Since its debut on Broadway back in 2003, Wicked has stolen the hearts of adults and kids alike. With the release of the Wicked movie, the fandom has only grown, to the point of becoming big enough that Wicked now has its own line of merchandise. Just a month before the film hit theaters in November, LEGO released a whole line of Wicked sets you can build. As of right now, some of these are discounted on Amazon.Wicked LEGO Sets on Sale at AmazonLowest Ever Price LEGO Wicked Elphaba & Glinda Figures LEGO Wicked Welcome to Emerald CityAlthough four LEGO Wicked sets were released in October 2024, only two of them are currently on sale on Amazon. The first is the Elphaba and Glinda figures, which features 558 pieces and is meant for ages 10 and up. This is the first time this set has been discounted on Amazon and the price has dropped by 15% today. The second set receiving a price reduction is the much larger Welcome to Emerald City build. This particular set also includes a Glinda and Elphaba miniature as well as The Wizard, Madame Morrible, and Fiyero. It's a 945-piece build and the city sits at just over 15 inches high.More Wicked merch to check outWicked (4K and Blu-ray)Wicked Collectors EditionMonopoly Wicked EditionFunko Pop Elphaba$25.18 at AmazonAre There Any Upcoming LEGO Wicked Sets?We don't know yet whether there will be more LEGO Wicked sets on the horizon, but it seems quite likely. The first four sets that were released last year came out in time with the new movie, and we already know that the next Wicked movie will be released on November 21, 2025. If new sets follow a similar timeline, the potential release of new builds would land sometime in October 2025. Some fans are already speculating what new sets could be released with the new film, with some sources mentioning a potential 18+ set targeted at adult collectors.Looking for more LEGO deals? Amazon is also currently running a sale on LEGO flower sets ahead of Valentine's day.

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Last week, Mark Gurman reported that Apple had canceled development of its AR glasses project following some unimpressive demos for executives. With Vision Pro struggling to build its own sales momentum, on the surface AR glasses seemed like the the best path forward for Vision products. But heres why that may not be the caseat least not yet.Vision Pro pointed to a future that only AR glasses could fulfillWhen Vision Pro launched last year, reviewers had two common critiques. They said:it needed to be lighter, with glasses the ideal form factorand it was too expensiveOther than those two issues, general consensus was that Apple had accomplished some very impressive feats with visionOS and the Vision Pro hardware.To many, the device felt like the futurebut with some present constraints holding it back.Apples AR glasses project seemed like it would be the answer.But now its been canceled.Leaving many of us wondering: why?Two potential reasons Apple Glasses arent coming anytime soonWhen considering the prospect of Apple Glasses, there are two important factors that will prevent any such product from arriving in the near-term.Physical limitationsand Apples other wearablesThe first point is pretty simple.Apple already struggles to make its current AR productVision Prolightweight enough for comfortable use.AR glasses may be the dream, but are they realistic? Not anytime soon.Once Apple can ship a Vision Pro that weighs significantly less, and doesnt inspire medical expert-designed accessories to make it more comfortable, then and only then can AR glasses truly be on the table.But some might say, If Apple cant ship proper AR glasses, why not something like a Meta Ray-Ban competitor?Ive heard lots of good things about Metas smart glasses, and similar offerings from competitors.The thing they all have in common though? Their functionality is largely limited to what Apples other wearables already offeror could offer soon.AirPods and Apple Watch are already massive hits, and together they can do so much of what current smart glasses offer.Siri and ChatGPT are always available with AirPods in your ears, notifications can be announced by Siri or read on your Apple Watch, playback controls, translation, and more is on your wrist, and there are even more capabilities coming.Multiple reports have indicated that Apple is working on adding cameras to future AirPods modelsa feature that takes care of one of the only remaining advantages smart glasses have.With existing wearables offering such functionality, theres little reason for Apple to create smart glasses until it can include true AR support.Apple Glasses: wrap-upIs a day coming when we all walk around wearing AR glasses? Maybe.But first, tech needs to advance enough to create a compelling product that spurs such a cultural shift. And by all indications, were years away from such change.A less capable product, like smart glasses, could grow widespread much sooner. But if AirPods and Apple Watch can offer similar functionality, wont most of us opt for those accessories and avoid wearing something on the face?Theres a lot of potential in the AR/VR/headset/glasses space. But for now, Apple punting its AR glasses project makes sense. Ongoing improvements to Vision Pro, AirPods, and Apple Watch will help the company get to the glasses dream eventuallyits just going to take some time.Best iPhone accessoriesAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

You may be familiar with Opera, a well-known cross-platform web browser. The company is now introducing Opera Air, a new version of the web browser with multiple mindfulness features aimed at helping users relax while they browse the web.Opera Air offers meditation sessions and break remindersAccording to the company, Opera Air is the first web browser built around the concept of mindfulness. While the app lets users access any website just like other web browsers, Opera Air has a minimalist interface and features to help users take care of their mental health. This includes meditation sessions, break reminders, and calming background sounds.Web browsers have become powerful super apps that allow you to do anything, from working, studying, entertaining yourself, shopping, or even running other apps. [] Ultimately, with Opera Air, we want to help you feel better and become more mindful about your environment, the company said in a blog post.It all starts with a super-clean interface reminiscent of frozen glass. The interface can be customized with different backgrounds and layouts. Users can find the wellness features in the floating toolbar on the left.For instance, Opera Air includes some breathing exercises that help reduce stress and blood pressure in the companys words. There are also neck exercises to relieve tension and reduce pain, and Opera recommends that users do at least one session every day. Users will also find meditation sessions and full body scans for those looking for a longer break.Another feature is Boosts, a library of sounds designed to stimulate brain waves to boost creativity and relieve stress. Opera explains that Boosts are not simple background sounds, as users can adjust the music level, ambient sound, and frequency of the binaural beats individually.Of course, each user has their own way of meditating and relaxing so these features may not work for you, but Opera seems to really believe that theres a demand for a web browser with such features.Opera Air also includes popular features from the regular version of the web browser, such as Aria AI and a free VPN. You can try it for free, and its now available to download for both macOS and Windows.Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Are things only illegal when it's convenient for Elon?Elon Musk is really, really mad that journalists at Wired revealed the names of a cohort of extremely young engineershe's tasked with firing federal employees, assisting in dismantling congressionally-created agencies like USAID, and clomping through the federal government's wide-ranging and sensitive troves of data.His whole operation at the definitely-not-a-real-government-agency Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)is operating in dubious territory to start with, with many charging that parts of it are wholly illegal.All that data vacuumed up by DOGE contains massive amounts of information about American agencies and even the personal data of American citizens, Social Security numbers included. And now, new reporting from Wired has revealed that one 25-year-old DOGE lackey indeed has administrative access to the code underpinning the essential functions of the US Treasury (despite the newly-appointed Treasury Secretary Scott Bennett's insistence that DOGE's access was "read-only.")Musk has spent the last day or so decrying the naming of the young employees, who do not come from government backgrounds and reportedly range in age between 19 and 25, as illegal and even worthy of prosecution. Allies like fellow tech billionaire Marc Andreessen have also weighed in, with Andreessen taking to X last night to remark that he's "so old" that he recalls "when doxxing and threatening federal employees was considered bad.""It is against the law," Musk replied.To be clear: doxxing and harassment publishing someone's address online, sending threatening emails, etc. are indeed bad! But journalists revealing the names and ages of the young men now knees-deep in a widely decried and possibly illegal romp into the infrastructure of our government is baseline transparency. Especially because, again, DOGE is not even a real government agency, and currently seems to be enjoying little to no guardrails or oversight.The SpaceX CEO's decrying of basic transparency as unlawful is particularly hollow given that Musk himself has a well-documented history of singling out specific federal employees by name, promoting an X post as recently as November that shared the name of a federal employee singled out for her work in "climate diversification" and, as a result, launched a throng of woefully ill-informedharassment her way.Demands from secrecy by Musk, still a private citizen despite the White House's hasty declaration yesterday that the billionaire is now a "special government employee" and the the richest man in the world, is a small, ridiculous piece of what's unfortunately a big and serious assault on constitutional authority and the checks and balances on executive power.But did we expect anything better from the guy currently clearcutting his way through both the federal government and the democratic process itself? Sadly, the answer is no.More on Elon Musk: Elon Musk Says DOGE Will Now Shut Down Government Payments He Doesn't LikeShare This Article

The future of NASA is uncertain, with the chaotic start of president Donald Trump's second term raising plenty of unanswered questions regarding the space agency's fate.Amid a leadership vacuum, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk who's effectively calling the shots for the federal government at the moment has yet to clarify what's to become of some of the biggest hallmark projects the space agency has been working on for decades now.As Ars Technica's Eric Berger points out, it's not a stretch to assume that Musk's private space venture will determine where NASA is headed next, with both him and Trump reiterating their desire to deliver humans to Mars, which could come at the cost of NASA's Moon program.Trump also nominated billionaire tech founder and SpaceX space tourist Jared Isaacman as the next head of NASA, suggesting an increasingly close relationship between the agency and one of its biggest contractors. But,typifying the chaos surrounding the Trump administration, when Isaacson will actually take over the agency remains unclear.Add it all up, and there's so much uncertainty that morale at NASA is "absurdly low," as one NASA source told Berger.We don't know what will happen to NASA's already ill-fated Mars Sample Return plan, we don't know if the space agency will keep supporting operations on board the International Space Station, and we don't know what will happen to the Artemis Program, nevermind what role SpaceX will play in all of this.The agency is essentially in limbo right now, with interim administrator Janet Petro busying herself with clearing the agency of any references to the administration's current boogeyman: "diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility."The warning signs of a SpaceX takeover are certainly there. According to Ars, Petro announced on Friday that former SpaceX head of human spaceflight programs Michael Altenhofen had been appointed as a "senior advisor to the NASA administrator."Isaacman will have a busy schedule as he picks up the pieces. Many signs point toward a greatly diminished role of scientific research, with NASA directing a number of science committees to pause their work, citing recent Trump executive orders.Meanwhile, Musk has made a big deal out of "rescuing" NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been stranded on board the International Space Station since last summer due to issues plaguing Boeing's Starliner spacecraft.That's despite the pair having been scheduled back in August to board a Crew Dragon spacecraft for their return sometime next month.NASA's international collaborators, including the European Space Agency, are waiting in the wings, trying to get a clearer picture of the chaos going on behind the scenes and how that may affect future partnerships.Despite a geopolitically fraught couple of weeks, Isaacman has remained surprisingly quiet, retweeting archival pictures of Air Force jets instead of weighing in on the chaos in DC.Add it all up, and the state of the United States space program is in tatters. Will NASA still attempt to land the first astronauts on the surface of the Moon in over half a century in the next two and a half years? Or will SpaceX's priorities supersede the agency's?Right now, virtually any outcome seems to be on the table. In other words, we should learn to expect the unexpected.More on NASA: Trump Begins Purge of DEI NASA EmployeesShare This Article

A show-stopping sequence from the originalJurassic Park that got cut from the original movie will appear in the upcoming sequel,Jurassic World Rebirth.Thats according to producer Frank Marshall, who revealed the tidbit toVanity Fairin a newarticle about the new summer blockbuster, which is the fourthJurassic Worldfilm and the seventhJurassic big-screen title overall.Per Marshall, a sequence that was written by Michael Crichton in hisJurassic Parknovel but was removed during development by director Steven Spielberg will finallyshow up inRebirth. The scene in question involves several heroes as they attempt to drift through a lagoon in a rubber raft without waking a slumbering Tyrannosaurus rex. They don't succeed, and end up paddling for their lives.JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTHUniversalloading...Jurassic World Rebirth marks the first film in the series written by Jurassic Park screenwriterDavid Koeppsinceits first sequel,The Lost World.Marshall toldVanity Fair that one of the big ideas that Koepp brought to the film this time was that dinosaurs were pass now. People were tired of them. They were an inconvenience, a winking commentary on the fact that the franchise itself might no longer have the same novelty given that its produced seven movies in the last 30 years.In the new film, Scarlett Johansson,Mahershala Ali, and Jonathan Bailey star as a team that heads to an abandoned Jurassic Park research center searching for a lost cure for heart disease that naturally involves collecting the DNA ofthe three largest dinosaurs on land, sea, and air. I hate when that happens.Directed byRogue One andGodzillas Gareth Edwards,Jurassic World Rebirthis set to debut in theaters on July 2. The films first trailer will reportedly premiere online tomorrow.Get our free mobile appThe Jurassic Park Sequels Ranked From Kind of Watchable to HorribleJurassic Park has produced five sequels, none of them wildly spectacular. Here they are, ranked from best (or okay-est) to worst.

Apple Watchowners: You might be owed some money. Thanks to a class-action lawsuit related to battery swelling issues,Apple has agreed to a $20 million settlement to resolve claims that some Apple Watch batteries swelled over time, potentially damaging other key components, such as the display.Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the lawsuit alleged that the batteries in first-generation, Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3 models could expand within their tight compartments, causing malfunctions. Apple has denied any wrongdoing, but nevertheless chose to settle the case.Read more: Make Your Apple Watch So Much Better by Tweaking These SettingsIn a statement sent to CNET, Apple pushed back on the claims, stating the Apple Watch is "designed to be safe and reliable.""This settlement applies to purchasers of Original Apple Watch, Series 1, Series 2 and Series 3, which are no longer available for purchase," the company said in a statement. "While we strongly disagree with the claims made against these early generation Apple Watch models, we agreed to settle to avoid further litigation."Who qualifies for the Apple Watch payout?To qualify for compensation, users must have owned an affected Apple Watch model in the US and reported issues related to battery swelling, such as filing a complaint with customer service, between April 24, 2015, and Feb. 6, 2024.How much money could Apple Watch owners get?Users will find that they receive differing amounts according to a variety of factors. Compensation will range from $20 to $50, depending on the number of claims submitted. Some eligible users will receive a notice via email or postcard informing them of their eligibility for a class payment, according toWatchSettlement.com.How can Apple Watch owners file a claim?Users seeking a payout must submit their request by April 10, 2025, through the settlement website.After visiting the settlement website, users must find the QR code and scan it with an app or built-in camera option. Users can then elect how they'd prefer to receive their payment: physical check, electronic check, ACH transfer, or virtual prepaid Visa or MasterCard.For users that did not receive a notice but still believe they're eliible, a claim may be filed via email.By accepting the settlement payment, Apple customers waive their rights to pursue further legal action against Apple regarding the battery issue.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer?Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Connections puzzles.Todays NYTStrandspuzzle hits a little too close to home for me, a person who's always at the allergist getting shots and prescriptions. Yes, I'm allergic to my two cats, and no, I could never give them up. If you need hints and answers, read on.Also, I go into depth about therules for Strands in this story.If you're looking for today's Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visitCNET's NYT puzzle hints page.Read more:NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So FarHint for today's Strands puzzleToday's Strands theme is:What's your reaction?If that doesn't help you, here's a clue: Achoo!Clue words to unlock in-game hintsYour goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle's theme. If you're stuck, find any words you can. Every 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 those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:LATE, TEAL, REEL, REELED, LOAN, MOPS, DEER, REED, SMOG, CRAG, GRAD, GRADS, POLL, POLE, POLESAnswers for today's Strands puzzleThese are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you've got all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:DUST, MOLD, LATEX, SMOKE, DANDER, POLLEN, FRAGRANCEToday's Strands spangramToday's Strands spangram isALLERGENS.To find it, start with the A that's three letters over to the right on the top row and wind down. The completed NYT Strands puzzle for Feb. 5, 2025, #339. NYT/Screenshot by CNET

OpinionFebruary 4, 20254 min readMathematicians Solve Infamous Moving Sofa ProblemWhats the largest couch that can turn a corner? After 58 years, we finally knowBy Jack Murtagh edited by Jeanna Bryner RgStudio/Getty ImagesFor those who have wrestled a bulky couch around a tight corner and lamented, Will this even fit? mathematicians have heard your pleas. Geometrys moving sofa problem asks for the largest shape that can turn a right angle in a narrow corridor without getting stuck. The problem sat unsolved for nearly 60 years until November, when Jineon Baek, a postdoc at Yonsei University in Seoul, posted a paper online claiming to resolve it. Baeks proof has yet to undergo thorough peer review, but initial passes from mathematicians who know Baek and the moving sofa problem seem optimistic. Only time will tell why it took Baek 119 pages to write what Ross Geller of the sitcom Friends said in one word.The solution is unlikely to help you on moving day, but as frontier math grows more abstruse, mathematicians hold a special fondness for unsolved problems that anybody can understand. In fact, the popular math forum MathOverflow maintains a list of Not especially famous, long-open problems which anyone can understand, and the moving sofa problem currently ranks second on the list. Still, every proof expands our understanding, and the techniques used to resolve the moving sofa problem will likely lend themselves to other geometric puzzles down the road.The rules of the problem, which Canadian mathematician Leo Moser first formally posed in 1966, involve a rigid shapeso the cushions dont yield when pressedturning a right angle in a hallway. The sofa can be any geometric shape; it doesnt have to resemble a real couch. Both the shape and the hallway are two-dimensional. Imagine the sofa weighs too much to lift, and you can only slide it.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.A quick tour through the problems history reveals the extensive effort that mathematicians have poured into itthey were no couch potatoes. Faced with an empty hallway, what is the largest shape you could squeeze through it? If each leg of the corridor measures one unit across (the specific unit doesnt matter), then we can easily scoot a one-by-one square through the passage. Elongating the square to form a rectangle fails instantly, because once it hits the kink in the hallway, it has no room to turn.Amanda MontaezYet mathematicians realized they can go bigger by introducing curved shapes. Consider a semicircle with a diameter (the straight base) of 2. When it hits the turn, much of it still overhangs in the first leg of the hallway, but the rounded edge leaves just enough room to clear the corner.Amanda MontaezRemember the goal is to find the largest couch that slides around the corner. Dusting off our high school geometry formulas, we can calculate the area of the semicircle as /2, or approximately 1.571. The semicircle gives a significant improvement over the square, which had an area of only 1. Unfortunately both would look strange in a living room.Solving the moving sofa problem requires that you not only optimize the size of a shape, but also the path that shape traverses. The setup permits two types of motion: sliding and rotating. The square couch only slid, whereas the semicircle slid, then rotated around the bend, and then slid again on the other side. But objects can slide and rotate at the same time. Mathematician Dan Romik of the University of California, Davis, has noted that a solution to the problem should optimize both types of motion simultaneously.British mathematician John Hammersley discovered in 1968 that stretching the semicircle can buy you a larger sofa if you carve out a chunk to deal with that pesky corner. Furthermore, Hammersleys sofa takes advantage of a hybrid sliding plus rotating motion. The resulting sofa looks like a landline telephone:Amanda Montaez; Source: On Moving a Sofa Around a Corner, by Joseph L. Gerver, in Geometriae Dedicata, Vol. 42, No. 3; June 1992 (reference)Optimizing the different variables yields a sofa with area /2 + 2/, or approximately 2.2074. This is a huge upgrade from the semicircle, akin to moving from a love seat to a sectional. But progress stalled there for 24 years. The next significant improvement would be the last. In 1992 Joseph Gerver unveiled a masterwork of mathematical carpentry, which we now know to be the largest possible sofa.Amanda Montaez; Source: On Moving a Sofa Around a Corner, by Joseph L. Gerver, in Geometriae Dedicata, Vol. 42, No. 3; June 1992 (reference)Youd be forgiven for feeling dj vu right now. Gervers sofa looks identical to Hammersleys, but its a much more complicated construction. Gerver stitched together 18 distinct curves to form his shape. On closer inspection you might spot some differences, especially the beveled edges at the base of the rounded cutout.Amanda Montaez; Source: On Moving a Sofa Around a Corner, by Joseph L. Gerver, in Geometriae Dedicata, Vol. 42, No. 3; June 1992 (reference)The area of Gervers triumph measures in at 2.2195 units. Surprisingly, Hammersleys relatively simple sofa only fell about .012 short of optimal. Although only a skosh larger than its predecessor, Gerver suspected that his discovery reached the maximum possible size. He couldnt prove it though. And neither could anybody else for another 32 years.Baek finished his Ph.D. in 2024 and wrote his thesis on the moving sofa problem, contributing several incremental insights. That same year, he sewed all of his fresh ideas together into an impressive opus that proves no sofa larger than Gervers can squeeze through the hallway. Cracking a long-standing open problem is a dream for any mathematician, let alone one so early in their career. If Baeks work withstands scrutiny, he will likely find himself in high demand for professorships. Unless he pivots into furniture making.