In keeping with its image as a family friendly gaming company, Nintendo has updated its Parental Controls app for the Switch 2, which is scheduled to launch on June 5. This will allow parents to restrict their kids’ usage of the Nintendo Switch 2, so long as their kids are under 16 years old. The Parental Controls app is available on iPhone and Android.

The big new addition is that GameChat, which is a new Switch 2 app for voice and video chat, can now be restricted using the Parental Controls app. Nintendo says that for kids under 16, GameChat can only be used if their account is managed by a parent using the Parental Controls app. Note that GameChat is free until March 31, 2026, and after that, you’ll need to pay for a Nintendo Switch Online membership to use the service.

Every time your child tries to initiate a video call with GameChat, you’ll receive a request for approval on your smartphone. Nintendo says the video call will only begin once you’ve approved the request. Additionally, you’ll need to pre-approve who they can chat with, as Nintendo says “It’s only possible for players under 16 to use GameChat with friends who have been approved by their parent or guardian.”

The company also encourages parents to regularly check their kid’s GameChat history, and add notes next to the people their kid plays with to indicate who they are. This is to help parents know who’s in touch with their kids while the children are gaming on the Nintendo Switch 2. Parents will be able to see who their children are chatting with, how long they’ve played with different people, and the field of view settings for the connected camera in video chats.

As with the Switch 1, you can also use the Parental Controls app to restrict play time for your kids. The app will let you set different play time limits for different days, which means that you could allow them to play for longer over the weekend, as an example. There are preset age restrictions built in to the app, which will automatically restrict certain types of content for your kids, but you can also use custom settings. This will let you choose an age rating for the games your kids are downloading, decide if they should be allowed to post game content on social media, or if they’re allowed to use GameChat at all.

Parents can also whitelist certain games and the console will ignore the age rating for these. Additionally, the Parental Controls app will also let you view Switch 2 play time for various members of your family, generate a monthly play time report, and even send you alerts whenever a game is downloaded. Don’t forget that you can also set a screen lock PIN on the Switch 2, which is also a fairly effective way to restrict usage of the console.

I’m always working on a side quest, from getting certified in an obscure professional trade (airbrush tanning) or developing a new skill (just because I live in Manhattan doesn’t mean I can’t learn to golf or fish). Since March, I’ve been hellbent on learning to do the splits, and I’ve given myself until August to get it done. I have I never been what anyone would consider a flexible person (physically, anyway), so at the start, this mission seemed ill-advised and even far-fetched. But then I discovered that my beloved Peloton app offers stretching classes.

It’s now June, and I’m nowhere near my goal, but practicing my stretches with guidance from the pros has absolutely helped me make significant progress. Even if I weren’t randomly endeavoring to contort my body in a strange new way just for the thrill of accomplishing a goal, I know stretching is important; I start and end every spin class I teach with a stretching routine, because warmups and cooldowns contribute any workout. Whether you’re trying to become significantly more flexible or just want to enhance your own fitness, Peloton’s guided stretching classes are a good option.

Why you should follow a guided stretching routine

The Peloton app offers all kinds of classes on it, some of which I’ve highlighted before. With an All-Access membership ($44 per month),y ou can access the at-home fitness company’s famous cycling classes, go on guided walks, and even meditate. Peloton also offers multiple options for strength training.

Some of these activities—like cycling and lifting—more obviously lend themselves to guided classes, especially for newcomers, but you might think stretching is too straightforward to bother using a guided class. After all, it’s simple enough to just reach down and assess whether or not you can comfortably touch your toes. But this thinking is wrong.

As Peloton points out in its own blog on the topic, stretching can not only help you prepare for or recover from a workout, but can enhance your overall fitness, blood flow, and even your posture. But just as it can be beneficial, stretching can also injure you if you use the wrong form or overextend yourself. Listening to a certified coach walk you through not only the exact stretches you should be doing, but how they should feel, what tools you can use to help yourself ease into them (like yoga blocks), how long you should hold them, and the kinds of modifications you can make if something doesn’t feel right, can help you stay safe and get more out of the effort you’re putting in.

Peloton offers targeted stretching classes for specific goals

You can find the stretching classes in the Peloton app by searching for “stretching” on the home screen. (“Stretching” may also appear as a standalone button on the home screen, depending on what the algorithm is serving you when you open up the app.)

Like all of its offerings, from running to yoga, Peloton’s roster of stretching classes is diverse. You can filter your results by length (from five minutes to 30) and by class type. Here are the types of stretching you can filter for:

• Full body stretches

• Upper body stretches

• Lower body stretches

• Core stretches

• Mobility stretches

• Foam rolling

• Boxing stretches

• Dance cardio stretches

• Pre- and post-cycling ride stretches

• Pre-running stretches

• Post-running stretches

• Pro- and post-rowing stretches

You can also filter by music genre and instructor and add stretching classes to your Peloton Stack.the app’s version of a playlist (your Stack will play your pre-selected workouts in order). Add a stretching class to the beginning and end of your workout to makes the entire thing more well-rounded, safe, and beneficial.

How Peloton’s stretching classes have helped me

As noted, and I am not flexible. I have never been flexible. I remember dreading those days in elementary school gym class when the teacher would measure how far everyone could stretch, and I struggled to extend past my knees. At the start of my mission to do a split, I began doing a vague stretching routine on my own every night, maybe occasionally googling for some new ideas but not really feeling much of a benefit or seeing much progressive improvement. The more structured Peloton classes changed that—I can look at my phone screen and see exactly what I’m supposed to be doing, and hear succinct verbal cues that tell me how I should be feeling during a stretch.

I have absolutely noticed that since I started following along with the app’s classes on lower body stretching, I can sink lower into a stretch while experiencing less pain and friction. Physically, that’s a benefit in and of itself, but mentally, it’s both comforting and motivating—comforting because I am less terrified I will accidentally hurt myself by stretching incorrectly, and motivating because I can actually feel myself progressing toward my goal.

The instructors are encouraging and well informed, which is typical of all Peloton classes. They explain what is coming up, tell you when you should rock back and forth or stay static, and detail the function of each stretch, whether it’s intended to help you with your posture, make your daily activities easier, or help you reach a workout-specific goal. I’ve even stolen a few of the stretches I’ve learned to incorporate into the ones I lead my spin classes through.

While it’s easy enough to do a few improvised stretches before you lift, after you do cardio, or when you’re just feeling tight, it’s beneficial to open up the Peloton app and run through a more intentionally planned routine with help from an expert, and yet another way this app has become totally indispensable for me on my broader quest to improve my fitness.

A lot of Americans are enduring a crash course in an economic term that was, until very recently, pretty obscure: tariffs. Economics can get pretty complicated, and knowing the ins and outs of tariff policies and how they might—or might not!—impact consumer prices is challenging, but there’s one thing that’s clear about tariffs: They mainly impact imported goods. Products that are made domestically won’t be affected, especially if the components and ingredients used are also sourced domestically.

That should make evading tariff price hikes pretty straightforward: Just look for stuff that was made in America, right? This isn’t foolproof, but it’s a reasonable strategy. The problem with this seemingly simple strategy, though, is that it’s actually very easy for companies to be deceptive about where their products are actually made. If you’re trying to support American manufacturing and evade the economic impact of tariffs, you need to know these tricks that companies play to make you think their product was made in the USA.

Wording

The first thing to look at is the words used to describe the product. The precise phrase “made in USA” is a standard defined by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as a product that is made “all or virtually all” in the United States, including Washington D.C. and territories. It’s a pretty stringent standard, so products that use imported materials or that are manufactured globally can’t use the “made in USA” label.

They can, however, use similar language, like:

• Assembled in America

• Manufactured in the USA

• Designed in the USA

• Inspired by American Craftsmanship

None of those phrases mean anything, legally, but if you’re not researching every product you encounter, you might reasonably assume they mean the product is made here.

Another way companies can trick you with “made in USA” is to include the phrase in its product description or marketing in a different context. For example, there might be a sentence stating that the product performs better than other products made in USA. They’re not actually stating that their product is made in America, but the inclusion of the phrase gives the impression that it is.

Imagery

A subtle way companies try to imply products are made in the USA when they really aren’t is through simple imagery: American flags, bald eagles, and red-white-and-blue color schemes all look patriotic and domestic without actually meaning anything. Similarly, maps of the continental United States are iconic and instantly recognizable and imply that the product is made right here in America, but don’t actually say anything at all.

Sometimes flags and other American iconography are used in conjunction with a specific landmark that’s instantly recognizable as American, like the Statue of Liberty or the Washington Monument. This emphasizes the “American-ness” of the product without making any specific (or actionable) claims about its origins or place of manufacture.

Disclaimers

The legal disclaimer is an old-school tactic to evade responsibility for deceptive practices, and it’s alive and well. Companies sometimes sell items that heavily imply they’re made in the USA, but include a disclaimer somewhere advising consumers otherwise.

A prime example of this is on Walmart’s website, where a disclaimer reading, in part, “For certain items sold by Walmart on Walmart.com, the displayed country of origin information may not be accurate or consistent with manufacturer information” appears on dozens of items sold through the website. Essentially, the disclaimer admits that some of the products are deceptive about their origins, and it’s up to you to deep dive into the product info to find out the truth.

Headquarter focus

One easy trick a company can use to fool you into thinking their products are made right here in the U.S. is to over-emphasize their corporate headquarters. By repeatedly stating that the company is “based in” an American city or state, they forge a psychological connection between their products and the U.S. But just because a company’s corporate presence is in the U.S. doesn’t mean its manufacturing is, too. If you make the assumption that this means the product is made here, well, that’s on you.

Broad definition

Another tricky way companies pretend their stuff is made right here in the U.S. is to use a broad definition of “America”—in the sense of “the Americas,” including North, South, and Central America. Semantically accurate, this phrase allows you to assume “America” means the USA while the items are actually made in Mexico or Canada. For example, boot company Lucchese uses the phrase a lot in their marketing, but many of their boots are made in Mexico, China, and Brazil.

After years of rumor, speculation, and hype, the Nintendo Switch 2 is about to launch. On June 5, stores will sell you the new console (while supplies exist), and preorders will start arriving on doorsteps. It’s a fun time to be a Nintendo fan, but also a gamer in general, since this is the first major console release in nearly five years.

If you do pick up a new Switch 2, there are plenty of things you should do with it: You should try out the new mouse mode on games that support it; you should replay classics like Tears of the Kingdom in higher-definition with faster frame rates; and you should set charging limits to extend battery longevity. What you shouldn’t do, however, is take off the plastic film on the display. That would be a mistake.

That film is meant to stick on the Switch 2 for good

Nintendo published the Switch 2’s instruction manual on Sunday, in anticipation of the console’s release. You can give it a scan if you want to learn important Switch 2 strategies, like don’t use the console if the battery is leaking, or take a 10- to 15-minute break every hour, “even if you don’t think you need it.” But there’s actually some less obvious advice hidden away in this manual. As spotted by Gizmodo, Nintendo offers a word of warning under the “Careful Usage” section: “The screen is covered with a film layer designed to prevent fragments scattering in the event of damage. Do not peel it off.”

Nintendo doesn’t elaborate, but the explanation does give you a good idea about the company’s thinking here. In the event you drop your Switch 2 unit and the screen shatters, this film stops the display’s shards from flying all over the place. If you remove the film, a shattered Switch 2 screen could hurt someone if you don’t manage to pick up each and every little piece of the display you used to play Mario Kart World on. Lose-lose.

Whether the display itself looks much different with or without the film remains to be seen, but I recommend waiting for a tear-down video to learn the difference. Even if you don’t plan on dropping your Switch 2, it doesn’t really seem worth the risk to remove this film.

What else is in the instruction manual?

The guide is full of advice for using your Switch 2 to its fullest potential, but most of it is common sense. That said, there are some interesting tips you should be aware of here.

Nintendo says you need to charge the batteries at least once every six months. If you’re a frequent gamer, you’ll do that without thinking. But for any gamers that like to play once or twice a year (or less), the company warns it may be impossible to charge the batteries if you don’t use them for an extended period of time.

You might know the Switch 2 Joy-Cons attach via magnets. Nintendo warns not to “swing or dangle the console” from an attach Joy-Con, or “apply force to the connecting parts.” You shouldn’t put stickers on the Joy-Cons where the SL/SR buttons are, since you could weaken the connection and cause the Joy-Cons to detach (and risk shattering said screen).

Apparently, the magnets are strong enough to attach other magnetic objects, like screws or tacks. Nintendo advises if these items attach to the Switch 2 or Joy-Cons, use a cotton swab to remove them. In general, you should be cleaning the Joy-Cons anytime there is dust or debris before using them.

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Anyone who’s traveled internationally knows the deal: either you cough up $10–$20 a day for roaming or go hunting for café wifi like it’s oxygen. Neither option is ideal. That’s where aloSIM makes a convincing case. Right now, you can get $50 in eSIM credit for $24.97—basically half off. If your phone supports eSIM (most modern ones do), this lets you download a local data plan before you even leave the airport. No SIM card swapping, no surprise fees, just straight-up mobile internet that doesn’t drain your bank account.

Here’s how it works. You pick a plan—some start as low as $4.50 for seven days—download the eSIM onto your phone, and activate it when you land. It connects you to a local 4G or 5G network in over 200 countries, so your phone behaves like a local one, minus the local contract. The credit itself is good for a year after you redeem it, and the eSIM doesn’t expire, so you can keep it on your device for future trips. You even get a temporary phone number during your data plan’s active window, which is useful if you’re making bookings, messaging hosts, or just want to avoid giving out your personal number.

That said, there are a few caveats to note. This deal’s for new aloSIM users only, and it won’t stack with other offers. Also, once you activate a data plan, it runs on a timer, so if you buy a seven-day plan and barely use it, it still expires in seven days. If you’re planning to travel (or just don’t want to pay your carrier’s roaming fees again), this is an easy fix to have in your back pocket. No contracts, no stress, and no awkward moments spent begging hotel wifi to load your Google Maps.

(Washington, D.C., May 31, 2025) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service is deploying resources to assist the wildfire response currently impacting Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Alberta, Canada. The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center raised the wildfire preparedness level to 5 on May 29, 2025, as the country is experiencing very high to extreme wildfire activity.

If you’re entrenched in tech news, you’d think Apple was on the brink of collapse. The company undoubtedly is having a rough go of all things AI—while companies like ChatGPT, Google, and Microsoft have hit the AI ground running, Apple’s AI department is in disarray. Some features, like Clean Up and Writing Tools, have made their way to products like the iPhone, but, others (notably Siri’s AI overhaul) are still nowhere to be seen.

The situation is, objectively, not great. Apple advertised these features alongside the iPhone 16 line, even casting The Last of Us’ Bella Ramsey in a commercial showing off said AI-powered Siri. (The commercial has since been deleted.) While the rest of the tech industry seems to be entirely focused on AI, Apple is, uncharacteristically, struggling to keep up. Things must be dire for the company, right?

The iPhone continues to sell like hot cakes

While I’m not here to read the company’s entire pulse, it does seem like the iPhone department is still crushing it. On Wednesday, market research firm Counterpoint released its list of the top-selling smartphones in Q1 of 2025. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the iPhone topped the list: Apple’s iPhone 16 was the best-selling smartphone in the world in the first fiscal quarter of this year, followed by the 16 Pro Max, 16 Pro, and iPhone 15. Apple also had the top four spots in the first quarter of 2024—back then, it was the 15 Pro Max in first place, followed by the 15, 15 Pro, and 14.

Samsung took the next three spots, as it did in Q1 of 2024 as well. This year, it was the Galaxy A16 5G in fifth place, followed by the Galaxy A06 and the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The Redmi 14C 4G came in eighth—impressive for a smartphone that isn’t even sold in the U.S.—followed by the Galaxy A55 5G, and, finally, the iPhone 16 Plus.

There’s a lot you can take away from the data here. The first impression is that the iPhone continues to be a global force to be reckoned with. The iPhone had five of the top 10 spots in both Q1 2024 and 2025—the only difference between them was the iPhone 15 Plus came in eighth place, while the 16 Plus came in 10th. Samsung, too, is clearly still a reigning champ in the global smartphone race, though it went from five phones in the top 10 to four between those two years—good for Redmi for stealing that eighth place spot.

Ecosystems are powerful things

It’s particularly interesting to see the iPhone continue perform like this in 2025. After all, it’s been apparent for months now that Apple did not follow through on its advertised AI promises for the iPhone 16 line. To wit, Counterpoint says that the iPhone 16e, the company’s “more affordable” device, ranked sixth in the top selling smartphones of March. People are continuing to buy iPhones in droves.

Is it possible these customers are buying iPhones based on Apple’s past advertisements? Sure. The company still advertises Apple Intelligence with each iPhone on its site, so AI could still be driving people’s desires to buy iPhones. I’m not convinced, though. If AI were a priority, I think most customers would be buying from the companies that have been rolling out AI features at a steady clip. Samsung and Google immediately come to mind: Google’s latest I/O event was all about AI, and you can experience a number of AI features on Android devices made by both companies. Again, maybe Samsung’s four “top 10” smartphones are a result of its AI efforts. It’s entirely possible, but I continue to be unconvinced.

I see this list of best-selling iPhones and Galaxies, and I see one thing: established market trends. I think the truth is, a lot of people like Galaxies, and even more people like iPhones. People switch phones all the time, especially in the Android ecosystem, but based on the data, it seems like when it’s time to buy a new phone, most iPhone users buy a new iPhone, and most Galaxy users buy a new Galaxy. Ecosystems are powerful things, and when you’ve poured your entire digital life into one platform—including all the messaging, purchases, and cloud storage—it’s rare you want to mix it up.

That’s me to a T: As much as I respect Android, I’m stuck in the Apple ecosystem, and, as such, really only consider a new iPhone when it comes time to upgrade. Almost every single person in my immediate circle is the same way. The Samsung fans I know also stick to the pattern, just with the newest Galaxy. The decision for me is never whether to buy an iPhone or a Galaxy: it’s whether to buy the Pro or the Pro Max.

AI enthusiasm isn’t strong enough to drive smartphone sales

AI is without a doubt the trend in tech right now, and people are using it. But I don’t think many are considering it when buying their devices—especially smartphones. I think people buy the phone they like, and then configure it after the fact to access their AI tools. Hell, Apple integrated ChatGPT into my iPhone, and I still have the ChatGPT app. AI features can be useful—it’s great that Apple has its own version of Magic Eraser now—but AI features alone aren’t enough to sway customers en masse. If OpenAI made a smartphone, would you buy it? I’m guessing probably not.

If the AI train continues on, maybe people will start buying the phones and devices that best integrate AI tools out of the box. Android is way ahead of Apple on this front—just look at Google replacing its assistant with Gemini—so perhaps we’ll see Galaxy phones take more of a lead in global sales in future quarters, or even an appearance from a Pixel or two. Or, maybe people are fine downloading the apps they need to get their AI fix, and leaving other factors in play when choosing a phone to buy.

I can’t predict the future; I can only note what I see in the present. And, right now, I’m seeing two things at once—I’m seeing a lot of people talking about ChatGPT, and I’m seeing a lot of people buying and using iPhones. Outside of my tech news circles, I’ve heard not a peep about Apple’s struggles in the AI race.

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Language learning apps usually fall into two camps—either they’re too rigid and boring, or they gamify things so much that you stop learning and start guessing. Qlango tries to find the middle ground, and right now, you can grab a lifetime subscription for $34.97 from StackSocial (down from $119.99), which gives you access to all 50+ supported languages. That includes the big ones like Spanish, French, and German, plus less common ones like Georgian, Tatar, and even Latin. Whether you’re prepping for a trip, brushing up your vocabulary, or just trying to keep your brain busy, it’s a lot of content for not a lot of money.

What makes Qlango different is how it forces you to use your target language actively. You don’t spend time translating back into your native tongue—everything you do, from dictation to sentence-building to multiple choice, is centered around the language you’re learning. It uses spaced repetition, so if you miss something, it’ll keep coming back until it sticks. And while that might sound annoying, it’s actually one of the most effective ways to build long-term memory. You can also pick the learning style that suits you best—go slow with word matching, or dive into full sentence translations if you’re up for it.

That said, the app’s design isn’t as polished as something like Duolingo, and if you’re someone who needs visual bells and whistles to stay motivated, it might feel a bit barebones. But the real value here is in how flexible it is—you can set your own weekly goals, skip the guilt trips for missing a day, and focus on what actually helps you learn. You can hear the pronunciation of each word, learn nouns with their articles (super helpful for gendered languages), and build a vocabulary that’s actually useful. If you’ve bounced off other language apps in the past because they either felt too childish or too intense, Qlango might be the middle path you’ve been looking for. And at this price, it’s not a huge risk to find out.

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Losing your luggage might not be the end of the world, but it’s definitely the worst part of a trip. That’s where something like the SmartLock comes in, and a four-pack of these TSA-approved travel locks is going for $79.99 on StackSocial right now, which is the same price Amazon charges for a three-pack. It’s designed for Apple users, integrating directly with the Find My app, so you can track your bags on a map, ping them with sound if they’re nearby, or get alerts if you’ve walked off and left them behind.

Each lock uses a simple three-digit combination and is TSA-approved, meaning airport security can access it without cutting it open. The build feels solid, with a durable alloy shell and thick cable loop tough enough for typical travel abuse. It’s also refreshingly low-maintenance, with no constant charging needed. The built-in battery lasts about three months and is replaceable, so you’re not tossing the whole thing when it dies. You don’t need to install a separate app to manage the tracking either, if you’ve used Apple’s Find My for AirTags or devices, the setup will feel familiar and straightforward. You also get solid tracking features like Lost Mode and sound alerts.

That said, this is Apple-only. If you use Android, the Find My functionality won’t work, so you’re better off with a traditional smart tracker or lock. If you’re traveling with multiple bags or coordinating group travel, getting four in one pack makes the price easier to swallow. For frequent flyers or anyone with a track record of forgetting their carry-on at Gate 17, this is one of those travel add-ons that might actually be worth it.