IT General

SAVE $190: As of May 27, the Dyson V8 is on sale for $349.95 at Amazon. That's a 35% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Dyson Dyson V8 $349.95 at Amazon
$539.99 Save $190.04   Get Deal

The Dyson V8 is back on sale at Amazon. As of May 27, this vacuum is down to $349.95 from $539.99, saving you $190 on list price.

This cordless vacuum is ideal for whole-home cleaning, capable of cleaning messes of all levels. This is thanks to its Motorbar cleaner head that deep cleans all floor types at the same time as actively detangling long hair and pet hair as you go. It comes with three attachments, all designed for different cleaning needs and those hard-to-reach areas.

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For run time, you'll get up to 40 minutes of suction when in standard mode, or up to five minutes of maximum power for tougher, targeted messes.

It's also lightweight and incredibly easy to handle, and it even converts into a handheld vacuum for cars, stairs, or upholstery. And like you'd expect from a Dyson, it has an advanced filtration system that captures 99.99% of particles as small as 0.3 microns, helping to put out cleaner air while you clean.

Get this Dyson vacuum deal from Amazon for a limited time only.

TL;DR: Amazon has the Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Booster Bundle on sale for $55.49, down from its $59.99 price. That's a $4.50 discount on the six-pack bundle, with this listing shipped and sold by Amazon.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokemon Company Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Booster Bundle $55.49 at Amazon
$59.99 Save $4.50   Get Deal

Chaos Rising preorder prices were on the high side, but now that the Mega Evolution set has fully hit the Pokémon TCG, we’re starting to see welcome price drops from various retailers. 

As of May 27, Amazon has the Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Booster Bundle available for as low as $55.49, after knocking 8% off its $59.99 list price. At the time of writing, this listing is shipped and sold by Amazon, with free delivery for June 5-19.

This bundle includes six booster packs from the Pokémon TCG’s titular Mega Evolution Chaos Rising expansion. Each pack includes 10 trading cards, which puts Amazon’s $55.49 listing at about $9.25 per pack before taxes. 

The Booster Bundle has dipped in price, but there are still plenty of high-value individual chase cards you can pull — such as SIR Mega Greninja ex, the Mega Hyper Rare Mega Greninja ex, SIR Cinccino ex, SIR Mega Dragalage ex, and SIR Mega Floette ex.

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There are cheaper listings elsewhere if you’re open to buying trading cards from sites other than Amazon. For instance, TCGplayer has unopened Chaos Rising Booster Bundles starting at $49.98 with shipping included (only $1.11 above market price), while Walmart has a marketplace listing at $52.95 — but is sold and shipped by third-party retailer VMG Enterprise.  

To add more packs to your Pokémon TCG haul, you can buy single Chaos Rising Booster Packs at Amazon for just under $13. To get the lowest price per pack, you can purchase the 36-pack Chaos Rising Booster Display Box for under $275. 

Although currently not available on Amazon, the Pokémon TCG’s newly-announced Pitch Black expansion is available to pre-order at TCGplayer.

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TL;DR: Amazon has the Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Elite Trainer Box on sale for $94.95, down from its $119.99 list price. That’s a $25.04 saving on an ETB that’s only just come out, with free delivery from June 6-13.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokémon Company Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Elite Trainer Box $94.95 at Amazon
$119.99 Save $25.04   Get Deal

Even though the expansion was only released last week, the very popular Chaos Rising ETB has had a huge price cut on Amazon.

As of May 27, Amazon has the Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Elite Trainer Box available for $94.95, down from its usual $119.99 price. With this 21% discount, you’ll be saving $25.04 on the trading card game’s newest collector-friendly Greninja-themed box. What’s more, this listing is sold and shipped directly by Amazon rather than a third-party listing — with free delivery from June 6-13 at the time of writing, with the fastest delivery window listed for June 6-11.

Walmart is selling the Chaos Rising ETB for $94.95 — though through third-party seller Realgoodeal. TCGplayer is sitting slightly lower, with unopened listings starting from $82.98 plus shipping. That's close to the current market price of $91.

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Inside the Pokémon TCG’s Chaos Rising Elite Trainer Box, you’ll get nine titular booster packs of trading cards, one full-art foil Fennekin promo card, 65 card sleeves, 40 Energy cards, a player’s guide, six damage-counter dice, one competition-legal coin-flip die, one plastic coin, a collector’s box with six dividers, and a Pokémon TCG Live code card. 

With Chaos Rising now fully out in the wild, there are plenty of valuable single chase cards to pull (which are also available to buy at TCGplayer separately) — including SIR Mega Greninja ex, the Mega Hyper Rare Mega Greninja ex, SIR Cinccino ex, SIR Mega Dragalage ex, and SIR Mega Floette ex. 

If you want to grab even more of the Pokémon TCG expansion’s new packs, you can buy single Chaos Rising Booster Packs for just under $13. To pay even less per booster pack, you can also buy the 36-pack Chaos Rising Booster Display Box for under $270. 

Although currently not available on Amazon, the Pokémon TCG’s newly-announced Pitch Black expansion is now available to pre-order at TCGplayer.

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Today's Connections: Sports Edition will require knowledge of sports roles.

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. The sports 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 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 before 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: Where to watch games from home

• Green: Diamond points

• Blue: Gridiron spots

• Purple: Same last name

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

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

• Yellow: Sports TV networks

• Green: Baseball positions, abbreviated

• Blue: Football positions, abbreviated

• Purple: ____ Smith

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 #611 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Sports TV networks: ESPN, FS1, NBA TV, NBCSN

• Baseball positions, abbreviated: C, OF, P, SS

• Football positions, abbreviated: CB, DT, K, TE

• ____ Smith: JR, LOVIE, OZZIE, STAN

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.

Making custom keychains, engraved coasters, and decorative items sounds fun until reality hits you—complicated software, sketchy open-frame machines, and a price tag that makes the whole hobby feel like a small business investment. xTool now wants to change that with its newest product for everyday users and casual creators. The company has unveiled the xTool M2, and it stands out instantly with the built-in color printing.

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.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

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

To growl.

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

GNARL

Hurdle Word 2 hint

Poison.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for May 27, 2026 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

TOXIN

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Hurdle Word 3 hint

Nearby.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 27 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for May 27, 2026 Hurdle Word 3 answer

CLOSE

Hurdle Word 4 hint

TV character Ted ___.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

LASSO

Final Hurdle hint

Aim.

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

SHOOT

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

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

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

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

How to play Pips

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

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for May 27, 2026

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for May 27, 2026 Easy difficulty hints, answers for May 27 Pips

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

Less Than (3): Everything in this space must be less than 3. The answer is 0-3, placed vertically; 2-5, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (15): Everything in this space must be greater than 15. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally; 6-4, placed vertically; 5-3, placed vertically.

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

Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 6-4, placed vertically; 4-0, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for May 27 Pips

Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 4-6, placed horizontally; 2-6, placed horizontally.

Number (7): Everything in this space must add up to 7. The answer is 4-6, placed horizontally; 1-4, placed horizontally.

Number (8): Everything in this space must add up to 8. The answer is 4-5, placed horizontally; 1-4, placed horizontally.

Number (8): Everything in this space must add up to 8. The answer is 4-5, placed horizontally; 3-0, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (0): Everything in this space must be greater than 0. The answer is 1-2, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 1-2, placed horizontally; 4-0, placed horizontally.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for May 27 Pips

Number (4): Everything in this light blue space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-4, placed horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this light blue space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-4, placed horizontally.

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

Number (4): Everything in this light blue space must add up to 4. The answer is 3-4, placed horizontally.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 3-3, placed horizontally.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 3-3, placed horizontally.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Number (4): Everything in this light blue space must add up to 4. The answer is 6-4, placed vertically.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 3-5, 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.

Nicolas Cage, one of the most eccentric movie stars in Hollywood, heads to television to play a different version of Spider-Man in Spider-Noir. All eight episodes of the superhero show premiere on Prime Video on Wednesday, May 27, at 12 a.m. PT/3 a.m. ET in the U.S.

HBO Max gets most of its prestige reputation from the tentpoles it continuously delivers—House of the Dragon, Euphoria, The White Lotus among them—that dominate the charts and social media for weeks and then disappear for a year. But between those behemoths, though, HBO Max's catalog is full of unique shows that do a ton of heavy lifting, like award-winning documentaries, oddball superhero spinoffs, and cult-hit animated series.

TL;DR: The Bitcoin Ticket Miner gives you a chance to passively win block rewards, and it’s only $40.

Opens in a new window Credit: Rochas Divine Mart BitCoin Ticket Miner $39.99
$99.99 Save $60.00   Get Deal

Most people who are curious about Bitcoin mining assume it requires serious hardware, a technical background, and an electricity bill that makes the whole thing pointless. Bitcoin Ticket Miner is a compact desktop miner that sidesteps all of that. It plugs into any outlet, connects to Wi-Fi, and starts generating solo-mining tickets for a chance at a Bitcoin block reward, with no PC and no complicated setup. It’s on sale for $39.99 (reg. $99.99) right now, too.

Instead of competing in a standard mining pool, it uses a solo-mining approach where the device continuously generates and submits tickets for a chance at a block reward, which the Bitcoin network awards approximately every 10 minutes. Running at 1,000 KH/s through a BM1370 ASIC chip, it submits tickets up to 18 times faster than traditional ticket miners, which compounds your odds over time. There’s no guaranteed payout, and odds shift as network difficulty changes. Think of it less like an investment and more like a lottery ticket that runs itself in the background.

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Day to day, it barely makes its presence known. Power consumption sits at around 18 watts, less than a standard light bulb, and the silent cooling fan keeps temperatures in check without adding any noise. The 2.8-inch display shows hashrate, mining status, temperature, and power usage at a glance, so there’s nothing to log into or monitor remotely. Pool mining, solo mining, and lottery mining modes are all supported, giving you options depending on how you want to approach it. Lifetime firmware updates keep the software improving after purchase, and universal voltage support means it works anywhere.

At 3.3 by 2.2 by 0.3 inches and under 2 ounces, it fits on any desk without taking up meaningful space. A USB-C power cable and a one-year manufacturer’s warranty are included.

Right now, it’s only $40 to get a Bitcoin Ticket Miner.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Instead of paying monthly for Adobe Acrobat, get a lifetime license to AcePDF Editor on sale for $24 with code PDF20.

Opens in a new window Credit: Acethinker AcePDF Converter & Editor: Lifetime License $23.99
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Adobe Acrobat costs around $15 a month. If you’re using it to convert the occasional PDF or merge a few documents, that math stops making sense pretty quickly. AcePDF Converter and Editor handles converting, editing, merging, splitting, and protecting PDF files on both Windows and Mac, and a lifetime license is on sale now for $23.99 (reg. $99.99).

AcePDF makes working with PDFs quick and painless. If you need to switch between file formats, you can convert a PDF to Word, turn a spreadsheet or presentation into a PDF for sharing, or pull text out of a scanned document using the built-in OCR, which preserves the original formatting rather than spitting out a garbled mess. Conversions work both ways between PDF and Word, Excel, PowerPoint, HTML, and image formats, and everything processes fast enough that you’re not sitting around waiting.

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Editing is just as complete. Merge multiple PDFs into one, split out specific pages, rotate or delete pages, add watermarks, annotate with comments and stamps, or build fillable forms from scratch. Need to shrink a file before emailing it? Compression is built in, along with password protection and unlocking, so you’re not bouncing between apps to get one thing done.

For anyone dealing with high document volume, batch processing is worth calling out specifically. Instead of converting files one at a time, you can run multiple PDFs through in a single pass, which makes a real difference if you manage contracts, invoices, or client files on a regular basis.

You don’t have to pay for your PDF editor every month anymore.

Use code PDF20 to get an AcdePDF Lifetime License on sale for $23.99. Sale ends May 31 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

NASA has started locking in the first missions it says will turn the moon's south pole into a place where astronauts can actually stay and work.

The U.S. space agency announced Tuesday that three initial moon base-building missions this year will send cargo and vehicles for moving crews across the surface to the lunar south pole. The work builds on the recent Artemis II crewed flight around the moon and sets up a busier end to this decade, when astronauts start spending more time on the lunar surface.

The accelerated plan unfolds amid a broader rivalry with China, which has mounted a series of lunar missions and sketched out a long‑term research station for its own astronauts, known as taikonauts. Both countries now see the moon as the next stage for human exploration and a race for leadership in deep space.

China has its first human landing in its crosshairs and could beat NASA back to the surface of the moon. The United States' last crewed landing occurred in 1972, and no other nation has ever put boots on the lunar ground. Right now, NASA is targeting a landing of its Artemis IV mission in late 2028. 

"What we are embarking upon is extremely challenging, and we know so little from what is a combined 80 hours of lunar astronaut EVA time across the Apollo missions, and that was more than a half-century ago. So we are not jumping right into the glass-dome moon base," said NASA administrator Jared Isaacman in Washington during a news briefing. "We are leveraging the NASA playbook from the 1960s, figuring out what works and what doesn't, in this epic science of survival."

SEE ALSO: NASA may use a one-legged robot to explore a Saturn moon. Watch it hop.

The moon base's construction at the south pole is split into three phases. First, it focuses on making landings reliable, trying out ways to survive the brutal polar environment, and delivering an initial trickle of cargo. Next, NASA and its partners add bigger power systems, more cargo runs, and, eventually, places where astronauts can live and work for longer stretches.

In the final phase, heavy cargo versions of commercial landers haul larger hardware — habitats, bigger power plants, more capable rovers, and science instruments — so astronauts can assemble the base over dozens of flights.

The moon base push comes as a clear pivot from NASA's earlier plan. Until recently, the agency's roadmap leaned heavily on Gateway, a small space station proposal that would have orbited the moon rather than established an outpost on the ground. Leaders now say they will shift their funding and workforce toward the base effort and look for ways to reuse some Gateway components.

The south pole sits at the center of the new strategy. Craters there stay in permanent shadow and likely hold frozen water. Nearby ridges can get sunlight for most of the lunar day. Water could supply drinking water, oxygen, and even rocket fuel. Steady light makes solar power easier. NASA wants to learn how to run a base in this region before it sends people on months‑long trips to Mars.

"The moon base is as beautiful as it is hostile," Isaacman said. "We go for the technology we will pioneer to get there, the science, and all that we will learn that will make life better here on Earth."

"The moon base is as beautiful as it is hostile."

The first big step is Moon Base I, which will fly Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 Endurance lander to a spot NASA calls Shackleton Connecting Ridge near the rim of Shackleton crater. The mission, targeted for launch no earlier than fall 2026, will carry NASA instruments, including stereo cameras to watch how rocket exhaust throws lunar dust and rocks and a laser reflector that helps orbiting spacecraft pinpoint their exact location using bounced laser light. NASA says this flight will cut risk for crewed Artemis landings.

Two more missions follow. Moon Base II, planned for launch later this year, will ride on Astrobotic's Griffin lander and deliver more than 1,100 pounds of cargo, including Astrolab's FLIP rover, to shake out early mobility systems. Moon Base III, also targeted for this year, will fly on Intuitive Machines' Nova‑C Trinity lander and carry the Lunar Vertex science package to study strange bright "swirl" markings on the surface, along with instruments from the European Space Agency and South Korea's astronomy institute.

NASA has begun to stage missions intended to deliver hardware and vehicles to the lunar south pole for the construction of a moon base. Credit: NASA illustration

To help crews and robots get around, NASA picked two companies to build lunar terrain vehicles — essentially moon‑ready utility trucks. The agency awarded about $219 million to Astrolab and $220 million to Lunar Outpost for the first phase of these rovers, which it wants operating by 2028. Astrolab's CLV‑1 rover weighs about 2,000 pounds in its stowed form, carries two astronauts plus cargo, and can top 6 mph on flat ground. Lunar Outpost's Pegasus rover can drive for up to a year, run under manual, remote, or autonomous control, and reach more than 9 mph.

NASA also plans a hopping‑drone mission, called Moonfall. In 2028, a Moonfall flight will send four small drones that make short hops across the south pole, then settle in and keep working for several months through the harsh lunar night. They will scout rough terrain, search for signs of buried ice, and beam back sharp images that help later landers avoid hazards. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California leads the drone design, and Firefly Aerospace will build the spacecraft that ferries them from Earth orbit to the Moon.

All of this plugs into the broader Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the surface and then push on to Mars. Artemis III, targeted for mid‑2027, will test more of the pieces the moon base needs, including docking with commercial landers. 

NASA officials say they do not know yet exactly where a long‑term base will sit or what it will look like. For now, they want many landers, rovers, and drones to explore different ridges and craters, then gradually build up something more like a small lunar neighborhood spread across a wide area, said Carlos García-Galán, the program executive for the moon base.

"With crews coming to the surface twice a year, we can expand the time that they can expend there before they come back home," said García-Galán. "Eventually, when we've matched the assets, habitation modules, with the logistics and all the things to move the logistics around, then we'll be able to say, 'Hey, we're permanently here, and we're not giving it up.'"

Luxury cars used to feel attainable if you were willing to stretch your budget a little. These days, even entry-level premium models are creeping into price territory that would’ve bought you something seriously high-end a decade ago.

Be careful, Grand Theft Auto fans. Cybercriminals are already weaponizing your excitement for GTA 6 to hack your devices and scam you out of money.

According to a new report from NordVPN’s Threat Intelligence research unit, multiple malware and scam campaigns have rolled out recently, looking to capitalize on the impending release of perhaps the most anticipated video game of all time, Grand Theft Auto IV.

Developer Rockstar Games finally announced a release date of Nov. 19, 2026 for GTA 6, which means it'll be 13 years between its release and its predecessor, GTA 5. Bad actors know GTA 6 fans can hardly wait a few more months and are itching to purchase a pre-order or download a beta release. And those cybercriminals are looking to take advantage of that.

SEE ALSO: 'Grand Theft Auto VI' gets a surprise second trailer after being delayed

"GTA VI is one of the most anticipated releases in gaming history, and that level of public excitement is exactly what criminals look for," says NordVPN CTO Marijus Briedis. "When people are desperate to get early access to something, their guard comes down. That's the window attackers exploit."

Fake GTA 6 beta websites

According to NordVPN, its researchers have uncovered fake GTA 6 beta websites. These fake GTA sites claim to offer beta keys for PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. Users are asked to fill out a form, go through a verification process, and then asked to pay for a subscription service or download an unknown application.

Fake GTA 6 beta site Credit: NordVPN

Rockstar Games have yet to announce any sort of public GTA 6 beta. These fake websites don't actually have beta keys to offer. Instead, they're looking to charge a user for a service they don't want or, even worse, steal their information or install malware on their device.

Fake piracy websites

Malicious actors are even faking "legitimate" piracy websites in order to scam GTA 6 fans. 

NordVPN has uncovered fake clones of gaming piracy websites that are being used to spread malware to Grand Theft Auto fans. While downloading pirated or cracked games inherently has their own risks, gamers have come to trust certain well-known sites like FitGirl, DODI, and ElAmigos.

According to NordVPN, in one instance detected earlier this month, a "malicious package" on one of these clones "presented itself as a legitimate game installer." However, once downloaded, a trojanized malicious file hides under the disguise of a NVIDIA graphics driver component.

Operating undetected, this malware modifies a computer's memory, downloads other malware, and connects to external servers where cybercriminals can send instructions to the malicious file.

Fake GTA 6 Android apps

NordVPN has already uncovered at least one Android app masquerading as a GTA 6 beta application.

The fake GTA 6 app has branding and an intro video that makes it look officially connected to Rockstar Games. However, there's no actual game in this app. Instead, the app tricks users into believing that they just need to download additional data to run the app.

Fake GTA 6 beta Android app Credit: NordVPN

A prompt sends users to full-screen ads and external page redirects that pressures the user to subscribe to a paid service or to download malware. The report says that the bad actors even disguised the actions they want users to take as steps in a fake human verification process.

According to NordVPN, researchers discovered that the app was connected to a domain with a "documented history of distributing infostealers, banking trojans, adware, and ransomware on both Android and Windows."

Rockstar Social Club phishing campaigns

GTA fans who have an account on the Rockstar Social Club platform are specifically being targeted as well, according to NordVPN.

Researchers have already tracked "hundreds of amateur phishing pages targeting Rockstar Social Club credentials through fake login forms." 

NordVPN says that scammers often weaponize trusted platforms like GitHub and Vercel as hosts for these fake pages in order to perpetuate their phishing schemes. 

Once a bad actor compromises a user's Rockstar Social Club account, they often try to sell the account on the dark web or utilize the account for in-game fraud.

GTA 6 fans should be extra careful in the coming months as hackers are likely to ramp up their campaigns as the game's release date gets closer. The notorious hacking collective ShinyHunters breached Rockstar Games just last month, so it appears no one is safe from GTA inspired schemes.

Customer satisfaction says a lot about how well an automaker is really serving its buyers. According to Consumer Reports’ latest owner satisfaction study, these are the brands that owners are most likely to buy from again in 2026, based on how happy they are with their vehicles overall.

The New York Knicks are going to the NBA Finals, thanks to some help from a pro wrestling ghoul.

That's not a bit. That's just what happened. The Knicks are heading to their first Finals since the Clinton administration, and a meaningful portion of the internet is crediting Danhausen — a vampire-gremlin-ghoul character from the world of professional wrestling who makes a habit of cursing people who irritate him — with nearly derailing the whole thing.

SEE ALSO: The Knicks have taken over New York City — and the internet

We say 'derail' because Danhausen initially cursed the Knicks ahead of their first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks. During his appearance on ESPN's First Take, Stephen A. Smith, who has never been accused of being easy to deal with, apparently rubbed Danhausen the wrong way. Danhausen then cursed the Knicks, and the New York team went down 2-1 to a Hawks team they were heavily favored to beat.

He then uncursed the New York Knicks after a pro wrestling podcaster paid him on Cameo to do so. "Alright, I guess I've been paid, so the New York Knicks, I guess you can be uncursed."

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The uncursing happened the morning of Game 6. The Knicks won by 51 points, the sixth-largest margin of victory in NBA playoff history. They then won their next eight games without losing, finishing the postseason on a 10-0 run — the fifth-longest playoff winning streak in NBA history, one game shy of the 11-game runs by the 1989 and 2003 Lakers.

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The collision between the NBA and pro wrestling is not rare. Dennis Rodman famously appeared on an episode of WCW Nitro in the middle of the 1998 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz. Shaquille O'Neal has made multiple WWE appearances and got speared through a table in the early days of All Elite Wrestling. That iconic meme of a young LeBron James taking a picture with his flip phone is from a 2003 episode of Monday Night Raw. More recently, in 2024, Knicks star Jalen Brunson got in the ring with Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton on a June episode of Smackdown — just weeks after Haliburton knocked New York out of the Eastern Conference Finals.

So a vampiric wrestling gremlin getting paid on Cameo to uncurse the Knicks is, to anyone who has watched pro wrestling, probably the least surprising thing on this list. For everyone else, it's admittedly pretty weird.

Danhausen, for his part, is having a blast with it. He's already selling t-shirts commemorating the uncursing. He debuted for WWE this past February and got off to a rocky start, but has since become the company's second-highest merchandise seller despite having wrestled exactly two matches since his debut.

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So, did a wrestling ghoul's Cameo alter the trajectory of a professional basketball team? Probably not. Jalen Brunson is very good at basketball. Karl-Anthony Towns is a seven-footer who can shoot threes and run the offense. These things matter more than curses. However, they did win a playoff game by 51 points, the same morning Danhausen got paid to nonchalantly uncurse them. They're going to the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years.

Probably a coincidence. Almost certainly a coincidence. The kind of coincidence, though, that Knicks fans are going to be telling their kids about.

American Air inked a deal with Starlink to equip 500 of the airline’s planes with the satellite internet provider’s WiFi.

In an announcement made today, American described Starlink "as the world’s most advanced satellite constellation" and touted its ability to deliver powerful broadband internet via its thousands of satellites flying in low Earth orbit.

Starlink will connect to American’s narrow body planes — smaller aircraft that typically fly shorter routes — starting in the early months of 2027. Starlink, part of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, will connect to the planes via its Aero Terminal, which can support up to 1 Gbps of data per antenna.

American promises that Starlink WiFi will enable fliers to not just smoothly access their email, but stream entertainment and play online games.

Are you an Apple superfan? Enter Mashable’s Big Guessing Game to win prizes.

SEE ALSO: An exploded Starlink satellite is orbiting Earth right now

"American is committed to elevating every aspect of our customers’ travel journeys, which in the air means keeping them connected and comfortable with the assurance they won’t have to download documents ahead of a flight or worry about lag time," American Airlines Chief Customer Officer Heather Garboden said in a statement. "Starlink’s high speed and low latency make the Wi-Fi more reliable, which matters when customers are trying to load pages, join real-time collaboration tools or stay connected consistently throughout a flight."

American, the largest airline in the world, uses Viasat or Intelsat for WiFi on its larger, wide-body planes. It was just in January that the company announced it would start offering free AT&T WiFi for nearly all of its AAdvantage rewards members.

Starlink is already working with several major airlines, including United and Lufthansa. However, Starlink is also facing competition for control of the internet at 30,000 feet. Amazon Leo, the satellite internet service from Amazon, will support WiFi on Delta planes starting in 2028.

Paramount+ has well-stocked shelves of movies spanning every conceivable genre and going back decades. Between the steady drip of Taylor Sheridan dramas, the latest Star Trek installments, and a deep back catalog of MTV and CBS classics, there's already plenty pulling at your attention this spring. Throw in a fresh wave of films landing over the last few weeks, and the "what should we watch tonight?" debate just got more chaotic.

Top Memorial Day Apple Deals that are still live: Best Overall M5 MacBook Air, 13 inches (M5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) $899 (save $200 at Amazon) Get Deal Best AirPods Deal Apple AirPods 4 $99 (save $30 at Walmart) Get Deal Best Past-Gen Deal Apple iPad Air, 11 inches (A16, 128GB) $299 (save $50 at Amazon) Get Deal Best Deal at Best Buy Apple iPad Air, 11 inches (M4, 1TB) $899 (save $200 at Best Buy) Get Deal Best Apple Watch Deal Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm) $299 (save $100 at Amazon) Get Deal Best Beats Deal Beats Studio Pro Noise-Cancelling Headphones $249.95 (save $100.04 at Amazon) Get Deal Best MagSafe Accessory deal Anker Nano MagSafe Portable Charger $45.99 (save $9 at Amazon) Get Deal

I'm Mashable's Tech Editor, and I drew the short straw as the editor on call for Memorial Day. But I'm kind of glad I did, because we spotted an unexpected price drop on the new M5 MacBook Air. While the long weekend is technically over, almost all of these deals are still live.

In my review of the latest MacBook Air, I said that this is a pretty much perfect laptop, though I wasn't in love with the price. So, with the new record-low price of just $899 at Amazon, the MacBook Air just erased my one and only gripe. In the days of RAM-ageddon, this is a phenomenal price — and it's not the only Apple product on sale today.

At Best Buy, you can pick up previous-gen iPad Airs starting at $499, or save $200 on the M5 iPad Airs with 1TB of memory. At Woot, you can score a 4-pack of the original AirTags for only $59.99. And at Amazon, Prime Members can save $50 on iPads and AirPods.

Get your clicking and scrolling fingers ready as we break down the best Memorial Day Apple deals that are still kickin', with big savings on Apple AirPods, MacBooks, AirTags, iPads, and Beats headphones.

SEE ALSO: The best Memorial Day tech deals you can shop this weekend — save on headphones, laptops, and more Best Apple Deal: M5 MacBook Air Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple MacBook Air, 13 inches (M5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) $899.99 at Amazon
$1,099.99 Save $200   Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple MacBook Air, 15 inches (M5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) $1,099.99 at Amazon
$1,299.99 Save $200   Get Deal Why we like it

As we mentioned above, we weren't expecting this one. We were excited when the newest MacBook Air dropped to $949, but here we are after MDW, and this sleek Apple laptop is still at its lowest-ever price: $899. With the lightning-fast M5 chip, Apple's famous Liquid Retina display, powerful and well-balanced speakers, and a svelte form factor, I think this is the best laptop in the world for the money, full stop.

With a worldwide memory shortage causing tons of price hikes in the laptop space, I highly recommend jumping on this price while you still can!

More Memorial Day deals on Apple products:

• Apple AirPods 4 — $99 $129 (save $30 at Walmart)

• Apple AirPods Pro 3 — $199 $249 (save $50)

• Beats Studio Pro Noise-Cancelling Headphones — $249.95 $349.99 (save $100.04)

• Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS 42mm) — $299 $399 (save $100 at Amazon and Walmart)

• Apple iPad, 11 inches — $299 $349 (save $50)

• Apple Watch Ultra 2, Refurbished — $399 $799 (save $400)

• Apple AirPods Max 2 — $509 $549 (save $40)

• Apple iPad Air, 11 inches (M3, 128GB) — $549 $599 (save $50)

• Apple iPad Air, 11 inches (M4, 1TB) — $899 $1,099 (save $200 at Best Buy)

• Apple iPad Pro, 11-inches (M5, 256GB) — $899 $999 (save $100)

Apple accessories deals

• UGreeen Qi2 MasSafe Charging Stand — $29.99 $45.99 (save $16)

• Anker Nano MagSafe Portable Charger — $45.99 $54.99 (save $9)

• Apple AirTag 4-pack (1st Gen) — $59.99 $99 (save $39.01 at Woot)

• Belkin 3-in-1 MagSafe iPhone Charger — $89.99 $119.99 (save $30)

Modern sports cars are increasingly defined by big horsepower figures, aggressive styling, and eye-watering price tags, but that formula often misses what actually makes a car enjoyable to drive. While many buyers assume real performance starts at six figures, the reality is that some of the most rewarding driving experiences come from far more accessible machines that prioritize balance, feedback, and lightness over raw output.