Technologies

Red Dead Redemption 2’s Strange Tales of the West Update Brings Cryptids to Multiplayer

Bandits aren’t the only things you have to worry about in the weird west. Red Dead Online players will now have to contend with swamp things, automatons and zombies.

Pack your silver bullets and keep your head on a swivel. There’s a bad moon rising over the wild west in Red Dead Online, as four new cryptid-themed missions just released in the game.

You’ll have to take on these quests on behalf of author Theodore Levin, who is investigating outlandish claims from around the country. Strange cases of fearsome monsters, cults and viral outbreaks are exactly the type of pulpy content that could inspire a good story.

The first new telegram mission, Strange Tales of Modern Science, sees players contending with killer robots. But these aren’t exactly Terminators. You’ll be fighting off a tiny tinman army as it stalks the grounds of the Braithwaite Manor.

Another mission, Strange Tales of the Bayou, will have you contending with both human and non-human threats as you wade through Lagras. The Swamp Folk like to ambush hunters who enter their territory — but it’s up to you to bring back the creature from the deep so that Levin can see it for himself.

The Strange Tales of the Wilderness mission is the closest thing to a standard bounty hunt included in the new update. You’ll need to hunt down a gang of murdering bandits in Tall Trees, but rumor has it that a missing scientist might just be experimenting on your foes. Brave the wilderness to take on an evolving manmade threat and bring the gang to justice.

The final mission in the latest batch of content, Strange Tales of the Plague, is an ode to fan-favorite spinoff Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare. A mysterious infection is spreading through Armadillo, and the dead are rising yet again. It’s up to you and your friends to put down the shambling horde and bring back their bodies for scientific examination.

If you want to take on these new missions, you’ll need to pick up a letter Levin left for you at the nearest in-game post office or your camp’s mailbox. Afterwards, these cryptid challenges will become repeatable telegram missions.

To celebrate the launch of the Strange Tales of the West update, all telegram missions (including the new batch of pulp fiction content) will have their rewards boosted until Aug. 4. You’ll be able to earn three times as much gold, Red Dead dollars and experience points during this time.

Red Dead Online’s Strange Tales of the West update is available for free now on PlayStation, Xbox and PC. Get ready to lock and load to take down the new telegram missions next time you log in.

This update is a rare treat for Red Dead Redemption 2 fans, as the game’s online mode has been largely neglected in recent years. The previous patch from March 2024 squashed some bugs — and the last update that added any amount of playable content came out in September 2022.

The content drought was so extreme that it spawned a movement with the stated goal of saving Red Dead Online. The change.org petition currently has more than 10,000 signatures.

The Strange Tales of the West update is being marketed as volume one of a broader update, which implies that even more pulp fiction content could be coming down the pipeline for the Red Dead Redemption 2 multiplayer mode sometime soon. The wild west is about to get a whole lot weirder.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, July 3

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for July 3.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s Mini Crossword stumped me in a few spots. 8-Across had me thinking of a couple different words, but I landed on it eventually. Need answers? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Glaswegian or Edinburgher
Answer: SCOT

5A clue: 2025 Pixar film about a boy who gets abducted by aliens
Answer: ELIO

6A clue: Strong string
Answer: TWINE

7A clue: Religious devotee with a shaved head, maybe
Answer: MONK

8A clue: Calligrapher’s assortment
Answer: INKS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Attach, as a button
Answer: SEWON

2D clue: Sound of two glasses being «cheers-ed»
Answer: CLINK

3D clue: Noises from a pig
Answer: OINKS

4D clue: «Little piggy»
Answer: TOE

6D clue: «Did I overshare?»
Answer: TMI

Technologies

Starlink Plans to Send 42K Satellites Into Space. That Could Be Bad News for the Ozone

Technologies

Scary Survey Results: Teen Drivers Are Often Looking at Their Phones

New troubling research found that entertainment is the most common reason teens use their phones behind the wheel, followed by texting and navigation.

A new study reveals that teen drivers in the US are spending more than one-fifth of their driving time distracted by their phones, with many glances lasting long enough to significantly raise the risk of a crash. Published in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention and released on Thursday, the research found that, on average, teens reported looking at their phones during 21.1% of every driving trip. More than a quarter of those distractions lasted two seconds or longer, which is an amount of time widely recognized as dangerous at highway speeds.

Most distractions tied to entertainment, not emergencies

The top reason teens said they reached for their phones behind the wheel was for entertainment, cited by 65% of respondents. Texting (40%) and navigation (30%) were also common. Researchers emphasized that these distractions weren’t typically urgent, but rather habitual or social.

Teens know the risks

The study includes survey responses from 1,126 teen drivers across all four US regions, along with in-depth interviews with a smaller group of high schoolers. Most participants recognized that distracted driving is unsafe and believed their parents and peers disapproved of the behavior.

But many teens also assumed that their friends were doing it anyway, pointing to a disconnect between personal values and perceived social norms.

Teens think they can resist distractions

Interestingly, most teens expressed confidence in their ability to resist distractions. That belief, researchers suggest, could make it harder to change behavior unless future safety campaigns specifically target these attitudes.

The study’s lead author, Dr. Rebecca Robbins of Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said interventions should aim to shift social norms while also emphasizing practical steps, such as enabling «Do Not Disturb» mode and physically separating drivers from their devices.

«Distracted driving is a serious public health threat and particularly concerning among young drivers,» Robbins said. «Driving distracted doesn’t just put the driver at risk of injury or death, it puts everyone else on the road in danger of an accident.»

What this means for parents and educators

The researchers say their findings can help guide educators and parents in developing more persuasive messaging about the dangers of distracted driving. One of the recommendations is that adults need to counter teens’ beliefs that phone use while driving is productive or harmless.

While the study’s qualitative component was limited by a small and non-urban sample, the authors believe the 38-question survey they developed can be used more broadly to assess beliefs, behaviors and the effectiveness of future safety efforts.