IT General

SAVE $50: Get the Soundcore by Anker Sleep A20 noise-masking earbuds for just $99.99 in the Best Buy app, down from the usual price of $149.99. That's a 33% discount.

Opens in a new window Credit: Anker Soundcore by Anker Sleep A20 noise-masking earbuds $99.99 at Best Buy
$149.99 Save $50.00 Best Buy app exclusive sale price Get Deal

Getting restorative sleep can be a struggle. We have a lot working against us when it comes to relaxing into a sweet dreamland. From doomscrolling to stress at work to sleeping on an uncomfortable mattress, you might feel like good sleep hasn't been attainable in years. If noise is one of the primary contributors to poor sleep, check out this deal exclusive to the Best Buy app.

As of March 11, the Soundcore by Anker Sleep A20 noise-masking earbuds are on sale via the Best Buy app for just $99.99, down from the usual price of $149.99. That's a 33% discount that takes $50 off the standard price. This sale is part of the Best Buy Drops program that's exclusive to the Best Buy app. To score this sale price, be sure you're logged into your free Best Buy account in the app. Keep in mind Best Buy Drops tend to sell out quickly, so hop on this deal if you're hoping for better sleep this spring.

One of the biggest sleep disruptors is noise. Maybe your partner snores, the dog barks at nothing at 3 a.m., or the neighbors rearrange furniture at dawn. Noise can be especially bothersome for light sleepers who wake up easily. If that sounds familiar, the Anker Sleep A20 noise-masking earbuds could be the perfect wellness hack.

SEE ALSO: The Avocado Green pillow is an eco-friendly choice for side sleepers

Since you'll be wearing these earbuds while sleeping, Anker designed them to be especially comfortable. The pressure-less Air Wing design on the Sleep A20 earbuds is meant to give an ultra-soft feel. The included earbuds feature a Twin-Seal ear tip that Anker says offers stronger passive noise blocking that's more effective at blocking out unwanted noise. The customizable sound library will help lull you off into a restful sleep.

Since most of us aim for at least eight hours of sleep each night, the Anker Sleep A20 earbuds come with about 14 hours of battery life on a single charge, but that increases to 80 hours with the included case. That means you'll be set for about 10 nights as long as you remember to stick them back in the case come morning.

You might now be wondering how you'd wake up to your morning alarm while wearing noise-masking earbuds. The earbuds come with the ability to set a custom personal alarm that'll gently wake you up come morning. Plus, waking up to an alarm via your earbuds means you won't disrupt a partner.

If noise is a primary reason your sleep quality is suffering, snag this sale on the Soundcore by Anker Sleep A20 noise-masking earbuds. These usually sell for $149.99 but they're on sale today only in the Best Buy app for just $99.99. Stock is disappearing quickly though, so hop to it if you're making sleep a priority this spring.

Reddit has added a few features aimed at keeping your posts live and free of rule violation in the drafting phase. Basically, the platform will think before you post for you.

Added in early March and currently rolling out in beta on iOS and Android, the social platform's new Rules Check tool allows users to check whether their post violates the rules of the subreddit before posting. Once you've drafted your post, you can have Reddit "review" it to flag any issues that might get the post taken down before it's live.

SEE ALSO: Reddit launches 'Answers' AI search tool to help solve your problems

In case you're not aware of what a particular subreddit's rules are, Reddit has also added a prominent note feature that allows you to see the community criteria like age limits or Karma minimums (Reddit's in-house system of rating community engagement).

Here's how to use Reddit's Rules Check, if you want a second opinion before that shower thought goes live on the internet.

How to use Reddit's Rules Check Total Time

• 5 min

What You Need

• Reddit account

Step 1: Draft your Reddit post.

Think about what you're writing and that it's going to be on the internet forever. Shocking advice, I know.

Step 2: Click the magic wand button in the bottom right.

This will prompt Reddit to review the post for violations of the community rules.

Step 3: Make any adjustments or don't, it's up to you.

Just know your post could be taken down if it breaks the subreddit's rules.

Relatedly, Reddit has added a new feature called Post Recovery, which now sits underneath removed posts that violate the platform's community rules. According to Reddit, the prompt is meant to "provide an easy way to repost the content to an alternative subreddit, helping people stay engaged in the conversation."

Mashable asked Reddit if there's a limit to reposting removed posts. Currently, the limit, as a North Shore mathlete once said, does not exist.

The last time Apple completely overhauled the iPhone's operating system was with iOS 7 in 2013. It appears as though 12 years has been long enough. Apple is reportedly preparing a major visual overhaul for iPhones with iOS 19, as well as big changes for iPads and Macs with new operating systems of their own.

According to a report this week from Bloomberg, Apple has been working on “one of the most dramatic software overhauls in the company’s history.” The update will include new design aesthetics along with new icons, a fresh approach to menus, new system buttons, and it’ll even change how apps work. 

Citing anonymous sources, Bloomberg reported the new software design — codenamed “Luck” on iOS and iPadOS, and “Cheer” for macOS 16 — is loosely based on the Apple Vision Pro. 

Apple’s operating systems are set to get their biggest overhaul in years — with icons, menus, apps and windows all getting a new look www.bloomberg.com/news/article... via @markgurman.bsky.social

[image or embed]

— Nick Turner (@newsynick.bsky.social) March 10, 2025 at 3:24 PM

Consistency across operating systems appears to be the goal for Apple, with Bloomberg noting the company wants swapping between systems to be a more seamless experience. Since Apple intends to borrow design elements from the Vision Pro, it seems that Apple wants all of its operating systems to look similar to one another. 

SEE ALSO: iOS 18.4 developer beta released — here's what you can expect

Bloomberg noted that Apple is likely hoping a fresh design will generate some hype and sales. Sales for Apple’s iPhone 16 series have been relatively sluggish and consumers have had a lukewarm reception to Apple Intelligence.

Mark Gurman at Bloomberg typically hits the nail on the head with Apple news, and this is not the first time a major software overhaul has been rumored. Jon Prosser from Front Page Tech first surfaced the rumor a month ago, showing off an iOS with circular icons and other changes in a YouTube video. Gurman’s report seems to correlate with what Prosser said, lending more weight to the idea that rumors of a revamped iOS 19 are true. 

Fortunately, people won’t have to wait long. Bloomberg reports  that the changes should be announced at this year’s WWDC event this summer.

As the final two episodes of Severance Season 2 approach, one question looms larger than any other: What in the world is Cold Harbor?

SEE ALSO: 'Severance' creator Dan Erickson breaks down Gemma's 'nightmarish' experience at Lumon

It's a mystery that's haunted us right from the Season 2 premiere, but since then, Severance has provided viewers with some major reveals that have better clued us into what these two words really mean.

From Mark's (Adam Scott) MDR file to Lumon's testing floor rooms, here's everything we know about Cold Harbor so far.

Cold Harbor is the name of Mark's current MDR file — and only he can complete it. The Cold Harbor file in "Severance." Credit: Apple TV+

Let's start with the basics. As we learned back in Season 2, episode 1, Cold Harbor is the name of the file Mark is currently refining for Lumon. At the start of the season, he's 68 percent of the way through. By episode 7, he's 96 percent done with the file. However, as he recovers from his reintegration-induced seizure, there's no telling how quickly he'll be able to finish Cold Harbor.

SEE ALSO: Can consent exist in 'Severance'?

In the first two episodes of Season 2, Severance makes it clear that Mark — and only Mark — finishing Cold Harbor is Lumon's priority. That's why they hired him back after the Overtime Contingency fiasco that concluded Season 1. That's why they were so quick to give into his demands that his original team return to the severed floor.

Mark is such a key part of the Cold Harbor project because of his deep connection with Gemma (Dichen Lachman), on whom Lumon is experimenting as a result of MDR's refining. Speaking of...

Cold Harbor is one of the rooms Gemma goes through on the testing floor. Dichen Lachman and Sandra Bernhard in "Severance." Credit: Apple TV+

Just like with MDR's other files — including Allentown, Dranesville, and Siena — Cold Harbor is the name of one of the many rooms that Gemma goes through daily on Lumon's testing floor.

As seen in episode 7, each room houses a different Severed identity of Gemma's, as well as an unpleasant situation, like a turbulent flight or a trip to the dentist. For each Innie, these experiences are their entire life, a nonstop loop of torture.

After Gemma endures the rooms, the sinister Dr. Mauer (Robbie Benson) prods her about whether she can recall anything that happened in them, or whether any emotions from her Innies' time in the rooms bled through to her. The answer is no, but that doesn't stop Gemma retaining physical pain — like aching teeth or a cramped hand — from some rooms.

SEE ALSO: 'Severance' finally reveals what Lumon is doing to Gemma. It's terrifying.

This line of questioning proves that Lumon is testing the severance barrier to see what, if anything, bleeds through from these terrible experiences. Based on that, it seems like Lumon's endgame is creating a way to sever all painful experiences, which they can then sell to the masses. As Dr. Mauer tells Gemma when she asks about seeing Mark, "Mark will benefit from the world you're siring. Kier will take away all his pain just as Kier has taken away yours."

Of all the rooms on the testing floor, there's only one that Gemma hasn't been in: Cold Harbor. Given that Mark has to be the one working on it, it's likely that this room presents the biggest emotional challenge yet. If the severance barrier can hold while Gemma is undergoing emotional turmoil that Mark somehow created or controlled, then Lumon knows its goal is complete.

What is in the Cold Harbor room? Dichen Lachman in "Severance." Credit: AppleTV+

Since we haven't been in the Cold Harbor room yet, we can't know for certain. However, fan theories on Reddit speculate that the room will present Gemma's Cold Harbor Innie with the death of a loved one or a reminder of her miscarriage, therefore testing whether Gemma can forget devastating grief.

SEE ALSO: This 'Severance' Reddit theory may have finally answered the 'Cold Harbor' mystery What happens to Gemma after Mark finishes Cold Harbor? Dichen Lachman in "Severance." Credit: AppleTV+

We obviously have a lot of questions about what Cold Harbor will turn out to be, but another nagging issue is what Lumon will do with Gemma once it's finally finished its big project.

When she asks Dr. Mauer outright what will happen after she goes through Cold Harbor, he tells her, "You will see the world again, and the world will see you."

In theory, then, Gemma will be going back out into the world. But will it be as herself? As Ms. Casey? As one of her other various Innies? After all, there's no way Lumon would willingly let someone they've kidnapped back out into the world unless they can control the narrative.

SEE ALSO: 'Severance' Season 2, episode 8 finally confirms Miss Huang's whole deal

Another less-than-promising hint at Gemma's future comes during an episode 7 discussion between Dr. Mauer and Mr. Drummond (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson), when Mr. Drummond says, "When [Mark] is done, you're gonna have to say goodbye to her."

But does that mean "goodbye" as in Gemma is leaving the hellhole of the testing floor for good? Or "goodbye" as in a permanent farewell to Gemma? When it comes to Lumon doublespeak, we should always skew more sinister — and it seems like no matter what Cold Harbor brings, Gemma is still very much in danger.

Severance Season 2 is now streaming on AppleTV+, with a new episode every Friday.

Southwest was known as the airline that didn't have everything, but it did have free bags — until now.

On Tuesday, March 11, the company announced that the only flyers who will get two free checked bags are Rapid Rewards A-List Preferred Members and customers traveling on Business Select fares. A-List Members and other select customers will get one free checked bag. Everyone else? You'll have to pay up. Changes will go into effect for all flights booked on or after May 28.

"We have tremendous opportunity to meet current and future customer needs, attract new customer segments we don’t compete for today, and return to the levels of profitability that both we and our Shareholders expect," Bob Jordan, the president, CEO, and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors at Southwest Airlines, said in a press release. "We will do all this while remaining focused on what’s made us strong — our people and the authentic, friendly, and award-winning customer service only they can provide."

But people on X aren't so sure that's what makes Southwest strong. No, users would argue that the free bags made it strong.

SEE ALSO: Why we're doomscrolling about plane crashes even though air travel is relatively safe This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

One user pointed out that Southwest also recently eliminated its "sit wherever you want, we could care less" seating model, which disappointed customers at the time. It seems like Southwest is quickly becoming Spirit Airlines, but without Spirit's charming self-awareness.

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As many, many, many users pointed out on social media, there's not much that separates Southwest from its competitors, now. What's the point?

Apple's new M4 MacBook Air is here, with a new chip, new price, and a new color on offer. I took it for a quick spin.

Apple sent me the 15-inch variant of the new MacBook Air in the new "sky blue" color, with an M4 chip, 16GB of memory, and 1TB of storage space. I haven't yet spent enough time with it to tell you whether it's a good purchase, but I can say one thing: The sky blue color will only shine in a certain light.

So, so subtle.

Pulling the new Air out of its box, I thought there must've been a mistake, as the thing seemed gray to my eyes. Only after a direct comparison with my 16-inch, silver MacBook Pro was I able to determine that the device Apple sent me indeed has a blue hue to it.

Lighter, slimmer, and slightly more colorful than a silver, 16-inch MacBook Pro. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

In its marketing materials, Apple did say that the Air "creates a dynamic gradient when light reflects off of its surface," and it does, but you do need that light to see it. In other words, don't expect people to notice your new fancy Air unless it's basking in sunlight. Oh, and if you wondered, the MagSafe charge cable you get with it is color-matched.

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

Enough about the color (the new Air is also available in midnight, starlight, and silver). The new Air, as I expected, was incredibly sleek and light next to my massive MacBook Pro. With a 15-inch LED display and at 2.7 pounds of weight, it's definitely not a small laptop, but I feel it still deserves the "Air" moniker, if only barely.

What else is new?

This year's MacBook Air seems to be about refinement. It looks and weighs the same as the last one, but it has the new, faster M4 chip, it starts with more RAM (16GB), it has a much-needed, upgraded 12-megapixel FaceTime camera, and it starts at $999 (down from $1,099) That's for the 13-inch variant, though; the 15-incher that I've tested starts at $1,199.

You get a matching MagSafe charge cable in the box. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

That's actually quite a lot of improvements, and while I didn't have time to truly put the new M4 chip to the test, the new Air seems to be a no brainer if you're looking for a sleek, portable Apple laptop.

Sure, the display doesn't get as bright as the one on my Pro, but having them both side by side right now, both on maximum brightness, I'm not really noticing that much of a difference. The fact that the Air's display only supports 60Hz refresh rate while the Pro goes up to 120Hz is noticeable when things are moving on screen.

No USB-C ports on the right side; you only get a 3.5mm headphone jack there. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

And yes, the Air could definitely use more ports. It only has the MagSafe port (if you wondered, the charinge cable you get with it is color-matched), two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. This could be of particular importance if you plan to use the new Air with two external monitors, which you now can -- those two Thunderbolt ports probably won't cut it for all your needs.

Stay tuned for a more thorough assessment of whether the new Air is worth your money. For now, though, it appears to be a winner.

A new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filing from Nintendo answers at least one question still up in the air about the company's upcoming Switch 2: Amiibo's are staying.

SEE ALSO: It's Mar10 Day at Nintendo — find all the best deals live now

The filing appears to confirm the handheld gaming console will still contain near-field communication (NFC) support, used to unlock specific content in games, the Verge reported. The Switch 2 will also sport two different USB-C charging ports (one on top and one of the bottom), as well as faster WiFi compatibility — consoles will be able to connect to Wi-Fi 6 networks with up to 80MHz of bandwidth.

Nintendo's updated Switch 2 was first teased in January, introducing a bigger casing, slightly different color ways, and revamped Joy-Con controllers. A public patent later revealed that the new Joy-Con design operated less like a traditional gamepad and more like a computer mouse, which could potentially allow players more movement functionality. Still, rumors won't be confirmed until Nintendo's big Switch 2 launch event, taking place on April 2.

John Mulaney appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday, and he brought a weird gift with him.

Spending much of their conversation talking about his appearance on a charity version of a Kimmel-hosted episode of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? alongside Nick Kroll, Mulaney ends the appearance by calling up Kroll on FaceTime.

"Nick, so far I've clued the audience in that we had a difficult time with an Easter Island question," Mulaney said. "What they don't know so much is that you and I and Jimmy constantly text about Gene Simmons, the front man of KISS, and that throughout the taping of Celebrity Who Wants to be a Millionaire I was trying to slip in quotes of Gene Simmons.'"

The resulting gift? An Easter Island-style statue of Gene Simmons' head, with an accompanying quote. That's surely got to be the most unique late night present ever given.

Mr Milchick (Tramell Tillman) is definitely one of the funniest characters in Severance, and the scene in which he tells a story about the King of Sweden is glorious proof.

The moment from Season 2, episode 5, which involves Milchick saying the made-up Swedish word "gråkappan" (it means a gray cloak in the story), went viral on X, with many Swedish people commenting on Milchick's exaggerated pronunciation of the word.

Tillman's explanation in The Late Show clip above? He took inspiration from Betty White's character in Golden Girls, and then tested three different pronunciations during filming. The one that made the crew laugh the hardest was the one they went with.

The U.S. economy has been taking a beating recently, with fears over Donald Trump's tariffs causing the stock market to plummet.

"In the first Trump term, it took a disease to destroy the economy," said Stephen Colbert on The Late Show Monday night. "This time, he is the disease."

Colbert went on to play a clip of the president on Fox News, defending his actions by talking about taking the longer view.

"Oh sure, with a big enough time perspective nothing really matters," said the late night host. "Beth, I can tell you're mad I'm two hours late to our wedding, but I will remind you, on a geological scale, two hours is punctual. Does a mountain care that I got distracted looking at sandwiches on TikTok?"

Oh hey there! If you're here, it must be time for Wordle. As always, we're serving up our daily hints and tips to help you figure out today's answer.

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 today: Hints and answers for March 11 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's The Mini crossword answers for March 11, 2025 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

A path.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no reoccurring letters.

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter T.

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...

TRACK.

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.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for March 11

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 today's Wordle.

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.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

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.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

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.

SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for March 11 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: Something different

• Green: These might chime or buzz

• Blue: Often imitated, but many prefer the genuine materials

• Purple: Musicians

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

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

• Yellow: Variation from the norm

• Green: Things that ring

• Blue: Things traditionally made of leather

• Purple: Singer-songwriter pianists

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 #639 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Variation from the norm: ALTERNATIVE, BREAK, CHANGE, DEPARTURE

• Things that ring: ALARM, BELL, INTERCOM, PHONE

• Things traditionally made of leather: FOOTBALL, MOCCASINS, SADDLE, WALLET

• Singer-songwriter pianists: KEYS, KING, LEGEND, WONDER

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 March 11

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 today's Connections.

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.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

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.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

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: Court points

• Green: Hoops

• Blue: Legendary baseball player details

• Purple: Same second word

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: Scoring in tennis

• Green: A score in basketball

• Blue: Associated with Willie Mays

• Purple: ____ Draft

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 #169 is...

What is the answer to Connections Sports Edition today

• Scoring in tennis - 15, 40, DEUCE, LOVE

• A score in basketball - BASKET, BUCKET, FIELD GOAL, MAKE

• Associated with Willie Mays - 24, GIANTS, SAY HEY KID, THE CATCH

• ____ Draft - EXPANSION, FANTASY, MOCK, NFL

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 today'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 March 11 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for March 11 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: What's the magic word?

These words accompany impressive feats.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

The words are related to magic.

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 CastingSpells.

Featured Video For You Strands 101: How to win NYT’s latest word game NYT Strands word list for March 11

• Alakazam

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At this year’s SXSW conference, Yoel Roth, head of trust and safety at Match Group, took the stage to discuss the growing threat of online fraud and the industry's efforts to combat it.

Alongside a representative from Coinbase and a former FBI agent, the panel highlighted how scams have evolved beyond simple phishing attempts into large-scale operations that exploit both technology and human psychology.

SEE ALSO: Bluesky CEO: imagine a 'world without Caesars'

"The newest scams aren’t run by bots," Roth explained. "These are highly curated, human-operated networks, often leveraging real people in situations of trafficking." He pointed to emerging fraud tactics like "pig butchering," in which scammers build long-term relationships with victims before coercing them into fraudulent financial schemes.

Roth’s comments come as Match Group faces scrutiny over its handling of trust and safety issues. A recent report from The Markup alleges that the company has failed to effectively remove users accused of serious misconduct, including sexual assault. The investigation claims that Match Group maintains internal records of flagged users but does not always take action to ban them across its platforms or notify law enforcement.

While Match Group has defended its safety measures, stating that it is "committed to investing in cutting-edge technology and working closely with regulators," the report raises questions about transparency in online safety efforts.

SEE ALSO: SXSW 2025: 'Death Stranding 2: On the Beach' reveals new gameplay and a June release date

At SXSW, Roth emphasized the need for cross-industry collaboration to address the broader problem of digital fraud. "Scammers communicate, share tactics, and adapt," he said. "If platforms don’t work together to counter these threats, we’re giving bad actors an advantage."

As discussions on online safety continue, Match Group's handling of these issues will likely remain in focus — both in the fight against fraud and in its own platform policies.

TL;DR: Live stream Cruz Azul vs. Seattle Sounders in the Concacaf Champions Cup for free on YouTube. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The Concacaf Champions Cup showcases a number of really interesting matchups, including Cruz Azul vs. Seattle Sounders. The first leg between these two sides ended 0-0, so everything is still to play for as the action heads to Mexico City.

If you want to watch Cruz Azul vs. Seattle Sounders in the Concacaf Champions Cup for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Cruz Azul vs. Seattle Sounders?

Cruz Azul vs. Seattle Sounders in the Concacaf Champions Cup kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on March 11. This fixture takes place at the University Olympic Stadium.

How to watch Cruz Azul vs. Seattle Sounders for free

Cruz Azul vs. Seattle Sounders in the Concacaf Champions Cup is available to live stream for free on YouTube.

This free live stream is available in most locations around the world, but not in North or Central America. Fortunately, fans in these excluded territories can still access this free live stream with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK (or somewhere else with access), meaning you can unblock free live streams of the Concacaf Champions Cup from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Cruz Azul vs. Seattle Sounders 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 the UK (or somewhere else with access)

4. Visit YouTube

5. Live stream Cruz Azul vs. Seattle Sounders for free

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 most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Cruz Azul vs. Seattle Sounders in the Concacaf Champions Cup without actually spending anything. This clearly isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream select Concacaf Champions Cup fixtures before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming services from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for YouTube?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on YouTube, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including the UK

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

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• 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 Cruz Azul vs. Seattle Sounders in the Concacaf Champions Cup for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Live stream Tigres UANL vs. Cincinnati in the Concacaf Champions Cup for free on YouTube. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The Concacaf Champions Cup is slowly reaching its dramatic conclusion. Places in the quarter finals are up for grabs as competing teams meet in the second leg of their last 16 matchups this week, including Tigres UANL and Cincinnati. The first leg finished 1-1, so everything hangs in the balance as the action heads to Mexico.

If you want to watch Tigres UANL vs. Cincinnati in the Concacaf Champions Cup for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Tigres UANL vs. Cincinnati?

Tigres UANL vs. Cincinnati in the Concacaf Champions Cup kicks off at 9:30 p.m. ET on March 11. This fixture takes place at the Estadio Universitario.

How to watch Tigres UANL vs. Cincinnati for free

Tigres UANL vs. Cincinnati in the Concacaf Champions Cup is available to live stream for free on YouTube.

This free live stream is available in most locations around the world, but not in North or Central America. Fortunately, fans in these excluded territories can still access this free live stream with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK (or somewhere else with access), meaning you can unblock free live streams of the Concacaf Champions Cup from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Tigres UANL vs. Cincinnati 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 the UK (or somewhere else with access)

4. Visit YouTube

5. Live stream Tigres UANL vs. Cincinnati for free

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 most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Tigres UANL vs. Cincinnati in the Concacaf Champions Cup without actually spending anything. This clearly isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream select Concacaf Champions Cup fixtures before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming services from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for YouTube?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on YouTube, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including the UK

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

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• 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 Tigres UANL vs. Cincinnati in the Concacaf Champions Cup for free with ExpressVPN.

A thermostat is an integral part of a home, which is why so many good smart thermostats have been around for a while. The Ecobee Smart Thermostat Essential is another addition to that list with a basic set of features at a reasonable price; just don’t expect anything exciting from it.

Connections is a game from the New York Times that challenges you to find the association between words. It sounds easy, but it isn't—Connections categories can be almost anything, and they're usually quite specific. If you need a hand getting the answers, we've got you covered.

Based on the 1964 play Dutchman by Amiri Baraka, Andre Gaines’ modern telling of The Dutchman takes some wild adaptational swings. Whether they pay off is another matter — truth be told, they often don’t — but the sheer creative gall behind the movie is worthy of note, making it a fascinating artifact of stage-to-screen translation. The play, about a seductive white woman approaching and berating a Black man on the New York subway, was first penned in the wake of Malcolm X’s killing as a means to explore the fraught dynamic between white and Black America at the time, as well Black men’s evolving relationship to themselves.

One needn’t be familiar with Baraka’s work before watching the film, though it certainly helps, given the metatextual approach taken by Gaines and co-writer Qasim Basir, which frames the play as something that exists within the world of the film, even as a similar plot unfolds. One would assume any modernization must, by nature, update these specific politics, but The Dutchman provides in-world justifications for both deviating from its train setting at times while closely following its central themes.

This approach has its pros and cons, beginning with the fact that it seldom brings any new form of political thought to the table. However, that it so willingly ties itself to a 60-year-old text is its own form of artistic inquiry. Although it struggles to articulate its reasons for doing so, there’s something poignant lurking just beneath the surface of its cinematic translation. That its unearthing of this reason only reaches skin-deep is nothing if not tragic.

What is The Dutchman about?

 A couple in the throes of marital tensions, businessman Clay (Holland) and his wife Kaya (Zazie Beetz) attend couples’ counseling with their therapist, Dr. Amiri (Stephen McKinley Henderson) — a name with some significance. From the word go, The Dutchman frames itself as an self-referential adaptation steeped practically in magical realism, when Dr. Amiri, in an effort to help Clay address his identity crisis as a Black man inching toward a political career, hands him a copy of the play on which the movie is based.

Clay refuses the doctor’s self-help gift, and before long, bizarre events begin transpiring around him, including subtle transformations to the movie’s backdrop, though these are more for the audience to notice than the character (some production design elements begin to morph, albeit unbeknownst to Clay, and in ways the movie doesn’t circle back to). When he sits down on a subway train, he’s approached flirtatiously by Lula (Kate Mara), a white stranger who knows a little too much about his private life for comfort. Soon, she demands he take her to the party where he’s headed, a celebration of his friend Warren (Aldis Hodge) launching his political campaign.

Along the lengthy subway ride, and eventually, when they stop at Lula’s apartment en route to the party, she seduces him while also prodding at his insecurities. Given the film’s absurdist bent, he’s seldom able (or willing) to break away from her grasp. When he tries, she takes full advantage of her white femininity, and threatens to falsely report him for rape if he ditches her before the evening’s festivities, recalling the racially-charged accusations against Black men and boys throughout American history — the kind that led to the lynching of Emmet Till. This razor-sharp tension arises early on, though it doesn’t escalate, which feels like a missed opportunity. 

Clay’s predicament results in Lula accompanying him throughout the night, and meeting not only Warren, but Clay’s wife at the party too. With his marriage (and perhaps even his safety) at stake, he’s forced to confront the racial anxieties with which Lula verbally accosts him, while also learning more about why these strange events — seemingly foretold in an old stage play, which eventually ends up in his possession through mysterious circumstances — have begun unfolding.

Unfortunately, these confrontations only have the appearance of looking inward, toward the double consciousness (à la W.E.B. Du Bois) allegedly experienced by Clay as a Black man in America. The film’s themes resemble familiar philosophical musings about modern Black history and lived experience — about navigating the white gaze and the discomforts of assimilation, which it mostly gestures toward in words. But despite taking the shape of Baraka’s play (and taking some of its words verbatim), The Dutchman fails to create a thematic or temporal continuum between the more radical ideologies and praxis of the Civil Rights era and its relatively tame presentation of identity politics today.

This is despite the fact that it attempts to chart a very direct course — a literary continuum of sorts — between the events of the play and those of the movie. Their relationship is almost that of an original and its legacy sequel, with the latter caught halfway between treading new ground and playing on familiar sentiments. This is where The Dutchman both succeeds conceptually and fails thematically.

What is the relationship between The Dutchman and its source material?

Given how early the movie tips its hand, it isn’t hard to figure out that its events are both a re-telling as well as a modern echo of those in Baraka’s script. Both the stage production and the subsequent, hour-long 1967 film adaptation by Anthony Harvey (which finds itself referenced as well) are set almost entirely in one train car, a setting Gaines’ film both departs from and keeps returning to over the course of its 88 minutes.

By invoking this idea of textual repetition, the way Stephen King does in The Dark Tower, or Hideaki Anno does in the Evangelion films, The Dutchman comments on itself (and on Baraka’s play as well), framing its events as prescient, and almost prophetic. The struggles present in the original story live on in the present as well. And with the character of Dr. Amiri — a Baraka stand-in — attempting to provide Clay with insight through art, it speaks to not only what these repetitive sociological questions of identity might be, but where their answers may lie.

That’s a fascinating idea in concept, but if it sounds dry and academic, well, that’s exactly how it plays in The Dutchman too. Clay, whose name hints at a certain malleability, is certainly a product of his environment, but his relationship to the world around him is largely expressed in words. Sometimes, he makes claims about himself, the truth or falsehood of which tells us something about him, and in other moments, Lula regales him (and therefore, us) with facts about his life. However, despite breaking from the stageplay’s confines, the movie’s use of multiple locations seldom offers us any insight as to how Clay actually lives in or navigates the world at large. He is, ironically, a symbolic descendant of the original Clay in Baraka’s writing, filtered down into a series of derivative ideas, rather than a fully-formed individual reckoning with the echoes of art and history in his own unique way — a malformed aspect of his character that, unfortunately, goes hand-in-hand with half-baked visual flourishes.

The filmmaking behind The Dutchman never pushes it into surreal territory.

When the movie’s relationship to the play first comes to light, a few visual cues — from wobbles in space to overt lighting changes — portend something meaningful in the ether when Clay descends the subway steps, as though he were entering a dreamscape (this distortion is assisted by apparent flaws and cracks in the lenses). However, while the changes themselves are overt and obvious, signaling to the audience that something is afoot, their underlying meanings and effects are not. The color palette merely transitions to something colder and dingier, without any tangible details noticeably shifting.

This superficial switching of modes speaks to how The Dutchman approaches its relationship to Baraka’s play. Their immediate relationship is an oddity — a ripple in time — but beyond that, Gaines and Basir add nothing new, beyond a few unpleasant moments of Lula’s racial animus towards Black women. Her provocations are certainly self-aware, but they rarely (if ever) draw something truly visceral out of Clay. Despite a self-reflexive approach to literature and its impact, the movie’s surreal happenings don’t affect its protagonist the way good surrealism would. They don’t stir within him any thought or discomfort beyond the words thrown his way, mere reminders that he’s a Black man in a white world and a Black world simultaneously, forever cursed to oscillate between the two. Even when familiar faces start appearing to Clay in places they ordinarily shouldn’t, the impact is temporary, and ends up dulled through over-explanation.

When the film comes to the same conclusions as the stage play, about the uniqueness for (and the unique need for) Black culture and Black artistic expression, it feels entirely untethered from the story we’ve just seen, emanating practically out of the blue. Holland and Mara deliver intense, dialed-in performances — they must, given how wordy their roles end up being — but there’s only so much they can do as actors tasked with an ostensible revival that demands novelty from them, but doesn’t provide them with the right creative tools, material, or platform.

As a first-time feature filmmaker, Gaines gets just enough right when it comes to engendering curiosity. The Dutchman moves forward without slowing down. But while it starts with a lofty idea, seeking to canonize the relationship between Black stories across the decades, it ends up with little to say either about the then, or the now. The result isn’t so much the righteous rage of Baraka’s searing original work, but rather, sound and fury that, through its very repetition, perpetuates a cycle rather than a break with its struggle.

The Dutchman was reviewed out of the 2025 SXSW Film Festival.