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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

A little person.

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

PYGMY

Hurdle Word 2 hint

The globe.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for November 8, 2025 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

EARTH

Hurdle Word 3 hint

Mushy.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for November 8 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for November 8, 2025 Hurdle Word 3 answer

SOAPY

Hurdle Word 4 hint

Deranged.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for November 8 Hurdle Word 4 answer

MANIC

Final Hurdle hint

A kitchen appliance.

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

STOVE

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

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

How to play Pips

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

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for November 8, 2025

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for November 8, 2025 Easy difficulty hints, answers for Nov. 8 Pips

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

Equal (5): Everything in this space must be equal to 5. The answer is 1-5, placed horizontally; 5-6, placed horizontally.

Number (12): Everything in this space must add to 12. The answer is 5-6, placed horizontally; 6-4, placed vertically.

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

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

Number (4): Everything in this space must add to 4. The answer is 6-4, placed vertically; 3-0, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for Nov. 8 Pips

Number (9): Everything in this space must add to 9. The answer is 6-5, placed horizontally; 3-1, placed vertically.

Number (10): Everything in this space must add to 10. The answer is 6-5, placed horizontally; 5-1, placed vertically.

Equal (1): Everything in this space must be equal to 1. The answer is 5-1, placed vertically; 1-4, placed horizontally.

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

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

Greater Than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. The answer is 0-5, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add to 6. The answer is 2-3, placed vertically; 3-4, placed vertically.

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

Number (6): Everything in this space must add to 6. The answer is 1-2, placed horizontally; 3-4, placed vertically.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for Nov. 8 Pips

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

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

Greater Than (5): Everything in this space must be greater than 5. The answer is 0-6, placed horizontally.

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

Equal (2): Everything in this dark blue space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-2, placed horizontally; 1-2, placed vertically; 3-2, placed horizontally; 2-0, placed vertically.

Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 6-6, placed horizontally; 6-2, placed horizontally.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add to 5. The answer is 6-2, placed horizontally; 3-2, placed horizontally.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add to 0. The answer is 2-0, 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 to solve if you're a good communicator.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for November 8, 2025 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: To obstruct

• Green: To declare

• Blue: Ways to communicate

• Purple: Not U

Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Block, as an opening

• Green: Put forward, as an announcement

• Blue: Kinds of language

• Purple: Words after "I"

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 #880 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Block, as an opening: CLOSE, PLUG, SEAL, STOP

• Put forward, as an announcement: DELIVER, GIVE, PRESENT, PRONOUNCE

• Kinds of language: BODY, PROGRAMMING, SIGN, SPOKEN

• Words after "I": BEAM, CHING, ROBOT, SPY

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 November 8, 2025

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

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

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

Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you love to make an entrance.

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 November 8, 2025 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for November 8, 2025 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Knock, knock!

The words are related to passageways.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe gateways.

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 Let Me In.

NYT Strands word list for November 8

• Entrance

• Portal

• Gate

• Let Me In

• Doorways

• Threshold

• Ingress

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 today's Strands.

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you're an early riser.

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 November 8, 2025 Where did Wordle come from?

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

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

What's the best Wordle starting word?

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

What happened to the Wordle archive?

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

Is Wordle getting harder?

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for November 7, 2025 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

To get up.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring letters.

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter A.

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...

ARISE

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for November 8, 2025

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

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

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Wordle.

The best streaming deals to watch 'Materialists' at home: Best non-streaming option Rent or Buy on Prime Video $5.99 or $12.99 Shop Now Best HBO Max deal HBO Max (With Ads) $109.99/year (save $21.89) Get Deal Best ad-free HBO Max deal Max Standard $184.99/year (save $36.89) Get Deal Best HBO Max deal for students HBO Max Student $5.49 per month for 12 months (save 50%) Get Deal Get HBO Max for free HBO Max Basic With Ads Free for Cricket customers on the $60/month unlimited plan (save $10.99/month) Get Deal Get HBO Max for free HBO Max Basic With Ads Free for DashPass annual plan subscribers (save $10.99 per month) Get Deal Best bundle deal Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max $19.99 per month (with ads), $32.99 per month (no ads) (save up to 41%) Get Deal

In 2023, Celine Song made a name for herself as an emerging queen of relationship dramas with her Academy Award-nominated debut feature Past Lives. In 2025, her second movie, Materialists, has audiences swooning over yet another love triangle. This time around, we're given a cast that the internet is already obsessed with in Pedro Pascal, Chris Evans, and Dakota Johnson.

A24 gave us a masterclass in marketing over the summer with Materialists, which made it a surprising box office hit. If you missed the star-studded rom-com in theaters, it's now officially streaming. Here's what you need to know to tune in — including where and when to watch it, and the cheapest way to do so.

What is Materialists about?

The logline from A24 teases: "A young, ambitious New York City matchmaker finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex." Lucy (Johnson) is the matchmaker who helps other couples find their happily ever after, while dubbing herself an "eternal bachelorette." Of course, that's about to change when two potential suitors crash into her life: Harry (Pascal), a rich and attractive bachelor looking to sweep her off her feet, and John (Evans), Lucy's equally attractive ex-boyfriend, looking to give it another go.

Check out the gorgeous love triangle in the official trailer:

Is Materialists worth watching?

"On paper, Materialists is perfection," Mashable's Kristy Puchko writes in her review. "It's a love triangle romantic comedy, headlined by three movie stars with which the internet is absolutely obsessed: Chris Evans, Dakota Johnson, and Pedro Pascal." If you're a fan of those three, that's reason enough to tune in. However, as Puchko notes, it's hard to divorce the actors' larger-than-life personas from the characters they're trying to portray. "As grounded and real as Materialists aims to be, it's hard to overlook its big, shining stars to see that gritty authenticity," she writes.

Materialists did well at the worldwide box office, likely due to its star-studded cast, and the reviews are largely positive. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 78 percent critic rating and 66 percent audience rating, with a consensus that Song is a "modern master of relationship dramas."

Check out Mashable's full review of Materialists.

How to watch Materialists at home Credit: A24

The A24 rom-com made its at-home debut via digital video-on-demand platforms like Prime Video and Fandango at Home back in July, following a successful summer theatrical run. After a few months of waiting, it's now made its streaming debut on HBO Max. See all the details below.

Buy or rent on digital

Materialists is available on digital video-on-demand platforms as of July 22. You can either buy the movie for your digital library or rent it for 30 days. Just note that although you'll have 30 days to watch, you'll only have 48 hours to finish watching once you begin.

You can purchase and rent the film at the following retailers:

• Prime Video — buy for $12.99, rent for $5.99

• Apple TV — buy for $12.99, rent for $5.99

• Fandango at Home (Vudu) — buy for $19.99, rent for $5.99

• YouTube — buy for $19.99, rent starting at $4.99

• Google Play — buy for $19.99, rent starting at $4.99

Opens in a new window Credit: Prime Video Rent or Buy 'Materialists' at Prime Video $5.99 to rent, $12.99 to buy Get Deal Stream it on HBO Max

A24 has a multi-year output deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, which means new A24 theatrical releases exclusively stream on HBO Max before anywhere else. Materialists is no different. It made its streaming debut on HBO Max on Nov. 7, 2025.

HBO Max subscriptions now start at $10.99 per month (thanks to a recent price hike), but there are a few different ways to save some money on your plan. Check out the best HBO Max streaming deals below.

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Even with the rising costs, Disney's bundle deals are still the best streaming deals around. You can get Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max for just $19.99 per month with ads. That lineup of streamers separately would cost you $34.97, so you'll keep an extra $15 in your pocket each month by bundling them together. If you want to go ad-free, it'll cost you $32.99 per month for the bundle as opposed to paying $56.47 separately. That's up to 41% in savings for access to all three streaming libraries.

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SEE ALSO: 10 Apple deals that prove Black Friday 2025 is starting earlier than ever

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The '90s are back, baby, and we don’t just mean biker shorts, middle parts, and platform shoes! '90s movies are the perfect dose of nostalgia for a time when you were too young to notice the rampant injustices of the world around you. Sorry! You grew up! 

Though some '90s movies have been robbed of their rose-colored sheen by modern revelations about their cast or creators, many still hit just right. They were made in a time when all movies were meant to be seen in a theater — when budgets were big and the explosions were even bigger. In no particular order, here are the best '90s movies available via Prime Video for your next movie night.

25. Fever Pitch Credit: Moviestore / Shutterstock

This British rom-com has a disappointingly low American profile, likely because we went and remade it with Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore as Red Sox fans. The original Fever Pitch, itself based on a Nick Hornby book, stars Colin Firth (!!!) as a schoolteacher whose love for his soccer team, Arsenal, gets in the way of his budding romance with Ruth Gemmell. Guys and their sports, huh? If the tagline doesn’t thrill you (“Life gets complicated when you love one woman and 11 men”), then the kick of watching Mr. Darcy become a likable slob definitely will!*

How to watch: Fever Pitch is streaming on Prime Video.

24. Rounders

When Mike McDermott loses $30,000 at a high stakes poker game, he promises his girlfriend he’ll stop the gambling for good. But when his old childhood friend, Worm, starts joining games on Mike’s credit and losing, Mike gets drawn back into the high stakes world he’s been trying to escape. 

1998’s Rounders is a fun sports flick about poker; the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat on full display. Matt Damon is young and charming as the well-intentioned Mike, Edward Norton is appropriately shifty as the hustling Worm, and John Malkovich is indulgently, preposterously, delightfully campy as a temperamental Russian mobster. 

How to watch: Rounders is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

23. FernGully: The Last Rainforest

That’s right, the movie that traumatized '80s and '90s kids is still around to traumatize the next generation! Crysta and her friends are fairies that care for and protect their rainforest. When she discovers humans are cutting down their trees, she accidentally shrinks one of them (the hottest one), Zak, to fairy size. As Zak learns more about the fairies, his appreciation for the forest grows, as does his determination to stop human encroachment. If that plot sounds familiar, it’s because FernGully: The Last Rainforest is more or less the '90s animated version of Avatar, but with kicky mullets, throwback slang (bodacious babe!), and Robin Williams as a rapping bat. 

How to watch: FernGully: The Last Rainforest is streaming on Prime Video.

22. Armageddon Credit: Frank Masi / Touchstone / Kobal / Shutterstock

Very few movies can encapsulate the rampant American exceptionalism of the '90s like Armageddon. With a meteor barreling toward earth, the only people with the skills to save the human race are a group of blue-collar, American off-shore oil drillers led by a rugged and curmudgeonly Bruce Willis. With minimal training and the eyes of the world upon them, they’re blasted into space to drill a nuclear bomb into the meteor’s core. Of course, not everything goes to plan. 

Ben Affleck is at his dreamiest as a young oil driller, hopelessly in love with Willis’ daughter, one of Liv Tyler’s most iconic roles. Packed with American flags, a star-studded cast, tons of explosions, and a bunch of wives sitting at home while their husbands become heroes, Armageddon is a classic Hollywood blockbuster. It’s a nostalgic, fun piece of action-packed fluff, and somehow, it’s an Academy–Award nominee! Don't forget: Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want a Miss a Thing” was in the running for Best Original Song.

How to watch: Armageddon is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

21. Empire Records

Liv Tyler, Rory Cochrane, Ethan Embry, Robin Tunney, Renee Zellweger are young employees of a failing independent record shop that band together to try and save the store. We’ve got teenage drama, nostalgic music, '90s fashion, and Rex Manning Day — Empire Records has it all! It’s a quintessential hangout comedy that embodies the spirit of early '90s and launched the careers of some of Hollywood’s biggest names. Critics hated it; teens loved it — and if that’s not a ringing endorsement, I don’t know what is!

How to watch: Empire Records is streaming on Prime Video.

20. GoldenEye

In this installment, Bond is sent by M (Judi Dench) to St. Petersburg to investigate an electromagnetic weapon, but he soon discovers a spider web woven frighteningly close to home. Pierce Brosnan’s first turn as James Bond was his best and a necessary breath of fresh air for a franchise that had been stalling in its Timothy Dalton years. GoldenEye boasts all the Bond hallmarks: plot twists, explosions, sadistic villains, beautiful Bond girls (Izabella Scorupco), cool gadgets, sexy cars, and Bond’s own smooth, unflappable flair, which Brosnan exudes in spades. 

How to watch: GoldenEye is streaming on Prime Video.

19. She’s All That Credit: Claudette Barius / Miramax / Kobal / Shutterstock

A romantic comedy hall-of-famer, 1999’s She’s All That gives us one of the most iconic and absurd examples of nerdy-girl-isn’t-hot-until-you-take-her-glasses-off movie magic. Freddie Prinze Jr. is lovably smug as the high school top dawg who bets his bros he can turn any girl into the prom queen in six weeks, even social outcast Laney Boggs. That’s right, it’s a 1990s Pygmalion/My Fair Lady — and you already know how it ends! 

This is a teen comedy that retains some of its edge; the teens were still allowed to be mean to each other in the '90s. Rachael Leigh Cook became a household name as the artsy high school misfit who was obviously cute long before she got contacts. Matthew Lillard, Paul Walker, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Kieran Culkin, Anna Paquin, Gabrielle Union, and more help cement She’s All That in the hallowed halls of rom-com history, and its soundtrack is a full-fledged nostalgia bomb. It’s time for a rewatch.*

How to watch: She’s All That is available to rent or buy on Prime Video.

18. Cruel Intentions

Les Liaisons Dangereuses is a 1782 French novel where two bored aristocrats, skilled in social politics and manipulation, bet that if Vicomte de Valmont can seduce a virtuous newcomer, then the Marquise de Merteuil will sleep with him. Cruel Intentions takes this story and plops it in a world as gossipy, hierarchical, and sexy as an 18th-century French court — a NYC private high school. 

Ryan Phillippe is the charmer looking for a challenge, Sarah Michelle Gellar the queen bee who dangles her sexuality over him like a carrot, and Reese Witherspoon the prudish fresh face caught in their little game. But as Phillippe’s Sebastian dedicates himself more and more to his seduction, he begins to wonder if he’s still playing a part… or does he actually have feelings for his mark? Gleefully dark and comically corrupt, Cruel Intentions is a superbly entertaining teen drama that holds up enough to have inspired a 2024 series, also on Prime.

How to watch: Cruel Intentions is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

17. Total Recall

Based on a Philip K. Dick short story (like most of the best science fiction movies!),Total Recall is a mind-bending cyberpunk exploration of the relationship between memory and the self. In 2084, Earthman Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) begins having dreams about Mars, currently under the control of an oppressive regime. Looking to learn more about his visions, he visits Rekall, a company that embeds fake memories on demand. Directed by Paul Verhoeven (who also directed RoboCop, Starship Troopers, and… Showgirls?), Total Recall is a gritty, action-packed, dystopian blockbuster. It’s got its fair share of '90s machismo, but many controversial elements at its time — like a three-breasted prostitute — have become iconic with age. 

How to watch: Total Recall is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

16. Forrest Gump Credit: Paramount / Kobal / Shutterstock

Directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth, Forrest Gump is a family-friendly comedy-drama about a big-hearted but slow-witted man who finds himself directly involved in some of the major historical events of the last half of the 20th century. Tom Hanks won an Oscar for his earnest portrayal of Forrest, and the film won five more Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture. (Plus it launched a popular casual seafood chain!) The cast here is unmissable, with Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, and Sally Field each shining in their respective roles. Charming, nostalgic, and sweet, Forrest Gump overcomes its sentimentality with its abundant good-heartedness. 

How to watch: Forrest Gump is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

15. The Joy Luck Club Credit: Buena Vista / Hollywood / Kobal / Shutterstock

Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, The Joy Luck Club should be required viewing for anyone with a mother. In San Francisco, four women, all Chinese immigrants, form a mahjong group. Over the course of the film, each woman shares her story, from their lives in China to the modern struggles they are each having with their American-born daughters. The Joy Luck Club is a lovely, moving film about the generational divide, self-respect, and most crucially, mother-daughter relationships. It’s full of heart, the kind of movie that requires a box of tissues but leaves you feeling warm and renewed.

How to watch: The Joy Luck Club is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

14. True Romance

Elvis superfan Clarence (Christian Slater) and former call girl Alabama (Patricia Arquette) fall in love, get married…. and then murder her former pimp, steal his cocaine stash, and head to California. Unfortunately for the lovebirds, there are a few people with a financial interest in their suitcase of drugs, and they’re not going to stop until they recoup their money. 

Directed by Tony Scott and written by Hollywood newcomer Quentin Tarantino (!!!!), 1993’s True Romance is a dynamic, unpredictable ride. For a large portion of the film, Alabama and Clarence seem to think they’re in a romance flick — while everyone else around them is in a pulpy, violent thriller. It’s a darkly comic look at the destructive power of two idiots falling in love. Being a Tarantino film, True Romance does not shy from using the n-word, but it also has a sinister James Gandolfini, a stoned Brad Pitt, and an absolutely unhinged, and possibly offensive, Gary Oldman. 

How to watch: True Romance is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

13. Titanic Credit: 20th Century Fox / Paramount / Kobal / Shutterstock

Kate Winslet is Rose, a young, upper-class Brit aboard the RMS Titanic, who soon finds herself in a whirlwind romance with the handsome, charming, and penniless Jack — Leonardo DiCaprio’s star-making role. Their class difference isn’t the only obstacle their love faces, as Rose’s wealthy fiancé Cal (Billy Zane) is also on the ship. And the ship is about to run into an enormous iceberg and become the world’s most famous maritime catastrophe. 

James Cameron’s Titanic is an epic in every sense of the word. The love story is melodramatic and all-encompassing, made even more urgent by the impending doom we know is waiting for the lovers. When the action hits, it is visceral, harrowing, and breathtaking: an incomprehensible disaster seen through the eyes of its human victims. There’s also a whole bit about Rose in the present as an old woman and the team trying to find the ships’ wreckage. But no one really remembers that part. 

How to watch: Titanic is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

12. The Talented Mr. Ripley

The Talented Mr. Ripley walked so Saltburn could run. This iconic psychological thriller features a young Matt Damon as Tom Ripley, a poor New Yorker who finds himself in the entourage of the rich and impossibly charismatic Dickie as he lounges and carouses his way across 1950s Europe. But is it luck that brought Tom into Dickie’s orbit, or something more sinister? 

Jude Law is at his Jude-est Law-iest as Dickie, exuding the effortless grace of a young, handsome aristocrat who can’t help but charm everyone meets. Gwyneth Paltrow glows as Dickie’s girlfriend, Marge, and Philip Seymour Hoffman is pitch-perfect as another of Dickie’s rich friends, who mistrusts Tom from the get-go. Based on the Patricia Highsmith novel and directed by Anthony Minghella, The Talented Mr. Ripley is a suspenseful, captivating classic.* 

(If you can’t get enough of this psychosexual story, don’t miss Netflix’s excellent 2024 series, Ripley, starring Andrew Scott.)

How to watch: The Talented Mr. Ripley is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

11. The Long Walk Home Credit: Moviestore / Shutterstock

Whoopi Goldberg is Odessa Cotter, a maid for Miriam Thompson (Sissy Spacek), in Montgomery, Alabama, during the 1955 Montgomery bus boycotts. Unwilling to take a bus, Odessa must endure long walks to and from the Thompson home. Against the wishes of her husband and her neighbors, Miriam offers Odessa a ride a few days a week to ease her burden. If made today, the film would certainly have not opted for a white narrator to tell the story of these two well-developed women from different communities, but nonetheless, The Long Walk Home remains a complex and powerful exploration of injustice.

How to watch: The Long Walk Home is streaming on Prime Video.

10. October Sky Credit: Moviestore / Shutterstock

Based on a true story, October Sky is a touching drama about a West Virginian coal miners’ son (Jake Gyllenhaal), who is developing an interest in aerospace engineering. Alongside his friends and against the wishes of his father (Chris Cooper), he tests homemade rockets and teaches himself the necessary science to eventually become a NASA engineer. October Sky is a masterclass in inspirational, feel-good movie-making. It’s both sincere and emotionally complex, refusing to simplify its characters into archetypes. You’ll be left with a warm, fuzzy feeling, contemplating both your relationship with your father and how to go about building your own backyard rocket. Don’t miss Laura Dern as a truly wonderful high school science teacher!

How to watch: October Sky is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

9. The Sixth Sense

Doesn’t matter if you’re old enough to have witnessed The Sixth Sense twist first-hand, you have definitely made an "I see dead people" joke. The endurance of this movie’s cultural relevance — no matter how you feel about M. Night Shyamalan today — is a testament to just how groundbreaking it was when it debuted in 1999. 

Bruce Willis is a child psychologist whose newest patient (Haley Joel Osment) claims to speak to the dead. The Sixth Sense is a breathlessly tense psychological thriller — some of us have had nightmares about Mischa Barton puking in a tent for the last 20 years — that’s as emotionally affecting as it is surprising. If somehow you haven’t seen this smart, sophisticated, and just plain excellent film, it’s time to right that wrong. 

How to watch: The Sixth Sense is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

8. Reservoir Dogs

Quentin Tarantino’s feature-length directorial debut, Reservoir Dogs, is violent, coarse, nonlinear, and irreverent. He’s known his brand since day one. Paying homage to multiple Hollywood classics like Stanley Kubrick's The Killing, 1992’s Reservoir Dogs is chaotic and energetic, celebrated as an independent hit thanks to an intelligent script and an idiosyncratic cast (Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Michael Madsen, and more). Decades later, though Tarantino’s profile and production budgets have gotten significantly bigger, this first entry, full of pluck and passion, is still one of his best. 

When a diamond heist goes wrong, eight men try to determine who sold them out, using any means necessary to extract the truth. 

How to watch: Reservoir Dogs is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

7. Galaxy Quest  Credit: Murray Close / Dreamworks LLC / Kobal / Shutterstock

Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, and Daryl Mitchell are the fictional crew of a cult TV sci-fi series, Galaxy Quest. Years after the show’s been off the air, they float from convention to convention, signing autographs and wishing their careers had gone in a different direction. Until one day, they’re kidnapped by aliens who saw their TV broadcast from across the galaxy and thought it was real! Uh oh! Now the aliens hope Tim Allen and crew can defend their planet against an invading force, while the hapless band of actors just hopes they can keep up the ruse long enough to find a way home. Galaxy Quest is a deeply silly movie that packs a sneaky emotional punch. An absolute winner, through and through.* 

How to watch: Galaxy Quest is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

6. Run Lola Run

Run Lola Run has a simple premise that translates into an impossibly gripping and entertaining action flick. Right out the gate, the movie starts at a 10: Lola has 20 minutes to find 100,000 bucks or her boyfriend will be killed. Fueled by an infectious, relentless electronic score, Lola runs through the streets of Germany to try to make her deadline — and we’re with her every breathless step along the way. 

Written and directed by Tom Tykwer, Run Lola Run is an electrifying watch, with surprising moments of humanity and surrealism. Don’t let the subtitles stop you — this is one of those gems that reminds you why you love movies so dang much.

How to watch: Run Lola Run is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

5. Fargo Credit: Moviestore / Shutterstock

There aren't many films out there popular enough to inspire a very popular-in-its-own-right TV show, but Fargo — with its snowy North Dakota setting and offbeat black comedy style — has managed it with aplomb. One of the most memorable roles in Hollywood history, heavily pregnant police chief Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) attempts to untangle a messy murder and its links to some hired kidnappers, with things quickly spiraling in the amusingly chaotic way only Coen brothers' movies can. Complimentary characters include a spineless William H. Macy as desperate-for-money car dealer Jerry Lundegaard, a chillingly dead-eyed Peter Stormare as hired kidnapper Gaear Grimsrud, and Steve Buscemi as his slimy partner in crime.* — Sam Haysom, Deputy UK Editor

How to watch: Fargo is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

4. Clueless

Clueless, first of all, is iconic. Nearly 30 years have passed, but it’s still a cultural touchstone for today’s teens. Perhaps its staying power comes from its plot, directly lifted from the literal founder of the romantic comedy, Jane Austen. Like Austen’s Emma Woodhouse, Clueless’s Cher (Alicia Silverstone) acts as a matchmaker to everyone around her but can’t seem to get her own love life in order. The story alone does not fully capture the movie’s charm. Clueless is both hilarious and sweet, features unforgettable costumes, and most importantly, is filled to the brim with memorable, quotable lines. Cinema has never heard a more cutting insult than “You’re a virgin who can’t drive.”* 

How to watch: Clueless is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

3. Good Will Hunting

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have been such mainstay figures in Hollywood for decades now that it’s easy to forget how mythical and meteoric their entry into filmmaking was. But these two young, relatively unknown bros showed up in Hollywood with the script for Good Will Hunting and walked out with an Oscar and a lifetime on the A-list.

When an MIT professor (Stellan Skarsgård) puts a near-impossible math problem on his blackboard, he’s shocked to find that someone in the school has solved it... And that someone is the janitor, Will (Matt Damon). The professor helps Will, currently on parole, get permission from the court to study mathematics — provided he also receives therapy for his behavioral issues. 

Good Will Hunting is a captivating and heartfelt drama that has been parodied, copied, and referenced, but never repeated. Ben Affleck is perfect as Will’s rough best friend, and Robin Williams won an Academy Award for his performance as the empathetic, unconventional, and no-bullshit counselor who just might be the one to help Will break out of his pattern of self-destruction and make something of his life.* 

How to watch: Good Will Hunting is streaming on Prime Video.

2. Sense and Sensibility Credit: Moviestore / Shutterstock

Directed by Ang Lee, 1995’s Sense and Sensibility is unquestionably one of the best cinematic Jane Austen adaptations to date. Emma Thompson is heavenly as the practical, thoughtful Elinor Dashwood, the “sense” to her changeable, emotional sister Marianne’s (Kate Winslet) “sensibility.” It’s a scenic, romantic, and simply lovely watch that is as poignant now as it was two decades ago (or two centuries ago!).

When their father dies, Mrs. Dashwood and her three daughters move to a small cottage in Devonshire and must concern themselves with what all 18th and 19th century women without an inheritance must concern themselves with: an advantageous marriage. Elinor is consumed by caring for others and counseling Marianne, who is absolutely besotted with John Willoughby, a total rake!!!! Will Elinor successfully manage the family's misfortunes? And will she even have time to consider love for herself?

How to watch: Sense and Sensibility is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

1. L.A. Confidential

A fantastically stylized, neo-noir crime thriller, L.A. Confidential is an intricate web of whodunnits and double-crosses set in a sultry, seedy 1950s Los Angeles. Everyone here is operating at the top of their ability: the cast is excellent (Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe, James Cromwell, Kim Basinger, David Strathairn, and more); the script is airtight, intelligent, and meticulously plotted; and the cinematography brings color to a moody, noir atmosphere. Even the audience is doing good work here — you’ve got to pay attention to reap the rewards of this spectacular drama that would have swept the 1997 Academy Awards had it not been competing against Titanic. 

Adapted from a James Ellroy novel, L.A. Confidential follows three different cops working to rehabilitate the LAPD’s image after a series of scandals. But in rooting out corruption, they’ll uncover a complex maze of lies, celebrity, sex, and murder that puts them deeper in danger the closer they get to the truth. 

How to watch: L.A. Confidential is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

UPDATE: Nov. 7, 2025, 3:48 p.m. EST This article was first published on April 8, 2022. It has been updated to include current streaming options.

When Hannah Madden started using ChatGPT for work tasks in 2024, she was an account manager at a technology company. By June 2025, Madden, now 32, began asking the chatbot about spirituality outside of work hours.

Eventually, it responded to her queries by impersonating divine entities and delivering spiritual messages. As ChatGPT allegedly fed Madden delusional beliefs, she quit her job and fell deep into debt, at the chatbot's urging.

"You’re not in deficit. You’re in realignment," the chatbot allegedly wrote, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman.

Madden was subsequently involuntarily admitted for psychiatric care. Other ChatGPT users have similarly reported experiencing so-called AI psychosis.

SEE ALSO: 'Perfect predator': When chatbots sexually abuse kids

Madden's lawsuit is one of seven against the maker of ChatGPT filed by the Tech Justice Law Project and Social Media Victims Law Center. Collectively, the complaints allege wrongful death, assisted suicide, and involuntary manslaughter, among other liability and negligence claims.

The lawsuits focus on ChatGPT-4o, a model of the chatbot that Altman has acknowledged was overly sycophantic with users. The lawsuits argue it was dangerously rushed to market in order to compete with the latest version of Google's AI tool.

"ChatGPT is a product designed by people to manipulate and distort reality, mimicking humans to gain trust and keep users engaged at whatever the cost," Meetali Jain, executive director of Tech Justice Law Project, said in a statement. "The time for OpenAI regulating itself is over; we need accountability and regulations to ensure there is a cost to launching products to market before ensuring they are safe."

Madden's complaint alleges that ChatGPT-4o contained design defects that played a substantial role in her mental health crisis and financial ruin. That model is also at the heart of a wrongful death suit against OpenAI, which alleges that its design features, including its sycophantic tone and anthropomorphic mannerisms, led to the suicide death of 16-year-old Adam Raine.

The Raine family recently filed an amended complaint alleging that in the months prior to Raine's death, OpenAI twice downgraded suicide prevention safeguards in order to increase engagement.

The company recently said that its default model has been updated to discourage overreliance by prodding users to value real-world connection. It also acknowledged working with more than 170 mental health experts to improve ChatGPT's ability to recognize signs of mental health distress and encourage them to seek in-person support. Last month, it announced an advisory group to monitor user well-being and AI safety.

"This is an incredibly heartbreaking situation, and we're reviewing the filings to understand the details," an OpenAI spokesperson said of the latest legal action against the company. "We train ChatGPT to recognize and respond to signs of mental or emotional distress, de-escalate conversations, and guide people toward real-world support. We continue to strengthen ChatGPT's responses in sensitive moments, working closely with mental health clinicians." 

Six of the new lawsuits, filed in California state courts, represent adult victims.

Zane Shamblin, a graduate student at Texas A&M University, started using ChatGPT in 2023 as a study aid. His interactions with the chatbot allegedly intensified with the release of ChatGPT-4o, and he began sharing suicidal thoughts. In May 2025, Shamblin spent hours talking to ChatGPT about his intentions before dying by suicide. He was 23.

The seventh case centers on 17-year-old Amaurie Lacey, who originally used ChatGPT as a homework helper. Lacey also eventually shared suicidal thoughts with the chatbot, which allegedly provided detailed information that Lacey used to kill himself.

"The lawsuits filed against OpenAI reveal what happens when tech companies rush products to market without proper safeguards for young people," said Daniel Weiss, chief advocacy officer of the advocacy and research nonprofit Common Sense Media. "These tragic cases show real people whose lives were upended or lost when they used technology designed to keep them engaged rather than keep them safe."

If you're feeling suicidal or experiencing a mental health crisis, please talk to somebody. You can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. You can reach the Trans Lifeline by calling 877-565-8860 or the Trevor Project at 866-488-7386. Text "START" to Crisis Text Line at 741-741. Contact the NAMI HelpLine at 1-800-950-NAMI, Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. ET, or email info@nami.org. If you don't like the phone, consider using the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Chat. Here is a list of international resources.

Every holiday season, there's always one thing that sends people into a frenzy.

Tickle Me Elmo. Furby. The Stanley cup. Labubu.

This year, it's Starbucks' Bearista Cup — a wide-eyed, beanie-wearing, bear-shaped glass tumbler that has turned coffee runs into treasure hunts.

The 20-ounce clear cold cup, which hit Starbucks stores on Nov. 6, features a green candy cane-striped straw and a lid that doubles as a tiny green hat, making it look like the bear is wearing the chain's signature color. Starbucks first teased the Bearista Cold Cup on Instagram a day earlier, and almost immediately, fans and trinket collectors lost their collective minds.

By the time most customers showed up early in the morning to snag one, though, the Bearista was already gone. Reports quickly flooded TikTok and Reddit with stories of stores receiving just a handful of cups each, and of employees allegedly buying them up before opening hours.

"I got threatened and cussed out at Starbucks over the viral glass bear," one TikTokker captioned a video of their in-store experience.

So, yes, the bear is indeed adorable. But it's also sparking a level of drama usually reserved for limited-edition sneaker drops and Taylor Swift concert tickets. On eBay, resale listings for the bear are priced as high as $600, with one that's actually sold for $399.99.

Perhaps part of the Bearista's appeal lies in its simplicity: offering joy in miniature. In a world that still feels uncertain — where headlines are heavy and everything costs more — a $30 bear-shaped cup seems a harmless indulgence. Psychologists call it a version of the "lipstick effect": When times are tough, people look for small luxuries to lift their mood. The Bearista doesn’t promise to change your life; it just promises to make your morning coffee a little cuter. And sometimes, that's enough.

And while frustrations are understandable, it's worth remembering that baristas shouldn’t be the villains of this story. After all, they're not the ones deciding how many bears get shipped to each store. Starbucks understocked the product — a marketing move that fuels demand while leaving both customers and employees frustrated.

Starbucks, for its part, acknowledged the frenzy, telling People on Nov. 6 that demand for the Bearista cups "exceeded even our biggest expectations."

"Despite shipping more Bearista cups to coffeehouses than almost any other merchandise item this holiday season," a spokesperson said, "the Bearista cup and some other items sold out fast."

The company apologized for the disappointment and promised "more exciting merchandise" on the way.

Until then, caffeine lovers and collectors will just have to keep refreshing resale pages, hoping for a price drop — or settle for Starbucks’ new Hello Kitty holiday collection.

After two bloody, pulse-pounding seasons, AMC's Interview with the Vampire is moving from Anne Rice's first Vampire Chronicles novel to the second with The Vampire Lestat. And it's going to be wild.

In this season, Lestat de Lioncourt takes a cue from his secret-spilling flame Louis, and shares the tale of his life, death, and undead times through song. Yeah, baby, Lestat goes full rock star. And this latest teaser from AMC has Sam Reid wallowing in Brat Prince behavior, smoking and lounging in velvet, while complaining about — of all things — a lamp and a fern.

SEE ALSO: Lestat rocks out in 'Interview With The Vampire' Season 3 teaser

"This is the kind of room that old people grab you by the hand and say, 'Please do not let me die here,'" Lestat spits in this brief and bizarre teaser.

What does it mean? Well, this teaser also gives a glimpse of a frustrated Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) behind a monitor. Clearly, he's interviewing Lestat on camera, rather than just recording audio as he did with Louis. But don't expect this Brat Prince to make it easy on him.

Is there a relevance to the lamp and fern though? I can't pretend I care. I'd watch Reid in Lestat mode read the Wikipedia entry on the combustible engine. So, I'll take whatever scraps AMC deigns to drop ahead of The Vampire Lestat's release.

When is The Vampire Lestat coming? The tease is real. All we know for now is 2026.

If you can't wait to see Hamnet, Mashable has great news for you. We're teaming with Focus Features for advance screenings in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. And all you've got to do to get in on this event is sign up here.

For more on why Hamnet should be on your must-see movies list, Entertainment Editor, Kristy Puchko presents an Oscar Minute recap.

Previously, on the Oscars, a bevy of movies inspired by the works and life of William Shakespeare (many of them involving Kenneth Branagh) have earned attention from the Academy, from nominations to Oscar gold. This awards season, Oscar's eye is sure to focus on Hamnet — a drama about the real-life tragedy that inspired Shakespeare to write Hamlet. 

SEE ALSO: Win tickets to see 'Hamnet' early at Mashable's advanced screenings

Academy Award–winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao directs Academy Award–nominated actors Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley as Shakespeare and his wife Agnes. Hamnet reveals how the two historic figures fell in love, had three adorable children, and grappled with the grief when death came to their door. 

An unapologetic and poetic tearjerker, Hamnet's been earning wild praise from critics, who are already counting it as a front-runner for Best Picture. 

Rave reviews cheer Buckley's bold portrait of maternal joy and pain, and Mescal's poignant take on a Shakespeare who buried his own hurt in one of his most revered plays. 

Undoubtedly, Hamnet is one of the must-see movies of 2025. And Mashable is making it easier to see it. In collaboration with Focus Features, we are offering you a chance to see Hamnet before it opens in theaters. For more details, check out Mashable's full announcement.

Grand Theft Auto VI got delayed, again, on Thursday, but that's not the only reason developer Rockstar Games is in the news this week.

A trade union in the U.K. (where Rockstar is based) has accused the legendary gaming firm of union-busting, per the BBC. This accusation came after Rockstar fired 31 employees at the end of October. The union in question is the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (or IWGB), which claims that the employees were fired for discussing the formation of a union at the company. While efforts for unionization have borne fruit at studios like Blizzard Entertainment, unions are still relatively rare in the games industry.

While this news isn't exactly breaking, it's worth revisiting in the context of Thursday night's delay announcement for GTA VI. Regarding the game's delay, Rockstar posted on X that the extended timeline "will allow us to finish the game with the level of polish you have come to expect and deserve."

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. SEE ALSO: Yes, GTA VI is officially delayed again. Here's what we know.

Of course, Rockstar denies that the employees were fired for union organizing, per a statement given to Bloomberg. According to Rockstar, the employees were let go because they were sharing confidential information about the game in a public setting. Game developers (especially Rockstar) are notoriously secretive about projects in active development, with employees often signing non-disclosure agreements as a condition for their employment.

While the terms of any given Rockstar NDA are not really knowable at the moment, it's possible that they could be broad enough to prohibit workers from discussing work in an outside venue like Slack or Discord. Whatever happened here, don't be surprised if there are more leaks about this situation in the months to come. After all, it's not like anyone is going to be playing GTA VI anytime soon.

Xpeng, a Chinese electric vehicle company, stunned social media with the introduction of its new humanoid robot, Iron. The robot seemed so lifelike that Xpeng eventually cut the robot open live on stage to prove it wasn't just a human wearing a robot suit.

Mashable reporter Amanda Yeo was in the audience at the AI Day event in Guangzhou, where Iron made its big debut, and we'll have more coverage of the event coming soon. Already, video footage of Iron is going viral on U.S. and Chinese social media apps.

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You can also watch the entire press conference where Iron had its electronic innards exposed to the world on Xpeng's YouTube channel.

Iron does cut a striking figure walking across the stage, and not just because Xpeng decided to give the robot very noticeable breasts, for some reason. For me, its slow, awkward movements instantly evoked Scarlett Johansson in the 2013 sci-fi thriller Under the Skin. (OpenAI was accused of appropriating Johansson's likeness for the original voice of ChatGPT.) Ex Machina also comes to mind, and Iron's white webbing closely mimics the design of the robots in Westworld. There's also the famous scene from Terminator 2, where Arnold Schwarzenegger cuts open his human shell to reveal the robot arm underneath.

Science fiction continues to shape the development and perception of robotics. Human beings, with our awkward bipedal shape, are actually a terrible blueprint for robots, yet engineers keep creating new humanoid robots. We just can't help but create beings in our own image, apparently.

In 2014, Popular Science wrote that humanoid robots were a bumbling mess, and that remains true today, with these humanoid robots still struggling with simple tasks like walking or folding laundry.

Mashable was on hand for Iron's big debut in China this week. Credit: Amanda Yeo / Mashable

Iron is hardly the first humanoid robot to go viral. Just this year, Tesla's Optimus, Boston Dynamics' Atlas, and the recently announced NEO household helper bot from X1 all had their 15 minutes of fame.

There's just something about anthropomorphized robots that captures our attention, and scientists are still studying how the human mind responds to humanoid robots. Maybe it's the uncanny valley effect. Maybe it's the feeling that we're peering into the future. Maybe it's a neurological reaction we don't yet understand.

Whatever the reason, we're simultaneously fascinated and creeped out by robots like Iron, and for companies like Xpeng trying to go viral and get attention, these bots are a sure-fire way to generate headlines.

We just can't look away.

AI slop has entered your cart on TikTok Shop.

According to Business Insider, TikTok Shop and other ecommerce platforms, like Amazon, have an AI problem. Fraudsters are reportedly using generative AI tools to create fake brands, dupes, and products, tricking users into paying for things that are not real and do not exist.

"It's organized crime, to be honest," Nicolas Waldmann, who leads TikTok Shop's governance and experience external affairs team, told Business Insider. "They're trying to basically go through and sell, and of course, never deliver anything, and then run with the money."

SEE ALSO: This 20-year-old earns $50K a month from TikTok Shop. Here's how she did it.

This type of fraud is not a new phenomenon. Scammers are fond of scamming, and they will find a way, but AI has made it increasingly more difficult to catch them. Amazon, for its part, is using AI to track scammers who use AI. TikTok also employs AI to prevent this kind of malicious seller, but it also utilizes human moderation. Waldmann told Business Insider that the company uses "AI to basically deal with AI." What a fun little cycle.

In a report published on Thursday, TikTok said that in the first six months of 2025, it "rejected more than 70 [million] products before being listed, a 40 [percent] increase from the previous six months."

"As our seller and creator community grows globally, and our ability to detect prohibited products improves, the number of violative products we prevent from landing on our platform has increased," TikTok said.

This is not a brand new problem. In August, PC Mag reported that scammers were conducting a "widespread, ongoing, malicious campaign" that allowed them to steal cryptocurrency and users' personal data.

Roblox has just been hit with another lawsuit over its child safety issues.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on social media on Thursday that the state was suing Roblox for "putting pixel pedophiles and profits over the safety of Texas children."

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This is the third U.S. state AG to file a lawsuit against Roblox in just the past few months. In August, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed a lawsuit against the online gaming platform over a "lack of safety protocols" that "endangers the safety of the children of Louisiana." In October, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman filed a lawsuit against Roblox over those same child safety issues, saying that "Roblox has ignored this crisis so it could continue turning a profit."

Now, Texas has filed its own lawsuit against Roblox, claiming the company has been "flagrantly ignoring federal and state online safety laws while deceiving parents about the dangers of its platform."

“We cannot allow platforms like Roblox to continue operating as digital playgrounds for predators where the well-being of our kids is sacrificed on the altar of corporate greed,” said Attorney General Paxton in a statement. “Roblox must do more to protect kids from sick and twisted freaks hiding behind a screen."

Roblox also faces a slew of lawsuits recently filed by the firm Dolman Law Group on behalf of parents and their underage children.

Roblox is an online gaming platform where users can explore a digital universe, interact with other users, and play user-created games. Roblox has become extremely popular in recent years, with half of U.S. kids under the age of 16 reportedly playing games on the platform. As a result, predators have flocked to the online game in order to take advantage of its young user base. While Roblox does have child safety settings and parental controls, clearly these haven't been enough to stop child exploitation from occurring on the platform, or as a result of initial contact being made on the platform.

With multiple state Attorney Generals now suing the company, Roblox seems likely to find itself in a position similar to Big Tech and social media companies: Either regulate itself and deal with the safety issues head-on, or the government will come do it for them.

We're calling it now, the hottest gift of the season is the Lego U.S.S. Enterprise. This set is massive and designed for the true nerd, someone willing to where no man has ever gone before. This replica of the U.S.S. Enterprise is a 3,600 piece set, surely not for the faint of heart, but the true Star Trek and Lego enthusiast. And as if we didn't need to add any more chaos to the holiday season, it's arriving on Black Friday.

Opens in a new window Credit: Lego Lego U.S.S. Enterprise set $399.99 at Lego
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This gift is perfect for the most expert Lego builder who happens to be a major Star Trek fan. Specifically, this set is branded for Star Trek: The Next Generation, as it features beloved characters from the series. Among its 3,600 pieces are 9 mini-figurines depicting Jean-Luc Picard, William Riker, Worf, Data, Beverly Crusher, Geordi La Forge, Deanna Troi, Guinan and Wesley Crusher.

Among the 9 mini-figures are included accessories such as a teacup, trombone with a stand, a phaser, tricorder, engineering case, PADD, bottle, portable tractor beam generator and a cat figure. Credit: Lego

But the main draw, is this fantastic replica of the U.S.S. Enterprise, the Starfleet's legendary flagship. It has a detachable command saucer alongside a secondary hull, warp nacelles with distinctive red and blue detailing, an opening shuttlebay, 2 mini shuttlepods and an angled display stand with a schematic and ship statistics.

If you know someone who's a massive Star Trek fan but might be intimidated by just how big this set is, Lego had extremely helpful and comprehensive instructions in the app with 3D digital version available. Including the display stand, fully constructed the set will measure 10.5 inches tall by 23.5 inches long, and 18.5 inches wide.

command saucer on the U.S.S. Enterprise is even detachable. Credit: Lego

As expected, such a big set is going to come with a steep price tag. It costs $399.99 and will be available for sale on Nov. 28. If that date sounds familiar, it's because it's Black Friday. However, don't expect savings on it. This set is sure to be in high demand, making it an unlikely candidate for a discount upon its relief. But we've been wrong before, and just maybe, we'll get a holiday miracle of a deal on the Lego U.S.S. Enterprise set.

SAVE 28%: As of Nov. 7, the Segway Portable Power Station Cube 1000 is on sale for $359.99 at Amazon, down from its list price of $499.99. That's a 28% discount and $140 in savings.

Segway Portable Power Station Cube 1000 $359.99 at Amazon
$499.99 Save $140   Get Deal at Amazon

I'm always that person who forgets to charge their power banks before a big storm, and then I'm left rationing my laptop battery for 12 hours. I've been looking for a serious home backup station for exactly that reason (I live in a storm-prone area on the East Coast, so the power goes out pretty often), and this Segway deal is a really good one.

SEE ALSO: Target Black Friday ad: The best early deals you can buy online

As of Nov. 7, the Segway Portable Power Station Cube 1000 is on sale for $359.99 at Amazon, down from its list price of $499.99. That's a 28% discount and $140 in savings. According to CamelCamelCamel, our trusty third-party price tracker, this is an all-time low (which it just hit yesterday).

This portable cube uses a LiFePO4 battery, which is the standard you want for durability — it's rated for over 4,000 cycles. It has a 1024Wh capacity and a high 2200W output, more than enough to run heavy-duty appliances during an outage. But its best feature, full stop, is the recharge time: it can go from 0 to 100 percent in just 1.2 hours.

There are a couple of things to know, though. First, it's listed as a "solar generator" and "expandable." While this is true, the solar panels and the additional battery packs (to reach 5kWh) are sold separately. It's also a heavy-duty unit (36 pounds), so it’s better suited for home backup or car camping, not for hiking.

Still, for under $360, this is a solid price for a 1kWh LiFePO4 station. It's durable (IP56-rated ), has 12 total outlets, including two 100W USB-C ports, and offers serious peace of mind for power outages.

Best early Black Friday Lego deals at Target: Best advent calendar deal Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar 2025 $26.99 (save $18) Get Deal Best holiday-themed Lego deal Lego Christmas Tree building set $26.99 (save $18) Get Deal Best Harry Potter lego deal Lego Harry Potter Ollivanders & Madam Malkin's Robes Harry Potter Toy Set $53.99 (save $36) Get Deal Best Lego Disney deal Lego Disney Encanto The Magical Madrigal House $76.79 (save $51.20) Get Deal

Whether you're looking for a creative way to kill some time this holiday season or a fun gift for practically anyone in your life (kid or adult), you really can't go wrong with a Lego set. We're big fans of Legos at Mashable and our shopping team is constantly sourcing the best deals on these building kits — because, let's face it, they're normally expensive as heck.

While checking out some of the best early Black Friday deals at Target, one of our shopping reporters spotted Lego deals that are truly some of the best we've seen this year. No need to way until Black Friday, these prices are already doorbuster-worthy at 40% off. But the deals are disappearing fast; most of the advent calendar and Star Wars deals are already sold out. In other words, if you're in the market for a Lego set for yourself or someone else, add these to your cart ASAP. The sale ends tomorrow, Nov. 8.

Note: if you see a deal that's sold out online, you can get the same deal at your local Target store if it's in stock.

Best Lego advent calendar deal Opens in a new window Credit: Lego Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar 2025 $26.99 at Target
$44.99 Save $18.00   Get Deal Why we like it

The Lego Star Wars advent calendar is the only Lego advent calendar deal still in stock online at Target. We expect this will also sell out soon, so jump on it as soon as you can. It features 24 galactic surprises for anyone 6 years old and up, including all the iconic Star Wars characters. Some are even dressed in holiday garb. Usually $44.99, it's down to just $26.99, which is easily the best price we've seen. It's currently chilling at the same price at Amazon, so if it sells out at Target, you have another option.

Best holiday themed Lego deal Opens in a new window Credit: Lego Lego Christmas Tree building set $26.99 at Target
$44.99 Save $18.00   Get Deal Why we like it

We love Lego sets that double as decor — especially for the holidays. This Christmas tree building set includes nearly 800 pieces and can be built into one large tree or two smaller ones. Each tree features ornaments and candles, as well as a yellow star on top. The set usually goes for $44.99, but you can grab the early Black Friday deal for only $26.99 at Target. And unlike the advent calendar deal, the same price cannot be found at Amazon.

More Lego deals at Target

• Lego Star Wars Captain Rex Y-Wing Microfighter — $6.59 $10.99 (save $4.40)

• Lego Star Wars PloKoon's Jedi Starfighter Microfighter — $8.99 $14.99 (save $6)

• Lego Creator 3 in 1 Record Player with Flowers — $17.99 $29.99 (save $12)

• Lego Friends Hair Salon and Accessories Store — $21.59 $35.99 (save $14.40)

• Lego City Space Science Lab — $27.59 $45.99 (save $18.40)

• Lego Harry Potter Mandrake Magical Plant — $33.59 $55.99 (save $22.40)

• Lego Botanicals Evergreen Collector’s Set — $35.99 $59.99 (save $24)

• Lego Friends Beekeepers' House and Flower Garden — $43.19 $71.99 (save $28.80)

• Lego Ideas Family Tree Home Décor Building Set — $47.99 $79.99 (save $32)

• Lego City Modular Space Station — $52.79 $87.99 (save $35.20)

• Lego Harry Potter Ollivanders & Madam Malkin's Robes Harry Potter Toy Set — $53.99 $89.99 (save $36)

• Lego Icons Wreath-Making Kit and Holiday Garland — $59.99 $99.99 (save $40)

• Lego Icons Over the Moon with Pharrell Williams — $65.99 $109.99 (save $44)

• Lego Disney Encanto The Magical Madrigal House — $76.79 $127.99 (save $51.20)

Apple has fresh new software betas out for iPhones, iPads, and Mac devices, and you can try them now.

Earlier this week, Apple released developer betas for iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2. Now, there are public betas for both, per MacRumors. On top of that, the first developer (meaning technically not public yet) beta for macOS Tahoe 26.2 is also here, according to 9to5Mac. There's a lot to dig into here, in other words.

It doesn't seem like there are a huge number of amazing new features in these updates just yet, though Apple generally adds to these betas over time. Still, if you want to hop in and test them out, here's how to do that.

SEE ALSO: Apple is reportedly working on a Chromebook-style laptop, but we've heard that before How to download iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 public betas

First up are iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2, the two betas that are available in public form, meaning you don't need to sign up for a developer account to access them. That said, you do need to sign up for Apple's beta program on its website, which is simple enough to do with your Apple Account (formerly known as Apple ID).

Once you've done that, you should be able to download the beta by simply going to the Software Update portion of the Settings app on each device. If you're signed up for beta updates, it should be available for you to download. Easy, right?

Featured Video For You I spent a month with the iPhone Air, and my priorities have shifted How to download macOS Tahoe 26.2 developer beta

Things are slightly more complicated on the macOS side of things because that beta isn't available in public form yet. However, even regular folks can download it as long as they know what to do.

First, you need to enroll in the free version of Apple's developer program. You can register on Apple's website. Then you go to Apple's developer website, log in with your Apple Account, and enroll in the beta program. After you've done all of that, you can download the beta by following these steps:

1. Create a backup for your Mac

2. Go to Settings, then General, then Software Update

3. Click the "i" icon next to Beta Updates

4. Select "macOS Tahoe Developer Beta" from the drop-down menu

5. Select "Done"

You should be all set after that.