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Online ticket vendor aims to raise $1bn at a value of $16.5bnView the full article

Anthropic announced Thursday that it has added web search capability to its Claude chatbot. It’s not a new feature to the AI world—but the company’s approach stands as one the most thoughtful to date. Much like its rival Perplexity, Anthropic’s Claude works relevant information from the web into a conversational answer, and includes clickable source citations. Web search is available as a “feature preview” for U.S. users of the Claude 3.7 Sonnet model, with plans to expand to the free tier and to more countries What sets Anthropic’s web search feature apart is that it is automatic. Rather than requiring users to manually select a web search on a given query (as with OpenAI’s ChatGPT), Claude decides on its own whether fetching web data would improve an answer. After it receives a time-sensitive question, Claude now generates an initial answer from its training data and then states: “. . . but let me search for more precise information since this could have changed.” That matters since, without web search enabled, the results are subject to a cutoff date in the large language model’s training data. Claude’s training data only goes up to October of 2024, while ChatGPT’s (using GPT-4o) goes up to June 2024. That’s why ChatGPT (without web search turned on) returns outdated information when asked, for example, to identify which major AI chatbots have web search: It mentions Google Bard, for example—even though that product has since been renamed Gemini. With the web search button clicked on, all these errors disappear. (An OpenAI spokesperson points out that ChatGPT will automatically do a web search for questions that imply a need for up-to-date information, such as “What are the best travel destinations for 2025?” But as per the example above, the web search doesn’t always kick in when the results would benefit. Users can also regenerate an answer with web search turned on.) A web search is almost always helpful for a reality check on whatever information the chatbot surfaces. That’s why Anthropic’s move was a smart one: It removes the burden from users to determine whether a query would benefit from specialized search. Adding web search will certainly make Claude a more useful and reliable chatbot, but the move could have more commercial implications, too. People are increasingly using Claude to research products, and referrals from Claude to brand sites could become a key revenue source for Anthropic. “Anthropic is creating new entry points that complement how people are already using LLMs, and it’s working,” says Jim Yu, CEO of BrightEdge, an SEO and digital performance platform. BrightEdge data shows that Claude’s referrals to websites jumped 82% month-over-month in February, outpacing ChatGPT, Perplexity, and others. “Claude has historically lagged in this space, but this is a move that could finally put them in the game,” Yu says. Within the chatbot context, web search is used to take a quick snapshot of relevant information from the web to inform a response to a specific question. This is different from AI research agents like Google’s Deep Research tool within the Gemini assistant and OpenAI’s tool, also called Deep Research, both of which consult a broad group of sources using a defined and customizable research strategy. Anthropic doesn’t yet offer a “deep research” tool but that’s likely coming. Augmenting chatbot answers with web search information is a logical first step toward that. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. You can think of the Galaxy Buds series as Android's version of the AirPods. The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 are the open-ear version of the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, both of which came out last summer. Right now, you can get the Galaxy Buds 3 for $99.99 (originally $179.99) directly from the Samsung website when choosing "no" under the Samsung trade-in credit. This is the lowest price these earbuds have been since their recent release, according to price-tracking tools. Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Compatibility Android: Galaxy Wearable app, iOS: Bluetooth, Battery: 24H/30H (ANC off), Water: IP57 $99.99 at Samsung $179.99 Save $80.00 Get Deal Get Deal $99.99 at Samsung $179.99 Save $80.00 The Galaxy Buds 3 are feature-heavy. They have ear-detection sensors, so they automatically pause and resume as you take them on and off. They have 360 audio, which is an immersive sound feature that is similar to a surround-sound effect. The IP57 rating means they can handle sustained streams of water well. If you have a Samsung phone, you'll get automatic pairing and switching from Samsung devices, but the coolest feature is the Galaxy AI-based translation, which can translate spoken words between two parties or videos from your phone. Open earbuds are great for people who don't like sticking buds inside their ears and/or like to be aware of their surroundings even when listening to their media. The tradeoff is weaker bass and more sound bleeding. However, the audio quality on them are still impressive, and the ANC on them performs surprisingly well for ANC earbuds, according to PCMag's review. For under $100, these are a great value for Android or Apple users, but if you're a Samsung user, you get a much better user experience and bang for your buck. But if you want better ANC and don't mind an in-ear design, get the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro for $209.99 (originally $249.99). View the full article

US ambassador Lord Peter Mandelson signals that a variety of options are on the tableView the full article

A recent American Bankers Association survey showed improvement since 2022, but overall scores are still lower than in 2020 and gaps widened between providers. View the full article

If you want to instantly reveal your age, just order a hot black coffee — seriously. Gen Z is flipping the script on how coffee is consumed, and spoiler: they like it cold, sweet, and loaded with creamer. For a lot of younger drinkers, that very first cup of coffee was just as likely to be iced as it was hot. And get this—about 85% of Gen Z coffee fans are adding creamer, compared to just 70% of coffee drinkers overall. That shift in taste is making waves in the industry. Nestle, for example, has been rolling out new products to keep up—from cold-dissolving instant coffee to liquid espresso concentrates and all kinds of flavored toppings. “We’ve done a lot of things in cold coffee the last two years to really meet this need of Gen Z and young millennials,” Daniel Jhung, president of Nestle’s USA beverage division, tells Fast Company. “That’s a big trend that we’re pushing into.” COMBINING COFFEE AND CREAMER The coffee world is “booming” and the opportunity to innovate, while still providing value for a broad spectrum of consumers, makes for a fun time to be in this industry, says Jhung, whose role recently expanded to oversee the Swiss company’s coffee and broader beverages portfolio. One of the reasons why it made sense for Nestle to unite coffee and creamer under one team is because there’s such a natural connection between these products now. Or, as Jhung likes to quip: “What’s more Americana than peanut butter and jelly or milk and cereal? It’s actually coffee and creamer.” Industry data from Circana backs this up: Coffee and creamer are co-purchased together 60% of the time versus 40% of the time for milk and cereal, and 20% of the time for peanut butter and jelly. While it’s easy to offer coffee-and-creamer bundles to online shoppers, in brick-and-mortar grocery stores, coffee and creamer are often found in far-flung aisles—and this is a point of friction Nestle has heard about from shoppers. That’s why Nestle is thinking about how to bring coffee and creamer closer together in stores, Jhung notes. “That’s something that we will tackle together with retailers in the future,” he says. “They’re open to it; we definitely want to push it because that’s where consumers are going naturally.” THE FOURTH WAVE OF COFFEE In what’s perhaps a sign of the times, this year’s Super Bowl featured a handful of commercials for coffee-related brands, including Nestle-owned Coffee mate, which advertised its new line of Cold Foams with disembodied tongues dancing to a Shania Twain song. Coffee’s prominence in the biggest advertising day of the year is fitting: Daily coffee consumption hit a 20-year high last year, according to a report from the National Coffee Association. In addition, Nestle recently opened a 675 million coffee-creamer factory in Glendale, Arizona which is indicative of the company “putting our money where our mouth is,” Jhung says, adding that it’s designed to be flexible to respond to fast-moving consumer trends. “It’s going to meet the growing demands of this new coffee consumer for the next decade.” While such investments are indicative of overall strength in the coffee industry, Nestle is also eager to ride what it’s calling the “fourth wave of coffee” that’s being driven by the youngest coffee drinkers. This era is defined by “the four Cs” of coffee: cold, convenient (or instant), craft and customizable. “We think customization, experimentation is the crux of this fourth wave,” Jhung says. “These consumers really like to customize their cup, it’s really their own personalized cup.” That trend has continued since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, as creators and connoisseurs converge on social media to swap recipes and at-home barista types try to replicate coffee drinks they ordered elsewhere, Jhung says. Gen Z coffee drinkers are also introducing their older-generation parents to new products for their coffee, he adds. “What we hear sometimes is that the Gen Z [consumer] brings it into the house, and then you get the adoption from Gen X and even Boomer,” Jhung says. “It’s kind-of a cool thing to see that with the reverse mentoring.” INSTANT IS A HIT But what might surprise some people is the popularity of instant coffee, in particular, with the youngest of coffee drinkers. Instant coffee still trailed drip and single-cup brewers for at-home coffee preparation methods in 2024, but saw a 31% jump from 2023, according to figures from the National Coffee Association. Instant coffee is projected to be one of the fastest-growing coffee segments in the next three years, according to industry estimates, which tracks with trends at Nestle. While it’s long been popular around the world, instant coffee has “blown up” among American coffee drinkers in recent years, Jhung says. Nestle-owned Nescafe has experienced double-digit annual sales growth, and the company launched Nescafe Ice Roast and Nescafe Gold in recent years. Despite some misconceptions to the contrary, instant coffee is coffee—it’s freeze-dried—and consumers are increasingly drawn to it because it now marries convenience with craft offerings, Jhung says. “That’s a bubble burst [that] over the last three or four years.” INNOVATION ABOUNDS All of these coffee trends are indicative of a renaissance of sorts in various segments of food and beverage driven by younger consumers who see food as art, as Jhung notes. And Nestle is putting a lot of money behind keeping up with the tastes of these coffee drinkers—including launching specialty flavors like Thai iced coffee and a lavender coffee—which makes for a fun time to be at the helm of Nestle’s business, he adds. “It’s not a boring category,” he says. “You talk with the retailers, you talk with the consumers, it gets peoples’ energy up when they talk about how they drink their cup of coffee.” View the full article

Within hours of a fire at a power substation, one of the world’s busiest airports was closed to all flightsView the full article

Blaze at electricity substation that shuts down Europe’s busiest airport raises questions about resilience of UK infrastructureView the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Garmin watches like my beloved Forerunner 265S have so many features buried in their menus that you may not have discovered some of the best ones. Here are some of the best underrated features of Garmin watches (available on Forerunners and other models), as well as convenient shortcuts you’ll find yourself using all the time. Shortcuts for getting around your Garmin watch Left is the flashlight (it's brighter in the dark, I promise). Right is what you get when you long press on the sunset time complication. Credit: Beth Skwarecki Quickly get back to the home screenThis works on all the touchscreen watches: Wherever you are, no matter how many menus deep, just cover the screen with your palm. The screen will go dark, and when you activate it again (by tapping the touchscreen, flicking your wrist, or hitting the top left “light” button), it will be back at the home screen. Pull up a flashlightDouble press the light button (top left). Even if your watch isn’t equipped with an LED flashlight, this will turn on the flashlight app that displays bright white pixels to provide a soft light. It's handy for going to the bathroom in the middle of the night, or getting out of your kid’s room at bedtime without stepping on a LEGO. Oh—and you can quickly turn it off by putting your palm over the screen. Long press your watch face complicationsUnlike on an Apple Watch, you can’t tap a complication to get more information about it. I assumed that meant the complications weren’t interactive. But no—you need to long press the complication, and then you get the info. My sunrise/sunset complication pulls up a circular chart with sunrise, sunset, dusk, and dawn times (and an option to look at different dates or locations). You can also use this to get more information on complications that were on by default and you never quite figured out what they are. Garmin Share The watch on the left is sending a workout to the watch on the right. Credit: Beth Skwarecki If you run with others, or like to discuss workouts with a friend who also uses Garmin, you’ll love the Garmin Share feature, which allows you to beam a workout (or course map) to another person’s watch. “What’s a Norwegian 4x4?” my husband might say. “Here, I’ll send it to you,” I can answer, and he’ll have it in his on-watch workout library in seconds. How to send items with Garmin Share: Hit the Start button as if you were going to start an activity. Scroll down until you see Garmin Share as an option. Select it. You’ll see a screen that says Ready to Receive. Scroll down to see all your shareable items (workouts, courses, etc) and choose one. Your watch will say “Looking for devices.” If your friend has opened up the receiving screen, their watch model and their name will become available to select. How to receive a workout with Garmin Share: As above, go to the Start button, scroll down, and select Garmin Share. You’ll see a screen that says Ready to Receive. When they share the file, you’ll get an option to say yes or no to downloading it. You can also share a workout by finding it on your watch (as if you were going to do the workout) and then selecting Share instead of Do Workout. Sunset alertsYou can set all kinds of alerts on your watch. One day I was poking around the menus, just curious about what was in there, when I noticed a “sunset” option. I have this habit of going out for an evening trail run without checking how much time I've got until the sun goes down. It’s a recipe for regret: Either I’ll wish I brought a flashlight, or I’ll wish I had just started my run a little earlier in the day. But now, that’s a problem of the past. I went into Settings > Notifications and Alerts > System Alerts > Til Sunset, and set the time to one hour (1:00:00). Now, I get a little buzz on my wrist when I have an hour before the sun sets. If I’m dressed for a run but have been dawdling on getting out the door, that’s my cue. And if I realize I’m not going to make it back before dark, I grab a flashlight on my way out. Set hot keys for features that would otherwise be buried in a menuA hot key is a shortcut—something like, long press the START button (top right) to turn sleep mode on or off. To set up hot keys, go into settings > System > Hot Keys. There are seven you can use: holding the start, back, or down buttons, or pressing two buttons at once (start and down, start and up, back and light, or back and up). Some of the handy features you can map to a hot key include: Lock the device (great if you have a toddler who likes to play with your watch) Broadcast heart rate (so that you can see your HR on gym equipment) Change sport (if you’re running on the track, but want to switch to a regular run when kids storm the field for soccer practice) Turn the touchscreen on or off Bring up a stopwatch or timer Find my phone Credit: Beth Skwarecki This is a standard smartwatch feature these days, but I keep seeing people discover it for the first time, so here’s your public service announcement: Hold the LIGHT button (top left) to get that wheel of little shortcut things. Select Find My Phone, and it will. View the full article

The US president is testing constitutional limits and challenging the courts to stop him. Who will blink first? View the full article

Fewer than 1% of NCAA Tournament brackets were still perfect after Thursday’s 16-game slate, according to several services where fans attempt the all-but impossible task of predicting every March Madness game correctly — or, barring that, win their office pools. ESPN’s tracker listed 25,802 perfect brackets remaining out of more than 24 million filled out on its site following the final game of the day, Texas Tech’s win over UNC-Wilmington. The NCAA said 0.0938% of more than 34 million brackets were still perfect. The numbers were similar at CBS Sports, where 0.09% of brackets were unblemished following the first day of action. Yahoo Sports said 99.9% of its brackets had fallen short of perfection after 11th-seeded Drake beat No. 6 seed Missouri. Earlier Thursday, about 6.6 million brackets were busted on ESPN when No. 12 seed McNeese beat No. 5 seed Clemson 69-67. Creighton — which saw a boost in this category because it played the first game of the day — was listed as ESPN’s top bracket buster after its 89-75 win over Louisville. There were 13,339,089 ESPN brackets busted by that game. On the other end of the spectrum, ESPN reported that every pick was wrong on 30 of its brackets — a nearly impossible feat in its own right even if a contestant were trying to pick all losers. View the full article

Departmental spending squeeze and benefits crackdown part of chancellor’s bid to fill fiscal holeView the full article

If the thought of being hunted by something that can see your every move makes your skin crawl, you might want to steer clear of Eyes Never Wake. This viral horror game takes immersion to the next level, using your webcam to let a lurking monster track your movements in real time. To survive, players must physically move to avoid detection—ducking under desks, leaning out of sight, and staying perfectly still as the creature stalks the room. The game doesn’t stop at just watching. It listens, too. The game listens, too. With your mic always on, the AI-driven entity reacts to sound, forcing players to stay silent to avoid being found. “Every corner you turn is a chance for it to catch you. Listen closely, stay quiet, and be ready to hide your face at all costs,” the game warns. Currently available to wishlist on Steam, Eyes Never Wake has already drawn massive interest online. Its initial post on X racked up over 5.4 million views, with users calling it “next level” and “peak content for VTubers.” In my horror game, the monster SEES YOU THROUGH YOUR WEBCAM. Hide by physically ducking beneath your real-life desk while exploring a strange game not meant to be played. Steam link in comments!#horrorgames #horror #WishlistWednesday pic.twitter.com/JtPsLMnQg1 — Heder | Eyes Never Wake (@Hederlunden) March 12, 2025 And no, you can’t cheat the system. Covering your webcam won’t help—the game detects uniform objects and disables movement if the camera is blocked. “No, you can’t just cover the webcam,” the developer, Allan Hedlund, confirmed. “If you do, your character won’t be able to move.” That said, streamers who prefer to stay off-camera can opt to hide their face in-game while still using the webcam mechanics. It’s worth noting that, according to Hedlund, no footage or data is uploaded or stored. “Totally get that,” Hedlund responded on X to concerns. “The game simply uses OpenCV and OpenCV for Unity for face recognition with pre-trained models. Everything runs locally—nothing gets sent to any server. And you can always turn the mechanic off at any time.” While Eyes Never Wake doesn’t have a confirmed release date yet, it’s set to launch soon on Steam. View the full article

If your child has their own Android device, you no longer need to worry about loaning them your credit card or keeping cash on hand for purchases when you're not present. Kids can now use Google Wallet for tap-to-pay—with some parental oversight, of course, so they can't get into too much financial trouble without you knowing. Google teased this feature last fall and in February announced its inclusion in an anticipated update to Google Family Link. Google Wallet and tap-to-pay for kids is now live and available to families in the United State, United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, and Poland. How Google Wallet works for kidsKids can use tap to pay when checking out in stores that accept Google Pay or contactless payments. They must have a supervised Google Account and an NFC-enabled Android device (or a tethered Wear OS watch) with the Google Wallet app and screen lock enabled. Importantly, kids cannot use Google Wallet for online or in-app purchases or for Google services, such as Play and YouTube. While there are no additional spending controls, you'll get an email every time there's a successful transaction, so you can keep an eye on payments. Transaction history is also available in the Family Link app. Kids can also store passes, such as loyalty cards, gift cards, boarding passes, and event tickets, in Google Wallet. These can be added without parental approval, and you won't be notified if and when they are used. How to set your child up with tap-to-pay To add a payment card to your child's Google Wallet, open the Wallet app on their phone and tap Add to Wallet > New credit or debit card, then hit More > Next after reading the prompt. You'll need sign into your Google account, after which you can snap a photo of the card or enter the information manually. You'll also need to accept both Google's and the card issuer's terms to proceed, and you may be prompted to verify the payment method with a code sent via email or text or by calling or logging into your bank app. Parents can also remove cards from Google Wallet, either from a specific device or via Family Link. Open Family Link, select your child's account, and go to Controls > Wallet > Payment methods and transactions. Then select the card and tap Remove > Remove. You cannot remove other types of passes from your child's wallet unless you block access to passes entirely in your Family Link settings. Note that your child must be the cardholder or an authorized user for cards added to Google Wallet. View the full article

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has rehired more than 100 fire employees, but the union claims dozens of employees have not been reinstated in violation of a federal court order. View the full article

They are either being weak or hypocritical in the face of the current backlashView the full article

There was a time when we all had dedicated alarm clocks on our nightstands to wake us up in the morning. Now, I'd wager a smartphone does the job for most of us (whether we like it or not). The thing about alarms, though: They kind of need to work every time they're scheduled to go off. There's no acceptable percentage of failure, as, presumably, you're setting that alarm at a specific time for a good reason. You might have work, an interview, an appointment, any number of other important obligations, and not all of them are going to tolerate "my alarm didn't go off" as an excuse. So, alarms need to work, and right now, alarms set on a Google Pixel can't be trusted. Alarms aren't reliable on Pixel at the momentSomething screwy is going on with Pixel alarms, as evidenced by this Reddit thread on r/GooglePixel. One user shared that their alarm on their Pixel 9 did not go off that morning, which caused them to be late to work. This wasn't a one-off alarm, either (not that it would make the situation any better if it was); rather, this was the user's prescheduled Monday-through-Friday alarm that had been working for years, according to the poster. Scrolling through the thread, you'll find posts from other users experiencing similar alarm issues. Some actually received notifications from Android saying the alarm failed to sound, which is at least a bit helpful. (You don't have to spending the day wondering if it was your phone that messed up, or if you turned off the alarm in your sleep.) However, not all affected users were so lucky: Another user claims they have five alarms set each morning and none of them went off, with zero notification about a failure on Android's end. Curiously, one user says they woke up late, but their Pixel said there was an upcoming alarm for a time that was already in the past—as if the phone thought it was currently earlier than it actually was. It's possible this isn't just affecting Pixel phones, either. One commenter believes this is an issue with the alarms in Google's Clock app on Android 15, which the user experienced on their OnePlus device. All that said, Android Authority hasn't been able to replicate the issue on their end, so it's possible this isn't an issue affecting all Pixel phones or all Google Clock users. Still, there are enough reports to warrant some concern. Why is the alarm not working on Pixel?It's not clear what's causing this specific issue, but it's not the first time smartphones have had trouble with alarms. Last year, Google acknowledged a bug was deleting saved alarms on Android, causing a similar issue. You may have also experienced problems with Google Assistant being too quick to turn off an alarm too, or your Pixel Watch sounding the alarm too early—or, worse, too late. Before any Apple fans get too smug, the same complications are present over on iOS. Last year, Apple confirmed there were issues with its iPhone's alarms, as users reported their alarms weren't going off. Some even say issues are still occurring. The short answer is there's likely a bug that's causing Pixel or Google Clock to not sound the alarms you set. Google hasn't publicly commented on this issue as of this writing, but the Reddit poster did say Google Support has reached out to them. If this is a bug, hopefully Google patches it fast. How to get around a broken Pixel alarmWhile we wait for a potential fix from Google, it seems safe to say the Google Clock app isn't the best option at the moment for anyone who wants to be sure they'll wake up on time. Luckily, there are a surprising number of alarm clock apps out there for you to switch to if you don't trust Google's built-in solution. Give one a shot, at least until we get some more clarity from Google about the situation. Alternatively, you could rely on a different device entirely for your morning alarms. If you don't have a true alarm clock these days, you might have another piece of tech that isn't running Google Clock to rely on, like, say, a smart speaker. It's definitely a pain though, seeing as setting alarms are a basic feature you expect a smartphone to be able to handle. View the full article

Over 100,000 loans for first-time home buyers have been pooled and securitized in issuances this year, the guarantor of government-backed loans said. View the full article

Effective March 18, the department is retracting eligibility for non-citizens, it announced. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’re looking for tools to up your DIY game, you've probably noticed that they can be expensive. Buying new tools to expand a set or replace worn-out ones adds up quickly, but having the right tool for the project you’re working on can cut your work time in half and get you better results. DeWalt tools are on sale right now on Amazon for up to 57% off, so you can build out your toolkit without spending your whole DIY budget. Cordless tools setsIf you’re building out a new set of cordless tools, a combo set is a good way to get started. Sets will come with the chargers and batteries you need to run your tools, along with the tools themselves. These sets are on sale to make starting a cordless tool set cheaper. The DeWalt 20-volt drill and driver combo set is on sale for $124.00, 48% off its regular price. The set includes a 20-volt drill, a 20-volt, quarter-inch impact driver, two 1.5-amp batteries, a 20-volt charger, and a tool bag. This is a good starter kit for doing beginner DIY projects like hanging shelves or mounting a TV on the wall. The DeWalt 20-volt 9-tool set comes with a 20-volt drill, a 20-volt impact driver, a 6-½ inch circular saw, a reciprocating saw, a 4-½ inch angle grinder, an oscillating tool, a ⅜ inch right angle drill/driver, a work light, a Bluetooth speaker, two 20-volt, 2-amp-hour batteries, a 20-volt charger, and two tool bags. It’s on sale for $599.99, 37% off its regular price. This kit is a good foundation for a robust DIY tool set, but it only comes with two batteries, so if you plan to use multiple tools at a time, you might consider getting one or two more batteries and an extra charger so you can keep going while your spare batteries charge. DEWALT 20V MAX Cordless Drill Combo Kit, 2-Tool (DCK240C2) $124.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $239.00 Save $115.00 Get Deal Get Deal $124.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $239.00 Save $115.00 Tools only dealsIf you already have a DeWalt cordless tool set, you can still get a good deal on expanding your kit. Tool-only deals are great if you already have batteries and chargers and need a specific tool since you likely don’t need more batteries or chargers to use it. The DeWalt 20-volt, hand-held flashlight/work light is on sale for $35.84, 57% off its typical price. The flashlight is small, but you can also use the ring at the top to hang it and use it as a work light. The DeWalt 20-volt, 6 ½ inch circular saw is on sale for $99, 38% off its usual price. The saw comes with one fast-cut wood blade included, but no battery. The DeWalt 20-volt, 4 ½ inch angle grinder is on sale for $121.25, 45% off its typical price. It comes with a side handle, but no grinder wheel, so you’ll need to pick out an appropriate wheel or blade to use it. The DeWalt 20-volt reciprocating saw is on sale for $119.99, 50% off its regular price. It doesn’t come with blades or batteries, so you’ll need those to use your saw. The DeWalt 20-volt, 18GA narrow-crown stapler is on sale for $224.95, 47% off its usual price. This tool can drive staples without the need for a pneumatic air tank. The DeWalt self-leveling laser is on sale for $166.99, 37% off its typical price. It has a 100-foot throw and can be used for leveling decking, shelves, drywall, grading gravels, and plumbing posts. DEWALT Laser, 5-Beam (DW085K) $166.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $264.99 Save $98.00 Get Deal Get Deal $166.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $264.99 Save $98.00 Batteries and bitsIf you already have a DeWalt set and you need bits or to replace or expand your batteries, there are some good deals on these tools as well. Having the right bits and adapter can help you get your DIY projects finished without so many trips to the hardware store. The DeWalt 40-piece impact bit set is on sale for $24.53, $39% off its regular price. This set includes several driver tip types, a bit extender for hard-to-reach spots, and a quarter-inch adapter for sockets. A set of two DeWalt 20-volt, 5-amp-hour Powerstack batteries is on sale for $187.49, 46% off its regular price. These batteries are lighter and smaller than traditional lithium-ion batteries, so they can be helpful on longer jobs where you need to use your tools for several hours. View the full article

These mortgages held by low credit score borrowers, made up 90% of the rise in the number of loans 30 days or more late on payments, ICE Mortgage Tech said. View the full article

UK’s largest utility is facing a cash crunch weighed down by nearly £20bn in debtView the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The kitchen tends to be the heart of the home—it’s where we gather to share meals, nibble on snacks, and talk about our day. It’s also a pretty dangerous place. Aside from open flames, slippery floors, and flammable gas that is literally pumped into our homes, the innocuous little appliances that crowd our countertops can also represent real dangers. More than 150,000 people head to their local emergency room every year after an accident involving a household appliance of some sort. Small appliances might seem safe enough sitting on your kitchen counters, but they can be extremely dangerous if defective, misused, or placed in the wrong spot. Aside from the danger of hurting yourself, a misplaced countertop appliance can actually damage your home, as well. Here’s what you need to think about when you’re deciding where to place everything in your kitchen. General rules to keep in mindIf you want your kitchen to be as safe as possible, there are a few basic safety rules that apply to any countertop appliance: Keep stuff away from water. Don’t operate any electric appliances near sinks, pot-fillers, or any other sources of running water. This protects against electrical dangers and keeps the dangerous bacteria growing in your average sink from infiltrating your food. Plug into ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs). All your kitchen appliances should be plugged into GFCIs. Before 2023 only appliances located near water sources were required to be plugged into GFCIs, but the National Electrical Code was changed to include any kitchen appliance. These special outlets are designed to cut off to prevent electric shock, and using them reduces the chances that your countertop appliance will hurt you or damage your home. Never use extension cords. Even if the cord is plugged into a GFCI outlet, it’s a bad idea. Many countertop appliances like air fryers or microwaves pull a lot of juice, and can melt most standard home-use extension cords, leading to serious fire danger. Keep away from the stove. You shouldn’t place any countertop appliance near (or, lord help us, on) your stove. The heat and open flames can melt power cords, increasing the risk of a fire or other accident. Keep away from the edge. If your countertop is crowded and something has to sit right on the outer edge, it’s time for a reorganization. Having any appliance right near the edge of the counter is just an invitation to disaster. While these rules apply to any appliance, there are specific placement considerations for several countertop appliances. Toasters and toaster ovensThe heating element in a toaster oven can reach 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and some toaster ovens can heat up to 600 degrees under specific settings. That’s pretty hot, and while even the cheapest toaster has some built-in safety features, placement matters. Never place a toaster or toaster oven on anything flammable, like a towel. If you’re concerned about your countertop being damaged from the heat (though most toasters and toaster ovens are designed to be placed safely on standard countertop materials, even wood), you can place it on a nonflammable surface like a silicone mat or even a piece of stone tile. You should also never put anything on top of your toaster oven (or toaster). Yes, it’s taking up valuable counter space, but whatever you put on top could potentially be damaged from the heat, or even catch fire. Coffee makerYou might think that your humble coffee maker is pretty safe, but it might be doing long-term damage to your kitchen cabinets and walls because of one by-product of the coffee-making process: Steam. That hot, moist stuff drifts up and if it regularly interacts with your cabinets, it can cause a lot of damage, warping and staining wood and discoloring other materials. Since the most affected area will be under the cabinets, you can cause a lot of damage before it’s easily noticeable. Always place your coffee maker away from the upper cabinets when you use it, and make sure your kitchen always has robust ventilation, especially when using any heat- or moisture-producing appliances. Pressure cookersAside from being a time bomb if misused, pressure cookers pose the same steam threat as coffee makers: As they work, they emit steam, and continuous exposure to that steam can damage your cabinetry and walls. You can try aiming the pressure valve away from the cabinets, and you can buy steam diverters that redirect the steam. But your best bet is to operate the pressure cooker away from your cabinets. Air fryersAir fryers are very popular, and just like the other appliances on this list, they can damage your walls or cabinets with superheated fumes. Aside from the damage that steam can do, they can also scorch walls and cabinets if placed too close or with insufficient ventilation, so always place them with plenty of space around them. Air fryers also get pretty hot, so just like toaster ovens, you shouldn’t place them on top of towels or anything else that could conceivably catch fire. Slow cookersSlow cookers pose the same steam dangers as pressure cookers, but can be even more damaging because of the “slow” part. While occasional use of a pressure cooker or other steamy appliance probably won’t destroy a cabinet or stain a wall, occasional use of a slow cooker is more likely to because of the duration of operation. It’s best to place your slow cooker away from the walls and cabinets, and never place it on or near anything flammable. And because of the duration of use, you should place your slow cooker on a metal trivet or heat-resistant mat to protect the surface underneath. View the full article

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