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We're approaching the Full Moon, which means the Moon is shining big and bright in the sky. It's day 10 of the lunar cycle, and with so much of its surface illuminated, there's lots for us to see. Keep reading to see exactly what you can spot.

What is today’s Moon phase?

As of Monday, April 27, the Moon phase is Waxing Gibbous. Tonight, 82% of the moon will be lit up, according to NASA's Daily Moon Guide.

Without any visual aids, tonight you should be able to see the Mares Vaproum, Tranquillitatis, and Fecunditatis. If you have binoculars, the Mares Frigoris and Nectaris, and Apennine Mountains should also come into view. And, finally, with a telescope you'll see all this plus the Apollo 15 landing spot, Rima Hyginus, and the Fra Mauro Highlands.

When is the next Full Moon?

The next Full Moon is predicted to take place on May 1, the first of two in May.

What are Moon phases?

NASA says that the Moon completes a full orbit around Earth in about 29.5 days, during which it passes through eight stages. Although the same face of the Moon is always turned toward us, the portion illuminated by the Sun shifts as it travels along its path, producing the familiar cycle of full, half, and crescent shapes. These variations are referred to as lunar phases, and there are eight altogether:

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.

You can never accuse an HBO wedding of being boring.

SEE ALSO: 'Euphoria' Season 3 review: It should be great. Instead, it's gross.

In Game of Thrones, wedding episodes almost always come with a body count. Succession's weddings end in everything from vehicular manslaughter to hostile buyouts to game-changing deaths. Now, Euphoria takes its wedding episode as an opportunity to stir up maximum mess by putting Cassie's (Sydney Sweeney) humiliation front and center again.

What happens at Nate and Cassie's wedding? Zendaya and Hunter Schafer in "Euphoria." Credit: Patrick Wymore / HBO

While no one dies like they do in the Red Wedding or Purple Wedding, the episode is still a stressful reunion for Euphoria's leads, not to mention further proof that Nate (Jacob Elordi) and Cassie's marriage is doomed to fail.

Euphoria Season 3, episode 3 marks the first time that the show's principal cast has been together since Lexi's (Maude Apatow) play, making it a de facto high school reunion. Even fan favorite BB (Sophia Rose Wilson) is back.

SEE ALSO: 'Euphoria' made sex work go viral. Real sex workers are still getting censored.

Like at any high school reunion, most people are trying to prove that they're doing better than their peers, hence the revenge dresses from Jules (Hunter Schafer) and Maddy (Alexa Demie). Don't get me wrong, they look great, but in no world but Euphoria would you think of wearing these looks to a wedding. I wouldn't have been surprised if Cassie had gone full bridezilla and kicked them out.

Euphoria loves nothing more than a Cassie crash out. Sydney Sweeney and Alanna Ubach in "Euphoria." Credit: Patrick Wymore / HBO

Speaking of Cassie, she's trying the hardest out of everyone to impress. From the $50,000 flower arrangements to an ice sculpture of her and Nate, she's on a mission to construct the ultimate romantic fantasy. Remember how Maddy read her for her lack of "good taste" in the previous episode? This entire wedding is a monument to that.

However, Cassie's fantasy crumbles when Nate's business associate Naz (Jack Topalian) crashes the party, reminding Nate he needs to pay his debts. Once Cassie realizes the truth about Nate's finances — and that their friends know the truth as well — she enters the spiral to end all spirals.

Suddenly, Cassie's a wreck, shambling through her and Nate's bizarrely raunchy first dance and popping a champagne cork right into his eye. Given that Euphoria's audience is primed for mayhem at this wedding, the explosive cork moment reads as a cheeky gunshot fake-out to those who expected bloodshed.

Cassie's wedding crash out continues the humiliation she's endured all through Season 3, although unlike with her controversy-stirring OnlyFans content, this isn't by choice. It's also not entirely effective.

Euphoria has already made a spectacle of Cassie's embarrassment with Lexi's play, shining a literal spotlight on her worst moments and causing her to have a breakdown onstage. With the wedding, Euphoria creator Sam Levinson tries to one-up that moment, but it rings hollow. Cassie becomes a whining caricature, while Naz's involvement continues Euphoria's backslide into crime drama. (This episode also features Rue's (Zendaya) forays into arms dealing.) Plus, the episode's attempts at comedy, like Suze (Alanna Ubach) jamming out to the wedding band's uncensored rendition of "Get Low," are far too broad.

The hollowness continues even after the wedding. When the newlyweds finally make it home (in a hideous stretch Hummer no less, proving the bad taste allegations yet again), they're greeted by Naz, who gives Nate a serious beating and chops off his toe. The scene, like much of Season 3 so far, feels like Levinson trying to prove how sick and twisted Euphoria can get now that the teens we got to know are full-grown adults with adult problems. (Like being in debt to funeral parlor owners at the ripe old age of 23.)

Cassie's whining continues throughout, as she makes Nate's physical torment all about her. "What is happening right now?" she blubbers while he struggles to crawl up the staircase behind her.

The mash-up of comedy and gritty gangster drama still doesn't quite land. Cassie's meltdown here lacks the dimension and buildup of Season 2's, but at least it has more depth than Nate's half-baked debt plot, which plays second fiddle to Rue's own debt plot.

And while Sweeney goes all out, the scene ultimately feels reverse engineered to reach meme status akin to Cassie's sobbing "I have never, ever been happier" speech in Season 2. It's proof that when Euphoria wants a talked-about moment, it turns to Cassie's downfall.

The rest of the episode features some juicy character morsels, especially when it comes to Jules. The episode begins with a flashback to how she became a sugar baby, before giving us her reunions (and reconciliations) with both Nate and his father, Cal (Eric Dane). But these, like Rue's run-in with DEA agents, are overshadowed by the absolute disaster of Nate and Cassie's wedding. Given the show's outsize focus on Cassie in the lead-up to this episode, it's clear Euphoria wouldn't have it any other way.

New episodes of Euphoria Season 3 premiere Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.

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

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

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

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections?

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

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

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

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

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for April 27, 2026 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Healthy mix

• Green: Iconic movies

• Blue: Iconic animated roles

• Purple: Basketballers

Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Salad ingredients

• Green: Classic films

• Blue: "The Simpsons" characters

• Purple: Ending in NBA players

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

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

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #1051 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Salad ingredients: RANCH DRESSING, RED ONION, ROASTED CHICKEN, ROMAINE LETTUCE

• Classic films: RAIN MAN, REAR WINDOW, RESERVOIR DOGS, ROMAN HOLIDAY

• "The Simpsons" characters: RADIOACTIVE MAN, RALPH WIGGUM, REVEREND LOVEJOY, ROD FLANDERS

• Ending in NBA players: RAGING BULL, REGINA KING, ROE BUCK, ROTARY CLIPPER

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for April 27, 2026

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

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

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

Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you sleep with one eye open.

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

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

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

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

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 27, 2026 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: The ayes have it!

The words are related to letters.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe the same-letter openings.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Eye Openers.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

NYT Strands word list for April 27

• Iota

• Idolize

• Icon

• Eye Openers

• Ivory

• Icicle

• Island

• Ironic

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

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

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

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you believe in the supernatural.

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

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 27, 2026 Where did Wordle come from?

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

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

What's the best Wordle starting word?

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

What happened to the Wordle archive?

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

Is Wordle getting harder?

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for April 27, 2026 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Spooky.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

The letter E appears three times.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter E.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. The Wordle answer today is...

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

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

EERIE

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

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

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

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

Influencers jumped to fill the information void with conspiracy theories about the attack at the White House Correspondents’ dinner on Saturday.

Before AI became the defining buzzword of the 21st century, algorithms held that crown. And frankly, algorithmic recommendations have always kind of sucked. YouTube, in particular, has long been criticized for serving up low-quality content — and more troublingly, for functioning as a gateway to right-wing rabbit holes.

The best workaround has always been simple: pause your YouTube watch history. Without it running, your recommendations pull from your likes, saved videos, and subscriptions — not from that one iceberg video you clicked at 2 a.m. that suddenly has the algorithm convinced you want an endless stream of "SJW owned" compilations.

That fix, however, appears to be breaking down. Last week, a wave of YouTube users reported that with watch history paused, the platform has stopped serving homepage recommendations entirely — replacing their feeds with a prompt to re-enable watch history so YouTube can "populate" it.

Credit: Mashable screenshot / YouTube

The issue isn't universal. Users who recently paused their history still see recommendations, likely because YouTube has enough residual data to work with. The problem is hitting hardest for users who have kept watch history off for years — a group that, until now, had no issues. For the record, this writer has had watch history paused since 2017 without a single problem — until now, apparently.

This change hasn't gone down well, with many taking to Reddit to voice their complaints. "I've had my watch history off since 2013. Why is this suddenly a requirement? Maliciously incompetent company," says the top comment on one Reddit thread. Another commentor states, "Haven't had watch history on for 9 years. Now they're forcing me to turn it on to get recommended what they recommend me on my PC even though the reason they stated they cant recommend anything is because I don't have watch history on??? Makes no sense and its almost blatant."

While this isn't the first time YouTube has nudged users toward enabling tracking, some see this latest move as a more aggressive push to harvest search histories for ad targeting. There's also a legitimate question worth asking: why does YouTube suddenly need watch history to generate homepage recommendations when it had been doing exactly that for years without it?

Mashable reached out to YouTube with questions about the change and had not received a response by publication time.

Users have already found a workaround. Re-enable your watch history, refresh the page, then immediately pause it again. Your homepage recommendations should repopulate. To access the page to re-pause, head to Settings, click "View or change your Google Account settings," navigate to Data & Privacy, and toggle off YouTube history.

Twelve years after the original Alien: Isolation game was released across platforms, on the official "Alien Day" meant to celebrate the beloved franchise, game developers Creative Assembly are returning to the world of xenomorphs and unreliable robots to once again terrify the living daylights out of us.

The teaser trailer, aptly titled "False Sense of Security," does a lot with very little, from the flashing red light in a poorly lit room to the ominous background music and eventual close-up of what looks to be a payphone, with the word "Emergency" appropriately backlit.

As you might expect from the makers of the original game, Creative Assembly is clearly reluctant to over-share, relying on atmosphere and sound to do the heavy lifting, but the brief glimpse we get of the background when the door opens suggests the possibility that, unlike the first game, the sequel might also take place on a planet's surface, perhaps hinting at a much larger game world.

Needless to say, we'll be covering more details about the game's development and progress as they emerge.

Journalists and guests shared the surreal and confusing scenes from the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner after gunfire erupted on Saturday.

A new report from The Midas Project's Model Republic publication has found that news site, The Wire by Acutus, relies almost entirely on AI-generated content. The publication has been operational since the end of 2025 with nearly 100 published articles across tech, energy, media, science, business, and healthcare. Stranger still, their About page describes their work as "collaborative journalism" led by an "editorial team," but the site has no masthead and credits no editors or journalists in its publications.

The official explanation for this anonymity is buried in their How It Works subhead:

Our editorial team identifies timely topics and invites contributors with relevant, firsthand experience to share their perspective through structured conversations. Those perspectives are synthesized and edited into stories that reflect where contributors align, where they diverge, and what it all means — offering depth, balance, and clarity beyond the headline.

But when journalist Tyler Johnston ran the site's content through Pangram, an AI detection tool that boasts a 99.98% accuracy rating, he discovered just how widely AI was relied upon: "Of the 94 articles, 69% came back flagged as fully AI-generated, with another 28% flagged as partially AI-generated. Only three articles were classified as human-authored."

Johnston's suspicions grew when he looked at the content itself, which was both overwhelmingly in favor of the development of artificial intelligence and dismissive of AI's critics. One piece, for example, warns of "Escalating Anti-AI Radicalism," while another chides the reader: "Will Republicans Let Blue States Set America’s AI Rules?" 

The deeper Johnston dug, the clearer the picture got. As a new site with very little social media presence, articles by The Wire are seldom retweeted, but Johnston discovered that half of its engagement on X came from Patrick Hynes, the president of the PR firm Novus Public Affairs. A quick glance at their client list reveals they work on behalf of Targeted Victory, the consulting firm at the very heart of OpenAI's lobbying efforts in Washington on behalf of its regulatory interests. 

Generative artificial intelligence has already created rifts in our collective perception of reality. With enough computing power, you can create fake trailers for films that were never made and never will be, or steal a politician's voice for a deep fake, or even invent an absurd, implausible scenario, like a shark attacking a plane, and fool at least a few credulous internet rookies.

If Johnston's reporting is correct and his inferences are accurate, we may have an instance of an AI firm deliberately mischaracterizing its work as "independent journalism" to lobby on its behalf (something Johnston points out contravenes its own usage policies).

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

The biggest hit on the internet right now isn’t a scripted sitcom or a big-budget movie. It’s a group of friends sitting around a table, rolling dice, and creating fantastic worlds for four hours at a time. Shows like Critical Role and Dimension 20 have conquered both the internet and live audiences across the world with their imaginations and hysterical banter.

But cultural phenomenons like these aren’t forged overnight. It takes years worth of Initiative, Charisma checks and Nat 20s for these campaigns to get to where they are today. And we are going to break down why Actual Play sorcerers like Critical Role and Dimension 20 succeeded and how they hit.

TL;DR: This near-mint MacBook Pro (2020) delivers strong performance, a sharp Retina display, and all-day usability for just $429.97 while stock lasts.

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There are a lot of valid reasons for looking for a hookup and you certainly don't need to justify your quest for a fling to us.

If you want to protect your privacy or at least keep a low profile while you swipe through sexy singles in your area, there are a few different approaches you can take, some general guidance that works across all apps and sites, and some more targeted advice depending on the service you're using.

General tips for browsing hookup apps discreetly

The following tips work well across all hookup sites. Think of them as general guidelines for limiting your exposure:

• Sign up using an alternative email address. Not only does this spare you in the event of a data breach (and trust us: they're more common than you would think), but it also means that no one who catches a glance at your inbox will ever find out which hookup sites you frequent.

• Anonymize your photos as far as possible. You don't have to blur your face, but neither should you be taking photos of yourself that could show someone what neighborhood you live in or where you work. Additionally, ensure you leave out any identifying marks, such as unique tattoos, from any of your profile photos.  

• Don't link your social media in your profile. Too many people share their Instagram pages or TikTok handles in their profiles, but doing so dramatically increases your exposure, since every image and story you post there could inadvertently contain identifying information about you, from who your friends are to where you hang out.  

• Take advantage of gift cards or prepaid credit cards. If you opt to purchase a premium membership to a hookup app or site, the paper trail linking your bank account or credit card to the service is a definite liability. To maximize your anonymity, use a prepaid card or purchase a gift card rather than using your main credit or debit card to register your membership. 

App-specific tips to retain your anonymityFeeld

For the privacy-conscious dater, Feeld’s Incognito mode is a game-changer: you can scout the Discover feed without leaving a digital footprint, remaining invisible to anyone you haven't explicitly "liked." The app also supports private photo vaults that only unlock for confirmed connections.

Tinder

Tinder offers a few unique features that can help you lower your profile, even as you swipe away. First, consider turning off Discovery mode when you're trying to keep a low profile. This will make it impossible for new people to find your profile in search without preventing you from speaking to the people you've already matched with.

If you really want to take things up a notch and you already have a Tinder Plus, Gold or Platinum membership, you can use Passport Mode to browse singles in a nearby city, or a place you're travelling to for work or on a vacation. This is a great way to prevent your local friends and family from accidentally coming across your profile. 

You can also block phone numbers if you really don't want certain individuals coming across your profile, like your boss or sibling.

Grindr

The first line of defence on Grindr is a relatively new feature called Profile Hide that works on one user at a time. Say, for example, you come across a co-worker on the app, and don't want them to know you're also using it. Simply click on their profile and find the Hide icon. If you tap this, your profile will become invisible to them and their profile will become invisible to you, like magic.

If you want to take things up a notch, you'll need a Grindr Unlimited membership, which unlocks a really useful privacy feature called Incignito mode, which essentially allows you to use the service in total secrecy, without anyone knowing you're there until you initiate an interaction. 

AdultFriendFinder

AdultFriendFinder is like the Wild West of hookup sites, a place where seemingly anything goes, but that carefree attitude can also be a privacy nightmare. We strongly recommend you limit the amount of identifiable information you put on your profile, including being very selective about which photos you choose to share.

One good way to strike a balance between total anonymity and a modicum of privacy is to take advantage of AFF's many photo features, specifically their photo permissions options. You can make your main profile photo something reasonably discrete, such as a full-length picture of you wearing a hat or a photo shot from a distance or even a photo with your face blurred out, but then you can create a photo album of more identifiable, personal photos that you choose to share only with friends. 

That way, you become the final gatekeeper over your photos, allowing you to be selective about who you share them with.

Mother figures are the backbone of the world. They teach you the adulting necessities, give advice even if the problem is your fault, and above all, they put up with your shit and (almost) never complain. So when it comes to showing your appreciation with a Mother's Day gift, the game plan involves more than a generic mug or the last wilted bouquet from CVS.

There's something so priceless about a gift that was obviously picked just for her, regardless of its actual price. Whether it's something to make a part of her life easier, something she's mentioned wanting in passing, or simply something to make her feel like a queen, there are opportunities for truly thoughtful gifts for mom on any budget. Here are our best Mother's Day gift ideas for 2026:

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

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

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

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

SEE ALSO: Hurdle: Everything you need to know to find the answers Hurdle Word 1 hint

A song.

SEE ALSO: Apple’s new M3 MacBook Air is $300 off at Amazon. And yes, I’m tempted. Hurdle Word 1 answer

CAROL

Hurdle Word 2 hint

Balled up.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 26, 2026 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

FETAL

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Hurdle Word 3 hint

A tropical fruit.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for April 26 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 26, 2026 Hurdle Word 3 answer

MANGO

Hurdle Word 4 hint

Related to sound.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

SONAR

Final Hurdle hint

Exchange.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Games available on Mashable Hurdle Word 5 answer

TRADE

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

We're now in the Waxing Gibbous phase of the lunar cycle. This means most of the Moon’s face is lit up at this point, making it especially bright in the night sky. Read on to see what details you can spot tonight.

What is today’s Moon phase?

As of Sunday, April 26, the Moon phase is Waxing Gibbous. Tonight, 73% of the moon will be lit up, according to NASA's Daily Moon Guide.

If you're looking at the Moon with just your naked eye, you should be able to catch a glimpse of the Mare Crisium, Copernicus Crater, and Tycho Crater. If you have binoculars, the Mare Frigoris, Posidonius Crater, and Apennine Mountains should also come into view. And, finally, with a telescope you'll see all this plus the Apollo 17 landing spot, Rupes Altai, and Rupes Recta.

When is the next Full Moon?

The next Full Moon is predicted to take place on May 1, the first of two in May.

What are Moon phases?

NASA says that the Moon completes a full orbit around Earth in about 29.5 days, during which it passes through eight stages. Although the same face of the Moon is always turned toward us, the portion illuminated by the Sun shifts as it travels along its path, producing the familiar cycle of full, half, and crescent shapes. These variations are referred to as lunar phases, and there are eight altogether:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to play Pips

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

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 26, 2026

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for April 26, 2026 Easy difficulty hints, answers for April 26 Pips

Number (9): Everything in this purple space must add up to 9. The answer is 5-5, placed vertically; 4-2, placed vertically.

Equal (6): Every domino half in this red space must have 6 pips. The answer is 6-6, placed vertically; 6-1, placed horizontally.

Number (2): Everything in this light blue space must add up to 2. The answer is 4-2, placed vertically; 0-1, placed vertically.

Equal (1): Every domino half in this yellow space must have 1 pip. The answer is 6-1, placed horizontally; 0-1, placed vertically.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for April 26 Pips

Number (6): Everything in this purple space must add up to 6. The answer is 2-0, placed horizontally; 4-6, placed horizontally.

Number (10): Everything in this red space must add up to 10. The answer is 5-2, placed vertically; 5-1, placed vertically.

Number (6): The domino half in this light blue space must have 6 pips. The answer is 4-6, placed horizontally.

Number (3): Everything in this yellow space must add up to 3. The answer is 5-2, placed vertically; 5-1, placed vertically.

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

Number (6): Everything in this green space must add up to 6. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally; 1-0, placed vertically.

Number (6): Everything in this purple space must add up to 6. The answer is 3-1, placed vertically; 1-4, placed horizontally.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for April 26 Pips

Equal (2): Every domino half in this purple space must have 2 pips. The answer is 2-2, placed horizontally; 2-6, placed vertically; and 2-1, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this red space must add up to 4. The answer is 1-6, placed vertically; 3-0, placed vertically.

Equal (6): Every domino half in this light blue space must have 6 pips. The answer is 2-6, placed vertically; 1-6, placed vertically; 6-6, placed vertically; 6-0, placed vertically; and 6-3, placed horizontally.

Equal (0): Every domino half in this yellow space must have 0 pips. The answer is 3-0, placed vertically; 6-0, placed horizontally; 4-0, placed horizontally; and 0-1, placed vertically.

Less Than (4): The domino half in this dark blue space must have less than 4 pips. The answer is 2-1, placed vertically.

Number (7): Everything in this green space must add up to 7. The answer is 4-0, placed horizontally; 6-3, placed horizontally.

Does Not Equal: Every domino half in this purple space must have a different number of pips. The answer is 4-2, placed vertically.

Equal (1): Every domino half in this red space must have 1 pip. The answer is 0-1, placed vertically; 5-1, placed horizontally.

Equal (5): Every domino half in this blue space must have 5 pips. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally; 5-1, placed horizontally.

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

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

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

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

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections?

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

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

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

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

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SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for April 26, 2026 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Disclaimer

• Green: Singer traits

• Blue: Popular TV stars

• Purple: Geminis have two

Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Stipulation

• Green: Vocal characteristics

• Blue: Characters in "Dick and Jane"

• Purple: Things with faces

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

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

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #1050 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Stipulation: CATCH, CAVEAT, FINE PRINT, STRINGS

• Vocal characteristics: PITCH, RANGE, REGISTER, TONE

• Characters in "Dick and Jane": DICK, JANE, MOTHER, SPOT

• Things with faces: BUILDING, CLIFF, CLOCK, POLYHEDRON

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for April 26, 2026

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

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

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