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A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Tuesday, August 26 (game #807).
Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.
What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
NYT Connections today (game #808) - today's words(Image credit: New York Times)Today's NYT Connections words are…
- TAP
- ODD
- FALSE
- RED
- CHECKING
- SPARKLING
- EVEN
- DEPOSIT
- YES
- STILL
- TRUE
- BLACK
- BOTTLED
- SAVINGS
- NO
- WITHDRAWAL
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Options for this beverage
- GREEN: Cashpoint decisions
- BLUE: Minimal ways to respond
- PURPLE: Spin the wheel
Need more clues?
We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…
NYT Connections today (game #808) - hint #2 - group answersWhat are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: RESTAURANT WATER OPTIONS
- GREEN: ATM OPTIONS
- BLUE: BINARY QUESTION OPTIONS
- PURPLE: ROULETTE OPTIONS
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #808) - the answers(Image credit: New York Times)The answers to today's Connections, game #808, are…
- YELLOW: RESTAURANT WATER OPTIONS BOTTLED, SPARKLING, STILL, TAP
- GREEN: ATM OPTIONS CHECKING, DEPOSIT, SAVINGS, WITHDRAWAL
- BLUE: BINARY QUESTION OPTIONS FALSE, NO, TRUE, YES
- PURPLE: ROULETTE OPTIONS BLACK, EVEN, ODD, RED
- My rating: Easy
- My score: 1 mistake
I was on the right track today, but my mistake came in adding ODD and EVEN to YES and NO instead of TRUE and FALSE. After getting nowhere I changed lanes and completed the quiz.
It feels a while since we’ve had such a straightforward Connections game, so I’m annoyed with my silly mistake. I’m surprised that BINARY QUESTION OPTIONS wasn’t classified as the hardest group, as ROULETTE OPTIONS was much easier.
I have a 100% record with the roulette, having played just once at a casino in the UK and won once.
It was only a small amount of money but I’ve seen enough films and TV shows featuring roulette wheels to know that the numbers were stacked against repeating my luck and I would descend into a spiral of crime, divorce and chronic ill health if I'd have played on. Cashing in those chips was possibly the most sensible thing I’ve ever done.
Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Tuesday, August 26, game #807)- YELLOW: DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS MOLE, PIERCING, SCAR, TATTOO
- GREEN: A REAL JERK CREEP, HEEL, RAT, SKUNK
- BLUE: PESTER BADGER, BUG, HARRY, RIDE
- PURPLE: WORDS BEFORE "STOOL" BAR, FOOT, STEP, TOAD
NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.
It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.
It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
- A third-party vendor notified Farmers of a breach on May 30
- An investigation determined that a million people are affected
- The attackers stole names, driver's license numbers, and SSNs
American insurer group Farmers Insurance has confirmed it recently fell victim to a third-party cyberattack which saw it lose sensitive data on more than a million people.
A data breach notification letter sent out to affected individuals states the company was alerted to the attack on May 30, 2025, when one of its third-party vendors spotted unauthorized access to one of its databases.
Subsequent investigation, which concluded almost two months later, determined that the unnamed threat actors stole names, birth dates, driver’s license numbers, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers (SSN), for exactly 1,071,172 people.
Not all systems are affected in the same wayServicing mostly individuals and small businesses, Farmers Insurance is part of the Zurich Insurance Group, and last year reported $2.2 billion in profits.
It also owns and operates multiple insurance companies, each focused on different markets, including 21st Century Insurance, Farmers New World Life Insurance Company, Farmers Financial Solutions, Foremost Insurance, and Bristol West Insurance.
The latter two were also hit, with others also possibly affected, as the letter reads, “Some of the brands include Foremost and Bristol West."
Foremost Insurance specializes in specialty lines, including mobile homes, manufactured homes, motorcycles, boats, RVs, off-road vehicles, and even things like landlord/rental property insurance.
Bristol West, on the other hand, covers auto insurance, particularly for people who might not qualify for standard policies due to driving record, credit, or other risk factors.
At press time, no threat actors have yet claimed responsibility for the attack, and Farmers did not see the data being abused anywhere in the wild.
However, it does urge its customers to remain vigilant and be extra careful with incoming emails and other communication claiming to come from the company. Furthermore, it is offering the victims two years of identity theft protection services, free of charge.
Via The Record
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The reformed Oasis band are currently touring, and singing to Sally about how it's unwise to put your heart in the hands of a rock'n'roll band. Maybe they should write a sequel to warn her of something equally heartbreaking: getting too involved with season one of any streaming show. That's right: yet another promising streaming series has bitten the dust after just one season.
This week's casualty is The Waterfront on Netflix, which was getting decent viewing numbers (it was the most-watched show on Netflix for a week in April, outpacing the number of views that Ransom Canyon saw during its first week) but left many critics cold – although not at The Guardian, who described it as "Dawson's Creek for grown-ups" and "perfect summer nonsense". We thought it had the potential to be a new Virgin River, but just two months after it debuted on Netflix the show has been canned.
Why The Waterfront is getting washed awayAs Variety reports, initial numbers were impressive: "The series spent over a week atop the streamer’s Top 10 before being overtaken after the premiere by the juggernaut Squid Game, which debuted its third season less than two weeks after."
Unfortunately Variety's prediction that the show had "set itself up to be yet another one of [Scream creator Kevin Williamson’s] long-running fan-favorite shows” and Williamson's own plans for a second season proved optimistic.
There's no official explanation for the cancellation but it's going to be the usual culprit: numbers. Not just the number of people streaming the show, but how much they streamed and how quickly they streamed it. It looks like from Netflix's perspective at least, The Waterfront simply didn't deliver.
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It feels like the Splinter Cell remake has been on its way for a while now, which isn't helped by the fact it's been over three years since we heard anything official about the game. From what we've seen so far, the team behind the remake appears to be aiming to rebuild the stealth game for an all-new audience without straying too far from the source material. But, as we've said, it's been a while since we've had an update on its progress, so we're hoping 2025 is the year.
Despite this lack of updates, it's still easy to see why the Splinter Cell remake is one of the most anticipated upcoming games on the horizon, given just how groundbreaking the original game was when it was released in 2002. Undoubtably, it paved the way for the third-person stealth games that followed, and we expect the remake to offer up this classic experience but retooled for a more modern experience.
Here's everything we know about the Splinter Cell remake so far, including a look at the initial announcement and any news that has come out since. As more is revealed in the future, this page will be updated.
Splinter Cell remake: cut to the chase- What is it? A remake of 2002's Splinter Cell
- When does it come out? TBC
- What can I play it on? TBC
- Who makes it? Ubisoft
Ubisoft released a video announcing the Splinter Cell remake in December 2021. In addition to the announcement, the video also delves into the history of the Splinter Cell series and how it changed the identity of Ubisoft, taking the Toronto-based studio from working on Rayman, a bright and colorful platformer, and thrusting it into the AAA lifestyle.
Ubisoft hasn't released any more Splinter Cell remake trailers as of yet, but you can find more deep dives into the classic stealth series on Ubisoft's official YouTube channel.
Splinter Cell remake story and setting - will it follow the original?(Image credit: Ubisoft)We know that the Splinter Cell remake will revisit the world and story from the first game released in 2002.
The original plot starts with two undercover US operatives that go missing in Georgia, leading to black ops agent Sam Fisher being sent in to investigate. As Sam searches for the missing agents, he uncovers a larger plot surrounding a corrupt government and nuclear missiles.
It's unclear how much of this plot will remain in the Splinter Cell remake, however, as Ubisoft confirmed in a (now deleted) job listing from September 2022 (via Tech4Gamers) that it is "rewriting and updating the story for a modern-day audience".
"We want to keep the spirit and themes of the original game while exploring our characters and the world to make them more authentic and believable," the listing stated. So, while producer Matt West has previously established Ubisoft wants to ensure the "spirit of the early games remains intact," expect a few updates.
Splinter Cell remake gameplay - here's what's been said so far(Image credit: Ubisoft)In the announcement blog post, producer Matt West revealed that the Splinter Cell remake is being built from the ground up, so players can expect visual and design updates. West also confirmed, contrary to rumor, the remake will be linear and not feature an open world. At present, further details haven't been shared on Splinter Cell remake's gameplay.
However, as this is a remake of the original title, we can expect that the hallmarks that made Splinter Cell so iconic will be present here. Stealth was always the operative goal in this series; using the environment around you, the lighting, and flexible movement was preferable rather than brute forcing your way through obstacles. The first game is very linear, with Chaos Theory being the first to switch things up with a more open structure. It primarily involved tight corridors, extremely dark environments, as well as a finale set in a Presidential Palace.
Splinter Cell remake news(Image credit: Ubisoft)A new Splinter Cell animated series releases in October
Announced at Gamescom 2025, Splinter Cell: Deathwatch is a new animated series starring Liev Schreiber as Sam Fisher. It arrives October 14, 2025. Watch the trailer here (YouTube).
The Splinter Cell remake is being built on Ubisoft's Snowdrop engine
Ubisoft has confirmed the Splinter Cell remake is being developed on its Snowdrop engine, which was used for Star Wars Outlaws game and for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.
Ubisoft Toronto is the main studio working on the Splinter Cell Remake. It previously worked on Watch Dogs Legion, Far Cry 6, and Splinter Cell: Blacklist. Looks like the project is in safe hands, especially one as focused on stealth as this one.
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- AMD's Ryzen CPU burnouts have been an issue for some time
- Team Red has now clarified that this is a problem because some motherboards don't run with AMD's recommended values
- Instead they push too hard with power and voltage – and burnouts are still reported on a daily basis
AMD has officially commented on the chip-destroying burnouts that have affected a small number of its Ryzen processors, and has effectively laid the blame at the feet of motherboard makers – to a point, anyway.
Tom's Hardware noticed an interview with AMD execs David McAfee and Travis Kirsch conducted by Quasarzone (a South Korean tech site) in which Team Red was questioned about the burnout issue pertaining to Ryzen chips (3D V-Cache or X3D models, including the Ryzen 9800X3D), and mainly (but not exclusively) affecting ASRock motherboards.
Bearing in mind this is a translated article – so we need to be careful around the interpretation – Quasarzone noted that CPUs in AM5 motherboards have been "experiencing socket burnouts" and that "some users are still reporting these symptoms". The tech site then asked what AMD's position and response was regarding the issue.
AMD replied to say (again, remember this is a translation): "This issue arises because some ODM BIOSes do not adhere to AMD's recommended values."
The term ODM refers to the motherboard maker (original design manufacturer), and what this is essentially saying is that those manufacturers aren't sticking to AMD's stock values (around power, voltage, and more) with their boards. In other words, these companies are pushing harder than they should, which could cause a problem.
It's not a definitive conclusion here, mind, because the execs go on to say: "AMD … offers a wide range of combinations, and also supports PBO [AMD's automated performance boosting feature] and overclocking. This means there are a vast number of possible scenarios. While this is a complex issue, we are working closely with our partners to resolve issues and further evolve the platform."
So, it's a complex problem to unpick, and AMD underlines that it's working with motherboard makers to resolve any problems.
The execs also mention that it's very much recommended that any AM5 motherboard owner updates to the very latest BIOS version, which is sound advice for any motherboard in fairness. (The latest finished release of the BIOS, I should clarify – do not attempt to use new versions that are still in beta testing).
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)Analysis: guessing gameSo, this isn't a crystal-clear statement from AMD by any means – and translation complications must be taken into account (yes, I'm banging on about that a bit, because it's an important nuance) – but there is a clear enough pointing of the finger in the direction of motherboard makers pushing too far with their settings.
As mentioned, ASRock motherboards have been particularly in the firing line as the most commonly reported hardware maker to be affected (by a long way) – but other vendors have been hit by incidents of CPU failures too.
While ASRock initially blamed a "memory compatibility issue present in earlier BIOS versions" and pushed out a BIOS update to fix that, this didn't do the trick in curing burnouts. As Tom's Hardware points out, a later BIOS update that arrived in May 2025 tweaked various PBO settings and this (finally) smoothed over most of the issues – if not quite all of them.
Sadly, there are still reports of Ryzen X3D CPU burnouts trickling in via Reddit on a daily basis, so this is a thorny one. Has ASRock still got work to do in terms of honing its BIOS to prevent these incidents? Or might this be a case of chips that have already been pushed too hard, for too long, suffering from the damage caused under the hood and finally giving up the ghost (with the latest BIOS update not being able to save them, as they were too far gone)?
There's still too much of a guessing game going on, frankly, and it's an unfortunate situation for both AMD and especially ASRock. Although it's not like Intel hasn't had worse problems – by which I mean the instability fracas with Team Blue's 13th and 14th-gen processors (that's been quite a saga).
You might also like- Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl will support 4K 60FPS on PS5 Pro in both quality and performance mode
- The base PS5 version currently offers quality mode at 4K 30FPS and performance mode at 2K 60FPS, but GSC Game World is aiming to deliver the latter at 4K 60FPS at launch
- Resolution, VFX, lighting, and more graphical features have been enhanced for the PS5 and PS5 Pro
Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl's technical producer, Yevhenii Kulyk, has revealed that GSC Game World is aiming to launch the game on PS5 at 4K 60 frames per second (fps) in quality mode.
Speaking in an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Gamescom 2025, Kulyk confirmed that the PS5 Pro version will support 4K 60fps when played on both performance and quality modes, though more textures have been added to improve the latter.
On the other hand, the base PS5 version will offer quality mode at 4K 30fps, while performance mode is currently at 2K 60fps, but the studio is aiming for 4K 60fps at launch.
"Right now, we are going 2K in 60 for the base version, but we are aiming to hit that 4K to hit the parity as well," Kulyk said. "So we want to support, on launch, 4K on the base version for quality and performance."
The developer explained that the team has included additional enhancements with the PS5 Pro version by changing scalability settings, which should improve the game's environments.
"You may notice that in the Pro version, it's a better way to experience the atmosphere of the game, because we tweaked the shadow quality. We tweaked some resolution techniques," Kulyk said. "We tweaked VFX, shading quality, and volumetric stuff, like volumetric clouds and volumetric lighting, so it is quite noticeable, but still, PlayStation 5 is an absolutely good way to play with our game and experience it to the full length."
GSC Game World communications director, Zakhar Bocharov, also added that he thinks "the most beautiful version" is the PS5 Pro quality mode, but admitted that he would still prefer to play the game in performance mode with a guaranteed 60fps.
Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is now available on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox Game Pass, and PC, but will arrive on PS5 and PS5 Pro on November 20, 2025.
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