ReportWire

Tag: Amazon Prime

  • Amazon is issuing Prime refunds as part of an FTC settlement. Here’s who’s eligible and what you’ll get

    Amazon began the process of issuing refunds to eligible Prime members this week as part of a large settlement the company agreed to over federal allegations that it misled customers.Related video above: Amazon Scam exposed — Don’t fall for this refund text trickIn 2023, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Amazon. In it, and in media releases since, the FTC has said the company “enrolled millions of people in Prime subscriptions without their consent – and then made it hard for those unwilling Prime subscribers to cancel.”On Sept. 25, 2025, Amazon, without admitting liability, reached a $2.5 billion settlement with the FTC. “Amazon and our executives have always followed the law and this settlement allows us to move forward and focus on innovating for customers,” Amazon said upon reaching the settlement. “We work incredibly hard to make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up or cancel their Prime membership, and to offer substantial value for our many millions of loyal Prime members around the world. We will continue to do so, and look forward to what we’ll deliver for Prime members in the coming years.”As part of the agreement, Amazon agreed to offer $1.5 billion in refunds to eligible customers. So, do you qualify? Here’s everything we know about the Amazon refunds.When are refund payments being sent out? Amazon has already started the process of issuing automatic refunds to eligible Prime customers. The automatic payments began being doled out on Nov. 12, and that process will continue through Dec. 24, 2025. How much money will I get? According to the FTC, under the settlement, eligible Prime customers can receive a refund of their Amazon Prime subscription fees, up to $51.Who is eligible for the automatic refunds? To qualify for the automatic refund, you had to have signed up for Amazon Prime in the U.S. between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025.Customers only qualify if they signed up for an Amazon Prime subscription through a “challenged enrollment flow,” which the FTC says includes “the universal Prime decision page, shipping selection page, single page checkout, or the Prime Video enrollment flow.”If you’re unsure of whether you signed up through a challenged enrollment flow, you don’t need to worry. According to an FAQ document linked to the FTC’s alert about the refund payments, “you will not need to determine whether or not you signed up through a Challenged Enrollment Flow. That analysis is being completed for you.”Furthermore, to qualify, you must have used no more than three “Amazon Prime Benefits” in “any 12-month period following Amazon Prime enrollment,” according to the FTC. Those benefits include Prime Music or Prime Video products offered for free to Prime subscribers.How will payments be issued? Those who are eligible will receive an email. The FTC says refunds must be accepted within 15 days. Refunds can be issued via PayPal or Venmo. However, those who would rather get a check should “ignore the email from Amazon,” the FTC said in its alert. If you do not claim the PayPal or Venmo payment, a check will be sent to the default shipping address listed on your Prime subscription. The checks must be cashed within 60 days, the FTC said.What if I didn’t get an automatic refund?If you think you are eligible but don’t get an automatic refund, the FTC says you “don’t need to do anything right now.””In 2026, Amazon will begin its claims process for eligible Prime customers who didn’t get an automatic refund between November and December 2025,” the FTC said in its alert, adding, “You don’t need to contact the FTC to receive a refund.”The FTC said it will update its “Amazon Refunds” webpage when the claims process begins.You can also sign up to receive emails by going to this website.Don’t fall for scamsIn its alert about the automatic refunds, the FTC is cautioning consumers that the FTC “will never ask you to pay to get a refund.””Don’t pay anyone who promises you a refund in exchange for a fee. And don’t give personal information to anyone who contacts you promising a refund,” the FTC said.

    Amazon began the process of issuing refunds to eligible Prime members this week as part of a large settlement the company agreed to over federal allegations that it misled customers.

    Related video above: Amazon Scam exposed — Don’t fall for this refund text trick

    In 2023, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Amazon. In it, and in media releases since, the FTC has said the company “enrolled millions of people in Prime subscriptions without their consent – and then made it hard for those unwilling Prime subscribers to cancel.”

    On Sept. 25, 2025, Amazon, without admitting liability, reached a $2.5 billion settlement with the FTC.

    “Amazon and our executives have always followed the law and this settlement allows us to move forward and focus on innovating for customers,” Amazon said upon reaching the settlement. “We work incredibly hard to make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up or cancel their Prime membership, and to offer substantial value for our many millions of loyal Prime members around the world. We will continue to do so, and look forward to what we’ll deliver for Prime members in the coming years.”

    As part of the agreement, Amazon agreed to offer $1.5 billion in refunds to eligible customers.

    So, do you qualify? Here’s everything we know about the Amazon refunds.

    When are refund payments being sent out?

    Amazon has already started the process of issuing automatic refunds to eligible Prime customers.

    The automatic payments began being doled out on Nov. 12, and that process will continue through Dec. 24, 2025.

    How much money will I get?

    According to the FTC, under the settlement, eligible Prime customers can receive a refund of their Amazon Prime subscription fees, up to $51.

    Who is eligible for the automatic refunds?

    To qualify for the automatic refund, you had to have signed up for Amazon Prime in the U.S. between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025.

    Customers only qualify if they signed up for an Amazon Prime subscription through a “challenged enrollment flow,” which the FTC says includes “the universal Prime decision page, shipping selection page, single page checkout, or the Prime Video enrollment flow.”

    If you’re unsure of whether you signed up through a challenged enrollment flow, you don’t need to worry. According to an FAQ document linked to the FTC’s alert about the refund payments, “you will not need to determine whether or not you signed up through a Challenged Enrollment Flow. That analysis is being completed for you.”

    Furthermore, to qualify, you must have used no more than three “Amazon Prime Benefits” in “any 12-month period following Amazon Prime enrollment,” according to the FTC.

    Those benefits include Prime Music or Prime Video products offered for free to Prime subscribers.

    How will payments be issued?

    Those who are eligible will receive an email. The FTC says refunds must be accepted within 15 days.

    Refunds can be issued via PayPal or Venmo. However, those who would rather get a check should “ignore the email from Amazon,” the FTC said in its alert. If you do not claim the PayPal or Venmo payment, a check will be sent to the default shipping address listed on your Prime subscription. The checks must be cashed within 60 days, the FTC said.

    What if I didn’t get an automatic refund?

    If you think you are eligible but don’t get an automatic refund, the FTC says you “don’t need to do anything right now.”

    “In 2026, Amazon will begin its claims process for eligible Prime customers who didn’t get an automatic refund between November and December 2025,” the FTC said in its alert, adding, “You don’t need to contact the FTC to receive a refund.”

    The FTC said it will update its “Amazon Refunds” webpage when the claims process begins.

    You can also sign up to receive emails by going to this website.

    Don’t fall for scams

    In its alert about the automatic refunds, the FTC is cautioning consumers that the FTC “will never ask you to pay to get a refund.”

    “Don’t pay anyone who promises you a refund in exchange for a fee. And don’t give personal information to anyone who contacts you promising a refund,” the FTC said.

    Source link

  • DAZN is available through Amazon Prime Video in the US and UK

    DAZN, a sports streaming service that covers everything from MMA to golf, is now available as an add-on subscription through Amazon Prime Video in the US and UK. The streaming service was previously available in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan and Canada.

    Subscribing to DAZN requires an additional $30 a month subscription on top of what users already pay for Prime Video ($9 a month for a standalone plan or the cost of an Amazon Prime subscription). The service includes access to a mixture of live sports coverage including “more than 185 fight nights per year” and “over 300 live soccer games from Italy’s Lega Series A,” according to Amazon.

    While it costs extra, the service makes for a nice complement to the sports content that’s already available through Prime Video for no additional fee, like Thursday Night Football, select NBA games, the NASCAR Cup Series and the Masters golf tournament in 2026.

    Access to live games is increasingly the defining feature of most video streaming platforms. Amazon has its carveouts, YouTube TV has NFL Sunday Ticket and Apple continues to hold down MLS and now, F1 racing.

    Source link

  • Amazon Prime Day is

    Two consumers allege that Amazon misled customers by promoting false discounts on its site during its summer Prime Day sale. 

    In a proposed class action lawsuit filed in September in a federal court in Washington state, plaintiffs Cathy Armstrong of California and Oluwa Fosudo of Maryland, claim that Amazon used “fictional” list prices to calculate its recent Prime Day percentage discounts, making deals appear better than they actually were.

    The lawsuit details a number of examples of what plaintiffs refer to as “fake sales” during the four-day Prime Day event, which ran July 8-11.

    One such example is a pair of headphones advertised by Amazon on Prime Day as being on sale for 44% off a list price of $179.95, according to the complaint. Plaintiffs, however, claim that the actual list price for the item has always been in the range of “$130 to $160,” making the 44% Prime Day discount “inflated fiction.” 

    “Amazon uses these fake Prime Day Percentage Discounts, offered under the extreme time pressure of the brief Prime Day window, to lure consumers to purchase products,” the court filing states.

    In another example, the lawsuit mentions an 8-inch Android tablet for kids listed as “40% off,” based on a strikethrough list price of $119.99. However, in the 90 days leading up to the sale, the tablet was being offered between $50 and $85, with a median price of $72, according to the court filing. That means the supposedly time-limited Prime Day Deal of $72.18 was actually higher than the $50 price Amazon offered it for in April, and about the same price the tablet usually goes for on Amazon, the lawsuit states. 

    “But for Amazon’s false and misleading representations, Plaintiffs would also have shopped around for better prices in the marketplace or waited to purchase the items at a better price,” according to the complaint. 

    The lawyers who brought the suit on behalf of the plaintiffs declined to comment, citing the pending litigation. 

    They filed the proposed class action lawsuit after Popular Information, a Substack newsletter focused on corporate and political accountability, published a story calling out some of the allegedly deceptive tactics Amazon used during its Prime Day event.

    Amazon declined to comment.

    On its corporate website, the company calls the recent four-day sale its biggest Prime event to date, and states that customers “saved billions on deals.” The e-commerce giant held a separate Prime Day event this week from Oct. 7-8. 

    Amazon in September agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle federal claims it misled customers into signing up for Prime and made it difficult for them to cancel their membership. As part of the settlement, Amazon must pay a $1 billion civil penalty — the largest ever in an FTC rule violation case.

    Source link

  • California bill targeting loud streaming ads signed into law by Gov. Newsom

    Believe it or not, an 8-month-old’s sleep schedule is what led to a face-off between California lawmakers and the entertainment industry over loud commercials on streaming services.

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 576 into law this week. The bill, introduced by state Senator Tom Umberg, prohibits Netflix, Prime Video, and other streamers from blasting commercial volume way above the level of whatever show or movie you’re watching in California.

    This mission began when Zach and Rachel Keller were doing what new parents do: settling in to watch TV after finally getting their daughter, Samantha, down for the night.

    That is when a blaring commercial abruptly ended their moment of peace, waking Samantha again.

    “A lot of times, we have the volume so low that we just have subtitles running and still, the commercial ad volumes are so ear-piercing that it wakes her up,” Rachel Keller said.

    Federal law already prohibits regular TV broadcasters from running commercials that are way louder than the program you’re watching. However, streaming services weren’t around when lawmakers passed the federal Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act back in 2010. So it doesn’t apply to them.

    Zach Keller works for Senator Umberg and approached him about closing that loophole.

    “I thought, ‘I’ve got three kids, eight grandchildren. That’s a good idea,’ Umberg told CBS News California in August before Newsom signed the bill. “I think it’s one of the most popular bills in the legislature, but it’s not popular with everyone.”

    The bill was unanimously passed by the state Senate and sailed through its Assembly committee, but it stalled before its final vote as the powerful Motion Picture Association fought hard to kill the bill, arguing it could hurt small independent streaming services.

    Unlike the broadcasting cable networks, streaming ads come from several different sources and cannot necessarily or practically be controlled by streaming platforms.

    “‘Are you kidding?’ That’s my response [to that]. They know which hand I use to basically control the remote. They can basically figure out how to make them within a normal range,” Umberg said in August.

    None of the streaming services responded to our emails, and the Motion Picture Association declined an interview.

    As for Samantha and her very tired parents, they hope this ultimately helps babies across the country sleep a little more soundly.

    “We heard Californians loud and clear, and what’s clear is that they don’t want commercials at a volume any louder than the level at which they were previously enjoying a program,” Newsom’s office said in a statement after the bill was signed into law.

    The Kellers weren’t the only ones who had been frustrated. Forum and forum, and review after review, people across the country have complained about loud streaming commercials and ads.

    SB 576 demonstrates the power of the California lawmakers to do something the federal government can’t.

    In a state this big, companies generally don’t create one policy or product for California and another for everyone else. So as goes California, goes the nation.  

    Now signed by Newsom, the commercial volume restrictions for streaming services will go into effect on July 1, 2026.

    Source link

  • What to look for as Amazon Prime Big Deal Days begin

    The holiday shopping season is kicking off Tuesday for Amazon Prime members. The e-commerce giant is offering early discounts on plenty of merchandise as part of its Big Deal Days promotion through Wednesday. Sabrina Escobar, reporter for Barron’s, joined CBS News to discuss.

    Source link

  • Get three months of Audible for only $3 with this Prime Day deal

    Audiobook fans can get three months of Audible for $3 for a limited time ahead of the fall edition of Amazon Prime Day. Users will be charged $0.99 per month for the first three months, after which it will auto-renew at $14.95 per month.

    Audible features thousands of titles in its catalog, including podcasts and Audible Originals. Subscribers will also get to choose one audiobook each month to keep in their collection for free, including best-sellers or new releases. Amazon Prime members will receive two credits the first month of their trial.

    Amazon has been bringing Prime Day back in the fall for a few years now, and this year it returns October 7 and 8. Great deals tend to start rolling out in the days ahead of the event and this year is no exception. There are already sales on Apple devices, smart doorbells and most importantly, Lego sets.

    If you’re a book lover but don’t have the time to sit down and read a hard copy, or you just prefer listening to the latest novel while on the go, then take advantage of this sale. It’s a limited-time offer and will only be available through December 16.

    Andre Revilla

    Source link

  • Audible deal: Get three months for only $3 with this Prime Day discount

    The traditional Amazon Prime Day Audible sale has returned for October Prime Day. Audiobook fans can get three months of Audible for just $3, or $1 per month for the first three months. Once the three-month initial period is over, though, the subscription will auto-renew at $14.95 per month.

    Audible features thousands of titles in its catalog, including podcasts and Audible Originals. Subscribers will also get to choose one audiobook each month to keep in their collection for free, including best-sellers or new releases. Amazon Prime members will receive two credits the first month of their trial.

    Amazon has been bringing Prime Day back in the fall for a few years now, and this year it returns October 7 and 8. Great deals tend to start rolling out in the days ahead of the event and this year is no exception. There are already sales on Apple devices, smart doorbells and most importantly, Lego sets.

    If you’re a book lover but don’t have the time to sit down and read a hard copy, or you just prefer listening to the latest novel while on the go, then take advantage of this sale. It’s a limited-time offer and will only be available through December 16.

    Andre Revilla

    Source link

  • The best October Prime Day TV deals: Early discounts on sets from Sony, Samsung, TCL and others

    It’s time for another October Prime Day sale, and that means Amazon is selling a number of well-regarded TVs for lower prices than usual. Not every deal is exclusive to the event, and it’s still more than possible that these sets drop even further as we get closer to Black Friday. For now, though, a few recommended sets from the likes of TCL, Hisense, Samsung and Sony are on sale. We’ve rounded up all the best October Prime Day TV deals we’ve seen thus far below, and we’ll update this post as more arise. Just note that you may need to be an Amazon Prime subscriber to access some of the discounts.

    Best Prime Day TV deals

    TCL

    The TCL QM6K is widely regarded by reviewers we trust as one of the year’s better TV bargains. It’s a budget-oriented model, so it won’t get you the same level of contrast, color volume or brightness as more expensive sets, nor will it be ideal for HDR content (especially in well-lit rooms). Still, its quantum-dot color, mini-LED backlighting and full-array local dimming more than hold their own for the price, plus it runs on the useful Google TV platform. It’s also a nice buy for gaming on the cheap, since its input lag is relatively low and it has a native 144Hz refresh rate that can reach as high as 288Hz at 1080p. This discount ties the lowest price we’ve seen for the 75-inch model.

    $750 at Amazon

    Hisense U8QG 65-inch Mini-LED TV for $1,082 ($416 off): Several reviews suggest that the Hisense U8QG ticks most of the requisite boxes for a LCD TV in 2025: robust local dimming and mini-LED backlighting, exceptionally high brightness, vibrant quantum-dot colors, a fast refresh rate (165Hz in this case), support for the major HDR formats and so on. It’s a higher-end option than something like the TCL QM6K with much better brightness and contrast, though it still falls short of a good OLED TV when it comes to the latter. Like most LCD panels, it’ll also look a bit washed out if you view it from an angle. It has three HDMI 2.1 ports, which is one fewer than many other TVs in this price range, though it uniquely includes a USB-C video input if you want to hook up a gaming laptop or Nintendo Switch. (Just note that you won’t get VRR or HDR when using that.) You’d mainly get it over an OLED TV if you’re willing to trade some picture quality for something that’s better-suited in a bright room. This deal on the 65-inch model isn’t an all-time low, but it matches the best price we’ve tracked since July.

    Samsung S90F 55-inch QD-OLED TV for $1,498 ($100 off): The Samsung S90F is an upper-tier model with a QD-OLED panel, which blends the usual perks of a quality OLED set — near-perfect contrast, wide viewing angles, clear motion, low input lag — with a layer of quantum dots. This helps it produce a wider gamut of more vivid colors compared to traditional WOLED TVs. It also comes with four HDMI 2.1 ports and has a fast refresh rate of 144Hz. It doesn’t support Dolby Vision HDR, however, and reviews we trust say that the LG C5, a competing WOLED model, retains darker black levels in a bright room. (The S90F has a more colorful image, though.) We saw this 55-inch model go for $100 less earlier in the month, but this deal matches the best price we’ve tracked otherwise. The 65-inch version is similarly discounted. Just make sure you only buy the 55-, 65- or 77-inch model, as every other size in the US uses a lesser WOLED panel. Shady, we know.

    Sony Bravia 8 II 65-inch QD-OLED TV for $2,998 ($502 off): It’s certainly not cheap, but the Sony Bravia 8 II has earned plaudits for its excellent image processing, upscaling and overall accuracy alongside the expected color, contrast and motion benefits of its QD-OLED display. This should help it make lots of movies and shows look closer to their original intent. It also uses the handy Google TV interface. Outside of an extremely brief dip in June, this deal matches the best price to date for the 65-inch version. That said, if you can’t stomach the high price, other reviews note that the older Sony A95L offers similar performance a bit less, while more recent competitors like the LG G5 and Samsung S95F can get noticeably brighter (even if they’re not always as accurate). Those two should be better for gaming as well, as the Bravia 8 II only has two HDMI 2.1 ports — one of which is an eARC port for soundbars — and its input lag is slightly higher.

    Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K for $25 ($25 off): The standard Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K offers the same core experience as the pricier Fire TV Stick 4K Max, only it comes with a slightly slower processor, half the storage (8GB) and Wi-Fi 6 instead of Wi-Fi 6E. For most people just looking for a casual streamer on the cheap, those shouldn’t be huge losses. This model is also more powerful than the just-announced Fire TV 4K Select, though its Fire OS interface can still be messy and ad-heavy, with special emphasis on Amazon’s own services. This deal is $3 more than the stick’s all-time low, though it matches the best price we’ve seen since Black Friday last year.

    Amazon Fire TV Stick HD for $18 ($17 off): The Fire TV Stick HD is the budget pick in our guide to the best streaming devices. It can only stream up to 1080p, and it can run a bit choppier than the 4K models since it has a slower chipset and half the RAM (1GB). The usual issues with the Fire TV interface still apply here too. But if you just want to add streaming apps to an aging TV or basic monitor for as little cash as possible, it should get the job done. This discount ties the device’s lowest price to date.

    Jeff Dunn

    Source link

  • New on Amazon Prime Video: October 2025

    Hedda.
    Photo: Parisa Taghizadeh/MGM/Everett Collection

    Director Nia DaCosta and Tessa Thompson reunite for Hedda, an adaptation of the 19th century play Hedda Gabler. Thompson stars as Hedda, an ambitious woman who throws a party for her academic husband (Tom Bateman) and crosses paths with her ex-lover Eileen Lovborg (Nina Hoss). (Streaming October 29.)

    Noteworthy selections in bold.

    The Capture, season 1
    The Magicians, seasons 1-5
    1984
    17 Again
    A Shot in the Dark
    A View to a Kill
    A Walk Among the Tombstones
    Accepted
    Argo
    Argo: Extended Edition
    Bad Words
    Basic Instinct 2
    Beauty Shop
    Being John Malkovich
    Blazing Saddles
    Bodies Bodies Bodies
    Braveheart
    Bride of Frankenstein
    Bruce Almighty
    Bull Durham
    Candyman (1992)
    Casino Royale
    Cat People
    Crank
    Crank 2: High Voltage
    Creature From The Black Lagoon
    Curious George
    Dead Man Walking
    Death at a Funeral
    Diamonds Are Forever
    Die Another Day
    Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
    Dr. No
    Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas
    Dracula (1931)
    Easy A
    End of Days
    Erin Brockovich
    For Love of the Game
    For Your Eyes Only
    Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
    Frankenstein (1931)
    From Russia with Love
    Ghost Story
    GoldenEye
    Goldfinger
    Hair
    Hang ‘Em High
    Holmes And Watson
    Hotel Rwanda
    House of Gucci
    Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
    Indiana Jones And the Last Crusade
    Indiana Jones and the Raiders Of The Lost Ark
    Indiana Jones and The Temple Of Doom
    It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
    Jeepers Creepers
    Jeepers Creepers 2
    Judy
    Knight and Day
    Legends of the Fall
    Licence to Kill
    Live and Let Die
    Lucy
    Max
    Max 2: White House Hero
    Moonraker
    Moonstruck
    No Time To Die
    Octopussy
    On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
    Overboard
    Pixels
    Play Dirty
    Quantum of Solace
    Quigley Down Under
    Return To Me
    Revenge of the Pink Panther
    Scooby-Doo (2002)
    Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed
    Scoot And Kassie’s Christmas Adventure
    Skyfall
    Soul Plane
    Southpaw
    Spartacus
    Spectre
    Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
    The Big Country
    The Boy
    The Breakfast Club
    The Change-Up
    The Commuter
    The Family Man
    The Greatest Story Ever Told
    The Invisible Man (1933)
    The Living Daylights
    The Man with the Golden Gun
    The Pink Panther (1964)
    The Pink Panther (2006)
    The Pink Panther 2
    The Pink Panther Strikes Again
    The Shack
    The Spy Who Loved Me
    The Terminator
    The World Is Not Enough
    Thelma & Louise
    Thunderball
    Tomorrow Never Dies
    Tremors
    Us
    Vacation Friends
    Vacation Friends 2
    Waterworld
    West Side Story (1961)
    You Only Live Twice

    A Star Brighter Than The Sun

    Sanda

    The Boogeyman

    Ninja vs. Gokudo

    Maintenance Required

    Saquon

    John Candy: I Like Me
    The Ballad of Wallis Island

    Culpa Nuestra
    Dracula Untold

    Hollywood Hustler: Glitz, Glam, Scam
    The Chosen Adventures

    Companion

    Harlan Coben’s Lazarus

    Allen Iv3rson
    Host

    Migration
    The Beast Within

    The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

    Hazbin Hotel, season 2
    Hedda

    Tremembé
    Dime tu nombre
    The Woman In The Yard

    For more coverage of the best movies and TV shows available on Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Showtime, check out Vulture’s What to Stream Now hub, which is updated throughout the month.

    Savannah Salazar

    Source link

  • The 20 Best Movies on Amazon Prime to Watch Now (October 2025)

    Only one streaming service lives on a site that will sell you paper towels with no shipping costs: Amazon Prime Video. But while shopping for household goods, you may also wonder, What are the best movies on Amazon Prime Video? Vanity Fair is here to help.

    Truly, there are countless films on Prime Video you can rent for a few bucks—but if you are already an Amazon Prime subscriber, you get access to a ton of free, good movies. There are comedies, horror films, dramas, classics, sexy tennis movies with Zendaya (okay, only one sexy tennis movie with Zendaya), and a lot more. So don’t get stuck holding the remote like a schmuck while your spouse eats all the Häagen-Dazs. Take a look at this curated list and pick something out before you turn the television on.

    All of Me (1984)

    Director: Carl Reiner
    Genre: Comedy
    Notable cast: Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin, Richard Libertini
    MPA rating: PG
    Rotten Tomatoes: 85%
    Metacritic: 68

    For those of us old enough to have seen this in theaters, we’ve been mumbling “put Edwina backinbowl” for 40 years. (It’s been a struggle.) This zany supernatural comedy is probably a little dated in its treatment of Eastern religions, but that hopefully won’t offend you too much when you see everyman Steve Martin’s physical antics after 50% of his body is overtaken by undead zillionaire Lily Tomlin. Though this is still a bananas picture, it was the first of Martin’s films that wasn’t just a joke parade like The Jerk or Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid—an important turn in the road for a great career.

    City Lights (1931)

    Director: Charlie Chaplin
    Genre: Comedy
    Notable cast: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Harry Myers
    MPA rating: Not rated
    Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
    Metacritic: 99

    If you only know Charlie Chaplin as some dude who twirls a cane in three-second clips about “the magic of the movies,” well, you are in luck. The guy is famous for a reason, and while much of his success came from slapstick moments in short films, he was more than adept at sustaining an entire feature-length narrative. City Lights strings together a number of memorable bits (the boxing match! The rich drunk!) but is also a winning romance in which Chaplin’s Tramp (yes, the cane-twirling guy) wins the heart of a blind flower salesgirl played by Virginia Cherrill.

    Conclave (2024)

    Director: Edward Berger
    Genre: Drama
    Notable cast: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow
    MPA rating: PG
    Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
    Metacritic: 79

    Jordan Hoffman

    Source link

  • Kevin Costner takes talents to Prime Video with new drama based on true story of female Civil War spies

    The untold stories of female spies during the American Civil War will be coming to Prime Video in 2026. The series, called The Gray House, stars Mary-Louise Parker (The West Wing), Daisy Head (Harlots), Amethyst Davis (Kindred), and Ben Vereen (Roots), and has been produced by Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman. Stories of the soldiers of the Civil War, which took place between 1861 and 1865, have been told numerous times over the years, but this will be a major look at the women who helped to turn the tide in favor of the Union.

    Roland Joffe directed the eight-part show that will focus on a “Virginia socialite, her mother, a formerly enslaved sister-in-arms, and the city’s most notorious courtesan. They operate deep inside the corridors of Confederate power and transform an underground railroad into an effective underground spy network, risking life and liberty.”

    Elizabeth Van Lew was one of the more famous women who helped during the war; a wealthy Virginian abolitionist, Elizabeth ran an extensive spy ring in the capital city of Richmond. She cleverly used her position and influence to place Mary Bowser, a freedwoman, into the White House as a servant, where she would then pass on military and strategic information that she overheard.

    It is unclear if The Gray House will tell their stories, or if it is simply inspired by Elizabeth and Mary. The ensemble cast also includes Paul Anderson, Ian Duff, Hannah James, Robert Knepper, Christopher McDonald, Colin Morgan, Rob Morrow, Colin O’Donoghue, Sam Trammell, Ewan Miller, and Keith David.

    © Prime Video
    Poster for The Gray House on Prime Video

    The series also has a soundtrack from major A-listers, including original songs from Willie Nelson and Bon Jovi, as well as Shania Twain and Drake Milligan, Lainey Wilson, Killer Mike, and gospel superstar Yolanda Adams.

    During the Civil War, women also became famous for disguising themselves as soldiers, including Sarah Rosetta Wakeman (known as Private Lyons Wakeman). She fought alongside the men of the 153rd New York Volunteers for nearly two years, and her identity was not discovered until years after her death in 1864. 

    Elizabeth Van Lew© Encyclopedia Virginia
    Elizabeth Van Lew

    Jennie Hodgers, known as Albert Cashier, served in the 95th Illinois Infantry and continued to live as a man after the war. Her identity was only discovered in her later years, and she was buried with full military honors in 1915.

    The American Civil War took place between the Union and the Confederacy, which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded from the Union. The central conflict was a dispute between the Union and the Confederacy over whether slavery should be permitted to expand into the western territories of the United States. The Union won in 1865 and although slavery had been abolished by the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, on June 19 1865 federal troops announced freedom to the last enslaved people in Texas.

    Kevin Costner as John Dutton in Yellowstone
    Kevin Costner as John Dutton in Yellowstone

    Yellowstone star Kevin has also teamed up with Prime Video for a new comedy film with Jake Gyllenhaal; Honeymoon with Harry is a film that’s been in development for 20 years. The film follows Kevin and Jake’s respective characters, Todd and Harry, as they embark on a honeymoon together following the death of Todd’s fiancée and Harry’s daughter, Tammy Everett, two days before her wedding to Todd.

    A synopsis on Amazon reads: “The emotional and hilarious story of hard-living Todd Cartwright who falls in love with Tammy Everett, a woman who literally saves Todd from himself. But Tammy’s suspicious, overly-protective father, Harry, does everything he can to crush the relationship.”

    Rebecca Lewis

    Source link

  • Here’s how to get a refund from the historic Amazon Prime settlement

    (CNN) — Amazon will soon have to refund some Prime members as part of a $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission – $1.5 billion of which will be returned directly to customers. It’s the FTC’s largest-ever settlement and the second-highest refund award in history.

    The FTC said in a statement Thursday that Amazon “used sophisticated subscription traps” to trick online shoppers into enrolling in the company’s Prime services. It wrapped up a two-year dispute over the e-commerce giant allegedly manipulating consumers into signing up and then making it difficult for subscribers to cancel.

    The FTC estimated that about 35 million customers were “harmed by (Amazon’s) deceptive Prime enrollment practices” and could be eligible for a refund.

    Here’s what you need to know.

    Who’s eligible?

    Anyone who signed up for Amazon Prime or “unsuccessfully attempted to cancel” their Prime subscription in the United States between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025, is eligible for a share of the settlement.

    How much are the refunds?

    Customers who used “no more than 3 Prime Benefits” within a year of enrollment and signed up for Amazon Prime through a “challenged enrollment flow” will receive an automatic refund from Amazon. The FTC’s final order said customers eligible for the refund enrolled for Amazon Prime services via the Universal Prime page, the shipping option select page, Prime Video, or the Amazon’s single page checkout.

    Automatic payments will be issued first and within 90 days of the FTC order. Those customers will be paid back for up to the total amount of the membership fees they paid, but no more than $51.

    Anyone who submits a valid claim to Amazon and is approved will also be paid up to $51.

    Claims for unintentional enrollment will be paid after automatic payments are issued, for the total amount of membership fees paid (up to $51) while they had an Amazon Prime subscription.

    Prime subscribers who were unable to cancel will be refunded in the next group, for the total amount of membership fees paid, up to $51.

    If the remaining funds aren’t enough to refund all claimants, Amazon will refund on a “pro rata basis, taking into account the total amount” claimants were eligible to receive and the number of Prime Benefits used. As is typical with massive settlements such as this one, that pro rata arrangement means many customers will probably receive less than the maximum refund allowed by the settlement – and significantly less than the fees they paid Amazon.

    How to file a claim

    A website with details on the claims process and information about the settlement has not yet been made public.

    When it is available, links to the website will be on amazon.com and the Amazon Prime page, or a similar page on the company’s app, according to the FTC’s final order.

    The settlement says that within 30 days after Amazon finishes its automatic payments, anyone eligible to submit a claim will be notified by e-mail and mailed letters.

    When is the deadline to submit a claim?

    Claims eligible customers will have “up to 180 days after receiving the claims form to submit it to Amazon via electronic mail,” pre-paid mail, or the settlement website, according to the order.

    How has Amazon responded?

    Amazon said that the company and its executives “have always followed the law” in a Thursday statement.

    “We work incredibly hard to make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up or cancel their Prime membership, and to offer substantial value for our many millions of loyal Prime members around the world. We will continue to do so, and look forward to what we’ll deliver for Prime members in the coming years,” the company added.

    Auzinea Bacon and CNN

    Source link

  • Amazon to pay $2.5 billion to settle federal claims it misled Prime members

    Amazon agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle a Federal Trade Commission case over whether it duped customers into signing up for Prime and made it difficult for customers to cancel their membership. 

    As part of the settlement, announced Thursday, Amazon will provide $1.5 billion in refunds to customers that were harmed by what FTC referred to as “deceptive Prime enrollment practices.” About 35 million Prime customers who were impacted by the practices could qualify for $51 each as part of the settlement, the FTC said in legal documents.

    Amazon is also required to pay a $1 billion civil penalty, the largest in any FTC rule violation case to date. The FTC said the $1.5 billion payout to customers is the second-highest restitution award in the agency’s history. 

    Prime customers who are eligible for the payout include those who may have signed up for a membership via the company’s “Single Page Checkout” between June 23, 2019 to June 23, 2025. Amazon must distribute the payments to all affected customers within 90 days, according to the court order.

    “The evidence showed that Amazon used sophisticated subscription traps designed to manipulate consumers into enrolling in Prime, and then made it exceedingly hard for consumers to end their subscription,” FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said in a statement, adding, “Today, we are putting billions of dollars back into Americans’ pockets, and making sure Amazon never does this again.”

    Amazon neither admitted nor denied the allegations in the complaint, according to the legal documents. In a statement shared with CBS News, the company said Amazon and its executives have “always followed the law” and that the settlement allows them to “move forward and focus on innovating for customers.”

    In addition to offering compensation to impacted customers, the FTC said Amazon was also required to make changes to its Prime enrollment and cancellation practices, which documents showed that company executives and employees knowingly discussed. The changes included adding a “clear and conspicuous” button to its site for customers to decline a Prime membership offer. 

    In addition, the e-commerce giant was told to make it easier for Prime members to cancel their membership. 

    “The process cannot be difficult, costly, or time-consuming,” the FTC said in its statement.

    A spokesperson for Amazon said in an email that the changes outlined by the FTC press “have already made, many of them years ago.”

    The FTC’s efforts to make it easier for customers to cancel subscriptions extend beyond Amazon. In 2024, the commission approved a “click-to cancel rule,” which would have allowed consumers to more quickly end streaming services, gym memberships, product deliveries and other subscriptions. The rule had been set to take effect July 14, but was blocked by a federal court that month.

    “We hope the FTC resurrects the click-to-cancel rules to protect millions of consumers from shady sales tactics,” said Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog director at U.S. PIRG Education Fund, a nonprofit public interest group, in en email. “In the meantime, we hope this Amazon settlement sends a strong message to any company operating in ways that could conceivably confuse customers or thwart their efforts to not be customers any more.”

    Thursday’s settlement, which came two days after a jury trial kicked off in Seattle, represents the culmination of a two-year case that the FTC began in June 2023.

    Amazon Prime provides subscribers with perks that include faster shipping, video streaming and discounts at Whole Foods for a fee of $139 annually, or $14.99 a month.

    It’s a key and growing part of Amazon’s business, with more than 200 million members. In its latest financial report, the company reported in July that it booked more than $12 billion in net revenue for subscription services, a 12% increase from the same period last year. 

    That figure includes annual and monthly fees associated with Prime memberships, as well as other subscription services such as its music and e-books platforms.

    In a separate case, the FTC is looking into whether Amazon has allegedly engaged in monopolistic behavior that allows it to inflate prices and suppress competition from rivals in violation of antitrust laws.

    The Associated Press

    contributed to this report.

    Mary Cunningham

    Mary Cunningham is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch. Before joining the business and finance vertical, she worked at “60 Minutes,” CBSNews.com and CBS News 24/7 as part of the CBS News Associate Program.

    Source link

  • Amazon faces trial this week over whether it duped people into enrolling in Prime membership

    Amazon faces a court hearing in Seattle this week to face allegations by federal regulators that the e-commerce giant duped customers into signing up for its Prime membership while also making it difficult for them to cancel their subscriptions.

    The case, announced by the Federal Trade Commission in 2023, centers on claims that Amazon engaged in what the agency said amounted to a “years-long effort” to trick millions of customers into automatically renewing their Prime subscriptions, specifically by using user-interface designs that were “manipulative, coercive or deceptive.”

    When it announced legal action against Amazon two years ago, the FTC said consumers who used Amazon to make purchases were presented with numerous options to subscribe to Prime, but that it was less clear how to buy an item without signing up for a membership. In some cases, the button for Amazon users to complete their purchase did not clearly indicate that they were also agreeing to enroll in Prime, according to regulators. 

    The government’s lawsuit also alleges that Amazon obfuscated the process to cancel a Prime subscription by forcing customers to jump through several hoops to end their membership. 

    An FTC spokesperson declined to comment on the case. 

    Amazon denies that its practices misled consumers. An Amazon spokesperson said in an email to CBS MoneyWatch on Monday that “neither Amazon nor the individual defendants did anything wrong.” 

    “We remain confident that the facts will show these executives acted properly and we always put customers first,” the spokesperson added.

    Jury selection in the trial is scheduled to begin Monday, followed by opening arguments and possible witness testimony on Tuesday. The trial, which is being held at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, is expected to last up to four weeks. The outcome will be decided by a the jury.

    Prime members, who pay $14.99 monthly or $139 a year, get free shipping on certain items, faster delivery times and access to Prime Video, Amazon’s streaming service, among other benefits.

    In a separate suit, the FTC has also accused Amazon of engaging in illegal behavior that allows it to inflate prices and suppress competition from rivals in violation of antitrust laws. Amazon denies that its practices reduce competition and hurt consumers. 

    Mary Cunningham

    Mary Cunningham is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch. Before joining the business and finance vertical, she worked at “60 Minutes,” CBSNews.com and CBS News 24/7 as part of the CBS News Associate Program.

    Source link

  • FTC Takes Amazon to Court Over Prime Subscriptions | Entrepreneur

    The U.S. government thinks Amazon may have tricked its users into signing up for Prime, Amazon’s $15 per month membership service — and now the case is headed to trial in a Seattle federal court this week.

    The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Amazon two years ago, alleging that Amazon deceived tens of millions of customers into signing up for Prime subscriptions without their consent, and then “knowingly” made the cancellation process difficult. Prime memberships include fast and free shipping, video streaming, and other benefits.

    “Amazon used manipulative, coercive, or deceptive user-interface designs known as ‘dark patterns’ to trick consumers into enrolling in automatically-renewing Prime subscriptions,” the 159-page complaint reads.

    Related: Amazon’s CEO Wants His 1.5 Million Person Company to ‘Operate Like the World’s Largest Startup.’ Here’s How He Plans to Do It.

    According to the lawsuit, “dark patterns” include unfair design tactics to boost subscriptions, such as making the option to purchase an item without Prime more difficult to locate. The FTC also accused Amazon of deliberately creating a “labyrinthine” cancellation process that made it hard for customers to terminate their Prime memberships.

    Amazon denies the FTC’s allegations, with Mark Blafkin, an Amazon spokesperson, telling The New York Times that customers choose Prime because of its genuine value.

    “Prime, with hundreds of millions of members, is among the highest performing subscription programs of any kind, as measured by renewal rates and customer satisfaction,” Blafkin said in a statement.

    The trial will start on Monday with jury selection and move to opening arguments on Tuesday. It will last about a month. The judge will decide on penalties if the jury determines that Amazon is at fault. The FTC has not requested specific monetary damages at the time of writing.

    Launched in 2005, Prime has amassed a large user base over the past two decades. The FTC called Prime “the world’s largest subscription program” in the complaint. A third-party analysis from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners estimates that Amazon had 197 million U.S. Prime members as of March, representing a 7% increase from June 2024.

    Related: Amazon Launches Same-Day Grocery Delivery to 1,000 Cities. Here’s How to Find Out If It’s Coming to Your Town.

    In 2024, Prime subscription fees comprised $44.37 billion of Amazon’s $638 billion annual revenue, or about 7%.

    Prime members additionally “spend more” shopping on Amazon when compared to non-Prime customers, contributing to Amazon’s bottom line, per the complaint. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners CEO Michael Levin estimates that Prime members spend twice as much as non-Prime members.

    “We can’t stress how important Prime is to Amazon’s retail business,” Levin told The New York Times.

    Amazon also faces a separate lawsuit filed by the FTC and 17 states over allegations that it engaged in anticompetitive behavior. One example was asking sellers to use its fulfillment services to obtain optimal positioning of their products on its site. That trial is set to begin in February.

    Related: Amazon Prime Day 1 Was the ‘Single Biggest E-Commerce Day So Far This Year,’ According to New Data

    The U.S. government thinks Amazon may have tricked its users into signing up for Prime, Amazon’s $15 per month membership service — and now the case is headed to trial in a Seattle federal court this week.

    The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Amazon two years ago, alleging that Amazon deceived tens of millions of customers into signing up for Prime subscriptions without their consent, and then “knowingly” made the cancellation process difficult. Prime memberships include fast and free shipping, video streaming, and other benefits.

    “Amazon used manipulative, coercive, or deceptive user-interface designs known as ‘dark patterns’ to trick consumers into enrolling in automatically-renewing Prime subscriptions,” the 159-page complaint reads.

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    Sherin Shibu

    Source link

  • The Summer I Turned Pretty’s Isabella Briggs on That Twist Ending and What Comes Next for Jeremiah

    But Denise’s days of romantic strife may be over. In the Prime Video series’ finale, her character couples up with Jeremiah in the months after his wedding to Belly (Lola Tung) is called off. Briggs learned shortly after filming began that her character was destined to end up with the younger Fisher brother. “Jenny sat me down and told me where the arc was going, and I was shocked,” says the actor, who revealed the spoiler to only her mother and boyfriend. Briggs says that cast members received the season’s scripts two at a time—and that all of the Paris-set portions of the final two episodes were blacked out from the versions she received.

    Although I am privy to the spoiler before our first conversation, Briggs plays coy about Denise and Jeremiah until our official post-finale Zoom call. There, she shares her theory on when things became romantic between the former coworkers and temporary roommates. “Initially, she did find him attractive, but obviously he was engaged and she didn’t take him seriously,” says Briggs. “So she was rather reserved and slightly antagonistic around him.”

    As the first person in her family to go to college, Denise is weary of the familial advantages enjoyed by “nepo baby” Jeremiah and her fellow coworker Steven (Sean Kaufman), Belly’s older brother. “She’s had to work twice as hard to get into any room,” says Briggs, “which is why I think she passes such harsh judgment on Steven and Jeremiah. That’s a fear of hers—these guys waltz in, and in six months, they’re [her] boss…. But once Denise gets to know both Steven and Jeremiah, she releases that resentment because she admits to seeing the good, the talent, the passion in them.”

    Witnessing that ambition is also what leads Denise to confess her attraction to Jeremiah in the final episode. “Talent and passion are so attractive, for Denise especially,” says Briggs. “When I was diving into why she chose to go into venture capital, I determined that she was really passionate about early-stage [venture capital] because that’s where you get in on the ground floor and facilitate growth. Now she sees Jeremiah transforming this passion [for cooking] into a viable career path, and she wants to help facilitate.”

    In the lead-up to this surprising conclusion, Briggs says, she’s had mainly positive fan interactions. “Knock on wood, haven’t got any weirdos,” she jokes, though she admits that Jeremiah has garnered some backlash for his onscreen actions—prompting the series to issue its impassioned audience stern anti-bullying guidance. “I feel defensive for all the characters,” Briggs says when I ask if she feels protective of Jeremiah. “I just want people to have empathy, but I understand any good art is going to make you have opinions.” Although she didn’t see all of the memes about Jeremiah’s love for a certain dark chocolate mirror glaze cake coming. She saw the cake mentioned in a script, but “I think I just glazed over it,” Briggs says, stopping to chuckle: “I glazed over it.”

    Raised an only child by her lawyer father (“He wanted me to be a lawyer. Apologies, dad…. I’ll play a lawyer on TV.”) and stay-at-home mother in Los Angeles, Briggs fell in love with acting as a young child while watching the swashbuckling adventures of Pirates of the Caribbean. “I begged my parents for years to let me do it. And of course they’re not going to take the whims of a three-year-old seriously,” Briggs says. “I was also saying that I wanted to be the president and a veterinarian at the time.”

    Her parents finally relented, enrolling Briggs in her first acting class at age six. She began to book commercials and print work the following year, but never made it big. “Growing up in LA and being a child actor, you’re mostly going up for Disney stuff,” Briggs says. “But I would always get the note, ‘She’s just not Disney.’ I always had this knowledge that my career was really going to start later on in life, which I’m so happy about. I feel so much more prepared for it now. I’m also a much better actor now. And I’m happy that I had a normal childhood.” One that included her own teenage trip to Paris (“I probably wore a beret and the French were probably pissed off at me for doing that”) and a Summer I Turned Pretty–esque devotion to Gossip Girl (“I’ve rewatched it 10 times at the very least”).

    Savannah Walsh

    Source link

  • Don’t Let Prime Day Pass You By—Here Are Our Tips on How You Can Shop Like a Pro

    Ask Alexa’s Echo Dot for the time and weather, and to play music. Also, a pro tip: You can use it in the kitchen as a timer while cooking.

    How Do I Know Whether a Deal Is Good?

    ABC: Always be checking (prices, that is). Researching an item’s price is the most important aspect of determining the quality of a discount. Don’t fall prey to deceptive marketing language and inflated MSRP prices—our tips only take a few moments. The easiest step is to take a second to Google the items you’re considering so you can see the price across multiple stores.

    One tool we like to use is Camelcamelcamel, which tracks Amazon’s prices over time. Paste the Amazon link or ASIN (found in the Product Information section on the Amazon product page) into Camelcamelcamel’s search bar and you’ll be able to see an item’s lowest recorded price, its average price, and how frequently the price fluctuates. Some deals, such as Lightning Deals, are excluded from the pricing history, but it works for most items. It’s useful to see what an item has sold for in the past. And while Amazon’s Rufus chatbot has price history information, it isn’t always reliable and often misses context (as evinced by our personal testing). We also like Keepa, which has an extension (available for multiple browsers) that shows the recent price history for products directly on the Amazon page so you don’t have to open a new tab.

    Keep in mind that these services may not work all the time. But being able to see how much a product costs right before the sale starts (and whether the MSRP happened to increase) can be helpful. Putting these tools together can help you deduce whether a deal is worth your money.

    WIRED always fact-checks deals to determine their quality. Of course, I’m biased, but you can check out our ongoing deals coverage to find roundups of the best discounts available—during Prime Day and year-round.

    Amazon’s Kindles are the best e-readers around. Also, waterproof!

    What’s a Lightning Deal?

    Lightning Deals are limited-time deals that Amazon runs for only a few hours. They’re not restricted to Prime Big Deal Days, but they’re especially prevalent during major sales events. Once an item sells out, you may be able to join a waiting list, but not always.

    Put bluntly, the Lightning Deals selection is often full of impulse buys, like makeup and skin-care products or toys. Prime members can browse upcoming deals on Amazon’s website and in the mobile app. The app can also alert you before a Lightning Deal begins. We’ll share some of our favorite Lightning Deals in a live blog during the event this year.

    How Does the Invite-Only Deals System Work?

    The best deals sometimes sell out quickly. To get around this, Amazon launched an invite-only deals program during Prime Day. Prime members can request an invitation to purchase items that are expected to go out of stock. This feature is only available on select products, but it’s spread across a wide range of price points and categories—including kitchen, electronics, fashion, and beauty.

    On the deal page, you’ll see a Request Invite button on the right-hand side. Click it to get a chance to buy it at the sale price, but just keep in mind that there’s no guarantee you’ll be invited. According to an Amazon spokesperson, the company removes “botlike submissions” from the list of requests and selects from the remaining customers. However, it’s not clear how Amazon chooses from the remaining list of interested buyers.

    Louryn Strampe

    Source link

  • Amazon to host Prime Big Deals Day sales event on October 7 and 8 | TechCrunch

    Amazon is continuing its annual tradition of hosting a second Prime event of the year, called Prime Big Deals Day, in October. Following the pattern established in recent years, the company announced the event will take place on October 7-8, with sales starting at 12:01 AM PT on October 7.

    Amazon is betting that shoppers will embrace various AI tools during the event, such as its shopping assistant Rufus, along with visual search tools like Amazon Lens and Lens Live, which allows customers to point their cameras at any object around them and find it on the Amazon’s website. Additionally, users will be able to track deals with Amazon’s new Alexa+ conversational assistant.

    Leading up to the main event, Amazon is offering early deals featuring discounts on Amazon devices and Amazon brand products, deals on Kindle books, and offers on artist merch bought through Amazon Music or Amazon.com.

    The company is also offering exclusive benefits for Prime members, including early access to tickets for the musical Wicked: For Good; deals on fuel; McDonald’s meals through Grubhub+; and additional savings via cashback for Prime Young Adult members.

    Beyond the U.S., customers in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, the U.S., and the UK — and for the first time in Colombia, Ireland, and Mexico — will be able to participate in deals and shop with the Big Deals Day event starting on October 7.

    Amazon’s first Prime Day event of 2025, held in July, was a success, with the entire retail industry clocking $24.1 billion in online sales across four days, a 30.3% year-on-year increase, according to Adobe Analytics. For the first time, more than half of these sales came from mobile devices, the report noted.

    Techcrunch event

    San Francisco
    |
    October 27-29, 2025

    Ivan Mehta

    Source link

  • From ‘Sex and the City’ to ‘Summer I Turned Pretty’: Why Paris Is Rarely Ever a Good Idea for Romantic Heroines

    Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Boy meets girl, girl seeks adventure in Paris, then girl’s complicated feelings for said boy ultimately taint her ability to actually enjoy the city of love. That scenario factors into the plot of both The Summer I Turned Pretty’s final season and the newly released Netflix rom-com The Wrong Paris—although this time, our heroines, played by Lola Tung and Miranda Cosgrove respectively, make it to Paris—and get to stay, at least for a while.

    On The Summer I Turned Pretty, Belly defers her acceptance to study abroad in Paris for premature marriage with Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno). She then comes to her senses, calling off the wedding and moving overseas, where she fights through homesickness and language barriers to build a nice little life for herself. Of course, that independence will soon be interrupted by Belly’s ex Conrad (Christopher Briney), seen buying a plane ticket to Paris in the show’s penultimate episode. But at least she was given the opportunity to test out both versions of her future before making a choice.

    That’s also true of The Wrong Paris, a silly rom-com about a Bachelor-esque reality dating show that contestants are led to believe will be filmed in Paris, France, only to learn it’s actually Paris, Texas—population 25,000. Our heroine, Cosgrove’s Dawn, takes the twist in stride, vowing to compete on the show—not for love, but some prize money to fund studying at a Paris art school. “I don’t hate this,” she says of her hometown, “I just hate that this is the only thing I’ve ever known.” Then a cowboy named Trey (Pierson Fode—also, has anyone ever actually met a cowboy named Trey?) and his comically sculpted abs waltz in. “You ain’t gonna find no man like me in Paris,” he drawls, to which she replies: “Yeah, that’s the point.” Surprise, surprise, Dawn and Trey do fall in love and later strike a bicontinental compromise—she’ll finish school, then presumably come back to Texas.

    Hepburn and Astaire, near 30 years in age between them, leave Paris as husband-and-wife in Funny Face.LMPC/Getty Images

    Paris has long been a place for lovers onscreen. Casablanca (1942) famously ends with Humphrey Bogart’s Rick telling Ingrid Bergman’s Ilsa that they’ll always have their time in Paris, even if they can’t end up together. The European city has gotten in the way of a whole lot of love affairs ever since. Perhaps no one was more familiar with this than poor Audrey Hepburn, who starred in six films set in the City of Light throughout the 1950s and ’60s, most of which end with the idea that her lovelorn character would presumably rather return to the United States with a man twice her age than walk along the Seine solo. (Case in point: Hepburn choosing Bogart in 1954’s Sabrina—a frequent reference on The Summer I Turned Pretty, and then Fred Astaire in 1957’s Funny Face—which has been repeatedly mentioned on Netflix’s Emily in Paris.)

    Somewhere along the way, Paris became the go-to plot device standing in between a single woman and her love interest. The city represented female independence and agency—a culturally rich alternative to the happily ever after established in fairy tales.

    On ’90s to early aughts TV, Paris became a surefire tactic for injecting drama into long-running “will they or won’t they?” couples. Shannen Doherty’s Brenda flees her dramatic on-again-off-again dynamic with Luke Perry’s Dylan on Beverly Hills, 90210 for a summer study-abroad program. Sarah Jessica Parker’s beret-clad Carrie Bradshaw now famously hurls a McDonald’s “le Big Mac” upon learning that “Big is moving to Paris,” in Sex and the City season two. Then her own Parisian journey with Frenchman Aleksandr Petrovsky (Mikhail Baryshnikov) is cut short in the series finale once Big (Chris Noth) shows up to bring her back home. On another hotly anticipated final episode, Jennifer Aniston’s Rachel Green considers moving overseas with her toddler-aged daughter for a fresh start working at Louis Vuitton after years of across-the-hall pining for David Schwimmer’s Ross. But these flights of fancy don’t last long—a brief layover on the way to domesticated bliss right back where they started.

    Savannah Walsh

    Source link

  • Civilization 4 And 10 Other PC Games Are Free On Amazon Prime

    Another month means another batch of “free” Amazon Prime games. This time around, Amazon is giving away what I (and many others) consider to be one of the best PC games ever made: Civilization 4. Beyond that, you can currently grab the also-excellent Into The Breach for nothing and over the next week weeks, even more games will be available for Amazon Prime subscribers.

    If you hop over to Amazon Prime Gaming and are currently subscribed to Amazon Prime, you can snag PC copies of Sid Meier’s Civilization 4: The Complete Edition, Dungeons & Dragons: Ravenloft Series, and Into the Breach. Then, throughout the rest of September, Amazon will add more free games, including Spelljammer, Pixel Cafe, and Tower of Time. Even better, Civ4, Spelljammer, and other PC games given away this month are delivered via GOG codes, which means once you claim them, you own them completely with no DRM. Now ain’t that nifty!

    I personally think that Civilization 4 is the pinnacle of the series, even if former Kotaku writer Luke Plunkett prefers Civ5 over it. Yeah, some bits of it are a little tedious and annoying, but the vibes are immaculate, and most of it still holds up perfectly today. Plus, it will run easily on any modern PC. If you were let down by Civ6 or Civ7, check out Civilization 4. Just set aside like 9 hours of your day first, as it will consume them in a flash.

    Here’s the full list of games, as well as when they will be available for free on Amazon Prime and which storefronts they use. Oh, and keep in mind these are all PC games; sorry, console-only players.

    Now available

    • Dungeons & Dragons: Ravenloft Series (GOG Code)
    • Into The Breach (Epic Games Store)
    • Sid Meier’s Civilization 4: The Complete Edition (GOG Code)

    September 11

    • Afterimage (Amazon Games App)
    • Spelljammer: Pirates of Realmspace (GOG Code)
    • Tower of Time (GOG Code)
    • Subterrain: Mines of Titan [(Amazon Games App)

    September 18

    • Residual (GOG Code)
    • Fate: The Cursed King (GOG Code)

    September 25

    • Mystical Riddles: Ghostly Park Collector’s Edition (Legacy Games Code)
    • Pixel Cafe (Amazon Games App)

    Also, some games added in previous months are still floating around on Amazon Prime Gaming’s site, so if you haven’t grabbed those freebies yet and you’re a Prime subscriber, you should check out everything on the site. You may find a few hidden gems still waiting to be played.

    Zack Zwiezen

    Source link