(Kent Nishimura/Pool Photo via AP)

Vice President JD Vance’s anti-fraud task force is set to oust more than half a million Americans from their Obamacare health insurance, according to a report.

Vance’s White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud claims the 760,000 Affordable Care Act accounts being targeted are either people who don’t actually meet eligibility requirements — or people who don’t exist, The Wall Street Journal reported.

It is the largest purges of the insurance exchange since President Donald Trump’s administration began tackling fraud last year, the outlet noted.

The task force said eliminating the subsidies for the allegedly fraudulent enrollees would save an estimated $2.2 billion in taxpayer dollars.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, headed by administrator Mehmet Oz, was also expected to cut off hundreds of brokers and agents who get paid each time they sign up a new enrollee for government health insurance, The Journal reported.

Officials said 40 insurance agents and brokers were responsible for creating 50,000 fake accounts at a cost of $45 million — and CMS had already axed 66 agnets from its system.

The agency also intends to shed 469 additional agents, according to the report.

Enrollment in the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance program more than doubled during former President Joe Biden’s administration, from about 10 million to a whopping 22 million.

The agency also intends to factor immigration status into its assessments and plans to end a Biden policy that gave enrollees subsidies each month even after they failed to provide documentation of who they were, and their eligibility, according to the report.

The post JD Vance’s Anti-Fraud Task Force to Boot More Than Half a Million Americans From Obamacare: Report first appeared on Mediaite.

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Forget the Kindle Colorsoft—the release of the Xteink X4 last fall felt like the first truly interesting thing to happen to e-readers in years. A cheap, slightly clunky Chinese device with a 4.3-inch screen, its perfectly pocketable size (and a smart marketing gimmick—"You can attach it to the back of your phone with a magnet! Never mind that that isn't really a practical or sensible way to read!") quickly attracted an online cult following of tinkerers.

Xteink has since translated its viral social media success into mainstream awareness (including coverage in The New York Times), quickly releasing a flurry of new devices, including the Xteink X4 Pro, which brought familiar features like a front light and touchscreen into the mix. And the competition has definitely taken notice.

Xteink X4 Pro

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Boox, another Chinese company—albeit one that has been around for more than a decade—previously experienced a similar trajectory with the Palma, its own weirdly shaped e-reader. First released in 2023, that phone-shaped device appealed to readers who wanted something that was easier to carry than a full-sized Kindle and didn't tie them to the Amazon ecosystem. Yet even as the company prepares for the launch of the Palma 3 this fall, it's clearly not willing to let Xteink eat its lunch—hence the release of its own itty-bitty e-reader, the 3.97-inch Boox Picco.

Why all tiny e-readers are so similar

First revealed in a surprise announcement back in July, the Picco is clearly modeled on Xteink's success—and with good reason, considering in many ways, the devices are identical by necessity. All e-reader screens are made by the same company, E-Ink, which means that all of these micro-readers—the Xteink X4, the X3, the X4 Pro, and, yes, the Picco—use the same screen with the same 480x800 resolution. They also run on similar, simple ESP32 processors (though there's a bit more variation between models there) and make similar trade-offs, like abandoning onboard storage in favor of a microSD card slot. Like the X4 Pro, the Picco includes a temperature-adjustable front light and a touchscreen for navigation.

Firmware isn't even really a differentiating factor: Part of the reason for Xteink's early success was the fact that its simplicity made it easy to hack. No sooner had it found a following than a group of fans developed a custom firmware, called CrossPoint, that corrects most of the issues with Xteink's undeniably underbaked native operating system—there's even a website that makes flashing your reader with CrossPoint a matter of a single click. Early on, there was uncertainty about whether the Picco would run on Android like Boox's other devices, including the Palma. But no: Not only is Boox's device not a full-fledged Android device—it actually runs on a modified version of CrossPoint itself. Wild.

So, the components and firmware are darn similar on paper. How does the Boox Picco measure up in real life? Boox sent me a pre-release unit to test out, and after a day of messing around with it, I can report that it's pretty great. Do I like it more than the X4 Pro, its closest competitor in terms of features? I haven't quite decided.

My initial thoughts about the Boox Picco

Credit: Joel Cunningham

Whatever their interior similarities, the Picco and the X4 Pro are pretty different at a glance. The Picco initially looks and feels much more refined, with a two-toned back panel and an aluminum frame and buttons that recall the iPhone 5, of all things. With a 3.97-inch display, it's slightly larger than the 3.7-inch Xteink X3 but smaller than the 4.3-inch X4 and X4 Pro. Its 5.1mm thickness also sits between those devices (the X3 is 5.1mm thick, and the X4 Pro, 5.95mm). These differences are mostly inconsequential, though: Depending on your settings, all will display about the same number of words onscreen at the same time, and all will disappear easily into any pocket.

Credit: Joel Cunningham

Personally, I'm still trying to decide if I like the feel and form factor of the Picco—its straighter edges don't sit in my hand quite as comfortably as the Xteink devices, and I prefer the button placement on the X3 and X4 Pro that places forward and back page turn buttons on opposite sides of the device to the Picco's single right-side rocker button, which is small enough that I occasionally click to go back a page when I mean to go forward. One unique touch: A switch on the left-hand side offers manual control over the front light (also adjustable in the on-screen menus), though you can also map it to turn on dark mode.

The Picco is also a lot lighter than the X4 Pro—58g versus 72g. It feels almost too light to me. Most of the weight difference is likely down to the fact that the Picco lacks the X4 Pro's internal magnets; the Boox device won't be able to snap into a magnetic case or clip to the back of your phone (though, again, I question why you'd want to do that), but whatever the reason, the lighter build makes the Picco feel slightly insubstantial to me.

Yes, the Boox Picco has USB-C

Judging by the ongoing turmoil in the r/xteink subreddit, the biggest differentiating factor for many users will be the fact that the Picco charges and transfers files via a standard USB-C port, a feature Xteink has since dropped from all of its devices in favor of magnetic pogo pins, which requires a separate cable or an adapter. Considering their battery life is measured in weeks even with daily reading, this wasn't a big deal to me, but lots of people really care about it. Opting for USB-C was definitely a good call on Boox's end.

The Picco has better native firmware—but does that matter?

Credit: Joel Cunningham

While the X4 Pro can easily be flashed to run CrossPoint, it currently ships with Xteink's own operating system, which is still a bit of a work in progress. Out of the box, the Picco is immediately much more usable, owing both to Boox's experience at building devices for a global market and to the fact that it's just a variant on CrossPoint, which most everyone who has used one of these wee readers already loves.

While the fun thing about CrossPoint is that there are hundreds of different forks that add or take away features to suit every user, the version that comes on the Picco is pretty darn good, all things considered. It displays your books well; it includes thoughtful options like a dark mode and the option to turn off the touchscreen; and it offers multiple options for getting files onto the device, including via connecting to a smartphone that's on the same wifi network, via the new BooxTile website/cloud app (not yet launched as of this writing), or by plugging it into your computer to act as an external USB drive.

While the Picco does support Bluetooth connections, there are no menu options for it in the current firmware, which means you cannot (yet) connect to peripherals like the Boox Tappy remote page turner. There is, however, a menu of basic apps, including a basic pomodoro timer, some reading stats (including daily reading time and a graph charting your reading sessions over time), a to-do list, and a timer. I can't imagine using any of these myself save the stats, but they're there if you want them.

There are limited options to customize things to your liking, including remapping the buttons to trigger different actions with a short or long press (like choosing to jump to the next chapter rather than the next page). You can also remap the touchscreen, though the options are limited to changing where to tap to change pages or open the in-book settings menu.

Credit: Joel Cunningham

It's not yet clear how much it will matter that the Picco has nicer firmware, however. Given it uses the same basic processor as the Xteink line (though one that is a bit less powerful than that in the X4 Pro, which has dual cores and 2GB of onboard RAM), it's very likely the Picco will also be flashable with custom software. In theory, this will mean that you will soon be able to pick and choose your own features from any number of options readily available online.

How to buy the Boox Picco

Whether you're interested in comparing the Picco to your Xteink device or are looking to buy your first tiny e-reader, you'll have to be patient: The Picco is not yet available for pre-order, directly from Boox or anywhere else. Rumors suggest a November release, though Boox has yet to provide a date. In the meantime, you can pick up the X4 Pro on Amazon. Whichever you choose, you'll be paying the same: Both devices come in at $99, around $50 less than the entry-level Kindle.

There appear to be some cracks in President Donald Trump’s press ban already.

CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter reported on Monday that First Lady Melania Trump’s office has approved a credential for CNN senior reporter Betsy Klein to cover an event at the United Nations, just days after the president hit the outlet — as well as MS NOW and Politico — with his ban.

“We’re going to see reporters get creative. That’s what we do sometimes when we have to. We’re going to see reporters try and get credentialed in other ways. I’m told, for example, a CNN reporter has already been approved by the office of the First Lady to cover an event with Melania Trump on the sidelines of the U.N. tomorrow,” Stelter reported.

He continued, “I’m expecting more of those sorts of things to happen. There will still be coverage of what the president and first lady are doing, but it’s not going to be through the official pool, because Trump has instituted this ban.”

Stelter’s report coincided with the White House expanding the press ban and yanking CNN off its scheduled TV pool assignment on Monday. Trump defended the ban in a morning post on Truth Social, saying the free press is “something which I cherish” — but he viewed the outlets as nothing more than “FAKE NEWS” peddlers.

“It is instituting an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “It is corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control. It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

Soon after, the three outlets banded together and sued the White House over the ban. The filing claimed the ban “brazenly discriminates based on editorial viewpoint” and has already caused “irreparable harm” to CNN, MS NOW, and Politico.

Stelter pointed out Trump’s social media post during his appearance on The Situation Room, saying it likely came after the president was told he’s “probably going to lose in court.” He said Trump played one of his usual hits, which was trying to “wrap himself under this claim about national security,” which he said Trump has used in the past to argue in favor of his White House Ballroom. 

Watch above.

The post JUST IN: CNN Reports Melania Trump’s Office Has Credentialed One of Its Reporters Amid Trump WH Ban first appeared on Mediaite.

If you are still holding on to Windows 10, there's good news: Microsoft is offering another year of security updates, pushing the Windows 11 upgrade deadline back to Oct. 12, 2027.

Microsoft officially ended support for the older OS last year but allowed users to join the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program in order to maintain protection against viruses and hackers. ESU coverage was supposed to expire on Oct. 13, 2026, but the company is allowing enrolled Windows 10 users to receive monthly patches for another year—and it's not too late to sign up if you haven't already.

You can stay on Windows 10 through Oct. 2027

If you're already in Microsoft's ESU program, your coverage will automatically continue through Oct. 12, 2027 without any additional action on your part. If you haven't, though, you can enroll in ESU at any time until the program ends next year. To be eligible, your device must be running Windows 10 version 22H2 Home, Professional, Pro Education, or Workstations editions and have the latest Windows update installed. You must also be signed into a Microsoft account with administrator status.

Windows users were originally able to purchase ESU coverage for $30, and Microsoft later added the option to either redeem 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points or opt into Windows Backup to get protection for free. To check your coverage or sign up, go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and look for an ESU enrollment link (visible if your device is eligible). Follow the prompts to sign into your Microsoft account and choose your enrollment option. If you've already purchased an ESU license, you can apply it to up to 10 devices running Windows 10 as long as they are linked to your Microsoft account.

The ESU program does not include any new features or non-security updates, but if you want to stay on Windows 10, it's highly recommended that you enroll in the program. Microsoft has started pushing hundreds of critical security fixes each month—a handful of which have been actively exploited zero-days—so you should ensure your device stays protected for as long as possible.

(Photos via: NDZ/STAR MAX/IPx and AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration and the rise of socialist candidates within the Democratic Party have been two major news topics this year, which makes this finding from a new NBC poll all the more interesting: ICE is 86% more popular than socialism heading into the midterms.

The Sunday poll showed both are fairly unpopular with the American public. But socialism is really loathed, with only 21% of registered voters saying they have a “very positive” or “somewhat positive” view of Karl Marx’s ideology. ICE, for comparison, was viewed positively by 39% of Americans.

Looking at it from the opposite angle, 51% of voters said they had a negative view of ICE, and 52% said they had a negative view of socialism. ICE’s favorability is unchanged from October 2025 and up slightly from earlier this year, while socialism has gained 3 favorability points when compared to last fall and early ’26.

The results were based on a survey of 1,000 registered voters between Sept. 11-15.

NBC’s poll comes as several democratic socialists won primaries over the summer, leading to candidates like Melat Kiros (D) in Colorado, Angie Nixon (D) in Florida, and Claire Valdez (D) now aiming to win Congressional seats in November.

As socialist candidates have gained traction among the Dems, President Donald Trump has ramped up his criticism. He started off by sarcastically congratulated New York City Mayor and proud dem socialist Zohran Mamdani on getting “3 solid Communists” elected in NYC back in June, before getting a bit more serious about it.

He later warned the communists are starting to make “their move” in the USA, and he called socialism and communism  a “cancer” which must be dealt with ASAP during his Fourth of July address. Trump followed that up by saying it is really easy to understand: “With communism, everything turns to sh*t!”

Still, Trump and Mamdani are set to meet in NYC on Monday — right after the mayor sued the federal government for its push to remove illegal immigrants. Mamdani said the government has been waging a “campaign of violence and terror” since the president returned to Washington, D.C.

The post ICE Nearly Twice as Popular as Socialism Heading Into Midterms, New NBC Poll Reveals first appeared on Mediaite.

Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy pressed National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett Sunday on exactly when gas prices were expected to come down “like a rocket ship in reverse,” as President Donald Trump claimed at a recent rally.

“The president knows in places where there are high prices, that can cause a problem for a president,” Doocy said. “But he is now starting to argue, with the midterms approaching, that he thinks the high prices are worth it because he thinks the Iran war is worth it.”

Doocy then rolled tape on Trump saying the Iran war is an “inexpensive price to pay for what we’ve done.”

“Remember that,” Trump told the North Carolina crowd to sparse applause. “Even if, frankly, even if it was a lot more, but that’s going to come tumbling down. That’s going to be like a rocket ship in reverse,” Trump said.

“Prices down like a rocket ship in reverse!” exclaimed Doocy. “When?”

“Well, one of the things you’ve seen, first of all, is that how, I guess, out of control the Iranians and now the Houthis are,” Hassett said. “And, again, this whole thing started because the Iranians told us, like, ‘We don’t have to talk to you anymore because we’re two weeks from having a nuclear weapon.’ And you see that they’re shooting ships like crazy in the strait. The president had to act. And if you think about what would have happened if he hadn’t acted, it would be really, really bad for the global economy and for human civilization.”

Hassett continued:

While we’ve done that, what we’ve done with our incredible Navy is we’ve been bringing oil through the straits. It’s up to a billionaire barrels of oil have come through the straits with naval escorts to keep the price as low as it can possibly be, given the disruption. So President Trump will decide when enough is enough, but I can say that the U.S. Government has done everything we can to make the price effect way smaller than people expected. And so, people, when this started, they were saying we’re going to have $150, $200 oil, and we haven’t had that because President Trump organized everybody to get friendly oil out of the straits. Meanwhile, Iran isn’t getting any oil out of the straits, and they’re running out of money, they’re having hyper-inflation, and their economy’s totally on the ropes.

Watch the clip above via The Sunday Briefing on Fox News.

The post ‘When?!’ Fox’s Peter Doocy Presses Econ Chief on Trump’s Claim Prices Will Fall ‘Like a Rocket Ship in Reverse’ first appeared on Mediaite.

(Photos via: Fox News)

White House Correspondents’ Association President Jacqui Heinrich urged President Donald Trump to immediately scrap his ban against CNN, Politico, and MS NOW, arguing it “violates” the First Amendment and hurts the American public.

Heinrich called on Trump to end the ban in a Saturday statement, one day after the president announced he was barring the three outlets from the White House. The Trump Admin followed through with the plan on Saturday morning by blocking the outlets from the White House grounds.

“Today’s action revoking access for journalists from CNN, POLITICO, and MSNOW violates the First Amendment,” Heinrich said in response. “The implications extend beyond these organizations: a standard used to exclude one news outlet because of its coverage could be applied to any outlet in the future. The American people, through a free and independent press, must be able to scrutinize those elected to power, regardless of whether government officials view it favorably.”

She added, “That’s why courts have repeatedly held that once the White House provides access to journalists, it cannot deny that access arbitrarily or based on the content of their reporting. The WHCA calls on the administration to immediately restore our colleagues’ access.”

Heinrich is a senior White House correspondent for Fox News and co-hosts The Sunday Briefing on the channel along with Peter Doocy. She replaced CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang as WHCA head honcho in Mid-July, one week before the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner took place; the initial dinner in April was sabotaged by a shooter storming the Washington, D.C. venue and attempting to kill Trump and several members of his administration.

It’s worth pointing out Trump has bashed Heinrich a few times this year, like in March when he complained she was doing an “absolutely terrible” job. The president later said at the WHCD she was “so beautiful,” but also “so nasty” — which Heinrich responded to with a big shrug.

Heinrich called for Trump to end the press ban around the same time MS NOW chief national reporter Peter Alexander argued on air the president issued the ban to “rile up” his MAGA base and distract them from the many “failures” of his second term.

The post WHCA Boss and Senior Fox News Journo Jacqui Heinrich Urges Trump to End Press Ban Immediately: It ‘Violates’ the First Amendment first appeared on Mediaite.

Fox News host Aishah Hasnie didn’t buy it when one of her guests argued socialist streaming star Hasan Piker is merely a “shock jock” like Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh were back in their radio glory days.

Hasnie jumped in during Fox News Live on Saturday and said Piker’s slew of anti-America remarks — including his latest claim this week the USA is “pound for pound” worse than Al-Qaeda — go far beyond “shock jock” territory.

A moment earlier, left-wing radio host Leslie Marshall claimed Piker bashes America for attention, not because he means it.

“Back in the day, they were called shock jocks, okay. Howard Stern—” Marshall started to say, before Hasnie jumped in.

“You think he’s a shock jock?” Hasnie asked about Piker.

Marshall continued, “Rush Limbaugh [as well]. I did some shock jock talking, if you will, as a talk show host. And the reason you did it? To make the phones ring, to get ratings, to get attention, and Hasan Piker does that sometimes. I’m not excusing what he says—”

“Shock jock is one thing. But saying the US is worse than Al-Qaeda, I think that goes beyond shock,” Hasnie said.

Their back-and-forth on Piker comes a few days after his viral interview with Axios where he said the U.S. is worse than Al-Qaeda, at least in boxing terms. And he’s made plenty of similar claims in the past, like when he said the USA “deserved” the 9/11 terrorist attacks, declared he has “no patriotism” in his heart for America, and that he hates the nation, among other examples. Piker also prominently displays a framed newspaper showing the Twin Towers burning right behind him on his shows.

His remarks have forced Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D) to distance himself from the streamer, right after Piker joined him on the campaign trail during the Democratic primary.

On Saturday, Hasnie’s other guest, ex-Bush Administration official Ashley Davis, added she wasn’t shrugging off his comments as shock jock talk, either.

“I wish Hasan Piker would leave our country if he hates it so bad,” Davis said.

Watch above via Fox News.

The post Fox News Host Scoffs at Guest Who Dubs Hasan Piker a New Era ‘Shock Jock’ Like Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh first appeared on Mediaite.

CNN’s Dana Bash directly confronted Homeland Security Secretary Markwaye Mullin Friday about a Republican lawmaker’s claim that Immigration and Customs Enforcement have “gone too far” with their arrests.

Bash played a clip of Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar’s (R-FL) campaign ad where she said:

Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far. In July, 50% of the 5,000 people that were detained had no criminal record. The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.

“She’s a Republican representing a district that is majority Hispanic in Florida, sounding the alarm about the policies of the department that you run,” Bash said. “What’s your response?”

Mullin answered that his department works to strictly “enforce our nation’s laws.”

“We don’t pick and choose which laws we enforce. We enforce the immigration policy that Congress passed and obligated Department of Homeland Security to enforce,” Mullin said.

“What [Salazar] is saying, and she’s using numbers that come from your department, that the [department’s] focus is way too much on non-criminals,” Bash said.

“Mr. Secretary, are you aggressively going after even people in the United States without criminal records because you are trying to reach a quota that is being set, a daily quota that’s being set by the White House?” Bash asked.

“I have never talked to anybody at the White House about any quota,” Mullin said.

“Just going back to the the crux of what Republican congresswoman Salazar is saying. She is citing numbers that were FOIA’d,” Bash said, referring to the Freedom of Information Act.

“I will say that’s actually not true,” Mullin said. “Every one of them was criminals because they broke their nation’s laws when they came across our borders illegally.”

“And when you broke the law and you came into this country illegally, you chose to become a criminal at that point, regardless,” Mullin said. “If you consider a criminal being a pedophile or not, a criminal is a criminal.”

Watch the clip above via CNN.

The post Markwayne Mullin Defends ICE After GOP Rep Accuses Department of Going After Non Criminals first appeared on Mediaite.

Jon Stewart whipped out a pair of middle fingers for the Supreme Court after accusing them of leaving the country “unarmed in the face of a full frontal assault on democratic principle.”

On the latest episode of The Weekly Show, Stewart wrapped up the episode by taking viewer questions from his producers, one focusing on the Supreme Court.

“I think they would be so much better for this country if they were actually baseball umpires,” Stewart said after a viewer asked about Supreme Court Justices “calling balls and strikes.”

Stewart accused the Supreme Court of “redefining corruption” and took particular issue with the 2010 Citizens United decision, which reversed campaign-finance restrictions and allows corporations to pump unlimited amounts of money into elections.

“They have single-handedly made it impossible for us to reform and save our democracy. Decision after decision after decision by the Supreme Court has left us unarmed in the face of a full frontal assault on democratic principle,” Stewart said.

The law, he added, is “impossible to reform” and no incumbent lawmaker has any serious interest in reforming it because it benefits them.

“Do you know what I think it’s going to force us to do? I truly mean this. There has to be a process of amending the Constitution. This idea that Citizens United stands as the law of the land is the biggest bunch of sh*t. The Constitution isn’t a suicide pact and money is killing this country,” Stewart said.

He then blasted Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and called his court “one of the worst things” to happen to the country.

“The Roberts court has been the worst thing to happen to this country in a long, long time. It’s the way that they made it so that agencies no longer have the ability to regulate anything. They’ve made everything in this country subject to ideological capture and financial corruption. Everything,” Stewart said.

“No, but Jon, they’re impartial because they struck down the tariffs,” producer Gillian Spear sarcastically said.

Stewart then threw up both of his middle fingers and danced them around for the camera.

“Here’s what I say to them,” he said.

Watch above via The Weekly Show.

The post Jon Stewart Flips the Bird to Supreme Court Justices as He Calls for Amendment to Combat Them: ‘The Constitution Isn’t a Suicide Pact!’ first appeared on Mediaite.

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If you're planning on giving home entertainment gear as a gift this holiday, forget about traditional benchmarks like "biggest screen" or "most expensive speakers." Match the gear with the personality and needs of the person being entertained by that home entertainment system instead. Below are my best picks for everyone from college kids squeezed in a dorm room to legacy media snobs for whom streaming video isn't an option.

Best overall home entertainment gift of 2026: Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K

You probably won't buy someone a new TV for the holidays, but you can give the media-hound on your list a gadget to make the TV they already own even better. Enhancing watching and gaming is the mission of the Philips Hue Play Sync Box. It’s a middleman between TVs and HDMI gear like consoles or streaming boxes that analyzes video signals in real time and tells the connected smart light strip (as well as other compatible smart lights) to match what's on screen. This is great for gaming immersion, but it also improves just watching TV. Projecting colors behind the set that complement the visuals gives the illusion of a bigger screen, and it's just cool.

Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K + Gradient 65" Smart TV Light Strip - Sync Your Video Games, Movies, and Music - Requires Hue Bridge - Supports Dolby Vision HDR10+ - Control with Hue App

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Best home entertainment gift for the legacy media snob: Magnetar UDP800 MKII

The Magnetar UDP800 isn't for casual media consumers, but if you're giving a present to the type of person who sneers at streaming and demands picture and sound at the highest possible quality, consider a Magnetar. This thing is monster. Magnetar laughs at the compression of Netflix by reading 4K video at bitrates up to 100 Mbp. It humiliates Spotify with lossless audio in formats like Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. It's also a true universal player, handling everything from 4K UHD Blu-rays and standard DVDs to Kodak Picture CDs. Like the best niche gear, it's expensive, but I'm sure your purist is worth the cost.

Best home entertainment gift for the minimalist: Anker Nebula Cosmos 4K

Most take it as a given that a huge, semi-matte black rectangle will dominate every living room like the monolith from 2001, but some people don't buy into it. If there's someone like that on your list, the Anker Nebula Cosmos 4K projector is the perfect gift. It's small enough that they can put it in a closet to keep their decor pure and pretend they don't even know what a television is, and it still projects a crisp, 4K image on any flat wall so they can watch Love Island in high def when everyone else is asleep. The portability makes it perfect for a backyard film festival too.

Anker Nebula Cosmos 4K SE

$999.99 at Amazon

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Best home entertainment gift for the student gamer: ROG Xbox Ally X20

If there's a college student who plays video games on your Secret Santa list (and every college student plays video games), send them back to the dorms with a ROG Xbox Ally X20. This versatile system functions as a portable game system for killing time between classes with either PC or Xbox games. It hooks right up to a cheap dorm TV for late-night gaming sessions, and it runs a full version of Windows 11 for actually doing work.

ASUS ROG Ally RC71L-ALLY.Z1X_512 White Laptop/Ryzen Z1 Extreme/16GB/512GB PCIe SSD/7 IPS Touch Full HD (1920x1080)/AMD Radeon/Windows 11 Home

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Best home entertainment gift for new parents: Anker Soundcore Sleep A20 Earbuds

It's wild that there is a class of audio equipment designed for people to not listen to, but these earbuds solve a real problem, particularly for anyone with young children. Soundcore Sleep A20 Earbuds contain a noise-masking system designed to block out any unwanted sounds and improve your sleep. They're designed with the ergonomic needs of sleepers in mind, and they even track your "sleeping analytics" so you can make sure your slumber is up-to-par. If your giftee would rather not collapse into dreamless sleep through white noise, these can be used as normal Bluetooth earbuds too.

Soundcore Sleep A20 by Anker Sleep Earbuds, Noise Blocking Sleep Headphones, Small Design for Side Sleepers, 80H Playtime, Stream Content via Bluetooth 5.3, Sleep Monitor, Personal Alarm

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Best home entertainment gift for empty nesters: Samsung S95H OLED TV

You ever see the movie All that Heaven Allows? Jane Wyman plays a widow who starts dating a much younger man, but her children don't approve of the soulful lumberjack, so they wreck their relationship, then give her a TV so she doesn't get lonely in her tomb of a home. You will not be creating the same energy by giving the empty nesters on your list a Samsung 95H: That lumberjack was sort of creepy, and having an empty nest is cool, actually. An ultra-thin, 77-inch 4K OLED TV is better than human connections anyway: This is a really nice television. The design is tasteful—thin metallic frame, matte display surface—and the picture is about as good as you can get in 2026.

Samsung 77-Inch Class OLED S90H Series Samsung Vision AI Smart TV (2026 Model, 77S90H) OLED HDR+ with Glare Free, NQ4 AI Gen3 Processor, 4K AI Upscaling Pro, AI Motion Enhancer Pro, Alexa Built-in

$2,597.99 at Amazon

$2,797.99 Save $200.00

Get Deal

Get Deal

$2,597.99 at Amazon

$2,797.99 Save $200.00

Screenshot via Jason Rants Twitter

Washington state Democratic candidate Krista Perez was seen on police camera footage sobbing and praying for help during a DUI arrest.

The footage was first obtained by MAGA commentator Jason Rantz for Seattle Red and later posted by Fox News and others.

Perez, who is running for a state House seat, admitted to officers that she’d drank “some wine,” but she declined a field sobriety test. She allegedly struck a parked car on Aug. 11 just past midnight. She’s now been charged with a DUI, with a refusal enhancement, according to Fox News.

“Did you get into an accident here?” an officer asked Perez on camera.

“I did not,” Perez said, adding, “I don’t know. I’ve never been in an accident before.”

The candidate said she had one glass of wine at a friend’s business on Tacoma Avenue South.

“So it’s a series of tests that I take you through to make sure to see if you’re impaired by alcohol, or you’re not. Are you okay with doing that? It’s totally voluntary,” the officer eventually asked.

Perez refused and said she wanted to go home.

“You’re not going to go home first. I’m going to tell you that right now, okay? So your options between the test, yes or no, that’s going to be determined tonight, right now, not when you go home. So would you like to take these tests or no?” the officer asked and Perez refused a field sobriety test again, according to the footage.

She can be seen on camera saying she’s confused as she’s placed in cuffs following multiple refusals for a test.

“Help me, God. Help me. Help me. Holy Spirit, help me, God,” she can be heard saying inside the police vehicle.

Perez is running in the 29th Legislative District, Position 1, and she’s set to face incumbent Democratic State Rep. Melanie Morgan in November.

The post WATCH: Democratic Candidate Sobs and Prays in Police Footage During DUI Arrest first appeared on Mediaite.

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Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days promotion—think of it as October Prime Day—is typically one of the biggest sales of the fall, and every year, it prompts other retailers to follow suit with their own discounts and promotions—including Walmart. After Amazon announced the date for its sale next month, Walmart started the clock for its own Prime Day-esque sale (there is literally a countdown on its homepage). The promotion is simply called "Fall Deals, and there's some good news for those of you who balk at the idea of paying for a membership to take advantage of a sale—it's free to everyone.

What is Walmart Fall Deals?

Walmart Fall Deals is the answer to Amazon's October Prime Day sales, officially known as Prime Big Deal Days. It is both an in-store and online sale with deals on most things that Walmart sells (food being arguably the biggest omission). The sale happens every year around spring, summer, fall, and winter, revolving around Prime Day sales.

When is Walmart Fall Deals?

Walmart Fall Deals kicks off at midnight ET on Oct. 5 and runs through Oct. 11. For Walmart+ members, there is usually a pre-sale period where they can get deals before everyone else (last year it was five hours long).

Do you need to be a Walmart+ member to shop during Walmart Deals?

No. But if you are a Walmart+ member, you'll get early access to the sale. There is no official announcement from Walmart on when that will be this year, and I will update this article once it's announced. You can sign up for a free 30-day Walmart+ subscription or get the annual plan for $98 ($8.17/month).

What deals to expect for Walmart Fall Deals

While there has been no official announcement from Walmart, we have a pretty good idea of what to expect from the Fall Deals sale based on previous years and what is currently on the home page of the Walmart website. There are likely to be sales in many different categories, including deals on electronics, home, toys, travel, and more. Here is what the landing page tells us right now:

• Up to 30% off toys

• Up to 50% off home

• Up to 40% off "home upgrades"

• Up to 25% off tools

• Up to 30% off Halloween deals, from candy to decor

• Up to 40% off tech

• Up to 25% off wellness deals

What other sales are competing with Walmart's Fall Deals?

You can always expect major retailers to have their own competitive sales around Amazon's October Prime Day. So far, Target has announced its sale, but we've yet to hear from Best Buy. As in previous years, the dates for these sales tend to start earlier, overlap, and run longer than October Prime Day. There are usually a couple of deals that are better than Amazon's Prime Day at each of the retailers too, so it behooves you to shop around if there's a particular item you want.