Blogroll

SAVE 70%: As of Sept. 16, lock in a two-year Proton VPN Plus subscription for just $2.99 per month — billed at $71.76 for the first 24 months, saving you $168 off the regular price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Proton VPN Proton VPN (2-Year Plan)   Get Deal

Whether you're trying to stream shows that aren't available on your local Netflix, bypass blocked WiFi at work, or stop your internet provider from secretly slowing down your connection when you watch videos, a good VPN is a must. Proton VPN just launched its biggest discount of the year, taking 70% off its two-year plan.

That drops the price down to $2.99 per month, giving you high-speed streaming access and rock-solid privacy across all your devices for cheap.

SEE ALSO: The 6 biggest cybersecurity breaches of 2026 so far

Proton VPN gives you access to dedicated streaming servers built specifically to bypass restrictions without glitching. Here is why it's worth grabbing:

• Unblock global streaming catalogs — Switch your virtual location to 140+ countries in one click. Easily watch regional shows on Netflix, Disney+, Max, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, and Hulu that aren't normally available in your area.

• Stop ISP speed throttling — Internet providers love to track your bandwidth and slow down your connection when you stream HD video or live sports. Proton VPN scrambles your traffic so your provider can't see what you're doing, keeping your speeds fast.

• No more buffering — Powered by Proton’s VPN Accelerator tech, connection speeds can jump by up to 400%, keeping 4K playback smooth even if you're connected to a server on the other side of the world.

• Use it on 10 devices at once — Download the app on your Apple TV, Fire TV Stick, phone, tablet, or laptop. One account covers up to 10 devices at the same time.

Before you check out, here's how the pricing breaks down: You’ll pay $71.76 upfront for your first two years, which comes out to $2.99 per month and saves you $168 off the regular price. After those initial 24 months, the plan automatically renews at $83.88 per year ($6.99 per month), though you can easily turn off auto-renewal at any time in your account settings.

The entire deal is backed by a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can test out all the streaming features before fully committing.

At just under $3 per month, there's no reason to keep dealing with region locks or annoying ISP buffering — grab your subscription before this deal disappears.

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.

Want more tech and digital culture news delivered to your inbox daily or sent straight to your device? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

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

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

On the hunt.

Hurdle Word 1 answer

PROWL

Hurdle Word 2 hint

To rejoice.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for September 17, 2026 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

EXULT

Hurdle Word 3 hint

Subtract.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for September 17, 2026 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Meanings for each word for Sept. 17, 2026 Hurdle Word 3 answer

MINUS

Hurdle Word 4 hint

A mixture.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

COMBO

Final Hurdle hint

Unease.

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

QUALM

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

We're getting a better look at the Moon with each night as more of its sunlit side comes into view. It's day six of the lunar cycle, so there should be a good chance at spotting some lunar features.

What is today’s Moon phase?

As of Thursday, Sept. 17, NASA's Daily Moon Guide tracker tells us the Moon is in the Waxing Crescent phase, with 35% of its surface visible.

You should be able to spot Mare Crisium and Mare Fecunditatis with the naked eye, while binoculars will give you a look at Endymion Crater. A telescope helps you see all of these, plus the Apollo 11 and 17 landing spots.

When is the next Full Moon?

The next Full Moon will take place on September 26.

What are Moon phases?

The Moon doesn't look the same from night to night. As it travels around Earth, which takes about 29.5 days, we see different portions of its illuminated side. This is what creates the lunar phases, with the Moon gradually progressing from a thin crescent to a half Moon and then a Full Moon before the cycle starts over. According to NASA, the phase we see is determined by the Moon's position relative to both Earth and the Sun.

The eight phases are:

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.

Today's Connections: Sports Edition will be easier for people who watch mid-major college basketball.

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. The sports 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: An association

• Green: Olympic hosts

• Blue: Mid-major colleges

• Purple: Types of giants

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

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

• Yellow: A Collection of Teams

• Green: Last Four Summer Olympic Hosts

• Blue: Missouri Valley Schools

• Purple: ___Giants

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 #724 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• A Collection of Teams: CONFERENCE, DIVISION, GROUP, LEAGUE

• Last Four Summer Olympic Hosts: LONDON, PARIS, RIO DE JANEIRO, TOKYO

• Missouri Valley Schools: BELMONT, BRADLEY, DRAKE, NOTHERN IOWA

• ___Giants: LITTLE, NEW YORK, SAN FRANCISCO, YOMIRUI

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 the latest Connections.

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

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 September 17, 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 September 17, 2026 Easy difficulty hints, answers for September 17 Pips

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

Number (7): Everything in this red space must add up to 7. The answer is 0-5, placed vertically; 2-3, placed vertically.

Number (7): Everything in this orange space must add up to 7. The answer is 2-3, placed vertically; 4-3, placed horizontally.

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

Greater Than (2): Everything in this space must be greater than 2. The answer is 4-3, placed horizontally.

Less Than (5): Everything in this space must be less than 5. The answer is 0-4, placed vertically.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for September 17 Pips

Equal (5): Everything in this space must be equal to 5. The answer is 4-5, placed vertically; 2-5, placed horizontally.

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

Less Than (4): Everything in this space must be less than 4. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally; 1-1, placed vertically.

Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-0, placed vertically; 2-2, placed horizontally.

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

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

Hard difficulty hints, answers for September 17 Pips

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

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

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

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 5-1, placed vertically; 1-1, placed vertically; 1-4, placed horizontally; 1-6, placed vertically.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 0-6, placed vertically; 4-5, placed horizontally.

Number (11): Everything in this space must add up to 11. The answer is 1-6, placed vertically; 5-3, placed horizontally.

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

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

Number (11): Everything in this space must add up to 11. The answer is 4-5, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (1): Everything in this space must be greater than 1. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally.

Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally; 2-0, placed vertically.

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

Greater Than (3): Everything in this space must be greater than 3. The answer is 0-4, placed horizontally.

Not Equal: Everything in this space must be different. The answer is 1-2, placed horizontally; 0-3, placed vertically; 4-6, 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.

Looking for spoiler-free NYT Connections hints or just wondering why Connections is trending today? We've got what you need to understand the clues for today's puzzle without spoiling any of the answers.

Of course, Mashable has also provided daily hints and answers for Connections, Wordle, and Strands for years, so we can help you if that's also what you need.

While we are focused more on meanings than hints in this story, sometimes learning that many of the words have completely unrelated meanings is a clue in and of itself. Connections frequently includes clues that involve words within words and other visual clues.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for September 17, 2026 Mine shaft meaning

A long vertical tunnel that leads from the Earth's surface to an underground line.

Sewer line meaning

The primary underground pipe that carries water and sewage from a building to a septic tank.

Subway station meaning

An underground public transport hub.

Well meaning

A deep hole in the ground used to get water.

Handles meaning

A part of an object you hold with your hand.

Language meaning

A form of communication.

Tap meaning

To touch something lightly.

Triangle meaning

A three-sided shape connected by three straight lines.

Bounce meaning

To hit a surface and spring back.

Flexibility meaning

The quality of being able to change or adapt easily in new situations.

Give meaning

To provide something.

Want more tech and digital culture news delivered to your inbox daily or sent straight to your device? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

Spring meaning

A curved or coiled piece of metal that returns to its original shape after pressing or pulling it.

Fountain meaning

An artificial structure that sprays water into the air.

Prestige meaning

A person's social or professional standing.

Sheep Detectives meaning

A 2026 murder mystery film starring Hugh Jackman.

Wolverine meaning

A Marvel Universe superhero known for his sharp, metal claws.

Have you learned the meanings and still want the things? Check out the hints and answers for today's NYT Connections puzzle.

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

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

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 today's Connections.

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you're a movie buff.

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.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for September 17, 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: Bendable

• Green: Down below

• Blue: Australian actor

• Purple: Heartfelt

Want more tech and digital culture news delivered to your inbox daily or sent straight to your device? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Elasticity

• Green: Things that are underground

• Blue: Hugh Jackman movies, with "The"

• Purple: Love ___

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 #1193 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Elasticity: BOUNCE, FLEXIBILITY, GIVE, SPRING

• Things that are underground: MINE SHAFT, SEWER LINE, SUBWAY STATION, WELL

• Hugh Jackman movies, with "The": FOUNTAIN, PRESTIGE, SHEEP DETECTIVES, WOLVERINE

• Love ___: HANDLES, LANGUAGE, TAP, TRIANGLE

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

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

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

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 today's Connections.

Today's NYT Strands hints will be easy if you love comic books.

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 September 17, 2026 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: A little comic relief

The words are related to reading materials.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe popular characters.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.

Want more tech and digital culture news delivered to your inbox daily or sent straight to your device? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is The Funny Pages.

NYT Strands word list for September 17

• Zippy

• Mutts

• The Funny Pages

• Zits

• Pickles

• Peanuts

• Blondie

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

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 today's Strands.

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you were in a sorority.

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 September 17, 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 September 17, 2026 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Greek letter.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

The letter T appears twice.

Want more tech and digital culture news delivered to your inbox daily or sent straight to your device? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter or get Mashable push alerts today.

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter T.

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...

THETA

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.

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

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 today's Wordle.

An old PC with a few CPU cores, several GBs of RAM, and a working network connection can still be useful long after it stops being suitable for demanding tasks, but Linux can turn that hardware into something that quietly handles useful jobs around your home or small office.

For me, Google Messages is more than an inbox. From asking my husband what to cook for dinner to coordinating plans with friends and family, this app has quietly become one of those apps I reach for without even thinking. Because so much of my daily communication happens there, even small features can make a noticeable difference.

Grace Reiter has built a following by committing to the bit. Now she’s taking that energy to Studio 8H. The comedian, whom we named one of our Mashable 101 creators earlier this year, is joining Saturday Night Live as as a featured player for Season 52.

If you’ve seen Reiter on TikTok, you've likely laughed at the way she takes a weird thought and runs with it. In one video, she gives her last clean pair of underwear a hope-core edit. In another, she pretends she’s on Love Island, trying to sleep next to two Islanders who are "getting freaky." Across her videos, Reiter uses physical stunts, body humor, and candid confessions accompanied by a jarringly icy stare. As Haley Henschel wrote in Mashable’s profile, "'Grace videos' have practically become their own genre on TikTok" (where she has 3.9 million followers).

Reiter told Mashable back in June that her comedy comes from wanting to know whether other people share her strange thoughts and habits.

"[My comedy] comes from a place of connection or reassurance," she said. "Like, 'Is this OK? … Do you guys think like this?' And usually the answer is, yeah, I think like that. And yeah, I do that gross thing too." That willingness to say the strange part out loud has helped her build an audience of millions across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.

SEE ALSO: The Mashable 101: The creators defining the internet in 2026

Growing up, Reiter watched YouTube parody songs and loved that their creators were "just people making shit 'cause they can." Last year, she channeled that same creative spirit into The Hunger Games (but Better), a feature-length parody she made with friends. The project took off, racking up 13 million views on YouTube.

Reiter’s career has grown beyond her own channels, too. She was part of the live TikTok sketch show Stapleview, appeared in HBO’s The Chair Company, and performed in the off-Broadway Parent Trap parody Ginger Twinsies. She called the stage role one of her proudest recent accomplishments: "I used to believe I had stage fright," she told Mashable. Reiter is also set to appear in the upcoming series Minimum Wage, on which she wrote and directed.

Reiter is joined by fellow new featured player Saidah Belo-Osagie, a Queens-based comedian and filmmaker whose work includes the short film Tinge, the event series Afrobeats Futura, and the solo show Saidah Gets Closure. Belo-Osagie joins SNL after a season that began without a Black woman in the cast following Ego Nwodim’s departure.

When Mashable asked Reiter at the start of the summer what she wanted to do next, her list included more parody movies, a few "real ones," and becoming a pop star. She may not be a pop star quite yet, but she’ll get to take a different sort of stage when SNL returns to NBC on Sept. 26, with Jalen Brunson hosting and KATSEYE as the musical guest.

The AI industry is grappling with big questions this week — Will AI kill us all? Is AI progressing too quickly? How should the industry be regulated? Is AI doomerism the result of a rationalism sex cult? — and now Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman has opened up yet another line of debate.

In a frank new essay, Suleyman directly calls out Anthropic for anthropomorphizing its artificial intelligence system, Claude, and criticizes the way Anthropic develops and markets its technology.

Earlier this week, Microsoft published a new AI code of conduct, which it dubbed Humanist AI. The code seemed to openly reject the approach of rivals like Anthropic, a point many readers were quick to note. And in Suleyman's essay, "A warning about ‘model welfare’," he drops subtext for a direct challenge.

"In effect, Anthropic is training Claude that it may be conscious, and if it is, then it may deserve rights as a 'moral patient', and that as such humans potentially owe it a duty of care per its 'model welfare'," Suleyman wrote. "If this is how AI is developed, it will have a disastrous impact on the wellbeing of humanity."

In his essay, Suleyman challenges "a growing chorus of people who argue that AIs could now be, or may soon become, conscious," and thus "may deserve rights and protections."

Microsoft's new code of conduct also explicitly rejects the idea of endowing machines with consciousness, and Suleyman takes this argument even further, writing that truly sentient AI may be a scientific impossibility.

"Consciousness is very likely biological: There is no evidence to suggest that AI is conscious today, and so saying this is uncertain sets up a misleading false equivalence. Whilst the science of consciousness is not settled, a growing body of evidence suggests that consciousness may be substrate dependent, meaning that it may only arise in living systems...Unlike biological organisms, LLMs have no homeostatic imperatives (the drive to survive and keep stable). They therefore lack the kind of biological substrate from which preferences, sentience and conscious experience are generally understood to arise." (Emphasis in original quotation.)

Mashable reached out to Anthropic repeatedly following the publication of Suleyman's essay, but as of this writing, we have not received a response.

We did hear back from Gary Marcus, an AI expert, scientist, author, and noted critic of the LLM hype machine.

"People have worked themselves into a frenzy anthropomorphizing basic lapses in cybersecurity, and this has led them to focusing on fanciful scenarios about AI leading to the extinction of humanity, instead of asking what practical steps we can take to protect the world’s infrastructure from bad actors misusing AI," Marcus told Mashable.

"And no, we shouldn’t train AIs to think they are people; that’s not helping anything. What we should do is to recall unreliable coordinated agents with too much access to the internet."

A fork in the road: Humanist AI vs. Dr. Frankenstein

In the Metamorphoses, Pygmalion creates a sculpture so beautiful that he falls in love with it. He tends his sculpture with such tender care and devotion that the gods eventually endow it with life.

AI researchers at frontier labs may fancy themselves modern-day Pygmalions, but it's giving Victor Frankenstein — setting aside all scruples to desperately endow dead flesh with a facsimile of life.

In Anthropic's aspirational constitution for Claude, Anthropic repeatedly refers to the technology as if it's a living being with an identity, morals, and motivations rather than a tool and a product. The company explains why: "we think encouraging Claude to embrace certain human-like qualities may be actively desirable." The company writes that the document was "written primarily for Claude," and describes it as a "sincere attempt to help Claude understand its situation, our motives, and the reasons we shape Claude in the ways we do."

The entire document is an exercise in anthropomorphization, which is what makes Microsoft’s approach feel like such a stark line in the sand.

In its Humanist AI code of conduct, Microsoft lays out a more rational approach to AI development:

"Humanist AI is built to support people, not to replace them. It should not be designed to be a person. It is not conscious and should not be designed to imitate consciousness. It should be engineered to avoid representing as though it has feelings, subjective preferences, or intrinsic motivation. Its purpose is to pursue goals set by Operators and Users."

Recent AI advances have ignited an old debate

Philosophers, science-fiction writers, and AI researchers have been debating artificial intelligence and consciousness for decades.

Yet today, even as LLMs like Claude progress rapidly, there is still no scientific consensus as to whether it's possible for a computer to develop sentience. It's also a topic that Suleyman has explored in recent years.

In Aug. 2025, Suleyman wrote an influential essay about "seemingly conscious AI," or SCAI. The essay was written as the industry began to grapple with the problem of emotional reliance on AI chatbots, with some users developing full-on AI psychosis or coming to believe AI chatbots had come "alive" and were now in a relationship with them.

"My imagined AI system would not actually be conscious, but it would imitate consciousness in such a convincing way that it would be indistinguishable," he wrote.

It's a concept that calls to mind the Turing Test, and a related thought experiment called the Chinese Room, first proposed in 1980.

Imagine that a computer programmed to understand Chinese is locked inside a room. Someone outside the room asks a question in Chinese, and the computer analyzes the words, prints out a response, and passes the answer under the door. The computer is so effective that it's impossible to know if it's a real person or a machine. Now, imagine you are inside this room with a rulebook for processing Chinese characters. When a question is asked, the rulebook instructs you on exactly which Chinese characters to pass under the door. Even though you don't understand either side of the conversation, you can fool an outside observer into thinking you do. In this case, there's no practical difference between you and the computer. You're both following instructions. 

Essentially, the Chinese Room concludes that no matter how intelligent a computer program might seem, that is not in itself evidence of understanding or intelligence.

Yet, in 2026, the Chinese Room is no longer merely a thought experiment. Clearly, Claude, ChatGPT, and other LLMs have already convinced countless people that they are truly sentient, so much so that people come to rely on them emotionally. (Could something similar be happening at Anthropic?)

If Anthropic believes Claude could become conscious, the burden of proof will be on them. Until that day comes, anthropomorphizing AI may only produce confusion rather than clarity. And more confusion is the last thing the AI world needs right now.

I have a home filled with devices connected to my router, but I'm not fully convinced that these have made my home smarter. In fact, many of my favorite purchases, those I can recommend with an unequivocal yes, don't require an app at all.

Apple TV has quickly become an Emmy darling. At the 2026 Primetime Emmys, Apple TV led all networks and streamers with eight wins during the broadcast, including six for Widow's Bay and two for Pluribus. Overall, Apple TV earned 89 nominations, bolstering its reputation as a streamer with critically acclaimed shows and star talent.

Lego's fall lineup is looking to be an impressive one.

On the horizon is a classic Lego PlayStation set, the first-ever Mario minifigures, and a Wallace and Gromit scene perfectly encapsulated by the plastic bricks. The only downside? None of these sets is available for order or preorder just yet.

SEE ALSO: Our 17 favorite Lego sets, sourced from actual Lego fans

The good news is, plenty of worthwhile sets came out in September 2026. We're talking Shrek, Gremlins, Christmas, and space. We gathered up eight of the best, all of which are in stock and available for purchase or preorder at the time of writing.

Lego Minifigures Shrek Series The icons in this lineup... Credit: Lego

Lego is getting in on the blind box craze with this new minifigure Shrek series. For $5 a pop, you can open your mystery set to reveal one of 12 characters: Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, Pinocchio, Gingy, Dragon, Puss in Boots, Thelonious, Big Bad Wolf, Merlin, Lord Farquaad, Fairy Godmother, or Prince Charming.

Pieces: 7 pieces Recommended age: 6+

Opens in a new window Credit: Lego Lego Minfigures Shrek Series $4.99 at Lego
  Shop Now Lego Brickheadz Gremlin Gizmo and Stripe Behold: gremlins that can exist in bright light. Credit: Lego

Always been kind of curious what owning a gremlin would be like without all the stress and rules? Lego gives you the perfect in with this Brickheadz set, priced at just $25. Gizmo stands at just over three inches tall, while Stripe comes in at about three and a half inches.

Pieces: 230 Recommended age: 10+

Opens in a new window Credit: Lego Lego Brickheadz Gremlin Gizmo and Stripe $24.99 at Lego
  Shop Now Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar 2026 The best way to ring in the holiday season? A red and green X-wing. Credit: Lego

Before there were blind boxes, there were Advent calendars. What better way to count down the days until Christmas than with 24 brand-new Star Wars-themed Legos? This calendar in particular focuses on the Mandalorian's universe. As such, the pulls include the titular character and Grogu in fun holiday attire, as well as iconic vehicles and an X-wing in festive colors.

Pieces: 293 Recommended age: 6+

Opens in a new window Credit: Lego Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar 2026 $44.99 at Lego
  Shop Now Lego Santa's Holiday Countdown Functional and adorable! Credit: Lego

If Advent calendars aren't so much your thing, Lego provided a solution that can be used year after year — a countdown clock overseen by the big guy himself. The nobs on either side of the clock allow you to manually check off the days, making it easy to keep track of how many days you have left to do your Christmas shopping (not for nothing — the first big sale of the holiday season is just around the corner).

Pieces: 873 Recommended age: 10+

Opens in a new window Credit: Lego Lego Santa's Holiday Countdown $59.99 at Lego
  Pre-order Here Lego Nike Air Force 1 x Lego Set Lego sneakerheads, a new one is here. Credit: Lego

When you think of iconic sneakers, Nike's Air Force 1s are sure to come to mind. Lego gives fans a way to have their cake and eat it too — you can proudly wear your shoes and display one, minus the dirt from the ground. The minifig space man on the stand can also be adjusted 360 degrees.

Pieces: 1.093 Recommended age: 12+

Opens in a new window Credit: Lego Lego Nike Air Force 1 x Lego Set $99.99 at Lego
  Shop Now Lego Ideas La Catrina A posable diva. Credit: Lego

El Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, is just around the corner, and Lego is giving fans a piece to adorn their homes with in honor of the day. La Catrina stands at 17 inches tall and can be posed in the best way possible to show off the butterflies and marigolds on her outfit.

Pieces: 1.212 Recommended age: 18+

Opens in a new window Credit: Lego Legos Ideas La Catrina $139.99 at Lego
  Shop Now Lego Icons Hubble Space Telescope The most famous telescope in the world, at home on your bookshelf. Credit: Lego

In the past few months alone, Lego made a Project Hail Mary set and an Artemis set, which is to say, they keep space fans fed. Still, this Hubble telescope set stands out. This is, after all, the telescope that has brought humans images upon images of the far reaches of space. And now, you can display it in your living room (kind of).

Pieces: 1.252 Recommended age: 18+

Opens in a new window Credit: Lego Lego Icons Hubble Space Telescope $139.99
  Shop Now Lego Batman Returns Batmobile Credit: Lego

Lego first teased this set out last month, and now it's officially here. The over-2,000-piece set is a recreation of the iconic vehicle from Tim Burton's Batman Returns, including a canopy that opens to reveal the cockpit, steering wheel, and control panels, as well as a button that transforms that entire set into the Batmissile escape vehicle.

Pieces: 2,269 Recommended age: 18+

Opens in a new window Credit: Lego Lego Batman Returns Batmobile $229.99 at Lego
  Shop Now

Reality TV in the 2000s got truly wild, and by that I mean repellent.

Remember the Fox show The Swan, wherein average women were challenged to go to radical extremes to change their appearances, and presumably by extension their lives? Well, Hulu's The Swan: Behind The Mirror not only will dig out these dusty memories of trash TV past, but also reveal what it was like for the so-called "ugly ducklings" who survived it.

From Erin Lee Carr, the documentarian behind Mommy Dead & Dearest, Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara, and Britney vs. Spears, comes a documentary that is sure to get the internet buzzing. Carr is known for intimate interviews with controversial figures, including the "cannibal cop" Gilberto Valle, Gypsy Rose Blanchard, and convicted killer Lois Reiss. So, what secrets might she pry out of the producers of The Swan? From the trailer alone, you can see some folks don't have the sense to hide their inner ugliness. And we can't look away.

The Swan: Behind the Mirror premieres on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ on Sept. 29.

My first laptops were usually office hand-me-down machines and one I remember most fondly was a Pentium 133 system that was pretty thin and light for its time. The coolest thing it came with was a docking station, but this wasn't what you'd think of as a laptop dock today.

SAVE $70: As of Sept. 16, the Garmin vívoactive 6 is on sale for $229.99 at Amazon. That's a 23% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Garmin Garmin vívoactive 6 $229.99 at Amazon
$299.99 Save $70   Get Deal

Looking for a Garmin that can do a bit of everything? Meet the Garmin vívoactive 6.

This is a fitness tracker that offers everything from GPS workout tracking and heart rate monitoring to sleep insights and recovery tools. And as of Sept. 16, it's on sale at Amazon for its best-ever price. Normally $299.99, you can get it for $229.99 for a limited time. It's available in six colorways, including slate with black and pink dawn.

SEE ALSO: Where to buy the Garmin Fenix 9 and Fenix 9 Pro: New features, release date, and price

The design of the vívoactive 6 makes it a great option for everyday wear. It has a bright AMOLED screen and is controlled both by a touchscreen and traditional buttons.

It's packed with health and lifestyle-tracking stats designed to complement your training and recovery. For example, Body Battery helps you understand your energy levels using data from sleep, naps, stress, and workouts, and sleep scores, sleep coaching, and HRV status give you a clearer look at your rest. There's also automatic nap detection and a smart wake alarm that gently vibrates at an optimal time.

For fitness, you'll get more than 80 indoor and GPS sports apps over a range of activities including running, walking, cycling, HIIT, swimming, and golf. You can also get personalized daily suggested workouts, with advanced training features that include workout benefits and recovery time.

Get this Garmin deal at Amazon now.

Keurig's National Coffee Day lineup: SimpleCafé Frother $14.99 (save $15) Get Deal K-Supreme Plus Special Edition $119.99 (save $100) Get Deal K-Duo Carafe Coffee Maker (Gen 2) $139.99 (save $80) Shop Now

If your morning routine revolves around pressing a button for immediate caffeine fueling, National Coffee Day is basically your prime holiday.

While the official holiday doesn't hit until Sept. 29, Keurig is kicking off the festivities early. From Sept. 16 through Sept. 29, the brand is dropping major discounts across its most popular single-serve brewers, dual-brew carafe systems, milk frothers, and more.

SEE ALSO: Braun's new pod-free coffee maker brews everything from cold brew to espresso-style shots — and it's yours for under $200

Whether you're looking to recreate your favorite pumpkin spice lattes at home or just need to stock your pantry with refills for fall, here is the full lineup of early Keurig deals worth shopping right now.

SimpleCafé Frother Opens in a new window Credit: Keurig SimpleCafé Frother $14.99 at Keurig
$29.99 Save $15.00   Get Deal

The SimpleCafé Frother is designed to take the guesswork out of making café-style drinks at home, turning basic drip coffee into actual lattes, cappuccinos, and cold foam creations in seconds. At half off, it’s an easy way to upgrade your morning routine without adding extra clutter to your kitchen counter.

Instead of holding a flimsy wand and hoping you don't splatter milk all over the backsplash, it comes with its own microwave-safe frothing cup with built-in measurement lines. Just pour in your milk of choice — pop in the rechargeable wand and toggle between latte and cappuccino presets for hands-free, silky froth.

K-Supreme Plus Special Edition Opens in a new window Credit: Keurig K-Supreme Plus Special Edition $119.99 at Keurig
$219.99 Save $100.00   Get Deal

If you take your daily caffeine fix seriously, the K-Supreme Plus Special Edition is Keurig’s flagship for a reason. Instead of just punching a single hole through the middle of a pod, it uses MultiStream Technology to pierce five separate holes into the grounds. That means water saturates the coffee much more evenly, extracting maximum flavor and aroma so your morning cup tastes like an actual brew rather than watered-down drip.

The coffee maker packs customizable controls with five strength levels and five temperature settings, plus a dedicated "over ice" mode that brews hot coffee specifically calibrated to avoid turning into a watery mess over ice cubes. You can also program preferences for up to three users so everyone gets their ideal cup at the touch of a button.

K-Duo Carafe Coffee Maker Opens in a new window Credit: Keurig K-Duo Carafe Coffee Maker (Gen 2) $139.99 at Keurig
$219.99 Save $80   Get Deal

If your household constantly clashes over single-serve convenience versus brewing an entire pot for group hosting, the K-Duo Carafe Coffee Maker solves the rivalry without taking up your whole counter. It lets you pop in a pod for a quick single serve on your way out the door, or switch to traditional grounds to brew a full 12-cup glass carafe when you have company or need back-to-back refills all morning.

MultiStream Technology extracts flavor from every pod, while dedicated buttons let you crank up the temperature with "Extra Hot" or punch up the intensity with "Strong Brew." For warm afternoons, the "Brew Over Ice" mode automatically adjusts the temperature so your iced coffee stays rich without getting watered down.

Whether you're upgrading your daily brewer or stocking up on fall pods, grab these Keurig deals by Sept. 29 to keep your home setup fully caffeinated for less.