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Apple Intelligence allegedly misled BBC News readers and BBC News isn't happy about it.

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In a story reported by BBC News itself, the outlet accused Apple's suite of AI features (which includes the ability to summarize news headlines in push notifications) of writing and sending out a blatantly false push notification to users. In this case, the push notification read that Luigi Mangione, recently arrested in connection with the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson, had shot himself. That headline is false, and no such event has occurred at the time of publication.

SEE ALSO: Apple Intelligence on Mac: 5 AI-powered features you can test right now

"Luigi Mangione shoots himself; Syrian mother hopes Assad pays the price; South Korea police raid Yoon Suk Yeol's office," the notification read in full. Apple Intelligence appears to have rounded up three separate news stories into one summary notification. Interestingly, only the Mangione one is incorrect; the others are accurate representations of the news stories they are referencing.

BBC News has complained to Apple about this, but Apple has yet to comment on it. Apple Intelligence was introduced to iPhones and other Apple devices earlier this year, with the feature set being greatly expanded with the launch of iOS 18.2 earlier this week. If Apple is going to keep trying with AI, it might be prudent to clean up some of these issues before lawyers get involved.

Mashable has reached out to Apple for comment and will update if we hear back.

One of the most unpopular new Windows features is doing a lot to earn that reputation.

Microsoft Recall, which is an AI-driven tool that constantly screenshots your PC activity to build a searchable database of everything you've ever done, apparently can't always filter out sensitive information like credit card and Social Security numbers. This is according to real-life testing done by Tom's Hardware, which found that this information (whether it was dummy text or real) would occasionally still get captured by Recall screenshots, which could theoretically then be viewed by someone else.

SEE ALSO: I just demoed Windows 11 Recall: 3 useful features that may surprise you

The security risks here are numerous and obvious. There is a filter for cutting out sensitive information from Recall screenshots that is on by default (imagine if it wasn't), but per Tom's Hardware, it only works some of the time. On obvious e-commerce websites, credit card numbers generally get filtered out. But in other places, like PDF forms, the filter doesn't catch them.

Recall has easily been the most talked-about and controversial part of Microsoft's recent push into artificial intelligence. It's been called a "disaster" by security experts, and underwent a delay earlier this year, ultimately being released for testing in October.

If you do a lot of shopping online, maybe think about turning Recall off.

Tumblr is taking a page from Reddit and Facebook with its new "Communities" feature, which are digital spaces like subreddits and Facebook groups.

"Communities are a new and easy way to connect with the people on Tumblr who get it," Tumblr said in a post announcing the feature. "You can invite mutuals who share your obsessions to a private Community or start a public Community for the things you love and watch all the new friends pile in. Like a clown car, Communities can fit (almost) as many people in ‘em as you want."

Communities — which allows users to create a space for anything from a D&D campaign to cat photos — has been available to some users in beta but officially launched across the platform on web, iOS, and Android on Thursday, Dec. 12.

SEE ALSO: The inside story of how Tumblr lost its way

You can get started by browsing though Communities that already exist, like aesthetic, writing, and TV shows, or you can create your own Community.

It's not a huge surprise that Tumblr would copy its more successful social media sisters. The platform has been struggling to maintain relevancy after it banned porn in 2018, and it's kind of the Thing Platforms Do — copy whatever else is successful and see if you can't make it slightly better. Look at Instagram Reels copying TikTok, or Facebook Stories copying Snapchat. So...TikTok Communities when?

You can now talk to Google's AI hosts that, in effect, will turn your meeting notes into a podcast.

NotebookLM, Google's AI-powered teaching tool, first debuted the Audio Overview tool in October. In short, it takes source material — e.g., meeting notes, diary entries, legal briefs — and condenses it into a podcast-like product where two AI hosts discuss the pertinent info. The idea is to provide a different mode of taking in the information, perhaps for the person too busy to read or who learns better via audio.

SEE ALSO: Google's crazy AI podcasting tool NotebookLM gets some upgrades

Now, in theory, you could ask the AI hosts questions should confusion arise or you need more info.

Wrote Google in a blog post about the update to NotebookLM:

"Over the last three months, people have generated more than 350 years worth of Audio Overviews. Today, we’re starting to roll out the ability to 'join' the conversation. Using your voice, you can ask the hosts for more details or to explain a concept differently. It’s like having a personal tutor or guide who listens attentively, and then responds directly, drawing from the knowledge in your sources."

Google did warn that it's a new feature and that the AI hosts may "pause awkwardly before responding and may occasionally introduce inaccuracies." That's to be expected, considering AI introducing inaccuracies isn't exactly a new or novel problem.

You can find the new tool by clicking the "Interactive mode (BETA)" button on a new audio interview.

California continues to build out what is already one of the largest clean vehicle networks in America, made up of more than 150,000 public and shared private electric vehicle (EV) chargers.

On Dec.11, the California Energy Commission (CEC) announced another $1.4 billion investment in its charging and hydrogen refueling network, the largest in the country, serving light, medium, and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles.

"An important part of achieving our clean car future is building chargers in every corner of California, especially in neighborhoods historically left behind. With this investment, and the help of the private sector, we’re building a bigger, better vehicle charging network that ensures Californians can reliably and affordably get where they’re going," said California governor Gavin Newsom.

SEE ALSO: Was your phone targeted by China's Salt Typhoon hack? Your provider might not tell you.

The billion-dollar allocation will see a four-year deployment of 17,000 more chargers, with the goal of reaching 250,000 chargers in the next few years. The announcement comes as part of California's Clean Transportation Program, a funding effort to deploy zero-emission transportation and fuel technologies as part of the state's climate change goals.

The Biden administration has invested heavily in building out the country's electric vehicle infrastructure through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, with a wave of clean energy fund announcements as his term nears it end. On Dec. 12, the Department of Energy (DOE) unveiled a $1.25 billion loan guarantee to EVgo Swift Borrower, operators of the nation's largest EV charging networks. The loan will see 7,500 new fast chargers added nationwide.

"There are currently more than 204,000 publicly available charging ports, with nearly 38,000 new public chargers already having been added this year and nearly 1,000 new public chargers being added every week thanks to a combination of direct federal funding, federal tax incentives, state and local funding, and private investment," the DOE explained.

In October, the administration announced $44 million in funding to reduce EV battery costs and reduce their environmental impact. In November, the Department of Energy released. $70 million in funding for small- and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs), specifically targeting the automative and electric vehicle industry. The agency simultaneously announced $17 million in grant funding for local and territorial governments to "improve energy efficiency, reduce climate pollution, and lower overall energy use."

On day seven of "12 Days of OpenAI," the company announced Projects in ChatGPT — a way to customize and organize your chats.

Well, they aren't all going to be bangers. But this one has been deemed useful by the OpenAI team for creating and organizing various projects by pulling ChatGPT's various capabilities into one place. That includes Canvas support and connection to the web via ChatGPT Search.

SEE ALSO: Why is ChatGPT's Santa Mode only for ages 13 and up?

Today's announcement wasn't a massive technological breakthrough like Sora or GPT-5 (if that's still happening). Instead, it focused on user experience tweaks to make ChatGPT more of an everything app, that's your go-to for writing, research, programming, web-search, and soon to come executing multi-step tasks. It may have not been a super exciting update, but it hints at OpenAI's plans to further embed ChatGPT into everyday life.

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In the demo, CPO Kevin Weil, joined by OpenAI's Drew Schuster and Thomas Dimson showed how Projects could be used to create a Secret Santa project. Schuster uploaded the Secret Santa group and their requests, then asked ChatGPT to randomly assign them to each other. He then asked ChatGPT to draft an email to the group. In another example, Schuster uploaded notes about various home appliances and used ChatGPT to ask when he should change the water filter in his fridge. This is useful if you're super organized and already wrote down important notes about home maintenance. Or you could check your notes.

Moving on, Dimson used Projects to create a personal website while leaning on ChatGPT Canvas to modify the website template. ChatGPT recognized the template code and correctly made the modifications.

Projects was shipped (live in the livestream) to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Teams users, with Enterprise and Edu users receiving the feature early in the new year.

The holiday season, for many, is more of a shopping season – and with lots of online shopping comes the need to track a lot of packages. Google, however, is making keeping track of all those packages a little easier, through an update to one of Gmail’s best features.

Credit: Google

The Gmail package-tracking feature was first launched in 2022, allowing users to tap on an email to get a summary of a package's status, including when it was shipped and when it's expected to arrive. For this holiday season, however, the feature is getting a bit of an update to make it even more useful. It's easy to make use of too, though you will have to enable it.

Enabling it is pretty easy if you have a package on the way. All you have to do is open up an email related to a package, and tap the "Allow" button under the prompt notifying you that you can track your packages in Gmail. 

SEE ALSO: Google announces 'agentic' Gemini 2.0 with image and audio support

Alternatively, you can preemptively enable package tracking so that it’s on and ready to go when you start shopping. To do so, all you need to do is open the Gmail app on your phone, then tap on the three-line menu button on the top left-hand corner. Hit the "Settings" option, then look for "General Settings" on Android or "Data Privacy" on iOS, and find the "Package Tracking" option. Opt into it, and you should be good to go.

After you do so, you’ll get cards at the top of your inbox telling you the status of any packages as those statuses change or delivery dates approach, and you’ll get expanded cards at the top of related emails – which will allow you to jump straight to tracking or details related to the package.

You only need to opt into package tracking once, and after you do so, Gmail will automatically track your packages – handy for those who buy a lot online.

Features like this are likely to get increasingly supercharged over the next few years, as AI becomes more integrated with our digital lives. It's not hard to imagine a not-too-distant future when you’ll be able to ask Google’s Gemini for a summary of packages, only to have it surface these cards in the Gemini interface. In fact, it’s so not hard to imagine that I had to check that it didn’t already work (it doesn't). You can, however, ask Gemini in the Gmail window to summarize any packages, and it'll do its best to do so in text form. While it wasn't quite perfect when I tried this, it got pretty close, surfacing information about packages that were recently delivered, and some that I'm expecting over the next few days.

Regardless, Gmail’s package tracking tool makes things a little more visual and a little more seamless.

RaMell Ross' Nickel Boys has already picked up Best Picture nominations from the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, as well as a spot on Mashable's list of the best movies of 2024. Now, a new trailer gives us a closer look at the much-lauded film.

SEE ALSO: The 25 best movies of 2024, and where to watch them

Adapted from Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, Nickel Boys relies heavily on first-person POV shots to put the audience in the visceral position of identifying with its protagonists in Jim Crow-era Florida. We inhabit the perspective of 16-year-old Elwood Curtis (Ethan Herisse), who is wrongfully sent to the Nickel Academy "reform" school, which Whitehead based on the Dozier School for Boys in Florida. There, Elwood and other students endure unbearable abuse from the staff. Yet Elwood also finds a friend in fellow student Turner (Brandon Wilson), whose POV we also inhabit at times.

In his review for Mashable, Siddhant Adlakha writes, "The camera constructs a powerful sense of self and personhood through the kind of thoughtful, propulsive artistry the American mainstream has seldom seen, making its opposition to violence and racist oppression wholly self-evident through its visual approach. The film is unlike anything else, but it feels intimately familiar."

Nickel Boys is now in limited theaters.

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With Thanksgiving falling so late in the month in 2024, it feels like Christmas is sneaking up on us. Even if you got a head start on holiday shopping during Black Friday, you might be looking at your list, checking it twice, and realizing you've still got a lot more gifts to cross off. We're now less than two weeks away from Christmas and with all the last minute shopping that many of us are doing, products might end up with delayed deliveries.

Don't get stuck with nothing under the tree this year, as Amazon's made it easy to find products that will arrive by tomorrow. And if you want a hand, we sorted through the best deal at Amazon that are available to arrive next-day.

How do I find products that arrive by Christmas? Amazon makes it easy to find deals that ship the next-day with its delivery filters. Credit: Mashable

If you don't want to read every product's listing to see when it will ship, Amazon has a filter for sorting deals. Along the sidebar, you can filter products by delivery day. That way you can find items that will arrive by tomorrow. And if you're in a super time crunch, you can even find same-day shipping available.

Best next-day deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon Echo Dot $22.99 at Amazon
$49.99 Save $27.00 Get Deal Why we like it

The Amazon Echo device line-up is sprawling. You can find everything from a multitasking smart speaker to a touchscreen smart home hub. The best next-day deal on Echo devices right now is the Amazon Echo Dot. This device has a quality speaker and built-in assistant, so you can play music just by calling out to Alexa.

Not only does it arrive by tomorrow, but it's down 54% ahead of the holidays. Find it for just $22.99, saving you $27.

More next-day Amazon deals

• Amazon Echo Pop — $17.99 $39.99 (save $22)

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• Levoit Top Fill Humidifier — $29.99 $39.99 (save $10)

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• Cosori 6-Quart Air Fryer —$87.99 $119.99 (save $32)

• Amazon Fire 10 HD Kids Tablet — $109.99 $189.99 (save $80)

• Bose QuietComfort earbuds – $129 $179 (save $50)

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• Breville Espresso Machine — $549.95 $749.95 (save $200)

Shop our top picks from the Discover Samsung sale:

Discover Samsung Sale Deals Best TV Deal Samsung 75-inch The Frame QLED 4K TV $1599.99 (Save $400) Get Deal Best Phone Deal Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 $1,399.99 (Save $500) Get Deal Best Smartwatch Deal Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra $489.99 (Save $160) Get Deal

Though the holidays are right around the corner, there's still time to save on some of the gifts your tech-savvy loved ones have been asking for all year. You can rely on events like the Discover Samsung Sale to deliver some great prices on goodies like TVs, phones, watches, tablets, and more even when it's the last minute before time to give out presents from beneath the tree.

Right now, you can score great savings as part of the winter Discover Samsung event, which is chock-full of goodies you won't want to pass up. From the picturesque Samsung The Frame 4K TV that you can utilize as an art canvas in your living room to the versatile Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, there's a little something for everyone on sale.

To make things easier for you, we've highlighted a few of our favorite items that are on sale right now. Check them out below and make sure you snap up what you're interested in before these sale prices disappear.

Best TV deal Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung 75-inch The Frame QLED 4K TV $1,599.99 at Samsung
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This TV is far more than just a TV. It's a gorgeous, 4K OLED canvas that you can hang up in your living room and turn into a work of art when you're finished watching your favorite shows and movies. It features a wide variety of art from Vincent van Gogh, Frida Kahlo, and other artists from the New York Museum of Modern Art. But you can also watch reality TV and action flicks on it, which is an amusing fact. This fan-favorite TV is heavily discounted, so if you've been waiting for the perfect centerpiece for your living room, you may just have found it here.

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If you've been thinking about trying a new folding phone, you can't go wrong with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6, which opens up to a large, tablet-like screen to give you double the real estate. When closed, it functions like a normal smartphone so you can call and text, but the larger screen gives you plenty of room for apps, gaming, and whatever your heart desires. Plus, with Samsung's Galaxy AI features, you have access to a whole additional world of functionality, including photo editing tools that you'll love.

Best smartwatch deal Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra $489.99 at Samsung
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Tired of your Apple Watch? Or know someone who wants an Android-based smartwatch instead? The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 doesn't disappoint. Mashable's Alex Perry praised its "big and useful display" as well as its "thorough suite of health and fitness features" and "more than adequate battery life." It's a great option for Android users and a sleek watch in its own right, with all the functionality you'd expect from a smartwatch and the design you'd want from a traditional one.

More Samsung deals

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Mr. Altman and OpenAI have recently hired key executives who previously worked for the Clinton, Obama and Biden administrations.

You're heartbroken, and you're on Instagram. You type in your ex's name through tears in the search bar. It was a messy breakup; you squint so you can't see whether they archived photos of you two, and with shaky fingers, you tap their profile and unfollow them. 

The next day, you see a tagged photo of them at the top of your feed. Their friend — who you still follow — posted it. Once again, you're in tears. You're spiraling. How did this happen?

SEE ALSO: Social media dos and don'ts after a breakup

Likely, "the" algorithm. Across the internet, users have complained about being confronted by profiles and memories they'd rather not see. If that's happened to you, you're not alone — researchers spoke to Mashable about why this happens, and what you (and the platforms) can do about it.

How do algorithms work?

Social media algorithms are complex, and the platforms don't reveal a lot about their inner workings. What we do know is that social media networks rely heavily on who you interact with; Instagram, for example, states that its "algorithm relies on 'signals' based on how you interact with the app, and how other people interact with you." The posts you see depend on who you engage with — your "network," naturally.

A lot of algorithms make assumptions based on who you're interacting with, often for months or years, data scientist Kristine Snyder told Mashable. If suddenly you don't want to act with one or more people you shared a lot of data with for years, the algorithm may not figure that out quickly.

Algorithms "just look at whether those connections were there before and assume that they're still there until there is sufficient data to say that they're not," Snyder said. "And it can take a significant amount of time for there to be sufficient data for the algorithm to understand that those connections are not there anymore."

Why social algorithms hurt post-breakup

Humans react to a breakup with empathy; not so with an algorithm. "Algorithms are not generally encoded to be empathic," Snyder said. If there's no feedback mechanism in a network — like blocking someone — the algorithm needs time to gather new data to determine you don't want to interact with this person anymore.

"Algorithms are not generally encoded to be empathic."

"You can't capture the totality of human life and human experience into bits and bytes just yet," said assistant teaching professor in the ATLAS Institute at the University of Colorado Boulder, Anthony Pinter. 

Pinter studies life transitions and ways people manage their data after experiencing such transitions — such as breakups. (His recent work is about music and breakups, and he's currently running a survey about breakup songs you can participate in.)

In a 2019 paper "Am I Never Going to Be Free of All This Crap?", Pinter and his co-authors observed that people had unexpected, upsetting encounters with content related to ex-partners due to the Facebook algorithm. This happened in various places on Facebook — the social network in which the paper focused — like on their feed, in groups, or with the "On This Day" memory feature.

The paper also delved into another post-breakup problem: Mutual friends. Even if you unfollow or block your ex, you might still be connected with your ex's friends and family. These connections complicate what you should do with your online presence after a relationship ends. Some people Pinter and his co-authors spoke to for the paper stated it wasn't always appropriate or practical to disconnect from an ex's network. 

Though the paper was published several years ago, "the ways in which these platforms are still leveraging loose ties and third-tier connections to make recommendations, is still potentially problematic," said Pinter, such as recommendations for who you should follow on Facebook or Instagram.

When you break up with someone, "you're breaking up with an entire network to some degree," Snyder said. An algorithm isn't necessarily going to recognize how a whole network of relationships shifts after a breakup.

"Those kinds of things where something was a connection, and then all of a sudden, those connections are broken in a way an algorithm has no way of understanding — that's where issues can come in," she said.

Ultimately, we're not in control of what we see on our social media feeds, so seeing something that upsets us might be inevitable. "When you're not the one making the decisions about what you see, it's really hard to avoid those things that are going to continue causing that hurt and pain in a way where you can heal from it — without just leaving social media altogether," Snyder continued.

What can social media platforms do?

"Humanizing algorithms" is difficult for platforms to do, for multiple reasons.

One reason is because there's a trade-off between stability and responsiveness when building algorithms, Snyder said. Social media algorithms aren't built to adapt to sudden changes like a breakup. "It's just really hard to have an algorithm that's built for one thing to work really well for something else, where things are changing suddenly," she said. 

Another challenge is that different people react to breakups differently. In research published in 2022, Pinter and co-author Jed Brubaker identified two types of people post-breakup: past-focused "archivists" and future-focused "revisionists." The former usually don't delete data off their social media platforms because they believe doing so would be inauthentic to who they are now. The latter type of person does delete data because who they were in the past (or who they were with) isn't who they are moving forward.

"It turns out that to design features for these two very different kinds of people is probably difficult," said Pinter, "because to design a feature for one type of person almost inevitably creates a feature that is going to harm the other type of person." Designing an algorithm that encourages users to delete data may offend the person who believes doing so is inauthentic — but designing something that encourages retention may not work, either.

Pinter has some suggestions for what platforms can do, like giving users better tools to keep memories but keeping them in places that are only accessible to them. That does exist in some form — like Instagram's archive — but the problem with that archive, Pinter said, is that it's hidden and it's "just a bucket that you dump posts into." So he suggests an archive with organizational capacity so users can pick and choose what they see in their archive. 

"There's a really ripe area here for designers and other researchers to think about in the sense of, 'What if it isn't just deletion, but what if our archival features are better?'" Pinter asked. 

Platforms can also provide an easier way to unfollow someone without having to tap on their profile, like the option to do so in the search bar, he said.

A risk of better algorithmic features for breakups is forcing users to provide even more data to platforms than they already do, but there might be ways around that. Features like Facebook's Relationship Status can also be operationalized to tailor algorithmic suggestions or changes if you go from "In A Relationship" to not, Pinter suggested.

SEE ALSO: 31 best breakup movies to mend a shattered heart What can users do to 'fix' their algorithm?

This issue is difficult from both a designer's and a user's perspectives. 

"It's a difficult space to navigate, either as somebody who's had some event in their life, or all of a sudden they are not seeing somebody anymore or for somebody trying to design an algorithm that can possibly deal with those things," Snyder said.

Pinter recommends users delete data if they don't want it to be fodder for recommendations — but even that is imperfect. In the 2019 paper, Pinter observed that "participants who had sworn that they deleted everything, and it turns out they hadn't, so they were still getting sort of upsetting or unexpected recommendations." Pinter also caveated that he himself is a future-facing person, but noted that other research shows that getting space after a breakup is important for healing.

Then again, you might not want to delete your ex from your life. "Network connections are not always that black and white," Snyder said. Sometimes, you might want to unfollow or block your ex, but not in every case.

"It can be really difficult when you undergo some sort of breakup, you don't want to cut out all the good things that you had from that, in addition to like, to having the breakup, you want to remember the good things," she continued. 

That answer lies with you. Most likely, whether you unfriend or keep those loose ties, it will take time for the algorithm to catch up. Pinter also advised users to think carefully about what they post online moving forward.

You can also take a social media break for a while. While there are possible changes platforms can implement to make a break-up easier, they don't exist yet — and taking some space from the platforms themselves might be the best solution right now. When in tears, exit the Instagram app.

Check out the best Amazon deals of the day as of Dec. 13: OUR TOP PICK Instacart gift card $85 (save $15) Get Deal BEST EARBUDS DEAL Amazon Echo Buds $24.99 (save $25) Get Deal BEST GIFT DEAL AncestryDNA + Traits genetic testing kit $39 (save $80) Get Deal BEST SPEAKER DEAL Sonos Era 100 $199 (save $50) Get Deal BEST HOME SECURITY DEAL Blink Outdoor 4 (3-pack) $129.99 (save $130) Get Deal

Shopping on a budget? Allow us to help. Amazon has tons of deals to sort through, but we've highlighted a few of the best ones we think are actually worth grabbing on Friday, Dec. 13. No need to overspend — can save up to 67% on brands like Echo, Sonos, Instacart, and more.

Here are our top picks for the best Amazon deals of the day. If none of these are your cup of tea, be sure to check out our picks from Dec. 11 and Dec. 12 as well. Many of those are still live, including the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 at its best price ever and the Yeti Hopper M15 soft cooler for a record-low $210.

Our top pick: $100 Instacart gift card Opens in a new window Credit: Instacart Instacart gift card $85.00 at Amazon
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While it may not be the most glamorous gift in the world, everyone needs groceries. And it's no secret that grocery prices are extremely steep. Not only will $100 worth of free groceries go a long way for someone in your life, but they can also get them delivered to their door on a day they dread going out to the store. For a limited time, you can save $15 on an Instacart gift card at Amazon. Just add the $100 gift card option to your cart and the savings will be applied automatically.

Amazon Echo Buds Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon Echo Buds $24.99 at Amazon
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While they may not offer noise cancellation like the previously released version, the 2023 Echo Buds sound great, last up to 20 hours with the charging case, are simple to use, pair seamlessly with other Alexa devices, and have a price tag that's hard to beat. As Mashable reviewer SaVanna Shoemaker noted, "For the price, the Echo Buds are a solid pair of wireless earbuds." As of Dec. 13, you can grab a pair for only $24.99 — that's 50% off and matches the record-low from Black Friday.

AncestryDNA + Traits genetic testing kit Opens in a new window Credit: AncestryDNA AncestryDNA + Traits genetic testing kit $39.00 at Amazon
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A DNA test kit from AncestryDNA can help you connect with your family and understand yourself on a deeper level by testing your origins in over 2,600 global regions. You'll be able to connect with living relatives (if they've also taken an AncestryDNA test), so you can find long-lost cousins and uncles. Plus, you'll get insight into 40+ genetic traits, so you can see how your genes have influenced your appearance, fitness, sensory characteristics, and beyond — all from a spit sample. It's usually $119 per kit, but as of Dec. 13, you'll pay just $39 at Amazon. If you're at a loss for a gift idea this season, scoop this up.

Sonos Era 100 Opens in a new window Credit: Sonos Sonos Era 100 $199.00 at Amazon
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Launched last year as a replacement for the now obsolete Sonos One, the Sonos Era 100 is capable of producing stereo sound on its own (unlike its predecessor). It also refreshed the controls on top with a capacitive volume control and a new button to turn off the voice assistant, has a slightly taller build, and added two tweeters. It's usually $249, but as of Dec. 13, you can snag it for just $199 at Amazon. That's a savings of 20%.

Blink Outdoor 4 (3-pack) Opens in a new window Credit: Blink Blink Outdoor 4 (3-pack) $129.99 at Amazon
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When it comes to budget-friendly security cameras, the Blink Outdoor 4 is hard to beat — especially when you can get three for only $129.99. Usually $259.99, that's 50% in savings. The Blink Outdoor 4 works seamlessly with other Alexa-enabled devices, comes with customizable motion zones, offers infrared night vision and two-way audio, and has a battery life that'll last two full years. It's one of our favorite security cameras for anyone hoping to keep an eye on things around their home day or night. And with a three-pack, you can cover every inch of your home's perimeter.

None of these deals catching your eye? Check out Amazon's daily deals for even more savings.

YouTube notified its subscribers on Thursday that, once again, YouTube TV prices are going up.

Subscriptions to the cable TV alternative are increasing from $72.99 to $82.99 a month for the Base plan. The $10 price hike is already in effect for new subscribers, and will increase on Jan. 13, 2025 for existing subscribers. According to YouTube TV's support page, "due to the rising cost of content, we’ve updated our membership pricing to reflect the complete value of YouTube TV."

SEE ALSO: YouTube TV: Here's what you need to know

The days of cord-cutting for cheaper subscriptions to streaming platforms are long gone. But the cost of streaming subscriptions is getting to the point where it's the same — or cheaper to opt for cable. According to CableTV.com, which analyzed dozens of different plans, the average cost of cable is $83 and the average cost of cable and internet combined is $134. So it's pretty comparable if you're paying for a YouTube TV subscription on top of your WiFi plan.

When YouTube TV first launched in 2017 with a $35-a-month plan, it was a clearly appealing choice for cord-cutters. But since then, the price has crept up incrementally to the $83 price tag we have today. Unfortunately, other live TV packages are pretty much the same. The basic Hulu plan with live TV is $82 and that's without the ESPN+ and Disney+ add-ons.

If you're a football fan trying to catch every NFL game of the season, you can say goodbye to your money right now. Mashable's Tim Marcin did the math and discovered it would cost a whopping $891.36 to watch every game across all of the different streaming platforms, including YouTube TV's NFL Sunday Ticket which is an additional four payments of $95 on top of the base plan.

Football streaming aside, if YouTube TV's new price hike is too much, you can always cancel your membership. And maybe it's time to start thinking about cable again.

Telecommunications giants AT&T and Verizon haven't addressed the full scope of victims of an ongoing Chinese phone data hacking campaign, according to a new NBC report.

In a media call last week, the FBI told the press that they have yet to fully evict Chinese state-sponsored hackers from U.S. networks and that the agency has spent the past months alerting "high-value intelligence targets" — including the campaigns of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris — to the extent of the hack, mainly those of interest to the U.S. government.

But the vast majority of the near-million people affected are most likely average Americans, and most of them have yet to be notified that they're victims. According to NBC, the telecom companies haven't clarified plans to notify customers, either.

SEE ALSO: 5 holiday scams that could wreck your season

The China-backed espionage campaign, labelled Salt Typhoon by Microsoft threat detectors, has utilized what is known as advanced persistent threat (APT) attacks to invade at least eight telecommunications companies for the purposes of exposing personal, individual communications. Recent investigations unearthed the years-long initiative involved the hacking of Americans' data in addition to the monitoring of political targets' communications. It's been called the "worst telecom hack in [U.S.] history by far," by Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Senator Mark R. Warner.

According to NBC, Salt Typhoon also accessed device metadata for non-intelligence targets mainly in the Washington D.C. area, which could have been used to track movements and personal communications although does not provide the content of said communications.

The FCC mandates telecom companies notify customers only when its been established that customers have been or could be harmed by the breach. This includes "financial harm, physical harm, identity theft, theft of services, potential for blackmail, the disclosure of private facts, the disclosure of contact information for victims of abuse, and other similar types of dangers." But definitions and the scope of the breach's harm is up to the discretion of companies themselves.

So far, most of the affected telecom networks have remained tight-lipped over the breach. T-Mobile has alerted customers that an infiltration of their network happened, but have retained that hackers were evicted and no customer data was actually accessed.

Mr. Musk is wielding his X account to single out federal employees and agencies for cuts. He has used this method before.

Best Target Holiday Countdown Sale Best headphone deal Bose QuietComfort Headphones $199.99 at Target (Save $150) Get Deal Best gaming deal PlayStation 5 Slim Console (Digital Edition) $374.99 at Target (Save $75) Get Deal Best kitchen deal Ninja Creami $179.99 (Save $50) Get Deal

Just when we thought we were done with the holiday shopping events this year, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday wrapping up, Target is springing one last savings event on us. From Dec. 12 to 14, Target is running its holiday countdown sale event to keep a little extra in your wallet this holiday season.

The deals are expansive, with Target offering sales on every category from clothing, beauty, toys, kitchen, home, and tech. You can find this year's hottest products, including the PlayStation 5 and the Ninja Creami.

Plus, find special offers including $10 off when you spend $50 on toys & craft kits. Here are the best deals to shop during Target's holiday countdown sale.

Best headphones deal Opens in a new window Credit: Bose Bose QuietComfort headphones $199.99 at Target
$349.99 Save $150.00 Get Deal Why we like it

We know and love Bose headphones for their exceptional comfort and impressive sound, but they're one of the pricier models among the headphones we've tested. Bose's base QuietComfort headphones provide a more budget-friendly alternative — especially when they're on sale.

The Bose QuietComfort headphones are down to $199.99 during Target's holiday countdown event. That saves you $150, for 43% off.

Best gaming deal Opens in a new window Credit: Sony PlayStation 5 Slim Console (Digital Edition) $374.99 at Target
$449.99 Save $75.00 Get Deal Why we like it

Anytime the PS5 goes on sale, we're all eyes. While the Cyber Week sales on the console were limited and fleeting, Target is giving you one last chance to snag the device ahead of the holidays.

Find the PlayStation 5 Slim Console for just $374.99, saving $75 off its listing price. The Slim edition of the device provides a slightly smaller frame, without cutting back on the tech. Plus, this device is on the digital edition model, so you don't have to worry about switching out discs when you play. Instead, store all your games with the device's 1TB of storage.

Grab it now for 17% off, and there's still plenty of time for it to arrive by Christmas.

Best kitchen deal Opens in a new window Credit: Ninja Ninja Creami $179.99 at Target
$229.99 Save $50.00 Get Deal Why we like it

The Ninja Creami is that girl. TikTok loves this ice cream maker and so do I, as it makes whipping up sweet treats a breeze. In just minutes, the Ninja Creami spins your frozen concoctions into smooth, creamy desserts.

For the person on your list with a sweet tooth, get them the Creami know that it's down to $179.99. You'll save $50 for 22% savings.

More Target holiday deals to shop

• Amazon Echo Pop — $17.99 $39.99 (save $22)

• Amazon Kindle Paperwhite — $134.99 $159.99 (save $25)

• Oura Ring Gen3 Horizon — $349 $499 (save $150)

• PlayStation 5 Slim Console — $424.99 $499.99 (save $75)

Target Countdown Sale Offers

• Save $10 when you spend $50 on toys & craft kits

• Save 30% on kids' & baby clothing and cold-weather accessories

• Save 30% on women's & men's holiday party clothing

• Save 30% on select beauty gift sets

• Save 30% on kitchen appliances

BUY TWO, GET ONE FREE: As of Dec. 13, buy two, get one free on select kids' books at Target with a Target Circle membership.

Opens in a new window Credit: Target Buy two, get one free kids' books for Target Circle members Get Deal

Whether your kid is a voracious early reader or you love to curl up with them before bed and enjoy a story together, keeping a well-stocked library is always a good idea. But books don't go on trees, and it can be costly to buy several at a time, especially if you have multiple munchkins. That's why it's a great idea to take advantage of this Target deal that nets you multiple books at a great price.

As of December 13, buy two and get one free on select kids' books at Target with a Target Circle membership. This deal is valid both in-store and online, and it's auto-applied at checkout. There are thousands of books to choose from, all available through the sale landing page. Signing up for a Target Circle membership is free, so make sure you do that before you take advantage of this deal.

Right now, there are tons of holiday-appropriate books to choose from like How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and How to Catch Santa Claus, but there are also books for reading throughout the rest of the year too, like The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?. There are plenty of different genres and reading levels to choose from, including picture books and junior chapter books, depending on what your kid is currently into.

So whether you need some gift ideas for the kids in your life or you want to grab some more books for the rugrats in your very own home, head over to Target now and see what you can find. This deal is valid through December 14.

A.I. insiders are falling for Claude, a chatbot from Anthropic. Is it a passing fad, or a preview of artificial relationships to come?

It feels like all anyone talked about this year was the U.S. election and excessive heat. And, according to Google's Year in Review 2024, this was all anyone searched for, too.

Google's yearly review of trending terms for 2024 reveals that top global searches were primarily based around sporting events such as Copa America, the UEFA European Championship, and the Olympics. Aside from that, people searched for Liam Payne, former One Direction singer who died in October, as well as the U.S. president-elect, Donald Trump.

Unsurprisingly, a lot of searches this year were related the U.S. presidential elections, with people also searching for current President Joe Biden and the Vice President and democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Some of the terms that stand out this year include "excessive heat," obviously related to the extremely high temperatures in many places around the world this summer, "iPhone 16," which shows continued interest in Apple's flagship phone, and Imane Khelif, the Algerian boxer who was falsely accused of being a biological male during the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Google revealed its Year in Search 2024 a few days ago, and we have a detailed rundown here.

SEE ALSO: Google’s hum-to-search feature was used the most for these 10 songs in 2024

Now, however, Google also shared a handy video, with an emotional overview of some of the people and events that ranked highly in trends this year. Check it out below.