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The justices, who asked tough questions of both sides, showed skepticism toward arguments by lawyers for TikTok and its users.

As wildfires have raged throughout the Los Angeles region this week, the 10 million residents of LA County have stayed close to their phones, ready for text alerts from officials about whether to pack up their belongings and leave their homes urgently.

On Thursday afternoon, millions of LA-area residents received an evacuation warning that did not specify neighborhood or fire, even though there are at least three major fires burning in the county. It read as follows:

"Emergency Alert. NEW: This is an emergency message from the Los Angeles County Fire Department," the notice read. "An EVACUATION WARNING has been issued in your area. Remain vigilant of any threats and be ready to evacuate. Gather loved ones, pets, and supplies. Continue to monitor local weather, news, and the webpage alertla.org for more information."

The warning reached from Long Beach to the south to north of downtown LA and nearly all points in-between, covering dozens of square miles. The problem? It was a mistake.

Tweet may have been deleted

Santa Monica, the LA County coastal city that already endured evacuation orders and warnings due to its proximity to the Palisades inferno, blasted out a tweet responding to the emergency alert and telling residents nothing had changed as of Thursday afternoon.

Tweet may have been deleted

By 4:20 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, a new countywide alert was sent, telling residents the previous evacuation warning was sent in error. The message added that it was supposed to only apply to those affected by the Kenneth Fire in far northwest Los Angeles, but the message did not include details about that specific wildfire or its location. Another issue is that the emergency alerts are not saved on most smartphones, meaning they are very difficult to retrieve and reread.

SEE ALSO: You can track the Los Angeles wildfires with a free app

Compounding the Thursday afternoon snafu was that another vague evacuation warning was blasted out Friday morning to LA-area residents dozens of miles from the wildfires, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Kevin McGowan, the director of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, apologized in a statement to the Los Angeles Times, saying, "I can't express enough how sorry I am." McGowan said the emergency warnings were automated and no individual or group of people sent them out, adding he did not know the cause of the errors. County IT employees and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials are investigating the matter, McGowan said, pleading with area residents to not disable the warnings in light of the technical issues.

Updated information on the fires can be found on alertla.org, as well as the free app Watch Duty.

SEE ALSO: Los Angeles wildfires' destruction shown in satellite images

Better Man's star Robbie Williams and director Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman) talk to Mashable's Film Editor Kristy Puchko about breaking biopic expectations, swapping fact for truth, and Williams' readiness to share his life with the audience.

After visiting President-elect Donald J. Trump in November, Mr. Zuckerberg decided to relax Meta’s speech policies. He asked a small team to carry out his goals within weeks. The repercussions are just beginning.

UPDATE: Jan. 10, 2025, 2:15 p.m. EST This article has been updated to include Netflix streaming information and the latest pricing details for "Dune: Part Two."

Where to watch 'Dune: Part Two' at a glance: BEST MAX DEAL FOR MOST PEOPLE Max (With Ads) annual subscription $99.99/year (save $1.66/month) Get Deal BEST MAX DEAL WITH NO ADS Max (No Ads) annual subscription $149.99/year (save $3.50/month) Get Deal BEST FOR CRICKET CUSTOMERS Max (With Ads) Free for Cricket customers on the $60/month unlimited plan (save $9.99/month) Learn More BEST NETFLIX DEAL FOR T-MOBILE CUSTOMERS Netflix Standard with ads free for select T-Mobile plans (save $6.99 per month) Learn More BEST NETFLIX DEAL FOR VERIZON CUSTOMERS Netflix Standard + Max with ads $10 per month (save $6.98 per month) Learn More BEST NON-STREAMING OPTION Purchase or rent 'Dune: Part Two' at Prime Video $9.99 or $3.99 Get Deal

A "deeply weird and wonderful" film experience, as Mashable's Belen Edwards describes it, Dune has become quite the pop culture phenomenon. Dune: Part Two dominated the box office in 2024 with over $710 million globally — surpassing the entire run of Dune: Part One and beating out Wicked in the overall charts.

Like Part One, the newest addition to the Duniverse has been showered with praise from both critics and audiences alike. The Denis Villeneuve-directed film "swings bigger and often hits harder, soaring beyond even the epic highs of its predecessor," Edwards writes in her review. It earned Golden Globe and SAG Award nods, and of course, there are talks of it being a Best Picture contender at the Oscars. It also cracked the top 10 in our best films of the year list.

The already epic cast from the original, including Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, and Stellan Skarsgård adds Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken, and Léa Seydoux.

Get a glimpse at the second Dune installment in the official trailer:

Whether you missed it in theaters or want to revisit Arrakis from home, the film is now streaming on not one, but two different services. Here's everything you need to know.

What is Dune: Part Two about?

Picking up right where Part One left off, Dune: Part Two continues the quest of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) as he unites with Arrakis' indigenous Fremen people in hopes of saving the planet from the vicious Harkonnen empire. It's based on the second half of Frank Herbert's 1965 novel. To make things more complicated for Paul, there's a prophecy among the Fremen people that he's the messiah — the Lisan al-Gaib, or "Voice From the Outer World" — that will lead them to freedom. Oh, and there's new sandworms.

Read our full review of Dune: Part Two.

Need a recap of what Dune is all about? Here's a detailed explainer to help you out.

Is Dune: Part Two streaming?

Villeneuve's second installment of the sci-fi franchise officially started streaming on Max on May 21, 2024, just shy of three months out from its theatrical debut. Fortunately, Dune: Part One is also streaming on Max, so you can make it a double feature.

As of January 2025, Dune: Part Two is now available to stream on Netflix as well. Netflix subscriptions start at just $6.99 per month, while Max subscriptions start at $9.99 per month. Currently, neither streaming service offers a free trial, but there are a few streaming deals available to watch for free or at least at a discount. We've broken down the best Max deals and best Netflix deals below to help you save.

Best Max streaming dealsBest Max streaming deal for most people: Save 17% on Max with ads annual subscription Opens in a new window Credit: Max Max (with ads) yearly subscription $99.99 per year (save 17%) Watch Now

Max subscriptions start at $9.99 per month with ads. You can easily sign up for a month, watch Dune (Part One and Part Two), then cancel before you're charged for another month. However, if you're in it for the long haul, we'd recommend the yearly subscription instead. An annual plan with ads goes for $99.99 per year, which breaks down to just $8.33 per month instead of $9.99. That's 17% (or $1.66) per month in savings.

Best Max deal with no ads: Save 22% on a Max Ad-Free annual subscription Opens in a new window Credit: Max Max (No Ads) annual subscription $149.99 per year (save 22%) Watch Now

If you prefer not to have ads interrupting your viewing experience, you have the Max Ad-Free and Max Ultimate tiers to choose from. The Ad-Free tier costs $15.99 per month, while the Ultimate tier costs $19.99 per month. If you opt for the yearly plan instead, though, it'll only cost you $149.99 per year (which breaks down to $12.49 per month) or $199.99 per year (which breaks down to $16.67 per month). That's a total savings of 22% on the Ad-Free yearly plan or 17% on the Ultimate plan.

Note: the Ultimate plan offers not only an ad-free viewing experience, but also 4K Ultra HD video quality and Dolby Atmos immersive audio.

Best Max deal for Cricket customers: Free Max with ads for customers on the $60/month unlimited plan Opens in a new window Credit: Cricket / Max Max (with ads) Free for Cricket customers on the $60/month plan Watch Now

Cricket Wireless customers on the $60 per month unlimited plan get Max with ads for free as long as their account remains in good standing. Just head over to the Max app or navigate to Max on a browser, choose Cricket as your provider, and use your Cricket credentials to log in. Then you'll be able to watch Dune: Part One and Dune: Part Two for no extra cost. Cricket Wireless customers on different plans can change or upgrade in order to secure the deal. Check out the terms and conditions on Cricket's website to learn more.

Best Max deal for students: Save 50% on Max with ads monthly for one year Opens in a new window Credit: Max Max Student $4.99 per month for 12 months Get Deal

If you're a college student, a new Max deal allows you to score 50% off an ad-supported monthly subscription for 12 months. That drops the price down from $9.99 per month to just $4.99 per month. You'll just have to verify your student status with UNiDAYS, which will give you a unique discount code. Then head back over to Max and redeem your code to stream for half price.

Best Netflix streaming dealsBest Netflix deal for Verizon Wireless or Home Internet customers: Save $6.98/month through Verizon myPlan Opens in a new window Credit: Netflix Netflix and Max $10/month through Verizon myPlan (save $6.98/month) Get Deal

Verizon customers with myPlan can add the Netflix and Max bundle to their accounts for just $10 per month (reg. $16.98 per month). Additionally, Verizon Home Internet customers can sign up for the same bundle through their myHome plan. That essentially makes Netflix with ads free, as a Max subscription alone is $9.99 per month. You'll need an Unlimited Welcome, Unlimited Plus, or Unlimited Ultimate plan to be eligible (learn more on the Verizon support page). Once you enroll in the promotion, you'll have to head over to Netflix and Max separately to set up your accounts.

Best Netflix deal for T-Mobile customers: Get Netflix Standard for free with select plans Opens in a new window Credit: Netflix Netflix Standard (with ads) Free with most T-Mobile Go5G plans Get Deal

If ever there was a reason to switch mobile providers to T-Mobile, it's their comprehensive streaming lineup. Not only do select customers get Netflix Standard with ads for free, (reg. $6.99 per month), but also Hulu with ads and Apple TV+. Here are the details:

You need to have two or more lines of any type of Go5G or Magenta plan or at least one line of Go5G Next, Go5G Plus, or Magenta MAX to secure Netflix with ads for free. You'll have to manually activate your subscription by logging into My T-Mobile and selecting "Manage add-ons". Once there, click on "add Netflix" in the Services section and you'll be prompted to either create a new Netflix account or sign in to your existing one. From then on, T-Mobile will be in charge of paying Netflix for you. Just note that if you already have a Netflix account, it may take a few billing cycles to transfer your bill over to T-Mobile. Learn more about the terms and FAQs on the promo page.

Other ways to watch Dune: Part Two at home

If you want to avoid signing up for another streaming service and/or add the digital version of Dune: Part Two to your library and watch whenever you please, you can purchase the film on demand. You can also rent the film at the same digital retailers. Just note that you'll only get 30 days of access and just 48 hours to finish watching once you begin if you choose the rental route.

You can purchase or rent Dune: Part Two on demand at the following digital retailers:

• Prime Video — rent for $3.99, buy for $9.99

• Apple TV — rent for $3.99, buy for $9.99

• Fandango at Home (Vudu) — rent for $3.99, buy for $9.99

• Google Play — rent for $3.99, rent for $9.99

As the Los Angeles fires rage on, displacing nearly 180,000 people and destroying over 9,000 buildings, many social media users have pointed the blame at an unusual target: ChatGPT.

ChatGPT and other AI models have a massive carbon footprint, which contributes to climate change. Climate change is responsible for drier conditions and warming temperatures, which in turn creates the perfect environment for wildfires to spark and spread when picked up by strong winds.

SEE ALSO: Los Angeles wildfires' destruction shown in satellite images Tweet may have been deleted

So in a way, ChatGPT is part of the problem by contributing to climate change. But no, ChatGPT didn't start the fire, and it's not the reason why the city ran out of water.

Tweet may have been deleted

Martin Adams, former general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power told the Los Angeles Times, "The [water] system has never been designed to fight a wildfire that then envelops a community." Firefighters ran out of water because the system wasn't built to pump out that much water over a sustained period of time, not because it was misappropriated by data centers.

The online conversation connecting ChatGPT to the LA wildfires was never meant literally accuse AI models of starting fires. Instead, it has tied real-time relevancy to an growing issue which is AI's impact on the environment.

"We don't need AI 'art.' We don't need AI grocery lists. We don't need AI self-driving cars. We don't need ChatGPT or Gemini or Grok or DALL-E or whatever 'revolutionary' technology already exists inside our own human brains. We need the earth," wrote makeup artist and activist Matt Bernstein in an Instagram post that has gained almost 500,000 likes.

View this post on Instagram So, just how much water does ChatGPT use?

Tech companies like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI are evasive about their energy usage. But water consumption can be accessed through public records and estimated through calculations by researchers. A 2023 investigation from the Associated Press discovered the Microsoft data centers in Des Moines, Iowa used to train OpenAI's GPT-4 needed 11.5 million gallons of water to cool its servers, which is 6 percent of the district's total water supply.

A recent study by The Washington Post and University of California, Riverside found that a 100-word email generated by ChatGPT requires roughly the equivalent of a bottle of water, or 519 milliliters. Using ChatGPT once a week for a year by 16 million people uses 435,235,476 liters of water.

In short, that's a lot of water. And AI's thirst isn't slowing down anytime soon. One 2023 study by UC Riverside estimates that AI could consume between 4.2 and 6.6 billion cubic meters of water in 2027, which is more than the annual water withdrawal of half of the UK.

What about the rest of ChatGPT's energy consumption?

In Bernstein's viral Instagram post, he wrote, "One search on ChatGPT uses 10x the amount of energy as a Google search. Training one AI model produces the same amount of carbon dioxide as 300 round trip flights between New York and San Francisco and five times the lifetime emissions of a car."

These findings come from a 2019 University of Massachusetts, Amherst study quantifying the environmental cost of GPT-2, which was an early AI model from OpenAI. And ChatGPT usage has exploded since then, with 300 weekly active users according to OpenAI's own reporting as of December 2024.

In terms of electricity input required to support its massive computing power, Sajjad Moazeni, a University of Washington assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering estimates ChatGPT usage of 1 Gigawatt per hour (GWh) a day, "which is the equivalent of the daily energy consumption for about 33,000 U.S. households."

ChatGPT isn’t directly responsible for the Los Angeles fires, but witnessing the devastation in real time brings a visceral reality to the environmental cost of using AI to write an email.

And if you want to help but aren't sure where to start, the Los Angeles Times has a great guide here.

It's possible that Venus and Earth once simultaneously existed as pleasant worlds hosting mild temperatures and oceans.

Then, something went awry.

In new research, planetary scientists simulated how Venusian conditions today — with pizza oven-like temperatures, a crushing atmosphere, and past evidence of widespread volcanism — came to be. The results suggest that Venus, over a series of massive volcanic outgassing events and other geologic changes, transitioned from an Earth-like world to the hellish land we see today. Even the longest-lived robot sent to Venus survived for just two hours.

"It's hot enough to melt lead," Matthew Weller, a planetary geophysicist at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute who coauthored the new research, told Mashable. "It's a very unpleasant place to be."

The study has been published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances.

SEE ALSO: NASA scientist viewed first Voyager images. What he saw gave him chills.

Venus and Earth, although they've taken two dramatically different climatic roads, are considered sibling planets. They're about the same size. They're made out of the same rocky stuff. They both dwell in the inner part of the solar system. So what happened?

"You have these two planets sitting there, and then one spins off in another direction," Weller explained.

We can't, of course, go back in time to find out why. Nor can we send geologists there to sleuth the Venusian past. But the researchers used advanced computer simulations — which created 3D spherical models of geologic activity on Venus— of how the hot rock convecting beneath the surface, called the mantle, broke Venus' crust and ultimately drove the harsh outcomes present today. "Venus basically baked itself," Weller said.

"Venus basically baked itself."

Running the models showed that a once temperate, Earth-like Venus experienced a series of "stairstep" events, wherein deep interior motions rupturing the crust allowed for volcanism to reach Venus' surface. This led to molten rock resurfacing the planet and massive volcanic outgassing to fill the atmosphere, creating immense surface pressure. Over multiple periods of some 60 million years, each outgassing episode could have added three to 10 times more atmospheres (an atmosphere, or atm, is a unit of pressure representing one atmosphere on Earth) to Venus' atmosphere. Today, the pressure on the Venusian surface is 92 bars, or 1,350 psi. "To put this into context, imagine having 1,350 pounds (over 600 kilograms) resting on one square inch of your body; it would be like having a small car sitting on your thumbnail," the Planetary Society explains.

A conceptual illustration showing expansive oceans on Venus long ago. Credit: NASA Venus as viewed from NASA's Mariner 10 spacecraft in 1974. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech

It's unknown when, exactly, these planet-altering events began. It could have been several billion years ago, or much more "recently" at hundreds of millions of years ago. But, for many eons, both Earth and Venus may have hosted expansive oceans and balmy temperatures, with water rippling onto shorelines. And they would have been just some 67 million miles apart from each other (a minute cosmic distance).

"It's possible both were habitable," Weller said.  

Importantly, the Venus-Earth dichotomy reveals how much a planet can change. An exoplanet we see today, many light-years away in deep space, may look completely different in the future. Or Earth, without being pummeled by a colossal asteroid, could markedly transform, too. "Planets change dramatically over time," Weller emphasized. "It shows how easy it is for an Earth-like planet to become like Venus."

"It shows how easy it is for an Earth-like planet to become like Venus."

The "million-dollar question," however, is what initially pushed Venus onto this trajectory of repeated episodes of extreme volcanism, surface rupturing, and prodigious outgassing. It could have been an extremely large eruptive event at the wrong time that fed into a runaway cycle. Geologically, a world's atmosphere and inner-workings are inextricably connected, as conditions in the atmosphere influence what transpires below a planet's surface. For example, on Earth, rock weathering, over hundreds of millions of years, removes heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the air, acting to stabilize the climate. On Venus, dramatically cranking up surface temperature can kill plate tectonics, Weller explained, shutting off a planet's ability to stabilize itself.

This could have pushed Venus to veer sharply from its Earthly environs. And as the researchers simulated, it couldn't turn around.

In the coming years, Venus may grow much less mystifying. A NASA mission called DAVINCI — short for Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging — will drop a three-foot-wide titanium sphere through Venus' thick clouds. Over the course of just an hour, the probe will ingest gases, run experiments, and show us what Venusian mountains actually look like. It will dramatically improve our understanding of Venus, and why it's so unlike its rocky "twin," Earth.

BUY $35 OF SELECT GROCERIES, SAVE $10: As of Jan. 10, spend $35 on select groceries at Amazon and get $10 off your purchase. The discount will automatically be applied at checkout.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Buy $35 of select groceries, save $10 Get Deal

Looking to refill your pantry and fridge with some much-needed groceries? You don't have to move from your couch. Just head to Amazon and browse through the retailer's massive selection of food and staple pantry items. And while you're at it, you can save some cash on things you're already going to be adding to your cart, thanks to a limited-time deal.

As of Jan. 10, you can save $10 when you buy $35 of select groceries at Amazon. Just add items from the promotional page to your cart, then check out as you normally would. The offer will automatically be applied when you pay for your items.

There's plenty to choose from, though this sale covers more of items like Twinings tea, cheddar cheese puffs, Skinny Pop popcorn, garlic powder, coffee, and seasonings – as well as an assortment of similar items that you might fancy. You won't be able to shop for everything on your list as part of the sale, but there's plenty on offer there to make it worth your while.

Just make sure you fill your cart with enough items for the discount to apply. You can check your progress toward the reward at the top of the screen on the promotion's page.

The last thing I came across at this year's CES was LUCI, an AI-powered wearable video camera created by OpenInterX for lifelogging and vlogging. Tucked away in a quiet corner of the convention center, LUCI felt like a hidden gem waiting to be uncovered.

It might be my favorite discovery at CES 2025 — and I nearly missed it.

Extended recording time

The LUCI Pin is a compact square pinnable wearable device with an ultra-wide 12MP camera that captures up to 4K video. Unlike other wearables with a built-in camera, like the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, LUCI can shoot video for an extended period of time. By comparison, Meta's smart glasses can only record videos up to 3 minutes long. On the other hand, the LUCI Pin can record or livestream up to 4 hours of video, according to OpenInterX.

SEE ALSO: 13 new gadgets from CES 2025 that you can actually buy right now, plus 1 coming soon

That limitation is only a function of the LUCI's battery life. The LUCI can be plugged into any external battery pack and charged while being used for essentially unlimited streaming and recording time.

OpenInterX's LUCI Pin and LUCI Hub Credit: Mashable

With this functionality, the LUCI Pin presents itself as a lifelogging device. Whether you're a vlogger or want to track what you do in a typical day without keeping a written journal, that's the audience that OpenInterX appears to be going after. As a parent, it's easy to see the draw of the LUCI Pin. You want to both capture a special moment and enjoy it without having your face looking through a screen.

Processing power

According to OpenInterX founder Shawn Shen, many of the recording limitations in other camera products are essentially due to too much processing happening within the device, which causes the camera's sensors to overheat. The LUCI Pin tackles this issue by processing it on your smartphone or an optional secondary add-on device called the LUCI Hub. The Hub is a square smartphone-sized computer that acts as a dedicated processor, storage, and display for the LUCI Pin. It can also snap to the back of your iPhone via MagSafe, so users don't have to carry two separate devices.

SEE ALSO: 8 mind-blowing gadgets at CES 2025 I need in my life AI-Powered footage organization

One cool feature demonstrated to me at CES is how the LUCI Hub or LUCI app on your smartphone can immediately sift through your footage and create stylized videos from your content. It's easy to see how TikTok and Instagram Reels creators who would like to quickly upload some of their day before sitting down to edit a long-form video version would love this. 

Now, I did mention that there is AI functionality. AI-powered wearables, especially in pin form, have become a big thing over the past year or so, even though every single product that comes out seems to fail. 

However, the LUCI is different. There's no silly AI assistant to ask questions that could have easily been Googled. Since its main functionality is as a lifelogging camera, the integrated AI features are only there to help creators utilize what they record.

LUCI Pin and LUCI Hub's AI functionality Credit: Mashable

For example, a quick text search for "dog" on your LUCI Hub or smartphone app will pull up all video shots with the LUCI Pin featuring a dog. OpenInterX showed how specific you could get by asking the LUCI Hub what they ate for breakfast yesterday. LUCI could share text describing the meal by simply using the video that the LUCI Pin shot the day before. In another demo, LUCI even reminded the user who they ate that breakfast with.

Privacy features

Privacy concerns always arise with wearable cameras. LUCI addresses this in two ways. First, a small light turns on to let everyone know the device is recording. Second, a physical cover built into the LUCI Pin slides directly in front of the camera lens to ensure nothing is being picked up.

OpenInterX tells me that the LUCI Pin will retail for $99 and that the first LUCI Pins should ship out in the next few months. The LUCI Hub add-on should launch sometime after the LUCI Pin, but there's no confirmed timeframe yet.

If this wearable pin functions as well as it did during the demo, many people will love LUCI.

GET 3 FREE WEEKS: As of Jan. 10, YouTube TV is offering new users a 21-day free trial to test out the live TV streaming service. After that, you'll pay just $59.99 per month for your first three months of the YouTube TV Base Plan — that's $69 in savings.

Opens in a new window Credit: YouTube YouTube TV Free 21-day trial, then $59.99 per month for three months Get Deal

The fight to make it to the Big Game — aka the NFL playoffs — is arguably more exciting than the actual season finale. But aside from one game airing on Prime Video (the Ravens vs. Steelers on Saturday night), you're going to need local networks. If you already cut the cord on cable, live TV streaming services are the best way to access NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX. The problem is they aren't cheap. That's where this game-changing extended free trial to YouTube TV comes in.

As of Jan. 10, new users can get three weeks of the YouTube TV Base Plan for free. That means you can watch most of this weekend's wildcard games, plus the divisional round and conference title round without spending any money. Once the free trial wraps up, the introductory offer kicks in for $59.99 per month for your first three months. Usually $82.99, that saves you $69 total. The introductory offer is set to expire on Jan. 12, so we recommend securing it stat.

SEE ALSO: How to get free Peacock, Paramount+, and Max streaming through services you might already have

Of course, YouTube TV's Base Plan gets you a whole lot more than just NFL games. It unlocks access to over 100 different live channels, including local broadcast stations, news channels like CNN and Fox News, specialty networks like Discovery and Bravo, sports channels like FS1, ESPN, Golf, and NFL Network, and kids networks like Nickelodeon and Disney. You can check your local lineup before you commit. Unlimited DVR space, special features like Key Plays View, six different household accounts, and three simultaneous streams are also included.

After the promotion period ends, you'll automatically be charged full price, which is now — gulp — $82.99 per month, unless you cancel.

SAVE $37.99: As of Jan. 10, you can snag a 14-inch HP Laptop (Intel Quad-Core, 8GM RAM, 64GB eMMC+, 128GB Ghost Manta SD Card) for just $212 at Amazon. That's a 15% discount and $37.99 off the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: HP 14-inch HP Laptop (Intel Quad-Core, 8GM RAM, 64GB eMMC+, 128GB Ghost Manta SD Card) $212.00 at Amazon
$249.99 Save $37.99 Get Deal

Finding a laptop that’s affordable and worth buying can be a challenge if you’re on a budget, but with a little research and patience, it isn’t impossible.

Right now, you can score a 14-inch HP laptop (Intel Quad-Core, 8GM RAM, 64GB eMMC+, 128GB Ghost Manta SD Card) for just $212 at Amazon. That's a 15% discount and $37.99 off the list price of $249.99.

SEE ALSO: I've tested over 59 laptops: this is the best laptop of 2024

This 14-inch laptop is lightweight and portable, making it a great option for students, remote workers, or anyone who needs a reliable computer on the go. It comes with Windows 11 Home pre-installed, has 11 hours of battery life, and has 8GM of RAM and 128GB of storage, which should be more than enough for most everyday tasks (especially if you keep everything in a cloud storage service). You'll also get a one-year subscription to Microsoft 365.

While this computer is three years old (it was originally released in 2022), it still has a lot of great features that make it a worthwhile purchase, especially at this price point.

Venu Sports, a joint venture between Disney, Fox and Warner Bros., was announced to great fanfare last year but was discontinued before it ever became available.

FREE UBER RIDES: As of Jan. 10, teens who fail their driver's test can get free rides from an Uber Teen account for a limited time.

Opens in a new window Credit: Uber Free Uber Teen Rides Up to six Uber Teen rides at up to $20 per ride Get Deal

Getting your driver's license can be a difficult process. There's all that practice, going out on the road, and figuring out parallel parking, not to mention having to learn how to deal with other drivers. If you or your teen recently took their driver's test and ended up coming away empty-handed without a license, it can be frustrating and demoralizing to have to go through the whole process again. That's why Uber has your back.

As of Jan. 10, Uber is offering free rides for Uber Teen accounts, with up to six rides at up to $20 per ride through March 31. This discount expires 30 days from the day you create your account, and it's only availbale for new Uber Teen users. It doesn't apply to rides requested by adult accounts on behalf of a teen.

This is a great way to help ensure your teen (or you!) has a way to get from point A to point B while waiting in the wings for that coveted license. Though the deal is only good for six rides for a limited time, those expenses can certainly add up, and giving your teens a way to be mobile with safe rides through Uber is still a good idea, especially for members of the family who may not have jobs or have already spent their allowance for the month.

Keep in mind that you'll have to sign them up or have your teen create their own account, so don't just hand over your credentials and leave it at that.

A group of authors, including Ta-Nehisi Coates and Sarah Silverman, alleged in a court filing that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg approved "Meta's torrenting and processing of pirated copyrighted works" to train the company's AI models.

The California filing, which was made public on Wednesday, claims that Zuckerberg supported the use of the LibGen dataset, an archive that originated in Russia and contains a library of pirated books, to train its Llama AI. In a document submitted to the court, Meta admitted that it "removed [ed] all the copyright paragraphs from the beginning and the end" of scientific journal articles, Engadget reported. The suit alleges that this was explicitly done to hide the fact that Meta was using copyrighted materials. 

SEE ALSO: Meta ditches fact-checking for community notes ahead of second Trump term

Clearly, Meta did not want this information to be made public. The Guardian reported that the filing stated: "Media coverage suggesting we have used a dataset we know to be pirated, such as LibGen, may undermine our negotiating position with regulators."

All the while, Meta has been integrating Llama AI further into its apps and services.

This comes just a few days after Zuckerberg announced that he is replacing fact-checkers with Community Notes, lifting prohibitions against some discriminatory and hateful rhetoric on its platforms, and pushing more political content on Instagram and Threads.

SAVE $100: Be the first to know about Samsung's 2025 TVs and audio lineup. Sign up for exclusive updates and receive a $100 credit towards your preorder.

Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Sign Up + Get $100 Credit Get Deal

Samsung’s offering a pretty sweet incentive for customers looking to get their hands on the company’s 2025 product line-up: For a limited time, anyone who signs up to receive Samsung’s latest news and updates will receive a $100 credit towards a qualifying preorder of one of Samsung's 2025 TVs or audio devices.

SEE ALSO: Samsung confirms Unpacked date, where the Galaxy S25 awaits

All you have to do is sign up for Samsung’s mailing list, and you’ll be eligible to redeem a $100 credit when you place a preorder for one of Samsung's new TV or audio products slated for release in 2025. (If you’re tired of newsletters clogging up your inbox, you can always unsubscribe after you've redeemed your credit or use a secondary email address.)

Here’s how it works:

1. Visit the Samsung website and sign up to receive their email updates.

2. Keep an eye out for announcements about the 2025 TV and audio lineup.

3. Once the preorder period begins, use the same email address you signed up with to secure your purchase.

4. Your $100 credit will be automatically applied at checkout.

SAVE $150: As of Jan. 10, the Insignia 65-inch F50 Series 4K HD Fire TV is just $299.99 at Best Buy, down from its usual price of $449.99. That's a 37% discount.

Opens in a new window Credit: Best Buy Insignia 65-inch F50 Series 4K HD Fire TV $299.99 at Best Buy
$449.99 Save $150.00 Get Deal

Miss out on all the holiday TV deals? Still want a new set for your living room or maybe another area in your home? Don't sleep on Insignia's line of Fire TVs, particularly one that's on sale today at Best Buy. If you're interested in leveling up your home entertainment center, or just want a new TV in some other part of your home, this deal comes right on time for you.

As of Jan. 10, the Insignia 65-inch F50 Series 4K HD Fire TV is just $299.99 at Best Buy, down from its usual price of $449.99. That's $150 off and a discount of 37%.

This 4K display offers UltraHD resolution with direct LED backlighting for better contract and brighter colors, especially with its support for HDR via Dolby Vision. It also supports Dolby Atmos for better sound and advanced spatial audio processing.

But most interestingly, and what will likely sway most buyers, is its built-in Fire TV support. That means you can access Alexa via voice control (integrated into its included remote) and watch thousands of different shows and movies by way of Prime Video as well as other streaming servicdes like Apple TV+, Netflix, Disney Plus, and more.

If you want an affordable addition to your home with a great picture and plenty of features, you'll want to jump on this deal pronto.

Check out the best Amazon deals of the day as of Jan. 10: OUR TOP PICK Apple AirPods Pro 2 $179.99 (save $69.01) Get Deal BEST SPEAKER DEAL Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4 $145.99 (save $54) Get Deal BEST FITNESS TRACKER DEAL Fitbit Inspire 3 $79.95 (save $20) Get Deal BEST TV DEAL Amazon 50-inch Omni QLED Fire TV $379.99 (save $90 with Prime-exclusive code QLED50) Get Deal

Whether you're hoping to use up the funds on that gift card you received for the holidays or simply want to do a little retail therapy heading into the weekend, you can save up to 28% at Amazon today on top brands like Apple and Fitbit. We've already scoured the pages of deals to find the best ones worth your money on Jan. 10.

Here are our top picks for the best Amazon deals of the day. None of these lighting you up? Check out our picks from Jan. 8 and Jan. 9. Lots of those deals are still live, including a $69 Apple Pencil and $40 off the Instant Vortex air fryer.

Our top pick: AirPods Pro 2 Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirPods Pro 2 $179.99 at Amazon
$249.00 Save $69.01 Get Deal

If it wasn't obvious from our multiple headphone buying guides, we're huge fans of the AirPods Pro 2. Why? They produce rich and well-balanced sound, offer best-in-class noise cancellation for earbuds, seamlessly slip into the Apple ecosystem, and offer decent enough battery life. We regularly see these earbuds drop to $199 and $189, but we'll take that extra $10 price drop any day. It's not quite the lowest price we've seen, but we'd still recommend snagging a pair at this price.

Check out our full review of the AirPods Pro 2.

Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4 Opens in a new window Credit: Ultimate Ears Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4 $145.99 at Amazon
$199.99 Save $54.00 Get Deal

Want a speaker that can go wherever you go, but still produce surround sound with impressive bass? Meet the Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4. While we haven't tested this specific speaker, we did spend some time with its pint-size sibling (the Wonderboom) and it's one of our absolute favorites. It can pump out tunes for up to 20 hours on a single charge, is virtually indestructible thanks to IP67 waterproofing, and packs a full range driver for powerful 360-degree sound with balance and clarity. It's regularly $199.99, but as of Jan. 10, the blue colorway is on sale for only $145.99. That's a savings of 27%.

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 hoping to focus on health and wellness this year, the Fitbit Inspire 3 offers a comprehensive suite of tracking features — from sleep and steps to stress levels and blood oxygen. Plus, it has an intuitive, low-profile design, a straightforward user interface, an impressive app suite, workout insights, and decent battery life. And at just $79.95 as of Jan. 10, it's friendly for your wallet, too. That's 20% in savings and just $10 shy of its lowest price on record.

Check out our full review of the Fitbit Inspire 3.

Amazon 50-inch Omni QLED Fire TV Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon 50-inch Omni QLED Fire TV $379.99 at Amazon
$469.99 Save $90.00 with Prime-exclusive code QLED50 Get Deal

Want to boost your TV setup before the Big Game next month? Amazon's dupe of Samsung's The Frame is on sale for Prime members. The Omni QLED Fire TV offers an "Ambient Experience" mode that pulls up artwork, photos from your personal collection, or a selection of handy Alexa widgets. Plus, its QLED display features local dimming, adaptive brightness, and support for Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive. Ultimately, it's Amazon's best-looking Fire TV minus the brand-new (and more expensive) Omni Mini-LED series. The 50-inch model is usually $469.99, but Prime members can use the code QLED50 to drop the price to $379.99. That's just shy of 20% in savings.

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

TL;DR: Live stream Osaka vs. Garcia in the 2025 Australian Open for free on 9Now. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The first Grand Slam of the season is finally here. The Australian Open showcases the best of the best from the world of tennis, and that very much includes Naomi Osaka. Sure, she hasn't won a Grand Slam since 2021, but she has won four of them. And she has won the Australian Open twice, so she deserves respect.

If you want to watch Osaka vs. Garcia in the 2025 Australian Open for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

How to watch Osaka vs. Garcia for free

The 2025 Australian Open is available to live stream for free on 9Now, including Osaka vs. Garcia.

9Now is geo-restricted to Australia, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Australia, meaning you can unblock 9Now from anywhere in the world.

Access free live streams of the 2025 Australian Open by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

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

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

4. Visit 9Now

5. Watch the 2025 Australian Open for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Year Subscription + 3 Months Free) $99.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading services do tend to offer incentive deals such as free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these deals, you can live stream Osaka vs. Garcia without actually spending anything. This isn't a long-term solution, but it gives you enough time to watch the Australian Open before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for 9Now?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live tennis on 9Now, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including Australia

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

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.

Live stream Osaka vs. Garcia in the 2025 Australian Open for free with ExpressVPN.

Constellation Energy’s deal to buy Calpine is being driven by fast-rising demand for electricity by the technology industry.

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

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

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

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

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Friday, January 10, 2025:

AcrossHybrid utensil popularized by Kentucky Fried Chicken in the 1970s

• The answer is Spork.

Cassowary's claw

• The answer is Talon.

Genre with a "subs vs. dubs" debate (subtitles vs. dubbed dialogue)

• The answer is Anime.

Opponent

• The answer is Rival.

Feature of a scratch-and-sniff sticker

• The answer is Scent.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for January 10, 2025 DownThere are seven in the Big Dipper

• The answer is Stars.

Freak out

• The answer is Panic.

Sliced, black pizza topping

• The answer is Olive.

Times New ___ (typeface)

• The answer is Roman.

Prepared to propose, perhaps

• The answer is Knelt.

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

Featured Video For You The Wordle Strategy used by the New York Times' Head of Games

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

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