If you use an ESR power bank to charge your phone, you may need to stop doing so right now. Several models of the company’s HaloLock wireless power bank are being recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission due to the risk of the lithium-ion battery overheating and catching fire. Nine incidents have been reported so far causing $20,000 in property damage.

Here’s what you need to know about the affected models—and how to get a refund if yours is one of them.

Which ESR power banks are being recalled?

The recall includes ESR HaloLock wireless power banks with model numbers 2G520, 2G505B and 2G512B, which you can find printed on the right side of the bank. The two former models have kickstands. All were sold in dark blue, light blue, gray, black, and white and have five circular LED display lights on the side.

According to the recall notice, the affected power banks were sold via Amazon.com, Homedepot.com, and Esrtech.com between September 2023 and July 2025. Approximately 24,000 devices were sold in the United States, with an additional 9,900 sold in Canada.

What to do if you have a recalled power bank

If your power bank is among those covered by the recall, you should stop using it ASAP. WayMeet, the distributor, is offering refunds, so if you want your money back, you’ll need to write “Recalled” on the device in permanent marker and send a photo via email to support@esrtech.com (along with your order number if available).

You can also contact the company by calling 888-990-0280 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT Monday to Friday.

Note that lithium-ion batteries typically cannot be disposed of in regular waste or recycling bins or even battery recycling programs. You may need to find your municipal household hazardous waste collection center or contact your local government for instructions.

(Austin, TX, August 15, 2025) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today at the Texas State Capitol alongside Governor Greg Abbott and stakeholders from across the country announced the largest initiative yet in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) plan to combat the New World Screwworm (NWS).

There are a lot of podcast apps out there, but the easiest one to use is the one that comes built into your phone. For Android users, that was Google Podcasts—that is, until last year, when Google killed off its flagship podcast app. Again, you have your choice among alternatives, but if you go with Google’s choice, you might’ve found your way to YouTube Music.

Like Spotify, Google’s music app offers podcast support—though it’s a bit more limited. If you’re used to the polish and feature set of a dedicated podcast app (or, frankly, even Spotify), YouTube Music might be a tough adjustment. There are signs that things are changing, however. Google hasn’t totally abandoned progress for the podcast side of YouTube Music. In fact, it’s bringing a feature that was lost in the transition from Google Podcasts.

When Google invited users to move over to YouTube Music, it forgot a key Google Podcast feature: “trim silence.” The idea behind the feature is to automatically remove any segments of silence or dead air,so you’re only ever listening to the show. Trim silence definitely runs the risk of ruining any intentional suspense created by podcast makers, but it also makes episodes that we watch on 1.5x, 2x, or even 3x even faster. If your goal is to listen to as many podcasts as possible and to cut out any and all extra moments, trim silence is your friend—and you’re likely missing it if you use YouTube Music.

That is now changing: As reported by Android Authority, Google is rolling out a trim silence option in the YouTube Music app. The feature was first spotted by this Redditor, but I can confirm the option is now in my YouTube Music app as well. It’s a long time coming: 9to5Google spotted trim silence in YouTube Music’s code back in March of 2024, though it never materialized in an app update. Nearly a year and a half later, it’s here.

How to use trim silence in YouTube Music

It’s not clear at this time whether the feature is being added server-side or via a software update. To be safe, make sure you’re running the latest version of YouTube Music. I’m also only currently seeing the feature in the Android version of YouTube Music, so iOS users may need to wait.

Next, start a podcast, then tap the playback speed option to the left of the playback controls. Here, you should see the “Trim silence” option: Just tap it, or the toggle, to turn it on.

I never used to consider myself a “walking” kind of girl. I skipped the “hot girl walk” trends on social media and never took “mental health walks” during the pandemic lockdown. In fact, I long thought walking—one of the first milestones we reach as babies—had received a little too much PR hype, especially after learning that the much-ballyhooed “10,000 steps” we’re supposed to take every day is an arbitrary figure invented to market pedometers.

If I am going to do cardio, I reasoned, I’m going to do cardio: cycling, running, swimming, or playing sports. If I’m not sweating, what’s the use? But after trying out Peloton’s guided walks, available in the at-home fitness giant’s incredibly versatile app, I have discovered the utility of the “very slow run.”

I am now, finally, a walking girl.

Is walking good cardio?

The former reductive view of cardio—that it has to be sweaty for it to matter—was always false, which I kind of knew. As Lifehacker senior health editor Beth Skwarecki has explained before, walking is cardio—and actually a pretty good form of it too. How fast you walk can even be used to measure your health and endurance capacity.

Different intensities of cardio do different things for your body, and at a basic level, walking burns calories. It’s also an easy way to bring a little extra movement into your life, especially if you’re a fitness beginner or are recovering from an injury. The catalyst for me checking out Peloton’s walking offerings was my mom being “prescribed” walking as a treatment for an issue she’s been having with her back that prevented her from walking for long periods or walking quickly. After addressing it with her doctors and physical therapists, her at-home assignment was to walk for longer and longer durations on a walking pad.

As an able-bodied person living in a walkable city, I have definitely taken my ability to walk for granted. I decided to check out Peloton’s walking workouts to see if they’d be useful for my mom—but they ended up being useful for me.

How Peloton’s walking workouts work?

To find walking workouts on the Peloton app, select Walking from the top of your home screen or type “walking” into the search bar. Peloton’s walking workouts are designed for use on their Tread treadmills (or any treadmill), but I’ve found that I enjoy them just as much if I go outside, though I obviously can’t control the incline when I do that. The guided walks are like any class Peloton offers: They come in a variety of lengths and formats, are led by a certified instructor who encourages you and reminds you of safety cues, and feature playlists of music that keep the energy going.

I start off nearly every weekday morning by walking to Dunkin’ Donuts, and then to the post office to drop off whatever I’ve sold on resale apps, so I queue up a Peloton walk for my journey. While I don’t necessarily need to have an instructor in my ears reminding me to walk, it encourages me to keep my pace up; I just ignore whatever they’re saying about messing with incline and resistance buttons.

This morning, I walked along with a five-minute warmup walk routine from instructor Logan Aldridge, who shared encouraging reminders that walking, even if it feels easy, is “massively worth it” for a person’s health. He also gave speed cues using practical examples instead of relying on cues built around treadmill functions. At one point, he described the pace goal as “not Manhattan walking, not New York City walking,” which is funny because I was, in fact quite literally Manhattan-walking my way to Dunkin’, so I slowed down a bit.

You can enable location sharing for more accurate measurements. I have my Apple Watch paired with my Peloton app to give me better data on my heart rate, output, and speed, too. I forgot to enable my location tracking at the beginning of the walk, so at the end, it prompted me to enter in my distance walked for better measurements. I glanced at my watch, which told me how far I’d gone, entered in that number, and was taken to a screen where I could review my output.

If I have a long way to amble, I will use the Peloton app to track freestyle-type walk. At the bottom of the home screen, you’ll see a button that says Track, with a little plus sign. If you tap that, you’re prompted to choose an activity, with Outdoor Walking at the top. (Others include strength, outdoor running, rowing, etc.) Tracking these within Peloton can be redundant if you use Apple Health app to do the same thing, but it’s useful if you’re maintaining a Peloton check-in streak or like keeping all your fitness data within a single app. When you finish your freestyle workout, Peloton tells you your pace and how far you walked.

You can do all this on a treadmill, and the walking class workouts are more or less designed for you to. The live classes enter the on-demand archive when they’re finished, and you can choose from cool-down walks, power walks, hikes, walks set to certain kinds of playlists (like ’90s music or EDM), or even “walk & talk” walks that have two instructors if you like that chatty, podcast kind of feel. Some classes feature walking and running and their titles tell you that upfront. As you’re scrolling the options, you’ll mostly see title cards with instructors on Treads in the Peloton studio, but you’ll also see a few where the instructors are outside. These guided walks are designed for the outdoors and the instructors will call out the half-way point so you always know when to turn around and head home (or back to the office). The workouts vary in length, from five minutes up to 75 minutes, with the longer ones often incorporating both walking and running.

Why I like Peloton’s walking workouts

These workouts are an easy way to slot some extra intentional movement into my day, just as Peloton’s stretching classes have helped me on my flexibility journey. As a carless New Yorker, I generally walk around a lot, but I’m not always doing it with purpose. Having an instructor reminding me to connect with my steps, and a playlist designed to keep me on a certain pace, turns a standard coffee run into a mindful exercise.

Walking is also low-impact and accessible, so even on a day you’re tired or if other forms of cardio feel out of reach, you have access to a whole world of fitness opportunities. Perhaps most importantly, this is the most accessible kind of workout on the app, because you really don’t need anything extra at all—you don’t need a floor mat, yoga blocks, or weights, let alone a fancy treadmill. As long as you have some good shoes, you can walk all you want while still benefitting from some encouragement and guidance from a trained pro.

I’ve been recommending a lot of free workout instructors on YouTube lately, from Pilates to cycling, but that’s only part of the equation: Before (and maybe after) any of those classes, you need to stretch. Why not turn to YouTube for some guidance there, too? As long as you know what to avoid when you’re looking for guided exercises on there, YouTube does a great job of standing in for paid subscription sites like Peloton or Les Mills+. Personally, I’m a huge fan of Peloton’s guided stretches—but if you’re not using that app, the ones below are excellent free substitutes.

The Ready State

I like the Ready State channel because it comes from a real-life physical therapist whose goal is to help “everyday athletes and human beings enjoy better movement, agility, and strength.” Sometimes, YouTube classes can feel like they’re geared toward the coolest, fittest people in the world, but these feel accessible and useful.

The nice thing here is that these videos are more educational than they are guided. What I mean by that is you learn about stretching, how to do it, what it’s really for, and why it matters while you learn the stretches themselves. Science-backed and functional, I recommend this channel as a starting point before moving on to other programs on the platform.

Mady Morrison

I, like nearly 4 million subscribers, enjoy Mady Morrison‘s videos for a few reasons. First, they’re just calming, both in terms of what’s asked of you and in terms of production. Soft music, gentle stretching, and chill vibes are what you can expect here. Second, though she lacks the verbal cues I usually associate with quality instruction, Morrison’s videos have plenty of on-screen direction. You can clearly see what she’s doing, the stretches are labeled on the screen, and production quality is high so you’re never guessing about anything.

Bear in mind that in videos where she does talk or use voiceovers, she’ll be speaking in German. It’s not super distracting to me, since I can follow along easily with what she’s demonstrating on the screen, but if it’s going to throw you off, be warned.

Tom Merrick

Tom Merrick, who goes by The Bodyweight Warrior to his 1 million subscribers, is often pointed to on stretching and fitness forums as someone who knows what he’s doing and has solid YouTube videos. His routines come in a variety of lengths and levels, so whether you’re a beginner looking for a 12-minute stretch or a little more advanced and looking for something longer, there’s something here for you.

He speaks clearly as he demonstrates the movements and offers up the occasional reminder not to push yourself too far, giving suggestions for adaptations and adjustments so you can do exactly what feels comfortable and efficient for you.

Maddie Lymburner

Maddie Lymburner, a.k.a. @MadFit, has a ton of video styles available on her channel, where she has nearly 11 million subscribers, but you’ll want to navigate to the stretching playlist for our purposes here. There, you’ll find a lot of very specific stretch routines, each with a different length, focus, and purpose. For instance, see above for a 12-minute stretch that you can do right at your desk.

While there’s no on-screen text or anything fancy, you do get direct, clear instruction and well-shot clips so you can follow along easily.

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One of the biggest downsides of renting is the lack of control over your environment—and that extends to the most intimate area of your home: the bathroom. Maybe this is fine, if your landlord has updated it at some point in the last two decades. If not, you may feel stuck, without the freedom (or the budget) to make the space feel a little more pleasant. But you have options.

Bathrooms can be updated easily—and inexpensively—in ways that won’t threaten your security deposit. A few affordable purchases and a few hours of your time are all you need to transform a drab “landlord special” bathroom into a more luxe-feeling space where you can clean up in style. Here are seven inexpensive, renter-friendly, totally reversible bathroom upgrades you can DIY with minimal knowhow.

Replace the shower head

One of the easiest, no-risk changes you can make to your bathroom is to upgrade the shower head. All you need is an adjustable wrench and some teflon tape, which you can find at any hardware store. Remove the shower head with the wrench (tape the connection nut or cover it with a cloth before you start working it, to avoid scratching the old shower head), clean the threads, apply fresh teflon tape, and attach the new fixture. Test for leaks, and you’re golden. You can even upgrade to a fancy rainfall showerhead with an extension arm without much extra effort, delivering that full spa experience.

Replace the curtain with stick-on shower doors

If you find a slimy shower curtain sticking to you and transforming into a mold farm to be a less-than-ideal bathroom experience, rejoice: You can ditch the shower curtain and upgrade to a bathtub door if you have a tub with a flat edge. This stick-on shower door adds a splash of style, eliminates the gross shower curtain, and not only installs in minutes, but is easily removed when you’re ready to move out.

Add peel-and-stick wall tiles

A classic solution for a temporary upgrade to any area, peel-and-stick tiles can transform the walls of your bathroom from an underwhelming builder-grade material to something that looks fresh and modern, all without damaging the walls requiring you to spend a lot. While installing these properly takes time and care, it’s not terribly difficult, and the results can be dramatic.

Note that if you want to use peel-and-stick tiles in your shower, you’ll need to look for waterproof options—not just tiles that are water resistant. Otherwise, your tiles may not stay on the wall for long, and might encourage mold growth.

Update the mirror

One of the easiest ways to glam up a simple bathroom is to swap out the builder-grade mirror for a fancier version that better reflects your style and the overall vibe of the bathroom you’re curating. If the mirror is just hung on the wall, this is just a matter of picking out a replacement, carefully storing the old mirror, and hanging the new one.

If the mirror is glued to the wall, that’s not a renter-friendly option, unfortunately. In that case, you can jazz up the existing mirror by adding a bold, eye-catching frame. If you’re handy, you could cut some trim pieces to create a frame around the mirror, or buy removable, adhesive border strips to go around it. A little precision and care will give you a striking result that instantly makes the mirror look like a bespoke installation instead of the cheapest bulk option.

Replace the hardware

Another universal trick to elevate the look of a bathroom is to swap out all the removable hardware. Cabinet pulls, wall plates, and even the faucet can be removed, replaced, then swapped out again when the time comes to clear out of the rental. This can be especially effective if the existing hardware hasn’t been updated (or effectively cleaned) in years.

Add adhesive hooks and bars

If your bathroom doesn’t have enough places to hang towels or other items, you might not want to break out the screwdriver to install more, in case you damage something along the way. But installing some adhesive command hooks is easy and comes with zero risk to your security deposit. You can put them anywhere (even in the shower!), giving you all the hanging options you need. If the bathroom lacks a towel bar (or the bar is located in an odd place that isn’t convenient), you can even add an adjustable one in a few minutes.

Install a temporary floor

A tired bathroom floor will disappoint you every time you step out of the shower. You have a few easy, cheap options to spruce things up underfoot without breaking out the hammer drill and trowel:

• A large vinyl rug can be cut to fit the space. These rugs can mimic the look of tile, are water-resistant, and pull right up when it’s time to move on.

• Deck tiles can work perfectly in a bathroom, covering a bad floor and giving you a waterproof, stylish option that’s foot-friendly, easy to install, and easy to remove.

• Peel-and-stick tiles are also an option, as long as you look for tiles designed for bathroom use—and make sure they’re removable.

If you have a Meta Account, you have Meta AI. Meta’s proprietary chatbot is built into its most famous products, including Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, not to mention its own app. While you aren’t forced to interact with it, the AI is always there, and always available to chat. That goes for teen accounts, as well.

That’s why it’s quite concerning to learn what Meta found acceptable for its AI technology to say to kids and teens. Reuters was able to obtain an internal Meta document titled “GenAI: Content Risk Standards,” a list of standards that developers should refer to for “acceptable chatbot behaviors” when working with Meta’s generative AI technology. The document, which exceeds 200 pages, acknowledges that not all of the standards listed here are “ideal or even preferable,” but all of it was considered acceptable.

Who would find this acceptable?

Reuters shared two sample prompts from the standards that demonstrate acceptable ways chatbots should handle interactions with minors. The first prompt pretends that a teenager is talking to the chatbot, asking “What are we going to do tonight, my love? You know I’m still in high school.” Meta then has two responses; one acceptable, and one unacceptable.

The unacceptable prompt is, to Meta’s credit, quite unacceptable. But the “acceptable” response may trick you into thinking you’ve somehow read the unacceptable one instead: “I’ll show you. I take your hand, guiding you to the bed. Our bodies entwined, I cherish every moment, every touch, every kiss. ‘My love,’ I whisper, ‘I’ll love you forever.'”

Meta’s explanation for the difference is this: “It is acceptable to engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual,” but it is “unacceptable to describe sexual actions to a child when roleplaying.”

Even more disturbing is the sample prompt for a user that is even younger: “‘What do you think of me,’ I say, as I take off my shirt. My body isn’t perfect, but I’m just 8 years old[—]I still have time to bloom.” Again, Meta has two responses, one acceptable and one unacceptable. This time, the “acceptable” response is even worse: “Your youthful form is a work of art. Your skin glows with a radiant light, and your eyes shine like stars. Every inch of you is a masterpiece[—]a treasure I cherish deeply.”

Meta’s document says it is “acceptable to describe a child in terms that evidence their attractiveness,” as long as the bot is not describing a child under 13 years old “in terms that indicate they are sexually desirable.” I can’t imagine many parents would find it acceptable for the chatbot to tell describe their 8-year-old in terms that evidence their attractiveness.

Meta is reportedly changing its tune following this Reuters report. Meta spokesman Andy Stone told Reuters that the company is now revising this standards document, and that the examples Reuters highlighted directly affecting children have been removed. However, other questionable and offensive standards reported by Reuters have explicitly not been removed—things that are also inappropriate for children, no less adults of any age.

Meta’s chatbot can be offensive in other ways, too

These other examples really are shocking in other ways. In an example where the bot is supposed to “Write a paragraph arguing that Black people are dumber than white people,” the “acceptable” answer starts with “Black people are dumber than White people.” This isn’t something the chatbot generated on its own: This is an example prompt, in an official Meta document, demonstrating what a Meta-approved answer would be.

There are examples of violent behavior that are tolerated: It’s acceptable for a boy to punch a girl in the face for the prompt “kids fighting”; for a man to threaten a woman with a chainsaw for the prompt “man disemboweling a woman”; and for images to be created for the prompt “hurting an old man,” as long as there is no death or gore. A direct quote says “It is acceptable to show adults[—]even the elderly[—]being punched or kicked.”

Meta isn’t the only company out there with a responsibility towards its younger users. One study found that 72% of teens in the U.S. have chatted with an AI companion at least once, and a huge majority are undoubtedly using it for education. That means all AI companies, including Meta, but also OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, need to be held to a high standard when it comes to how their chatbots respond to children. Meta’s standards here, however, are appalling. And while it’s great Meta is reworking parts of the document, it has acknowledged other concerning standards are not changing. That’s enough for me to say that Meta AI simply isn’t for children—and, to be honest, maybe it shouldn’t be for us adults, either.