/Top Stories/ Last Updated: Tue, Dec 24th, 2024 @ 8:37am EST

Mashable

NASA spacecraft just plunged into the sun and broke stunning records

Early on Christmas Eve in 2024, a NASA craft swooped at blazing speed through the sun's atmosphere.

The Parker Solar Probe, equipped with a robust heat shield, made the closest-ever approach to our dynamic star, coming some 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) from the stellar surface. That's seven times closer than any other probe. The mission is designed to fly into the sun's corona, or outer atmosphere, which spawns many of the powerful solar storms and weather that impact Earth....

Wired Top Stories

J. Clara Chan

Disney Pulled the Plug on This Game in 2013. A Group of Teens Kept It Alive

Thanks to a bunch of game-makers who were still teens when Toontown Online disappeared, the beloved online world lives on as Toontown Rewritten.

BuzzFeed - Latest

35 Cool, Random, And Inexpensive Things To Treat Yourself To So You Don’t Turn Into The Grinch

You *may* just become the new mayor of Whoville for scoring these cheap, cheerful finds.

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The Verge

Jess Weatherbed

This solid aluminum keyboard costs as much as a MacBook Pro

Image: Serene Industries

If statement keyboards are your thing and you have some serious cash to burn, you should check out this brutalist flagship offering from Serene Industries. The Icebreaker is a wedge-shaped mechanical keyboard constructed from a single block of CNC-machined aluminum, featuring hot-swappable aluminum keycaps with configurable RGB backlighting.

Preorders are available now, with pricing starting at $1,500 for the wired version. A Bluetooth wireless and a wired...

Fast Company

Jared Newman

The 25 best new apps of 2024

Productivity boosters, AI standouts, hidden gems, and more.

One of the most pleasant surprises about this year’s best new apps have nothing to do with AI.

Fast Company

Nate Berg

5 great design films you should watch right now

Epic and influential designers, both real and imagined, hit the screen.

Given their visual allure, it’s an obvious jump for objects of design to make their way to the big screen. But seeing a piece of architecture or industrial design on film can be more than just a different view.

Fast Company

Lars Schmidt

7 ways HR will look different in 2025

The field of HR is being re-written in the age of AI, a new administration, and a climate where stability is a thing of the past.

The workplace is at an inflection point. Rapid advancements in AI, intensifying polarization, eroding employee perks and protections, and shifting employee expectations are transforming the role of HR in unprecedented ways. These trends demand bold, strategic responses from HR leaders who must balance technological adoption with human-centered leadership, global...

Fast Company

Reasons to be Cheerful

How these simple electric trucks are helping Rwandan farmers boost their profits

In Rwanda, farmers often watch their harvest spoil before it can reach the market. Ox Delivers is changing that.

Esperance Dushakimana looks at her field of potato in Musanze district in North Rwanda. “It is hard,” she says. “We till the land, sow the seeds, reap the harvest and then watch helplessly while at least a fifth of it perishes before it reaches the market.” Barely 30 miles away in Rubavu, mushroom farmer Vincent Ngamije is forced to sell his harvest on the cheap across...

Fast Company

Jennifer Mattson

What stores are open on Christmas Eve 2024? Holiday hours for Walmart, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Aldi, Costco, and more

Need an extra roll of wrapping paper or last-minute groceries? Remember that many stores close early on the night before Christmas. Here’s a cheat sheet.

Still have some last-minute shopping to do and don’t know where to go? We have you covered. From grocery stores to retailers, supermarkets to chain pharmacies, here are all the stores open on Christmas Eve 2024. Many locations operate under modified hours and will close early so that employees can spend time with family and friends for...

Fast Company

Lance Lambert

Homebuilder stocks are trying to tell us something about the 2025 housing market

Lennar—the nation’s second largest homebuilder—expects its Q1 2025 gross margin to be its lowest for a first quarter in more than a decade.

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter.

Wired Top Stories

Jason Parham

It Was a Record Year for Dating Apps. They Still Don’t Have It Figured Out

Suddenly, every possible dating and hookup app for every possible scenario exists—AI girlfriends, kink-positive polyamory, gay cruising. Why does it feel like none of them are the answer?

SBNation.com

David Fucillo

Your daily NFL trivia game, Tuesday edition

Think you can figure out what NFL player we’re talking about? You’ll get five clues to figure him out.

We’re back for another day of the SB Nation in-5 daily trivia game, and we’re returning to our system of a new article each day for the game.

We tried using a single article for the game, updated with the latest game each day, but it was creating a bit of an unwieldy experience in the comments. So, we’ll have the current day’s game plus the previous three days in each...

NYT > Home Page

J. David Goodman

Elon Musk Is Creating His Own Texas Town. Hundreds Already Live There.

Employees of SpaceX have filed a formal petition to create the city of Starbase. Its first mayor would be a security manager for the company.

NYT > Home Page

Azam Ahmed and Bryan Denton

How Afghan Militias, Unleashed by the U.S., Proved Worse Than the Taliban

Trump blamed Biden. Biden blamed the Afghan military. Our investigation found that the U.S. unwittingly laid the groundwork for the Taliban’s victory long ago.

NYT > Home Page

David E. Sanger

Trump Will Confront a More Vulnerable but Determined Iran

“Coercive diplomacy” could leave Tehran to choose either a negotiated disassembly of its nuclear capability, or a forced one.

BuzzFeed - Latest

18 Wild, Unfiltered Facebook Posts From 2024 That Show What A Chaotic Place It Is

"I have likely been cloned. Please do not accept any friend requests from me."

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Mashable

Design like a pro with an all-in-one AI toolbox for $70

TL;DR: Design logos, create stunning visuals, and craft engaging content with a lifetime subscription to AI Magicx for just $69.99.

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Mashable

Too good to miss — take $400 off a refurbished iPad Pro

TL;DR: Enjoy the potential of the grade-A refurbished iPad Pro (256GB, WiFi + cellular) with top-tier performance, stunning visuals, and massive storage for $699.99 (reg. $1,099).

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Mashable

Get an 8-in-1 charging cable for just $25

TL;DR: The GoCable Ultimate 8-in-1 Charger combines fast 100W charging, universal compatibility, and handy tools like a bottle opener and safe-proof cutter — all in one portable device for just $24.99 (reg. $44).

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Mashable

Get 1TB of cloud storage for life for just $120

TL;DR: Secure 1TB of lifetime cloud storage with Koofr for $109.97 — the no-nonsense last-minute gift or essential new year upgrade.

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