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I fell in love with Arco from its very first frames.

In these opening moments, a flock of birds soars towards a cluster of towers jutting into the clouds, each holding up platforms covered in greenery and wind turbines. The image is utopian, yet there's a slightly foreboding to it. What led humanity to move to the sky? What lies below the clouds? The answer, unsurprisingly, is ecological disaster of our own making.

SEE ALSO: 2026 Oscar nominations: Full list of nominees

That tension between beauty and hard truths fuels the entirety of Arco, as French director Ugo Bienvenu pairs a charming tale of friendship with a sobering look at the realities of climate change. It's a glorious sci-fi journey, one told through the most remarkable animation you'll see this year.

What's Arco about?

The people who live on the platforms from Arco's opening scene are able to time travel. They fly to the past with the help of colorful cloaks and light-refracting crystals, bringing rainstorms and rainbows as they go.

Kids under the age of 12 are not allowed to use this technology, which doesn't sit right with 10-year-old Arco (voiced by Juliano Valdi in the English-language dub). So what does this aspiring adventurer do? He steals his sister's cloak and jets off to 2075, only to find himself stuck there. Thankfully, he has a newfound friend in Iris (voiced by Romy Fay), who is determined to help him get back to his own time.

Arco is another formidable animated film about climate change. Credit: Courtesy of NEON

While Arco's future is an idyllic one, fueled by renewable energy and a deep connection to nature, Iris' version is far more troubling — and hits closer to home.

Iris lives in a suburb that would seem right at home in our current moment, apart from a few changes. Her robot caretaker Mikki (voiced by Natalie Portman and Mark Ruffalo), as well as her town's hordes of robot laborers, speaks to significant technological advancements. So, too, do the holograms her workaholic parents (also voiced by Portman and Ruffalo) use to communicate while they're away at work.

But the most telling difference between our present and Iris' future is that of the protective bubbles that pop up around people's houses during ever-frequent destructive weather events. The threat of severe storms looms over the town, while kids talk casually about their families preparing for disaster in the face of encroaching wildfires. Clearly, this is a society that lives with the impacts of climate change, yet makes no large-scale attempts to mitigate its effects for future generations. (Sound familiar?)

SEE ALSO: 'The Wild Robot' and 'Flow' are quietly revolutionary climate change movies

Arco knows that climate change — and humans' acceleration of it — is what led his ancestors to make their way above the clouds. Through his eyes, everyday elements of Iris' world become accelerants of oncoming ecological collapse, such as the town's cars, or the excess of grocery stores, as opposed to his family's homegrown approach.

Bienvenu is never too heavy-handed in his messaging around climate change. Still, each of these world-building details combine to build a growing background sense of dread, one that only makes Iris and Arco's friendship all the sweeter by comparison. They offer up hope in a rapidly deteriorating world.

Arco's treatment of climate change recalls two of 2024's most outstanding films, Flow and The Wild Robot. Like Arco, each present worlds impacted by ecological calamities. However, these are not grand, sweeping stories of saving the world, but rather stories of the innocents — like Flow and The Wild Robot's animals, or Arco's young Iris and Arco — who have no choice but to endure these storms. In addition to Flow and The Wild Robot, Arco is further proof of animation's ability to communicate the realities of climate change to younger and older audiences alike.

Arco is a downright stunner.

And what animation is on display in Arco! A comic book artist himself, Bienvenu translates his 2D illustrative style to the big screen. The effect is glorious, reminiscent of the fantastical works of Jean Giraud (aka Mœbius) and the films of Studio Ghibli.

In addition to the rainbows and solarpunk sky towers of Arco's future, Bienvenu finds wonder in the 2075 timeline. The forests of Iris' town are lush wonderlands, while her school provides unexpected opportunities for escapism. Each classroom can transform into a variety of environments, from galaxies to underwater landscapes, offering Bienvenu and his team opportunities to flex their animation muscles and take Iris and Arco's adventure to new heights.

Another highlight of the animation is the mysterious trio of men (voiced by Will Ferrell, Andy Samberg, and Flea) who are tracking Arco down. They each rock colorful suits, bowl cuts, and rainbow glasses, and their bumbling attempts to find Arco are among the funniest and most visually distinct moments of the film.

In a mainstream animation landscape dominated by 3D-animated films, Arco's visuals are a testament to the enduring power of 2D work, as well as French filmmakers' commitment to the medium. If you love animation, run, don’t walk — or better yet, fly by rainbow — to catch it.

Arco opens in NYC and L.A. on Jan. 23, after an awards-qualifying run in 2025. It will open nationwide Jan. 30.

UPDATE: Jan. 22, 2026, 12:04 p.m. This review was first published on Nov. 14, 2025. It has been updated to reflect theatrical availability.

TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG: Unova Heavy Hitters Premium Collection is on sale for $134.87 at Amazon. That's $25 off its usual $159.99 list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokémon Company Pokémon TCG Unova Heavy Hitters Premium Collection $134.97 at Amazon
$159.99 Save $25.02   Get Deal

Premium Pokémon TCG collections rarely see meaningful discounts around their launch window, but we’re starting to see discounts on the Black Bolt and White Flare expansions more regularly. As of Jan. 23, the Pokémon TCG: Unova Heavy Hitters Premium Collection is available for $134.87, making it one of the better-value large-format Pokémon releases you can pick up right now.

The last expansions of the Scarlet and Violet set, this Generation Five Unova-based collection gives you a generous amount for just under $135. If you’re an avid trading card collector who missed out when both these expansions launched in July 2025, it’s a perfect set to help you catch up. 

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Inside the Pokémon TCG’s Unova Heavy Hitters Premium Collection, you’ll get 12 boosters total — six Black Bolt packs and White Flare packs, a code card for Pokémon TCG Live, four foil promo cards — Zekrom ex, Reshiram ex, Victini, and Zoroark — and an oversized Kyurem ex foil promo card designed for display. 

In terms of raw value, that pack count alone makes this deal more than worth your money. On Amazon right now, individual packs of both White Flare and Bolt Bolt are being sold for around $15. Based on the Heavy Hitters Collection’s 12 packs alone, this deal is saving you $45 compared to buying them separately. The added promo cards essentially feel like a great bonus prize on top.

For more multi-pack bargains, you can still buy an eight-pack lot of the Pokémon TCG’s Journey Together expansion at $16 off. For another high-end collection, the Pokémon TCG: Mega Charizard X ex Ultra-Premium Collection is still $100 off at Amazon.

SAVE $34: As of Jan. 23, the Apple Pencil Pro is on sale for $94.99 at Amazon. That's a 26% saving on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple Pencil Pro $94.99 at Amazon
$129 Save $34.01   Get Deal

The Apple Pencil Pro is back on sale at Amazon and if you use your iPad for anything more than casual scrolling, this is a solid time to grab one. The Pro is the most advanced in the range, designed for people who regularly write, draw, or do anything creative on their iPad. So if that's you, you'll love this deal. As of Jan. 23, the Apple Pencil Pro is down to $94.99, a saving of $34 on list price.

This Apple stylus is designed for iPads, giving a low-latency performance with tilt and pressure sensitivity for more accurate drawing, writing, and navigation. It even has gesture controls such as squeeze and barrel roll for switching tools or adjusting settings, along with haptic feedback.

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There's no cables involved or complicated pairing either, the pencil just attaches magnetically to the iPad for wireless pairing and charging. It also supports Apple Pencil hover on compatible models, a feature that lets you preview marks before actually placing them. And if you're worried about losing it, not to worry, it is compatible with Find My so you can track its location.

Get this Apple Pencil deal at Amazon and save over $30.

FREE BOOKS: The latest Stuff Your Kindle Day takes place on Jan. 21-24. Play Game, hosted by Indie Author Collective, is offering free sports fiction books for Kindle e-readers.

Welcome back, Stuff Your Kindle Day. We missed you over the festive period.

Play Game, hosted by Indie Author Collective, is offering readers the chance to download heavily discounted or free sport fiction ebooks. And the books that you download are yours to keep forever. So stop what you're doing and take this opportunity to stock up. The Stuff Your Kindle Day schedule is pretty busy in 2026, but we don't see a lot of sports fiction in these giveaways.

SEE ALSO: I tested the best Kindles to help you find the perfect e-reader

Looking to make the most of the latest Stuff Your Kindle Day? We've lined up everything you need to know about this popular event.

When is Stuff Your Kindle Day?

Play Game takes place on Jan. 21-24. Stuff Your Kindle Days often take place over 24 hours, this event runs for four days. That gives you time to check out everything on offer, assess how much you can actually read, and then download a sensible number of ebooks. OK, there's no need to be sensible here.

Who can take part in Stuff Your Kindle Day?

One of the great things about Stuff Your Kindle Day is that everyone can participate. Kindle, Kobo, and Nook readers can download these books for free. You can even download these books on your preferred app and read them straight from your phone.

Which ebooks are free?

Indie Author Collective is running the show, and has a helpful hub page for Play Game. This has a bunch of filters for major tropes, spice level, content level, and representation. By utilizing these filters, you camn head directly to what you want to read most.

Is Stuff Your Kindle Day the same as Amazon Kindle Unlimited?

Everything you download on Stuff Your Kindle Day is yours to keep, and there's no limit on the number of books you can download. Stuff Your Kindle Day downloads don't count towards the 20 books that Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscribers can borrow at the same time, so there's no need to hold back. This is the time to be greedy.

The best Stuff Your Kindle Day deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Kindle (16GB) + Kindle Unlimited (3 Months) $109.99 at Amazon
  Get Deal Why we like it

These popular e-readers help you take your entire library on the go. With weeks of battery life and an anti-glare display, you can read anywhere and anytime with the Kindle. Plus, you can get three months of Kindle Unlimited for free with your purchase.

SAVE $1,320: As of Jan. 23, the Jackery HomePower 3000 Portable with DC-DC Alternator Charger is on sale for $1,499 at Amazon. That's a 47% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Jackery Jackery HomePower 3000 Portable with DC-DC Alternator Charger $1,499 at Amazon
$2,819 Save $1,320   Get Deal

There are some great deals on portable power stations at Amazon right now, and if you're looking for a whole home power unit, the Jackery HomePower 3000 Portable with DC-DC Alternator Charge is nearly half off.

As of Jan. 23, this stacked model is down by 47%, now priced at $1,499. That's a saving of $1,320 on list price. And this isn't just for the power station unit on its own. No, this includes an alternator charger, a high-power car charger designed to rapidly recharge compatible Jackery power stations while you’re driving.

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The unit itself is designed to power your whole home when required. It has a 3,600W output (7,200W surge) and a large 3,072Wh capacity that can keep all your essentials running during an outage. It can power a home setup for up to 15 hours, or keep a refrigerator running for one to two days. It has a range of outlets too, including AC, USB-C, USB-A and DC ports, as well as dual 100W PD ports for fast charging.

Charging is flexible too, and you won't need days of notice to prepare it. In fact, it can fully recharge in around 1.7 hours using the hybrid AC and DC, 2.2 hours via AC alone.

Get this Jackery deal from Amazon now.

TikTok will officially remain in the U.S. for the foreseeable future. A new, majority U.S.-owned company had been established to continue running the popular video-sharing app in the country, and has announced some very U.S.-centric changes coming to your For You feed.

SEE ALSO: Why pro-Palestinian content is at the center of the TikTok ban

U.S. politicians pushed for TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell to American owners for years. These lawmakers claim that the Chinese government spies on American users via the app (though there is no evidence that this is actually happening), and accuse TikTok of manipulating its algorithm to present content that is sympathetic to Palestine and China.

Now it seems these politicians have gotten their way. Called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, the new company will take over ownership of TikTok in the U.S., as well as the American operations of other ByteDance apps such as CapCut and Lemon8.

"TikTok USDS Joint Venture's mandate is to secure U.S. user data, apps and the algorithm through comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity measures," read TikTok USDS Joint Venture's announcement. 

TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC is owned by a plethora of different investors, most of which are American. While TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance retains 19.9 percent of the U.S. joint venture, 45 percent is evenly split among three managing investors: U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake, U.S. IT company Oracle, and UAE investment firm MGX. 

A string of predominantly American investors own smaller chunks of the remaining 35.1 percent, including investment firm Dell Family Office and Susquehanna International Group affiliate Vastmere Strategic Investments.

How TikTok's new U.S. owners will impact your For You feed

TikTok USDS Joint Venture stated that U.S. user data will be held in Oracle's U.S. cloud servers, indicating that this will ensure it is secure. TikTok previously did the same, investing $1.5 billion to quarantine U.S. users' data with Oracle in an initiative dubbed Project Texas. Even so, this wasn't enough to reassure U.S. lawmakers and stave off the sale.

TikTok USDS Joint Venture will also use U.S. user data to retrain and update the app's famous content recommendation algorithm, also keeping this new version in Oracle's cloud. Other countries will presumably continue to use the TikTok algorithm without these U.S.-centric updates.

It seems fair to assume that this retraining may attempt to address politicians' aforementioned concerns regarding the type and tenor of content that people in the U.S. see on TikTok. The company further noted that it will "safeguard the U.S. content ecosystem" by taking control of TikTok's U.S. content moderation and trust and safety policies.

Fortunately, these changes don't mean that TikTok users in the U.S. will be completely cut off from the rest of the world. TikTok USDS Joint Venture states that content from U.S. creators will still be shown to users in other countries. However, it remained silent on whether U.S. creators would similarly continue to see content from the rest of the world.

As such, it wouldn't be surprising if U.S. users saw fewer pro-Palestinian TikToks on their For You feeds in the future. 

TikTok U.S.' new owner is led by CEO Adam Presser and CSO Will Farrell (not to be confused with actor Will Ferrell), both of whom previously worked at TikTok. The company will also have a seven-member, majority-American board of directors, including TPG Global senior advisor Timothy Dattels, Susquehanna International Group managing director Mark Dooley, Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban, Oracle executive vice president Kenneth Glueck, and MGX chief strategy and safety officer David Scott. Famously Singaporean TikTok CEO Shou Chew will also serve as a director at TikTok USDS Joint Venture.

We've previously learned that the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S26 smartphones would feature an innovative Privacy Display, and now that seems to have been confirmed — by Samsung itself.

Sammy Guru grabbed an animation showing Privacy Display earlier this month. And this week, in an official update on the One UI 8.5 arriving with the new S26 phones, Samsung included a screenshot that clearly shows a Privacy Display mode in the settings menu, all but confirming its official existence.

Mobile insiders have also spotted references to Privacy Display in the code of early versions of One UI 8.5.

Privacy Display is something like a frosted screen protector, blocking other people from seeing what's on your phone's screen. By activating Privacy Display, the Galaxy S26 phones will be able to do this natively, which is a neat trick. iPhones definitely can't do it (yet).

Everything we know about Privacy Display

Veteran Samsung leaker Ice Universe posted a video showing privacy screen technology in action. Filmed at Mobile World Congress in 2024, the video shows a device called the Flex Magic Pixel with the technology. See it for yourself on X.

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

In addition, the animation first spotted by Sammy Guru has also started making the rounds on X and Reddit.

Reddit

"Prevent others from seeing what's on your screen," reads a description of the feature. "Privacy display makes the screen less visible when viewed from a side angle. You can turn it on when you need it or set conditions for turning it on automatically."

Credit: Samsung Credit: Samsung Is Samsung copying Liquid Glass for the S26?

With the next Galaxy Unpacked event rumored to take place in late February, we're in the midst of a wave of pre-launch leaks — many of which confirm long-rumored new features such as Privacy Display. The rumor mill also suggested that One UI 8.5, and by extension the whole S26 lineup, will also adopt a more Liquid Glass-like aesthetic.

Liquid Glass is Apple's new design language, and debuted with iOS 26. It features translucent elements, more customization, and animations that bend and refract light. So far, iOS 26 and Liquid Glass have been controversial, with many design nerds criticizing the new look. Nevertheless, it appears Samsung is set to follow suit.

One UI 8 has already features some translucent elements — and a new preview of One UI 8.5 posted to the Samsung-affiliated Good Lock website shows even more Liquid Glass-style features. The widgets screen in particular looks very similar to the widgets screen in iOS 26.

A promo image from Samsung's One UI 8 overview Credit: Samsung A preview of the widgets screen in One UI 8.5. Credit: Samsung / Good Lock

Today’s change isn’t linear or predictable. It’s chaotic, overlapping, and largely outside of your control. Traditional leadership strategies fall short. To lead effectively now, you need to make change feel routine for your team. Here’s how.  Reframe how you talk about change. Instead of selling a future-state vision, communicate change as an ongoing journey. Emphasize the risk of doing nothing, and help employees focus on steady progress. To avoid overwhelming them with […]

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TL;DR: Live stream Tiafoe vs. de Minaur in the 2026 Australian Open for free on 9Now. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Alex de Minaur is one of the names to watch 2026 Australian Open. The Australian tennis star is looking to claim his first Gland Slam title on home soil. As the No. 6 seed, he's looked sharp so far and only dropped a single set in the first two rounds.

But a tougher challenge awaits in the third round in the form of American No. 29 seed Francis Tiafoe. Can de Minaur get one step closer to his first Grand Slam? Or will Tiafoe take the tennis glory for himself?

If you want to watch Tiafoe vs. de Minaur in the 2026 Australian Open for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

How to watch Tiafoe vs. de Minaur for free

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

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Look, we love Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle), even with his flaws. But this latest episode of The Pitt has us urgently worried about our favorite ER doc, all because of a few little words that call back to some fan theories out of episode 1.

The hit show's complicated attending physician kicked the second season off with a controversial move that had tongues wagging. Now, with Season 2, episode 3, titled "9 A.M.," he's lying about it. What does this mean for Dr. Robby's Season 2 arc and beyond?

Let's dive into it.

What did Dr. Robby lie about in "The Pitt"? Noah Wyle as Dr. Robby in "The Pitt." Credit: Warrick Page / HBO Max

He lied about his motorcycling habits. Here's how it went down:

In this episode, along with a grief-stricken burn victim, a kiddo with a "zebra" of a medical condition, and a mercurial patient with a mind-bending diagnosis, The Pitt also featured a squabbling married couple whose petty argument was interrupted by a motorcyclist colliding into their car.

While the episode followed the husband and wife through treatment and regrets over their fight, the motorcyclist was basically dead on arrival, with a shocking amount of his brain's gray matter on display. Usually stoic medical student Joy Kwon (Irene Choi) reacted in shock, asking, "No helmet?"

To this, the police officer in the room says, "Nope." While looking at the patient's ID, he notes, "He took the PennDOT motorcycle safety course." (PennDOT is short for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.)

Dr. Garcia (Alexandra Metz) quips, "Isn't that what you took, Robby?"

Dr. Robby responds sharply, saying, "Yes, but I still wear a helmet."

There's the lie.

The Season 2 opening sequence echoed the start of Season 1, following Dr. Robby into the emergency room of the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. But where in the first season he was on foot, in the second, he's riding a motorcycle across one of Pittsburgh's signature yellow bridges. And he's — say it with me — NOT WEARING A HELMET.

What does this helmet lie mean? Noah Wyle as Dr. Robby in "The Pitt" doesn't wear a helmet while motorcycling in "The Pitt" Season 2. Credit: Screenshot: HBO Max

When fans of The Pitt first saw Dr. Robby riding without a helmet in the Season 2 sneak peak, many called this behavior out on social media. Some declared it "unrealistic" for an ER doctor to behave this way, while others suggested such recklessness is a sign of Robby having a death wish.

Season 1, we saw him going to the edge of the hospital's rooftop, potentially considering jumping. Now he's riding without a motorcycle helmet on July 4, a holiday notorious for a spike in Emergency Room visits.

However, Robby will tell anyone who listens — even his loathed, returning colleague Langdon (Patrick Ball) — how he's going on a three-month sabbatical to motorcycle his way to an aboriginal UNESCO World Heritage Site in Alberta. So maybe he's taking the advice of night shift attending physician Dr. Abbot (Shawn Hatosy) and finding a hobby to help him relieve the stress of working at "The Pitt." But there are some worrying signs about his trip already.

Consider all this: He's riding without a helmet on busy city streets, an act some fans have called "passively suicidal." Of all the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the world, he's headed to one with the name "Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump." Then there's a motorcyclist with his head smashed in right before Dr. Robby's very eyes. And instead of considering how he opened himself up to such an injury just two hours before, Robby lies to assuage the concerns of his co-workers.

Are all these clues suggesting that Robby going on this particular sabbatical could mean we won't see him in Season 3? Could that planned long ride be his last?

On the one hand, with a third season of The Pitt confirmed, it's unlikely that Wyle, who is also a writer, director, and producer on the series, will be written off. But remember, Wyle did come up on ER, which saw popular leads like George Clooney and Julianna Margulies leave long before the show wrapped. So we're not feeling totally confident about Dr. Robby's fate.

What has Noah Wyle said about Dr. Robby not wearing a helmet?

Asked about this on the Golden Globes red carpet, Wyle told the AP, "There's nothing arbitrary about the way we do the show. Everything is pretty specific. And that was a very specific decision that we made to have him riding with the helmet on his backpack but not on his head — telling everybody he wears one, but we all know he isn't."

On Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Wyle spoke about the decision to have Robby ride without his helmet. Turns out it wasn't in the script, and it was his idea.

He told Kimmel, "The night before [we shot the scene], I had dinner with John Wells, who directed the [first] episode [of Season 2]...And I said, 'I don't know that Robby wears a helmet. I think he tells people he wears a helmet.'"

He then compared the motorcycle season opener to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's iconic introduction to Willy Wonka. The Pitt star explained how the film's leading man, Gene Wilder, agreed to play Wonka "if he could make his character introduction, where he comes out with a cane and a limp and then he walks up to the gate and then he falls forward and comes up into this very elegant sort of bow. And they asked him why he wanted to do that, and he said, 'Because from that point forward they won't know if I'm telling the truth or not.'"

For Wyle, Wonka and Dr. Robby have this uneasy allure in common. He continued to Kimmel, "We're talking about a guy who's on a mental health journey, who's resistant to getting the help he probably should get. What better clue can we give the audience that he's playing a little fast and loose with his life than to let them in on this detail that he's not telling the people that he works with, that love him."

So, yeah. We've been worried since that no helmet scene first hit, and our concern is only growing.

The Pitt Season 2 is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes being released every Thursday at 9 p.m. ET.

If you want to talk to someone or are experiencing suicidal thoughts, text the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. For international resources, this list is a good place to start.

Brace yourselves, Pitt Fiends! (Is that what we're calling ourselves?) Because episode 3 of Season 2 just dropped a major cliffhanger. As if Dr. Robby's lie doesn't have us stressed enough, now we've got a code black to deal with!?

Spoilers and speculation below for Season 2 of The Pitt.

For those unfamiliar with hospital terminology, a "code black" in this case means the nearby hospital will be diverting all its emergency room patients to Dr. Robby's trauma center until further notice. In Season 1, the day shift had to deal with the PittFest massacre. So, what calamity are they going to be grappling with now?

Well, while episode 3, titled "9 A.M.," drew to a close with only possibilities of what could cause the code black, The Pitt's Season 2 trailers gave us hints of what's ahead.

What does the code black mean for The Pitt Season 2?

Poor Dr. Robby. It's his last day at work before a hard-earned sabbatical. And just as he looks at the computer board to see that there's relative calm in his ER, charge nurse Dana (Katherine LaNasa) gets a call that changes her gruffly cheery demeanor (it's a yinzer thing) to all business as she asks of the caller, "Is this a drill? Is this a joke? It's the fourth of fucking July!"

With Dr. Robby and his eager replacement Dr. Al (Sepideh Moafi) alert for news, Dana explains that "Westbridge has a code black and is closing to internal disaster. Central's diverting all their ambulance traffic to us."

This means a problem has hit a neighboring hospital. But how serious is it? Robby and Al quickly offer several possibilities:

• Flooded toilet

• Power outage

• "A couple of doctors probably got the holiday flu, and they're understaffed."

Immediately, security guard Ahmad Zidan (Johnath Davis) starts a new betting grid on a white board, asking would-be gamblers to guess why the code black was called, how long the code will last, and how many patients will be diverted their way.

So, are you ready to place your bet? Before you do, let's look back at the trailers HBO Max has already released for Season 2.

What do The Pitt's trailers tell us about the code black?

On Dec. 16, 2025, the above trailer set up the returns of Langdon and Dana, as well as Dr. Robby's impending time off. Then, we see Dana on that red phone, asking, "Is this a drill?"

From there, an unknown voice says, "Westbridge has shut down all their computer systems." Dr. Mel King (Taylor Dearden) asks, "Are we next?" And then Dr. Robby warns, "We're about to go analog," as the computer screens switch to offline.

Now, at a glance, it might seem Robby was right with his power outage guess. But notably, the unidentified voice said Westbridge "shut down all their computer systems," not lost power to them. So, this could suggest a cyberattack.

What will going analog mean for The Pitt crew? Well, for one, they'll be doing things more like doctors and nurses did in the '90s, aka Noah Wyle's ER era.

In the trailer released earlier this month, we got a better sense of Dr. Robby and company in disaster mode.

In the start of this trailer, you can see the doctors and nurses gathering around a large white board, which seems to be used to track patients without computers. But nothing about the source of the code black is revealed.

So, what's your bet for Ahmad's grid?

The Pitt Season 2 is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes being released every Thursday at 9 p.m. ET.

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult to solve if you're good with measurements.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for January 23, 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: Distinguishable characteristics

• Green: Car placements

• Blue: Measurements

• Purple: Illumination

Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Facial features

• Green: Kinds of parking

• Blue: Imperial units

• Purple: Words before "Light"

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 #957 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Facial features: CHEEK, EYE, LIP, STONE

• Kinds of parking: GARAGE, METER, STREET, VALET

• Imperial units: ACRE, BUSHEL, FOOT, STONE

• Words before "Light": FLOOD, LIME, PILOT, TRAFFIC

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 January 23, 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 unknowing.

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 January 23, 2026 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for January 23, 2026 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: None the wiser

The words are related to innocence.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe being inexperienced.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Born Yesterday.

NYT Strands word list for January 23

• Credulous

• Artless

• Born Yesterday

• Naive

• Callow

• Gullible

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.

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

The 2026 Australian Open continues to serve up big action from the world's top tennis stars — names such as Alexander Zverev, who entered the Melbourne-hosted tournament as the No. 3 seed and now faces British hopeful Cameron Norrie.

Zverez reached the final last year and is now laser focused of winning his first ever Grand Slam title. But Norrie, the No. 26 seed, won't be an easy opponent. His best ever performance in the Australian Open is the fourth round, so you can be sure he'll want to match — or better still, beat — that personal record.

If you want to watch Zverev vs. Norrie in the 2026 Australian Open for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

How to watch Zverev vs. Norrie for free

Zverev vs. Norrie in the 2026 Australian Open is 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 handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Australia, meaning you can unblock 9Now from anywhere in the world.

Access free live streams of the 2026 Australian Open 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. Watch the 2026 Australian Open for free from anywhere in the world

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The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading services do tend to offer deals such as free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these deals, you can live stream Zverev vs. Norrie without actually spending anything. This isn't a long-term solution, but it gives you enough time to watch the Australian Open before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for 9Now?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live tennis 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 one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $59.88 and includes an extra three months for free — 69% off for a limited time. This plan also includes 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 Zverev vs. Norrie in the 2026 Australian Open for free with ExpressVPN.

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

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

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

How to play Pips

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

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for January 23, 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 January 23, 2026 Easy difficulty hints, answers for Jan. 23 Pips

Number (9): Everything in this space must add up to 9. The answer is 2-4, placed vertically; 5-0, placed vertically.

Equal (0): Everything in this dark blue space must be equal to 0. The answer is 5-0, placed vertically; 3-0, placed vertically.

Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 3-0, placed vertically; 3-6, placed horizontally.

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

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

Medium difficulty hints, answers for Jan. 23 Pips

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

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 2-0, placed vertically; 1-5, placed horizontally.

Less Than (1): Everything in this space must be less than 1. The answer is 0-6, placed vertically.

Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 0-6, placed vertically; 6-6, placed horizontally.

Equal (5): Everything in this dark blue space must be equal to 5. The answer is 1-5, placed horizontally; 0-5, placed vertically.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add up to 1. The answer is 0-5, placed vertically; 1-1, placed horizontally.

Number (7): Everything in this space must add up to 7. The answer is 3-6, placed vertically; 1-1, placed horizontally.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for Jan. 23 Pips

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 0-1, placed horizontally; 2-2, placed horizontally.

Number (7): Everything in this space must add up to 7. The answer is 1-1, placed horizontally; 0-5, placed horizontally.

Number (7): Everything in this light blue space must add up to 7. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally.

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

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

Number (9): Everything in this space must add up to 9. The answer is 3-2, placed horizontally; 6-1, placed horizontally.

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

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you're familiar with British order.

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 January 23, 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 January 23, 2026 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

A noble.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring letters.

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter B.

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...

BARON

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

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for January 23, 2026

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.

Is your boss preaching the virtues of AI at work, while you don't actually find AI helps anywhere in your role? Turns out you are not alone.

A new study from AI consulting firm Section surveyed 5,000 white collar employees, and found a major disparity between workers and their managers when it came to AI and productivity.

In the study, 33 percent of company executives said using AI saved them 4 to 8 hours a week. Another 19 percent claimed that they saved more than 12 hours each week thanks to AI. Only 2 percent of executives said AI didn't save them any time at all.

But when it came to non-managerial employees, the sentiment around AI completely flipped.

A whopping 40 percent of workers said using AI in the workplace did not save them any time at all. Another 27 percent of workers said that AI usage saved them less than 2 hours per week, and only 2 percent of employees said AI saved them more than 12 hours each week.

Meanwhile another damning AI report, from software company Workday, suggests even those estimates are overblown. In Workday's survey, 85 percent of employees who said AI saved them time actually wasted that saved time correcting errors made by AI, notes the Wall Street Journal.

AI can certainly be a productivity tool for certain industries. The technology sector has most embraced AI, according to the study. Some software developers have been able to utilize AI to help speed up monotonous coding tasks, even at the risk of making vibe coding mistakes.

Other industries have not seen the same benefits, however. Retail was at the bottom of the list in Section's study. But overall, 85 percent of respondents had either no work-related AI use cases or beginner-level use cases. 

Section's report also found that 40 percent of workers would be fine with never using AI again.

This echoes a warning on AI this week at Davos from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who urged the industry to look at whether the benefits of the technology are filtering down to average users.

"We will quickly lose even the social permission to actually take something like energy, which is a scarce resource," Nadella said, if AI systems "are not improving health outcomes, education outcomes, public sector efficiency, private sector competitiveness across all sectors, small and large."

Now these reports from Section and Workday suggest that social permission is rapidly fading, if AI even ever had it in the first place. And that should certainly be concerning to the companies betting big on AI.

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Thursday that several organizers of a recent anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church had been arrested. Soon after, The White House X account shared an image of one of the protesters, attorney and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, being led away by law enforcement officers with tears streaming down her face.

The post quickly received a Community Notes fact-check on X, which stated: "Digitally altered image. See original arrest photo here." The Community Note also included a link to the New York Post, which shows the real version of the image, in which Armstrong is clearly not crying.

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The White House’s X post includes the all-caps caption, “ARRESTED. FAR-LEFT AGITATOR NEKIMA LEVY ARMSTRONG FOR ORCHESTRATING CHURCH RIOTS IN MINNESOTA.”

Meanwhile, the X account of FBI Director Kash Patel released images of Armstrong and other arrested activists; none of them appear to be crying, though. Crooked Media journalist Matt Berg posted on X that he asked White House officials if the crying images were altered and was reportedly told, "the memes will continue."

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The memeification of serious news events is par for the course on the Trump administration's social media accounts. As Mashable has reported previously, the Trump administration uses X and social media to dehumanize and insult its perceived enemies, often using 4chan-style memes and artificial intelligence in the process.

Bondi also posted about the arrests on X, and the Post reported the protesters have been charged with "conspiracy against rights," which is a federal charge for preventing someone from exercising their constitutional rights. Right-wing commentators have also argued that the protesters violated the FACE Act. Ironically, the FACE Act (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act) is a law signed by President Bill Clinton to stop protesters from blocking the entrance to abortion clinics, but it also protects protesters from blocking the entrances of houses of worship.

The First Amendment does give Americans the right to peacefully protest; however, it does not give protesters the right to enter a church without permission and shut down a religious service. In fact, this type of behavior violates other people's First Amendment right to practice their free religion freely.

Videos of the anti-ICE protest at the Cities Church in St. Paul quickly went viral, with many viewers split between supporting the protesters and attacking them for going too far. Now, videos and photos of the protesters' arrests are going viral in turn.

As more Americans get their news from social media, the Trump administration has grown skilled at turning news into reality TV-style entertainment, with Trump as the star.

Rust 1.93.0 is now stable and was released today. It focuses on tightening up the compiler's safety guarantees while providing crucial new tools for performance-critical tasks. It is a solid release that makes the language feel more mature in areas that matter most.

Updated at 6:15 p.m. ET on Jan. 22: Microsoft shared a new update on its recovery efforts Thursday evening.

On the Microsoft 365 status page, the company wrote: "We're carefully rebalancing traffic across all affected infrastructure in the region, while monitoring the corresponding health telemetry, to ensure the environment enters into a balanced state as our remediation efforts continue. We’re proceeding as quickly as possible and this incremental approach will also help us identify whether any additional actions may be required to ensure longstanding recovery."

As of this writing, there is still an active alert for Microsoft 365: "Users may be seeing degraded service functionality or be unable to access multiple Microsoft 365 services."

Microsoft 365 services, including Outlook, are experiencing heavy downtime today. Users have been reporting outages since the afternoon on social media and on Downdetector.

"Users may be seeing degraded service functionality or be unable to access multiple Microsoft 365 services," an update on Microsoft's status page reads.

Microsoft has now released a more detailed statement on the issue, letting users know that they are working on fixing the problem and acknowledging which services are facing outages.

"We're investigating a potential issue impacting multiple Microsoft 365 services, including Outlook, Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Purview," reads a Microsoft statement posted on X. 

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"We've identified a portion of service infrastructure in North America that is not processing traffic as expected," the company said in a follow-up statement. "We're working to restore the infrastructure to a healthy state to achieve recovery."

Microsoft's ongoing updates continued to detail that the company was working on mitigating the issues in order to restore the affected services.

"We're continuing to review what actions are required to restore the affected infrastructure to a healthy state and rebalance the service traffic to achieve recovery," Microsoft posted on the official @MSFT365Status X account.

Microsoft's final update seemed to suggest that the underlying issue was fixed, but problems stemming from the outage are currently persisting. 

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"While we've restored the affected infrastructure to a healthy state, further load balancing is required to mitigate impact," Microsoft said. "We're directing traffic to alternate infrastructure to achieve recovery."

Mashable will continue following the Microsoft 365 outage and provide more detailed updates on what happened as we find out.