IT General

SAVE $113.16: As of Dec. 4, the Garmin vívoactive 5 is on sale for $199.99 at Amazon. That's a 33% saving on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Garmin Garmin vívoactive 5 $186.83 at Amazon
$299.99 Save $113.16   Get Deal

The Garmin vívoactive 5 is back on sale at Amazon, and if you've been looking for an excuse to upgrade (or pick up a Christmas present for someone), you've just found it.

As of Dec. 4, the Garmin watch is down to $186.83, a saving of $113.16 on list price. It's not its lowest-ever price, but it's pretty close according to camelcamelcamel. This price is specific to the ivory colored watch. All colors are reduced (navy, orchid, and slate) but this is the best price available, if color doesn't matter to you.

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The vívoactive 5 is a great option for a watch that has lots of lifestyle metrics as well as health and fitness tracking. It has heaps of Garmin's tracking features including Body Battery, an energy monitoring feature to help you understand when you’re ready for activity or need rest. It has advanced sleep tracking too, which provides a sleep score, coaching, and metrics such as HRV.

For tracking workouts, this watch has more than 30 built-in indoor and GPS sports apps, along with a wheelchair mode that tracks pushes and includes tailored workouts. You’ll also get extensive health tools like stress tracking, menstrual and pregnancy tracking, meditation, and fitness age. If you're training for a specific goal, you'll find features like workout benefit and recovery time to be useful, stats that help you understand how your workouts impact your body.

Pick up this Garmin deal from Amazon now.

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight turned out one of the best British shows of 2025 with A Thousand Blows, and there's more where that came from.

Adolescence stars Stephen Graham and Erin Doherty, and Small Axe star Malachi Kirby all return after a highly successful awards run for another round of the Victorian London-set Hulu/Disney+ drama series.

Kicking off one year after the events of Season 1, this season sees East End boxers Hezekiah Moscow (Kirby) and Henry "Sugar" Goodson (Graham) not in a good place, either of them, from the looks of the trailer. Forty Elephants queen Mary Carr (Doherty), her protégé Alice Diamond (Darci Shaw), and exiled temp leader Eliza Moody (Hannah Walters) are back and ready to reunite Mary's all-women gang of thieves for a major heist. But first, Mary'll have to reclaim gang power from Indigo Jeremy (Robert Glenister), who lords over them from the other side of the Thames.

The trailer features all the boxing matches, undercover work at aristocratic parties, and fierce words between unlikely allies we've come to expect from A Thousand Blows.

A Thousand Blows is streaming on Hulu and Disney+ on Jan. 9, 2026.

SAVE OVER $150 As of Dec. 4, the Dyson Airstrait is on sale for $399 at Amazon. That's a 27% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Dyson Dyson Airstrait $399 at Amazon
$549.99 Save $150.99   Get Deal

Whether it's for Christmas shopping or a treat for yourself, Amazon has a great new discount on the Dyson Airstrait. As of Dec. 4, this popular beauty product is down to its lowest-ever price (according to camelcamelcamel), now priced at $399. That's a saving of $150.99, and the perfect excuse to treat yourself.

The Dyson Airstrait is designed to dry and straighten hair at the same time, saving you valuable time in your hair styling process. It moves from wet to finished with one tool and it doesn't rely on hot plates or extreme heat. It works by using a heated, downward airflow to align hair for a smooth, natural-looking straight finish. It even has sensors that regulate temperature and adjust airflow depending on whether hair is between the arms.

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The device uses a high-speed motor to generate enough pressure to straighten as it dries, and the built-in LCD display shows airflow and heat settings while you style. The arms can be locked to pre-dry roots and add volume, and the built-in auto-pause feature reduces noise and energy use when the device isn’t in contact with hair. It can even be used on dry hair to give it a touch up or to restyle it completely.

You can find this Dyson deal at Amazon.

SAVE $200: As of Dec 4, the Toshiba 55-inch Class C350 Series is on sale for $199.99 at Amazon. That's a 50% saving on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Toshiba Toshiba 55-inch Class C350 Series $199.99 at Amazon
$399.99 Save $200   Get Deal

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are over, and the next big sales event isn't until Boxing Day. But if you're still on the hunt for some pre-Christmas bargains, whether for a gift or a treat for yourself, Amazon has some deals still hanging around. Like this discount on the Toshiba 55-inch Class C350 Series, still sitting at its Cyber Monday price.

As of Dec. 4, you can save $200 on this TV, with the price down to just $199.99. This price is for the 55-inch model, but all sizes of this TV are on sale, so you can pick an option that works best for your space.

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With this TV you're getting great, 4K quality. It also has an AI 4K upscaler, a feature that enhances Full HD video to make everyday content look crisp and realistic. Sound quality is next level too, thanks to Dolby Atmos.

Fast moving scenes come through clearly thanks to Ultimate Motion, and there are dedicated Game and Sports modes for optimizing performance for responsiveness and smooth movement. And because it runs on Fire TV, your favorite apps and content are organized on the home screen, making it easy to resume whatever you're watching.

Pick up this TV deal at Amazon.

SAVE $49: A Walmart+ subscription is available for just $49 this Black Friday and comes with a year's free subscription to Peacock Premium. That's a 50% saving on the regular annual cost of a Walmart+ subscription.

Opens in a new window Credit: Walmart+ Walmart+ (1-Year Plan + Peacock) $49 at Walmart
$98 Save $49   Get Deal

While you’re stocking up on devices and tech over Black Friday, don’t forget the savings you get on other things. Great deals on streaming, for instance. Indeed, Black Friday sales include discounts on subscriptions to the best streaming platforms and streaming sticks. And there’s a doubly good deal when you sign up for Walmart+. Not only do you save 50% on the annual cost of Walmart+, but Walmart also throws in a free year of Peacock Premium alongside the numerous shopping perks.

An annual subscription to Walmart+ is now on offer for just $49, which is a 50% saving on the regular annual price of $98. A year’s subscription to Peacock Premium is included for free. The offer is available until Dec. 2.

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You’ll actually save even more than $49 per year on Walmart+, as Peacock Premium usually costs around $132 per year, so you’re getting a saving of approximately $181.

There are other perks to Walmart+, such as free delivery on your home delivery orders, discounts at participating gas stations, and access to other streaming platforms, such as Apple Music, which offers you five months absolutely free through Walmart+.

Peacock Premium itself has a huge amount of content to choose from, including NBC shows such as The Office, Parks and Recreation, and 30 Rock, as well as new shows Poker Face, All Her Fault, and The Paper. It's near endless entertainment for free. 

Sign up for a Walmart+ subscription for just $49 this Black Friday and get a free year of Peacock Premium. Deal ends Dec. 2.

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult to solve if you love putting things together.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for December 4, 2025 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: To snuggle

• Green: To scarf down

• Blue: They need to be built

• Purple: Noses

Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Cuddle

• Green: Imbibe

• Blue: Things you assemble

• Purple: Snouts

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 #907 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Cuddle: DRAW CLOSE, HOLD TIGHT, NUZZLE, SPOON

• Imbibe: GUZZLE, KNOCK BACK, POUND DOWN, SWILL

• Things you assemble: IKEA FURNITURE, LEGO SET, MODEL, PUZZLE

• Snouts: BEAK, MUZZLE, PROBOSCIS, ROSTRUM

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 December 4, 2025

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

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

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

Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you're always in charge.

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

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

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

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

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for December 4, 2025 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for December 4, 2025 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: In the driver's seat

The words are related to personality traits.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe an authoritative figure.

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 Like A Boss.

NYT Strands word list for December 4

• Like A Boss

• Confident

• Secure

• Assured

• Bold

• Cool

• Assertive

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

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

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

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you love flowers.

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

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for December 4, 2025 Where did Wordle come from?

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

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

What's the best Wordle starting word?

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

What happened to the Wordle archive?

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

Is Wordle getting harder?

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for December 4, 2025 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

A bright-colored flower.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring 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...

TULIP

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 December 4, 2025

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 the latest Wordle.

Tonight's moon is a special one, it's not just a full moon, it's a supermoon. A supermoon is just a full moon that looks bigger and brighter because the Moon is a bit closer to Earth than usual, so the Moon may look a little clearer and you might find it slightly easier to spot some of its surface features tonight.

What is today’s moon phase?

As of Thursday, Dec. 4, the moon phase is Full Moon. This means 100% of the moon is lit up tonight, according to NASA's Daily Moon Observation.

If you're looking up with just your naked eye, there's lots to see, in particular the Vaporum, Serenitatis and Tranquillitatis Mares. With binoculars you'll also be able to spy the Alps Mountains, Clavius Crater and the Mare Humorum. And with a telescope, you can catch a glimpse of the Apollo 15 and 17 landing spots as well as the Fra Mauro Highlands.

When is the next full moon?

The next full moon will be on Jan. 3.

What are moon phases?

NASA explains that the lunar cycle (which is about 29.5 days long) is made up of the Moon’s phases, which describe how the Moon looks from Earth as it travels around us. We view the same side of the Moon at all times, but the sunlight hitting its surface shifts as it moves through its orbit. That changing illumination is what makes the Moon appear full, half-lit, or not visible at all. The cycle includes eight distinct phases:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A visibly pregnant woman stands in the middle of a bright, modern kitchen, rubbing her belly and speaking to someone on the other end of a phone. The phone screen turns. It's a video call. And it's not just anyone, but her mom, wearing a bright sweater and giving advice.

Ten months later, grandma is telling the toddler a bedtime story. She's wearing the same sweater from before. Ten years go by, the preteen is telling grandma about his day at school. We see that red sweater again. Hm. The grandson is 30 now, he's about to be a dad. Grandma hasn't aged a day.

The scene is an advertisement, selling you the services of 2wai, an app currently in beta that turns a short video clip into an AI-powered avatar. They're one of many companies trying to win people over into creating AI versions of themselves to be used after they die. 

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No longer is the fear of deepfakes and AI-powered legacy projects (frequently called resurrections or "deadbots") the sole worry of famous celebrities. It is here, for the average person, in the hands of your family and friends. 

So what if you don't want a synthetic version of yourself giving advice to your ancestors in perpetuity? Or your AI replica being used in advertisements, art, or by corporations who have access to your data?

It's still uncharted territory, but you have options to ensure your digital likeness stays offline. And there's many reasons, not just legal or financial, why you might want to do it. Here's how.

SEE ALSO: 'Alien: Romulus's biggest cameo is its greatest error Start thinking about AI before you die

There's one thing that needs to be stated right off the bat: Everyone should be planning for their death. 

"We invest so much time and consideration into milestones like weddings and having children, but very little thought is given to how we want to live our final months and years," said Sarah Chavez. Chavez is the director of Order of the Good Death, a global network of advocates and professionals working to reframe death and dying. 

So alright, you know you need to make sure your digital ducks are in order before you get too old. But do you really need to think about AI, deepfakes, and digital likenesses, of all things?   

If you had asked Chavez this question a year ago, she would have had an entirely different response. That's rapidly changed. "AI has become so prominent in our everyday lives, not just professionally and personally," Chavez explained. "We’re also starting to see the dead used in a way that can have legal and social impact, too." She points to a case of Chris Pelkey, a victim of a road rage incident whose voice was resurrected by his family to give his own victim's statement. Chavez recalls the viral Shotline project, too, which used AI audio deepfakes of gun violence victims to urge politicians to pass common sense gun reform legislation. Similar tech was used to create an AI likeness of Parkland shooting victim Joaquin Oliver. 

There's a high degree of risk associated with allowing digital versions of yourself to exist online, with no parameters. Could your digital likeness be used as a tool for scammers, for example, to con your family and friends or even strangers? What about the legal and social ramifications of a chatbot created in your image, one that may become embroiled in the same courtroom battles currently faced by ChatGPT and others. Another big question: What about your personal data privacy? Are you okay with your loved ones providing a tech company or AI developer with the mass amount of data needed to personalize an AI version of you?

"It's important to remember that these tools are created by for-profit tech companies, which raises a number of concerns about ownership of that data and how it will be used," warns Chavez. 

Regular people, not just celebrities or those who become headlines, are seeing the fallout of unhampered access to generative AI, like targeted scams and growing misinformation. Just a handful of bullet points in your will could decide whether your digital legacy is mired in the same controversies. If there was ever a time to start planning for the end of your life, it's now. 

First task: Take a digital asset inventory. AI, your death, and the law 

Cody Barbo, the founder of digital estate planning tool Trust & Will, suggests people use estate planning to better control their digital footprint. The service is like TurboTax but for writing a will, and he says he built it to help regular people who may be avoiding the conversation completely. It's also a way to bring tech into an industry that has been slow to adopt, even as AI poses huge security and estate questions. 

"Over the past decade, end-of-life planning regarding tech has primarily focused on encouraging people to include information about what they want done with their cell phone, email accounts, and social media platforms, and making sure they’ve provided passwords and login information for their accounts," Chavez explained. With AI an emerging and yet dominant tech, the industry needs to catch up. 

"We're just at the entry point," Barbo said. "We're dipping our toes in the water of what an AI version of ourselves could look like. [But] we want people to know that you can be in control."

How does that work in practice? "The challenge with trying to protect something that is so new, that is so innovative, is that there's no legislation to help you," explained Solomon Adote, the chief information security officer of The Estate Registry and former Chief Security Officer for the state of Delaware. "Some states say you cannot violate certain privacy protections, but nothing that explicitly says that you cannot abuse this person's likeness, image, or other aspects of their representation." In the background, a patchwork of state laws are trying to address these concerns through extended privacy laws, which would better protect your digital assets, including data privacy, after you die.

For now, individuals have to turn to proactive estate planning. 

What are you trying to protect?

First task: Take a digital asset inventory. This involves surveying and noting all your digital accounts, log-ins, and data, like social media pages, bank log-ins, but also Cloud-based drives, or even text messages or DMs. This also includes defining exactly what your digital likeness includes — is it just depictions of you as an adult? Does it include your voice and physical mannerisms? What version of yourself can or cannot be turned into AI?

Some people may want to solicit the services of a digital identity trust, Adote said, which can help manage your online identity and intellectual property. 

Who will help you protect it?

Next: Assign a digital fiduciary and know the (albeit limited) law. This is a person (or persons) who is given designated access to your digital assets, including online accounts. You can grant permission to just specific assets or entirely limit access through both your will and fiduciary. You can also provide them with guidance for your digital likeness, which is in itself a digital asset, Adote explained.

The boundaries of digital fiduciaries are covered under the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA), which has not been passed by every state. Under this law, a person assigned as a digital fiduciary can legally provide or gain access to someone's online accounts after death or even incapacitation. But only trustee executors can access the content of said accounts, and only if the person who died consented. Tech companies, like Google and Meta, also operate under RUFADAA (that's why we have things like Facebook legacy accounts and contacts now). If you don't assign a fiduciary, your accounts default to the tech company's Terms of Service. 

What will you allow and who will benefit?

Once you've assigned a fiduciary, you need to have a direct conversation with them about what they should and should not allow. With your "explicitly written and validated position" on AI use, Adote said, fiduciaries can more easily take legal action, like issuing cease and desist orders on intellectual property.

You can, quite simply, write that you do not consent to someone creating an AI-generated likeliness of yourself in your will, said experts.

You may want to phrase this as "living on in AI-form" or the "publication of an AI-generated, synthetic version" of yourself. You may also want to be clear about data usage: I do not consent to the use of my personal data to create an AI-powered digital likeness of myself. Adote suggests your will should show clear intent, with phrasing like "I do not authorize my image or likeness to be used in any way, form, or fashion."

Go over these with an estate attorney, as everyone's situation and end of life needs are different — and state laws vary. 

You can also stipulate very precise cases for how your digital likeness can be used, if it's not a hard no. But be conservative and narrow with this language, other experts suggested. Write down, for example, exactly who is allowed to use or release it, just as you would with other assets or accounts. List any explicit charities or companies that are allowed to use your likeness, as well. 

Think deeply about what the end is for you. - Emma Payne, Help Texts

If your likeness is in any way attached to your livelihood — that includes influencers — be clear about potential financial gain that could be generated from a personal AI, and decide where that money will go. 

These directives should be expressly written down in your will or another document that is accessible after you die. It comes down to just a few, clear bullet points, experts say. 

AI, grief, and memory

There's a few, non-legal things to consider, too, especially if you are raring to live on in AI form. What are your values, and what is best for those who will miss you? 

You may have ethical concerns about the use of AI — like its environmental impact or the political and financial motives held by its developers — and you'll want to account for those at the end of your life too, said Chavez. 

Or maybe you want to curb any general use of your digital likeness, but still leave room for a digital version of yourself to be used by your family, for example. Consider what that entails. "While a griefbot can be trained with your own writing, and voice, it’s still selective or biased data used to create an inauthentic version of the deceased," said Chavez, who also warns that prolonged interactions with the AI version of a person may fundamentally change the way they are perceived and remembered. 

Emma Payne is a bereavement researcher and the founder of Help Texts, a text-based grief support subscription service. Payne is concerned not just with the typical ways that AI has infiltrated posthumous legacies, like AI deepfakes and chatbots programmed to mimic your loved ones, but also how technology is encroaching upon our social relationships. To her, memory matters. But imitation is an entirely different thing. 

"End of life is a deeply human time and a massive opportunity for human connection and caring. So pushing it out, and trying to say that it's not the end, worries me. Think deeply about what the end is for you," Payne recommends. "By trying to extend or mitigate or transform that experience, knowing that you're in the most human of times, are you helping the people you leave behind or are you actually hurting them?"

Take the recent words of Zelda Williams, director and daughter of actor Robin Williams, who took to the internet to decry AI-generated content of her father and other late celebrities: "To watch the legacies of real people be condensed down to ‘this vaguely looks and sounds like them so that’s enough’, just so other people can churn out horrible TikTok slop puppeteering them is maddening… If you’ve got any decency, just stop doing this to him and to me, to everyone even, full stop."

SEE ALSO: Deepfake voice scams are more sophisticated than ever: How to keep your family safe

Bereavement is a complicated process, but there are a few solid truths. First, one must accept the person's death. Second, they need to find appropriate ways to memorialize them. Anything that tries to replace a real person and their memories with a pretend, future version, Payne says, is missing the entire point of healthy grief. 

AI is becoming a bigger player in death, even behind-the-scenes. But even players in the industry that have embraced AI technologies are hesitant to incorporate them fully into the realm of end-of-life planning. Zack Moy is the co-founder of Afterword, a tech company that provides AI-powered infrastructure for funeral planning. Moy says he doesn't build tech-based solutions unless he's sure they'll better the human experience. He'd never replace grief with a bot, for example, but he can use AI to make it easier to execute a person's wishes after death. 

"The vast majority of funeral directors we work with care about what they're doing and deeply care about that family experience, and we followed their example," Moy said. "The technology isn't going to make the suffering any easier. We can't make death not suck." 

As a technological society, we are skirting close to a grief precipice, a social reckoning with death and memory that's been expedited by what is now referred to as "Death Tech." With the rise of generative AI, tech isn't just helping account for digital assets or speeding up funeral planning in order to make the grief of our loved ones a little lighter. It's trying to change our lives post-mortem. Now we must reconcile with how we will be memorialized, mimicked, or even mocked by our very own likenesses at the hand of strangers and loved ones.

"We all have a 'legacy' to consider," said Chavez. "Just as we ask people what a 'good death' looks like for them, we need to ask ourselves what does a good legacy look like? Actions that align with your values and beliefs? Authenticity?" 

Generative AI could have written this introduction, but there's a good chance it would have started hallucinating.

Hallucination, which Google failed to mention in its AI-filled 2025 keynote, led to many, many AI fails in 2025. But it wasn't the only factor. Below, please enjoy our picks for the biggest AI fails from this past year.

Hallucinations hit academia, government, and the law

AI has been making stuff up for some time; hallucinate was the word of the year in 2023 for good reason.

But in 2025, the problem got a lot worse. Google AI Overviews may no longer be telling you to put glue on pizza, but they can also still claim the latest Call of Duty doesn't exist.

SEE ALSO: Google AI overviews: Confident when wrong, yet more visible than ever

And it's not like academics are immune. A study from Deakin University found that ChatGPT fabricated about one in five of its academic citations, while half of its citations contained other error-laden elements of generative AI hallucination.

Such proof of hallucination hasn't stopped politicians, publications, or lawyers. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Health and Human Services Department used AI to cite studies that don't exist. The Chicago Sun-Times published a summer reading list in May full of real authors along with hallucinated book titles.

Meanwhile, lawyers and litigants in 635 cases have used AI hallucinations in their arguments.

The Friend wearable failed fast

The Friend is a wearable device that looks like a large necklace pendant and records all of the audio from around the wearer, sends it to a connected phone app, and uses that data to chat with the user by sending texts in real time.

How incredibly odd, you might think. Could such a device increase our epidemic of isolation and loneliness, which is already being exploited by tech companies?

That didn't stop Friend spending more than $1 million on advertisements on the New York City subway system. Ads hit over 11,000 rail cars, 1,000 platform posters, and 130 urban panels, in one of the largest marketing campaigns in NYC subway history.

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The result? Commuters immediately vandalized it. Criticism was so widespread that the subway ads themselves became Halloween costumes. No wonder reviews of the Friend came with headlines noting "everybody hates it."

Most corporate AI pilots crashed

Across the business world, companies are being told they simply have to start using AI. The problem: they're just not very good at it.

According to a report from MIT’s Media Lab, "The State of AI in Business 2025," 95 percent of corporate AI initiatives fail despite investments that cost those companies somewhere between $30 billion and $40 billion.

"Tools like ChatGPT and Copilot are widely adopted. Over 80 percent of organizations have explored or piloted them, and nearly 40 percent report deployment," the report explains.

"But these tools primarily enhance individual productivity, not P&L performance. Meanwhile, enterprise grade systems, custom or vendor-sold, are being quietly rejected. Sixty percent of organizations evaluated such tools, but only 20 percent reached pilot stage and just 5 percent reached production. Most fail due to brittle workflows, lack of contextual learning, and misalignment with day-to-day operations."

Here's hoping 2026 will hold fewer AI fails.

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

Looking for something great to watch at home? Streaming subscribers are spoiled for choice between Hulu, Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Apple TV, Prime Video, Shudder, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. And that's before you even look at the vast libraries of movies and television programs within each streamer!

Don't be overwhelmed or waste an hour scrolling through your services to determine what to watch. We've got your back, whatever your mood. Mashable offers watch guides for all of the above, broken down by genre: comedy, thriller, horror, documentary, and animation, among others. But if you're seeking something brand new (or just new to streaming), we've got you covered there, too.

Mashable's entertainment team has scoured the streaming services to highlight the most buzzed-about releases of the week and ranked them from worst to best — or least worth your time to most watchable. Whether you're looking for holly jolly fun, sexy dramas, madcap comedy, or one of the best Netflix movies of the year, we're here for you.

17. Netflix yule logs

Tis the season for festive viewing, be that holiday movies, seasonal TV shows, or a good ol' yule log. Yes, for those of us who don't have the cozy luxury of a crackling fire, there's a wide array of options to get the fiery comfort without actual brick and flame.

This year, Netflix has added three new yule logs to their original collection: one for Strangers Things, one for KPop Demon Hunters, and one for Wednesday. So pick the background crackle and pop that best suits your Yuletide vibe. — Kristy Puchko, Entertainment Editor

How to watch: Stranger Things' yule log is streaming on Netflix.

How to watch: KPop Demon Hunters' yule log is streaming on Netflix.

How to watch: Wednesday's yule log is full of woe and streaming on Netflix.

16. With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration

If you're the type of Netflix viewer who just wants that holiday cheer simmering away like a personal vat of mulled wine, you're probably already making your way through the streamer's Christmas movies — Champagne Problems, give yourself some. While you're there, stop by With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration, the festive edition of the Duchess of Sussex's Netflix bougie home DIY series. This time, the special guests include Naomi Osaka, Tom Colicchio, and Will Guidara, and if you're here to deliver more hate to this woman who just wants to show you how to deck the bloody halls, respectfully, beat it. — Shannon Connellan, UK Editor.

Starring: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex

How to watch: With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration is now streaming on Netflix.

15. Tron: Ares

The Tron franchise speeds along with this Jared Leto-fronted action-adventure that's a mix of nostalgia, high-tech thrills, and slamming Nine Inch Nails songs.

The plotline for this one is broadstrokes corporate espionage, finer details: Leto plays Ares, a virtual warrior brought into the real world to capture his master's business rival (Greta Lee). But when he falls for her — and the real world — he begins to reject his programing to seek freedom.

Critics weren't charmed by Tron: Ares. In fact, mine was one of the more positive reviews, and it still concluded, "Tron: Ares is heavy-handed, dunderheaded, and over earnest, but also occasionally funny, charming, sexy, and thrilling." — K.P.

How to watch: Tron: Ares is now available to rent or buy on Fandango at Home.

14. The First Snow of Fraggle Rock

Craving some song, dance, and Muppet fun? You'll want to watch The First Snow of Fraggle Rock.

Readying for the holidays in Fraggle Rock, everyone has something to contribute. Red is working on a top-notch sled ride. The Doozers are hard at work building contraptions while the Fraggles hunt for snow. But Gobo is on an adventure to "outer space" (aka above ground where the humans are), seeking inspiration for a new song. There he'll reconnect with his Uncle Traveling Matt, and meet Sprocket and some new human friends. What more could you wish for? — K.P.

How to watch: The First Snow of Fraggle Rock debuts on Apple TV on Dec. 5.

13. Guns Up

Kevin James has a lot going on this season! Just a couple of weeks back he dropped Playdate, an action-comedy where he was the comic relief to a butt-kicking Alan Ritchson. Before that he got into TikTok in a way no one would have predicted. And now he's the one kicking butt in Guns Up.

To his wife and kids, Ray Hayes (James) is a loving family man. But to "the family" (meaning the Mafia), he's a henchman dying to get out of organized crime. Christina Ricci stars as his wife, who dreams of them surviving a very violent night so they can live the dream: opening a diner. Seeking something goofy and popcorn-munching worthy? Guns Out has got you covered. — K.P.

Starring: Kevin James, Christina Ricci, Maximilian Osinski, Luis Guzmán, and Melissa Leo

How to watch: Guns Up is now streaming on Paramount+.

12. Spartacus: House of Ashur

The historical drama series created by Steven S. DeKnight has been resurrected for a sequel show, Spartacus: House of Ashur. And 10 new episodes are coming soon, promising all the sword-and-sand action and drama that Spartacus fans have come to expect.

As the title suggests, this series will center on Ashur, a former gladiator, who — yes — died in the original series. But hey, Spartacus: House of Ashur offers, what if he didn't? What if instead he headed the gladiator school where he once fought, training new warriors? According to Starz, "With Achillia, a gladiatrix, he sparks spectacles that defy Roman elite." — K.P.

How to watch: Spartacus: House of Ashur debuts its first two episodes on Starz on Dec. 5.

11. The Family McMullen

30 years ago, Ed Burns broke through with the charming family dramedy The Brothers McMullen, which followed three Long Island siblings as they grappled with love, marriage, and infidelity. Now, The Family McMullen is a sequel that brings back a bunch of Burns' original cast while growing the onscreen family.

Now in his fifties, Barry McMullen (Burns) is trying to be the best parent he can to his twentysomething kids, who've both come back home. Meanwhile, his brother, Patrick (Michael McGlone), and widowed sister-in-law, Molly (Connie Britton), have troubles of their own. But what is family for if not to get you through the tough times with lots of laughs? — K.P.

Starring: ⁦⁨Connie Britton⁩, ⁨Edward Burns⁩, ⁨Michael McGlone⁩, ⁨Tracee Ellis Ross⁩, ⁨Halston Sage⁩, ⁨Juliana Canfield⁩, ⁨Pico Alexander⁩, ⁨and Brian d'Arcy James⁩⁩

How to watch: The Family McMullen debuts on HBO Max on Dec. 5.

10. It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley

Jeff Buckley was an American singer-songwriter who made beautiful music and died too young. After his death, his influence and fandom continued to grow. In documentarian Amy Berg's latest film, It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley, she looks back at the man, his music, and his legacy.

Archival footage from the '90s, home movies from his youth, and interviews with his friends, family, and peers will give you a better understanding of all the sides of Buckley. It's sure to be a story tragic and wondrous, like his music. So, have tissues handy. — K.P.

How to watch: It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley debuts on HBO and HBO Max at 9 p.m. ET on Dec. 4.

9. Reflection in a Dead Diamond

A glittering, bizarro French Riveria-set caper from Belgian filmmakers Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, Reflection in a Dead Diamond is made for folks looking for a little something off-kilter and rambunctious this week. The film revolves around 70-year-old former spy John Diman (Fabio Testi), who spends his retirement luxuriating in a hotel on the Côte d'Azur. There, he meets an enigmatic guest (Maria de Medeiros) who reminds him of an old enemy from his espionage days in the '60s. But it couldn't be, right? Considering the giallo horror and Western-noir vibes of the filmmaking duo's Amer and Let the Corpses Tan, the cinematic stylings of the '60s shine bright in Reflection in a Dead Diamond. — S.C.

Starring: Fabio Testi, Yannick Renier, Koen De Bouw, Maria de Medeiros, and Thi Mai Nguyen

How to watch: Reflection in a Dead Diamond debuts on Shudder on Dec. 5.

8. Troll 2

Horror nerds, be aware: We're not talking about the 1990s cult classic Troll 2, beloved for how incredibly bad it was. This is the 2025 Troll 2, a much-anticipated sequel to Norwegian director Roar Uthaug's Troll, which crushed on Netflix.

Brought from lore to life with spectacular visual effects, trolls are towering beasts in Norway that make men look like mice under their mighty feet. In Troll 2, things go into kaiju terrain as a pair of trolls face off. As you can see from the trailer, these beasts bring a new meaning to "raise the roof." And we can't wait to see what they get up to this time. — K.P.

Starring: Ine Marie Wilmann, Kim S. Falck-Jørgensen, Mads Sjøgård Pettersen, Sara Khorami, Jon Ketil Johnsen, Gard B. Eidsvold, Aksel Almaas, and Trond Magnum

How to watch: Troll 2 is now streaming on Netflix.

7. Very Important People, Season 3

If you love cringe comedy, you must see Very Important People.

Improvisational comedian Vic Michaelis plays a goofy version of themself (think Stephen Colbert circa The Colbert Report), which is a socially awkward interviewer, determined to make the most out of their weird array of guests. Now who are these guests? A cast of comedians, actors, and drag queen Katya undergo physical transformations from a crack team of make-up, hair, and wardrobe artists, then have to come up with a character for Vic to interview on the spot. The results are always weird, sometimes slyly satirical and — as someone who does interviews as part of my job — often anxiety inducing!

Watching an interview get derailed can be stressful, but on Very Important People, that's when things just begin to heat up. — K.P.

Starring: Vic Michaelis, Rekha Shankar, Jeremy Culhane, Brennan Lee Mulligan, Jacob Wysocki, Angela Giarratana, Eugene Cordero, Demi Adejuyigbe, Lisa Gilroy, Frankie Quinones, Caitlin Reilly, Laci Mosley, Zac Oyama, Katya, Rachel Pegram, Chelsea Peretti, and Anna Garcia

How to watch: Very Important People, Season 3 premieres on Dropout on Dec. 4.

6. The Abandons

Do you want to watch Gillian Anderson and Lena Headey face off? Who am I kidding, of course you do. Then check out Netflix's The Abandons, which pits these two TV legends against one another in 1850s Washington.

Headey plays Irish rancher Fiona Nolan, who's adopted four children and formed a tight-knit family. However, when the wealthy Van Ness family — led by matriarch Constance (Anderson) — encroach on Fiona's land and everything she's worked to build, the stage is set for a Western showdown, one between the haves and the have-nots. — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter

Starring: Lena Headey, Gillian Anderson, Lucas Till, Aisling Franciosi, Nick Robinson, Diana Silvers, Lamar Johnson, and Natalia del Riego

How to watch: The Abandons is now streaming on Netflix.

Don’t miss out on our latest stories: Add Mashable as a trusted news source in Google.

5. My Secret Santa

Imagine Tootsie but as a gender-flipped holiday rom-com. Hear me out.

In Tootsie, Dustin Hoffman is an actor who feels there's no good roles for men. So he dresses in drag to get a role as a woman on a TV show. Now, in My Secret Santa, it's that — except a single mom wants to get her daughter discounted snowboarding lessons, so applies for a job as a ski resort Santa by taking on the look and persona of an old man who happens to look like Santa (if he was made of plastic).

There's just one problem. Out of her holly jolly drag, she catches the eye of a handsome man (Ryan Eggold) who has ties to the resort. If they fall for each other, could her Santa secret get out? What would that mean for her daughter's snowboarding lessons? And can love win when it's based on a beard-faced lie?! —K.P.

Starring: Alexandra Breckenridge, Ryan Eggold, and Tia Mowry

How to watch: My Secret Santa is now streaming on Netflix.

4. Heated Rivalry

Hockey romance Heated Rivalry is driving the internet wild, and you, too, can get in on the action as new episodes hit HBO Max this week.

Based on the romance novel by Rachel Reid, Heated Rivalry introduces two hockey phenoms: Canadian Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Russian Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie). Hockey fans drum up a narrative of bitter rivalry between them, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Off the ice, the pair are secretly hooking up — and maybe even catching feelings for one another. Tune in for enemies-to-lovers angst and sex scenes so steamy, they could melt the very ice Shane and Ilya skate on. — B.E.

Starring: Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie, François Arnaud, Christina Chang, Dylan Walsh, Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova, Sophie Nélisse, and Callan Potter

How to watch: Heated Rivalry is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes Friday at 12 a.m.

3. Mad Men

Maybe you've watched Mad Men a ludicrous amount of times. Maybe you watched it religiously when it was on TV from 2007 to 2015, savoring every episode. Maybe you've never seen it, instead watching it roll out over your feed through memes and GIF reactions through the years. Maybe you don't think about it at all. Wherever you're at, Matthew Weiner's iconic, Emmy-winning period drama is back streaming on HBO Max, with the doors of Manhattan ad agency Sterling Cooper flung open once more to the triumphantly triggering sounds of "Zou Bisou Bisou."

A quintessential consideration of the American Dream at a pivotal moment in the '50s and '60s for conservatism, capitalism, and counterculture, Mad Men introduced us to now-legendary and still-flawed characters like Don Draper (Jon Hamm), Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss), Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks), Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser), Betty Draper (January Jones), Roger Sterling (John Slattery) and more, clad in Janie Bryant's sublime costumes. Could be time for a rewatch or a first foray; either way make sure you've got the stiff martinis and oysters ready (not you, Roger). — S.C.

Starring: Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones, Christina Hendricks, Bryan Batt, Michael Gladis, Aaron Staton, Rich Sommer, Maggie Siff, John Slattery, Robert Morse, Jared Harris, Kiernan Shipka, Jessica Paré, Christopher Stanley, Jay R. Ferguson, Kevin Rahm, Ben Feldman, and Mason Vale Cotton

How to watch: Mad Men is now streaming on HBO Max.

2. Oh. What. Fun.

When it comes to the holidays, moms do most of the work in making everything merry and bright. And yet, there aren't a lot of holiday movies about moms. Well, Oh. What. Fun is here to change that.

Mom and grandmother Claire Clauster (Michelle Pfeiffer) gives all she's got to getting the house decorated, the holiday treats prepped, the gifts bought and wrapped, and even planning a special family outing for the whole bunch. But do they appreciate her? Nope. They Home Alone her. Fed up, she takes off on a roadtrip to gift herself a little peace and seasonal vengeance.

Directed by Michael Showalter, Oh. What. Fun. is a comedy that begins with a seasonal meltdown and goes into festive shenanigans you won't see coming. It may also make you want to call your mom (and apologize). — K.P.

Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Felicity Jones, Chloë Grace Moretz, Denis Leary, Dominic Sessa, Jason Schwartzman, Eva Longoria, and Joan Chen

How to watch: Oh. What. Fun. is now streaming on Prime Video.

1. Jay Kelly

"George Clooney delivers one of the best comedic performances of his career in Jay Kelly," I wrote in my NYFF review of Noah Baumbach's latest.

In a bit of masterful casting, Baumbach has Clooney play a world-famous movie star who is unflappably charming and a bit of a buffoon. Thus, when Jay Kelly (Clooney) is faced with a mid-life crisis, he orders his entourage to follow him on an impromptu European tour, where he hopes to find solace in his cinematic legacy while reconnecting with his daughters. This makes for an ensemble comedy that's as hilarious and smart as it is star-stuffed. As I concluded in my review, "In the end, Jay Kelly is a clever crowd-pleaser, guaranteed to amuse and make you think." — K.P.

Starring: George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Riley Keough, Grace Edwards, Stacy Keach, Jim Broadbent, Patrick Wilson, Eve Hewson, and Greta Gerwig

How to watch: Jay Kelly is now streaming on Netflix.

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

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

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

How to play Pips

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

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for December 4, 2025

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for December 4, 2025 Easy difficulty hints, answers for Dec. 4 Pips

Number (1): Everything in this space must add to 1. The answer is 1-5, placed horizontally.

Equal (5): Everything in this space must be equal to 5. The answer is 1-5, placed horizontally; 3-5, placed horizontally.

Number (11): Everything in this space must add to 11. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally; 4-4, placed vertically.

Number (12): Everything in this space must add to 12. The answer is 6-6, placed vertically.

Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 0. The answer is 0-0, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for Dec. 4 Pips

Number (6): Everything in this purple space must add to 6. The answer is 3-6, placed vertically; 3-2, placed vertically.

Number (6): Everything in this red space must add to 1. The answer is 1-5, placed horizontally.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add to 5. The answer is 6-5, placed horizontally.

Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 0. The answer is 0-3, placed horizontally; 0-5, placed horizontally; 5-5, placed vertically.

Number (5): Everything in this green space must add to 5. The answer is 2-5, placed vertically.

Number (5): Everything in this purple space must add to 5. The answer is 1-5, placed horizontally.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add to 5. The answer is 0-3, placed horizontally; 2-5, placed vertically.

Greater Than (3): Everything in this space must be greater than 3. The answer is 1-4, placed vertically.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for Dec. 4 Pips

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

Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally; 3-4, placed horizontally; 3-3, placed vertically.

Greater Than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (1): Everything in this space must be greater than 1. The answer is 1-2, placed vertically.

Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 0-4, placed vertically; 4-4, placed vertically.

Greater Than (3): Everything in this space must be greater than 3. The answer is 3-4, placed horizontally.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add to 1. The answer is 1-0, placed vertically.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add to 0. The answer is 0-0, placed vertically.

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

Number (11): Everything in this space must add to 11. The answer is 0-5, placed horizontally; 6-4, placed horizontally.

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

Not equal: Everything in this space must be different. The answer is 4-2, placed horizontally; 0-0, placed vertically; 3-3, placed vertically; 1-1 placed horizontally; 6-4, placed horizontally.

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

Today's Connections: Sports Edition will be easy if you know your Joes.

As we've shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. 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: Hurlers

• Green: Gridiron leader

• Blue: Teammates

• Purple: Titles

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

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

• Yellow: Members of a pitching staff

• Green: Descriptors often applied to QBs

• Blue: Members of the Cleveland Cavaliers

• Purple:" Last words in football movies

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 #437 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Members of a pitching staff - ACE, CLOSER, LONG RELIEVER, SETUP MAN

• Descriptors often applied to QBs - DUAL-THREAT, GAME MANAGER, MOBILE, POCKET-PASSER

• Members of the Cleveland Cavaliers - GARLAND, HUNTER, MITCHELL, MOBLEY

• Last words in football movies - GIANTS, LIGHTS, REPLACEMENTS, SUNDAY

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports 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.

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 SEE ALSO: How to play Pips, the newest NYT game

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025:

AcrossButterfingers

• The answer is Klutz.

Letter before beta

• The answer is Alpha.

Like "ad hoc" or "ad hominem"

• The answer is Latin.

Prestigious university in Atlanta

• The answer is Emory.

Word drawn out in speech before "... they're off!"

• The answer is And.

DownDinosaur ___, vegetable so-named for its bumpy green texture

• The answer is And.

Animal in a Peruvian herd

• The answer is Llama.

Sinclair who wrote "The Jungle"

• The answer is Upton.

Base that's 90 feet from home

• The answer is Third.

Wild and funny

• The answer is Zany.

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

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 today's Mini Crossword.

Year-end reflections are upon us, but instead of journaling about your goals, Grindr has data from its annual Unwrapped to make looking back on 2025 a little sexier.

Case in point: "Hung" was the most searched-for profile tag, according to Grindr Unwrapped, which pulls profile data from the app's 15 million monthly users and over 32,000 votes. If you're astrologically inclined, Scorpio was the most favorited zodiac sign.

SEE ALSO: The best gay dating apps of 2025: Grindr is still king, even if we wish it weren't

This year, Grindr users sent over 135 billion total chats and over 12.8 billion total taps (icons you can send to someone you're interested in).

Next, Grindr broke out some data by country, and it's like a kinky United Nations: Finland is the top nation for sending nudes, South Korea apparently has the most open relationships, Switzerland has the most twinks, and Italian users were the most into feet.

Stateside, the U.S. had the highest percentage of self-proclaimed "daddies" by country.

London was the top city to visit for a "gaycation" (Grindr's gotten into travel content recently), while Tokyo, Seattle, and Taipei were among the highest-volume areas where users searched for friends.

"These findings capture a community that's bold, brash, and unapologetically itself," Zachary Zane, Grindr's sex and relationship expert, said in a release shared with Mashable.

You can view the full Grindr Unwrapped on Grindr's app or website.

Apple's head of UI design and long-time executive Alan Dye has left Apple to join Meta, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

Dye has been the head of Apple's UI design team since 2015, having overseen numerous major launches. For example, in 2015 the OS versions across Apple's major platforms were iOS 9 and macOS 9; we've seen ten iterations of each platform since.

According to the report, Dye will now be head of design for hardware, software and AI integration at Meta's freshly created design studio.

Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed the news to Bloomberg, and said that his replacement will be long-time Apple designer Stephen Lemay.

"Steve Lemay has played a key role in the design of every major Apple interface since 1999. He has always set an extraordinarily high bar for excellence and embodies Apple’s culture of collaboration and creativity,” Cook said in a statement.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the creation of a "new creative studio in Reality Labs" which will be led by Alan Dye.

"The new studio will bring together design, fashion, and technology to define the next generation of our products and experiences," he wrote.

Zuckerberg also said Apple designer Billy Sorrentino will also be coming to Meta and joining Dye's team.

SEE ALSO: Samsung Galaxy Z Trifold vs Apple foldable iPhone: Specs and rumors

Dye leaves Apple at a particularly sensitive time. The company is rumored to be working on a foldable iPhone, the first such product for Apple, which will surely require a significant revamp of the iOS user interface.

Dye's departure follows several other high-profile executive exits from Apple. The company COO Jeff WIlliams retired in November, and Apple's AI chief John Giannandrea announced his departure last week.

One of my favorite products of 2025 almost flew under my radar. The Keychron K4 HE is an impressively affordable and fully-featured Hall-effect keyboard, with a signature pillowy feel and a mature design.

As someone who grew up reading Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians, watching the first season of the Disney+ series felt like coming home. After two disappointing film adaptations, here was a show that better captured the spirit (and, you know, basic plot) of The Lightning Thief, complete with a charming young cast.

SEE ALSO: 'Percy Jackson and The Olympians' Season 2 trailer takes us to the Sea of Monsters

However, as the season progressed, my cozy nostalgia at revisiting Camp Half-Blood butted up against some growing frustrations. Many of the adaptation changes from book to screen worked well, like fleshing out the perspectives of side characters like Sally Jackson (Virginia Krull). Others, like having our heroes miss the Summer Solstice deadline for their quest, didn't land, feeling more like arbitrary changes than a meaningful rewrite of an already great story. Visually, too, the series proved underwhelming, full of murky, static shots. Why wasn't this epic tale of heroes and monsters more imaginatively executed?

These frustrations unfortunately continue to rear their heads in Season 2 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Once again, the changes from book to show are a mixed bag, and once again, the show often lacks a defining visual spark. Yet the occasional high-energy action sequence and delightful interplay between Camp Half-Blood's heroes gives hope that it's not all rough waters ahead.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 heads to the Sea of Monsters. Walker Scobell and Leah Sava Jeffries in "Percy Jackson and the Olympians." Credit: Disney / David Bukach

Season 2 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians adapts Riordan's The Sea of Monsters, which means you can bet on some serious nautical action. But before we head out to sea, we're off to Camp Half-Blood with Percy (Walker Scobell) and Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries), where things have taken a turn for the worst.

SEE ALSO: The 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians' cast has seen your fan edits

An attack from Kronos supporter Luke (Charlie Bushnell) has left Camp Half-Blood's defensive barrier failing, meaning it's only a matter of time before monsters break through and massacre every demigod in the area. Camp's only hope? A quest to find the Golden Fleece, currently hidden in the Sea of Monsters (aka the Bermuda Triangle). Coincidentally, that's also where Grover (Aryan Simhadri) has run into trouble on his search for Pan. With a trip to the Sea of Monsters, Percy can kill two Stymphalian birds with one stone and save both camp and his best friend.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians switches up the books, with mixed results. Aryan Simhadri in "Percy Jackson and the Olympians." Credit: Disney / David Bukach

Percy Jackson and the Olympians' path to Percy's quest is frequently muddled, shifting book events and character allegiances around to the point that I wish I hadn't reread The Sea of Monsters ahead of time, as I kept getting so distracted by the changes. Again, many of the changes work. Some early tension and distrust between Percy and Annabeth adds new layers to their friendship. Elsewhere, the series delves deeper into the perspective of Clarisse (Dior Goodjohn), daughter of Ares (Adam Copeland), who steps into a daunting leadership role of her own.

SEE ALSO: How much does Disney+ cost per month?

With that, Percy Jackson and the Olympians continues to broaden its world and give more of its young cast time to shine. Early questing arguments between Percy, Clarisse, and Annabeth crackle with teasing and banter, a welcome antidote to much of the darker dialogue about the Greek gods and the Great Prophecy that will decide their fate. While these are undeniably core parts of Percy's story, they often threaten to eclipse that Percy Jackson and the Olympians is also — crucially! — fun, something the show occasionally seems to forget.

Take the Laistrygonian giants Percy faces in episode 1, for example. In The Sea of Monsters, they originally present as visitors from Detroit, albeit with names like Skull Eater and Joe Bob. Their disguise provides equal parts silliness and tension, as Percy realizes that he's once again facing monsters who are not what they seem. In the series, though, there is no pretense, no disguise. The Laistrygonians are already in full giant form when Percy crosses paths with them, robbing us of the fun of seeing figures from Greek myth remixed into the real world — again, a core part of the appeal of the series!

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians deserves to look better.

The lack of fun extends to the overall visual style of Percy Jackson and the Olympians as well. Why, in a story where myths are real, is the world so visually bland? Backgrounds are often washed out and unfocused, and most shots position their subjects smack-dab in the center, creating a monotony that pushes against the imaginative quality of the story itself.

Thankfully, there are moments that break free of this blandness. A Camp Half-Blood chariot race makes for a dynamic set piece, complete with beautifully crafted chariots and solid action-driven character beats. A later encounter with the monster Scylla expertly dials up the tension and boasts some impressive water effects. It's a formidable welcome to the Sea of Monsters, one that I hope the season can live up to in the later episodes that weren't screened for critics.

Despite all its flaws, Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 still satisfied my itch for more demigods, taking me right back to the first time I curled up and devoured The Sea of Monsters. But nostalgia can only get you so far, and while Percy Jackson and the Olympians has all the elements it needs to be good, what I really want from it is to be great.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 premieres Dec. 10 on Disney+.

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

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

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

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

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

Rage.

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

WRATH

Hurdle Word 2 hint

A sharp utensil.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for December 4, 2025 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

KNIFE

Hurdle Word 3 hint

A small car.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for December 4 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for December 4, 2025 Hurdle Word 3 answer

SEDAN

Hurdle Word 4 hint

An oven setting.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for December 4 Hurdle Word 4 answer

BROIL

Final Hurdle hint

Sticky.

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

TACKY

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