Waze adds EV charging station locations to its driving map

For the first time you can see where to charge up while using the Waze app for driving directions.

The Google-owned navigation app added more features for electric car owners in the U.S. on Friday. Instead of just gas stations, you can now look up public charging stations along your route or nearby. This comes as more people buy EVs, carmakers add more electric options to lineups, and more charging stations are planned.

A map within the Waze app with a Volkswagen ad on the top.

Charging stations make it on the map.
Credit: Waze

Waze is becoming increasingly EV-friendly as part of a partnership with Volkswagen, the German carmaker that released its first electric SUV, the ID.4, at the beginning of the year.

You can also change your car icon to an EV, perhaps to better reflect what you’re driving or wish you were driving. The VW ID.4 is now listed as one of the driver icons available (or you can keep the default arrow icon). Although Santa’s sleigh is reindeer-powered, the ID.4 is the only electric option on the list.

 A map view from the perspective of the car.

Riding as an ID.4.
Credit: Waze

A list of different car icons you can select on the Waze app.

So many options.
Credit: Sasha Lekach / Mashable

Google Maps, and other apps like Apple Maps, let you look up EV chargers nearby or at a particular destination. Google Maps includes more information about the charging stations, like how many plugs are available or working. In certain Volvo and Polestar electric cars, Google Maps is built into the infotainment system and includes trip planning with charging stops along your way.

How to opt out of Verizon’s shady data tracking

Verizon covertly signed up many of its phone plan users for branded programs that share browsing and location data with the cellular provider. But there’s a way out of it.

Earlier in December, some users discovered their privacy settings had been changed without their knowledge. It seemed to affect customers who were previously part of a rewards program, which had become the Customer Experience Plus program. That’s separate from the Customer Experience program, which an even greater number of users were automatically opted into.

Both, according to the Verizon website, track browsing history, location data, and usage patterns — to help the company “personalize our communications with you, give you more relevant product and service recommendations, and develop plans, services, and offers that are more appealing to you.”

In recent days, the telecommunications company finally started reaching out to users that were unwittingly part of the programs, as The Verge reported. The texts and emails shared more about the programs and how to unsubscribe from the automatic enrollment.

Verizon put out an informational page earlier this month, alerting customers that they would be notified about program options.

Since it’s an opt-out situation, that puts the onus on you to make the necessary changes. Here’s how you can check to see if you’re enrolled in either program, and the steps you can take to turn off one or both.

  1. Go to the My Verizon website or mobile app

  2. Head to the privacy preferences page

  3. Within there you should see “reset” buttons for Custom Experience and Custom Experience Plus

  4. Toggle off both to opt-out

That $48 million fine Verizon incurred from the Federal Communications Commission in 2020 because, the agency said, the company failed to protect customer location data didn’t seem to have a lasting effect on its data and privacy practices.

Bring holiday cheer to trans youth by donating to Trans Santa

If you’re able to spread some some good tidings this holiday season, Trans Santa makes it easy for you.

Trans Santa is a mutual aid social media campaign that connects anonymous gift givers with queer and trans youth who are unhoused, in foster care, or otherwise without crucial support they need to thrive. It’s a bit like Operation Santa, the USPS’s anonymous gift-giving program, but specifically for this vulnerable community.

Here’s how it works: Until Dec. 20, trans and non-binary young people (under the age of 24) can apply for the 2021 Christmas campaign. In addition to completing a form on the Trans Santa website, participants upload a (handwritten or digital) letter to Trans Santa and create an Amazon gift registry. According to the application, the campaign receives hundreds of submissions daily.

Letters are then posted on the Trans Santa Instagram page for donors to look through. To buy a gift, santas click the linkin.bio; each letter on that page is tied directly to a different person’s Amazon registry. Click through to see what gifts a particular person wants, and then purchase through Amazon.

The process is safe and anonymous — last names aren’t on the registry, and Amazon hides addresses from purchasers.

SEE ALSO:

Failed by the healthcare system, transgender people find help elsewhere

Actor Indya Moore co-founded Trans Santa in 2020, and the program itself is run by a group of trans people, according to an FAQ highlight on the Instagram page. In addition to buying gifts, santas can also donate to Trans Santa all year long.

If the letters on the Instagram feed aren’t enough to encourage you to donate, the account’s stories and highlights — which feature thank you messages — will. “I am overjoyed, humbled, and beyond grateful for what Trans Santa and everyone have done for me,” said a participant named Sam in the Trans Santa highlights from 2020. “My whole wishlist was gifted to me and it has left me feeling so dang loved.”

NASA shared some extraordinary new sights and sounds from Jupiter orbit

Who would’ve guessed that Ganymede, one of Jupiter’s many moons, sounds like a Brian Eno album?

A new research dump from the Juno orbiter has given all of us space nerds a blessed holiday treat: Sights and sounds from our solar system’s largest planet and its largest moon. The photos of the swirling gas giant’s “surface” are as gorgeous and painterly as Jupiter watchers have come to expect, but the real treat is that audio track.

Captured by Juno’s Waves instrument, which measures electric and radio waves in a planet’s (or moon’s, in this case) magnetosphere, the 50-second clip puts out some positively otherworldly sounds. Researchers believe there’s an easy explanation for the sudden jump to a significantly higher pitch at around the 30-second mark.

“This soundtrack is just wild enough to make you feel as if you were riding along as Juno sails past Ganymede for the first time in more than two decades,” said Scott Bolton, a lead researcher on the Juno project, in NASA’s reveal. “If you listen closely, you can hear the abrupt change to higher frequencies around the midpoint of the recording, which represents entry into a different region in Ganymede’s magnetosphere.”

Another lead researcher on the project, University of Iowa’s William Kurth, expressed his belief that the change in frequency is a result of Juno “passing from the nightside to the dayside of Ganymede.”

To be clear: This doesn’t mean you’d hear what’s in the recording NASA shared if you somehow found yourself standing on the surface of Ganymede. The magnetic and radio waves collected by Juno are merely data points; NASA’s team is responsible for shifting their frequency into a range that’s audible to most people without assistance.

The Waves recording was collected in June 2021 during the same Juno flyby that left us with this incredible new photo of Ganymede over the summer.

The Juno data drop also gave us a pair of new looks at Jupiter. This one, collected on Nov. 29, may as well be an artist’s rendition of the planet.

An image captured by NASA's Juno orbiter showing two of Jupiter's massive rotating storms — a swirl of gray-and-blue-tinged clouds — as viewed from orbit.


Credit: Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS | Image processing: Kevin M. Gill CC BY

It’s not, though. The photo, captured by Juno’s “visible-light imager,” offers an up-close look at two of the planet’s swirling, raging storm systems.

Another shot from Jupiter compares one of the planet’s storms to an Earthly algae bloom that occurred in the Norwegian Sea, captured by satellite photography. The comparison was prompted by Lia Siegelman, an oceanographer who sees in space imagery like this an opportunity to glean a better understanding Earth’s oceans.

A comparison shot from NASA. On the left is a satellite view of an algae bloom in the Norwegian Sea. On the right is a view of a storm on Jupiter. The images aren't identical, but they do show both the algae bloom and the storm system forming similar patterns.


Credit: NASA OBPG OB.DAAC/GSFC/Aqua/MODIS. | Image processing: Gerald Eichstadt CC BY

“When I saw the richness of the turbulence around the Jovian cyclones, with all the filaments and smaller eddies, it reminded me of the turbulence you see in the ocean around eddies,” Siegelman said. “These are especially evident in high-resolution satellite images of vortices in Earth’s oceans that are revealed by plankton blooms that act as tracers of the flow.”

You can read more about all of this straight from the NASA team that’s responsible for Juno.

A fiery Kamala Harris did NOT let Charlamagne Tha God’s spicy Biden question slide

If you’re going to disrespect President Joe Biden in front of Vice President Kamala Harris, prepare to face some consequences.

Host and entertainer Charlamagne Tha God learned that the hard way on Friday when an interview with Harris went off the rails after he asked a less-than-diplomatic question. “I want to know who’s the real president of this country, Joe Biden or Joe Manchin,” he asked, referring to the struggles the Democratic Party has had with getting Manchin, West Virginia’s Democratic Senator, on board with the president’s legislative priorities.

After a brief communications breakdown where it seemed as though Harris’s press team tried to end the interview because it ran long, Charlamagne asked his question again. The vice president immediately admonished him in response.

“Come on Charlamagne,” she said with all the energy of a pre-school teacher telling her students not to eat paste for the tenth time. As the host tried to defend his question, Harris continued.

“Come on. It’s Joe Biden.” Charlamagne tried again to get a word in, and Harris wasn’t having it. “No no no no no. No. No. No. It’s Joe Biden. And don’t start talking like a Republican about asking whether or not he’s president.”

Her response only grew more forceful as Charlamagne continued to push, asking if Manchin is “a problem” for the administration. Ignoring the follow-up, Harris held up her hand and continued her correction: “It’s Joe Biden. And I’m vice president and my name is Kamala Harris.” She continued from there to hail the Biden administration’s successes and policy positions, not even trying to mask the edge in her voice.

The response left Charlamagne impressed. “I just want you to know Madam Vice President: That Kamala Harris? That’s the one I like. That’s the one that was putting the pressure on people in Senate hearings. That’s the one I’d like to see more often out here in the streets.”

The fireworks start at around 18:40 in the video above, and it’s worth listening to Harris’s full response. Even if you know the current administration’s successes and policies inside and out, seeing Harris unload on a thoughtless question that was likely fueled in large part by a GOP talking point offers us all a sharp, important reminder of why she has the job that she does.

How to disable Instagram embeds (and why you should)

After a push by the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) and the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), Instagram just added the ability to disable embeds on your posts.

The NPPA said it worked with Instagram for over a year and a half to make this happen. Photographers and other creators now don’t have to worry about the internet grifting their material if they don’t want to. Here are the steps to disabling embeds on Instagram:

Disable Instagram embeds on Mobile:

1. Go to your Instagram profile

Tap the three lines in the top right corner, then pick Settings.

Screenshot of Instagram profile

First step: Go to your profile on Instagram.
Credit: Screenshot: Instagram

Screenshot of Instagram settings

Choose Settings from this menu.
Credit: Screenshot: Instagram

2. In Settings, choose Account, then Embeds

Screenshot of Instagram settings

In Settings, tap Account.
Credit: Screenshot: Instagram

Screenshot of Instagram settings

Once in Account, choose Embeds
Credit: Screenshot: Instagram

3. Toggle off “Allow people to embed your posts or profile on other websites”

Screenshot of Instagram embed setting

Toggle off Embeds to assure others can’t paste your Instagram feed post onto their site.
Credit: Screenshot: Instagram

There you have it — a way to prevent others from embedding the work you put on Instagram. In addition to mobile, you can also do this on the desktop version of the app.

Disable Instagram embeds on Desktop:

1. Go to your Instagram profile and click the Settings gear

Screenshot of Instagram desktop

How to get to your Instagram profile on desktop.
Credit: Screenshot: Instagram

Screenshot of Instagram desktop profile

Click the Settings gear to go to your settings.
Credit: Screenshot: Instagram

2. In Settings, click Privacy and Security

Screenshot of Instagram settings on desktop

Click Privacy and Security once in Settings.
Credit: Screenshot: Instagram

3. Scroll to Embeds and uncheck “Allow people to embed your posts or profile on other websites”

Screenshot of Instagram embed setting on desktop

Uncheck allowing embeds on Instagram.
Credit: Screenshot: Instagram

Why should you use this feature?

ASMP and NPAA fought for this feature because third-party websites bypassed copyright law just by embedding Instagram posts. The organizations referenced several court cases when talking to Facebook (which owns Instagram), including Sinclair v. Ziff Davis (full disclosure: Mashable is owned by Ziff Davis).

“NPPA believes this change is extremely important given all the lawsuits regarding embedding,” NPPA General Counsel Mickey H. Osterreicher said in a statement.

“We hope photographers will take advantage of this feature. We also expect that publications will cease trying to circumvent copyright protections by claiming they have a right to embed images and properly license images from the photographers who often risk their health and safety to make them.”

The addition of the new feature means that photographers and other creatives can display their work on Instagram knowing their rights as owners of that content will be a little more protected.

YouTube TV loses ABC, ESPN, more as Google and Disney fail to strike a deal

The eternal hunt to find something to watch on TV got a little easier for YouTube TV subscribers on Friday, though not for the best reason.

All the Disney-owned networks — including various flavors of Disney Channel, FX, National Geographic, ESPN, and local ABC stations — are no longer available for streaming via YouTube TV as of Dec. 17. In a corresponding move, Google reduced the subscription price for YouTube TV by $15, from $64.99 to $49.99.

“We’ve held good faith negotiations with Disney for several months. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we were unable to reach an equitable agreement before our existing one expired,” reads a YouTube TV statement released on Friday.

“As of December 17, 2021, end of day Eastern Time, all Disney-owned channels, including ESPN and your local ABC station, are unavailable on YouTube TV. Members will not be able to watch live or local content from Disney and will also lose access to any previous Library recordings from these channels, including 4K content that is available as part of the 4K Plus add-on.”

The $15 price reduction affects existing subscribers as well as new ones. The savings will be applied in the form of a bill credit, according to an FAQ shared alongside the statement. Prices will increase again if (when?) a deal is struck and the missing channels are restored.

“Should we come to an agreement with Disney, we will adjust the price accordingly and will notify members via email beforehand,” the FAQ reads.

Disney issued a statement of its own on the news, which a spokesperson from the company shared in an email to Mashable.

“We’ve been in ongoing negotiations with Google’s YouTube TV and unfortunately, they have declined to reach a fair deal with us based on market terms and conditions. As a result, their subscribers have lost access to our unrivaled portfolio of networks including live sports and news plus kids, family and general entertainment programming from ABC, the ESPN networks, the Disney channels, Freeform, the FX networks and the National Geographic channels. We stand ready to reach an equitable agreement with Google as quickly as possible in order to minimize the inconvenience to YouTube TV viewers by restoring our networks. We hope Google will join us in that effort.”

The change shouldn’t come as a total surprise for YouTube TV subscribers. The streaming service issued a warning about the risk of service interruptions on Monday, Dec. 13, noting at the time both the date such interruptions would likely occur in the event no deal was reached and the price changes that would follow in such a circumstance.

SEE ALSO:

Best streaming services: We compare Disney+, Sling TV, HBO Max, Paramount+, and more

YouTube TV subscribers still have the option of adding The Disney Bundle to their account, which ropes together Disney+ Hulu on-demand with ads, and ESPN+ under one $13.99 monthly subscription. That doesn’t restore the live TV component, however; it simply gives subscribers access to three standalone catalog streaming services for one fixed price.

There’s no indication at this point of if or when the missing channels could be restored. Streaming disruptions like this aren’t exactly uncommon, though they’ve historically gotten worked out in the end. That doesn’t mean it’ll happen again here for sure, but you can always place your trust in large companies working hard to make more money. Theoretically, that means negotiators on both sides have some motivation to ensure that a deal is made.

UPDATE: Dec. 18, 2021, 1:27 p.m. EST Updated with Disney’s statement.

Quidditch leagues to change sport name because of J.K. Rowling’s transphobia

The people who compete in a real-life adaptation of the wizarding world sport quidditch will be changing the name they use for it in light of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling’s continued transphobia.

The news dropped via a joint statement from leagues Major League Quidditch (MLQ) and U.S. Quidditch (USQ) on Wednesday. One major reason behind the switch is to distance players from the writings of Rowling, who in recent years has stirred up controversy for her transphobic comments on social media. The latest instance of Rowling’s transphobic backlash came just days before the announcement.

In their statement, MLQ and USQ note that quidditch has a reputation for being a progressive sport in terms of gender equality and inclusion. This is evidenced by its “gender maximum rule,” which disallows a team from having more than four players of a single gender on the field at the same time.

“Both organizations feel it is imperative to live up to this reputation in all aspects of their operations, and believe this move is a step in that direction,” the leagues write in the statement.

It’s not just Rowling that led the leagues to make this decision, however. The name “quidditch” is trademarked by Warner Bros, and thus has limited the sport. The leaders in each league feel that by swapping the name, the sport will be allowed to grow in ways it previously couldn’t have, such as with sponsorship or broadcast deals.

“I believe quidditch is at a turning point,” said USQ executive director Mary Kimball in the statement. “We can continue the status quo and stay relatively small, or we can make big moves and really propel this sport forward into its next phase.”

As explained by MLQ and USQ, quidditch was first adapted by Middlebury College students Xander Manshel and Alex Benepe back in 2005.

Benepe said he’s thrilled by this decision. “Big changes like this don’t come without risk, but I’ve been a strong advocate for making this move for a long time,” he said via the statement. “The sport needs its own space without limits on its growth potential and changing the name is crucial to achieving that.”

The new name hasn’t been set, but MLQ and USQ will send out a series of surveys over the next couple months to aid the decision. Current players, volunteers, and stakeholders can complete the first name-change survey here.

SEE ALSO:

How to enjoy Harry Potter without J.K. Rowling

The year of Olivias

This year was ripe with uncertainty, but through fleeting highs, tragic lows, and everything in between, one unwavering constant helped keep us entertained: the Olivias.

Who are the Olivias? The Olivias aren’t Chanel wannabes from Scream Queens, members of a pop punk group called Girls4eva, or the stars of another Mean Girls movie. They — Jade, Rodrigo, Wilde, and Munn — are *the* Olivias of the moment.

While there are other Olivias in Hollywood (from lesser-known Olivias like Holt and Cuplo to straight-up acting legends like Olivia Colman), in 2021, these four dominated headlines and regularly starred as main characters of Deux Moi Instagram Stories, home to celebrity gossip. Rodrigo went from passing her driver’s test to passing everyone on the Billboard charts. Munn and Wilde made new movies and found new romances. And Jade strapped on her dancing shoes and staged a comeback.

The Olivias made so many appearances in the news that people struggled to tell them apart, which led to the creation of some helpful, search-friendly Olivia guides and personality tests. Olivia was even declared the most popular baby name of 2021, according to Baby Center. Coincidence? Or homage?

As 2021 comes to a close and we each take stock of our own personal progress, let us also look back at our year in Olivias, shall we?

Olivia Jade

A woman (Olivia Jade) posing against a purple background surrounded by stickers.

Olivia Jade tried to make a comeback on “Dancing with the Stars.”
Credit: MASHABLE COMPOSITE: JON KOPALOFF / STRINGER VIA GETTY IMAGES

Fresh off her December 2020 Red Table Talk appearance, Jade — also known as Jade Giannulli and the daughter of college admissions scandal participants Mossimo Giannulli and Lori Loughlin — started the year off with a bang. On Jan. 21, the 22-year-old returned to YouTube after more than a year-long hiatus (and just weeks after her mother was released from prison) to post a daily vlog. In it, she acknowledged and apologized for her family’s role in the scandal. (As a reminder, Giannulli and Loughlin pled guilty to paying $500,000 to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California.)

Netflix released a documentary on said scandal in March, and Jade’s father was released from his five-month prison sentence early in April. She lived a relatively low-key few months after that, but in September things really started to pick up. Jade announced plans to launch a podcast, her mom got another holiday TV gig, and she was also cast on Season 30 of Dancing With The Stars.

The reality show has a history of casting controversial figures, such as former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, and it’s become a predictable next step for infamous celebrities seeking redemption in the public eye. From Jade’s casting announcement to her intro video — in which she claimed she was best known for being a social media influencer — her DWTS journey was criticized by folks who felt she didn’t deserve the airtime. New DWTS host Tyra Banks came to Jade’s defense, telling Entertainment Tonight, “If people are talking about you, you’re famous and you can be on Dancing With the Stars.”  

Jade worked with partner Val Chmerkovskiy to learn the art of the quickstep, tango, samba, salsa, foxtrot, and more. The two were cut in a double elimination round on Nov. 8 (on the penultimate episode of the 10-week competition), but Jade says she’s grateful for the experience and excited to return to her YouTube roots. Though the majority of her post-scandal vlogs still receive hundreds of thousands of views, the counts are certainly lower than they are on videos posted before 2019 and it remains unclear if Jade will be able to find long-term success as an influencer again. She currently has 1.83 million YouTube subscribers (a minor drop from the 1.9 million she had pre-scandal), but after her family’s involvement in the college admissions scam became public she notably lost brand deals with Sephora, Tresemmé, and Estée Lauder.

Olivia Wilde

A woman (Olivia Wilde) posing against a purple background surrounded by stickers.

Olivia Wilde can direct, act, and do a backbend.
Credit: MASHABLE COMPOSITE: AMY SUSSMAN / GETTY IMAGES

Speaking of a wild year, Olivia Wilde had a truly golden 2021. A mere four days into January, the now famous photos of her and boyfriend Harry Styles at his manager Jeffrey Azoff’s wedding dropped and set the internet ablaze. The two worked together on Wilde’s movie, Don’t Worry Darling, which wrapped filming this year, dropped a teaser in September, and set a release date for 2022.

Wilde’s new romance blossomed months after she and ex Jason Sudeikis — who’s had quite the year himself — ended things. Though she and Styles don’t frequently discuss their relationship in interviews, they inspired headlines throughout 2021 and Wilde faced the wrath of an unhappy Harry fandom on more than one occasion. The haters didn’t stop the couple from showing support on main or taking a gorgeous trip to Tuscany together. Wilde also sports Harry Styles merch on the regular and attends her fair share of his concerts. (Remember her recently viral “backbend?” Of course. Who could forget!)

Aside from Wilde’s work on Don’t Worry Darling, she was in the 2021 film, How It Ends, and also joined the stellar cast for Damien Chazelle’s 2022 film, Babylon. She was profiled for Vogue in October and ended the year with news that she’ll also be the magazine’s January 2022 cover star, with the headline, “Olivia Wilde Is Living Her Best Life.” Don’t we know it.

Olivia Munn

A woman (Olivia Munn) posing against a purple background surrounded by stickers.

Olivia Munn is in the house.
Credit: MASHABLE COMPOSITE: EMMA MCINTYRE / GETTY IMAGES

If we were being picky, Olivia Munn might not have made the cut for the list. It turns out her real name is LISA Olivia Munn, but since her presence was so prominent in the Oliviaverse this year we let that slide.

Munn started 2021 off on a serious note by passionately advocating for the Asian American community in wake of hate crimes and publicly speaking about her fibromyalgia diagnosis. It wasn’t until May that things took a — shall we say unexpected — turn.

Rumors that Munn was dating newly-separated comedian John Mulaney started to spread, and the rumblings eventually proved to be true. Here’s but a taste of the chaos that unfolded next:

  • People reported that Munn and Mulaney met at a church in Los Angeles, but then everyone started talking about this 2015 Huffpost Live interview in which Munn describes meeting Mulaney and his now ex Anna Marie Tendler at Seth Meyers’ 2013 wedding. (Munn described herself as a huge Mulaney fan and even said she tried emailing him back in the day but never received a response.)

  • Munn’s December 2020 tweet, in which she sent SO MUCH love and support to Mulaney — who was entering a rehab facility after heavy alcohol and cocaine use — became a meme. Shortly after reports that the two were dating, the masses started using the tweet’s formatting to manifest their futures.

  • In July, Mulaney officially filed for divorce from Tendler.

  • During a September appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Mulaney confirmed that Munn was pregnant.

  • The couple maybe broke up several times in 2021 but also maybe didn’t. No one really knows. Nor should we! Let these two live.

  • Mulaney ended the year by announcing his 2022 “From Scratch” tour.

  • On Dec. 17, TMZ reported that Munn gave birth to a baby boy on Nov 24.

Munnlaney drama aside, Munn also had a solid year professionally. She starred in Justine Bateman’s film Violet and Michele Civetta’s The Gateway, did voice acting for Marvel’s HitMonkey, and was even in an Imagine Dragons music video. Such range.

Olivia Rodrigo

A woman (Olivia Rodrigo) posing against a purple background surrounded by stickers.

Let’s hear it for Olivia Rodrigo.
Credit: MASHABLE COMPOSITE: KEVIN WINTER / GETTY IMAGES

If we were to name a reigning Olivia of 2021, it’d undoubtedly be Rodrigo, the 18-year-old musical sensation whose angsty tracks came into our lives when we needed them most.

It’s entirely possible that Rodrigo had one of the most eventful years in teen history. She skyrocketed from High School Musical: The Musical: The Series fame seemingly overnight after releasing her hit single “drivers license” on Jan. 8. She then made headlines alongside HSMTMTS co-star Joshua Bassett and actor/singer Sabrina Carpenter as the world tried to unpack their young love triangle, but it wasn’t long before Rodrigo had bigger things — like performing at major award shows and heading to the White House — to worry about.

Rodrigo’s year was very eventful, but here’s a look back at some highlights:

  • In February, Saturday Night Live performed a “drivers license” sketch to honor Rodrigo’s hit single. Rodrigo would later go on to perform as SNL‘s musical guest with host Keegan-Michael Key in May.

  • Rodrigo scooped up a fair share of awards throughout the year and performed at events like the VMAs, BRIT Awards, and AMAs.

  • She dropped her second single “deja vu” and a third single, “good 4 u,” along with two music videos.

  • She got her first parking ticket! (A teenage rite of passage.)

  • Her debut album, SOUR, dropped on May 21.

  • She took a beat to graduate high school.

  • She guest starred on Hot Ones, hosted a SOUR Prom, had a little feud or two, and started dating producer Adam Faze.

  • Rodrigo swung by the White House to meet with Joe Biden and Dr. Fauci and chat about vaccines. (Biden gave her an ice cream scoop. NBD.)

  • Her merch went viral for all the wrong reasons.

  • She attended her first Met Gala, got nominated for six Grammy awards, and absolutely dominated the year on Spotify.

Rodrigo spent the entire year hustling and smashing streaming records. Then, in the final days of the year she announced a SOUR tour for 2022, graced the DMV with her NPR Tiny Desk Concert, and was named Time Magazine‘s Entertainer of the Year. 🔥

If 2021 taught us anything about Olivias, it’s that we can’t Liv without ’em.

The 15 best tweets of the week, including soup, Bruce Springsteen, and tax fraud

Tweets! Usually bad, hateful, dumb, whatever.

But guess what? Good tweets exist. Who knew, right? But it’s true. Sometimes there are good posts online. They might even make you chuckle. Actually having a good time on Twitter? Such things are possible.

SEE ALSO:

Gorgeous, gorgeous girls take over TikTok

So, like we do every week here at Mashable, we collected some of our favorite posts that’ll hopefully make you laugh this weekend. Here they are, the 15 best tweets of the week. Enjoy!

1.Yes, this is good stuff

2. The thing is that he is, he is one of the boys

3. “I can’t make the soup, I’m just a baby.”

4. Technically Elmo is a glove

5. I hate how correct this is

6. Lol got him

7. Hmm, actually pretty sure this is me, me, meeee

8. These circumstances? I do not love them

9. Obligatory dril tweet

10. Yeah, yeah, yeah

11. Specific goals. Respect.

12. Ahh, well if it isn’t my old nemesis: my brain

13. “you are a threat to new york city”

14. No good choices these days

15. And finally, a very good, very real advertisement