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It's the Third Quarter tonight, which means we're exactly halfway in between the Full Moon and the New Moon. This is part of the Moon's roughly 29.5 day cycle that sees it move through eight different phases. Keep reading to see what that means for tonight's Moon.

What is today’s Moon phase?

As of Friday, April 10, the Moon phase is Third Quarter. Tonight, 49% of the moon will be lit up, according to NASA's Daily Moon Guide.

Tonight, without any visual aids, you should be able to see the Oceanus Procellarum, Tycho Crater, and the Copernicus Crater. With binoculars, you'll also be able to see the Grimaldi Basin, the Mare Humorum, and the Clavius Crater. Finally, if you have a telescope, expect to see features like the Schiller Crater and the Fra Mauro Highlands.

When is the next Full Moon?

The next Full Moon is predicted to take place on May 1, the first of two in May.

What are Moon phases?

According to NASA, it takes the Moon roughly 29.5 days to orbit Earth, passing through eight distinct stages during that time. While the same side of the Moon always faces us, the amount of sunlight hitting it changes as it moves, which is why it can look full, partly lit, or just a slim crescent. These shifting appearances are known as the lunar phases, and there are eight in total:

New Moon - The Moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it's invisible to the eye).

Waxing Crescent - A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).

First Quarter - Half of the Moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-Moon.

Waxing Gibbous - More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.

Full Moon - The whole face of the Moon is illuminated and fully visible.

Waning Gibbous - The Moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)

Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) - Another half-Moon, but now the left side is lit.

Waning Crescent - A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.

Like unsung Australian horror movie Bait, Netflix's Thrash knows that tsunamis are least of your worries after a Category 5 hurricane hits in a movie. Sharks (yes, sharks) wash in with the tide in the latest from writer/director Tommy Wirkola (Violent Night, Dead Snow), and it's a proper nail-biter.

With nightmare-inspiring cinematography, increasingly flooded and crumbling sets, impossibly risky scenarios, and solid performances from Djimon Hounsou, Whitney Peak, and Phoebe Dynevor, Thrash earns its place in the long, storied history of shark survival movies.

What is Thrash about? Djimon Hounsou and Whitney Peak in "Thrash." Credit: Ben King / Netflix

Climate disaster films come in all genres, and in Thrash (notably produced by Don't Look Up's Adam McKay), Wirkola leans into the extreme weather impact of a warming planet without addressing it directly. Climate change doesn't cause extreme weather events; climate change increases the intensity, frequency, and duration of extreme weather events. And nothing's more extreme than watching a Category 5 hurricane absolutely pummel the town of Annieville, South Carolina, with fierce winds, destructive flooding, and sharks swimming down Main Street. (I'm not here to evaluate the scientific accuracy of this film.)

SEE ALSO: 'All The Sharks' review: A deeply underrated reality competition binge

Here, we meet several citizens left behind: Whitney Peak as Dakota, who turns off weather reports to watch videos of her recently passed mother; Phoebe Dynevor as Lisa, a meatpacking factory executive who could give birth any moment now; and Stacy Clausen, Alyla Browne, and Dante Ubaldi as Hanson the Olsens, a trio of siblings whose crooked foster parents see the storm as "just a little bit of weather." Elsewhere, Djimon Hounsou's en route as oceanic researcher Dale, who spotted bull sharks coming in with the storm, seeking shelter in freshwater estuaries. He also happens to be Dakota's uncle.

We love the Olsens. Credit: Ben King / Netflix

You'll genuinely cheer for these characters as they find themselves suddenly huddled on their kitchen benches, perched on their roof, and on the brink of labor as the floodwaters rise. It's not an easy feat to craft characters you don't want to see as shark bait in a movie like this, and Thrash's cast manage it with finesse, despite Wirkola giving us very little information about them. Peak's physicality doesn't miss a beat, combining Ninja Warrior obstacle courses with convincing anxiety symptoms, Hounsou's overt authority grants the film legitimacy, and as for Dynevor, well, labor scenes don't happen like this every day. (And yes, I feel the soundtrack in Lisa's scenes is internet bait, but I'm not mad about it.)

Thrash is a brutal flood of visual effects and jaw-dropping cinematography. This scene had me pacing. Credit: Ben King / Netflix

Although Thrash is a high-budget Netflix film, the nail-biting scenarios Wirkola throws down are simple; often, it's getting from A to B across shark-infested waters. Like fellow contained shark horrors The Reef, Open Water, The Shallows, and more recently Under Paris, Thrash pushes its characters into survival situations where simply travelling across a tiny stretch of water seems unthinkable. Here, Wirkola stays far from the supershark territory of The Meg or Deep Blue Sea, keeping his marine predators life-size and emphasizing their more terrifying behaviours. However, he does stick to certain shark movie requirements, like characters being suddenly vertically dragged underwater and shark vision camera angles.

Production designer David Ingram builds an increasingly flooded and destroyed town, an impressive and sadly all-too-real vision of disaster — and one which makes for stressful action sequences. Director of photography Matthew Weston's shots consistently resemble horror movie posters, from a teen teetering over a kitchen doorway as a shark sails underneath to a rooftop SOS with sharks circling below. Each overhead moment plays with shadow, scale, and suspense to up the danger, before editor Martin Stoltz takes us back into the action. And as for action, Thrash throws every last visual effect at sequences like the shocking storm surge, which decimates the entire town of Annieville within minutes.

Featured Video For You Creating the Perfect Alien: A Project Hail Mary Deep Dive

Make no mistake, Thrash is brutal. The bull sharks, in particular, make for vicious villains, with the species' signature aggressive tendencies displayed with gruesome work from visual effects supervisor Bryan Jones and his team. (At the risk of sounding like bull sharks' publicist, bull shark attacks are extremely rare).

If you like shark movies, Thrash is a solid survival thriller with a talented cast and visuals that had me locked in. Wirkola's ability to balance horror, action, and comedy remains a praise-worthy feat. Dive into it.

Thrash premieres on Netflix April 10.

Burnout on your team won’t look the same across roles—and treating it like a single problem guarantees you’ll miss it. If you want to lead effectively, you need to spot how it shows up at each level and intervene early.  Early career: Eliminate invisible overload. Your junior employees aren’t burning out from work volume—they’re burning out from ambiguity. When expectations are unclear, they default to […]

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TL;DR: Unblock Pornhub for free with a VPN. The best service for unblocking porn sites from Australia is ExpressVPN.

The world of porn continues to be impacted by age-verification laws. Back in early 2025, more than a third of U.S. states introduced age verification laws for online adult content. Pornhub hit back by blocking users from those locations. A similar situation took place France and the UK, and now Australians are facing the same set of challenges.

The porn blocks arrived just days before new online safety codes came into effect, requiring organisations to verify the ages of users. It's the same story we've seen before, with the same straightforward workaround.

If you want to unblock porn sites like Pornhub for free from Australia, we have all the information you need.

How to unblock Pornhub for free in Australia

VPNs are tools that can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to secure servers in other locations. This process bypasses geo-restrictions so you can access sites like Pornhub from anywhere in the world.

Unblock Pornhub from Australia by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in a location that supports access to Pornhub

4. Visit Pornhub

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for unblocking porn sites are not free, but most do offer free-trial peiods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can unblock porn sites like Pornhub without spending anything. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you the opportunity to temporarily retain access to Pornhub before recovering your investment. The situation may have changed before the free-trial period comes to an end.

If you want to retain permanent access to sites like Pornhub, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for bypassing content restrictions is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for Pornhub?

ExpressVPN is the top choice for unblocking porn sites like Pornhub, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast streaming speeds free from throttling

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Unblock Pornhub for free in Australia with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Live stream the 2026 AFL for free on 7plus. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Aussie Rules is a uniquely fast-paced and physical game that provides entertainment to millions of fans every week, but for whatever reason, this entertaining sport hasn't really traveled outside of Australia. We think that should change, because we firmly believe that the rest of the world would absolutely love footy.

What's not to love. Outrageous displays of skill? Check. Huge tackles and the occasional physical altercation? Check. Some of the best haircuts and facial hair you've ever seen? A big check.

If you want to watch the 2026 AFL for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

What is the AFL?

The Australian Football League (AFL) is the leading professional competition of Aussie Rules Football.

The AFL currently consists of 18 teams spread over Australia's five mainland states. The league features 23 rounds in the regular season, with the team with the best record awarded the minor premiership. The top 10 teams from the regular season standings compete in a five-round finals series, culminating in the AFL Grand Final.

SEE ALSO: How to watch NRL live streams online for free

The defending champions are the Brisbane Lions.

When is the 2026 AFL?

The 2026 AFL season is the 130th edition of the Australian Football League. This season runs from March 5 to Sept. 26.

How to watch the 2026 AFL for free

Every round of the 2026 AFL season is available to live stream for free on 7plus.

This free coverage includes matches on Thursday nights, Friday nights, State Footy Saturdays, Sunday afternoons, and Sunday night games. 7plus will also show marquee games and every match in the AFL Finals Series including the Brownlow Medal and the 2026 AFL Grand Final.

7plus is geo-restricted to Australia, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Australia, meaning you can unblock free live streams of the AFL from anywhere in the world.

Live stream 2026 AFL from anywhere in the world by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Australia

4. Visit 7plus

5. Live stream 2026 AFL for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.99 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch the 2026 AFL without actually spending anything. This clearly isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream select AFL fixtures before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for 7plus?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on 7plus, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including Australia

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream the 2026 AFL for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Live stream the 2026 NRL for free on 9Now. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

There are few other sports that can compete with rugby league when it comes to physicality and skill. It's clever handling and outrageous trickery combined with absolute brutality, and that's why we all love it.

And if you're looking for all of that and more on a weekly basis, you should check out the NRL. It's an electric competition featuring some of the best players and teams in the world. We're definitely not knocking what you get in the Northern Hemisphere, but there's something special about the National Rugby League. It feels like something wild happens every week.

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If you want to watch the 2026 NRL for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

What is the NRL?

The National Rugby League (NRL) is a professional rugby league competition in Australasia, including clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, and New Zealand.

Each team plays 24 matches in the regular season, with the first-placed team at the end awarded the minor premiership. This is followed by a finals series contested between the eight highest-placed teams from the regular season, culminating in the NRL Grand Final.

The defending champions are the Brisbane Broncos.

When is the 2026 NRL?

The 2026 NRL season is the 119th edition of professional rugby league in Australia and the 29th season run by the National Rugby League. This season runs from Feb. 28 to Sept. 5.

How to watch the 2026 NRL for free

Select fixtures from the 2026 NRL season are available to live stream for free on 9Now.

9Now is geo-restricted to Australia, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Australia, meaning you can unblock free live streams of the NRL from anywhere in the world.

Live stream the 2026 NRL from anywhere in the world by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Australia

4. Visit 9Now

5. Live stream the 2026 NRL for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.99 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch the 2026 NRL without actually spending anything. This clearly isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream select NRL fixtures before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming sites from around the world, you will need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for live streaming sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for 9Now?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on 9Now, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including Australia

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream the 2026 NRL for free with ExpressVPN.

The explicit tube site Pornhub is now blocked in 23 U.S. states.

This is due to age-verification laws. These laws vary state by state, but typically require visitors of a site with over a third of explicit content to submit a government ID or other form of age authentication. Louisiana was the first state to enact such a bill a couple of years ago, and now others have followed suit. In June, the Supreme Court deemed Texas's age-verification law constitutional, setting a precedent for such bills that come before and after.

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According to one preliminary study, age verification won't work to keep minors off porn sites. This is because of software like VPNs that allow someone to appear to be in a different location, and because of non-compliant websites. (The Florida attorney general is suing foreign-based porn sites for not instituting age verification.) Yet, these laws keep getting passed — and are encroaching on non-explicit websites as well, experts told Mashable.

While Pornhub is not blocked in Louisiana, it is blocked in these states, a Pornhub representative confirmed to Mashable:

• Alabama

• Arizona

• Arkansas

• Florida

• Georgia

• Idaho

• Indiana

• Kansas

• Kentucky

• Mississippi

• Missouri

• Montana

• Nebraska

• North Carolina

• North Dakota

• Oklahoma

• South Carolina

• South Dakota

• Tennessee

• Texas

• Utah

• Virginia

• Wyoming

Pornhub isn't blocked in Ohio despite the state's age-verification law, due to a clause stating that establishing age verification methods doesn't apply to a provider of an interactive computer service (Aylo considers itself one).

In Louisiana, where users must submit ID to view Pornhub, the site has seen traffic decline by around 80 percent, Aylo (Pornhub's parent company) told Mashable.

"These people did not stop looking for porn. They just migrated to darker corners of the internet that don't ask users to verify age, that don't follow the law, that don't take user safety seriously, and that often don't even moderate content. In practice, the laws have just made the internet more dangerous for adults and children," Aylo stated when asked for comment by Mashable back in January.

In a statement to Mashable, Aylo continued:

First, to be clear, Aylo has publicly supported age verification of users for years, but we believe that any law to this effect must preserve user safety and privacy, and must effectively protect children from accessing content intended for adults.

Unfortunately, the way many jurisdictions worldwide have chosen to implement age verification is ineffective, haphazard, and dangerous. Any regulations that require hundreds of thousands of adult sites to collect significant amounts of highly sensitive personal information is putting user safety in jeopardy. Moreover, as experience has demonstrated, unless properly enforced, users will simply access non-compliant sites or find other methods of evading these laws.

Industry experts say that, in addition to not working for their intended purpose, age verification laws also raise concerns about privacy protection and safety since websites now have to host (even more of) people's personal information. It will be harder to be anonymous online, which experts warn is dangerous to free speech. Adult industry experts Mashable spoke to in an explainer on age-verification laws advocated for device-level filters, as did Aylo in its statement.

SEE ALSO: YouTube will begin using AI for age verification next week

Some in the adult industry worry about what Trump's second presidential term will bring due to the conservative policy outline Project 2025 and its measures to ban porn. One of Project 2025's authors, Russell Vought, was caught on a secret recording stating that age-verification laws are the "back door" to a broader porn ban.

Today's Connections: Sports Edition will be easy if you love golf and its history.

As we've shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

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

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

The NYT's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

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

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

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

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

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. Here's a hint for today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

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

• Yellow: Oh, the places you'll go!

• Green: The bare necessities

• Blue: All-time greats

• Purple: Amen corner

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

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

• Yellow: Areas on a golf course

• Green: Found in a golf bag

• Blue: Masters winners

• Purple: Augusta National Hole Names

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections: Sports Edition #564 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Areas on a golf course — BUNKER, FAIRWAY, GREEN, ROUGH

• Found in a golf bag — BALLS, CLUBS, TEES, TOWELS

• Masters winners — COUPLES, FALDO, PLAYER, RAHM

• August National hole names — AZALEA, GOLDEN BELL, HOLLY, REDBUD

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

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

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

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

Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.

Released in August 2025, Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.

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

How to play Pips

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

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 10, 2026

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for April 10, 2026 Easy difficulty hints, answers for April 10 Pips

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

Equal (0): Every domino half in this red space must have 0 pips. The answer is 6-0, placed vertically; 0-5, placed horizontally.

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

Number (6): Everything in this yellow space must add up to 6. The answer is 3-2, placed horizontally; 0-2, placed vertically; and 2-6, placed vertically.

Greater than (5): The domino half in this dark blue space must be greater than 5. The answer is 2-6, placed vertically.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for April 10 Pips

Equal (3): Every domino half in this purple space must have 3 pips. The answer is 3-4, placed horizontally; 3-6, placed vertically.

Greater Than (4): Everything in this red space must add up to be greater than 4. The answer is 5-6, placed vertically.

Number (2): Everything in this light blue space must add up to 2. The answer is 6-2, placed vertically.

Equal (6): Every domino half in this space must have 6 pips. The answer is 5-6, placed vertically; 3-6, placed vertically; and 6-4, placed vertically.

Less Than (2): Everything in this dark blue space must add up to less than 2. The answer is 0-2, placed vertically.

Equal (4): Every domino half in this green space must have 4 pips. The answer is 6-4, placed vertically; 4-4, placed vertically.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for April 10 Pips

Equal (5): Every domino half in this purple space must have 5 pips. The answer is 5-5, placed vertically; 5-1, placed horizontally; and 5-3, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this red space must add up to 4. The answer is 5-1, placed horizontally; 3-4, placed horizontally.

Equal (4): Every domino half in this light blue space must have 4 pips. The answer is 3-4, placed horizontally; 4-0, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this yellow space must add up to 4. The answer is 1-3, placed horizontally.

Equal (0): Every domino half in this dark blue space must have 0 pips. The answer is 4-0, placed vertically; 0-0, placed vertically.

Greater Than (4): Everything in this green space must add up to be greater than 4. The answer is 5-3, placed vertically; 2-6, placed vertically.

Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips. The answer is 3-2, placed horizontally; 0-0, placed vertically; 1-1, placed vertically; 4-6, placed horizontally; and 6-6, placed horizontally.

Equal (6): Every domino half in this red space must have 6 pips. The answer is 2-6, placed vertically; 6-3, placed horizontally.

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

Number (6): Everything in this yellow space must add up to 6. The answer is 6-6, placed horizontally.

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

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you're full of surprises.

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

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

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

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

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

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

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

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

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

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for April 10, 2026 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Spices

• Green: "Surprise!"

• Blue: Holed dairy

• Purple: They're the same color

Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Peppers

• Green: Things that pop up

• Blue: Descriptors for Swiss cheese

• Purple: Blue characters

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #1034 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Peppers: BELL PEPPER, CAROLINA REAPER, CHIPOTLE, PEPPERONCINO

• Things that pop up: EJECTOR SEAT, JACK-IN-THE-BOX, POP-UP BOOK, TOASTER

• Descriptors for Swiss cheese: FIRM, HOLEY, NUTTY, SWISS

• Blue characters: BLUE, GENIE, GONZO, SONIC

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for April 10, 2026

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

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

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

Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you're a mischievous.

Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There's always a theme linking every solution, along with the "spangram," a special, word or phrase that sums up that day's theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.

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

By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.

If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 10, 2026 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: On the sly

The words are related to sneakiness.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe being mischievous.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is diagonal.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Like a Fox.

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NYT Strands word list for April 10

• Canny

• Shrewd

• Slick

• Like a Fox

• Crafty

• Devious

• Wily

• Cunning

Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!

Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Strands.

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you always bounce back.

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

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 10, 2026 Where did Wordle come from?

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

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

What's the best Wordle starting word?

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

What happened to the Wordle archive?

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

Is Wordle getting harder?

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for April 10, 2026 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

A rebound.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring letters.

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter C.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

CAROM

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

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

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

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

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 bike part.

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

PEDAL

Hurdle Word 2 hint

Animal part.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 10, 2026 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

OFFAL

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Hurdle Word 3 hint

To mix.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for April 10 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 10, 2026 Hurdle Word 3 answer

BLEND

Hurdle Word 4 hint

Baloney.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

CROCK

Final Hurdle hint

An area.

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

SPACE

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

Orion will slam into Earth's atmosphere at more than 30 times the speed of sound, in what NASA expects to be the most demanding part of the Artemis II moon mission. 

On landing day, Artemis II entry flight director Rick Henfling and his team in mission control will run the final leg home of the 10-day spaceflight. After wake‑up, controllers will brief the four astronauts — Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen — on weather at the splashdown zone, then clear them to secure loose gear and climb into their pressure suits. 

A small final steering burn in space will aim the Orion spacecraft at a targeted patch of the Pacific Ocean, west of San Diego, California, where a Navy ship will be waiting Friday evening. On the ground, engineers will also arm backup flight software so the capsule can still guide itself through the atmosphere if its main computers fail.

This home stretch carries extra tension following Artemis I, when pieces of Orion's heat shield unexpectedly broke off during the uncrewed test flight’s descent. Engineers later attributed the problem to hot gas building up faster than it could escape during that mission's so-called "skip" entry. But rather than redesign the shield, NASA chose to change the capsule's path through the atmosphere to avoid the hottest temperatures. 

SEE ALSO: After splashdown, brutal obstacle course awaits the Artemis II crew

Long before launch, the heat shield was Wiseman's top concern for Jim Free, who led NASA's Artemis rocket and spacecraft programs in 2023. 

"Every time you see me come in, you take a step back," Wiseman told Free at a news conference, "because I'm coming about the heat shield." 

After NASA recovered the Orion spacecraft following Artemis I, engineers stripped the heat shield off the crew module to inspect the charring damage. Credit: NASA

Instead of repeating the same deep bounce from the inaugural flight, Artemis II will use a gentler "lofted" approach, Henfling said. Orion will still dip in and out of the atmosphere before the final plunge, but with a less dramatic climb and fall. That change shortens the distance to splashdown and keeps the gas‑pressure spikes seen on the first flight in a tolerable range. NASA brought in an independent review team before approving the revised plan. 

Glover said he's been thinking about re-entry since April 3, 2023: the day he was assigned to the Artemis II crew. 

"At one of the first press conferences, we were asked what are we looking forward to, and I said, 'Splashdown,'" he said during a very long-distance call with reporters from the capsule Wednesday night. "Riding a fireball through the atmosphere is profound."

Artemis II pilot Victor Glover, third from left, looks pleased with himself after positioning the microphone in front of Rise, the moon mission's zero-gravity indicator, during a call with reporters on Wednesday, April 8, 2026. Credit: NASA / Youtube screenshot

Though alarming, NASA officials said in 2024 that the damage to Artemis I's heat shield would not have harmed a crew.

"They would have not sensed any disturbance inside the vehicle, there would not have been any excessive heating on the structure, and the guidance would have put them exactly where the Navy needed to recover them," said Amit Kshatriya, a senior NASA official.

As Orion nears Earth, communications will switch from the giant moon‑tracking antennas of the Deep Space Network to near‑Earth relay satellites. About 20 minutes before entry, the service module — the section with solar arrays and the main engine — will separate and burn up over the ocean, leaving only the crew capsule to face the punishing heat.

Following Artemis I, engineers redesigned the reentry and descent path for the Orion spacecraft during Artemis II. Credit: NASA infographic

Entry begins roughly 75 miles up, with Orion moving at 25,000 mph. Air piling up in front of the capsule will heat to about 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit, engulfing it in plasma that may briefly cut off radio contact. Inside, the crew will feel about 3.9Gs — a crushing pressure of four times his or her own weight.

Though the astronauts have often described potential records as mere distractions, Wiseman admitted there is one he has mentally clocked during their training — potentially beating previous reentry speeds by perhaps 200-or-so miles per hour. Apollo 10's velocity translated to about Mach 37, according to its 1969 press kit. 

"We still giggle a little bit when we see a click over Mach 39 on entry," he said months before the April 1 launch. 

Once Orion is slow enough, a tight parachute sequence will take over. A cover over the nose will blow off, two small drogues will pop out to steady the capsule, then three large orange parachutes will open in stages to cut its speed to a survivable splashdown. Small thrusters will tip the capsule so it hits the waves at the safest angle near the California coast.

After splashdown, NASA will keep Orion powered for roughly two hours to monitor how temperatures inside the capsule change as it cools in the Pacific, even after the astronauts are on the recovery ship.

Dan Flores, who is on the recovery team, may be biased but calls this his favorite part of the mission.

"We have our friends flying around the moon," he said. "This is when we get to bring our friends back home to their families."

TL;DR: The 2026 MS Visual Studio version is a powerful, AI-enhanced IDE for just $42.97 (reg. $499.99).

Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 $42.97
$499.99 Save $457.02   Get Deal

For a lot of developers, the IDE isn’t just a tool — it’s the workspace where everything happens. And when that workspace slows down, everything else follows. Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 is built to keep that from happening, and it’s on sale.

As a fully 64-bit IDE, it’s designed to handle larger solutions and heavier workloads without the slowdowns that used to come with complex projects. Whether you’re working across multiple repositories, building cloud-connected apps, or managing enterprise-level codebases, performance stays consistent.

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Where things get more interesting is the deeper AI integration. Instead of just basic autocomplete, Visual Studio 2026 uses AI-assisted suggestions to help you write, refactor, and optimize code with fewer issues. It understands context — your variables, functions, and structure — and offers smarter next-step recommendations that can actually speed up development without getting in the way.

It’s also built for how development works now, not five years ago. You can build cross-platform apps with .NET MAUI, create web interfaces with Blazor, and deploy across Windows, Linux, and containers, all from the same environment. Integration with GitHub and Azure keeps everything connected to your existing workflows.

Collaboration is another strong point. Live Share allows teams to jump into shared coding sessions without complicated setup, making it easier to debug, review, and iterate together in real time. The overall experience feels streamlined: fewer context switches, fewer slowdowns, and more time actually writing code.

If your current setup feels like it’s lagging behind your workload, this is one way to bring it back up to speed. Get MS Visual Studio Pro 2026 for just $42.97 (reg. $499.99) through April 19.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Fully encrypted email has been available in at least some form for Gmail since the end of 2022, but now it's finally ready for mobile. Google is now offering end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for Gmail on Android devices and iPhones through the official email app.

Buying a vehicle seems to get more expensive each year. On top of the purchase price, you have to factor in gasoline, diesel, or electricity to keep it running. Insurance, registration fees, and depreciation only add to the overall cost. The last thing you need is an expensive repair bill.

Now that the calendar has turned to April, streaming services are rolling out new and returning shows every week. These next two months are always a crowded time for television because the eligibility period for the 2026 Emmys ends on May 31, 2026. The fifth and final season of an HBO Max comedy show will certainly be vying to take home awards this fall.

You might need to thank a self-driving car the next time your city patches a hole in the road. Alphabet's Waymo is launching a pilot program that will share data from its robotaxis to help municipal and state governments identify and fix potholes.

Amazon is facing backlash from Kindle owners after notifying users this week that support for Kindle devices released in 2012 or earlier will end on May 20.

The email sparked immediate panic online, with many readers initially fearing their beloved e-readers were about to stop working entirely — and others expressing frustration that devices they have used for more than a decade are effectively being pushed toward obsolescence.

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Much of the frustration seems less about the devices themselves and more about what they represent. Kindle owners repeatedly pointed out that their 2010 or 2011 devices still do the one thing they need them to do: read books.

On Reddit, many users framed Amazon's move as another example of planned obsolescence and unnecessary e-waste, especially because these devices are otherwise fully functional. Some commenters on X and Threads said they were considering switching to Kobo rather than buying another Kindle, while others called the change "a nightmare" and "a hostile act of predatory capitalism."

Across social media, readers described the move as a money grab. Some users said being nudged toward buying a new device, even with Amazon offering trade-in discounts, feels especially out of touch for people who cannot easily justify replacing something that still works.

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There is also a very specific kind of outrage coming from longtime Kindle loyalists who love the quirks of older models, especially devices with physical page-turn buttons. For some readers, older Kindles are more comfortable, more durable, and easier to use than newer touchscreen models. Losing access to the Kindle Store on those devices feels less like an inevitable software update and more like losing a favorite object that has been part of their daily routine for years.

For others, though, the news was less about outrage and more about amazement that some 15-year-old Kindles are still working well enough to make replacing them feel unnecessary. That's an unusually long lifespan in consumer tech.

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At the same time, some users online have been quick to point out that this is not exactly the end of the road. Many are already sharing workarounds involving jailbreaking, USB transfers, sideloading, and programs like Calibre, which allow readers to manually move books onto their devices.

As Mashable's resident e-reader expert, Samantha Mangino, noted, "The affected Kindles aren't necessarily being deactivated; service will just be limited. You can still read the books you have already downloaded to your Kindle per usual... Who's really losing out are Libby users, who have benefited from the Send to Kindle feature."

For some longtime Kindle devotees, this change might be enough to sour them on Amazon altogether — and to consider whether it might finally be time to try a different e-reader.