Category: Technology

Today’s NYT Strands tips are easy if you have the right deck.

Wiresthe New York Times‘ elevated word search game, requires the player to do a variation on the classic word search. Words can be formed from interlocking letters – up, down, left, right or diagonally, but words can also change direction, resulting in peculiar shapes and patterns. Each letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There is always a theme linking each 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.

By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a challenging game that takes a little longer to play than other games such as Wordle and Connections.

If you’re feeling stuck or simply don’t have 10 or more minutes to solve today’s puzzle, we’ve got all the NYT Strands tips for today’s puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.

NYT Strands tip for today’s topic: Follow suit

The words are related to letters.

Mashable Top Stories

Today’s NYT Strands theme explained clearly

These words describe card games.

NYT Strands spangram tip: is it vertical or horizontal?

Today’s NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.

NYT Strands spangram response today

Today’s spangram is Trick.

NYT Strands Word List for October 12

• Whist
• Bridge
• Euchre
• Pinocchio
• Swords
• Hearts
• Tricks

Looking for other daily online games? Mashable Games Page has more tips, and if you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable has games now!

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

Not the day you’re looking for? Here is the solution to yesterday’s Strands.

Corporate travel management company Navan – formerly known as TripActions – has filed updated IPO documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, even though the federal government is currently closed.

Navan is acting under new SEC rules that allow aspiring publicly traded companies that are in limbo during the shutdown to file updated information, including share counts and prices, and have their statements automatically approved within 20 days without staff scrutiny. Once the registrations are declared effective, Navan will be able to begin its roadshow. The rule, however, does not mean that employees cannot ask questions or demand changes to records later.

Navan declined to comment to TechCrunch about its updated IPO documents.

The prevailing idea was that the shutdown would cool and possibly freeze an IPO market that was just beginning to thaw. Even with this rule, many companies would rather get the green light from an employee than go it alone, sources said. Bloomberg. So the tech world will be watching how Navan’s bet works.

Navan’s updated filing shows the company plans to sell 30 million shares, with insiders selling a further 7 million. Its price ranged between US$24 and US$26. In the high-end segment, the company would raise more than US$960 million and be valued at US$6.45 billion. Navan is backed by Lightspeed, Andreessen Horowitz, Zeev Ventures and Greenoaks.

Navan generated 12-month cumulative revenue of $613 million (a 32 percent increase), with losses of $188 million, according to the updated document.

Scientists Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing a new form of molecular architecture, producing materials that can help address challenges such as climate change and lack of fresh water.

The three laureates worked to create molecular constructs with large spaces through which gases and other chemicals can flow and which could be used to harvest water from desert air, capture carbon dioxide or store toxic gases.

The academy said some of these materials had a remarkably large surface area – a material roughly as porous as a small sugar cube could contain as much surface area as a large football field.

“A small amount of this material can be almost like Hermione’s bag in Harry Potter. It can store large amounts of gas in a tiny volume,” said Olof Ramstrom, a member of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.

A small amount of this material can be almost like Hermione’s bag in Harry Potter. It can store large amounts of gas in a tiny volume.– Olof Ramstrom, member of the Nobel committee

Its advances grew over several years, the committee said, starting with Robson in 1989 and including contributions from Kitagawa and Yaghi between 1992 and 2003.

Kitagawa, 74, is a professor at Kyoto University, Japan. He said at the Nobel press conference that he was deeply honored by the prize.

“My dream is to capture air and separate it into – for example, into CO2 [carbon dioxide] or oxygen or water or something like that – and convert them into useful materials using renewable energy,” he said.

One promising field is carbon capture in cement production, one of the dirtiest industrial processes and responsible for seven percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are already being used in some cement plants to capture it before it is released into the atmosphere.

Following the discoveries, chemists built tens of thousands of different MOFs, some of which “could contribute to solving some of humanity’s greatest challenges,” the academy said, adding that additional uses included separating toxic PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” from water and breaking down trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in the environment.

Science is ‘the greatest equalizing force’, says winner

Yaghi, 60, was born to Palestinian refugees in Jordan, where his family shared a one-room house with the cattle the family raised.

“It’s quite a journey and science allows you to do it,” he said in an interview published on the Nobel website, adding that his parents barely knew how to read or write. “Science is the greatest equalizing force in the world,” he said.

Yaghi, a professor at the University of California-Berkeley, said he was surprised and delighted to win the award. He was 10 years old when he found a book about molecules in the library and said it was the beginning of a lifelong love of chemistry.

Robson, now 88, was born in Britain but moved to Australia in his early 20s. A professor at the University of Melbourne, he said he received the call from Stockholm, at his home in the state of Victoria, half an hour before the official announcement.

“I prepared fish for dinner with my wife and then washed the dishes,” he told Reuters.

Although he recently gave up alcohol for health reasons, Robson said he “broke that rule by having a glass of very cheap wine.”

The Nobel Prizes, which are also awarded for outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, literature and peace, come with a prize value of 11 million Swedish kronor (1.6 million Canadian dollars).

The literature prize will be awarded on Thursday and the Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday. The economics award will be announced on October 13th.

The Nobel Prizes are awarded to the laureates in a ceremony on December 10, the anniversary of the death of Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel.

I need to talk about Sora 2. It’s OpenAI’s new video generation app that’s both mind-blowing and scary.

It’s the first tool from any AI company that allows you to provide a warning and literally within seconds you get a full AI-generated video up to a minute long.

The results are not perfect, but they are close. Like Hollywood close by.

LEAKED META DOCUMENTS SHOW HOW AI CHATBOTS DEAL WITH CHILD EXPLOITATION

The lighting, the camera movement, the facial expressions. …It’s all shockingly realistic.

Want to see a golden retriever surfing through Times Square in slow motion? Done. A drone photo of a city being built from clouds? Easy.

Dead celebrities

People are using Sora 2 to generate fake videos of dead celebrities doing things they never did.

• JFK is transformed into a WWE superstar.
• Tupac appears with Mr. Rogers talking about respect.
• Stephen Hawking is attacked in the UFC. Warning: I knew this was all AI, but it was still disturbing to watch. Strange, right?
• Until Sam AltmanCEO of OpenAI, is stealing GPUs from Target.

SEN SANDERS: AI SHOULD BENEFIT EVERYONE, NOT JUST A FEW BILLIONAIRES

I’m sure you know that under US law, “slandering” someone only applies to living people, not dead people. This means families and estates have no legal recourse when someone uses AI to humiliate or misrepresent their loved one. It’s a free-for-all now and no one is responsible.

Even scarier?

Sora is also being used for stalking and impersonation. All it takes is one photo and you can make a video of anyone doing anything. Fake crimes, revenge content, political lies. Everything is possible.

Zero guardrails

DEMOCRATS DEMAND ‘ROBOT TAX’ AS AI THREATENS TO REPLACE 100 MILLION US JOBS

OpenAI says you need permission to use a person’s face or voice. Yes, as if that would stop anyone.

If the guy who runs OpenAI can’t stop his own face from being misused, what chance do the rest of us have?

Right now, you can only get Sora 2 as an iPhone app. You’ll need an OpenAI account, and it’s still invite-only, so most people don’t have access yet.

Sora 2 is an incredible tool. But it is being abused and the guardrails are flimsy at best. So from now on, when a video goes viral, you better assume it’s fake until it’s proven to be real.

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Apple plans to announce new products “this week,” according to BloombergIt’s Mark Gurman.

In your To connect newsletter todayGurman said products getting refreshed this week include the iPad Pro, Vision Pro and “probably” the entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro, with all three likely to receive a spec boost with Apple’s next-generation M5 chip.

Gurman doesn’t expect Apple to hold an event to announce these products. Instead, there will likely be a series of press releases on the Apple Newsroom website, and there may also be shorter promotional videos for each product on YouTube.

Monday is the Columbus Day holiday in the United States and Thanksgiving in Canada, so we’ll see if Apple keeps its announcements until Tuesday or later.

iPad Pro

The next iPad Pro has already been leaked in some unboxing videos from Russia. The videos confirmed that the device will be equipped with the M5 chip, and an increased minimum of 12 GB of RAM, but no major design changes were visible.

There is a small design change: “iPad Pro” is no longer inscribed on the back of the device.

Previously, it was rumored that the upcoming iPad Pro models would be equipped with two front cameras instead of one, making it easier to conduct video calls in portrait and landscape orientations. However, there was no evidence of a second front camera in the Russian unboxing videos, so it’s unclear whether this rumor will pan out.

The Geekbench 6 results shown in one of the unboxing videos revealed that the M5 chip will have a 9-core CPU, with three performance cores and six efficiency cores. Results showed that the M5 chip will deliver up to 12% faster multi-core CPU performance and up to 36% faster GPU performance, compared to the M4 chip in the current iPad Pro.

Professional Vision

An updated version of the Vision Pro is also expected to be equipped with an M5 chip, although a previous rumor said the device would receive an M4 chip.

There could also be an R2 chip for improved input processing, but the report said that chip would be manufactured using TSMC’s latest 2nm process, and Apple’s first chips using that process aren’t expected to ship until the second half of next year.

Apple is expected to start including a more comfortable “Dual Knit Band” headband in the box with the updated Vision Pro, and the headset could have a Space Black color option. The device will continue to support Wi-Fi 6, rather than Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7, according to FCC documents that were erroneously made available for public viewing.

It’s unclear whether these changes will be enough for Apple to consider the updated Vision Pro as a second-generation model. Recent reports have indicated that Apple has suspended development of a truly next-generation Vision Pro, along with a low-cost, lightweight “Vision Air” model, as it focuses its efforts on smart glasses.

14-inch MacBook Pro

An entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 chip is “ready for launch,” according to Gurman.

A few days ago, AppleInsider reported that an entry-level MacBook Pro with an M5 chip would be released before higher-end models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, which are expected to be released in early 2026. Other than the M5 chip, no significant changes are expected.

Bigger changes to the MacBook Pro are expected with the two-generation models, with rumored upgrades including an OLED display, touchscreen capabilities, a thinner design, integrated cellular connectivity, and M6 chips made using TSMC’s latest 2nm process for even greater performance gains year over year.

Other products

New Apple TV, HomePod mini, and AirTag models are “still on the roadmap,” according to Gurman, but he didn’t provide any updates on timing.

He also expects new entry-level iPad, iPad Air, Studio Display and MacBook Air models, along with an iPhone 17e, to launch early next year.

At San Diego Comic-Con earlier this year, our first glimpse of the upcoming Star Trek show, Starfleet Academyput emphasis on the latter, reminding us all that this program is intended to teach the next generation of Starfleet officers. Our latest look at the series at New York Comic Con today wants to remind you, however, that this will still be a Star Trek show, with all the mystery, drama and adventure that entails.

Today’s climax Star Trek Universe panel at New York Comic Con, Paramount lifted the lid on the second trailer for Starfleet Academyrevealing a lot more teases about the show than just the hopeful college vibes that were on full display in our first look last summer. There’s still plenty of that – we have lots of classes going on (with new and familiar teachers like TravelerRobert Picardo as the Emergency Medical Hologram, and Discovery(Tig Notaro and Mary Wiseman as Jett Reno and Sylvia Tilly, respectively), and plenty of young adult drama for this new class of academy recruits, the first welcomed into the titular Academy (slash Starship, the U.S.S. Athens) more than a century after the events of the Burning of Star Trek: Discovery season 3.

Of all the new students, though, this trailer focuses on one in particular who will drive the show’s broader narrative: Caleb Mir, played by Sandro Rosta. Turns out he has a great connection with both Starfleet Academythe big, bad Nus Braka (played by the legendary Paul Giamatti, a half-Klingon, half-Tellarite hybrid), and the Academy’s most recent Chancellor, Captain Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter), named after his mother (Black Orphan and She-Hulk(Tatiana Maslany) was kidnapped by Braka when Caleb was a child. Finally meeting the boy again after fifteen years (and some history with Braka herself), Ake personally recruits Caleb to become an unlikely member of the Academy’s new ranks… and perhaps come face to face with Braka again when he resurfaces.

Starfleet Academy also features Gina Yashere as Athens First Officer and Academy Master Cadet Lura Thok (half Klingon, half Jem’Hadar), Karim Diané as Klingon science cadet Jay-Den Kraag, Kerrice Brooks as operations cadet Kasqian Sam, George Hawkins as Khionian command cadet Darem Reymi, Bella Shepard as command cadet Dar-Sha Genesis Lythe, Zoë Steiner as Tarima Sadal, daughter of the President of Betazed, as well as Oded Fehr as DiscoveryAdmiral Vance as guest. It was also confirmed today that Stephen Colbert will be the voice of Starfleet Academy’s Digital Dean of Students, making daily school-wide announcements.

Star Trek: Starfleet AcademyThe 10-episode debut season begins streaming on Paramount+ on January 15 with a two-episode premiere.

Want more news about io9? Check out when to expect the latest releases from Marvel, Star Wars and Star Trek, what’s next in the DC Universe in film and TV and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

In the increasingly crowded field of humanoid robotics, one thing that sets Foundation and its Phantom robot apart is the company’s embrace of the defense industry. That includes perhaps someday weaponizing this technology.

 

With many questions to ask, I visited the Foundation in San Francisco for a hands-on demonstration and the opportunity to teleoperate the robot. I also interviewed the company’s founder, Sankaet Pathak, who envisions this robot going everywhere, from the battlefield to Mars – one step at a time.

To witness this potential future robot warrior punch, walk, fall and do the robot (courtesy of my teleoperation), check out the video in this article.

 

 

Looking for the latest Wires respond? Click here for our daily Strands cheat sheet, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

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Today’s NYT Wires The puzzle is fun, with a bit of an old-fashioned feel. Some of the answers are a little difficult to decipher, so if you need tips and answers, keep reading.

I delve into the rules for Strands in this story.

If you are looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT Puzzles Cheats page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turn 1: These are the 5 hardest puzzles so far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

 

Today’s Threads theme is: Follow suit

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: give me a deal.

Keywords to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the theme of the puzzle. If you are stuck, find all the words you can. Each time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get these clues, but any four or more letter words you can find will work:

• REST, HIST, CHOP, PADS, RITE, RANG, SKATE, ARTS, HEART, TRICK, SKATER

Answers to today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that relate to the topic. The aim of the puzzle is to find them all, including spangram, a themed word that goes from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have them all (I originally thought there were always eight, but I learned the number can vary), all the letters on the board will be used. Here are the non-spanking answers:

• WHIST, BRIDGE, EUCHRE, SWORDS, PINOCHLE, HEARTS

Today’s Strands Spangram

 

 

Today’s Strands spangram is TRICKS. To find it, look for the T that is four letters down on the leftmost line and roll it up.

Strands’ hardest puzzles

Here are some of the Strands topics I’ve found to be the most difficult over the past few weeks.

#1: Dated Slang, January 21st. Maybe you didn’t even use that language when it was cool. Hardest word: PHAT.

#2: It explodes! January 15th. I think marine biologists can get this one right. Hardest word: BALEEN or RIGHT.

#3: Off the Hook, January 9th. Similar to January 15th puzzle as it helps to know a lot about sea creatures. Sorry, Carlinhos. Hardest word: BIGEYE or SKIPJACK.