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A new report by a Bay Area start-up called Parse adds details to an incident that has shocked the A.I. world and led to calls for closer government regulation.

You can already ask Spotify’s AI to make you a playlist. But Meta’s new personal agent, Muse, wants to know what you’re doing with it. An example? Tell Muse about an upcoming road trip, and it can make a playlist inspired by your destination — then start playing it when it’s time to leave.

That’s the idea behind Spotify’s connection to Muse. In a blog post Wednesday, the company said: "Your agent can play music on Spotify, save songs to your Library, build playlists, help you find a book or podcast." You just have to link your Spotify account and ask.

Credit: Screenshot/Spotify Newsroom

And the road trip is only one example. Muse can pick up the podcast you left unfinished this morning, put your dinner playlist on a connected kitchen speaker, or find new songs and add them to a playlist. It can also turn your notes and daily briefings into a Personal Podcast saved to your Spotify Library. If you run every morning at 7 a.m., you can even ask it to start your workout playlist right on schedule.

SEE ALSO: 10 ways to use Meta's Muse AI app, from flight credits to outfit ideas

Spotify is just one of several services Muse can work with. The agent also connects with Ticketmaster to help you find live events and Plaid to link your financial accounts. That’s the bigger vision behind Muse: You tell the agent what you’re planning once, and it handles everything across all the services you need—no need for you to jump between apps or platforms.

All AI agents carry some security risks, including Meta Muse AI, so be thoughtful before turning over control of apps, devices, and financial information.

Doesn’t Spotify already have AI for this?

Yes, and quite a bit of it. Prompted Playlist makes a mix from a written request, while Talk to Spotify lets eligible Premium users speak or type to choose what plays inside the Spotify app. Spotify also expanded Taste Profile in the U.S. this week, giving eligible Premium users a way to tell the app more about what they want in their recommendations.

SEE ALSO: Spotify launches AI chatbot for music and listening history

Spotify also already works with ChatGPT, where you can ask for recommendations without opening the music app. Muse goes a step further by coordinating playback with your schedule. If it gets the timing and the music right, you might forget you ever had to make a playlist for the commute. If it gets either wrong, at least you still know where the play button is...for now.

For Swifties, a new Taylor Swift song is rarely just a new song. It’s more of an invitation to revisit old interviews, scan the lyrics for familiar details, and ask who might have been in the room — or at least in her life — when she wrote it.

"Patient Zero," released Friday, Sept. 25, has given fans a fresh case. The song imagines a woman hearing from someone who is now dating her ex, and one theory keeps coming up: Could Swift be singing about Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas?

As Mashable covered earlier this week, fans were decoding clues before they even knew what Swift was announcing. She swapped the O’s in her Instagram bio for zeroes, put a countdown on her website, and gave everyone another reason to scrutinize her Emmys appearance. On Sept. 22, she revealed "Patient Zero." A day later, she announced that it was one of four new songs on The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore, an expanded version of her 2025 album.

That announcement got a mixed reaction from fans: Some were thrilled to get more music, while others weren’t eager for an encore of an album they hadn’t loved the first time around. The three other new songs are "Cleveland!," "Pink Clouding," and "Babylon." Swift said she wrote them during a trip to Sweden with Max Martin and Shellback, her collaborators on The Life of a Showgirl, 1989, and Reputation.

Now that the song is out, Swift has explained the conversation that gave her the idea for it. In comments shared with Capital FM, she said:

"I was hanging out with a bunch of friends, and one of my friends told us that she had been reached out to by the new girlfriend of an ex of hers, asking for guidance on if she had had the same experiences with this guy that this new girlfriend was having."

But Swifties have looked deeper, as they do, and some think they know which ex — and which woman — might be behind the song.

Why fans think it’s about Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas

The song begins with Swift’s narrator answering a call, saying "I’ve been expecting your call." She continues, singing,

"If you wanna party with somebody who might know, About the devil on his shoulder under his halo, When the toxins take their hold, you'd rather die than let it go, But if you're sick of him, I got you, I was patient zero."

For some fans, Swift’s history with Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas makes them an obvious possibility. Swift briefly dated Jonas in 2008 and later said their breakup inspired "Forever & Always." Fans also widely linked her Fearless vault track "Mr. Perfectly Fine" to Jonas when it came out in 2021. Turner, who was married to him at the time, shared that song on Instagram with the review: "It’s not NOT a bop."

Then, in 2023, after Jonas filed for divorce from Turner, Swift and Turner were spotted having dinner together. Turner later told British Vogue that she’d reached out to Swift while looking for a place to stay in New York, and Swift offered her one of her homes for free. Turner called Swift "an absolute hero" during that period.

You can see why fans connected those dots. In the r/TaylorSwift discussion thread, one listener wrote, "I’m firmly in the camp that this is Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas inspired." Another said, "Sophie and Joe?!?," but added that it could also be a fictional story informed by several of Swift’s experiences.

Other fans aren’t convinced there’s one couple to identify. "I think it has references to more than one of her exes," one commenter wrote, reading the song more generally as an offer of support to someone dealing with a difficult relationship.

Of course, the theory remains unconfirmed. Swift said the song began with a friend hearing from an ex’s new girlfriend. The publicly known Swift–Turner story is different, since Turner reached out to Swift for help after her marriage ended. Maybe their history found its way into the song anyway, but for now, the rest of us are basically in that group of friends, comparing notes and trying to figure out who the call was about.

At his UN General Assembly address this week, President Donald Trump declared that the U.S. government will now refer to artificial intelligence as "Super Intelligence," because, in his framing, the word "artificial" makes the tech sound fake.

But while "Super Intelligence" may not sound fake, it is a term that carries its own baggage, and potentially a misleading one. 

"Super" is among the most thoroughly saturated prefixes in the English language, loaded with decades of pop-culture pizzazz and associations with everything from superheroes and superpowers to Super Mario and Super Bowl Sunday. Far from making the technology sound more glitzy, the new "super" terminology arguably makes it sound like something from a lyric sheet or a comic book.

Think about every place "super" shows up in culture. Rick James wasn’t describing a software engineer in “Super Freak”; he was describing a cartoon of desire. Curtis Mayfield’s Super Fly is a morality tale about the cost of fantasy, not how fast AI can disprove a math problem.

SEE ALSO: Have AI apocalypse warnings reached critical mass?

Oasis titled a song "Champagne Supernova" precisely because a supernova is a star’s spectacular, final, self-annihilating collapse; gorgeous, and also the end of everything. But "Supernova" by aespa is anything but final, using a dying star’s explosion as a metaphor for personal awakening, power, and self-confidence.

Now, does anyone else find it perplexing to stick "super" in front of intelligence and make all of the previous issues that were associated with the now super-saturated "Artificial Intelligence" go away?

In fact, if we are going to look for a version of "super" that actually fits the reality of today’s AI, we shouldn’t look at Super Bowls, Superman, superstars, or supernovas. We should look at physics. In quantum mechanics, a superposition is a state of utter, chaotic contradiction where a particle is trapped being two opposing things at the exact same time.

That is the exact "super" state AI is in right now. It is trapped in a permanent identity crisis, marketed by some as a flawless savior while actively functioning as an economic threat, and even a threat to humanity, among other threats that ain’t so super. 

It is a tech infrastructure that leaves much of the general public entirely flummoxed by the gap between the corporate hype and the reality of job loss, or worse, human life.

There is absolutely nothing "super" about data centers that consume millions of gallons of water daily and burn through enough electricity to threaten local power grids just to generate content that even AI admits is sometimes faulty, i.e., "ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important info."

SEE ALSO: An OpenAI agent hacked the Australian government

Nor is it "super" that these models were built by scraping the creative works of human artists without their consent, credit, or compensation. Although, personally, it might be super if AI took this column and disseminated it around the world. 

It’s a technology, quite frankly, that relies on resource extraction and copyright theft, all wrapped up in a shiny new label, again, to some.

While we argue over terminology, AI is already damaging livelihoods. Automating away entry-level jobs just to protect quarterly earnings isn’t superhero behavior. Similarly, Superman doesn’t save the world and then lay off the journalists at Daily Planet.

The day after Trump”s UN intelligence speech, AI leaders held a session at the UN, where again, doomsday was repeated. That, and the Australian prime minister announced that AI had hacked its government websites.

Compare that to what "super" has always implied.

Let’s face it: "Artificial Intelligence" isn’t a super term, but at least it’s honest. It told you, upfront, that the intelligence in question was manufactured. In other words, it’s not pure cane sugar, but rather a synthesized substitute engineered to mimic something real.

Having said that, perhaps it should be called Splenda Intelligence? 

This article represents the opinions of the writer.

John Casey is a columnist at Raw Story, the Advocate, Daily Beast, and Outsports. He's also the author of Love: The Heroic Stories of Marriage Equality.

A new TikTok trending audio has people humorously complaining about others "blockin' the street" and preventing them from getting where they need to go.

The audio originated in Family Guy Season 15 Episode 18, "The Peter Principal," which first aired in 2017. In this episode, humanoid dog Brian recalls being hindered by a marching band while attempting to deliver pizza for his previous job. A cutaway gag shows the sizable band singing that they are "blockin' the street" as they gradually make their way down a long road, obstructing Brian's path despite his gripes about needing to deliver the pizza in under 30 minutes.

Nearly a decade later, TikTok users are using the earworm to illustrate the frustration of being physically hindered from getting to their destination, typically by others thoughtlessly monopolizing a thoroughfare. In one example viewed 2.5 million times, @karoline.io used the song to convey "how it feels living in a tourist town" when visitors block the road while she's driving. Over 11,000 TikTok videos have used the audio, featuring everything from traffic jams, to concert crowds, and even some marching band culprits joining in, with sentiments ranging from irritation to good-natured ribbing.

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Pet owners have used the audio to great effect, particularly to score clips of cats becoming tripping hazards at feeding time. A video by @ambiedpambied that shows her three cats gathering at her feet has racked up 2.8 million views, while @kopikat’s amusing animation of a similar dilemma has gained 1.3 million.

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Other animals have also inspired use of the song, with @bays.irishcream's video of a herd of sheep in a road earning 1.1 million views, and @caitlindoes' clip of a cyclist with a huge pack of dogs gaining 4.1 million views. But even a single pet can block the proverbial street, with 2.6 million views on @soph86482's "big dog with no spatial awareness," 1.2 million on @fatherbattisto's "one fat old dog," and 2 million on @toria_56's extremely underfoot cat. 

The song is further being used to caption film and television scenes in which groups of people stand — or dance — in a street. While such scenes make sense and can even be dramatic in context, adding this commentary invites viewers to consider how ridiculous and unnecessary such posturing would seem to outsiders, as well as how annoying it would be to people trying to go about their day.

In one edit viewed 2.3 million times, @poogyus set the song to sped-up footage of BTS' crosswalk concert, filmed for The Late Late Show with James Corden in 2021. In the segment, the K-pop group ran out during red traffic lights to quickly perform songs including "Butter" in an L.A. street.

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While primarily applied to physical obstacles, Family Guy's "blockin' the street" song has also been used to illustrate grievances such as encountering obstacles while working or having certain characters insistently impose themselves in a book. Considering the catchy nature of the tune and the abundance of hindrances we all encounter every day, there seems to be plenty of fuel for this trend.

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October Prime Day MacBook deals at a glance Best MacBook Air Deal Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M5, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD) $1,649 (save $150) Get Deal Best MacBook Pro Deal Apple MacBook Pro, 16-inch (M5 Max, 36GB RAM, 2TB SSD) $3,499 (save $600) Get Deal

Genuinely good MacBook deals have been harder to come by in the wake of Apple's summer price hikes. But I have a feeling that will change during Prime Big Deal Days, Amazon's 48-hour fall savings event for Prime members on Oct. 6 and 7.

"October Prime Day," as the sale is often called, serves as Amazon's unofficial kickoff for the holiday shopping season. Last year, it brought us $200 discounts on the MacBook Air and savings of up to $400 on select MacBook Pros — the same sorts of deals we later saw on Black Friday 2025. If Amazon replicated those offers next month, we'd be seeing our lowest MacBook prices since Apple's markups took effect.

In the weeks leading up to Prime Big Deal Days, most MacBooks are already on sale (including the budget MacBook Neo, if only by $10). I wouldn't add most of them to your cart just yet, since they'll probably get bigger discounts once the sale starts. That said, we've gathered up all of the best early Prime Day MacBook deals for you.

The best October Prime Day deals on the MacBook Air (so far) Opens in a new window Credit: M5 MacBook Air in midnight black Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M5, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD) $1,649 at Amazon
$1,799 Save $150   Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M5, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD) $1,449 at Amazon
$1,599 Save $150   Get Deal

If you need a new Apple laptop, and you need it now, you can save $150 on the new generation of M5 MacBook Airs at Amazon (Walmart is matching Amazon on select models and colors). If you can hold off, we do expect these MacBooks to get a $200 discount when the Prime Big Deal Days sale begins Oct. 6. Students and teachers can also check the Apple Store for education discounts.

The newest M5-powered MacBook is a Mashable Choice product, with one of the highest ratings of any product we've tested this year. In his review, Mashable's tech editor found that the M5 chip is ridiculously powerful (probably more powerful than the average Air customer really needs). The new MacBooks also have a fantastic display, a great-sounding speaker system, Touch ID, and the new Center Stage webcam.

More MacBook Air deals

• Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $1,254 $1,299 (save $45)

• Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M5, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,449 $1,599 (save $150)

• Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M5, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,649 $1,799 (save $150)

• Apple MacBook Air, 15-inch (M5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $1,424.54 $1,499 (save $74.46)

• Apple MacBook Air, 15-inch (M5, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,727 $1,799 (save $72)

• Apple MacBook Air, 15-inch (M5, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,922 $1,999 (save $77)

The best October Prime Day MacBook Pro deals Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M5 Max, 36GB RAM, 2TB SSD) $3,499
$4,099 Save $600   Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple MacBook Pro, 16-inch (M5 Max, 36GB RAM, 2TB SSD) $3,799 at Amazon
$4,399 Save $600   Get Deal

So far, the best early Prime Day MacBook deals are all on Apple's Pro models, particularly the ones with the most processing power. The M5 Max chip is Apple's most powerful laptop CPU to date. It's designed to handle the ultra-demanding workloads of "pro users" like "3D animators, app developers, and AI researchers," according to a company press release.

Ahead of Prime Big Deal Days, you can save a whopping $600 on both sizes of the M5 Max-powered MacBook Pros with a hulking 36GB of RAM and 2TB of storage. The 14-inch model is marked down to $3,499 (normally $4,099), while the 16-inch one comes out to $3,799 (typically $4,399). It should be noted that both laptops originally cost $100 more at launch.

As mentioned earlier, Amazon's October Prime Day MacBook Pro deals usually max out at $400ish. With that in mind, I can't see these deals getting any better down the road.

More MacBook Pro deals

• Apple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M5, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,849 $1,999 (save $150)

• Apple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M5, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $2,072 $2,199 (save $127)

• Apple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M5 Pro, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $2,354 $2,499 (save $145)

• Apple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M5 Pro, 24GB RAM, 2TB SSD) — $2,818.99 $2,999 (save $180.01)

• Apple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M5, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $2,258.99 $2,399 (save $140.01)

• Apple MacBook Pro, 16-inch (M5 Pro, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $2,799 $2,999 (save $200)

• Apple MacBook Pro, 16-inch (M5 Pro, 48GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $3,367 $3,599 (save $232)

• Apple MacBook Pro, 16-inch (M5 Max, 48GB RAM, 2TB SSD) — $4,499 $4,999 (save $500)

MacBook Neo deals

• Apple MacBook Neo (A18 Pro, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) — $689 $699 (save $10)

• Apple MacBook Neo (A18 Pro, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $789.99 $799 (save $9.01)

Tesla lawyers are in court, defending auto factory employees against accusations they used racist slurs, discriminated against employees of color in evaluations, and engaged in other anti-Black behavior that created an unsafe environment for workers.

The lawsuit, brought by the state of California on behalf of dozens of Black Tesla employees, was filed in 2022 and claims management at Tesla's flagship factory — located in Fremont, California — violated the state's Fair Employment and Housing Act by creating a hostile environment.

It's the first employee lawsuit against the electric vehicle company to go to trial through a state agency, reported the Guardian. Remarks began Monday.

SEE ALSO: Kids aren't learning to type anymore

Court documents include photographs of neo-Nazi imagery drawn on factory furniture and bathroom walls, as well as explicitly racist language etched into employee areas — including the phrase "go back to Africa" and the N-word.

Employees testified that supervisors referred to lynchings in conversations with Black workers, and the factory was often referred to as "slaveship," "the plantation," and "The Elon Slave Labor Association" ("TESLA"). One employee said they heard nearly 100 slurs in a single day.

In response, Tesla's legal team defended its employees and reportedly justified the use of racially-charged language.

"The state of California attacks the way many Black people greet each other," said Tesla's lead lawyer, Tyree Jones, in his initial remarks. "It’s offensive." Jones argued the N-word was a "term of respect and endearment," and provided examples of its use within the Black community that he argued wouldn't constitute its classification as a "racial slur."

In 2021, Tesla was ordered to pay $136.9 million to a former contractor who claimed the company ignored complaints of racist behavior by factory employees. A federal jury found Tesla guilty of enabling an unsafe work environment and negligently overseeing its staff.

In addition to explicitly racist behavior by employees, the latest lawsuit describes an allegedly "segregated" workplace in which Black workers were paid and promoted less, while being more frequently terminated. California is seeking financial damages and changes to Tesla's labor practices.

"These experiences cannot be dismissed as a few bad apples… hundreds of complaints to Tesla and [the Civil Rights Department] will show these experiences were not isolated," said California Civil Rights Department lawyer Brett Watson.

There are plenty of monsters in Zach Cregger's Resident Evil. But perhaps no enemy proves more formidable than the humble padlock.

Early in the movie, Bryan (Austin Abrams) is trying to escape a farm when he reaches a gate secured with a massive padlock stamped with a Diamond emblem. He's armed with a rifle, so the solution seems obvious enough: shoot the lock and move on. Except the bullets do nothing. So Bryan tries the next most logical solution and rams the gate with the farmer's truck. The gate wins.

Adding insult to injury, the key he needed was nearby the whole time, under the sun visor. He just didn't find it until after he'd totaled the truck.

SEE ALSO: Does 'Resident Evil' have a post-credit scene? Everything you need to know before watching.

It's the beginning of one of Resident Evil's funniest running jokes. Bryan keeps encountering padlocks as he makes his way through the movie, becoming increasingly exasperated every time another one prevents him from getting where he needs to go. Eventually, he snaps: "What is with all the fuckin' padlocks, man?"

Anyone who's spent enough time playing Resident Evil already knows the answer. It doesn't matter that you have a gun. It doesn't matter that you've spent the last several hours blasting through amalgamation monsters. If the game wants you to find a key, you're finding the damn key.

And Cregger knows exactly what he's doing.

Resident Evil understands the absurdity of video game logic Austin Abrams and Zach Cregger behind the scenes of Resident Evil. Credit: Sony Pictures

Cregger has been explicit that his Resident Evil isn't trying to recreate the plot of any particular game in Capcom's horror franchise. Instead, he's interested in recreating the experience of playing one. That means limited ammunition, healing items, increasingly powerful weapons, and, yes, repeatedly facing locked doors that prevent you from progressing until you find whatever key or keycard the game has decided you need.

"Some of them I wouldn't even think of as Easter eggs," Cregger told Steve Goldman of Rolling Stone when asked about the movie's references to the games. He specifically pointed to "padlocks and the search for keys and keycards" as something that's "really baked into playing the games," alongside healing items, ammunition, and weapon progression.

"All of that is like the DNA of the games that is in the movie," he said.

SEE ALSO: How 'The Last of Us' successfully translates the game's best mechanics to TV

That's an important distinction. Putting a green herb or typewriter somewhere in the background is an Easter egg. Making your protagonist desperately search for a key while standing in front of a lock he has already shot and unsuccessfully rammed with a truck is adapting a game mechanic. Because in a video game, that padlock isn't really a padlock. It's a progression system.

Bryan learns the rules of Resident Evil the hard way. Credit: Sony Pictures

Locked doors have been fundamental to Resident Evil since the beginning. Exploring the franchise's mansions, police stations, and villages frequently means discovering places you can't access yet, hunting down keys and other items, solving puzzles, and eventually backtracking once you have what you need. Resident Evil 2, for example, scatters suit-themed keys throughout the Raccoon City Police Department, with different doors requiring the Spade, Diamond, Club, or Heart Key.

The lock tells the player, "You can't go here yet." The missing key gives them a reason to explore somewhere else. So finding it doesn't just open a door; it opens another part of the game.

View on Threads

It makes perfect sense as game design. According to virtually every other form of logic, however, it is completely ridiculous. Your character can be carrying enough firepower to take down a mutated bioweapon, but a padlock might as well be indestructible. The player knows there's an obvious solution. The game knows there's an obvious solution. But that's not the solution you're supposed to use.

Cregger's movie makes that implicit agreement between player and game explicit by giving us a character who doesn't know the rules.

Bryan isn't Leon S. Kennedy. He's a medical courier who Cregger described to Rolling Stone as "more suited to sitting on the couch playing Resident Evil than surviving an actual Resident Evil experience." So when Bryan encounters a locked gate, he reacts like someone in the real world rather than as a player who knows he's in a survival horror game. He shoots it. When that doesn't work, he drives a truck into it.

Neither works, because that's not how Resident Evil works.

The padlock isn't just an Easter egg. It's gameplay. Unfortunately, bullets can't solve every problem. Credit: Sony Pictures

In an interview with Dread Central, Cregger acknowledged that some of the games' more elaborate puzzles wouldn't necessarily translate to a movie he wanted to keep moving at a breakneck pace. Instead, the padlocks offered a shorthand.

Bryan "does come up against padlocks throughout the movie, and he's got to try and navigate those," Cregger said. "So I'm kind of like tipping my hat to those sorts of things."

Resident Evil also finds other ways to recreate the rhythms of playing Resident Evil. During a Reddit AMA before the film's release, Cregger talked about making ammunition matter as Bryan gradually acquires more powerful weapons. "I love the resource management aspect of the games, and it was really important to me to bring that to the movie," he wrote.

That same attention to gameplay shows up everywhere, from healing items to cinematographer Dariusz Wolski's shifting camera perspectives. But the padlocks might be the funniest expression of it, precisely because they take something Resident Evil players have long accepted and make its absurdity impossible to ignore.

View on Threads

Cregger isn't just showing fans something they remember from Resident Evil. He's recreating the particular frustration of playing it.

In a 2025 Reddit thread about the series' conveniently indestructible obstacles, one player recalled encountering a door they couldn't open because its knob was broken. "Meanwhile, I have a shotgun and a grenade launcher in my arsenal," they wrote. Another joked about the absurdity of firing endless rockets at a wooden door only to eventually accept, "Damn, guess I need to go around."

A year earlier, another fan put the problem even more succinctly: "Half of Resident Evil would be skipped if everyone did a Barry and just shot the locks off the door." That's basically the joke Cregger has turned into a movie.

Video games depend on these little agreements between player and developer. A locked door isn't always just a locked door. It's an instruction, a puzzle. You don't spend the entire game asking why your heavily armed protagonist can't simply destroy it because you understand what it's actually telling you: You're not supposed to go there yet.

Put that logic into a live-action movie, though, and suddenly you have Bryan, a guy who looks at the arbitrary rules Resident Evil players have spent nearly 30 years accepting and asks the obvious question: Why can't I just shoot the lock?

That's the kind of thing video game adaptations don't always capture. It's easy enough to recreate the monsters, weapons, locations, and camera angles we recognize. It's harder to recreate the feeling of playing the game — wasting a bullet you desperately needed, finding a better weapon at exactly the right moment, or discovering yet another locked door.

Cregger gets that those little frustrations are part of Resident Evil, too.

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The Pentagon had “ample support for its conclusion” that the A.I. company’s products could pose a national security risk, according to a Washington appeals court ruling.

SAVE $9.99: The Lego Disney Princess Advent Calendar is on sale at Amazon for $35, down from the list price of $44.99. That's a 22% discount and the lowest price we've seen at Amazon.

Opens in a new window Credit: Lego Lego Disney Princess Advent Calendar $35 at Amazon
$44.99 Save $9.99   Get Deal

We're all gearing up for Amazon's October Prime Day event, but it's never too early to start thinking about the holiday season. If you like to celebrate with an Advent Calendar, check out this shockingly good deal at Amazon.

As of Sept. 25, the Lego Disney Princess Advent Calendar is on sale at Amazon for $35, marked down from the list price of $44.99. That's a 22% discount and the lowest price we've seen at Amazon.

If you have a Disney princess fan in your home, the Lego Advent Calendar is a slam dunk. It contains 290 pieces spread out over 24 days of surprises. Some of our favorite princesses are included in the 2026 version, like Ariel, Cinderella, Moana, and Mulan. Of course, some of their sidekicks are also in on the celebration, like Sebastian, Pua, and little Gus Gus decked out in reindeer antlers.

SEE ALSO: Don't wait for Lego deals: We found early Prime Day deals on Lego Star Wars, Lego Pokémon, and more

Not only does this serve as an Advent calendar, but the Disney Princess version of the Lego calendar also doubles as a board game. The buildable spinner allows for up to eight players to take part in a Disney Lego game.

While it's sitting at a record-low price, get ready for the holiday season with the Lego Disney Princess Advent Calendar.

The best early Prime Day gaming deals: Best video game deal Starfield (Standard Edition PS5) $29.99 (save $20) Get Deal Best console deal Nex Playground + 12-Month Play Pass Bundle $354.87 (save $33.13) Get Deal Best gaming monitor deal Samsung 32-inch Odyssey G5 (G50F) Series QHD Gaming Monitor $199.99 (save $150) Get Deal Best gaming headset deal HyperX Cloud II Gaming Headset $49.99 (save $30) Get Deal Best gaming keyboard deal Razer BlackWidow V4 X Mechanical Gaming Keyboard $99.99 (save $30) Get Deal Best gaming mouse deal Razer Basilisk V3 (Wired) $34.98 (save $35.01) Get Deal

Amazon’s October Prime Day is getting closer, and the retailer’s early gaming deals are now stretching well beyond discounted PS5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox games. We’re also seeing price cuts on gaming monitors, headsets, mice, keyboards, and other setup upgrades ahead of the main sale on Oct. 6-7.

SEE ALSO: Lego's Pokémon Eevee is close to its best-ever price at Amazon — save $12 before October Prime Day

With that in mind, we’ve expanded this guide to cover the best gaming tech alongside the console deals already worth shopping. As always, we’re sticking to products with genuine reductions against their listed or typical prices, and we’ll keep updating our picks as more early Prime Day offers go live.

Best video game deal Opens in a new window Credit: Xbox Starfield (Standard Edition PS5) $29.99 at Amazon
$49.99 Save $20.00   Get Deal Why we like it

Starfield only made the jump to PS5 in April, and the Standard Edition is already nearly half price. The game is currently listed at $47.33 (usually $49.99), but an on-page coupon drops it to $29.99 at checkout. That $20 savings marks the lowest price this version has ever seen on Amazon. This is the full base game rather than a trimmed-down edition, giving you Bethesda’s huge sci-fi RPG with deep character customization, ship building, and over 1,000 planets to explore.

More early Prime Day video game deals

PS5 games

• NBA 2K26 — $13.99 $19.99 (save $6)

• Persona 3 Reload — $19.40 $69.99 (save $50.59)

• Sonic Superstars — $19.99 $29.99 (save $10)

• Red Dead Redemption — $24.99 $29.99 (save $5)

• Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 — $25.74 $49.99 (save $24.25)

• Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties — $29.99 $59.99 (save $30)

• Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Amazon Exclusive Edition — $34.99 $69.99 (save $35)

• The Last of Us Part II Remastered — $37.49 $49.99 (save $12.50)

• The Last of Us Part 1 — $37.99 $69.99 (save $32)

• Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut — $37.99 $69.99 (save $32)

• God of War Ragnarök — $39.99 $69.99 (save $30)

• MLB The Show 26 — $42.95 $69.99 (save $27.04)

• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 — $44.75 $69.99 (save $25.24)

Nintendo Switch games

• South Park: Snow Day! — $22.93 $29.99 (save $7.06)

• Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection — $23.98 $39.99 (save $16.01)

• Sonic Origins Plus — $24.50 $39.99 (save $15.49)

• Sonic Frontiers — $24.99 $39.99 (save $15.00)

• Batman: Arkham Trilogy — $26.99 $29.03 (save $2.04)

• Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition — $32.90 $59.99 (save $27.09)

• Super Mario RPG — $36.90 $59.99 (save $23.09)

• Mario vs. Donkey Kong — $34.97 $49.99 (save $15.02)

Xbox games

• Cuphead — $20.23 $39.99 (save $19.76)

• Sonic Superstars — $21 $59.99 (save $38.99)

• Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 — $23.47 $49.99 (save $26.52)

• Sonic X Shadow Generations — $24.99 $49.99 (save $25)

• Borderlands 4 — $29.99 $49.99 (save $20)

• Metaphor: ReFantazio Launch Edition — $31 $69.99 (save $38.99)

• DOOM: The Dark Ages — $31.49 $69.99 (save $38.50)

• Forza Motorsport — $38.48 $69.99 (save $31.51)

Best console deal Nex Playground + 12-Month Play Pass Bundle $354.87 at Amazon
$388 Save $33.13   Get Deal at Amazon Why we like it

Don't write this off as just a kids' toy. Mashable freelancer Tabitha Britt bought one a couple of years ago for Christmas, when it was sold out everywhere — she literally had to special-order it and wait two weeks for it to ship — and says it's still one of the most genuinely fun active setups you can buy. It's kind of like a Wii, but it uses an AI camera to track your movements, so you don't need a handheld controller to play.

(Note: Standard PS5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch systems are still at their full retail price, so we haven't included them here. We're keeping a close eye on console prices and will update this section the second actual markdowns go live.)

Best gaming monitor deal Samsung 32-inch Odyssey G5 (G50F) Series QHD Gaming Monitor $199.99 at Amazon
$349.99 Save $150   Get Deal at Amazon Why we like it

Finding a 32-inch 1440p panel from a top-tier brand under $200 is a steal. You're getting a 180Hz refresh rate and a 1ms response time, plus G-Sync and FreeSync support to keep fast-paced action smooth and free of screen tearing. It also comes with a height-adjustable ergonomic stand right out of the box, so you can pivot, tilt, and swivel to your setup's needs — a practical feature most budget displays cut to trim costs.

More early gaming monitor deals

• msi Pro (MP243) 24-inch 1080p FHD Gaming/Office Monitor — $89.99 $109.99 (save $20)

• Sansui 24-inch curved 160Hz gaming monitor — $89.98 $119.99 (save $30.01)

• Samsung 27-inch Odyssey (G50F) QHD Gaming Monitor — $175.75 $279.99 (save $104.24)

• Samsung 32-inch Odyssey (G55C) 1,000R Curved Gaming Monitor — $249.79 $329.99 (save $80.29)

• LG 27-inch UltraGear OLED Gaming Monitor (27GS93QE-B) — $499.99 $899.99 (save $400)

Best gaming headset deal HyperX Cloud II Headset $49.99 at Amazon
$79.99 Save $30.00   Get Deal at Amazon Get Deal at Walmart Get Deal at Best Buy Why we like it

The HyperX Cloud II has been around for years because the basic design just works. For $50, you get 53mm drivers, hardware-driven 7.1 virtual surround sound, and an aluminum frame built to take a beating. The memory foam ear pads stay comfortable during long gaming sessions, and the detachable noise-canceling mic keeps voice chat clear without getting in the way when you just want to listen to music.

More early gaming headset deals

• Logitech G335 Wired Gaming Headset — $29.99 $69.99 (save $40)

• Razer BlackShark V2 X Gaming Headset (PC, PS4, PS5, Switch) — $39.99 $59.99 (save $20)

• HyperX Cloud III – Wired Gaming Headset (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S) — $69.99 $99.99 (save $30)

• Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Wireless Gaming Headset — $89 $109.99 (save $20.99)

• SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless Gen 2 Gaming Headset — $169.99 $199.99 (save $30)

• Logitech G Astro A50 Multi-Platform Wireless Gaming Headset — $239 $299.99 (save $60.99)

Best gaming keyboard and mouse deals Opens in a new window Credit: Razer Razer BlackWidow V4 X Mechanical Gaming Keyboard $99.99 at Amazon
$129.99 Save $30.00   Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: Razer Razer Basilisk V3 $34.98 at Amazon
$69.99 Save $35.01   Get Deal Why we like it

Getting a top-tier wired mouse at half off makes the Razer Basilisk V3 an easy pick. It has 11 programmable buttons, a smart scroll wheel that toggles between tactile clicks and free-spin scrolling, and a thumb rest shaped for long gaming sessions.

If you're upgrading your keyboard too, the Razer BlackWidow V4 X has real tactile mechanical switches instead of those squishy membrane keys. It includes six dedicated macro keys, custom RGB lighting for each key, and a physical volume roller right above the number pad, so you don't have to tab out of your game to tweak audio.

More early keyboard and mouse deals

• Logitech G213 Prodigy Wired RGB Gaming Keyboard - Black — $47.99 $59.99 (save $12)

• SteelSeries Apex 3 RGB Gaming Keyboard — $49.99 $54.99 (save $5)

• Razer BlackWidow V4 X Mechanical Gaming Keyboard — $99.99 $129.99 (save $30)

• Logitech G305 Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Mouse — $29.99 $49.99 (save $20)

• Razer Basilisk V3 Customizable RGB Wired Ergonomic Gaming Mouse — $34.98 $69.99 (save $35.01)

• ASUS ROG Spatha X Wireless Gaming Mouse — $119.99 $169.99 (save $50)

Starlink satellites are usually discussed in terms of what they’re doing to the sky. Astronomer Tony Phillips has found a way to use them to learn something about it.

Phillips, who runs SpaceWeather.com, has turned the orbital data of hundreds of Starlink satellites into a daily measure of changes in Earth’s upper atmosphere. He calls it a "planetary barometer," though it tracks air density rather than pressure. His planetary barometer relies on an ingenious observation, which Phillips explained in a blog post (as reported by The Register).

Here’s how a satellite becomes a weather instrument: Even hundreds of miles above Earth, there’s enough atmosphere to create drag. When energy from the sun heats the upper atmosphere, it expands, putting more particles in a satellite’s path. More drag means a satellite would lose altitude faster if it weren’t using its thrusters to stay in orbit.

Phillips analyzes publicly available orbital records to estimate that effect. His daily "sink rate" asks how many meters a typical Starlink satellite at about 480 kilometers (roughly 300 miles) up would lose in a day with its thrusters off. So far in 2026, that figure has ranged from 19.7 meters on a quiet day in August to 127.6 meters during a major geomagnetic storm in January. That doesn’t mean Starlink satellites actually plunged that far on either day; the number is a way to show how much the atmosphere changed.

And Phillips isn’t relying on Starlink alone. He checks the pattern against satellites from Planet Labs, Amazon’s Kuiper network, and Eutelsat OneWeb. Planet’s SuperDoves are particularly useful because they have no thrusters: Their actual descent offers a check on the Starlink estimate. The index has limits, including orbital data that can blur sudden changes over several days.

Scientists have studied atmospheric drag using Starlink data before. Phillips’s contribution is a public number updated daily, offering a running look at conditions that matter for satellite orbits. Starlink’s crowded presence overhead remains a concern for astronomers. For this one purpose, though, all those satellites make it possible to watch the atmosphere change without launching anything new.

Microsoft's AI-branded Windows laptops are dead.

At Qualcomm's Snapdragon Summit 2026 this week, Microsoft Surface CVP Brett Ostrum told news outlet Windows Central that it will no longer use the "Copilot+ PC" branding for its Surface PCs going forward.

As Windows Central points out, none of the Surface laptops that launched this year used the Copilot+ PC branding, and it appears none of Microsoft's upcoming products will use it either.

Copilot+ PCs were launched in mid-2024 as Microsoft went full throttle with its AI push. The Copilot+ branding was derived from its AI chatbot assistant Copilot, which the company released the previous November.

Microsoft called Copilot+ PCs "the fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs ever built" and said they were "the most significant change to the Windows platform in decades," when they were launched. These computers were basically new Surface PCs with processors specifically built for AI processes, like pre-built AI PCs.

However, it seems like Copilot+ PCs weren't as successful as Microsoft had hoped. In fact, the company has been reconfiguring its entire approach to AI more broadly, too. 

Last month, Microsoft retired the animated mascot Mico that it had created to represent the Copilot brand. And now, just today, Microsoft unveiled a revamped version of the Copilot AI assistant, too.

With OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude, Google's Gemini, and other AI companies carving out their niche in the AI market, Microsoft is still trying to figure out theirs. One thing seems sure, though: Copilot+ PCs won't be part of Microsoft's AI plans.

Early October Prime Day earbuds deals at a glance Best Apple deal Apple AirPods 4 $99 (save $30.99) Get Deal Best Bose deal Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) $249.99 (save $49.01) Get Deal Best open earbuds deal Shokz OpenDots One $139.95 (save $60) Get Deal Best sleep earbuds deal Soundcore Sleep A30 Special + get a free Anker Soundcore Eye Mask $199.99 (save $30) Get Deal

It's leaf-peeping season, and that means it's time for another massive sale event at Amazon. This year, October Prime Big Deal Days is a two-day sale, spanning Oct. 6 and 7. While we're still a couple of weeks away from the sale kicking off, Amazon is already packed with great offers. That's especially true if you're in need of fresh earbuds.

Many of us depend on earbuds like we depend on water. On the checklist before walking out the front door, we need a wallet, phone, keys, and earbuds. They're with us all the time, from a morning walk with the dog to pre-bedtime YouTube streaming. If your current pair is not up for these tasks, early October Prime Day deals will come to the rescue.

SEE ALSO: 12 expert-sourced deals on headphones and earbuds ahead of October Prime Day: Shop Beats, AirPods, and Sony

From incredibly comfortable Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd gen) to the Soundcore Sleep A30 Special, we're seeing plenty of great early deals on earbuds, and I've rounded up the best options below. Keep an eye on Mashable's Prime Day coverage as we start to see more delas rolls in ahead of the sale.

Best Apple earbuds deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirPods 4 $99 at Walmart
$129.99 Save $30.99   Get Deal Why we like it

Down to the affordable price of $99, the Apple AirPods 4 are on sale at Walmart. Redesigned for comfort, the AirPods 4 come with a massive 30-hour battery life with the included charging case. And good news on that front, because Apple made the case smaller and compatible with USB-C recharging.

Keep in mind that the base model of the Apple AirPods 4 does not come with active noise cancellation. If that's a priority, the Apple AirPods Pro 3 with ANC are on sale for $199.

SEE ALSO: The 5 headphones deals we want to see on sale during October Prime Day Best Bose earbuds deal Opens in a new window Credit: Bose Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) $249.99 at Amazon
$299 Save $49.01   Get Deal Why we like it

If you're looking for the most comfortable earbuds, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen) are a top pick. Mashable's analysis of the best earbuds notes that the Bose buds are unmatched for comfort and well worth the investment. "With spatial audio and some of the best ANC we've encountered, these earbuds deliver immersive sound that envelopes you in your music," wrote Mashable Lead Shopping Reporter Bethany Allard.

Best open earbuds deal Opens in a new window Credit: Shokz Shokz OpenDots One $139.95 at Amazon
$199.95 Save $60   Get Deal Why we like it

If you'll be wearing earbuds while running or working out at the gym, open earbuds might be the best option. The design focuses on solid sound quality while also allowing you to stay aware of your surroundings. The Shokz OpenDots One are one of Mashable's favorite open earbuds models, and they're already on sale for under $140 ahead of Prime Day. Need more convincing? They're also Mashable's top choice for running earbuds.

The sale price of $139.95 is the lowest we've ever seen at Amazon. Given that pricing history, you probably don't need to wait for Oct. 6 to buy this pair.

Best sleep earbuds deal Opens in a new window Credit: Anker Soundcore Anker Soundcore Sleep A30 Special $199.99 at Amazon
$229.99 Save $30 get a free Anker Soundcore Eye Mask Get Deal Why we like it

If you struggle to sleep on account of environmental noise, sleep earbuds might be a great solution. Instead of using earbuds that hurt when sleeping on your side, sleep earbuds are specially designed for comfort, no matter which sleeping position you prefer. Mashable's favorite sleep earbuds are the Anker Soundcore Sleep A30 Specials, and they're already on sale for $199.99 ahead of October Prime Day.

In Mashable's review of the Sleep A30 Specials, Allard wrote, "Soundcore's quick upgrade to the recently released Sleep A30 earbuds is a welcome one, delivering a longer battery life and lower price point, making a great pair of sleep earbuds even better."

If you're searching for solutions to get better sleep, consider these sleep earbuds while they're on sale. Plus, they come with a free Anker Soundcore sleep mask.

More earbuds deals

• Nothing Ear (a) — $59 $79 (save $20)

• Nothing Ear (Open) — $89 $99 (save $10)

• Baseus Inspire XC1 — $109.94 $129.99 (save $20.05)

• Bose QuietComfort — $149.99 $179 (save $29.01)

• Beats Powerbeats Fit — $169.95 $199.99 (save $30.04)

• Apple AirPods Pro 3 — $199 $249 (save $50)

• Bose Ultra Open Earbuds — $199 $299 (save $100)

• Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 — $199.95 $249.99 (save $50.04)

• Panasonic Technics EAH-AZ100 — $247.99 $299.99 (save $52)

As Xi Jinping visits President Trump in Washington, the leaders are expected to discuss claims that China is surreptitiously copying American A.I. technologies, a process known as distillation.

In HBO and Sky's new legal drama War, battles aren't fought in muddy trenches or torn-up fields. They're fought in elegant wood-paneled rooms or glassy offices perched high above London's streets. But just because these arenas are polished and proper doesn't mean the fighting is similarly clean. No, the lawyers who make up War's two rival firms of Cathcarts & Sons and Taylor & Byrne are itching to get absolutely filthy.

SEE ALSO: 'War' trailer promises the high-profile divorce trial of the year

They get their chance when they take on a high-profile divorce case, unleashing a flurry of betrayal and backstabbing that's so exquisitely ruthless, it's sure to make War your next drama obsession.

What's War about? James McArdle, Sienna Miller, and Phoebe Fox in "War." Credit: Miya Mizuno / Sky / Fox

The divorce in question is that of movie star Carla Duval (Sienna Miller) and tech magnate Morgan Henderson (Dominic West). She's a beloved actress whose fame is beginning to wane, while he's the CEO of a social media platform that keeps rising in prominence. As their fortunes diverge, Carla questions Morgan's fidelity. She even goes so far as to enlist her friend Flora (Rose Williams) to honeytrap him for proof so she can kickstart the divorce proceedings. It's the first of several underhanded — and often ill-advised — chess moves War's characters make throughout the series, as well as a tantalizingly bitter amuse-bouche for all the delicious drama to come.

Much of that drama comes from Carla and Morgan's imploding marriage, but their woes are really a gateway to War's main draw: Carla and Morgan's lawyers, who are as relentless as they are petty.

SEE ALSO: 2026 fall TV preview: Every show you should know about

Morgan's team of choice is Cathcarts & Sons, a storied firm with deep roots in London's legal scene and even deeper pockets. Partners St. John Smallwood (Pip Torrens) and Beatrice Ubosi (Nina Sosanya) delight in taking down their opponents, discussing Morgan's case with the calculated relish of a predator playing with its food.

Their food, in this case, is Carla and her firm: the more recently established Taylor & Byrne. Partners in both law and marriage, Nicholas Taylor (James McArdle) and Serena Byrne (Phoebe Fox) hope this case can launch their firm to Cathcarts-level prominence. Winning it would make their name, but losing it would break them financially. With Morgan and Carla's respective firms in place, the board is set for a nasty divorce, with astronomical stakes for both lawyers and clients.

War turns divorce into an enthralling battleground. Nina Sosanya, Pip Torrens, and Dominic West in "War." Credit: Sky / HBO

As the divorce gets underway, War turns each stage of the proceedings into its own captivating battlefield. During mediation, lawyers shuttle settlement offers back and forth between teams, looking for all the world like messengers trying to negotiate a surrender before the war has even begun. During arbitration, Carla and Morgan's face-off carries all the explosiveness of a shootout. At each stage, their lawyers regroup to strategize, evaluating their status the way a military leader would evaluate their casualties.

Of course, Carla and Morgan get multiple opportunities to stop and settle, but be it because of greed or pride, they just keep pushing. The same goes for the lawyers. Why would they stop the process early on when they have so much to gain from a high-profile win? Time and again, War's character keep making the wrong choices, from Carla and Morgan down to lawyers like the ambitious Johnny Warren (Archie Renaux), caught in the crossfires between Cathcarts and Taylor & Byrne. Yet each choice keeps pulling at the truth at War's core: that people will go to self-destructive lengths to get what they think they're owed.

Between Carla and Morgan's collapsing relationship and their inevitable march to the courtroom, War could easily have been played as a full-on tragedy. Instead, creator George Kay turns it into something darkly funny, full of scathing remarks and playground insults. At one point, St. John and Beatrice share a laugh over how Beatrice ignored Serena, a high school mean girl moment dressed in an expensive suit. Their arch takedowns of Serena and Nicholas turn St. John and Beatrice into the closest thing War has to outright villains, but neither side escapes the trial without blood on their hands. Kay teases out the story in such a way that viewers' allegiances may flip from Carla to Morgan over the course of an episode, creating a shifty, intoxicating viewing experience.

Because at the end of the day, War is downright fun. Its ensemble is excellent across the board, each scene crackling with incredible performances. Its episodes are among the most propulsive I've watched this year, rivaled only by Industry's astounding Season 4 run. And even though it loses some of its bite in its final episodes, its sharpness cuts deep. Do your best to pick a side, and head off to War.

War premieres Oct. 1 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max. In the UK, War premieres Oct. 2 on Sky and NOW.

UPDATE: Sep. 25, 2026, 11:17 a.m. EDT This article has been updated with information about War's airdate on Sky and NOW.

The best October Prime Day beauty deals: Best round brush deal Drybar The Double Shot 2.4-Inch Oval Blow-Dryer $131.75 (save $23.25) Get Deal Best Shark hair deal Shark FlexStyle $199.99 (save $114.01) Get Deal Best Dyson hair deal Dyson Supersonic Nural Hair Dryer $382.99 (save $67) Get Deal Best red light mask deal Dreame Chrona $209.99 (save $60) Get Deal

This is my fourth year covering Prime Day, so I've learned to be pretty cynical about pre-sale "discounts." But looking through the current beauty markdowns, a handful of these early prices actually match — if not beat — the deals we saw during June's Prime Day event.

Amazon's official October Prime Big Deal Days doesn't kick off until Oct. 6–7, but if you want to restock your essentials now, here are the best beauty deals you can shop today, sorted from least to most expensive in every section.

Best beauty deal Opens in a new window Credit: Drybar Drybar The Double Shot 2.4-Inch Oval Blow-Dryer Brush $131.75 at Amazon
$155 Save $23.25   Get Deal Why we like it

You don't need to drop $400+ on a high-end multi-styler just to get a good blowout at home. I use this exact Drybar brush every single day, and it gets me ready in minutes. The combination of ionic airflow and tufted bristles smooths out stubborn frizz and cuts drying time in half, while the 2.4-inch oval barrel gives you real volume at the roots in a single pass — so you never have to awkwardly juggle a heavy dryer and a separate round brush.

Best early hair tool and hair care deals

• TYMO Hair Straightener Brush — $42.10 $59.99 (save $17.89)

• L'ANGE HAIR Le Volume 2-in-1 Titanium Blow Dryer Brush — $48.99 $69 (save $20.01)

• Drybar The Baby Brush Crush Mini Heated Straightening Brush — $50.15 $59 (save $8.85)

• TYMO 4.0 Hair Blow Dryer Brush — $74.99 $99.99 (save $25)

• Drybar The Roller Club Curling Hot Rollers — $109.65 $129 (save $19.35)

• Dreame Pocket Cake Dual Voltage Hair Dryer with Diffuser — $119.99 $129.99 (save $10)

• Dreame AirStyle Suite Pro Hair Styler & High-Speed Dryer — $179.99 $199.99 (save $20)

• Shark FlexStyle Air Multi-Styler & Drying System — $199.99 $314 (save $114.01)

• Dreame AirStyle Era Multi-Styler — $259.99 $349.99 (save $90)

Best early skincare and makeup deals

• Garnier SkinActive Micellar Water For Waterproof Makeup — $8.39 $11.99 (save $3.60)

• Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Concealer — $9.82 $12.99 (save $3.17)

• Grace & Stella Lip Gloss Butter (Vanilla Ice Cream) — $9.95 $13.95 (save $4)

• Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky High Washable Mascara — $10.82 $13.99 (save $3.17)

Best early device deals

• Wavytalk Red Light Therapy Mask — $109.99 $179 (save $)

• Wavytalk IPL Hair Removal — $149.99 $199.99 (save $50)

• Nood Flasher Pro — $299 $399 (save $100)

Best brand-wide sales

• Anua: Get up to 47% off select gift sets and best sellers.

• From Labs: Get up to 16% off best sellers.

• Grace & Stella: Get 15% off when you buy any two items, and get a surprise free gift when you spend $60+. Bonus offer: Get 50% off the Eye Mask Variety Pack with code PRIMEOCT.

• Joylux: Get up to 20% off select products.

• Live Tinted: Save on select gift sets, including the Eye Awakening Routine gift set and Juicy Lip Gloss Duo.

• Nood: Get up to 43% off select products.

• Sand + Fog: Save on select scents and personal care items at Sand + Fog.

• Tower 28: Save on select lip gloss gift sets, plus get a free mini pouch on your first order.

TL;DR: Preorders are live for the $399.99 GTA VI: Vice City Collection. The 11-piece crate packs custom Oakley sunglasses, a New Era cap, and a physical map of Leonida — though the actual game is sold separately. Lock yours in directly at the Rockstar Store before the limited run sells out.

Opens in a new window Credit: Rockstar GTA 6 Collector's Box $399.99 at Rockstar
  Pre-order Here

Rockstar Games officially launched preorders for the Grand Theft Auto VI: The Goodtime State – Vice City Collection on its webstore, priced at $399.99. The massive 11-piece crate is themed after Macca the Gator, a hit TV show inside the fictional state of Leonida, and comes packed with high-end apparel, barware, and physical lore collectibles.

Before grabbing your wallet, you should know the major catch: the actual game is sold separately. This is strictly an elite merch drop for hardcore collectors, so you will still need to buy your copy of GTA 6 when launch day hits.

Credit: Rockstar What's inside the box

Rockstar packed this 11-piece crate with apparel, barware, and lore collectibles:

• Oakley Frogskins Sunglasses — Matte black frames with Prizm Sapphire lenses and a Vice City pink GTAVI logo

• New Era 9FORTY Snapback Hat — A-Frame cap featuring Vice City and Leonida embroidery

• Leonida Keys Crossbody Bag — Ripstop bag with black-and-pink lining and a debossed YKK zipper pull

• Macca the Gator Figure — 6-inch figurine with a secret twist-open stash base

• Macca the Gator Magnetic Mirror — Electroplated pink glass mirror for hanging or tray use

• Chunkee the Manatee Shot Glass — Features Chunkee on the front and a laser-etched Rockstar logo

• Vice City Collectible Swizzle Spoon — Decorative spoon with debossed enamel Vice City branding

• Double-Sided Souvenir Poster with Map of Leonida — Macca the Gator TV show art on the front and the full physical state map on the back

• Vice City Razor Blade Keychain — Metallic razor-blade-style keychain

• Leonida Keys Enamel Pin Set — Nine enamel pins inside a custom metal tin

• Leonida Keys Sticker Pack — Nine vinyl stickers in a stash bag

Credit: Meta / Rockstar

You can place a preorder directly on the official Rockstar Store. This is a limited-run release shipping out on Nov. 19, 2026. Due to the size of the box, it does not qualify for free shipping, and orders are strictly capped at one per customer. Secure your preorder while the first batch is still up before stock runs dry.

The Moon is almost completely full in the sky, so tonight, there's another chance to spot some of the features that stand out on its surface. Here's what to look for if you've got clear skies.

What is today’s Moon phase?

As of Friday, Sept. 25, NASA's Daily Moon Guide tracker tells us the Moon is in the Waxing Gibbous phase, with 98% of its surface visible.

With just your naked eye, tonight you can see the Mare Crisium, Mare Fecunditatis, and the Oceanus Procellarum. If you have binoculars, they'll also help you see the Posidonius Crater, the Alphonsus Crater, and the Mare Frigoris. On top of this, if you have access to a telescope, you'll see the Apollo 12 and 16 landing spots, and the Schiller Crater.

When is the next Full Moon?

The next Full Moon will take place on September 26.

What are Moon phases?

The Moon goes through a repeating cycle as it orbits Earth, taking roughly 29.5 days to complete. During that time, the amount of its sunlit side visible from Earth changes, giving us the different lunar phases. It starts with a slim crescent, grows to a half Moon and eventually reaches the Full Moon, before beginning the cycle again. NASA explains that which phase we see depends on where the Moon is in relation to Earth and the Sun.

The eight phases are:

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.

TL;DR: Davolink's officially licensed Minions WiFi router went viral on X, racking up over 4 million views and wiping out Amazon's inventory. You can still grab the Bob (AX1800) model via third-party Amazon sellers for $79.49.

Opens in a new window Credit: Davolink Bob (AX1800) Minion WiFi Router $79.49 at Amazon
  Shop Now

If you thought home networking equipment was strictly limited to glowing black boxes with spider-like antennas, social media just proved otherwise.

A viral X post praising Davolink’s officially licensed Minions WiFi router racked up over 4 million views in less than 24 hours — causing Amazon's direct stock to sell out almost instantly. Underneath the denim-overalls exterior, these devices are surprisingly capable WiFi 6 and 6E routers built by an enterprise networking company.

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Built as a compact upright unit, it sits easily on a desk or bookshelf like a vinyl figurine while delivering actual high-speed home networking. Performance-wise, Bob runs on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, with combined theoretical speeds up to 1.77 Gbps. It is specifically built for low-latency tasks like wireless PC VR streaming, online gaming, and 4K media streaming, where a steady connection matters. On the back, you get 1 GbE WAN and LAN ports to connect your modem, PC, or gaming console directly.

Versatility is where Bob shines. You can run it as your main home router, set it up as a standalone access point, use it as a range extender, or link it to another compatible Minions router to build a full mesh network to cover dead zones in your apartment. It also comes with standard WPA3 encryption to keep your connection secure.

Amazon still has select third-party listings for the Minions Bob router at around $79.49. You can also check eBay, where completed sales have been popping up rapidly following the social media spike. Just make sure to double-check total seller pricing and shipping costs so you don't overpay.

Grab the Davolink Minions Bob Router for $79.49 on Amazon before this third-party stock also dries up.