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Shark robot vacuums are up to half off in these Prime Day deals

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If you’ve been itching to invest in a robot vacuum to help you clean up around the house, you’re in luck. Prime Day deals, like clockwork, have brought discounts to a bunch of our favorite robot vacuums and there are still plenty available now. One of the best deals is on this Shark AI Ultra robovac, which you can grab for 50 percent off — just $298.

This is a version of one of the top picks in our best robot vacuums guide. It boasts excellent suction power and a bagless, auto-empty base that’s super convenient. Shark’s mobile app is easy to use as well, allowing you to set cleaning schedules and see the home map the robot creates so you can select specific areas and rooms to clean.

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Shark

The battery life is decent, at 120 minutes per charge. Like most modern robovacs, it’ll head back to the power outlet on its own. During use, we found that the vacuum did a pretty good job at avoiding obstacles and managed to sidestep the many cat toys strewn across the floor.

Many other Shark products are also on sale right now. This includes other robovacs, but also standard upright designs. Here are some of the highlights.

  • Shark AV2501S AI Ultra robot vacuum for $250 (55 percent off): A version of our favorite robot vacuum, this Shark machine has strong suction power and won’t choke at the first sight of pet hair or big dust bunnies. Its self-emptying base is bagless as well, which means you won’t have to buy propriety bags to refill it with over time. This auto-empty base has a 30-day capacity.

  • Shark PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro robot vacuum and mop for $700 (42 percent off): This Shark machine is one of our favorites in part because it truly lives up to its name. Thanks to its self-emptying dock that handles vacuumed debris along with clean and dirty mopping water, you really don’t have to touch the thing for at least 30 days in between cleanings. We found it to be a solid autonomous dirt sucker, and its mopping capabilities are quite good to match.

  • Shark PowerDetect Clean & Empty cordless vacuum for $400 (33 percent off): Shark’s cordless vacuums are just as good as their robot vacuums, and you can usually find them on sale for less than other major brands. This one has great suction power and a relatively lightweight design, but the fact that it comes with a self-emptying base makes it an ultra-convenient choice.



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Google Phone app starts removing the ‘Favorites’ tab on Android

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Ahead of the full Material 3 Expressive redesign, Phone by Google is widely removing the Favorites tab for users enrolled in the beta program.

As announced last month, a “Favorites bar” at the top of the Recents (soon “Home”) feed is replacing the dedicated tab. That interface had a grid of your top contacts and a list of “Frequents” underneath. 

Now, you’ll get a carousel of Favorites with profile avatars that are larger than in the list below. Scroll left for an “Add” shortcut, while you can tap the chevron to hide the carousel as needed.

Old vs. new

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This simplifies the app to Recents, Contacts, and Voicemail, as well as the FAB (floating action button) for the number pad. Beta version 182 of Phone by Google released yesterday widely introduces the change, though there’s also a server-side component so you might not see it immediately after updating. This applies to both Pixel and non-Google phones, as well as those without the Material 3 Expressive redesign that some users started receiving last month with the new incoming call gesture. We’re not seeing this in the stable channel yet.

The Favorites tab is also disappearing for Google Phone users with M3 Expressive, which is not yet widely rolled out to everyone in the beta, though it’s still called the Recents tab.

The full Expressive redesign will consolidate the bottom bar to Home, Keypad, and Voicemail. 

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Secret Service suspends 6 without pay over 2024 Trump assassination attempt

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The Secret Service has suspended six people without pay following the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in July 2024, according to a report from NBC News.

An investigation was launched into the assassination attempt, which occurred in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. A bullet from gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks grazed Trump’s ear during a campaign rally.

Following the investigation, The Secret Service issued the suspensions, NBC News reports. The suspensions included both people in supervisory roles and line-level agents and ranged from 10 to 42 days without pay, according to NBC News. It is unclear, however, when the agents were suspended, NBC News reports.

Less than two weeks after the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle stepped down after several lawmakers called on her to resign.

“As your director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” Cheatle said to staff in her resignation letter.

In September 2024, there was another assassination attempt made against Trump, this time at the then-Republican candidate’s West Palm Beach golf club. Ryan Routh was accused of attempting to assassinate Trump in Florida and is currently awaiting trial, according to the Associated Press.

In December, a task force comprised of members of the House of Representatives released a 180-page report with recommendations. One of these recommendations was that the Secret Service should record all radio transmissions and focus more on protecting the president and other top U.S. officials protection rather than foreign leaders, NBC News reported.

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Google brings its AI-powered marketing tools to India after ‘Google tax’ repeal

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Google has launched a suite of its AI-powered advertising tools in India, which debuted in the U.S. in May, as the repeal of the so-called “Google tax” has made the South Asian market more attractive to global tech firms selling online ads.

In March, the Indian government scrapped its 6% levy on digital advertisements, effective in April, as a move to address some of the trade concerns raised by the Trump administration.

The United States Trade Representative had criticized the levy by calling it “discriminatory and unreasonable,” as domestic companies were exempt. Its repeal would ease costs for tech giants, including Google, Meta, and Amazon.

On Thursday, Google hosted the local version of its Marketing Live event to debut its AI-powered tools for Indian marketers.

One of the tools is “Generated for You”, available within Product Studio, that identifies relevant content opportunities across shopping catalogs and pre-generates images and videos via AI that merchants can save or publish across Google platforms. Another tool is an opt-in feature called Smart Bidding Exploration in search campaigns, which is built on existing Smart Bidding and uses AI to find newer, qualified leads that merchants wouldn’t have captured or bid on typically.

Plus, Google introduced new agentic capabilities in Google Ads and Analytics.

Agentic capabilities in Google AnalyticsImage Credits:Google

“These agentic tools can learn from advertising inputs, including datasets, landing pages, assets, and real-time campaign performance, to take the guesswork out of achieving business goals,” Dan Taylor, Vice President for Global Ads at Google, said at a virtual media roundtable.

Google brought AI Max for Search Campaigns, which aims to enhance search ad campaign performance by identifying more relevant and high-performing search queries by learning from brands’ landing pages, their existing ads, and existing keyword lists.

Indian online marketplace for used electronics goods, Cashify, saw its conversions up by 15% and customer acquisition costs reduced by 12% after deploying AI Max during its early testing, Google said.

Google also announced that ads will start appearing on AI Overviews in India later this year.

Additionally, the company has introduced its shoppable connected TV ads on YouTube in India. YouTube’s masthead on mobile will now also start serving ads in the country.

YouTube Shoppable Masthead now in IndiaImage Credits:Google

YouTube on connected TVs has been the most-watched streaming service on television in India over the past year, said Roma Datta Chobey, managing director of Digital Native Industries at Google India.

Similarly, the country has been a significant market for YouTube Shorts, with short videos on the platform viewed trillions of times since launch. As many as 87% of Indian consumers watch YouTube or Shorts as part of their shopping journey, Chobey said.

India’s digital advertising presence is growing, as the world’s second-largest internet market continues to see more users come online. The country’s digital ad market is projected to grow over 20% year-over-year, reaching nearly $7 billion by the end of 2025, per a recent Dentsu Digital Advertising report.

“India is such a thriving digital ecosystem. We have the largest number of users who are actively trying and testing our products. So, that’s really the reason behind us getting these innovations to India faster,” Chobey said, in response to TechCrunch’s question about the timing of the new AI ad tools.

Google confirmed to TechCrunch that its newly launched features including AI Max for Search Campaigns, Smart Bidding Exploration, YouTube’s shoppable masthead and CTV, and Performance Max Retention-Only Mode support Hindi to improve local campaign compatibility. Additionally, the company introduced state-level urban and rural audience filters for Indian advertisers to enable more granular media planning, buying, and reporting.

India has long been a key market for Google, not just because it hosts the company’s largest user base but also due to consistent growth in ad revenues. In fiscal year 2024, Google’s gross ad revenue in India increased 11% year-over-year to ₹312.21 billion ($3.6 billion), while its net advertising revenue rose 18% to ₹27.43 billion ($320 million).



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Remembering Tony-winning playwright Richard Greenberg, dead at 67 : NPR


Richard Greenberg, the Tony Award-winning playwright behind Take Me Out, has died at a nursing home in Manhattan. He was 67.



MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Tony Award-winning playwright Richard Greenberg died of cancer in a Manhattan nursing home on July 4. He was 67. Reporter Jeff Lunden says the prolific author was known for sparkling wit and wordplay colored with a tinge of melancholy.

JEFF LUNDEN: When playwright Tony Kushner was asked to profile Richard Greenberg for the New York Times Style Magazine, he dubbed him the bard of American privilege.

BEN BRANTLEY: He and Kushner are peers, almost, in terms of the articulateness of their characters, I think.

LUNDEN: Ben Brantley was chief drama critic for the New York Times throughout much of Richard Greenberg’s career. Brantley says…

BRANTLEY: He was singular. There was both a kind of an old-fashioned structure to what he was doing and a lyricism, eloquence in the dialogue that you associate with another era of playwriting.

LUNDEN: Greenberg grew up in Long Island and was educated at Princeton and the Yale School of Drama, and he went on to write over 30 plays. Lynne Meadow, artistic director of the Manhattan Theatre Club, produced and directed many of them.

LYNNE MEADOW: My respect for Rich was there from the beginning, and it only grew over time in the next 3 1/2 decades when we got to work together so many times. Manhattan Theatre Club produced a total of 11 world, New York and Broadway premieres of Rich’s plays.

LUNDEN: Among them “Eastern Standard,” which became Greenberg’s first Broadway hit, and “Three Days Of Rain,” about a brother and sister coming to grips with their parents’ complicated and unknowable relationship after their father’s death. Ben Brantley.

BRANTLEY: He’s always aware of how everything is ultimately a mystery. We have these great moments of illumination, these epiphanies. But ultimately, people remain mysteries, and he respects that.

LUNDEN: Greenberg’s biggest hit was “Take Me Out,” which won him a Tony in 2003 and again for its revival in 2022. It looked at a biracial baseball player who comes out as gay and the consequences of that disclosure. One of the roles, a financial adviser who becomes a huge baseball fan, was kind of autobiographical.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JESSE TYLER FERGUSON: (As Mason Marzac) As for the last several weeks, I’ve been conversing with all sorts of people I’d never been able to speak to before – cab drivers, my five brothers.

(LAUGHTER)

FERGUSON: (As Mason Marzac) Then…

LUNDEN: At his death, Richard Greenberg was working on a new piece. It’ll premiere posthumously in Chicago in January.

For NPR News, I’m Jeff Lunden in New York.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “THE VIOLET HOUR”)

UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST: (As character, singing) When it’s not quite day, but it’s not quite night.

Copyright © 2025 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.



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The best Amazon Prime Day deals offer discounts on headphones, TVs, robot vacuums and more

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Amazon Prime Day is finally here, so now’s the time for members to stock up on discounted home essentials, clothing, shoes, and of course, tech. It’s safe to say that Amazon’s website will be overwhelming for the entirety of the event, so we wouldn’t blame you if you got distracted immediately upon opening it.

If you’ve got gadgets on your wishlist, Engadget has you covered. We’re surfacing the best Prime Day deals for day two on gadgets and gear we can find for the whole of the shopping event. As in years past, Prime Day has brought solid discounts on some of our favorite tech including earbuds, tablets, robot vacuums and home devices. These are the best Prime Day deals you can get right now. We’ll be updating this post regularly throughout the duration of Prime Day, so check back to see the latest discounts.

Apple AirPods Pro 2 for $149 (40 percent off): The AirPods Pro 2 remain Apple’s best set of wireless earbuds, as they offer the full set of Apple-focused features, strong ANC, onboard volume controls, a comfy in-ear design and a warm sound profile that most should find agreeable. They can even work as a hearing aid now.

DJI Neo drone for $159 (20 percent off): The DJI Neo may be an inexpensive, beginner-friendly drone, but has powerful features like subject tracking and quick shots. It can shoot video at up to 4K 30 fps and is quick and maneuverable, though it’s also fairly loud. You can also grab one with three batteries and a charger for $229 (21 percent off).

Leebein Electric Spin Scrubber for $38 (46 percent off): This was my favorite thing I bought last year because it makes the must-detested chore of cleaning my shower less of a pain. It’s an electric spin scrubber that comes with multiple cleaning heads so you can use it on your countertops, sinks, tubs and showers and more. It also has an adjustable arm so you can reach tough spots in hard-to-reach places, and it convenient recharges via USB-C.

Samsung SmartTag 2 for $15.50 (48 percent off): Samsung users looking to keep track of their stuff need look no further than the SmartTag 2. One of our top picks for the best Bluetooth trackers, this accessory easily attaches to keys, bags and other items and uses Samsung’s large finding network to show you their last known location.

iRobot Roomba Vacuum and Mop Combo for $140 (49 percent off): A version of one of our top favorite robot vacuums, this budget-friendly machine comes with a water reservoir that allows it to mop hard floors. It connects via Wi-Fi to the iRobot app as well, which lets you set cleaning schedules and further control the machine.

Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World bundle for $500: We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the fact that Amazon has the Nintendo Switch 2 available to order “by invitation” now. The Mario Kart World bundle is listed at the standard $500 price, so it’s not a Prime Day deal per se, but considering Amazon was (supposedly) shut out of the initial Switch 2 order process earlier this year, it’s notable to see the console listed on the site at all.

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Soundcore Select 4 for $19 (46 percent off): This 9.3-ounce speaker is a massive improvement over built-in smartphone audio. It can fill a room at a decent range of frequencies, and works well in room-sized outdoor spaces — plus, with IP67 waterproofing, it can survive a dip in the pool. It’s currently almost half off.

Anker iPhone Nano Power Bank with Built-in USB-C Connector for $20 ($10 off): One of these little guys could represent the difference between a dead phone and a not-dead phone. It’s the size of an oldey-timey lipstick case and delivers a partial charge to any USB-C phone. We tested it out and awarded it a spot in our guide to power banks.

Jisulife Life7 handheld fan for $23 (21 percent off): Jisulife makes handheld fans we’ve recommended in past gift guides and this is one of its newer models. It can be held, folded so it sits flat on a table or worn around your neck for a cool breeze wherever you’re going. It has an easy-to-read display in its center that will show you the fan speed level or current battery life, and its 5,000 mAh battery can last up to 19.5 hours on a single charge when you’re running the fan on its lowest setting.

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max for $35 ($25 off): This stick handles Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, 4K video and HDR10+ and supports Wi-Fi 6E. It has the fastest processor of any Fire TV Stick and Engadget’s Jeff Dunn has gotten a lot of use from the stick as a retro gaming emulator. Of course, Amazon’s user interface is less elegant (and less democratic) than others. And it highly prioritizes Prime Video content.

Amazon Echo Spot for $45 (44 percent off): Amazon revived the Spot smart alarm clock last year, which features a half-circle shaped display that shows the time, weather and other information like song titles when you’re using the speaker to play music. It has a compact design that will make it easy to fit on a desk or a nightstand, and as with any Alexa smart speaker, you can use it to control IoT devices like smart lights, locks and more.

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Apple iPad (A16) for $280 (20 percent off): The latest base model iPad comes with a faster A16 chip, 2GB more RAM and 128GB of storage as standard. It earned a score of 84 in our review — if you only need an iPad for roaming the internet, watching shows and doing some lighter productivity tasks, it’s a good starter tablet.

Apple iPad Air (11-inch, M3) for $479 ($120 off): In our opinion, the iPad Air is the best iPad for most people as it strikes an ideal balance between performance, price and features. The M3 chip is almost overkill for a tablet, but it means performance should never be an issue. And upcoming productivity gains from iPadOS 26 should make the tablet even more powerful.

Apple Watch Series 10 for $280 ($120 off): We consider Apple’s flagship wearable to be the best smartwatch you can buy, period. It’s a mostly iterative update, with faster charging, a slightly slimmer design and a marginally larger display than the prior Series 9. That said, it’s still a comprehensive fitness tracker, and no other smartwatch can integrate as neatly with iPhones and other Apple devices.

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Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones for $298 (25 percent off): While the XM6 headphones are the latest and greatest, they only make small changes to the already stellar XM5. These were our top pick for the best wireless headphones for a long time before the XM6 launched earlier this year, and we still like them for their excellent sound quality, strong ANC, multi-device connectivity and good battery life.

Sony WH-CH720N headphones for $78 (48 percent off): The cheapest Sony headphones we’d recommend that are no slouch. They’re lightweight and comfy with respectable sound for the price. You also get Adaptive Sound Control, 360 Reality Audio and multipoint Bluetooth on this budget model.

Sonos Beam Gen 2 for $369 (26 percent off): The second-gen Beam soundbar has support for Dolby Atmos and it has a relatively streamlined design that should be easy to fit into most home entertainment setups.

Beats Pill for $98 (35 percent off): The Beats Pill is one of the few portable bluetooth speakers we liked enough to give it a full review. Those of you who love the classic Beats bluetooth speakers will be happy to know they’re back in fine form. Nobody can beat the Pill for bass, and its sound is crisp and lossless at almost any frequency and volume. For some reason, only the Kim Kardashian branded version is on sale, but it’s the exact same speaker.

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Microsoft Surface Laptop (13.8-inch, Snapdragon X Plus) for $880 (27 percent off): In addition to running on a Snapdragon X Plus processor, this 2024 Surface Laptop has 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. It’s a Copilot+ PC that also has a 13.8-inch touchscreen, and it should last up to 20 hours on a single charge.

Google Pixelbook Go (13-inch, Intel Core M3) for $299 (54 percent off): The Pixelbook Go is a bit old at this point, but if you’re a Chrome OS lover and want a Google-made laptop, this is a solid option. It includes an Intel Core M3 processor, 8GB of RAM, 64GB of storage and a 12-hour battery life.

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Instant Pot Duo Plus 9-in-1 multicooker for $70 (50 percent off): This six-quart pressure cooker and multicooker is a versatile kitchen tool for anyone who (somehow) didn’t buy into the Instant Pot craze a few years back. It can do a lot with its nine cooking modes, including pressure cook, slow cook, steam, rice cook, saute and more, and the six-quart size is great for families and meal-preppers.

Ring Doorbell Battery + Indoor Cam 2 for $70 (50 percent off): If you’re looking to build out a security system in your home, this bundle is a good place to start, giving you a video doorbell and an indoor security camera. You’ll be able to see both live feeds in the Ring app, and they can send you motion alerts and let you speak to people on the other end of the camera when you’re not at home.

Kindle for $85 ($25 off): Our favorite budget option in our guide to the best ereaders, the latest base Kindle has 16GB of storage — more than enough to hold hundreds of books at a time. It has a compact and durable design that’s easy to take anywhere, and the latest model is faster than before with speedy page turns and a more seamless navigation between books, your library and other parts of the UI.

Ninja Dual-Zone air fryer (10 quart) for $180 ($70 off): This model is one of our favorite air fryers thanks to its dual-zone cooking system, which allows you to prepare two separate foods at different temperatures and settings. There’s even a Match Cook feature that ensures both foods will be done at the same time, regardless of their cooking settings.

Levoit Core 400S air purifier for $183 ($37 off): Our top pick for the best air purifier, Levoit’s Core 400S reliably improved air quality in our testing, plus it has easy to use onboard controls and replaceable filters that are not too expensive. We also found it to not be offensively loud, even on its highest setting.

TP-Link Deco XE75 Wi-Fi 6E mesh system for $200 (20 percent off): Our top pick for the best mesh Wi-Fi system, this Deco XE75 three-pack is easy to set up and provides excellent performance with no-frills. The Deco mobile app lets you check speeds for each node, and you can see all of the devices on your network at any time.

Kindle Scribe for $260 ($140 off): The Scribe is one of the best E-Ink tablets you can buy at the moment, and certainly the top pick if you want a writable table that also excels as an ereader. It provides a great reading and writing experience, thanks in part to its ability to access the entire Kindle ebook library, and it has handy Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive and Dropbox integration.

Dyson V15 Detect Plus for $570 ($180 off): You can’t get much better than a Dyson if you’re on the market for a cordless stick vacuum, and the V15 Detect delivers. It’s our current top pick for the best cordless vacuum overall thanks to its excellent suction power, lightweight design, good battery life and the included Fluffy Optic cleaning head that uses a laser to show you where all the debris is while you’re using it.

Amazon 55-inch Omni mini-LED Fire smart TV for $700 ($120 off): A top-of-the-line model in the Fire TV family, this set has a 4K QLED mini-LED display with 1,400 nits of peak brightness and “intelligence picture” technology that adapts the screen to your room’s lighting conditions. It also has a 144Hz refresh rate and support for AMD FreeSync.

Samsung 55-inch The Frame QLED 4K smart TV for $798 (47 percent off): This is the set that spurred all of the art TV copycats, and it’s been a favorite of our staff for a long time. Samsung’s set looks like a piece of art hanging on your wall when you’re not watching TV, and you can cycle through thousands of images to show on the TV so you’ll always have something new to display.

Hisense S7N CanvasTV (65-inch) for $898 (31 percent off): Hisense’s spin on Samsung’s Frame sets, the CanvasTV, comes in much cheaper and with a boatload of features. The S7N sports an anti-glare display and art mode, as you’d expect, but there’s also 144Hz support for a bit of gaming. It also comes with a slim wall mount so you can hang it on your wall like a genuine work of art. (The 55-inch model is also a great deal at $689, and the 77-inch is down to $1,399.)

Prime Day is Amazon’s members-only shopping event, which means you’ll have to be a Prime subscriber on Prime Day to take advantage of most of the savings. Amazon still offers a 30-day free trial to new Prime subscribers, so you can start your free trial closer to July and participate in the event.

Amazon Prime Day 2025 will be back this year on July 8 through July 11.

Amazon Prime Day typically comes around annually in July. In the last few years, Amazon has also had its “Big Deal Days” in October, which is effectively a second Prime Day and the unofficial kickoff to the holiday shopping season.

Prime subscribers can go to Amazon’s site on Prime Day to see all of the exclusive deals they have access to. Prime subscribers do not have to do anything additional to get Prime Day sales: the discounts you see on product pages will show up in your cart automatically. If you’re not a Prime subscriber and you go to Amazon to shop on Prime Day, you’ll likely see tons of items on sale but only “with Prime;” those discounts will not be available to those who are not active Prime subscribers.

Technically yes, but even if you do not pay for a Prime membership, you should still check out Amazon on Prime Day. While most Prime Day deals will be exclusively available to subscribers, there are always a handful of sales available to all shoppers. Amazon distinguishes between them very clearly: you’ll see “Prime exclusive” on product pages near the deal pricing on the discounts that are only available to paying members.

Separately, it’s very likely that other retailers like Walmart, Target and Best Buy will have their own competing Prime Day sales during that time frame, too. So if you’re not keen on shopping at Amazon at all, it’s worth checking out other retailers during the week of Prime Day to see if they are matching Prime Day deal prices.



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Google TV Streamer gets tweaked box that’s more secure

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Last year, Google introduced new Plastic-Free Packaging across all its hardware as part of its 2025 goal announced in 2020. The company has now adjusted the box for the Google TV Streamer.

Peelable closure labels” — paired with outer sleeves that cover the primary box — are a big aspect of this new design. This pill-shaped sticker with adhesive on the underside replaces tear strips, and has the benefit of leaving “no rough, torn edges or dangling flaps after opening.”

Our new closure system combines a sleeve with a peelable label to provide both tamper evidence and box closure. Because box closure is heavily aided by the sleeve, the peelable label primarily keeps the sleeve in place and provides tamper evidence.

The box for the Google TV Streamer was already a bit more conventional in not having a sleeve (though there’s a retention pack), but it made use of a wide peelable label that you tore off to lift the top flap and access the contents.

As of May 2025 (per the manufacturing date), Google has updated the packaging to use a slightly more traditional closure mechanism (tuck end). There’s a much smaller peelable label. After removing, you pull back the tab from the slit/cutout and then proceed to untuck the top flab. 

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Old box: Background | New box: Foreground

There’s more friction with this common design, which helps keep everything secure. In comparison, if the sticker was somehow torn off or pushed aside on the old box, the contents could fall out since no other mechanism was securing it. 

As of the Pixel 9a, the two peelable labels and sleeve design are unchanged. When Google introduced this design last year, some pointed out how a nefarious party could just glue down the label after removing, or replace it entirely compared to tear strips or shrink wrap. We’ll see if the Pixel 10 series makes any changes. 

Google presumably updated the TV Streamer packaging now as it will remain on sale for a few more years. 

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Stormy weather halts Westfield Little League Softball 14U’s unbeaten run

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WORCESTER – The only opponent able to slow down the Westfield Little League Softball 14U All-Stars thus far this summer has proven to be Mother Nature.

The Massachusetts Little League Softball 14U state championship was postponed due to stormy weather in the top of the second inning Wednesday night at Vernon Hill Park in Worcester with Westfield threatening to tie the game at 1-1.

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California lawmaker behind SB 1047 reignites push for mandated AI safety reports

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California State Senator Scott Wiener on Wednesday introduced new amendments to his latest bill, SB 53, that would require the world’s largest AI companies to publish safety and security protocols and issue reports when safety incidents occur.

If signed into law, California would be the first state to impose meaningful transparency requirements onto leading AI developers, likely including OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and xAI.

Senator Wiener’s previous AI bill, SB 1047, included similar requirements for AI model developers to publish safety reports. However, Silicon Valley fought ferociously against that bill, and it was ultimately vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom. California’s governor then called for a group of AI leaders — including the leading Stanford researcher and co-founder of World Labs, Fei-Fei Li — to form a policy group and set goals for the state’s AI safety efforts.

California’s AI policy group recently published their final recommendations, citing a need for “requirements on industry to publish information about their systems” in order to establish a “robust and transparent evidence environment.” Senator Wiener’s office said in a press release that SB 53’s amendments were heavily influenced by this report.

“The bill continues to be a work in progress, and I look forward to working with all stakeholders in the coming weeks to refine this proposal into the most scientific and fair law it can be,” Senator Wiener said in the release.

SB 53 aims to strike a balance that Governor Newsom claimed SB 1047 failed to achieve — ideally, creating meaningful transparency requirements for the largest AI developers without thwarting the rapid growth of California’s AI industry.

“These are concerns that my organization and others have been talking about for a while,” said Nathan Calvin, VP of State Affairs for the nonprofit AI safety group, Encode, in an interview with TechCrunch. “Having companies explain to the public and government what measures they’re taking to address these risks feels like a bare minimum, reasonable step to take.”

The bill also creates whistleblower protections for employees of AI labs who believe their company’s technology poses a “critical risk” to society — defined in the bill as contributing to the death or injury of more than 100 people, or more than $1 billion in damage.

Additionally, the bill aims to create CalCompute, a public cloud computing cluster to support startups and researchers developing large-scale AI.

Unlike SB 1047, Senator Wiener’s new bill does not make AI model developers liable for the harms of their AI models. SB 53 was also designed not to pose a burden on startups and researchers that fine-tune AI models from leading AI developers, or use open source models.

With the new amendments, SB 53 is now headed to the California State Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection for approval. Should it pass there, the bill will also need to pass through several other legislative bodies before reaching Governor Newsom’s desk.

On the other side of the U.S., New York Governor Kathy Hochul is now considering a similar AI safety bill, the RAISE Act, which would also require large AI developers to publish safety and security reports.

The fate of state AI laws like the RAISE Act and SB 53 were briefly in jeopardy as federal lawmakers considered a 10-year AI moratorium on state AI regulation — an attempt to limit a “patchwork” of AI laws that companies would have to navigate. However, that proposal failed in a 99-1 Senate vote earlier in July.

“Ensuring AI is developed safely should not be controversial — it should be foundational,” said Geoff Ralston, the former president of Y Combinator, in a statement to TechCrunch. “Congress should be leading, demanding transparency and accountability from the companies building frontier models. But with no serious federal action in sight, states must step up. California’s SB 53 is a thoughtful, well-structured example of state leadership.”

Up to this point, lawmakers have failed to get AI companies on board with state-mandated transparency requirements. Anthropic has broadly endorsed the need for increased transparency into AI companies, and even expressed modest optimism about the recommendations from California’s AI policy group. But companies such as OpenAI, Google, and Meta have been more resistant to these efforts.

Leading AI model developers typically publish safety reports for their AI models, but they’ve been less consistent in recent months. Google, for example, decided not to publish a safety report for its most advanced AI model ever released, Gemini 2.5 Pro, until months after it was made available. OpenAI also decided not to publish a safety report for its GPT-4.1 model. Later, a third-party study came out that suggested it may be less aligned than previous AI models.

SB 53 represents a toned-down version of previous AI safety bills, but it still could force AI companies to publish more information than they do today. For now, they’ll be watching closely as Senator Wiener once again tests those boundaries.



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The Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam drops to $40 for Prime Day

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Ring’s indoor camera that has a motorized base to give you a 360-degree view is cheaper than ever in a Prime Day deal. The Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam normally goes for $80, but it’s dropped to just $40 for the Amazon savings event. That’s even lower than the previous all-time low price of $50 that we’ve seen during other sales. The Pan-Tilt camera comes in five colors: Black, Blush, Charcoal, Starlight and White.

Image for the large product module

Ring

The Pan-Tilt camera can spin 360 degrees for a better view, and it’s half off now. 

$40 at Amazon

Ring introduced the Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam in 2024. It can spin a full 360 degrees on its base, and tilts up and down with a tilt range of 169 degrees. That makes it especially helpful for keeping tabs on pets and other goings-on in the home. It offers live views in addition to 24/7 recording, and supports two-way talk for when you want to check-in with a family member. The Pan-Tilt Cam also offers HD color video day and night.

The camera has a physical shutter as well, for when you want to be sure it’s not watching. Sliding this will cover the camera, and Ring says it’ll also disable the audio and video feeds. Setup should be easy with the Ring app, but if you aren’t already in the Ring ecosystem, you’ll need a subscription to use this camera. Ring offers three subscription options at $4.99, $9.99 and $19.99 per month.



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