Brian Levine, director of the UMass Cybersecurity Institute, told Mashable that the survey results are concerning but not surprising, provided the research sampled a representative set of teens who use the platform.

Levine, who has consulted for The Heat Initiative in the past but was not involved in the new survey, said that it's questionable for major social media platforms to recommend adults and children to each other via an algorithm.

Levine, an expert in preventing child exploitation who has testified for the state in New Mexico's child safety case against Meta, argued that Snapchat could do more to prevent adults from mixing with teens.

Snapchat says it makes all accounts private by default and that users can only communicate with mutually accepted friends or people in their contacts. Users may, however, need to manually turn off showing up in the platform's "Find Friends" feature. One in 6 survey respondents said that the feature recommended accounts of strangers that appeared to be run by adults.

"Nobody's looking for a perfect score here," Levine said. But, he added, "where else in society do we liberally mix kids and adults in an algorithmic way?"

Levine said platforms can generally improve youth safety by enacting policies and practices like high-quality age assurance, providing end-to-end message encryption for adults only, and prohibiting children from connecting to their service through a virtual private network.

He also questioned Snapchat's specific design features, including vanishing messages, which prevent minors, parents, and authorities from gathering evidence in cases of sexual exploitation and sextortion: "To erase all the messages – is that really the safest product for children?"

UPDATE: Jun. 3, 2026, 3:40 p.m. PDT This story has been updated to include a statement from the Snap Company.

TL;DR: A one-year BJ’s Club Card Membership with Easy Renewal is $15 (reg. $60), giving shoppers access to warehouse pricing, gas savings, digital coupons, and convenient pickup options.

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1-Year The Club Card Membership with BJ’s Easy Renewal

$15
$60 Save $45

 

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Warehouse memberships used to feel like something you signed up for after buying a minivan. Now? They’re increasingly just a smart way to make weekly shopping slightly less painful.

The 1-year BJ’s Club Card Membership with Easy Renewal for $15 (reg. $60) is one of those low-risk offers that feels especially relevant heading into peak seasonal spending. Groceries, cookouts, back-to-school prep, household restocks — it adds up quickly, financially and time-wise.

BJ’s leans into practical savings instead of novelty. Members get access to bulk pricing on groceries, home essentials, electronics, seasonal products, and gas, plus one feature that makes BJ’s stand out in the warehouse-club space: it accepts manufacturer coupons on top of BJ’s coupons.

For households that already plan purchases around weekly grocery runs, that stacking ability matters.

Convenience is also a major part of the pitch. BJ’s offers ExpressPay through its app, which lets members scan items while shopping and skip checkout lines entirely. There’s also curbside pickup, same-day delivery, and buy-online-pickup-in-club options that make the experience feel a little more modern than the old stereotype.

The scale is notable too: BJ’s operates 244 clubs and 175 gas stations across the eastern U.S. and serves more than 7 million members.

And you’re keeping $45 in your pocket in savings before you even buy groceries, fill up your tank, or stock up for summer weekends.

An ideal offer for families, busy pros, coupon stackers, and anyone trying to make everyday shopping more efficient.

Get a one-year BJ’s Club Card Membership with Easy Renewal for just $15 (reg. $60).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

A healthy NASA orbiter disappeared as usual behind Mars back in December. When the spacecraft reemerged from the other side, it was never the same again.

The U.S. space agency announced June 3 that the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission, aka Maven, is over, after a review board determined the orbiter that has circled Mars for over 11 years is now unreachable.

Though all of Maven's systems were normal before it rounded the bend on Dec. 6, 2025, something mysterious happened to the spacecraft when it slipped out of view. A snippet of data transmitted to Earth indicates Maven began rapidly tumbling. While mission control would normally only lose contact with the spacecraft for 20 to 30 minutes when it passed behind Mars, the team never regained its signal. 

NASA's anomaly review board, which convened in February, determined this erratic rotation, coupled with dwindling battery power, meant there was no viable way to recover Maven. At a teleconference Wednesday, officials delivered something of a eulogy to the mission, which continued 10 years longer than the team had originally planned.

"I think the team has really experienced the loss of a loved one with the end of the mission here," said project manager Mike Moreau from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Maven's decommissioning closes a chapter in Mars exploration: NASA has lost a key workhorse that both rewrote scientists' understanding of the Martian atmosphere and quietly hauled huge volumes of data home for rovers on the ground.

Whether a meteor is to blame for Maven's demise is not known right now. NASA has yet to conclude its investigation into the root cause for the incident. The agency is expected to deliver a final report later in the year.

The Maven orbiter captured ultraviolet views of Mars in 2023. Credit: NASA / LASP / CU Boulder

Arriving at Mars in September 2014, Maven has focused on "atmospheric escape" — the leak of gas from the top of Mars' atmosphere into space. Its measurements showed that this surges during solar storms, when bursts of energy and particles erupt from the sun. A major space‑weather event in May 2024, one of the strongest seen at Mars in 20 years, triggered a torrent of particles that stripped away gas and lit up the planet with glowing auroras.

"We now have a better understanding of atmospheric escape at Mars than at any other planet, including Earth," said Shannon Curry, Maven's principal investigator, based at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Maven found several kinds of auroras at Mars and helped the Perseverance rover capture the first visible‑light aurora from the surface, giving scientists a sense of what astronauts might see with their own eyes. The orbiter also showed how a planet‑wide dust storm in 2018 boosted the loss of water to space, tying together dust, climate, and the fate of Mars' ancient oceans.

One of Maven's most important results involved a process called "sputtering." Put simply, charged particles slam into the upper atmosphere and knock neutral atoms into space, like a cannonball splashing water out of a pool. This process has likely stripped Mars' atmosphere for billions of years, with implications for other planets.

The mission also made some surprise finds. Maven’s particle detector picked up hard X‑rays from a distant black hole system known as Scorpius X‑1, and the team used that odd signal to learn more about the density of Mars' upper atmosphere. 

Beyond science, Maven played a vital behind‑the‑scenes role as a communications relay. The spacecraft passed data between Earth and surface missions such as Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance. Though it handled only about 8 percent of all relay sessions, it delivered nearly 18 percent of the total data, according to NASA, thanks in part to a new coding scheme that boosted how much information it could send during each contact. At one point, Maven set the solar system record for most data returned in a single relay session.

For now, Maven will remain in a stretched‑out orbit around Mars. NASA expects the dead spacecraft to stay in space for 50 to 100 years before the orbit naturally shrinks and it falls into Mars' atmosphere. Officials say it doesn't threaten other orbiters circling the Red Planet.

To make up for Maven's lost relay capacity, Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and European orbiters have adjusted their operations. NASA also plans a new Mars Telecommunications Network in the 2030s, with help from commercial partners, to provide more robust communications and navigation services for future robotic and human missions.

For the people who worked on Maven, though, the loss feels personal. Curry said the team was "broken up" about it. When asked what she'd inscribe on the orbiter's tombstone, she didn't hesitate with her answer: 

"Best Mars mission ever." 

If you’re looking for a summer project that keeps you out of the sweltering heat, LEGO.com has got you covered. Far from kids’ play, the advanced LEGO Icons and Editions sets are built for teen and adult fans. They’re challenging, immersive, impressive, and the perfect way to embrace your fandom. 

The newest LEGO releases feature some huge new sets to shop for, so here are three recent arrivals that stood out to us.

Celebrate FIFA with a 3D wall display

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Credit: LEGO

Lionel Messi – Celebration

$199.99 at LEGO

 

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While the world’s best soccer players do their final prep ahead of the FIFA World Cup kick-off, superfans can prep for all the watch parties with the incredible Lionel Messi Celebration set from LEGO Editions. 

Featuring Messi’s iconic Number 10 striped jersey against a sky-and-pitch backdrop (and subtle nods to his life and career), this 3D wall art is the perfect way to show your support and love for the game. Sitting at 1,427 pieces, it’s a suitable build for teens and adults to complete as a fun group activity this summer break. 

Bring the magic of Disney into your home

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Main Street, U.S.A.

$399.99 at LEGO

 

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One of the unique things about being a Disney fan is that you can talk about your fandom to almost anyone, and they’ll be able to relate to the nostalgia of it all. The LEGO Disney Main Street, U.S.A. kit will spark those magical memories for every level of fan. 

It features three buildings — a fire station with the Walt Disney family apartment, the Emporium, and the Crystal Arcade — in one display-worthy model. The sprawling set comes with fun extras, including a popcorn wagon with a popping function and 16 minifigure characters, including Mickey and Minnie Mouse. 

Heroic effort with great reward 

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Marvel S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier

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Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday won’t be gracing our screens until the end of the year, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a superhero summer. The LEGO Marvel S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier model building kit includes detailed features, movie scenes, and six minifigures from The Avengers. 

At 3,057 pieces and incorporating runways, engines, a control tower, aircraft, interior rooms, and more — it’s a challenging build that will keep you engaged for hours. Fans will love the clever references to scenes from the movie and attention to detail in the interiors. 

While we’ve highlighted three standouts from the latest drop, there are plenty more collections to explore as you find your fandom flame. Shop all new LEGO sets for an immersive day indoors this summer.

Motorola's first book-style foldable makes a strong debut, with long battery life, impressive cameras and a sleek build. But there are some caveats, including the hefty $1,900 price.

We know Pride is year-round, but there is something special about the month of June. Since it's finally here, you might be feeling a bit more flirtatious than usual. You don't have to go to parties and parades alone — you can find a partner on a dating app. And as a lesbian, you probably know all about them. Lesbian Americans (along with bisexual and gay Americans) are far more likely to have ever used dating apps than straight Americans: 51 percent to 28 percent, according to the Pew Research Center.

There are a few reasons why LGBTQ people might turn to online dating more quickly than straight folks. For one, you might live in an area without a thriving LGBTQ community, and in-person dating may be hard. If you don't know other lesbians to begin with, how can you meet more IRL to date? (Sometimes, lesbian spaces can also be co-opted by The Straights.) Unfortunately, in-person dating may also be less safe, depending on where you live. 

Thankfully, we live in a time where we can find people like us with a few swipes. Lesbians are welcome on major dating apps, and there are also niche ones specifically for lesbians and other queer women and people. But which one to choose?

How to find the best dating apps for lesbians

Niche lesbian dating apps aren't your only option for finding love. Credit: Stacey Zhu / Mashable

In Mashable's recommendations below, you'll find both general dating apps and apps specifically for queer people. As the former appeals to the general population, you'll find more users in these spaces. The caveat, however, is that when you swipe on other women, you might find those coupled with men who are looking for another woman to have a threesome with (aka unicorn hunters). No judgment here, but that's probably not what you're looking for. Then again, people of all types are on dating apps like Tinder and Hinge. You never know who you may come across.

Then there are apps specifically for the community, like HER and Lex. If you yearn for a smaller dating scene, head for these apps. While there's no "Grindr for lesbians" — we go into why in the FAQ section — these apps are more so like stepping into your neighborhood lesbian bar than an app like Bumble. 

You can also try multiple dating apps, as each one below has a free version. You can filter by the gender you identify with and are looking for, and sometimes, as with OkCupid, there are many options to choose from.

Diving into the dating pool isn't easy, but the water's fine. Check out our guide below for the full rundown of our recommendations and dating app reviews.

UPDATE: Jun. 4, 2026, 3:38 p.m. EDT — This article has been updated with a statement from Reddit.

In recent years, brands and spammers alike have been using Reddit to manipulate AI chatbots by flooding key subreddits with promotional content, and these efforts are getting more sophisticated.

According to a report published by 404 Media, moderators of r/biohackers — a large subreddit focused on supplements and DIY biology — announced last week they were restricting posts about peptides and hormone replacement therapy after discovering that companies selling those products had been systematically seeding the community with sponsored content designed to be scraped by tools like ChatGPT and Google's AI search tools.

The practice falls under the umbrella of Generative AI-engine optimization (GEO), or AI-engine optimization (AEO), an evolution of traditional search engine optimization (SEO). Because AI chatbots frequently draw on Reddit when generating responses, companies have identified the platform as a high-value target for shaping what those tools recommend.

Marketing firms have built entire service offerings around it. 404 Media identified one company, RedRover, that openly advertises deploying AI agents to mass-publish content across Reddit and blogs to influence both Google and ChatGPT rankings.

What makes it difficult to police, a moderator told 404 Media, is that the accounts doing it are deliberately built to look human. The flagged accounts have posting histories, organic-seeming engagement, and strategically timed brand mentions buried in high-traffic threads.

Reddit told 404 Media its safety teams use automated tooling to detect and remove such content, but moderators say the tactics have grown sophisticated enough that catching them increasingly relies on pattern recognition rather than any automated system.

Reddit's spam policies prohibit using the platform "for repeated or unsolicited mass engagement." In addition to both automated and human review, Reddit users and subreddit moderators also help flag spam content, as in the r/biohackers case.

Reddit provided the following statement to Mashable:

Reddit’s sitewide rules strictly prohibit spam and inauthentic content. Our internal Safety teams leverage human review and sophisticated automated tooling to detect and remove this content at massive scale, and we have over two decades of experience in doing so. On top of this, we also provide moderators with automated tooling that can detect and suspend users likely to be spammers.

We are always working to improve our detection of inauthentic content and accounts, including recently announcing that any fishy automated accounts will be asked to verify their humanity.

Reddit's relationship with bots and manipulation long predates the AI era. The platform has battled coordinated inauthentic behavior for years — from vote manipulation rings to state-sponsored influence campaigns to garden-variety spam accounts — with mixed results. In 2024, Reddit updated its robots.txt file to block unauthorized AI scrapers from accessing its data, a move the company's chief legal officer acknowledged to Mashable was not legally enforceable but served as a public signal that unlicensed access to Reddit's content was unwelcome.

There is an irony in the current AEO problem: Reddit has simultaneously struck licensing deals with AI companies — including OpenAI — to allow their models to train on Reddit content for commercial use. The platform is, at once, selling its data to AI and struggling to keep AI-driven manipulation out of its communities.

Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.

Glasses, pendants, AirPods, watches and what else? Apple may not reveal everything at WWDC, but it should start discussing the changes to AI that are coming.

Amazon has just been hit with a class-action lawsuit over its controversial facial recognition feature in Ring video doorbell cameras.

The lawsuit was filed on Monday in Seattle by Virginia resident Charles Sigwalt. The suit seeks $5 million in damages.

Last fall, Amazon launched a new "Familiar Faces" feature inside Ring doorbells. Utilizing AI, Familiar Faces scans and identifies visitors to a Ring owner's home. When Familiar Faces recognizes a regular visitor — whether it's a family member, mailman, or delivery driver — Ring can tell users who is at their door instead of providing a generic notification.

Familiar Faces is completely optional to use, and Ring owners can turn the feature off if they want. However, as the lawsuit points out, visitors to a Ring doorbell owner's home can't consent before their face is scanned.

"Millions of other Americans passed by a Ring ​security camera and unknowingly had their facial recognition information collected," reads the lawsuit.

Ring has long faced criticism from privacy advocates. In fact, when the Familiar Faces feature was announced in September, it too faced swift blowback from advocacy groups like the EFF, who said that it violated state privacy laws.

"Many biometric privacy laws across the country are clear: Companies need your affirmative consent before running face recognition on you," said an EFF report at the time. The EFF report also pointed out that the Ring feature was unavailable in certain states due to biometric privacy laws.

U.S. Senator Ed Markey also warned about the issues with Familiar Faces in a letter demanding Amazon cancel the rollout of the feature last year.

"This announcement represents a dramatic expansion of surveillance technology, creating vast new privacy and civil liberties risks," Senator Market wrote. "Americans should not have to fear being tracked and recorded while visiting a friend’s home or walking past a neighbor’s house. Amazon should reconsider this decision and abandon its plans to deploy FRT [Facial Recognition Technology]  into its Ring doorbells."

Just earlier this year, Ring faced controversy when it announced in a Super Bowl ad that it would launch a new feature called Search Party in partnership with Flock. This feature would utilize a network of Ring devices in a neighborhood to find a lost pet. Users quickly criticized the idea due to privacy and surveillance concerns, and the partnership between the two companies was cancelled. Leaked emails later uncovered that Ring executives discussed how this feature could be used to track people, too.

Amazon also previously reached a more than $5 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) after it found that employees had access to view and download customers' Ring camera data.

On a warm Tuesday night, the blood of Interview with the Vampire fans ran hot as they gathered at New York City's Beacon Theatre for The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only – LIVE. In promoting the AMC show's much-anticipated third season, titled The Vampire Lestat, Sam Reid pulled a KPop Demon Hunters move, performing live as his fictional rock star persona, Lestat de Lioncourt. 

Tickets for the event were free, available through a fan lottery that urged attendees to dress "rock star chic." Mashable was there, surrounded by the Beautiful Unwell, as Lestat refers to his fans, dressed in black, dripping in sequins and glitter, and hungry for the once-in–a-lifetime experience of seeing the Brat Prince live. But in case you weren't at the packed show, which boasted nearly 2,900 attendees, we've got you covered. Here's everything you'll want to know about The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only – LIVE — including how you can see it for yourself. 

What was The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only – LIVE like? 

Sam Reid is the Vampire Lestat at The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only – LIVE, presented by AMC and AMC+. Credit: AMC

Simply extraordinary. The night kicked off with a red carpet, featuring Interview with the Vampire cast members Sam Reid, Jacob Anderson, Assad Zaman, Eric Bogosian, Delainey Hayles, and Justin Kirk. Also present were new additions for The Vampire Lestat, including Jennifer Ehle, Damien Atkins, Ella Ballentine, Ryan Kattner, Sheila Atim, and Noah Reid. 

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As the red-carpet interviews went on, a line of concert-goers wrapped around the block, waiting to enter the Beacon Theatre. The crowd was dressed to impress in corsets, leather, lace, and various nods to vampire-themed pop culture. (This reporter favored a Lost Boys: A New Musical crop top, red teardrop earrings, black taffeta skirt, and porcelain Doc Martens, topped with an oversized denim jacket splattered with band pins, including Lestat's.)

The energy was festive and joyful. Inside, fans clamored to look over the merch table, the bar with custom cocktails, and the celebrity guests who came to be seen. I was excited to see the Boulet Brothers, the gothic drag queens who host Boulet Brothers' Dragula, another AMC+ show. 

The Boulet Brothers attend "The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only – LIVE." Credit: AMC

Inside the theater, each seat contained a swag bag for attendees. And on an enormous screen above the stage, a sizzle reel played, teasing The Vampire Lestat with footage of a shirtless Reid strutting and mugging at the camera. 

Then came the screams. As the red carpet concluded, Interview with the Vampire's cast came into the theater through a side entrance, near the stage. The theater exploded with noise as Anderson walked in. Then Zaman, and then Delainey. Here's where being 5'2" is an issue. I could see some of these arrivals, but as people took to their feet and whipped out their phones, I lost sight of the door and cannot say for certain who else came inside for the show. 

Eric Bogosian, Jennifer Ehle, Sam Reid, Jacob Anderson, Delainey Hayles, and Assad Zaman at the red carpet for "The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only – LIVE." Credit: AMC

After a brief introduction from an AMC representative about the upcoming premiere on June 7, the lights went down, and the giant screen played the first episode of The Vampire Lestat. It's called "Detroit." And for more on that, I urge you to look at my review.

Obviously, as my review ran ahead of the concert, I'd seen the episode before. But it definitely hits different watching with thousands of other people cheering and cackling throughout. Collectively, we laughed at Lestat's biting wit and petty grievances. (He does not like Daniel Malloy's book!) We cheered as he played "Long Face" before a Detroit audience. We squealed as he got into a brutal battle with a local "fang gang." Once more, screams sounded as Anderson's Louis appeared on-screen for the first time. The same went for Zaman's Armand and Bogosian's Daniel. 

Assad Zaman and Delainey Hayles snap a selfie at "The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only – LIVE." Credit: AMC

The biggest reaction, however, came in the episode's final moments, when a new character made her appearance: Jennifer Ehle as Gabrielle, Lestat's mom and first fledgling. And just like that, the episode ended, and the curtain came up with a full band awaiting Lestat's arrival. 

Sam Reid is mesmerizing as Lestat.

Sam Reid is the Vampire Lestat at The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only – LIVE, presented by AMC and AMC+. Credit: AMC

 Accompanied on guitar by Daniel Hart, who wrote and composed the songs for The Vampire Lestat, Reid took to the stage in character, wearing tight pants, a smug expression, and prosthetic scars on his chest, which are a new detail in this third season. 

Reid's onstage persona evoked David Bowie, Mick Jagger, and Steven Tyler, as he crooned, strutted, flipped his hair, flung a scarf, and generally oozed sex appeal with a crooked grin. At one point, he recreated the shoulder shimmy that drove fans wild in the Season 2 episode where Armand recalls seeing the vampire onstage, performing as a Harlequin for humans. The crowd caught the reference and screamed with appreciation. Occasionally, Reid would reach out a hand out to his audience. He'd crawl on the floor. He made the stage his own. 

Two things Reid did not do that Lestat does in The Vampire Lestat: He did not stage dive (which, considering the setup of the Beacon with its static seats, would have been a serious safety issue), and he did not fly (which, considering several of The Lost Boys producers and director Michael Arden were in the house, seemed a distant possibility). Still, the short set he performed was exhilarating, and left the crowd cheering for an encore that sadly did not come. But could there be more to come in the future? 

Will Lestat perform live again? 

Sam Reid is the Vampire Lestat at The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only – LIVE, presented by AMC and AMC+. Credit: AMC

At this time, AMC has made no announcements about further live performances. Mashable will report more if this story develops. 

How can I see The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only – LIVE? 

Sam Reid is the Vampire Lestat at The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only – LIVE, presented by AMC and AMC+. Credit: AMC

AMC allowed attendees to film the concert on their phones, so there are plenty of clips of the live performance on social media already. And because the stage show was so beautifully lit, even the amateur footage of the performance looks pretty great. However, if you want to see the whole concert, you could be in luck. 

As attendees entered, there was a sign warning that by entering the premises, they agreed to be filmed. Plus, professional camera rigs were on stage with Reid and off, operating on a crane. That all certainly suggests AMC plans to release some version of this live show, probably on their platform. After all, they currently have their Comic-Con panel on AMC+ to stream. 

More on this as it develops. 

What songs did Lestat play live? 

Sam Reid is the Vampire Lestat at The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only – LIVE, presented by AMC and AMC+. Credit: AMC

The set list for The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only – LIVE was a mix of songs that have already been released on streaming and never-before-heard tracks. 

The show opened with "Long Face," the first original track released for the new season. Then, Reid played "Big Bad Wolf." Next, he donned a big furry coat — a nod to the wolf-fur cloak from the novel — for "Your Biggest Fan." The next song was an unreleased track called "The Loneliness," then "Brutal Love," which Anderson teased to fans as his favorites. Finally, the show closed with a performance of "Butterscotch Bitch," which is now streaming on Apple Music. 

For video from The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only – LIVE, visit my Instagram. 

Were there freebies and swag? 

Left: Credit: Kristy Puchko

Right: What were the freebies at "The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only – LIVE"? Credit: Kristy Puchko

Oh yes. Drink tickets allowed for a free cocktail, with names like The Dark Gift, Little Killer, and Brat Prince. Free popcorn came in boxes with Lestat’s face on them. 

At the seats, a black tote bag commemorated The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only – LIVE with a big graphic logo. Inside was a copy of Rolling Stone, with a back cover dedicated to Lestat. A guitar pick with his band's logo was also inside, along with a vinyl record that has "Long Face" on Side A, and "Your Biggest Fan" on the B side. 

If you missed out on this event and the free merch, you can go to AMC to buy some of your own. 

How to watch: The Vampire Lestat  debuts on AMC and AMC+ June 7, with new episodes weekly.

UPDATE: Jun. 3, 2026, 5:50 p.m. This article has been updated with photos of The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only – LIVE, courtesy of AMC.

BUY $100 GIFT CARD, GET $15 BEST BUY GIFT CARD: As of June 3, buy a $100 Nordstrom Rack gift card at Best Buy and get a $15 Best Buy gift card.

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Credit: Amazon

$100 Nordstrom Rack gift card + $15 Best Buy gift card

$100 at Best Buy

 

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Planning on getting some shopping done? Nordstrom Rack has tons of goodies to choose from, with a wide variety of your favorite brands at discounted prices. A $100 gift card for you or someone else is a great investment. But you know what's even better? Buying a gift card and getting one back. That's exactly what you'll get with this Best Buy deal, which basically is giving you money in return to go on a shopping spree at Nordstrom Rack.

As of June 3, buy a $100 Nordstrom Rack gift card at Best Buy and get a $15 Best Buy gift card. You'll get it in the form of an e-gift card, and it'll be sent out when your order is fulfilled or when you pick it up in-store. All you need to do is provide your email address, which you'll need to do anyway for a Best Buy online order, and you'll be set. You'll have to look out for an email to respond to confirm your gift card, and that has to be done within 60 days.

You can use the Nordstrom Rack gift card in-store and online and at Nordstrom itself, Nordstrom Rack, and HauteLook. As far as your Best Buy gift card, it works just like a normal one would, so you can use it to take some cash off of a purchase or give it to someone else if you're feeling generous.

This is a great way to get a bit of cash back for just doing regular shopping, so if you're already buying a gift card, it's a good idea to go ahead and grab one (or two) for gifting.

SAVE 28%: As of June 3, you can get the PlayStation DualSense wireless controller in Midnight Black for just $54 at Amazon, down from $74.99. That's a 28% discount or $20.99 savings.

PlayStation DualSense wireless controller

$54 at Amazon
$74.99 Save $20.99

 

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I know we're still a few weeks out from Prime Day (starting June 23), but Amazon's throwing out early discounts left and right. And if you're looking for a new PS5 controller, now's the time to get one.

As of June 3, you can get the PlayStation DualSense wireless controller in Midnight Black for just $54 at Amazon, down from $74.99. That's a 28% discount or $20.99 savings. It's also the lowest price we've seen this controller go for since last December.

This controller comes with features like haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, plus a built-in mic and a headphone jack, so you can chat with your friends. You also don't need a console to use it; you can connect the DualSense controller to a PC, Mac, or phone using Bluetooth or a USB-C cord. (The controller doesn't come with a cable, so you'll have to use one you already have at home.)

There’s a "deal selling fast" badge right on the listing, and I believe it. Over 10,000 people have bought one in the past month alone. So if you need an extra controller or just want to replace a busted one, you might want to jump on this deal before it's gone.

SAVE 46%: As of June 3, you can get the Sony WH-CH520 wireless headphones for $38 at Amazon, down from $69.99. That's a 46% discount or $31.99 savings.

Sony WH-CH520 wireless headphones

$38 at Amazon
$69.99 Save $31.99

 

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With Prime Day right around the corner (can you believe it's that time of year again?), Amazon's getting customers ready with Early Prime Day deals — there's a little tab for it and everything.

One of the best deals I've seen so far is on the Sony WH-CH520 wireless headphones. These babies will usually cost you around $69.99, but Amazon's selling them for $38 right now. Of course, there's a "deal selling fast" badge on the page, because this is obviously a steal. It's also the lowest price we've ever tracked for these headphones. (If Amazon's already giving us record-low prices, then we can't wait to see what they'll do when the actual sale's here.)

For less than $40, you'll get up to 50 hours of playback on a single charge (if you run out of juice, a quick three-minute charge will get you an extra 90 minutes), hands-free calling, and multi-device connection. They're not noise-canceling, but for $40 and a name like Sony, can you really beat these features?

SAVE $50.01: As of June 3, get the Eufy Security SoloCam E30 for $99.98 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $149.99. That's a discount of 33%.

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Credit: Amazon

Eufy Security SoloCam E30

$99.98 at Amazon
$149.99 Save $50.01

 

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A great security camera is a must if you want to make sure you keep an eye on your home. Whether you want to be able to watch your porch when you're away for people who could steal your packages or just have an idea of who darkens your doorstep, they're a great help when it comes to peace of mind. And if you want a simple option that can help with all those things without breaking the bank, we've found one that's on sale now.

As of June 3, get the Eufy Security SoloCam E30 for $99.98 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $149.99. That's $50.01 off and a discount of 33%.

This camera offers 360-degree vision to show you every corner and nook and cranny wherever you place it. Its wide viewing angle makes it a no-brainer for your yard, driveway, porch, or wherever you want an extra pair of eyes. It has 2K footage that offers great image quality as well as a removable solar panel to provide plenty of additional battery power with just two hours of sun daily.

It uses AI motion detection and built-in smart tracking to keep an eye on people, cars, pets, and other security events to keep the false alerts to a minimum. And perhaps the most important part of all is the fact that it doesn't require a monthly fee to use. You can simply insert a microSD card to record all your footage and save it locally.

If you need a security camera with all the bells and whistles of a more expensive option, this one is it. Just be sure to grab it while it's on sale.

PREORDERS ARE LIVE: Hurry to snag a limited-edition Heated Rivalry Fleece from Province of Canada for $257. The brand expects to ship all orders between Oct. 1 and 15. Preorders are limited to one Fleece per order.

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Credit: Province of Canada

'Heated Rivalry' fleece

$257 at Province of Canada

 

Pre-order Here

We've been waiting for this moment. The Heated Rivalry Fleece is finally here, and we're gonna wear it to the cottage every day. Here's what you need to know.

Preorders for the Heated Rivalry Fleece went live at Province of Canada at noon E.T. on June 3. The Fleece is selling for $257 USD ($356 CAD), and the shipping fee to the U.S. is set at $25 CAD, which works out to about $18 USD. Orders are limited to one fleece per customer; however, more than one order can ship to the same address.

Keep in mind that Fleeces are not eligible for return or exchange. At the time of preorder, there are no additional duties, taxes, or tariffs on products shipped from Canada to the U.S. However, that could change between now and the expected shipping date in October.

Yes, the price is steep, but for some people, it's well worth the investment. The Fleece was designed and made in Canada, in collaboration with Heated Rivalry costume designer Hanna Puley. The outer sherpa fleece material contains wool and recycled polyester, while the inner is lined in a cotton fabric for extra comfort and breathability. The zipper pulls say "Heated Rivalry," while the back features the iconic "Canada" black lettering.

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Sizes range from XS to 5XL, and you can check out the size chart here to make sure you get the perfect fit.

Happy shopping, loons!

SAVE $30: As of June 3, the Mashable-approved JLab JBuds Lux ANC headphones are down to just $49.95 at Amazon in several color options. That's 38% off their list price of $79.99.

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Credit: JLab

JLab JBuds Lux ANC headphones

$49.95
$79.99 Save $30.04

 

Get Deal

For headphones you've probably never heard of, the JLab JBuds Lux ANC have earned quite a few accolades from Mashable's shopping team. Not only did we crown them the best budget headphones for students and the best noise-cancelling budget pick for flying, but also the best budget headphones overall in 2026. In other words, if you want a solid pair of over-ear noise-cancelling headphones that won't break the bank, our vote goes to the JBuds Lux ANC — particularly when they're on sale.

As of June 3, the Mashable-approved JLab JBuds Lux ANC headphones are down to only $49.95 at Amazon in sage green, mauve, cloud white, and graphite. That's $30 or 38% off their list price of $79.99. There's a good chance we'll see an even better price drop come Prime Day (June 23-26), but if you don't feel like waiting, this discount is pretty dang good.

So, what makes these headphones stand out amongst the rest?

"They have functional ANC, decent comfort, great sound balance, and a killer battery life, all with a design that doesn't feel overtly budget-friendly," according to Bethany Allard, one of Mashable's headphones experts. While they won't completely silence the world around you like high-dollar headphones, they can certainly take the edge off in a loud environment.

Allard adds that you'll probably want to play around with the EQ to find the preset or settings that sound best to you. But once you do, you'll be wowed.

They may not be the crème de la crème of noise-cancelling headphones, but the JLab JBuds Lux ANC will have you feeling like you're balling on a budget. They're hard to beat even at full price, but we certainly won't complain about a $30 discount.