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Mashable is a leading source for news, information & resources for the Connected Generation. Mashable reports on the importance of digital innovation and how it empowers and inspires people around the world. Mashable's 25 million monthly unique visitors and 10 million social media followers have become one of the most engaged online news communities. Founded in 2005, Mashable is headquartered in New York City with an office in San Francisco.
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Hurdle hints and answers for July 15, 2026

Wed, 07/15/2026 - 03:00

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.

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

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

A Christian symbol.

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

CROSS

Hurdle Word 2 hint

An animal.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for July 15, 2026 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

BRUTE

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Hurdle Word 3 hint

Court proceeding.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for July 15 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for July 15, 2026 Hurdle Word 3 answer

TRIAL

Hurdle Word 4 hint

A demon.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

FIEND

Final Hurdle hint

Homosapien.

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

HUMAN

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

Categories: IT General, Technology

Lucky review: Anya Taylor-Joys con woman drama is slick summer fun with little substance

Wed, 07/15/2026 - 02:00

Lucky puts its cards on the table too early.

The new Apple TV limited series, starring and executive produced by Anya Taylor-Joy, kicks off with its titular protagonist (Taylor-Joy) on the run from an FBI agent. Sporting a bleached bob and a Caesars Palace jacket, she scrambles through a maze of parked trucks, desperately crawling under wheels and slamming around corners until her fate finally catches up with her. It's a fairly thrilling action sequence, but soon, all too predictably, Lucky flashes back to the fateful hours leading up to this high-octane chase.

SEE ALSO: Everything coming to Apple TV in 2026

The move is an all-too common one in film and TV, meant to give viewers a tantalizing taste of what's to come. Often, though, it feels like titles that use this tactic aren't confident that viewers will buy into their story without the promise of action. With Lucky, that unfortunately proves to be the case. A crime drama bursting with clichés, Lucky works best when its characters are getting out of serious scrapes, and less so when they're actually talking.

What's Lucky about? Anya Taylor-Joy in "Lucky." Credit: Apple TV

As we learn in the first of Lucky's many flashbacks, the woman on the run in the show's opening is Lucky Armstrong, con woman extraordinaire. Together with her husband, Cary (Drew Starkey), she's just pulled off a $10 million heist that should have her set for life. The pair spend a sweet night celebrating in Las Vegas, but by the morning, Lucky wakes to find herself alone, penniless, and at the top of the FBI's most-wanted list.

So begins one of Lucky's most tense sequences. As the FBI descends on Caesars Palace, she must use all her wiles to escape from a seemingly impossible trap. It's an electrifying cat-and-mouse game, following an increasingly desperate Lucky through crowded casino floors and winding hotel rooms.

SEE ALSO: The best TV shows of 2026 (so far), and where to stream them

The Caesars Hotel sequence is just the first of many thrilling set pieces throughout Lucky's run, including shoot-outs, car chases, and one desert-set escape that sees Taylor-Joy channeling the same fierce drive to survive she weaponized so well in 2024's Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. In all these scenes, Lucky is operating at her most desperate, which means we get to see her full bag of tricks, learned from her imprisoned father, John (Timothy Olyphant), at work. As she manipulates mark after mark, Taylor-Joy brings an effortless cool to Lucky. Sometimes, though, that cool can be overpowering, and we lose the fear and anger that's driving Lucky in her quest to set things right. (It doesn't help that, even after going through hell, Lucky's bob remains chic as ever, making it hard to buy into the character's gritty struggles.)

Outside of these sequences though, Lucky loses its steam. Its overreliance on flashbacks leads to some extremely on-the-nose moments, like when Lucky pulls a con at a birthday party, all while remembering a conveniently similar job she and her father pulled years ago. Elsewhere, story beats feel oddly familiar. At one point, Lucky pretends to be drunk while meeting a man at a bar, leading to a scene eerily reminiscent of one in Promising Young Woman.

Annette Bening is an ice-cold scene stealer in Lucky. Annette Bening in "Lucky." Credit: Apple TV

Lucky weaves a larger web of crime and shady syndicates that pales in comparison to the more immediate drama of Lucky's smaller cons. However, there's one huge saving grace to that more overarching crime tale, and that's Annette Bening as fearsome mobster Priscilla Masterson.

Always rocking the coolest glasses and coats the show has to offer, Bening's Priscilla takes over every scene she's in with an icy power. At times, she's calculatedly nonchalant, with even her most casual comments oozing with threats. At others, she's a laugh riot thanks to her dry disdain for everyone around her. She makes a great foil for Taylor-Joy's often-harried Lucky, as she's almost always in control. When she's not, it's because she's under the thumb of the menacing Wayne Whittaker (William Fichtner). You can imagine that as Lucky grows older, she could find herself in a similar troubling situation: still living a life of crime, still expected to take the fall.

Lucky hopes to examine how Lucky could get off that path, the one her father set her on when she was a child. Its conclusions and twists along the way are fairly predictable, but it offers up some slick summer fun in the meantime. When you're done, though, Lucky's impact is like that of a good con man: gone before you even know it.

The first two episodes of Lucky premiere July 15 on Apple TV, with a new episode every Wednesday.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Samsung confirms new foldables will be revealed July 22 with new Flex Titanium display tech

Wed, 07/15/2026 - 00:00

It's an open secret in the tech world that Samsung will likely debut the Galaxy Z Flip 8, Z Fold 8, and new Z Fold Wide at its Galaxy Unpacked event in London on July 22.

And on Tuesday, the company confirmed in a press release that its next-gen Galaxy foldable devices will debut soon with a new Flex Titanium display structure. In its announcement, Samsung said the new Flex Titanium technology will provide foldable phones with "enhanced durability and reduced crease visibility."

"The new Flex Titanium technology will debut with Samsung’s next-generation Galaxy foldable devices. Further details will be unveiled at Galaxy Unpacked on July 22," the press release stated. The announcement all but confirms the long-rumored focus of the Galaxy Unpacked event, which lines up with Samsung's previous foldable phone launch timeline.

As the name suggests, Flex Titanium uses titanium components to support bending displays.

Specifically, the new hardware tech employs a titanium-alloy film underneath the OLED panel, as well as a titanium plate underneath the film. Samsung said the titanium film sits "below the OLED panel" and offers "20 times greater mechanical stiffness than plastic films while measuring less than 30% the thickness of a human hair, enabling a slimmer display panel." In Samsun said theaddition, the titanium plate supports "the display module from beneath, eliminating air gaps between the module and adhesive for more stable support when unfolded, while retaining the flexibility needed for repeated folding."

The idea is to make phones that can withstand thousands of folds over multiple years, while providing a quality viewing experience for users who don't want to see a big, ugly crease in the middle of the screen. For what it's worth, in the last couple of years, flagship Samsung foldables have mostly fixed the crease problem already, but we're still excited to see how Samsung can alleviate it further.

SEE ALSO: Samsung users report bizarre Galaxy S26 Ultra defect

It hopefully won't be long before we get a real first look at those devices, as the London Unpacked event is just one week away.

Categories: IT General, Technology

See your kitchen or bathroom renovation in 3D with this $20 software

Tue, 07/14/2026 - 23:00

TL;DR: Plan and explore kitchen and bathroom renovations in 3D with a lifetime ArchiMaster license for $19.99 (reg. $59.99).

Opens in a new window Credit: Richdale Ventures LLC ArchiMaster 3D Kitchen & Bath Software for Windows: Lifetime License $19.99
$59.99 Save $40   Get Deal

Renovation ideas can look great in your head but very different once the cabinets, countertops, and flooring are in the same room. ArchiMaster 3D Kitchen & Bath gives you a means to experiment before committing to a particular layout or wasting money on materials you might night need. A lifetime license for Windows is currently on sale for $19.99 (reg. $59.99), making it a savings of 67%.

This software allows homeowners and DIY renovators build kitchens and bathrooms in 3D without requiring a professional design experience. You can import photos of an existing kitchen or start a new layout from scratch, then test different configurations and see how the pieces work together.

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There are more than 200 cabinet styles to choose from, plus a catalog of appliances and home electronics. A materials library lets you compare options for countertops, flooring, paint, stains, and fabrics, including granite, marble, slate, ceramic tile, and hardwood. You can preview the combination first instead of trying to imagine whether two finishes will work together or not.

Once your design starts taking shape, photorealistic 3D visualization lets you view it from different perspectives. Plus, there’s a VR mode for exploring your plans with compatible hardware, which is useful if staring at a floor plan doesn’t quite help you determine whether the finished space will feel cramped or not. The software works offline after installation, too, so an internet connection isn’t required every time inspiration strikes.

ArchiMaster is ideal for people planning their own kitchen or bathroom updates, whether that means testing a few aesthetic changes or working through a larger remodel. You can create unlimited designs, making it easier to compare ideas before settling on one, and have fun doing it!

The lifetime license includes a free upgrade to ArchiMaster 3D v3, (but future major releases starting with v4 will require a separate purchase). If you want to see your renovation ideas in 3D before making them real, ArchiMaster 3D Kitchen & Bath is currently available for $19.99 (reg. $59.99).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Lawsuit claims Meta used AI to unfairly target employees for layoffs

Tue, 07/14/2026 - 22:30

A group of former Meta employees is suing the company for allegedly using AI systems that unfairly targeted them for layoffs.

The lawsuit alleges that Meta used improperly tested AI-powered assessment tools — including productivity scores, AI token usage tracking, and an internal LLM known as Metamate — that ranked employees for termination ahead of mass layoffs. The metrics used for the ranking unfairly scored employees that missed work or had reduced output expectations because of known medical conditions, maternal leave, and other disability-related terms, the lawsuit alleges.

SEE ALSO: I tried to scrub weight loss content from my FYP. Here's what I learned.

"This is patently untrue. Full stop," wrote Meta spokesperson Andy Stone in a X post responding to the lawsuit's claims. "Workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI."

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The employees say these decisions violate federal and state anti-discrimination laws. They also argue the AI systems weren't properly screened for bias, violating California and New York City laws, specifically.

The 26 plaintiffs were terminated in a round of company-wide layoffs affecting 8,000 employees in May. At the time, Meta cited its ongoing AI investments in its announcement of the reduction in staff.

Remaining employees noted a newly launched employee tracking tool, known as the Model Capability Initiative (MCI), intended to train AI models using employee activity. They alleged the tool was collecting more data than initially advertised, prompting concern it was violating European data laws.

The former employees are seeking a preliminary decision from a California federal court that could stall their termination, currently set for July 22, while they privately arbitrate.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Tesla wants to be the first company to offer wheelchair-accessible autonomous vehicles

Tue, 07/14/2026 - 21:40

Tesla is developing a wheelchair-accessible autonomous vehicle, at least according to a Tesla lobbyist. 

India Herdman, a Tesla senior policy adviser, made the claim on Monday while addressing the D.C. City Council on a proposal to legalize robotaxis in the nation’s capital. Herdman said the wheelchair-carrying vehicle is being developed in Texas, where Tesla is headquartered, but no timetable for production was announced, according to a report in Wired.

SEE ALSO: Robot, take the wheel: What you need to know about autonomous vehicles rolling out across the U.S.

Currently, no autonomous vehicle companies, including industry leader Waymo, offer wheelchair-accessible vehicles. During the same D.C. City Council meeting, Matt Walsh, Waymo's regional head of state and local policy, said the Google-owned company is also working on developing such a vehicle, but has been bedeviled by the challenge of identifying "a platform that is fully wheelchair-accessible while also meeting the unique specifications to retrofit that vehicle with our technology."

Waymo’s newest autonomous car, the Ojai, has accessibility features like grab bars and a flat floor that’s lower to the ground than its typical Jaguar I-Pace cars. Still, the Ojai cannot accommodate a wheelchair. 

Riders in wheelchairs can access vehicles via traditional, human-driven rideshare companies like Lyft and Uber, though the latter company is currently facing a lawsuit from the Justice Department, which accuses it of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by not doing enough to accommodate disabled riders. 

It would be a major coup for Tesla if it were the first company to bring a wheelchair-accessible autonomous vehicle to market, as the Elon Musk-owned company is not yet a leader in the AV space. While Waymo is available in numerous U.S. cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Atlanta, Miami, and Houston, Tesla’s cybercabs are mostly confined to Houston, Dallas, and Austin.

Tesla is indicating it takes accessibility seriously, announcing on its website that the company is "building an autonomous future that is accessible to all people. Our Robotaxi vehicles are designed to support various accessibility needs including space for service animals and room to store some wheelchairs and other assistive devices. The Tesla app is currently available in 29 languages, with more being added."

Categories: IT General, Technology

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