Four Ways to Protect Yourself From Getting Scammed by a Mechanic

Auto repair scams are distressingly common, with half the respondents of a recent survey admitting that they’d experienced attempts to sell them unnecessary repairs. Auto mechanics have many of us at a disadvantage, of course, because many people lack basic car repair and maintenance knowledge, so we have to take the mechanics’ word for it.

But you don’t have to be a mechanic yourself to avoid most of the common car repair scams out there. You just need to take a few simple steps.

Read your manual

The simplest thing you can do to avoid being scammed by a mechanic is to read the manual that came with your car. It will detail the service schedule you should be following, which will tell you when filters and fluids need to be changed. Knowing this schedule can tip you off when your mechanic insists that you need a “fluid flush” to keep your car running well—for example, many newer cars have a “lifetime” transmission fluid that shouldn’t need replacing at all, or only after 100,000 miles have been put on the car.

Some auto repair shops will lure you in with a super-cheap oil change or tune-up service that they actually lose money on, then suggest you need a full engine flush for a nice upsell. But if you know how long your fluids are meant to last, you can be ready for the trick.

Take photos

Before bringing your car to the mechanic, take some photos—inside and out, including the engine. This will document the condition of the car before the mechanic got their hands on it, which can come in handy in general if there’s new damage when you pick the vehicle up. But it also gives you a way to tell if certain parts have actually been swapped out as promised (and that nothing was switched out without your knowledge, like a brand-new battery replaced with a rusty old clunker), and allows you to compare the new parts to the old. It also serves as a reminder to check stuff like oil caps and battery straps to ensure that no steps were skipped.

Change the filters

If you have some basic mechanic skills, a terrific way to detect a scammy mechanic is to change your air and oil filters before you go to the shop—or mark them with a Sharpie somehow. This will help defend against one of the most basic scams mechanics pull: bringing out a filthy air filter and telling you you absolutely must replace yours. If you know your filters are brand new and they pull this, you know immediately you can’t trust a thing these people tell you.

Ask for the old part(s)

Finally, if your mechanic tells you that something expensive has to be replaced, a simple way to protect yourself from being scammed is to ask to have the old part (you actually have the legal right to these parts in many areas). This allows you to see the wear and tear for yourself, and prevents a scammy mechanic from billing you for a replacement part they didn’t even bother to actually replace. Even if you wouldn’t know a worn-out brake pad from a brand-new one, just asking for the old part puts the mechanic on notice that you’re paying attention.

USDA Forest Service announces $25M funding opportunity to reduce wildfire risk, support local businesses

WASHINGTON, August 6, 2024 — Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service is announcing a funding opportunity through the hazardous fuels transportation assistance program to reduce wildfire risk, expand and create market opportunities, and support local jobs. This program is available to local businesses and partners that remove hazardous fuels from national forests and transport the material to be processed for wood products or services.

Today’s Wordle Hints (and Answer) for Tuesday, August 6, 2024

If you’re looking for the Wordle answer for August 6, 2024 read on. We’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solution. Today’s puzzle is harder; I got it in five. Beware, there are spoilers below for August 6, Wordle #1,144! Keep scrolling if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Wordle game.

How to play Wordle

Wordle lives here on the New York Times website. A new puzzle goes live every day at midnight, your local time.

Start by guessing a five-letter word. The letters of the word will turn green if they’re correct, yellow if you have the right letter in the wrong place, or gray if the letter isn’t in the day’s secret word at all. For more, check out our guide to playing Wordle here, and my strategy guide here for more advanced tips. (We also have more information at the bottom of this post, after the hints and answers.)

Ready for the hints? Let’s go!

Does today’s Wordle have any unusual letters?

We’ll define common letters as those that appear in the old typesetters’ phrase ETAOIN SHRDLU. (Memorize this! Pronounce it “Edwin Shirdloo,” like a name, and pretend he’s a friend of yours.)

They’re almost all common letters today! Only one is uncommon.

Can you give me a hint for today’s Wordle?

A metal object that sometimes falls on cartoon characters’ heads.

Does today’s Wordle have any double or repeated letters?

There are no repeated letters today.

How many vowels are in today’s Wordle?

There are two vowels.

What letter does today’s Wordle start with?

Today’s word starts with A.

What letter does today’s Wordle end with?

Today’s word ends with L.

What is the solution to today’s Wordle?

Ready? Today’s word is ANVIL.

How I solved today’s Wordle

I started with RAISE and guessed that I probably didn’t need additional vowels, so I tried BUNDT and GLYPH to eliminate possible common consonants. This left only a handful of solutions, of which FINAL was the most common word. From here, the best solution was ANVIL.

Wordle 1,144 5/6

⬛🟨🟨⬛⬛
⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛
⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛
⬛🟨🟨🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle was medium difficult. The hint was “to come after, as a result” and the answer contained all common letters.

The answer to yesterday’s Wordle was ENSUE.

A primer on Wordle basics

The idea of Wordle is to guess the day’s secret word. When you first open the Wordle game, you’ll see an empty grid of letters. It’s up to you to make the first move: type in any five-letter word.

Now, you can use the colors that are revealed to get clues about the word: Green means you correctly guessed a letter, and it’s in the correct position. (For example, if you guess PARTY, and the word is actually PURSE, the P and R will be green.)

Yellow means the letter is somewhere in the word, but not in the position you guessed it. (For example, if you guessed PARTY, but the word is actually ROAST, the R, A and T will all be yellow.)
Gray means the letter is not in the solution word at all. (If you guessed PARTY and everything is gray, then the solution cannot be PURSE or ROAST.)

With all that in mind, guess another word, and then another, trying to land on the correct word before you run out of chances. You get six guesses, and then it’s game over.

The best starter words for Wordle

What should you play for that first guess? The best starters tend to contain common letters, to increase the chances of getting yellow and green squares to guide your guessing. (And if you get all grays when guessing common letters, that’s still excellent information to help you rule out possibilities.) There isn’t a single “best” starting word, but the New York Times’s Wordle analysis bot has suggested starting with one of these:

CRANE
TRACE
SLANT
CRATE
CARTE

Meanwhile, an MIT analysis found that you’ll eliminate the most possibilities in the first round by starting with one of these:

SALET
REAST
TRACE
CRATE
SLATE

Other good picks might be ARISE or ROUND. Words like ADIEU and AUDIO get more vowels in play, but you could argue that it’s better to start with an emphasis on consonants, using a starter like RENTS or CLAMP. Choose your strategy, and see how it plays out.

How to win at Wordle

We have a few guides to Wordle strategy, which you might like to read over if you’re a serious student of the game. This one covers how to use consonants to your advantage, while this one focuses on a strategy that uses the most common letters. In this advanced guide, we detail a three-pronged approach for fishing for hints while maximizing your chances of winning quickly.

The biggest thing that separates Wordle winners from Wordle losers is that winners use their guesses to gather information about what letters are in the word. If you know that the word must end in -OUND, don’t waste four guesses on MOUND, ROUND, SOUND, and HOUND; combine those consonants and guess MARSH. If the H lights up in yellow, you know the solution.

One more note on strategy: the original Wordle used a list of about 2,300 solution words, but after the game was bought by the NYT, the game now has an editor who hand-picks the solutions. Sometimes they are slightly tricky words that wouldn’t have made the original list, and sometimes they are topical. For example, FEAST was the solution one Thanksgiving. So keep in mind that there may be a theme.

Wordle alternatives

If you can’t get enough of five-letter guessing games and their kin, the best Wordle alternatives, ranked by difficulty, include:

Wheeldle, which lets you play one puzzle after another
Dordle and Quordle, which ask you to play two (Dordle) or four (Quordle) puzzles at the same time, with the same guesses. There is also Octordle, with eight puzzles, and Sedecordle, with 16.
Waffle, which shows you several five-letter words, scrambled in a grid; you play by swapping the letters around until you solve.
Absurdle, which changes the solution after each guess, but needs to stay consistent with its previous feedback. You have to strategically back it into a corner until there is only one possible word left; then you guess it, and win.
Squabble, in which you play Wordle against other people with a timer running. You take damage if you spend too much time between guesses; winner is the last one standing.
Antiwordle, in which you are trying not to guess the day’s solution. You’re required to reuse any letters that you (oops) guessed correctly, so the longer it takes you, the better you are at the game.

What You’ll Be Able to Watch on Venu, the New Sports Streaming Service (Unless a Lawsuit Shuts It Down)

Navigating the streaming environment can be tough for sports fans. Byzantine licensing deals between platforms and sports broadcasters leads to fans either missing out on some sports or paying through the nose to be able to watch everything they want to.

Enter Venu Sports, a sports-specific streaming option that promises to carry “thousands of live sports events from all the major professional sports leagues and top college conferences” for $42.99 a month (after a free 7-day trial).

Venu is expected to launch this fall—right before football season begins—but it’s not a done deal. The ambitious sports streaming platform has some legal hurdles to clear if its going to launch on schedule.

What can you watch on Venu Sports?

A joint venture between ESPN, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox, Venu will offer all of the sports currently broadcast by its parent companies. That includes the NHL, MLB, college football and basketball, most NFL games, most NBA games, and a ton of other sports options.

Venu will also stream 14 sports networks, including all the ESPN channels, ABC, Fox, TNT, and TBS sports channels, plus a ton of smaller channels like the ACC Network, the SEC Network, and the Big Ten Network.

What can’t you watch on Venu Sports?

If you were hoping for a one-price “I get to want to watch all the sports” option, Venu is a step in the right direction, but it’s not all the way there, even at its current $42.99 monthly price. Here’s what you won’t be able to watch on Venu:

Every NFL game. Venu will offer most NFL games, but CBS and NBC are not part of the deal, so Sunday Night football and some Sunday afternoon games will not be available on Venu (unless a new agreement is reached between now and the service’s launch.) Meanwhile, rights to Thursday night football games are owned by Amazon, so those presumably won’t be broadcast on Venu either, nor will the two games Netflix has scheduled for Christmas Day.
Every NBA game. Broadcast rights for professional basketball had been the property of TNT’s parent company Warner Bros. (now Warner Bros. Discovery) for years, but starting with the 2025-2026 season, rights will likely be split between Disney, NBC, and Amazon. So whatever games NBC and Amazon broadcast are unlikely to be available on Venu.
The Olympics. NBC has exclusive rights to broadcast the Olympics through the 2032 summer games.

Venu needs to deal with some legal issues before it launches

Before Venu launches this fall, it’ll need to overcome some legal obstacles. Streaming platform Fubo has filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction against Venu, and unspecified damages. Fubo alleges that the team-up of Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox would prevent other distributors of live sports (ike Fubo) from competing fairly.

Another potential legal adversary: the U.S. government. The Department of Justice is reportedly scrutinizing Venu to determine whether its structure would violate antitrust regulations, and members of congress are already demanding Venu provide answers as to how it is preventing collusion and ensuring customer privacy, and explaining how it set its pricing.

14 Things Every Home Gym Needs

There’s a little game I like to play sometimes, and it seems to be popular with other folks who tend to work out at home: What equipment would I buy if I were starting a new home gym from scratch? Or you can play the advanced version: if you already have (insert common items here), what would you buy next?

What follow are my picks for anybody starting a new home gym or looking to expand the one they have—whether that means a corner of your bedroom or a full-on garage-based weightlifting paradise. I’ll start with space- and budget-friendly items, then move on to some bigger-ticket buys.

Kettlebells

If I had to put together a home gym from scratch, I think I would start with two kettlebells: one light enough to strict press or snatch, and one heavy enough to make swings and goblet squats challenging.

If I had a smidge of extra cash, I’d buy them as adjustable kettlebells, like this one from Bells of Steel, so they could get heavier as I got stronger. Competition-style adjustables are by far the best kind.

Bells of Steel Adjustable Kettlebell

$249.99
at Amazon

Adjustable Kettlebell [Bells of Steel] Upgraded Version Kettlebell Adjustable | Steel Shell, Internally-Loaded for Full Body Workouts | Competition Standard 35mm Handle, 12-20.5kg

$249.99
at Amazon

A pull-up bar

Pulling exercises are some of the hardest to improvise outside of a gym (although if you took my advice about kettlebells, you could do rows with those). A doorway pull-up bar like this one barely takes up any space, but it opens up a ton of possibilities. If your doorframes don’t allow that type of bar, try a pull-up tower like this one.

Ally Peaks Pull-Up Bar

A spin bike

Cardio is good for you. I keep telling myself this, and I’m almost starting to believe it. With a spin bike, you can do intervals or steady state work while staying comfortably indoors when the road outside is dark, or wet, or icy. The price range of options here is wide: you can splurge on a top-of-the-line Peloton or go for one of the budget bikes (like a Sunny) that are less than a fifth of the price.

Sunny Health Indoor Exercise Bike

A rowing machine

My first choice for a cardio machine is the bike, as mentioned earlier. But if you want another device, I’d vote for a rower. Rowers involve your full body, and they’re great for interval training. The Concept 2 is probably the best-known (and, many would say, the best) brand in this space. (Not a rower person? My third choice would be a treadmill.)

Concept2 Model D Indoor Rowing Machine

$1,259.99
at Amazon

Dumbbells

Dumbbells are a great way to lift weights at home. They’re smaller than a barbell, less specialized than a set of kettlebells, and you can do a ton of different workouts with them.

As with kettlebells, you’ll need to decide if you want to get a few pairs at specific fixed weights (cheaper to start), or go for a pricier adjustable set. Powerblock and Bowflex are the fancy kind, if you have the money but want to save space.

POWERBLOCK Elite EXP Adjustable Dumbbell (2020 Model)

A bench

If you have dumbbells or want to do any sort of bro workout, you’re going to need a bench. I’m more of a barbell person, so I just got a flat bench that can fit in my rack when I want to bench press. But people who do more dumbbell work often prefer a sturdy adjustable bench that can be configured for incline or upright seated work.

A barbell

If you’re into powerlifting or weightlifting, or just want to go heavy in your general strength workouts, there’s really no substitute for a good ol’ barbell. “Standard” bars with a one-inch hole are common in budget sets, but your purchase will have more longevity if you opt for an “Olympic” style bar with two-inch collars. Get a 45-pound or 20-kilogram bar like this one unless you have a specific reason to get something else.

Iron weight plates

You’ve got a few options for plates—we’ll discuss another in a minute—but iron plates are the classic choice. They’re sturdy, appropriately heavy, and up to almost any job. Get any kind that appeals to you: regular metal plates, plastic-coated ones, vintage-style deep dish. Anything but hex plates.

Cast Iron Weight Plates, 45 lbs

$49.99
at Amazon

Signature Fitness Cast Iron Plate Weight Plate for Strength Training and Weightlifting, 2-Inch Center (Olympic), 45LB (Single)

$49.99
at Amazon

Bumper plates

Not everyone needs bumper plates, but if you’re one of those people who does, skip the iron plates entirely and go for the good stuff. Bumper plates are essential for Olympic lifts (the snatch and the clean and jerk) and they’re also nice to have for other lifts, like deadlifts. In general, the cheapest kind are made of black rubber and are labeled in pounds; expect to pay a premium if you want them in kilos with international standard color-coding.

A squat rack or cage

You know you’ve Made It as a home gym owner when you have your own squat rack. Consider the amount of space you have available, since some racks require tall ceilings and all require a good bit of space around the sides so you can get to the bar to change the plates. There are folding racks, half racks, and full racks. You can also go the DIY route with one of those concrete-bucket-and-lumber squat stands everyone was using during lockdown. (Mine held up great for years, and only broke down when the buckets got too much UV damage from being in the sunlight so long.)

Signature Fitness Squat Rack

$499.99
at Amazon

Signature Fitness SF-3 1,500 Pound Capacity 3” x 3” Power Cage Squat Rack, Includes J-Hooks and Safety Straps, Other Optional Accessories

$499.99
at Amazon

Resistance bands

Throw a band on your pullup bar and you have a way to do assisted pullups; hold a band in your hands instead and you can do band pull-aparts. Bands are also a great addition to your barbells if you don’t have quite enough plates (or if you’re a fan of conjugate training, in which case you’re probably already putting bands and chains on everything that isn’t nailed down.) If you want to use bands with barbells, look for the long loop type; if you want to use them on their own, look for the kind that clip to handles.

Sandbags

Sandbags are the under-appreciated workhorses of many a home gym. Sand is dirt cheap—almost literally—but expect to pay a few bucks for a really quality fabric sandbag to put it in. (That said, you can DIY this, and we have instructions.) Start with a bag that weighs maybe half as much as you do, and practice picking it up, carrying it, and generally doing anything people do with weights. Yes, you can even press it overhead if you’re careful. If that’s all too easy, go for a bag that weighs as much as you do, or more.

A plyo box

A box is a handy thing to have around, and one of the few things I’ve always wanted in my home gym but never found the space for. With one box, you can do box jumps or box squats. With two, you can do dips or stand on top of them and set up a belt squat. The possibilities are endless.

Specialty bars

If you’re shopping for the person who has everything, I’ll tell you what they don’t have: another specialty bar. After a normal barbell, a typical next purchase is a safety squat bar. You could also go for an axle, which is great for practicing strongman events, or a cambered or duffalo bar (honestly, I’m not sure why powerlifters love these so much, but they do). A dedicated deadlift bar is perfect for the deadlift specialist in your life, and a football bar or Swiss bar gives you lots of options for pressing. A log is great for the spoiled strongman or strongwoman in your life, or an EZ-curl bar for the bodybuilder. Or grab a trap bar to do deadlifts on easy mode.

This Pet Grooming Vacuum Is $200 Off Right Now

Pets are great; shedding is not. If you have the type of pet that sheds all over the house (I’m looking at you, husky owners), you may need a bit more oomph in your dog grooming routine than someone with a poodle.

In other words, if you’re reading this from beneath a thin layer of dog fur clinging to your clothes, this dog grooming kit — which is essentially a vacuum with a bunch of dog grooming attachments — might be worth checking out. It’s also 71% off, which makes it particularly appealing, bringing the price down to $79.98 (originally $279.99).

Simple Way Pet Grooming Vacuum

The vacuum has a bunch of different attachments depending on your pet’s grooming needs. If their hair is getting too long, there’s a shaver attachment (with a few different-sized guards) that sucks up all the shaved hair as it cuts. (Keep in mind that shaving your dog might not be a good idea, depending on their breed, according to the AKC. Before you reach for the clippers, do a little research on the best approach for your pet.) There’s also a deshedding brush attachment for more day-to-day grooming, and a more straightforward vacuum attachment to suck up anything that it missed the first time around.

Since pets tend to get skittish around vacuums, Simple Way claims that it runs at 75 dB, which is about as loud as a shower, dishwasher, or blender. To me, that doesn’t sound significantly quieter than a regular vacuum, but I suppose any reduction in noise is helpful. For what it’s worth, this reviewer on YouTube shows that his (very cute) golden retriever seems unbothered by the sound of the vacuum. Of course, golden retrievers tend to be unbothered by most things. Your mileage may vary.

My Favorite Amazon Deal of the Day: iPad Mini

The 6th generation iPad Mini has been around since 2021, it’s not yet on the list of Apple products no longer getting software updates, so it’s still a solid buy. If you missed the Prime Day deal on the iPad Mini, the 64GB wifi-only model is back down to $379.99 (originally $499), matching its price on Prime Day.

Apple iPad Mini (6th generation)

A15 Bionic chip, 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display, 64GB, Wi-Fi 6, 12MP front/12MP back camera.

The iPad Mini seemed like it would be one of the iPads to receive a new model this year, but those honors went to the iPad and iPad Air, both of which are also discounted right now. Regardless of being three years old already, it is a capable mini tablet even in 2024. It has the A15 Bionic chip, a fast processor a generation ahead of the 10th-generation iPad’s A14 Bionic chip. The battery life is also competitive, with an average of about seven hours depending on your use, according to PCMag’s review. The 8.3-inch screen is small enough to fit in a jacket pocket and has a resolution of 2,226 by 1,448 pixels.

If you still have a second-generation Apple Pencil around, you can use it for this iPad.

The iPad Mini is not the only iPad currently discounted. These other iPads are also available:

Apple iPad Pro 13-Inch (M4) $1,198 (originally $1,299)
Apple iPad Pro 11-Inch (M4) $919 (originally $999)
Apple iPad Air 13-inch (M2) $735 (originally $799)
Apple iPad Air 11-inch (M2) $559 (originally $599)
Apple iPad (10th Generation) $321 (originally $349)
Apple iPad (9th generation) $249 (originally $329)

How to Decide What Time of Year to Retire

When the subject of retirement comes up, most people focus on two pieces of data: The amount of money they have saved (plus any sources of income they expect to have, like Social Security), and their age. Those two pieces of information give you a broad idea of when you’ll be able to retire, and as you approach retirement age (62 years old at the earliest for most people) you can usually hone in on the year that retirement becomes a viable option for you.

But there’s a third data point you should consider: What month will you retire? Though it may not be obvious the precise timing of your retirement decision on the calendar can have an impact on both your finances and your psychological wellbeing. While everyone’s employment, financial, and emotional needs are different, there are a few broad considerations that can help you decide if you should retire in January, June, or December (or somewhere in-between).

Financial considerations

Since we tend to focus on our finances when we think about retirement, starting with financial considerations makes sense. The best time of year to retire will be different for everyone in terms of money, but you can ask yourself a few questions to determine what month would be best for you:

Benefits. Does your job pay out a bonus? Waiting until you collect it makes a lot of sense unless you’re trying to limit your income in your final year (see below), and retiring a month before a big bonus payout makes … less sense. The extra cash can be a useful buffer during your transition from a regular paycheck, and you worked hard for that money.
Pensions often credit you with a year of service on January 1, so holding out until next year and then retiring immediately after can give you a higher payout. Knowing when you’re credited with that additional year of service is key to choosing the right month to retire.
Social Security. The Social Security maximum taxable earnings this year is $168,600—anything you earn in wages after that amount won’t be taxed for Social Security. If you expect to hit that maximum before mid-year, it might make sense to delay retirement until later in the year because you’ll keep more of your money, especially if you’ll be getting a bonus or cashing out vacation days.
Taxes. If you retire earlier in the year, you reduce your overall taxable income, bumping you into a lower tax bracket for the year.

This can get complicated—if your company pays out bonuses at the end of the year, do you stay for that even if it balloons your income and you’ll get socked with taxes? If you stick around until next January to get your year of service credited, will it be worth the slightly higher payout if you go insane from stress? Make a note of the significant dates for your benefits, including stuff like earned PTO days you can cash out or vesting schedules for 401Ks, to ensure you’re not leaving any money on the table. A financial advisor can help you figure out the advantages and disadvantages of retiring earlier or later in the year.

Psychological considerations

The perfect time of year to retire might just be the season that makes you happiest. Since many people experience seasonal affective disorder (SAD) in the winter months (especially seniors and retirees), retiring just as the cold weather sets in might make your initial retirement experience a miserable one. Retiring just as the warm weather kicks in during summer, on the other hand, can be a psychological lift as you shift into vacation mode, making your first few months of retirement exciting and fun. Obviously, if you’re a fan of winter and enjoying skiing or other winter activities, that might make more sense for you—it’s always going to be an individual choice.

Aside from the weather, life events can provide a guide. Is there a family reunion, destination wedding, or other event coming up you’re looking forward to? Retiring just before can give you a sense of open road, as you can go all-in on the experience without worrying about getting back to work or other limitations. Knowing your own personal calendar for the year can help you pinpoint the ideal month to finally take the plunge.

Retirement should be a joyous moment when you take the reward you’ve worked so hard for. But ensuring it feels like a reward often comes down to timing—choosing the right time of year means not feeling like you missed out on money or experiences.

The New Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite Is $120 Off Right Now

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite was originally released in 2020, but it was revamped in 2022, and now again for a third time—this year, with a better processor. Right now, you can get that newer 2024 model with 64GB of storage for $209.98 (originally $329.99) after a 36% discount. The 128GB model is also discounted, currently $272.99 (originally $399.99) after a 32% discount.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (2024)

10.4″ 64GB WiFi Android Tablet, S Pen Included, Gaming Ready, Long Battery Life, Slim Metal Design.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is a solid entry-level tablet for drawing, taking notes, and light gaming. What makes this one special is that it comes with the S Pen stylus included. It is light, hence the name, but not by much compared to the iPad, at 1.025 pounds. (The 10th-generation iPad is 1.05 pounds, for comparison.) It measures 9.63 by 6.07 by .28 inches and has a 10.4-inch screen with a 2,000 x 1,200 resolution. The processor is a step up from the 2022 Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G, now with Samsung’s own Exynos 1280. This S6 comes with the latest Android 14 operating system, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage (expandable up to 1TB). As far as battery life, the 7,040 mAh battery should last anywhere between five to 15 hours depending on your use.

The 8 MP rear camera and 5MP front camera won’t blow you away, but they’re fine for daytime snapshots and video calls. If you’re still holding on to your wired headphones, you will be happy to know it has a 3.5 mm headphone jack. It has no physical home button, but it does have volume control keys, a power button, a micro SD card slot, and a USB-C 2.0 port (you can’t extend your display to a monitor with this port).

For the price, this is a great budget Android tablet. It’s not worth upgrading if you have the 2022 version (unless you want the assurance of more years of Samsung support). But if you have an older tablet or are looking for your first one, the S6 Lite is a great choice.

USDA Announces Additional RAPP Funding to Expand, Diversify Export Markets

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture will make an additional $300 million available through the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program to help grow export markets for American farm and food products around the world, Deputy Agriculture Secretary Xochitl Torres Small announced today.