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Connections: Sports Edition is a new version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Yellow: Nimble.

• Green: Athletic group name

• Blue: Southern state teams

• Purple: Same suffix.

Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections Sports Edition categories

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

• Yellow: Agile

• Green: NWSL

• Blue: Louisiana sports teams

• Purple: ____ DOME

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

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

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections Sports Edition #134 is...

What is the answer to Connections Sports Edition today

• Agile - ATHLETIC, LIMBER, LITHE, SPRIGHTLY

• NWSL - LEAGUE, NATIONAL, SOCCER, WOMEN'S

• Louisiana sports teams - GREEN WAVE, PELICANS, SAINTS, TIGERS

• ____ DOME - ASTRO, KING, METRO, SUPER

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

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

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

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

If you're reading this, you're looking for a little help playing Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game.

Strands 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 February 4 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for February 4 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Elf-centered

These words are different mythical creatures.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

Words are mischievous, elf-like beings.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Impish.

Featured Video For You Strands 101: How to win NYT’s latest word game NYT Strands word list for February 4

• Gremlin

• Hobgoblin

• Leprechaun

• Fairy

• Pixie

• Sprite

• Impish

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.

The billionaire is creating major upheaval as his team sweeps through agencies, in what has been an extraordinary flexing of power by a private individual.

A top official at the General Services Administration said artificial intelligence could be used to identify waste and redundancies in federal contracts.

During the early morning of Monday, Feb. 3, protesters flooded the Washington, D.C. street that marks the entrance to the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The group wasn't trying to enter the federal premises in a violent takeover, but rather act as a wall of defense between the government agency and a directive to cease the organization's work as a matter of fiduciary foresight. Later that afternoon, the USAID office shut down. The official USAID website is no longer available.

SEE ALSO: Elon Musk's DOGE takeover is reportedly being spearheaded by young college grads

The decisions came after Elon Musk — newly-appointed leader of DOGE, a non-government agency with no official government powers or legal precedent for intervening in federal spending — declared he would be cutting off USAID, halting tens of billion in foreign aid spending. Musk, incentivized by President Trump's commitment to "cut federal spending" set his sights on what he called an "evil" "criminal organization," and a "viper’s nest of radical-left Marxists who hate America."

Federal employees were then barred from entering the D.C. premises, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared he would step in as de-facto USAID administrator, calling the humanitarian organization "a completely unresponsive agency" that needed to be "aligned" with U.S. foreign policy.

Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted What is USAID?

The U.S. Agency for International Development operates the federal government's global aid budget and associated programs, serving as "the principal U.S. agency to extend assistance to countries recovering from disaster, trying to escape poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms," according to the agency's archived website (accessible on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine).

USAID was established in the 1960s under an executive order by President John F. Kennedy, a result of the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act intended to streamline foreign aid and efficiently administer humanitarian aid on behalf of the U.S. government. USAID is overseen by the president, secretary of state, and the National Security Council, and seeks to invest in longterm economic assistance abroad as part of the country's larger foreign policy.

USAID operates through dozens of international field missions in more than 60 countries, each with a different focus area, including disaster and poverty relief, socio-economic development, and assistance with global issues — USAID frequently administers programs globally through collaborations with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Why did Elon Musk target USAID?

To put it simply, the agency oversees a lot of crucial spending. As of 2023, USAID was allocated around half of the U.S. government's total budget for international aid, a sum of about $68 billion.

Following Trump's order, and then reversal, of a government-wide federal spending freeze, Musk took aim at USAID as part of his mandate to rid the U.S. government of so-called corruption and superfluous spending. And while both Trump and Rubio had declared humanitarian aid would be waived under the auditing process spearheaded by DOGE, Musk moved forward with an attempt to eliminate USAID as a singular entity. Trump had recently made references to removing and replacing the "radical lunatics" overseeing USAID, as well. On Feb. 3, USAID Director for Security John Vorhees and Deputy Director for Security Brian McGill were fired.

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Simultaneously, Musk has been pushing for greater access and control over federal systems and their offices. After requesting and being denied access to internal systems through the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Feb. 2, Musk reportedly pushed to oust administrators who had refused his requests, with two anonymous OPM officials losing access to the system shortly after. Musk and his allies later gained control of internal U.S. Treasury databases.

According to the BBC, USAID's activities will be rolled into the workings of the State Department with a significant reduction in funding and workforce. It's unclear how this will effect ongoing programs, including charity contributions, abroad.

What can DOGE actually do?

DOGE, otherwise known as the Department of Government Efficiency, was announced by Trump in November, shortly after he won the 2024 presidential election. The department's mandate, at the time, was described as modernizing federal systems and slashing inefficiency — Trump called it a new "Manhattan Project" set to overhaul the government's IT systems.

But DOGE is not a government agency with the same powers as the offices it's trying to eliminate. Instead, DOGE was established as an advising body under the United States Digital Service (now the U.S. DOGE SERVICE) and the Office for Personnel Management. Under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, it should only be able to exercise advisory powers to federal spending, while Congress retains oversight and decision-making for large budgetary actions, despite the promises of Trump and Musk.

In practice, however, DOGE and its leader are exercising power they may not legally have a right to, and operating on a path that some refer to as a forcible takeover of government.

As DOGE head Elon Musk works to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID's official website has gone dark.

Following Musk's threats to kill the office in charge of distributing foreign aid — including humanitarian allotments — Musk officially announced on Monday that President Trump had signed off on his so-called cost-cutting measures involving the agency, immediately shutting down the office and reportedly instructing security officers to stop federal employees from entering the premises.

SEE ALSO: [Update] Elon Musk shuts down USAID, calls it a 'ball of worms'

Not long before USAID's end, and in what appears to be the new strategy of the Trump administration, the agency's website was pulled. It now serves visitors with a notice that the server is unable to load. At the time, government employees and Democratic lawmakers expressed concern, as individuals were redirected to a State Department webpage merely summarizing USAID's work.

Previously, the administration pulled websites for the shelved Office for Gun Violence Prevention and multiple pages making referencing to LGBTQ (specifically transgender) resources and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs.

Credit: Screenshot

Nearly one million Discord users just had their account details – including usernames, IP addresses, and Discord IDs – exposed in a hacking forum.

However, Discord, the popular chat room service, doesn't appear to have suffered from a data breach directly. Instead, a third-party backup solution known as RestoreCord has been breached.

As first noticed by cybersecurity website Leakd, a file containing a massive leak of Discord user data was posted freely on a popular hacking forum called BreachForums. The data, which includes users' Discord IDs, IP addresses, and usernames, was posted by a BreachForums user with the handle "Sythe."

RestoreCord is a service used by some Discord users to backup their servers on the platform. RestoreCord says on its website that it is "the only Discord Bot that you will ever need to protect and recover your server from raids, nukes, and more." RestoreCord boasts that it serves 99 million members, including 100,000 paying customers, and backs up 55,000 Discord servers.

The FBI seized BreachForums last year after the site became a well-known haven for buying and selling stolen data. However, one of BreachForums' domains popped back up just a few weeks after the May 2024 takedown.

BreachForums' founder Conor Fitzpatrick was arrested in 2023 on a range of charges connected to the site. However, Fitzpatrick just recently made news a few weeks ago after a U.S. appeals court overturned the lenient sentence he originally received.

It is unclear as of publishing as to how the data was obtained or if there has been any malicious activity connected to what's included in the leak. Mashable has reached out to RestoreCord for more information and will update this piece when we hear back.

SAVE $50: The Sonos Era 100 smart speaker is on sale at Amazon for $199, down from the typical price of $249. That's a 20% discount.

Opens in a new window Credit: Sonos Sonos Era 100 $199.00 at Amazon
$249.00 Save $50.00 Get Deal

Your movies, TV shows, and playlists deserve something better than your TVs built-in speakers. Those are notoriously not so great (for starters, most face backward) and we have a new White Lotus theme song to look forward to in just a few weeks. Before the new episodes drop, make sure your TVs sound system is ready thanks to today's deal at Amazon.

As of Feb. 3, the Sonos Era 100 smart speaker is on sale at Amazon for $199, marked down from the standard price of $249. That's a 20% discount that'll save you $50. You're free to snag the white or black colorway options to score this sale price.

The Bluetooth enabled Sonos Era 100 is ready to play your favorite tunes with a dual-tweeter acoustic architecture and 25% bigger midwoofer. Boiled down, that means you'll be hearing better sound quality with deep base that comes from an impressively compact speaker.

Use it to play your podcasts while you clean or a pump-up workout mix. You could also add it to your home's speaker setup and connect it to your TV with the Bluetooth connection. Plus, it can also connect to a computer and even a turntable thanks to the line-in adapter.

If your home is in need of a more powerful Bluetooth speaker, today's sale price on the Sonos Era 100 means this is a great time to upgrade. Your playlists will thank you.

Save 31%: The 10-ounce Ember Mug 2 typically goes for $129.95, but as of Feb. 3, you can grab it for just $89.99 on Amazon, saving you $39.96.

Opens in a new window Credit: Ember Ember Mug 2 (10 ounces) $89.99 at Amazon
$129.95 Save $39.96 Get Deal

You and your loved ones deserve better than room temperature coffee.

Granted, upwards of $100 may seem an exorbitant price to pay for that, but I'm writing as someone who once subsisted most mornings on a glorious single sip of hot coffee, before inevitably getting wrapped up in starting my day, and ultimately resigning myself to a mug of lukewarm to outright cold coffee — I deserved better. Thankfully, I had a partner who saw that, and gifted me the heated Ember mug, and two years later, I can confidently say it was one of best gifts I've ever received.

SEE ALSO: 32 Valentine's Day gift ideas for men

With Valentine's Day around the corner, it's a great time to show your partner, your friends, or yourself that love, and thanks to a deal at Amazon, it won't cost quite as much. As of Feb. 3, you can grab the 10-ounce Ember Mug 2 for $89.99, down nearly $40 from its $129.95 list price.

I will acknowledge that even on sale, you're paying nearly $100 for a mug. However, that's part of what makes this mug a great gift — not that it's expensive, but that it feels just fancy and frivolous enough that most people will likely talk themselves out of getting it. That's one half of the good gift Venn Diagram — things the person would likely never get for themselves. The other half is, of course, something that the recipient will actually use, and if the recipient loves cozying up with a hot drink (again, I encourage including yourself in this category), I promise this mug will get plenty of use.

Beyond the price, there are a couple of setbacks for this mug. For one, its battery life maxes out at an hour and 20 minutes — it helps, don't get me wrong, but the Platonic ideal of the Ember Mug would last at least through the entire morning. That said, you can get around this by keeping it on its charging coaster after you fill it up — it won't recharge while it has liquid in it, but it will hold the battery life. The other downside is that it is hand wash only, so be aware if you plan on giving this to a dishwasher power user.

SAVE 54%: As of Feb. 3, you can get 27 preserved roses for just $59.94 at Amazon (54% off!). These stunning blooms last up to three years.

Opens in a new window Credit: Glamour Boutique 27 Preserved Roses in a Heart Box $59.94 at Amazon
$129.95 Save $70.01 Get Deal

We don’t usually write about non-Amazon sellers (aka third-party sellers), but this deal looks legit.

Right now, you can get a heart-shaped box of 27 preserved roses for only $59.94 from an online retailer called Glamour Boutique. Sure, the name isn’t super sophisticated, but these roses have more than 2K reviews and a 4.6-star average rating. (We also peeked at the photos to make sure they’d be worth showing off on the 'gram.)

SEE ALSO: Sexy Valentine's Day gifts guaranteed to spice things up

So, if you’ve always wanted to gift your SO a Venus et Fleur box for Valentine's Day but couldn't stomach the $399 price tag, this could be the perfect affordable alternative. If you wanted to make it look more luxe, you could pop it into a black Parisian hat box or get a crystal vase to display it in.

These roses come in sets of seven, 16, 27, and 50, and you can choose from colors like pink, yellow, red, etc. (The white looks especially chic.) And here’s the selling point: they're reportedly supposed to last for up to three years, so it's basically like getting three years’ worth of fresh roses for $60.

GET TWO FREE E-BOOKS WITH PRIME: As of Feb. 3, Amazon Prime members can snag two free Amazon First Reads books. Not a Prime member? You can still grab two e-books for just $1.99 each.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon First Reads Prime members get two free e-books. Non-Prime members pay $1.99 for the first two. Get Deal

If you’re trying to read more this year (first of all, good on you!), Amazon's First Reads program is a great way to add new books to your library without breaking the bank or taking up too much physical space on your shelves.

Each month, Amazon First Reads gives Prime members early access to new books and popular reads, and in February, Prime members can choose one Kindle book and one bonus short read for free. Non-Prime members will have to pay $1.99 (each) to add these books to their collections, but it's still a great deal compared to the usual retail prices.

SEE ALSO: 'Severance's 'The You You Are' is now a real book. Here are 4 things we learned from it.

This month’s lineup includes a mix of genres, from psychological thrillers to romance novels, so there’s a little bit of something for everyone. Find titles like The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez, Mr. Whispher by Andrew Mayne, and Not Quite by the Book by Julie Hatcher.

First Reads is free to join, and when you sign up, you’ll get a monthly email with the new selections of the month.

On the heels of its o3 mini release, OpenAI announced a new ChatGPT agent for handling in-depth research. Appropriately, it's called "deep research."

Using a yet-to-be-released version of OpenAI's reasoning model o3, deep research "conducts multi-step research on the internet for complex tasks," said the announcement. Deep research on ChatGPT essentially functions as your very own research assistant. It's designed to help users "who do intensive knowledge work in areas like finance, science, policy, and engineering," but can be used for any kind of thorough research needs, like shopping for a new car.

Tweet may have been deleted ChatGPT's deep research report on the best snowboards for freestyle riders, complete with sources. Credit: OpenAI

If OpenAI's deep research tool sounds familiar, that's because Google Gemini released the same thing with the same name in early December. The two companies have continued to compete for AI dominance, taking that rivalry into the next phase of AI development, which is building models with more complex reasoning abilities and agents that can perform tasks on the user's behalf. Then there's the China-based DeepSeek, which exploded onto the scene last week with its cost-efficient R1 model, throttling tech stocks and spooking the AI industry.

SEE ALSO: OpenAI, Microsoft, Trump admin claim DeepSeek trained AI off stolen data

While R1 certainly made waves for being a fully capable LLM made for a fraction of the cost of ChatGPT, OpenAI seems to be flexing its muscles with the release of o3 mini, an agent called Operator for browsing the web and performing computer tasks, and now the deep research feature. "Deepseek's r1 is an impressive model, particularly around what they're able to deliver for the price," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted on X last Monday. "We will obviously deliver much better models and also it's legit invigorating to have a new competitor! we will pull up some releases."

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Altman went on to say, "we are excited to continue to execute on our research roadmap and believe more compute is more important now than ever before to succeed at our mission," in a follow up post referencing the company's plans for AGI and the billions of dollars raised to ostensibly achieve this mission. So, OpenAI is at least publicly staying the course, but we can also expect some product releases to keep the masses happy and engaged.

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Compared to other models like GPT-4o, which is best for real-time conversations, deep research is best for specific and in-depth tasks, which can take anyway from five to 30 minutes to complete. As the announcement notes, you can step away from your computer while deep research does its thing, and you'll get a notification of a final report within the chat when its done.

The responses include detailed outputs and summaries of its thinking, so you can see how deep research came to its conclusions. The report also includes citations and links to its sources.

Given the large compute power per query, OpenAI is first making deep research available to ChatGPT Pro users with 100 queries a month. Then Plus and Team users, then Enterprise users. Deep research is currently only available on the web, with mobile and desktop app access coming by the end of February. Sorry to users in the UK and EU, but OpenAI is "still working on bringing access" to you.

Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow (Conclave) face off in The Rule of Jenny Pen, a terrifying new horror film from director James Ashcroft (Coming Home in the Dark).

SEE ALSO: 2025 movie preview: All the films you'll want to know about

Adapted from Owen Marshall's short story of the same name, The Rule of Jenny Pen follows arrogant Judge Stefan Mortensen (Rush), who experiences a near-fatal stroke and is sent to live in a retirement home. There, he meets fellow resident Dave Crealy (Lithgow). Crealy may seem mild-mannered during the day, but at night, he roams the home's halls and terrorizes residents with his doll, the terrifying Jenny Pen. With no help from the retirement home staff, it's up to Mortensen to take Crealy (and Jenny) down.

You can watch Jenny in all her frightening glory in the trailer above. And if she's not enough to convince you to check out The Rule of Jenny Pen, maybe you'll listen to Stephen King, who said in 2024 that The Rule of Jenny Pen is "one of the best movies I've seen this year."

The Rule of Jenny Pen hits theaters March 7.

SAVE UP TO 64%: Select SEGA games are discounted at Best Buy by as much as 64%. Sale prices start at just $19.99 and include Xbox, PS5, and Nintendo Switch titles.

Best SEGA game deals at Best Buy Best PS5 SEGA game deal "Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth" $24.99 (save $45) Get Deal Best Xbox SEGA game deal "Sonic Origins Plus" $19.99 (save $20) Get Deal Best SEGA Nintendo Switch game deal "Unicorn Overlord" $29.99 (save $30) Get Deal

Searching for some new entertainment to finish out the winter season? Look no further than Best Buy's sale on SEGA games. While the sale doesn't cover the newest titles, the selection is perfect for picking up a few titles you may have missed out on in the last few years.

The sale includes SEGA games fit to play on the Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4, and Xbox One, to name a handful. Since some titles are up to 64% off, it's worth browsing the selection to find your new favorites.

Best SEGA PS5 game Opens in a new window Credit: SEGA "Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth" $24.99 at Best Buy
$69.99 Save $45.00 Get Deal Why we like it

From Japan to Hawaii, dive into the RPG adventures of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth on the PS5. With Best Buy's SEGA sale, the game costs only $24.99, instead of the list price of $69.99.

Look forward to the often funny side quests and minigames whether you've played along with all Like a Dragon games or this'll be your first.

Best SEGA Xbox game Opens in a new window Credit: SEGA "sonic Origins Plus" $19.99 at Best Buy
$39.99 Save $20.00 Get Deal Why we like it

What's better than one game? How about 16 classic titles all rolled into one game. That's what you'll get with Sonic Origins Plus and thanks to Best Buy, the game can be your to play on Xbox One and Xbox Series X for the low price of $19.99, down from the normal price of $39.99.

With old classics come new characters, modes, challenges , and extra scenes.

Best SEGA Nintendo Switch game Opens in a new window Credit: SEGA "Unicorn Overlord" $29.99 at Best Buy
$59.99 Save $30.00 Get Deal Why we like it

If you're scanning the Best Buy SEGA sale and play on the Nintendo Switch check out Unicorn Overlord. While the game usually costs $59.99, Best Buy has it discounted to just $29.99. Explore the fantasy world with animated battles through five nations in Unicorn Overlord which lets you choose from over 60 characters including humans, angels, beasts, and elves.

With impressive graphics and a compelling story, the game will have you happily busy until the sun returns this spring.

Check out the best Amazon deals of the day as of Feb. 3: OUR TOP PICK Apple AirPods 4 $99.99 (save $29.01) Get Deal BEST FITNESS TRACKER DEAL Fitbit Inspire 3 $79.95 (save $20) Get Deal BEST HEADPHONES DEAL Beats Solo 4 $99.99 (save $99.96) Get Deal BEST TABLET DEAL Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet $94.99 (save $45) Get Deal BEST SMART HOME DEAL Blink Video Doorbell $32.99 (save $27) Get Deal

A new month brings a new slew of deals at Amazon. While the daily deals pages at the mega retailer can often be filled with inflated prices and items sitting at the same "sale" price for weeks on end, today's deals are actually pretty impressive. We've handpicked a few we think are worth grabbing on Feb. 3

Here are our top picks for the best Amazon deals of the day. If these aren't getting the job done, check back tomorrow for a brand new batch.

Our top pick: Apple AirPods 4 Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirPods 4 $99.99 at Amazon
$129.00 Save $29.01 Get Deal

Now's a great time to upgrade your listening experience with a new pair of AirPods. The fourth-generation earbuds (without ANC) are on sale for just under $100 at Amazon as of Feb. 3. That's 22% in savings and the biggest discount to date. With personalized spatial audio, Siri interactions, voice isolation, a surprisingly snug fit, and up to five hours of listening time, the AirPods 4 are a solid daily driver. Want noise cancellation? It'll cost you a bit more, although the buds with ANC are also on sale for 17% off.

Check out our review of the AirPods 4.

Fitbit Inspire 3 Opens in a new window Credit: Fitbit Fitbit Inspire 3 $79.95 at Amazon
$99.95 Save $20.00 Get Deal

"For anyone new to fitness or any dedicated gym rat, the Fitbit Inspire 3 gets you more than you pay for," Mashable's reviewer writes. If you're making health and wellness a priority in 2025, the Fitbit Inspire 3 offers a huge suite of tracking features — from sleep and stress to steps and blood oxygen levels. It also has an intuitive, low-profile design, easy-to-navigate user interface, impressive app suite, workout insights, and decent battery life. As of Feb. 3, it's back on sale for only $79.95 at Amazon — that's 20% in savings — making it a total steal.

Check out our review of the Fitbit Inspire 3.

Beats Solo 4 Opens in a new window Credit: Beats Beats Solo 4 $99.99 at Amazon
$199.95 Save $99.96 Get Deal

The Beats Solo 4s improve upon the previous generation with upgraded drivers, rebalanced acoustics, and an improved frequency response. Translation: they have much more dynamic sound. They also have better battery life, clocking in at around 50 hours (10 more hours than their predecessor). They lack noise-cancelling technology, which is kind of a bummer, but we're willing to overlook that since they're down to just $99.99. That's 50% off their typical cost and their best price on record.

Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon Fire HD 10 $94.99 at Amazon
$139.99 Save $45.00 Get Deal

"The Fire HD 10 shines as a budget tablet designed for streaming and gaming," Mashable reviewer SaVanna Shoemaker writes. It's over 30 grams lighter than the previous generation and 25 percent faster. Plus, it features an upgraded front-facing camera (5MP vs. 2MP) for better pictures and video calls. It's not the fanciest tablet on the market by any means, but the no-frills design is ideal for watching movies, answering emails, or even reading on the go. It's usually $139.99, but you can slash 32% off as of Feb. 3 and grab it for just $94.99 at Amazon.

Check out our full review of the Amazon Fire HD 10.

Blink Video Doorbell Opens in a new window Credit: Blink Blink Video Doorbell $32.99 at Amazon
$59.99 Save $27.00 Get Deal

The Blink Video Doorbell gives you an extra set of eyes to see who (or what) is outside your door, whether you're at home or out and about. It features a 1080p HD live view, two-way audio, infrared night vision, and can be installed in minutes. Plus, it'll last for up to two years on two AA batteries when paired with the Sync Module (sold separately). Slash 45% off as of Feb. 3 and pick it up for only $32.99 at Amazon. That's just $3 away from its best price ever.

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

The European Union is planning to crack down on foreign goods shipped by e-commerce marketplaces like Shein, Temu, and even Amazon, according to a draft proposal reviewed by the Financial Times.

New customs guidelines would require these companies to provide information on products — even those sold by third parties — to EU officials prior to their receipt, so that agents can track and inspect packages more efficiently. In an even more significant shift, they would also place the liability of products deemed dangerous or illegal on the shopping platforms themselves, rather than importers, and load additional onus on marketplaces to ensure their products comply with EU rules.

Currently, any EU resident purchasing foreign goods online is considered an "importer" in the eyes of customs enforcement.

SEE ALSO: Elon Musk's DOGE team attempt takeover of USAID

In 2024, more than 90 percent of "lower-value" goods making their way into the EU were imported from China through online marketplaces, the Financial Times reported. Under the new rules, the EU intends could potentially disrupt this flow by subjecting such packages to duties that they are currently exempt from. The EU is also considering applying additional handling fees to such imports, and will establish a new EU customs authority (EUCA) to handle their oversight.

"The surging volume of products that are unsafe, counterfeit or otherwise non-compliant leads to serious safety and health risks for consumers, has an unsustainable impact on the environment, and fuels unfair competition for legitimate businesses, with a significant impact on competitiveness in different sectors," the proposal draft reads. "The EUCA would be able to screen the goods based on this information and to identify potential risks, even prior to the loading of the goods for transport or their physical arrival in the EU."

The EU has launched multiple investigations into online marketplaces under its Digital Markets Act (DMA), including several antitrust audits levied at Amazon. In late 2024, regulatory insiders told Reuters that Amazon would be facing another battle with the bloc's antitrust body this year, allegedly for favoring its own products over other vendors on Amazon platforms.

In addition, the EU recently renewed a 6-month period of economic sanctions on Russia in response to its continued invasion of Ukraine, and announced they were exploring widened sanctions on imported goods like video game consoles and controllers.

Save 17%: The Dyson Airwrap Complete and Complete Long Diffuse in the special edition Strawberry Bronze colorway are both on sale as of Feb. 3. You have your pick of retailer: the absolute cheapest price is on the straight hair Complete at Amazon for $499, saving you $100.99 off the multi-styler's $599.99 list price. You can also pay just 99 cents more at Dyson for the straight or curly version of the Airwrap or Best Buy for the straight version.

Opens in a new window Credit: Dyson Dyson Airwrap Complete $499.00 at Amazon
$599.99 Save $100.99 Get Deal

As Mashable's shopping reporter on the beauty beat, I've tested the Dyson Airwrap, the Shark FlexStyle, and many Airwrap dupes and while I remain skeptical to the claim the Airwrap is worth the hefty investment for everyone, I do think that those who've been dying to try it should grab it on sale.

SEE ALSO: Dyson Airwrap vs. Shark FlexStyle: Here's which hot air tool is worth your money

It's not exactly rare to see the Airwrap go on sale — if you keep an eye out, you'll find that every few months or so, it'll drop about $100 from its $599.99 list price. That said, it can be harder to find the more unique colorways, like the Strawberry Bronze and Blush Pink version of the tool, getting the same treatment, especially in both the straight hair and curly hair models (the latter comes with a diffuser and wide tooth comb to better dry naturally textured hair). But as of Feb. 3, you'll have your pick of the pink Dyson Airwraps on sale, with the absolute lowest price being Amazon's deal for the straight Complete at $499. Right behind it, Amazon priced the Complete Long Diffuse at $499.99, with Dyson and Best Buy following the same $499.99 deal.

Even on sale $500 is a steep price, and though you can save even more money by opting for a dupe that's $300 or less, there are a few areas where the Airwrap has the edge. For starters, its the only multi-styler on the market that doesn't require two different curling barrels to change the direction of your curls, which does streamline the styling experience. (As an aside, the curls on the Airwrap, and every other styler for that matter, are designed to and work much better at creating a bouncy blowout than curling iron curls — this holds especially true if your hair already has trouble holding a curl).

SEE ALSO: I tried 5 Dyson Supersonic dupes that are actually worth the hype

It also has the most attachments of any multi-styler, so if you (or your Valentine) are particularly interested in having a lot of options, the Airwrap might be worth the investment. Plus, unlike most other multi-stylers out there, this Airwrap will come with a case, which is especially handy as these hair tools are large and difficult to store without one. Finally, while the Airwrap may not give $300-better blowouts, the experience of using it does admittedly feel luxe — if all these factors combined points to an Airwrap for you, I recommend grabbing one while it's on sale.

SAVE $20: As of Feb. 3, the Fitbit Inspire 3 is available at Amazon for $79.95, making it an almost record-breaking deal. It's just $10 shy of its lowest price ever.

Opens in a new window Credit: Fitbit Fitbit Inspire 3 $79.95 at Amazon
$99.95 Save $20.00 Get Deal

If you’re looking for a reliable and affordable fitness tracker that won’t expose you to potentially harmful chemicals (we’re looking at you, Apple), the Fitbit Inspire 3 is our favorite budget-friendly pick.

As of Feb. 3, you can get it for just $79.95 at Amazon. That’s 20% off the list price and just $10 more than its all-time low price.

The Fitbit Inspire 3 does everything you’d need a basic fitness tracker to do — it tracks your steps, heart rate, sleep patterns, and more. It also has menstrual health tracking and includes a six-month Premium Fitbit membership, which gives you access to additional health metrics and personalized insights.

SEE ALSO: The Fitbit Inspire 3 is the budget-friendly fitness tracker of our dreams

While more expensive fitness trackers have additional features like built-in GPS and color displays, the Inspire 3 provides the core functionality most people need. It’s also water-resistant up to 50 meters and has a battery life of 10 days on a single charge.

Plus, studies show that less pricey trackers can be surprisingly good at measuring steps and tracking what really matters. A 2020 study published by JMIR mHealth and uHealth tested a bunch of lower-budget fitness trackers and found they were actually pretty decent at tracking steps and estimating sleep, which is usually what most new fitness tracker owners care about the most.

TAKE UP TO 44% OFF: TurboTax 2024 software is marked down at Amazon by up to 44% including options for businesses, self-employed people, and rental property.

Best TurboTax deals at Amazon Best overall deal TurboTax Deluxe $44.99 (save $35) Get Deal Best tax deal for business owners TurboTax Business 2024 $113.99 (save $76) Get Deal Best tax deal for self-employed people TurboTax Home & Business 2024 $75.99 (save $54) Get Deal Best tax deal for investments and rental property TurboTax Premier 2024 $64.99 (save $50) Get Deal

We're now into the month of February which means your tax forms will be arriving any day. Sure, we're still months away from the tax filing deadline on April 15, but the IRS has already started processing tax returns. That means if you're in line for a refund, there's no reason to wait around.

Filing online with software like TurboTax decodes the jargon, making it possible to file from home without hiring help. You can even do it while wearing pajamas.

TurboTax offers several versions, and most people are likely well suited to TurboTax Deluxe option which focuses on maximizing your deductions. Thanks to today's sale at Amazon, the TurboTax Deluxe software is on sale for $44.99, down from the usual price of $79.99. That's a 44% discount that'll save you $35 on the software, with the potential of saving you plenty more with your 2024 tax return.

Taxes get a bit more complicated if you're self-employed or you own a business. But TurboTax still has you covered. TurboTax Business 2024 is designed to help corporations, LLCs, trusts, estates, and partnerships navigate tax returns. At full price the software comes in at $189.99 but Amazon has it on sale today for just $113.99 which is a sweet 40% discount.

Self-employed folks can snag TurboTax Home & Business 2024 for just $75.99, instead of the list price of $129.99, which is a savings of $54.

The 2024 tax deadline is a bit more than two months away, but investing in the filing software today is the ideal motivation needed to file those taxes early this year. No one needs last-minute stress.

SAVE $170: As of Feb. 3, you can score a pair of Beats Studio Pro headphones for just $179.99 at Amazon and Best Buy. That's a 49% discount or $170 off the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Beats Studio Pro $179.99 at Amazon
$349.99 Save $170.00 Get Deal

It’s not every day that a Mashable Choice Award winner goes on sale, but we’ve been pretty lucky lately.

This week, you can snag the Beats Studio Pro headphones for just $179.99 — that’s a 49% discount or $170 off the list price (and no, it’s not inflated!). Buy 'em at Amazon or Best Buy.

The Beats Studio Pro headphones are a top-notch over-ear pair that delivers impressive noise-canceling technology, detailed audio, and a super-modern, Kim K-approved aesthetic (depending on the color you choose). What’s even more impressive is that these Apple-owned cans work with both Android and iOS devices, so they’re a great pick for anyone, regardless of smartphone brand.

SEE ALSO: The Beats Solo 4 are back down to their lowest-ever price at Amazon

“Beats Studio Pro can pair instantly via one-touch pairing on iOS and Fast Pair on Android, negating the need to fuss with a Bluetooth connection menu when you bring these bad boys out of the box,” Mashable’s Alex Perry writes in his review. “Apple’s and Google’s Find My features work natively with these headphones, too, adding a layer of security.”

You’ll also get up to 40 hours of battery life on a single charge and up to four hours of additional playback after a 10-minute quick charge — more than enough to get you through a long flight or road trip.