Good morning! Let’s play Connections, the NYT’s clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need clues.
BLUE: KINDS OF PANTS CAPRI, CARGO, HAMMER, STIRRUP
PURPLE: ___ ROLL CALIFORNIA, DRUM, EGG, HONOR
My rating: Moderate
My score: 1 mistake
There are days when the NYT’s difficulty ratings for Connections make no sense to me. Purple today is one of the ‘blank’ varieties, where you have to find the missing word that unites the four answers. These are typically the hardest, and always form (as far as I know) the purple group. But there’s no way that today __ ROLL was tougher than the green ROAD RUNNER CARTOON STAPLES or blue KINDS OF PANTS group.
I solved them all, but only thanks to a love of Road Runner that dates back 40-odd years. I doubt everyone will be so lucky. And I would have had no chance of solving the blue group, because I’ve never heard of HAMMER PANTS or STIRRUP PANTS. Am I out of touch? Quite possibly…
PURPLE: STARTS OF CELL PHONE MAKERS APP, GOO, MOTOR, SAM
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you don’t technically need to solve the final one, as you’ll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What’s more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.
It’s a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.
It’s playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
According to a patent that was published earlier this week, and noticed by MSPowerUser, it appears that LG is still working on a rollable smartphone. A rollable smartphone from LG first saw the light of day back in 2022 after the company exited the smartphone market. Sort of a, what could have been.
Companies file for patents all the time. They get filed for things they are working on, but not necessarily things that will see the light of day. Of note, this patent was filed by LG Display, which means that they could be working on rollable displays to supply to other companies, like Huawei, HONOR, OPPO, or even Motorola. So don’t take this as an absolute return to the smartphone market for LG.
According to this patent, the screen would roll out, sort of like a conveyor belt or a moving walkway. The patent also says that the device could roll out to different sizes, going from a compact phone to a larger device like a tablet.
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This isn’t the first rollable
As mentioned already, we did see a leaked LG rollable smartphone surface back in 2021, which was really unique. However, these days, we’ve seen a few other rollable devices show up – none of have gone on sale yet, however.
Back at MWC Barcelona in February, Tecno showcased a rollable smartphone called the Phantom Ultimate, and it was actually available for journalists to check out – instead of being behind glass. Motorola also showed off a rollable phone last year, which was a bit different from these others. Where instead of rolling out from left to right, it was up and down. Samsung is also rumored to actually launch a rollable phone in 2025, which means that we could actually see it go on sale. Of course, it won’t be cheap.
Now that foldables have pretty much matured, many smartphone makers are going to be looking at innovating with rollable phones. LG actually already has something like this, with the OLED TV R. Which is a rollable OLED TV. They’ve been showing this off at CES for the past few years, with it getting better and better every year.
It is important to remember that many patents don’t result in real products that go on sale; it’s more part of what the R&D team does and can also be sold to other companies or at least licensed. Which I think is more likely than LG making a return to the smartphone market.
Bluesky seems to have a bold new strategy to entice potential new users: posting on Threads. The rival social media service joined Threads amid a surge in complaints from users who are increasingly frustrated with Meta’s policies.
While complaints about Meta’s policies aren’t a new topic, they’ve gained new prominence over the last week amid complaints about the surge in engagement bait on the platform, as well as Threads’ sometimes inexplicable content moderation decisions. Meta exec Adam Mosseri, who runs the Threads app, has said the company is looking into both issues. But in the meantime, there’s been an increase in discussions about Bluesky, the decentralized service that has a very different philosophy when it comes to algorithms and moderation.
On Wednesday, Bluesky created an account on Threads, and promptly began pitching itself as an alternative platform for those frustrated with Meta. The strategy seems to be having an effect. “Bluesky” has been a trending topic on Threads for two days in a row and, at the time of this writing “Bluesky vs Meta moderation” was trending on the platform.
“We’re not like the other girls… we’re not owned by a billionaire,” Bluesky wrote in a post Thursday. “Your social experience should be yours to customize, not bent to the whims of whoever the owner of the platform is.”
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While not the first time Bluesky has lightly trolled a rival (see its X post from earlier this week), the company is seizing on genuine frustration among Threads users. Besides the complaints about blatant engagement bait in their feeds, users have been questioning Meta’s seemingly aggressive moderation tactics on Threads. The company already throttles political content on the app, has taken a heavy handed approach to moderation of the service, according to many users. A number of people have reported having posts actioned by Meta for using the word “cracker” or “saltines,” as The Vergepoints out. Social media consultant Matt Navarra shared that he was penalized for sharing a BBC article about the viral “goodbye Meta AI” hoax on his Threads account.
Bluesky, on the other hand, has taken a much more flexible approach to content moderation. It puts most decisions in the hands of users, who are able to decide what kind of content they want to see or not, and allows users to run their own moderation services. “We’re always doing baseline moderation, meaning that we are providing you with a default moderated experience when you come in [to Bluesky],” Bluesky CEO jay Graber told Engadget earlier this year. “And then on top of that, you can customize things.”
Whether the new attention on Bluesky will result in a significant number of departures to the service is so far unclear. Bluesky currently has about 10.8 million users, according to a dashboard tracking its growth. And while it’s not clear how many new people arrived in the last couple days, it suggests there’s been a bit of a surge over the past month as Bluesky previously grew to about 8.8 million users immediately following the shutdown of X in Brazil last month.
It’s been a pretty good year for horror fans. When it comes to movies, the summer was packed with the likes of Cuckoo, MaXXXine, and Alien: Romulus, while gaming has seen releases such as a Silent Hill 2 remake and the retro Crow Country. So, if you’re looking for something new to play or watch in the lead-up to Halloween, we’ve gathered all of our spookiest coverage here in one place to make things a little easier. (And if you missed it, we did the same thing last year.) So, grab some snacks, turn down the lights, and get ready for a few scares.
– Set to arrive sometime in 2025 – Started shooting in April – Will stream on Max in the US – Likely to be available on Sky/Now TV (UK) and Binge (Australia) – Creator/showrunner James Gunn has written all eight episodes – John Cena returns as Christopher Smith/Peacemaker – Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Jennifer Holland, and Steve Agee also part of the cast – Frank Grillo, Tim Meadows, Sol Rodriguez, and David Denman among the show’s newcomers – Story will pick up after season 1 finale – Set after 2025’s Superman movie – Unclear how it’ll impact the rest of the rebooted DCU
Peacemaker season 2 sees the return of an antihero who famously claimed to “cherish peace with all my heart. I don’t care how many men, women and children I need to kill to get it”. The return of John Cena’s fan-favorite DC character has certainly raised eyebrows because, well, the second season of The Suicide Squad movie’s spin-off series isn’t set in the now-defunct DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Instead, it’s part of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted DC Cinematic Universe (DCU).
Confused? So are we. Nonetheless, we’ve done our best to explain how Peacemaker‘s sophomore season will fit into – not to mention impact – the DCU Chapter One line-up. You’ll also learn more about its potential release date, confirmed cast, likely story details, and more in this guide, too. So, stick on the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’, grab your own Eagly (that’s Peacemaker’s bald eagle, for anyone not paying attention), and evoke your inner patriot as we break down everything worth knowing about Peacemaker season 2. Full spoilers follow for season 1, too!
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Peacemaker season 2 release date prediction
Peacemaker season 2 doesn’t have an official release date yet but, as Gunn confirmed on Instagram (see above), filming go underway in April. Since then, the DC Studios co-head has announced it’ll debut sometime in 2025, too (per Threads).
So, when could the hit series – which debuted on Max (US), Sky/Now TV (UK), and Binge (Australia) – make its return? Events in Gunn’s Superman movie, which flies into theaters next July, will precede what happens in this show’s sophomore outing. Gunn confirmed as much (again, via Threads), writing: “Peacemaker season 2 will take place after the events in Superman“, and that events in Superman impact Peacemaker. This all but confirms Christopher Smith won’t be resuming his quest for peace until the second half of 2025.
In yet another Threads post, Gunn revealed that, as of October, half of season 2 had been shot, so it’s likely that filming will wrap sometime in early 2025. Based on those variables, we expect Cena’s foul-mouthed vigilante to make his DCU debut in late 2025, with the show premiering around October next year on some of the world’s best streaming services.
Peacemaker season 2 trailer: is there one?
No. With the show’s release date still (probably) over a year away, it’s too early for a Peacemaker season 2 trailer. We’ll update this section once a teaser is released.
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Peacemaker season 2 cast: confirmed and rumored
Full spoilers follow for Peacemaker season 1.
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With the notable exception of Chukwudi Iwuji’s Clemson Murn/Ik Nobe Llok, who dies in season 1 episode 7, most of the show’s key characters will be back in action for Peacemaker season 2:
John Cena as Christopher Smith/Peacemaker
Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo
Freddie Stroma as Adrian Chase/Vigilante
Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt
Steve Agee as John Economos
Nhut Le as Judomaster
Robert Patrick as Auggie Smith/White Dragon
Viola Davis as Amanda Waller
Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr
Tim Meadows as Langston Fleury
Sol Rodriguez as Sasha Bordeaux
David Denman as TBC
The headline newcomer is Frank Grillo (best known for playing Brock ‘Crossbones’ Rumlow in the Captain America movies) as military man Rick Flag Sr. We’ll get our first glimpse of Flag Sr. in action in Creature Commandos, which will be the first DCU project to arrive when it launches this December. Given the murkiness of how events in The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker season 1 will fit into the wider DCU, we think Grillo’s casting as Flag Sr. will make it harder to follow Gunn’s cinematic universe.
But we digress. Other new additions include Star Trek: Picard’s Sol Rodriguez as established DC comic-book character Sasha Bordeaux, Mean Girls’ Tim Meadows as government agent Langston Fleury, and The Office’s David Denman in a yet-to-be-confirmed role. It’s also all but confirmed that Peacemaker’s white supremacist dad Auggie will be back from the dead – in a manner of speaking, but more on this later – after Robert Patrick told PopVerse that he recently filmed a “big scene” for season 2.
Elsewhere, there are rumors (per Cinemablend) that For All Mankind’s Joel Kinnaman could return as Rick Flag Jr. However, Task Force X’s leader was killed by Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad so, like Patrick’s Auggie, it’s unclear how he’ll return. The safest way to bring back the pair would be in flashback sequences but, hey, nobody’s ever truly dead in the world of comic books and, by proxy, their big- and small-screen adaptations.
Peacemaker season 2 story speculation
Full spoilers follow for Peacemaker season 1. Potential spoilers are also discussed for season 2.
Shocking no-one, a Peacemaker season 2 plot brief hasn’t been revealed yet. That hasn’t stopped Gunn from teasing what’s to come in the show’s next installment, nor us from theorizing where things could go next after the first season’s finale
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“It essentially picks up where season 1 left off,” Gunn replied to a Threads user’s question about its plot, although he added that there’ll be “a couple of minor differences”. That’s to be expected, especially – as we keep saying – in light of the fact that seasons 1 and 2 exist in completely different comic book universes.
Anyway, by the end of the first season, Christopher Smith and his “11th Street Kids” associates had defeated the world-ending threat of the alien Butterflies, but not without cost. Group leader Clemson Murn (and Ik Nobe Llok, the Butterfly revolutionary inside him) was dead and ARGUS (Advanced Research Group Uniting Superhumans) agents Emilia Harcourt and John Economos, plus Peacemaker sidekick Vigilante, were all badly injured. All three were well on the road to recovery by the time the final credits rolled – indeed, Economos had even gone back to work at the Belle Reve Penitentiary, former residence of Peacemaker and the rest of the Suicide Squad.
Having previously taken an extremely violent – some might say murderous – approach to maintaining peace and order, Smith finally found himself on the road to redemption, too. Expect that path to continue in season 2 of one of the best Max shows, albeit one with plenty of roadblocks in the way.
One such hurdle is likely to be his late father, Auggie (aka White Dragon). Indeed, if season 1’s final shot is anything to go by – a vision of Smith Sr. appeared to Peacemaker outside their trailer – he’s set to exert some influence from beyond the grave. If this turns out to be the case, Robert Patrick is clearly excited by the prospect, with the Terminator 2 star telling old the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast: “To be honest with you, I think this could be the funniest f***ing stuff ever. In my own mind I’m trying to think of the scenarios James [Gunn] is going to come up with, and there’s a lot he could do. It’s unlimited, because I’m a f***ing ghost, dude!”
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Rick Flag Sr. is also unlikely to see eye-to-eye with Peacemaker, seeing as the latter killed his son in The Suicide Squad to stop him from whistleblowing on Amanda Waller’s nefarious dealings. Speaking of Waller, the morally dubious government mastermind behind Task Force X, she’s unlikely to be too far from the action – though you can rest assured she’ll leave it to others to get their hands dirty. You know, unless things go south at some point.
It remains to be seen which side newcomer Sasha Bordeaux will be on, too – the cyborg operative has worked for ARGUS in the comics, but started her DC career as bodyguard to a certain Bruce Wayne. Could Peacemaker season 2 set up some key story details for The Brave and the Bold, aka the DCU’s first Batman flick? If anyone’s going to drop some telling references about the direction of the DCU, it’ll be Gunn. Speaking of where DCU Chapter One, also titled Gods and Monsters, will go after Peacemaker‘s next chapter…
How does Peacemaker season 2 fit into the wider DCU?
Knowing how to watch DC movies in order, not to mention adding in its TV shows from various cinematic universes, is always a challenge – and things are about to get even trickier.
Peacemaker made his live-action debut in The Suicide Squad, a quasi-sequel to Suicide Squad (2016), which was part of the deceased DCEU’s continuity. Peacemaker season 1 followed on directly from The Suicide Squad. Since season 1 aired in early 2022, however, there have been big changes at DC. Gunn and Safran were appointed joint CEOs of a new-look DC Studios later that year and got to work trying to rebuild the comic titan’s reputation (from a cinematic standpoint, anyhow) after years of box office bombs and projects people were less than enthused about.
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Where Peacemaker is concerned, the long and short of it is it’ll straddle the DCEU and DCU which, as we keep saying, may make things confusing to follow. What aspects from season 1 and the wider DCEU have Gunn and Safran retained for Peacemaker? Will you need to watch season 1 to understand season 2? And why didn’t they just reboot Peacemaker – albeit keeping Cena in the title role – to give themselves (and us!) a clean slate to work from as the DCU gets underway?
On this day, #Peacemaker aka Christopher Smith made his first comic appearance in Fightin’ 5 #40, in 1966, created by Joe Gill and Pat Boyette. It’s the role @JohnCena was born to play, and I can’t wait to show you all what we’re cooking up now for @Peacemaker Season 2! pic.twitter.com/LRkiIlHpERSeptember 2, 2024
We won’t have answers to those queries until the show returns. But, responding to a Threads user asking ifseason 2 is going to be totally different than season 1, Gunn responded: “You’ll have to wait and see how that works out!”. Subsequently asked why he didn’t just make this follow-up season a new show, Gunn replied: “Because it’s my favorite thing to do, it’s the biggest original Max show ever, and I have a way in. It won’t be confusing”. We’ll see, James, we’ll see.
As for Peacemaker season 2’s potential impact on future DCU projects, another character making the jump between DC continuities is Amanda Waller. In fact, a Waller-focused show was part of the rebooted DCU slate Gunn first announced in January 2023, with the show set to arrive after Peacemaker season 2. Taking to Threads, Gunn reconfirmed Christal Henry (Watchmen) and Jeremy Carver (Doom Patrol) are Waller‘s showrunners, too.
Little else is known about the effect Peacemaker‘s next adventure will have on other DCU Chapter One movies and shows. As we said, based on Sasha Bordeaux’s inclusion, it may connect to The Brave and the Bold. Flag Sr.’s appearance might suggest that a second season of Creature Commandos could be born out of whatever happens once this show ends, too, especially if Flag Sr. ends up leading a new version of the team, or a new installment of the Suicide Squad/Task Force X. In short: we’ll have to wait and see how Peacemaker season 2 will influence Gods and Monsters’ slate of projects.
Strands is a brand new daily puzzle from the New York Times. A trickier take on the classic word search, you’ll need a keen eye to solve this puzzle.
Like Wordle, Connections, and the Mini Crossword, Strands can be a bit difficult to solve some days. There’s no shame in needing a little help from time to time. If you’re stuck and need to know the answers to today’s Strands puzzle, check out the solved puzzle below.
You start every Strands puzzle with the goal of finding the “theme words” hidden in the grid of letters. Manipulate letters by dragging or tapping to craft words; double-tap the final letter to confirm. If you find the correct word, the letters will be highlighted blue and will no longer be selectable.
If you find a word that isn’t a theme word, it still helps! For every three non-theme words you find that are at least four letters long, you’ll get a hint — the letters of one of the theme words will be revealed and you’ll just have to unscramble it.
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Every single letter on the grid is used to spell out the theme words and there is no overlap. Every letter will be used once, and only once.
Each puzzle contains one “spangram,” a special theme word (or words) that describe the puzzle’s theme and touches two opposite sides of the board. When you find the spangram, it will be highlighted yellow.
The goal should be to complete the puzzle quickly without using too many hints.
Popular social media platform TikTok’s owner ByteDance has debuted its first set of earbuds. Called the Ola Friend, the brand’s first buds have been introduced in its home market of China. The Ola Friend buds are linked to the company’s self-developed chatbot called Doubao. Notably, ByteDance’s chatbot is currently one of the most popular GenAI applications in the Chinese market with more than 47 million monthly active users.
TikTok owner ByteDance’s first earbuds are designed to serve as an audio assistant
Notably, TikTok owner ByteDance’s OIa Friend buds are designed to work as an audio assistant for the wearer. The wearable allows people to chat directly with the brand’s GenAI chatbot without having to pick up their phones. The chatbot works as an assistant when the user is traveling, practicing English, listening to music, or looking for company, said ByteDance.
Furthermore, users can install the ByteDance chatbot on their smartphone and connect to the earbuds. Then they can activate it using the voice prompt word “Doubao Doubao”. The prompt word is derived from the brand’s GenAI service that was launched last year. Notably, the service is powered by the company’s large lange model – the tech behind GenAI apps – that’s also dubbed Doubao.
Priced at around $170, the Ola Friend will be available only in China for now
ByteDance’s Ola Friend wireless earbuds feature a distinctive design and weigh 6.6 grams each. The wearable is priced at 1,199 Yuan, which is roughly $170 when converted. The earbuds are available to order on Alibaba Group Holding’s Tmall marketplace. In addition, consumers can also order them from JD.com and ByteDance’s own Douyin platform, which is the Chinese sibling of TikTok.
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They will start shipping in the country from October 17. The audio accessory is offered in four color variants including Purple, Silver, Black, and White. ByteDance will only sell the earbuds in the Chinese market as its chatbot Doubao is only available there, which is the highlight of the accessory. The debut of the earbuds follows ByteDance completing its acquisition of Oladance, a maker of audio accessories.
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