Can’t get enough Critical Role after watching The Legend of Vox Machina? Then today is your lucky day. Critical Role announced that it will be teaming up with Amazon Studios for Mighty Nein, a new animated television series based on Critical Role’s second live-streamed tabletop role-playingcampaign.
Mighty Nein is part of a larger, multiyear exclusive television and first-look film deal between Amazon Studios and Critical Role, so we can expect even more stories from the world of Critical Role in our future. This first series under the new deal will follow a gang of criminals and outsiders who are the only ones capable of saving the world from chaos when a powerful relic falls into the wrong hands. While there is no release date for Mighty Nein yet, the show will head into production soon.
For now, we can enjoy the brief teaser Critical Role released, which features brief snippets of dialogue from Mighty Nein‘s characters: Jester (Laura Bailey), Yasha (Ashley Johnson), Mollymauk (Taliesin Jaffe), Essek (Matthew Mercer), Caleb (Liam O’Brien), Nott (Sam Riegel), Fjord (Travis Willingham), and Beauregard (Marisha Ray). Let’s roll.
SAVE $35: As of Jan. 25, the Amazon Halo Band is on sale for $34.99 at Amazon. That’s a savings of 50%, and matches its lowest price ever.
Still looking for a fitness tracker but can’t find the right one for you? Here’s our advice: go for a budget-friendly bargain that’ll at least get you started.
The Amazon Halo Band is on sale as of Jan. 25 for just $34.99, which is $35 off. That’s a savings of 50%, and a return to this fitness tracker’s previous lowest price. You’ll score this sale price on all available colors, and can choose from sizes small, medium, or large.
SEE ALSO:
The best fitness trackers for keeping up with your goals
You’ll notice that the Halo Band doesn’t have a screen. That’s part of its allure — it’s meant to offer fewer distractions while giving you a full suite of tracking options, including steps, heart rate, calories burned, sleep time, temperature, and more. It’s water-resistant up to 50 meters, syncs with Alexa-enabled devices, and boasts a battery life of 7 days with fast charging to full capacity in under 90 minutes.
You also get six months of Amazon’s Halo membership with your purchase, which comes with hundreds of workouts, sleep and nutrition programs, and additional Halo tools and features. After the first six months, the membership will auto-renew at $3.99 a month, so be sure to cancel if you don’t want to pay for body fat percentage analysis, activity intensity tracking, sleep quality, and more of Halo’s advanced tools.
Don’t let the price tag fool you. The Halo Band is a solid tracker, and at this price, it’s definitely worth trying.
SAVE $42: As of Jan. 25, new users can bundle bothAmazon Music Unlimited and Paramount+ for $4.99 a month for three months. That’s a total savings of about $42.
There are so many streaming platforms nowadays, and so many fees for each of them. Luckily, Amazon’s making things easy to combine streaming and listening with a limited-edition bundle on Amazon Music Unlimited and Paramount+.
Both Amazon Music Unlimited and Paramount+ are available for $4.99 per month for three months (for new users to both services), which is a big discount off the original price. Amazon Music Unlimited usually costs $8.99 a month, while Paramount+ costs $9.99 a month, for a combined monthly cost of $18.98. This deal slashes almost three quarters of that, resulting in a savings of $13.99 per month, or about $42 over three months. (After three months, you’ll pay full price for each subscription.)
SEE ALSO:
Amazon Prime members can take 20% off a Grubhub order with this discount code
Why is this deal so great, you ask? First, Paramount+ is the streaming service to get if you love sports — especially with the big game coming up. After CBS cut its own streaming service, Paramount+ became the place to watch CBS Live (including the NFL), and it also offers pretty much any Nickelodeon or MTV show you want, along with recent hits like Yellowjackets and RuPaul’s Drag Race. It even includes kids’ favorites like Paw Patrol as well as tons of new movies, including Oscar nominee Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Amazon Music Unlimited offers unlimited access to millions of songs and thousands of playlists, including new releases. Users can stream and download their favorite tunes without ads (a win!) and use unlimited skips, and you can also follow all your favorite podcasts. You get everything you need for that sweaty gym sesh or morning commute.
There are some caveats that you should be aware of: This offer is only for Amazon Prime members. You can’t be a current or former subscriber of either Paramount+ or Amazon Music Unlimited to be eligible for this deal. Technically, you’ll pay $4.99/month for your Paramount+ subscription and will not get charged for Amazon Music Unlimited during the 3-month promotional period. If you want to avoid being charged full-price for each service after the initial three-month period, make sure to cancel each subscription separately before auto-renewal.
Fine print aside, if you haven’t taken advantage of both Paramount+ and Amazon Music Unlimited, it’s a great time to try them out. And at less than $5 a month, what do you have to lose?
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Credit: Amazon
Amazon Music Unlimited and Paramount+ bundle (opens in a new tab)
BEST HOME DEAL: LG CordZero A9 cordless stick vacuum – $299.99$599.99 (save $300)
BEST BEAUTY DEAL: Dyson Supersonic hair dryer — $343.99$429.99 (save $86 as a MyBestBuy member)
January isn’t going quietly, y’all. Following the biggest shopping season, the beginning of the year is typically pretty slow for deals. But we’ve got our investigative goggles on and have found all the discounts worth your time and money on Jan. 25. On today’s menu, we’ve got a new bundle deal from Amazon, a major one-day-only sale on the LG CordZero A9, a Kindle Paperwhite Kids deal that’s just $5 shy of its best price ever, and a rare Dyson Supersonic hair dryer discount for MyBestBuy members (pro tip: it’s free to become a member).
To save you the trouble of sorting through everything on your own, we’ve rounded up all the best deals and separated them into categories for easy shopping. Here are our top picks.
Best subscription deal
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Credit: Amazon / Paramount
Three months of Amazon Music Unlimited and Paramount+ (opens in a new tab)
$4.99/month as a Prime member (save $44.97)
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Why we like it
A bit of a wildcard deal for Amazon, Prime members can get three months of both Amazon Music Unlimited and Paramount+ as a Prime Video add-on for just $4.99/month. Typically, Amazon Music Unlimited goes for $8.99/month and the Paramount+ channel add-on goes for $9.99/month. So, this deal will save you about $45 total. There are a few fine-print details to note, though:
You must be a Prime member.
You can’t be a current or former subscriber of either Amazon Music Unlimited or Paramount+ as a Prime Video channel.
You’ll be billed separately for each service: you’ll pay $4.99/month for your Paramount+ subscription and will not get charged for Amazon Music Unlimited during the three months.
You must cancel each service separately to avoid getting charged full price. More details on how to do that here.
More streaming and subscription deals
Apple TV+ — free$6.99/month (save $20.97) for three months
Apple Music — free$10.99/month (save $43.96) for four months
Grubhub+ — free$9.99/month (save $119.88) as an Amazon Prime member for one year + up to $20 off your order by using code COZY20
Sling TV premium pass — free for your first month
Vudu — save 30% on your first purchase or rental
Calm — $34.99$69.99 (save $34.99) for a 12-month subscription
LifeLock Standard identity theft protection — $49.99$89.99 (save $40)
YouTube TV — $54.99/month$64.99/month (save $30) for your first three months
Best tech deal
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Kindle Paperwhite Kids (8 GB) (opens in a new tab)
$109.99 at Amazon (save $50)
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Why we like it
If you’re hoping to get your little one to read more in 2023, a dedicated device should help do the trick. And when it comes to e-readers, the Kindle Paperwhite Kids is one of our top picks. It packs a 6.8-inch display, an adjustable warm light that’s easy on the eyes, a 10-week battery life, and — perhaps most importantly — a waterproof design. No need to worry about all the inevitable spills and accidental immersions. As a bonus, it also comes with a colorful cover and a two-year worry-free guarantee. Currently $109.99 at Amazon, it’s just five bucks away from its all-time low Black Friday pricing. Grab it while the deal is live and save $50.
More tech deals
Reserve a new Samsung Galaxy smartphone or Samsung Galaxy Book — get up to $100 in Samsung credit (see details)
Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen, 2022 Release) — $24.99$49.99 (save $25) + four free months of Amazon Music Unlimited
Sennheiser Sport true wireless in-ear headphones — $99.99$129.99 (save $30) + four free months of Amazon Music Unlimited and four free months of SiriusXM.
Amazon Fire HD 10 Plus tablet — $104.99$179.99 (save $75)
LG CordZero A9 cordless stick vacuum (opens in a new tab)
$299.99 at Best Buy (save $300)
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Why we like it
The most annoying thing about cordless vacuums is that they’re always dead when you actually need them. That’s why the LG CordZero A9 comes with two rechargeable, detachable quick-release batteries that allow you to clean and charge at the same time. Altogether, they’ll provide up to 100 minutes of run time for your floor-cleaning needs. It also features removable, washable filters for easy maintenance, five-step filtration, easy one-touch controls, powerful suction, an adjustable wand, and the ability to transform into a handheld in an instant. Regularly retailing for $599, Best Buy has slashed the price down to $299.99 today only. You can save about $300 if you grab it before midnight.
More home deals
Kitchen deals
Gourmia GFD1680 countertop electric food dehydrator — $82.90$129.99 (save $47.09)
Frigidaire electric stand mixer (6.2-quart) — $94$124.99 (save $30.99)
Nespresso VertuoPlus coffee and espresso maker — $127$159 (save $32)
Cricut EasyPress mini heat press — $39$69 (save $30)
Segway Ninebot electric kickscooter — $200.19$299.99 (save $99.80)
Dyson Supersonic hair dryer — $343.99$429.99 (save $86 as a MyBestBuy member)
Gaming deals
Razer Barracuda wireless gaming and mobile headset — $80.99$159.99 (save $79)
LG 27-inch UHD IPS 4K FreeSync monitor — $199.99$399.99 (save $200) + six free months of Trend Micro Internet Security and three free months of YouTube Premium
HP X27Q 27-inch QHD gaming monitor — $209.99$299.99 (save $90)
Microsoft Xbox Series S (512 GB, all-digital) holiday console — $249.99$299.99 (save $50)
Save $50: As of Jan. 25, the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Kids is on sale for $109.99 at Amazon. That’s a savings of 31%.
Amazon’s Kindle line does wonders for anyone who plans to read more. You’ve got the whole of the retail giant’s selection of books at your disposal to read anytime, anywhere. Ease of access means you’re more likely to crack open a book — imagine what a Kindle could do for your kids.
If you want to encourage your little ones to read more (or help them devour more books), a Kindle Paperwhite Kids is an excellent option to start with. It’s on sale right now for $109.99, which is just $5 away from its record-low Black Friday price. That’s a 31% discount and $50 off.
SEE ALSO:
Amazon Prime members can take 20% off a Grubhub order with this discount code
The Kindle Paperwhite Kids features a 6.8-inch 300 ppi glare-free display that has an adjustable warm light. It also comes with a whopping 10 weeks of battery life, which means your kid can leave it lying around in their room for who knows how long, come back to it, and probably still be able to turn it on.
But what really makes the Paperwhite Kids so attractive for younger users is its Amazon Kids+ subscription and its two-year warranty. For a monthly fee of $4.99/month (for Prime members), your kids can read all the age-appropriate books they want. And if they break it, you get peace of mind — and that’s worth a lot these days.
It’s never a bad idea to treat yourself to a device that will help clean your house all by itself. As of Jan. 25, Amazon has great deals on various Roomba models. Here are a few picks:
BEST BUDGET ROOMBA: The iRobot Roomba 694 includes WiFi connectivity and automatically charges itself. $179 $274 (save $95)
BEST FOR PET OWNERS: The iRobot Roomba i3 EVO uses smart mapping to avoid obstacles and clean pet hair. $249 $349.99 (save $100.99)
BEST FOR MULTIPLE SURFACES: The iRobot Roomba j7 recognizes cords, larger debris, and various surfaces. $399 $599 (save $200)
BEST BUNDLE: The iRobot Roomba s9 and Braava jet m6 bundle will save you time and energy on sweeping and mopping. $999 $1,599.99 (save $600,99)
Best budget Roomba
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Our pick: iRobot Roomba 694 (opens in a new tab)
$179 at Amazon (save $95)
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Why we like it
At a price of only $179, the iRobot Roomba 694 is an affordable powerhouse. Fully equipped with dual multi-surface brushes and an auto-adjust cleaning head, dirt, dust, and debris stand no chance against this robot vacuum. Use the iRobot home app to set up a schedule that works for you. A 90-minute battery life ensures ample cleaning time, but this Roomba self-charges, which means no crevice or corner will remain unchecked.
Best for pet owners
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Our pick: iRobot Roomba i3 EVO (opens in a new tab)
$249 at Amazon (save $100.99)
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Why we like it
With a cleaning runtime of 75 minutes and superior suction power compared to Roomba 600 models, your floors and surfaces will be spotless once the iRobot Roomba i3 EVO gets done with them. Use it along with Google Assistant or Alexa and then get on with your life. The i3 EVO cleans row by row and also learns which parts of your home get dirtier, thus creating the perfect cleaning routine just for you. Have pets? This Roomba is equipped with a Premier 3-stage cleaning system that can tackle pet hairs.
Best for multiple surfaces
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Our pick: iRobot Roomba j7 (opens in a new tab)
$399 at Amazon (save $200)
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Why we like it
If you love schedules, the iRobot Roomba j7 was built just for you. The j7 allows you to set up multiple cleanings per day and customize these sessions to your preferences. It’s also great at recognizing obstacles — including pet waste— so it can avoid these and only clean dirt, dust, and debris. Live in a home with stairs and other elevated areas? The j7 features Cliff Detect, which allows it to prevent falling off these areas. Should you require multiple or longer cleaning sessions, your j7 will automatically recharge once the battery runs low so it can continue.
Best bundle
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Credit: iRobot
Our pick: iRobot Roomba s9 and Braava jet m6 bundle (opens in a new tab)
$999 at Amazon (save $600.99)
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Why we like it
There’s only one feeling that’s better than knowing there’s no more dirt on your floor: The feeling that you won’t have to get up and mop your floors either. The iRobot Roomba s9 and Braava jet m6 bundle is here to make cleaning a breeze and includes the Roomba vacuum as well as the robotic mop. The Roomba s9 features Perfect Edge technology and state-of-the-art brushes that prevent pet hair entanglements. The Braava jet m6 uses a powerful jet system to mop your home and leave it squeaky clean.
Both powerhouse gadgets work with Alexa, learn their way around your home, and use vSLAM technology to clean your home in rows. Schedule cleanings or ask your devices to clean up any messes as they happen. With a savings of $600.99, this bundle is definitely a steal.
Adult Swim has cut ties with Rick and Morty co-creator and star Justin Roiland, and is moving forward with the cult show’s new season without him. The announcement comes in the wake of felony domestic violence charges against Roiland being made public.
Roiland’s presumably involuntary departure was revealed in a post on the official Rick and Morty Twitter account on Tuesday. The post was subsequently retweeted by the official Adult Swim account.
“Adult Swim has ended its association with Justin Roiland,” the account wrote in a black and white text image. “Rick and Morty will continue. The talented and dedicated crew are hard at work on Season 7.”
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In addition to co-creating and executive producing Rick and Morty, Roiland has provided the voice for both title characters for all six seasons of the show thus far. A spokesperson for Adult Swim’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery has said these roles will now be recast.
Roiland was charged with domestic violence in May 2020, however the public wasn’t made aware of the case until he appeared in court for a pre-trial hearing earlier this month. NBC News reported that the 42-year-old has pleaded not guilty to two felonies: domestic battery with corporal injury, and false imprisonment by menace, fraud, violence, or deceit. His hearing is currently scheduled for Apr. 27.
SEE ALSO:
‘Rick and Morty’ fans, Adult Swim’s messed up horror short will haunt you
Adult Swim ordered at least 70 more episodes of Rick and Morty back in 2018, signing a long term deal with Roiland and co-creator Dan Harmon. The show has since released 30 episodes across three seasons, meaning more than half of that original 70-episode order will now be made with a new cast.
UPDATE: Jan. 25, 2023, 12:02 p.m. AEDT High on Life developer Squanch Games has just announced it is also no longer working with Roiland. “On January 16, 2023, Squanch Games received Justin Roiland’s resignation,” the studio announced via Twitter. “The passionate team at Squanch will keep developing games we know our fans will love while continuing to support and improve High on Life.”
Released in December last year, High on Life is a first-person shooter based on a concept by Roiland, who was heavily involved in its development.
Employee layoffs at some of the world’s biggest tech giants are churning up a flooded and volatile market. It’s a scary state for new employees and skilled mid-career professionals alike, and it’s having disastrous effects on hundreds of thousands of foreign workers and visa holders. And, according to new reported estimates, that impact may be disproportionately devastating to a single population: Indian IT employees.
SEE ALSO:
Spotify’s layoffs are the latest in Big Tech’s cutbacks
Reported by financial news site Mint, a number of “industry insiders” estimate that between 30 and 40 percent of IT layoffs affected employees on temporary work status from India. Given the nationwide estimate of 200,000 IT employees impacted directly by layoffs since November, this means potentially 80,000 people now face the task of finding stable work within 60 days before being forced to go back to their countries of origin.
Most of these employees, including a huge swath of tech workers from China, are on non-immigrant work visas like the H-1B, a temporary three-year visa with an option for extension. In 2022, many tech workers and advocates protested the current congressional limits, and lack of oversight, for workers on visas like H-1B, which they say is frequently taken advantage of by in-need tech employers. This follows an industry uproar incited by a 2017 government decision to suspend H-1B visas, as well as an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump that required H-1B visas to be issued to higher-salaried and higher-educated employees, rather than through a lottery system. The foreign labor decisions of the Trump administration had rippling effects on women and spouses, as well, and even incited global protests in countries relying on international work opportunities, like India.
Now, at the same time layoffs sweep over this band of already-approved employees and job opportunities become rarer and rarer, demand for new H-1B visas has increased, especially in tech fields. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, computer-related jobs accounted for nearly 70 percent of approved H-1B recipients in 2021. For 2023, the government agency received 483,000 applications, a 57 percent increase, according to Bloomberg Law. The visas also are becoming less accessible to many, as the U.S. government announced its plan to increase fees for H-1B sponsors.
Employees navigating the sudden removal of both their sources of income and immigration status have been relying on networks of people cornered into similar situations. As Mint reported, some are seeking assistance through international organizations like the Global Indian Technology Professionals Association (GITPRO) and the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS), or networking websites for visa workers, like Go Zeno. Others are seeking out informal means to find these necessary jobs, through Google Forms and career sites like LinkedIn, TIME reported in December. Even law groups are stepping up to assist employees in the hunt for visa-eligible work, while many search for immigration alternatives to their H-1B status.
The tech industry is no stranger to ethical debates on bottom-line figures and their human costs, as the recent tech workforce reductions coincide with other major concerns over employee treatment. For example, the development of popular AI application ChatGPT using underpaid workers in Kenya reportedly exposed employees to violent and graphic online content. Other workforces, like call center employees based in countries like India and the Philippines, face ongoing online harassment and even physical threats in the workplace. And mechanization that goes so far as to mask employees’ accents through robotic, “white-sounding” AI has contributed to the evolution of an increasingly faceless industry that’s now shedding its staff in droves.
But beyond the impersonal scale of massive layoffs and companies’ revenue goals are the lived realities of those doing skilled work — thousands of real people supporting real families with immediate needs, who are now scrambling to protect their futures.
Turbulent’s hydroelectric turbines are aiming to provide cheap, easy to maintain power to regions of the world that haven’t been able to harness hydro power yet. The design creates a vortex using a small turbine, making it possible to use smaller and weaker sources of water, and without harming wildlife or damming up any streams and rivers. The power stations are also easy to maintain with minimal training, which is a huge barrier in establishing power in poorer parts of the world.
Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to investigate Live Nation and the lack of competition in the music industry. In the process, they also flexed their Taylor Swift lyrical knowledge.
The hearing comes after after reports of significant service failures and delays on Ticketmaster’s website in November that left Swift’s millions of fans unable to purchase tickets to her Eras Tour. The Senate Judiciary Committee heard from live-industry executives and anti-trust experts.
During the hearing Senators grilled Joe Berchtold, the president and CFO of Live Nation, and listened to accounts of Live Nation’s business operations. They also brainstormed potential solutions to the issue. The hearing was announced by U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee, chairwoman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition, Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, respectively, and was held in front of the full Judiciary Committee with Chair Dick Durbin and incoming Ranking Member Lindsey Graham.
SEE ALSO:
Meet the Swifties trying to take down Ticketmaster
Senators and witnesses alike we unafraid to wield Swift’s iconic lyrics against the monster on the Hill itself, Live Nation. Were the quotes a bit forced? Sure. But there’s no time for would’ve could’ve should’ve now. Here’s a list of every Swiftian pun made during the hearing.
1. “All too well”
“All Too Well,” Red
Klobuchar kicked things off with the first Swift quote of the hearing. She invoked the fan-favorite and emotionally devastating track “All Too Well” when she said, “To have a strong capitalist system you can’t have too much consolidation something that unfortunately for this country…we know all too well“
2. “She’s cheer captain and I’m on the bleachers”
“You Belong With Me,” Fearless
Lee made a fearless joke about Klobuchar’s position as chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition, Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights: “To be honest I had hoped as of a few months ago to get the gavel back, but once again she’s on cheer captain and I’m on the bleachers.”
3. “This is why we can’t have nice things”
“This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things,” Reputation
Sal Nuzzo, one of the witnesses and the vice president of the James Madison Institute, countered claims that Live Nation’s growth had benefitted consumers with, “A few million Taylor Swift fans would respond, ‘This is why we can’t have nice things.'”
4. “I’m the problem, it’s me”
“Anti-Hero,” Midnights
In perhaps the celebrated quote of the hearing, Senator Richard Blumenthal told Live Nation CFO Joe Berchtold, “May I suggest, respectfully, that Ticketmaster ought to look in the mirror and say, ‘I’m the problem, It’s me.'” You have to wonder if he’s listened to the full-track which notably includes the line, “Did you hear my covert narcissism I disguise as altruism like some kind of congressman?”
5. “A nightmare dressed like a daydream”
“Blank Space,” 1989
Lee described the potential solution to ticketing issues of restricting consumer’s ability to transfer tickets as “a nightmare dressed like a daydream.”
6. “Karma is a relaxing thought, aren’t you envious that for you it’s not”
“Karma,” Midnights
Lee ended the hearing with an acknowledgement of his Swifite daughter: “I have to throw out, in deference to my daughter Eliza, one more Taylor Swift quote. ‘Karma is a relaxing thought, aren’t you envious that for you it’s not.'”
Call it what you want, but it looks like there are some Swifties in the Senate.
