Mashable

Check out the best Amazon deals of the day as of Dec. 6: OUR TOP PICK Apple AirPods 4 $138.99 (save $40.01) Get Deal BEST SUBSCRIPTION DEAL Audible Premium Plus $0.99 per month for three months (save $41.88) Get Deal BEST SPEAKER DEAL Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 $79.99 (save $20) Get Deal BEST TABLET DEAL Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ (64GB) $149 (save $70.99) Get Deal BEST SMARTHOME DEAL Amazon Echo Pop $17.99 (save $22) Get Deal

Skipped shopping on Cyber Weekend? No worries. There are plenty of deals hanging around at Amazon. Some are astonishingly even better than Black Friday. We've had our eyes peeled and rounded up a few of the best deals we think are worth adding to your cart on Friday, Dec. 6.

Here are our top picks for the best Amazon deals of the day. Check out our picks from Dec. 4 and Dec. 5, as well. Many of those are still live, including a record-low price on the excellent Sony ULT Wear headphones and 30% off the Lego Icons Poinsettia building kit.

Our top pick: Apple AirPods 4 (with ANC) Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirPods 4 (with ANC) $138.99 at Amazon
$179.00 Save $40.01 Get Deal

During Cyber Week, we only saw the AirPods 4 drop to $164.99. Considering they were only released in September, the minimal discount was understandable. However, Apple just threw us for a loop with a bigger price drop on Dec. 6. The fourth-generation earbuds with noise cancellation are now down to $138.99 at Amazon, a savings of 22% and the best price we've seen yet. Wondering if they're worth the upgrade? Our reviewer Kim Gedeon said, "I love them so much, they have replaced my AirPods Pro as my new daily driver earbuds."

Check out our review of the AirPods 4.

Audible 3-month subscription Opens in a new window Credit: Audible Audible 3-month subscription $0.99 per month for three months (save $41.88) Get Deal

Through Dec. 31, you can score three months of Audible Premium Plus for only 99 cents per month. That's a massive savings of $41.88 or 90%, as it usually costs $14.95 monthly. The deal is available to anyone who is not an existing Audible member. A Premium Plus membership gives you discounted or even free audiobooks from the Audible Plus catalog, including Audible Originals and podcasts. You'll also get one free title from the Audible Premium selection, as well as exclusive members sales and discounts on other purchases.

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 Opens in a new window Credit: Ultimate Ears Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 $79.99 at Amazon
$99.99 Save $20.00 Get Deal

The Wonderboom 4 from Ultimate Ears is a tiny powerhouse that comes out on top as our favorite sub-$100 Bluetooth speaker. It packs a well-rounded sound profile that is quite powerful for a speaker of its size and can last for up to 14 hours on a full charge. Not to mention, the rugged design can endure drops from up to five feet or be submerged in water for up to 30 minutes. We wish it offered a companion app for more customization, but it's still overall a solid pick — especially while it's 20% off. At $79.99, the fourth-generation speaker is steadily sitting at its lowest price on record.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ (64GB) $149.00 at Amazon
$219.99 Save $70.99 Get Deal

Top of the line iPads are great, but not everyone needs a tablet that competes with their computer. If you want a tablet that's reliable and can handle basic everyday tasks proficiently and is budget-friendly, you can't go wrong with the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+. It's nothing fancy, but it checks all the right boxes a low-cost tablet should. It features an 11-inch display, quad speakers powered by Dolby Atmos, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 processor, and expandable storage up to 1TB. Our friends at PCMag (also owned by Ziff Davis) called it the "best low-cost Android tablet you can buy" earlier this year. Usually the 64GB version with WiFi is $219.99, but as of Dec. 6, it's down to only $149. That's just one cent away from its all-time low.

Amazon Echo Pop Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Echo Pop $17.99 at Amazon
$39.99 Save $22.00 Get Deal

The Echo Pop is the least expensive way to add Alexa to your home — especially when it's down to its best-ever price of $17.99. Basically an Echo Dot lite, the Pop is made "for people who like to keep music playing, and who also use Alexa as a home assistant." Plus, it adds a fun pop of color (get it?) to your home. While it's not particularly groundbreaking for the Echo lineup, as our reviewer noted, it is a budget-friendly speaker that sounds great in any room of your home.

Check out our full review of the Echo Pop.

None of these deals catching your eye? Check out Amazon's daily deals for even more savings.

GET $150 OFF: As of Dec. 6th, get an Insignia 55-inch 4K Smart Fire TV for just $199.99, down from $349.99. That's a 43% discount.

Opens in a new window Credit: Insignia Insignia 55-inch 4K Smart TV $199.99 at Best Buy
$349.99 Save $150.00 Get Deal

Want a big TV for a small price? Get some serious bang for your buck with this Insignia smart TV deal from Best Buy’s 3-Day Sale.

As of Dec. 6, get the Insignia 55-inch 4K Smart TV on sale for $199.99, down from $349.99, at Best Buy. That's $150 off, or a discount of 43%.

SEE ALSO: I write about TVs, and $130 off this Toshiba 43-inch 4K Smart Fire TV is a steal

Whether you're looking for a new TV for your next rewatch of The Sopranos, or you're after a new screen to keep up with a super secret Xbox Series X holiday gift that's on the way, this screen has you covered.

With 4K UHD resolution, this TV is loaded with pixels and will look good with older content and new. Console gamers will appreciate its 60Hz response rate, which is quick enough to handle modern online gaming.

With Fire TV built in, this budget beast comes with services like Netflix, Disney+, YouTube, and Sling TV loaded. However, what you watch is entirely up to you.

SAVE 10%: Dec. 6th, Etsy is offering gift cards of $50+ for 10% off.

Opens in a new window Credit: Etsy Etsy Gift Cards Get 10% off gift cards $50+ Get Deal

Etsy is the online marketplace for individual makers. Whether looking for a felt hat, a handmade knife, a perfect collection of colorful coasters, or custom artwork, Etsy is the e-commerce platform for you.

But what if you’re not quite sure what your giftee would like? That’s where a gift card comes into play. Right now you can get 10% off on Etsy gift cards of $50 or more.

SEE ALSO: The best gifts for teenage girls, according to teenage girls

On Etsy, you’ll be able to find shops from all over the world, as well as domestic shops that are committed to fast and easy delivery. In some instances, Etsy will even guarantee certain orders from specific sellers — get it by a specific time or your money back.

However, if you’re looking for a great gift by the holidays and you really don’t want it to be late, go for an Etsy gift card. Gift cards can be mailed or sent via email or text. Digital gift cards can also be scheduled, so you can buy a card now and have it arrive right on Christmas morning.

As of Dec. 6th, buy an Etsy gift card for $50 or more and get 10% off.

With so many unique crafts, Etsy is the resource for novel gifts. You’ll find sellers who specialize in laser etched glasses or portraits of dogs, next to woodworkers, or custom shoe makers. When you’re looking for something unique, turn to Etsy.

$0.99 KINDLE DEALS: The Indie Author Winter Wonderland Event is finally here! Now, through December 9, you can get hundreds of indie books for 99 cents or less.

Opens in a new window Credit: Indivisible Indie Author Winter Wonderland Event Get hundreds of indie books for $0.99 or less Get Deal

If the last Stuff Your Kindle Day left you wanting more, the Indie Author Winter Wonderland sales event is finally here — and the deals are just as good.

Indie Author Winter Wonderland is an author-led event where you can get hundreds of indie e-books for 99 cents or less. (We’re seeing some free books, too!)

SEE ALSO: Cyber Monday Kindle deals are live: Save 23% on our favorite new Kindles

Through Dec. 9, you can browse the participating author’s books and stock up on all sorts of new reads to keep you comfy and content through the winter months. It’s pretty much just like Stuff Your Kindle Day, but indie.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Indie Author Winter Wonderland sales event.

When is the Indie Author Winter Wonderland event?

Led by Hayley Anderton, this year’s Indie Author Winter Wonderland event runs from Dec. 6 to Dec. 9, 2024. You can browse all the participating authors and books during this time and pick up some great deals on indie e-books.

Who can take part in the Indie Author Winter Wonderland event?

The best thing about the Indie Author Winter Wonderland sales event is that anyone can participate, Kindle owner or not.

The event is open to all readers, and all you have to do is visit the Indievisible events page during the four days of the sale to browse the deals. You can search by genre or filter by tag to find books that interest you, and you'll be able to see which books are on sale for $0.99 or less.

If you don’t have a Kindle, you can download the Kindle app for your phone or tablet and read e-books from the event. You can also use Kindle for Web to read books right in your browser.

Which e-books are 99 cents?

There are hundreds of e-books for 99 cents or less during the event. On the Indievisible events page, you'll find 99 cent deals on romances, thrillers, science fiction, and more.

Here are a few indie read deals to get you started:

• Accidentally In Love with My Best Friend's Brother by Abby Greyson

• Mistletoe Misses by Alexandra Grace

• The Blood Eagle by A.L. Hatcher

• All the Dark Souls by A.M. Dunnewin

BOOK A $25 FLIGHT: Amazon and StudentUniverse are offering $25 flights for the holidays to young adults aged 18 to 24. Book between Dec. 9 and Dec. 13.

Opens in a new window Credit: StudentUniverse $25 flights for the holidays Prime young adult member exclusive (ages 18 - 24) Get Deal

We're all in agreeance that life is expensive these days. Sure, lingering deals from Cyber Monday are still kicking around which helps with holiday gifting. But prices for traveling during the holiday season are soaring. Think $700 for a one-way flight from Seattle to Atlanta on Dec. 20 level of ridiculousness. But if you're between the ages of 18 and 24, Amazon has a special ticket for you this holiday season.

From Dec. 9 through Dec. 13, Amazon is partnering with StudentUniverse to offer $25 flights for the holidays to Prime young adult members who fall between the ages of 18 and 24. Beginning at 10 a.m. PT on Dec. 9, StudentUniverse will offer 1,000 domestic flight tickets for just $25 each per day, for a total of 5,000 booking opportunities over the five-day sale window. To snag this deal, you'll need to be within the eligible age range and an Amazon Prime member.

Phone your family because maybe you will actually make it home for the holidays this year. This epic deal for young adults gives the opportunity to fly domestically within the U.S. for just $25. But you'll need to be ready to pack your bags ASAP because the deal comes with a short travel period.

The sale will include outbound travel that falls between Dec. 9 and Dec. 25 and inbound travel dates from Dec. 9 to Jan. 14, 2025.

Of course, you'll need to be a current Prime member to be eligible for this deal, but Amazon has a nice price for young adults. For starters, those between 18 and 24 can sign up for a free 6-month trial period and after that, Prime will auto renew at just $7.49 per month. That's a 50% discount off the standard Prime membership.

If you hope to snag this deal, head to studentuniverse.com on Monday morning. Keep in mind that you don't need to be an active student to score a $25 ticket because anyone aged 18 to 24 is eligible, so long as you're a Prime member. And if you're not already a Prime member, it's wise to sign up this weekend since 10 a.m. on Monday morning might be a bit chaotic.

In a world where prices seem to off the rails, this deal on $25 flights for young adults is pretty amazing and one we definitely recommend jumping on it. Head home for the holidays or gather some friends to have a perfect getaway over winter break. Bon voyage!

Tired of Overwatch? Marvel has an alternative out that you can play for free right now.

Marvel Rivals officially launched this week, after months of trailers and occasional beta periods. The third-person hero shooter starring characters from the Marvel universe is flashy and approachable for new players, but the one question on every comic book fan's mind is: Who exactly can you play as in Marvel Rivals?

Good news! There are 33 playable characters at launch, with more to be added in the future. Let's go over them now.

SEE ALSO: The best video games of 2024 Every playable character in Marvel Rivals at launch

Here are all 33 Marvel Rivals playable heroes at launch, listed in alphabetical order:

• Adam Warlock

• Black Panther

• Black Widow

• Captain America

• Cloak & Dagger

• Doctor Strange

• Groot

• Hawkeye

• Hela

• Hulk

• Iron Fist

• Iron Man

• Jeff the Land Shark

• Loki

• Luna Snow

• Magik

• Magneto

• Mantis

• Moon Knight

• Namor

• Peni Parker

• Psylocke

• Punisher

• Rocket Raccoon

• Scarlet Witch

• Spider-Man

• Squirrel Girl

• Star-Lord

• Storm

• Thor

• Venom

• Winter Soldier

• Wolverine

As you can see, it's an eclectic list full of heavy-hitters who star in major motion pictures, as well as more obscure choices that are sure to please longtime Marvel fans. Maybe Jeff the Land Shark deserves a movie too! If the MCU goes on long enough, I'm sure we'll get there.

What's worse: Not being recognised by someone, or being recognised as the wrong person?

In the Jimmy Kimmel Live! clip above, Billy Eichner – Mufasa star and host of Billy on the Street – tells a story of being at the same Oscars afterparty as Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. The latter came up to him at the bar, only to excitedly address him as "Jimmy on the Street" by mistake.

The solution that Eichner and Kimmel come up with? An episode of Billy on the Street with both Kimmel and Kelce. It needs to happen.

Paul Mescal's taking his upcoming Saturday Night Live hosting gig seriously — a little too seriously in the teasers.

In the latest promo for Saturday's show, Mescal teams up with fellow host Shaboozey and SNL's Chloe Fineman for a few fairly cringe gags, but there's a good one about how exactly to say the Gladiator II star's surname.

Seems to be a trend with celebrities this week.

SAVE $150: As of Dec. 6, Sony's WH1000XM4 headphones are on sale at Best Buy for $199.99. This is $150 off their original price of $349.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Sony Sony WH1000XM4 Wireless Headphones $199.99 at Best Buy
$349.99 Save $150.00 Get Deal

Black Friday and Cyber Monday have passed, but a few deals still remain. If you were hoping to save big on some high-quality headphones this year in the sales, and are worried you may have missed your opportunity, we have great news. Best Buy has a few still on sale, including the Sony WH1000XM4 headphones.

These headphones are currently down to $199.99, $150 off their original price of $349.99. All colors are discounted as well, so you can pick between silver, midnight blue, or black. As a bonus, you also get two free items with your purchase: a four-month SiriusXM All Access (App Only) subscription and YouTube Premium for free for three months.

SEE ALSO: The latest Apple AirPods 4 are at their lowest-ever price on Amazon

If you've been trying to track down high-quality noise-canceling headphones, the Sony WH1000XM4s are worth every penny. They made our list of the best wireless headphones as the 'Best Overall' pick, with Mashable's Miller Kern saying, "If you have the budget, Sony's XM line offers the best mix of stellar noise-cancellation, comfort, and all-day battery life."

Deals like this one likely won't stick around for very long, so if you've been hoping to pick up Sony's WH1000XM4 headphones, now's your time to shine.

Looking for even more deals post-Cyber Monday? Have a look at our roundup of 12 Cyber Weekend deals that Mashable readers loved, where we include a selection of deals that are still live. It's also worth checking out our overall Cyber Monday deals roundup to see if anything else that's caught your eye is still available.

You've adorned your house with festive lights, but your Mac's desktop is still the same as it ever was? Time to change that.

Let's face it: You probably spend a good portion of the day looking at your desktop. So why not add some holiday cheer to it? Enter Festivitas, an app by developer Simon Støvring (via MacRumors), which lets you add a string of twinkling lights to your macOS desktop.

SEE ALSO: The best Christmas movies now streaming on Netflix

The app, which requires macOS 14.6 or later, offers a fair degree of customization; you can set parameters such as cable thickness, light size, their distance, lighting pattern, colors, and more.

Via Giphy

The app costs €4 (or more if you're feeling generous), which is about $4.23, and it's available on the Festivas website.

It's been six months since Google started adding AI-generated text to the top of many Google Search queries by default, and this experiment — that's what a disclaimer at the bottom of each AI Overview says it is — hasn't entirely been a rip-roaring success, Google acknowledged to Mashable.

While "AI overviews on balance and at large are very compelling sets of things that are helpful to the users," said Hema Budaraju, Google's senior director of product management for Search, "we have work to do on the quality side of things, which is an ever growing need."

AI Overviews launched with a slogan of sorts: "Let Google do the searching for you," but after some controversy at the start — notably that couple of weeks where stories kept coming out about Google Search telling people to eat rocks and put glue on pizza — the company appears to have pulled back a bit. At launch, AI Overviews showed up in about 15 percent of Google Search results pages, but that number was reduced to about 7 percent by the end of June, according to Search Engine Land.

So has quality improved over the past six months?

Are AI Overviews getting better?

It would be hard to argue point-blank that there's been a significant uptick in quality. Overviews materialize less often, and errors are still rampant, but I did find some very limited evidence of improvements: the AI Overviews for the queries I highlighted to Google for this article all improved while I was working on it.

For what it's worth, Budaraju says, across all types of queries, from the everyday to the weird, AI Overviews work, "especially when there is no single answer and it's multiple perspectives." Or at least that's what Google thinks based on internal data about quality, which comes from A-B testing, but not focus groups, Budaraju said.

Quotidian searches tend to get acceptable AI Overviews in my experience. "What do almonds taste like," for instance, may produce a reasonable AI Overview like the one I got: "Almonds can taste sweet, slightly bitter, or bitter, depending on their chemical composition." Fine.

But if you're an information fiend who uses Google Search more expansively, there's a good chance you still encounter bizarre errors. This November example from BlueSky user @coopercooperco is a decent summary of Google Gemini's unfortunate lingering tendency to put the truth in a blender from time to time.

my friend @craigbased.bsky.social made a comment about Cole kissing Shelly so I googled “what episode does Gordon Cole kiss Shelly” and that’s what it gave me. Today it gives a slightly different, also wrong answer. We all know deathly serious Gordon Cole would never do something like kiss a woman.

[image or embed]

— F♯A♯∞, fka ☕️ (@coopercooperco.bsky.social) November 26, 2024 at 8:59 AM

When queried for the Twin Peaks episode where Cole kisses Shelly, the AI Overview blurts out quite confidently and wrongly that there is no such scene. Without knowing with any certainty what went wrong, one can only assume the model's training data includes at least fleeting mentions — if not the full script — of the famous Twin Peaks scene about (David Lynch shouting voice) "two adults sharing a tender moment!" in which Cole and Shelly are seemingly interrupted by Bobby Briggs, but then clearly and unambiguously do kiss. The model likely isn't drawing from any faulty blogs or counterfeit scripts saying Cole never kisses Shelly (To what end would anyone write such a thing?). It's just making this up and sticking it at the very top of the Google Search results page.

The Bluesky user above is clearly making what Google frequently calls an "uncommon query." Hallucinations "tend to arise" when the query is uncommon, Budaraju said. "Even though the systems are trying to be helpful, there is some misinterpretation, some inherent lack of high-quality information on the web," she explained while speaking to Mashable about AI Overviews in general, not this particular one. Plenty of prominent, high-quality information online confirms that Cole and Shelly kiss, so "misinterpretation" of Bobby Briggs' unsuccessful interruption makes more sense as an explanation.

If you search based on faulty information, AI Overviews may make things significantly worse

According to Budaraju, improving AI Overviews involves "sentiment surveys" that are not exactly A-B tests. "We just give people an option to choose between one versus the other and get their expression of satisfaction," she said. 

But a nightmare scenario for AI Overviews is one in which a searcher starts out with less-than-perfect information, and the AI Overview makes it even less perfect.

If the basis for a search is wrong or flawed, and the AI Overview doesn't catch the problem, then it stands to reason the user won't notice it either. The result would be a satisfied user who is now even more ignorant than before. Admittedly, the problem of using Google Search to find misinformation is much older than AI Overviews, but AI Overviews could be a formula for supercharging this process.

For a vivid-but-fairly-benign example of what I mean, here's the result for the query "How to use baking soda to thicken soup." Someone might only have the fuzziest notion that one of the powders in the cabinet can give their chowder a heartier mouthfeel, but they might guess wrong. According to the AI Overview, "Baking soda can be used to thicken soup by making it silkier and smoother."

Credit: Mashable screenshot via Google

This won't work, and has the potential to make your soup taste weird.

When I showed this example to a Google representative, they told me Google would use it to improve their product.

But separating good and bad information becomes more of a muddle if you're searching for the paranormal. For instance, I tried searching "how to teach a dog to communicate telepathically," and the AI Overview began with the heading "Here are some tips for communicating with your dog telepathically," and then provided a bulleted list cobbled together from the writings of believers in the paranormal, like "animal communicator" Pea Horsley.

Credit: Mashable screenshot via Google

If you're inclined to read them, it's Google Search's job to steer you to the writings of people like Horsley — in fact, I recommend them. They're entertaining. But when the AI Overview at the top of a Google results page reads "Here are some tips for communicating with your dog telepathically," it gives the users the impression that this information is authoritative and trustworthy, rather than being "for entertainment purposes only."

A Google representative pointed out that AI Overviews are dynamic. They showed me their AI Overview for the same search, and it didn't say "Here are some tips for communicating with your dog telepathically," but instead mentioned that there's no scientific evidence that dogs can communicate telepathically, before transitioning into another Pea Horsley-influenced list of instructions. If I try this search today, I get a similarly improved result.

Finally, what if a user noticed that cow meat is called "beef," and pig meat is called "pork," and wondered what dolphin meat is called. Stranger things have happened. When I used Google Search to find answers, the AI Overview seemingly let slip the dark truth about mahi-mahi:

Credit: Mashable screenshot via Google

The AI Overview begins "The name for dolphin meat depends on the region and the type of dolphin" and then provides a bulleted list. The first item on the list is "Mahi-mahi."

If the user reads on, they'll see that mahi-mahi is also known as "dolphinfish" (because, to be clear, mahi-mahi is not dolphin. It's a fish). But the result is confusing to say the least. When I showed it to a Google representative they told me this was a reasonable interpretation of the search — in other words that a user searching for "dolphin meat name" really might be looking for the fish known as a "dolphinfish."

It's a good idea to click the source

Since, as I mentioned above, every single one of the searches that produced a problematic AI Overview that I featured here improved to some degree, I suspected Google was cleaning them up as I went along, but Budaraju claims otherwise. "We don't fix queries one by one. That's not how we operate. We actually think about it as what are the patterns of issues that we're seeing, and how would we actually solve them at scale?"

But she also told me Google remains focused on steering users toward the sources of AI Overviews — y'know, the old fashioned links on your Google Search results page? "To some extent," she said, "I think we are also hoping that our users have the right links, links for them to also pursue." She wonders if, in response to an AI Overview, the user would "actually pursue that path and look at the links that led to the overview that you've created."

If AI Overviews are never going away, then until they never hallucinate, it's probably a good idea to take Budaraju up on this suggestion, and cultivate a habit of clicking those links next to your AI Overviews whenever you see them.

SAVE $90: As of Dec. 6, the Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet is still down to its lowest-ever price of $139.99 at Amazon after Cyber Monday. This is 39% off its retail price of $229.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon Fire Max 11 Tablet $139.99 at Amazon
$229.99 Save $90.00 Get Deal

While a lot of Cyber Monday deals disappear when the day is done, a few linger around in the following days for shoppers to scoop up before the holidays. Amazon has had a few deals still available after the big seasonal sale events, including a discount on its Fire Max 11 tablet, which is still at its lowest-ever price.

Right now, you can grab the Fire Max 11 tablet for just $139.99, 39% off its original price of $229.99. As mentioned earlier, this is the tablet's lowest-ever price according to price tracker camelcamelcamel, and who knows how long it'll stay there. So, if you've had your eye on it, now's the time to pick it up.

SEE ALSO: The latest Apple AirPods 4 are at their lowest-ever price on Amazon

Boasting a bright 11-inch display, an octa-core processor, 4GB memory, 64GB storage, and WiFi 6, this is a great tablet for either work or play. Writer SaVanna Shoemaker praised this tablet in our review as well, saying it "has a large, 11-inch display and is blazing fast, making it a good alternative to pricier tablets for streaming and games."

Amazon currently has this tablet listed as a "limited time deal", so it likely won't stay at this price for long. Now's your chance to score the Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet for $139.99.

Amazon's had some more deals still floating around after the Cyber Monday sale event. If you want to see which deals might still be available, have a look at our roundup of Amazon's Cyber Monday deals that are still live to see if anything that's been on your radar is still on sale.

Ben Stiller's Hot Ones strategy appears to be laugh through the pain.

In the First We Feast video above, the Severance director and Nutcrackers star takes on increasingly spicy wings while answering questions on everything from his long movie career to pilots that didn't get picked up.

He makes it valiantly to the end, but not without almost being derailed by Da Bomb.

Despite the genre's long history in Britain, espionage and assassin thrillers are having a fresh moment of late, with the likes of Day of the Jackal actually zapping some dramatic energy into the grey, contrastless landscape outside (hello, writing from London).

The latest, Black Doves, not only infuses the year's colder months with sultry stress and action, but it's a fittingly festive delight, with Christmas trees and twinkling lights bedazzling murder scenes, clandestine meetings, and violent fist fights. Festive viewing need not be contained to the cosy realms of The Holiday or easy viewing Netflix specials (though I love these too). If you're more into thrillers but still want the seasonal theming, fire up Black Doves.

SEE ALSO: 29 best thriller movies on Netflix right now What is Black Doves about? Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw are a dynamite team as Helen and Sam. Credit: Ludovic Robert/Netflix

Created and written by Joe Barton (The Lazarus Project) and directed by Alex Gabassi (The Crown) and Lisa Gunning (The Power), Black Doves is an espionage thriller that just happens to be set at the end of December — yes, just like Die Hard, but this is a Christmas action watch you'll have an easier time defending as one.

The series stars Knightley as Helen Webb, philanthropist, mother, and spy for a private espionage company called the Black Doves, who work for the highest bidder. Undercover, she's married to defence secretary Wallace Webb (Broadchurch's Andrew Buchan) who's completely unaware of that last part, as are their children. When the Ministry of Justice's Jason Davies (Bullet Train's Andrew Koji) turns up assassinated on the banks of the Thames, Helen's carefully crafted cover sits on a knife's edge as she investigates. Yes, she knew Jason, and yes, it's the spark of a potential geopolitical crisis that'll have Helen reunited with her old colleague, triggerman Sam (Ben Whishaw), to uncover answers. And they're both reporting to the show's M, spymaster Reed (Happy Valley's Sarah Lancashire).

Sarah Lancashire is the perfect spymaster as Reed. Credit: Ludovic Robert/Netflix

It's classic thriller material here: Seemingly unconnected high profile murders abound! The Chinese ambassador is dead and his daughter is missing! There's an assassin in the kitchen! And for reasons you should just enjoy, it's all set at Christmas time — we're talking rainy cabs through Oxford Street's lights, shady dealings within the bauble-clad Liberty department store, furious kitchen fights with candy-striped tea towels, tinsel surrounding the overtly signed ROASTED CHESTNUTS being sold on the Thames. Characters even wear tinsel scarfs and Santa hats firing guns on a job. 

While Black Doves by no means reinvents the espionage thriller, the series boasts solid twists, strong action, and electric performances from its superb cast, all of whom seem to have a genuinely great time. And at the heart of it all are two delightful BFFs.

Knightley and Whishaw are brilliant, modern spy-assassin besties Friends who train for dodgy jobs together stay together. Credit: Ludovic Robert/Netflix

Knightley and Whishaw have effortless chemistry as old espionage colleagues, with flashbacks giving them plenty of bickering banter, training moments, close calls, and in-jokes to build a long friendship for their characters. For the most part, this is Knightley in Official Secrets mode, not her formerly signature period drama mode, and she makes her own mark on the well-worn character of a covert operative (think Homeland, The Americans, with less traumatic exploration of secret identity guilt). Mastering hand-to-hand combat and unnerving interrogations, delivering lived-in spy dialogue, and downing tequila "like a Russian submarine captain" Knightley seems to have a ball as Helen.

Meanwhile, a marmalade-free Whishaw delights as heart-of-gold assassin Sam, a far cry from his previous spy thriller work as James Bond's gentle gadget master Q. Like Eddie Redmayne's character in Day of the Jackal, Sam's murder work is meticulous, cold, and nonchalant, while his social self is debonair, warm, and vulnerable. Swilling champagne in most scenes, understandably pining for his Big Ex, and grappling with murdering people for money, Sam has to figure out what his code is. But Knightley doesn't get to do all the hand combat, as Whishaw gets to throw punches too. 

Omari Douglas steals hearts and scenes as Michael. Credit: Ludovic Robert/Netflix

Lancashire, meanwhile, is a brilliant pick for the show's spymaster, her steely glare and subtle threat ringing through every scene and unsettling her reports. They're all backed by an excellent supporting cast, with highlights including screen legend Kathryn Hunter (The Front Room) as shrewd triggermen manager Lenny Lines, It’s a Sin star Omari Douglas as Michael, the love of Sam's life, and Fifteen-Love's Ella Lily Hyland as cold young assassin Williams. Douglas in particular is a sublime romantic lead, and scenes with Whishaw simmer with longing and love lost.

If you're looking for a festive treat with more hired killers, less small town Christmas festivals in barns, Black Doves is a riveting watch that just happens to come with decked halls. A true gift.

How to watch: Black Doves is now streaming on Netflix.

Sabrina Carpenter and Quinta Brunson are "ghosted past" and "ghosted present" in the sketch above, a teaser for Netlfix's upcoming variety special, A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter.

The SNL-style skit sees the pair materialising in the apartment of a guy who's ghosted them ("I figured out where you live from the breadcrumbs you left on TikTok for me to find," says Brunson).

A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter, part of the streamer's holiday slate, will feature a mixture of comedy sketches and duets with the likes of Chappell Roan and Shania Twain.

A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter premieres Dec. 6 at 9 p.m. ET on Netflix.

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Friday, December 6, 2024:

Across"We haven't decided yet," on schedules

• The answer is TBA.

Analyze grammatically, as a sentence

• The answer is Parse.

Dice game for sidewalk gamblers

• The answer is Craps.

Gently gives a 👉

• The answer is Pokes.

Lionel Messi's jersey number

• The answer is Ten.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for December 6 DownDeck with cards like The Fool and The Hermit

• The answer is Tarot.

Slow the car down

• The answer is Brakes.

Colorado ski town

• The answer is Aspen.

Doctor you visit for a checkup, for short

• The answer is PCP.

Letter that can be added to the fronts of 4-, 6- and 7-Across to make new words

• The answer is Ess.

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

Featured Video For You The Wordle Strategy used by the New York Times' Head of Games

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

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to the latest Mini Crossword.

SAVE $75.99: As of Dec. 6, the PlayStation 5 Slim (disc edition) is still on sale for $424 at Walmart. This deal saves you $75.99 on its retail price of $499.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: PlayStation PlayStation 5 Slim (Disc Edition) $424.00 at Walmart
$499.99 Save $75.99 Get Deal

Black Friday and Cyber Monday may be behind us now, but a few retailers are still holding onto some excellent deals before the holidays kick in. If you've had a new console on the brain and worry you missed out on deals over the seasonal sale event, Walmart is still offering some great gaming deals that are worth scooping up before they're gone for good, including on the PlayStation 5 Slim.

The PlayStation 5 Slim (disc edition) is still on sale at its Black Friday/Cyber Monday price of $424. This is $75.99 off its original price of $499.99.

SEE ALSO: The latest Apple AirPods 4 are at their lowest-ever price on Amazon

Compared to its predecessor, this console has a slimmer design. Your purchase also comes with a DualSense controller so you can start playing some incredible games right away. And on that note, this console also comes with 1TB of storage, so you can immediately start building up your library once you've got it set up. On top of that, you also get a game for free with the console, Astro's Playroom, which is an absolute delight and an incredible showcase for the DualSense controller.

This PlayStation 5 Slim deal won't last long, so take advantage of the discount at Walmart before it disappears.

If you're curious to see some other deals like this one that are still up after Cyber Monday, it's worth having a look through our breakdown of the best Cyber Monday deals still live to see if anything you've had your eye on is still available. While most of the big deals have passed, there are still a few options holding on before the holidays.

SAVE $110: As of Dec. 6, the Dyson Airwrap is on sale for $489.99 at Amazon. That's a 18% discount off the original price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Dyson Dyson Airwrap (Special Edition) $489.99 at Amazon
$599.99 Save $110.00 Get Deal

Deals on the beloved Dyson Airwrap are always worth considering. Years after its release, it is still very much one of the top hair products in the game. Just check out our review to feel the love. Famed for its incredible styling techniques using Dyson air-powered technology, such incredible technology of course comes with quite a high cost. But for salon-worthy hair at home, many deem the Airwrap worth the splurge.

As of Dec. 6, you can find this product on sale at Amazon for the reduced price of $489.99, $10 cheaper than it was during Black Friday, and the lowest it has ever been priced. This is ideal if you've been contemplating taking the Airwrap leap. This deal is specific to the "special edition — long for straight to wavy hair" model.

SEE ALSO: The latest Apple AirPods 4 are at their lowest-ever price on Amazon

This iconic hair tool features a range of attachments to curl, wave, smooth, and add volume to your hair without extreme heat. It offers versatility for all types of hairstyles, from natural waves to polished looks, all while minimizing the risk of heat damage.

This 'long for straight to wavy hair' dryer is a tailored version of the Airwrap, specifically designed for people with longer hair who want to create different styles ranging from straight looks to bouncy waves.

Convinced yet? Head to Amazon to snag this great deal.

NASA will not launch astronauts around the moon next year as planned, pushing the Artemis II mission back another six months to April 2026, space officials said Thursday.

The new timeline also will postpone the first human moon landing since Apollo 17 — Artemis III — to at least 2027. The announcement comes just a month before former President Donald Trump is expected to return to the White House for a second term. 

The announcement, coupled with the upcoming change in leadership, leaves concerns as to whether Trump will continue to support the federal agency's moon-to-Mars plans. Since his campaign, Trump has forged an unexpectedly close relationship with SpaceX founder Elon Musk. Some have wondered whether Musk's outsize influence will push the incoming president to cancel NASA's own Space Launch System rocket and spacecraft in favor of using SpaceX's own Starship. 

"It's a legitimate question that you're suddenly going to have Starship take over everything," said NASA administrator Bill Nelson, who will leave his post at the conclusion of President Joe Biden's term. 

SEE ALSO: NASA won't fly astronauts to the moon in 2024 — for good reason The Artemis II crew, announced last year, includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Hammock Koch, along with the Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen.  Credit: NASA

The Artemis II mission is expected to build upon the success of Artemis I, an empty test flight of Orion that sent the moonship on a 1.4 million-mile voyage. The sequel mission will test-drive the spacecraft for about 10 days with human passengers, whizzing by the moon without ever landing on it.

The Artemis II crew, announced last year, includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Hammock Koch, along with the Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen. 

The delays largely stem from an investigation into problems with the Orion moon capsule's protective heat shield, discovered after the spacecraft's uncrewed Artemis I flight in 2022. As the ship re-entered Earth's atmosphere for a splash down in the Pacific Ocean, the shield charred and eroded more than engineers had expected. 

The Orion moonship caught Earth rising in the distance as it flew around the moon during Artemis I in 2022. Credit: NASA

As of Thursday, agency officials said they had determined the root cause of the damage. Rather than scrap the heat shield, though, the agency plans to change the reentry trajectory to avoid a recurrence. 

"While the capsule was dipping in and out of the atmosphere as part of that planned skip entry, heat accumulated inside the heat shield's outer layer, leading to gasses forming and becoming trapped inside the heat shield," said Pam Melroy, NASA's deputy administrator. "This caused internal pressure to build up and led to cracking and uneven shedding of that outer layer."

Nelson emphasized that the new schedule for Artemis would still position NASA to put boots on the lunar surface before China, which plans to send its own astronauts to the moon in 2030. 

Tweet may have been deleted

But the delays could be the tipping point for those on Capitol Hill who would like to rein in spending on the Artemis campaign and NASA generally. The agency's SLS, sometimes dubbed the mega moon rocket, costs about $4 billion each time it launches. Meanwhile, SpaceX's Starship, a much more powerful commercial rocket and ship, is making leaps in progress toward flight readiness. 

NASA is already paying SpaceX $4 billion to build a lander version of Starship to ferry astronauts from lunar orbit to the moon during the Artemis III and IV missions. But pressure may be mounting from lawmakers to switch horses in midstream, instead opting to outsource the entire journey to Starship. It's unclear whether Musk is jockeying for this outcome.

Nelson, who was asked Thursday if he was concerned about Musk's relationship with Trump, said he was "basically optimistic" that Musk's political activism would benefit NASA. He wouldn't speculate how the billionaire's new role as co-head of the so-called "Department of Government Efficiency" would impact NASA's overall funding and workforce. 

Tweet may have been deleted

Under Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX's chief operating officer, the commercial launch company has been a boon for the International Space Station, Nelson said, providing reliable rides for astronauts and cargo. 

"The proof's in the pudding," he said. "I have every reason to think that that relationship will continue." 

Just Wednesday, Trump's team announced his pick to replace Nelson at NASA's helm. The president-elect has tapped Jared Isaacman, CEO of Shift4 Payments and a friend of Musk. Isaacman has commanded two SpaceX missions, including Polaris Dawn this year. During that five-day spaceflight, Isaacman became the first person to perform a commercial spacewalk. 

NASA's own Space Launch System rocket has been estimated to cost $4 billion per launch. Credit: NASA / Isaac Watson

Wiseman, the astronaut who will lead the Artemis II crew, has not been deterred by the schedule setbacks. He visited the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, last month and saw the Orion spacecraft and SLS's booster. Right after, he watched a livestream of Starship's sixth flight test on his phone. 

Suddenly, humanity's return to the moon seemed real. 

"All the elements are there for humans on the moon, and all the elements are there to push us on to Mars in the very near future," he told reporters. "I just — I felt it in my soul."

The astronomical confusion started at 2 a.m ET on June 26, 2023.

Scientists using the powerful James Webb Space Telescope sought to observe a planet beyond our solar system (an exoplanet) called Kepler-51d, an unusual "puffy" world with a cotton candy-like density. But it passed into view two hours earlier than expected. That's strange for a planet, as they are usually quite predictable.

It turns out that a previously unknown world, and its potent gravity, altered Kepler-51d's orbit. Now there are four known planets orbiting the sun-like star Kepler-51, located some 2,556 light-years away. And at least three of them are puffy.

"If trying to explain how three super puffs formed in one system wasn’t challenging enough, now we have to explain a fourth planet, whether it’s a super puff or not. And we can’t rule out additional planets in the system either," Jessica Libby-Roberts, an astronomer at Penn State who led the observation, said in a statement.

SEE ALSO: NASA scientist viewed first Voyager images. What he saw gave him chills.

The research was recently published in The Astronomical Journal.

Based on previous observations, the astronomers calculated that the distant world Kepler-51d would pass in front of its star on June 26, 2023, at 2 a.m. It was a valuable opportunity to use starlight shining through the planet's atmosphere to reveal what's transpiring on this mysterious orb. (This starlight passes through the exoplanet's atmosphere, then through space, and ultimately into instruments called spectrographs aboard Webb, a strategy called "transit spectroscopy." They're essentially hi-tech prisms, which separate the light into a rainbow of colors. Certain molecules, like water, in the atmosphere absorb specific types, or colors, of light. If a color doesn't show up for Webb, that means it got absorbed by the exoplanet's atmosphere — revealing its presence.)

But nothing came at 2 a.m. "Thank goodness we started observing a few hours early to set a baseline, because 2 a.m. came, then 3, and we still hadn’t observed a change in the star’s brightness with APO [the Apache Point Observatory also used during these observations]," Libby-Roberts explained.

Their data, however, captured a dip in the star's light around midnight. What could have caused the surprise orbital change? Only the gravitational influence of a large, previously unknown fourth planet, the researchers concluded. It's now earned the name "Kepler-51e."

"We were really puzzled by the early appearance of Kepler-51d, and no amount of fine-tuning the three-planet model could account for such a large discrepancy," Kento Masuda, a study coauthor and associate professor of earth and space science at Osaka University, added. "Only adding a fourth planet explained this difference. This marks the first planet discovered by transit timing variations using JWST."

An illustration showing the three puffy known worlds orbiting in the star system Kepler-51. Credit: NASA / ESA / L. Hustak / J. Olmsted / D. Player / F. Summers (STScI)

It's unknown if Kepler-51e is a puffy world, too. Astronomers will need to gather valuable observations from a transit in front of its star. What's known is that its orbit travels a little wider than Venus' orbit around the sun, and dwells on the edge of its solar system's habitable zone — a temperate region where liquid water could exist on a world's surface.

Any puffy world is a curiosity: They might evolve, for example, into a super-Earth planet. In this star system, scientists already have at least three to continue observing. What will the fourth reveal?

The Webb telescope's powerful abilities

The Webb telescope — a scientific collaboration between NASA, ESA, and the Canadian Space Agency — is designed to peer into the deepest cosmos and reveal new insights about the early universe. But as shown above, it's also examining intriguing planets in our galaxy, along with the planets and moons in our solar system.

Here's how Webb is achieving unparalleled feats, and likely will for decades to come:

- Giant mirror: Webb's mirror, which captures light, is over 21 feet across. That's over two-and-a-half times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope's mirror. Capturing more light allows Webb to see more distant, ancient objects. The telescope is peering at stars and galaxies that formed over 13 billion years ago, just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. "We're going to see the very first stars and galaxies that ever formed," Jean Creighton, an astronomer and the director of the Manfred Olson Planetarium at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, told Mashable in 2021.

- Infrared view: Unlike Hubble, which largely views light that's visible to us, Webb is primarily an infrared telescope, meaning it views light in the infrared spectrum. This allows us to see far more of the universe. Infrared has longer wavelengths than visible light, so the light waves more efficiently slip through cosmic clouds; the light doesn't as often collide with and get scattered by these densely packed particles. Ultimately, Webb's infrared eyesight can penetrate places Hubble can't.

"It lifts the veil," said Creighton.

- Peering into distant exoplanets: The Webb telescope carries specialized equipment called spectrographs that will revolutionize our understanding of these far-off worlds. The instruments can decipher what molecules (such as water, carbon dioxide, and methane) exist in the atmospheres of distant exoplanets — be they gas giants or smaller rocky worlds. Webb looks at exoplanets in the Milky Way galaxy. Who knows what we'll find?

"We might learn things we never thought about," Mercedes López-Morales, an exoplanet researcher and astrophysicist at the Center for Astrophysics-Harvard & Smithsonian, told Mashable in 2021.

Already, astronomers have successfully found intriguing chemical reactions on a planet 700 light-years away, and have started looking at one of the most anticipated places in the cosmos: the rocky, Earth-sized planets of the TRAPPIST solar system.

Featured Video For You 10 mind-blowing discoveries from the James Webb Telescope