Mashable

One of the downsides of being president is you get asked to do a lot of things, and Donald Trump wants you to know he's done with all the incessant nagging.

In the Daily Show clip above host Desi Lydic plays a clip of the president at a recent rally in Georgia, moaning about how the press were asking him what he planned to do about high prices on his very first day in office. "I said 'I just got here!'" says Trump in the clip. "Give me a break!"

"Give me a break, I didn't expect to jump into work right away, I just ran to stay out of prison!" responds Lydic. "What do you mean you just got here? You already had the job for four years. You probably still had old pens in the desk. Guy's acting like he was expecting an onboarding. 'This is Joe B., you're gonna spend the day shadowing him.'

"Look I do get it, he just wanted to spend his first day settling in, putting his stuff down, pardoning January 6thers..."

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TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Booster Display Box is available at Amazon for $195.48 (including delivery), down from its $279.99 list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokémon Company Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Booster Box $195.48 at Amazon
$279.99 Save $84.51   Get Deal

Chaos Rising’s biggest sealed box has taken another sharp fall at Amazon, bringing all 36 Pokémon TCG booster packs below $200 for the first time we’ve seen — even after the delivery charge is added. 

As of July 24, the Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Booster Display Box is listed at Amazon for $189.99, plus $5.49 shipping for a $195.48 total. That wipes $90 off its $279.99 list price and gives collectors a 32% discount before shipping, with price-tracking site camelcamelcamel confirming this is the lowest Amazon price we’ve ever seen. 

The listing is sold and shipped by third-party seller Glaceon Island, with delivery currently estimated for July 30 to Aug. 13. However, if you want yours guaranteed to arrive before the end of this month, the listing sold by venado comes as soon as July 26 — for a slightly higher total of $197.99.

Even with delivery included, each of the 36 Chaos Rising packs works out to roughly $5.43 before tax. Based on the $189.99 product price alone, that drops to about $5.28 per booster — comfortably below the $6.09-per-pack rate from Amazon’s previous $219.55 low.

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Outside Amazon, TCGplayer’s lowest unopened English boxes start at $190.01 with shipping included; that goes slightly above the Chaos Rising Booster Display Box’s $188.82 market price, saving you even more if you don’t mind shopping beyond the traditional retailer. 

No matter where you buy, you’re still getting a display box with 36 booster packs from the Pokémon TCG’s Chaos Rising expansion. This is a 120-plus-card set that includes more Mega Evolution Pokémon ex, over 25 Trainer cards, and more than 35 Pokémon and Trainer cards with special illustrations. 

Those three-dozen packs will give you plenty of chances to pull Chaos Rising’s most valuable chase cards (or buy individually off TCGplayer) — including SIR Mega Greninja ex, MHR Mega Greninja ex, SIR Cinccino ex, SIR Mega Dragalage ex, and SIR Mega Floette ex.

SAVE $200: As of July 24, the Alienware 15 gaming laptop is on sale for $1,299.99 at Amazon. That's a 13% saving on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Alienware Alienware 15 Gaming Laptop $1,299.99 at Amazon
$1,499.99 Save $200   Get Deal

Gaming laptops don’t come cheap, especially when you’re looking for the power and performance needed for a smooth gaming experience. If you've been shopping around for a good deal, don't miss out on this latest Amazon discount on the Alienware 15 gaming laptop. As of July 24, this laptop is down to its lowest-ever price of $1,299.99. That's a savings of $200.

The Alienware 15 is a portable gaming laptop ideal for gamers who want performance on the move. It is powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 220 processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU with 6GB GDDR6 VRAM. With 16GB DDR5 RAM and a 1TB NVMe SSD, it offers fast loading times, responsive multitasking, and ample storage for games and apps.

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Connectivity options include USB 3.2 Type-A and Type-C ports, HDMI 2.1, Ethernet, and a 3.5mm headset jack, alongside WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 for wireless connections. It also benefits from a built-in HD camera, dual-array microphones, and an Alienware white backlit keyboard. Inside, the laptop runs Windows 11 Home with Copilot AI features.

You can find this gaming laptop deal at Amazon now.

When Roborock and Dreame announced their flagship robot vacuums for the year at CES, I was immediately dreading trying to choose between them.

Now that I've spent a month with the Saros 20 Sonic in my apartment, I've officially tested the trifecta of the most powerful robot vacuums on the market. As someone who spent most of 2025 vehemently recommending the Roborock Saros 10R, I'm shocked to be Team Dreame this year.

What's special about the Roborock Saros 20 Sonic?

The Dreame X60 Max Ultra Complete, Roborock Saros 20, and Roborock Saros 20 Sonic were all being advertised as ultra-slim vacuums with ultra-high suction power and the ability to scale thresholds close to 3.5 inches tall. With such similar specs and dock designs, the only real wild card was the Sonic's extendable vibrating mop.

I miss the Saros 10R's sleek mirrored dock. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

We've seen this D-shaped mopping plate from Roborock a lot in the past. The VibraRise system is known for scrubbing with strong downward force and tiny, speedy sonic vibrations. Most notably, the newest version of the mop can stretch out past the vacuum's circular body to scrub closely along flat edges — and ideally, compete more closely with the corner mopping abilities of dual spinning mopping pads.

The Sonic's small obstacle avoidance is top tier

Navigation technology is the other major difference between the Saros 20 and Saros 20 Sonic. In theory, the Saros 20's AI camera-based technology should be slightly more reactive around smaller, irregularly-shaped obstacles than the Saros 20 Sonic's traditional LiDAR tower. But the Saros 20 Sonic has an immaculate obstacle avoidance track record in my household.

This would be a terrifying view for a more basic robot vacuum. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable The Saros 20 Sonic always recognizes the jumble of cords under the TV stand. Credit: Screenshot / Roborock

Any shoes or slippers, pieces of laundry, cords, and even bags of recycling that need to go out have been correctly identified in the app. The Sonic even knows when it's approaching one of my cats. Like other premium robot vacs, the Saros 20 Sonic offers livestream video and two-way audio with someone who's not home.

Is the Roborock Saros 20 Sonic good at mopping?

The Saros 20 Sonic's sonic mopping seems a little overhyped to me. That's not the result I expected from a robot vacuum literally named after its mopping skills.

The Sonic does accurately sense walls and furniture edges and scoots the mop out accordingly. But the Sonic's mop plate still sometimes rescinds too early when the vacuum is changing direction, resulting in corners literally being cut.

The Saros 20 Sonic did a pretty good job at wiping up body oil and conditioner. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable The Sonic thoroughly scrubbed crystal cat litter dust and paw prints off my bathroom floor. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

Sure, roller mop robot vacuums like the Roborock Qrevo Curv 2 Flow also have a tendency to reel the roller in too early. However, I feel like I give them a pass because of how much I appreciate their real-time rinsing abilities. This allows for cleanup of larger liquid spills without dirty water being used to mop the rest of that room. But the Saros 20 Sonic's mop is essentially relying on absorbency.

SEE ALSO: The Shark UV Reveal's blacklight found stains that other robot vacuums missed, but I still have a gripe with its mop

I toggled on "Intelligent Auto-Remop" in settings, alerting the Saros 20 Sonic to automatically go back to extra slimy areas after washing the mop. This worked well for some wet spills but not others, so I wish there were more flexible options to customize the frequency of mop pad washing in the app. Unfortunately, the Saros 20's AI mess detection doesn't feel as detailed as the Narwal Flow 2's, which is $200 cheaper.

Compared to spinning mopping pads, the Sonic's vibrating plate is better for eating away at actual dried stains or wiping up residue. The elbow grease and flat microfiber surface is the closest you'll get to a human wiping with a towel. The Saros 20 Sonic's heated water did well with oily droplets and syrup without leaving much of a sticky trail.

The Roborock Saros 20 Sonic is also great for pet hair on hardwood and tile. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

The Saros 20 Sonic's very first test was to clean up the shoe prints and general outside germs near my front door. I recently got a nice tufted wool rug for the entryway that's not supposed to be vacuumed. So, I simply shook it out to test the mop's dusting abilities on hard floors. I always feel like a damp cloth is more likely to pick up fine hair and dander stuck to the floor than pure suction power alone.

So much more dust and cat fur fell out of the rug than I care to admit. I sprinted to crank the air purifier immediately, then watched the Saros 20 Sonic do such a thorough job that my Dyson vacuum's laser could barely find a speck left behind.

Is the Roborock Saros 20 Sonic good on carpet?

I've been incredibly pleased with the Saros 20 Sonic's performance on plush carpet and flat rugs alike. Compared to the Saros 20, the Saros 20 Sonic has been tougher on pet hair, crumbs, and powder on my various rugs — despite the two having the same 36,000 Pa suction power.

I spread around 10 tufts of fur onto the rug. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable Sansa was shocked that more of her fur didn't show up on the lint roller. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

I tasked the Saros 20 Sonic with cleaning my medium pile living room rug after two days of no vacuuming. (Pet owners know that two days feels like two weeks in terms of how quickly shedding builds up.) To up the difficulty for this powerhouse of a vacuum. I ChomChom-ed the cat tree, took out some clumps of cat hair, and pressed them into the rug. The lint roller test afterward showed nothing more than the expected rug fuzzies and a hair or two.

On a fluffy rug, the Saros 20 Sonic handled every type of debris I threw at it with ease. The rug was covered in long human hair, more cat hair, cardboard shavings from a nearby cat scratcher, and a handful of dry chia seeds. Its initial single-pass test on max suction was enough to pick up around 98 percent of the unrealistic mess, so my normal two-pass routine would have gotten a pretty perfect result.

Not all robot vacuums are compact enough to drive between these table legs, but the Sonic is. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable This rug was a complete mess beforehand. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable More factors to consider

The Saros 20 Sonic has a few other quirks that probably shouldn't be present with a $1,699.99 robot vacuum. Like, why does the strongest robot vacuum you can buy in the U.S. still struggle with sucking up debris along rug edges?

A mess of sprinkles, Cheetos, dry cat food, and dryer lint. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable Rug performance was great, but too many sprinkles were missed along the flap. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

The Sonic's AdaptiLift chassis is constantly raising and lowering when there's not a rug or threshold in sight to climb over. Just up and down, over and over again. The Sonic is already a slow cleaner as it is, so the random lifting every few seconds can be a drag.

It's not that the Roborock Saros 20 Sonic isn't a good robot vacuum. It's just that there are more good robot vacuum mop combos competing with Roborock in 2026 than there were in 2025, and a few are more reliable and a few hundred dollars less.

Roborock Saros 20 Sonic $1,699.99 at Amazon
  Shop Now at Amazon Shop Now at Roborock

This week, Samsung announced a new addition to its foldable family, the Galaxy Z Fold 8, and so far, it looks like a very impressive device. It should be very competitive with Apple's still-unannounced iPhone Fold Ultra, which is rumored to have a similar design.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 finally made its big debut at Galaxy Unpacked, meaning all eyes are now on Apple's inevitable-feeling folding iPhone announcement in September. We've gone hands-on with the Z Fold 8 and can confirm it's pretty neat, to the point where we're wondering if Apple can keep up in a couple of months. Here are some of the best features the Z Fold 8 comes with that Apple will need to work hard to top.

Comprehensive creator tools Credit: Joseph Maldonado / CNET Group

Samsung has gone hard on courting creators in recent years, and the Z Fold 8 is no different.

Specifically, the Z Fold 8 comes with something called "My Fan Cam," which uses AI to track a particular subject in a horizontal video and automatically crop a vertical clip for ready-made social clips. Between that and all the fun camera tricks you can do with the average foldable, people will probably get up to some fun nonsense once this phone is in the public's hands. On top of that, Galaxy AI and Gemini already offer a ton of great photo editing tools for creators.

To be fair, the Z Fold 8 doesn't have the most powerful cameras in the world, so any software-level assistance is going to be massive for creators.

SEE ALSO: Samsung unpacked: New foldable phones, watches and more Gemini out of the box

Speaking of Gemini and AI, Apple has been behind the curve in the department for a few years now.

However, the Z Fold 8 (and other new Samsung devices) has access to Gemini right out of the box thanks to a partnership between Google and Samsung. The conversational AI chatbot can help you perform tasks across apps, and it's a lot more advanced than what Apple offers on any of its devices right now. It should be noted, though, that Siri AI looms large over this discussion. It could, theoretically, get Apple up to speed once it launches in September.

As an added perk, the Z Fold 8 comes with six free months of Google AI Pro, giving users access to a bunch of premium creative tools and lots of cloud storage without having to pay anything...for six months. Galaxy users also get free access to the popular Gemini Notebook tool (formerly NotebookLM), which comes pre-installed on the Z Fold 8.

It's real, real thin Seriously, it's tiny. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

Samsung has recently mastered the art of creating ultra-thin, lightweight foldables, and the Z Fold 8 is no different. It measures in at 9.7 mm of thickness when folded and a mere 4.5 mm when unfolded. It also weighs just 201 grams. We don't yet know the physical dimensions of the iPhone Ultra, but Apple is going to have a tough time beating that.

The crease is invisible

Lastly, Samsung is using a new proprietary display technology for its latest foldables called Flex Titanium. Using titanium (duh), Samsung has been able to create more durable hinges and creases that are more or less invisible to the naked eye, at least when the phone is brand new. The verdict is still out on this new tech, but Samsung has a good track record in this regard.

Of course, Samsung Display is also making the flexible screens for the iPhone Ultra Fold, so the folding iPhone could match Samsung for the most part.

Powerful performance

Finally, the Z Fold 8 is built for multitasking and supports power users. It comes with 12GB to 16GB of RAM and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset. Apple has powerful processors of its own, and the iPhone Ultra certainly won't be a slouch in this department. However, it's a steep hill to climb, and Samsung has far more experience optimizing the foldable experience for multitasking.

One last note: Samsung has the experience

Don't forget, as excited as we are for the first foldable from Apple, Samsung has been making excellent foldables for many years. Apple could nail this form factor on the first try, but both Motorola and Samsung have had to spend years working out kinks to get these devices right.

Josh Greenbaum has swiftly become a pillar in modern comedy, having helmed such hilarious offerings as Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, Will & Harper, and Strays. Next year, he'll be at the helm of the long-anticipated sequel Spaceballs: The New One. But this week, comedy nerds can rally around his latest, the pickleball comedy The Dink.

Produced and headlined by Jake Johnson, The Dink focuses on a washed-up junior tennis pro, Dusty "The Hammer" Boyd. With his glory days long behind him, this middle-aged goofball works as a tennis coach to bored rich kids at the tennis club run by his tough-as-nails father, Chuck, played by Ed Harris. The only thing they seem to have in common is a love of tennis and a hatred of pickleball. But when an injury pushes Dusty to try out the fastest-growing sport in America, he unexpectedly befriends Candace (Mary Steenburgen), a recent divorcee looking for new friends and new hobbies.

SEE ALSO: 'The Dink' review: Apple's pickleball movie is a laugh-out-loud crowd-pleaser

An underdog story about pickleball becomes one of friendship and evolving identity, which keeps The Dink in line with Greenbaum's other heralded films, both narrative and documentary.

Ahead of The Dink's debut on Apple TV, Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko sat down with Greenbaum in a video call to talk about this hilarious movie, how it connects to his broader filmography, and the intense comedy prowess of Ed Harris.

Mashable: Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, Will & Harper, Strays, and The Dink all focus on tight-knit friendships. What draws you to this recurring theme in your work across documentaries and narrative films? 

Josh Greenbaum: I was fortunate enough to have some really meaningful friendships in my life. My best friend from childhood is still like my best friend now. And we're lucky enough that we live in the same city, even though we're both from across the coast. 

I think there's something very special in friendships, because it's like all the things you need in a romantic relationship, without the baggage of what a romantic relationship brings. There's an unconditional love that can come with it. Like, the way my friend and I look at each other and talk to each other, even back when we were in school, we could see the best version in each other. Which is very sweet, right? 

That's what a great friendship is — any good relationship. They force you to be the best version of yourself. 

I explored that in Will & Harper. I think [what] may be relevant to The Dink was this idea of identity and what happens when you change your identity. What happens to the friendships that existed prior to that identity change? And what does that mean for my friendships and relationships? 

The relevancy to The Dink is that there's certainly lots of friendships and relationships. Obviously, Dusty has a very unique relationship with PJ (Aaron Chen). It's a very odd, unique friendship, which I love. And he has a relationship with his father, which is not so much a friendship as a paternal one. But he forms this new friendship with, like, the least likely person, you know, a woman a few decades his senior — 

Mary Steenburgen and Jake Johnson in "The Dink." Credit: Apple TV

Who he has previously cussed out publicly —

— and banned from the club. And he forges this relationship in, like, the last locale he ever would think he would be in, which is on a pickleball court. Dusty's relationship with Mary Steenburgen, who plays Candace... I think that friendship and that relationship is probably, to your point, like one of these things that draws me into a film, where they're kind of two lost souls. 

They didn't know each other prior. They're both grappling with identity, right? With Dusty, he's the Hammer, and he was this ex-pro junior pro tennis player that really never made it. And he's still holding out on that, even though that's clearly not serving him. 

"Serving him" — good wordplay. 

Thank you. I didn't hear it until after you pointed it out. And then Candace is coming off of a divorce and grappling with, "Who am I? I was Mitch's wife, and that's all gone."

She's trying all sorts of new hobbies to figure out who she is and who she wants to be. And these two lost souls find each other, and it gets more complicated as you see in the film. It's not purely a friendship. There's more that happens, which complicates things. But I guess I'm just drawn to that universal emotional relationship that friends provide us. They become our surrogate families as we become older, right? We leave the home that our our mom and dad were at, and we fill that void with friends. So, I guess to your point, you're right. Barb and Star and Will & Harper and Strays are all about friends becoming family. So I guess that's without realizing it, it's a theme that I very much like, and I'm drawn to.

Mary Steenburgen and Jake Johnson in "The Dink." Credit: Apple TV

I appreciate the details in your movies. Like Harper, even though she's changed, still loves Natty Light. And here Candace has her hobbies. 

One of my favorite scenes in [Will & Harper] was not just the the Natty Light, which started it all, but then later on, Harper buys her and Will these beer koozies that are little jackets. And the two of them proceed to make up characters for their beers and their jackets and talk to each other in character. Their love language is this comedy. That's how they connect, and that's how they will always connect. Regardless of anything else in the world, and certainly Harper's transition. 

Similarly, in The Dink, you've got these tactile touch points, like when Dusty finally goes over to Candace's house later on in the film. He's learning about her, and she's got this cookie jar that she made, and it is horrible. Nothing is right about it. It's dented; it's poorly painted. 

I love that Candace is just like not ashamed of her hobbies, even if the results are not good.

What I love about that whole scene is, she is a person who is embracing her flaws and doesn't hide them, and [she] finds beauty in the flaws. She turns to that cookie jar — that's a disaster — and she says, "It's a diet cookie jar. It helps you eat less cookies, because you can't fit that many cookies in it." 

That philosophy is so at odds with Ed Harris' character in The Dink, who is really holding on to this idea that, like, you strive for perfection. You are a winner when you win, and when you are a champion, you defeat everyone. That might sort of work in sports, but what happens when you don't? What happens to the other 98% of people who don't win Wimbledon or whatever it is? How do you deal with your failure? How do you deal with your flaws? Do you face them? Do you own them? 

I think that's what Candace shows Dusty in the film, is flaws are a part of you. And you should embrace them. You should look at what maybe they give you. What's the positive spin on them? 

You look in her house, and you're like, "This is someone who's trying to figure out who they are. Clearly, they've tried like a dozen different hobbies. They haven't quite landed on one, but they like doing all of them." And that's also okay. Like, embracing the ambiguity of your identity and being like, we're all trying to figure out who we are, and there's never really an answer because you're constantly evolving. She's okay with that uncertainty. And I think Dusty, on the flip side, has been holding on to this identity probably for fear of, if he lets go of it, who is he? If he's not the Hammer, this guy who was a junior tennis pro, who is he? And that's scary to him.

I think we all do that. We all kind of hold onto identities we maybe want to let go of, but we're fearful of what might happen if we do. 

Better the devil you know, right? The Dink also reflects with Candace's hobbies —including her love of country western music — a certain devil-may-care attitude in your film. Where it's like, if it makes you happy and it's not hurting anyone, who cares what anyone else thinks?

Yes, totally. That's a great point. When I read Sean [Clements]' script, part of what I loved about that whole country music storyline is that's exactly my wife [and me]. My wife's from Northern California, and I'm from upstate New York. And when I met her, I would get in my car and be like, "The weirdest thing happened, sweetie, but my car radio is on this, like, terrible country music station." She's like, "No, I turned it to that."

She's like, "How dare you?"

Luckily, she didn't slap me the way Mary Steenburgen slaps Jake in the film. But yeah, what I love about that is my wife knows in L.A., it's not cool to love country music. Although I will say it's getting a little trendier at the moment, which is not a bad thing for our film. And look, there is great country music, and I love it. But what was so funny is my wife used to say, "The reason I like it is it tells a story." And that's in our film. When I read that line in the script, I was like, "Oh my god, that's exactly what my wife says." Meanwhile, I'm listening to the esoteric lyrics of Radiohead. She's like, "What does this mean?" And I was like, "I don't really know."

In that vein, The Dink has been described as "the pickleball movie," perhaps because of the popularity of the sport making a movie about it feel inevitable. But this doesn't feel like a film cashing in on a trend. For one thing, pickleball isn't treated like a punchline. 

If you're gonna be the first movie set in the world of pickleball, you should embrace that you're probably [going to be] called "the pickleball movie." But I was excited [to have pickleball] as a backdrop. There's a lot of great sports films, because they provide a really interesting backdrop to explore humanity and to explore universal human themes of underdogs and striving and identity and trying to be the best version of yourself, and how do you deal with failure? All these are things we can all relate to, even if we don't play the sport. 

My very first film was a feature documentary called The Short Game, in which I followed the best little kid golfers in the world. They're like seven- and eight-year-olds, and very funny as they trained and competed in the world championships in junior golf. 

I wasn't a big golfer at all. But I knew that I could make the film speak to everyone, because it's, like, little kids trying their best at this thing. And also, when you listen to a seven- and [an] eight-year-old, there's a lot of wisdom you can gather from them. 

[The Dink being] set in the world of pickleball really just provides the backdrop for a very human story. But it also provides a lot of comedy [because] the reality right now is the tennis world is at war with the pickleball world. And that's very funny. 

That PowerPoint presentation— 

I mean, getting Ed Harris to deliver a speech where he basically calls pickleball "a cancer on society" is a joy to watch. I remember giving him the direction. He has not really done any comedy before. He's obviously an unbelievable actor, and I felt so lucky to have him in our cast. My only advice to him in terms of doing a comedy is, don't play the comedy at all. Like, play it as though you're in the world you're in. This is very, very serious. The stakes cannot be higher. "So, if you can deliver that speech," I remember saying to him, "the same way you delivered your incredible speech in Apollo 13, it will crush comedically." 

And he did. He didn't even need that advice from me.

Jake Johnson and Ed Harris in "The Dink." Credit: Apple TV

How did it even come about that you guys were like, obviously Ed Harris?

Jake Johnson and myself, and probably Sean the writer and Ben Stiller, our producer, were like, who would be the funniest, scary, [most] intimidating dad? Who is Jake Johnson's dad, who doesn't respect him for the choices? 

Ed Harris is the dream, but it's like, [let's look for] an Ed Harris type. You don't think you're going to get Ed Harris. And lo and behold! I want to say most likely Ben Stiller connected us, and then Jake Johnson and I drove to Ed's house, where we did a read-through of the script. It was incredible. [Jake and I] were both very, very intimidated. On the drive over, I was like, "You're nervous, right?" He's like, "Incredibly." 

I've met Ed, and he's lovely, but also he's so big in my mind —

There's an intensity to him that is sort of unrivaled with any other actor that I've worked with. It's hard to put into words, but there's an energy and intensity that you know he brings to his work that I love. But when you're close to it, [it] can be a little intimidating.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

The Dink premieres on Apple TV on July 24.

TL;DR: Get lifetime access to Skoove Premium for $99.97 (reg. $299.99) with code PLAY and learn piano through interactive lessons.

Opens in a new window Credit: Skoove Skoove Premium Piano Lessons: Lifetime Subscription $99.97
$299.99 Save $200.02   Get Deal

Learning piano is a lot more rewarding when you can play songs that you recognize instead of dull exercises. Skoove Premium combines interactive lessons, AI-powered feedback, and a library of popular and classical music to help you build skills at your own pace. Through July 26 at 11:59 p.m. PT, new users can get a lifetime subscription for $99.97 (reg. $299.99) with the code PLAY.

Skoove is designed to meet you where you are skill-wise, whether you’ve never played the keyboard before or you’re picking it up again after a long hiatus. As you play, the app listens to your performance and provides real-time feedback, helping you improve technique and accuracy one lesson at a time. With over 400 lessons, thousands of instructional videos, and new content added regularly, there’s plenty to keep you advancing.

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The song selection also helps keep practice sessions from feeling tedious and repetitive. You can work through music by artists like The Beatles or tackle classical pieces by composers such as Bach and Beethoven. Lessons are geared to your experience level, making it easier to build confidence before moving on to more challenging arrangements.

If you get stuck or need additional guidance, you can reach out for one-on-one support with a real instructor instead of relying entirely on automated lessons. The platform also works with acoustic pianos and USB and MIDI keyboards, and you can access your lessons on iOS, Android, or a computer.

This offer is available to new users only. If you’re eligible, though, the lifetime subscription means you won’t have to worry about monthly renewals while working through the course library at your own pace.

If you’ve always wanted to learn piano — or simply want an excuse to finally play a few Fab Four songs yourself — you can get lifetime access to Skoove Premium for $99.97 (reg. $299.99) with the code PLAY, saving you $50.02 through July 26 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Get 100TB of encrypted cloud storage for life with Internxt for $974.97 (reg. $9,900) until July 26 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Opens in a new window Credit: Internxt Internxt Cloud Storage Lifetime Subscription: 100TB $974.97
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If your work generates vast amounts of data, storage limits have a way of catching up with you. Internxt’s 100TB Lifetime Cloud Storage plan is built for businesses, agencies, creative professionals, and other power users who need room to archive years of files without adding another monthly bill. New users can get lifetime access for $974.97 (reg. $9,900) through July 26 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Its storage capacity of 100TB leaves plenty of room to grow. Whether you’re storing years of client projects, high-res photo libraries, video footage, design assets, or long-term business records, this plan is designed to handle enterprise-scale storage without recurring subscription costs.

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Internxt uses zero-knowledge, end-to-end encryption, meaning files are encrypted before they leave your device and remain inaccessible even to Internxt itself. It also uses post-quantum encryption, is open source, has undergone an independent security audit by Securitum, and complies with GDPR privacy standards.

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Get Internxt’s 100TB Lifetime Cloud Storage plan while it’s on sale for $974.97 (reg. $9,900) through July 26 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

It can be hard to be an Avatar: The Last Airbender fan.

At the start, the animated series, which launched on Nickelodeon in 2005, was a breath of fresh air for children and grown-ups alike. The world that show creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko created brought together an anime style with traditional martial arts action, a rich lore of elemental magic, and a touching and often very funny coming-of-age story.

Week after week, audiences were welcomed into the inner circle of Aang, the 12-year-old air nomad/Avatar destined to save a world at war with itself. DiMartino and Konietzko balanced these high stakes with YA drama and heartwarming humor, as Aang befriended feisty waterbender Katara, her goofy but brave nonbender brother Sokka, the pugnacious and blind earthbender Toph, and eventually, the ostracized prince of the Fire Nation, a brooding Zuko. Over three seasons, this series delivered great episodes, compelling characters, and unforgettable moments.

So, when it was announced that acclaimed filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan was going to make a live-action movie based on the series, fans were initially hopeful. But I still remember the shattering disappointment of 2010's The Last Airbender, in which they didn't even get the pronunciation of Aang's name right. The movie was a major misfire that hurt more than a bolt from Azula's lightning bending.

Thankfully, 2012 brought The Legend of Korra, an animated sequel series set decades after the original, and focusing on the next Avatar. The characters in this spinoff were a bit older; the storylines were skewing more mature, reflecting the audience's growth with the franchise. Meanwhile, comics with the original characters addressed questions the shows didn't answer. Plus, the Kyoshi novels dove into the complicated and thrilling story of Aang's Avatar ancestor, known for her big feet, theatrical face paint, and bold moves. (Animated adaptation when?!)

In 2018, Netflix announced a live-action version of Avatar: The Last Airbender as a series, which was to be showrun by DiMartino and Konietzko. However, both left the production over creative differences in 2020. The resulting adaptation — while fun and earnest — lacked the emotional depth of the original, and notably shaved down Katara's rough edges to a dull effect.

Still, the animated series' presence on Netflix sparked a renewed interest in the franchise and initiated new fans, which spurred Nickelodeon to get back into the Last Airbender business. And so comes Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, a feature-length animated sequel that fans have yearned for since Book 3 closed back in 2008.

DiMartino and Konietzko are executive producers, but only score a "story by" credit on the screenplay. At the helm is Lauren Montgomery, who was a storyboard artist on The Legend of Korra, while William Mata (Dora and the Fantastical Creatures) and Steve Ahn (The Legend of Korra) co-direct.

After all these highs and lows, can this animated movie make up for the live-action mistakes of the past? Will it make missteps all its own? Let's get into it.

What is Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender about? Aang connects with his past incarnations in "Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender." Credit: Paramount+

Years have passed since the end of Avatar: The Last Airbender's arc. Aang is a man now, and the founder of Republic City. He and Katara are not yet married with children, as we know they will be in The Legend of Korra. Far from settling down, Aang is focused on traveling to the far-flung Air Nomad temples, collecting the relics therein as he grieves his lost community. In these journeys, he learns about an artifact that could create rejuvenate the airbender community. But to secure this magical MacGuffin, he'll need a little help from his old friends, as well as a new ally, an airbender named Tagah (voiced by Dave Bautista).

This relic ties back to a lost Avatar, known as Sonam (Freida Pinto). Like Aang, she was an airbender who feared for the future of her tribe. Here's where wedging a prequel in between Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra gets messy, as the plot leans heavily into terrain from the latter. Sonam created a tool to turn non-benders into benders. But it's been long lost. Reclaiming it could bring back the airbenders. But in the wrong hand, it could weaponize the disenfranchised and violently enrage non-benders. So, yip yip — it's time for the Avatar and his friends to get moving.

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender recasts Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, and Toph. Katara is grown up. Credit: Paramount+

The only voices from the core cast of characters that have remained the same are Aang's animal companions, the winged lemur Momo and the flying bison Appa, both voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. News of a recasting began circulating back in 2023, when Mae Whitman revealed she'd not be reprising the role of Katara. The effect of all these new voices is incredibly jarring — even the cabbage merchant has been replaced! Now, he's voiced by Ken Jeong.

Recalling the memorable opening of the series, Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender begins by having the now-grown Avatar gang giving a bit of backstory as a refresher. But because they are not the voices of Whitman, Zach Tyler Eisen, Jack De Sena, Jessie Flower, and Dante Basco, viewers can't immediately identify who's speaking. The familiarity that fans have built with these voice actors' performances can't be part of the nostalgia of this film. And so, the beginning feels less like diving back into the warm waters of Avatar: The Last Airbender and more like a cold plunge.

The voice performances in the film are fine. Eric Nam offers an understandably mellower take on Aang, as the Avatar has matured and into his role as peacekeeper. Jessica Matten brings a soothing patience as Katara; Román Zaragoza taps keenly into Sokka's bursts of frenetic energy. Dionne Quan locks into Toph's dry humor and unbothered façade. And Steven Yeun brings poise to Zuko, who is now outwardly chill in his Firelord role. But in handing over the reigns, there is a disconnect from this retooled opening. And this disconnect burrows deeper as Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender goes on.

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender feels like an extended episode and not much else. Appa flies the gang above the clouds. Credit: Paramount+

To the filmmakers' credit, Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender is gorgeous. The production design elegantly weaves the worlds of the first series and its Korra-focused sequel show together. The adult designs of Aang and the gang are thoughtfully done, staying close to the original designs with small details created to show growth — like Toph's cool new armor. But with the loss of their youth, there's also a loss of energy.

The pace of Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender is unwieldy, going from action sequences to heavy exposition drops and back again. More frustrating, Aang's new friend Tagah gets so much screentime that fans of Sokka, Katara, Toph, and Zuko will be frustrated by their lack thereof. On one hand, this shift in focus makes sense, as Aang is desperate to reconnect to his airbender culture. However, while Bautista's grumbling voice brings gravitas, a new bender stealing the spotlight is not likely to be what fans of this franchise were hoping for. However, each of the gang does get a spotlight moment — either in battle, strategy, or innovation — to remind us why we love them so deeply to begin with.

Sokka has a new design. Credit: Paramount+

With high stakes and lots of action, Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender largely satisfies in terms of action spectacle. It's a shame that Paramount is only releasing the movie in a handful of theaters before it hits the streaming service Paramount+. It's not so much that Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender demands to be seen on the big screen, but that this fandom decades in the making deserves a proper chance to revel together in the theaters. We're owed for the catastrophe that was Shyamalan's The Last Airbender, are we not?!

Yet even if Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender had gotten a big flashy theatrical release, it wouldn't have been all that fans want and yearn for. The screenplay by Kenneth Lin, Tim Hedrick, and Christopher Yost is a noble imitation, but it lacks the joie de vivre of the original series. The story itself fits well within the world established by DiMartino and Konietzko, but echoes so closely to Korra's season-long arcs that it feels shallow. Actually, Avatar Aang feels less like a movie until itself and more like a season condensed into feature-length, like The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart.

Sure, those animated series are wildly different in tone and genre. But both developed devoted fandoms who stuck around for decades, eager for whatever form the story would take next. The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart was made by Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer, the creators who started it all. And while it felt like a speedrun of a final season, it was still deeply ingrained in the story, in-jokes, and sensibility of the series it was sending off.

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender is less successful here, as DiMartino and Konietzko's lesser involvement is felt in this sequel/prequel. While the movie certainly looks stunning, the spirit of the original is flickering at best. When the familiar theme music surged, my heart surged along with it, nearly thumping along in the familiar rhythm. But despite clear efforts, Montgomery and her team don't recapture the magic of the original.

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender opens in select theaters on July 24, then premieres on Paramount+ July 25, 2026 at 12:00 a.m. PT / 3:00 a.m. ET. 

Christopher Nolan omitted several elements from The Odyssey in his own film adaptation, from Odysseus' (Matt Damon) "nobody" trick to the appearance of gods like Hermes. However, he also added something to the film: references to the mysterious "people from the sea."

SEE ALSO: 'The Odyssey' review: Christopher Nolan turns an epic myth into a movie masterpiece

Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and the rest of Ithaca fear these marauders, who have been raiding nearby shores following the end of the Trojan War. By the end of The Odyssey, Nolan reveals that these unknown attacks come from a lot closer to home than Penelope would have guessed. They're the Greeks, returning to their homeland after storming Troy and desecrating Zeus' law.

The people from the sea storyline isn't in Homer's Odyssey. However, it is rooted in the real history of the Late Bronze Age. Who were the real Sea Peoples, and could they have inspired portions of Homer's epic poem? Let's dig in.

Who were the Sea Peoples? Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon / Universal Pictures

"Sea Peoples" is a blanket term coined by 19th-century French Egyptologist Emmanuel de Rougé, used to describe a number of seafaring factions theorized to have attacked and settled in Egypt and other parts of the eastern Mediterranean, including Eastern Anatolia, Cyprus, Palestine, and Syria.

Previously, historians attributed the Bronze Age collapse to the Sea Peoples' invasions throughout the 13th and 12th centuries BCE. This is essentially the route Nolan chooses in The Odyssey, as Odysseus believes the Sack of Troy and the Greeks' ensuing return home are bringing about the end of "our age of bronze."

SEE ALSO: 'The Odyssey's ending makes it a stealth 'Oppenheimer' sequel

However, that line of thinking has since changed, especially when considering environmental impacts around the region. In his book 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed, Eric Cline, professor of Classics and Anthropology at George Washington University, posits that the collapse of the Bronze Age comes down to a "perfect storm" of disastrous events, ranging from droughts and earthquake storms to rebellions and systems collapse. The blame, then, does not lay squarely at the feet of the Sea Peoples.

"It's a mixture of both a symptom and a cause," said Megan Daniels, assistant professor of Ancient Greek Material Culture at the University of British Columbia, in a phone interview with Mashable. "When you have mass instability, people leave. People migrate. People band together with one another to try to survive. Yes, that might involve getting in ships and raiding to stay alive, but they're often leaving because of other instabilities in their own societies."

SEE ALSO: 'The Odyssey' has made IMAX 70mm a status symbol

The actual Sea Peoples are varied. Sources from the reigns of two pharaohs, Merneptah (1213-1203 BCE) and Ramses III (1187-1157 BCE), detail interactions with several groups. Daniels highlighted three in particular: the Peleset, the Denyen, and the Sherden. The Peleset are related to the Philistines, and based on aspects of their material culture like cookware and decorations, they likely originated from the Greek world. The Denyen carry a name that could be related to a term Homer used to describe the Greeks: the Danaans, after their ancestor Danaus. Finally, the Sherden's name could suggest ties to Sardinia. While they do show up in sources as attacking Egypt, they also appear as mercenaries for the pharaoh. In later records, they even settle in Egypt, buying land and paying taxes.

"It's not one people, and they're not simply invaders," Daniels said of the Sea Peoples. "They, in many ways, seem to also be mercenaries, traders, maybe pirates. With Merneptah, some of the language that he used talks about a Libyan king allying with these people, but he also talks about his wife and children with them. Once again, you get this question of, are they all simply just piratical invaders? Or are they people just migrating, families who are trying to leave and find a better life somewhere? It just goes to show the depth and the complication of this scenario that we call the Sea Peoples."

Did the Sea Peoples influence Homer's Odyssey? Jimmy Gonzalez, Matt Damon, and Himesh Patel in "The Odyssey." Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon / Universal Pictures

The Sea Peoples were active from the 13th to 12th century BCE, while traditional dates for Homer range around the 8th century BCE. Could knowledge of the Sea Peoples' past exploits have wound up in The Odyssey in some way?

Potentially! In his book Black Ships and Sea Raiders: The Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Context of Odysseus’ Second Cretan Lie, archaeologist Jeffrey P. Emanuel singles out an episode from The Odyssey and draws parallels between it and the activity of the Sherden. The episode in question is known as "the Cretan Lie" and appears in Book 14 of The Odyssey. Here, a disguised Odysseus tells loyal Eumaeus (John Leguizamo) a falsehood about his past. He claims to be the son of a rich Cretan and says that he carried out an unsuccessful raid on Egypt. After the pharaoh showed him mercy, he claimed he settled there for seven years.

Emanuel highlights the similarities between this tall tale and the activity of the Sherden in Egypt, suggesting that this falsehood may ironically bear a kernel of truth based in history. This isn't to say that the Cretan Lie actually happened, but rather, that it may draw from records of the Sea Peoples, emphasizing the interplay between history and epic poetry.

This is a theme Nolan highlights in his adaptation of The Odyssey. Towards the end of the film, as Odysseus and Penelope sail west, they talk, fairly heavy-handedly, about how the collapse of civilization will bring with it the loss of writing. Instead, oral storytelling will be how people will recall the Trojan War.

"It was definitely betraying Nolan's awareness that this odyssey that he's adapting was this preservation of these memories of this time," Daniels explained. "The later Greeks called it an Age of Bronze and an Age of Heroes, and it was looked back on as this golden age, a mythical time, even though it was actually real. Of course, things get embellished in different ways."

Nolan's inclusion of the Sea Peoples in his take on The Odyssey is one such embellishment. It may not be in keeping with the historical record, but it does serve the film's broader messaging about the devastation of war, one that leads to an Oppenheimer-esque reckoning for its hero. So, in bringing the Sea Peoples into The Odyssey, Nolan is also drawing a common thread through his own work that will be familiar to those who have seen his films.

As Daniels said, "Nolan is probably doing what Homer would have done too, which is repackage an age-old tale that has some basis in deeper history for his own audience."

The Odyssey is now in theaters.

If you have even just a modicum of experience with the online dating world, chances are you know AdultFriendFinder. It's one of the OGs of online hookups. Created all the way back in 1996 — the dark ages of the internet — it had become a top 100 website in the U.S. by the late 2000s. Despite that undoubted popularity, AdultFriendFinder has never quite managed to establish itself in the mainstream like Tinder or Hinge.

There’s a very good reason for that.

AFF, as it’s known among its users, is explicitly an “adult” dating site. And trust us when we say that we do mean explicit. It's hot, steamy, and anything goes. It's a badge that AFF wears proudly, of course, but one that has also prevented it from going truly mainstream. Users aren't likely to talk about their AFF activity in the same way they talk about their Tinder hit rate. And its NSFW content means there's no dedicated app on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

But what if you’re curious about how AFF works and whether it would be a good fit for you? What if you’ve always wondered whether you’re missing out on the best-kept online dating secret and want to join the NSFW party? Or maybe you’re worried it’s more hype and chatbots than organic, spicy fun. There's no need to fret about AFF FOMO because we've done the work for you.

Here's a breakdown of the AdultFriendFinder experience and what you can realistically expect to get from it if you decide to dip your toe into these naughty waters.

Opens in a new window Credit: AdultFriendFinder AdultFriendFinder   Learn More AdultFriendFinder isn’t a traditional dating site

If you sign up for AdultFriendFinder for a standard online dating experience, you’ll most likely be disappointed. It’s not that AFF members aren’t interested in serious dating; it’s more that sex and sexuality are placed front and center, with everything else coming from there, so to speak.

You'll see that for the first moment to log on. Unlike mainstream dating sites, which ban nudity from profile photos, AFF allows it — encourages it, even — so that regular dating-app selfies sit side-by-side with full-on full-frontal nudity and live webcam feeds. It might be too hot for some would-be daters to handle. There is a content filter, accessible in your profile settings, but it defaults to "off," so if you would rather not see any nudity, or only see it when you deliberately choose to click on an NSFW picture, you should navigate to this setting ASAP.

For some people who aren't looking for a bare-all experience, this might sound off-putting, but to those who are looking for exactly that, it’s refreshing. (And if we're not using AFF to gawk at a little nudity, what are we even doing with our lives?) Unlike traditional dating apps, where early conversations revolve around figuring out what the other person actually wants, AFF members tend to be refreshingly upfront and direct about their intentions. Kinks and sexual preferences are the whole point. Plus, getting to the point is a welcome time-saver with online dating.

How to meet people on AdultFriendFinder

Every online dating site lives or dies by its algorithm, with new platforms constantly rolling out novel ways to connect singles. AdultFriendFinder, however, takes a maximalist approach to interacting with strangers.

You can search for members the conventional way, using specific criteria like gender, sexual orientation, age, location, and more, but you can also jump into themed chat rooms or follow other members’ live streams. Through the “Who’s Hot” tab, which highlights popular members as well as trending photo and video uploads, you can easily discover someone you might otherwise never have come across.

One thing you’ll notice quickly, however, is the presence of obviously fake profiles. When I searched for singles near me, I encountered a surprising number of stunningly beautiful women in a small rural town near my city. My excitement was quickly spoiled by their obviously airbrushed photos and vague, AI-sounding profile descriptions.

SEE ALSO: How to cancel your Tinder subscription

AFF makes it extremely easy to sign up and create a profile, requiring only a username, password, and basic personal information. The upside is that it lowers the barrier to entry; the downside is that scammers can exploit it. You'll be fine as long as you're aware of scams and stay vigilant on AFF by using good old common sense.

To help counter this, AdultFriendFinder offers a blue checkmark verification system and even incentivizes users to complete it by boosting their visibility as a reward. Verification requires a government-issued ID, which AFF uses to confirm your age, photo authenticity, location, and gender. It's an optional step, but one worth completing since it helps you signal to others that you are who you say you are.

If avoiding scammers and catfishers is a priority, looking for that blue checkmark before engaging is a smart move.

What kind of success rate can you expect from AdultFriendFinder?

So far, so good, but there is a catch. While you can browse and explore AFF for free, meaningful one-on-one interaction requires a paid Gold membership, available in one-month ($35.95/month), three-month ($26.95/month), or one-year ($19.95/month) packages, all of which renew automatically.

Understandably, most people hesitate to pay for a dating site from the outset. And because AFF places its best features behind a paywall, it requires a leap-of-faith to enter those credit card details. But in our experience, a premium AFF membership largely justifies its price.

With an AFF Gold membership, you unlock all kinds of features, including unrestricted messaging, high-resolution member videos and webcam streams, expanded profile galleries, and advanced filters that make narrowing down potential matches far easier. You'll quickly see the benefits of AFF's paid tier.

Does paying guarantee attention from everyone you message? Of course not. The usual dating-app dynamics still apply — heterosexual men, for instance, should expect to work harder for responses than heterosexual women. Being attractive, fit, or witty helps. Being all three helps even more, though we're not all so lucky when it comes to attracting the opposite sex.

SEE ALSO: A beginner's guide to sexting

What will work in your favor, regardless, is the size of the AFF community. Members span a wide range of ages, body types, orientations, and interests, all of which makes it easier — not to mention more interesting — to find someone. Especially if you’re hankering after something a little more casual and fun than serious and long-term.

Based on my personal experience of using AFF, as well as the limited statistics AFF has released, the platform skews male (roughly 60:40 in my area) and slightly older. That male/female ratio mirrors that of most dating sites, which tend to skew towards more men. The older skew can actually be an advantage if, like me, you prefer connecting with people closer to your own age.

Here's one parting piece of advice: Don’t ignore AFF’s broader community features. If you rely solely on search results and direct messages, you’ll face roughly the same odds as any other dating app. But if you explore the themed chat rooms — which can span everything from erotic fiction to body modification (whatever gets the juices flowing) — you’re more likely to find a connection that turns you on.

TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Pitch Black Booster Bundle is on sale for $43.13 at Amazon, down from its usual $51.98 price.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokémon Company Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Pitch Black Booster Bundle $43.13 at Amazon
$58.49 Save $15.36   Get Deal

Pitch Black’s six-pack Booster Bundle has already gone through several price cuts since its launch into the Pokémon TCG, but Amazon has now pushed it below the $50 mark for the first time. 

As of July 24, the Pokémon TCG’s Pitch Black Booster Bundle is available at Amazon for $43.13 — removing $8.85 from its typical price of $51.98, totalling a 17% discount and the lowest Amazon price we’ve seen for the box so far (confirmed with price tracker camelcamelcamel). 

Sold and shipped by Amazon itself rather than a third-party seller, you’ll get free delivery as soon as July 25. At $43.13, the bundle works out to roughly $7.18 per booster pack before tax — a much better rate than the $9.16-per-pack price we saw just a week ago.

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Inside the box are six sealed booster packs from the titular Pitch Black expansion. Each pack contains 10 trading cards, one Basic Energy card, and a Pokémon TCG Live code card, giving you 60 standard cards across the bundle before counting the Energy cards. 

As for the most valuable chase cards you can get (or buy individually on TCGplayer), the top five right now are SIR Mega Darkrai ex, MHR Mega Darkrai ex, SIR Mega Morpeko ex, Mega Zeraora ex, and SIR Mega Chandelure ex. 

Avatar: Seven Havens has released its first trailer, the new animated series offering a glimpse of the world Aang and Korra left behind. Unfortunately, it looks like the four nations aren't living together in harmony any more. In fact, they might not even exist.

From Avatar: The Last Airbender creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, Avatar: Seven Havens follows Pavi, a young earthbender who's forced to go on the run when she learns that she is the next Avatar. It seems as though the Avatar is no longer seen as a saviour, but a danger to humanity. Thankfully, Pavi has allies in her airbender friend and mentor Jae, as well as her long-lost twin sister. She'll also have her own animal companion as is Avatar tradition: a giant cat-monkey named Geet.

It isn't clear exactly why attitudes toward the Avatar have changed since Aang and Korra held the position. However, we do know that the world was devastated by an unspecified calamity some time after The Legend of Korra — and it seems as though there is a non-zero chance that Avatar Korra was somehow involved. Despite the series looking as though it could be set hundreds of years after The Legend of Korra, Paramount has said that Pavi is the next Avatar after Korra.

Either something caused the Avatar Cycle to be put on hold for a long time, or that calamity changed the world in some unexpected ways.

Avatar: Seven Havens arrives Oct. 9 on Paramount+.

TL;DR: Liquid I.V. and Tom Holland's non-alcoholic beer brand Bero have teamed up on The Red Web Refresher, an official mocktail for the Spider-Man: Brand New Day red carpet. It combines Liquid I.V.'s limited-edition Sugar-Free Raspberry Lemonade with Bero's Kingston Golden Pils, and it debuts July 27 in Los Angeles.

To celebrate the premiere of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Tom Holland has teamed up with Liquid I.V., pairing the brand with his non-alcoholic beer company, Bero, to create a friendly neighborhood mocktail fit for a superhero. It's called The Red Web Refresher, and it's officially debuting on the film's red carpet.

This isn't Liquid I.V.'s first move in this partnership, either — as the exclusive hydration partner of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the brand already kicked off summer with two limited-edition flavors and an ad campaign featuring Jacob Batalon reprising his role as Ned Leeds. The Red Web Refresher is the next chapter, and it's mainly crafted for the premiere.

SEE ALSO: Spider-Man swung through Samsung Galaxy Unpacked

The mocktail combines Liquid I.V.'s limited-edition Sugar-Free Raspberry Lemonade with Bero's Kingston Golden Pils, giving it that refreshing quality while packing three times the electrolytes of the leading sports drink. The Red Web Refresher makes its official debut on Monday, July 27, in Los Angeles, where it'll be keeping Hollywood's biggest stars hydrated throughout the Spider-Man: Brand New Day premiere.

Not there to sip one yourself? Here's the official recipe, so you can mix up your own Red Web Refresher at home.

Credit: Bero / Liquid I.V.

SAVE $900: As of July 24, the Samsung 77-Inch Class OLED S90H Series is on sale for $2,797.99 at Amazon. That's a 24% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung 77-Inch Class OLED S90H Series $2,797.99 at Amazon
$3,697.99 Save $900   Get Deal

Big-screen TVs don't come cheap, so it's always worth keeping an eye out for discounts on premium models. And if you're a Samsung fan, you're in luck.

As of July 24, the Samsung 77-Inch Class OLED S90H Series is available at Amazon for less than usual, with a whopping $900 discount bringing the price down from $3,697.99 to $2,797.99. This is also the lowest-ever price for this TV, so you know you've found a great deal.

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This TV combines OLED technology with glare-free technology to deliver bright images, deep contrast, and reduced reflections. It's powered by the NQ4 AI Gen3 Processor, and it uses 128 AI neural networks to optimize the picture and sound. It also benefits from the 4K AI Upscaling Pro, a feature that enhances lower-resolution content for higher-quality viewing.

Additional AI features include AI Motion Enhancer Pro, which is designed to reduce blur and flicker in fast-moving scenes, making it a great choice for gaming and live sports. Gamers will also benefit from the Motion Xcelerator 165Hz, NVIDIA G-SYNC, and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro.

Get this Samsung TV deal at Amazon now.

Google's Gemini Spark, the company's AI agent that completes tasks and monitors stuff in the background for you, is now more widely available. You still can't get it for free, though.

Starting today, Gemini Spark is available for users in the U.S. who are paying for the $20/month Google Ai Pro tier. Globally, you'll need to pay for Google AI Ultra, which starts at about $100 (depending on the market).

The one exception to this are folks in the European Economic Area (EEA), the UK, Switzerland, or Nigeria, which aren't (yet) getting access to Gemini Spark.

Google's support documents say you shouldn't worry if you don't have access to Spark yet, as the company is "rapidly expanding access to more users and businesses over the coming weeks."

SEE ALSO: Google releases two new Gemini models, but still no Gemini 3.5 Pro

Gemini Spark is based on Gemini 3.5 and, like other similar agents, is designed to work in the background. Offering a daily summary of your tasks for the day, based on your calendar, documents, notes, and inbox, is one example of what it can do.

Competitors offer a similar agent, and for a similar price. OpenAI's ChatGPT Work is only available on paid tiers, as is Anthropic's Claude Cowork. Pricing for both starts at about $20 per month, though the difference is that they're available in Europe and the UK.

Telecommunication analytics company Ookla has released its U.S. Speedtest Connectivity Report for the first half of 2026, evaluating how internet service providers have performed thus far. T-Mobile came out on top, sweeping the mobile category, while AT&T Fiber and Verizon both picked up awards for fixed internet.

SEE ALSO: T-Mobile will automatically upgrade some legacy phone plans to higher-price plans

Ookla's report crowned T-Mobile the best mobile network and best 5G network in the U.S. overall, with a median download speed of 275.55 Mbps (or 314.38 Mbps on 5G). According to Ookla's analysis, T-Mobile offered the fastest mobile speeds across 47 U.S. states from January to June this year. The exceptions were North Dakota and Vermont, who had no winners, and Alaska, where GCI came out on top for mobile speeds.

T-Mobile also received the highest experience scores across mobile and specifically 5G networks, including when specifically used for gaming or streaming video, and was found to be the most consistent network as well. Coverage is the only category where T-Mobile didn't come in first, with Verizon and AT&T taking the top two spots instead.

Even so, T-Mobile was the clear winner of the mobile category. While Ookla's rankings primarily focus on performance and don't take pricing or value into account, T-Mobile also had the highest consumer sentiment rating. Speedtest users gave T-Mobile an average of 3.77 out of five stars, while Verizon and AT&T scored 3.25 and 3.09 respectively. 

Credit: Ookla

Meanwhile, the fixed internet category belonged to AT&T Fiber. Ookla crowned AT&T Fiber the best internet service provider, with its median download speed of 374.75 Mbps making it the fastest fixed network. It was also the most consistent, and received the highest star ratings from consumers with an average of 3.63 out of five. 

Verizon did offer the best fixed gaming experience, which Ookla determined by evaluating and scoring factors such as latency, upload and download speeds, and jitter. Even so, Verizon's gaming score was just over one point ahead of AT&T Fiber.

Credit: Ookla

While these scores look at the U.S. as a whole, the report further breaks down median speeds and latency by state and city. Kansas had the fastest median mobile speed at 242.56, with T-Mobile the fastest provider in the state. For fixed internet, Connecticut had the fastest median download speed at 344.24 Mbps, its fastest provider being Frontier Fiber.

Ookla's report uses data gathered by the company's Speedtest service. Speedtest allows users to quickly check their internet's speed, measuring their download and upload rate as well as their ping. While it isn't clear how many U.S. Speedtest users' data contributed to this report, Ookla stated in its methodology that it receives hundreds of millions of results from across the globe every day.

Every time somebody journeys down to the depths of the silo, they seem to find something mysterious. Last season, it was the robotic voice of the algorithm. This season, it's Bernard (Tim Robbins).

But hang on a minute, isn't Bernard dead?

Well, that's what we were led to believe back in Silo Season 3, episode 1. But it looks like there may be more to the story...

SEE ALSO: 'Silo' Season 3, episode 3: Who is the mysterious gray-haired man? What happens at the end of Silo Season 3, episode 4?

Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) spends most of episode 4 on the run after Camille (Alexandria Riley) tries to have her murdered in her hospital bed. With the help of her nurse (Jacqueline Berces), Juliette manages to escape, only to run into Sims (Common) waiting for her in the pump room. She runs away before he can tell her what he wants to say, and with the help of her friends in mechanical, she finds her way back down to the very bottom of the silo, where Lukas Kyle (Avi Nash) discovered the tunnel in Season 2.

Lukas isn't down there, though. Instead, Juliette hears a person coughing, pulls back a curtain, and sees her former nemesis, Bernard. He's badly burned, and lying in a bed.

"Hello, Juliette," he rasps.

How is Bernard still alive?

Okay, so a quick recap: Back at the end of Season 2, Bernard and Juliette were trapped in the airlock together while the anti-contamination fire burned its way through the confined space. Juliette was wearing a modified fire suit; Bernard wasn't. He managed to throw himself to the ground pretty quickly just before the fire started to burn, but his survival was looking questionable at best.

Then, in episode 1 of this new season, we were told he was dead.

"The flames melted holes in his suit, and the poison got in," Sims tells Juliette, while we see shots of what he's describing. "We couldn't take a chance with a farm burial. The stairs were evacuated. No one was allowed into the central shaft. It took six porters six hours to get him down to the incinerator. Bernard can't help you. Because I watched him burn."

So, what really happened? Well, it seems clear that somebody lied to Juliette. Bernard clearly was badly burned, and the shot of him being moved down the staircase could well be real. But we now know it wasn't his body that was sent into the incinerator.

The person most likely to have lied about Bernard, it seems, is Sims. But if he faked Bernard's death, why? What's the benefit of hiding the former head of IT down in the silo's depths? Could it be that he's actually changing his allegiance?

Silo Season 3 is streaming now on Apple TV, with new episodes dropping every Friday.

In the world of Silo, allegiances are constantly shifting, and you can never be 100 percent sure who to trust.

Sims (Common), however, has been a fairly consistent bad guy throughout — and there's never been any indication that he's anything but an enemy to Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson). Until now?

In Season 3, episode 4, there are a couple of moments that have led to us wondering if Sims might be slowly changing allegiances. So, what clues are there, and what could they mean?

SEE ALSO: 'Silo' Season 3, episode 3: Who is the mysterious gray-haired man? What happens with Sims and Juliette in Season 3, episode 4?

Juliette starts off episode 4 in a tough spot. She's trapped in the silo's medical bay, and Camille (Alexandria Riley) has dispatched a trusted soldier to murder her in cold blood. The good news? Her nurse (Jacqueline Berces), who we previously thought was working against her, is actually Team Juliette.

"I'm the reason you started getting your memory back. I took you off the forgetting drugs," says the nurse, after she's saved Juliette's life and is helping her escape.

"No. I spit them out," Juliette replies.

"Even before that, somebody asked me to replace them," the nurse responds.

She then causes a distraction that allows Juliette to evade the raiders, but not before telling her to go to the pump room on level 76.

And who does Juliette find when she eventually makes it to the pump room in question? Sims himself, who says, "You need to listen to me," before Juliette quickly backs out of the room and locks the door behind her.

But hang on a minute — should she actually have listened to him?

Is Sims actually on Juliette's side?

Sims has been a bit displaced this season. After the algorithm picked his wife over him as its human confidante, he's been struggling to know what to do with himself. After Juliette's escape, though, he has a conversation with Camille in which we learn that he helped handpick Juliette's nurse himself.

"I know the nurse's file pretty well. If they get off this level, I have an idea where she might take Nichols," says Sims, adding that the nurse has family down below and that he'll happily take care of Juliette himself.

On the surface, this sounds like Sims is very much still a team with his wife. But when you start to look more closely into what happens in episode 4, the questions start to stack up: Who was the person who ordered Juliette's nurse to swap out her medication? How would Sims have known Juliette was heading for that specific pump room unless he'd arranged it beforehand with the nurse? And why, when Juliette opens the door and sees him there, does he immediately come out of hiding and try to talk to her — rather than simply laying low before attacking?

Silo Season 3 is streaming now on Apple TV, with new episodes dropping every Friday.

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

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

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

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

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

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

To moan.

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

GROAN

Hurdle Word 2 hint

Excited.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for July 24, 2026 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

GIDDY

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

Hurdle Word 3 hint

Filthy.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for July 24 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for July 24, 2026 Hurdle Word 3 answer

DIRTY

Hurdle Word 4 hint

Central.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

FOCAL

Final Hurdle hint

Smell.

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

AROMA

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