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President Donald Trump explained his sympathy for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in curious detail during an Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday.

A stunning joint press event turned remarkably combative as Zelensky, Trump, and Vance openly argued and insulted one another over the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

At the end of the stunning 11+ minute exchange, a reporter asked President Trump what he would do if Putin were to break a ceasefire agreement.

“What if they …What if anything?” Trump openly mocked the entirely reasonable question. “What if the bomb drops on your head right now? Okay. What if they broke it? I don’t know; They broke it with Biden because Biden didn’t respect him. They didn’t respect Obama. They respect me.”

Trump then pivoted to showing bizarre empathy for the Russian dictator because of domestic political scandal surrounding his election to the White House in 2016, which he has often derided as the “Russian collusion hoax” despite a Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee report finding that the Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and advisor Roger Stone worked with Russian intel operations who were actively seeking to help him get elected.

“Let me tell you, Putin went through a hell of a lot with me,” Trump said as if he was recalling war stories with a former platoon mate and not a foreign policy adversary, alleged war criminal and expansionist who’s actions have led to hundreds of thousands of deaths and the reported kidnapping of 20,000 Ukrainian children.

“He went through a phony witch hunt where they used him and Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia. You ever hear of that deal? That was a phony. That was a phony,” Trump added before curiously conflating it with another alleged scandal. “Hunter Biden, Joe Biden scam, Hillary Clinton, shifty Adam Schiff. It was a Democrat scam.”

“And he had to go through that,” Trump continued. “And he did go through it. We didn’t end up in a war. And he went through it. He was accused of all that stuff he had nothing to do with it. Came out of Hunter Biden’s bathroom. It came out of Hunter Biden’s bedroom. It was disgusting.”

“And then they said, oh, oh, the laptop from hell was made by Russia, the 51 agents,” he said, conflating two completely separate stories that are only connected by allegations of Russian interference.  “The whole thing was a scam. And he had to put up with that. He was being accused of all that stuff.”

“All I can say is this: he might have broken deals with Obama and Bush, and he might have broken them with Biden. He did. Maybe. Maybe he did. I don’t know what happened, but he didn’t break in with me. He wants to make a deal. I don’t know if you can make a deal,” he added. “The problem is, I’ve empowered you to be a tough guy. And I don’t think you’d be a tough guy without the United States. And your people are very brave. But you you they going to make a deal or we’re out. ”

“And if we’re out, you’ll fight it out. I don’t think it’s going to be pretty, but you’ll fight it out. But you don’t have the cards. But once we sign that deal, you’re in a much better position. But you’re not acting at all thankful. And that’s not a nice thing. I’ll be honest. That’s not a nice thing. All right,” he concluded before adding, “I think we’ve seen enough. What do you think this is? This is going to be great television,” concluded Trump.

Watch above via CNN.

The post Trump Casts Putin as Victim in Furious Screed to Zelensky: He ‘Went Through a Helluva Lot With Me’ first appeared on Mediaite.

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A lot of folks want to upgrade their homes with a remodel, renovation, or smaller project. But cost is always a factor (and a barrier)—the average renovation cost for a house is over $50,000. Those costs drive a lot of folks to watch way too many home improvement shows and attempt do-it-yourself transformations, but those kinds of DIY projects require money, too—not to mention some basic skills and at least a few tools.

If you’re not someone who’s comfortable swinging a hammer or plugging in a power drill—or someone who doesn’t even own a hammer or a power drill—the idea of upgrading your house might seem impossible unless you’ve got that spare 50 grand. But there are numerous ways you can upgrade your house without the need for any tools whatsoever.

Towel racks

If your bathroom or kitchen needs a place to hang towels and you don’t trust yourself to drill holes, hammer in screw anchors, and drive some screws home, you don’t have to: You can pick up some Command towel racks for both hand towels and bath towels. As you can see in this video, they pop on your walls using the same Command strips you find for hooks and other products (these are water-resistant for obvious reasons). While using a level might make this installation a little easier, you can actually download a bubble level app for your phone that will work in a pinch, or just eyeball it—the good news is that your towel rack will be relatively easy to remove and reset if you mess it up.

Lighting

There are a lot of options for upgrading the lighting situation in your house that don’t require any wiring, cutting, or wall opening. Lights like these rechargeable LED lights have magnets built in so you can slap them onto metal surfaces for instant, no-tool installation, as well as an adhesive backing so you can attach them under wood cabinets or onto walls. They’re motion-activated, so they can act as nightlights, closet lights, or kitchen work lights. And these stick-on lights are programmable and come with a remote control to make your kitchen feel truly futuristic.

You can also find ceiling lights like this one that adhere to the ceiling without any tools, giving you the ability to add an overhead light to any room without hiring an electrician or drilling into your ceiling.

Floating shelves

Need some shelving for light storage? The High & Mighty shelf requires no tools and can hold up to 20 pounds of stuff (there’s also a 25-pound version). It even supplies its own level as part of the installation packaging, so all you have to do is stick the guide to the wall, push the brackets in using just your muscles, and hang the shelf. It’s a super easy way to add some attractive storage to your walls without drilling 1,000 holes.

Grout pens

Is the grout in your shower or kitchen backsplash looking a little dirty? You don’t need a grout saw, float, or even a stiff brush to clean it up or replace it. If the grout’s still in good physical shape, you can brighten it up in no time with a grout pen like this. You can find grout markers in a variety of colors, so you can clean up or transform just about any grout line in your house sans tools. Check the directions before you buy, though—some grout markers only work on unsealed grout, so if your grout has been sealed they may not work properly.

Peel-and-stick everything

Peel-and-stick stuff has come a long way, and are a powerful way to reinvent any space without the need for tools or extensive renovations. Technically they’re not entirely tool-free, as you will probably need a pair of scissors to size these materials to your space, but since most people possess and know how to use a pair of scissors, I'm allowing it.

• Wallpaper is the easiest way to cover up an unattractive wall or just change the look and feel of it. Products like this one are also easily removed, so they’re ideal for rentals or for folks who change their minds a lot—and they can be applied and smoothed using just your hands.

• Floor stickers and tiles can upgrade your floors pretty easily. They can be installed on top of just about any flooring (including existing tile), so you don’t need to do any demolition—just cut as needed, peel, and stick. And these tiles come in a wide variety of styles, from faux wood to porcelain to natural stone.

  Another option to consider is tile stickers/decals, which are designed to be pasted on top of existing tile to give it a fresh new look. They can be cut to size, and then simply paste over your existing floor or backsplash (you can see it done here).

Window treatments

If you want to add some window treatments without drilling and screwing, it’s pretty easy with shades that use a tension system—you simply insert the rod inside the window opening and let the pressure hold it in place. You can add roller shades, Roman shades, and even heavy curtains to your windows in a snap without any tools required.

Faux headboard

If you feel like your bedroom could use a little upgraded classiness, you might think that adding a headboard must require some woodworking and wall attachment—but it doesn’t have to. You can create an illusory headboard on the wall behind your bed by sticking stuff to it. If you have spare wood paneling lying around, grab some Command strips and hang them on the wall. You can also use vinyl peel-and-stick tiles, or literally anything that can be arranged artfully on the wall to create the outline of a headboard without getting any drywall dust on your bed.

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Oura, the smart ring, is finally taking menstrual cycle data into account when assigning readiness scores—a feature whose absence has baffled users for years. The ring’s app was notorious for assigning lower-than-expected scores during the luteal phase of users’ cycles, but that is changing thanks to an update to the Readiness score algorithm that Oura announced this week.

If you don’t have a menstrual cycle, or if you have one but don’t track it, you probably won’t notice anything different about your Readiness scores. But this update is a big deal for anyone who uses Cycle Insights, the feature of the Oura app that uses temperature data to keep track of ovulation, menstruation, fertile window, and follicular and luteal phases. 

Why many users had incorrect readiness scores

To explain why this was an issue, I’m going to zoom out and give a quick biology lesson. The monthly cycle that’s sometimes called a menstrual cycle isn’t just about menstruation, i.e., the bleeding that lasts a week or less. Instead, the cycle is a phenomenon that lasts all month, with distinct phases in the first and second halves of the month.

To be clear, this cycle doesn’t happen in everyone. It’s specifically a phenomenon that occurs in people who have a regular period and are not taking hormonal birth control. If you fall into this category, you can use the Cycle Insights feature of the Oura app to track when you are in the first half of your cycle (the follicular phase) versus the second half (the luteal phase). 

(An important aside: Every time I write about menstruation or hormonal cycles, I get someone writing in to tell me that “women” and “people who menstruate” are synonyms. Let’s just take a minute to discuss the fact that they are not. Not only can we acknowledge the existence of trans folks, non-binary people, and a strange species of human known as “girls,” it’s worth remembering that a significant percentage of women do not have a cycle! This includes women who are past menopause, and women who use hormonal birth control.) 

When your cycle starts on day one of your period, you’re in what’s called the follicular phase, as an ovarian follicle (which will produce an egg cell) develops over the course of about two weeks. Midway through the month—day 14 in a textbook cycle—that follicle releases the egg, ending the follicular phase. The releasing of the egg is called ovulation.

At this point, the body’s temperature ticks up by about half a degree. It will stay at this slightly elevated temperature for the rest of the cycle, and the Oura ring can detect the change in temperature. The empty follicle stays behind in the ovary, secreting hormones, and becomes the corpus luteum, Latin for “yellow thing.” (Scientists are so creative.) In its honor, the second half of the cycle is called the luteal phase.

Temperature isn’t the only difference between the follicular and luteal phases; all kinds of hormonal and biological phenomena are happening throughout the month, some of which have catchy names like “period flu,” but that’s a discussion for another time.

What’s changing in the Oura algorithm

As Oura points out in their announcement about the change, the luteal phase tends to have a few detectable differences from the follicular phase (from the ring’s point of view): 

• Skin temperature increases

• Respiratory rate increases

• Resting heart rate increases

• Heart rate variability (HRV) decreases 

All of these are things that, if they weren’t associated with the menstrual cycle, would indicate that a person is under stress or maybe getting sick. And so the algorithm (at least sometimes) processes this data as dings to your Readiness. Forums that discuss the Oura ring are full of threads with titles like “PSA to Oura: luteal phase is not a sickness” and “Anyone else get terrible readiness during luteal phase?” (according to the comments: yes).

With that in mind, Oura is finally taking your cycle phase into account when calculating Readiness scores. They predict that 35% of users who track a menstrual cycle will no longer get “disproportionately negative” readiness scores in the luteal phase. They expect that scores will be four to five points higher for those people, and that there will be 81% fewer days with too-low scores.

How to get the updated readiness scores

To benefit from the new algorithm, you’ll need to be using the Cycle Insights feature. This requires you to input the dates that your periods start, and it detects temperature changes to determine when you are in the luteal phase. 

To turn on Cycle Insights, tap the menu icon in the app, then Settings, and then Women’s Health. There is a switch to turn on Cycle Insights, and below that you can enter some background information: whether you use hormonal contraception, how long your typical cycle lasts. 

So, yes, this means that the app will need to keep track of when you have your period and when you’re ovulating. If that makes you uncomfortable in the current political climate, I don’t blame you—but you’ll have to decide whether it’s worth it to get that slightly more accurate data. Oura has a blog post on their approach to reproductive data privacy, noting that they are subject to GDPR regulations (since they are based in Finland) and that they plan to fight any requests for data from legal authorities. The support page for Cycle Insights includes instructions for deleting your cycle data from the app, which you can do at any time.

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The View’s Joy Behar launched into a rant on Thursday against Elon Musk before having to walk back her claims minutes later after a commercial break.

During a Thursday airing of the daytime program, Behar claimed that the South African billionaire was running the country for President Donald Trump. She also suggested that he was “pro-Apartheid” in the middle of her anti-Musk rant.

“The guy was not born in this country who was born under apartheid in South Africa. So [he] has that mentality going on. He was pro apartheid, as I understand it,” she told the panel.

Watch the moment below:

Musk has never expressed views that he was pro-apartheid or supportive of the Apartheid government in South Africa. Shortly after the commercial break, Behar awkwardly corrected her statement.

Now I’m getting some flack because I said that Musk was pro-Apartheid. I don’t really know for sure if he was. He grew up at that time when the Apartheid party was in full bloom, before the great Nelson Mandela fix that. He was around at that time. But maybe he was. Maybe he wasn’t. He might have been a young guy, too. So don’t be suing me okay, Elon? They’re allowed to say any lie they want, but we have to be really strict. That’s why this show’s important.

Watch the clip above via ABC’s The View.

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If all you want is a simple, reliable email client, Apple's Mail app is superb choice. And over the years, it's only gotten better. But until now, it's had this one weird quirk that has users running to third-party clients like Gmail or Outlook.

It has to do with how the Archive feature works. When you archive an email that you're reading, the Mail app automatically opens the next email in your inbox. Now, that's great if you're just going through newsletters. But when this happens, the next email is marked as read automatically, something you might not want to do in every case (like if the sender is using a tracking service, or if you were saving that email to read later).

It's a small thing, but it takes some agency away from you, and that makes it quite annoying to deal with. Luckily, Apple seems to have finally realized this, and in iOS 18.4, which is currently in Developer beta, the company has provided a hidden settings option to change this behavior. Why Apple just doesn't just make the fix the default, and why this has to be an obscure settings item, is beyond me.

Either way, if you're running iOS 18.4 use the Mail app regularly, go to the Settings app. Then, go to the Mail section and choose Delete or Move Message Action. Here, switch to the Don't Select a Message option.

Boom. You're all set. Now, when you're reading a message in the Mail app and delete, archive, or move it, the app won't automatically open the next message, and instead you'll go back to the Inbox view. What a revolution!

Speaking of the Inbox, if your device is running Apple Intelligence, you might have noticed that the Mail app looks a bit different now. It has a bunch of categories up top, and AI summaries, and even Priority emails that never manage to highlight the actually important messages. If you don't like all or some of these AI features, I have some good news—you can turn that all off. Follow this guide to disable all the new AI features in the iPhone mail app and go back to how things used to be. Of course, except for the old archive thing. Because, for once, this change is actually useful.

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Are you ready to pay for Amazon Alexa? With the addition of AI to the assistant, Amazon thinks you are.

Announced in a closed-doors meeting with press and business partners today, Amazon’s Alexa+ is bringing AI to the familiar digital assistant, plus a new $20/month price tag. The secret? If you have Prime, you’ll get access to it at no extra charge.

As with standard Alexa, the assistant is built around vocal prompts, but is designed to be more conversational and personalized, and will supposedly be able to act on your behalf and integrate with partner apps including Hulu, Uber, and Xbox.

It also enables new features in Amazon’s own apps, like Prime video or Ring, and should make smart home integration simpler.

Amazon didn’t go over every potential use case at its event, seemingly because there are so many, but a few key ones include:

• More complex questions: When asking Alexa+ a question, as with other AI, you’ll be able to keep a conversation going without multiple prompts or repeating yourself in each new prompt. For instance, you could tell Alexa that one of your family members is vegetarian, and any recipe suggestions it makes for them for the rest of the conversation will take that into account.

• Multimodality: Alexa+ is able to use photos as input, or peruse uploaded documents and provide summaries of them.

• Create new routines by voice: Rather than having to set up new smart home automations through a complicated app, you’ll be able to do them verbally. For example, you could tell Alexa once to remember to turn off the lights when you close the garage door, and it'll do that from that moment onward.

• Jump to a specific Prime Video scene: Alexa+ will be able to use details such as scene descriptions or actor names to take you to a specific moment in a specific piece of content within Prime Video. In a press release, Amazon claims that saying something like “what’s that movie where Bradley Cooper sings a duet? Jump to that scene…” will be enough to start it playing.

• AI-powered Ring: People with Ring subscriptions will be able to ask Alexa+ to summarize saved footage and show you highlights, plus use “Smart Video Search” to find specific moments just by describing them to Alexa, i.e. by saying “When did I last take out the trash bins?”

While that’s all set to make Alexa much more powerfuln (assuming it works) it’s also not too different from existing AI solutions. Where Alexa is set to go a step beyond is in taking action, in a way similar to what was promised by the Rabbit R1. Amazon says you could use it to order groceries, find event tickets, set up reservations, or book an Uber, among other things. 

That’s thanks to those partner integrations mentioned earlier. Supposedly, there are dozens of these partnerships set up and ready to go, including various news outlets like Time or The Washington Post, which should help make the assistant’s answers more accurate. As for actions, while it’s said to be hands-free, it seems like Alexa will ask for confirmation before actually making any final purchases or bookings.

Similarly, Alexa+ is also set to integrate with Amazon Kids+, using AI to converse with kids using facts or interactive games and stories. Amazon promises “extra safety guardrails for younger users,” although details are still light at the moment.

As is a lot about Alexa+. Amazon is promising transparency and privacy here, accessible via the Alexa Privacy dashboard, and has been surprisingly open about the technology powering Alexa+—it’s a combination of in-house models and Anthropic. But it’ll be a bit before you get to try out the upgraded assistant, with early access set for sometime next month. 

One surprise is that there are no new devices here, with Alexa+ instead being compatible with “almost every” shipped Echo device, although the company says that early access will come first to the Echo Show 8, 10, 15, and 21. Supposedly, the web and a new phone app will also get Alexa+, although it’s unclear when.

Personally, I’ve always been a little skeptical of Alexa and its always-on microphones, and I can’t say Alexa+ is doing anything to move the needle for me. But I also haven’t seen much of it yet. I tend to be a bit more practical-minded when it comes to what I’m willing to use AI for, so we’ll see if Alexa+ can change my mind when I finally get my hands on it—its ability to automatically turn emails into calendar events does seem pretty handy, assuming you’re fine handing that data over to Amazon, and that Amazon makes it easy to do so.

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Netflix's March slate has plenty of variety, from reality TV to true crime docs to sci-fi comedy.

John Mulaney is back this month with a new live weekly talk show, Everybody's Live with John Mulaney, a sequel to his 2024 live event Everybody's in L.A. The show, which will include on-screen guests and live calls from the audience, will premiere on March 12 at 10 p.m. ET with 12 weekly episodes on consecutive Wednesdays. Netflix also has new comedy hours in March from Andrew Schulz (LIFE, March 4), Bert Kreischer (Lucky, March 18), and Chelsea Handler (The Feeling, March 25).

For reality TV fans, there's a new installment of Love is Blind: Sweden (March 13) as well as the follow-up to the first season, After the Altar (March 6). Netflix is also taking over Temptation Island (March 12), which originally aired in 2001 and was revived in 2019 for five seasons. The new competition show Million Dollar Secret (March 26) is Netflix's response to Peacock's popular series The Traitors, putting strangers through a series of games to figure out the identity of the millionaire.

Netflix has a handful of true-crime documentaries this month, starting with the film Chaos: The Manson Murders (March 7), based on the 2019 titular book by Tom O'Neill and directed by Errol Morris. At the end of the month, Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer (March 31) will look at the Gilgo Beach murders from the perspective of the victims. The series is directed by Emmy winner Liz Garbus.

Finally, The Electric State (March 14) is a new sci-fi comedy film directed by the Russo brothers and starring Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt. The film is adapted from Simon Stålenhag's graphic novel of the same name and follows an orphaned teen's quest to find her brother after a robot rebellion.

Here's everything coming to Netflix in March—including the next installment of Formula 1: Drive to Survive (March 7) and lifestyle show With Love, Meghan (March 4)—and everything that's leaving.

What's coming to Netflix in March 2025

Available soon

• Khakee: The Bengal Chapter—Netflix Series

Available March 1

• The Potato Lab—Netflix Series

• SAKAMOTO DAYS—Netflix Anime

• 50 First Dates

• Annie (2014)

• Beginners

• Black Hawk Down

• Blade Runner: The Final Cut

• Blood and Bone

• Cell 211

• Do the Right Thing

• Friday

• High-Rise

• The Holiday

• Ma

• National Security

• Next Friday

• Pride & Prejudice

• Runaway Jury

• See No Evil, Hear No Evil

• Sicario

• Ted

• Vampires

• Wedding Crashers

Available March 3

• Hot Wheels Let's Race: Season 3—Netflix Family

Available March 4

• Andrew Schulz: LIFE—Netflix Comedy Special

• The Graham Norton Show: Best Bits: Week of February 21, 2025

• With Love, Meghan—Netflix Series

Available March 5

• Just One Look—Netflix Series

• The Leopard—Netflix Series

• Medusa—Netflix Series

Available March 6

• Barbie & Teresa: Recipe For Friendship

• Tyler Perry's Beauty in Black: Season 1 Part 2—Netflix Series

• Larissa: The Other Side of Anitta—Netflix Documentary

• Love is Blind: Sweden: Season 1: After the Altar—Netflix Series

• Power Rangers

Available March 7

• Chaos: The Manson Murders—Netflix Documentary

• Delicious—Netflix Film

• Formula 1: Drive to Survive: Season 7—Netflix Documentary

• Nadaaniyan—Netflix Film

• Plankton: The Movie—Netflix Family

• When Life Gives You Tangerines—Netflix Series

Available March 8

• SAKAMOTO DAYS—Netflix Anime

Available March 10

• American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden—Netflix Documentary

Available March 12

• Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney—Netflix Live Event

• Temptation Island—Netflix Series

• Welcome to the Family—Netflix Series

Available March 13

• Adolescence—Netflix Series

• Love is Blind: Sweden: Season 2—Netflix Series

Available March 14

• Audrey

• The Electric State—Netflix Film

Available March 15

• SAKAMOTO DAYS—Netflix Anime

Available March 17

• CoComelon Lane: Season 4—Netflix Family

• Inside: Season 2—Netflix Series

• The Walking Dead: Dead City: Season 1

Available March 18

• Bert Kreischer: Lucky—Netflix Comedy Special

• Love & Hip Hop New York: Seasons 3-4

• The Outrun

Available March 19

• Twister: Caught in the Storm—Netflix Documentary

• Woman of the Dead: Season 2—Netflix Series

Available March 20

• Bet Your Life—Netflix Series

• Den of Thieves 2: Pantera

• The Residence—Netflix Series

• Wolf King—Netflix Family

Available March 21

• Go!—Netflix Series

• Little Siberia—Netflix Film

• Revelations—Netflix Film

Available March 22

• SAKAMOTO DAYS—Netflix Anime

Available March 25

• Chelsea Handler: The Feeling—Netflix Comedy Special

Available March 26

• Caught—Netflix Series

• I Survived a Crime: Season 2

• Million Dollar Secret—Netflix Series

Available March 27

• Gold & Greed: The Hunt for Fenn's Treasure—Netflix Documentary

• Survival of the Thickest: Season 2—Netflix Series

Available March 28

• The Lady's Companion—Netflix Series

• The Life List—Netflix Film

Available March 31

• Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer—Netflix Documentary

• Promised Hearts—Netflix Film

• Rhythm + Flow Italy: Season 2—Netflix Series

What's leaving Netflix in March 2025

Leaving March 1

• 21 Bridges

• A Haunted House

• A Haunted House 2

• Aloha

• Blended

• Cinderella Man

• Due Date

• Free State of Jones

• Green Lantern

• In the Heart of the Sea

• Inception

• Legends of the Fall

• Little

• Mr. Peabody & Sherman

• Oblivion

• Scooby-Doo

• Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed

• Seven Years in Tibet

• Sixteen Candles

• Stand by Me

• Still Alice

• The Angry Birds Movie

• The Other Guys

Leaving March 3

• Ravenous

Leaving March 15

• The Autopsy of Jane Doe

Leaving March 16

• A Walk Among the Tombstones

Leaving March 23

• The Machine

Leaving March 24

• Oldboy

Leaving March 25

• No Escape

Leaving March 27

• Happy!: Seasons 1-2

Leaving March 30

• Godzilla vs. Kong

• Mad Max: Fury Road

Leaving March 31

• The Windsors: Seasons 1-3

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Microsoft is testing a new way to make sharing files a lot easier. In a beta version of Windows 11, the company has released a temporary shelf that appears when you drag files to the top of the screen. You can use this to drop files directly to the apps you use the most, such as Outlook or WhatsApp. Additionally, the company is also testing an improved version of Windows Search on CoPilot+ PCs to help you find photos in the cloud, and two new layouts for the Start menu. All of these features are a part of the Windows Insider program, but they're available in different channels of this program. Here are some details about each new feature and how you can try it if you want to get it ahead of the release to the general public.

The drag tray to make sharing easier

Perhaps the most exciting among the new updates, the drag tray is a way to make sharing simpler on Windows 11. When you drag a file to the top of the screen, a hidden drag tray reveals itself and you'll see a few apps listed there. You can drag the file into any app to share it quickly. There's also a More button to send it to apps not listed in the tray. If you drag a file to the More button, it'll open the Windows share menu to help you send it to other apps. While sharing has been fairly easy on computers for a long time, this drag tray is great for dumping files into apps that you use frequently.

New views for the Start menu

The Start menu is the hub for everything you want to launch on your PC and it's now getting two additional views—name grid and category. The name grid lists all apps in an alphabetical order and groups them by alphabet, whereas the category view looks a lot like app folders on your smartphone. The category view groups apps by type and creates multiple folders to let you see more apps in one go. Both these views are available in the All page of the start menu if you're a part of the correct Windows Insider beta. 

An improved Windows Search

For Copilot+ PCs, Microsoft is testing a version of Windows Search that lets you find photos stored on the cloud. You can type a search term and the results will try to find the photo based on your description, even if the photo is named IMG0012.JPG. At the moment this is supported for personal OneDrive accounts, as long as you're signed in and connected to the internet. This feature is not supported for work or school OneDrive accounts. Microsoft says third-party cloud storage providers will be able to add support for this search feature, which is great if you don't use OneDrive.

How to try these new Windows features

To try these new features, you need to sign up for the Windows Insider program and ensure that you have the right hardware and are on the correct beta version. Unfortunately, it's not as simple as jumping to the beta version and looking for the feature, but this is what you can do for now. On your Windows 11 PC, go to the Microsoft website and click the Register button to sign up for Windows Insider. Then, go to Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program on your PC and follow the on-screen prompts to join the program.

Be aware that this program involves installing beta software on your PC, which can lead to issues such as data loss, crashing software, or even a PC stuck at the boot screen. Ensure that you've backed up your Windows PC before you attempt to join the Windows Insider Program. Once you're on the beta, you can try the drag tray feature and the new Start menu views by selecting the beta channel and updating to Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4950 (KB5052078). This isn't available to those who are receiving beta updates based on Windows 11's 24H2 build as of now, but it's expected to be on that channel soon. If you decided not to update to this cycle and opted to receive beta updates on the previous beta channel, then you'll be able to try those two features right away. 

As for the enhanced search, it's available to those who have a Copilot+ PC running Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3291 (KB5052080). Microsoft currently labels this as an optional update and will change it to a recommended one later this year. Even if you're on the right update channel, you may have to wait a while to get the enhanced Windows Search working as Microsoft is rolling it out gradually. This update channel also includes improvements to Windows Recall, the controversial feature that records everything you do on your PC, and adds a new Trim tool to let you edit screen recordings using the Snipping Tool in Windows 11.

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Weeks ago, my partner suggested I develop a recipe for doughnuts made in the air fryer. I tried to explain to him how deep fried doughnuts are always better than baked ones, adding, “unless you wanna throw some Entenmann’s in there.” I laughed, and then shook my head, because I had sealed my own fate.

Once it occurred to me, I absolutely needed to test the idea. I bought a variety pack of Entenmann’s doughnuts (including chocolate glazed, powdery crumb nubbins, and classic glazed). I fearfully placed one of each into the basket of my air fryer and pressed Start.

I experienced a range of emotions during the next seven minutes, pinging from worry, to hope, to, finally, disbelief: Yes, I’m happy to report that air-fried cheap doughnuts are absolutely sensational.

The process changes the doughnuts appearance, especially the glazed ones. The sugar coating partially melts, exposing the crumb texture of the doughnut beneath. Everything else is uphill from there: Each air fried doughnut was a textural delight—their dry, homogeneous, bread-y consistency transformed into a crunchy exterior with a chewy, caramelized crust. The interior crumb changed too: Instead of a dense, cake-y texture, the crumb opens up a bit (presumably from expanding in the heat) and has an airy feel.

The flavor is also improved. All of the existing elements you enjoy in packaged doughnuts are concentrated and enhanced. Normally these doughnuts are one-note sweets, but after air frying, you’ll notice how buttery they are, taste notes of vanilla, and even detect hints of salt. 

It makes logical sense—the heat melts and caramelizes some of the sugars, moisture evaporates, and the doughnut’s surface browns a bit due to the Maillard reaction, creating new, complex flavors. But some flavors, I can’t explain. Why does an air-fried chocolate glazed doughnut taste completely like Fruity Pebbles? You must air fry a chocolate glazed, if only to experience this unexpected transformation.

How to air fry cheap doughnuts

I wouldn’t air fry specialty bakery doughnuts that cost $5 a pop, because that’s silly. Focus on improving the factory-made doughnuts. To air fry your own cheap doughnuts at home, simply pop the treats into an air fryer set to 350°F on the “air fry” setting for five to seven minutes. Make sure you air fry them on the included metal grate, as some of the sugars from the glaze will drip off and you don't want them to get too moist.

When they’re done heating, use metal tongs or a fish spatula to remove them from the grate and place them to cool on a wire rack for about five minutes. Feel free to give them a light sprinkle of flaky salt. They’ll feel really soft and breakable at first, but after cooling, the sugars will recrystallize and the doughnuts will be crispy...and incredible. 

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Listen, there's a lot going on right now, and it may feel indulgent to get excited about something frivolous like the Academy Awards. But watching movies is self-care, and trying to catch up on the nominees before the ceremony on Sunday, March 2 will definitely be a good distraction. (The show, hosted by Conan O'Brien, will air on ABC but also stream on Oscars.com.).

To help you prepare, I've rounded up all the nominees and done the work to figure out where they're available to watch online—though some are still only in theaters or available via pricey digital rentals as of this writing, I'll keep it updated as more things drop onto your favorite streaming platforms (and also Peacock).

With a week to go before the Oscars, you can watch almost everything at home, one way or another, save for the Brazilian Best Non-English Language nominee I'm Still Here. Then there's the documentary No Other Land, which doesn't even have a formal distribution deal in the U.S. as yet. Still, you already have quite a bit to catch up on (even before you branch out to would-be contenders like Challengers, Queer, and Babygirl). Happy disassociating!

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Emilia Pérez

Despite being, shall we say: not universally loved by queer audiences, Spanish-language musical crime drama Emilia Pérez managed to net a whopping 13 nominations, the most ever for a movie not in English. Among those is Karla Sofía Gascó for Best Actress, Oscar's first nod to an openly trans actress.You can stream Emilia Pérez on Netflix.

Nominations for: Best Picture, Actress (Karla Sofía Gascón), Supporting Actress (Zoe Saldaña), Directing (Jacques Audiard), Adapted Screenplay, International Feature, Cinematography, Original Score, Original Song x 2 (El Mal AND Mi Camino), Makeup and Hairstyling, Sound

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Wicked

Next up in the nomination tally is Wicked, the movie that dominated the end-of-year zeitgeist and the box office—it's tied for noms with The Brutalist, which isn't yet streaming. And it's another musical! No directing nomination for Jon M. Chu, which is always interesting for a film with this many nominations. Being the first of a planned two parter, Academy voters could be holding off until next year to send some witchy love Chu's way. You can rent Wicked from Prime Video.

Nominations for: Best Picture, Actress (Cynthia Erivo), Supporting Actress (Ariana Grande), Editing, Production Design, Costume Design, Original Score, Makeup and Hairstyling, Sound, Visual Effects

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The Brutalist

You might not have heard of the epic immigrant drama The Brutalist, as it's a limited release that has not done terribly well at the box office. Nonetheless, it includes a big-name cast including Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, and Guy Pearce, all of whom received nominations. Brody plays László Tóth, a Hungarian-Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor who emigrates to America to start a new life. At more than three-and-a-half hours (it plays with an intermission in theaters!) it earns its artsy rep, but it's less intimidating a watch than it might sound. You can purchase The Brutalist from Prime Video.

Nominations for: Best Picture, Actor (Adrien Brody), Supporting Actor (Guy Pearce), Supporting Actress (Felicity Jones), Directing (Brady Corbet), Original Screenplay, Editing, Cinematography, Production Design, Original Score

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Conclave

Juicy, Vatican-based political thriller Conclave scored eight nominations—not bad for the kind of straight-down-the-middle grownup movie that is rarely made these days. The nomination for Rossellini marks a first-ever Oscar nod for the actress, a surprise given her impressive career. You can stream Conclave on Peacock or rent it from Prime Video.

Nominations for: Best Picture, Actor (Ralph Fiennes), Actress (Isabella Rossellini), Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Production Design, Costume Design, Original Score

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A Complete Unknown

Timothée Chalamet is the latest actor to take on the role of Bob Dylan in an off-center biopic. This one focuses on, and builds to, the moment when Dylan blew people's minds by using electric instruments at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. It's hard to do a musical biopic after Walk Hard eviscerated the tropes of the genre, but this one does a good job of being massively entertaining. You can rent or buy A Complete Unknown on Prime Video right now.

Nominations for: Best Picture, Actor (Timothée Chalamet), Supporting Actor (Edward Norton), Supporting Actress (Monica Barbaro), Directing (James Mangold), Adapted Screenplay), Costume Design, Sound

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Anora

Director Sean Baker has created a string of critically acclaimed films (Tangerine, The Florida Project, Red Rocket) that haven't broken through in terms of Oscar love. His latest, a comedy-drama following the troubled marriage between sex worker Ani and the son of a Russian oligarch, has earned six nominations this year, including four nods for Barker (Best Picture, directing, writing, and editing). I haven't seen it yet myself, but I'm a huge fan of his other films. You can rent Anora from Prime Video.

Nominations for: Best Picture, Actress (Mikey Madison), Actor (Yura Borisov), Directing (Sean Baker), Original Screenplay, Editing

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Dune: Part Two

Five nominations definitely isn't bad, but it feels a little like Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi epic got lost in the shuffle this year. Still, a Best Picture nomination and a massive box office haul are no small consolation prizes. You can stream Dune: Part Two on Max and Netflix or rent it from Prime Video.

Nominations for: Best Picture, Cinematography, Production Design, Sound, Visual Effects

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The Substance

I can't think of many (any?) body horror pictures that have made it to the top-tier of Oscar hierarchy (Best Picture and Best Director nominations!) but the lion's share of attention for this one comes down to Demi Moore. She's received her first ever Oscar nomination here, and it's about time. You can stream The Substance on Mubi or rent it from Prime Video.

Nominations for: Best Picture, Actress (Demi Moore), Directing (Coralie Fargeat), Original Screenplay, Makeup and Hairstyling

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Nosferatu

Robert Eggers' lush, chilly vampire remake was polarizing to audiences (I loved it), but it managed good box office and did even better with critics. The movie's four nominations are all down to its striking visuals. You can stream Nosferatu on Peacock or rent it from Prime Video.

Nominations for: Cinematography, Production Design, Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling

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The Wild Robot

A service robot (voiced by Lupita Nyong'o) is shipwrecked on an island where she learns to make new relationships and adopts an orphaned goose. The poignant animated movie earned three nominations. You can stream The Wild Robot on Peacock or rent it from Prime Video.

Nominations for: Animated Feature Film, Original Score, Sound

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I'm Still Here

Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries, On the Road) directs this adaptation of Marcelo Rubens Paiva's 2015 memoir about a mother and activist dealing with the forced disappearance of her dissident politician husband during the military dictatorship in Brazil. A surprise contender in the Best Picture race, it has drawn particular attention for Fernanda Torres' performance as Marcelo's mother, Eunice. You can watch I'm Still Here in theaters right now.

Nominations for: Best Picture, Actress (Fernanda Torres), International Feature Film

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Sing Sing

Based on the real-life Rehabilitation Through the Arts program at Sing Sing Prison, this drama stars professional actors Colman Domingo and Paul Raci working alongside a number of actual program alumni. You can rent Sing Sing from Prime Video and other digital services right now.

Nominations for: Actor (Colman Domingo), Adapted Screenplay, Original Song ("Like A Bird”)

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A Real Pain

Jesse Eisenberg writes, directs, and co-stars (with Kieran Culkin) in this sweet, sad road-trip movie about a couple of mismatched Jewish America cousins who travel to Poland to honor their late grandmother. Each of the leads picked up nominations: Culkin for acting and Eisenberg for his screenplay. You can stream A Real Pain on Hulu or rent it from Prime Video.

Nominations for: Supporting Actor (Kieran Culkin), Original Screenplay

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Nickel Boys

Director RaMell Ross previously earned an Oscar nomination for his documentary, Hale County This Morning, This Evening. Here, he adapts the Colson Whitehead novel, itself based on a true story, about two African-American boys sent to an abusive reform school in 1960s Florida. Somehow the film wasn't nominated for its cinematography, despite a daring conceit that sees every shot filmed from the direct point of view of one of the characters. You can rent Nickel Boys from Prime Video right now.

Nominations for: Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay

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Flow

A gorgeously animated saga about a cat displaced by a flood, this Latvian film has been picking up awards left and right—despite being dialogue-free and having been animated using open-source software. You can stream Flow on Max or rent it from Prime Video.

Nominations for: International Feature, Animated Feature 

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The Apprentice

The discussion around this Donald Trump biopic had more to do with various legal actions by the Trump campaign, and the movie sunk at the box office following mixed reviews. Nevertheless: two acting nominations ain't bad. You can rent The Apprentice from Prime Video.

Nominations for: Actor (Sebastian Stan), Supporting Actor (Jeremy Strong)

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Inside Out 2

The rather delightful Inside Out sequel made well over $1.5 billion at the box office, and might also get an Oscar for the trouble. You can stream Inside Out 2 on Disney+ or rent it from Prime Video.

Nomination for: Animated Feature

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Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

A new Wallace & Gromit adventure is always a cause for celebration, awards or no. You can stream Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl on Netflix.

Nomination for: Animated Feature

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Black Box Diaries

This searing documentary, directed and produced by journalist and filmmaker Shiori Itō, follows her investigation and analysis of her own sexual assault case, one that takes her to the highest levels of Japanese media and government. You can stream Black Box Diaries on Paramount+ with Showtime.

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September 5

Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, and Leonie Benesch star in this historical thriller set in and around the events of the terror attacks at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The focus here is on the ABC Sports crew on hand to cover the news. You can September 5 on MGM+ or buy it from Prime Video right now.

Nomination for: Original Screenplay

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