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The internet reacts to the first-ever World Cup Halftime show

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The FIFA World Cup final between Spain and Argentina is living up to the hype. And to add to the festivities was a fun but odd sight in the world of association football: a halftime show. Soccer is normally a brisk sport, but with this edition of the World Cup being co-hosted in the US (the first World Cup in the US since 1994), it's fallen into the American Sports Entertainment Vortex™. Which isn't a bad thing, minus the universal dislike for the hydration breaks, which many commentators have pointed out are glorified commercial breaks for the Fox network. But given the lineup — Shakira, Madonna, BTS, and Justin Bieber, with a Sesame Street cameo and a Ted Lasso intro thrown in for good measure — the World Cup's first-ever halftime show was just fine . The whole thing clocked in at under six minutes, which somehow made it funnier: FIFA spent months hyping a halftime show shorter than the ad break before it. The internet noticed and acted accordingly. Madonna kicks us ...

Chipotle is giving away free entrées during the World Cup final — how to claim yours

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TL;DR: Chipotle is giving away 100,000 free entrées during the 2026 World Cup final on July 19. During the match’s second hydration break, fans can watch a video on Chipotle’s Instagram, grab the code revealed at the end, and text it to 888-222 for a chance to claim free food. Chipotle is bringing some free food to the biggest football match of the summer. During the 2026 World Cup final on Sunday, July 19, the restaurant chain will give away 100,000 free entrée offers as part of this special giveaway. The idea for this promotion comes from a long-running Chipotle fan joke. Some customers have been known to “accidentally” fill their complimentary water cups with lemonade at the drink station, and the restaurant has leaned into the joke on social media over the years. “The best brand ideas start with a fan truth,” said Stephanie Perdue, Chipotle’s senior vice president of marketing. How to get a free Chipotle entrée durin...

Wordle today: Answer, hints for July 19, 2026

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Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you like to make food from scratch. If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you. SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for July 19, 2026 Where did Wordle come from? Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble , music identification game Heardle , and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make yo...

Netflix bought Ben Afflecks AI startup for $587 million

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Netflix paid over half a billion dollars for Ben Affleck's AI startup InterPositive, which he founded in 2022. According to Variety , Netflix's Form 10-Q report with the Securities and Exchange Commission disclosed that it paid $587 million in cash for an acquisition in March. While the company they acquired goes unnamed in the report, the InterPositive acquisition was announced on March 5, and a Bloomberg report estimated that Netflix could have paid up to $600 million. SEE ALSO: Netflix's 'Wonka' reality show will use AI-generated voice of Gene Wilder According to the March 5 deal announcement , Netflix viewed its acquisition of InterPositive as "investing in creator-led innovation that keeps filmmakers at the center of the process." In that same announcement, Affleck wrote: "In 2022, I spent a lot of time observing the early rise of AI in production. As a filmmaker, I could see how these ...

Where is Gemini 3.5 Pro? The AI model announced at Google I/O is still MIA.

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Gemini users who were hoping to see the launch of Gemini 3.5 Pro at Google I/O 2026 left disappointed. At the May developers' conference, the company launched a lighter-weight Gemini 3.5 Flash model for everyday use. However, Google CEO Sundar Pichai assured the audience that Gemini 3.5 Pro would follow in June. "We are also excited for 3.5 Pro,” Pichai said at a pre-Google I/O media briefing. “We are using it internally. It's showing great improvements. We are still testing and refining it, and it will roll out to everyone next month." As of July 17, there's still no sign of the model. Our big Guessing Game is back!  Enter now for a chance to win an Apple Watch . So, where is Gemini 3.5 Pro? Yesterday, Bloomberg published a report on the delayed launch, with reporters Julia Love and Davey Alba writing that "The delay has caused frustration among Google engineers, AI researchers, and managers, who are concerned the company risks losing its edge in the mark...

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra appears online with Messis face and a $13,000 price tag

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Samsung recently confirmed it will share news about its latest foldable phones at the July 22 Galaxy Unpacked event in London, where the tech world expects the company to release three new devices: the Galaxy Z Flip 8, the Galaxy Z Fold 8, and the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. However, the Korean tech company hasn't confirmed the existence of these devices, which is why it's so weird to see the unreleased flagship Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra listed for sale online. What's even weirder? The foldable phone listed for sale features football legend Lionel Messi's face emblazoned on the case with 24-karat gold plating, and it carries a $13,130 price tag . The product first appeared in a July 15 press release in which a company called Caviar announced a new limited-edition "Legends" collection. Caviar makes custom and bespoke designs on iPhones, Samsung Galaxy smartphones, and other gadgets. A promo for the collection states, "The portrait of the Argentine captain is i...

MacBook Neo vs. XPS 13: The golden age of ultraportables is here

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Apple’s MacBook Neo certainly shook up the entry-level laptop market when it arrived in March, but Dell already had plans to do the same with its budget-friendly XPS 13. Here’s how these two match up and which you should get. from Mashable https://ift.tt/Efq4KXQ https://ift.tt/P8MxlKU