Technologies

Amazon workers seeking to unionize could get lift from labor board settlement

A settlement between Amazon and the National Labor Relations Board comes nearly a month after a regional NLRB director said Amazon illegally interfered with an Alabama union vote.

Amazon workers who want to organize unions now have an easier path. The National Labor Relations Board has reached a settlement with the online giant that allows workers to «form, join, or assist a union,» pick representatives to bargain on their behalf, and «act together with other employees» for worker «benefit and protection.»

Amazon warehouse employees will also no longer be forced to leave «non-working areas» 15 minutes before or after they start their shifts.

«Whether a company has 10 employees or a million employees, it must abide by the National Labor Relations Act,» Jennifer Abruzzo, general counsel for the NLRB, said Thursday in a statement. «This settlement agreement provides a crucial commitment from Amazon to millions of its workers across the United States that it will not interfere with their right to act collectively to improve their workplace by forming a union or taking other collective action.

«Working people should know that the National Labor Relations Board will vigorously seek to ensure Amazon’s compliance with the settlement and continue to defend the labor rights of all workers.»

News of the agreement was revealed Thursday following a Freedom of Information Act request filed by The New York Times. It comes nearly a month after an NLRB regional director disqualified the results of a failed union vote at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama. The decision was based in part on a mailbox that Amazon placed near the entrance of the facility alongside signs that told workers to vote.

Regional director Lisa Henderson wrote in her 20-page ruling that by placing the mailbox and signs, Amazon had installed its own ballot collection box, which is against NLRB protocols as it suggests that the company is running the election. The mailbox was also placed in the view of multiple security cameras.

In a statement provided to CNET at the time, Amazon said it was disappointed in the decision and reiterated that it believes unions won’t benefit its employees. The company didn’t address the complaints that it broke labor laws in the lead-up to the vote.

Amazon didn’t immediately respond to CNET’s request for comment.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 5, #878

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Nov. 5, #878.

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

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has a diverse mix of topics, including a neat blue category that music fans will ace. And it isn’t too tough, but if you need help, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Mess up.

Green group hint: Lead pipe is another one.

Blue group hint: They command the stage.

Purple group hint: Not snow, but …

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Make a hash of.

Green group: Weapons in the game Clue.

Blue group: Iconic soul singers.

Purple group: Rain ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is make a hash of. The four answers are blow, botch, butcher and spoil.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is weapons in the game Clue.The four answers are candlestick, knife, rope and wrench.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is iconic soul singers. The four answers are (Anita) Baker, (Roberta) Flack, (Aretha) Franklin and (Gladys) Knight.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is rain ____. The four answers are bow, coat, forest and maker.

Technologies

Need Gift Ideas? Google’s Holiday 100 Shopping List Includes Switch 2, Home Movie Projectors

You can shell out hundreds for a new gaming console or spend less on classic games and backpack charms.

The spooky season has just ended, and Google is already turning its attention to holiday shopping. The search giant just released its annual list of 100 top holiday gift ideas based on the hottest trends of 2025.

The Google Holiday 100 list is an annual shopping guide compiled from searches for various products conducted between May and September. Using that data, Google creates a catalog of the year’s top trending gift ideas across various industries, including tech, toys, fashion and wellness. You can view the entire Google Holiday 100 list here.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Nintendo Switch 2

This year’s breakaway technology hit was the Switch 2, Nintendo’s latest family-friendly video games console. Unsurprisingly, it appears on 2025’s Holiday 100 list. The console was released in June and has sold more than 10 million units thus far, with Nintendo hiking up sales expectations even among uncertain economic conditions and tariff pricing.

Google Pixel Watch 4

The Google Pixel Watch 4 is a standout wearable that made the Holiday 100 list. Its inclusion isn’t just Google stuffing its own product into a list. If you’re buying a gift for fitness-focused folks, CNET’s Vanessa Hand Orellana wrote that the latest iteration of Google’s smartwatch «hits a sweet spot between universally appealing design, seamless compatibility with the Android ecosystem, potentially life-saving safety features and robust health and fitness tracking.»

Red-light face masks

Your algorithm may have served you up a boatload of red light therapy content from health and beauty influencers this year. Search volume for red light masks has spiked in the past few months, so the LED masks have been included in the Holiday 100 buying guide this year. Just make sure to purchase one of the best FDA-approved masks.

Movie projectors to backpack charms

If you’re looking for gifts across other categories, Google has some top 2025 searches for big and small. Home theaters are apparently in this year, as searches for movie projectors spiked by a whopping 945%. Searches for backpack charms also hit an all-time high this year, so those are a safe bet for stocking stuffing for any young kids.

Checkers (the actual board game)

Even though many gifts given out at Christmas this year will surely be high-tech gadgets and accessories, the board game of checkers is also on the list. There’s always room for the classics.

As you prepare for the Herculean task of yearly holiday shopping, Google’s Holiday 100 is a good place to start. But if you’re looking to beat the crowd on the best tech deals around, CNET is already collecting pre-Black Friday deals.

Technologies

Look Up Tonight to Spot November’s Supermoon, the Brightest Moon of 2025

Has the moon been looking brighter and bigger to you for the past few days? Here’s why this month’s supermoon is even more super.

It’s already a great month for skygazers, with a trio of meteor showers and the return of the northern hemisphere winter constellations. On Tuesday night, it also features the second of four supermoons in a row. This month’s supermoon will happen on Nov. 4-5, and November’s beaver moon is special because it’ll be the brightest full moon of 2025.

In addition to being a supermoon, November’s full moon is known as the beaver moon. There is some debate as to why it was named this way. Some believe that this was the best time of year in the old days to set beaver traps to get pelts for winter clothing. Others believe that it coincides with the busiest part of the year for beavers, who are now stocking their lodges with supplies for the upcoming winter.

Here’s what time it’ll look its biggest and brightest, and what else you need to know about the November supermoon.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

The brightest supermoon: When’s the best time to see it?

The moon will reach peak illumination at 8:19 a.m. ET on Nov. 5, making the evening of Nov. 4 and the morning of Nov. 5 the best times to view the moon.

Since moon phases shift slowly, the moon will appear almost full for nearly a week. If you are unable to view the full moon on its best night due to weather or other reasons, you can still see a mostly full moon at any point from Nov. 3 to Nov. 8.

For all of those days, the moon will be measurably brighter in the night sky compared to any other full moon in 2025. The reason for this is because of the moon’s elliptical orbit. Since it’s not a perfect circle, the moon’s 27.3-day journey around the Earth brings it closer to us on some days, a phenomenon known as perigee. If there is a full moon during this time, it’s branded as a «perigean full moon,» which you may know better as a supermoon.

Not all supermoons are equal, and November’s will be a little more special than others. According to The Farmer’s Almanac, the beaver moon will be a scant 221,817 miles away from Earth, making it the closest full moon of the year. That means it’ll be the biggest and brightest of the year.

In practice, the differences are fairly minor and likely won’t be visible to the naked eye when compared side by side to other supermoons. A supermoon is only about 7% larger than a regular full moon. According to NASA, the biggest difference is when comparing a supermoon to a micromoon, where a supermoon will be about 14% larger and 30% brighter. So, if you notice that your backyard patio is lit up more than usual, it’s because of the supermoon.

Also due to the moon’s orbit, November will also bring a micro new moon, which means the moon will be as far away from the Earth as it can get — a phenomenon known as apogee. November’s new moon occurs on Nov. 20, but you won’t be able to see it.