Technology

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

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

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

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

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

Often used to describe ponds.

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

MURKY

Hurdle Word 2 hint

A slow, shelled animal.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for May 12, 2025 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

SNAIL

Hurdle Word 3 hint

A classifier.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 12 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for May 12, 2025 Hurdle Word 3 answer

LABEL

Hurdle Word 4 hint

To have an obligation to do something.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for May 12 Hurdle Word 4 answer

OUGHT

Final Hurdle hint

Something's happening.

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

AFOOT

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

Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann's HBO adaptation of The Last of Us has stuck pretty close to the Naughty Dog games, making changes where it makes sense for TV.

However, one major element has been missing from the series, one deliberately omitted from both seasons so far: spores. But as of Season 2, episode 5, the airborne threat has landed.

Not good. Credit: Liane Hentscher / HBO

In The Last of Us games, characters must constantly don masks to avoid inhaling infectious spores produced by the Cordyceps infestation. Spores play a major role in The Last of Us Part II, mainly for how Dina finds out Ellie is immune to infection; in the show Ellie (Bella Ramsey) gets bitten defending Dina (Isabela Merced) in the subway beneath Seattle, while in the game Ellie's gas mask gets broken in the spore-filled tunnel and she miraculously breathes it all in without harm.

SEE ALSO: 'The Last of Us' Season 2: What are the differences between the game and the HBO show?

Druckmann and Mazin decided to leave spores out of the show for more realism. "If we wanted to treat it realistically, and there are spores near, characters would wear gas masks all the time," Druckmann told Polygon of Season 1. "Then we lose so much, which is maybe the most important part of the journey, is what’s going on inside behind their eyes, in their soul, in their beings. For that logistical reason, we were like, Let’s find a different vector."

I'd argue that I can envision conversations around the questionable action of encasing Pedro Pascal in yet another helmet as a main character on TV, but that's just me making shit up.

However, in Season 2, episode 5, Mazin and Druckmann change the game for the series, unlocking a basement full of Cordyceps spores in Seattle's Lakeville Hospital, right beneath the feet of the Washington Liberation Front (WLF).

We first learn of the spores through a conversation between Hanrahan (Alanna Ubach) and WLF commanding officer Elise Park (Hettienne Park). The latter recounts a mission gone wrong in the hospital basement, in which her unit — led by her son, Leon — discovered Cordyceps all over the walls as usual, but also floating in the air. Alas, a coughing Leon ordered his mother to seal himself and other obviously Infected officers in, which she did.

Elise confirms the spores are not in the vents or the unit would have been Infected weeks ago — but then Ellie chases Nora (Tati Gabrielle) into the second basement floor at the end of the episode, meaning certain doors are prised open that Elise's unit had painfully sealed.

Cordyceps has found its way into Jackson's pipes and now into Seattle's air. This is not looking good, folks. Cordy's evolving.

The Last of Us Season 2 is now streaming on Max. New episodes air weekly on Sundays 9 p.m. ET on HBO.

Watching The Last of Us and want to play the games? Here's how.

We're digging further into new characters and storylines in The Last of Us Season 2, with one hell of a basement situation opening up in episode 5.

A name that comes up during the opening scene is Leon. But who is he, how does he relate to the storyline, and does he appear in Naughty Dog's game? Let's go through the details.

SEE ALSO: 'The Last of Us' Season 2: What are the differences between the game and the HBO show? When is Leon mentioned in The Last of Us Season 2?

In the opening scene of episode 5, Hanrahan (Alanna Ubach) interrogates Washington Liberation Front (WLF) commanding officer Elise Park (Hettienne Park) about a mission that went terribly wrong in Seattle's Lakehill Hospital. During their conversation, Elise says she sent her team into the hospital basement to secure it after clearing the floors above it of Infected — orders Hanrahan gave her.

Elise mentions that a soldier called Leon was put in charge of the unit for the mission "because he's my best," and we also learn in this scene that Leon was her son.

What happened to Leon in The Last of Us?

It was always a risky mission, as Elise mentions the hospital basement is where doctors brought the first Cordyceps patients to be treated in 2003. After finding the first floor of the basement strangely empty, Elise sent her unit to the second, with Leon up front.

"Few minutes in, he radios back, 'There's Cordyceps on the walls, the floor.' Chances are they'll find Infected next, but that's what they were down there for, so I told them to proceed," Elise says. "Five minutes later, he radios again — this time he was struggling to breathe."

Featured Video For You 'The Last of Us' stars Bella Ramsey and Kaitlyn Dever break down Ellie and Abby's quests for revenge

It's here Leon reveals his team discovered not only that villainous fungi, Cordyceps, growing on the walls as usual, but also spores from it floating through the air. And in a tragic moment of heroism, he tells his own mother to seal the unit in the basement's second floor.

"We did what Leon said. We sealed them in," she says.

Later in the episode, when Ellie (Bella Ramsey) chases Nora (Tati Gabrielle) into the hospital basement, she discovers the area overrun with Cordyceps — and spores are not only floating through the air, they're being emitted by a couple of humans infested with the mushrooms and sealed on the walls.

One of these poor souls is wearing a name patch, L. Park, which confirms him as the ill-fated Leon (Cheonguk Park), doomed to spew spores in a half-alive state.

Is Leon in The Last of Us games?

The name Leon is mentioned only in environmental storytelling in The Last of Us Part II, and it references another character. But there's some ironic overlap.

Ellie and Dina find a note in the abandoned Westlake Bank in Seattle beside a gym bag of cash, describing a bank robbery gone wrong at the outbreak of the Cordyceps pandemic. In the letter, written by a very pissed off person involved in the heist, you learn that he was attacked by Infected then sealed in the bank by his accomplices, including his friend Leon Travis.

It could be a coincidence here, but if this is a deliberate use of Leon's name, The Last of Us creator Druckmann is almost giving cruel poetic justice to Leon's imprisoned bank robber friend — both of them sealed in thanks to the threat of Infected.

The Last of Us Season 2 is now streaming on Max. New episodes air weekly on Sundays 9 p.m. ET on HBO.

Watching The Last of Us and want to play the games? Here's how.

Did you hear that? It's the sound of a song we've been waiting for in The Last of Us, fluttering out the window.

In Season 2, episode 5, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) takes to the stage of Seattle's crumbling Pinnacle Theater, where instruments remain set for a performance never given. In a similarly moving moment to Ellie's rendition of "Take On Me" in the previous episode, she hesitantly picks up an acoustic guitar — an ever-painful reminder of her music-teaching, late father Joel (Pedro Pascal) — and takes a seat.

Then, Ellie sings one unmistakable line: "If I ever were to lose you." It's the first line of Pearl Jam's 2013 song "Future Days" and an incredibly important element of The Last of Us games.

Reader, I screamed.

SEE ALSO: 'The Last of Us' Season 2, episode 4: Why Ellie sings 'Take on Me'

But suddenly, Ellie reconsiders playing the song and stops completely, overcome with suppressed emotion. It's way too much, too soon. But surely that can't be it?

Why is Pearl Jam's "Future Days" important to The Last of Us?

Music remains a crucial, human element of The Last of Us. The song Ellie begins to play in Season 2, episode 5 is deeply meaningful to her and Joel, and subsequently, to fans. But we don't know this from the show; we know it from Naughty Dog's game The Last of Us Part II.

In the sequel to The Last of Us, there's a scene right at the beginning of the game in which Joel plays Pearl Jam's "Future Days" for Ellie on a butterfly-necked guitar he found for her during a patrol, not long after they've returned to Jackson from Salt Lake City. Joel is a man of few words, never really expressing love aloud, and Ellie and Joel are in a tense state in their relationship, with Joel having done what he did.

Featured Video For You 'The Last of Us' stars Bella Ramsey and Kaitlyn Dever break down Ellie and Abby's quests for revenge

The song is a moment in which he tries to show his found daughter, Ellie, how he feels about her. And despite their tension and her complicated feelings about his actions, Ellie's face is pure love and appreciation in this moment — and importantly, this is the first time she would have ever heard this song.

The lyrics speak directly to Ellie and Joel's relationship — "If I ever were to lose you / I'd surely lose myself / Everything I have found dear / I've not found by myself" — and considering the tragic fate awaiting Joel, they're devastating in their doomed hope for "future days" together.

"I believe 'cause I can see / Our future days / Days of you and me."

Surely, The Last of Us HBO series will let the entire Pearl Jam song have its moment. Lead singer Eddie Vedder even played the song live at The Game Awards 2020 with the game's release, knowing its impact and connection with Part II. Ellie playing one line cannot be the whole thing.

The Last of Us Season 2 is now streaming on Max. New episodes air weekly on Sundays 9 p.m. ET on HBO.

Watching The Last of Us and want to play the games? Here's how.

We're still a long way from being over what happened to Joel (Pedro Pascal) back in The Last of Us Season 2, episode 2, so suddenly seeing him again at the end of episode 5 is a bittersweet surprise.

But it's also a slightly confusing one, given how brief the moment is and what's come before it. So what exactly is the deal with the episode's ending, and what might it mean for what's to come next? Let's break it down.

SEE ALSO: 'The Last of Us' Season 2, episode 4: Why Ellie sings 'Take on Me' What happens at the end of The Last of Us Season 2, episode 5?

After narrowly escaping both Seraphites and Wolves, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) finally locates Nora (Tati Gabrielle), one of Abby's (Kaitlyn Dever's) party who was present for Joel's murder. Ellie chases Nora down to a spore-infested hospital basement, where Nora finally vocalises the terrible truth about what happened at the Firefly hospital in Season 1 — and why Abby did what she did to Joel.

"He killed everyone in that hospital, including the only fucking person alive that could make a cure from you," hisses Nora. "That was Abby's father, and Joel...Joel shot him in the head. That's what he did."

At this point we're expecting some kind of reaction from Ellie, but her face remains unchanged. There isn't even a hint of shock, and a second later we find out why. "I know," says Ellie. Then she takes a length of pipe and proceeds to beat Nora with it while asking her where Abby is, over and over again.

It's a violent and somewhat confusing scene, given that we've spent Season 2 thinking Ellie was still in the dark about Joel's secret. The scene that comes after, though, it is even more jarring.

Cutting from the dark of the hospital basement we suddenly see Ellie waking up in her bedroom back in Jackson, with sunlight filtering in through the window. The door creaks open behind her and suddenly there's Joel, very much alive and smiling in at her.

"Hey, kiddo," he says, and Ellie smiles back at him.

"Hi."

Featured Video For You 'The Last of Us' stars Bella Ramsey and Kaitlyn Dever break down Ellie and Abby's quests for revenge What's the deal with the Joel flashback?

Coming right at the end of the episode just before the credits, the final scene with Joel doesn't make much sense at first. It's clearly a flashback, but what's it got to do with what we've just witnessed in the hospital? Isn't it a little out of place?

Well, maybe not. In the scene in the hospital, Ellie doesn't appear to be lying when she says she knows what Joel did. Her expression is that of someone who really does know, and at this point, really doesn't care (or doesn't want Nora to think so). The thing is, though, we don't know how she knows. When, and why, did Joel's closely guarded secret get out?

When you follow that through, it seems pretty clear that the flashback at the end of episode 5 is building up to something. The Last of Us is well known for breaking the mould with its standout episodes, some of which — think episodes 3 and episodes 7 in Season 1 — take us on journeys into the past.

Is it possible that the flashback with Joel will lead to a longer flashback in episode 6? Maybe one that explains how Ellie knows what she knows?

The Last of Us Season 2 is now streaming on Max. New episodes air weekly on Sundays 9 p.m. ET on HBO.

Watching The Last of Us and want to play the games? Here's how.

The Last of Us Season 2 dropped a major bombshell in its fifth episode. The Cordyceps fungus is no longer just transmitted through bites. You can also become infected through airborne spores.

This revelation won't come as news to The Last of Us game fans, as spores have been a mechanic since the very first game. However, the scene that introduces spores to the show also hints at a major Infected enemy from The Last of Us Part II: the Rat King.

What is the Rat King in The Last of Us Part II?

The Rat King is a boss from the second half of The Last of Us Part II, and it's without a doubt the most disgusting creature in both games. It's based on the real (but rare) phenomenon of rat kings, which occur when a group of rats gets their tails irreversibly tangled.

When it comes to the Rat King in The Last of Us Part II, replace rats with the bodies of the Infected, and the tangled tails with the Cordyceps fungus, and you have a pretty good idea of how this unholy amalgamation was formed. Seriously, you thought a Bloater was bad? Well, a Rat King is Clickers on top of Stalkers on top of a Bloater, so it's just bad news all around.

How does The Last of Us Season 2 hint at the Rat King?

In The Last of Us Part II, the Rat King lurks in the basement of the WLF-controlled hospital the series introduces in episode 5. Even though we don't meet it in this episode — and with two episodes left, it's unlikely we'll meet it in Season 2 — The Last of Us still finds a way to hint at its existence.

SEE ALSO: 'The Last of Us' Season 2: What is the Washington Liberation Front?

In the episode's opening sequence, Hanrahan (Alanna Ubach) talks to WLF soldier Elise (Hettienne Park) about why she made the decision to block off all entry points to the hospital basement, dooming several of her men to die.

The reason Elise gives is the spores, but she adds that even though the hospital basement was where the first Cordyceps patients were brought when the outbreak started, it was oddly devoid of Infected.

"Nothing, the whole floor was empty," Elise tells Hanrahan of what's in the basement. "Not even rats."

The specific mention of rats feels like a pretty clear hint to The Last of Us gamers that the show writers are thinking about the Rat King. But even the basement's emptiness is a chilling reference to what's coming. It's been 25 years since the Cordyceps outbreak — enough time for the basement to get horribly overgrown with fungus. And if those first Infected bodies were left down there, undisturbed, for 25 years, that's also enough time for them to become fused together into the mass that is the Rat King.

That means the basement floor isn't actually empty. All the bodies just grew into one giant enemy that no one knows is down there. Maybe the missing rats even fused with the Infected Rat King. (Or maybe they were an early food source.) Either way, we're in for a nightmare whenever the Rat King finally shows up.

New episodes of The Last of Us Season 2 premiere on HBO and Max Sundays at 9 p.m. ET.

You might've heard that Linux can look like practically anything you want, but how customizable is it really? Can you easily tweak your Linux distro's look and feel as you desire, or does it require extensive terminal tinkering? Well, here are the five Linux distros to show you just what's possible!

Stargazing apps aren’t all the same. Some are bloated, some are brilliant, and some are only good if you know exactly what you're looking for. Here's a rundown of the ones we think are actually worth your time.

Did you know that Steam was available on some Chromebooks? I didn't, until my boss sent me a Chromebook Plus and I stumbled on the installation option in its menus. A few clicks and a login later, and I was in business, but how good could it be?

Logitech's MX Master series of mice has become a common sight in YouTube videos or photographs of tech-savvy people's desk setups, but what makes this now-iconic mouse so special?

TVs are no longer the plug-and-play devices they once were. Even the cheapest options have smart features, most notably streaming service apps. However, they also come bundled with pesky ads and security concerns. This has left many to yearn for simpler times, but is dumber really better?

It's fair to say luxury SUVs have come a long way—they're no longer just about leather seats and sleek badges anymore. These days, they're just as much about making your life easier, whether that means hauling sports gear, tackling a weekend road trip, or surviving the weekday carpool grind in style.

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is currently serving 11 years in prison for defrauding investors with her scam-laden blood testing start-up. Her partner, with whom she shares two children, is currently trying to raise $50 million for a blood testing start-up.

Despite the internet's initial response that it must be satire or fake...nope. This story is very real and reported in the Tony pages of the New York Times. Billy Evans' company is called Haemanthus — a flower also known as the blood lily — and bills itself as “the future of diagnostics” with “a radically new approach to health testing,” the Times reported. That sounds, well, pretty much exactly like Theranos.

You might wonder why Evans, described by the Times as an heir to a hotel fortune, wants to get into blood-testing of all businesses. And frankly, your guess is as good as mine. Maybe because technically it's the family business?

Citing unnamed sources, NPR reported Evans has "raised millions" so far, but mostly "among friends, family and other supporters." The company reportedly plans to begin testing pets for diseases before moving on to people.

The internet simply couldn't believe this whole story was real. One user on Bluesky poking fun at the headline had to clarify that no, the story was neither AI nor a joke.

The absolute fucking cackle I let out at this headline

[image or embed]

— Mrs. Detective Pikajew, Esq. (@clapifyoulikeme.favrd.social) May 10, 2025 at 11:32 AM

Stop asking me if this is fake or AI 😭😭😭 www.nytimes.com/2025/05/10/b...

[image or embed]

— Mrs. Detective Pikajew, Esq. (@clapifyoulikeme.favrd.social) May 10, 2025 at 12:33 PM

The internet, naturally, also had lots of jokes about Evans' start-up.

So ... I guess Elizabeth Holmes wasn't available for Surgeon General then?

— Stonekettle (@stonekettle.bsky.social) May 8, 2025 at 12:41 PM

It's so romantic that Elizabeth Holmes' boyfriend is starting his own fraudulent blood testing company while she's in prison for fraud

— Ian Boudreau (@ianboudreau.com) May 10, 2025 at 12:22 PM

This is a call from Camp Bryan Federal Prison from *deep voice* Elizabeth Press one to accept the charges. *BEEP* ELIZABETH HOLMES: I have another blood idea.

— Sen. Lemon Gogurt (@ugarles.bsky.social) May 10, 2025 at 12:34 PM

Has it occurred to anyone that maybe Elizabeth Holmes is just a very dainty vampire.

— Tim Carvell (@timcarvell.bsky.social) May 10, 2025 at 12:47 PM

In a time full of weird, unbelievable headlines, it's really remarkable that the news can still be surprising.

After recovering from a disastrous launch, No Man's Sky has become a go-to answer when someone asks about games involving galactic travel and survival. That being said, it debuted eight years ago, and you may be wondering what other games have released that have the same kind of depth.

There are numerous features to consider when buying a new mechanical keyboard, such as the switches, typing sound, keycap material, sound-dampening layers, and more. However, there's one niche feature I find almost irreplaceable: a built-in screen.

If you don't want AI to scrape your music to learn, then it might be time to leave Soundcloud.

The music streaming platform quietly updated its terms of service sometime last year to allow AI to train on audio uploaded to Soundcloud, TechCrunch reported this week.

“You explicitly agree that your Content may be used to inform, train, develop or serve as input to artificial intelligence or machine intelligence technologies or services as part of and for providing the services,” the terms read, via TechCrunch.

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Not long after the TechCrunch report was published, Soundcloud clarified that it does not currently use audio uploaded by users to train AI. However, the company did not rule out doing so in the future.

"SoundCloud has never used artist content to train AI models, nor do we develop AI tools or allow third parties to scrape or use SoundCloud content from our platform for AI training purposes," Marni Greenberg, SVP and head of communications at SoundCloud, told The Verge. "In fact, we implemented technical safeguards, including a 'no AI tag' on our site to explicitly prohibit unauthorized use."

Greenberg further noted that music from major labels would be exempt from any AI training and confirmed that other users would have the opportunity to opt out of any such usage.

Greenberg told The Verge:

"The [terms of service] explicitly prohibits the use of licensed content, such as music from major labels, for training any AI models, including generative AI. For other types of content uploaded to SoundCloud, the TOS allows for the possibility of AI-related use.

Importantly, no such use has taken place to date, and SoundCloud will introduce robust internal permissioning controls to govern any potential future use. Should we ever consider using user content to train generative AI models, we would introduce clear opt-out mechanisms in advance—at a minimum—and remain committed to transparency with our creator community."

So as of right now, if you're uploading music, podcasts, or other audio to Soundcloud, it is not using it to train AI. But it seems Soundcloud is preparing for the day it will.

Network Attached Storage (NAS) servers are mainly intended for backing up and storing files, but they can also do a lot more. I’ve been using a two-bay Synology DiskStation DS718+ NAS for close to a year now, and I’ve found some cool ways to make it more than just a data dumping ground.

Running your own server can sound intimidating at first, but with Linux, it's much easier than you might think. If you're new to servers—or Linux in general—don't worry. You don't have to be a tech wizard to get a reliable server up and running.

When it comes time to pick a movie to watch with all of your friends, you've got plenty of options scattered across plenty of streaming services. Whether it's comedy, thriller, action, or a cult classic, you can find something worth watching somewhere. These are a few good recommendations.

While electric vehicles are much more popular than they used to be, they still remain fairly niche in the grand scheme of the market. However, production is ramping up on the next generation of EVs, and these new vehicles could completely change the landscape of the automotive market.