Technology

Today's Connections: Sports Edition will test your knowledge of multiple sports. If you love both professional and amateur competitions, then you'll have an easier time of it.

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: Keeping score

• Green: Mascots

• Blue: Ball knowledge

• Purple: A winter sport

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

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

• Yellow: MLB Teams, on Scoreboards

• Green: Tigers

• Blue: Members of the Los Angeles Lakers

• Purple: Curling Terms

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 #569 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• MLB Teams, on Scoreboards — CIN, MIL, PIT, STL

• Tigers — CLEMSON, DETROIT, LSU, MEMPHIS

• Members of the Los Angeles Lakers — DONCIC, JAMES, SMART, VANDERBILT

• Curling Terms — BONSPIEL, END, HOUSE, STONE

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 yesterday's Connections.

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 April 15, 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 April 15, 2026 Easy difficulty hints, answers for April 15 Pips

Less Than (2): The domino half in this yellow space must have less than 2 pips. The answer is 1-1, placed horizontally.

Equal (1): Every domino half in this purple space must have 1 pip. The answer is 1-1, placed horizontally; 1-2, placed horizontally.

Equal (2): Every domino half in this red space must have 2 pips. The answer is 1-2, placed horizontally; 2-3, placed vertically.

Equal (3): Every domino half in this light blue space must have 3 pips. The answer is 0-0, placed horizontally; 0-5, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (4): Everything in this green space must add up to be more than 4. The answer is 0-5, placed horizontally.

Equal (3): Everything in this dark blue space must have 3 pips. The answer is 2-3, placed vertically; 3-3, placed vertically.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for April 15 Pips

Equal (5): Every domino half in this red space must have 5 pips. The answer is 5-3, placed vertically; 5-1, placed horizontally.

Less Than (1): The domino half in this purple space must have less than 1 pip. The answer is 1-0, placed horizontally; 0-4, placed horizontally.

Equal (4): Every domino half in this light blue space must have 4 pips. The answer is 0-4, placed horizontally; 4-3, placed vertically.

Number (3): The domino half in this yellow space must have 3 pips. The answer is 5-3, placed vertically.

Number (3): The domino half in this dark blue space must have 3 pips. The answer is 4-3, placed vertically.

Number (2): The domino half in this green space must have 2 pips. The answer is 2-3, placed horizontally.

Does Not Equal: Every domino half in this purple space must have a different number of pips. The answer is 2-3, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (5): The domino half in this red space must have more than 5 pips. The answer is 1-6, placed horizontally.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for April 15 Pips

Equal (4): Every domino half in this purple space must have 4 pips. The answer is 4-4, placed vertically; 4-1, placed horizontally; 4-0, placed vertically; and 4-5, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this red space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-1, placed horizontally; 3-5, placed horizontally.

Number (23): Everything in this light blue space must add up to 23. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally; 6-6, placed vertically; and 6-5, placed vertically.

Less Than (5): The domino half in this yellow space must have less than 5 pips. The answer is 0-5, placed vertically.

Equal (5): Every domino half in this dark blue space must have 5 pips. The answer is 4-5, placed vertically; 5-5, placed vertically.

Equal (5): Every domino half in this green space must have 5 pips. The answer is 0-5, placed vertically; 5-1, placed vertically; and 6-5, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this purple space must add up to 4. The answer is 0-3, placed vertically; 1-3, placed horizontally.

Equal (3): Every domino half in this light blue space must have 3 pips. The answer is 1-3, placed horizontally; 3-2, placed horizontally.

Number (7): Everything in this red space must add up to 7. The answer is 5-1, placed vertically; 3-2, placed horizontally; and 2-2, placed vertically.

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

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you love game nights.

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.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for April 15, 2026 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: Commencement accessories

• Green: A task

• Blue: Easy peasy

• Purple: Board game parts

Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Graduation gear

• Green: Tedious undertaking

• Blue: Oversimplistic

• Purple: Shapes of chess pieces

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 #1039 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Graduation gear: CAP, DIPLOMA, GOWN, TASSEL

• Tedious undertaking: CHORE, GRIND, HASSLE, TRIAL

• Oversimplistic: FACILE, FLIP, SHALLOW, TRITE

• Shapes of chess pieces: CASTLE, CROWN, HORSE, MITER

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 April 15, 2026

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 yesterday's Connections.

Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you're a jewelry lover.

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 April 15, 2026 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Gift of the month

The words are related to jewels.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe monthly gems.

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 Birthstone.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

NYT Strands word list for April 15

• Topaz

• Opal

• Turquoise

• Birthstone

• Diamond

• Garnet

• Perdiot

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

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

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

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you like to get ahead.

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 April 15, 2026 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 April 15, 2026 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Started.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring letters.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter B.

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...

BEGUN

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.

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 yesterday's Wordle.

The Dark Wizard starts with a dream about falling.

Dean Potter, once one of the most famous climbers in the world, sits talking to the camera about the same recurring dream he's had since he was a child.

"When I was a little boy my first memory was this dream of falling," Potter says. "I always wondered as I got older, you know if it was some premonition of me falling to my death. But I just feel it so strongly — needing to go towards that unknown and that fear."

SEE ALSO: 25 best documentaries on Max to learn something new

The dream is mentioned again and again throughout Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen's four-part HBO docuseries. It's both an inciting incident for Potter's obsession with pushing the envelope and part of the mystery surrounding his character.

The Dark Wizard does an engaging — and often highly stress-inducing — job of exploring this mystery, from Potter's childhood and rise in the climbing world to his persistent struggles with mental health, in unflinching detail.

What's The Dark Wizard about? Credit: HBO

Over four episodes, the docuseries focuses on the life, achievements and complex personality of Dean Potter, a rock climber who branched out into — and often devised — a number of high-risk extreme sports. Roughly working through his life in chronological order, the series combines climbing footage, animated journal entries, and interviews with Potter's friends, contemporaries, rivals, and partner Jen Rapp, offering an insight into a man who seemed equal parts driven and haunted.

Potter's life, in short, revolved around risking it. We see him breaking the speed record for 3000-foot ascents of Yosemite's El Capitan, free soloing (climbing without a rope) various never-before-conquered routes in Yosemite, freeBASEing (a method pioneered by Potter in which he climbs ropeless while wearing a backup parachute) on the Eiger, walking barefoot across ropes strung between two high ledges, and proximity flying with a wingsuit (a form of BASE jumping which uses a modified suit to enable gliding through the air).

Potter's life, in short, revolved around risking it.

The documentary is filled with extreme sports, in other words, but to call it an extreme sports documentary would be doing it a disservice. As the title suggests, The Dark Wizard is really a portrait of the man at its centre — a humanising psychological study of a near mythic figure.

The Dark Wizard almost acts as a prequel to Free Solo

Given that free soloing in Yosemite was a big focus of Potter's, it's unsurprising that Alex Honnold — the climber famous for the first ever free solo ascent of El Capitan, who recently found additional fame soloing Tapei 101 live on Netflix — makes an appearance. What's more interesting is just how much of an impact the two clearly had on one another.

The rivalry between Potter and Honnold is unpacked in the documentary through Potter's friends and Honnold himself, who speaks with his familiar blunt honesty about how he systematically ticked off Potter's achievements in Yosemite before setting his sights on beating Potter's own personal lists of goals (his 2008 free solo of Half Dome being one of the most notable).

As well as being a tense insight into competition between two athletes at the top of their game, these sections of the docuseries serve to illustrate a key aspect of Potter's personality: the struggle between doing something for the love of it and his own ego.

Featured Video For You How 6 generations of iPhone captured 20 years of motherhood in 'Motherboard' The Dark Wizard is an extremely stressful watch Credit: HBO

The Dark Wizard does an impressive job of showing Potter's internal conflicts. He wants to do things for the art and spirituality, but his competitiveness leads to him taking bigger and bigger risks; he wants to live a free life without anyone controlling him, but he's also being offered sponsorship and large financial deals.

One particularly stress-inducing episode sees Potter travelling to China to complete a highline walk — balancing on a thin rope between two peaks — live on state media TV, for a payment of $200,000. The buildup is almost as hard to watch as the act itself. Potter argues with the people involved through his translator, demands that they don't use a safety net, and then repeatedly falls from the rope in practise runs leading up to the live broadcast. He crashes out at those closest to him and withdraws into himself completely. On the big day, when he somehow manages to make it across the line while millions of people watch, he breaks down on the far side.

This pattern — a tense buildup to a high-risk act that Potter feels pressured to complete — taps into the theme at the heart of The Dark Wizard: mental health.

The documentary is a powerful exploration of mental illness

It's clear from the series that Potter suffered with serious depression.

"It was always a struggle with his mind," Potter's friend Brad Lynch, who documented some of his most famous climbs, says early on in the first episode. "Even when I first met him he would get in his head. Like, really down. And there would be times that we'd sit together and have more than a few beers or whatever...we would literally just sit there and just cry. Like fucking weep. Both of us were just like, what is it that's stirring this shit in my head?"

Risking his life, the documentary suggests, is a kind of coping mechanism for Potter.

As Lynch is talking, we see Potter's journal entries come to life. "I need to quiet my mind," reads one. "Find clarity through emptiness."

Later, in one of the most important lines in the documentary, Lynch sums up what he believes Potter is doing whenever he takes extreme risks: "I started to realise his only therapy was the death consequence."

Risking his life, the documentary suggests, is a kind of coping mechanism for Potter.

"When I'm leashless, out on the line or on the rock, free solo, I need total concentration or I'll die," we hear him say in an old interview. "Somehow, when my life's on the line, it brings my senses to a heightened state of calmness and clarity. It's the most powerful feeling I've ever experienced."

This level of depth is what makes The Dark Wizard such a powerful series. Yes, there's breath-taking footage of the many awe-inspiring acts that made Potter famous. But rather than purely mythologising him, the filmmakers have gone to great lengths to give insight into his personal struggles and motivations. The end result is nerve-wracking, enthralling, and — in the documentary's final moments — almost unbearably sad.

The Dark Wizard premieres on HBO on April 14 at 9 p.m. ET, with new episodes airing weekly.

Anthropic put the entire tech world on notice last week with an unprecedented announcement: it made an AI model so advanced that it was too dangerous to release to the public. Anthropic said the new frontier language model, Claude Mythos Preview, would "reshape cybersecurity."

Anthropic also announced the formation of Project Glasswing, an invite-only group of organizations — including some of Anthropic's biggest competitors — to test Claude Mythos Preview and secure their infrastructure.

Anthropic said that Claude Mythos Preview "found thousands of high-severity vulnerabilities, including some in every major operating system and web browser." (Emphasis in original.) The company said Project Glasswing was necessary "to help secure the world’s most critical software."

By Friday, CNBC reported that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had summoned the high priests of finance (aka banking CEOs) for an emergency meeting about the new model. New York Times writer Thomas Friedman fretted over a "terrifying" future in which any teenager armed with Claude could hack the local power grid.

The reaction to Claude Mythos Preview quickly split along predictable lines. AI boosters hailed the new model as proof that artificial general intelligence (AGI) was nigh, praising Anthropic for rolling it out so responsibly.

Critics and AI skeptics called Project Glasswing a big publicity stunt.

So, which is it?

To find out, Mashable has been reviewing Anthropic's claims and talking to AI and cybersecurity experts.

What is Claude Mythos Preview?

Claude Mythos is a new large-language model that Anthropic says performs significantly better than Claude Opus 4.6 — widely considered one of the best AI models in the world — especially in cybersecurity.

"In our testing, Claude Mythos Preview demonstrated a striking leap in cyber capabilities relative to prior models, including the ability to autonomously discover and exploit zero-day vulnerabilities in major operating systems and web browsers," reads the Claude Mythos system card.

Is Claude Mythos a sign of AGI?

Artificial general intelligence refers to superintelligent AI that can perform better than humans across a wide range of tasks. It's not an exaggeration to say that our entire economy has been organized around the quest for AGI, as Anthropic, Google, Meta, xAI, and OpenAI pour hundreds of billions of dollars into a new arms race.

If Claude Mythos is as capable as Anthropic says, would it be an example of AGI? The model card addresses this question, and Anthropic does seem to think it's close to AGI.

Any major platform rollout in this era is going to look different to different audiences depending on their fluency and their fear tolerance. What I care about is whether the intent is real, and the evidence I've seen from Anthropic suggests it mostly is. - Howie Xu, Gen, Chief AI & Innovation Officer

In a section about Claude Mythos safety risks, Antropic writes: "Current risks remain low. But we see warning signs that keeping them low could be a major challenge if capabilities continue advancing rapidly (e.g., to the point of strongly superhuman AI systems)." Of course, Anthropic has a strong financial incentive to promote this belief.

This chart shows how Mythos compares to previous Anthropic models on the Epoch Capabilities Index (ECI), which combines multiple benchmark scores into one. Credit: Anthropic

Ultimately, the model card for Claude Mythos is more conservative than the reaction online would suggest.

For example, while the Claude Mythos model card does show that this model performs above the trend line for previous Anthropic models, Anthropic says it does not show evidence of self-improvement or recursive growth. ("Importantly, though we’re observing a slope change with Claude Mythos Preview, we do not know if this trend will continue with future models...The gains we can identify are confidently attributable to human research, not AI assistance.")

Reasons to think Project Glasswing is a publicity stunt

Don't make me tap my sign: "[When] an AI salesman tells you that AI is an unstoppable world-changing technology on the order of the agricultural revolution...you should take this prediction for what it is: a sales pitch."

I wrote those words of caution in response to an essay by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, which warned about the potentially cataclysmic dangers of AI. Anthropic also has a history of issuing dire warnings about its AI models.

You may remember the story of the Anthropic model that tried to "blackmail" a company CEO to prevent it from being turned off. In reality, Anthropic designed a test environment where blackmail was a potential outcome. This may be more akin to digital entrapment than genuine model misbehavior.

So, is Claude Mythos the latest example of the industry's Chicken Little problem?

On X, AI safety engineer Heidy Khlaaf listed a number of open questions that cast doubt on Anthropic's claims.

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Anthropic said the Claude Mythos preview found thousands of zero-day vulnerabilities. But Khlaaf says Anthropic left out key facts needed to assess this claim — the rate of false positives, how Claude Mythos compares to existing cybersecurity tools, and exactly how much manual human review was required.

"Releasing a marketing post with purposely vague language that clearly obscures evidence needed to substantiate Anthropic's claims brings into question if they are trying to garner further investment," Khlaaf told Mashable. "It also serves their 'safety first' image as they're able to frame the lack of public release, even a limited one for independent evaluation, as a public service when it simply obscures even experts' abilities to validate their claims."

We reached out to Anthropic repeatedly about these concerns, but the company did not respond. We will update this article if they do. In the Claude Mythos system card, Anthropic wrote that more data will be released in the coming weeks as the bugs Mythos found are patched and fixed.

Gary Marcus, an AI expert, scientist, author, and noted critic of the LLM hype machine, initially told Mashable that it was too soon to know whether Claude Mythos represented a new type of threat.

But Marcus has grown more skeptical since we spoke to him, and he recently wrote on X that Mythos was "nowhere near as scary" as it first seemed. "Folks, you can relax. Mythos is not some off-trend exponential gain," he wrote.

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Cybersecurity experts told Mashable it's also very unlikely Claude Mythos could be used to "turn off the lights" or bring down critical infrastructure.

"Claims about catastrophic uses of Mythos also significantly misunderstand threat models, cybersecurity risks, and the ability to propagate said risks in a way that could actually lead to safety-critical incidents," Khlaaf told us. "It's not as simple as asking a model 'hack this system,' with Anthropic's own technical blog post demonstrating a requisite of expertise that Anthropic downplays in their marketing posts."

Other experts expressed skepticism, while also acknowledging that Mythos does represent a genuine risk, which Marcus has also said.

"You could argue it didn’t need a public announcement," said Div Garg, a Stanford AI researcher and founder of AGI, Inc. "However, ultimately, the decision to limit access to only those who develop and maintain critical software is precisely what you want a business to do in such a scenario…It’s easy to criticize the limited access, but worse outcomes would arise if they released it unchecked."

Tal Kollender, Founder and CEO of cybersecurity firm Remedio, told Mashable that tools like Claude Mythos are dangerous because they can automate exploit discovery.

"It's brilliant corporate theater," Kolender said. "Labeling a model 'too dangerous to release to the public' is certainly a marketing flex because it immediately creates mystique and signals immense power to investors. But beneath the PR stunt, there is a very real, very mundane truth...The cybersecurity industry doesn't actually have a 'finding' problem. We are already drowning in tools that detect vulnerabilities. What Mythos does is automate that discovery process at an unprecedented scale."

TL;DR: A week after revealing Claude Mythos Preview, some of Anthropic's biggest claims about the model look a lot sketchier, experts say. However, they also acknowledge that Claude Mythos poses a real risk.

Still, there are plenty of very valid reasons to be nervous about the new frontier model.

Reasons to think Claude Mythos Preview is a genuine threat to global cybersecurity

In the New York Times, author Thomas Friedman conjures a scenario straight out of War Games, where a teenager hacks the local power grid after school.

That scenario seems even more far-fetched a week later. But here's a much more likely scenario: A sophisticated group of hackers uses a tool like Claude Mythos to find zero-day vulnerabilities in our digital infrastructure, launching attacks faster than organizations can respond.

And that scenario should worry you.

If Claude Mythos isn't the tool that can do it, most experts agree such a tool isn't far off.

And some of the world's leading cybersecurity experts certainly seem worried.

"I've found more bugs in the last couple of weeks [with Claude Mythos] than in the rest of my entire life combined," said Nicholas Carlini, a research scientist affiliated with Anthropic and Google DeepMind, in a video on the Project Glasswing website.

"On Linux, we found a number of vulnerabilities where, as a user with no permissions, I can elevate myself to the administrator by just running some binary on my machine," Carlini said.

This week, the AI Security Institute published its findings on Claude Mythos's capabilities, and it provides some independent verification that it does represent a genuine leap forward.

The AISI is research organization within the UK government's science and technology department. Credit: AISI

Claude Mythos passed AISI cybersecurity tests that no other model had ever completed, scoring higher than any other frontier model on virtually every test.

"Our testing shows that Mythos Preview can exploit systems with weak security posture, and it is likely that more models with these capabilities will be developed," AISI concluded.

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AISI also identified some limitations with Claude Mythos, which would impair its effectiveness in real-world scenarios.

So, was Anthropic’s rollout of Mythos responsible AI stewardship or self-serving marketing? Experts I talked to said these options aren’t mutually exclusive.

"I'd say it's both, and that's not a criticism," said Howie Xu, Gen's Chief AI & Innovation Officer. "Any major platform rollout in this era is going to look different to different audiences depending on their fluency and their fear tolerance. What I care about is whether the intent is real, and the evidence I've seen from Anthropic suggests it mostly is."

As is often the case with fear-inducing AI headlines, the reality turned out to be more complicated.

"Personally, I don't go to bed worrying about a kid with Mythos hacking the power grid, but that doesn't mean the concern is fictional," said Xu. "We're at an inflection point where the creative and collaborative upside of these tools is massive, and the security infrastructure hasn't caught up. That gap is exactly what keeps me busy. Even a fractional probability of a serious incident is too much, which is why building a trust and security layer into the agentic era is my extreme focus."

Finally, as Anthropic stresses in the Claude Mythos model card, tools like this will likely benefit cybersecurity defenders more than hackers in the long-term. And in the short-term, a more cautious approach — like the approach being modeled with Project Glasswing — may be warranted.

TL;DR: Claude Mythos has formidable cybersecurity coding abilities, and it does represent a genuine threat. However, if hackers have access to AI tools like Claude Mythos, so will the organizations defending against such attacks.

UPDATE: Apr. 14, 2026, 9:40 p.m. EDT This article has been updated with additional information about some of the cited experts.

I love my Apple Watch, but I wish it wasn’t so smart. If I could design my ideal smartwatch, it would look super “dumb,” but elegant, and have all the sensors that the Apple Watch has.

TL;DR: Learn to code and score the right tools to help with this Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 and The Premium Learn to Code Certification Bundle, on sale now for $59.99 (reg. $1,999.99).

Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 + The Premium Learn to Code Certification Bundle $59.99
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There’s no need to head back to school to learn new skills. This Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 and the Premium Learn to Code Certification Bundle sets you up for coding success, providing the tools and the training you need to start coding.

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First up in the bundle? Learn the ins and outs of coding with the Premium Learn to Code Certification Bundle. Learn from Joseph Delgadillo, these courses are geared toward getting beginners up to speed. Learn C++ in just four hours, then discover integers, operators, and strings. You’ll also master languages like Python and Java.

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TL;DR: Fully upgrade a computer with this Microsoft Office 2024 Home & Business and Windows 11 Pro Bundle, now only $104.99 (reg. $448.99).

Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Microsoft Office 2024 Home & Business + Windows 11 Pro Bundle $104.99
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When you have to make a big purchase for your computer, it can be tough on the wallet. That’s what this bundle sets out to change — offering two pricey items, a Microsoft Office 2024 Home & Business license for PC or Mac and a Windows 11 Pro license bundled for one low price.

Though these two items would regularly set you back $448.99, you can get them together in this bundle for just $104.99.

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You don’t need to shell out for a brand new computer. This Microsoft Office 2024 Home & Business and Windows 11 Pro Bundle gives you everything you need to make an old device feel refreshed with a suite of helpful apps and a brand-new operating system.

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After weeks of teasing, Nissan has formally unveiled the U.S.-bound Rogue Hybrid e-POWER in a bid to unseat the current champions in the compact SUV market, the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4.

Porsche has just pulled the wraps off the 2027 911 GT3 S/C, or Sport Convertible.

If you thought Motorola was only making one foldable phone in 2026, you're about to feel real silly.

Motorola's book-style foldable, the Razr Fold, made its grand debut at CES in January, and it's still on track for release this year. However, the next phone in Motorola's regular flip-style Razr lineup may have just leaked, courtesy of some renders shared by Evan Blass on X.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. SEE ALSO: Motorola's Moto G budget phone prices spike up to 50 percent

No specs or features were shared, but the renders Blass posted had four distinct colors with some interesting texture work going on. No surprise, but they look a lot like Motorola's recent Razr phones from 2025. Take a peek for yourselves.

On the other end of the Motorola foldable spectrum, Notebook Check previously reported that the Razr Fold would launch in Europe in April. As of this writing, it's now available for pre-order in the UK, meaning it's now a real device that people can purchase, and not just something that we tried out at CES.

The Motorola Fold is the company's first book-style foldable. Credit: Motorola

The device is priced at €1,999 in Europe and £1,799.99 in the UK, so it'll probably cost a pretty penny in U.S. dollars, too. Unfortunately, we still don't know when it's coming to the U.S. or other markets, but we'll keep an eye out for that information. In the meantime, U.S. shoppers can register to buy the device.

Foldable handsets have become a real and viable market segment in recent years. Samsung has a thriving foldable lineup that's set to expand this year with the introduction of a new "Wide Fold" phone alongside the Galaxy Z Flip 8 and Z Fold 8.

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

SEE ALSO: Every foldable phone planned or rumored for 2026

Apple, on the other hand, has been rumored to be working on a foldable iPhone for years, and most expect the long-awaited iPhone Fold to launch before the end of the year. That'll be exciting.

While it might seem embarrassing that Motorola has beaten Apple to the punch in the foldable space, remember that Apple often lets other brands take the lead before eventually dominating the market, as it did with the iPhone and iPod.

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Making the switch to fiber is a major upgrade, and it's often marketed as the ultimate internet experience. The fix-it for every connection problem you've ever heard of. The gateway to fast streaming in 4K, gaming, and whatever else you could come up with.

Looking for something new to watch on HBO Max this week? The O.G. premium TV service is still one of the best places to go to find seriously great series and movies, and its 131 million global subscribers tells us that people are still really interested in finding it.

The cover of the Future Issue of The New Yorker, dated April 13, 2026, depicts terrifying days ahead.

Created by artist Christoph Niemann, "New Horizon" features a red sky and giant AI bots menacing a clueless human; the bots' eyes pointedly match the bloody-hued background. New Yorker covers can certainly get dark, but "New Horizon" looks like a horror-movie poster, symbolizing the prevailing view among creators about the advent of artificial intelligence.

We asked Niemann, a celebrated artist and recurring New Yorker illustrator, about the impetus of the cover and his feelings on technology. Niemann is no Luddite — he created the New Yorker's first Augmented Reality Cover back in 2016 — but he clearly has reservations about AI's growing role in art and media.

Credit: Image by Christoph Niemann, courtesy "The New Yorker" Hi, Christoph. Did you receive much direction for creating this cover image?

Niemann: As usual, I come up with the topic and the concept, but then I discuss everything with Françoise Mouly (the art editor for the covers). As a teacher of mine once said: It takes a day to come up with a good idea, and then 10 days to make it look like it was done in an hour.

When creating the image, were you thinking more of AI as a menacing figure/figures, or rather technology in general?

For this one, I was clearly thinking about AI.

SEE ALSO: Parents are turning their teens' texts into AI emo songs Tell us about the title of "New Horizons" and why you chose it.

I love the title, but it actually came from the editors. I think it’s rather self-explanatory, given the image with the double pun of the metaphorical and literal horizon.

The human user in "New Horizons" seems happy and, possibly, naïve. What message did you want to send about how people are handling technology's ascendance?

Even when using AI professionally, it always feels benign to me. The simple, clean design of the chatbot sites I’m familiar with. The obedient, relaxed tone of the conversation. It’s designed to feel harmless and fun.

How is it operating as an artist in 2026 when technology and AI have become, to many, a threat? Is there any reason for optimism on the future of human-derived art and media?

I’m not so sure. The economic impact on the art community is huge. Photography fundamentally disrupted the world of painting. But photography was not built to plagiarize painting for profit.

My biggest hope is that people will still care about human-made art. I wouldn’t go to a concert to see a robot play the piano, even if he manages to do so at five times the speed and accuracy of a human.

In a crowded streaming ecosystem, Netflix is still far and away the most popular service on the market. It remains the biggest streaming service at over 325 million worldwide paid subscribers, with 67 million coming from the U.S. Content curation is Netflix's biggest strength, as the streamer's library features over 10,000 titles—movies, TV shows, documentaries, and specials.

TL;DR: Live stream Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid in the Champions League for free on RTÉ Player. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The Champions League showcased some thrilling quarter-final first legs last week, but Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid was probably the best of the bunch. Bayern have a 2-1 advantage coming into the second leg in Munich, but everything is still to play for in the battle to advance to the next round.

If you want to watch Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid in the Champions League from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid?

Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid in the Champions League kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on April 15. This fixture takes place at the Allianz Arena.

How to watch Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid for free

Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid is available to live stream for free on RTÉ Player.

RTÉ Player is geo-restricted to Ireland, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Ireland, meaning you can unblock RTÉ Player to stream the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid for free by following these simple steps:

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

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

4. Visit RTÉ Player

5. Watch Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of the Champions League without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid (plus more Champions League fixtures) before recovering your investment.

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

What is the best VPN for RTÉ Player?

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

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A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid in the Champions League for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Live stream Arsenal vs. Sporting CP in the Champions League for free on Virgin Media Player. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The Champions League quarter finals are hanging in the balance, with plenty of questions still to be answered this week. Arsenal hold a 1-0 advantage over Sporting CP as the second leg comes to London. Arsenal will be expected to advance to the next round, but doubt are starting to creep in after recent defeats in the FA Cup and Premier League.

If you want to watch Arsenal vs. Sporting CP in the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Arsenal vs. Sporting CP?

Arsenal vs. Sporting CP in the Champions League kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on April 15. This fixture takes place at the Emirates Stadium.

How to watch Arsenal vs. Sporting CP for free

Arsenal vs. Sporting CP is available to live stream for free on Virgin Media Player.

Virgin Media Player is geo-restricted to Ireland, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Ireland, meaning you can unblock Virgin Media Player to stream the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Arsenal vs. Sporting CP for free by following these simple steps:

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

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

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

4. Visit Virgin Media Player

5. Watch Arsenal vs. Sporting CP for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Arsenal vs. Sporting CP without committing with your cash. This isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream select Champions League fixtures before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Virgin Media Player?

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

• Servers in 105 countries including Ireland

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

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Watch Arsenal vs. Sporting CP in the Champions League for free with ExpressVPN.

Parents have long turned to social media to unload about the tiny indignities of raising teenagers. The difference now is that they can feed those texts into AI and turn them into pop-punk songs that sound like they were ripped from a 2007 Warped Tour compilation.

Across TikTok and Instagram, parents are using AI music tools like Suno to transform everyday texts from their kids into emo anthems. (Whether all of these creators are actually parents of teenagers is another question.) One moment, it's a daughter demanding Starbucks after school. The next is a full-blown post-hardcore song about forgetting gym shorts, insisting they are literally starving, or begging for a ride home.

The more you watch these videos, the more small details start to come into focus: the sheer amount of Starbucks American teens seem to consume, the way every minor inconvenience becomes a five-alarm emergency, or the casual use of "bro" and "bruh" when talking to parents. In song form, those habits become even funnier, turning ordinary teenage shorthand into lyrics that sound weirdly revealing about the way kids talk now.

There is also something very millennial about the trend. Many of the parents making these videos grew up on emo, pop-punk, and Warped Tour bands, which makes the songs feel a little less like random AI creations and more like affectionate parodies of the music they loved as teenagers.

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Of course, as with anything involving AI, it's important you know the risks before partaking in the trend. Feeding private family texts into AI tools means handing over personal conversations — sometimes involving minors — to third-party platforms that may store that data, use it to improve their models, or keep copies of the generated songs.

Privacy experts have repeatedly warned that people often treat AI prompts as more private than they actually are, even though many companies reserve broad rights over what users upload. You may not think it matters much when the text is "pick me up from soccer practice," but it is worth thinking about before turning the family group chat into content.

And like so many AI trends right now, the actual technology almost feels secondary to the joke. What people are really sharing is not the amazement that AI can make music. It is the strangely universal realization that "Can we get Starbucks?” already sounds like the kind of lyric that would have shown up in a song about suburban teenage angst.